Author Archives: MGG

Creamy Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry

Posted in Casseroles & Savory Pies, Main Courses, Poultry by

 

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This is a deconstructed chicken pot pie, one that cooks on the stove and doesn’t need to be baked. You just let it simmer until the sauce thickens, and then it’s ready. The puff pastry is the only part that needs to go in the oven, and it’s a nice way to finish the dish, especially with the sprinkling of parsley on top.

The recipe is my version of one printed in Southern Living magazine a few years ago.

Serves 4
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs.)
3 cups chicken stock
1 puff pastry sheet, thawed if frozen (1/2 of a 17.3-oz. package)
1 egg, lightly beaten
About 1 tsp. dried parsley
12 oz. frozen peas
3 Tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 large celery stalk, diagonally sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: 4 cooked bacon slices, slightly crumbled

Preheat oven to 400F/200C degrees. Place chicken in a large pot with chicken stock and enough extra water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Turn off the heat, then remove the chicken and let cool. Reserve the cooking liquid.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment. Unroll the puff pastry sheet and place on parchment, then cut into four squares. Brush lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle with parsley. Bake on bottom rack for 12-14 minutes, or until pastry is puffed and golden brown.

Cook peas according to package directions. Shred the cooled chicken and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery, and cook until carrots and celery are tender-crisp, about 8 minutes. Add the flour and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add the cream and 2 1/2 cups of reserved stock and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.

Stir in peas, cheese, and chicken and cook until mixture is thickened, about 10-20 minutes (watch carefully). Season with salt and pepper. Add bacon toward the end of cooking, if using.

Divide mixture among four shallow bowls (you may have some left over), then top each bowl with a square of puff pastry.

Homemade Granola Bars

Posted in Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast/Brunch, Cookies & Brownies & Bars by

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Granola bars are my latest breakfast. They’re also one of my children’s favorite snacks, so we go through a lot of them. I wanted to try to make some myself so I didn’t have to keep buying them all the time, and so I could make a slightly healthier alternative than the sugary processed kind. But it’s not easy to replicate the chewy texture that still sticks together as a proper granola bar. I’ve tried making them before and they either fall apart or they’re more like a dessert.

Finally I found this recipe, which has great ingredients such as whole oats, nuts, honey, and healthy add-ins like shredded coconut. It uses a little butter and sugar, which is not ideal for a totally healthy granola bar, but it helps to make it all stick together. And it does stick together.

Thanks to the blog with the great name Bless This Mess Please for the recipe (which I only slightly adjusted).

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cups total extra mix-ins (such as coconut flakes)

Preheat the oven to 350F/175C degrees. Line a 9- or 8-inch square baking dish with lightly greased parchment or foil.

Place the oats and nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly toasted. Place the nuts and oats in a large bowl.

While the oats are toasting, put the honey, butter, and brown sugar to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. When butter mixture is ready, remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.

Pour this mixture over the oats and nuts and stir to combine. Add any extra ingredients and stir to combine. Make sure none of the oats are dry.

Place in prepared pan and use a rubber spatula or the back of a greased spoon to press mixture into the pan. Put in refrigerator for at least two hours, then cut into bars.

Other suggested mix-ins include dried fruit, miniature chocolate chips, and sunflower seeds, but you can play around with ingredients and add whatever you’d like.

Easy Dessert Recipes for When You’re Stuck at Home

Posted in Cookies & Brownies & Bars, Desserts/Baking, Pies & Tarts by

Cooking is a great activity while we’re all stuck at home these days, trying to find things to do. Learn some new recipes, make some comfort food, or spend time cooking with someone. If you have children, cooking can be a fun activity together. Food is one way we can help ourselves feel better during this crazy time.

I looked through my dessert cookbook and found four recipes that are easy and require five ingredients or fewer, mostly with items you’re still likely to find at the store (though we had a hard time finding eggs the other day). These are favorites of mine.

Coconut Macaroons
1 14-oz. package sweetened shredded coconut
2/3 cup sugar
6 Tbsp. flour
¼ tsp. salt
4 egg whites
And I always include this, but you can make it optional: 1 tsp. almond extract

Heat oven to 325F (about 160C) degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet. Mix everything but the egg whites in a large bowl. Stir in the egg whites, and the almond extract if using, until blended. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet and bake 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

And to use up the yolks, make this next recipe! (You don’t even have to bake it!)

