Brown Sugar Chicken and Levana's Tomato Turmeric Chicken

Brown Sugar Chicken...
They'll just inhale it - really!

This week we have the privilege of being invited out for lunch on Shabbat (HOORAY!!  It’s marching band time!).  That means that although I still had to cook for Shabbat, I didn’t have to make nearly as much food.   

In the interest of trying to take it a little easier this week (because I could!) I decided to make one of my family’s favorite chicken recipes: Brown Sugar Chicken.  I got the basic recipe from a friend of mine in passing in the grocery store, brown sugar and ketchup.  That’s it.  My friend bakes her chicken, but I found it comes out better with a thicker sauce if you make it in a large skillet.  I have two huge 12 inch skillets that each fit a chicken and a half, just enough for a Friday night Shabbat meal (my family really loves this chicken)!  This chicken is awesome with a caramelized sweet tomatoey sauce. It’s finger licking good!

Thanks Levana...it came
out great!

Also this week, I made my semi-weekly trip to the mega-produce store and found gorgeous tomatoes for 49¢ a pound!  These tomatoes were huge. Of course I bought them…how could I pass them up?   Now, one of dear husbands’ biggest beefs is that I buy too many tomatoes and don’t use them, and he ends up throwing away rotten tomatoes. It’s a legitimate beef, no one likes to waste food.  So when he saw my gorgeous tomatoes, he reminded me of the other 4 or 5 that I already had in the fridge (I thought I had used up all my tomatoes in the house - I had forgotten about the ones in the fridge).   I understand that this should be the biggest problem that anyone should have in their marriage, but I really wanted to make dear husband happy and use up the tomatoes.  So I went to my reliable facebook cooking sites and posted an SOS for tomato help.  Sure enough, wonderful Levana Kirschenbaum came to my rescue.  She recommended a super easy chicken recipe using most of the tomatoes, a little water, and seasoning the chicken with some turmeric, salt and pepper.  I was sold.  I took one of my 3 chickens that I had planned for the Brown Sugar Chicken (ok, so now there were only two Brown Sugar Chickens for Shabbat, but it was for a good cause), and made Levana’s Tomato and Turmeric Chicken.  I left out the water and salt (the kosher chicken was already pretty salty, and the tomatoes were pretty liquidy), browned the chicken, topped it with the spices and tomatoes, and it turned out great!  Dear husband was extremely happy that the tomatoes got used, and that he had fantastic chicken for Shabbat.  It was a win-win situation.  Thanks for your help Levana, I owe my marital harmony this week to you!

Announcing the first ever Purim 2012 Kosher Everyday recipe contest - you can win a $25 Visa gift card! Submit your favorite “It’s not as it seems” (V’nahafoch Hu) recipe on the Contest Page for your chance to win!  Hurry, the winner will be chosen on March 1, 2012 and will be featured in the March 4, 2012 Kosher Everyday blog!

Levana’s Tomato and Turmeric Chicken

1              tablespoon         olive oil

1                                       chicken, cut into 8 or 10 pieces, skin removed (optional)

2              cloves                garlic, crushed (or 2 frozen cubes)

1              tablespoon         turmeric              

½             teaspoon            pepper

5              large                  tomatoes, diced

Pat chicken pieces dry.  Heat oil in a large skillet or dutch oven.  Brown chicken, bone side up, then turn.  Sprinkle with turmeric then turn the chicken over again.  Sprinkle with pepper, then cover with tomatoes.  Cook over medium heat 30 minutes covered, 30 minutes uncovered, then 15 minutes uncovered on low.

Brown Sugar Chicken

This recipe is great when you make double or triple quantities – it’s fast and super easy!

1              tablespoon          olive oil

1                                        chicken, cut into 8 or 10 pieces

1              cup                     brown sugar

1              cup                     ketchup

Combine the brown sugar and ketchup in a medium bowl, stirring until smooth.  Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Brown the chicken on all sides.   Spoon sauce over the chicken, coating evenly.  Cook the chicken covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes until cooked through, spooning with sauce periodically.  Serve warm spooning extra sauce over the chicken.

Levana's Tomato Turmeric Chicken:

Brown the chicken...

Add the spices...

it smells SO good!

sprinkle with pepper too...

These tomatoes were HUGE!

(and so gorgeous!)

There really is chicken under there...

The tomatoes reduced just like I hoped...

Levana was right - this chicken was great!

Brown Sugar Chicken:

Check out these complicated ingredients ;-)

Blend the ketchup & brown sugar...

Spoon it over the browned chicken...

Uncover after 30 minutes....

Cook uncovered for another 30 minutes and then...

HOORAY!  It's done!  

Don't blink, or there won't be any left for you to eat!

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