Today is National Lemon Juice Day and National Chop Suey Day.

You can substitute any of the vegetables for ones you prefer and you can use beef or pork instead of the chicken.

You need:

With just a little prep work you have a super healthy dinner.  So here goes.

Wash the bok choy well and chop into large pieces.

Slice the mushrooms.

Cut the green pepper into large pieces.

Peel the carrot and slice.

Slice the celery.

Slice the onions.

You can leave the snow peas as they are.

Place all your vegetables in a big bowl except the bean sprouts.

Slice your chicken into strips.

In  a medium bowl combine 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 1/2 tsp oyster sauce, salt, pepper and 1/2 tsp cornstarch.

Add the chicken and toss to coat.  Let marinade 10-15 minutes.

In another bowl combine the chicken broth, 2 tsp oyster sauce and 1 tsp cornstarch.  Whisk together well.

In a fry pan heat the oil over medium high.  To make this healthier I used cooking spray instead.  Stir fry the chicken until no longer pink.

Remove the chicken from the pan to a plate and add more oil (or spray). 

Add the vegetables from the large bowl.  Cook until tender crisp.

Stir in the chicken.

Then add your bean sprouts.  You are basically just heating them up so they stay crisp.

Pour in your sauce.

Cook until the sauce is thickened and everything is heated through.  Serve with rice or noodles on the side if your wish.  

Chicken Chop Suey

1. In a bowl add the chicken, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 1/2 tsp oyster sauce, salt, pepper and cornstarch. Marinate for 10 – 15 minutes.
2. In another small bowl whisk together the broth, 2 tsp oyster sauce and cornstarch.
3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in wok or large fry pan. Add the chicken. Stir-fry till no longer pink then remove and set aside.
4. Add 2 tbsp of oil to pan and stir fry the vegetables except the bean sprouts until tender crisp.
5. Add the chicken and bean sprouts and stir in the oyster sauce mixture cooking until thickened.

Today is National Fried Chicken Day.

Here’s a healthy way to enjoy fried chicken. Baked instead of deep fried.

Oven Fried Chicken

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Pound the chicken onto 1/4 inch thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. In a small bowl stir together the mayo and mustard.
4. In another bowl combine the bread crumbs, cheese and cayenne
5. Dip the chicken in the mayo mixture then dip in the bread crumbs.
6. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 45 minutes or until crispy and juices run clear.

Today is National Cordon Bleu Day.

Chicken can be pounded thin and rolled up with a variety of fillings like vegetables, garlic butter, sundried tomatoes or a variety of different cheeses. Try to pack them in tightly in the baking dish to help hold in the filling.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
2. Using a meat tenderizer or rolling pin pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness.
3. Season each piece of chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
4. Place 1 cheese slice and 1 ham slice on top of each breast. Roll up each breast, and secure with a toothpick or metal skewer.
5. In a shallow dish add the bread crumbs. Carefully roll each chicken breast in crumbs until completely coated.
6. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Today is National Something on a Stick Day and Black Forest Cake Day.

Serve these kabobs with pita bread and a nice greek salad for a perfect light meal.

Chicken Souvlaki

Souvlaki Marinade:

Tzatziki:

1. In a small bowl, mix the balsamic vinaigrette, lemon juice, oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. 2. Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over the chicken, seal, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.
3. To make the Tzatziki, toss the with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and allow to sit at least 5 minutes. This will help pull the water from the cucumber.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, fresh dill, and Greek seasoning.
5. Squeeze the cucumber to remove any excess water then stir into the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.
6. Remove chicken from marinade and thread on metal skewers. Cook chicken until juices run clear, about 10-15 minutes and grilled on all sides.

Today is National Spanish Paella Day.

Spanish Paella

1. Heat a splash of oil in a large saute pan or traditional paella pan.
2. Add the chicken and sausage and cook until brown. Remove to a plate.
3. Add the onions to the hot pan and another small splash of oil and saute until golden.
4. Add the garlic and stir for a few moments.
5. Add the tomatoes breaking them up with a wooden spoon.
6. Add rice, stock, wine, bay leaves, rosemary, red pepper, the reserved meat and the shrimp.
7. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat until the liquid has absorbed and the rice is tender, about thirty minutes.

