Chicken Stew

Recipe Review: Home cooking- just like mom made. This is my comfort food. 

A bunch of times I've blogged about making recipes that we had when I was a kid. We had our staples, chicken and rice casserole, pumpkin cookies, my dads chili, but nothing is a more quintessential childhood food for me than chicken stew with parsley dumplings. It screams cold weather, home cooking, hearty comfort food. When I was a kid we never added potatoes and instead served this over rice. I skipped the dumplings this time because I was feeling lazy but they are super yum, and absorb all the rich flavors of the stew.

Chicken Stew with Dumplings
yield: 8 servings

6 cups chicken stock
5 chicken breasts, cubed
salt & pepper
3 cups carrots, sliced
3 cups celery, sliced
1 1/2 cups onion, diced
3 red potatoes, cubed

2/3 c flour

1 cup cold water

Dumplings:

1 1/3 cups milk

4 cups bisquick

2 tablespoons parsley

Put chicken, stock, onion, salt and pepper in a large pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 30 minutes.

Add carrots and potatoes, simmer 10 minutes.

Mix flour and water in a small bowl. Stir flour mixture and celery into chicken mixture. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened.

In a medium bowl mix bisquick, milk and parsley until a soft dough forms. drop by spoonfuls onto boiling stew. Lower head and cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Cover and cook on low heat 10-15 minutes longer.

printable recipe

This always tastes about a hundred times better the second day, so don't judge it too harshly at first. Actually if you're ambitious make this a day ahead, but quit before the dumplings. Reheat the next day and cook the dumplings.

So I'm finally caught up with blogging! Much less idle time with the new job (which is a really good thing.) I can't believe that October is already half way over. This year has completely flown by.  I got a new issue of Fine Cooking recently and the cover story was Thanksgiving! I realized that by blogging almost every single thing that I cooked for thanksgiving last year I was setting myself up to not have anything to blog this year! I'm pretty strict with what goes on my plate at thanksgiving and don't really like to change it up. The traditional dishes are what I really love. I'll have to try some inventive desserts or appetizers this year so that I have something to write about!

Buffalo Wing Dip

Recipe Review: crack in the form of an appetizer.

Warning. This dip is dangerously addictive. I'm serious. Proceed with caution because once you make this you are going to want to make it again, and again and again. A friend used to make this dip at parties and people would go crazy for it. I bugged her for the recipe but she was always really vague and would never give it to me. Eventually a roommate discovered that identical results could reproduced by following the recipe from the Franks RedHot website. 

Buffalo Chicken Dip

from: FranksRedHot.com

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup Franks Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce

1/2 cup ranch or blue cheese dressing

2 cups shredded chicken

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Start by adding softened cream cheese to a deep baking dish. Stir until smooth. Mix in cheese, hot sauce, and dressing. Stir in chicken. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes until hot and bubbly. 

I usually shred the chicken a day before. Just boil the chicken for about 30 minutes until cooked through,  and then use two forks to shred while still warm. The dip can also be made in advance, and refrigerated overnight, but will need double baking time. This is the perfect football party food. It has all the great tastes of wings rolled together. The flavors work well with tortilla chips, but it's also good on crackers, toast, or with veggies. I try to only make this when there will be other people around, because if I was alone I would probably eat the entire thing. 

Spicy Chicken Cakes

Recipe Review: A favorite recipe for a twist on weeknight chicken!

I got a food processor!! Wahoo! So very exciting. This is one of the last major purchases that has held me back from having a fully functioning kitchen with all the necessary gadgets and appliances. Thanks so an amazing sale at Bloomingdale's I now have a Cusinart food processor. I brought it home, unpacked it got to cooking right away.

The summer before I moved to San Diego this recipe was published in cooking light. I remember being so excited when I read it and pestering my mom for when we could make it for dinner. 5 years later i still remember how much I liked this meal, and I have wanted to make it many times since then, but I've never had a food processor. Naturally this was the first thing I made. Its simple and easy to make. Almost all of the prep is done in the bowl of the food processor so it doesn't create a huge mess which is nice. Also you could make the patties ahead of time and just pop them in the frying pan when you get hungry. Finally something different to do for week night chicken!

Spicy Chicken Cakes with Horseradish Aioli
from: Cooking Light
yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
Cakes:
2 slices whole wheat bread
1 lb chicken breasts
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
3 tablespoons low fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons canola oil

Aioli:
2 tablespoons low fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons horseradish
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon salt

To prepare cakes, place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 cup. Set aside

Place chicken in a food processor; pulse until ground. Combine chicken, chives, 2 tables spoons of mayonnaise, seasoning, salt egg whites, and breadcrumbs in food processor. Divide mixture into 8 equal portions. shaping each into a patty, 1/2 inch thick. 

Heat oil in a large non stick skillet over medium heat. Add patties; cook 7 minutes on each side or until done.

