Brined Chicken and Pasta

Ok, I tried it again, after reading a friend of mine TKW guest posting on another blog I tried to plan a meal ahead.  The advise she gave was to plan at least three meals a week... doesn't sound too hard, a lot of people I know suggest that you plan every stinkin' meal, breakfast lunch and dinner at least a month at a time then using some series of post-its they somehow follow through on this twisted plan.  Me I am not up to planning a month at a time, in fact the last few meals that I have tried to plan were less than wonderful... but 3 meals a week should be doable.  So Sunday as I was making Cider Braised Pork Chops (Blog to follow on this winner by the way) I put together a Brine for some chicken that I had in the freezer.  not to make the same mistakes as I did before I thawed the chicken breasts under cool running water for a while until they were mostly thawed before I started.

Then I made the brine, in a saucepan I put:
2 quarts of water
1/2 cup of salt
1/2 an onion coarsely chopped
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup brown sugar
3-4 sticks of thyme (use whatever aromatic you like)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley
I heated it all up then put it in a large bowl and added 2 trays of ice cubes (I know not very scientific... you just want it cooler than room temperature when you add the chicken)  then put your bone in skin on chicken breasts (or whatever parts you prefer) into the brine to soak, at least overnight, I hear that this can soak for a couple of days in the refrigerator with no ill effects.  I don't completely understand the chemical process that takes place here but the chicken naturally pulls the salty flavored water in and you get a piece of chicken that is MOIST and flavored to the bone.

When it is time to cook heat up about 1/4 cup of olive oil in an oven safe pan and brown the chicken for about 10 minutes (turning a couple of times) when the outside is done to your liking add about two cups of chicken broth, two cloves of Garlic and a couple of sticks of Thyme.  Cover and put into a 350 degree oven while you cook for another 20 minutes. While that is roasting cook your pasta.  This is served with Orzo (one of my favorites) follow the package instructions, when the orzo is ready drain the pasta like you always do then pour it right into the pan with your chicken and let it set for about 5 minutes.

That 5 minutes is a good time to get the kiddo's plates ready once they are set you are ready to go, I pull the chicken out and bone it real fast then slice it up before I serve.  You see how it looks, you can serve this comforting dish however you like it best.

Cilantro Lime Orzo

Ha I did it! I did it!  This is one of those things that I have been working on for a while, the concept got stuck in my head several weeks ago and I wanted to make it.  I had a few poorly executed attempts but I just knew that it would work... so here it is Cilantro Lime Orzo.  I made it with the same chicken that I made in my last archived attempt on a frozen grill again, maybe that is the secret.  Here is how it worked... Ingredients:

 

3/4 cup Orzo

1 TBS Olive Oil

1 Clove Garlic minced

2 Heavy TBS Finely Chopped Cilantro

1 1/4 cup Chicken Broth

Juice from one lime

Salt and pepper to taste

This one is best to start by chopping the Cilantro and Garlic... to get the 2 TBS of cilantro washed it well, picked the leaves off the stems then I chopped up most of a bunch of cilantro.  The garlic was a simple... peal, smash, mince, you know the drill. Set those aside.  Take your Orzo and start roasting it in a dry saucepan until it starts to toast a little then add the olive oil and minced garlic, I didn't time this part  but once you are sure this hot add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil then lower to medium heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes.  Let it stand for a few minutes and your side dish is ready to go.