Chicken Potpie - Martha Stewart

Use a little extra seasoning while preparing this potpie; the flavors mellow as it cooks. Topping a potpie is easy when you use your rolling pin to set the pastry crust over the filled baking dish. Be sure to chill the dough before and after rolling it out, then curl it around the pin, and unfurl to cover the pie. Tuck the overlapping edges of pastry inside the dish to create a thick, rustic rim of crust.

Ingredients
Serves 6.

1 chicken (3 or 4 pounds)
4 cups Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat
1 large yellow onion, cut in half
2 dried bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 small bunch fresh thyme
1 rib celery, cut into thirds
1 cup plus 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) plus 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large egg yolks
9 ounces red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
12 pearl onions, peeled and cut lengthwise if large
1 medium leek, white and light-green parts only, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and washed
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
6 ounces button mushrooms, quartered if large
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions
Combine chicken, chicken stock, yellow onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, 3 thyme sprigs, and celery in a stockpot, and add enough water just to cover the chicken. Bring stock to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Pick enough thyme leaves to make 3 tablespoons. Combine 1 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon thyme leaves in the bowl of a food processor, and set remaining 2 tablespoons thyme aside. Add 10 tablespoons chilled butter cut into small pieces, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. While the food processor is running, add 3 tablespoons ice water and 1 egg yolk, and process until the dough holds together. Turn dough onto plastic wrap, flatten into circle, and wrap well; refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Drain chicken, and reserve the stock. Remove the skin from the chicken, and remove all the chicken from the carcass. Shred the chicken into bite-size strips, and set aside. Strain the stock, and set aside 2 cups. Reserve the remaining stock for another use.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add red potatoes and pearl onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes begin to turn golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add leeks, carrots, and mushrooms, and cook 4 to 5 minutes more. Add the remaining 5 tablespoons flour, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in reserved chicken stock and milk, and bring to a simmer. Cook until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes. Add reserved chicken pieces, parsley, remaining 2 tablespoons thyme, lemon zest, remaining 2 teaspoons salt, and the ground pepper; transfer to a large casserole dish. Set aside.
Roll out the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick, and transfer to a baking sheet. Allow to chill 15 minutes. Make an egg wash: In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining yolk and heavy cream. Working quickly, place the dough over the top of the chicken mixture, and tuck extra dough around the edges. Cut slits on top to allow steam to escape. Brush with the egg wash, and place on a baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve hot.

This was amazing - Aaron declared it the best homemade dinner ever. Really easy to do in stages so you're not in the kitchen for hours at a time. I cooked the chicken this morning while we were having breakfast, then let it cool all morning. I made the crust and put it in the fridge. I cut up the veggies and put them in ziplock bags and in the fridge until it was time to cook everything. It came together pretty fast. This makes enough for two 8-9 inch pies. Make one, freeze the other!

Spaghettini with Crab and Spicy Lemon Sauce

Spaghettini with Crab and Spicy Lemon Sauce

Yield: Makes 4 servings

3/4 pound spaghettini

4 tablespoons butter
2 large garlic clove, pressed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Smidge of fresh thyme
8 ounces lump crabmeat, picked over

3 ounces prosciutto, sliced crosswise (optional)

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, heat 4 tablespoons butter and garlic in large skillet over medium heat. Mix in next 3 ingredients.
Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Add pasta, 1/4 cup cooking liquid, chopped parsley, and crabmeat to skillet. Toss over medium heat until sauce coats pasta, adding more cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls to moisten if necessary, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to large platter. Top with prosciutto, if desired. Add a pat of butter if you'd like and garnish with fresh chives and thyme.

This was oh so good! We are blessed with great friends who can go crabbing frequently. They sent us home with quite a bit of crab the last time we were at their house and it's been taunting me from the freezer ever since. I just didn't really know what to do with it. I found this recipe and tweaked it a bit, trading in the olive oil for butter (because with crab, butter is always better!), getting rid of parsley and adding the chives and thyme.
I do know why crabmeat is so expensive though - it's a bugger to get it all out of those legs! But well worth it if you have a crabbing friend. If not, buy the lump crabmeat.
And if you ever come to my house in crabbing season, I'll score us some! Aaron, William and I were the only ones to eat it - Laurel has decided she doesn't like crab (more for me!), but James took a few bites and I know he got some crab in there. So perhaps they might like it again. The lemon flavor is very nice, and it's not super spicy - just the right amount of heat to make sure it's not too rich.

Pasta Salad

A couple weeks ago I really wanted pasta salad and decided to see what I could come up with using only ingredients I already had in order to use them up. This pasta salad was my creation and it's very flavorful and tasty.