Today is National Water Day and National Coq Au Vin Day.

This classic dish is a warm rich saucy dish that tastes better the longer it sits. It perfect for a dinner party since it can be made the day before and will taste phenomenal when reheated and served to your guests. When cooking any dish with wine its always good practice to serve that same wine at the meal. So don’t be cheap and use a really good full bodied red for this recipe.

Coq Au Vin

1. Put the flour in a shallow dish. Season all sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper then dip each into the flour to lightly coat.
2. In a heavy pan big enough to hold all the pieces of chicken, heat the oil and butter together over medium-high heat. If you don’t have a pan that large, you can cook the chicken in batches.
3. Add the chicken pieces in the pan and cook until they are golden about 5 minutes on each side. Remove to large platter.
4. To the same pan add the bacon, onions, and celery and cook about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and cook about 3 minutes more.
5. Return the chicken and any of the juices to the pan. Add the garlic, thyme, and bay leaf to the pan. Cook for 1 minute, stirring often.
6. Add the wine and carrots and bring to a boil. Cover tightly, simmer on medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken and vegetables are tender.
7. Discard the Bay leaf and remove the chicken to a platter.
8. Continue cooking the sauce unitl thickened another 2 minutes then pour over the chicken. Season with salt and sprinkle with the parsley.

Today is National Poultry Day and National Chocolate Caramel Day.

I really enjoy Mexican food.  I love the cheesiness, the spiciness and the  heartiness of classic Mexican dishes.  This recipe for Chicken Enchiladas can take a bit of time to make but is completely worth it in the end.  In this recipe I like to make my own seasoned chicken filling to add even more flavour to the dish.  The heat (spiciness) of this dish can be adjusted by the amount of jalapenos you use.  If you like really spicy, add more.  This recipe produces a nice mild bite that can be enjoyed by the more tamer taste buds.

You need:

For the Chicken:

For the Assembly:

Lets start by doing all the necessary prep work for the shredded chicken (basically the slicing and dicing). I like to put everything in their own little bowls so they are easily accesible.  Cooking can really come together well if you have all this stuff done ahead of time.

Slice half the onion and using the back of your knife smash 2 of the garlic cloves.

Dice the remaining onion finely.  Because you need onion in the assembly as well dice another 3/4 cup.

Mince the last garlic clove.

Dice the tomato, the red pepper and the jalapeno.

Chop the cilantro.

Shred the cheese for the assembly stage. Now shred some more because I’m sure, like me, you’ve taste tested quite a few fingerfuls.

And chop the green onion also to be used in assembly.

Okay let’s get started.  Place the chicken in a large pot.

Add just enough water to cover it.

Add the sliced onion and smashed garlic. 

Let it slowly boil for 20-25 minutes until chicken is done.  Remove the chicken to a plate to cool ( you can place it in the fridge to speed up this step) and reserve 1/2 cup of the boiling liquid.

Once the chicken is cool, use two forks to shred into pieces.

In a pan, melt the 2 tbsp butter and add the tomato, diced onion and red pepper.

Foolwed up by the chicken, jalapeno, cilantro, black pepper and cumin.

Mix it all together really good then add the reserved broth and tomato paste.

Cook a few minutes longer until most of the liquid has been absorbed.  Add any salt to your own taste.  Seasoning with salt can never be a definitive amount.  You need to sprinkle a little, taste, then repeat until you have it just right.  But remember a tiny bit at a time, 1/8 tsp at the most, since a little salt can go a long way.

To assemble the enchiladas, place a tortilla on the counter.

Add a bit of the chicken in the middle and sprinkle with some of the diced white onion.

Sprinkle on the cheese.

Roll up the tortilla carefully so as to not lose any of the filling. (if you do just shove it back in the sides)

Place the rolled tortilla in a baking dish seams side down.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas and ingredients.

In a saucepan over medium heat melt the 1/4 cup butter and whisk in the flour.

Add the broth and keep stirring.

