Potstickers

This recipe makes about 48 potstickers. I make them for parties or I  freeze them in more manageable meal size batches.  Or split the recipe in half for 24 potstickers. I have included freezing instructions on the bottom of this recipe.

1 lb ground pork (also good with ground chicken)
6 to 8  water chestnuts, diced
2 or 3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger (ground ginger does work in it's place)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce (plus some for dunking)
 2 packages of wonton wrappers
2 to 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil


In a medium to large bowl, mix  the ground pork, water chestnuts, green onions, ginger, garlic and soy sauce.


 Take one wrapper at a time and spoon a rounded teaspoon of filling in the center. Keep the rest of the wonton wrappers covered with a damp towel.

Wet the four edges of the wrapper with dampened fingers. Fold wrapper in half over filling to form a triangle, making sure the ends meet and filling is centered; press edges down firmly to seal.

Spray a platter or plate with cooking spray, place sealed potstickers, cover with a damp towel to keep moist. Fill plate and place in the refrigerator to keep cool while you continue to fill wrappers. Repeat filling each wrapper until all the filling is gone.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat  in a 12-inch nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Add about 12 potstickers to the pan and cook. Cook until lightly browned - turning once, about 1 minute per side. Add 1/2 cup water to the pan carefully as the oil may splatter and pop, cover, and steam until translucent and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and wontons. Serve with soy sauce.

FREEZER Instructions:
Prepare the potstickers up to the cooking stage.

Take a baking sheet and line it parchment paper or aluminum foil.  Place the potstickers on the baking sheet so that they are not overlapping or touching. Place in the freezer.

After the potstickers are frozen, place them in a freezer bag. They can be frozen for up to 3 months.

When ready to use, cook the potstickers as usual, without thawing. The cooking time will be a bit longer than usual.

French Bread Pizza

I like quick meals for when we are especially busy. This year has been non-stop going. Really I think we have been home about 5 weeks total out since the end of the February. It helps me not feel so guilty when I actually sit and think about it like that, because otherwise I start beating myself up about how I haven't been cooking anything new or really in depth.

One of my favorite quick meals is French Bread Pizza, because it is really versatile and so easy! I will give you the basic recipe and then give you lots of topping ideas as wells as tips to make it even more easy and quick at the end.

Recipe:
1 loaf of French Bread (about 18 to 20 inches long)
Sauce
Cheese
Desired Seasonings
Desired Topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425. 
2. Slice French Bread in half - length-wise. 
3. Spread with sauce. 
4. Top with  desired seasonings, cheese, and desired toppings. 
5. Bake for 10 minutes. 
6. Let cool for a few minutes and then slice into big pieces (4 per half)  or smaller skinny slices for a party food. 

Topping Ideas:
Sauce:  Our favorite sauce isn't really sauce, but just a small can of tomato paste.  A small can willl cover both halves of the French Bread.  Other sauce ideas that I have used before: small can of tomato sauce, store bought pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce, homemade spaghetti sauce, crushed tomatoes with the liquid drained, a white sauce such as Alfredo or BBQ

Desired Seasonings: If you aren't using a pizza or spaghetti sauce, you might need some seasonings these are my favorite that I add on top of the sauce: A seasoning mix such as Penzeys (which is what I use) or Italian seasoning mix, oregeno, basil, or garlic powder or salt, onion powder or salt, red pepper flakes

Cheese:  Mozzarella, colby/jack mix, Asiago, Parmesan, Romano, feta, provolone

Toppings:
Meat: Pepperoni, Italian sausage, bacon, ham, ground beef, chorizo, chicken, prosciutto, shrimp
Vegetables:  Mushrooms, onions, red peppers, tomatoes, artichokes, green peppers, green onions, jalapenos or green chilies, spinach, cherry tomatoes, olives, banana peppers, sweet corn
Other: Pineapple chunks, black beans, fresh basil, garlic,capers

Pizza Ideas:
Our Favorite:  Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Mushrooms, Black Olive, Red peppers and Onions with Colby/Jack Cheese and Provolone

2nd Favorite: Chicken, fresh basil, sliced tomatoes and with really any cheese and red or white sauce

Southwest:  Chicken and/or Chirizo, black beans, spinach, corn, jaapenos or green chilies and topped with colby/jack cheese

Sweet and Sour:  Pineapple and ham

BBQ:  BBQ Sauce,  chicken, onions, bacon, and colby/jack cheese.


