One Pot Meals | onedadskitchen

Tackle the Cold with a Roasted Winter Squash Soup

The cold weather has really been upon us here in my area of New York this week. The schools were closed last Friday and this past Monday because of ice and snow and the temperature has barely risen above 20°, with wind chills in the morning below 0 just about every day. This makes you feel like just bundling up under the covers and going back to bed each morning and not bothering to even think about what you might want to make for dinner that day. Of course, one of the best alternatives for this time of year for lunch or dinner is always a nice bowl of warm soup. One of my all-time favorite dishes always make use of some of the great winter squash that is available and makes a nice thick squash soup to have with some homemade bread or rolls to help fill you up and really keep you warm. This particular recipe, for a roasted winter squash soup, comes from the Cooking Channel and is from Michael Chiarello. It makes use of a really nice toasted spice rub that you use for the squash and the soup itself and while it may seem like there are a lot of steps involved, the prep time outside of getting the squash ready (which you can do well in advance if you like) only takes about 20 minutes and the cook time is not much more than that, so you can have everything done and ready in about 45 minutes.

Roasted Winter Squash Soup

For the Soup:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup (1/4 inch) diced onion

1/4 cup (1/4 inch) diced celery

1/4 cup (1/4 inch) diced carrot

1 cinnamon stick

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, optional

1 1/2 cups Roasted Winter Squash recipe, recipe to follow

1/2 cup half-and-half

For the Toasted Spice Rub:

1/4 cup fennel seeds

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1/4 cup (1 ounce) chili powder

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

For the Roasted Winter Squash:

3 pounds winter squash

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup molasses

2 teaspoons Toasted Spice Rub

To make the toasted spice rub, toast the fennel seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns in a small, heavy pan set over medium heat. When the fennel turns light brown, work quickly. You may want to turn on the exhaust fan over your stove as it can get quite smoky. Add the red pepper flakes and toss rapidly, mixing the ingredients quickly. Immediately turn the spice mixture out onto a plate to cool. Once the spices have cooled, put the mixture into a blender with the chili powder, salt, and cinnamon and blend until the spices are evenly ground. If you have a small spice mill or a coffee grinder dedicated to just grinding spices, grind only the fennel, coriander, pepper, and chili flakes. Pour the ground ingredients into a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients. Keep the spice mix in a glass jar in a cool, dry place.

For the roasted squash, preheat the oven to 400°. Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler. Halve the squash lengthwise, discard the seeds, then cut the squash into a 1-inch dice. Place the squash in a large bowl and season it with salt and pepper.

Heat the butter in a medium skillet set over medium-high heat. When the butter ceases to foam and has turned a light brown, pull the pan off the heat and immediately add the sage, granulated sugar, balsamic vinegar (stand back so as not to get splattered by the vinegar and the vapors from it), molasses and the toasted spice rub. Mix well and let the mixture simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 2 minutes so the flavors can meld.

Pour the vinegar mixture over the squash and toss it well, then transfer the squash to a heavy rimmed baking sheet or baking dish large enough to hold the squash in a single layer. Place the squash in the oven and roast, tossing the squash at least once, until it is very tender and caramelized, about 45 minutes to one hour. Set the squash aside until it is cool enough to handle but still warm, so the liquids are runny.

Working in batches, if necessary, transfer the warm squash and all the cooking liquids to a food processor and process until it is smooth. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

For the soup, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until it is shimmering. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and cinnamon stick and sauté until the vegetables are soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth or vegetable broth and the coriander, if using, and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer the broth for several minutes. Stir in the squash until it is smooth, then simmer gently to let the flavors meld, about 10 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick.

