Chicken Curry in a Hurry

I think this is one of the recipes that people have requested from me the very most. It is so easy and delicious, especially your second time :). You don't have to use a rotisserie chicken, it just makes things faster. It says on the car that "I sometimes substitute coconut milk" for the heavy cream . . . but I ALWAYS do. 

I have added asparagus, mini sweet peppers, broccoli, carrots, even potatoes to this curry--it's a no fail!  And, as always, you can substitute kefir for the plain yogurt.

Italian Wonderpot: a one-pot winner!

Since Cori introduced me to this recipe, it has been a staple in our meal rotation.  And it's so versatile, because you can make substitutions easily and deliciously.  

• I have used fettucine, penne, bowties, and even angel hair as the pasta.  
• I have made it with shrimp, cooked it with canned clams, used with rotisserie chicken, I've prepared it with Italian sausage and with smoked sausage, and I have even *GASP* served it without any meat (though technically, it's cooked in chicken stock: homemade chicken stock instructions below).  
• Speaking of which, you can swap out the stock for vegetable broth and make it vegetarian
• Use nutritional yeast instead of the parmesan and make it vegan
• I have used frozen spinach instead of fresh--you just add it with the broth instead of at the end (and actually, the original recipe called for 8 ounces of frozen spinach)
• You can use fresh garlic or minced from a jar
• You can leave out the red pepper flakes if your kids don't like "hot" spices
• I have used Italian seasoning blend when I've been out of dry basil (a problem in our house)
• Speaking of basil, the photo below has fresh basil in lieu of spinach, because I had neither fresh nor frozen on that day

Once you have made it a few times, you'll be substituting your own favorite ingredients according to your family's tastes.  Every person in my house is excited when I make Italian Wonderpot, and I usually double the chicken stock and the pasta so there's more to go around. 

I make chicken stock in the InstantPot and freeze until I need it--place a rotisserie chicken carcass in your InstantPot, add water until just covered, and pressure cook for 20 minutes.  Pour stock through sieve, let cool, and freeze in a Tupperware container until you need it for Italian Wonderpot.

I am so glad I finally got the motivation to make a recipe card--this is an easy, delicious, satisfying meal  that needs to be shared!

 

Buddha Bowls

My friend Cori raved about this healthy and LICK-THE-BOWL-GOOD recipe.  I knew Allen and I would like it, but wasn't sure about my kids. 

This is an exact quote from my teenage son, Brigham, after he took one bite: "Can I eat Mollie and Calvin's and they can just have cold cereal for dinner?"

Mollie and Calvin were out sledding, which is why I had pre-dished up everyone's bowls--so I could set theirs aside (also, I should have realized that chopsticks would NOT work for quinoa--we all switched them out for forks.  But aren't they pretty?  Allen's little brother, Kevin, brought these home for us after his two-year mission to Japan).

Brigham on his second bowl . . .

EVERYONE loved it.  And Allen, Brigham, and I all had seconds--Mollie and Calvin were none the wiser.

The peanut sauce reminds me of a line from the musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown: "With this sauce, you could eat erasers!"

Oh, it's so good.  I especially love the roasted sweet potatoes and the chicken (I used boneless, skinless thighs) cooked with the garlic and ginger.  It was so satisfying--something I'm adding to my regular repertoire of meals.

Pressure Cooker Chicken Curry

This is what my son, Brigham, requests for his birthday dinner.

And also once a week.

It's something the whole family enjoys, and the Instant Pot makes it something that I do end up making twice a month.  The thing is, everyone also wants to eat it with naan.  Sometimes I cheat and just brush flour tortillas with butter and garlic and give them a quick fry on the electric griddle . . . but most of the time I use this naan recipe, and add a little more time to my dinner prep.  

My number one tips for taking this curry to the top?

• Make jasmine rice, for serving.  It's more expensive than your regular long grain rice, but IT'S STILL CHEAP.  And it's so much tastier, trust me.  If you don't have a rice cooker, it's the appliance that you've been waiting for.
• I use the red curry powder from the bulk section at Winco, and I love it--but I open to trying new brands if you have suggestions
  
  
• I often use a third can of diced tomatoes in place of the 8-ounce can of tomato sauce, and I actually like it better
• Fresh cilantro on top
  
  
• I have used powdered ginger in place of grated fresh ginger when I didn't have any on hand, and it was still super yummy

If I am making this meal for my family, I get the naan dough mixed and proving in the oven, THEN I get the jasmine rice going in the rice-cooker, and THEN I start on the curry.  And I can usually have the naan all cooked by the time the curry is ready to serve.  Enjoy!

Chicken and Dumplings

Comfort food does not get any more comforting than this.

I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, so you know it's good.  It was both my first time making chicken and dumplings AND (gasp!) my first time eating chicken and dumplings!  How is it possible to reach the age of 34 without partaking of the most delicious and satisfying dish in America?  I even lived in the South for 8 years . . . shame on me.  My husband (a true Southerner, who grew up in beautiful Fayetteville, Arkansas) was more excited about me making chicken and dumplings for dinner than any previous dinner-time excitement to date.