Tips: 
* Buy French Bread loaves and on day old bread racks at the grocery store.
* Put loaves in freezer and pull out just an hour or 2 before going to make pizza or make up pizzas with toppings and then wrap for freezer. Store in freezer until ready to put in oven and increase cook time by adding 5 or 10 more minutes.  I sometimes take  it out 15 to 30 mins before cooking and that seems to make cook time be closer to the orginial 10 minutes in the basic recipe. 
* It is really good party food - just slice into thin slices to feed a larger group.
* I like serving with a salad as a side, but good just making them and eating straight out of the oven without a side. 

Chicken and Stuffing Bake

I had this dish at a friends house years and years ago. It was before I was very good at cooking, but this looked like something I could handle.  You can find similar recipes on Kraft, but I am giving it to you how my friend gave it to me.  It is something I make when I need easy as I am just really opening packages up and mixing it up to bake. It does contain box mix, cream of chicken and such, but you can swap those things out for homemade.

1 pkg. Stuffing Mix for Chicken (6 to 8oz pkg)
3 pieces of bread - your choice - toasted and cubed
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 can  (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup  sour cream
1 to 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, green beans, peas), thawed, drained

Directions:
Heat oven to 375ºF.

Prepare stuffing as directed on package. Add cubed toast to stuff mix.

Mix remaining ingredients in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with stuffing.

Bake 30 min. or until chicken is done.


NOTES:
* A friend who started me on this recipe said that the one box of stuffing didn't quite cover the whole 9x13 so she added the toast as it mixed easily in with the stuffing mix. You can add a handful of croutons or bread cubes instead of toast - that was just her quick way of making the stuffing stretch.

* I have used low-fat sour cream with this and doesn't change the taste to me at all

* I add 2 cups frozen vegetables, but my friend only added 1 cup.

* I have used homemade stuffing - about 2 1/2 cups.

Cashew Chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken - cut in 1 inch cubes
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry (or leave out if you don't have it)
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 cups chopped veggies - any combo: broccoli, peppers, carrots, snap peas, mushrooms
2 green onions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
1/2 cup unsalted cashews, toasted

Directions
In a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of broth. Add chicken to the skillet; stir-fry over medium heat until no longer pink, about 3-5 minutes.

Add garlic and veggies to skillet; stir-fry for 3 to 5 until crisp-tender. Stir broth, soy sauce, dry sherry, ginger, pepper,and sugar into the skillet. Cook and stir for 1 minute.  Add cornstarch to a little bowl.  Spoon  in some of the hot liquid from the skillet into the cornstarch - stir to mix.  Add to skillet.  Cook for 2 minutes until thickens. Stir in cashews and green onions. Serve over rice.

*in the photo I used red bell peppers and mushrooms

Tips:
If it isn't thickening up, add more cornstarch.  Put in a little bowl as in the direction and then add some hot liquid to it first. Don't just dump the cornstarch in or you will get lumps in your sauce.

If you don't feel you have enough sauce, add more chicken broth.  But be aware you are watering down the soy sauce and ginger. So you might have to up those flavors too, just add a little at a time. Let cook and then taste.

If you want to kick some heat into it, add some red pepper flakes or some Sriracha Chili Sauce.

Honey Lemon Chicken

Honey Lemon Chicken in the Slow Cooker

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks 
1/2 cup chopping onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 lemons, sliced
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup chicken stock or water
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. rosemary
dash of pepper

In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive over over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides.

Lay the browned chicken on the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle the chicken with rosemary, thyme and pepper.  Add the stock or water around chicken to the crock.  Scatter onion, garlic and lemon slice on top of chicken and then drizzle with honey.