Purée the soup in a blender until it is smooth. The soup can be made ahead to this point, cooled, covered, and refrigerated for several days or frozen for about one month. It will thicken as it cools and may need thinning out with more broth or water when you are re-heating it. Return the soup to the pan and reheated gently. Add the half-and-half, if using. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Keep the soup warm until you are ready to serve. Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Garnish the soup with dollops of mascarpone cheese or toasted pumpkin seeds, if desired

While it does take some time ahead of time for prep work to get the squash ready, there is not really a lot of work involved in it and it is certainly worth the effort. I used a combination of butternut squash and acorn squash but you could certainly use any type of squash that you want either in a combination or by itself. I also did add one diced apple to the vegetable mixture of the onion, celery, and carrot to give the soup a little extra sweetness and flavor. The soup comes out to be a very dark, rich color with some nice sweetness from the squash thanks to the balsamic vinegar and molasses that you put on top of it. The spice rub does give the dish a little bit of a kick, so you may want to watch how much chile powder use if you are looking for something a little milder or eliminate the chili powder and red pepper flakes altogether for something smoother. As I said, this dish is great with some homemade rolls, biscuits or bread or even just your favorite store-bought variety or you could make a nice meal with a soup and sandwich idea for lunch or dinner.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day, and enjoy your meal!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on January 15, 2015 in Cooking, Dinner, Lunch, One Pot Meals, Soups & Stews, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Tags: acorn squash, butternut squash, Cooking Channel, Michael Chiarello, roasted winter squash soup, squash soup, squash soup recipe, winter squash, winter squash soup

Still Have Leftover Lamb? Here’s One More Option For You – Lamb and White Bean Casserole

14 Jan

Okay, so you have made the leg of lamb that you wanted, then you turned around and made some lamb shawarma with some of the leftovers on one night but you still seem to have a lot of lamb left and you are not sure what to do with it. You still always have shepherd’s pie as an option, but as I said yesterday, I was hoping to find something different to do with some of the land. I came across this recipe at the New You work Times Cooking website for a lamb and white bean casserole and while technically it did not use leftover lamb but uncooked lamb shanks and the meat from them, I decided to try to adapt the recipe so that I could make use of some of the leftovers. Naturally the recipe I made does not take nearly as long to cook as the one you would find from the New York Times, but I think it makes really good use of the leftover lamb and turns out a pretty simple meal in under 30 minutes. I will post the recipe that I used here, but you can always check the link for the original recipe if you want to try that one out.

Lamb and White Bean Casserole

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, diced

5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound leftover lamb, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup dry white wine

2 cups beef stock

1 cup peeled chopped tomatoes

2 teaspoons dried herbs de Provence

6 cups cooked cannellini beans, rinsed and drained if using canned

3 sprigs fresh thyme

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy, ovenproof 5 to 6 quart casserole. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic, and sauté the vegetables over medium heat, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Increase the heat slightly, and when the vegetables begin to brown, remove them from the pot and take the pot off the heat. Preheat the oven to 350°.

Season the all-purpose flour with salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss the lamb pieces in the flour to coat them well. Heat the remaining olive oil in the casserole pan. Add the lamb pieces, and sear them over medium-high heat, stirring until the meat is browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the meat from the pot, and add the wine. Cook, stirring, to deglaze the pot and reduce the wine, about 2 minutes. Stir in the beef stock, chopped tomatoes and herbs de Provence. Taste the sauce, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Return all of the vegetables to the casserole pan, then add the lamb and the cannellini beans. Place the sprigs of time on top of the dish. Place the casserole in the oven and bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes, until everything is heated through and the beans on the top begin to brown. Serve at once, or set aside in reheat before serving.

You do need to be a little bit careful when you making this because you do not want to overcook the lamb that is already cooked in the first place. I found that cooking the dish in the oven for about 20 minutes heated everything through without making the lamb too tough to eat. You got great flavor from all of the vegetables and the beans were a really nice touch to give some added protein to the dish and it really helps to fill you up. This particular casserole was really nice to have on a cold night and the broth that remains underneath the beans has excellent flavor because of the herbs that you use, and from the lamb and the vegetables themselves. Again, this is a nice use for some leftover lamb if you are looking for something different to try or it can be a great dish to serve starting from scratch, but of course you need to follow the original recipe where the lamb would have to be cooked for a longer period of time to make sure that it is cooked all the way through.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

