Chicken Pot Pie

This isn't your typical pot pie with a pie crust and such. I wanted the pot pie flavor, but without all the preparation and fuss. So I made it as easily as I could manage. Which included buying one of those pre-roasted chickens, frozen stew vegetable mix with potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery in it, and one of those Pillsbury crescent dough containers. I got the chicken for 1/2 off because I picked up one that was cooked the day before and so it was chilled, which made it much easier to take apart. My husband said it was the best pot pie he had ever had, and promptly had seconds....and later that night thirds!

Chicken Pot Pie

1 roasted chicken
2- 10 oz bags of stew vegetable mix
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon of italian seasoning (more or less for taste)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 container of Pillsbury crescent rolls
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven per crescent roll directions
2. In a stock pot bring to boil stew vegetable mix, chicken stock, italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
3. When vegetables are tender pull out a cup of the hot stock
4. Mix the flour with the cup of stock till smooth and pour back into pot.
5. Add chicken
6. Cook until the liquid starts to thicken (5 or 10 minutes or so)
7. Mix in heavy cream
8. Pour mixture into a casserole dish
9. Roll out crescent rolls and place on top
10. Bake in the oven per the crescent roll directions
11. Let stand for 5-10 minutes after you take it out of the oven.

African Peanut Stew

I wasn't sure how this would taste at all, but it turned out to be sooooo much better than I ever could have dreamed of. It was absolutely wonderful! A friend had tried the recipe and told me about it, so I looked it up and merged a couple different recipes as well as utilized some comments that were left on recipe sites to make sure it was as authentic as possible. This is what I came up with. I used chunky peanut butter, and sprinkled dry roasted peanuts on top, it gave the dish a great crunch. Browning the chicken with the garlic before mincing it seems like unnecessary extra work, but it did help give the chicken more flavor. I put the garlic (after the browning), half of a medium onion, and the ginger, into my little food processor and minced it all together. This worked really well. The salsa I used was a Medium hotness, and it was a fresh garlic one that was in the produce section. And the diced tomatoes were the ones with jalapenos in them.

African Peanut Stew

1 tablespoon olive oil
1lb chicken breast
1 large sweet potato
2 medium onions
4 large garlic cloves
1 inch x 1 inch piece of fresh ginger (approx)
3 celery stalks
2 carrots
14oz diced tomatoes
15oz medium salsa
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup of chunky peanut butter
3 cups cooked rice
4 cups chicken stock
6oz fresh baby spinach
Roasted peanuts


1. Cut chicken into cubes, brown in a pot with olive oil and garlic cloves
2. When chicken begins to brown take garlic out and mince along with the ginger
3. Finely dice onion, chop carrots and celery.
4. Add garlic, ginger, onion, carrots and celery to the pot.
5. Simmer till celery and onions turn translucent.
6. Cut sweet potato into cubes.
7. Add sweet potato, diced tomatoes (liquid and all), salsa, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, bay leaves, chili powder, and chicken stock to the pot.
8. Simmer till the potatoes are soft.
9. Meanwhile start rice cooking in a separate pot
10. Add peanut butter and baby spinach
11. Mix peanut butter in well and cook till spinach is done.
12. Stir in cooked rice
13. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and serve.

Jerk Style Chicken

This is Jerk inspired but not a traditional Jamaican Jerk Chicken, more like Thai flavored. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this. It's sooooo good. I will make this over and over again. I altered the recipe a little from allrecipies.com It was juicy and perfectly seasoned. It was perfectly spicy with the addition of cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. The original recipe called to use Habeneros....which were not available at the grocery store for some reason. I used it only on 2 breasts which is fine. The original recipe called to reserve part of the marinade, and cook it in a saucepan to thicken it while the chicken is broiling. I'm sure this would be great grilled too. I served it with Fried Rice and homemade Mojitos :)

Jerk Style Chicken

1/2 small onion
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1 teaspoon sesame oil
6 garlic chopped
1/2 teaspoon Jamaican allspice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1/2 cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon honey
4 chicken breasts

Combine everything but the chicken in a blender and blend till smooth. Pour over chicken in bag and marinade for an hour (be careful not to marinade TOO long because then all you will taste is the soy sauce).

