This was a salad I used to order at Nordstrom's restaurant. I often duplicated it at home using bottled Asian sesame dressing. I haven't made this in a long time and decided to make it tonight, but I didn't have any bottled dressing, so I concocted my own version. Everyone liked it and it's all natural, no preservatives or additives. No more bottled dressing for me!
This is one of those salads that you could throw almost anything into. Tonight I used lettuce from my garden, but it's also great with spinach. I'll give you the list of ingredients I used, but feel free to change it up. I grilled boneless chicken breasts marinated in some of the dressing, but you could certainly purchase a rotisserie chicken, shred it and use that.
Sesame Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar (I'm sure you could substitute white wine vinegar or something similar)
1/4 cup honey
3 Tablespoons sesame oil
1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
4 large cloves of garlic, run through a garlic press
Combine all ingredients in a blender ( I actually used my Nutribullet) blend for a few seconds.
Set aside half of the dressing for the salad and use the remainder to marinate 2 large boneless chicken breasts. Marinate for about one hour. I grilled my chicken, but feel free to bake or cook on the stovetop.
Salad:
Romaine lettuce, spinach, leaf lettuce or any combination of thereof
2 - 3 carrots Cut into matchsticks. I actually used a peeler that cuts them into skinny strips.
1 cucumber seeded and cut into matchsticks
1 - 2 cups fresh snow peas
1 can mandarin orange sections drained
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Chow mein noodles
Thinly slice the cooked chicken breasts against the grain. Combine salad ingredients. I served the chicken in a separate plate from the salad, but you could certainly combine them. Top with dressing and chow mein noodles. Enjoy!
Please feel free to leave questions or comments in the "Comments" section below this post, and please share with your friends!
Happy Cooking,
Carol
a.k.a Nonnie
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Pot-stickers! Out of this world!
I'm finally back! I have had a rough year, but I won't bore you with all the details. Just know that I am finally up to speed again and you will be hearing from me more often as I have quite a few new recipes to share with you.
So, I am one of those people who can't sleep at night. Sometimes, when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep, I turn on the Cooking Channel and watch old episodes of one of my favorite shows, "Good Eats" with Alton Brown. The other night he did a series of episodes on Asian cooking, and one of them was about wonton wrappers. He used them in quite a few recipes, but the only one that I really remember was pot-stickers. It might be because we all love pot-stickers. In fact we usually buy the frozen ones and eat them as a snack, but after watching Alton Brown, I figured, how hard could this be? The only problem, was that I hated the ingredients he used. Along with the pork, ginger, soy sauce and scallions, he put in things like catsup and mustard! Really? How does that go in a pot-sticker? Convinced that there had to be a better way, I searched the internet and found dozens of recipes. I took what I liked from each of them and came up with my own version. I guess it was a success, because everyone loved them!
Now, I must be brutally honest here. This is not a quick week-night meal. While the process is not at all difficult, it is very time consuming. I made about 80 pot-stickers and found it took me about 40 seconds to make each one. That was before cooking them, so you do the math.
Most of the recipes I read suggested making a large batch and before cooking, freezing them on a sheet pan and them and then transferring them to another container. This would be a good idea, but my whole family was here tonight and I knew I had to cook all of them. I actually had most of the ingredients here, but I was out of fresh ginger and needed to get scallions along with the wonton wrappers. Some of the recipes called for napa cabbage and some for regular cabbage. Since I already had regular cabbage in my fridge, I used that. Wonton wrappers are found in your local grocery store and are usually in the produce section near the tofu. One more thing, you will need to cook these in a skillet with a tight fitting lid. Do not use one of those super copper non stick pans, they won't cook properly. Pot-stickers got their name because they need to stick to the pot! Are you ready?
2 cups finely chopped cabbage (2 cups is about 1/4 of a small head of cabbage)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 to 1 lb. of ground pork
a 1 inch piece of fresh ginger grated. Do not substitute ground ginger!
1 small carrot grated
3 scallions finely sliced, both white and green parts
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped or run through a garlic press
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 small egg beaten (if your eggs are extra large, use only half)
1 quart chicken broth
1 package won-ton wrappers (I used a package and a half and a whole pound of pork)
vegetable oil for frying
Begin by making sure the cabbage is finely chopped. Put in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Allow this to sit for 30 minutes. In another bowl whisk together the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and egg. Add the pork, carrot and scallions and mix. After the cabbage has sat for thirty minutes, transfer it to a clean tea towel, twist and squeeze out all of the liquid. Squeeze really hard! Add the cabbage to the meat mixture and mix the whole thing with your hands like you are making meatloaf. Now comes the fun part.
