BBQ chicken

May 25, 2022 by Rebecca Davis in Cooking, Gluten-free, Recipes, Summer, Toddler eats

A short marinade in olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard, and soy sauce followed by the best ever spice rub (seriously, triple the recipe and use it on everything), makes this a BBQ chicken worthy of your most discerning guests.

Take me to the recipe!

We’ve used this marinade and rub on all kinds of chicken: breasts, thighs, bone-in, skin-on, boneless, skinless, and an entire chicken. It has worked with every iteration! I was really tired one day and put the sugar in the marinade instead of the rub—still great. My husband likes to put the rub on WITH the marinade and let the whole thing sit for 30 minutes—also great. So if, like me, your attention is divided while trying to make dinner, this is the recipe for you.

A note on cooking chicken:

Roast the chicken between 425 and 450. I use the lower temperature for skinless and boneless varieties to avoid drying out the meat. The higher temperature works with the bones and skin, but keep an eye out to ensure that the skin doesn’t burn. A loose piece of foil over top usually does the trick.
Grill the chicken by heating up the grill on the highest temperature and then turn it down to medium just before putting the chicken on the grill. Cook until the internal temperature is 165 in the fattest part.

BBQ Chicken

Yield: 3 lbs chicken
Time: 60-90 minutes, depending on how long you cook your chicken

3 lbs chicken (any type, but I prefer boneless, skinless thighs or a whole spatchcocked chicken)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp onion powder

Combine the olive oil, apple cider, soy sauce, and yellow mustard. Place chicken in a large container (plastic bag, glass container, mixing bowl, or whatever will hold all of the chicken) and cover with the marinade. Let sit for at least 30 minutes, but up to an hour.

Combine the dry rub ingredients.

Heat the oven to 425-450 (see note above).

Take the chicken out of the marinade, but DO NOT pat dry- we want a little extra liquid. Cover with the spice rub on all sides and massage it into the chicken.

Place on a sheet pan or in a large cooking dish and cook, uncovered, for about 15 minutes (a whole chicken or very large chicken parts will take longer to cook, usually about 45-50 minutes). Check for doneness and cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 in the thickest part of the chicken.

If any sauce remains in the pan, save it for pouring onto the chicken before serving.

Shortcut chicken soup

January 14, 2021 by Rebecca Davis in Kid eats, lunchbox, Nut-free, Quick meals, Recipes, Toddler eats, Winter, Cooking

This chicken soup uses a few shortcuts like rotisserie chicken and store-bought broth to speed up the process, but gets extra oomph from plenty of aromatics, a little extra cooking oil, and teeny tiny pasta cooked right in the broth. A poached egg on top adds even more richness and depth.

Take me to the soup!

I originally called this “Quick and rich chicken soup,” but it sounded too much like a country band. However, the moniker still applies because this guy is indeed quite rich and quite quick (for a soup that tastes this good, that is!).

I’m not a huge fan of the chicken broth that comes in a box or a can. I mean, it’s fine as a replacement for water when cooking grains and beans, but for soup? It’s a little thin and bland for me. But, I don’t always have homemade stock in the freezer or the wherewithal to make it. (But if I do, this is my recipe!)

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To spice and thicken it up, I use any combination of these:

Butter: Adding a little extra cooking fat when you start sautéing your aromatics adds richness to the final product.
Tiny pasta: The teenier the better! Orzo, stelline, ditalini, anilline, or any other pasta that’s about the size of a pencil eraser works perfectly. When cooked in the broth, the starch from the pasta thickens the broth significantly.
Cheese: Adding some grated cheese at the end is one strategy, but tossing in the leftover rind of any hard cheese adds salt, depth, and richness.
Salt: This might sound weird because a lot of canned and boxed broths have A LOT of salt in them, but if you use the unsalted or low salt variety, be sure to add enough salt back in.
Poached egg: When the soup is done, adding a poached egg on top enriches it even more!

In this soup, I used pasta and a poached egg to give it a rich, silky texture. I included a range for the amount of liquid to add depending on how much liquid you like in your soup. Six cups makes the soup very thick, eight cups make it less so.

Shortcut chicken soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced (heaping ½ cup)
1 small stalk celery, diced (scant ½ cup)
6 large fresh sage leaves
½ tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp kosher salt
Black pepper to taste
6-8 cups chicken stock
1 cup tiny pasta
1-2 cups shredded, precooked chicken
Serving sugggestions:
Poached egg, parmesan cheese, more seasonin to taste

Time: About 45 minutes, mostly active
Yield: About 6-8 cups of soup, depending on how much water and chicken you add

Heat the olive oil in a large, deep pot over medium high heat. Add the minced onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until the veggies begin to brown and the onions are translucent, about 6-8 minutes.

