for belly and soul

It may be cold outside, but this dish will warm you right up! Homemade chicken pot pie is the name and you are going to love, love, love it! I got this recipe from my mom and the hubs practically begs me to make it for him. Thanks, Mom! It works in all seasons, but truly is comforting on a cold day...here it is:

Chicken Pot Pie

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup flour 

1/3 cup onion

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 1/2 cup chicken broth

1/3 cup milk

Approx. 2 cup cut-up cooked chicken

1 (12 oz.) pkg. frozen mixed veggies

Cut up fresh potatoes, celery, and carrots (optional)

Pie crust (frozen works well)

Melt butter, sautee onion in butter until clear. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Stir constantly until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling. Boil and stir one minute. Add in veggies and chicken. Let cook for a while stirring regularly. Pour mixture over pie crust. Top with another pie crust and flute edges. Cut slits in center. Cook uncovered at 425 degrees for 30-35 minutes until crust is brown.

s.o.s

The beauty of forcing yourself to cook new things is that in the process you discover the use of herbs, spices, flavors, and techniques that you may not have stumbled upon otherwise. Not that chicken salad is hard to make or anything, but this is probably my fourth or fifth attempt at a recipe that hubby likes. See, he loves chicken salad but there's only about a couple of places he wants to eat it from: Napoleon's Restaurant (small eatery in our home town) and his mother's. I guess I need to ask her for her recipe since I've been missing the target lately. However, I did brave up and decide to try something new this time... and I just might be creeping closer to victory!

I usually buy the canned chicken from the store when making chicken salad, but the Pioneer Woman does not. This woman is basically living the life I dream of, so when she speaks- I listen. Enter: poached chicken (bone-in). For this recipe, I had to pick the meat off the bones instead of just dump it out of a can and I sincerely appreciate the experience. Why was I so scared of chicken bones before?? The chicken salad turned out great and hubby actually liked it. Score. Enjoy!

Chicken Salad

The Pioneer Woman 

1 whole cut up fryer chicken

2 stalks (to three stalks) celery, chopped

3 whole green onions, chopped

2 cups (to 3 cups) grapes, halved

a small handful of fresh dill, minced

1/2 cup mayonaise

1/2 cups plain yogurt or sour cream [I used a little of both]

1 T. (to 2 T.) brown sugar

1 T. (to 2 T.) lemon juice

kosher salt to taste

fresh ground pepper to taste

Step 1: Rinse chicken thoroughly and place in a large pot of water. Turn on the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is done (about 45 minutes to an hour). When you are ready, remove the chicken from the pot and place on a plate. With your fingers or a fork, pull all of the meat off the bones, chip into bite-sized chunks and set aside.

Step 2: Chop all of your fruits and veggies and place them in a bowl with the chicken. In another bowl mix mayonnaise, yogurt (or sour cream), lemon juice, brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Add fresh herbs (dill, oregano, cilantro...whatever makes your skirt fly up) and if you're feeling a bit brazen throw in a dash of cayenne pepper! When the dressing tastes just right (you must taste test for appropriate saltiness especially), pour it over the chicken/veggie/fruit mixture and stir gently until everything is thoroughly mixed.

Step 3: Allow the salad to chill for several hours (or even overnight). Serve on a bed of lettuce or in a sandwich.

happy 1st anniversary to us! :)

Today is our 1st wedding anniversary! Woohoo, we made it!  Of course the first year had its challenges as we adjusted to married life, but I can say with confidence that it has been the most exciting year of my life by far. Hubby works so hard for us so I like to keep him happy and full with my cooking experiments...he never complains and is my biggest fan! I love you, sweetie!!!

This morning I wanted to make something a little different for breakfast since it is a special day but didn't have a lot of time as it is a church morning. So with an idea in mind I set out in search of a pumpkiny, spicy pancake- and I found these. They are so perfect for this time of year and really add a different flavor to your every-day pancakes without an overbearing allspice taste. Trust me, these are a winner!!