Before you begin assembling the pot stickers cover a sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper. Dampen a tea towel. You will need to keep your pot-stickers covered with the towel until you cook them so they don't dry out. Place another damp towel over the wonton wrappers; you don't want those to dry out either! Also, place a small bowl of water in your work area so you can dip your fingers to dampen the edges of the wonton to seal.
Now place a small amount of filling at one corner of the wonton wrapper. Dip your finger into the water and moisten the two opposite sides.
Fold the wrapper over the filling and seal. Now make two pleats on each side of the triangle. Place under your damp towel and continue until all the wrappers or filling has been used up.
Now add a tablespoon or two of oil to your skillet and heat over medium high heat. Place about ten pot-stickers in the skillet. Do not touch them! There is no need to flip them over. Let them cook for two minutes - I actually set my timer. While they are cooking, pour 1/2 cup of chicken broth into a measuring cup with a pour spout. When they have cooked for two minutes, reduce the heat to low, pour the broth into the pan and cover. Cook for another 2 -3 minutes. Remove lid. You will see the pot-stickers deflate and become all wrinkly. That's what we want! Remove to a plate. Pour out excess chicken broth and repeat the process. Turning the heat to medium high when you first place them in the pan and reducing it to low when you add the broth.
You will probably not use the whole quart of chicken broth. I only had to add oil every two or three batches, but each time I added oil, I used a paper towel to wipe out the pan first.
I made these early in the afternoon. When it was time for dinner, I placed a steamer basket over a pan of boiling water and steamed them in batches for a few minutes to reheat them.
You can serve with soy sauce or make the following dipping sauce. This was a little spicy, so if that's not your thing, leave out the red pepper flakes.
To a small bowl, add:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
3 cloves of garlic grated or run through a garlic press
1 teaspoon of honey
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes.
Mix well and serve with the warm pot-stickers. I served this with Mongolian beef and broccoli, but that's a recipe for another day!
I hope you find the time to try these. It was really rewarding to see that I could make something so professional!
Feel free to leave questions or comments in the comments section below this post. I promise I will get back to you as quickly as possible. Let me know if you tried them, and how you liked them!
Happy cooking!
Carol
a.k.a. Nonnie
So, I am one of those people who can't sleep at night. Sometimes, when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep, I turn on the Cooking Channel and watch old episodes of one of my favorite shows, "Good Eats" with Alton Brown. The other night he did a series of episodes on Asian cooking, and one of them was about wonton wrappers. He used them in quite a few recipes, but the only one that I really remember was pot-stickers. It might be because we all love pot-stickers. In fact we usually buy the frozen ones and eat them as a snack, but after watching Alton Brown, I figured, how hard could this be? The only problem, was that I hated the ingredients he used. Along with the pork, ginger, soy sauce and scallions, he put in things like catsup and mustard! Really? How does that go in a pot-sticker? Convinced that there had to be a better way, I searched the internet and found dozens of recipes. I took what I liked from each of them and came up with my own version. I guess it was a success, because everyone loved them!Now, I must be brutally honest here. This is not a quick week-night meal. While the process is not at all difficult, it is very time consuming. I made about 80 pot-stickers and found it took me about 40 seconds to make each one. That was before cooking them, so you do the math.
Most of the recipes I read suggested making a large batch and before cooking, freezing them on a sheet pan and them and then transferring them to another container. This would be a good idea, but my whole family was here tonight and I knew I had to cook all of them. I actually had most of the ingredients here, but I was out of fresh ginger and needed to get scallions along with the wonton wrappers. Some of the recipes called for napa cabbage and some for regular cabbage. Since I already had regular cabbage in my fridge, I used that. Wonton wrappers are found in your local grocery store and are usually in the produce section near the tofu. One more thing, you will need to cook these in a skillet with a tight fitting lid. Do not use one of those super copper non stick pans, they won't cook properly. Pot-stickers got their name because they need to stick to the pot! Are you ready?
2 cups finely chopped cabbage (2 cups is about 1/4 of a small head of cabbage)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 to 1 lb. of ground pork
a 1 inch piece of fresh ginger grated. Do not substitute ground ginger!
