Chicken and Slicks

Total Time: 80 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2011)
Recipe Source: Cook's Country TV (Season 5)

I made this a while ago, and didn't keep good notes on the details of how much time this took. I just wrote down 80 minutes. I think that was total time, and was not work time. This is not an overly complicated recipe, actually. The time comes from cooking the chicken, freezing the noodles then cooking them. 

I did the recipe in two steps, made the chicken and noodle dough the night before, then shredded the chicken and cut and cooked noodle the 2nd night. It worked out well. 

The broth and chicken on this was super flavorful and delicious. The noodles were decent as well but a bit too thick for me. The only reason I wouldn't make this again is because if I am making a recipe like this I would probably go for Chicken and Dumplings instead which I like a little more. This is certainly good, but I missed the vegetables, and the noodles were more work than dumplings. 

Almost Hands Free Risotto with Chicken

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (May 2010)

This was good. I will change one thing about the recipe next time though and that is to use boneless skinless chicken breasts. I really dislike dealing with chicken on the bone, and although I do think it ends up tasting a bit better, I think poaching boneless breasts in the broth will be almost just as good and it will save probably 10 minutes of work.

Supposedly leftover risotto isn't that good, but I found the leftovers that I had for lunch the next day to be delicious. I have more in the freezer so we'll see how that works.

Chicken and Brown Rice

Prep Time: 28 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Grade: B-

Make Again: No


Recipe Source: Everyday Food (September 2005)

This was almost really good, but I really didn't like the roasted red peppers in this. They got quite soggy.  Maybe using regular diced peppers would have been better.

I think this recipe as potential as a one pot meal, but I probably won't tweak it anymore, since there are too many good recipes to try! 

Quick and Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup

Stock Prep Time: 23 minutes
Stock Cook Time: 50-55 minutes
Soup Prep Time: 8 minutes (I prepped some with the stock)
Soup Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: America's Test Kitchen TV Show (Season 10) (Recipe at link)
Recipe Source: Best of America's Test Kitchen 2010
Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (January 2009)

Note: This is on the TV show website, so click link above and print, if you would like the recipe. It will probably be available through this year only.

I rarely make homemade chicken noodle soup, because dealing with chicken parts grosses me out. This recipe is pretty simple though, and most of the stock flavor comes from using ground chicken. That is nice and easy. You do have to cut two chicken breasts (on the bone) in half and simmer them in the stock for 30 minutes which also provides some of the flavor (and the meat for the soup.) Cutting the breasts was the hardest part for me. (I'll skip the details on why, because I don't want this to be an unappetizing read!)

The recipe ends up taking about 2 hours from start to finish, but there is really only 35-40 minutes of hands on time, so it is not a lot of work.

The soup was really, really good. The man in my life, who just really doesn't care that much about food (much to my dismay) said after his first bite "Wow, this is good." To elicit that response means it really was good. The broth was very flavorful and potatoes and carrots were perfectly cooked, along with the chicken. I used a frozen thicker Egg Noodle. Mrs Reames (I think.) It was my first time with them, and I think I would use them again, because they are more substantial. I didn't have parsley, so I added some peas at the last moment for a bit of green. I would definitely do that again. I also cut the chicken instead of tearing it, because I hate tearing the chicken.

Next time I make this, I might try doing the stock the day before and letting everything cool down first, so that removing the fat is easier (and you can get more of it.)

I'm not going to make this an A+ recipe yet, but it may get upgraded if after my second attempt I still like it as much.

Chicken and Dumplings

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Assemble Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (Jan 2005)

Yes, this takes awhile to make. And actually, I used chicken breasts (not recommended by CI, but recommended by me!) so it was quicker. The hardest part for me is pulling the skin off the chicken (after browning) and then pulling the chicken off the bone after cooking. However, it is necessary to do this steps to get the non-greasy, yet full-flavored broth. And I think it is worth it (every once in a while) for such a yummy recipe.

I made a little bit lighter, by using half the fats call for in the recipe (less oil for the chicken, less butter in the stew, less fat in the dumplings.) Using breasts makes is lighter also. But the dish was still very rich and delicious.

I have made this once before and froze the leftovers, and I remember they were still good. I will do that again, which is nice allowing for a quick delicious meal another evening without any work.

White Chicken Chili

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: America's Test Kitchen (TV Show) (Season 8)

I like this, but the overwhelming flavor in the dish is the peppers, and I didn't even use as much as called for. It feels more like a "Green" chili than a white chili. (And looks that way too.) The chilies used are all mostly mild, with jalapeno being the hottest, so there is very little spice to this chili.

The cooking time can overlap the prep time some, but I find it less stressful to prep before I start, so I did that. It isn't hard to make, but does mess up a few dishes. I think for something that uses whole chicken breasts (as opposed to boneless skinless), I want the final dish to be a little richer with more chicken flavor. So I probably will stick to regular chili in the future, but could possibly make again someday.

Tandoori Chicken

Prep Time: 15minutes
Marinade Time: 4+ hours
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: maybe

Recipe Source: The Best Chicken Recipe
Recipe: America's Test Kitchen TV Show  (Season 10)

This was not bad, but since I am squeamish about eating chicken on the bone, and skin, I probably missed out on a lot of the flavor. I later used some of the marinade on a boneless chicken breast and grilled the chicken using the method from the magazine, which worked well. But still the flavor didn't wow me. It was good, just not exciting. I remember loving the way the Tikka Masala chicken breast tasted without the sauce, so I think I would used that recipe instead of this one when I want a yogurt based marinade with Indian flavors.

Roasted Chicken and Bread Salad

Prep Time: 19 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: The Best Chicken Recipe

I normally wouldn't give a recipe an A+ until I had made it a few times, but I know this one is a real winner for me. It was incredibly easy to make, and delicious.

My bread did overcook just a bit, but that was because my chicken took longer than expected and the pieces were not all under the chicken. I used a demi-baguette from Trader Joe's which had lots of crust. It might work better from a larger loaf with less crust.

My only wish is that I could find a way to make this on the grill, because I won't want to be roasting chicken too much this summer. The beauty of this recipe is cooking the chicken on top of the bread, so I'm not sure how that would work.

The recipe was inspired from Zuni Cafe Cookbook's (I'll try to remember to post the link later to that recipe when I can find it.)

I do think I could skip the pine nuts altogether. I love pine nuts, but they seemed to get lost in the salad and I didn't notice them. So I'm not sure they are worth the calories. I forgot to add the shaved parmesan, and I think that is the addition that is probably worth it.

I will definitely be making this one again!

One Pot Southwestern Chicken and Rice

Prep Time: 21 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

I prefer cooking boneless chicken breasts because I am squeamish around things with bones, so I don't use these types of recipes very often. But I did have some chicken in the freezer that I wanted to use, so I tried this one. It was pretty simple and it does taste quite good. I'm just not sure I will make again when I have so many chicken recipes to choose from.