Tag Archives: celery

Recipes - Side Dishes

Chicken & Dressing Again

Unwilling to waste 3/4 pan of good cornbread, and having a stewed chicken, bones shredded of meat, and a gallon of homemade chicken broth in my fridge meant mixing together a casserole dish of Chicken & Dressing for supper tonight.  I was also cleaning my house for three hours, Chicken & Dressing stewing on my back burner, and on each pass through the kitchen on my way to the back porch, I added another ingredient to my counter top and that is how this dish came together this evening. I adjusted the recipe to my ingredients on hand, and their amounts, from the recipe of the same name found in my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook so it is a different recipe altogether. I also used a 2-qt. baking dish, not the larger dish in my cookbook’s recipe.  This is the second time I’ve posted a chicken-n-dressing recipe on my blog, and I made the dish the same  I always do, but since it is also what I cooked today, a smaller version, using ingredients I had leftover or just on hand, this ample dish is worthy of another blog post.  Chicken & Dressing is a dish that easily adjusts to your ingredients and your taste so nothing hard about it.

Day-old cornbread is an essential ingredient here as is the chicken, the chicken broth, and the boiled eggs. I love the addition of the soft celery and chopped onion which add strong flavor. Make sure you really smoosh everything together before scraping into your baking dish. The batter will be wet; that’s fine. Because my chicken had been in the fridge for several days, I simmered it again in its leftover chicken broth before beginning. There’s nothing special called for in this recipe; just make sure you have what you need and get going. Bake the dressing just long enough for a light brown crust to form at the edges, leaving the center moist and creamy.

I like this dish cut in squares and some times served with chicken gravy over the top. Add a salad or steamed-crisp broccoli on the side and you can dig right in within an hour and a half from Step 1. I wish I had my hands on a side dish of the large pot of ham-n-beans I cooked a few days ago but that went to KY and it’s now history, but because beans really are a perfect accompaniment to this dish, tonight i added a side of jazzed-up canned beans on the side and was happy with the substitution.  It’s a supper worthy to be used as a reward for all the hard-at-it housecleaning I did today.  I like, I like!

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, pieces cooked, cooled, deboned, shredded
1-2 stalks celery, sliced in large pieces
3/4 pan prepared cornbread, cooled and crumbled
3 eggs, boiled, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups homemade chicken broth (or 1-2 cans chicken broth)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
Poultry seasoning to taste, optional

Directions Preheat oven to 350. Cook chicken breasts in water and the canned chicken broth (add 1-2 cubes of chicken bouillon if desired), with celery, until tender. Do not over cook or the chicken will get hard. When tender, drain. When cool, shred the chicken and coarsely chop the celery. Combine with other ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir to blend all ingredients; mixture will be a little wet. Scrape into a lightly greased 2-qt. baking dish. Bake 45 minutes or until set. Cool slightly then cut into squares to serve.

Share
Recipes - Entrees

Chicken Cacciatore

This old recipe of mama’s, found in my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook, is a fine winter supper! I posted this recipe here several months ago but the photo was  junk and it didn’t show what a tender and juicy dish this really is. I have rice cooking now, for me, because I enjoy this dish over a bed of white rice (Mahalo, Nanea, for the gifted short grain rice you sent; I’ve saved a stash of it for a dish with a plentiful gravy or sauce!) My valentine will get garlic toast with her serving later tonight as mama isn’t a rice fan like I am. This dish is great also for serving with skillet cornbread with sauce  just made for bread or rice for sopping up every spoonful.

Because I am saving the chicken breasts for another use, I used just six pieces of chicken today. The meat comes out fork-tender flavored a little spicy with stewed tomatoes, white wine, and just a dash of red pepper. Mama will say that her “mouth is hot and too much pepper” but I make this with the amount called for in the recipe and love the boost of  the 1/4 tsp. of red pepper flakes.  The tang only complements the  rice or bread you serve it with. My chicken today had the skin on and I cooked it that way; you can remove the skin if you want or use skinless boneless chicken breasts.

You will need your high-sided electric skillet for easy sautéing of the vegetables and having plenty of room for the chicken to cook evenly. I adjusted the temperature down  and cooked it only 35 minutes after adding the chicken back to the skillet since I had no really thick pieces.  Serve it warm with plenty of sauce.

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients

1/4 cup cooking oil
1-1/2 to 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or pieces
1/2 cup flour
2 cups onion, sliced in chunks
1/2 cup green pepper, sliced 1” pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-(15 oz.) can stewed tomatoes, undrained, snipped smaller
1-(8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. salt

Directions Heat oil in large electric skillet set on medium heat. Rinse chicken; dry with paper towels, then coat with flour. Brown chicken in hot oil until golden on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove chicken to plate and set aside. Add onion, green pepper, and garlic to skillet; cook, stirring, over medium heat until tender. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, red pepper and salt. Stir well. Return chicken to skillet, spooning some of the sauce on top of each piece. Cover, reduce heat and simmer approximately 45 minutes; add water or white cooking wine if sauce becomes dry. Serve warm with hot rice, cornbread or toast.

Share
Recipes - Soups, Stews, & Chowders

Beef Stew

It took all of ten seconds to decide on today’s post. With weather forecast for temperatures to “climb” barely above freezing, beef stew was the only option. Double checking with mama on what she might enjoy for her “after supper snack” tonight, her eyes lit up when I mentioned beef stew and cornbread, so I knew I was on the right track. There isn’t a dish more warming than flavorful stew with a slice of crusty cornbread even if you are planning to wash it down with a big glass of cold milk! Winter wonderland indeed!

