Oven Chicken Stew

Dean's grandmother made the best chicken stew.  I can remember calling her one afternoon on my way home from work and jotting the recipe down on the back of an envelope.  I know super safe during a Houston commute, but at least I wasn't texting and driving.  I did attempt her recipe a few times, but it was time consuming and honestly, it just couldn't compare to Ma Dot's.  So, I figured I better not mess with the original, so I searched for my own version.  I gave this one a try, and although not as good as the original, it still makes for a yummy hot meal.  It's a bit semi-homemade and a lot of super easy.

Ingredients:

boneless/skinless chicken thighs

1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 soup can of chicken broth

stalk of celery, chopped

bell pepper, chopped

onion, chopped

1 tablespoon of dry roux

Directions:

Season chicken.  I use Season-All, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper.  Put the chicken in the bottom of a deep ovenproof dish.  Pour remaining ingredients over the chicken.  Cover and back at 350 for 1-1/2 hours.  Serve over rice.  Um... easy. 

Tortilla Soup

Have I mentioned that I am a huge fan of Tex-Mex food?  And, anytime I can make it at home, I am in.  This soup is great.  The recipe is from one of the first cookbooks I ever bought called, Block Parties and Poker Nights.  It is a pretty easy recipe, and the book version makes 20 servings, so great for freezing.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cans chopped green chiles

2 quarts chicken stock

2 cans stewed tomatoes

1 quart tomato juice

Tortilla chips

5 to 6 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken

Juice of 6 limes

3 cups grated Monterey Jack or Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

Saute onion and garlic in the oil for about 5 minutes.  Sometimes, I'll add a few other veggies to the soup at this point, such as mushrooms and squash.  Add the chiles, and saute for about 3 minutes more.  Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Bring to a boil and simmer.  While the soup is simmering, I usually season and cook my chicken.  To season the chicken I use, cumin, paprika, chili powder, season-all and hot sauce.  Saute the chicken in oil for about 10 minutes, then coarsely chop it and throw it in the simmering liquid.  Season the soup to taste with above spices and the lime juice.  Let everything marry for about 15-20 minutes.  To serve, ladle the soup over some tortilla chips and top with cheese.  Yummy!

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Anything with a Mexican flavor is usually a hit at our house, and this dish is actually from Cooking Light.  So, Mexican food with lower the fat and calories... bonus.

Photo taken from Cooking Light.com

Ingredients:

1 cup shredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided

1/3 cup fat-free milk

1/4 cup egg substitute or 1 egg

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn

1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Martha White)

1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained

Cooking spray

1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl.  MIx until moist and pour the mixture into a baking dish (9 x 13-inch works best).  Make sure to spray it with cooking spray.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until set. With a fork, pierce entire surface liberally; pour enchilada sauce on top. Top with shredded chicken and sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

If you're interested in the nutritional information, you can find the recipe here on Cooking Light.com.

Cheeseburger Pie

I would like to say that I have been cooking up a storm and too busy to blog the recipes, but I would be lying.  Not much creative stove time has been logged since the new year, but this week I decided to get back in to gear.  So, without further ado...

I love this recipe for Cheeseburger Pie.  It is such an easy dish and a definite comfort food.  It comes from one of my favorite cookbooks called Nun Better: Tastes and Tales from Around a Cajun Table.  Just from experience, any time you run across a church parish or junior league cookbook, snatch one up.  You'll find some great recipes inside, just like this one. 

Ingredients:

1-9 inch pastry shell

1 pound ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 beef bouillon cube

1-8 ounce can tomato sauce

2 eggs, slightly beaten

8 slices American cheese

Directions:

Bake pie shell at 425 for 8 minutes, and set aside.  Brown meat, pour off excess fat.  Add onion, bell pepper, garlic and bouillon.  Cook until soft, about 10 minutes.  Add tomato sauce.  Stir in eggs and 6 slices of cheese.  Heat until cheese is melted.  Pour into pie shell.  Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes.  Add remaining 2 slices of cheese and bake until melted.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

I am not really a baker, but sometimes I just get a craving for some home baked yumminess.  This is a recipe I tore out a cooking magazine.  It is not so lo-cal, but oh so yummy!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (about 6 ounces)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon.  Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and remaining 1 cup sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, then beat in the sour cream and vanilla. Fold in the flour mixture, in 2 parts, until just combined. Pour half the batter into the cake pan and sprinkle with half the cinnamon-sugar and half the chocolate chips. Spoon the remaining batter as evenly as possible over the filling, spreading gently. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon-sugar and chocolate chips.  Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.

Gumbo Sans Roux

My brother-in-law, Jeff is a self-proclaimed master of a pot of gumbo.  Cooking one is an all day affair usually involving watching some sort of sporting event and imbibing in some sort of frosty beverage.  The first year Dean and I were married, I worked for Jeff.  At the time, it was a small operation, and Friday's were usually slow.  It wasn't uncommon for Jeff to make a mid-day grocery run and start cooking in the office kitchen.  That is where I learned to make a gumbo.  I watched, chopped some veggies, and took in a few words of wisdom, "it's all about the chicken."  One afternoon wanting to try it at home, I actually pocketed the grocery list to make sure I didn't forget anything.  The roux took forever!  Way too time consuming for me, and since I come from three generations of gumbo sans roux cooks, I knew that I really wasn't breaking a cardinal rule of Cajun cooking.  Really, I'm not.  When Dean and I first moved to Texas, and it was time to start cooking on my own on a regular basis, I was able to use what I learned from Jeff and what I learned from my parents and grandparents, plus a few shortcuts of my own.  So, as I am sure Jeff's gumbo has evolved in the 6-plus years since I pirated his recipe, I am pretty sure so has mine.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

season-all

pepper

onion powder

garlic powder

Louisiana hot sauce

chicken thighs

sausage

onion

bell pepper

celery hearts

2 cans stewed tomatoes

1 bag of frozen okra

1 carton of chicken broth

Rice

Directions:

Season the chicken thighs with the first five ingredients.  Use your biggest pot.  Drizzle with olive oil and fry the chicken about 5 minutes on each side.  Meanwhile, chop your veggies (onion, bell pepper and celery).  Remove chicken and saute veggies in the same pot.  Chop up the sausage, and throw it into the pot.  Let everything cook down, and add the frozen okra and stewed tomatoes.  The tomatoes stop the okra from being slimy.  Chop up the cooked chicken and add it back to the pot.  Finally, add the chicken broth.  Season to taste.  Bring the pot to a boil then simmer for at least 30 minutes, but the longer the better.  Serve with rice.