Lentil Chicken over Stuffing, exclusively Skirt in the Kitchen
I like the practicality of cooking, what it can be, and how things come together when there’s creativity and a desire to provide. Just with a little common sense, some hunger, and flavorful taste buds, a person can feed a family! Some meals are thrown together, and a flop; others are surprisingly good!
In a skillet over the stove or in an electric skillet, soften three-fourths of a chopped yellow onion along with chopped carrots in a pat of unsalted butter. I’m saying butter because this will go into bread stuffing. I think it’s as important as putting butter in mashed potatoes-no oil-just butter to moisten for the ultimate flavor.
When onion and carrots have softened, add and stir in a good herb stuffing, just under 6 or 7 ounces of dried bread that is seasoned, as mentioned.
Pour in enough chicken broth, either regular Swanson’s brand (or another of preference), or the Swanson Louisiana Cajun Flavor Infused Broth that I’m choosing to cook with today. It’s what I have in the cupboard and it’s actually good in this. We’ll add just enough broth, little by little as we go, until the full 32-ounce carton has been completely used. Part of the broth will be used for the lentils.
Taste the moist stuffing for need of salt and pepper before filling a buttered casserole dish for the stuffing to brown in the oven at 350°
In the meantime, add another pat of butter and cook the remaining one-fourth onion.
When the onion is soft, place 5 or 6 skinless chicken breasts in the skillet. Make sure the meat is dried from rinsing in water so the pieces can lightly brown.
Color on both sides of each, then cover with a lid and cook for 15 to 25 minutes, checking to make sure they are thoroughly done without being dried out-overly cooked. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Keep the cooked onion in the skillet to stir and season into the lentils.
There should be enough butter left in the skillet to toast 1/2 pound dried lentils.
After the lentils have taken on some color, pour in some broth. Again, little by little. Allow the broth to cook into the lentils, then continue the process until the lentils are tender, using up all the broth and then adding water.
This is how they will be. Beautiful and getting tender by the minutes of the cooking process.
Now the broth is gone, no more left in the carton-a good thing. The flavor of the broth is now infused well into the lentils. We need some water to build up a slight broth from the lentils for into a gravy sauce. Make sure the water is either warm or hot when adding.
It’s got to go through the same process as before.
The stuffing has browned in the oven, so we’ll cover it now, and keep it warm.
Returning to the lentils… The broth and water have absorbed. The lentils are tender enough, not mushy, but not hard either. It’s time to stir in 1 tablespoon of flour. Add a little more water, but for this to become thickened into a gravy to go over the chicken and stuffing.
Place the chicken into the lentils, turn the pieces over, and cover them with the saucy lentils.
Serve over the stuffing.
This is filling and satisfying on a cold day.
chicken bread
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