NOTES:
* Sometimes I don't brown the chicken, such as in this photo of the honey lemon chicken - I did not brown it that day.  It was browning in the crock near the edges. I will sometimes rotate as it cooks to help overall browning, but if you want it completely brown then use the skillet to brown before adding to slow cooker.

* Sometimes instead of those seasonings I will just use whatever mixed spice I have on hand something from Penzeys or even a Grillmate. 

Crockpot Honey Chicken

I love using the crockpot in the summer because it doesn't heat up the kitchen as much as using the oven.  I also can put stuff in and let it cook all day and not have so much of a rush around dinner time.   

I found this recipe via Pinterest but I am not linking to the recipe as there were SO MANY blogs that posted this recipe and all of them were just a little bit different.  So I just kind of  pulled things from several of the recipes to get this version.  I have to say when I first started seeing this on Pinterest, I was thinking it looks so good that I was ready to make in the moment but when I looked at the ingredients I was stopped up short because one of the ingredients is ketchup.  I just couldn't imagine the combination of ingredients would work well.  But it worked. It doesn't taste like ketchup and honey in the end. It just has a slight sweet flavor but it is hard to tell where that flavor comes from exactly. Master loved this - he was saying  "more" - instantly after eating a serving of it. He said he wants me to make it again soon.  We did also notice that the flavors got even better the next night.  It was really good the first night, but it was even better with the second night. 

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs work too - it ended up being 2 LARGE chicken breast to make a pound and it made several meals for the 2 of us)

3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon olive oil (could also use vegetable oil or canola oil)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce or red pepper flakes (doesn't really add heat, just adds more flavor)

Directions:
Put chicken into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and hot sauce/pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high 3 – 2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Shred chicken. Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve over rice or noodles.

NOTES:
I served with rice that I tossed with some steamed peas.  This doesn't make much sauce so if you are wanting more - I would I think add some chicken broth towards the end with some cornstarch to thicken it and mix with the other sauce already in there to get flavor.

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Community Shared Agriculture -- Week 4

With week 4 comes an awful lot of rain in NJ, and that is starting to be seen in our CSA box of this week.  While some crops, such as asparagus and strawberries, were plentiful, others were not as hearty this week.  This weeks box contained many containers of strawberries, several bunches of asparagus, red leaf lettuce, scallions, carrots with their greens, yellow and red tomatoes, spinach, dill, and a mint plant.

One of the things I have been enjoying are the plants that we have received.  It allows me to place them into pots and have an herb garden right by my back door near my kitchen.  This way fresh herbs are only a pinch away.  For those of you who many not be familiar with cooking with fresh herbs, there is nothing better!  So if you get the chance to find your favorite herbs in a local market try some fresh herbs instead of jarred dried ones.  The taste is distinctly different and adds a color and freshness to even the simplest of dishes.

My children and I also went strawberry picking at the farm this week while the strawberries are at the peek of sweetness.  We now have enough strawberries that we will be baking  a pie later today as well as making some jam.  Below is the recipe we plan to use for our jam.  It's simple yet very tastey.  I was given this recipe from a dear friend who had brought a jar of this to my home recently and we just couldn't get enough of it.  I believe she adapted it from an Ina Garten recipe many years ago.

Easy  Strawberry Jam


Ingredients:

1. 3 pints of fresh strawberries
2. 3 cups of superfine sugar
3. 2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur (we recommend Grand Marnier)
4. 1/2 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced small
5. 1/2 cup fresh blue berries.

Directions:

• Place the strawberries into a colander and since them under cold running water.  Drain and hull the strawberries.  Cut the larger berries in half or quarters and leave the small berries whole.  Place the strawberries in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot such as a heavy dutch oven and toss them with the sugar and Grand Marnier.  
• Bring the berry mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.  Add the apple and blueberries and continue to keep the mixture at a rolling boil, stirring occasionally, until the jam reaches 220 degrees on a candy thermometer.  This takes about 25 to 35 minutes.
• Skim and discard any foam that rises to the top.  Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature and then store covered in the refrigerator.  It will keep refrigerated for at least 2 weeks.  To keep the jam longer, pack and seal in canning jars. 