1 small carrot grated
3 scallions finely sliced, both white and green parts
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped or run through a garlic press
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 small egg beaten (if your eggs are extra large, use only half)
1 quart chicken broth
1 package won-ton wrappers (I used a package and a half and a whole pound of pork)
vegetable oil for frying
Begin by making sure the cabbage is finely chopped. Put in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Allow this to sit for 30 minutes. In another bowl whisk together the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and egg. Add the pork, carrot and scallions and mix. After the cabbage has sat for thirty minutes, transfer it to a clean tea towel, twist and squeeze out all of the liquid. Squeeze really hard! Add the cabbage to the meat mixture and mix the whole thing with your hands like you are making meatloaf. Now comes the fun part.
Before you begin assembling the pot stickers cover a sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper. Dampen a tea towel. You will need to keep your pot-stickers covered with the towel until you cook them so they don't dry out. Place another damp towel over the wonton wrappers; you don't want those to dry out either! Also, place a small bowl of water in your work area so you can dip your fingers to dampen the edges of the wonton to seal.
Now place a small amount of filling at one corner of the wonton wrapper. Dip your finger into the water and moisten the two opposite sides.
Fold the wrapper over the filling and seal. Now make two pleats on each side of the triangle. Place under your damp towel and continue until all the wrappers or filling has been used up.
Now add a tablespoon or two of oil to your skillet and heat over medium high heat. Place about ten pot-stickers in the skillet. Do not touch them! There is no need to flip them over. Let them cook for two minutes - I actually set my timer. While they are cooking, pour 1/2 cup of chicken broth into a measuring cup with a pour spout. When they have cooked for two minutes, reduce the heat to low, pour the broth into the pan and cover. Cook for another 2 -3 minutes. Remove lid. You will see the pot-stickers deflate and become all wrinkly. That's what we want! Remove to a plate. Pour out excess chicken broth and repeat the process. Turning the heat to medium high when you first place them in the pan and reducing it to low when you add the broth.
You will probably not use the whole quart of chicken broth. I only had to add oil every two or three batches, but each time I added oil, I used a paper towel to wipe out the pan first.
I made these early in the afternoon. When it was time for dinner, I placed a steamer basket over a pan of boiling water and steamed them in batches for a few minutes to reheat them.
You can serve with soy sauce or make the following dipping sauce. This was a little spicy, so if that's not your thing, leave out the red pepper flakes.
To a small bowl, add:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
3 cloves of garlic grated or run through a garlic press
1 teaspoon of honey
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes.
Mix well and serve with the warm pot-stickers. I served this with Mongolian beef and broccoli, but that's a recipe for another day!
I hope you find the time to try these. It was really rewarding to see that I could make something so professional!
Feel free to leave questions or comments in the comments section below this post. I promise I will get back to you as quickly as possible. Let me know if you tried them, and how you liked them!
Happy cooking!
Carol
a.k.a. Nonnie
Sunday, March 12, 2017
I'm back and I have a correction to Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic!
I just discovered that I have not posted anything here for a year. The last recipe I posted was for Irish Soda Bread on St. Patrick's Day last year. Unfortunately, my life has been a bit topsy turvy for the past year. I was quite sick all summer and fall with a recurring health problem I have. At the end of October, I had surgery to correct the problem and I am finally back on my feet. The holidays consumed most of my time and energy since I was still recuperating. Then I had several commissioned quilt projects that I had to catch up on since I didn't really do any sewing the whole time I was sick. I can happily report that I am now back on my feet and up to my normal speed again.
So, about that correction I mentioned in my title, I plan to make the Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic for dinner tomorrow and decided to look up the recipe here instead of getting out the cookbook. After reading through the recipe to see if I need to purchase anything besides the pre-peeled garlic, I suddenly realized that I left out several ingredients from the ingredient list. My sincere apologies! I must not have proofread the recipe before I posted. I have made the corrections to the recipe. You really must try it if you haven't, it's one of my favorites. Just go to the "search" box to the right side of this post and type in the title of the recipe. Enjoy!
I think I'll be doing lots of cooking and baking this week. We are supposed to have a huge snow storm on Tuesday and snow always makes me want to get in the kitchen and play around. I have a few new recipes I'm working on, and I PROMISE to post them by the end of this week. See you then!
