Maple Cider Chicken

Fall is my favorite time of the year here in Ohio. Beautiful weather, especially in October, and so many great seasonal ingredients for cooking to choose from. I love coming up with recipes that can be cooked in one dish or pot. Less cleanup is always a good  thing! Bone in chicken breasts can be substituted for the thighs if you prefer. The leftovers from this make a nice salad, over chopped romaine, with a little balsamic vinaigrette dressing (to which you can also add a touch of maple syrup, to compliment the dish) Use only REAL pure maple syrup (http://www.purecanadamaple.com/) for this recipe!

Maple Cider Chicken

4 cups peeled and chopped (into 1” cubes) sweet potatoes
4 cups peeled and chopped granny smith apples
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves chopped garlic
2 lbs chicken thighs (with skin and bone)
1 cup apple cider
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup fresh sage, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup butter, chopped in small cubes

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 5 quart baking dish with cooking spray.

Combine  sweet potatoes, apples, onion and garlic in the baking dish. Place chicken thighs on top.Combine apple cider and maple syrup and pour over chicken. Season the whole dish with salt and pepper and sprinkle the chicken with chopped sage. Sprinkle butter cubes over everything. Bake for 60-75 minutes until chicken is cooked through (larger thighs will take a little longer)

Herbed Chicken with Ginger Stone Fruit

Another recent contest win was a contest sponsored by Genji Marinades. This contest had a nice prize (gift certificate to Whole Foods), plus the added bonus that they used my own photo of the dish on the website when they published the recipe.
I like to combine fruit and herbs to create sweet and savory dishes. If you can't get the marinade, balsamic vinegar or another Asian ginger type dressing can be substituted.

http://www.genjiweb.com/genji/dressitup_recipebook.html?id=27

Herbed Chicken with Ginger Stone Fruit

2 cups peeled and sliced peaches
1 cup sweet pitted cherries, halved
1/4 cup diced shallots
3 pounds bone in chicken pieces (legs, breasts, thighs)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp fresh chopped sage
2 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
1 tbsp fresh chopped marjoram
1/2 tbsp fresh thyme
4 tbsp butter, chopped in cubes

Glaze - 3/4 cup Ginger Miso Dressing, 1/4 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350. Combine peaches and cherries. Arrange on the bottom of a 5 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with shallots. Arrange chicken on top of carrots. Season chicken with salt, pepper, sage, rosemary, marjoram and thyme. Top chicken pieces with butter cubes.
In a medium bowl, combine glaze ingredients. Pour over chicken. Bake at 350 approx 1 hour or until chicken is golden brown.

Mushroom White Wine Chicken

This recipe was inspired by some open white wine in the refrigerator, and some mushrooms that needed to be used up sooner than later. It's basically a chicken marsala, but I think I used a chardonnay. Pretty much any white wine will work.

Pan Fried Mushroom White Wine Chicken

Sauce:
3 tbsp butter
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2/3 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup white wine
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp flour

Chicken:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
4 tbsp canola oil

Melt 3 tbsp butter in a medium sized sautee pan. Add mushrooms, green onions, lemon juice and garlic. Sautee over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add wine, salt, pepper and flour. Stir. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer while you make the chicken, stirring occasionally.
Heat the canola oil in a large, nonstick skillet. Dredge each chicken breast in flour, coating thoroughly. Then dip in beaten egg to coat. Dip in bread crumbs. Put the chicken breasts in the skillet. Cook over medium low approx 5 minutes on each side. Length of cooking time depends on the thickness of the chicken.
Drain cooked chicken breasts and serve with sauce.

Cherries Jubilee Chicken

This recipe was a winner in a Weight Watchers Smart Ones contest to use fruit to create a sweet and savory entree. It calls for grilling the chicken, but the chicken can also be baked. It's really all about the sauce, which can also be used on pork. Fresh, frozen or canned cherries all work well. Frozen cherries should be thawed, and canned cherries drained.

Cherries Jubilee Grilled Chicken

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil (divided)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

2 shallots, chopped thin
1 tsp fresh choppd rosemary
1 tsp fresh chopped sage
1/2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
2 cups bing cherries, cut in half (thawed if using frozen, drained if canned)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp nutmeg


Rub chicken with 1 tbsp olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place chicken on medium hot grill, turning once during cooking time. Grill until cooked through (depending on thickness of chicken breasts).
Heat remaining oil in medium skillet. Add shallots, rosemary, sage, thyme. Sautee over medium for 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add cherries, vinegar, honey, lemon juice and nutmeg. Heat and stir 5 minutes.
Pour sauce over chicken, garnish with fresh rosemary sprig if desired.