3 Comments

Posted by MikeG on January 14, 2015 in Beans, Cooking, Dinner, Lamb, Leftovers, One Pot Meals

Tags: bean casserole, cannellini beans, lamb and bean casserole, lamb and white bean casserole, leftover lamb, leftover lamb recipe, NYT Cooking, NYT Cooking lamb and white bean casserole, uses for leftover lamb

Crazy Days of Inconvenient Crashes and Cashew Chicken

05 Dec

It has been a crazy day, or actually a crazy week around here as my computer keeps going up and down. My laptop kept crashing several times a day until we finally decided to do something about it and ended up replacing it with a new desktop instead. In the meantime I kind of put everything else on hold so I haven’t been able to do much as far as work, blogging, or just about anything else as we tried to get everything set up. Along the way, I haven’t had much time to do any cooking either. I did manage to do a couple of meals so I do have a few new recipes to share, and I did a couple of recipes without an any pictures being involved, so I do have some things to post. One that we tried recently was for a takeout favorite of cashew chicken. Just like any other stir fry recipe, it is pretty easy to put together and doesn’t take a lot of effort on your part so you can make this just about any night of the week when you feel like having something a little bit different. Most of the ingredients are things you may have around most of the time anyway, other than perhaps the water chestnuts where the cashews themselves.

Cashew Chicken

For the Chicken:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons dry sherry

1 teaspoon ground ginger or 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

3 cloves garlic, sliced

4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

3/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

5 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil

1 cup cashews, chopped or cashew pieces

2 scallions thinly sliced

1/2 can water chestnuts

1 green, yellow, orange, or red bell pepper, roughly chopped

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional

For the chicken, in a medium bowl, combine the chicken, dry sherry, ginger, garlic and 2 teaspoons of the cornstarch. Cover the bowl and chill the mixture for 30 minutes. In a separate small bowl, combine the chicken broth, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes, if using, and 2 1/2 teaspoons of the cornstarch; whisk until the ingredients are well blended. Set the bowl aside.

Sauté 2 teaspoons of the vegetable oil and half of the chicken mixture in a large skillet set over high heat for 2 minutes, then turn the chicken pieces over and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and add the remaining chicken to the skillet. Cook the chicken pieces in the same manner, turning after 2 minutes and cooking until they are heated through. Add a little more vegetable oil to the pan if it is needed. Add the peppers to the pan, sautéing the peppers for about 2 minutes until they are tender. Return the 1st batch of cooked chicken to the skillet. Stir in the chicken broth mixture and add the water chestnuts then bring the mixture to a low boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until the sauce begins to thicken, about 1 to 3 minutes. Add the cashews to the skillet and mix to incorporate them into the dish. Top with the scallions, if desired, and serve.

This is the ideal dish to serve with fried rice if you feel like making it for the dinner, though I just served mine with white rice. This tastes just like the cashew chicken you would get from any takeout Chinese restaurant and you have better control over the ingredients yourself. You could easily use boneless thighs if you prefer dark meat for your chicken and add any vegetables that you like to the dish if you want. The sauce is the real winner here as it is great with the combination of sticky sweet with a bit of heat from the red pepper flakes. it is a very easy dish that is perfect for a weeknight meal.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on December 5, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Poultry, Stir Fry

Tags: cashew chicken, cashew chicken recipe, stir fry cashew chicken, stir fry recipes

Back Home for Pan-Roasted Chicken with Vegetables and Dijon Jus

01 Dec

After spending last week visiting my family in North Carolina it’s back to the real world of work, school and cooking here in New York. We had a great visit with everyone and had a fun time over the Thanksgiving holiday, enjoying a great meal and good times with the family. It was good to get home after a long drive back so we took it easy Saturday and had a nice one dish meal on Sunday, making use of a whole chicken, some fresh veggies and this recipe from Serious Eats for a pan-roasted chicken with vegetables in a Dijon jus for some added zest and flavor. it’s another great one dish meal that you can put together pretty easily and is packed with great flavors.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Vegetables and Dijon Jus

