Holiday Progressive Dinner - Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Chicken for Two Recipe

*Disclaimer - I received Rachael Ray Oven to Table Stoneware products from PotsandPans.com to facilitate this review.  No monetary compensation was received and a positive review was not required.  As with all Adventures in All Things Food & Family reviews, all opinions and experiences are my own.  

This week I will be getting down to the meat of the matter... or at least the main course for this dinner menu. Now, I have to explain that in a family of 5 only two of us currently eat meat. I realize others also don't need to make an entire bird for their holiday spread so I chose to share a roasted chicken for two recipe. But, I will get back to that.

First I wanted to thank PotsandPans.com for being our fourth week sponsor. They sent me set of Rachael Ray Oven to Table Stoneware. These little Bubble and Brown ramekins match a set of larger casserole dishes in blue from the same line I already owned. I love how cute these are!

I have been baking with the larger casserole dishes for over 5 years now and I love them. They are a gorgeous and vibrant color of blue, they have been durable (survived a move!) and wash up easily. They bake evenly and double as beautiful serving dishes so hot food can go right on the table.

The ramekins were the perfect addition to my collection. The size would be right for small gratins, French onion soup, or a nice little dessert. I made this Pumpkin Bread Pudding recipe earlier in the week with my Bubble and Brown ramekins. The vibrant stoneware really helped to make the rustic pudding stand out.

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Here is the menu for this week:

Holiday Progressive Dinner 

Week 4 Recipe Links

Antipasto Kebabs at Daily Dish Recipes

Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Chicken for Two at Adventures in All Things Food

Creamy Corn Casserole at The Gunny Sack

Vegetable Medley with Cream Sauce at Flour on My Face

Butter Toffee Pound Cake with Vanilla Brandy Caramel Sauce at Busy-at-Home

This is a simple chicken recipe that I like to save for Sunday dinner or special occasions. Not because it is fancy, but because it tastes that way. To get started I grab a half breast, skin on and bone-in, and make a nice little brine for the chicken to sit in. With sea salt, garlic and rosemary, it is a quick way to make a very juicy bird.

Why chicken? My husband and I actually prefer chicken to turkey. It is also easy to find anytime of year.

Just give the bird a little time out in the bag. Stick it back in the refrigerator while you work on other parts of your holiday meal. Brine it up for at least an hour or all afternoon, depending on your meal schedule.

When you are ready to roast the chicken, remove it from the brine and pat it dry. Chop up a little more rosemary, mince some garlic and create a nice little paste with olive oil. Rub the chicken all over and then generously season with salt and pepper. place the chicken, skin side down, in a cast iron skillet.

Roasted Chicken for Two

You Will Need:

• 1/4 c. sea salt
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 sprigs of Rosemary + 1 Tbsp. minced Rosemary
• 1 c. hot water
• 2 c. cold water
• 1 large zip top bag (large enough to hold the chicken breast)
• olive oil to coat the chicken
• salt and pepper 

Start with the brine. Combine the salt, 4 cloves of crushed garlic, the Rosemary sprigs and hot water in a small bowl. Let the Rosemary and garlic warm through and release their oils. Then add the cold water to cool off the mixture. Pour it into your large bag and add the half chicken breast. Brine this for an hour or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and preheat a large cast iron skillet on the stove.

Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry. Create a paste with the minced Rosemary, garlic and olive oil to rub all over the chicken. Then generously season the meat with salt and pepper. Place the breast skin side down in the skillet and cook until the chicken has browned, about 5 - 8 minutes per side. Then place the skillet in the oven and roast for 15 - 20 minutes or until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

Enjoy!

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Overdue Date Night - Fitting in Thai Green Curry

I love Thai Green Curry.

Since becoming pregnant with baby #3 I have been craving food from all over the world. I would be happy (well, almost) to stop cooking and eat out at my favorite Thai, Greek, Japanese and Chinese restaurants every night. Somehow that just isn't so kind on my waistline or my wallet.

With two young children at home we haven't had a proper date night for months. *Sigh* And my children are not as crazy about eating out and trying new foods as I am. I have tried a few times this past month and neither time turned out very pretty.

