How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken

Even though chicken is one of the greenest and most economical animial protein sources when my family switched to eating organic meats we wondered if we would be able to afford $6.99/lb for chicken breast. One way we flip the bill is buying whole chickens in bulk at $2.38/lb, and then cutting them up at home. I have tried several ways of cutting up chickens and had it down to under 9 minutes per bird, I came across this video and after a few times had it down to under 5 minutes per bird.

There are a few things that I do diffrentley. I de-bone the chicken breast, Lori likes me to pound these flat for cuttlets. Also. I pull the tenders off the back of the breast to make chicken fingers of the kiddos.

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Sage Stuffed Chicken

This dish is one of my favorites, it is light, and fresh, yet gooey with a just the right amount of kick.

Instructions:

• 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
• 4 Slices of Smoked Gouda
• 8 Fresh Sage Leaves
• Salt
• Pepper
• ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp. Fresh Sage (minced)
• 4 Cloves of Garlic (minced)
• ¼ tsp. Ground Cayenne Pepper

Place chicken inside a plastic grocery bag, or use plastic wrap to cover the chicken breast. Using a meat pounder, or a rubber mallet whatever you have in the tool box to do the job, pound the chicken evenly as flat as you can without tearing the meat. Next place a slice of gouda inside the chicken, then roll the sage between you index finger and thumb crushing the sage and releasing its extracts, place the sage on top of the cheese. Fold the other half of the chicken over closing the breast. Season the breast with salt and pepper.

(The chicken breast in the back is a great example of what not to do. If this happens suture the breast with tooth picks.)

In a large skillet add the oil, minced sage, garlic, and cayenne pepper to a small pan cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook chicken until done, inside temperature should be 165F.

An Additional Tip: Make a double batch of the oil mixture and toss with some pasta for the side.

Remember food is only good for you if you can eat it!
-Nate

Adobo Marinade

This marinade is sure to add sweet smokey heat to your street tacos this summer; use it on chicken, beef, or steak. Make a double batch, and use the additional for a condiment. It will keep in the refrigerator for about two days.

Instructions:

• 4 Oranges
• 1 Can of Chiles in Adobo
• 1/2 Cup White Cooking Wine (plus more for drinking)
• 1/2 of a Yellow Onion (diced)
• 6 Cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1/4 Cup Lime Juice
• 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 2 tsp of Dried Oregano
• 1 tsp of Ground Cumin
• 1 tsp of Coarse Salt
• 1 tsp of Black Pepper
• 1 tsp of Chile Powder
• 1 tsp of Hot Pepper Sauce

Remove half the zest of an orange in strips. Juice the oranges to get 3/4 of a cup, if there is any orange left over you should eat it. Seed the chiles, if you want added heat leave some seeds, but not a lot.

Next add all the ingredients to a pot and bring to a roaring boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is reduced by half, probably about 15 minutes. Allow to cool then throw out the orange zest. Pour the mixture into a blender and liquify. At this point you can use it right away, or cover and place in the refrigerator.

Remember food is only good for you if you can eat it!!

Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken

One of the easiest things to make is a glaze, and it really doesn’t get any easier than a honey glaze. This glaze gets a kick from the hot chile powders, and black pepper.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tbsp agave syrup
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp chile powder
• 1 tsp ground pepper

Mix all ingredients.

Toss the chicken in the glaze, I like to use bone in skin on chicken thighs.

Then grill.

Remember food is only good for you if you can eat it.
-Nate

BUTTERMILK BRINED CHICKEN

Chicken Breast is infamous for drying out on the grill. Buttermilk acts as a meat tenderizer helping the meat stay moist. Using bone-in, skin-on chicken will also insure the chicken will not dry out.

Instructions

• 4 lb. Bone-in Skin-on Chicken Breast or Thighs
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Pepper
• 1 tbsp. Fresh Thyme
• 4 c. Buttermilk

Rinse chicken under cold water and pat dry.

Measure out the buttermilk stir in the salt, pepper, and thyme until well incorporated. Submerge chicken in buttermilk allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (freezes well).

Grill over direct heat for about 8 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Tent for a few minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information

     Breast per oz.

• 31 Kcal oz
• 3g of fat
• 27g of protein
• 1g of carbohydrate

    Thighs per oz.

• 33 Kcal oz
• 10g of fat
• 23g of protein
• 2g of carbs

Remember food is only good for you if you can eat it!

GRILLED MUSHROOM QUESDILLIA

You might remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that a life saving grace to making meals at home for us was to cook whole chickens, then add the protein to other dishes. Here is a quesadilla that we often make with that exact recipe. You can also keep this recipe vegetarian by just omiting the chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1 mild Chile (Anaheim or Poblano)
• 2 jalapeno chilies (optional)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 lb variety of mushrooms
• 1 tbsp. chicken of Chile powder
• 2 cloves of garlic (pressed)
• 1/4 cup of your favorite tomato based salsa
• 2 cups Monterey jack cheese
• 8 oz. of chicken (optional)

1. Fire up the grill and cook the chilies over the heat source until it blisters on all sides. Transfer to a container with a lid, I use a bowl topped with a plate. Sweat the chilies for about 10-15 minutes then peel, deseed, and finely chop.
2. Meanwhile in a bowl add mushrooms, olive oil, Chile powder, and garlic toss until well incorporated. Grill over direct heat until mushrooms are softened. Remove mushrooms from heat and roughly chop, add finely chopped chilies, and salsa mix until well incorporated. If you are adding the chicken finely chop the chicken and add. You may want to add additional spices listed above to taste (Lori does). Allow to cool.
   
   
3. While the mixture is cooling mark the tortillas one side over direct heat of the grill this should only take a second or two per tortilla.
4. Next place a tortilla on an oiled sheet of foil. Add cheese on one half of the tortilla, and then spoon the mixture on to the cheese with out overfilling the tortilla. Then fold the tortilla in half. Fold the foil sheet over the tortilla making a cocoon.
5. Grill over direct heat each side for 5 minutes, 10 minutes total.
6. Enjoy with a Negra Modelo.

Remember food is only good for you if you can eat it!
-Nate

WHOLE GRILLED CHICKEN with HERB RUB

One of best ways to ensure you know what you are eating is to eat at home. With the kiddos and your extracurricular activities I know eating a home cooked meal is easier said than done. What you need is a plan. I thought I would share a page out of our Home Cooked Meal Play Book. One of our go to plans includes a whole chicken cooked over the grill on the weekend. A chicken can provide life saving left overs for week night meals. The chicken can be added to a stir fry, BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches, pastas, quesadilla, tacos, nachos, salads, anything. Here is one of our recipes we use to cook chickens on the grill.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp spanish paprika
• 2 tbsp ground sage
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 tbsp granulated garlic
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 whole chicken

Instructions:

• Prepare a grill for “indirect grilling”. Optional: soak your favorite type of wood chips for smoking, for chicken I like apple.
• Mix all the spices/herbs together until well blended.
• Lossen skin of chicken and rub under and over the skin.
• Place chicken on the grill over “indirect heat.”
• Baste chicken with olive oil every twenty minutes or so.
• Cook chicken until juices run clear and internal temperature reaches 160F.

What is your go to menu item that saves your weeknights?

Remember food is only good for you if you can eat it!
-Nate