Summer Chicken with Peas

As I contemplate the start of another week, I reflect on what Sundays used to be. In my youth, Sundays were a day of worship...in some faiths that meant church twice on Sundays...and a big Sunday dinner, where the family gathered around the dining table and enjoyed a wonderful meal, good company, and a day free from work (unless you were a dairy farmer). It was a day about family. I don't know about the rest of you, but my Sundays are just as crazy as the rest of the week. Trying to gather my grown family to my house on Sundays is pretty much an impossibility. Naturally, the son who lives 3 1/2 hours from here can't make it. And the other three, well their lives are very full and busy. It is even a struggle for everyone to coordinate their schedules during holidays. I miss those big noisy Sunday dinners. Now a days, it's hubby, my mom, and me. At least they still enjoy the big Sunday dinner.

In honor of the big Sunday dinner I am posting a recipe that is the model of a "Sunday come to dinner" dish. This is a time consuming dish to make, but good things come to those who wait. I have discovered that those dishes that the Farm Journal test kitchens deemed the best found their way into several of the cookbooks. Such is the case with this one. And it does deserve that honor. Round up the family for Sunday dinner and this dish, and I promise they will love you and the chicken.

Ingredients

1 broiler-fryer cut up

1 lb. new potatoes or medium red potatoes

6 TBS. butter

salt

fresh ground pepper

2 TBS. lemon juice

3 green onions sliced

1 lb. fresh peas, shelled (1cup) or 1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen peas

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup dairy sour cream

1 tsp. thyme leaves

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp.pepper

Scrub potatoes. If using new potatoes peel a strip around the center; if using medium red potatoes, quarter into uniform sized pieces. Brown chicken and protatoes slowly on all sides in melted butter in large skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle chicken with lemon juice. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Add green onions to butter in bottom of skillet. Sprinkle peas and parsley over chicken and potatoes; cover again and simmer 10 more minutes or until

tender.

Remove chicken and vegetables to platter; cover with foil to keep warm. Remove skillet from heat. Pour off excess fat, Add sour cream, thyme, 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. Stir to loosen pan drippings. Heat over low heat. Pour over chicken.

Notes: First, I have to apologize for the photo. With the sauce poured over the platter, it is difficult to tell the chicken from the potatoes. But, let me tell you, it makes no difference in the flavor. My hubby sort of swooned when he ate his first forkful. The one thing I will do the next time is precook the peas slightly. They were a bit al dente for my tastes. I also substituted plain yogurt for the sour cream. Either works well. As I said, this a great dish for Sunday or any family dinner. It will now be a staple recipe in our home. Enjoy!

Basque Potatoes

Potatoes are one of those foods which is exceeded in it's variety of uses only by chicken and ground beef.  As I ponder all the dishes I have made using the humble spud I picture Forrest Gump's friend Bubba as he spews his litany of shrimp dishes.  Baked, mashed, oven roasted, oven fried, french fried, au gratined, scalloped, with roasts, in soup, in cold potato salad, in hot potato salad. You get the picture. To not have potatoes every other night as a side dish takes herculean restraint on my part. And now that there are so many more varieties available...well, it's just frickin' endless. But Basque potatoes was a new one for me. As I did some research on the dish I found, of course, that there are endless ways to prepare this dish that ranged from stove top to oven, with a variety of herbs and spices. Too many choices gave me a headache.  I decided to stick with the Farm Journal recipe with a few tweaks of my own. And, if I do say so myself, they turned out pretty darn yummy. (This recipe is from Family Favorites from Country Kitchens published in 1973 by Farm Journal.)

Ingredients

1 TBS.  butter

1 TBS. olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup shredded carrot

2 cloves garlic grated or minced

2 cups chicken broth

2 lbs. red potatoes, cut into 1" cubes

1 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

chopped fresh Italian parsley

Saute onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in the butter and oil until very tender. Add the chicken broth, potatoes, salt and pepper to pan. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Remove cover and add herbs and paprika. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until broth reduces and thickens. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Notes:This is an excellent side dish for oven fried chicken that does not afford the opportunity to make gravy.  These potatoes come equipped with their own. And since there is no flour or milk it is half way to being figure friendly. Enjoy!

