Baby It's Cold Outside!

 

 

 

 

 

On a cold January day nothing warms you up like a nice bowl of steaming soup or stew, add some freshly baked bread and you have the perfect winter meal. I recently tried two new recipes that turned out delicious, especially for the cold winter days we've experienced recently. Today, I want to share both with you: Harvested Chicken Stew (adapted from All Recipes.com: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Harvested-Chicken-Stew/) and Downton Abbey Buttermilk Bread (adapted from The Examiner.com, The Food of Downton Abbey: http://www.examiner.com/article/the-food-of-downton-abbey-buttermilk-bread).

First, let's put on a our pot of stew, then we'll stir up some great homemade bread. Jam packed with veggies as well as chicken breast and tomatoes, this is a healthy, hearty quick stew. And, I promise, it's DELICIOUS! Check out the ingredients below, and we'll get cookin'! 



HARVESTED CHICKEN STEW

Let's collect all our ingredients before we get too excited about eating this stew!

Next, in a large soup pot or Dutch oven, combine the onion, chicken, and celery, ...

... then add tomatoes with liquid, carrots, corn, peas and zucchini ...

(or cubed potatoes, if you want to substitute for the zucchini, like I did. I would have used the zucchini, but I didn't happen to have any in stock at the time. Besides, the Irish in me would have preferred the potatoes.).

Add chicken broth, and stir together. Simmer over medium low heat for 1/2 hour, or until vegetables are cooked and tender.

Serve with cornbread, crackers, or Downton Abbey Buttermilk Bread (recipe below after the stew recipe).



HARVESTED CHICKEN STEW

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped onion
2 cups cubed, cooked boneless chicken breast meat
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups whole (I used diced tomatoes) peeled tomatoes, with liquid
2 cups sliced carrots
5 cups chicken broth
1 cup sweet corn
1 cup peas
1 cup sliced zucchini (I substituted 1 cup cubed red potatoes)

 

Directions:
In a large soup pot or Dutch oven combine the onion, chicken, celery, tomatoes with liquid, carrots, corn, peas and zucchini (or cubed potatoes). Add the chicken broth, and stir together. Simmer over medium low heat for 1/2 hour, or until vegetables are cooked and tender. Serve with cornbread, crackers, or Downton Abbey Buttermilk Bread (recipe below).

(Always good to have some "reminders" sticking around! LOVE sticky notes!)

 

Now, let's stir up our yummy bread...
Homemade bread--especially yeast breads--have always been one of my favorite things to bake and eat. I love trying new yeast bread recipes, and occasionally, I'll find one that's a "keeper." This is one of those recipes. It was easy, I had all the ingredients, and, best of all, it turned out perfect (IMHO!). Definitely a "keeper." I hope you will try it, even if you've never made homemade yeast bread before---you can do this! NOTE: I didn't change a thing in this recipe, so I'd suggest doing it exactly as directed. Most of the time when I try a recipe for the first time, I follow the ingredients and directions as they are written, then, if I make it again, I might "tweak" it just a bit, but I won't do that with this recipe. It was perfect, as is.



In the wintertime, there's nothing better than fresh, homemade yeast bread. And, it's always exciting to try new and delicious recipes.

If you watch Downton Abbey like millions of other people in America, you see Mrs. Patmore (the abbey cook) always making breads and always covered in flour. Whether it be the Edwardian era or any other era of mankind, breads have been a staple of the peoples diet. Perhaps this is one of the reasons there is an adage which states "bread is the staff of life."

This bread, known today as Buttermilk Bread, was actually known during the Edwardian era as Cultured Milk Bread. Most of the abbey's had their own dairys, thus they always had fresh milk and they made their "buttermilk" by simply adding a citric acid to it. Quite simple. In today's world many people make faux buttermilk almost the same way, by adding some vinegar to whole milk.

This is a very simple and delicious bread to make at home. If you want to see a full how-to slideshow on making Buttermilk Bread, go to the free Facebook page The Food of Downton Abbey. (Source: http://www.examiner.com/article/the-food-of-downton-abbey-buttermilk-bread) I'll include what I did in the tutorial below:

DOWNTON ABBEY BUTTERMILK BREAD

First, let's gather our ingredients (always a great idea to avoid mistakes later in the process!)...

In a large bowl, whisk the butter into the warm water until it has melted. Whisk the yeast into the butter. Let the mixture rest 5 minutes for the yeast to proof (foam).

In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, salt and flour.

lightly whisk together your dry ingredients ...

