A delicious, healthy recipe with fresh corn as the supporting actor, giving a bit of crunch and sweetness to the dish.
Today we are going to look at a way to give chicken, an all around delicious, wholesome choice for a main dish and protein, a distinctive flavor in just 30 minutes, while tenderizing it! This method can also be used on any other piece of meat, and is especially terrific for those less expensive cuts of beef and pork.
Normally, meat needs to be marinated and tenderized from 4 hours to overnight to give it that truly marinated flavor and to really make it noticeably more tender. Not so with this gadget that was sent with compliments for our kitchen to review.The box was shipped from a company called VacuVin. We had serious doubts that this lidded bowl called the Instant Marinator, with it's pump that claimed to remove the air from inside it, was any more than any other plain old lidded bowl. We admitted to being skeptical But boy, were we wrong!
The instructions claimed that the bowl could be used to marinate and tenderize meat or it could be used to prolong the life of fruits and vegetables. Since there were no plans for meat to be cooked in the next day or two, a bag of salad, which normally goes bad in a couple of days, was put in the Vacu Vin Instant Marinator bowl and the lid attached. The pump was then used to suction all the air possible out of the bowl. It really didn't feel like anything was being suctioned out until we tried to pry the lid off; when we couldn't budge it, we knew it was suctioned on tight, all right. The bowl of salad was put in the fridge and promptly forgotten.
Almost two weeks went by when, while moving things around in the refrigerator, someone came across the Vacu Vin Instant Marinator Bowl. We finally figured out that to open it, you must push the little teat the pump attaches to over to the side, to let out some air, then it opens easily. Now here is where the craziness is... we made a salad out of that 2 week old bag of greens, only having to throw away a tiny handful of leaves! Never has one of those bagged salads lasted so long for us, even in the salad crisper drawer of our refrigerator, wrapped in a special salad bag.
Now our spirits were hopeful about marinating in this handy little gadget! And we were not disappointed! The results were fantabulous, the chicken was flavored all the way through and tender without being mealy. And after only 30 minutes! The recipe is below and can be used with or without the Instant Marinator by VacuVin but we don't think you can go wrong by buying this gadget.
This is an incredibly delicious and filling meal. The tomatoes are aplenty and make you feel like you are eating a lot more than you actually are. Don't use a huge potato if you are watching you carbs or calories! This is a truly comforting meal. The leftovers are great on toast, English muffins or more baked potatoes.
Chicken in tomato sauce with corn
Ingredients:
* 4 chicken breasts coated with Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil (or Olive Oil spray) and sprinkled with sea salt and pepper (on bones)
* 28 ounce can Dei Fratelli crushed tomatoes with basil and herb
* 14 1/2 ounce can Dei Fratelli Italian style chopped tomatoes
* 1 small sized can of white or yellow corn
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* 1 teaspoon parsley
* 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
* 4 baking potatoes, microwaved at end of chicken cooking time, if desired
* butter flavored cooking spray or butter flavor pump spray
Directions:
1. In Vacu Vin Instant Marinator Bowl, mix crushed and chopped tomatoes and corn, add oregano, parsley and garlic, mix very well. Add chicken and spoon tomato mixture all over.
2. Use pump to vacuum air out of bowl, pumping several times, until it begins to get difficult. Allow to sit in refrigerator 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, then push teat to the side to open. Put in casserole dish sprayed with butter flavored cooking spray.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, making sure chicken is no longer pink and is completely done to the bone. (if boneless chicken is used, reduce cooking time, checking often)
4. Serve sauce on top of chicken with green vegetable.
If using baked potato:
1. Remove chicken from bones and cut into large bite size pieces.
2. After cooking, roll potato gently on counter before cutting, to loosen flesh. Cut large slit in baked potato and push each end of baked potato towards each other slightly to open up the slit. Spoon a generous amount of tomato mixture into potato and top with chicken pieces. Serve with salad or green vegetable.
* We have always sworn by Hunt's tomato products but were recently sent Dei Fratelli's canned tomato foods to try. The difference was unbelievable, the color was as much "redder" as the taste was richer. Watch for the actual Dei Fratelli review to learn more about the product and recipes.Your text goes hereYour text goes here