Getting dinner on the table can be a royal struggle. Sometimes it’s exhaustion and an empty fridge, other times it’s a lack of inspiration or time. In any event, one hand starts gravitating towards the phone and the other starts reaching for the take-out menu drawer. Then come the pangs of guilt. It’s expensive. Not as healthy. I should really make my husband a home cooked meal. He’s worth it. So am I.

Beaten by my conscience, I open my fridge and stare at the contents hoping a dinner idea will jump out at me. Languishing vegetables, milk, pickles, chocolate, condiments and a Tupperware filled with long-forgotten leftovers. Not promising. When that fails, I close the fridge and open the freezer hoping I’ll find dinner there. Ice cubes, peas, ice cream, unidentifiable thing in a Ziploc bag, chicken breasts. I nearly close the freezer, but stop myself: “Chicken breasts. OK, that’s a start.”

But a chicken breast is a blank canvas, so all home cooks need a few good chicken breast recipes in their arsenal. That’s why this Tasty Kitchen submission by spygirl jumped out at me. I’m always looking for a weeknight dinner that starts with chicken breasts, and Thai Honey Peanut Chicken sounded mighty good.

This recipe was particularly attractive not only because Thai food is my absolute favorite, but also because I had everything else for the recipe in my pantry or fridge.

First cut your chicken into pieces. Here’s a neat little trick: Cut off the tip of the chicken breast, then cut the breast down the middle, making it easier to cut even, square pieces.

In a medium bowl add the soy sauce. This is Filipino soy sauce, which I think is superior to all other soy sauces, thanks to a friend of mine. She’s got me hooked. But all soy sauces will work just fine.

Then add the honey. Spray your measuring cup or spoon with vegetable cooking spray before you squeeze in the honey and it will slide right out instead of sticking to the cup.

Add the lime juice next. If you don’t have a juicer, use a whisk to get the juice out of your lime.

Then add the minced garlic. (Here is a quick tutorial on how to mince garlic like my Mom does. You want to learn. It’s like magic).

Add the peanut butter and curry powder, then finally the Sriracha. The latter is optional, but I promise it doesn’t make the dish too spicy.

Whisk the ingredients together. Add the chicken pieces and then marinate for 2-3 hours.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the chicken (along with all that good sauce) for 7-8 minutes or until the chicken is done.

Serve with rice and top with sesame seeds. We added chopped cilantro too because we love it and it adds some color to the plate.

I made this dish in about 30 minutes, and it didn’t disappoint. As long as I keep a spare chicken breast or two in my freezer, I know I’ll be pulling this recipe out whenever that I find my hands reaching for the phone and the take-out menu drawer.

Thank you spygirl for this lovely dish!

Printable Recipe

Thai Honey Peanut Chicken

by spygirl on January 12, 2010 in Main Courses, Poultry January 12, 2010 Main CoursesPoultry

4.27 Mitt(s) 33 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 3

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Quick, sweet, optionally spicy stir fry—scales up and down, accommodates veggies or tofu, and best with homemade peanut butter.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Chicken, In Chunks
• ¼ cups Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
• 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic (approximately 1 Large Clove)
• 1 Tablespoon Natural Peanut Butter (heaping Tablespoon Even Better)
• ½ teaspoons Curry Powder
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Mix ingredients and marinate chicken for 2-3 hours.

Cook chicken in the sauce over medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes or until chicken is done. Reduce heat to medium-low and add precooked veggies if desired. Serve topped with sesame seeds.

To thicken sauce if needed: reduce heat to medium-low and add a cornstarch slurry (1 teaspoon cornstarch in 1 tablespoon water).

Substitutions: replace chicken with tofu; replace peanut butter with tahini or another nut butter; if using regular peanut butter (i.e. Skippy) instead of natural peanut butter, reduce honey by 1 tablespoon.

 
 
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Three Many Cooks is the always-entertaining food blog of Pam Anderson and her two daughters, Maggy and Sharon. Pam is a well-known and much-respected food writer and author, Maggy is a “hippy adventurer meets 1950s housewife,” and Sharon refers to herself as a recovering food snob learning to survive on a graduate student’s budget. Theirs is a strong relationship both inside and outside the kitchen, and it shows in the food they create and the stories they tell.

I’d like to welcome John Dawson, also known as Patio Daddio, as a new contributor to the Tasty Kitchen Blog. We’re happy to have a brave dude among our ranks. Welcome, John! –Ree

 
This is one of those recipes.

There are certain family recipes that, by the mere smell of them cooking, bring back fond family memories. For me, and I suspect for most, they are the kinds of hearty meals that you eagerly anticipate all day. They evoke thoughts of certain seasons, holidays, or just great times with family and friends. This is such a recipe. There is something magical that happens in that Dutch oven. The whole house fills with an incredible aroma that immediately makes me think of my childhood with my maternal grandparents. And now that I have my own family I am passing the love down the line.

