Category Archives: Chicken

Chicken Shawarma Recipe – How To Make Shawarma at Home

Chicken shawarma
Chicken Shawarma

Ingredients:

2, six-ounce each, chicken breasts,
1 teaspoon kibbeh spice mix,
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin,
1/2 teaspoon salt,
1 teaspoon white vinegar,
1/2 teaspoon paprika,
1/2 cup Middle Eastern pickled beets or turnips,
As needed:
diced tomato,
romaine lettuce,
sliced purple onion,
chopped parsley,
4 pita breads (8-inch)

Ingredients for Garlic Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup strained yogurt or labneh

Recipe:

  1. Mix the chicken breasts with the kibbeh spice mix, ground cumin, salt, vinegar and paprika in a mixing bowl and let them sit in a refrigerator, covered, for 30 minutes to marinate. Kibbeh spice mix can be obtained from a Middle Eastern grocery store.
  2. Bake the chicken breasts in a preheated oven at 325 F for about 30 minutes or until ready. Internal temperature should be 175 F.
  3. Let the chicken breasts rest for about 10 minutes before you slice them thinly on strips.
  4. In the meantime mix the ingredients for the garlic sauce.
  5. Spread some garlic sauce on the 4 pitas and add your vegetables. Top with 3 oz. of sliced chicken per pita and close the ends of the pitas so they can still slightly overlap.
  6. Use a panini press to grill the outside of the chicken shawarma pita wraps to the desired doneness.
  7. Enjoy.

How To Make Quesadilla

Here is how to make chicken quesadilla at home.

Ingredients:

4 10-inch tortillas, white or whole wheat,
8 oz. grated cheddar (or cheddar and mozza combo),
2 five-ounce boneless and skinless chicken breasts,
taco seasoning to taste.

Recipe:

  1. Butterfly the chicken breasts and season them with taco seasoning.
Raw chicken for quesadilla
Raw chicken for quesadilla

2. Cook the chicken breasts over cast-iron pan at medium-high temperature.

Cooking the chicken breasts for quesadilla
Cooking the chicken breasts for quesadilla

3. Let the cooked chicken sit for 5 minutes before you dice it.

Cooked chicken breasts
Cooked chicken breasts

4. Shread the cheese and dice the chicken breasts.

Chicken quesadilla ingredients
Chicken quesadilla ingredients

5. Set up the chicken quesadillas by dividing the cheese and chicken between the four tortillas as seen on the photo, only on one side. Season each quesadilla with taco seasonong to taste.

Set up the 4 chicken quesadillas
Set up the 4 chicken quesadillas

6. Close the quesadilla by flipping the empty side over the ingredients, and cook the chicken quesadillas on both sides in a 10-inch cast-iron pan over medium temperature until they are lightly browned, two at a time.

Cooking the quesadillas in a cast-iron pan
Cooking the quesadillas in a cast-iron pan

7. When the quesadillas are ready, cut each to 3 pieces and serve with salsa and sour cream if desired.

Chicken quesadilla with salsa.
Chicken quesadilla with salsa

Can You Cook Frozen Chicken Breast

So, you have a box of individually frozen chicken breasts and are wondering if you can cook them frozen? The answer is yes, and I will show you how to get a better result by cooking the chicken breast frozen, then if you had thawed them.

  1. Arrange the chicken breasts skin-side up over parchment paper in a baking tray. The size of the chicken breasts only matter for the cooking time. You can use any size chicken breasts with this technique, skinless or with the skin on.
  2. Spray the chicken breasts with canola cooking spray and shake some Montreal chicken seasoning on top.
Frozen chicken breasts
Frozen Chicken Breasts on a Tray

3. Preheat a convection oven to 325 F. Place the tray with the frozen chicken breasts on the middle rack in the oven.

Convection oven
Convection Oven

4. Cook the frozen chicken breasts with the oven fan at Low for about 20-30 minutes, depending on size, or until ready. Turn the tray around halfway through cooking to allow to cook evenly. The chicken breasts are ready when internal temperature reaches 175 F.