Happy Cooking,
Carol
a.k.a. Nonnie
So, about that correction I mentioned in my title, I plan to make the Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic for dinner tomorrow and decided to look up the recipe here instead of getting out the cookbook. After reading through the recipe to see if I need to purchase anything besides the pre-peeled garlic, I suddenly realized that I left out several ingredients from the ingredient list. My sincere apologies! I must not have proofread the recipe before I posted. I have made the corrections to the recipe. You really must try it if you haven't, it's one of my favorites. Just go to the "search" box to the right side of this post and type in the title of the recipe. Enjoy!
I think I'll be doing lots of cooking and baking this week. We are supposed to have a huge snow storm on Tuesday and snow always makes me want to get in the kitchen and play around. I have a few new recipes I'm working on, and I PROMISE to post them by the end of this week. See you then!
Happy Cooking,
Carol
a.k.a. Nonnie
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here's an Irish Soda Bread Recipe for you!
Many of you know that my heritage is Italian. All of my grandparents were born in Italy and came to this country in the early 1900's. I am very proud of my Italian heritage, but today everyone is Irish, including me!
Over the years, I have tried many different Irish Soda bread recipes, but I always seem to come back to this one as noted by how dirty the page is in my cookbook. This recipe came from the Sunset Cookbook of Breads published by the Lang Magazine and Book Company. The original was copyrighted in 1966. My edition was printed in 1975. It was my very first bread cookbook. I began all my bread baking adventures with this book. It is literally falling apart, so much so, that I purchased a second copy back in the mid 80's. Yet I always come back to the original one, even though I now have nearly two shelves of bread cookbooks, I can't bring myself to get rid of it.
This is a very easy recipe, it doesn't involve yeast or rising or any other usual bread making techniques, except for a little kneading. There are several variations, you can add caraway seeds, raisins, craisins, or currents. This recipe makes two loaves. I usually add craisins to one loaf and leave the other plain.
4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
1/8 teaspoon cardamom or coriander (optional)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 egg
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
This can be made in the food processor since you are cutting in the butter, but you can use the old fashioned method of two knives or a pastry blender to cut in the butter. Combine flour salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar and spices (if using) in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Do the same if you are using a pastry blender. Beat the egg slightly and mix with the buttermilk. Add to the mixture. Combine until blended. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead three or four times. Divide the dough in half and shape into round loaves. Place each loaf into a greased 8 inch round cake pan. Use a sharp knife and cut a cross about 1/2 inch deep into the top of each loaf. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Turn loaves onto a rack to cool a few minutes. Serve with butter and jam or marmalade. Enjoy!
Happy cooking!
Carol
a.k.a
Nonnie
Over the years, I have tried many different Irish Soda bread recipes, but I always seem to come back to this one as noted by how dirty the page is in my cookbook. This recipe came from the Sunset Cookbook of Breads published by the Lang Magazine and Book Company. The original was copyrighted in 1966. My edition was printed in 1975. It was my very first bread cookbook. I began all my bread baking adventures with this book. It is literally falling apart, so much so, that I purchased a second copy back in the mid 80's. Yet I always come back to the original one, even though I now have nearly two shelves of bread cookbooks, I can't bring myself to get rid of it.
This is a very easy recipe, it doesn't involve yeast or rising or any other usual bread making techniques, except for a little kneading. There are several variations, you can add caraway seeds, raisins, craisins, or currents. This recipe makes two loaves. I usually add craisins to one loaf and leave the other plain.
4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
1/8 teaspoon cardamom or coriander (optional)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 egg
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
This can be made in the food processor since you are cutting in the butter, but you can use the old fashioned method of two knives or a pastry blender to cut in the butter. Combine flour salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar and spices (if using) in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Do the same if you are using a pastry blender. Beat the egg slightly and mix with the buttermilk. Add to the mixture. Combine until blended. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead three or four times. Divide the dough in half and shape into round loaves. Place each loaf into a greased 8 inch round cake pan. Use a sharp knife and cut a cross about 1/2 inch deep into the top of each loaf. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Turn loaves onto a rack to cool a few minutes. Serve with butter and jam or marmalade. Enjoy!
Happy cooking!
Carol
a.k.a
Nonnie
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Lettuce Wraps - A 30 Minute Meal!