16 fingerling or yellow new potatoes, scrubbed

3 carrots, 2 peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks, 1 roughly chopped

Kosher salt

16 Brussels sprouts, halved

Freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into 8 serving pieces, backbone reserved

1 cup dry white wine

1 onion, split in half

1 celery stalk, roughly chopped

3 to 4 sprigs fresh sage

2 bay leaves

2 cups chicken stock

1 shallot, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon

2 teaspoons fish sauce

Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the potatoes and the carrots cut into 1-inch chunks in a medium saucepan, cover the vegetables with cold salted water and bring them to a boil, then simmer the vegetables until they are just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the vegetables and transfer them to a large bowl. Add the Brussels sprouts, season the vegetables with salt and pepper, toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and set the vegetables aside.

Transfer the chicken backbone to the now-empty saucepan. Add the roughly chopped carrot, onion,celery, sage, and bay leaves. Set the saucepan aside. Season the chicken pieces thoroughly with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet set over high heat until the oil is lightly smoking. Add the chicken pieces skin side down and cook, moving the chicken pieces as little as possible, until the chicken skin is rendered and a deep golden brown, about 10 to 14 minutes. Flip the pieces as they finish and lightly brown the second side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer the browned chicken pieces to a plate and set them aside.

When all the chicken is browned, add the white wine to the skillet and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Transfer the white wine to a medium saucepan and put in the reserved chicken backbone. Pour in any juices that have accumulated on the chicken resting plate and wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.

Add the chicken stock to the saucepan with the chicken backbone. Bring the stock to a simmer over high heat, reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover and let the stock gently bubble while the chicken roasts. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and heat the skillet over high heat until the oil is lightly smoking. Add the vegetable mixture and top the vegetables with the chicken pieces, skin side up. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until the chicken breasts register 150 degrees and the chicken legs register at least 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer, removing the chicken pieces and transferring them to a clean plate as they finish roasting, about 45 minutes total.

When all of the chicken pieces have finished roasting, add the shallots to the skillet with the vegetables and toss them to combine. Return the skillet to the oven and continue roasting, flipping the vegetables occasionally, until the vegetables and shallots are browned all over, about 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven, add the parsley, toss to coat and then place the chicken pieces directly on top of the vegetables.

Strain the simmering chicken broth mixture into a small saucepan or bowl. Whisk in the butter, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and fish sauce. Season the jus to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the chicken and vegetables, serving the jus at the table.

This meal is packed with ingredients and lots of great flavor. You get a really nice browning on the chicken pieces and I liked everything set over the vegetables to get even more flavor onto the veggies. I actually added the shallot in from the start and roasted the vegetables just with the chicken, tossing them lightly when I took the chicken out and then put the chicken right back in the skillet. The Dijon jus was a nice touch with the chicken and vegetables, with a good mix of the mustard, lemon juice and fish sauce. It all came together very nicely and mostly in one dish (outside of the prep work) so it was easy clean-up as well.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on December 1, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, One Pot Meals, Potatoes, Poultry, Sauce, Vegetables

Tags: Dijon jus, one pot meals, pan roasted chicken, pan-roasted chicken with vegetables and Dijon jus, roasted chicken recipes, Serious Eats

Quick, Simple and Delicious – Roasted Chicken with Chorizo and Sweet Potatoes

21 Nov

As the Thanksgiving holiday creeps closer and closer you want to find easy meals to make in the days before so that you can focus in on anything that needs to be taken care of for your holiday plans. One dish meals are ideal when you can get them together fast so you don’t even have to think much about dinner for one night. This recipe, from Bon Appetit, is just about a one dish meal. All you need is a vegetable on the side to finish the meal off and you can have a great tasting meal of roasted chicken with chorizo and sweet potatoes.

