Let’s Twist that Chick!

Chicken! How many times have you had fried chicken this week? Twice, thrice, fries?! How many times have you been to McDonalds or Burger King and find yourself ordering their signature fried chicken because there’s nothing else on the menu but fried chicken and burgers? So you opt to settle with fried chicken saying that “This fried chicken has lesser calories than a Big Mac”. How often do you see yourself stuck in the fridge with nothing else to cook but the good ol’ chicken breasts? See where this is leading to? Yes, I know we all love fried chicken but when you have it for twice or three times a week, it gets boring or you can get sick of it. There are times when you feel like you’re growing wings from eating fried chicken twice or thrice in a row.

Well, chicken is relatively the easiest food to cook. You can fry it, grill it, or just about anything you want to do with it. So, here we are again finding other ways to making your experience with cooking chicken a better one. Let’s twist that chick with these new and easy ways to prepare chicken that your whole family will surely love.

Let’s start with the salad. For starters, this Chinese Chicken salad is your best bet when you have chicken breasts hanging around your fridge. Just shred and dice the breasts, prepare the sauce and toss it with the greens! This salad just has the right amount of crunch and bursting flavors from the orient that your family will surely love.

Chinese Chicken Salad (Recipe adapted from chef-in-training.com)

Ingredients

• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 (16 oz) bag coleslaw mix
• 2 packages beef broth packets
• 1 bunch green onions chopped
• 2 cups cooked and diced/shredded chicken

For the sauce

• 1 cup peanut oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 2 packets beef seasoning

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, toss sunflower seeds, coleslaw, chopped green onions and chicken.
2. Smash beef broth packets with fists until they are crushed into small pieces. Reserve some of the beef packets for sauce.
3. In blender, combine peanut oil, sugar, vinegar and beef packets. Blend until evenly mixed.
4. Pour sauce into salad mixture. Toss and Enjoy!

For the main course you can try either two of this recipes. Something spicy or something sweet, you choose.

Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili

(Recipe adapted from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice (just ever so slightly)

Ingredients

3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, diced

5 jalapeno peppers diced, seeds removed (leave some seeds for extra heat)

3 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 + 1/4 pound boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 teaspoons Chile powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

Pinch of crushed red pepper

1 (10 oz) can dice tomatoes with green chiles

1 + 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 (14 oz) can cannelloni or navy beans, drained

1 (14 oz) can corn, drained

8 ounces cream cheese

1 pound bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled, divided

Instructions

In a large saucepan (deep enough for soup) heat 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil over medium heat and sauté onion, jalapeno, and garlic until tender.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then add to the saucepan adding another tablespoon of olive oil as well. Add cumin, chili powder, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Toss chicken and seasonings together and lightly brown chicken on all sides.

Stir in can of diced tomatoes, chicken broth, corn, and cannelloni beans and increase heat to bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes.

Stir in cream cheese and stir until completely melted. Stir in 1/2 of the crumbled bacon.

Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper as needed. **Add more chicken broth if too thick.

Serve and garnish with cheddar cheese and the rest of the crumbled bacon.

But if you’re craving for something sweet and salty, you can try this Slow Cooker Bacon-Wrapped Apple Chicken recipe. The perfect combination of flavors will surely earn you praises with such an easy recipe.

Slow Cooker Bacon-Wrapped Apple Chicken (Recipe adapted from: Money Saving Mom) 

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup BBQ sauce I LOVE Sweet Baby Rays
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 cup lemon juice fresh or from a bottle
• 5 small apples peeled and chopped, I used gala
• 8 slices bacon

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine BBQ sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice and peeled/chopped apples.
2. Wrap each chicken breast with two slices of bacon and place in a greased slow cooker.
3. Pour BBQ-apple mixture over chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is done. Serve and enjoy!

Now, you wouldn’t have to endure the sickening taste of your regular fried chicken. You can try these recipes over the week! Your family will sure ask for more “Chicken Twists”!