Sauerkraut and Pork isn’t at all sexy, but what it lacks in fancy schmancy ingredients and visual appeal it more than makes up for in flavor and pure comfort food bliss. It’s simply pork shoulder that is braised in sauerkraut, applesauce and onions. That’s it! It’s simple rustic peasant food that couldn’t really be simpler or better.

Alright, that’s enough back-story. Let’s make some magic.

You’ll need bone-in (important) country-style pork ribs, sauerkraut, applesauce, onions, chicken broth, oil, kosher salt and pepper. You also need a large, heavy, and covered Dutch oven.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Season the pork with salt. You don’t need too much because there’s plenty in the kraut.

Season liberally with fresh ground coarse black pepper.

Peel and quarter the onions.

Heat your Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add and heat the oil, then add two or three of the pork pieces. You don’t want to crowd the pan, so work in batches.

Cook the pork until it is nicely browned on one side, about two minutes. Flip them over and cook another two minutes, or until the other side is nicely seared. Repeat the searing for the remaining pork.

Turn off the heat, remove the pork to a plate, and set aside.

Add the applesauce to the pan. Stir to deglaze it.

Drain about half of the juice from the sauerkraut. Add it to the pan and stir to incorporate it with the applesauce.

Arrange the pork on top of the sauerkraut and applesauce mixture. It’s okay to sort of cram them in there if need be, but try to keep them from being completely submerged.

Arrange the onions on top of the pork.

Cover and bake at 325 degrees for an hour and a half.

Check the liquid content and add chicken stock if the top looks at all like it’s starting to get dry. You want to see the sauerkraut just barely under the surface of the liquid.

Cover and continue cooking another hour.

This is where the magic really starts to happen. Soon everyone in the house will be asking when dinner will be ready.

Uncover and cook another 30 minutes.

You can use this time to make your favorite plain mashed potatoes.

Another option is to add chicken broth and make dumplings right on top. My grandmother would usually make both, as my sister was a fool for the dumplings.

Put a pile of mashed potatoes on a plate, make a well in it, ladle on a bunch of kraut and juice, and top with some of the tender pork and a wedge of onion.

Dive in!

Printable Recipe

Sauerkraut & Pork

by patiodaddio on October 15, 2010 in Main Courses, Pork October 15, 2010 Main CoursesPork

4.40 Mitt(s) 22 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 3 hrs

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

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Sauerkraut and pork isn’t at all sexy, but what it lacks in fancy schmancy ingredients and visual appeal it more than makes up for in flavor and pure comfort food bliss. It’s simply pork shoulder that is braised in sauerkraut, applesauce and onions. That’s it! It’s simple rustic peasant food that couldn’t really be simpler or better.

Ingredients

• 4 pounds Country-style Pork "ribs", Bone-in
• 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 3 cups Applesauce, No Sugar Added
• 2 jars Sauerkraut, 32 Oz Each
• 2 whole Medium Yellow Onions, Peeled And Quartered
• Chicken Broth As Needed
• Kosher Salt And Pepper

Preparation Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Season the pork with salt (lightly) and pepper.

Heat your Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add and heat the oil, then add two or three of the pork pieces. You don’t want to crowd the pan, so work in batches.

Cook the pork until it is nicely browned on one side, about two minutes. Flip the pork over and cook another two minutes, or until the other side is nicely seared. Repeat with the remaining pork.

Turn off the heat, remove the pork to a plate, and set aside. Add the applesauce to the pan and stir to deglaze it.

Drain about half of the juice from the sauerkraut. Add it to the pan and stir to incorporate it with the applesauce.

Arrange the pork on top of the sauerkraut and applesauce mixture. It’s okay to sort of cram them in there if need be, but try to keep them from being completely submerged.

Arrange the onions on top of the pork.

Cover and bake at 325 degrees for an hour and a half.

Check the liquid content and add chicken stock if the top looks at all like it’s starting to get dry. You want to see the sauerkraut just barely under the surface of the liquid.

Cover and continue cooking another hour.

Uncover and cook another 30 minutes.

You can use this time to make your favorite plain mashed potatoes. Another option is to add chicken broth and make dumplings right on top.

Put a pile of mashed potatoes on a plate, make a well in it, ladle on a bunch of kraut and juice, and top with some of the tender pork and a wedge of onion.

Dive in!

 
 
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John Dawson has always been one of our favorite men here at Tasty Kitchen. His blog, Patio Daddio BBQ is a great resource for great recipes of every kind. Go visit his site for good food, equipment reviews, cooking competitions, video clips, and occasional photos of his lovely family.

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