April 26, 2010

What's for dinner? Nutmeg Chicken

As requested... NUTMEG CHICKEN!! (and sweet potatoes!!)

Somehow... I don't have a picture of this. And since we'll be moving soon, I won't be making it in the VERY near future... I do have a picture of the sweet potatoes I had WITH this... but in the photo, the chicken is covered by a pan lid. Sorry.

**** EDIT *****
I made nutmeg chicken... and took pictures. Aren't you happy? :-D
 

 This dish is delicious with some sweet potatoes and green beans... mmmmm. It can easily be made "for 1" or for as many as you need to feed.... mostly because it's a it's also a "no measurement" dinner... :-P have no fear however... you'll be fine.

Ingredients:
Chicken Breast
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Ground Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Feta Cheese

First and foremost - beat your meat. Smash those chicken breasts with a meat masher, a cup, a pan, your hand... something, until they're all one thickness. The thick part should be the same thickness as an un-smashed thin part (or at least really close) This will allow you to get even cooking of the chicken, while leaving it juicy and conveniently, very tender! (it's also pretty much required to pan-fry chicken)
P.S. That's pretty much all your "prep" work for this meal.

- Heat a frying pan with oil to medium high heat
- Shake your garlic, onion, salt and pepper so you have a 'dusting' over the entirety of the oil. Use MUCH LESS nutmeg - it's potent stuff. When I make it, I use a 10" frying pan and literally "tap" the ground nutmeg on my finger once (with the shaker top). That's it.
- Add your chicken in, top-side down (the smooth side) and let cook until golden brown. Don't touch it. Don't poke it, just wait. You should notice a bit of "white" around the edges when the bottom is cooked. Don't flip it over until the bottom is nice and brown. That should take about 5 minutes.
- While that's cooking,  slice some feta - 1/8" thick or so... it's not as good thicker.
- Flip the chicken, and place the feta slices on top of the chicken breast - I usually use 2 slices to cover the whole piece, but it will depend on the size of your feta block.
- Cover with a lid and let it finish cooking - about another 5 minutes.The feta doesn't really MELT but it gets softer and a little gooey.
- Serve. The whole process probably takes about 15 minutes.

SWEET POTATOES!
Even hubby agrees that sweet potatoes go well with this dish.
My Gramma's way of cooking them is probably one of my favorite.

- Wash your sweet potatoes, and poke some fork holes in them
- Pop them in the microwave and microwave for 5 minutes per potato. This basically cooks the potato.
- In a small frying pan, melt a pad of butter on medium heat - just enough to coat the pan, not enough to puddle
- Cut the cooked sweet potatoes in half, and lay the "open" sides down.
- Let cook until carmelized (it will "blacken" a bit, and that's OK)
DONE! Hubby requires marshmallows with his... I don't :-P
Stovetop, this probably takes 10 minutes.

Tips for this making this meal a 15-20 minute event (for 1 or two) - Measure out your green beans (I use frozen) and place them in some water in a small saucepan on the stove. Just leave them for now. Wash the potatoes, poke-em, pop em in the microwave and hit go. Throw the oil in one pan on the stove and turn the heat on. Throw some butter in a second pan and turn the heat on. Pound your chicken (wash your hands), throw in the spices, throw in the chicken (with tongs).  Swish around your butter, cut your potatoes, throw them on. Turn on the burner with your green beans. Slice some feta. Flip your chicken (when it's time), throw your feta on and a lid. If the potatoes are done before the chicken, just remove the pan from heat - they'll stay warm.Once the green beans are boiling, let them go for a minute or two and turn the burner off. You can leave them a few minutes more in the hot water. Once your chicken is done, drain the beans, throw some garlic, butter, salt maybe on em, swish 'em a round and plate everything.

Ready, set, EAT!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Totally going to make it Bets! Thanks for posting - nom nom nom!