I'm not sure what that means. Something with wine, I think. It's from the cookbook I got for Christmas from my mom, Cooking through the Seasons, or something like that. It's from "spring," but I highly suspect you could make this any time of the year that you want.
Coq au Vin
6 medium red potatoes, quartered
1/2 cup water
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (I HATE cream of mushroom, so I used cream of chicken)
1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth (I used homemade chicken broth)
1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms (omitted by me)
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1/3 cup chopped green onions (didn't get those...always so much leftover)
Place potatoes and water in microwave-safe dish; cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Add carrots; cook 4 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender. Drain.
In a large bowl, combine the soup, wine or broth, bouillon, garlic, parsley, thyme, pepper. Cut each chicken breast half into 3 pieces. Add the chicken, potato mixture, mushrooms, bacon, and onions to soup mixture; stir to coat.
Transfer to a greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.
This was so good. Everyone liked it. The sauce ended up kind of like gravy, and I sneakily drizzled it onto the little ones' cut chicken and potatoes. Nathan & Emma did not like the carrots, but the rest was a hit. Definitely a keeper.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Southern Pulled Pork
I said I was done with this magazine, but I wasn't. This really is the last recipe in the Feb/March 2011 Simple & Delicious. We love pulled pork. Sam thought they were sloppy joes and was very excited, but even when he found out what it really was he liked it. The serving suggestion here is to serve this on top of baked sweet potatoes, but, no. We had them in buns. This recipe also fed many. I made a meal for a friend's family, and also for my friend Amanda...I picked her up from work, gave her this food, and we drove to Bible study together. Everyone that ate this liked it (at least, they said they did).
Southern Pulled Pork
1 boneless pork shoulder butt roast (how can a roast be both a shoulder and a butt? I do not know)
1/3 cup spicy brown mustard
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Baked sweet potatoes, optional
Cut roast in half; place in slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine mustard, molasses, brown sugar, and soy sauce; pour over roast. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or until meat is tender.
Remove meat; cool slightly. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer to large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into juices. Return to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Shred meat with 2 forks; return to the slow cooker. Stir in sauce. Cover and cook 15 minutes longer or until heated through. Serve with sweet potatoes if desired (or toasted buns).
This was definitely an easy recipe. I love when you can just throw everything in the crock pot and you don't have to do anything to it first. I threw it all in (almost literally) before co-op on Tuesday morning, and supper was so easy. Which is good, because I am always wiped out on co-op days. Definitely a keeper!
Southern Pulled Pork
1 boneless pork shoulder butt roast (how can a roast be both a shoulder and a butt? I do not know)
1/3 cup spicy brown mustard
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Baked sweet potatoes, optional
Cut roast in half; place in slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine mustard, molasses, brown sugar, and soy sauce; pour over roast. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or until meat is tender.
Remove meat; cool slightly. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer to large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into juices. Return to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Shred meat with 2 forks; return to the slow cooker. Stir in sauce. Cover and cook 15 minutes longer or until heated through. Serve with sweet potatoes if desired (or toasted buns).
This was definitely an easy recipe. I love when you can just throw everything in the crock pot and you don't have to do anything to it first. I threw it all in (almost literally) before co-op on Tuesday morning, and supper was so easy. Which is good, because I am always wiped out on co-op days. Definitely a keeper!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Berry Shortbread Dreams
This is the first recipe I am trying for the cookbook I got from my mom for Christmas this past year, Taste of Home Cooking Through the Seasons. Usually I would have started this before March, I have just had a lot of other things to finish up first. So, I really like shortbread cookies. Also I like raspberry jam. So it is obvious why I wanted to try these cookies. I made them for home fellowship. There are not very many ingredients, and the dough was quick to throw together.
Berry Shortbread Dreams
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 to 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2-3 tsp water
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extract; gradually add the flour until dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle (you should not refrigerate it for 2 hours and 10 minutes like I did, naively thinking that it wouldn't matter if it chilled through lunch...if you do this, when you try to take the dough out, you will have to chip it out, it won't stay in balls, and you will have to leave it on your counter for an hour to get it to the right temperature...just a word to the wise).
Roll into 1 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center. Fill with jam (kind of tricky...I just put a bit on the end of a spoon and let it kind of trickle in...but a lot of mine had overflow).
Bake at 350 for 14-18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Spoon additional jam into cookies if desired. Combine confectioners' sugar, extract, and enough water to achieve drizzling consistency; drizzle over cookies.
Actually I ran out of time so never put the glaze on these cookies (perhaps because I refrigerated them for too long and used up all my would-be glazing time). But I still thought they were good. It is apparently an older-kid-grown-up cookie, because all the little kids didn't like them. One kid at home fellowship looked at me and said "these cookies are gross!" I said, "Hey! I made those cookies!" And he or she said, "well, they're gross." He or she licked it and said "yeuggggh." I said, "WELL DON'T EAT IT!!" Anyway. I thought they were great.
