One of my favorite parts of summer is getting together with friends and making fun, easy food to enjoy.  The downside is that in summer, it’s so hot, and I need something that comes together quickly, tastes like I have been cooking it for hours, but doesn’t heat up my house.  Enter Foster Farms Simply Raised chicken turned into my delicious Basque Chicken recipe. It’s one of those recipes that with a little prep, a little optional marinating, and some easy to find spices, you have a great meal that is a people pleaser!
Please note, this is a sponsored post from Foster Farms, but all of the opinions and the recipe are all mine.Let’s talk more about Foster Farms and why I chose to use their products. They are family owned since 1939 and are local to Washington, Oregon and California. A company that has been around this long is doing something right, guys. I also like that my food comes from the same region I am in: the closer your food, the less impact on the environment.  Importantly, they are American Humane Certified. I buy this chicken because they do not add hormones, steroids, preservatives, antibiotics, or sodium. I don’t want those things in the food I eat, and I bet you don’t either! They also have organic options that are more than affordable, and they are easily found at most big grocers and Costco (and who doesn’t love Costco!?).

Now that you know which chicken to pick up, let’s get down to this recipe!

Like I said earlier, I love to cook and I love to make a meal that tastes like I was cooking for hours, but I want to avoid heating up my house. The secret to doing that is using big flavors, prepping everything in advance and cooking it all together quickly! What I love about this dish is that I can do most of the cooking in the morning, and then finish it in 20 minutes before dinner. Most of the cooking can also be done on the grill in my backyard then finished inside. It’s a versatile dish that comes together so easily!

Basque Chicken
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Marinating time (if you choose): 1 hour to overnight
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves 8

Ingredients:
2 lbs Foster Farms Simply Raised chicken thighs
2 lbs Foster Farms Simply Raised chicken breasts with bones removed and set aside for stock, or just use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and chop into large chunks.
2 red bell peppers, sliced
2 yellow bell peppers, sliced
2 yellow onion, sliced
4-5 cloves of garlic sliced
5 ounces green olives, pits removed
5 ounces Spanish chorizo (Spanish chorizo is the harder version, versus the soft Mexican chorizo), sliced up into half moons, or bite sized pieces
1 pint container grape tomatoes
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Dry Sherry wine
2 Tbsp Sherry vinegar
3 sprigs Oregano
2 tsp salt, separated
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp fresh ground pepper

The Method:
By prepping all of your ingredients, you can cut down the amount of time in the kitchen. I used a heavy bottomed Dutch oven, with can be used on the grill’s side burner.

Heat the oil in your Dutch oven over medium-high, until the oil is shimmering, and then add your chorizo. The goal is to get out some of the fat and flavor for your other parts of your dish. Sauté it until the chorizo is a little crispy, about 2 minutes. Then remove the chorizo and set aside.

Use the oil left in the pan, now flavored by the chorizo, to sauté your onions and cook until they just start to turn brown. Then add your bell peppers, garlic, oregano sprigs, pepper and 1 tsp salt. Cook until the peppers start to get a little soft. Remove the veggies and set aside with the chorizo.

Let your pan heat back up. If there’s no oil left in the pan add enough olive oil to lightly coat the pan. Season the chicken with the smoked paprika and 1 tsp of salt. Place the chicken in the pan, starting with the skin side down.  Sear until the chicken is browned on both sides. You just want to sear the chicken. You’ll be doing more of the cooking later. Once the chicken is all browned, remove and add the Sherry wine to deglaze, scraping all of the tasty goodness off of the bottom of your pot. If you don’t have Sherry wine, any dry Spanish white wine will work. If you want to use your grill, just throw the chicken on the grill and then add to everything in the Dutch oven when you’re ready to reheat.

Add your veggies and your chicken back to the pot, along with the tomatoes, olives and vinegar. At this point you can keep everything in the pot, in your refrigerator for later, or just finish and eat. When you are getting ready to think about heading to the dinner table, put a lid on your pot and cook on medium for 20 minutes (it could take longer if it’s cold) or until the thickest piece of chicken registers 165 degrees. If you want, you can also set this aside with the lid on for 20 minutes (up to overnight) and let the flavors meld before serving.