 
Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

adapted from Joy the Baker Blog

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

(OR ¾ AP flour & ½ whole wheat flour)

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

pinch of ground ginger

pinch of ground cloves

1 cup milk

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 egg

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter

Step 1: Whisk together flours, salt, spices, sugar and baking powder in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg, pumpkin and vegetable oil or melted butter.  

Step 2: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.  Don’t worry if you have a few lumps.  You don’t want to over beat the batter, it’ll produce tough pancakes.  

Step 3: Let the batter sit for 10 minutes while you heat the skillet [I skipped this step].  Over low-medium heat, melt a tablespoon of butter or vegetable oil.  Once skillet is hot, spoon a heaping 2 tablespoons of batter per pancake into the skillet.  When pancake starts to bubble slightly, carefully flip over.

Once browned and cooked through place pancakes on an oven proof plate and place in the oven set at 200 degrees F to keep warm while the rest of the pancakes are cooked. Serve with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar or maple syrup.  Delicious! 

the many faces of chili

Last week I found two packages of chili mix in my pantry and since I don't really have a good homemade chili recipe I decided to use up those little magic packs...and let me tell you something, there is NO shame in that! The chili was really, really good. Then over the course of three nights, I used the chili for three different meals: Chili & Cornbread, Frito Pie, and Loaded Baked Potatoes! What a great way to make your food and money stretch. Here is what I did:

• used two chili packets since I wanted to make a lot [and of course, all the ingredients to go with]
  
• added chopped onion & minced garlic [with the meat while it was browning]
  
• added 2 cans red kidney beans to add bulk and fiber
• used my crockpot to cook the chili slowly so that the meat gets tender and the spices get a chance to really set in

Here is the recipe for the best cornbread in the world! [The only kind I will eat!] It was passed down from my grandpa.


Sweet Cornbread
Poppy 

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine 
1 egg
1 1/2 cup sour milk [buttermilk]
1 1/2 cup corn meal
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
3/4 cup flour

Cream sugar and margarine. Add egg and sour milk. Mix cornmeal, salt, and soda. Add to wet ingredients and stir. Add flour and mix well. Pour into 9" greased pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 25 minutes.

It really doesn't get any better than this, folks!

The Frito Pie and Loaded Baked Potato are fairly self-explanatory. You can pretty much add whichever ingredients suit your taste. To the Frito Pie, I simply opened a bag of Frito's, filled the bottom of the bowl with them, poured the chili over the top, added shredded cheddar [gotta have the cheese] and then added some shredded lettuce and tomato for a little extra nutritional value ;) but I'm not going to lie... most of the time I enjoy it with just the chips, chili & cheese! Now for the loaded baked potato, well, you can go crazy with this one! I baked the potato in the oven for about an hour and then added chili, cheese, chopped green onion, and sour cream. Hubby and I both drooled over this one!

I'm sure one day I'll land a chili recipe that is to die for and never go back to the spice packets...but until then, they will have to do. They really do make a good tasting chili and the great thing is you can whip it with practically no effort!

sugar and spice and everything nice!

Is there anything better than pumpkin and spice in the fall? Is there anything better than cream cheese ever!? Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are a huge hit and one of my new favorite recipes! Hubby loved them, friends loved them, family at reunion this weekend loved them and all I can say is wow, I wish I could take all the credit! The recipe yields about 24 muffins so they are perfect for fall gatherings, Thanksgiving, school parties, or just to stuff yourself at home. :) It probably sounds like I'm trying to sell these, but they really just sell themselves. Make them and you'll see what I mean! ;) Thank you, Annie's Eats for this amazing recipe!