5. When the chicken breasts are ready, transfer them to a hotel pan and use them for whatever you need to use them.

Cooked chicken breasts
Cooked Chicken Breast

If you are wondering whether cooking chicken breasts frozen produces juicy cooked chicken, see the photo below.

Cooked juicy chicken breast
Cooked Juicy Chicken Breast Cut in 2.

The chicken breasts retained a lot more moisture when cooked frozen. Cheers and enjoy. If you have any questions, please, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments below, or let me know how it goes for you. It is possible to cook frozen chicken breasts in conventional oven, too.

BBQ Chicken Coleslaw Wrap

BBQ chicken coleslaw wrap
BBQ Chicken Coleslaw Wrap

Ingredients for 6 wraps:

6 (5 oz each) chicken breasts,
6 12-inch tortillas,
Montreal chicken spice – as needed,
2 oz. BBQ sauce,
1/4 cabbage, sliced thinly,
1 carrot, shredded,
1/4 cup chopped purple onion,
2 tbsp. light mayo,
1 tbsp. white vinegar,
1 rounded teaspoon sugar,
salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe:

1. Arrange the chicken breasts on a baking tray and season them with Montreal chicken spice. Bake the chicken breasts in a pre-heated oven at 350 F for 10 minutes, then brush the BBQ sauce on the chicken breasts and return the tray to the oven. Bake for about 5-10 minutes more, or as long as needed for the chicken to have internal temperature of 170 F.

2. Transfer the chicken in another dish and let it cool down in the fridge.

3. In the meantime, mix all the rest of the ingredients for the coleslaw.

4. When the chicken is cold enough cut it to strips.

5. Devide the chicken breast slices and the coleslaw in the center of the 6 large tortillas and roll the 6 BBQ Chicken and coleslaw wraps.

This wrap is designed to be served cold, but it can be grilled briefly on a panini press to just get some grill marks right before serving. Enjoy.

Vol-au-vent Au Poulet

Vol-au-vent with chicken
Vol-au-vent au Poulet – Chicken vol-au-vent

Vol-au-vent is a great French dish made with a puff pastry shell and a creamy filling. It can be served as a main course, as well as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

Frozen puff pastry sheets, as needed, 1 cup diced cooked chicken breast, 3 tbsp. butter, 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour, 1 garlic clove, chopped, 1 shallot, chopped, 1/2 cup 18% cream, 1 cup chicken stock, 1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Recipe:

1. You can use square or round puff pastry sheets. Cut half-way through the puff pastry at 1 centimeter from the edge and bake according to package instructions. After the vol-au-vent shells are baked, let them sit for 5-10 minutes, and then remove with a fork the cut-up middle part, which will serve as the lid.

2. Melt the butter in a heavy frying pan and saute the garlic and shallots. Add the flour and make a roux. Add the cream while stirring and then add the cricken stock. Make sure that the sauce has no lumps of flour in it by stirring vigorously.

3. Add the cooked chicken, fresh chopped thyme and season to taste with salt and pepper. Now you have to have in the pan something very similar to chicken pot pie stuffing. Optional: You can thicken the sauce some more with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

4. Spoon the stuffing in the warm vol-au-vent shells and serve.

Thai Chicken Salad Recipe

Thai chicken salad

Ingredients:

Steamed, shelled edamame beans,
diced tomatoes,
chopped romaine lettuce,
diced red bell peppers,
baked chicken breast,
salad noodles

For the dressing:
fresh chopped cilantro,
fresh chopped scallions,
ketchup,
ginger powder,
sugar,
salt,
chili flakes,
white vinegar,
freshly toasted sesame seeds

Recipe: For this Thai Chicken Salad recipe, I am intentionally not giving any measurements, just the ingredients, because everything can be used to taste. Just season the chicken breasts lightly and bake them in the oven until the enternal temperature reaches 170 F. In the meantime, steam the edamame beans, and then cool them down under cold running water.

1. Mix all the dressing ingredients together to taste. Dip a peace of lettuce and taste the dressing before leaving it to the side for at least 10 minutes in order to properly blend flavors.

2. Let the chicken breasts cool down and then dice them.

3. Put all the salad ingredients in a bowl and add the dressing.

4. Mix well and serve with the salad noodles on top.

Enjoy.