Add all the ingredients into the yeast mixture and stir to form a dough.

It should look something like this once all the flour mixture is added ...

Place the dough onto a floured surface and knead 5 minutes. (NOTE: I left my dough in the bowl and just sprinkled a little flour over it to knead. Sprinkle only enough to keep the dough from sticking to your hands as you knead it. It saves messing up your countertop!)

Place the dough back into the bowl. (Or, if you did as I did and kneaded it in the bowl, just leave it there to rise. I added a couple of tablespoons of Crisco oil to the top of the dough and then turned it over once to coat the lump of dough.) Cover the bowl with a lint-free cloth and let rise 1 hour.
(OOPS... I forgot to take a photo of the bowl with the dishcloth draped over it... hummm, better use your imagination and pretend there's a photo here... :-).

(PHOTO OF BOWL DRAPED WITH DISHCLOTH)
Remove the risen dough from the bowl and knead a few minutes to release the air. (Again, I didn't remove my dough from the bowl. I simply pressed the air out of it and kneaded it gently in the bowl---as below.)

Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper. (NOTE: I lined the bottom AND sides.) Place the dough into the lined pan and let it rise 1 hour.

Place into a pre-heated 375 degree oven and bake 40 minutes. (NOTE: At 20 minutes, my loaf was begining to get golden on top, so I covered it with a piece of foil for the remaining 20 minutes baking time.) Fresh out of the oven, it looked like this ...

Remove the bread from the oven and brush the top of the bread with some butter.

Let the bread cool in the pan 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan to a wire rack and brush the sides with butter.

Allow to cool until ready to slice and serve. A serrated knife (or bread knife) works well for slicing. Serve with Harvested Chicken Stew and enJOY!

Don't forget to print the recipes or copy and paste them to your recipe file for future reference.

DOWNTON ABBEY BUTTERMILK BREAD

Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbs. butter, softened

2 tsp. yeast
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 cups flour
extra butter for brushing.

Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk the butter into the warm water until it has melted. Whisk the yeast into the butter. Let the mixture rest 5 minutes for the yeast to proof (foam).

 

In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, salt and flour. Add all the ingredients into the yeast and stir to form a dough.

Place the dough onto a floured surface and knead 5 minutes. (NOTE: I left my dough in the bowl and just sprinkled a little flour over it to knead. Sprinkle only enough to keep the dough from sticking to your hands as you knead it. It saves messing up your countertop!)

Place the dough back into the bowl. (Or, if you did as I did and kneaded it in the bowl, just leave it there to rise. I added a couple of tablespoons of Crisco oil to the top of the dough and then turned it over once to coat the lump of dough.) Cover the bowl with a lint-free cloth and let rise 1 hour.

Remove the risen dough from the bowl and knead a few minutes to release the air. (Again, I didn't remove my dough from the bowl. I simply pressed the air out of it and kneaded it gently in the bowl.)

Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper. (NOTE: I lined the bottom AND sides.) Place the dough into the lined pan and let it rise 1 hour. Place into a pre-heated 375 degree oven and bake 40 minutes. (NOTE: At 20 minutes, my loaf was begining to get golden on top, so I covered it with a piece of foil for the remaining 20 minutes baking time.)

Remove the bread from the oven and brush the top of the bread with some butter.

Let the bread cool in the pan 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan to a wire rack and brush the sides with butter. Allow to cool until ready to slice and serve. A serrated knife (or bread knife) works well for slicing. Call in the kids and grandkids and enJOY!

 

 

 

 

Welcome, Fall!

Fall is my favorite time of year for many reasons---not just the beautiful colors God has used to paint His creation, but also, the delicious aromas that drift from our home kitchens this time of year. I'm all ready for Fall even before the leaves change color. This year, I began my Fall decorating as soon as the kids started back to school in August! (Usually, I wait until the day after Labor Day, but this year, I was especially tired of hot, dry weather and just ready for a change of colors inside the house.)

Fall is  a great time of year to make foods that really warm you up from the inside out. It might be getting cooler outside but it's warm inside our kitchens, because summer's over and it's time to celebrate Fall! One of the best ways I can think of to do this is with a warm, hearty beef stew. You can find this recipe in my cookbook (A Pinch of This... A Smidgen of That) on page 50-51, "My Favorite Slow Cooker Stew." (See details below on how to order your copy, if you don't already have the cookbook.)