To prepare aioli. combine 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Serve with cakes.
Nutrition Info: Serving size- 2 cakes 2 teaspoons aioli. Calories: 242. Fat: 7.1g. Saturated fat: 1.3g. Protein: 29.5g Carbohydrates: 12.5g. Fiber: 0.5g. Cholesterol: 66mg. Sodium: 749mg.

printable recipe

I know I haven't been blogging much lately. Summer seems to bring on all sorts of social obligations that eat up my time. Also my work life has been a mess. What used to be a somewhat predictable schedule has now gone all helter skleter and I never know what to expect. I wish I could do awesome cooking projects every night. I'm hoping that as summer calms down I'll be able to be in the kitchen more. We don't have A/C so its a bit hot for baking projects but I have a whole list of cupcakes I need to make!

Chicken Yakitori & Asian Vegetables

Recipe Review: Easy to Make Asian Marinade to use for grilled chicken (and veggies!)

I cook all the time. Everything from fancy recipes to easy dinners, and I'd like to think that I'm a pretty good cook. In general most of what I make gets good feedback from the people who have tried it, but the most enthusiastic review that I've ever gotten back from Kevin is for Chicken Yakitori that I made for the first time this fall. The recipe was originally from the New York Times and passed on to me by my dad. We made it again this week and it was just as good as we remembered.

Spinach & Pesto Chicken Rollatini

Recipe Review: Chicken, Pesto and Spinach- whats not to like? Looks fancy but its not- Can be prepped early and thrown in the oven later, 

I get so tired of just marinating and grilling chicken. It's quick and easy to make, but I get burnt out on chicken really fast that way. So I was looking for a new way to make chicken to jazz things up. Last fall I made asparagus stuffed chicken and really enjoyed the way the pesto tasted on the baked chicken. Some googling (and perhaps some olive garden ads) led me to the idea of doing a chicken "rollatini". Basically its a way to make stuffed chicken where you pound the chicken really thin and then roll it up with the stuffing inside. If done right when sliced you will have pretty little chicken pinwheels. I thought this would be good to make ahead and just pop in the oven, and it was!

Rave Review: Trader Joe's Chicken Sausage

I had to give a shout out to Trader Joe's for making this product. In general they do a great job with prepared foods, salads, frozen stuff, and have an excellent wine selection. Unfortunately they aren't everywhere but if you have access to a Trader Joe's I highly suggest you try these out!

You can find these guys in the refrigerated section, and there are typically 6 or 7 varieties to choose from. Spicy Jalapeno (like the ones above), Sundried Tomato, Sweet Apple, Spinach Fontina & Roasted Garlic, and Italian are a few. They contain no MSG, are Gluten free, and typically contain between 90 -110 calories in each sausage, depending on the flavor. I use these for everything. I'll split one and put half on a breakfast sandwich, crumble it and use it in pasta sauce or lasagna. I've used them for taco filling, in place of a hot dog, or just as the main protein in a meal. I tend to get tired if I eat too much of something but since there are so many flavors these never seem to get old. A pack of 5 costs $3.99. There is another variety of chicken sausage they have, that are larger and curved (more like a traditional sausage would look) These seem to have a thicker casing, as an fyi. I seem to like the ones that are more hot dog shaped because I don't love the casing on the other ones, but they have great flavor.

Trader Joe's edamame hummus is another great one to try if you are there, and there frozen goyza dumplings, and the peppermint Joe Joe's if they are in season. They also stock one of my favorite wines Casillero del Diablo Carmenere. Its 7.99 and a really great bottle of wine. I actually saw it at Costco this morning for only 5.99 a bottle! I should have bought a case...



Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Recipe Review: easy to make at home chicken lettuce wraps that taste as good as at a restaurant! Great as an appetizer, can be served with rice, or soup to make a full entree.

I freaking love the lettuce wraps that they make at PF Chang's. I used to work in a mall that had a PF Chang's and would order the chicken lettuce wraps for lunch all the time. There's just something about the cold crunchy lettuce wrapped around the chicken mix. This is probably also why I like my burgers from In-n-Out "protein style" (wrapped in lettuce instead of on a bun. Its a little messy, but delicious!) In general I haven't had much luck cooking Asian food, and usually go the take out route (side note/rant: there is no good Chinese food in San Diego. None. Amazing sushi but, Its been over 3 years and I've yet to find Chinese that's anything close to the quality they have back in New York) but this looked easy enough so I went for it

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Recipe Review: Hearty Mexican soup that is a full meal in a bowl- Thumbs up all around, spices can be adjusted to make the soup mild or hot

I needed something to make that was a departure from heavy traditional Thanksgiving food. Also I needed something quick to throw together on a work night. This soup is incredibly easy to make (the only cooking skills needed are the ability to chop up an onion, and open cans) and it tastes really good without having any "heavy" ingredients.

Pesto Baked Chicken with Asparagus

I had half a jar of pesto sauce leftover from making some pasta salad a while back and was trying to figure out a way to use it other than just dumping it on pasta. (I had previously used the pesto to make a really yummy pesto and spinach pasta salad that I found on the food network website. It was a total hit at a bbq and I had to throw together a quick second batch when people gobbled up the first one.) Some quick googling led me to the idea of brushing the pesto onto chicken. Sounded simple and yummy enough! I decided to fancy it up but stuffing the chicken with asparagus and mozzarella, and made some sauteed spinach on the side.