Kate's Cuisine

Whenever I make ribs I always make a ton because everyone in my family loves them. But I do still usually have a lot leftover and, while I do like to just reheat and eat them as-is, I’m also always looking for something else I can do with the leftover meat. I hadn’t come across anything really good, until my brother was over for a rib dinner one night. After telling me about the delicious loose meat sandwiches he has after rib night at his house, I had to try it out.

These sliders were made with the leftovers from dinner with my brother that night. And even if I do find another recipe for something to do with leftover rib meat, I’m not going to use it. These are delicious, we all love them just as much (if not more!) the original rib dinner they came from, and they’re super easy. And, did I mention how delicious they are?

1/2 cup chicken broth $0.50
1/2 cup Sultana raisins $0.50
1 tablespoon curry powder $2.88
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt $0.02
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper $0.01
1/2 pound slab bacon, diced $3.99
12 chicken thighs, skin-on, bone-in $9.84
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeds and ribs removed, sliced    $0.30
2 cups green bell peppers $0.90
2 medium yellow onions, diced $0.94
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced $0.03
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice $0.99
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger $0.90

Total Cost    $21.80
Cost per serving $3.63

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.) Heat the broth in a small pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Put the Sultana raisins in a small bowl and pour enough broth over them to cover; set aside. In another small bowl, combine the curry powder, salt, black pepper, and set aside.

3.) Place slab bacon pieces in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir the pieces occasionally until the bacon is firm and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a small bowl with a slotted spoon and reserve.

4.) Pour out half of the fat that remains in the pan and reserve the rest in a small bowl. In batches if necessary, brown the chicken thighs over medium-high heat, making sure that you don’t overcrowd them in the pot. Brown on each side about 5 minutes, until they are golden brown. If the pan becomes too dry, add a bit of reserved bacon fat a little at a time to keep liquid in the pan. When all of the chicken has browned, remove from the pan and set aside.

5.) Making sure that there is still two teaspoons of reserved bacon fat (or olive oil if there is no bacon fat left in the pan,) add the jalapeno pepper slices and toast for about 30 seconds.

6.) Add the bell peppers, onions, and garlic and cook until slightly softened, about 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, spice mixture, ginger, and the raisins in their broth. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the tomatoes have cooked down and the sauce has thickened around the vegetables, about 8 minutes.

7.) Nest the chicken thighs gently in the vegetable sauce so that the skin side faces up and rests above the surface of the sauce. Tent the pot loosely with foil and transfer to the middle rack of the oven. Bake until the sauce resembles a rolling stew around the chicken thighs, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the sauce has thickened further and the chicken skin is just beginning to crisp, about 15 more minutes.

8.) Remove from the oven and transfer chicken thighs to a large serving plate; spoon sauce generously over top and garnish with reserved bacon.

9.) Serve and enjoy!

Read the Country Captain Chicken Review here

I had tried one Country Captain Chicken recipe before this and it was Rachael Ray’s. I didn’t like it and didn’t think I’d ever go back. (Love ya Rach, that just wasn’t your best.) While this is my own recipe, I did get the inspiration for it from watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay where he challenged the Lee brothers to a Country Captain cook-off. Exchanging the 30-minute version for one that takes nearly two hours to make may not seem like such a great thing, but it’s so worth it! I love the thick bacon in it, and from now on will only use that (and not ham) in my Country Captain Chicken. One of the other stars in this dish is the spices; it’s the perfect amount, spicy enough for me and hubby, not so spicy that the kids can’t eat it.

And don’t be scared off of this recipe because it costs over $20 to make. Remember that you’re cooking 12 thighs, plus a whole bunch of veggies so you’re going to have enough food to feed an army. And it freezes well too, just pile the chicken into a dish and spoon the sauce and bacon over top. It’ll keep beautifully and you could even get two more whole meals out of it!

Yesterday was a day of celebrating sweetness, as September 1 kicked off National Honey Month. But, September isn’t just a month to celebrate honey – it’s also the month of the chicken! Yep, September is National Chicken Month!

This month wasn’t just chosen willy-nilly, or had the “Chicken Month” label slapped on it with little thought at all. Nope, September is National Chicken Month for a reason. The National Chicken Council (we’re talking the U.S. here but I’m going to adopt Chicken Month for us Canucks too,) noticed that September generally saw a decline in chicken sales, as people flicked off their barbecues for the last time and put out the flame until next year. (I guess chicken’s a popular-enough barbecue item that some won’t eat it any other way.) So, to keep the chick’s popularity up and to give us reason to celebrate (and eat) it, they’ve given us National Chicken Month. And to kick it all off, I’m going to give you some funky chicken facts:

• More chickens live on Earth than people.
• Chickens can run as fast as 9 miles an hour.
• The chicken capital of the world is Gainesville, Georgia, USA. Here it is illegal to eat chicken with a fork and yes, they have arrested someone for committing the crime.
• A hen lays about 300 eggs every year.
• A mother hen turns her eggs about 50 times every day. She has to do this so that the yoke inside does not get stuck to the inside of the shell.
• Chickens have a slightly higher body temperature than humans; theirs sits at about 102 or 103 degrees Fahrenheit.
• A chicken’s heart rate lies somewhere around 280 – 315 times every minute.
• Chickens can fly for very brief periods of time. They are not capable of sustained flight.
• It takes a hen about 24 – 26 hours to lay one egg.
• After the hen lays the egg, it then takes about 21 days to hatch.
• An egg starts developing into a chicken when it reaches 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Canadians and Americans each eat about 8 billion chickens every year.
• Think chickens only lay white or brown eggs? They can lay eggs of just about any colour – even pink and blue!
• If you have a fear of chickens, you have a case of alektorophobia.

