Slow-Cooked Oven Roast Citrus Chicken

It is citrus season in Arizona! The lemons are heavy and dropping from the tree in such number its hard to keep up with.

Today's weather was really cool in the Valley of the Sun, and our heater decided that today (of all days) it was going to be "testy", and act up. Trying to keep the house warm, I made a peach crisp in the oven, and then very slow-baked this dish. The results were marvelous.

I had a packet of chicken legs in the freezer, a head of cabbage in the fridge, and I was itching to try the red rice I had recently percured.

BTW red rice is very healthy for you. It's known to invigorate the body, aids digestion, removes blood blockages in the body, and is often used to lower cholesterol.

Red rice is a good source of thiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), fibre, iron and calcium. The flavor of cooked red cargo rice is generally more sweet and nutty, and the rice is more chewy than standard white polished rice. It does take longer to cook, but it is definitely worth it.

Tonights dinner was absolutely delicious, with a hint of citrus that just gave it a "clean" and "fresh" taste. The red rice was awesome, and I think I've found my new fave grain.

You're definitely going to want to give this a try!

Happy Cooking, Happy Eating!


Ingredients:

6 chicken legs
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp Middle Eastern 7-Spices
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 red onion, sliced
1/2 head of cabbage, leaves kept whole
1/4 tsp chicken powder

3 cups hot water
1 TBSP butter
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups red rice

1. In an oven proof bowl, use the cabbage to line the bowl. Add the red onion over top, sprinkle with chicken powder.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the chicken legs with pepper, salt, 7-Spices and lemon juice. Place the chicken over top of the cabbage and onions.
3. Bake at 300*F for 2 hours, then reduce heat to 250* for a further 30 minutes while rice is cooking.

4. In a cooking pot, add hot water butter and salt and bring to a boil, add red rice.
5. Bring the water to a boil again, reduce heat to very low and let simmer (stirring occasionally) for 30-40 minutes (or to desired texture of rice).
6. Drain any remaining liquid from rice before serving.

NB: You can substitute the chicken legs with a whole chicken

Chocolate Orange Marble Cake

I have been invited to a pot luck on Saturday night and I had no idea what to make to bring. As I rifled through my cupboards, I found a packet of yellow cake mix and chocolate cake mix. I am not partial to a "plain" marble cake and with the orange tree as laden as it is this year, I thought I'd take full advantage of the goodness from our garden.

So I decided to use the delicious fruit from our garden and create this semi-homemade cake.

It is really easy, completely semi-homemade, and will be great for the party on Saturday night.

Its rustic exterior is a great compliment to the homemade goodness that the orange tweaks this recipe to become.

You're definitely going to want to give this one a try. Paired with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, this will make a great "coffee cake".

Happy Cooking, Happy Eating!


Ingredients:
1 pack chocolate cake mix
1 pack yellow cake mix
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil - divided into 2 xs 3/4 cups
1 cup water
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (you can substitute for concentrate but it will lose some of the freshness taste)
Rind from 1 orange (or 1/2 TBSP)

Orange Glaze:
1 cup confectioners sugar (Icing sugar powder)
1/4 tsp orange rind
1 1/2 TBSP fresh squeezed orange juice (or more if needed)

Heat oven to 350*F

1. Empty contents of the yellow cake mix into a bowl, add three eggs, 3/4 cup oil, 1 cup orange juice, and 1/2 TBSP orange rind. Mix well on high speed for 2 minutes. Set aside.
2. Empty contents of the chocolate cake mix into a separate bowl, add three eggs, 3/4 cup oil, 1 cup water and mix well on high speed for 2 minutes.
3. In a greased and floured cake pan (you can use a bundt tin or a 6" tall cake tin), ladle the chocolate and orange cake mixes into the pan to create a "marble" inside. DO NOT MIX OR STIR!
4. Bake in a 350*F oven for 1 hr and 10 minutes (or until cake is cooked through and a toothpick inserted to the middle comes out clean).
5. Let cool overnight or until completely cooled. (I let the cake sit for 24 hours to allow the orange flavour to permeate the cake.)

Orange Glaze:
1. In a clean bowl, add 1 cup of confectioners sugar, 1/4 tsp orange rind, and orange juice. Mix very well until smooth and runny, but not too liquid.
2. Place cake over a sheet of aluminium foil ensuring the sides are sticking out past the cake to "catch" excess glaze.
3. Pour the glaze over the very top of the cake and let it drizzle down the sides. It is supposed to look rustic.

Cut a slice of orange and then cut it in half. Cut down the flesh of the orange, make sure to not cut in to the rind. Twist it and then place on top of the cake.

Keep in fridge to let icing set about 20-30 minutes.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

Our orange tree, packed full of fruit this year

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Spicy Lemon Chicken

The lemon tree in our yard is so heavy laden this year that some of the branches are near touching the ground. So what is a person to do with such a tree? Create lots of dishes with the fresh and delicious yellow fruit!

I don't know about you, but for me, when I have a dish that has just enough lemon in it, it gives the entire dish a sense of freshness. Maybe its that fact that lemons are a great cleaning agent, and so my senses feel the "cleanliness" in the dish, or maybe it is something entirely different, but I love cooking with lemon; and in Arizona, that means cooking with it more often in our wintertime when the citrus are in season.

Last night, I grabbed some chicken legs out of the fridge and upon deciding to roast them, thought back to the many meals my Middle Eastern friends would make, many of the dishes would contain the juice of lemon. And maybe this dish isn't so "spicy" as it is aromatic.

On the BBQ, lemon juice infused meat reacts to create an incredible taste that is quite unique, but it works well in the oven also. I thought to give it a whirl and add a bit of lemon juice to the chicken and see what it created. Well, it could only go one of two ways... great or awful. No "grey area" here.


As most of my cooking is experimentation, the results of this experiment turned out brilliant, and my "taste-tester" hubby insisting that I should get the recipe up on here fast. So, without any further adieu, here is the recipe.

Happy Cooking, Happy Eating!

Our lemon tree. It is so heavy laden this year.

Ingredients:
8 chicken legs
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
4 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp seven spices
2 tsp paprika
juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon
salt to taste


8 red-skinned potatoes
salt to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil


8 cups baby carrots
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp water
salt to taste


Heat oven to 375*F

1. Rinse and pat dry chicken legs (remove any excess fat). Place in a baking dish, skin side up.

2. Sprinkle the spices and salt evenly over the legs.

3. "Drizzle" the lemon juice over the legs, making sure you don't "wash" the spices off the chicken legs. Set aside.

4. Wash potatoes and cut in half, toss in salt lightly.

5. Pour oil into a separate baking dish and then lay the potatoes, exposed flesh side down in to the oil.

Bake chicken and potatoes for 45 mins - 1 hr, or until chicken skin is well roasted (and crisp) and chicken and potatoes are cooked through. Remove from heat and let sit 5-8 minutes before plating.

6. Pour carrots into a microwave safe dish, season with a little salt. Dab the butter on top of the carrots, and add the water down the sides of the dish. Microwave on HIGH for 7-8 minutes until cooked through but not over-cooked. Once cooked, give a quick toss to coat all the carrots with butter, and serve immediately.


Serves 4-6

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