Single Serving Chicken Recipe with Tarragon and Mushrooms

This single serving chicken recipe flavored with tarragon and mushrooms will make you think you’ve gone to a fine French restaurant (without the big bill at the end of the meal).

I adapted the recipe from Pierre Franey’s 60 Minute Gourmet cookbook. Its official name translates to Fricassé of Chicken with Tarragon.  My friends and family used to call it “cholesterol chicken.”

The original recipe called for three tablespoons of butter and an entire cup of cream!  Much as I love butter and cream, that’s a bit…much.

So, I decided to make it a bit lighter, while also adapting the recipe to make it a single serving chicken recipe instead of the original four.  I reduced the amount of butter and used canola oil instead.  Then, I replaced the cream with a mixture of Greek yogurt and milk.

It’s still a quick and easy chicken recipe and it still tastes great (though it’s certainly not low fat) and I haven’t sacrificed one bit of flavor.

Let’s call it Tarragon Chicken with Mushrooms for One Person instead.

It’s also pretty forgiving. I made a larger recipe for my parents, with a few variations, since mom had different ingredients and onions bothered dad’s stomach.  I used “better than bullion” concentrate, garlic powder instead of fresh garlic, and dried shiitake mushrooms.  My dad was not a big fan of chicken, but he certainly liked this recipe. He licked his plate clean! Mom insisted that I write down exactly what I did so I could repeat it.




Tarragon Chicken with Mushrooms Recipe Substitutions and Variations

  • If you don’t have the yogurt/milk use the cream, or mix butter and milk together and melt it before adding it to the sauce (since butter is essentially solidified cream)
  • The original recipe called for fresh tarragon.  I bought some and found it tasted like licorice.  Since I don’t particularly like licorice, I wasn’t too happy about that! On the other hand, if you do like licorice, or fresh tarragon, use one small sprig.
  • Try using wild mushrooms, like shiitake or chanterelle instead of white button mushrooms; this also works well with dried mushrooms (reconstitute them with hot water to cover and let them sit for five or ten minutes)

More Chicken Recipes

stovetop coq au vinStovetop Coq au Vin Chicken with Red Wine Sauce

Standard coq au vin is complicated and time-consuming. This version speeds that all up and makes it accessible for a home cook.

 

crispy lemon chicken thigh

Crispy Lemon Chicken Thigh Recipe for One

Great hot or cold, with a crispy, slightly sweet flavor, and three kinds of lemon. Think fried chicken with less mess.

 

Chicken Mushroom Skillet Recipe chicken mushroom skillet recipe

Pan fry the chicken, cut the mushrooms and veggies, and simmer. It makes its own sauce right in the pan.

 

shoemaker's chicken for oneShoemaker’s Chicken for One

A classic Italian meal, that’s really not Italian at all.  Minimal cleanup, one pan and a tangy sauce you don’t have to cook separately.




Easily Break Apart a Head of Garlic

Tip: How to Easily Break Apart a Head of Garlic

separate a head of garlic
How to separate a head of garlic

Need to break apart a head of garlic?  It may seem daunting, but there’s a secret trick that makes it simple and easy.

Here’s all you have to do. Just place the bulb on a cutting board, with the larger, wider side down, and the individual cloves pointing up (see photo on right).

Then take a sharp knife and push it straight down through the center of the head of garlic.  Essentially, pretend that you’re stabbing it! Then twist the knife back and forth.  The cloves will come apart easily.




Garlic Recipes

crispy garlic basil potato bitesCrispy Garlic Basil Potato Bites

Tiny crispy bites of potato nirvana, with fluffy interiors and a crispy outside. A lot easier (and faster) than fries.

 

garlic ginger turmeric riceGarlic Ginger Turmeric Rice

Packed with garlic, ginger, green cardamon pods, and a pinch of turmeric for that beautiful yellow color.  The cardamom adds a minty, citrus flavor. As is, it’s a side dish. Add a few more ingredients, and it’s dinner.

 

linguine with garlic and olive oilLinguine with Garlic and Olive Oil

Simple? Yes. But delicious.  And you can essentially make it from your cupboard.  No shopping required.