The reason I decided to tackle this dish is that he and I put up 34 quarts of canned chicken a week ago, after the Fall butchering of our laying hens.  I had more old hens than I care to admit, because I can't resist letting my hens hatch a clutch of chicks every time one of them goes broody (broody is when a hen stops laying, and only wants to sit on eggs all day, taking little or no food or water for about three weeks.  Certain breeds, like buff orpingtons, are more prone to broodiness than others--some hens will never go broody in their lifetime).

We did a bone-in method.  I added a teaspoon of chicken stock
and a pinch of fresh windowsill herbs: rosemary, sage, and thyme.

I wish all my jars had been wide-mouthed, but it was nice to not
have to buy any new jars.  Each jar had to pressure cook at 10
pounds of pressure for an hour and fifteen minutes (for our elevation)

We  have always butchered cockerels (a rooster that is less than a year old) right when they reach five months of age, but I've kept all the pullets (hens less than a year) for several years to add to my laying stock, and this Fall I realized we had too many chickens.  Knowing that the meat of these hens would be a little more tough than that of a young rooster, I researched canning chicken for weeks leading up to harvest day.  I knew from articles I had previously read that canning the meat would render it much more tender and flavorful than any other method of long-term storage, and that's what I wanted.

My favorite hen, Scarlett Johansson, with her seven "chicks" in
May 2012.  It seems like there are two cockerels for every pullet
in each clutch of chicks . . . but that means more healthy,
home-grown, hormone- free chicken in our freezer or pantry . . .

Hens free-ranging in part of my backyard.  This was in
August of 2010, before I built a fence around my garden.

Mistress Flora scratching around in the garden (July 2012)
I love my hens and always name them--they really receive the best
possible love and care during their lives.  But I am also a meat-eater,
and there's not better way to ensure the quality of your meat than
to raise your own.  I know it may seem corny to many people, but
my husband always thanks the chickens for their lives before he
butchers them.  We give them a good life, and they do the same for us.

This photo is from this past Spring (May 2013) when my Nanking
cherry trees were in bloom.  This isn't even close to all the chickens
we had--it was definitely time to butcher.  To quote Barbara
Kingsolver: "Having no self-sustaining bloodlines to back up the
industry is like having no gold standard to underpin paper currency.
 Maintaining a natural breeding poultry flock is a rebellion, at the
 most basic level, against the wholly artificial nature of how
foods are produced. ” (From: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle)

It was a long, looooooooooong day.  And of course, November Idaho weather is nothing but unpredictable.  Allen butchered, skinned, and cleaned 23 chickens in a good ol' early Winter blizzard (I kept a flock of ten buff orpingtons for eggs and meat next year, plus one cuckoo maran and her four 2-month-old chicks).  I was toasty and warm inside, but worked hard manning (er . . . womanning?) the pressure canner all day.  When ten PM hit, I still had two batches to go, which I saved for the next day.  I don't think "canned chicken" is an aroma that's gonna sell well in the scented candle world . . .

But it was worth it.  The chicken turned out superbly, and is fully cooked and ready to go, any time I need to add tender chicken to a dish.

And what better dish could they be used for than chicken and dumplings?  None, I tell you!

Chicken and Zucchini Kebabs

Got zucchini?  If you live in Idaho/Utah, chances are you do.  Even if you don't have a garden, you can get zucchini anywhere . . . people are giving zucchini away like they're unwanted kittens.

When I typed "best chicken kebabs" into a google search, Jamie Oliver's recipe was the first that came up.  Winner winner, chicken kebab dinner!  If I were ever to have a real-life celebrity "crush", it would be on J-Me!

Plus, he reminds me in so many ways of my own cute husband . . .

My fabulous foody friend Erin first introduced Allen and I to Jamie Oliver back in 2003 (or 2002?) when Jamie was young and skinny and known as "The Naked Chef" in Great Britain (because he uses "naked" foods). We have followed him ever since.  If Jamie has one "shtick", it's that he uses fresh fresh FRESH ingredients for everything.  In fact, I credit Jamie with getting both my husband and I really into food.  Healthy food.  Delicious healthy food.  We have all seasons of "The Naked Chef" and "Oliver's Twist,"  we love to watch all of his new shows, we own about five or six of his cookbooks, and he is 100% the reason I own and regularly use a mortar and pestle.  Plus, listening to someone who is energetic and hilarious and passionate about food in a Mockney British accent?  Lovely-jovely, me ol' mate!

Anyway, I was excited to try what google deems the number one result for "best chicken kebabs," and Jamie delivered again!  I was confused about "courgettes," until I looked up the word and learned it meant "zucchini."  Those wacky Brits and their aubergines-instead-of-eggplants! :)

I have an endless supply of mint in my backyard--it was great
to put it to such a delicious use!  