Roasted Chicken with Chorizo and Sweet Potatoes

4 skin on, bone in chicken breasts (or other chicken pieces; I used thighs)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 fresh chorizo, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 large garlic cloves, smashed

2 large sweet potatoes, cut into long wedges about 1/2-inch thick

1 red onion, cut in half and then cut each half into quarters

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 sprig rosemary, plus additional for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Season the chicken pieces with the apple cider vinegar, kosher salt and black pepper. Set the chicken aside. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet set over medium high heat. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring the chorizo occasionally, until it is beginning to brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken, skin side down and cook the chicken until the skin is a golden brown, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Toss the sweet potatoes, garlic, red onion, white wine and the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil, along with the rosemary (if using), until everything is coated and well mixed. Place the sweet potato mixture on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer. Place the chicken pieces and the chorizo pieces on top of the vegetables and roast the chicken until it is cooked through and the sweet potatoes are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Divide the chicken and sweet potato mixture among the plates and garnish with additional rosemary, if desired.

I really enjoyed the mix of the chicken, chorizo and the sweet potatoes. The chorizo added just the right spiciness to the dish and the potatoes were great roasted and mixed with everything. The chicken had additional flavor from marinating briefly with the cider vinegar to add to the dish overall. I served this with a simple green vegetable on the side and everything was done in under 45 minutes and clean up was a breeze. I used chicken thighs instead of breasts, but you could use whichever chicken pieces you have on hand and like best; I think it would do just as well with drumsticks if you prefer.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. I’ll be traveling over the next few days as we head down to North Carolina for the holiday, but I will make some Thanksgiving posts before the holiday along the way, so keep checking back. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on November 21, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Potatoes, Poultry, Sausage

Tags: bon appetit, chicken pieces, chorizo, roast chicken pieces, roast chicken recipes, roast chicken with chorizo and sweet potatoes, roasted chicken, sweet potatoes

A One Skillet Fall Favorite – Skillet Chicken Pot Pie with Butternut Squash

14 Nov

I had made quite a bit of chicken early in the week and needed to come up with something else to make with it this week so it didn’t go to waste. One of my favorite standby dishes that is a great way to use some leftovers is to make some type of pot pie. you can pretty much put anything in a pot pie and have any type of protein or just vegetables and some type of gravy on the inside and then top it off with some type of crust to make your pie. I had seen this recipe on Bon Appetit’s website recently that makes the whole pie in a cast iron skillet and makes use of a couple of different vegetables in a pot pie that I haven’t tried before – butternut squash and kale. Now we are not big kale eaters in my house – I don’t really care for the bitterness of it and I would much rather have spinach, which I happened to have on hand, so instead of going out to buy kale, I substituted spinach instead.

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie with Butternut Squash

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup frozen white pearl onions, thawed

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

1 small bunch kale, center ribs and stems removed, leaves chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 rotisserie chicken, meat torn into bite-size pieces, or 1 1/2 cups leftover chicken, torn into pieces

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 egg

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven; preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat the olive oil in an 8-inch cast-iron or other heavy ovenproof skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the pearl onions. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to brown, about 4 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the garlic and the sage to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the kale and season it with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing the kale often, until the kale is wilted, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, for 4 minutes.

Stir in the chicken broth a 1/2-cupful at a time, then add the butternut squash. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is just softened and the broth is thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the chicken pieces to the skillet, stir and season with salt and pepper.

Unfold the puff pastry and smooth any creases. Place the puff pastry over the skillet, allowing the corners to hang over the sides of the skillet. Whisk the egg and 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl. Brush the pastry with the egg wash and cut four 1-inch slits on the top of the pastry to vent it.

Bake the pot pie until the pastry is beginning to brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake the pot pie until the pastry is a deep golden brown and crisp, about 15 to 20 minutes longer. Let the pot pie cool for 10 minutes before serving.