Last year, because I love it so much, I  made a Thai dinner from scratch. Let's just say I am not falling all over myself to repeat that kitchen experiment right now. From trying to find the kefir lime leaves, to stocking up on galangal root it was both time consuming and expensive. I'm sure the real stretch though would be trying to cook with fish sauce. Fish sauce and this pregnant mama, with super-pregnancy-nose, just don't mix.

I really wanted to make a special dinner for my husband, but I wanted to be able to enjoy it as well. Luckily this version didn't leave me feeling exhausted.

Is it really possible to make Thai Green Curry for 2, in 15 minutes, with only a few ingredients? I am not sure I would have believed the #Dinnerin15 challenge was possible if I hadn't done it myself.

I found these Campbell's Skillet Sauces at my local Albertson's with all the soups, stocks and broths. There were 6 flavors to choose from; Creamy Chipotle, Fire Roasted Tomato, Toasted Sesame, Marsala, Scampi, and Thai Green Curry. I really couldn't decide on just one, but grabbed both the Thai Green Curry and Toasted Sesame to try.

Look for signage in the meat department as well as in-store coupons on display, and on Facebook during January. I knew these sauces had to be popular because not only did the cashier at check-out rave about them, but all the in-store coupons were already snatched up!

The pouch instructions suggest picking a protein, chicken or tofu were suggested, and then serving it over rice. I love a good brown jasmine rice, but am currently watching my carbs so opted to make two choices for our date night. I did make the traditional rice, but also made some zucchini noodles with my julienne slicer.

The meal couldn't be simpler.

Just a tablespoon of oil in the pan, and brown up the chicken. For a splash of color I also sliced up a red bell pepper to add for the last minute or two of sauteing.

Then I added the Campbell's Skillet Sauce. I didn't need to add any coconut milk or water and no long simmering is required. Just pour and stir.

For my fourth ingredient I added a bag of frozen, mixed stir fry vegetables. I like to blanch them briefly to remove any extra ice and cut down on my simmering time. I love how much color they add to the dish.

A final simmer for 5 minutes with the lid on and I could finish my noodles.

I love making zucchini noodles because they are fast and inexpensive. This time of year I can still find decent sales on zucchini.

After slicing the "noodles", blanch them briefly in boiling water. I like to go 2-4 minutes. The zucchini should soften but not be mushy. Then remove from the water and shock under a cold tap or ice water. Drain well and squeeze out any excess liquid with a paper towel or tea towel.

Noodle up and top with Thai Green Curry.

My pregnancy cravings were satisfied, I was able to make a great dinner for two for a very overdue date night at home and with all the extra veggies this meal stretched for another lunch as well. Simple and satisfying I had dinner on the table in under 15 minutes and more time to chat and laugh with my husband.

You know, we were able to talk about the important things... like what to name this baby!

Thai Green Curry Over Zucchini Noodles

You will need:

• 1 Campbell's Skillet Sauces Thai Green Curry
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 lb. chicken, boneless, skinless and cut into strips
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 2 c. mixed stir fry vegetables.
• 2 medium zucchini * or substitute brown rice instead

1. Start by slicing the zucchini noodles. I use a julienne slicer for thin even "noodles", but you can also use a mandolin. Stop slicing when you get to the core and seeds. Start a medium pot of water boiling.

2. Place 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Brown the chicken pieces and add in the bell pepper for the last minute or two so they are just crisp tender.

3. Blanch the frozen vegetable in the boiling water for about a minute, remove with a spider or spoon and leave the water in the pan. Add the the vegetables straight to the skillet. In the same boiling water cook the zucchini noodles for 2-4 minutes, until they start to soften. Put them in a colander and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process. Let them drain.

4. Add the sauce packet to the skillet, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Blot the noodles in a paper towel or tea towel to remove extra moisture and top with the Thai Green Curry and vegetables.

Enjoy!

________________________________

During dinner my husband had me fish out the packing because he wanted to check out the ingredient list. He was pleasantly surprised. It was no different than if I had made the green curry from scratch. This is one convenience food we both gave a thumbs up to.

Date night success!

*Disclaimer - I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Campbell’s #cbias #SocialFabric. All opinions and experiences are my own.