Two Favorite Chicken Recipes

Chicken is one of the most versatile and delicious foods, as well as beneficial to your health. By varying these few simple ingredients it is possible to create a wide spectrum of dishes that are tasty and healthful.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This basic recipe is so easy to make that you will be surprised at the elegant and sophisticated results.

Ingredients:

4 large boneless chicken breasts
4 thick slices of cheese (use gouda, fontina, gruyere or provolone, etc.)
8 sage leaves (mince if fresh, crumble if dry)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarse ground pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Rinse breasts and pat dry, then slit horizontally along the side to form a pocket. Stuff each pocket with a slice of any strongly flavored cheese and some sage and sprinkle the outside of the breast with salt and pepper.

Brown quickly in the oil then put chicken in a baking dish, drizzle with the oil it was browned in and bake uncovered until fully cooked, about 30 minutes or so.
Serve on a bed of brown and wild rice.

This dish can be enhanced by varying the type of cheese or instead of using sage, try a different herb or your favorite herb blend. Try tucking mushrooms (button or portabella), bell peppers or any vegetable that stirs your taste buds around the chicken. You could add onions of any type, tomato chunks, olives or maybe spice it up with jalapeno. Instead of rice serve with taboule, potato, couscous, or noodles.

Hunters Chicken

Hunters chicken (chicken cacciatore) is a favorite the world over. This recipe can be cooked over an open campfire as well as on the stove top.

Ingredients:

4 pounds of chicken (any cut)
1/2 cup olive oil
1cup chopped onion
3 cups chopped tomato
3 cloves garlic (grated or chopped)

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

In a Dutch oven slowly brown the chicken in the oil.
Remove the chicken, add garlic and onions and saute 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato chunks and the seasoning.

Return the chicken to the pot then cover and simmer for 40 minutes until the chicken is tender and the liquid is reduced to a sauce.

Place the chicken on a platter, cover with sauce and serve with a side dish of potato, rice or noodles. This recipe, like the first, can be enhanced by varying the vegetables. Be creative, using parsnips or asparagus, chives or cilantro and then add an appropriate side dish, drizzling the sauce over both.

Favorite Recipe

Choosing a favorite from these two recipes would be impossible since both are convenient and flavorful in their own way. Both chicken dishes are easy to make and the resulting meals are, in the case of the stuffed chicken, quite elegant while the hearty 'Hunters Chicken' is both delicious and a fun and wonderful meal to make at home or when camping.
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