It doesn't seem to least more than 2 weeks in my home, so we haven't canned any  yet.  Perhaps this time if we have enough strawberries we can make a now jar and a canned jar or two for future.

I also wanted to share a recipe for using up the greens at the tops of your carrots.  In past years  I always just threw away the greens at the tops of my carrots because I knew we didn't want to eat those.  I was certain of it.  This year I decided to see if there were any yummy uses for these greens as I know they are filled with nutrients that would be beneficial to my family.   One of the women that I see weekly at the farm shared a recipe with me that I plan to try out this week, and thought that you all might want to try it as well if you have carrot greens to use.  enjoy!


Carrot Green, Parsley, and Hazelnut Pesto for Pasta


Ingredients:

1. 3/4 cup hazelnuts
2. 1/8 cup carrot leaves chopped
3. 1/8 cup parsley chopped
4. 1 clove garlic
5. juice of 1 lemon
6. 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
7. 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
8. sea salt (to taste)

Directions:

• Toast the nuts at 325 degrees for a few minutes to bring out their nutty flavor.  In a food processor, puree the nuts, carrot leaves, parsley leaves, lemon juice, and garlic.  Pour in cheese, salt, and olive oil.  Start with 1/4 cup olive oil and blend.   Increase the oil if the pas to is too thick.  Do not put the whole 1/2 cup in at once as it might be too much oil.
• Cook your pasta anyway you like it, any type that you enjoy.  Toss with the fresh pesto sauce while the pasta is still hot.  

We will be trying this recipe tonight for dinner along with a spinach and strawberry salad from our vegetables in the box.

Nacho Casserole

This is something I enjoy because it is just add and stir in one dish and then bake. Easy weeknight dinner.  This has lots of zip to it. You can take down the spice by either not tossing the chicken with taco seasoning or not adding the small can of diced chilis. We like spicy so we add that and sometimes I will even through in some sliced jalapeños. I serve with a garden salad or just some fruit.



2 cups diced uncooked chicken - tossed with 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
2 cups uncooked instant rice
1 can rotel (diced tomato and chilis) undrained
1 small can diced chilis - optional - we like it spicy
1 can (reduced fat) cream of chicken soup
1 cup frozen corn (canned corn will work fine too - mexicorn is great too!)
1 cup water
1 1/4 cup cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2-quart casserole (I used a 9"x13" glass pan) with cooking spray. In casserole, stir chicken, rice, rotel, chilis, soup, corn, water and 3/4 cup of the cheese until well mixed.

Cover with tinfoil and bake about 1 hour or until rice is tender, chicken is cooked and mixture is heated through. Remove tinfoil and top with tortilla chips and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

We like to top it with some light sour cream.

NOTES:
* Sometimes I like to add a can of pinto beans or black beans to this or add the beans and leave out the chicken. When I have left out the chicken, I have just sprinkled the taco seasoning over the rice and then mixed everything together.
* I have used browned ground turkey and ground chicken before too - that I mixed with taco seasoning and it tastes good that way too but I prefer to make it with chicken

Rice and Sausage Casserole

This dish looks really pretty when coming out of the oven but also is full of flavor and piping hot on a cold winter night.  It would be a good dish to serve when having people over for dinner. Not diffifcult to make and it is warm and comforting to eat.  Serve with a salad.  Such as a salad with shaved fennel and Parmesan on it. Or a salad with some pears or apples and toasted pine nuts or walnuts would be a good compliment too. 

1/2 cup of finely chopped onion
2 bell peppers -  stem and seeds removed and cut off 4 to 6 rings and then chop the rest
2 tsp. + 2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. Italian seasoning (a blend of dried oregano, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary)
4 or 5 links turkey/chicken Italian sausage (1 lb.)
2 cups cooked rice - brown or white 
3/4 cup cheese (low-fat cheeses work too - I used colby-jack mixture)
1 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
3/4 cup any broth (I use chicken but have used beef too)
1/2 cup milk (I used skim)


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a large heavy frying pan. Add the chopped onion and bell pepper and saute until the vegetables are cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the cooked vegetables to a bowl.