Add the sage and thyme and cook until fragrant, about one minute.

Add the bay leaf, salt, pepper, and chicken stock and mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

While the soup simmers, shred the chicken and set aside.

Bring back to a boil and add the pasta. Cook according to package directions until al dente.

Add the shredded chicken and stir.

Meal prepping made fast and easy! A mostly hands-off process yields lots of rich chicken stock and shredded chicken so you can be prepared for busy weeknights, but also be flexible about what you eat and when. #meandthemoose #mealprepping #chicken #…

Cheap and easy chicken meal prep

October 15, 2020 by Rebecca Davis in Cooking, Dairy-free, Fall, Gluten-free, Kid eats, Quick meals, Recipes, Toddler eats, Budget meals

If the idea of “meal prepping” makes you roll your eyes, then this post is for you! A mostly hands-off process yields lots of rich chicken stock and shredded chicken that allows you to be flexible with your week’s meals while also being prepared for busy weeknights.

Take me to the chicken!

October is Hunger Awareness Month and it’s honestly kind of embarrassing that we even need an “awareness” month for a problem that’s so huge. According to the USDA, in 2019, over 13 million households experienced food insecurity including 2.4 million households with children. On top of those stats, unemployment in the US hit an all-time high in April 2020, so that’s a lot more people facing food shortages this year.

To that end, over on Instagram, Chelsea from The Dancer’s Pantry has created a new account which highlights original meals from different food bloggers, each costing less than $10 and aiming to serve at least 2 adults, but most serve 4 or more. There are vegetarian and carnivorous meals; breakfasts, lunches, and dinners; and I’m contributing this meal prep strategy! Check out Feed for 10 to see more.

I finally wrote down the ratios and cooking times for my favorite (and basically only) weekly meal prep. I don’t like rigid meal planning because, while I’m a devoted rule follower most of the time, when it comes to food rules, (even ones I make for myself!) I have a real “burn it all down” vibe.

Also, with kids it’s important to be able to pivot when suddenly they HATE something that was previously a favorite.

Enter: This easy, cheap, and mostly hands-off meal prep strategy. You come away with a huge amount of rich chicken stock that is so much more delicious and filling than the boxed stuff or a bullion cube. It freezes well and lasts frozen for 6 months. It also makes soups and stews much richer, which is helpful when you’re trying to make things stretch. I use this stock in any recipe that calls for stock, obviously, but also to cook these super easy and fast one-pot pastas because it really boosts their flavor.

The shredded chicken is also a lifesaver on busy nights. Throw it into tacos or enchiladas (if you’re feeling ambitious), stovetop mac and cheese or any other simple pasta dish, or smother it with your favorite BBQ sauce and have some messy but delicious pulled chicken sandwiches. The chicken also freezes well if you want to save it for later dinners.

$10 Meal prep (chicken stock and shredded chicken)

Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes, mostly hands off +15 minutes for straining
Yield: 11 cups stock, 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken

1 chicken, cut into pieces (about 3½-4½ lbs) $11.95 from Trader Joe’s (I bought a pre-cut chicken, but there were whole chickens available for $7-$9)
1 large bag frozen veggie and aromatic leftovers (save everything from the previous week’s cooking in a large bag in the freezer including onion skins, garlic skins, tiny cloves of garlic, leek and fennel fronds, lemon rinds, dried up fresh herbs, unused parts of celery, carrot peels, potato peels, etc)
14-18 cups water (enough to cover the chicken and veggies entirely, but the full amount will depend on how much chicken and veggies you use)
3 Tbsp kosher salt

Place everything into a large stockpot and bring to a boil over a high flame, about 20 minutes.

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low or just high enough to achieve a low rolling boil. Cook, uncovered, until the water has reduced by ¼, about 1 hour.

Add enough water to return to roughly the original amount (about 4 cups) and turn the flame back to high. Stir the mixture and check the seasoning. Add more salt if necessary. Bring the mixture back to a boil and then reduce back to a low rolling boil.

Boil for 20 more minutes. Let cool.

Remove the large pieces of veggies and chicken bones. Strain the broth into a large container. Save all of the cooked chicken meat.