Chicken with Pepperoni Sauce: Weirdest Looking Dinner Ever

Tuesday night I had the opportunity to make dinner using a recipe that Tom had found this weekend: Skillet Chicken with Pepperoni Sauce. When I asked him what it was, he said it was like pizza!

Ok, but doesn't pizza have dough? 


Yeah, that's why the recipe doesn't have pizza in the name. Because it isn't pizza.

I went along because I like pepperoni, we had chicken in the fridge, and I cannot resist melted Mozzarella. The verdict: It was actually quite tasty and I would certainly make this again.

We were able to use more of the Vermont Smoke and Cure Pepperoni from the pizza making in this recipe. Now we only have one package left. This could potentially be a problem, but fortunately we'll be making a VT visit soon and can pick up more.

Throw that pepperoni in a pan with some olive oil and garlic, and let it cook up for a 2 minutes (stirring frequently).

After two minutes, it's time for some pasta sauce. Turn the temp to medium low and let that simmer for 5 minutes. This is when the chicken strips were started, seasoned with pepper, and cooked for 3 minutes on each side. 

Once the pasta sauce mix has simmered for 5 minutes, remove from heat and add in a bunch of fresh, chopped basil. Let that sit until the chicken is ready.

The recipe called for the chicken to be cooked in a skillet, therefore, allowing you to add the sauce mixture to the skillet, to top that with Mozzarella, and then to easily put the whole thing into the oven to broil for two minutes. We decided to transfer our chicken and toppings to a glass pan and it worked just as well.

The finish product is below. It is certainly not the fanciest looking meal but it turns out to be a quick, tasty, easy weeknight dish with a bunch of flavor. It is also good for those who can't eat the gluten-filled dough of a pizza - it's a dough-less pizza!

General Tso's Chicken

Sometimes I wonder why books are only $2 at the Christmas Tree Shop. And sometimes I actually get the chance to figure out why.

I once got a cupcake recipe book there that had a recipe for chocolate cupcakes but showed a photo of a vanilla cupcake. Ooops!

And then there was the book that Tom bought last year titled, "30 Minute Meals: A Commonsense Guide".

30 Minute Meals my butt! We've only cooked from it three times because it's taken well over 1.5 hours to make each meal!

So I will warn you, this meal could take a while (because you need to marinade the meat!). It will also take more time if you find out that you don't have Chinese rice wine as soon as you get home from the grocery store, causing you to have to go back out to get some.

Was the recipe worth the time? Maybe. It was a good recipe and it certainly had a little spice to it. What's even better though, is that you know exactly what is in it (unlike some of the Chinese food you may get when you order out).

General Tso's Chicken
From 30 Minute Meals: A Commonsense Guide

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons lite soy sauce
• 3 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• The zest from one orange
• 1/2 cup peanut oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili flakes (or red pepper flakes)
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped ginger
• 1 cup scallions, diced, plus extra to garnish
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Jasmine rice (or any other rice)

1. In a medium bowl combine the rice wine, cornstarch, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons of sesame oil (the rest of the soy sauce and sesame oil will be used later in the cooking). Add the chicken, toss to coat, and marinade for at least 1 hour in the fridge.
2. Be sure to begin cooking the rice at the same time you begin heating the oil in step number 3.  
3. Heat the peanut oil on high in a large nonstick pan (or a wok if you're fancy enough to own one!). Remove the chicken from the marinade and stir fry it for two minutes at a time. You will need to work in batches. Chicken should be browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and allow to drain in a colander over paper towels. 

1. Once all of the chicken is cooked, drain all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the pan. Reheat the pan over high heat. Add the red pepper flakes and ginger and fry for 10 seconds. Add the chicken back into the pan, as well as the scallions, sugar, orange zest, remaining soy sauce and sesame oil, and salt. Fry for 2-3 minutes. 
2. Serve chicken over warm rice and garnish with extra scallions. 

Sauteed Tarragon Chicken

I know what your next chicken dinner should be.

Friday night I discovered my new favorite chicken recipe. Seriously, it's going to take a lot to beat this one.

Perhaps one of the reasons I love it so much is that it called for sweet paprika. The only sweet paprika I have is from our trip to Spain. Once I figured out how to open the can, Wilson and I couldn't get enough of it's aroma (he would not let me cook in peace). It is by far one of my favorite spices to use in cooking.

"The aroma of fire. The color of the sun. The taste of the race (?). The force of wind."

The recipe is from Marin Mama Cooks. She has very helpful step by step photos on her blog. Make sure you have at least four chicken breasts. We only had two chicken breasts in the freezer and I was too lazy to get more. Normally that's fine because I rarely finish eating one. However, this time I had to refrain from gobbling mine up and attacking Tom's. The tarragon, yellow curry, and paprika were just so flavorful. 

I hope you try the recipe and enjoy it as much as I did!