Deep Flavors, Not a lot of Time

Chicken Cacciatore


Ingredients:

1 4-lb chicken, cut in pieces (I used breasts because that's all I had. I liked the way they turned out although I'm sure the chicken pieces would add more flavor.)
3-4 Tlb flour
2 Tlb olive oil
1/4 cup chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 6-ounch can tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 14-ounce can chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp sweet marjoram
1 8-ounce package sliced fresh mushrooms (about 2 cups)


Directions:

1. Dredge chicken with flour until well-coated. In a large deep frying pan or pot, heat the olive oil and saute chicken over high heat until golden brown. Add the shallots and garlic while the chicken is browning, and cook until golden. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer the chicken, covered, about 1 hour or until tender. Serve over pasta, rice or new potatoes.

This had a really lovely deep flavor to it for not a lot of cooking time. The chicken was super tender and the sauce was a perfect consistency. I garnished mine with some chopped Italian parsley which gave it some nice color and added flavor. This meal is so simple it works great for a weeknight Italian dinner, but impressive enough to serve for any special occasion.

Easy as Pie!

Apple Pie with Crumb Topping


Ingredients:

1 9-inch deep dish pie crust

Crumb Topping:

3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) at room temp

Filling:

5 medium to large baking apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (I used Granny Smith and liked it, but next time I think I'll mix them with a slightly sweeter variety of apple)
1 cup sugar
2 tsp flour
3 Tlb melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt

Caramel Sauce:

1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tlb butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. To prepare topping, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix by hand or with a pasty blender until crumbly.

3. To prepare filling, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour into pie crust. Pile topping thickly on top (like a second crust). Bake 1 hour or until a knife easily slides into center of pie with no resistance. If pie is browning too quickly, reduce temp to 350 degrees after 30 minutes (I did end up doing this). Let cool.

4. To prepare caramel sauce, combine all ingredients, except vanilla, in a small heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture reaching 244F on a candy thermometer (firm-ball stage). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Let cool and drizzle 1 tsp over each apple pie wedge. You will have caramel left over.

Serves 8

I chose not to make the caramel sauce because it sounded just as good without it, but I'm sure it would be delicious. I really liked this pie because it gives you the best of both worlds... an apple pie with an apple crisp topping. It was perfect with vanilla ice cream.

Saving Oven Space

Slow Cooker Stuffing allrecipes

"Making this moist bread dressing in a slow cooker is an excellent way to free up the oven for other dishes on a busy cooking day."

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or margarine 2 cups chopped onion 2 cups chopped celery 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 12 ounces sliced mushrooms 12 cups dry bread cubes 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 4 1/2 cups chicken broth, or as needed 2 eggs, beaten

Directions:

1.	Melt butter or margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onion, celery, mushroom, and parsley in butter, stirring frequently.
2.	Spoon cooked vegetables over bread cubes in a very large mixing bowl. Season with poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, marjoram, and salt and pepper. Pour in enough broth to moisten, and mix in eggs. Transfer mixture to slow cooker, and cover.
3.	Cook on High for 45 minutes, then reduce heat to Low, and cook for 4 to 8 hours. **Don't add all the broth at once! Make sure you take the time to mix it thoroughly so that all the liquid gets absorbed. Check and stir your stuffing every hour and add more broth as needed. Many people suggested skipping the "high" cooking period or at least shortening it. If it is still soggy at the end of your cooking time, remove the lid and let it finish cooking and it will help dry it out. A crock pot liner would probably be nice for clean up.

Versatile Mexican Chicken

Creamy Chicken Tacos
I got this from a ward recipe night (Shannon Sorensen) and I really liked it.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (boiled and shredded)
1 pkg. cream cheese
1 sm can green chilies
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 fresh tomato, diced
Flour tortillas


Directions:

In a large saucepan add cream cheese, green chilies, and taco seasoning. Let the cream cheese melt and simmer and stir it all together. While that is simmering, shred chicken into the pan then add the diced tomato.

In addition to tacos, you can use this in quesadillas or burittos, on tostadas, or as a creamy dip for chips.