 

sauteed garlic parmesan spinachSauteed Garlic Parmesan Spinach

Just a few basic ingredients turn ordinary spinach into something special. Ready in minutes too.

 

Handy Garlic Tool

Premium Garlic Peeler
Premium Garlic Peeler – BPA Free

Once you’ve broken the head of garlic apart, here’s an easy tool for peeling the cloves. This is silly simple. All you have to do is put the garlic clove inside the tube. Then roll it around on your counter. The papery outside will come right off and your garlic clove is now peeled.




Top Kitchen Gadgets

cuisinart stick blender

Every cook loves kitchen gadgets. Hey, that’s part of what makes cooking fun. These are the top kitchen gadgets I own — the essential tools and utensils I can’t live without.

From a microplane grater to a garlic peeler, to an Oxo can opener, these gadgets make cooking much easier and faster.

Most of these are under $20. And, since they’re pretty cheap, you don’t have to feel guilty about treating yourself. They’d also make great gifts for your favorite cook.

Plus, I’ve added some helpful tips to give you more inspiration on how to use them.

Premium Garlic Peeler
Premium Garlic Peeler – BPA Free

If you’ve ever struggled trying to laboriously peel the skin off a clove of garlic, you know what a pain it is. It’s thin, it’s crinkly, and removing it is really hard.

Well, those days are done. Put a clove of garlic inside the tube, roll it around on your counter, and voila! It’s so easy, you may find that you just can’t stop using it. Just be mindful of the neighbors and your friends after you eat all that garlic!

microplane

Microplane Zester/Gratermicroplane zesterr

The microplane started its life in woodworking, as a rasp, and moved over to food. You can do lots of things with it. Use it to shave chocolate over a hot cup of cocoa or a freshly-baked cake. It’s also handy for grating hard cheese easily or zesting lemons. It also grates ginger (which is really hard to cut or chop with a knife).

The only tricky part for me is cleaning it (but that’s because I don’t have a dishwasher). It is dishwasher safe, so you can just toss it in and not worry about it.

It’s Sharp!
One thing about this zester, is that it is very, very sharp! Be careful when you use it, and make sure to keep it in the holder so you don’t scrape your hands when you pull it out of a drawer or gadget holder.

Oxo kitchen tongs

Kitchen tongs

These are great for tossing pasta, grilling fish, or transferring cutlets from egg to bread crumbs. The locking mechanism keeps them from getting stuck to other gadgets in your kitchen drawer. Like all Oxo products, they’re ergonomically designed so they’re easy to hold. I have the 12″ model, which is probably the best size for kitchen use. However, the longer ones (16″) would probably work well for a barbecue (when you need to be further away from the source of heat).

Premium Garlic Peeler
Premium Garlic Peeler – BPA Free

I love this potato peeler! My old peeler wasn’t very sharp and it hurt my hand. The good grips peeler really lives up to its name. It’s much easier to hold, my hand doesn’t hurt, and I could peel a whole peck of potatoes with this one and not mind.

And it doesn’t just stop with potatoes. It even peels butternut squash easily. I bought one and peeled it in seconds (without straining or hurting myself)! Wow!

Oxo can opener

OXO SteeL Can Opener

There are several Oxo can openers, but this one is the best— and has high ratings on Amazon too. It cuts through cans like a knife through soft butter! You can hardly tell the can is there.

It’s also really easy on your hands (my old metal can opener used to dig into my palms). And, it looks sleek and shiny sitting on my counter in my gadget holder.

cuisinart stick blender

Cuisinart  Immersion Hand Blender

Lots of soup recipes call for you to make the soup, puree it in small batches, and then return it to the pot. You have to get the big blender out, pour small amounts of soup in, puree it, then get another pot to put it in, and keep repeating over and over. You end up with 2 dirty pots and a dirty blender to clean.

With the immersion blender, you just prepare your soup, turn off the heat, stick the hand blender into the pot and whir away. It’s the best immersion blender I’ve tried. And, it snaps apart when you push a button, so you can just wash the shaft with the blade, and put the motor half to the side (where it won’t get wet).