I also love that Jamie uses words like "blitz" when talking about
a food processor.

The chicken marinated all day--it was so tender and flavorful

I didn't use rosemary skewers like Jamie does, because, though
 I do have two potted rosemary plants that I use weekly for
cooking (check out these yummy dinner muffins) I am not rich
celebrity chef who can buy bushels of rosemary skewers.  Plain
old bamboo skewers worked just fine (don't forget to soak them
in water so they don't burn in half like several of mine did!)  Since
the chicken would be missing that great rosemary flavor, I added
rosemary to the marinade recipe.

Yum.

Seriously.

This recipe is summer-entertaining-food gold.  I made them when I hosted book club at my house and they were a hit.  Allen only got two of them, so I made them again a week later, and they were just as good.  The chicken was tender and amazing, and the roasted zucchini was so delicious, too!  It's a great way to cook and serve those bushels of courgettes that your neighbors are all-too eager to share . . .

Chicken Scratch Noodle Soup

Because "Chicken Scratch" is fun to say, and noodles-from-scratch are fun to MAKE and EAT.

Last night was my very first time making noodles from scratch, even though I grew up eating amazing homemade noodles that my mom made.  I remember the counter-tops of our kitchen being covered with mismatched and floury tea towels, covering the homemade noodles while they dried.  It is still one of my mom's signature meals, along with clam chowder and homemade rolls.  You know . . . comforting Mom-food at its best.

I never could have guessed how easy noodles are to make!  They took me about ten minutes, from start to finish . . . the only hard part is waiting for them to dry.

The actual "soup" recipe is pretty straightforward: saute vegetables in butter, add your broth, seasoning, and meat.  But at the end you turn it into something to write home about, when you drop in noodles that you made and cut exactly the way you like (in my case, I like 'em cut into flat and wide strips).

This is also one of the first times I have sifted my flour first, because I didn't want to leave anything to chance (not knowing how forgiving and hard-to-mess-up this recipe is).  It's not a big deal to sift one cup of flour--I just did it in a fine-mesh strainer.

The entire noodle recipe makes only a single cup of dough, but it goes a long way.  

The finished product, before you cut it in half and roll each half out.

See that little ball of dough at the top of the picture?  That is half
of the recipe--the other half rolled out into all those noodles you see.

Remove noodles to cookie sheet, cover with a towel, and let
air dry for 2 hours.  (I did it for an hour and half and they were fine)

The finished deliciousness . . . ready to take to a friend in need of comfort

I used four cups of frozen turkey stock that I made a month ago,
then added 8 more cups of chicken broth to that.  My friend Cori
taught me about dried chicken soup base--it is so much cheaper
and just as flavorful as canned broth.  I get mine at Winco.

I didn't have celery, and I used dried herbs instead of fresh, and
it was still completely delectable.  My kids asked for seconds, and
my soup-hating five-year-old said:
"Chicken noodle soup is the only kind I like"

Caesar Salad + Authentic Dressing + Homemade Croutons

Whenever I bring this salad to a party/potluck/function, I always get recipe requests.  It makes me feel extra good, because the dressing is my very own concoction!  I came up with it after sampling lots of Caesar dressings and poring over cooking websites, comparing different Caesar ingredients and adapting it to my taste.

If it grosses you out to use anchovy paste, then you have no business trying to make homemade Caesar dressing, because that's what makes it completely divine (sorry to my vegetarian friends).  I have made this once without anchovy paste, and it was still delicious, but lacking that totally over-the-top flavor.  You can usually find anchovy paste with the Asian foods or near the canned tuna, depending on your grocery store.  It comes in a tube, which comes in a box.  Like this:

You can whip up the dressing and store it in an airtight container the fridge for a while--I'd say about a week (and mind the lemon seeds when squeezing the juice!).


'Un croûton' is one of the ends of a loaf of bread in French. It probably didn't take people long to figure out that the crusty ends were good to use to dip in soups or as a garnish for other foods.  Homemade croutons are SO EASY that you'll never go back to those stale crusties that you get in a box.  They are also much easier on your teeth, and they don't explode in half when you try to stab one onto the end of your fork.  But, I digress . . .  

It doesn't matter if your French bread is fresh or older for croutons

I usually use the traditional Garlic & Herb
Mrs Dash blend for my herb-butter

Remove from the oven when the edges get brown.

I just use my butcher knife to cut each
slice into about 12 bite-size pieces

Mmmmm . . . so much better than crunchy, store-bought croutons.
Tip: save leftover croutons in a Ziploc bag, then toss 'em for a few
minutes over medium heat in a nonstick skillet to "re-crisp" them
before you serve them a second time.

Add some grilled chicken and make it even better

This salad is great as a side, but I've served it to my family as the main course with grilled chicken breasts and it's a great dinner.  My kids love having "tiny garlic bread" on their salad.  It's so delicious.