Berry Shortbread Dreams
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 to 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2-3 tsp water
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extract; gradually add the flour until dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle (you should not refrigerate it for 2 hours and 10 minutes like I did, naively thinking that it wouldn't matter if it chilled through lunch...if you do this, when you try to take the dough out, you will have to chip it out, it won't stay in balls, and you will have to leave it on your counter for an hour to get it to the right temperature...just a word to the wise).
Roll into 1 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center. Fill with jam (kind of tricky...I just put a bit on the end of a spoon and let it kind of trickle in...but a lot of mine had overflow).
Bake at 350 for 14-18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Spoon additional jam into cookies if desired. Combine confectioners' sugar, extract, and enough water to achieve drizzling consistency; drizzle over cookies.
Actually I ran out of time so never put the glaze on these cookies (perhaps because I refrigerated them for too long and used up all my would-be glazing time). But I still thought they were good. It is apparently an older-kid-grown-up cookie, because all the little kids didn't like them. One kid at home fellowship looked at me and said "these cookies are gross!" I said, "Hey! I made those cookies!" And he or she said, "well, they're gross." He or she licked it and said "yeuggggh." I said, "WELL DON'T EAT IT!!" Anyway. I thought they were great.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
New Orleans Gumbo
I have never seriously looked at a gumbo recipe before, because I always think they are going to be too spicy, or they have a bunch of seafood in there that I don't care for. But this one looked fairly benign, PLUS it has smoked sausage, which I love. It does call for shrimp, but it's way down on the ingredient list, and I already liked the sound of the recipe before I got to the shrimp. Instead of using shrimp, I used a whole pound of smoked sausage, instead of the 1/2 pound it called for. This is the last one I have marked from the latest Simple & Delicious...hopefully I'll get my new one soon...
New Orleans Gumbo
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked converted rice
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 lb smoked sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 1/8 tsp)
3 tbsp flour
1/4 cup cold water
1 lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (so gross...as I type that, I wonder why anyone would cook something that you personally have to remove the veins from first...gag)
1 large green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Stir in the rice, celery, onion, and garlic. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine the tomatoes, chicken, smoked sausage, thyme, pepper, bay leaves and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Combine flour and water til smooth; gradually stir into chicken mixture. Stir in shrimp and green pepper. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 4-6 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and gumbo is thickened. Discard bay leaves.
Remove rice from heat and let stand for 5 minutes; stir in parsley. Serve with gumbo.
So this was good, but too spicy for us. Nathan put a bite in his mouth, then said, with his mouth full of food, "IT TASTES SPICY, LIKE HOT SAUCE!" I promised him I hadn't put hot sauce in it, because I hadn't...but it was close. I just scraped everything visible covering his sausage and chicken, and he still ate them...for him & Emma I put the rice separate from the "gumbo" because I knew they wouldn't like them together, and that helped. For the rest of us I served it on rice. Steve didn't think it was too spicy, but the rest of us did. Not too spicy to eat, but definitely too spicy to ignore. Also the gumbo didn't really thicken that much. I put in the flour and water like it said too, but it didn't seem to make a big difference, and mine looked quite a bit different from the picture, and not just because of the absence of shrimp. So this is one of these recipes that my dad would say, "good for a change, but let's not have it again real soon."
New Orleans Gumbo
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked converted rice
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 lb smoked sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 1/8 tsp)
3 tbsp flour
1/4 cup cold water
1 lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (so gross...as I type that, I wonder why anyone would cook something that you personally have to remove the veins from first...gag)
1 large green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Stir in the rice, celery, onion, and garlic. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine the tomatoes, chicken, smoked sausage, thyme, pepper, bay leaves and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Combine flour and water til smooth; gradually stir into chicken mixture. Stir in shrimp and green pepper. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 4-6 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and gumbo is thickened. Discard bay leaves.
Remove rice from heat and let stand for 5 minutes; stir in parsley. Serve with gumbo.
So this was good, but too spicy for us. Nathan put a bite in his mouth, then said, with his mouth full of food, "IT TASTES SPICY, LIKE HOT SAUCE!" I promised him I hadn't put hot sauce in it, because I hadn't...but it was close. I just scraped everything visible covering his sausage and chicken, and he still ate them...for him & Emma I put the rice separate from the "gumbo" because I knew they wouldn't like them together, and that helped. For the rest of us I served it on rice. Steve didn't think it was too spicy, but the rest of us did. Not too spicy to eat, but definitely too spicy to ignore. Also the gumbo didn't really thicken that much. I put in the flour and water like it said too, but it didn't seem to make a big difference, and mine looked quite a bit different from the picture, and not just because of the absence of shrimp. So this is one of these recipes that my dad would say, "good for a change, but let's not have it again real soon."