Add 2 tsp. more oil to the frying pan (or less if you're using a non-stick pan.) Squeeze the Italian sausage out of the casing and saute until it's fully cooked and nicely browned, breaking apart with a turner as it cooks. This will take about 5-6 minutes, but don't rush the browning.

When sausage is done sprinkle with 3 tbsp. flour and add 1 tbsp butter to the pan, stir until well coated/mixed.  Add broth and milk.  Stir and cook until mixture thickens.  After it the mixture thickens add the cooked vegetables, Italian seasonings and rice into the pan and mix with the sausage. Cook this mixture a few minutes, until the rice is warmed through. Put the mixture into a casserole dish that you've sprayed with olive oil or non-stick spray. (I used a dish that was 9 x13  but a slightly smaller size will work.) Sprinkle the cheese over the top. Add bell pepper rings to top. Push them into the casserole slightly. 

Put the casserole into the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and lightly browned and the whole thing is piping hot, about 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.



NOTES:
1 can of cream of chicken or mushroom soup can be substituted for butter, flour, broth and milk.  You will probably still need a little water or milk to smooth it out some though when mixing it in. 


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Turkey Tetrazzini

Having turkey during the holidays?  This is a great way to use leftover turkey.  It is a good hot meal on a busy day or a lazy weekend.  Although this looks complicated it really does comes together fairly quick. You could put it all together the night before and then take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking.  I serve with a salad and garlic toast. 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (I did mixture of yellow, green and red)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil, vegetable oil or butter
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 cups white button mushrooms, ends trimmed, sliced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon thyme 
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups  low-sodium chicken stock or canned chicken broth
• 1 3/4 cups half and half
• 12 ounces spaghetti noodles
• 1 pound cubed or bite-size shredded roast turkey
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 cups potato chips, crushed 

Directions

Saute the onions and bell peppers in olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over high heat until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add the mushrooms, Essence, and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft and have released their liquid, about 6 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons butter.  Sprinkle with the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the wine and chicken stock and cook, stirring, until smooth and thick, about 2 minutes. Add the half and half and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick and very flavorful, 15 to 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti noodles until al dente, about 8-10 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.

Spray a 9 by 13-inch casserole or baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

When the sauce has thickened, add the noodles, turkey, and Parmesan to the skillet and stir until thoroughly combined. Transfer to the prepared casserole and top with the potato chips. Bake uncovered until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.  Serves 8.

Easy Fabulous Chicken Potato Puff

Hi y'all. I know I haven't posted in FOREVER, but being in school and working an internship and being a full-time domestic slave has kept me very busy the last few months! I sometimes feel like I do not have enough hours in the day.

And I know y'all feel like that too, which is why I am posting this very simple, very quick recipe.

Have you ever had last minute company for dinner or needed to pull of something fabulous with no time?

This recipe I found in an old recipe box. I love that it is very 1950s housewife but translates so well into today.



Chicken Potato Puff

Mashed Potato Mix (enough for 4 servings)
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar
1 cup finely chopped cooked chicken
1 cup shredded carrots (I usually omit these because Sir hates cooked carrot)
2 tsp snipped Chives
pinch of dried Rosemary
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare potatoes according to directions. Stir in cheese, chicken, carrots, herbs and egg yolk.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; gently fold into potato mixture. Pour into greased 2 quart casserole; place in a pan of hot water 1 inch deep. Cook, uncovered until brown and puffed, about 50-60 minutes.

Feel free to be creative with it! I've made the same dish with Swiss and Canadian Bacon with Green Onion instead of Chives. It turned out great. I think the biggest asset any one of us can have is our creativity, our ability to make things work!

Baked Potato Soup

1 lb. bacon, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
3 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cups chicken stock
3 tbs. butter
3 tbs. flour
2 cups milk
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Sour cream for garnish, optional

1. In a large stock pot, cook bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain and set aside. Drain all but 2 tbs. of bacon grease from the pot. Cook the onions and carrots in the remaining bacon grease for about 5 minutes, until tender.

2. Add potatoes and chicken stock to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer about 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender. With a slotted spoon, remove a few scoops of potatoes. Mash potatoes with a fork and set aside.

