Chicken in Pan Sauce & Sweet Potato Fries

Recipe: Chicken with Pan Sauce // Mark Bittman via Serious Eats
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Side Recipe: Baked Sweet Potato Fries // Serious Eats
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We've made (and probably featured) this chicken before. I love it. The sweet potato recipe was new, and we enjoyed it!

Spicy Sesame Chicken & Couscous

Recipe: Spicy Sesame Chicken // What's Cooking Chicken
Side Recipe: Couscous // Seth's Grandma

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This was nice! The chicken recipe called for curry paste, which we did not have. We substituted some Dinosaur BBQ dry rub seasoning. The dish was pretty mild overall, not really spicy. I might have liked the flavor of the curry. We added parsley to the couscous, which I enjoyed.

Huli Huli Chicken

Recipe: Huli Huli Chicken // Slow Cooker Revolution
Side Recipe: Whole Grain Rice & Roasted Broccoli

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This was an easy & tasty chicken slow cooker recipe. That said, it didn't blow me out of the water. I'd make it again, though.

When Seth brought home the wild rice, I was thinking there's no way I'm going to eat/enjoy that. But I did! It was a lot like rice pilaf. How nice.

Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

Recipe: Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce // Basil

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We liked these gyros very much. The chicken was flavorful & tender, and the tzitziki complimented it well. We also made hummus to snack on while we were cooking, but I thought it tasted good with the pita, too. I'll definitely make this again and I think it would be good for entertaining.

We Recreate a BBQ Experience at Home

Recipe: Pulled Chicken in the Slow Cooker // Jesse Cardozo
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Side Recipe: Macaroni & Cheese with Black Beans and Chipotle // Serious Eats

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Side Recipe: Roasted Russets with Chipotle Aioli // Moosewood Restaurant

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Appetizer: Fried (Baked) Pickles (not pictured) // Full Flavor Food

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In spite of the varied kitty ratings, this was a favorite meal! The chicken was superb, and not actually cooked by Seth or myself. Our friend Jesse was the master chef there, and we enjoyed it with smoked apple cheddar.

What Seth and I did make was all the side dishes. I enjoyed the idea of the mac & cheese, but our pasta ended up being overcooked because it finishes cooking on the stove. I would have preferred if the dish had been baked. But it was creamy, and I liked the addition of the chipotle and black beans for something a little heartier.

We've enjoyed the original roasted russets with chipotle aioli at Ithaca's Just a Taste Wine and Tapas bar. Ours were not as delicious as the original, but not a bad homemade attempt. I especially liked the chipotle aioli.

The fried baked pickles were edible, but nowhere near as tasty as the steaming-hot fried pickles we've had at varous pubs. I wouldn't make it again. Because they were baked, ours ended up dried out, and covered in an even dryer coating of panko and breadcrumbs. We ate them all because we were hungry, but not because we particularly enjoyed them!

Also pictured is some refreshing fruit salad that helped to lighten up the meal, and some store-bought cole slaw.

Chicken with Pan Sauce

Recipe: Chicken with Pan Sauce // Mark Bittman via Serious Eats
Side Recipe: Roasted Potatoes // Serious Eats

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A delicious dinner. Tasty leftovers, too!

Polynesian Chicken

Recipe: Polynesian Chicken // Serious Eats
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This is a tasty chicken stir fry. The most important thing in this recipe is to cut the brown sugar in half!! The sauce is plenty sweet from the rice vinegar and pineapple.

I marinated the chicken in crushed pineapple for a few hours before cooking, and it turned out tender and tangy. The vegetables and cashews add a nice crunch. We served it over rice.

Chicken with White Wine, Tarragon, and Cream

Recipe: Chicken with White Wine, Tarragon, and Cream // Slow Cooker Revolution (pg 80)

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This was hearty & flavorful, but I prefer this chicken tarragon recipe. I changed all the proportions because I have a small slow cooker, and did not plan on cooking 6 split chicken breasts. The prep work was easy, the sauce was tasty. The chicken fell right off the bone, but it was a tad drier than expected. In the future, I would nook my chickens deeper in the sauce when cooking (I rested mine on top).

We had it with fresh Italian Semolina bread from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook. I'm experimenting with bigas.

Update: we had the leftovers the next day, and I enjoyed this even less the second time around. I doubt I'll be making it again anytime soon. I bumped the rating down to two kitties. Seth seems to like it, though.

Man Pleasing Chicken & Roasted Broccoli

Recipe: Man Pleasing Chicken // Witty in the City
Side Recipe: Roasted Broccoli // Cook's Illustrated

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We found this recipe on Pinterest. It was quite good! We used bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, but the recipe called for boneless, skinless thighs, which I would have preferred. That's the only thing I'll change in the future. 

It was nice with the broccoli, which we've made before. 

Chicken Parmesan

Recipe: Chicken Parmesan // How to Cook Everything (pg 388)
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This was a nice chicken parmesan. The chicken got crispy on the stovetop and the cheese was bubbly and melty in the oven. We used linguini noodles because I am not fond of spaghetti noodles. We've made this before, and we'll definitely make it again.

Chicken Kiev & Roasted Broccoli

Recipe: Chicken Kiev // Cook's Illustrated Cookbook
Side Recipe: Roasted Broccoli // Cook's Illustrated Cookbook
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I didn't have faith that the Kiev was going to hold together, but it did! It was pretty simple to put together overall, although I would have liked more filling in the piece I ate. Perhaps I didn't put enough of the butter mixture in each chicken piece. The mustard added to the dipping egg added a nice, subtle flavor. We used store-bought breadcrumbs; they turned out just fine. I gave this an rating of 3 because it's a solid chicken recipe, but nothing that blew me away.

The broccoli was awesome, though! Four kitties! Cooks Illustrated has a variation in their cookbook that calls for shallots rather than garlic--I copied it down before returning the book to the library. It's basically the same recipe linked above; just omit the garlic and when the broccoli finishes roasting, add shallots cooked in oil and parmesan cheese.

White Chicken Chili

Recipe: White Chicken Chili // Serious Eats

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This was okay. I'm still in the market for a spectacular white chicken chili recipe.

The broth was good and I liked the chiles. I would recommend shredding the chicken in the future. Mine was cubed and I added too much of it.