Ginger Chicken in Basil and Lime

Finally, I am getting to some of the food posts I had promised to publish long ago. This one is a variation on what I was inspired to create when I brought home a load of ginger (because I couldn't pass up the fantastic smell of good, fresh ginger) and three pounds of chicken that was on it's way out the door, if you understand my meaning...

This summer I planted basil and it seems to love what I did for it because it was lush and very plentiful. I was constantly cooking with it and endlessly giving cuttings away.
Anyway,
The Commissary got in a large shipment of limes and had them on sale--I LOVE limes, and jumped at the opportunity to get a great deal on them. Bringing them home, I decided to experiment and test out if I could include them in the my ginger chicken recipe.




I left out the bit of thyme and rosemary I normally include due to the basil I was using. ALL my measurement are approximate: Don't hate, just have fun and create!

1. Ginger, basil, lime, lime zest (I will probably use around 1/2 tsp or less next time; here I used 1 tsp) garlic, chicken broth (I use Better Than Bouillon) I dissolved in 1/2 cup of hot water, vegetable bouillon (the brown stuff if the cut up cubes the Commissary doesn't carry the Better Than Bouillon version). Prep this and put it down as bedding for the chicken.

2. Next as you can see, I like to grind up fresh spices whenever I have the chance, love the act and smell--let your nose lead the way and when adding it to the dish, start off light, and add more later, or the next time you cook the dish.
The spices used here were: cumin seed I toasted, black pepper, sea salt, roasted paprika (smoked would have been better), oregano and sage (leave out the sage... I have no clue what I was thinking when I added it at the last moment; but it turned the dish, giving it a vague bitter taste after eating it).



3. Add the chicken. I used six pounds of chicken, it leaves enough for leftovers to have chicken yakisoba the next night. Then dust with spice mixture. Place top on pot/or cover with foil. This is the great part of this dish: you can cook in a Crockpot, or oven or stove top. I chose to cook it in the oven this time. I cooked it for two and one half hours on 350.

I usually cook ginger chicken in the oven for 2-3 hours; on the stove top for 1.5-2 hours. In the crock pot if started before bed: low till dinner. If started in morning: high till dinner (If taken straight from pot and you see that it's not finished cooking, then you can finish off the chicken in a separate container in the microwave for 4min.)

Enjoy!