This is a great one pot dish that gets done in under an hour and uses your leftovers really well. I enjoyed the addition of the spinach and the squash instead of having just carrots and potatoes in the mix. I also added some peas to the mix that I had and I ended up using regular pie crust instead of puff pastry, mainly because I did not have any puff pastry on hand that night. I think the puff pastry would be perfect since it is lighter and flakier, but the pie crust did the job nicely. This is definitely an easy one that you want to make use of again and would be just as good with beef as it is with chicken.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on November 14, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Leftovers, One Pot Meals, Poultry

Tags: bon appetit, Bon Appetit chicken pot pie with butternut squash, butternut squash, chicken pot pie, chicken pot pie with butternut squash, pot pie recipe

Hit the Spot With Spicy Sausage Lentil Soup

12 Nov

The weather is supposed to turn decidedly colder here in New York tomorrow and stay that way for at least the few days after that, meaning it creeps even closer to actually being winter here and makes the idea of soups and stews even more palatable than before. I have already been getting my arsenal of recipes ready to make soups and stews this winter and have a bunch i want to try, but I decided to start out with this particular recipe that I found mainly because I had a lot of Italian sausage in the freezer and a bag of lentils that I was trying to figure out what to do with. I came across this recipe from Todd Wilbur as a Top Secret recipe and a version of Carrabba’s spicy sausage lentil soup. I have never had this particular soup at Cararabba’s and I have only been to a Carrabba’s once in my life so I don’t know much about them, but this soup sounded pretty good and easy to make, so I gave it a shot. This recipe makes a large portion, and I’ll show the original recipe here, but I cut this recipe in half to make it for my family.

Spicy Sausage Lentil Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup minced onion

3/4 cup grated and minced carrot

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 pound uncooked hot Italian sausage

2 ounces diced ham

7 cups water

5 cups chicken broth

1 pound dry lentils

1 tomato, diced

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon minced fresh basil

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onion, carrot, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are fragrant, about 3 minutes. Remove the Italian sausage from its casing and add it to the pan. Saute the sausage for about 8 minutes, stirring it often. Break up the sausage into bite-size bits as it cooks with a wooden spoon or spatula. Add the diced ham, stir to combine with the other ingredients in the pot and cook the mixture for an additional minute.

Add the water, chicken broth, lentils, tomato, white wine vinegar, basil, parsley, bay leaves, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano and red pepper flakes and stir to combine the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the soup for about 1 hour, until the lentils are tender. Serve the soup in cups or bowls.

It’s a pretty basic recipe that gives you some great flavors. I love lentil soup on its own but adding the sausage to it added some great flavor and spice. You can use a ham steam for the ham or if you don’t have that I think deli ham would suffice or just leave out the ham altogether if you like. This makes a lot of soup, even after I cut the recipe in half for the three of us there was a lot leftover, which is okay with me because it makes a great lunch alternative for this time of year. It is simple with great chunks of sausage to go along with the lentils, vegetables and herbs and it gets a little kick from the hot sausage and the pepper flakes.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on November 12, 2014 in Beans, Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Pork, Sausage, Soups & Stews

Tags: Carrabba's spicy sausage lentil soup, copycat spicy sausage lentil soup recipe, lentil soup, sausage lentil soup, spicy sausage lentil soup, Todd Wilbur

Savor the Simple Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

04 Nov

We haven’t really had a lot of cool weather here in my part of New York just yet, though it is starting to get there with some nights down in the thirties. in any event, once the fall rolls around I start to think more about soups, stews and slow cooker meals because they just make you feel warm, make the house smell great and are easy to put together for a one pot meal. I decided I wanted to make something really easy and have a great soup and give some chicken and wild rice soup a try. This is a great options when you have some leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken and want to do something different with it. There are lots of different types of wild rice that you can get, so you could always get your favorite quick version or get a regular version that takes longer to cook but seems to have better flavor, in my opinion. In either case, this turns out a very tasty soup for the whole family. I used this recipe from Food.com to make my soup when I did it, but the soup as a whole is pretty easy to put together on its own.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup peeled and sliced carrots

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/3 cup wild rice, uncooked

1/3 cup sliced leeks (white and light green parts) or green onions

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup half-and-half or milk

1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 carrot peeled into thin strips, for garnish (optional)

In a saucepan set over medium heat, mix the chicken broth, sliced carrot, sliced celery, uncooked wild rice, leek or green onions, dried thyme and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Cover the saucepan and allow the mixture to simmer until the rice is tender, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Stir in the flour and then stir in the half-and-half or milk. Cook and stir the mixture until it is bubbly, about 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the half-and-half mixture to the rice mixture, stirring constantly to thicken the soup. Stir in the chicken and the dry sherry. Heat the soup and until the chicken is heated through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Divide the soup evenly among soup bowls and if desired, garnish the soup with the carrot peel strips.