This stew has a simple list of ingredients, but plenty of great flavor and a delicious fragrance that will fill your whole home while the mixture cooks in your crock pot or slow cooker. (By the way, for those of you who are wondering, "What's the difference in a crock pot and a slow cooker?" see this URL: http://ezinearticles.com/?Crock-Pots-and-Slow-Cookers&id=5630874 )

MY FAVORITE SLOW COOKER STEW

See the NOTE ON INGREDIENTS below at the end of this post...

You can use pre-cut stew meat for this, but I like to use a 2 to 3 lb. chuck roast and cut it into small, bite-sized cubes. (It's much cheaper than the pre-cut version :-). First, I slice it all one direction, then go back and cube it into bite-sized portions.

Mix flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika

together in a small to medium mixing bowl.

Add beef (either pre-cut or that you have cut from your roast). It’s okay that the meat is raw. The cubes will cook nice and brown in the crock-pot. You do not have to brown them first. Toss the beef around until all sides are coated. I usually do about half, then do the rest to be sure all gets a good coating.

Place the beef in the bottom of your crock-pot that you have

sprayed with non-stick coating.

Place bay leaves under the water and vegetables, so they are well covered to rehydrate and

season your stew.

Add layers of vegetables as you prepare them.

Add bullion cubes, Worcestershire sauce, and water.

Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 4-6

hours. (This time was given on the original recipe, but my crock pots must

cook really fast, because it never takes anywhere near this long….. maybe 3

or 4 hours on medium or low, but never 10 to 12 hours!)

When done, be sure to remove the bay leaves before serving. You can stir the stew occasionally

(not every hour!) during cooking to mix flavors and thicken the soup. (Remember: Every time you remove the lid on your crock pot, you add an extra 20 minutes to your cooking time, so don't do it too often, or you'll be waiting all day for it to finish cooking!) You will think when you start cooking the mixture that it doesn’t have enough liquid, but trust me, the meat will cook down and liquefy along with the vegetables and make it just perfect!

This stew will make your house smell so yummmmmy!! If you really want to make it smell good, bake some cornbread to go along with it when it’s finished. (For a great cornbread recipe, see page 80 in A Pinch of This... A Smidgen of That cookbook.)

Don't forget to copy and paste the recipe below to your word processor and print or save it in your cooking files.

Hope you enJOY making and eating this yummy Fall recipe. Please leave any questions or comments below. Also, if you have any requests for recipes from the cookbook that you would like for me to demonstrate here on the blog, send me an email or comment below. Thanks!

Happy Fall!

My Favorite Slow Cooker Stew

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup self-rising flour

1 ½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

¼ tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. paprika

2 pounds stew meat, cut in cubes (I usually cut up a 2 or 3 pound roast into cubes.) 

1 bay leaf

4-6 carrots sliced (or 1 small pkg. baby carrots, diced in thirds)

6-8 medium potatoes cut into bite-sized chunks

2 medium, or 1 very large yellow onion, chopped/diced

1 whole stalk celery, diced

4 Beef Bullion cubes

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3 cups water

NOTE ON INGREDIENTS: When I make this stew, I double the dry

ingredients to ½ cup flour, 3 tsp. salt (or 1 Tbsp.), ½ tsp. black pepper, ½ tsp.

garlic powder, 2 tsp. paprika. AND, I use 3 or 4 dried bay leaves and one

whole Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. I want my meat cubes coated

well before I add them to my crock-pot. The extra flour makes a “gravy”-like

consistency in the stew that really tastes good over cornbread or crackers.

DIRECTIONS: Mix flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika

together in a small to medium mixing bowl. Add beef cubes that you have cut

from your roast. (It’s okay that these are raw. They will cook nice and brown in

the crock-pot. You do not have to brown them first.) Toss the beef around until

all sides are coated (I usually do about half, then do the rest to be sure all

gets a good coating.) Place in the bottom of your crock-pot that you have

sprayed with non-stick coating.

Add layers of vegetables as you prepare them. Add bullion cubes, Worcestershire sauce, and water. Place bay leaves under the water and vegetables, so they are well covered to rehydrate and

season your stew. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 4-6

hours. (This time was given on the original recipe, but my crock pots must

cook really fast, because it never takes anywhere near this long….. maybe 3

or 4 hours on medium or low, but never 10 to 12 hours!) When done, be sure

to remove the bay leaves before serving. You can stir the stew occasionally

(not every hour!) during cooking to mix flavors and thicken the soup. You will

think when you start cooking it that it doesn’t have enough liquid, but trust me,

the meat will cook down and liquefy along with the vegetables and make it just

perfect! It will make your house smell so yummmmmy!! If you really want to

make it smell good, bake some cornbread to go along with it when it’s

finished.

