Chicken in a Bag (Fırın Torbasında Tavuk)

This is the easiest and yummiest chicken ever. You need whole chicken legs, thighs, drumsticks, or wings--bonny and fatty parts of chicken. This recipe doesn't go well with less fatty parts like breast.

6 chicken thighs
1 oven bag
juice of 2 lemons
paprika, enough to cover the thighs
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp oregano leaves
3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt

-Place the chicken in a big bowl and squeeze lemons on top. Make sure every piece is covered with lemon juice. If you don't like the chicken smell like me, lemon juice takes it away. Add paprika(don't be stingy with it), oregano, black pepper, garlic, and salt. Mix them well with chicken. Let marinate for at least half an hour. Do not forget, the longer you marinate it the more tender it will become.
-Place an oven bag on a oven dish/tray so that its opening will be facing the side. Put marinated chicken in the bag side by side. Close the bag with a twisty tie. Make a couple of small holes on top with a knife. Bake it in preheated oven at 400 F for 45 minutes.
-If you want a very crispy top, after 45 minutes cut the oven bag on top and broil the chicken for 5-10 minutes.
-After you put the chicken in the bag, if you still have room put a couple of potatoes (cut in halves) and carrots (chopped into two or three pieces). They will be very very delicious.

Read More

Sparkling Chicken (Maden Suyuyla Tavuk)

8 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 little bottle of Perrier or 1-1 1/2 cups of any sparkling (mineral) water
1 tbsp chopped dill
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp paprika / red chili powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped thinly in rounds
any kind of fresh pepper, chopped (I used small sweet yellow Italian peppers)
mushroom, chopped - as much as you want
juice of one lemon or lime
1 tbsp flour
2 tsp peppercorns
salt

The main ingredients for this recipe are chicken and onion. You are free to add fresh peppers, mushroom, corn, carrots, etc. I try it with different ingredients every time, but fresh peppers and mushroom are the best.

-Marinate the chicken in a bowl for 20-30 minutes with sparkling water, 1 tbsp olive oil, dill, garlic, paprika, and ground black pepper.
-In a deep skillet, heat the oil and add onions. Stir for a couple of minutes and add peppers and mushroom. Drain the chicken and add in the skillet with peppercorns when mushroom looks cooked.
-In a small bowl, mix well 1 tbsp flour with juice of one lemon. Add this in when the chicken is cooked. If it gets pretty sticky with flour, you can add a little bit of hot water. Stir for 2-3 minutes and your sparkling chicken is ready.

Read More

Chicken Burcu-Casserole (Fırında Sebzeli Tavuk)

This made-up recipe is not one of my favorite ones since I don't like chicken that much. So, it's just for you. The great thing about it is that it is a very very flexible recipe; you can put almost anything that you want in it--or whatever you have in the refrigerator at the moment, and as little oil as you wish.

The amount of food you'll cook depends on the size of casserole you have, so I will not tell you how much of everything you will need.

Pick your casserole, and put a layer of boneless chicken breasts at the bottom. On top of it,
put 1 onion, chopped in rounds,
1/2 bell pepper (green, yellow, red), chopped
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped.















The amount of the ingredients that follows, as I said before, depends on the size of your casserole:
mushrooms (portobello or the boring kind), sliced
carrot, diced
green peas
zucchini, chopped in half rounds
corn

Do not overload the casserole; you will add sauce on top.

Mix 1 tbsp pepper paste, 1/2 tbsp tomato paste, 1/2 tsp black pepper, crushed pepper, herbes (thyme, dry mint, parsley, dill--whichever you want), salt, and 1 tbsp olive oil with at least 1 cup hot water.
Pour the sauce on chicken + vegetables. Water level should be just a little below the surface. So if needed, add more.
Cover the casserole with aluminum foil.

Cook in a preheated oven at 375-400°F for approximately an hour, or you can check and see if chikcen is cooked.

Read More