Recently in Chicken Category

This is a rich pie crust. It uses lard but you can easily substitute Crisco shortening for the lard. I did and it turned out just fine.

I am not an expert baker. Baking is not where I excell but this recipe worked fine and over time I am sure I will refine my technique.

2 1/2 cup flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Crisco or lard
1/4 cup cold chicken fat (schmaltz)*
6 tablespoons ice water


Combine flour and salt.

Cut in shortening/lard and reserved cold chicken fat  until size of small peas has formed from the flour and fats.

Add water by tablespoons while mixing with a fork until all flour is moistened and dough forms ball.

On a rainy day it will take less water as the humidity in the air will saturate the flour. (Note here that alot of cooks don't bake pastries on rainy days.)

Divide the dough in half. Using a tiny bit of flour to dust with you can roll out both of your crusts. Don't use too much flour, just a dusting or your pie crust will suffer. Work quickly to keep everything as cold as possible.

*If you do not render your own you can find it in a Jewish grocery or in the ethnic isle at your market labled as schmalz.

6 dreamfeilds lasagne noodles (<5 carbs)
2 chicken breasts thinly sliced (0 carbs)
2 cups heavy cream (0 carbs)
1 stick butter (0 Carbs)
4 cups baby spinach leaves (1 carbs)
1 small onion
Garlic (or garlic powder)
Parsley (or parsley flakes)
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
2 cups ricotta cheese (15 carbs)
2 cups grated mozzerella cheese (2 carbs)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup parmesian cheese (0 carbs)

Prepare lasagne noodles according to package.

In a sautee pan heat olive oil, gently cook the onions and garlic without browning them or the pan. Add the thinly sliced chicken and cook without creating a fond or browning the chicken. Stir in the butter cut into pieces so that it melts quickly. Do not allow the butter to begin to brown. Just let it melt. Add the cream. Simmer, stirring often until the mixture begins to thicken. It may take 10 minutes or more to slowly thicken. Sprinkle in the parsley flakes and salt and pepper to taste.

While the sauce and chicken, place the washed and still damp spinach leaves in a glass dish with a lid and microwave for 4 minutes. The spinach will wilt down and be almost as thin as a sheet of paper on the bottom of your dish. Drain off the water and juices. Only use the spinach and carefull fork it out of the bottom of your dish or it will just create one ball of a mess and won't spread easily in your lasagne.

Mix ricotta, parmesian and beaten eggs well with a spinkle of garlic powder. Set aside.

When the sauce is thicken begin assembling your lasagne.

The cassrole dish I use is about the width of 3 lasagne noodles, so with a little cream sauce or butter in the bottom of my dish:

layer of 3 noodles
a layer of 1/2 of the chicken and cream sauce
a layer of of the spinach
a layer of 1/2 of the shredded mozzerella
a layer of the ricotta/parmesian mixture
a layer of 3 noodles
topped with last of the chicken and cream sauce
and a final layer of mozzerella

Place in a 375 degree oven. Bake for 30 - 45 minutes until bubbly and hot and the cheese on top is just beginning to become golden.

Allow to sit and cool for 15 minutes or so before serving with a nice green salad. Ken's steakhouse light northern italian dressing is 1 carb for 2 tbsp. That is a lot.

Total carb count for the casserole: 23 carbs

The casserole made 8 servings (but could actually extend to 10 servings) 2.8 carbs.

A serving with salad and dressing 3.8 carbs.

Under 4 carbs for a delicious meal!

*Taste the cream sauce and make sure it is seasoned to your taste. The salt and pepper and granulated garlic is adjustable to you palatte which is why I didn't add any measures. We like a fair amount of garlic our italian style foods. I know some people do not. If you leave out the garlic it will a bland dish.

2 chicken breasts cubed
3 tbsp finely diced onion
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp parsley flakes
salt and pepper to taste

1 stick butter
1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1/2 box Dreamfeilds fettachinni

Heat a pan with olive oil, sautee the onions and garlic, add the chicken, sprinkle with the parsley flakes, salt and pepper and stir letting the chicken cook through and become a little brown.

I do not care about a perfectly white colored alfredo sauce so when the chicken is cooked and the fond is in the bottom of the pan (where all the real flavor is) so that when the chicken is cooked I remove the pan from the heat and let the butter melt down into the chicken and herbs and spice. Once the butter is melted and the pan is cooling a bit then add the heavy cream.

Let the pan simmer gently while stirring often. The cream and btter will thicken into a beautiful sauce without adding anything like flour or cornstarch or arrowroot to thicken it. While it simmers and you stir the fond will begin to loosen from the pan and the sauce will turn off white. It is ok! That is all the flavor of the chicken.

