Chicken and Dumplings

I haven't made this exact recipe before, but I am excited. This is taken from the Smitten Kitchen blog. Cook's Illustrated usually gets it right.

Chicken and Dumplings with Leeks and Tarragon
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, February 2005

CI notes that you should not use low-fat or fat-free milk in this recipe, and that you should start the dumpling dough only when you’re ready to top the stew with the dumplings.

Serves 6 to 8

Stew
5 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Table salt and ground black pepper
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
2 medium leeks , white and llight green parts only, cut in half lengthwise and then into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, minced
6 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen green peas
3 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon leaves

Dumplings
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons reserved chicken fat (or unsalted butter)

1. For the stew: Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of the chicken and cook until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and remove the browned skin. Pour off the chicken fat and reserve. Return the pot to medium-high heat and repeat with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and the remaining chicken. Pour off and reserve any chicken fat.

2. Add the butter to the Dutch oven and melt over medium-high heat. Add the leeks, onion, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the flour. Whisk in the sherry, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the broth, milk, thyme, and bay leaves. Nestle the chicken, with any accumulated juices, into the pot. Cover and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked and tender, about 1 hour.

3. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Discard the bay leaves. Allow the sauce to settle for a few minutes, then skim the fat from the surface using a wide spoon. Shred the chicken, discarding the bones, then return it to the stew.

4. For the dumplings: Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Microwave the milk and fat in a microwave-safe bowl on high until just warm (do not over-heat), about 1 minute. Stir the warmed milk mixture into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until incorporated and smooth.

5. Return the stew to a simmer, stir in the peas and tarragon, and season with salt and pepper. Following the steps below, drop golf-ball-sized dumplings over the top of the stew, about 1/4 inch apart (you should have about 18 dumplings). Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the dumplings have doubled in size, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve.

To make the dumplings: Gather a golf-ball-sized portion of the dumpling batter onto a soup spoon, then push the dumpling onto the stew using a second spoon. Cover the stew with the dumplings, leaving about 1/4 inch between each. When fully cooked, the dumplings will have doubled in size.

Beef Stew

This is taken from Real Simple, it is a slow-cooker recipe. I usually half the beef and put more veggies in, for health and wallet's sake. I like either red potatoes or yukon gold.

Ingredients

• 4 pounds bottom round, well trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup olive oil (plus more if needed)
• 2 large onions, diced (2 cups)
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 pound potatoes, cut into 2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
• 1/2 pound baby carrots (about 2 cups)
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Directions

1. Coat the beef in the flour. Heat a few tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the meat, a few pieces at a time, adding more oil as necessary. Transfer to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker.
2. Add the onions to the skillet and cook over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and coat the onions; transfer to the cooker.
3. Pour the wine into the skillet and scrape up any browned bits; add to the cooker. Stir in the potatoes, carrots, broth, salt, thyme, and bay leaf.
4. Cover and cook on low heat for 7 1/2 hours, or on high for 4 hours. Add the peas and heat through.

Taken from: Real Simple

Becky's Orange Rolls

Good times.

1 package of yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp. of yeast)
1/2 C of warm water
4 tsp of warm water
Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water

2 eggs well-beaten
1 C warm milk
1 tsp salt
5 tsp. soft shortening
4-5 C flour
1 orange

Beat eggs and salt together, add yeast mixture, milk, and shortening. Work in flour to make a soft dough. Let rise one hour (I cover it and put inside of the microwave, you want to keep it warm - do not turn on the microwave). Roll dough flat out. Spread with melted butter mixture of grated rind and 1/2 C of sugar. Roll up and cut into rolls. Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 min.

Makes 2 dozen.

Black Bean Burritos

1 can black beans, rinsed
1 cup canned tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp hot sauce OR 1-2 chipotle chiles, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
handful cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
flour tortillas
extra cilantro / sour cream / chopped mangoes (optional)

Fry onion until soft; add beans, tomatoes, hot sauce or chiles, cilantro, and salt. Let simmer for 35-45 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. When liquid has been absorbed, add garlic and serve immediately. Dollop on warm flour tortillas and top with sour cream, cilantro, and chopped mangoes.

From TheKitchn

Couscous with Raisins, Pine Nuts, and Capers

Full of yummy things, I haven't tried it yet but I don't know how it could go wrong... Edited to add, I made it and it could use some punching up - feta was great in it, my friend liked hers with soy sauce, and Josh seemed happy with it as is. Maybe even add extra capers, if you like that sort of thing.

Serves 4

1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup couscous
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan, bring water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, raisins, and salt to a boil. Add couscous, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat remaining tablespoon olive oil in a pan and sauté onion until golden brown.

Fluff couscous with a fork and mix in onions, pine nuts, and capers. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

From TheKitchn

Salmon Patties

I have been really digging the salmon patty for a little while now. I get the canned wild salmon (it is supposed to be higher in Omega 3s or something like that...) from Costco. I use two cans for this recipe. I have tweaked it here and there, the most important thing is to make sure that the oil is nice and hot before frying the patties. Otherwise it gets all crazy and uncooperative. Also, use vegetable oil or canola - olive has a high smoke point. Also, my kidlet who eats pretty much nothing but bread will eat this (I have to call it a "crabby patty" though, don't judge).

2 cans of salmon - reserve some of the liquid in case you need to make it more sticky
1/4 C bread crumbs
1/4 C milk
1 egg
a bit of fresh or dried dill
a bit of Old Bay seasoning
a splash of lemon juice
green onions (optional)

Whisk egg, milk, and seasonings together first. Add salmon and break up into smaller chunks, add bread crumbs. Form into patties and cook 3-4 minutes per side, depends on how crispy you like them.

I make a little sauce to go with it. I use mayo (mayo haters could probably use sour cream instead), lots of lemon juice (I don't think you can put too much in - at least half a lemon per half cup of mayo), a bit of kosher salt, and olive oil. Mix it all and adjust for taste.

Vegetarian Chili

This recipe is from my sister-in-law, and if I remember right, she got it out of a Penzey's catalog. Still a tad spicy for Josh, this time around I will only put in one Tbsp of chili powder.

3 TBLS OIL
1 ONION CHOPPED
3 GARLIC CLOVES MINCED
1 RED PEPPER CHOPPED (I USE JARRED ROASTED RED PEPPERS, CHOPPED)
1/2 TSP PEPPER
1 TSP CUMIN
1/2 TSP CHIPOTLE PEPPER POWDER(PENZEY'S IS THE BEST I'VE TRIED SO FAR)
DASH CAYENNE
3 TBLS CHILI POWDER
1-3 CUPS WATER (DEPENDS ON YOUR PREFERENCE)
26 OZ. TOMATO SAUCE
2 16 OZ. CANS CHOPPED TOMATOES W/ JUICE
2 CANS KIDNEY BEANS DRAINED
1 CAN BLACK BEANS DRAINED


HEAT OIL IN PAN OVER MED HEAT. ADD ONION, GARLIC AND PEPPER AND COOK UNTIL THEY START TO SOFTEN. IN A SMALL BOWL, MIX ALL SPICES AND ADD TO THE PAN. COOK UNTIL SPICES START TO GET STICKY. POUR SOME OF THE TOMATO JUICE INTO THE PAN AND SCRAPE UP ALL THE BITS. POUR THIS MIXTURE, ALONG WITH REMAINING INGREDIENTS INTO THE SLOW COOKER. COOK ON HIGH FOR AT LEAST 3-4 HOURS.