It's fast, easy, and flavorful. I used mine in toasted quesadillas and the kids gobbled it up! I did find that an entire package of taco seasoning was a bit overpowering for one pkg of cream cheese. I added another 1/2 package, but would still probably cut back a bit on the taco seasoning, esp when making for kids.

A Yummy Alternative Quiche

Pesto-Quinoa-Spinach Quiche

Pillsbury

Prep Time: 20 Min

Total Time: 1 Hr 5 Min

Makes: 8

INGREDIENTS:

1 Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box

4 oz provolone cheese, shredded (1 cup) (I substituted Swiss cheese)

1 cup water

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed, well drained

1/4 cup basil pesto (I used some sun-dried tomato pesto and I really liked it)

1/4 cup Fisher® Chef's Naturals® Pine Nuts, toasted* (Substituted toasted chopped walnuts)

1 box (9 oz) Green Giant® frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain

1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese

4 EGGLAND’S BEST eggs

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 425°F. Place pie crust in 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass pie plate as directed on box for One-Crust Filled Pie; flute edge. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle provolone cheese over partially baked crust. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

• Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, heat water to boiling over high heat. Stir in quinoa; reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 12 to 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat. Fluff with fork. Stir in pesto, pine nuts, spinach and 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese.

• In large bowl, beat eggs, half-and-half, salt and pepper with wire whisk until well blended. Gently fold quinoa mixture into eggs. Pour filling into crust. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

• Bake at 350°F 30 to 35 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean and edge of crust is golden brown (I needed more like 45 minutes to set). Sprinkle with basil. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I was a little surprised at how much we all liked this. Even the kids ate it really well. It has a ton of flavor and the texture of the Quinoa compliments it nicely. No one missed the meat and it's a great source of protein. Delicious!

Fresh and Delicious

Spinach Pesto
BH&G

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups torn fresh spinach, firmly packed
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts, walnuts, or almonds (I prefer using toasted walnuts)
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil or cooking oil (may add a little more as needed)


Directions:

In a blender container or food processor combine spinach, basil, Parmesan cheese, nuts, garlic, and salt. Cover and blend or process with several on-off turns till a paste forms, stopping the machine several times and scraping the sides.

With the machine running slowly, gradually add olive oil and blend or process to the consistency of soft butter.

Serve over your favorite pasta. Also great on soup, toasted french bread, or meats.

I love the freshness of this pesto and it is much cheaper to make when you sub in spinach and walnuts for the traditional basil and pine nuts. I even love to eat it on scrambled eggs!

Italian Pasta

Extra-Crusty Baked Rigatoni with Beef Ragu

Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. rigatoni
• 2 Tbs. olive oil, plus more as needed
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 1/2 lb. ground beef (Next time I plan to sub in Italian sausage for 1/2 lb)
  
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 Tbs. dried oregano
• 1 large can (28 oz.) peeled and chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup heavy cream (I used regular cream)
  
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 lb. whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 cup grated Parmesan or aged Asiago cheese

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350ºF.

Bring a large pot two-thirds full of salted water to a boil. Add the rigatoni, stir well and cook until al dente (tender but firm to the bite), about 15 minutes or according to the package instructions. Drain the rigatoni, place in a large bowl and toss with a little olive oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.

In the same pot, heat the 2 Tbs. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until no pink remains, about 10 minutes. Drain off any fat. Add the parsley, oregano and tomatoes and stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the tomatoes break down and the flavors have melded, about 20 minutes. Stir in the cream, raise the heat and return to a boil. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Return the rigatoni to the pot with the sauce and toss to coat well.

Oil the bottom of a shallow 3-quart baking dish. Spread half of the pasta mixture in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with half of the mozzarella. Top with the remaining pasta, the remaining mozzarella and the Parmesan. Bake until the sauce is bubbly and the top is crusty and golden brown, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for about 5 minutes and serve.

Serves 6.

I found this recipe to be filling and easy. Perhaps a bit time-intensive, but overall a good Italian dinner that even the kids enjoyed.