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Parmesan Baked Chicken
We had this a few nights ago. It sounded easy, which I always go for. Especially on the nights that I am soooo sleepy due to having worked the night before. We had this with Buttered Cheese Noodles, which you can find under Meatless (I think), and carrots. Another one from Simple & Delicious Feb/March 2011. This was a good one.
Parmesan Baked Chicken
1 cup Bisquick (I was just going to use flour and not buy this...turns out I had some in the cupboard anyway)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 broiler/fryer chicken (3-4 lbs), cut up (I will just remind you that you can buy chickens that have already been cut up)
1/4 cup butter, melted
In a large ziploc bag, combine Bisquick, cheese, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat.
Drizzle butter into a 15x10 inch baking pan. Place chicken, skin side down, in pan. Bake, uncovered, at 425 for 20 minutes. Turn chicken over; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until juices run clear.
This was very good. I think chicken skin is gross and I don't like to eat it, but cooking the chicken with the skin on made it very moist. So I'll keep this one because it was so so easy.
Parmesan Baked Chicken
1 cup Bisquick (I was just going to use flour and not buy this...turns out I had some in the cupboard anyway)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 broiler/fryer chicken (3-4 lbs), cut up (I will just remind you that you can buy chickens that have already been cut up)
1/4 cup butter, melted
In a large ziploc bag, combine Bisquick, cheese, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat.
Drizzle butter into a 15x10 inch baking pan. Place chicken, skin side down, in pan. Bake, uncovered, at 425 for 20 minutes. Turn chicken over; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until juices run clear.
This was very good. I think chicken skin is gross and I don't like to eat it, but cooking the chicken with the skin on made it very moist. So I'll keep this one because it was so so easy.
Steaks with Molasses-Glazed Onions and Herbed Potato Fans
This is, hands-down, the best thing I have ever made. The steaks, at least. I knew Steve would like this, so that's why I wanted to make it. It's from Simple & Delicious, Feb/March 2011. Even though the steaks take a bit of time, you are using the same skillet for 3 different steps, so it's easy. I made the potatoes with it because it seemed like it would be a good pairing. In fact in the magazine they are pictured together on the same plate. Hee hee. So no creativity on my part.
Steaks with Molasses-Glazed Onions
2 bacon strips, diced
2 beef top sirloin steaks (6 oz each)(cheaper than I thought...about $6 for 1.5 lbs, which fed all 5 of us and left a small portion for Steve to eat for leftovers at work the next day)
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp pepper, divided
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp molasses
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels with slotted spoon; drain, reserving 1 1/2 tsp drippings in the skillet and 1 1/2 tsp drippings in a small bowl. Set bowl aside. (You can just eyeball that, or dump all the drippings into a bowl and measure out 1 1/2 tsp each time you need it...that's what I did)
Sprinkle steaks with 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. In the same skillet, cook steaks over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until meat thermometer reaches desired doneness (for med-rare [which is still mooing, which is gross] 145; medium 160; well-done 170). Remove and keep warm (I kept them on a glass plate in a 200 degree oven).
Add onion and reserved drippings to the skillet; saute until tender. Add the vinegar, molasses, and remaining salt and pepper; heat through. Serve onion mixture over steaks; sprinkle with bacon.
Herbed Potato Fans
2 medium baking potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp white wine or chicken broth
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp each dried parsley, thyme, and rosemary, crushed
1/8 tsp pepper
Green onions and sour cream, optional (I didn't use these...I don't like sour cream, and whenever I buy green onions, I use like 2 of them and end up throwing the rest away...so I left them out)
With a sharp knife, cut each potato into 1/2 inch slices, leaving sliced attached at the bottom. Place on a microwave safe plate. Combine the oil, wine, and seasonings; drizzle over potatoes. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 8-12 minutes or until tender, turning once. Garnish with onions and sour cream, if desired.
Okay. These steaks were FABULOUS. It wasn't even an expensive cut of meat. And the onions. Yum. I can't even tell you in words how good this was. I told Steve I think this is the best thing I have ever made. He did not disagree.
As for the potatoes, they were okay, but not great. Perhaps because I am used to butter on my potatoes and olive oil didn't cut it. Perhaps because I was so distracted by the awesome steak. Not sure. So I'm not keeping the potato recipe.
Steaks with Molasses-Glazed Onions
2 bacon strips, diced
2 beef top sirloin steaks (6 oz each)(cheaper than I thought...about $6 for 1.5 lbs, which fed all 5 of us and left a small portion for Steve to eat for leftovers at work the next day)
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp pepper, divided
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp molasses
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels with slotted spoon; drain, reserving 1 1/2 tsp drippings in the skillet and 1 1/2 tsp drippings in a small bowl. Set bowl aside. (You can just eyeball that, or dump all the drippings into a bowl and measure out 1 1/2 tsp each time you need it...that's what I did)
Sprinkle steaks with 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. In the same skillet, cook steaks over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until meat thermometer reaches desired doneness (for med-rare [which is still mooing, which is gross] 145; medium 160; well-done 170). Remove and keep warm (I kept them on a glass plate in a 200 degree oven).
