Chicken and Stew with Biscuits

Ingredients:

1/2 a roasted chicken 

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

5 Cups of Chicken Stock (5 cups of water and 3 chicken bouillon cubes)

3/4 Cup of butter

2 Cups of chopped onions

3/4 Cup of flour

1/4 Cup of Cream

2 Cups of diced carrots

2 Cups of diced broccoli

1 teaspoon of parsley

Biscuit Ingredients:

2 Cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 Cup of butter

3/4 Cup of half cream, half milk

1 teaspoon of parsley

1 egg mixed with 1 Tablespoon of water for egg wash

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees (180 C).  Place a whole chicken on a sheet pan.  Cut all the way through the breast bone from bottom to top and open your chicken so you can lay it flat.  Lay the chicken breast side up on your baking pan.  Rub the chicken with olive oil.  Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  Roast your chicken for 40-45 minutes, or until cooked through.  Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin.  Cut the chicken into medium size dices.  You will use half of this chicken in this recipe. Put the other half in the fridge or freezer for later use. 

In a small saucepan, heat the water and add the bouillon cubes.  Stir until the bouillon cubes are dissolved.  

In a large pot, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes.  Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce.  Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring until thick.  Add salt (taste your mixture first before you add salt to taste), 1/2 teaspoon pepper and heavy cream. Add the chicken, carrots, broccoli and parsley.  Mix well.  Place the stew in a creased baking dish.  Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, make the biscuits.  Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or you can do this by hand if you don't have a mixer). Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas.  Add the milk/cream mixture and combine on low speed. Mix in the parsley.  Dump the dough on a well-floured surface and roll it out to 3/8 inch thick.  Cut out twelve circles with a round cookie cutter (or the top of a cup).  

Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of the filling.  Brush them with egg wash and return the dish to the oven.  Bake for another 20-30 minutes, until the biscuits are light brown and the stew is bubbly.  

Note:  To make in advance, refrigerate the chicken stew and biscuits separately.  Bake the stew for 25 minutes and then place the biscuits on top and bake for another 30 minutes, until done. 

Recipe Credit:  Adapted from Ina Garten's Chicken and Stew with Biscuits - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-stew-with-biscuits-recipe.html

Watermelon Pico De Gallo

Ingredients:

1 small watermelon

1 onion, finely diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely diced

1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste

Karia Pepper (optional) - if you want it to have a kick

Cut the watermelon into small pieces.  Add the onion, bell peppers and the karia (optional).  Throw in the cilantro.  Add the lime juice and salt.  Toss the pico de gallo around gently and give it a taste.  Add ore of any ingredients you think it needs.  Serve as a snack with chips (I used tortilla chips from the NGO Bazaar) or you can use it as a garnish for Mexican food.

Recipe Credit:  The Pioneer Woman Cooks - A Year of Holidays - pg. 134

Watermelon Pop's

This is a quick, easy & healthy snack for the kids!  I also like disguising fruit and veggies in Popsicle form because my kids think anything in the form of a Popsicle is delicious!!

Cut up a watermelon & remove the seeds.  Stick the watermelon in the blender and blend until smooth.  Pour it into Popsicle molds and freeze.

Savory Meatballs

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

2 Onions - thinly sliced

1/4 Cup of water plus the juice of one lemon

1/2 teaspoon of Salt

1/4 teaspoon of Pepper

1 teaspoon Thyme

1 1/2 Cups of Chicken Stock (water & one chicken bouillon cube)

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 Cup - half milk/half cream

1 batch of Meatballs

In a large skillet heat the olive oil and add the onions.  Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.  Add the water and lemon juice.  Let it cook for 2 minutes.  Add the salt, pepper, thyme, chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce and the milk/cream.  Bring to a low simmer and drop in the meatballs.  Let it cook for 10 minutes, coating and warming the meatballs.  Serve over rice or couscous. 

I like to make this ahead of time and put it in the fridge.  After it has cooked, I put it in a baking dish and stick it in the fridge.  When I'm ready to warm it up, I stick in in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. 

Recipe Credit:  http://foodlets.com/2014/12/17/easy-meatballs-stroganoff-a-simpler-version-of-a-classic/

Pioneer Woman's Egg Salad

This is the second Egg Salad that I've posted on my blog.  This Potato Salad is a little bit richer & less healthy than than my other potato salad, but this one sure does taste good!

Ingredients:

1 dozen hard boiled eggs, peeled

1/2 Cup of Mayonnaise

1 to 2 Tablespoons of Dijon Mustard

1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon of White Vinegar

Salt and Pepper to Taste

The Pioneer Woman give a very easy trick on how to dice up the hard boiled eggs.  Lay a cooling rack over a large bowl, then lay one of the peeled eggs on top.  Use your hand to squish the egg right through the rack.  If you don't have a cooling rack, just dice up the eggs with a knife.

Once you have all of your eggs chopped, add the mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Stir the mixture gently until it all comes together, then taste and adjust the ingredients to your taste.  Sere a scoop on a salad bed of greens, on bread for a sandwich or you can eat it on crackers or chips.  Delicious!

Recipe Credit:  The Pioneer Woman Cooks - A Year of Holiday's - Page 119

Caramelized Baked Chicken

Ingredients:

One whole chicken, cut into pieces

3/4 Cup of honey

1/2 Cup of Soy Sauce

1/4 Cup of Ketchup

2-3 Cloves of minced garlic

Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (180 C).  Place the chicken legs in a foil-lined baking dish.  The foil just makes the clean up easier, it is not essential.  Lay the chicken pieces out and give them a good sprinkling of salt and pepper on both sides.  In a bowl, combine the honey, soy sauce and the ketchup.  Stir well and then add the minced garlic and stir again.  If the mixture does not combine well, microwave it for 30 seconds and then stir again.  Pour the honey mixture over the chicken.  

Put the pan in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.  Take the chicken out of the oven and rotate it so that the bottom that was in the sauce is now on top out of the sauce.  Put the chicken back in the oven.  Raise the heat to 425 and bake until the sauce is bubbly and starts to caramelize on the chicken.  This should take about 15 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the oven and let it to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Credit:   http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2012/11/chicken-legs.html

Potato Skins

This is a comfort food for me !!  It's fairly easy & reminds me of appetizers at restaurants in the States.  We make it as a dinner meal around our house.

Ingredients:

8 potatoes, scrubbed clean

4 Tablespoons of oil

Salt to Taste

2 Tablespoons of Butter, melted

1 1/2 Cups of Cheese (I like to use Mama's Cheddar when I can get it, otherwise I use provolone)

8 slices (or more) of bacon, fried and chopped

1 small onion, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the whole potatoes on a cookie sheet and brush them with a good coating of oil.  Sprinkle them with salt & bake them for 35 to 45 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the skin is starting to crisp. 

When the potatoes are done, slice them potato in half lengthwise.  Then use a spoon to scoop out the middle of each potato - making sure to leave a rim around the edge of each half.  Scoop out the insides.  You can store them in a plastic container in the fridge for another use (like potato salad??).  Raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees.  Brush the skins on the inside with the melted butter, then put them back in the oven for 3 minutes.  After that, use tongs to turn the skins to the other side.  Brush that side with more butter and return the skins to the oven until crisp, 3-4 minutes.  Remove them from the oven.  Fill the skins with a small amount of cheese and place them in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese.  Sprinkle on the bacon and onions.  Serve immediately!  Enjoy!

Recipe Credit - The Pioneer Woman Cooks - A Year of Holiday's -  Page 36