Soup Cooking Tip
With this blender, you don’t have to bother pureeing soup in batches in your regular blender.
Just take the pot off the heat, stick the blender right in the pot, and whirr away. It’s a lot faster and easier to clean.

Vacu Vin Wine Saver Pump Black with Vacuum Wine Stopper - Keep Your Wine Fresh for up to 10 Days - 1 Pump 2 Stoppers - Reusable - Made in the Netherlands

Vacu Vin Wine Saver

Drinking wine with dinner is great, but when you’re one person, there’s always some left over. I used to stick it in the fridge, and then forget it was there. Two or three days later, I’d end up with a half bottle of really expensive vinegar. Not good.

My mom gave me a wine saver as a gift for the holidays one year and it’s great. All you have to do is pop on a stopper and vacuum the air out of the bottle with the little pump. The wine will stay fresh for nearly two weeks: no waste, and no vinegar.

Black and Decker food chopper

Black and Decker mini food chopper

This little gadget is great for mincing and chopping, without having to haul out (or clean) your big food processor. Use it to chop onions, bread crumbs, grind nuts, and mince fresh herbs. It’s easier to clean than a blender, and comes with a mini spatula to scrape down the sides.

Since it’s so small, you can keep it out on your kitchen counter, where it’s handy, rather than having to drag it down out of a cupboard.

stainless mesh tea ball

Stainless Steel Mesh Tea Ball

Lots of recipes call for adding spices, such as bay leaves or cloves, in cheesecloth so they can be removed later.

I’ve never seen cheesecloth in a store, and since I have a small kitchen, I don’t want to keep it around if I do find it. So, I use the tea ball instead. Rather than fishing out the bay leaves, cloves, or the peppercorns one by one (my dad does this!), I put them in the tea ball.

This way the flavor spreads into the soup, without making a mess. Pull the tea ball out with a spoon when you’re done. Pretty simple.

Oxo utensil holder

OXO Good Grips Brushed Stainless Steel Utensil Holder

I’ve got about 30 (maybe more) kitchen gadgets (trimming this page down to just a few top gadgets was hard!). My old gadget holder was looking pretty grim. So, I decided to treat myself to this sleek new one from Oxo.

It’s got three sections, so I can sort everything by type – spoons in one section, spatulas in the second, and everything else in the third. I wasn’t quite sure it would hold all my gadgets – but it does. It’s got an elliptical shape, so it doesn’t take up a lot of space (another plus, as space in my kitchen is at a premium).

What are some of your favorite kitchen gadgets? And do you have any unconventional ways to use them?

Homemade Tortilla Crust Pizza

I wanted homemade pizza one day and was feeling too lazy (and too hungry) to take the time to make dough and wait for yeast to rise.  Usually, I’d use pita bread for this, but I didn’t have any.  I didn’t have any of the usual substitutes either, (not even an English muffin). Necessity being the mother of invention, I decided to create another “base” for my pizza. The answer was homemade tortilla crust pizza.

It turned out that a tortilla made a perfect crust for my pizza.  I didn’t roll it out that much, but left it fairly thick (so it would be more like pita bread).

And, while I was low on pizza base substitutes, I did have sausage, fresh eggplant, and plenty of tomato sauce.

I made a quick tortilla crust, chopped  up the veggies, put it all together, and baked it.  It made a great, fairly easy lunch.

Of course, if you’re really in a hurry, feeling extra tired, you can always skip making the tortilla and use some from the store instead!




More Tortilla Recipes

fried egg burritoFried Egg Burrito

Super-quick (ready in about 10 minutes) and perfect for any meal. Great for a light snack or when you’ve got a bad case of the hungries.

 

egg chili cheese burritoEgg Chili Cheese Wrap Recipe

Chili, cheese, and eggs, all wrapped up in an easy sandwich. No fuss, one pot, and super-fast.