3. In a small sauce pan, melt butter and stir in flour. Cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, bring to a boil and simmer until thickened. Slowly stir in to stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer and then stir mashed potatoes back into pot.

4. Add 1/2 c. shredded cheese, three-fourths of the bacon and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook an additional 5 minutes.

5. To serve, ladle soup into individual bowls and top with some shredded cheese, bacon and optional sour cream.

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Chicken Pot Pie

In my part of the country, fall is showing itself. Cooler temperatures, the leaves are changing colors, the wind is picking up. That means one thing in my kitchen: Comfort food. Something warm, filling, and tasty.

Enter Chicken Pot Pie. :-)

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 leeks, bottom 4 inches only, washed well and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 medium potatoes cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
3 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 4 individual-sized baking dishes with cooking spray. (I made mine in a large casserole dish, and doubled the recipe)

Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few turns of pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, turning once. Transfer the chicken to a plate. (I had a whole chicken that I'd cooked in the crock the day before, then picked the meat off)

Add 2 more teaspoons of the oil, the leeks, and the celery (I was out of celery and used carrots, instead) to the pan and cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the potatoes, green beans, garlic, and remaining salt and pepper and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the milk to the pan. Stir the flour into the chicken broth until dissolved and add to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.


(Doesn't that look yummy? I was already planning some creamy soups at this step)


Stir in the reserved chicken, peas, parsley, and thyme. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dishes.


Put the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil into a small bowl. Unroll the phyllo dough and cut it into quarters. Place a quarter sheet on top of each baking dish and brush with olive oil. Repeat with remaining 3 baking dishes. Tuck the edges of the phyllo into the dish rim. Top each pie with Parmesan.

Place on a baking sheet and bake until the filling is bubbling, about 30 minutes.

I put a couple of sheets of phyllo dough on the bottom of the casserole dish and baked that for about 10 minutes prior to putting the filling.

As a matter of personal preference, the next time I make this, I'll skip the thyme. I don't know how many dishes I ruin for myself by adding thyme. I don't like the taste of it, and every time I think I must be missing something and maybe I'll like it *this* time. I never do. But that's just me.

Also, next time, I'm going to try a different crust. Though the phyllo dough was fine, it was too 'light' for my taste. It was barely noticeable, taste-wise. As a pot pie lover, I like a heavy crust.

But the filling was exceptionally yummy. Very creamy and filling and tasty.




I served it with a side salad and some bread and butter. This is definitely going into the comfort food menu rotation. :)

Recipe courtesy of Fran at Fran's Kitchen.

Hoisin Turkey Meatballs

These meatballs are so full of flavor. I make them for dinner but they would make a great appetizer too.



Hoisin Turkey Meatballs

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon sriracha sauce or 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 scallions, minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (didn't have any garlic cloves on hand)
1/2 cup drained, finely chopped water chestnuts
1 pound ground turkey
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup purchased Hoisin Sauce

* Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or tinfoil coated with cooking spray.

* Whisk soy sauce, ginger, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce, sriracha or crushed red pepper and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in cornstarch until smooth. Stir in 2 minced scallions and water chestnuts. Stir in turkey and bread crumbs until completely combined.

* Shape the mixture into small-medium sized meatballs. At this point if you don’t want to cook these right now you could put them in the freezer for later.
Place the meatballs on a pan and bake until the meat is cooked through, 15 to 17 minutes.

* Brush the meatballs with the 1/4 cup Hoisin sauce. Cook meatballs an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with stir fry vegetables and rice.


NOTES:
* Make sure you do the reduced sodium soy sauce and your bread crumbs aren't seasoned and don't add any salt because this recipe can go too salty quickly.
* I am sure ground beef would work fine but you might not need as many bread crumbs. I find ground turkey to be wetter ingredients so I needed the bread crumbs to balance it out with the other wet ingredients.
* ground ginger will work too - you will just have to experiment with amount though

Cooking Ahead

This is a guest blog post by my friend Rheya who works a very busy schedule so does a lot of cooking ahead. Whenever she talked about, I am always intrigued with the idea so I asked her to write about it for us.