The secret to a good beef stew is in the long slow cooking. You want your stew meat tender enough to cut with a fork and your vegetables just tender. Today I did dust my meat with a little seasoned flour, shaking it up in a paper sack with salt and pepper before browning it; this enhances the flavor of the beef and provides extra richness to your broth. Some cooks add stewed tomatoes, some add peas or substitute turnips for the potatoes, some enhance the broth with cooking wine and all of those options are fine; the dish is versatile enough to make the stew your own by adding vegetables and flavorings of your choice. My beef stew is a basic “Missouri-winter-stick-to-our-ribs” dish that is simple and full-bodied, with broth just made for sopping with your cornbread. Don’t over cook your vegetables or allow them to become mushy; 25-30 minutes is fine, over low heat, to soften them. You will need to add more water or beef stock once you add your vegetables; use only enough to create the amount of broth you want.  You can also adjust the amount of the flour-water mixture you add at the end and thicken the broth to your own liking.

If you’re as country as we are, you’ll want to save a slice of that cornbread for crumbling into a cold glass of your left over buttermilk for ‘smooshing up’ and eating with a spoon long about midnight; always one of my mom and daddy’s favorite snacks! As with most soups and stews, this one tastes even better the next day if you have any left.  You will have to give a few hours to tending it, but you can then enjoy it for several meals.

Beef Stew

Ingredients

1 T. cooking oil
1 lb. boneless beef chuck, tip or round roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 medium carrots, peeled, cut into 1” pieces
1 large potato, peeled, cut into 1 1/2’ pieces
1 medium stalk celery, cut into 1” pieces
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 cup cold water
2 T. flour
1-2 tsp. fresh parsley, snipped

Directions In 12-inch skillet or 4-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes. Add beef; cook about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown on all sides. Add the water, 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until beef is almost tender. Stir in remaining ingredients except cold water and flour. Add more water or beef broth until you reach the amount of gravy you want. Cover; cook another 30 minutes or so until vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf. In tightly covered jar, combine cold water and flour and shake well to blend thoroughly; gradually stir mixture into the stew. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and stir 1 minute more until thickened. Remove from heat and sprinkle with fresh parsley.  Serve piping hot.

Share
Recipes - Soups, Stews, & Chowders

Beef Barley Soup

Beef Barley Soup

I do guarantee that today’s post is the end of the ‘what to do with left over roast beef’ recipes, but, after discovering a few thick slices of the roast in the fridge yesterday, I knew today’s choice had to be a pot of Beef Barley Soup. When the temperature doesn’t get out of the 30’s all day, it is definitely soup and cornbread time. For lunch AND for supper because this soup only gets better as it sits, allowing the flavors to mingle.  It also reheats well the next day.

The barley’s rich nut-like flavor adds a robust pop to the broth in addition to the beef stock and red cooking wine and it also  serves as a thickener for the liquid, providing another layer of texture to the tender vegetables. Nothing fancy here as the vegetables are those you likely already have on hand: potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, and cabbage. Feel free to add vegetables of your choosing or to omit any I have listed; the recipe is versatile in that way.  The pieces of left over roast beef make for a savory dish all around, really a meal in itself, and just  one hour start to finish if you bake up the cornbread muffins while the soup simmers.  Nothing to do then but  sit down and enjoy with gusto and be happy you did!

Beef Barley Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 cups beef-flavored stock
3/4 cup barley
1 bay leaf
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 cup red cooking wine
2 cups potatoes, peeled & cubed
2 cups leftover roast beef, diced
1-1/2 cups cabbage, chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, combine the oil, onions, celery, carrots, and garlic; sauté for 5 minutes, or until tender. Add the beef stock, barley, bay leaf and thyme and simmer until barley is softened but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Add the wine, potatoes and beef; simmer another 15 minutes and add the cabbage. Allow to simmer another 15 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Share
Recipes - Soups, Stews, & Chowders

Vegetable Beef Soup

Vegetable Beef Soup to serve

One of the nicest things about preparing an Italian Beef Roast, aside from it being used for French Dip Sandwiches the first time around, is using the leftover roast for Vegetable Beef Soup. You can use your roast for another meal by preparing this hearty soup, and, if the day is overcast and chilly, all the better, for this soup will definitely warm your tummy AND your kitchen.

I used the recipe from my cookbook today to prepare this soup but did add 3/4 cup of the left over au jus broth from the roast for added flavor since it was available and I knew it would enhance the store-bought beef broth listed in the recipe; I also added a can of stewed tomatoes, snipped small, because I wanted to stretch my servings as the soup is for sharing tonight with my mom and her friends. Because the meat was already cooked, it didn’t need to be sauteed before beginning. Once the soup finished cooking, a quick stirring up of my favorite garlic and red pepper-flavored croutons, using French bread also left from this week’s dinner party, found both lunch and supper ready, waiting, and tempting.

You can substitute vegetables of your choice as the V8 juice base of this soup allows for many possibilities. I sometimes add lima beans, corn, or peas but today wanted to follow the cookbook recipe as closely as possible. You might also like a pan of cornbread in place of croutons; just about anything you fancy works easily with this recipe. Thirty minutes of prep work and thirty minutes of cooking and you can call everybody to the table!

Vegetable Beef Soup

Ingredients

1 T. vegetable oil
3/4 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak or beef top round steak, cut 1/2” cubes
3 cups V8 100% Vegetable Juice
1-3/4 cups beef broth
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup potato, cut into cubes
1/2 cup carrot
1/2 cup onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup celery, sliced thick
Shredded cabbage, to taste

Directions Heat the oil in a 4-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until it is well-browned, stirring often. Pour off any fat. Stir the vegetable juice, broth, thyme, pepper, potato, carrot, onion and celery in the sauce pot and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the vegetables and meat are tender. If you want a thinner broth, add water as soup cooks.

Share