Add onion and reserved drippings to the skillet; saute until tender. Add the vinegar, molasses, and remaining salt and pepper; heat through. Serve onion mixture over steaks; sprinkle with bacon.
Herbed Potato Fans
2 medium baking potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp white wine or chicken broth
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp each dried parsley, thyme, and rosemary, crushed
1/8 tsp pepper
Green onions and sour cream, optional (I didn't use these...I don't like sour cream, and whenever I buy green onions, I use like 2 of them and end up throwing the rest away...so I left them out)
With a sharp knife, cut each potato into 1/2 inch slices, leaving sliced attached at the bottom. Place on a microwave safe plate. Combine the oil, wine, and seasonings; drizzle over potatoes. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 8-12 minutes or until tender, turning once. Garnish with onions and sour cream, if desired.
Okay. These steaks were FABULOUS. It wasn't even an expensive cut of meat. And the onions. Yum. I can't even tell you in words how good this was. I told Steve I think this is the best thing I have ever made. He did not disagree.
As for the potatoes, they were okay, but not great. Perhaps because I am used to butter on my potatoes and olive oil didn't cut it. Perhaps because I was so distracted by the awesome steak. Not sure. So I'm not keeping the potato recipe.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Chicken Mole Casserole
A few years ago I would have looked at the title of this recipe and said to myself, "EEW, who would put moles in a recipe? Is this a Depression-era recipe?" Because my grandmother had a cookbook that contained recipes for stewed squirrels, raccoons, and other hapless animals you might run into while eking out your existence and trying not to starve during the Depression. But now, gourmet that I am, I realize that word is pronounced "moe-LAY," and that it is Mexican, and that it means it has cocoa in it. We actually had this recipe last week, and I got side-tracked and forgot that I hadn't posted it yet until I was looking in this magazine for this week's recipes. As I was making this, I realized that Nathan and Emma would not eat this, so they had chicken nuggets. From Feb/March 2011 Simple & Delicious.
Chicken Mole Casserole
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium green pepper, cut into strips
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp baking cocoa
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 1/8 tsp because I am a wimp)
2 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 jar (16 oz) chunky salsa
1 tube (10.2 oz) Pillsbury Grands refrigerated flaky biscuits
2 tsp butter, melted
3/4 tsp cornmeal
In a large skillet, saute the chicken, green pepper, and onion in butter until chicken juices run clear and vegetables are tender. Add the cocoa, brown sugar, and spices; cook and stir over medium heat for 1 minute. Stir in corn and salsa; heat through. Transfer to a greased 11x7 baking dish.
Cut each biscuit in half (vertically, not horizontally). Arrange biscuit pieces over chicken mixture with cut sides facing outer edge of dish, overlapping slightly (mine didn't). Brush with melted butter; sprinkle with cornmeal. Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.
My biscuits were quite brown before they were cooked all the way, at like 15 minutes. So you might have to cover with foil during the last few minutes of baking time. Okay so once this was done, I would say it was just "OK." There just didn't seem to be much to it, I guess. Just chicken and corn. The sauce was definitely different, and flavorful, and a bit spicy, but overall the dish wasn't great. I have dozens and dozens of chicken recipes that I like way more than this one, so I'm not going to keep it.
Chicken Mole Casserole
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium green pepper, cut into strips
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp baking cocoa
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 1/8 tsp because I am a wimp)
2 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 jar (16 oz) chunky salsa
1 tube (10.2 oz) Pillsbury Grands refrigerated flaky biscuits
2 tsp butter, melted
3/4 tsp cornmeal
In a large skillet, saute the chicken, green pepper, and onion in butter until chicken juices run clear and vegetables are tender. Add the cocoa, brown sugar, and spices; cook and stir over medium heat for 1 minute. Stir in corn and salsa; heat through. Transfer to a greased 11x7 baking dish.
Cut each biscuit in half (vertically, not horizontally). Arrange biscuit pieces over chicken mixture with cut sides facing outer edge of dish, overlapping slightly (mine didn't). Brush with melted butter; sprinkle with cornmeal. Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.
My biscuits were quite brown before they were cooked all the way, at like 15 minutes. So you might have to cover with foil during the last few minutes of baking time. Okay so once this was done, I would say it was just "OK." There just didn't seem to be much to it, I guess. Just chicken and corn. The sauce was definitely different, and flavorful, and a bit spicy, but overall the dish wasn't great. I have dozens and dozens of chicken recipes that I like way more than this one, so I'm not going to keep it.
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