Add the sour cream and the chilies.  Stir until the sauce becomes hot and thick.

Pour the sauce over the tortillas and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Look at those lovely pieces of chili…yum.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  The final amount of cheese on top can be completely up to you.  Myself, I could go for two or three pounds worth but for the sake of sanity I used 2 ounces or so. Let it cook another 5 minutes until cheese has melted.

Serve these with a side of salsa or pico de gallo and some spicy Mexican rice.  Oh and don’t forget the sprinkle of green onions.  They add a great fresh flavour to the dish.

Shredded Chicken Filling Recipe

1. Place the chicken, sliced onion, and smashed garlic in a large stockpot. Cover with just enough water to cover.
2. Bring the water to a slow boil and cook 20-25 minutes or until chicken in done. Remove the chicken from the pot and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
3. Once the chicken is cooled shred it finely.
4. In a large pan, melt the butter over low heat.
5. Add the garlic, onion, red pepper, tomato, black pepper, jalapeno, cilantro and cumin. and mix together well. Saute until vegetables begin to soften about 10 minutes.
6. Add the chicken then the tomato sauce and reserved broth. Cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed about 5 more minutes.

Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Divide the chicken, white onion and 10 oz. of the cheddar cheese between the 12 tortillas.
3. Roll up each tortilla and placed in a baking dish seam side down.
4. Meanwhile in a saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk until it begins to boil.
5. Add the broth and stir constantly for a couple of minutes.
6. Add the chilies and sour cream and stir the sauce until it’s thick and hot. Do not let it boil.
7. Pour the sauce over the enchiladas then bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
8. Sprinkle the remaining 2 oz. of cheese over top and bake another 5 minutes until the cheese has melted.
9. Remove from oven and sprinkle with green onion.

Today is National Fettuccine Alfredo Day.

Feel free to omit the chicken and add shrimp or vegetables to this recipe.

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

You need:

Spread foil on baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl mix together the garlic powder,onion powder and black pepper.

Place chicken on foil and sprinkle seasoning mix on both sides. Cover with more foil and bake in oven 30-35 minutes or until juices run clear.

You want the chicken covered so as to poach the meat as opposed to baking it.  You want the chicken to remain white to keep with the creamy appearance of teh dish.

Dice the cooked chicken and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the fettuccine.

I leave it standing upright and the heat of the water will slowly soften it and it will drop into the boil.

Now on to the stars of the show.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter into the cream in another saucepan.  Season with salt and pepper.

Add the cheese in batches, stirring it while it melts. 

Once the all the cheese has been added and melted add the chicken to heat up again.

Drain the fettuccine.

Add the pasta to the sauce and stir well to coat.

Transfer to bowl.

Garnish the dish with a sprinkling of parsley and some cheese shaving.

Decadent.  The most important food groups out there: cheese, butter and cream.

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo Full Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Mix together garlic, onion and pepper and season both sides of chicken before placing on pan. Cover chicken with more foil.
3. Bake the chicken for 35 minutes then remove foil and continue baking another 15 minutes or until juices run clear. Let cool then cut into cubes.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente 8-10 minutes, drain.
5. While pasta is boiling melt butter into the cream in medium saucepan over low heat. Add the salt and pepper.
6. Increase heat to medium and add the cheese, stirring until melted. Add the chicken and stir until heated through.
7. Add the pasta and thoroughly coated with sauce.

Today is National Pistachio Day.

This coating would work really well with fish too.

Pistachio Crusted Chicken

Serves 2

Today is International Hot and Spicy Day and National Fig Newton Day.

Whats hotter than buffalo flavour…other than super hot suicide inferno whatever. You can cut the chicken into strips and make chicken fingers or you can use the breast for a chicken sandwich with a nice blue cheese spread. Either way they are both full of flavour.

Buffalo Chicken Breasts

1. In a bowl combine milk, honey and hot pepper sauce. Add the chicken breasts and marinate at least 10 minutes.
2. In another bowl combine cornflakes and spices.
3. Dip the chicken breasts into the cornflake mixture and place on a greased baking pan.
4. Bake at 400 F for 10 – 15 minutes until crispy.