Preheat oven to broil. Make sure its fully preheated. Broil for 6-7 minutes a side.

Fried Rice

1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Green Onions
1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh ginger
3 Cups cooked white rice
3 Eggs
Fresh ground pepper to taste

1. Add sesame oil, green onions, ginger to pan cook till onions are translucent
2. Add rice and soy sauce
3. Mix together and fry for a minute or two
4. Push rice aside, scramble three eggs
5. Mix all together
6. Serve with pepper/soy sauce to taste

Note: Best to use day old rice. I usually cook rice at least an hour ahead of time, and let it full cool and dry out a little before putting it in the pan. The key is to not have wet rice. You can add veggies and meats if you so desire.

Mojitos

1 1/2 oz silver spiced rum
1/2 oz lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
12 mint leaves
2 oz club soda/soda water

1. Put mint into bottom of glass
2. Add ice, lime juice, sugar, and rum
3. Mix around and crush mint
4. Add club soda

Enjoy :)

California Roll

For lunch today I made California Rolls. They were super yummy! Its not really a recipe really...just a list of stuff to assemble :)

California Rolls

white rice
toasted seaweed sheets
avocado
carrots
cucumbers
ginger
soy sauce and wasabi for dipping

Corned Beef and Cabbage

I find that boiled dinner and bland and tasteless when you only use the seasoning packet that it comes with. So I add a bottle of beer (I used the Shipyard Export this time as it was in the fridge), garlic, and bay leaves to give some added flavor. For the most part I follow the directions on the package of meat. I get the grey corned beef, so it doesn't have that red coloring being added needlessly. I did forget to put the carrots in this time *whoops*......Martha has a recipe to corn your own brisket....I may try that sometime in the future!

Corned Beef and Cabbage
aka: boiled dinner

1 bottle of beer
Potatoes
Head of Cabbage
Onions
Corned Beef and seasoning packet
8 garlic cloves
3 bay leaves


I use a crock pot, I put the meat in with the seasoning packet, bay leaves, garlic, and bottle of beer. Then I fill the crock pot with enough water to cover the beef completely. Typically 3 parts water to one part beer seems to work for me. I get around a 3lb brisket. I cook it in the crockpot on high for about 5 hours or so....then I add the Cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and a couple medium onions. I cut them all up into large wedges or chunks. Cook until they are all tender. Another hour or so.

Shrimp and Barley

This was adapted from a recipe I found in Real Simple Magazine. I used a parmasan, romano, and asiago blend of cheeses in place of the straight parmasan. It was originally a vegetarian dish and I added some shrimp and white kidney beans. Mainly because I love putting beans in things....and because my husband has a hard time eating things that do not have some sort of *meat* in it.....even if its a very small amount he will be happy. He definitely got this from his mother, who was a very bland cook, who put copious amounts of meat in EVERYTHING. So it has taken him a long time to get used me cooking with less meat (whether that is meat, poultry, fish, etc.). It helps that he absolutely loves my cooking :). Probably because it has flavor!

Shrimp and Barley

2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion
salt & pepper
2 cups quick cooking barley
28 oz diced tomatoes
1 cup white wine
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
8 cups fresh spinach
2 oz brie
1/2 cup parmesan
1lb raw shrimp

1. Dice onion and add to pot with olive oil. cook till translucent
2. Add barley, tomatoes, wine, 2 1/2 cups of water, salt, pepper, and italian seasoning.
3. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 12-15 minutes
4. Add spinach, cheeses, and shrimp. Cook until shrimp is opaque. ~5 minutes
5. Serve and sprinkle with parmesan

Double Chocolate Cake

After I made my friend a cake...my husband wanted one too....he got a full gluten version ha! Very good....obnoxiously chocolately....cream cheese frosting :) Got this off of the Epicurious website.