While I would love to be a stay-at-home domestic, the truth is most days I love my job. To me, my job is just another form of service, not only to my Master, but to my community. Most evenings, when I arrive home I am tired and not wanting to think of what I will need to put together a tasty dinner.

So I rely on either meals I’ve cooked ahead and frozen or my trusty crock-pot for dinner during my work week.

By cooking ahead, I can also lower my weekly grocery bill on a weekly basis, thereby allowing room to stock up on basics that I will need for upcoming marathon cooking sessions and taking advantage of sales and coupons.

Before starting a marathon cooking session, I take stock of what I have. That way as I’m making my grocery list, I can make sure I don’t over buy. I try to plan the meals based on a few simple rules:

What freezes well? Generally stews, chilis, raw meat in marinades, casseroles, and things in sauces freeze best.
What does Sir like? Generally, the more simple the better.
What do I have on hand? Lots of canned tomatoes? Is the garden in bloom? Do I have an abundance of cream of mushroom soup?
What are the stores having specials on? Is my local grocery store having a special on ground beef? What about the bulk food club I belong to?

After that I make a list and I go first to the bulk food club. Generally there I stock up on meats, dairy, canned and frozen veggies and dry pasta I may need for the cooking session. Then I go to my local grocery store and pick up other items. One other place I check is my local drug stores if I know they are having a sale on Campbell’s Condensed Soups.

Now that you’ve got all the supplies, start early on a morning and get cooking. First thing I do is get out utensils I may need including my industrial sized cutting board. I tend to chop up a bunch of onion first, then carrots and celery or whatever veggies I have. Make sure phyllo, puff pastry or frozen veggies has been moved to the refrigerator thaw, de-skin the chicken or turkey if needed.

I find that I’m most organized when I can start one pot simmering (such as spaghetti sauce), one pot or skillet stir-frying or sautéing (chili, peppercorn chicken) and something baking in the oven (herb chicken legs). During breaks I put together marinades for raw meat that will freeze in the marinade.

Once everything is cooked, I prep it for freezing. If it is a casserole, it goes in its pan covered in foil into the refrigerator with a label that says what it is and when it was made. Sauces and chilis and I tend to bag in freezer bags. The best way to get things neatly into a bag, I’ve found is by taking a small mixing bowl and draping the bag over the edge of the bowl, lining the bowl with the bag and then scooping the sauce and the chili in.

Everything should be cooled to room temperature and sealed tightly before putting it into the freezer. I take things out the night before to thaw in the refrigerator.

I also make a list of what I’ve cooked indicating how many pre-packaged servings I have and check it off as I go so I know what’s left.

And now for a recipe!

Peppercorn Chicken (makes 4 servings, can easily be doubled, tripled, etc)

1 lb Chicken Tenders
2 Tbsp Cooking Sherry
1 Cup Milk
1 Package Brown Gravy Mix
½ Tsp Ground Peppercorns (I used a mix of black, white, pink and green)

Preheat pan on medium; coat with cooking spray. Cook chicken until brown. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook 2-3 minutes stirring frequently or until sauce thickens.

Store in a gallon-sized freeze bag, label with date and cool to room temperature, make sure all air is squeezed out before sealing and store in deep freeze.

Linguine with Peppery Beef Strips

I have a few of those recipe cards that you get in the mail. They send them in hopes that you will agree to a monthly subscription of them. I will at times save some of them. This recipe is one I saved and made this week.



Ingredients
1 lb lean beef steak
1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
1/2 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp coarsely ground pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch*
8 oz linguine
1 cup julienned carrots

Directions
Slice steak into 1 4-inch-thick slices. Mix oregano, basil, pepper, olive oil, garlic and green onions in a shallow dish. Add steak; toss to coat. Heat water for pasta. Dissolve cornstarch in broth. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak; stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Remove steak. Stir broth mixture into skillet. Boil, stirring continually, for about 1 minute. Return steak to skillet. Add carrots; cook for 5 minutes. Drain pasta and add to skillet; toss with steak and vegetables. Serve immediately. Servings: 6

* The recipe card left off cornstarch on the ingredients list but not in the directions so I just did a guess on the amount. And it seemed to work good.