Key Lime Pie
1 pre-made graham cracker crumb crust
4 egg yolks
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup + 1 Tbsp. key lime juice

Beat the egg yolks until lemony (you’ll notice the color change to more of a yellow color), then add sweetened condensed milk and continue beating for 3 minutes. Pour in the key lime juice and beat until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Pour into prepared shell and refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving.

Tip: Whipped cream is great to have on top when you serve it.

Easiest Cookies Ever
1 box of cake mix – any kind is fine, but I use white cake mix
1 stick of butter, softened
1 egg

Mix everything in a bowl, form into balls, and bake on greased baking sheets for 10 minutes at 350F (175C) degrees.

Frozen Lemonade Squares
9 graham cracker rectangles
¼ cup butter
1 quart (4 cups/1/4 gallon) frozen vanilla yogurt, softened
6 oz. (half a can) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed (make lemonade with the rest!)
Optional: Blueberries

Finely crush graham crackers. Melt butter and mix with crumbs. Press into bottom of 9-inch square metal pan. Thoroughly mix yogurt and lemonade concentrate. Spread over crust. Freeze 4 hours or until firm. Serve with blueberries on top.

Mexican Sauce for Albondigas Tacos

Posted in Condiments/Sauces, Sandwiches & Wraps by

20200310_124125It’s not often you can make a dish at home that tastes like it could have come from a restaurant. Complex flavors are hard to replicate, even with the tastiest homemade dishes. But this is one of those recipes that really does taste like it came from a professional kitchen.

It does take a long time to make, but it requires no special skills, and it’s worth it if you have an evening to devote to cooking. It will be the most special meatball tacos you’ve eaten in a while.

The recipe is adapted from Aaron Sanchez in the Food Network magazine. He provided his own recipe for the meatballs (the albondigas), but I used my own from the Sopa de Albondigas recipe. The only change I would make is replacing the rice in those meatballs with an equivalent amount of breadcrumbs, corn flour, or a mixture of the two. Bake the meatballs according to the recipe, then boil them for a further 10 minutes to fully cook them. You can make the albondigas while the sauce simmers.

Serve in warmed flour tortillas with crumbled queso fresco cheese and chopped cilantro (fresh coriander).

Serves 4-5

1 head of garlic
2 small/1 large plum tomato
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Kosher salt
1/2 medium onion, quartered
1 Tbsp. chopped canned chipotles in adobo sauce, or substitute 1 Tbsp. chipotle salsa
1 Tbsp. shortening
1 cup chicken stock
2 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp. adobo seasoning
Freshly ground pepper

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat to 450F/230C degrees. Cut off the top of the head of garlic, then wrap in foil. Toss the tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzled with 1/2 Tbsp. oil and a pinch of salt. Toss the onion with the remaining olive oil on another baking sheet.

Roast the garlic, tomatoes, and onions, switching the pans halfway through, until the vegetables have softened and are browned in spots, about 45 minutes. (Remove any vegetables early if they’re getting too charred.)

Have a food processor ready. When the vegetables are done, squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins. Put half of them in the food processor, save two cloves for the albondigas, and save the rest for another use. Add the tomatoes, onion, and chipotles (or chipotle salsa) and puree, scraping down the sides as needed.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400F/200C degrees for the albondigas.

Melt the shortening in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the roasted vegetable puree and cook until reduced by half, about 8-10 minutes. Pour in the stock, reduce heat to medium, and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the butter and stir until melted, then add the adobo with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and keep warm while making the meatballs.

Serve with meatballs in slightly warmed flour tortillas, topped with the crumbled queso fresco and chopped cilantro.

Sweet Potato Pie

Posted in Desserts/Baking, Pies & Tarts by

 

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Though I have been making pumpkin pie every Thanksgiving alongside my favorite chocolate pecan pie, I had never tried a sweet potato pie, which several people have told me is their favorite holiday dessert.

I love sweet potatoes, both savory — like roasted or mashed — or in a sugary casserole, which admittedly is more like a dessert. (I’m still trying to perfect a recipe for that.) When I found a Southern Living recipe for sweet potato pie, I figured I’d give it a try.

It turned out so well that I think it’s going to be on every one of our Thanksgiving menus from here on out.