To serve, ladle over brown rice, or a nice crusty bread to sop up some of the sauce from the chicken!

Are you ready to try this dish now?

For more information on Foster Farms, their products or their practices, check them out here. Again, this post is sponsored by Foster Farms®, the opinions expressed are my own.

Yours in great food,
Raina

Kansas Love…My heart is never happier than when I am on the road and this last trip was no different. We flew out to see family and to rest and I fell madly in love with the Midwest and Kansas.

I learned about family, the land, and the house; it was built by Izzy’s Great Grandparents and Great-Great Grandfather, just as the house next door had been. The garden took up most of the side property, and everything was used, or put up and canned or pickled. We listened to stories about working on phone lines, and one room school houses, and how the family had worked as guards and wardens at Leavenworth. Everyone in the family worked hard, and did right by their family and friends.

For a week, we just sat and listened to stories, and chatted. The air was thick and warm, the beer was cold and plentiful, and the love; the love was true and kind. I don’t remember a time I felt so welcomed, so comfortable, and relaxed right away. Late nights were spent sitting on the porch, listening to cicadas, chasing lightning bugs and watching storms roll in. Each day was full of peace, happiness and adventure for all of us. I drove farm equipment down a street, watched cows, ate mulberries right off of the tree, and tried my darndest to get a picture of a hummingbird. I limited social media exposure and just sat and listened. It was perfect.I explored this new place through Izzy’s eyes and watched as she happily met new family, picked up new bugs and excitedly took in her new surroundings.

I can’t say enough how amazing the whole trip was, and how much we can’t wait to get back there. This trip helped us see how much we want a life like this for Izzy and how much I want for her to be able to run around and explore, safely. It really solidified how much I want a farm and more critters of my own. It was really like we found just what we wanted from life.

I hope you enjoyed this post and the pictures and that they convey even a tiny bit of the adventure we had, and happiness we found.

Yours in travel, and in happiness,

Raina

Our last day brings us right up to Mother’s Day weekend! Teri from The Freshman Cook is here to show us how to make Biscuit Blossoms! Please go to her blog site and show her a little blog love: http://www.thefreshmancook.com/. Enjoy!

Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and if you are looking for something sweet and special to serve for breakfast or brunch, Biscuit Blossoms are your answer! They are simple and quick to make, and you might just have most of the ingredients already in your fridge! The blossoms are made from Honey Crescents. I used strawberry yogurt for the filling, topped it with whipped cream, shaved milk chocolate, and a strawberry. See what I mean, simple and quick! Oh, and this is even better~make the biscuits the day before you are serving. Put them in sealed container to keep them fresh. That way on the day you are serving them, you can put them all together while your whipping cream is whipping!

 Biscuit Blossoms

(printable recipe)

small Strawberry for each blossom

Unroll cresents from the package.

Across the bottom, mark a line every 3″.

Use a knife or pizza cutter and cut on the lines to the top,

and across the middle. You should have 8 large squares.

Ignore the lines that were in the dough when you unrolled it.

Spray your cupcake pan with pan spray.

Place a square in each circle. Pull the pointed edges

of the dough to the edges of each circle. They won’t all look alike.

Bake according to package directions.

As soon as you take the pan from the oven, use

whatever you have to make a circle in the middle of the crust.

There will already be a small one, you are just defining it.

Let cool completely.

Make your whipped cream by pouring cream into bowl and

add confectioners sugar. Start mixing on low until

sugar is combined, then turn on high until cream has whipped.

While cream is whipping, fill each blossom with yogurt.

Add whipped cream on top of yogurt.

You can use a piping bag with a decorating tip,

or just dollop it on top.

Use a vegetable peeler to shave pieces of chocolate.

Sprinkle the chocolate over the top.

Cut a strawberry, so it fans just slightly, and place

it on top against the back on the blossom.

Enjoy your Biscuit Blossoms!