NOTES:
- I was out of green onions so I just used some finely grated onion
- I used Top Round Steak - thinly cut
- Added some left over red and orange bell peppers maybe 1/2 of one all together
- Added some red pepper flakes to give it some heat

We liked it and it is something that we would like to have again but I think I would add a little more broth and cornstarch. It soaked in to the pasta quickly. But otherwise it was good. It was a nice change of flavors from traditional stir fry.

Cauliflower, Sweet Onion and Leek Quiche Recipe - Every Day with Rachael Ray

I had cauliflower and onions that I needed to use up this week and just in time was this recipe from Rachel Ray. I have to say that this turned out really well. I think next time I will make my own crust for the quiche, but over all this was pretty yummy. I think it would also taste good if you added other vegetables to the quiche. Really whatever you had on hand would work.

Cauliflower, Sweet Onion and Leek Quiche Recipe - Every Day with Rachael Ray

Portabello stuffed Mushrooms

Last night for dinner I tried out a new recipe that I had gotten from a friend for Crab & Shrimp stuffed Portabello Mushrooms. All of us enjoyed it, even my two year old. This is a definite keeper in our house, so I thought I would share the recipe with you all.

Ingredients:
2 cups Cornbread, Crumbled
1 cup Fresh Bread Crumbs
1 Egg
1 cup Chopped Onion
1/2 cup Chopped Celery
1 Bell Pepper Chopped
1 cup Flaked Crab Meat
1 cup Large Shrimp, Chopped
1/2 teaspoon Tarragon Leaves
Salt and Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic Crushed
6 Portabella Mushrooms, Stems Removed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons Melted Butter
1 cup Grated Mozzarella Cheese
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
3 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:
In a Large pan combine celery, onions, peppers, garlic and butter, cook until vegetables are just soft, combine with breadcrumbs and cornbread, dice stems of mushrooms and add to mixture, add salt and pepper to taste and the tarragon leaves, add Parmesan cheese and egg, add seafood, mix well, mixture should be easily pressed into "Stuffing consistency" if too dry add melted butter. set aside In a large skillet combine olive oil and vinegar until hot and braise your mushroom caps, until just heated through and beginning to change color. pat dry, Divide stuffing mixture into 6 equal portions and stuff caps of mushrooms, sprinkle tops with grated mozzarella, and bake at 375 degrees F until cheese is bubbly and stuffing is "Set"

I served this with a plate of assorted grilled vegetables from our recent CSA pickup of the week, as well as a tossed salad and some crusty bread.

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

I have always used enchilada sauce from a can. But Master requested enchiladas one night and I realized I didn't have a can in the pantry. I then remembered I had saved a recipe that looked pretty easy. It ended up being very easy and good. It is a keeper as the saying goes.

Easy Enchilada Sauce
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse
Ingredients
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons chili powder (original recipe calls for 1/4 cup)
2 cups chicken stock
10 ounces tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
(1/2 teaspoon salt --- left this out as tomato paste often has so much salt)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute. Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings - such as adding more chili powder if you want it more spicy. Serve on top your favorite enchiladas recipe.

Easy Grilled Chicken

4 whole Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 whole Lemon
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dried Basil
1 tablespoon Dried Tarragon
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Black Pepper

Rinse your chicken and place it in a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Zest the lemon into the bag. Then juice the lemon and add it to the bag. Next add in the red wine vinegar and the herbs. Seal the bag very well, then shake and roll around the bag until all of the ingredients are combined and the chicken is coated. Lay chicken flat in the bag and place it in your fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to several hours.
Grill chicken for 5-8 minutes per side or until fully cooked and juice run clear.


NOTES:
* I used dried herbs, but if you use fresh herbs and garlic it would be even better.
* A teaspoon of black pepper is just a guideline. I use probably a little more then a teaspoon but we like pepper.
* If you don't have red wine vinegar, just add more lemon juice.
* You want the herbs to really soak into that liquid so make sure you have enough liquid. Up the lemon juice or red wine vinegar to get those dried herbs hydrated again. And to make sure the herbs really coat the chicken.