How to Oven-Bake Chicken Legs and Chicken Quarters

How to Bake Chicken Legs

While cooking a whole chicken is not always practical, baking chicken legs is definitely a weeknight solution. A chicken leg, also called a hindquarter, is made up of one thigh and one drumstick that are joined together. The thigh is the upper part of the leg and the drumstick is the lower part. Both are dark meat. These whole chicken legs are inexpensive, versatile, meaty, and moist. Plan on one leg per person

Tip: To reduce fat and calories, you can skin chicken legs. Bake the chicken with the skin on to keep it moist. Cool slightly and pull the skin off, starting at the thigh end. Have a kitchen shears or knife handy to snip off the skin if needed

:Chicken Leg Recipes

Green Onion Chicken

Oven-Barbecued Chicken

Gwen's Fried Chicken by Trisha Yearwood

SKILLET CHICKEN

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How To Sauté Chicken : easy technique puts dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes

Saute ChickenBecky Luigart-Stayner1 of 5

Pan Sauce Secrets

Enriched by the browned bits from a sautéed chicken breast, a simple pan sauce can transform an everyday boneless, skinless breast into a variety of quick and delicious meals. Learn this basic technique, then customize the sauce with various ingredients for amazingly different results.

The process is simple: Cook chicken breasts, deglaze the caramelized juice and browned bits in the pan with liquid, add a few other seasonings, and you've got a tasty pan sauce. For best results, use a nonstick skillet, and scrape up the sauce thoroughly from the bottom of the pan to get the concentrated 

flavor left behind by sautéing

Saute Chicken Becky Luigart-Stayner2 of 5

Step 1: Trim

For the shortest route to a weeknight dinner, start with a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Or, to save money, buy with skin on and remove it yourself. Either way, obtain the best results here by trimming excess fat and any small pieces of meat attached to the breast

Saute Chicken Becky Luigart-Stayner3 of 5

Step 2: 

Tenderize

Place each chicken breast half between two 

sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap. Pound to a ½-inch thickness using a meat mallet or a rolling pin. This will ensure the chicken cooks quickly and evenly. Sprinkle with salt and 

pepper

Saute Chicken Becky Luigart-Stayner4 of 5

Step 3: Sauté

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medim-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side until done. To tell if the chicken is done, pierce it with a fork. If the juices run clear, it's done. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm

Step 4: Deglaze

After removing chicken breasts from the pan, add a liquid to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen browned bits. This will add tremendous flavor to the sauce. You can deglaze with a variety of liquids, including stock, * wine, beer, and spirits, or cider. Now's the time to add savory seasonings such as herbs, spices, shallots, onions, garlic, and whatever you choose

* Tip: We recommend using low-sodium store-brought broth, which will help prevent the sauce from becoming too salty as it  reduces

Step 5: Reduce

After you've added seasonings, cook the mixture for a few minutes until it has reduced into a sauce with the consistency you desire. Most recipes specify how long to reduce, and how much sauce it should yield. Pour the sauce into a measuring cup to be sure that it has reduced enough. After removing from heat, you can finish some sauces by stirring in a touch of cream.

Try it! Practice this technique with the following 8 recipes

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grilled chicken recipe

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CHICKEN IN CREAMY £ Safron Sauce

Chicken in creamy saffron sauce. My mouth is watering. Chicken is so versatile. Enter books have 
been dedicated to numerous recipes for this feathery friend. I will admit, right off the bat, safron is a favorite of mine. It’s expensive I know, but it is so delicious and delicate. By the way, in my book, you can’t go wrong with cream.

Make chicken in creamy saffron sauce on a weekend, to share with your family or friends. Although it sounds fancy you can make this meal in about one hour. Really! Now, I will admit that saffron is kind of expensive, but a little goes a long way. I often get asked: Why is saffron so darn expensive? Is there a substitute? Well, it’s so expensive because it has to be harvested by hand. It takes about 70,000 stems to get a pound of saffron. Holy cow!!! Yup, that’s a lot of stems, and a lot of picking.  Now, as far as a substitute? Sorry, but no! No spice or herb is a good substitute for the delicate taste of saffron.

The word saffron is of Arabic origin: Za’fran,  meaning yellow. Interestingly enough, the Spanish word for saffron is azafran, almost identical to its Arabic counterpart. The deep reddish threads (stigma) of the crocus turn a deep yellow when they come in contact with water. Saffron features prominently  in Persian and Mediterranean cuisine. You can’t possibly make a paella (the typical Spanish seafood and rice dish) or an Adas Polow ( a Persian dish consisting of rice, lentils and raisins) without saffron.  Apart from its use in savory dishes, saffron is also used in cakes and other sweets. More on that later.