Serve over hot pasta.

The only carbs in this is the pasta which is 5 carbs per digestable serving.

Boneless/skinless chicken breast cut into 1inch x 1inch pieces.
Season with salt, pepper, garlic (and anything else you like)

1 cup flour, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic

1/2 c buttermilk

1 bottle frank's buffalo wing sauce
1 stick of butter

In a 9x8 oven proof dish pour in Franks and add the butter. Place in a heated oven until the butter is melted and the sauces is bubbling. 15 min max usually for my oven. When you open the oven the vinegar scent will be strong. Try to keep your eyes and nose adverted or you will burn a little and tear from the hot sauce. Set the pan aside and mix the butter and sauce well. It will be hot and slightly thick.

Dip seasoned chicken bits into buttermilk, roll in the flour mixture and deep fry until lightly golden.

Remove from oil. Drain on paper toweling. When drained place in the dish with the sauce and roll them around until well covered. Leave them in the sauce.

Continue until all chicken is cooked and coated. Serve with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.

If you are only making this with 3 breasts of chicken you can cut back on the sauce. Use 1/2 bottle and 1/2 stick of butter. You don't have to use it all and can easily adjust it to suit your needs.

For low carb eating:

Roll the chicken bits in the floor then put them into a seive and shake as much flour as possible off. Do not soak them in buttermilk as they will absorb alot of flour and then the carb count is outregeous.

I use the 1 cup meausre of flour, seasoned, and the last time I cooked these, after dusting as much off as possible, measured the remainder and found I used barely 1/8 of a cup. Dividing the flour carbs and suace carbs between 4 people we figured it at best between 2 and 3 carbs for the fried chicken bits. Not alot of carbs really but not something to go willy nilly wasting your carbs on very often either.

1 whole chicken
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 - 4 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and pepper

Place chicken in stock pot. Add vegetables and seasoning. Cover with water. Bring to a boil, turn down heat. Cook until the chicken is tender and the meat is falling from the bone.

Remove chicken from stock. Set aside on a baking sheet and allow to cool. Carefully strain the vegetables from the hot stock.

Dumplings
Bring the stock back up to a low boil. Begin adding strips of Anne's Dumplings to the pot 3 or 4 at a time. With a long handled spoon move them around in the stock gently allowing them to begin to cook through before adding more. Once all of the pastry strips are in turn the heat down to a simmer. Check and stir often. Dumplings will settle to the bottom and stick and scorch. Scorched dumplings are not good.

While the dumplings are simmering, pick the meat from the chicken and shred or tear into bite size pieces. Put the carcass into another pot with water and those limp cooked vegetables and set to boil again. Believe me there is still a lot of flavor in there to cook out.

Add the meat to your dumpling pot. At this point you can also add a small package of frozen peas and carrots. The bright colors dress up the dish and make it more interesting to the eye.

As the dumplings cook they will absorb alot of the stock. If the stock remains thin like soup you can add a can of cream of chicken soup to get a creamier consistancy. If it gets thick, beyond stew like, the chicken pieces you have boiled the second time, use that stock to thin it out. Add a can of cream of chicken soup to get a creamy consistancy. You can add a few peas and carrots to add color.

Before serving, taste the dumplings. Dumplings need salt, you may have to salt the pot while it simmers.

Whatever stock that you have left, strain out the veggies and carcass pieces, freeze it for use later in other soups or stews or to make noodle soup with. Pick through the bones and you will find a good bit of meat slivers to set aside for noodle soup.

For noodle soup you simply need a quart of stock and some egg noodles. Bring the stock to a boil, add the noodles, cook until tender. Perfect soup every time.

Something my old Aunt's did to dress up the dumpling pot - Once the dumplings are cooked make a pastry crust and seal the top of the pot. Brush with butter and bake like a pie. It is so nice to break through the crust and scoop up a creamy helping of the chicken and dumplings.

5 boneless chicken breasts, boiled
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 ounces sour cream
2 cans artichoke hearts, drained
4 cups Ritz crackers
1 stick butter, melted
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
2 8x8 Glad Ovenware with lids

Cut chicken breasts up into small chunks. Coat a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray or butter. Mix together chicken, cream of chicken soup and sour cream.

Pour half of this mixture into each of the Glad Ovenware pans and spread evenly.

Crush crackers and mix with melted butter. Spoon cracker mixture over each pan of chicken mixture. Sprinkle poppy seeds on top.

Put the lid on pan, lable and place in the freezer. When you are ready to cook, thaw the casserole in the refrigerator. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

This is an excellent casserole to serve with a salad made of baby spinach leaves and dressed with a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

You can also freeze the butter and crackers separately and add them to the top of the casserole the day you decide to bake it.