 

cranberry chipotle turkey burrito

Cranberry Chipotle Turkey Burrito

Use up leftover holiday turkey and relish, add some chipotle and you’ve got a whole new set of flavors.  Spicy, sweet, and tangy too.

 

pear dessert crepeEasy Pear Crepe Dessert Recipe for One Person

I know what you’re thinking. This is a tortilla page, where did the crepe come from? Look closely. It’s a tortilla. A super-sneaky easy way to get a crepe.

 

 




Quick and Easy Spicy Leftover Turkey Soup

Every year after the holidays are over, we all end up with lots of leftover turkey. Lots and lots of it.  I’ve made a lot of the “standard” leftover turkey soup with  carrots and broccoli and maybe noodles or potatoes.  This time I wanted something with more zip.  I had some turkey (naturally), some tomatoes, lime, and of course spices, so I decided to go for a south of the border flavor.  So, spicy leftover turkey soup was born.

Ironically, a friend (who translates books from English to Spanish) once told me there are no turkeys in South America, which made her job rather difficult when she had to translate some turkey recipes for a cookbook she was working on.

I suppose that makes this not strictly authentic Mexican food.  So, let’s call it Tex-Mex. And, authentic or not, the tangy lime, the spicy cayenne, and the cool sour cream make the soup flavorful and satisfying.

UPDATE: I published this post some time ago, and decided it was time to refresh it. So, the beans have been swapped for potatoes. Then, I ditched the tomato sauce and replaced it with fire-roasted diced tomatoes. And, instead of ground cayenne, I used fresh hot banana pepper instead.  The flavor is now richer, more intense, and spicier.




Quick and Easy Spicy Leftover Turkey Soup Substitutions and Variations

  • If you don’t have a turkey carcass, use turkey thighs, depending on size, one or two should do it.
  • Add 1/2 a can of navy beans
  • Replace the potatoes with cooked rice (about 1/2 a cup)
  • Add a handful of frozen corn
  • Top with crumbled tortilla chips, or cut up some tortillas, fry them, and sprinkle them on top of the soup for extra crunch.

More Turkey Recipes

cranberry chipotle turkey burritoCranberry Chipotle Turkey Burrito

A delicious way to use up holiday leftovers and transform the flavors.  This is sweet, spicy, and tangy too.

 

sweet and sour jelly turkey meatballsSweet and Sour Turkey Meatballs

Remember those jelly meatballs you had as a kid? They’ve now grown up and gotten more complex.  Less sweet, more spicy.

 

easy leftover turkey soupEasy Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe

The classic leftover turkey soup, chock-full of potatoes, carrots, and (shhh) frozen veggies. Why chop if you don’t have to?

 

turkey pot pie for one personTurkey Pot Pie for One Person

Tender turkey, sweet peas and carrots all wrapped in a flaky all-butter crust. Make the crust (as I did) or buy one. It’s all good.

 




Easy Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe

This easy leftover turkey soup recipe is great for a chilly spring or fall day.

It’s also a good way to use up cooked turkey after a holiday (just add the turkey during the final cooking stage).

Note: You’ll need a Dutch oven for this (since the pot has to go first on the stove, and then in the oven). If you don’t have one, use a soup pot and make the whole thing on the stove.

If you don’t have any leftover turkey handy,  use turkey thighs instead.

I had seen some boneless turkey thighs in the store, and bought them without really having a plan in mind for what to do with them.

I went searching on the internet for turkey soup and found a recipe for turkey stew, but that wasn’t quite what I wanted.  Plus, I didn’t have all the ingredients (since I hadn’t known I was going to make it!)

The original recipe called for celery,  turnips, and rutabaga (I’ve never met a rutabaga), none of which I had on hand.

So, I figured I would improvise and use what I did have to make soup.

A quick look in the pantry and fridge, turned up some potatoes, plus the turkey, a package of frozen veggies, and an open bottle of Riesling.  The original recipe also called for Herbs de Provence, which I didn’t have either, so I threw together some basil, tarragon, and thyme.




It came out really well! And, as a bonus, it warmed up my apartment beautifully.

