Back in Action

So after a nice long vacation and some surgery I am back in the kitchen.  I am off work recovering but since since my left hand is not involved I can still cut, chop, and cook, just not as fast as I usually can.

So I had taken out some chicken and was tired of all the same old things I usually do with chicken and figured that since I had some extra time to cook I would make this chicken casserole recipe that we both like but it takes a while and is not practical on weeknights.

I first found this recipe on the food network.  We were out of town for a party and to fill some time I turned on the food network and this woman was making this really yummy looking chicken and wild rice casserole.  When I got home I found the recipe on their web site and made it.  We then had to really change it for our tastes.  The way it is written it is way too salty for us and a bit too rich. I will put our changes at the end of the recipe.

Creamy Baked Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole (Sunny Anderson, Food Network)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for casserole dish
5 cups water
1 sprig fresh thyme (or about 1tsp dried)
1 Bay Leaf
2 Tablespoons Salt
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/3 cups wild rice
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
2 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup GF bread crumbs
salt
5 ounces mushrooms, quartered (about 2 cups)
1 small onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups shredded Gruyere Cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375, butter a 9x13 casserole dish.
In a large saucepan, combine the water, thyme, bay leaf and salt and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Add the chicken and simmer until cooked through, about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken.  Remove the cooked chicken to a cutting board and let cool.  When cool enough to handle cut chicken into 1/2 inch cubes and reserve.

Return the water the chicken was cooked in to a boil and add the rice.  Cover, and cook over medium hat until the the rice grains split, about 40-45 minutes.  All the water might not have been absorbed when the rice is cooked and that is fine. Drain any excess water, put in a bowl and set aside.

In a small pot over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of the butter.  When the butter is melted add the brown sugar, cranberries, rosemary, bread crumbs, and a pinch of salt.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is uniform.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In a large straight sided saute pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter.  Add mushrooms, onions and a pinch of salt.  Saute until the mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes.  Add the heavy cream and the cinnamon, bring to a boil, then simmer about 2 minutes to thicken slightly.  Add the cheese and mix to incorporate.  Add the rice and chicken to the pot and stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, then transfer to the prepared casserole dish.  Spread the cranberry mixture evenly over the top and bake until golden and bubbling, about 15-20 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve hot.

My changes:

First I do not turn on the oven to pre-heat until the rice is almost done.  I don't think it needs to be on for over an hour before I use it.  It just has to be at the right temperature before I put the casserole in.

For the cooking liquid for the chicken and the rice I use either 5 cups water, no salt, and 1 tablespoon of chicken stock base or half water, half chicken stock.  This flavors the chicken and the rice and the residual salt in the broth is plenty for us.

I leave out the pinch of salt in the cranberry mixture.  It just did not taste good to me there.  I also will leave out the rosemary if I don't have fresh, since the dried just doesn't taste right and it tastes fine with out it.

I will either use the butter or 2 tablespoons olive oil to saute the mushrooms and onions, that depends on my mood and how rich I want the final product to be.

For the casserole sauce I use 1 cup heavy cream and 1 1/2 cups whole milk. I usually don't have the time to search out grated Gruyere cheese and it is expensive so I just use grated Swiss.  Today I used 1 cups grated Swiss cheese and 1 cup of that Italian 5 cheese blend (the one with Mozzerella, Parmesan, etc.).  I will usually buy pre-grated cheese since I really dislike grating cheese but the whole blocks do have better flavor.  I have found pre-grated Gruyere cheese at Trader Joe's market, but it is expensive and not really worth the trip.  Plus I then get distracted by all the other yummy things there and a trip to buy cheese turns into $50-60 dollars.

Today I also added some frozen peas since I wanted some color in the casserole.  I would have sauteed some fresh spinach with the mushrooms and onions if I had any, but maybe next time.  I did not have GF bread crumbs but I did have GF oats so I used those instead.  I have also just cut the butter and sugar with some GF flour and sprinkled that on top with the cranberries.  If this is too sweet for you you could just use the bread crumbs as a topping.  Or you can get all Minnesotan on it and put some crumbled potato chips on top and make it a hot dish. 

I was going to take a picture but the camera battery is dead.  I will post one soon.  I would recommend making the recipe as written first and then seeing what if anything you want to change.

Here is the link to the original recipe, there is not a picture there but you can read the reviews and what other people did with the recipe.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/creamy-baked-chicken-and-wild-rice-casserole-recipe/index.html

Italian Chicken

This is another of my quick and easy recipes.  I came up with this my self one evening when I had no idea what to make for dinner, I had chicken defrosted and needed something to do with it.  We were tired of stir fry and did not want chicken sandwiches.  So I grabbed some ingredients from the pantry and came up with this.  I will try to quantify the recipe but it is never the same twice since  I don't measure the ingredients, I just put in as much as I want when I am making it.

Since I whipped it up on the fly we refer to it in my house as Italian ass chicken.  

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Tomatoes, diced
Olives
Olive tapenade
Olive oil
Basalmic vinegar
Minced garlic
Parmesan cheese
Mozzerella cheese
Cream

Cut the chicken into cubes, season with salt and pepper.  You can also use an Italian spice mix, garlic, basil, oregano or what ever strikes your fancy  Put the olive oil into a heavy saute pan and once the oil is hot add the chicken.  Saute the chicken and once it is cooked remove it from the pan, put on a plate and set aside to stay warm. 

Wipe the exces oil from the pan then add the tomatoes (I usually use canned since this is not usually a meal that is planned in advance), garlic and olives to the pan and saute about 2-3 minutes.  Add about a tablespoon of the tapenade (or more if you want) and mix to combine.  Add the basalmic vinegar and stir.  I don't always use cream but if I do it is just a splash to lighten the sauce up. 