This turned out to be a really great soup without a lot of work needed for it. You get great flavor from the wild rice and the stock thickens up nicely when you add the roux to it to make things even better, and the touch of dry sherry at the end really tops things off nicely. I could see adding different vegetables to this if you like, such as some broccoli or sliced mushrooms or really anything that you favor. The soup was even better the next day for lunch and we all really enjoyed the meal. I made some buttermilk biscuits to go along with the soup, but you could make any bread, rolls, biscuits or even just have crackers or a sandwich alongside of it and you have a great meal.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on November 4, 2014 in Biscuits, Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Poultry, Rice, Soups & Stews

Tags: chicken and wild rice soup, chicken soup, Food.com, one pot meals, wild rice soup

Fall Soups and Stews – Photo Gallery | SAVEUR

01 Nov

Fall Soups and Stews – Photo Gallery | SAVEUR.

It is definitely that time of year when my attention (and perhaps yours) turns to warm, comforting meals like soups and stews. These make great tasting, nourishing meals that are perfect for you to make any time, like on the weekend to get ready to have for lunches or dinner during the week. Saveur Magazine has put together 60 soup and stew recipes so you can try just about anything that you like. Check it out!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on November 1, 2014 in Beans, Beef, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Leftovers, Lunch, One Pot Meals, Pantry, Pasta, Pork, Potatoes, Poultry, Produce, Rice, Seafood, Slow Cooker Meals, Soups & Stews, Turkey, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Tags: 60 soup and stew recipes, 60 soup and stew recipes for fall, Fall soups and stews, Saveur 60 fall soups and stews, Saveur magazine, soup and stew recipes for fall, soup recipes, stew recipes

Rainy Days are Perfect for This Chicken, Carrot and Sweet Potato Stew

23 Oct

It’s been pretty rainy and chilly here in our part of New York this week, so much so that the heat actually kicked in and came on the other morning, letting me know that the colder weather is rapidly approaching. It means I spend the early morning hours wearing my sweater around the house while I type away about various topics for my writing, covering everything from dental offices and travel tips to Thailand vacation spots and video gaming. Work has been busy lately and since the weather is cooler it is the perfect time to break out the slow cooker and make some soups or stews. This seemed like the perfect time to make this recipe from Cooking.com for chicken, carrot and sweet potato stew, a nice, thick, hearty stew that was easy to put together and has some great flavors to it.

Chicken, Carrot and Sweet Potato Stew

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

1-2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

1 cup white wine

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place the chicken, sweet potatoes, carrots, onion, minced garlic, tomato paste, white wine, thyme and bay leaves into the slow cooker. Stir the ingredients to combine everything well. Cover the slow cooker and cook the ingredients on low for 5 hours or until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through. Remove the bay leaves and put the stew into a large bowl or serve right from the crock of the slow cooker.

Believe it or not, that’s all there is to this recipe. It is very simple to put together and gives you a nice stew with a great tomato-based broth. I added in a couple of diced and peeled parsnips that I had on hand to get a little bit of extra flavor in there as well and I think you could pretty much add any fall vegetables that you really like, such as some diced butternut or acorn squash, to go along with the meal. You could always use chicken broth or water in place of the white wine if you did not want to use the wine and I think you could even substitute skinless, boneless chicken thighs for the breast meat if you prefer the dark meat or even use some stew beef instead of the chicken if that is what you prefer. Whatever you decide, it is a nice and simple mix that you can put in the slow cooker early in the day, set about your business and then have a great stew for dinner. I served this with some of the not quite whole grain baguette that I had made and it was perfect.

That’s all I have for today’s recipe. Check back next time for another new recipe and see what’s cooking. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day, stay dry, and enjoy your meal!