April 06, 2009
Welcome to Soul Food Lovers' Newsletter
What’s Inside This Issue
Volume #028
Welcome New Subscribers
Special Announcements
Feature Article: Rotisserie Chicken Can Jump Start Your Meal
Cassandra’s Cooking Tips
Soul Food Column
Great Southern Recipes
Link to Your Gift
Soul Food Resource Center
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Welcome New Friends, We’re Happy to
Have You With Us!
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Special Announcements
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Rotisserie Chicken Can Jump Start Your Meal
Rotisserie chicken is a quick and easy way to get your meal on the right track. Mostly all food establishments have them-- carry-outs, large supermarkets and it’s a quick meal if you’re on the go.
Whether you serve this delicious bird whole or cut into pieces for recipes later, rotisserie chicken is certainly a winner on flavor as well as taste. When I purchase a rotisserie chicken I like to make chicken salad the next day. It’s also great served cold in fact I add chopped chicken to my vegetable salad for a hearty lunch.
The skin on the chicken carries a lot of flavor so I usually add to one of my boiling pots. It seasons vegetables like butter beans and peas nicely instead of just discarding it. And it’s a great alternative to seasoning with pork.
Rotisserie chicken is also great with roasted vegetables or garlic roasted potatoes. With all the seasonings from the chicken and vegetables working together, that’s certainly a real meal in itself and a healthy choice to jump start your meal.
Below are a few tips for purchasing rotisserie chicken.
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Tips for Purchasing Rotisserie Chicken
· Make sure the chicken is not over cooked. Sometimes when the chicken is under a heat lamp for a while it tend to dry out and become less juicy.
· Use chopped or shredded chicken for salads, pasta dishes, soups, gumbo, and rice. This also works well for sandwiches.
· Select a large full-breasted chicken. It has more meat with less waste and is less likely to dry out under a heat lamp. In this case bigger is better.
· Rotisserie chicken is best serve warm. It also separates easily when allows easy serving time.
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Try these healthy recipes with your rotisserie chicken:
GARLIC ROASTED POTATOES
3 medium baking potatoes, peeled, quartered
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Parsley, dried
In a large bowl, combine potatoes, onion, and butter in shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss well to coat potatoes. Sprinkle parsley over potatoes. Bake on cookie sheet uncovered at 450 degrees for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally or until potatoes are fork tender.
Note: Another recipe I love to make. You can also use olive oil or margarine instead of butter for this recipe. It’s still very delicious.
GARLIC ROASTED VEGETABLES
3 medium potatoes, quartered
1 cup baby carrots
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1 green pepper, cut into 1/2-inch wide strips
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Combine potatoes, carrots, and onion in an ungreased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Set aside. In a small mixing bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, oregano, salt and pepper. Blend together; then drizzle the mixture over the vegetables. Toss well.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove baking dish from oven then add green peppers. Toss to combine the green pepper with the other vegetables. Return the pan to the oven. Bake for 12 to 15 more minutes or until the vegetables are tender and brown around the edges. Serve hot.
Note: For spicier vegetables, toss a few dashes of hot sauce after baking.
Use the chicken skin to season these vegetables
GREEN BEANS AND POTATOES
Skin of Rotisserie Chicken
4 cups water
16 ounces package green beans, frozen
2 cups white or red potatoes, peeled, and quartered
½ onion, chopped
Season Salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon red ground pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
In a pot, slightly boil skin over medium heat with water, onions, salt, pepper, and red pepper. Cover pot and cook meat until almost done. Add green beans and vegetable oil; cook on high heat until beans start to boil. Reduce heat and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes. Add potatoes and cook until beans and potatoes are fork tender. Serve hot.
Note: This is one of my favorite vegetables. Serve with corn bread.
CROWDER PEAS
Skin of Rotisserie Chicken
5 cups water
2 cups fresh crowder peas
1 medium onion, chopped
½ teaspoon red pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
In a medium pot, combine water, skin, onion, and red pepper. Cover pot and cook until meat is almost done. Add peas, oil, salt and black pepper. Add more water as needed. Cook over high heat until peas start to boil. Reduce heat; continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes or until peas are done. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
Note: A great recipe with hot water corn bread.
These cold salads are excellent with rotisserie chicken or great served alone:
BLACK-EYED PEA SALAD
12 ounces colored Rotini pasta
1 (16 ounce) can black-eyed peas, cooked and drained
1 cup crabmeat
½ cup chopped green pepper
½ cup chopped tomatoes
¼ cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup Italian-style salad dressing
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse in cold water; place pasta in a serving bowl then set aside. In a separate bowl, combine peas, crabmeat, green pepper, tomatoes, onions, and black pepper. Toss gently to mix. In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, Italian dressing and cheese.
Pour over pasta mixture. If more dressing is desired, add more Italian dressing. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Mix well before serving.
BROCCOLI AND CAULIFLOWER SALAD
1 bunch broccoli florets
1 small cauliflower
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
dash of Worcestershire sauce
8 stripes of bacon, cooked and crumbled
Break up broccoli and cauliflower; toss with onion. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well. Pour dressing mixture over broccoli and cauliflower. Mix well. Scatter crumbled bacon on top of vegetables. Serve cold. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
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Soul Food Column - Collard Greens
Collard greens are a staple vegetable of southern U.S. cuisine and soul food. They are often prepared with other similar green leaf vegetables, such as kale, turnip greens, spinach, and mustard greens in "mixed greens".
Collard greens are generally eaten year-round in the South. Typical seasonings when cooking collards can consist of smoked and salted meats (ham hocks, pork neck bones, fatback or other seasoned meat), diced onions, vinegar, salt, and pepper. On the lighter side, collard greens can also be seasoned with less fatty meats including seasoned chicken skin and smoked turkey.
Collards are extremely healthy and is a good source of vitamin C and soluble fiber and contain multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties.
Cornbread is a common compliment to collards and is used to soak up the "potlikker," a nutrient-rich collard broth. Roughly a quarter pound of cooked collards contains 46 calories. Collard greens may also be thinly sliced and fermented to make collard kraut, which is often cooked with flat dumplings.
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Soul Food Resource Center
Make sure you check out our Resource Center. A wealth of information at your fingertips.
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Link to Your Gift
As promised, here is your gift for subscribing - New Trends in Soul Food cooking. The report is password protected. The password is ??????????.
Just click the link below; then enter password. Enter password exactly as listed. New Food Trend
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Until Next Time
Cassandra Harrell is an avid soul food lover and the author of the new Soul Food Lovers’ Cookbook with 250 easy-to-follow soul food and southern recipes from three generations of Southern cooks. Throughout the cookbook you’re find helpful cooking tips and fun recipe stories about the dish.
Cassandra Harrell
Editor & Soul Food Advisor
(c) copyright 2009
Soul Food Advisor