Random Craving: Chicken And Apples

The other day, I packed a Luck's Chicken and Dumplings Microwave Bowl and an Emerald Breakfast On The Go: Breakfast Blend pouch into my lunch bag for work.  The granola pouch has yogurt covered raisins, granola clusters, honey roasted peanuts, dried cranberries, apple cinnamon glazed walnuts and dried apple chips. As it got closer to lunch time, I randomly started thinking "Oh gosh, what if I mixed the granola in with the chicken and dumplings ? That sounds amazing right now." And it turned out I was right. Yum! If you're thinking "eww, granola and dumplings ?", trust me, this concoction tastes better than it sounds.

Applegate Farms: All Natural Breaded Chicken Patties

"The golden crispy breading on our chicken patty is the perfect complement to our tender antibiotic-free chicken."
"Ready to heat * Fully cooked"









Recently, the AMW family taste tested Applegate Farms chicken patties. Normally I cannot get anyone here to eat chicken patties from the grocery store. Their response is always "But I want the juicy Chick-Fil-A stuff. Why can't we have that instead?" However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that wasn't the case when I cooked the Applegate Farms chicken.

I was excited to see "no antibiotics" and "all natural" on the Applegate Farms box. But what really got my attention was the nutrition label. Normally I find myself saying "What the heck is in this ? I can't pronounce half the ingredients." What a change from the usual chemical laden ingredient list:

"Chicken, Water, Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Corn Starch, Salt, Natural Flavor, Breaded With: Wheat Flour, Sugar, Yeast, Soybean Oil, Salt, Battered With: Water, Wheat Flour, Corn Starch, Yellow Corn Flour, Salt, Breading Set In Vegetable Oil."

The Applegate Farms breaded chicken patties were really easy to cook. Ordinary chicken patties become soggy if cooked in a microwave or an oven. The Applegate patties, however, were a pleasant change from that scenario. The coating came out crispy in both the microwave and oven tastings. The meat was moist and tender, too!

Another plus with the A.F. chicken was the creativity & flexibility I had in the kitchen. One night the AMW family had succulent chicken sandwiches with lettuce and tomato (Adios, Chick-Fil-A!) Another day I sliced the chicken into strips for a salad. The chicken patties were also delicious at dinner with sides of applesauce and green beans. I got requests for second helpings and even "Is there any left from last night ? I really liked the chicken."

I would definitely buy Applegate Farms Chicken. I liked the all natural ingredients and the ease of meal preparation. The patties also pleased everyone in the family. Thumbs up for Applegate Farms Chicken Patties!

Brie Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Brie Stuffed Chicken Breasts

"Brie cheese, apples, onions, and thyme are stuffed under the skin of chicken breasts and then baked for a deliciously different departure from bland poultry."

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup apple cider
4 ounces Brie cheese, rind removed, cut into chunks
4 chicken breast halves (2 pounds total)

Megan's notes: I substituted chopped, frozen cherries for the apples and garlic for the onion. I added in gorgonzola cheese and sun dried tomatoes. Next time I will brush the chicken with butter, as it came out paler than I'd planned.

Heat oil in a medium-size nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook until very tender, about 8 minutes. Add apples, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 cup cider; cook until apple is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir in Brie cheese. Divide stuffing into 4 equal portions.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Run fingers under chicken breast skin to separate from flesh. Dividing equally, insert stuffing under skin of each breast half. Season chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish.

Bake in heated 400-degree F. oven 35 minutes or until internal temperature registers 170 degrees F. on an instant-read thermometer. Remove chicken to a platter; keep warm.

Skim fat from baking dish. Scrape drippings into a small saucepan. Add remaining 1/2 cup apple cider, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook over medium heat to reduce by half. Spoon over chicken.

Yield: 4 servings

Sources: About.com and Family Circle All-Time Favorite Recipes, by the editors of Family Circle Magazine

Recipes from the trial run

My group from culinary class did a trial run on Wednesday of the food we'll be serving at our final presentation dinner in 2 weeks. Our event has a jazz theme. I will post the pictures of the food and our table set up soon. The food was absolutely
out of this world : D Here is what we made:

Salad

A little bit of heavy whipping cream and white pepper made the dressing even better.

Cajun spiced chicken

Creole Meuniere Sauce

The sweetness of the creole sauce is a perfect match for the spice of the chicken.

Bourbon Street New York Strip Steak

American–style red beans and rice

Our next batch will have andouille sausage in it.

Bananas Foster

The dessert was heavenly. I normally think bananas are too gross to eat, but in this dessert they tasted amazing : D Ask my team members how many times I said this morning, "*sigh* I want another Bananas Foster."

Sources:

Warm Nut Encrusted Goat Cheese Salad with Bacon Lardons, Emeril Lagasse, 2003 Show: Emeril LiveEpisode: Bistro Cooking, Food Network

Cajun Spiced Chicken, Submitted by: Jennifer Owen, AllRecipes

Pecan-crusted Trout with Creole Meuniere Sauce and Brabant Potatoes, Emeril Lagasse, 2003, Emeril LiveEpisode: In a Nutshell, Food Network

Bourbon Street New York Strip Steak, Submitted by: Mark Daniel, AllRecipes

American-Style Red Beans and Rice, Submitted by: LAURENB222, AllRecipes

Bananas Foster II, Submitted by: BUTTERMEBREAD, AllRecipes