1 lb. tri-color rotini pasta
sea salt
olive oil

1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
1 or 2 tomatos, chopped
1/2 lb. or so cheddar cheese, cut in small cubes

Dressing
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (I add 1 - 2 tbls. extra since I like it vinegary)
1 tbls. dijon mustard
1 tsp. sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. dried basil

Cook the pasta according to directions, adding sea salt and olive oil to pasta water once boiling. Drain pasta and cool at least 1/2 hour. In a large measuring cup, add all dressing ingredients and whisk until blended. Pour half over pasta and stir. Assemble and chop vegetables and cheese and then add to pasta along with the remaining dressing. The salad is good served immediately, but it is even better if you make it the night before serving, or at least a few hours in advance. Enjoy!

"French" Stew with Crusty Sourdough Bread

When I created this in my head while wandering the grocery store I decided to call it French stew. I really don't think it is in any way French...but it is a delicious beef stew that we enjoyed the first night by ourselves and then again the next night with my sister and her family.

1 pkg. beef stew meat (I think it was about a pound or so)
1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally
4 medium red potatoes, chopped in bite-sized pieces
2 16oz. cans diced tomatoes with sweet onion and roasted garlic
1 28 oz. can tomato sauce
1 16 oz. can beef broth
3-4 tablespoons garlic herb olive oil (I used a specialty one we got at the farmer's market)
2 tablespoons steak seasoning
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat and add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and stew meat. Add 1 tablespoon steak seasoning and brown meat on all sides. Remove from pot and add the rest of the olive oil and the onions and saute for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add carrots and potatoes and the rest of the steak seasoning. Stir to combine and saute for another 5 minutes or so. Add the meat back into the pot along with the beef broth and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the bits at the bottom of the pot. Next add the rest of the ingredients - tomatoes, tomato sauce, thyme, onion salt and black pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low and stir occasionally for at least 45 minutes to an hour. I served it with sourdough bread which I had cut horizontally, brushed with the garlic herb olive oil and cracked black pepper and cooked at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. It was absolutely delicious...enjoy! :)

Strawberry Spinach Salad

I love that it feels like summer and I get to make this salad again! I didn't used to like pairing fruit with my greens and realize others out there might feel the same. How glad I am that I kept tasting them at church functions, restaurants, and dinners with friends because I sure love it now! This is the one I make most often:

spinach

strawberries, sliced thin

sweet yellow bell pepper, sliced thin

pecan halves, I like to roast them with sugar first

I've added grilled chicken to this salad before too for a light, main-dish, summer supper. Yum.

Dressing:

½ Cup sliced fresh strawberries

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp raspberry vinegar (last time I used a pomegranate balsamic vinegar which was very good too)

1/3 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt

¾ tsp poppy seeds, optional

 

In blender, puree ½ cup strawberries till smooth. Add sugar and vinegar; blend well. Blend in yogurt. Stir in poppy seeds. Refrigerate until serving time. 

Chicken Lemon Pasta with Green Beans

I modified my earlier post with the pancetta and broccoli to use what I had on hand. This was pretty tasty. So pardon the repeat (sort of) and lack of picture (I forgot!).

2 thin chicken breast pieces
1/2 bag frozen green beans
Thin spaghetti
5 cloves garlic
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 T. finely grated lemon peel
2 t. fresh lemon juice
pinch of dried thyme leaves
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper chicken. Heat olive oil in medium pan and saute chicken until cooked through but not dry. Remove and let stand on cutting board. Transfer to paper towels.
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted (VERY salted) water until firm. Add green beans and cook until green beans are heated through. Drain pasta. Add garlic to oil in pan (you might need some more oil). Saute until light golden brown. Add butter, lemon peel and juice and thyme leaves to pan. Add pasta and toss to coat. Add sliced chicken and cheese; toss to blend. Season with pepper and serve.

Veggie Lasagna

This basis of this recipe came from a vegetarian friend in Texas--what a great alternative to regular lasagna that honestly feels too "heavy" sometimes. I've made this quite a few times and am always tweaking it depending on what I have on hand. One of these days I'd like to try a spinach variety...

The kids don't think they like it but they always eat it just fine! 

(these measurements are for the above size meal--a 7*11 baking dish)

lasagna noodles, cooked al dente, about 1/3 of a box of noodles

1 yellow, crookneck squash, chopped

1 medium zuchinni, chopped

handful of shredded carrots

handful of chopped onions

1/2 a jar of spaghetti sauce

white cheese, mozzarella or monterey jack (I prefer the mj or a mix so that it's not so stringy/rubbery)

cottage cheese or ricotta cheese (vary amount depending on your preference--I did not use the entire small-size container) (also, I've always used cottage cheese because I generally have some around--I used to think that sounded gross, but, I don't mind it!)

Add your veggies to the spaghetti sauce and let it cook on the stove for a few minutes (mostly just to heat everything up to same temp and let flavors start to meld---do NOT cook your veggies into a mush!) You may want to add a little water but not too much because the veggies have a lot of liquid.

Gently mix your cheeses together. 