Hot German Potato Salad, Brats and Sauerkraut! YUM!

My family will attest to the fact that I LOVE hot dogs. They tend to give me a bad time about this fetish of mine. "EEWWW! How can you eat those things? Do you know what are in those?" Yep, and don't care. Now, I have to say that I am not indiscrimanet in the ones I eat. My favorite are Hebrew National, and I find the Ballpark Black Angus quite delightful. And I really felt vindicated when Martha Stewart dedicated an entire show to the lowly hotdog. So there!

So, for someone with such a deep fondness for the dog (you do realize that dog spelled backwards is "god"....think about it), it is only natural that I should feel the same about the brat. Johnsonville are my favorite. And if you're going to go brat might as well do a theme. So last night we did the full on German dinner. If I do say so myself, it was mighty tasty. One thing to keep in mind, my hubby doesn't much care for sauerkraut, but he loved the way I fixed it last night for the brats.

We'll tackle the brats and kraut first. I know that many people like to grill the brats, but I find that they dry out and are in danger of getting too charred. I follow the directions on the package. And I will get into that after the ingredients.

Brats and Sauerkraut

1 package Johnsonville brats...the package contains 5 brats
16 oz. bottle sauerkraut...I like Steinfelds
2 TBS. brown sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp. caraway seeds
hot dog buns and condiments

Cook the brats according to package directions. I cook them in the skillet for this recipe. Heat 1/2 cup water on medium in a skillet. Add the brats and cover. Turn once. Cook for 10 minutes, remove cover, and cook about another 10 minutes turning often to brown. Remove from skillet to plate. See how pretty they turn out.

I know! OK, but you're not done. Dump the kraut into the skillet, using the juice to somewhat deglaze the pan. After the skillet is fairly deglazed and a bit reduced add the brown sugar and caraway seeds. Heat for about 5 minutes. Return the brats to the pan and keep it all warm until ready to serve. When ready place brat in bun, add stone ground mustard, top with kraut. You can also add sweet relish and grated cheese, or anything else that will make your heart sing.

Now for the potato salad. These two dishes really compliment each other well.

Hot German Potato Salad

5 medium red potatoes
6-8 slices bacon
1/2 medium onion chopped
2 TBS. flour
2 TBS. white sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/8 tsp. fresh ground pepper
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

In a pot of boiling salted water add the potatoes and cook about 30 minutes until fork tender. I don't peel the potatoes. It adds a nice level of texture to the salad. And I find the red potatoes hold up better than russets. When done drain and let cool and slice. They will fall apart a bit.

Fry the bacon. Remove to paper towel to drain. Cook the onion in the bacon drippings until caramelized. If your bacon is fairly lean you may need to add more fat. I always have a cup of drippings in the fridge, but you could also use some butter. Mix together the flour, sugar, celery seeds, salt and pepper. When the onion is done and the fat is bubbly, whisk in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes. Whisk in the water and cider. When thickened, carefully stir in the potatoes and crumbled bacon coating everything. Definitely serve warm. This is great the next day. You can microwave it to heat up. This really was a nice meal on a cool fall evening. And it is fairly easy to do, although clean up is a bit much. But my hubby says it's the price he pays for good food. We have a great deal where I cook and he cleans up. What could be better?! Enjoy!