Saffron has often played a prominent role in world history.  In ancient Egypt for example, it was used as an additive to perfume, as a dye, and also as medicine. It also had a religious use: saffron cakes were used as offerings the gods.  In ancient Mesopotamia saffron was used as both an aromatic and as an aphrodisiac.  And, in the profitable spice trade of the Middle Ages, it was considered among the most desired spices along with cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. According to Greek mythology, the god Hermes accidentally struck his friend Croco lethally wounding him. In the spot where blood dripped, Hermes touched his sword and flowers began to grow.  These flowers were, well… crocuses! Another reference to saffron in Greek mythology has Zeus sleeping on a bed of saffron.

Saffron also appears in the social rituals of antiquity. Saffron was allegedly scattered at the feet of Roman emperors; not surprising given the excesses that characterized the Roman Empire. Along the same vein, saffron is supposed to have been sprinkled on the couches of fashionable homes so guests could breathe in the sweet aroma. I just hope the couches were not white!!!  It was also thrown on the beds of newlyweds in Ancient Rome (Remember saffron’s aphrodisiac use in ancient Mesopotamia?.)

So now that you know more about saffron than you ever thought possible, I think you will enjoy making this delicious chicken in creamy saffron sauce. After all, saffron is a winner in my book, and chicken? Well you can never go  wrong with chicken, or cream! right? If you’re interested in more recipes containing saffron, be sure to check them out on my blog.

            INGREDIENTS

• 2½ lbs. chicken breast
• 1 tsp. Kosher salt
• ½ tsp. cracked pepper
• ⅛ tsp. nutmeg
• 2 egg beaten
• 1 cup flour
• Vegetable oil for pan frying.
• For the sauce:
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 shallot minced
• 1 garlic clove minced
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup white wine
• ½ tsp. saffron
• 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

.Preheat oven to 200'F

Cut each chicken breast half into two pieces width wise. Lightly 

pound each piece to about ¼" thickness

In a small bowl mix together the salt, pepper and nutmeg

Place beaten egg and flour in two separate shallow bowls ( a couple of pie pans work very well)

Add salt mixture to flour and mix well

Dip the chicken breasts into the egg and then into the flour until they are well coated

Heat oil in a shallow frying pan. Use only enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan

Fry each chicken breast piece for about 3-4 minutes on each side. You might have to add some oil for every batch of chicken breasts you cook

Place the fried chicken breasts in an oven safe platter and place in oven to keep warm

:To prepare the sauce

In the same pan, on medium heat saute the shallot and garlic until shallot is translucent. Deglaze with wine. Scrape up the little bits and continue to cook until most of the wine has evaporated. Add the cream, and saffron. Cook sauce on low for about 5-10 minutes or until nappe consistency

.Remove from heat

Bring the chicken breasts out of the oven and pour saffron sauce over the chicken breasts

.Sprinkle with parsley

Sauce

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Chocolate Chip Pizza

My oldest son turned 9 last week. I’ll be honest, there are days where I’m sitting in my living room by myself and I have moments where I think, “Holy cow, I have five kids.”

Don’t get me wrong, I always wanted a big family, but I wasn’t one of those people always squealing and wanting to hold other people’s babies. I was the youngest of ten kids so I didn’t have a ton of experience with babies since I was the baby of my own family.

I often wondered what kind of mom I would be. My husband and I waited 4 years to have kids after we were married. Even though all of our friends were pressuring us to have kids, we were enjoying our freedom and thought they just wanted us to have kids so we could be tied down and miserable like they were. 

  And then we tried getting pregnant and couldn’t. Joke was on us.

Years later we finally had our first baby. We struggled to figure out the whole parenthood thing. Google was our best friend. Why is there stuff coming out of my son’s nipple? Why is my son banging his head against his crib? Is it normal for my baby’s eyes to cross? I had moments where nothing but my mother’s intuition (and help from above) could explain why I was directed to do the things I did. I was finally a mother.

I think about how much we have learned in 9 years…

…And how much more we have yet to learn.

Now if you’re on a diet you may want to look away. If you want to be a rock star at your next party…eyes on me. This pizza is your new best friend.

image: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/chocolate-chip-cookie-pizza1.jpg

This pizza is the real deal. Supposedly this is like the Pizza Inn Chocolate Chip Pizza. The secret to this chocolate chip pizza is the cake mix topping. It gives it that dough-like texture. It’s topped with a generous sprinkle of sugar which gives it a crunchy top. You want to bake it until that sugar melts. As you can see, I pulled mine out a little too early before all of it had melted. Do as I say not as I do. 

