Nifs Chicken And Spaghetti With A Middle Eastern Twist Recipes

NIF'S CHICKEN AND SPAGHETTI WITH A MIDDLE EASTERN TWIST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Pour oil into a small bowl and mix in cumin, allspice and cayenne pepper. Using your hands rub the seasoned oil all over your chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Place the chicken, breast-side down in a roasting pan and roast for about 1 1/2 hours, or until well browned and cooked through, turning it over toward the end to brown the breast. When the chicken's nearly ready, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Take the chicken out of the oven and take the meat off the bone, leaving the skin on, except for the thick fatty stuff. Tear the chicken into medium-sized pieces. Make sure you tear the chicken apart over the roasting pan so you keep the juices in there for the sauce. You can use a knife and fork to tear it apart or wait until it is cooler and do it with your hands. Discard bones and put the chicken meat aside and keep warm.
• For the sauce, pour all the juices from the roasting pan into a saucepan. You will need about 1 cup, so add chicken broth if necessary. Add the drained sultanas and the pine nuts. Begin to simmer the sauce when you are ready to cook the pasta. Very important - taste the sauce and add more seasoning if you think it needs more.
• Cook and drain the pasta (Do NOT rinse your pasta), and toss it in the warm pot with the sauce until spaghetti is coated. Add chicken pieces and gently toss and put in large bowl. Sprinkle with almonds and parsley.

SPICY CHICKEN SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with 2 pieces of foil.
• Put the chicken in a large pan, season with salt and pepper and cover with water. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Remove the chicken and let cool, then shred the meat, discarding the skin and bones. Save the broth for cooking the spaghetti.
• Remove the sausage from the casings and put into a large skillet with the olive oil. Cook over medium heat, breaking up the sausage meat into small pieces, until it is no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Add the mushrooms to the skillet. When they give up their liquid, add the green peppers and sundried tomatoes, then cook until just beginning to soften, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and set aside on top of the sausage. Reserve the oil in the skillet.
• Bring the reserved chicken broth back to a boil. Cook the spaghetti in the broth until al dente according to the package instructions, then drain, reserving the broth.
• If there is less than 2 tablespoons oil/fat in the skillet, add some olive oil to make 2 tablespoons. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute over medium heat. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of the reserved chicken broth. When it starts to thicken, after about 5 minutes, add the half-and-half. If it is too thick, thin with some more broth. Turn off the heat and add the basil and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan; season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the chicken, sausage and vegetables. Stir in the spaghetti.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish, sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan on top and cover with aluminum foil. Cook the casserole immediately, or let cool completely, then freeze.
• If cooking right away, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cook for 25 minutes, then uncover the baking dish and cook until heated through, an additional 20 minutes.
• To cook from frozen: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Cook the frozen casserole for 2 hours, then raise the temperature to 375 degrees F, uncover and cook until heated through, 15 minutes more.
• Serve with salad and French bread.

SPAGHETTI WITH A TWIST

Steps:

• Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Heat the tomato sauce with the cheese in a pot until the cheese has melted. Toss the pasta and tomato sauce together with the basil. Mix the bread crumbs with the melted butter.
• Twirl small forkfuls of the pasta onto metal forks. Place them on a baking sheet and sprinkle some of the buttered bread crumbs onto each one. Put the pan under the broiler and broil for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until the bread crumbs are lightly browned. Make sure the handles of the forks are not directly under the heat source. Let cool for a minute and serve.

GRANDMA'S CAJUN CHICKEN & SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Sprinkle chicken with cayenne and salt. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken in batches. Remove from pan., Add sausage, onion, green pepper and celery to same pan; cook and stir over medium heat 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in tomatoes. Return chicken to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until chicken juices run clear, about 1 hour., Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Remove chicken from pan. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones; discard skin and bones. Shred meat with 2 forks; return to pan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, 8-10 minutes. Skim fat. Drain spaghetti; serve with chicken mixture.

CREAMY CHICKEN SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add chicken, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cover, reduce heat to a gentle boil, and cook until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 10 to 12 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove chicken and set aside until cool enough to handle, then chop into bite-sized pieces. Leave broth in the pot.
• Bring broth back to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling broth, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain spaghetti; do not rinse. Discard broth.
• Melt butter in the same pot. Add onion and bell pepper; saute until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add diced tomatoes and chiles, condensed chicken soup, condensed mushroom soup, chicken, and spaghetti, one ingredient at a time, gently mixing after each addition.
• Add Cheddar cheese and stir together, mixing well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat until cheese is thoroughly melted, stirring occasionally to keep from scorching.

CHICKEN SPAGHETTI WITH A TWIST

Steps:

• Marinate chicken for 30 mins in your favorite marinade. Put the chicken on the grill. Cook the spagehtti noodles in salted water. Cook the bacon to the directions. When chicken is done and the noodles are done you are almost there. Plate the noodles on your plate, place the chicken on top of the plain noodles. Take your cooked bacon and place it on top of the chicken, then cover it with cheese. Finally pour sauce on top of the cheese and a little on the noodles. Enjoy.

NIF'S PARMESAN CHICKEN THIGHS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375F and cut chicken thighs in half. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and set a rack on it.
• Mix egg and milk in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.
• Mix bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and seasoning salt in another shallow dish.
• Dip chicken in egg mix and place in bread crumbs. Press bread crumb mixture into thighs. Place thighs on rack and spray with olive oil.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 170°F.

MIDDLE EASTERN PASTA WITH YOGURT AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Meanwhile, heat the corn oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the beef and cook until well browned, stirring frequently to break apart, about 7 minutes. Add the pine nuts, and cook for another minute until dark brown. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then remove from the heat, and drain off excess fat.
• In a large bowl, crush the garlic into a smooth paste. Whisk the yogurt with the garlic until creamy and smooth. Once the pasta has been cooked and drained, place into a serving dish, and pour the yogurt over it. Top with the cooked meat and nuts while it is still hot.

MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN SANDWICHES

Steps:

• In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook chicken for 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove from the skillet; cool slightly., In a large bowl, combine the chicken, tomatoes, cucumber and onion. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, oil, oregano, mint and salt. Pour over chicken mixture; toss gently., Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Line pita halves with lettuce; fill with chicken mixture, using a slotted spoon.

NIF'S BAKED PASTA WITH SHRIMP AND CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cook pasta as directed.
• Heat olive oil over medium high heat in large frying pan. Add onion, garlic, chicken and Italian seasoning. Saute for 5 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink.
• Add mushrooms and saute for 1 minute.
• Add shrimp, tomatoes, ricotta, chili peppers and salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until it heats through and shrimp is just pink. Stir in pasta.
• Pour mixture into 2 quart casserole dish. Top with cheddar and parmesan.
• Bake uncovered at 350F for 30 minutes, until heated through.