Spicy Spanish Chicken

My sister Karrie cooked dinner for the gang one night during our family reunion.  She cooked a delicious spicy chicken dish that had all of us going for seconds!  Here are the ingredients:

8-10 boneless chicken thighs

2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can rotel tomatoes
1/4 pound ground chorizo
Parsley
3 ears of corn, shucked or 1 can corn
1/2 green, red and yellow bell peppers, chopped
1 cup green olives, chopped
Sherry - 1/2 cup
Chicken Broth - 1-2 cups
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 Anaheim chili, chopped
1 tablespoon each:  paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cumin

Salt and pepper the chicken.  Grill the chicken thighs until they are about halfway cooked.  They will finish cooking in the oven.  Put the chicken in an oven proof pan and set aside.

Saute the carrots, celery, garlic and onion with a little olive oil.  Salt and pepper.  When soft, add to the chicken.

In the same sauce pan, cook the chorizo.  When the chorizo is cooked, add the canned tomatoes and the rotel.  Let that simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the corn, peppers (bell and hot), green olives, and spices.  Add 1 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup sherry.  Let that simmer for 10 minutes.  If the moisture boils out, add a little more chicken broth.

After the mixture has simmered, add everything together, with the chicken and vegetables already in the pan.  Add the remaining chicken broth and place in a 350 degree oven.  Cook for 40 minutes.  Serve on top of faro, rice or other grain to soak up the great juice!

Enjoy!

Spicy Pickles!

The best pickles I ever ate were homemade pickles.  My brother in law's dad makes them.  He inspired me to make these spicy pickles.

The first thing I did was assemble my pickling spices.  In a small bowl I added dill seed, mustard seed, crumbled bay leaf, peppercorns, mace, fennel seed,  pepper flakes, and celery seed.

While I was assembling the spices, I had the pickling cucumbers in an ice bath, in the refrigerator.  When ready, I took them out and sliced them with my Pampered Chef cutting tool - like a mandolin.

I sliced them long so that they cover the whole sandwich and not just a little portion!

In a sauce pan, bring 3 quarts water, 1 quart vinegar and 3/4 cup pickling salt to a boil.  While you are waiting for that to boil, start assembling your other ingredients:  garlic, fresh dill, peppers, and your pickling spices.

In a large pot, boil some water.  This will be what you put the pickles in to seal the jars.  Also, put your canning jars in the dishwasher to sterilize them and get them hot.

When you are ready, start assembling your jars.  Put one garlic head, 2-3 pieces of fresh dill, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon pickling spice in the jar.  Place the sliced cucumbers in the jar.

Add the brine to the jars, leaving a 1/4 inch head space.  Make sure to dry off the tops of the jars so that when you put the lids on, they are able to seal.

Put the jars in the hot water bath, making sure that the jars are completely submerged.  Boil the jars for 20 minutes and then remove to cool.

When you can the jars should seal as they cool.  To make sure they seal, press on the lid.  If it "gives," the jar didn't seal.  That jar should go into the refrigerator to use first!  These pickles will be ready to eat in about 2 weeks.

Canning anything is super easy!  If I can learn it, you can to!