The first time I ever ate lettuce wraps was at a P.F.Chang's in Denver. I was sold and knew I had to make these at home. This is a quick and easy dinner that goes together in less than thirty minutes. An internet search will bring you dozens of recipes. I combined several to come up with this one. You can choose what kind of lettuce to use. Iceberg works well, but its crispy leaves will often break, something with a soft leaf like Boston Bib works best, but I have even used Romaine. Hoisin sauce can be found in the Asian section of your grocery store. It's kind of like barbeque sauce, but sweeter and not smokey. Serve with sauce and chopped scallions. Enjoy!
1 head lettuce (bib, iceberg or even romaine)
1 pound ground chicken (you can substitute pork)
1 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion finely chopped
1 can water chestnuts diced
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped or run through garlic press
1 inch piece of fresh ginger grated
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
3 Tablespoons soy sauce or Tamari if you are gluten free
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar (can substitute cider vinegar)
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce This is a hot sauce to give it a little kick, you can omit if you wish
3 scallions chopped (white and green parts)
Sauce for topping
Whisk together with a fork;
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Heat one tablespoon of oil in a skillet and add garlic, onion and ginger. Cook for about three minutes over medium heat until softened. Add chicken and cook about seven to ten minutes until no pink shows. Add hoisin, soy sauce, vinegar, Sriracha, if you are using, and water chestnuts. Cook through. Lastly, add sesame oil and stir to combine. Serve with lettuce. Put meat into whole lettuce leaves, add a bit of sauce and some chopped scallions, wrap and enjoy!
Feel free to leave questions or comments in the comment section below the post.
Happy Cooking!
Carol
a.k.a. Nonnie
1 head lettuce (bib, iceberg or even romaine)
1 pound ground chicken (you can substitute pork)
1 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion finely chopped
1 can water chestnuts diced
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped or run through garlic press
1 inch piece of fresh ginger grated
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
3 Tablespoons soy sauce or Tamari if you are gluten free
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar (can substitute cider vinegar)
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce This is a hot sauce to give it a little kick, you can omit if you wish
3 scallions chopped (white and green parts)
Sauce for topping
Whisk together with a fork;
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Heat one tablespoon of oil in a skillet and add garlic, onion and ginger. Cook for about three minutes over medium heat until softened. Add chicken and cook about seven to ten minutes until no pink shows. Add hoisin, soy sauce, vinegar, Sriracha, if you are using, and water chestnuts. Cook through. Lastly, add sesame oil and stir to combine. Serve with lettuce. Put meat into whole lettuce leaves, add a bit of sauce and some chopped scallions, wrap and enjoy!
Feel free to leave questions or comments in the comment section below the post.
Happy Cooking!
Carol
a.k.a. Nonnie
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Crockpot Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
I can hear you now, "forty cloves of garlic!" " Is she crazy?" No really, it's fabulous. Slow cooking gives the garlic a sweet mellow flavor. This could easily be a company dish. Next your asking, did you really peel 40 cloves of garlic? No, I didn't; I used pre-peeled whole cloves in a jar. This develops a rich creamy sauce that goes well over noodles or rice. Serve with a vegetable and salad and you have a wonderful meal, and don't forget crusty bread to smear the garlic on. You can use a whole chicken, chicken breasts, thighs, bone in or not. It's up to you. This recipe came from Slow Cooker Revolution by America's Test Kitchen. It is my go to slow cooker recipe book. I have yet to make anything bad from this book. Enjoy!
1 whole, cut up chicken, or chicken breasts, legs, or thighs. It's your choice.
40 cloves of garlic, leave whole
2 - 4 tablespoons olive oil
4 shallots quartered end to end
3/4 cup white wine*
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme ( or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
* If you don't want to use the wine, just change the amount of chicken broth to 1 1/2 cups
Begin by drying chicken and seasoning with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken a few pieces a a time and lightly brown on all sides. Remove to a plate and cook the rest of the chicken in the same way. If you have used chicken with skin, remove the skin at this point. If you need more oil in the pan add the rest of the olive oil, shallots and garlic. Cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes until they become soft and golden. Add flour to the pan, stir and cook about 2 - 3 minutes. Then add wine, and stir up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken broth, raise the heat until sauce begins to thicken. Add the sauce to the crockpot along with rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves. Stir to combine and add the chicken and any juices that are on the plate. Cook on low for about 5 - 6 hours. Remove the chicken and skim any fat from the sauce. Adjust seasoning. and serve over noodles or rice and garnish with parsley. Enjoy! Don't forget to leave questions and comments in the comments section below this post, and please share with your friends!