This is a small batch recipe, and makes about 4-6 portions. Eat one and freeze the rest. Or, keep eating it all week (so you don’t have to cook again).

If you still need to use up more leftover turkey, or want a different flavor, check out this spicy turkey soup recipe.

More Delicious Small Batch Soup Recipes

easy spicy turkey soupQuick and Easy Spicy Leftover Turkey Soup

Want a bit more kick? This south-of-the-border flavored turkey soup has lime, cumin, and cayenne, tempered with cool sour cream on top.

 

chinese chicken noodle cabbage soupChinese Chicken Noodle Cabbage Soup for One Person

This is originally made with chicken, but turkey would work just fine too.  It could likely stand up to a more assertive hand with the spices too.

 


spicy beef noodle soupSpicy Beef Noodle Soup for One

Clear your head, inhale deeply, and savor the fragrance. Ahhh. Only requires a few minutes work and pantry ingredients.

 

caldo verde soupCaldo Verde Soup

No leftover turkey here, though I suppose you could use turkey sausage, or extra turkey and amp up the spices with extra paprika, cayenne, and salt. But, it’s a quick soup with spicy sausage, potatoes, and bright spinach.

 




Spinach and Feta Cheese Omelette

This spinach and feta cheese omelette has salty feta, tender spinach, and a mild oniony bite from scallions.  I had a craving for spanakopitas (spinach and feta triangles, wrapped in phyllo dough), but unfortunately, I had no phyllo dough handy.

I suppose I could have gone out to get some, but believe me, when you have to go up and down (or maybe down and up) all those steps, all 56 of them, you think twice before running out to the store for just one ingredient!

So, I decided to improvise.  While I didn’t have phyllo dough, I did have the other ingredients, and plenty of eggs.

I figured with the eggs, the spinach, some feta cheese, some scallions, and a little creativity, I could get a similar flavor in an omelette without any phyllo dough. It was delicious!  And, I admit it was also a lot easier to prepare than spanikopitas!  The spanakopitas take quite a bit of time and effort to make (all that dough rolling). Unlike spanakopitas, this spinach and feta cheese omelette is ready in about fifteen minutes, which is much faster (and easier) gratification!

You can make it for breakfast on a weekday (since it doesn’t take long to prepare), or have it for a weekend brunch or quick lunch.  Just add some fruit or a chunk of crusty bread.




Omelette Cooking Tips

Omelette making can seem a bit intimidating, but it’s not that hard to master.  And, while you’re practicing, you still get to eat the results (even if they don’t look perfect, they will still taste good).

I’ve explained this in more detail in the recipe, but the idea is to coat the pan with the oil first. There’s a lot of talk about using seasoned cast iron pans, but an ordinary frying pan is just fine. Then add the eggs, and tilt the pan to spread the egg mixture evenly over the bottom. Use a fork (or a spatula) to move the uncooked (and still liquid) eggs around in the pan.  Then, once the edges firm up (and are no longer liquid), add the filling on one side.  Flip the empty half over the filling, cook it, and then slide (or flip) the omelette onto your plate.

Since it’s a bit easier  to explain omelette preparation with video and pictures, rather than words (and because I can’t hold the pan, the fork, and the camera all at once), here’s a video from the BBC that demonstrates the basic technique for making a plain omelette.

More Single Serving Egg and Spinach Recipes

fried egg burritoEgg Chili Cheese Burrito Recipe

A super-quick and easy meal that’s good any time of day.  Just a few basic ingredients, but still lots of spicy cool flavors.

 

frittata recipe for one personFrittata Recipe for One Person

Think part omelette and part quiche. It’s super-versatile too;  use broccoli, spinach, ham, peppers, or whatever veggies you like.

 

eggs with spinach and chili pepper

Eggs with Spinach and Chili Peppers

A light meal with a touch of heat from garlic and ginger (and the peppers). Only one pot.

 

spinach and egg frittataSpinach and Egg Frittata for One Person

Eat this hot out of the pot, or let it cool and wrap it to go. The spinach, eggs, nutmeg, coriander, and fresh dill add lots of herby and savory flavor.