I love the convenience of individually frozen chicken tenderloin fillets, which I usually have stashed in my freezer. However, if you're like most cooks, you can quickly get in a "chicken rut," repeating the same preparations week after week.
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This week and next, I'm offering some new ideas for these convenient chicken fillets, and this week's recipe takes a new look at an old favorite - shrimp and grits. I substitute chicken for the shrimp in the Lowcountry classic and add sliced mushrooms for my chicken-mushroom ragout over creamy grits.
Using chicken instead of shrimp makes this dish economical.
The recipe begins by cooking two strips of lean center-cut bacon, but the bacon and drippings (2 teaspoons are used in all) can be omitted and nonstick cooking spray, olive oil, butter or margarine can be substituted. The crumbled bacon serves as a crisp garnish for the dish, along with some chopped green onion, but it can be left out.
A pound of mushrooms might seem like a lot for a ragout, but mushrooms are mostly water and cook down to less than half their original size. Here, they are sauted briefly in a bit of bacon drippings, then flavored with chopped green onion, minced garlic, salt and pepper, before sauting until golden.
The chicken pieces are coated with flour and Cajun seasoning before sauting, and the dish's luscious "red-eye" tomato sauce is made by adding black coffee and spicy vegetable juice to the skillet. If you'd rather not cook with coffee, substitute reduced-sodium canned beef broth. The spicy vegetable juice doesn't add much heat, but regular vegetable juice or tomato juice can be substituted with a milder version.
Making extra-creamy grits need not require the addition of high-fat ingredients. I've found that cooking the grits in a mixture of water and skim milk and whisking almost constantly makes for super creamy grits. I prefer stone-ground grits to instant, but either will do here. If you're not a fan of grits, the ragout also is delicious served over mashed potatoes or cooked white rice.
Chicken-Mushroom Ragout over Creamy Grits
For the chicken-mushroom ragout:
2 slices center-cut lean bacon
16 ounces mushrooms, sliced
3 green onions, chopped, divided
1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 1 large clove
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 - 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, to taste
1 pound (about 8) chicken tenderloin fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup black coffee
1 cup spicy or regular vegetable juice
*1 tablespoon sherry, optional
For the creamy grits:
2 cups water
1 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup grits
Fry bacon in a nonstick skillet until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. When cool, crumble and set aside. Pour bacon drippings into a small measuring cup. Return 1 teaspoon of the drippings to the skillet and heat at medium-high. Add the mushrooms and saut 3 minutes. Add half of the green onions and all of the garlic and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Saut for 3 to 5 minutes more, until green onions are tender and mushrooms are golden. Push the mushrooms to the edge of the skillet and place another teaspoon of the bacon drippings in the center of the pan.
Place the flour and Cajun seasoning in a zip-top plastic bag. Add the chicken pieces and shake well to coat. Add the pieces to the hot skillet, shaking off the excess flour, and cook on one side until golden, about 2 minutes. Turn pieces and cook 2 to 3 minutes on the other side. Stir the coffee, spicy vegetable juice and sherry into the chicken and mushrooms, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and sauce is slightly thickened. Serve over grits and garnish each serving with the reserved crumbled bacon and green onions.To make the grits, bring water and milk to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in the grits, reduce heat and cook, stirring, until all liquid is absorbed. Add more water or milk if necessary to keep grits creamy.
Makes 4 servings. Nutrition information per serving: 406 calories, 10 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 78 milligrams cholesterol, 37 grams protein, 43 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 846 grams sodium.
Note: This is without sherry and Spicy V8 was used for testing purposes.
Nutrition analysis provided by Michelle Baglio, a licensed and registered dietitian of the Augusta District Dietetic Association.
COMING AUG. 25: Chicken tenderloin fillets appear again, but in an exotic chicken tikka masala, an Indian dish that is served all over England. See Karin prepare the recipe at noon Tuesday on WJBF-TV (Channel 6).
Write to Karin Calloway in care of The Augusta Chronicle Newsroom, P.O. Box 1928, Augusta, GA 30903. Or send e-mail to karin.callaway@comcast.net. You can find previous Quick Cooking recipes through the online archive at AugustaChronicle.com/karin.