The recipe in the magazine called for roasting and mashing whole sweet potatoes, then putting them through a sieve to remove the stringy bits. I do not have time for that. I just used the classic, old-fashioned sweet potatoes in a can (they’re labeled as yams). If you want to roast and mash your own sweet potatoes, you will need 2 cups mashed.

Makes one 9-inch pie

1 refrigerated pie crust
2 oz. unsalted butter
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
29-oz. can sweet potatoes, mashed with a fork (if they are in syrup, briefly rinse them before mashing)
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Place pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate. Prick bottom several times with a fork. Line pie crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake in the oven until slightly golden, about 15 minutes. Remove the weights and parchment and let cool, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350F degrees again. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the foam subsides and the butter begins to smell fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and remaining ingredients with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Pour into the pie crust and bake on the middle rack of the oven until the filling is slightly puffed and set, about 45 minutes. Let cool at least 1 hour before serving, but note that the pie gets firmer if kept in the refrigerator and served the next day.

Tomatillo Salsa

Posted in Appetizers & Snacks, Condiments/Sauces by

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The green tomatillo salsa at Moe’s is my favorite, and for a long time I’d wanted to try making my own. The guys at Moe’s said it was easy and told me the ingredients but I didn’t think there was any way I could come close. I’d never used tomatillos, for starters.

It was a quick one-paragraph recipe from the Food Network that inspired me to try, and it was not only a success — that actually tasted like the Moe’s version — but it is one of my favorite dishes I’ve ever made. Absolutely delicious and addicting.

If you’ve never used fresh tomatillos before, do give it a try — I can tell you it’s easy and you canNOT beat the taste. The kind in jars simply does not compare. And you’ll feel good having made your own.

1 lb. tomatillos, husked and washed
3 unpeeled garlic cloves
1 jalapeno (optional)
1 cup cilantro leaves (fresh coriander)
Juice of 1 lime

Broil tomatillos, garlic cloves, and whole jalapeño (if using) until charred and tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Let cool slightly; peel the garlic and remove the stem and skin from the jalapeño. Cut the tomatillos in quarters and puree them (skin on) with the garlic and jalapeño in a food processor with 1 cup fresh cilantro and the juice of 1 lime. Season with salt.

Baked Rigatoni in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Posted in Casseroles & Savory Pies, Main Courses, Pasta & Rice Dishes by

Rigatoni1The layers of homemade tomato-meat sauce, cheese, and easy, creamy bechamel come together to make a delicious baked pasta dish that could also be a good alternative to lasagna, if you’re looking for something different. The white bechamel has a bit of nutmeg and blends so nicely with the tomato sauce. And I always like when I can cook a creamy dish without any cream — it keeps things just a bit healthier.

You’ll have a few pots on the stove for this recipe, but if you prepare all of the ingredients before you start, you’ll find it comes together quickly.

The recipe comes from Valerie’s Kitchen and I’ve made just a few tweaks, mostly by increasing the amount of meat. The original recipe calls for beef, but I always cook with ground turkey, so I’ve included instructions for both. Serve this with a green vegetable on the side to round out your dinner — I served ours with delicious buttered spinach.

16 oz. rigatoni, cooked until barely al dente

For the sauce:
Olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey (or beef)
1 28-oz. can crushed Italian style tomatoes
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
1 tsp. salt, or more to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1/3 cup red wine
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

For the bechamel:
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup lowfat milk
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

For layering:
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shaved

Preheat oven to 350F/175C degrees. If you forgot to cook the rigatoni, do that now.

In a very large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic until fragrant. Add turkey and cook until browned. (If using beef, also drain off the grease.) Add remaining sauce ingredients and simmer while preparing the bechamel.

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Sprinkle in flour and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in milk and nutmeg. Turn heat to medium and whisk and cook until smooth, thick and creamy. Remove from heat.

Add the pasta to the tomato-meat sauce and mix thoroughly.

In a 9×13-inch baking pan, layer half the pasta mixture, drizzle with half the bechamel, and top with half the cheeses. Repeat the layers. Bake 35 minutes, or until cheese is just starting to brown.