I believe she was saying, “Oh wow Mom!”

I’m thoroughly convinced that everyone should be surrounded by a herd of easily impressed 2-year-olds.  It’s great for the self esteem.

You will need a small army to eat this. Of course in the Denney house it was gone in a day.

Chocolate Chip Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 (11 ounce) refrigerated thin crust pizza dough
• 1 (15.25 ounce) yellow cake mix
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), melted
• 1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly spray a 15"x10" pan with cooking spray.
2. Press the pizza dough into the pan extending ½ inch up the sides. Prick with a fork to prevent bubbles.
3. Bake for 3-4 minutes.
4. While crust is baking mix granulated sugar and brown sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
5. Remove crust from oven. Mix the butter and cake mix together and sprinkle over the crust leaving a ½ inch margin on the sides. Press together gently.
6. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and press chips into the cake mix gently.
7. Evenly distribute the sugar mixture on top being careful to not sprinkle it on the pizza dough edges.
8. Bake for 7-12 minutes on an upper level rack in the oven. You want the sugar on top to melt creating a crust without cooking the crust on the bottom too much.
9. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Notes

Source: Terhune Photography

Make sure you’re following The Girl Who Ate Everything for the latest recipes!

Read more at http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2014/03/chocolate-chip-pizza.html#l4F1RzR73imtBF8r.99

Pizza

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Zucchini oven chips.

Better than potato chips! (Share to save for later) Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups (1/8 inch-thick) slices zucchini (about 2 small) 1/4 cup ground almonds 1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese 1/4 t season…

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (1/8 inch-thick) slices zucchini (about 2 small)

1/4 cup ground almonds

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1/4 t seasoned salt

1/4 t garlic powder

1/8 t black pepper

2 T whole milk (or almond milk, etc)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place milk in a shallow bowl. Dip zucchini slices in milk, and then coat in dry mixture. Place coated slices on an oven proof wire rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes or until browned and crisp. Serve immediately.

chips

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YAM AND POTATO PANCAKES

f you remember my post on pirozhki, I mentioned an interestingly common culinary occurrence around the world: meat cooked in dough, having different names and different methods of preparation, makes an appearance in countries from those in Asia to Europe to Latin America. 

I may have stumbled on another curious culinary conundrum of sorts. Shredded, fried potato cakes. Potato fritters. Latkes. Potetkaker. Deruny or draniki in Ukrainian and Russian respectively (both meaning something shredded). These have traveled from Ukraine to United States to Norway and back, although not necessarily in that order. What conclusion can we draw from this? I can only see one. They must begood.

My mom used to make these when I was little. The version I made is with young gold potatoes, which burst with juices and add more freshness, and yams, which add a sweet complexity to the cakes. As an added bonus, they are also gluten-free. These savory and sweet cakes are tasty by themselves, with a dollop of sour cream or low-fat yogurt, or as a side dish for dinner (providing a deliciously simple way to get away from the usual suspects like mashed potatoes or rice).

Yam and Potato Pancakes

(Makes about 8 pancakes)

You will need:

2 large young gold potatoes

1 medium yam 

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tbsp freshly chopped dill 

1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

1/8 tsp pepper, or to taste

1 1/2 tbsp potato flour 

2-3 tbsp canola oil

Directions:

1. Peel and grate potatoes and yam and place in a bowl. Add the egg, dill, salt and pepper and mix. Sprinkle with potato flour and mix well to combine. Form the potato mixture into eight flattened patties (about 3 inches across). Heat oil on medium heat in a large pan and add the cakes, working in batches if necessary. Cook the cakes until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. As an option, serve with chopped scallion and sour cream or low-fat plain yogurt.

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Toffee and Chocolate Rice Pudding

Toffee and Chocolate Rice Pudding

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

dash of salt

2 cups milk

1 Tbsp butter

2 eggs, well beaten

3 cups cooked rice

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup toffee bits

1/3 cup toasted coconut (optional)

Whipped cream for garnish (optional)

Combine brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt in large heavy pan. Slowly stir in milk, then add butter. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, till mixture starts to thicken. Stir half of hot mixture into eggs; whisk together and return to the pan. (This “tempers” the eggs, so you don’t end up with scrambled eggs in your rice pudding.) Add the rice and cook till thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Add the vanilla. Let cool for a few minutes. To serve, layer half of the rice pudding in glass cups. Top with half of the chocolate chips, toffee, and coconut. Spoon remaining rice pudding into the cups, then top with the remaining chips, toffee, and coconut. Add whipped cream on top if desired.

We like it served warm so the chocolate melts. So good!

Toffee

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