Double Chocolate Cake

• 3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate
• 1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat 300

Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Gluten Free Cake Flour

I made a graduation cake for a friend of mine. She can't have gluten, so I made a gluten free Red Velvet Cake for her this weekend. Turned out pretty good I think! And I received some good comments :)

Gluten Free Cake Flour:

3 cups fine ground white rice (you can find it cheaper in the Mexican food area)
1 cup corn starch
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 1/4 teaspoons of xanthum gum

Mix together really well....and sift it when putting into a cake :)

Turkey & Bean Chili

This was not spicy in any way, I like some sort of heat with my chili. I took this recipe out of Real Simple Magazine. It was listed as a "under 400 calories" dish...of course it called for green beans which I hate...so I swapped in corn instead. I also cut back on the quantity of diced tomatoes (called for two 16oz cans, I used one) and added black beans. Overall a very yummy chili, and not an overwhelming quantity. Typically whenever I make chili I make WAY too much! I can feed an army ha! So this is a nice way to curb my overenthusiastic cooking :) In real simple it was supposed to be 4 servings...but this is easily 6 servings.

Turkey & Bean Chili

1 tablespoon oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
1/2 pound ground turkey
3 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoon cumin
3 teaspoon chili powder
16oz diced tomatoes
15oz red kidney beans
15oz black beans
2 cups frozen corn
salt & pepper
sour cream and shredded cheese for toppings

1. Cook turkey in a pot with a little oil until brown and cooked through
2. Dice onion and add to meat, cook until begins to clear
3. Add tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir to coat meat evenly
4. Add corn, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, and black beans juice and all.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes
6. Serve with sprinkling of shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream

Macaroni and Cheese

This is Martha Stewart's recipe for macaroni and cheese. Last time I made it I remember it tasting so much better. Its still pretty good....but not nearly as wonderful as my stepfather's mac and cheese....which of course isn't anything that he has written down. The BEST part of this recipe is the homemade croutons on top....I used a mixture of olive oil rosemary bread and roasted garlic bread (not *garlic bread* as in buttery garlic toasted for pasta.... but roasted pieces of garlic baked in the loaf.)

Macaroni and Cheese

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
• 6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
• 5 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (about 18 ounces)
• 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (about 8 ounces) or 1 1/4 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 5 ounces)
• 1 pound elbow macaroni
  

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss. Set breadcrumbs aside.
2. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, whisking, 1 minute.
3. While whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.
4. Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup Pecorino Romano; set cheese sauce aside.
5. Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than manufacturer's directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce
6. Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, and breadcrumbs over top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes; serve hot.

Red Velvet Cake w/cream cheese frosting

I didn't use any coconut as dew doesn't like it, and I didn't cut the cakes in half to make it four high. Obviously it was good without ha! Pretty happy with it. LOVE LOVE LOVE this frosting! Sooooo good! I got the recipe from the Joy of Baking website. It really is red looking.....this picture makes it look brown...

Red Velvet Cake:

2 1/2 cups (250 grams) sifted cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (15 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk

2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 1/2 (360 ml) cups heavy whipping cream

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted

Red Velvet Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a

mixing bowl together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the freezer for at least an hour. (This is done to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

Cream Cheese Frosting

In your food processor, or with a hand mixer, process the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and process until smooth. Transfer this mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Then, in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. With a large spatula, gently but quickly fold a little of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining whipped cream, in two stages. If the frosting is not thick enough to spread, cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour, or until it is firm enough to spread.

Assemble: With a serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half, horizontally. You will now have four cake layers. Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with a layer of frosting. Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost and stack the cake layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Can garnish the cake with sweetened or unsweetened coconut.

Seafood Cioppino

I followed this recipe pretty closely. I did add extra ginger and cloves....I don't really like green peppers, so I did use potatoes instead. For the diced tomatoes I got the kind that is mixed with jalapenos. I really enjoyed this dish, it had a good amount of heat to it, probably because of the added jalapeno content on top of the crushed red pepper flakes. I also used Italian seasoned tomato paste...on accident really, I thought I grabbed the plain stuff and I had not. I will definitely make this dish again. I'm sure it would be great with only fish, or only shrimp, but its really nice with the variety of seafoods too. I've adjusted the directions to reflect how I made it.