Supper Corn Chowder

Between the economy taking a bite out of my tutoring business and my husband's surgery offering him a 3 to 4 week unpaid vacation, I really have to get serious about budget meals. I am tapping into my great resources of will power and pantry to avoid hitting the supermarket. Making meals out of what you have on hand is a great yet satisfying challenge. The one imperative that you must obey is have an ample supply of basics on hand. Items such as rice, pasta, potatoes, canned vegetables, frozen vegetables, cream soups, bouillon or broths, dried beans, canned tomato products, and, if you have a separate freezer, chicken and ground meat. I also like to keep several packages of bacon. Oh, and cheese..gotta have cheese. I try to get to Costco once a month to replenish anything I have run low on. But to make Costco cost effective you have to be aware of prices at other grocery chains. Certain items are worth the trip, others are not. I also use WalMart and another huge grocery store here in the northwest called Winco. Taking advantage of the offerings of these 3 stores in keeping my pantry stocked with basics really helps in creating cost effective meals. (I am not even going to get into the baking items.)

The following recipe is one from a 35 year old Betty Crocker cookbook. The book long ago met its demise, but the recipe lives on. This was titled "Supper Corn Chowder". I would rename it "Super Corn Chower" as it really is super. I make this at least once a month. It's easy, economical, and very tasty. And you should have everything on hand.

Ingredients

5 slices of bacon sliced into small pieces
1/2 medium onion diced
1 cup diced cooked potatoes (I like to use either red or Yukon gold...they hold up better)
1/2 can whole kernel corn
1 10 1/2 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
2 2/1 cup milk
salt to taste

Cook bacon in a large pot until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pot to a paper towel. Drain off the bacon grease reserving 2 TBS. Add onions to the grease and cook until tender. I like to let mine slightly carmelize for more flavor. Add the corn, potatoes, soup, and milk. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Add in part of the bacon, reserving some for garnish. Add salt to taste and heat through. Be careful not to scorch. When dished up top with a bit of the reserved bacon.


This recipe is easily doubled. I don't think I have ever made just the single recipe. As with most soups, it definitely is better the next day. And again, it is flexible. You can absolutely add more potates, corn, bacon...whatever makes you grin. And this is really good with hot biscuits. Enjoy!

Something Yummy for My Tummy Cream of Broccoli Soup

OK, I know it's summer, and hot soup is not really on your minds. But just put these recipes away for when it's cold and blustery outside, and you need something to warm you from the inside out. I have a need to make these creamy fattening soups to keep a family member nourished while he is unable to eat basically solid foods. And I don't think there is any reason they can't be made tasty and functional for the rest of the family. And let me tell you, this is one of our all time favorites! I can't take credit for the recipe. I found it in one of my old cookbooks that my church published as a fund raiser. Heck, we all know how good some of those recipes can be! Even if it is warm out, you really need to try this one. So here we go.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

The Ingredients

3 cups diced raw potatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 large head chopped broccoli
1 cup diced carrots
5 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 quart milk
8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

This soup is so easy it is ridiculous. First, I never peel the potatoes...except in this instance since I will be pureeing some of this. Another thing...if you don't have chicken broth you can certainly substitute bouillon cubes. For vegetarians, vegetable broth could also be substituted. And lastly, any type of milk could be used...skim, lowfat, half and half. It would just depend on how rich you prefer your soup.

Now to the making of it. Put all the veggies and chicken broth in a good size pot. Heat to boiling, cover and simmer until veggies are tender.

While the veggies are cooking, make a roux with the butter and flour. I am confident that most of you know what that is. But for those of you whom I have confused it simply means to melt the butter and then gradually add the flour whisking constantly until you have a smooth paste. Do this over a medium heat.

Then, again, gradually add the milk to the roux whisking the entire time. Continue cooking and stirring until the mixture is thickened.

Add the milk mixture gradually to the pot with the cooked veggies. Heat through until slightly thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Be careful with the salt as the chicken broth and cheese will have salt. And I like to use white pepper in this as it is a little milder in flavor and it isn't nearly as visible as the black.

Now comes the really yummy part....cheeeeesssseee. Everything is better with cheese. You could use any melty cheese in this and it would be yummy. So add the cheese and stir until melted.

And there you have it...a warm yummy comfort soup that is a meal in itself. Trust me, you will love this. The important thing is....I didn't lie. It really is easy, isn't it?!

Enjoy!