Return the chicken to the pan and stir it into the sauce.   Let the chicken warm up in the sauce and let the sauce reduce a bit to thicken.  Add the parmesan cheese stir and serve on rice.  Sprinkle with the mozzrella cheese.  You can also serve on GF pasta as well.

This makes wonderful leftovers.  I have two kinds of tapenade in my house.  I was using the mild one until I ran out and now all that is left is the hot.  Since it is really hot I use less of it and add more olives into the sauce.  The tapenade adds a wonderful briny olive flavor to the dish.  You could also use capers for the same effect.  I have also served this with artichoke asiago bruchetta topping on the side.   You can very the seasonings to taste.  Right now I am hooked on a seasoning mix from Penzey's spices that is is wonderful on the chicken.   But you can use as much or as little of anything you want.  If there is something you feel must go into an Italian chicken dish put it in.  You could slice up pepperoni and add it in when you add the chicken back to the pan. 

Taco Hot Dish

So I got this recipe from my sister-in-law who made it for us one evening.  I then took it and made it mine.  It is not too much different it just has more of the flavors I look for in a Mexican dish.  It is kind of a casserole, kind of a pie so I just call it a hot dish.

So this is pretty easy.  But it tastes good and I get dinner and leftovers from it.  It is easy to scale up for more people, just make more meat and use a bigger pan.

1 pound ground beef (I use grass fed organic meat with 10% fat or less, but you can use what ever you like)
Taco seasoning
GF corn tortillas
Shredded taco cheese (or cheddar or what ever you want)
Salsa (I like Pace chunky salsa, medium hot)
9 inch cake pan

Brown meat and drain fat.  Clean pan and then add water to pan.  I don't measure the water, it usually is between 1/4 and 1/3 cup.  Add taco seasoning, I also don't measure this as well,  You can follow the directions on the taco seasoning, but I never do.  Sometimes I will add Chile powder or cayenne powder to the taco seasoning for more of a kick.  Add meat to seasoning in pan and cook down so that the pan is dry, no liquid remaining in pan and the meat is coated with the seasoning.

Once the  meat is ready prepare the pan.  Put a layer of tortillas on the bottom of the pan.  Cover the bottom of the pan as best as you can.  Spoon half the meat onto the tortillas.  Cover with salsa and cheese.  I usually use less salsa at this point since you can put more on when it is served.  I do love me some cheese so I use a lot.

After the first layer is done put another layer of tortillas over the cheese and then add the meat, salsa, and cheese on top.  For this layer it is important to make sure that the cheese covers everything so it protects what is below from drying out.  Then put it in a 350 oven until the cheese is melty and golden brown.  When the cheese is how you like it remove from oven, cut and serve with more salsa on the side.

To make this a true Minnesota hot dish add crushed tortilla chips on top of the cheese before baking.   This is one of my easy go to dishes on a busy work day.  It doesn't take that long and we get a nice meal.  With a salad this is actually a balanced meal. 

Posole

Sorry it has been a while.  Sometimes life just gets in the way of what you want to do.  But it is a perfect time to make posole.  It is traditionally a pork and hominy stew from Jalisco Mexico.  Not being a pork eater I make it with chicken.  You can use either or both if you prefer.  I have also seen it made with chorizo and shredded pork.  However you make it it is warm and wonderful, especially when it is cold.

I got this recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook.  I love this cookbook almost as much as I love my copy of Joy of Cooking.  This is one of those wonderful stews that improves over time.  After a day or two the flavors are even better.

2 dried pasilla chilies or New Mexico chilies (or whatever Mexican dried chilies I can find)
2 dried guajillo chilies
2 cups water
2 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican), crumbled
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 large garlic clove, crushed (I usually use a bit more since I like garlic)
1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped (I have used canned tomatoes in the middle of winter, I usually use a 12 oz can of chopped tomatoes, fire roasted ones taste really good in this)
1/2 white onion, coarsely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2 pounds chicken, fat trimmed (I use whole boneless, skinless breasts which I keep whole, usually about 2-3 breasts)
3 (15 ounce) cans white hominy, rinsed and drained

Accompaniments: chopped radishes, white onion, fresh cilantro, lettuce, fresh chilies, lime wedges, and warm corn or flour tortillas or tortilla chips. 

Stem and seed chilies.  Combine with the water in a small sauce pan, bring to a simmer, and then simmer until softened about 15 minutes.

Transfer chilies, with cooking water, to a blender.  Add remaining ingredients except chicken and hominy and blend until smooth.  Use caution blending hot liquids.

Put chile puree into 4-quart heavy saucepan add chicken and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour or until chicken is barely done.

Remove chicken from pot and place on a cutting board.  Using your hands or a fork shred the chicken.  Once chicken is shredded add it back to the pot.  Then add hominy and simmer, covered, until chicken is tender and hominy is softened, about 30 minutes more.  Skim off any fat and season with salt to taste.  I don't usually add any more salt at this point. 

Serve with accompaniments.  We like using radishes, limes, tortilla chips, and sometimes chilies. 

I do vary the amount of chilies I use. If they are small or break while I am cleaning them I might use 3-4 chilies.  If you want to use pork the recipe calls for 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 inch cubes.  I like it with shredded meat so you could cut the pork into smaller bits and then shred it before serving like I do with the chicken. 

This is a truly yummy stew and wonderful comfort food when it is cold outside. 



Enjoy!