Seafood Cioppino

2 inch length of fresh ginger
12 garlic cloves
1 large yellow onion (it weighed a pound!)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
8 very small red potatoes (about 2lbs worth I think)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
28oz of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
16oz of clam juice
1 cup white wine (I used a Pinot Grigio)
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1lb haddock
1lb scallops
1/2lb shrimp

1. Mince garlic, onion, and ginger in a food processor
2. Add to pot on medium heat with oil and red pepper flakes
3. Cook until onions turn translucent, about 5 minutes or so
4. Cut potatoes into 1inch cubes
5. Add diced tomatoes juice and all, clam juice, wine, oregano, salt, pepper, and potatoes
6. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender
7. Mix in Haddock and cook till just done, about 5 to 7 minutes
8. Add Scallops and Shrimp, cook another 3 to 4 minutes. Shrimp should be pink, and scallops opaque
9. Serve :)

Hungarian Goulash

I combined a friend's recipe with a few more traditional ones to try this for the first time. I wanted to try and get an authentic flavor. A lot of goulash recipes have tomatoes, green peppers, and other things that an authentic goulash should not contain (so I have found out). I used wolfgang puck beef stock because its high quality and doesn't have MSG in it. Overall I found the dish slightly bland...although the sour cream really did help with flavor. The pickles give it a niceness too, which I never would have thought. If I make it again I think I will add the marjoram and caraway seeds that my friends recipe called for (most others did not) because it may make the flavor stronger which would be nice. The traditional recipe also calls for beef chuck and to cook it for nearly 3 hours in a crock pot. I didnt want to wait that long, and the hamburg was ok. Next time I'll probably do it in the crock pot and use the beef chuck. I also used red potatoes because that is what I had on hand. But I think that yukons would work better.

Hungarian Goulash-beef and potato soup

1 1/2 pound ground beef or beef chuck
1 large onion, chopped
4 medium potatoes
3-4 tablespoons of Hungarian Paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
3 cloves garlic minced
2 bay leaves
1 cup dill pickles, chopped
320z beef stock
oil
sour cream
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Put a large skillet or pot on medium heat

2. Add meat, oil, garlic and paprika and cook for 5-10 minutes

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about a half hour, longer if using beef chuck.

4. When potatoes are soft, and meat is fully cooked. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Mexican Spice Rubbed Ribeye, Asparagus and Red Potatoes

Mexican Spice Rubbed Ribeye with Lime Butter, Roasted Asparagus and Red Potatoes

This steak is relatively hot because of the mexican rub, but it has lots of flavor. The bread is a garlic italian loaf that was purchased at the bakery. Roasting the veggies is one of my favorite ways to have them. The spice and butter mixtures are enough for 4 steaks. I split them between two and that worked fine as well.

Mexican Spice Rubbed Ribeye:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 small garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

pinch of sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Light the grill or preheat large grill pan

2. First small bowl, combine softened butter, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, and salt. Set aside.

3. Second small bowl, combine the paprika, cumin, chipotle, and cayenne pepper.

4. Rub mixture all over the steaks

5. Oil the grate and grill the steaks over moderately high heat, turning once, until slightly charred and medium-rare, about 12 minutes.

6. Transfer the steaks to plates and top with the Lime Butter. Use about a tablespoon per steak.

7. Let the steaks stand for 3 to 4 minutes before serving.

Roasted Asparagus and Red Potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Asparagus
Red Potatoes
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Cayenne Pepper

1. Evenly coat Asparagus with salt, pepper, and oil.

2. Spread out evenly in baking dish.

3. Evenly coat Red Potatoes with salt, pepper, and oil. Sprinkle lightly with cayenne pepper.

4. Spread out evenly in baking dish.

5. Bake both dishes for 45 minutes.

Note: If you like the asparagus to be a bit more crunchy decrease the baking time by 15 minutes. If you want your potatoes less crisp decrease the time as well.