Layer in your baking dish: sauce (cuz you don't want noodles to stick to the bottom of the pan), noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles, sauce, cheese, etc. so that it creates a yummy stack that you can't wait to eat!

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Uncover and let it bake for another 5 minutes or so.

**sorry this recipe doesn't give exact amounts! I never take measurements of my vegetables and the rest is largely due to personal preferences--I've noticed people are generally pretty picky about how they like their lasagna!

Chili and Cornbread

Chili

1/2 lb. ground beef

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 can kidney beans, drained

1-2 cans diced tomatoes (I like using petite-diced)

1 tsp chili powder

chopped onion

cumin

brown sugar

Brown the beef. Throw in some chopped onions. Add beans and tomatoes. Add 1/2 cup or so of water till you get the consistency you like. Add chili powder, some cumin (1/2 - 1 tsp) and some brown sugar (1 Tbsp or so) and adjust to taste. Let simmer while you get the rest of the dinner ready.

**This is a pretty basic chili recipe without anything fancy.  What kind of chili do YOU make?

Cornbread

The recipe I used for above photo was from Smitten Kitchen and I did NOT care for it. I chose it because it was different from my usual recipe and used buttermilk (something I've been experimenting with a lot and love to use in pancakes). The following is my good ol' standby:

2 cups flour

8 Tbsp cornmeal

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

Mix dry ingred. together. Add eggs and milk. Gently stir in melted butter. Pour in greased pan (I vary the pan size 9*9, 7*11, pie pan, etc.) and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. 

**I halve this recipe for our little family.  I've also been using powdered milk to rotate it through our food storage. It tastes fine with powdered milk but is a bit more crumbly. I keep tweaking it to compensate for that.

A Wish

I wish i was home more often to actually cook...then you'd see a recipe from me once in awhile! I can dream!

Shredded Beef Sandwiches

So dang easy!

3 lbs. beef chuck roast

1/2 large onion, chopped

1/4 cup vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced (I used more)

1-1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Place meat in slow cooker. Top with onions. Combine vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour over meat. Cover. Cook on low 8-10 hours or high 5-6 hours. Shred meat (you can drain the broth to save for dipping, or shred the meat and combine it with the broth--I like it combined because it keeps the meat moist).

I usually add bbq sauce to it after I shred it, and then pile it on top of buns sandwich-style. That's Geoff's favorite way--it's a Texas thing. I think it still makes good sandwiches without the bbq sauce too--it's just a little plain.

Original recipe is from "Fix-It-and-Forget-It-Entertaining"

Salmon Teriyaki

When salmon is cheap in Seattle, it's CHEAP! We bought and froze a whole boatlaod (well, not exactly, but quite a bit) and I've been looking for recipes ever since. The agrodolce sauce is good but Aaron was getting tired of it.

Enter this recipe. This isn't the recipe I used - it's the one I will use next time. I'm just using the sauce from the beef stir-fry and using it for the salmon.



The sauce/marinade:

6 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or rice wine vinegar if you happen to have it)

2 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoon oriental sesame oil

5 large garlic cloves, minced

1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, minced



4 4-6 oz. salmon fillets

Combine sauce ingredients in small saucepan and heat just to dissolve the sugar. Let cool to room temperature and then pour over your salmon. Let it marinate at least 30 minutes - 1 hour.

Heat some oil over moderately high heat. Transfer salmon to skillet and cook skin side up, and then flip. Brown on both sides. Add leftover sauce to pan and simmer a bit, about 1-2 minutes.

I served this with rice and some veggies. Super yummy!

Lemon Fettuccine with Broccoli and Pancetta

Did I honestly use what was called for? Nope. Used thin spaghetti because Aaron doesn't like fettuccine. And I did purchase pancetta just because I wanted to. But you don't have to.

4 oz. 1/4-to 1/3 inch-thick slices pancetta or thick-cut bacon slices, cut into 1/4-to 1/3-inch cubes
5 1/2 cups 1-inch broccoli florets (from 1 pound broccoli crowns)
9 oz. fresh or dried fettuccine
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 T. finely grated lemon peel
2 t. fresh lemon juice
2 t. fresh thyme leaves
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Saute pancetta in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat until almost crisp and brown. Transfer to paper towels.

Cook broccoli in large pot of boiling salted (VERY salted) water until crisp-tender but still bright green, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer broccoli to medium bowl. Add pasta to same boiling water; cook until tender, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta. Add butter, lemon peel and juice and thyme leaves to pancetta pan (and all that yummy pancetta fat). Add pasta and toss to coat. Add pancetta, broccoli and cheese; toss to blend. Season with pepper and serve.

Okay, the pancetta I purchased was pre-sliced, so I didn't get to have little cubes o' bacon. We just fried it up and crumbled it like bacon on top. I always set a timer for my broccoli. Enjoy it - Laurel loved the lemon flavor.