Saturday Chicken Stock Food

CHICKEN STOCK

Steps:

• Place the chickens, onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, parsley, thyme, dill, garlic, and seasonings in a 16 to 20-quart stockpot. Add 7 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours. Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander and discard the solids. Chill the stock overnight. The next day, remove the surface fat. Use immediately or pack in containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

ADDICTIVE SESAME CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine the 2 tablespoons soy sauce, the dry sherry, dash of sesame oil, flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water, baking powder, baking soda, and canola oil in a large bowl. Mix well; stir in the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Combine the 1/2 cup water, chicken broth, vinegar, 1/4 cup cornstarch, sugar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, red chili paste, and garlic in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn heat to low and keep warm, stirring occasionally.
• Fry the marinated chicken in batches until cooked through and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
• Transfer the chicken to a large platter, top with sauce, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

SIMPLY SOUR CREAM CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• In a frying pan, cook chicken and onion together in oil over medium-high heat until chicken is just done.
• Divide cooked chicken evenly between 8 tortillas; add 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese to each tortilla.
• Roll enchiladas and place seam-side down in a 9x13" baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with no-stick cooking spray.
• Melt butter in a medium saucepan; stir in flour to make a roux, stir and cook until bubbly, and gradually whisk in chicken broth then bring to boiling, stirring frequently.
• Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and green chilies.
• Pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.
• Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese (a baking dish may be double-wrapped and frozen at this point) and bake at 400° F for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce near edges of baking dish is bubbly.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place sauce ingredients in a quart jar with a lid and shake to mix. If you make this ahead of time just refrigerate until needed, shaking it again when you are ready to use it. This also keeps your dirty dishes down.
• Mix cornstarch slurry in a large bowl- the mixture will be strange but trust me it works. It will be VERY thick almost paste like. Add ALL the chicken pieces and stir to coat. Using a fork remove ONE chicken piece at a time and let the excess mixture drip off. YES even though the mixture has a weird consistency it will not stick like paste and the excess will drip off. Add chicken to the hot (350 degree) oil and fry until crispy. Only cook 7 or 8 chicken pieces at a time. You do not want to lower the temp of the oil by cooking too many at a time. You can use a simple cooking or candy thermometer to judge the temp of the oil.
• Drain on paper towels. Want them extra crispy? Put them on a rack over a sheet pan. Keep warm- I just put them in the oven with the oven off. Repeating until all chicken is fried.
• In a separate wok or large skillet add a small amount of oil and heat to 400 degrees. Again, a candy thermometer works great. (Want less dishes? You can just drain the oil after you fry all the chicken, leave a small amount (about a tsp) in the pan and use the same pan if you like.)
• Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry about 30 seconds.
• Stir (or shake jar) sauce mixture, and then add to pan with onions and peppers, cook until thick. Some reviews didn't kniw what "thick" meant. Thick like the same sauce you get at a restaurant.you want it to just coat the chicken. If it gets too thick, add a little water or other liquid. The thickness of the sauce should be similar to what you get when ordering this at a restaurant.
• Add chicken to sauce in wok and heat just until the chicken is hot enough for you. It may not even need a minute if you kept the chicken warm. The quicker you serve it the crispier the chicken stays.
• Don't be scared by any negative reviews. It's not rocket science though if you have never cooked with a cornstarch slurry it may feel like an experiment. Trust yourself! You've got this! If you have any doubts reread the recipe and get everything in order before you start to cook. I promise you will thank yourself and maybe even me! Enjoy!
• Oh it's great served over rice!

MOM'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, rosemary, chile flakes, nutmeg, salt, pepper and garlic. Place the chicken pieces in a resealable bag and pour the marinade in, coating all of the meat. Allow the chicken to marinate, refrigerated, 1 to 4 hours or up to overnight.
• Set up a grill for cooking with indirect heat. If using a charcoal grill, build the coals on one side only. If using a gas grill, heat one side only. Allow the temperature to come up to 375 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade. Place the chicken pieces skin-side up on the indirect-heat side of the grill and close the lid. Cook the chicken until almost cooked through, about 10 minutes. Move the chicken pieces over to the direct heat side of the grill and cook until nicely charred and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from the grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.