Happy Cooking!
Carol
a.k.a.
Nonnie
1 whole, cut up chicken, or chicken breasts, legs, or thighs. It's your choice.
40 cloves of garlic, leave whole
2 - 4 tablespoons olive oil
4 shallots quartered end to end
3/4 cup white wine*
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme ( or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
* If you don't want to use the wine, just change the amount of chicken broth to 1 1/2 cups
Begin by drying chicken and seasoning with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken a few pieces a a time and lightly brown on all sides. Remove to a plate and cook the rest of the chicken in the same way. If you have used chicken with skin, remove the skin at this point. If you need more oil in the pan add the rest of the olive oil, shallots and garlic. Cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes until they become soft and golden. Add flour to the pan, stir and cook about 2 - 3 minutes. Then add wine, and stir up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken broth, raise the heat until sauce begins to thicken. Add the sauce to the crockpot along with rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves. Stir to combine and add the chicken and any juices that are on the plate. Cook on low for about 5 - 6 hours. Remove the chicken and skim any fat from the sauce. Adjust seasoning. and serve over noodles or rice and garnish with parsley. Enjoy! Don't forget to leave questions and comments in the comments section below this post, and please share with your friends!
Happy Cooking!
Carol
a.k.a.
Nonnie
Friday, January 29, 2016
Cheesy Shepard's Pie with a Twist
I have confessed to you before that I am addicted to cooking shows. Well for some reason, this week, nearly every cooking show, or cooking segment on a morning show has made some sort of casserole. Is it national casserole week? I don't know, but I figured I'd jump in on the bandwagon.
As you know, I grew up in a very Italian family and I had never heard of Shepard's Pie until I went to middle school got to eat cafeteria food for the first time in my life. Well the Shepard's Pie in my school cafeteria was a scary concoction of ground beef, vegetables and gooey mashed potatoes on top. Back in the 70's when casseroles were all the rage, I tried to feed my family Shepard's Pie a few times, but it was not a hit.
This morning on the Today Show, Al Roker made Shepard's pie, and I got the idea I would try it again. I did change his recipe drastically. He used ground beef, I used left over cooked chicken. He made his gravy with dark beer and bullion, I used white wine and chicken stock, but I did like his idea of putting cream cheese and sour cream in the mashed potatoes though. Yumm.
This is a meal that lends itself to using up left overs, which is what prompted me to try it. I had some left over cooked chicken in the freezer, left over green beans from dinner the other night, as well as a little bit of left over mashed potatoes. I did have to cook more potatoes to make sure there was enough.
This is one of those recipes that you can adapt to whatever you have in your kitchen. Feel free to change up the combination of vegetables. Use red and green peppers if you like, or frozen mixed vegetables, the possibilities are endless. The ingredient list is long, but this went together in the time it took me to cook the potatoes, honestly! Have fun with this!
2 large potatoes cut up
1 onion diced
2 cloved minced garlic
1 cup of carrots diced
1 green beans, cut into small pieces
1 cup frozen corn
6 tablespoons butter divided
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup white wine
about 2 cups chicken stock plus more for the mashed potatoes
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (do not use garlic salt)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
Begin by boiling the potatoes in salted water. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet and add the onions, carrots and garlic. When the vegetables have softened after about five minutes add the corn, green beans, salt, pepper and rosemary. Saute until the corn is cooked. Now add the flour of the pan and cook for about three minutes over medium high heat. Add the wine and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken broth and worcestershire and cook over high heat until mixture thickens. You may add more broth if it gets too thick. Remove from heat and add the parmesan cheese. Mix well. Prepare a casserole dish with non stick cooking spray and pour the mixture into the casserole. Now drain the potatoes and return to the pot. Add the cream cheese, sour cream butter and garlic powder, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and mash. Add chicken broth until you have a smooth consistency. Spread the potatoes over the casserole and top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, Heat your broiler, and place under the broiler for about three minutes, or until the top begins to brown. Enjoy!
Please leave questions and comments in the comment section below this post and don't forget to share with your friends!
Happy Cooking!
Carol
a.k.a.
Nonnie
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