Page 50-51, A Pinch of This... A Smidgen of That

Comforting Chicken Soup

What better time than a cold, blustery, January day for a steaming, hot bowl of comforting chicken soup? When I'm sick, worn out, or just plain have the winter blues, I want chicken soup. It doesn't have to be fancy. (And, if I make it, you can be assured it WON'T be fancy! :-) I like to use plain ingredients that I already have in my pantry--no fancy herbs or spices that require a trip to the store before I can cook. I just want a nice brothy soup with huge chunks of chicken and minimal vegetables (well, maybe a lot of potatoes---you know we IRISH love our spuds!).

Chicken soup has long been claimed by mamas and grandmamas to be "good for what ails you." Just shows you how much we mamas really know! Not only is chicken soup the meal of choice when you are under the weather, this comforting soup has been proven to provide actual health benefits as well.

Dr. Stephen Rennard, a pulmonary medicine specialist and a researcher at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, put Mom and Grandmama's theory to the test. He actually took his wife's family recipe into his lab and "discovered" what we already knew--chicken soup slows cold symptoms. What he actually found was that chicken soup can inhibit inflammation of the cells in the nasal passage which reduces the symptoms of a cold. The results of the study were published in the International Journal Chest – the Cardioplumonary and Critical Care Journal. Rennard's research has been featured in thousands of newspaper, magazine and Internet articles, as well as on television and the radio throughout the world. If you want to check out Dr. Rennard's work and watch a video of his wife preparing her special soup while explaining the theory, go to this URL: http://www.unmc.edu/chickensoup/


Now, who would have thought you would learn a bit of medical science on "A Pinch of This... A Smidgen of That"? You just never know how smart you'll get by reading this blog! While chicken soup may not be a cure-all, it is a good source of nutrients that even mamas and grandmamas approve of! So, how about joining me in the kitchen as we gather our ingredients for "Comforting Chicken Soup"? (And, no, I'm sorry, it isn't in the cookbook. It will have to wait for the "second edition," but you can find the recipe at the end of this blog :-).

Here's most of what you'll need (I forgot to photograph the garlic salt/powder and chicken bullion until later, but you'll see them before we finish, I promise! :-)

To begin, let's boil our chicken in water until done.  

I usually boil my chicken the night before, let it cool, and put the pot in the refrigerator so the fat solidifies, and I can skim it off before making soup/stew the next day. Dip off and discard as much fat from the broth as possible.

Remove the chicken from the broth and debone.  

After deboning, chop or shred the chicken into smaller pieces.

 Add diced potatoes,

add corn, onion, tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic salt/powder, and bullion cubes to broth.

(Ok, I told you to look for these later... here they are... :-)

It will look like this after adding those ingredients (listed above) to the pot:

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Use your spoon or a fork to mash a few of the potatoes on the side of the pot so they mix in and thicken the broth.

Then, add chicken and simmer slowly for an additional ten minutes.

 Add butter and stir gently until melted.

Serve with crackers or cornbread ... even better served as leftovers the second or third day!

Be sure to copy and paste the complete recipe below to your word processor

and print a page for your records.

By the way, some of my pickiest eaters gave the soup a "Thumbs-up" rating this evening! :-)

COMFORTING CHICKEN SOUP

INGREDIENTS:
1 whole fryer chicken, or 4 chicken breasts

1 large or 2 small onions, chopped
8 cups water
2 - 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes
6 - 8 medium red potatoes, peeled and diced
2 - 3 Tablespoons sugar
1 can whole kernel corn, undrained
3 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon (that's 3 teaspoons) salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons California Garlic Salt or Powder
2 Chicken bullion cubes

DIRECTIONS:
Use a large Dutch oven to boil chicken in water until done. Remove from broth and debone. Chop or shred pieces.


I usually boil my chicken the night before and put the pot in the refrigerator so the fat solidifies and I can skim it off before making soup/stew the next day.


Dip off as much fat from the broth as possible.


Add diced potatoes, corn, onion, tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic salt/powder, and bullion cubes to broth.


Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Use your spoon or a fork to mash a few of the potatoes on the side of the pot so they mix in and thicken the broth. Add chicken and simmer slowly for an additional ten minutes. Add butter and stir gently until melted. Serve with crackers or cornbread ... even better served as leftovers the second or third day!