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Buttered Spinach

Posted in Main Courses, Vegetables by

Spinach is one of the most nutritious vegetables you can eat, especially if you have it raw or slightly wilted, maybe in a salad or made into a spinach pesto. But sometimes you just want to splurge with your vegetables and dress them up a little. That’s what this recipe does, thanks to a generous amount of butter and some seasoning. You could even consider this to be comfort food that you can (kind of, at least) feel good about eating.

You’ll need spinach leaves, butter, salt, and onion powder.

Put some water in a pot, maybe an inch and a half or so. Fill the pot with roughly chopped spinach leaves. Put over high heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer, pressing down the leaves and stirring them gently with a wooden spoon as you go, just until the leaves have fully boiled down. Turn off the heat. Keeping the spinach in the pot, drain the spinach over the sink by pressing out all the water with the spoon. Quickly put in a generous amount of butter, salt to taste, and a little bit of onion powder. Stir until the butter is melted, then serve.

Chicken Korma

Posted in Main Courses, Poultry by

kormaThis made-from-scratch curry will fill your kitchen with wonderful smells of fresh ginger, garlic, and onion. And it’s easy — it involves just some chopping, including with a food processor, and simmering in a pot. Make some basmati rice on the side and you have an amazing meal.

The recipe comes from the Food Network, which had it in their “Weeknight Cooking” section. That ought to tell you how simple it is to make. If you love a good curry, then try this and, as you enjoy bite after bite, be impressed by your cooking skills.

One note on the use of chicken thighs. Try to use them, and not chicken breast pieces, if you can. Thigh meat is much more tender when cooked and fits well with the creaminess of the sauce.

Serves 4

1 13.5-oz. can coconut milk (do not shake before using)
1 1/2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and quartered
1 Tbsp. curry powder (Madras curry if possible)
Salt and ground pepper
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 cup basmati rice
8 oz. thin green beans, trimmed and halved
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (fresh coriander)

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Carefully open the can of coconut milk. The cream will be at the top. Scoop 1 tablespoon of the cream and place in a bowl with the chopped chicken, 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder, and a big pinch each of salt and pepper. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large, wide pot, lightly toast the almonds over medium-high heat. Occasionally move them around with a spoon as they toast. You’ll know they’re done when you can smell them and see them start to brown. Remove them to a small bowl and reserve the pot.

In a food processor, puree the onion, ginger, garlic, and half the almonds.

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Heat 2 more tablespoons of coconut cream in the reserved pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion puree and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until the mixture is mostly dry, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken and remaining coconut cream and milk from the can. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

While the chicken cooks, make the rice. Put 1 1/2 cups of water in a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the rice, lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and set a timer for 15 minutes. Check the rice once or twice during cooking and give it a stir.

In a bowl, place the green beans with a little water and microwave until bright green, about 2 minutes.

When the chicken and sauce is ready, add the green beans and half the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve over rice, sprinkled with the remaining cilantro and almonds.

Spinach-Artichoke Dip

Posted in Appetizers & Snacks by

20191228_164211Amazing, delicious, scrumptious, irresistible. I wanted all of these things when I went looking for this recipe and I got it, thanks to Alton Brown‘s glorious Food Network recipe. Their recipes are always trustworthy, I like his food, and the reviews were good. I’ve now made this twice in the past week and it’s my new food craving.

Based on one of the reviews, I tried a shortcut that worked just fine, opting for all of the package of frozen spinach rather than having to measure it. I also used a can of artichokes rather than frozen, which I’d never heard of and couldn’t find anyway. The recipe calls for a bit of red pepper flakes and I highly recommend keeping them. They do not make the recipe too hot — but they do make it special.

Try serving this with both crackers and raw vegetables. I tried it with carrot sticks last night just because we had some around, and it was fantastic. My son actually preferred it that way. (My daughter preferred it with crackers.) Yay vegetables! Yay amazing dip that I’m going to gobble up as soon as I can buy more crackers!

1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 can (8.5 oz.) artichokes in water, drained and chopped
6 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

20191228_163943Put the thawed spinach in a colander and press out as much water as possible. Place in a pot with the chopped artichokes and 1 cup of water. Boil until the artichokes are tender, about 10 minutes or to your liking.

In a colander, drain the artichoke-spinach mixture well. Place in a large mixing bowl.

Heat the cream cheese for about 30 seconds in the microwave, or until very soft. Add to spinach-artichoke mixture with the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Serve warm.