So there ya have it! Just a few funky facts, and a few good reasons, why the National Chicken Council thinks that we should spend this month celebrating the chicken! Oh and by the way, the NCC aren’t the only ones who have dedicated this month to the chick – PETA has also come out with their own version of Chicken Month. They call their campaign “Give a Cluck – Chuck the Chicken!”

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts $7.72
2 eggs $0.34
2 tablespoons heavy cream $0.50
1 cup bread crumbs $0.42
2 cups peanuts, chopped $2.00
4 tablespoons honey $0.40
1/2 teaspoon salt $0.01

Total Cost    $11.39

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a baking sheet.

2.) Rinse chicken and pat dry. Place each chicken breast individually into a resealable bag and lightly pound to flatten breasts so that they have an even surface.

3.) Break eggs into a medium-sized bowl and beat with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. In another medium-sized bowl, mix together bread crumbs, peanuts, and 1/2 teaspoon salt thoroughly to combine.

4.) One by one, dip chicken breasts into egg mixture. Allow mixture to thoroughly drain from chicken and then place in peanut and bread crumb mixture, lightly pressing to make sure that entire breast is thoroughly covered. Place on prepared baking sheet. Continue until all chicken breasts are crusted.

5.) Drizzle about one tablespoon of honey over each chicken breast and place in preheated oven. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until chicken is entirely cooked through.

6.) Remove chicken from oven and allow to rest for 2 – 3 minutes.

7.) Serve and enjoy!

Read the Honey Nut Cheerio Chicken review

Even though I’m using this recipe to kick off National Honey Month, honey actually wasn’t the original inspiration for this dish – peanuts were! I went through a little peanut craze a few weeks ago and decided that they needed to be added to every single dish in some way or another. I’m so glad that this idea crossed my mind and that it all came together so nicely. It really is delicious, although hubby didn’t like the “odd type of crunchiness” from the peanuts. A touch of salt from the peanuts, drizzled with sweet, sweet honey – it’s comforting and tasty too!

We may spread it on a piece of toast in the morning, or add it to our favourite sauces without thinking twice, but what is honey really? Sweet nectar of the Earth is what it is, and September is here to celebrate it – it’s National Honey Month! Of course I’ll be posting wonderful honey recipes and interesting facts along the way but we’ll start with a look at this wonderful ingredient, just what it is, and all the wonderful things it can do for you!

If you have a bottle of honey in your cupboard, it’s most likely pure honey – with no added ingredients, sugar, or preservatives. Honey doesn’t actually need preservatives because the natural acid pH level prevents bacteria from ever growing in it. The worst it will do is start to crystallize as the sugar breaks down, but it’s always safe to eat. And honey doesn’t need any added sugar either because it’s so naturally sweet and delicious!

Honey really is just honey. After the bees buzz around their flowers gathering the nectar, they take it back to the hive and put it onto the honeycomb, where it’s aired out and vented so that it can ripen and eventually turn into honey. Beekeepers then remove the filled cells of comb and drain the honey out of them. Of course the entire process is a bit more complex than that, but that’s basically how it breaks down. But let’s not make just mere mention of the honeybee that makes it all possible – they play the most important role of all and they work incredibly hard to bring us all that honey. In fact, it can take up to 60,000 bees in a beehive and over 55,000 miles of travel just to make a single pound of honey!

So what about all those different colours and varieties you see in the store? Dark honey, light honey, cremed honey, liquid honey, and hundreds of different kinds of each! Well, it’s all in where the bees buzz. The colour of the honey is solely based on the nectar of the flower that was used to make the honey. So while clovers, the most popular flower used for making honey, has a light golden colour, honey from buckwheat flowers might be a bit darker. That’s not to say that colour doesn’t affect the taste. Generally lighter honeys have a much milder taste while dark honeys have a bold and intense flavour.

And in addition to colour, you’ll have a few more choices than that when you find yourself standing in the grocery aisle looking at all the different kinds of honey. One of those choices will be the form your honey comes in; there are four main types.

Even though you’re most likely buying pure honey every time you buy it, if you want to be a true honey-purist you can use comb honey. Comb honey has been taken directly out of the hive and placed in a jar. The honey has not been taken off the cells of the comb, and it’s in the most natural state as stored by the bees. Another type of honey, chunk honey, is made by placing large pieces of the honeycomb into a jar and then pouring liquid honey over top.

Liquid honey is the type of honey that many of us have in our kitchens – it pours out of the bottle in a smooth, golden (or amber) stream, adding instant natural sweetness to anything it touches. It’s great for cooking and baking, or just drizzling. Cremed honey is much thicker than liquid honey and many prefer it to liquid honey. I especially love spreading a thick layer of it over top of toast! Cremed honey is still pure honey; it’s made up of one part granulated honey that’s been blended with nine parts liquid honey and then stored at a specific temperature until it hardens.

Honey is more than just a natural sweetener and a natural wonder though – it also has many healing properties! Honey is known to be a great antiseptic for wounds; provide energy to athletes before, during and after rigorous training; and it’s also known to be a natural cough suppressant. In addition to all of these honey benefits, the sticky substance is also known to bring a host of beauty benefits along with it.

So take a few moments this month to celebrate honey – it’s got natural goodness on so many levels! And remember, the next time you take that honey out of your cupboard, that you’re about to use some of the best stuff on earth!

Happy Honey Month everyone!