 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Annie's Eats

For the muffins:
3 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp. & 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

For the streusel topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup and 1 tsp. flour
4Tbsp. butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

STEP 1: To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and whip until smooth. Form into a log on a plastic wrap or foil, making sure that the diameter is small enough to fit into the well of a muffin pan. Wrap the log up tightly and freeze until slightly hardened, 1-2 hours. 
STEP 2: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To make the muffins, combine the flour, spices, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, sugar and pumpkin puree. Mix until well combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.
STEP 3: To make the streusel topping, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix together with a pastry blender or two forks until crumbly. 
STEP 4: Line two muffin pans with paper liners. To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well halfway with batter. Remove the cream cheese log from the freezer and slice into 24 equal slices. Place a slice in each muffin well. Divide the remaining muffin batter evenly among the muffin cups, on top of the cream cheese. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the top of the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely before serving. 

cranberry-apricot scones. period.

I like to cook. But I love to bake. Apparently I'm also a food-dork because I couldn't wait to wake up this morning just so that I could make these delicious scones.Hehehe. I got the recipe from a "Women In the Church" mail-out this summer and I knew from the second I saw it that I had to make them. It just took me a while to build up the courage because for some reason I thought they would be a challenge. They were actually quite easy and well worth the time and effort. I served them to hubby strait out of the oven and he was smitten by them, well we both were. The dried fruit (mainly the cranberry) make them ideal for a perfect fall breakfast! Yuummmmmm!


Cranberry-Orange Scones

Williams-Sonoma Bread

3 C all-purpose flour

3 T. granulated sugar

2 ½ t. baking powder

½ t. salt

Zest of 1 orange or 1 t. orange oil

10 T. cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 C. cold buttermilk

¾ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup chopped dried apricots

Step 1: Preheat oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2: In a bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest. Add the butter to the flour mixture. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs.

Step 3: Add the buttermilk to the dry ingredients all at once and stir until a sticky dough forms. Stir in the cranberries and apricots just until evenly distributed.

Step 4: Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. With floured hands, gently knead the dough 8-10 strokes; the dough will be very soft. Press and pat the dough into a loose rectangle about 1 ½ inches thick. Fold the rectangle like a letter, overlapping the two short sides in them idle to make three layers. Pat out the dough into a thick triangle. Divide in half. Pat each portion into a round ¾ inch thick and 8 inches in diameter. Cut each round into six wedges.

Step 5: Arrange the wedges, 2 inches apart, on the prepared sheet. Bake until golden brown, 14-18 minutes. Transfer to racks. Serve the scones warm with butter.

swedish meatballs: fancy name for meatballs and gravy

I told hubby that I was going to make "Swedish meatballs" for dinner and he all but turned up his nose at the idea. He is very leery of dishes he's never heard of, where I on the other hand, LOVE to try weird new recipes with fancy/funky names. Well friends... I hate to disappoint but as hubby so frankly put it after I made them, these are just good ol' Texan meatballs and gravy! Haha. Regardless of the name they were quite delish and I will definitely be using this recipe again! I hope you enjoy as much as we did. :)

Swedish Meatballs
Good Housekeeping "Step by Step Cookbook" 1997

1 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. margarine or butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 slices firm white bread, torn [I used Panko]
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 large egg
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Pinch ground allspice
2 tsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 can chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy or whipping cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill [I used chopped parsely]

Step 1: In a 10-inch skillet, melt 1 tbsp. butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, 8 minutes or until tender. Transfer to a large bowl and wipe skillet clean. Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor with knife blade attached, process bread to fine crumbs. To onion in bowl, add bread crumbs, ground beef, and next 5 ingredients and mix until blended. Shape into 1 1/2-inch meatballs.
Step 2: In same skillet, melt 1 tsp. butter with 1 tsp. oil over medium heat. Add half of meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, 10 minutes, or until browned on all sides and just cooked through; transfer to plate and keep warm. Repeat with remaining 1 tsp. each butter and oil and remaining meatballs; transfer to plate.
Step 3: To drippings in skillet, add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in chicken broth and cream; heat to boiling, stirring over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes. Return meatballs to skillet, stirring gently to coat with sauce. Sprinkle with dill and serve.