Ina Garten's Chicken Stew with Biscuits

I am a big fan of the Barefoot Contessa. Her recipes are so delicious and rich. Here is a great recipe for a cold winter's night or anytime. I made it last week when I had a whole bunch of KFC left over. Ina makes her own biscuits but I opted for the frozen buttermilk biscuits and they were delicious. Here is the link to her original recipe on foodnetwork.com

Ina Garten's Chicken Stew with Biscuits
Ingredients nocoupons

• 3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups medium-diced carrots (4 carrots), blanched for 2 minutes
• 1 10-ounce package frozen peas (2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

  Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

  In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions, and parsley. Mix well. Place the stew in a 10 x 13 x 2-inch oval or rectangular baking dish. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Bake for 15 minutes.

• Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of the filling. Brush them with egg wash(1 egg mixed with 1 Tbl. water), and return the dish to the oven. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the biscuits are brown and the stew is bubbly.

  Note: To make in advance, refrigerate the chicken stew and biscuits separately. Bake the stew for 25 minutes, then place the biscuits on top, and bake for another 30 minutes, until done.

Coconut Yams

My sister-in-law Mindy introduced us to this yummy yam dish a few years back, and it's become part of our Thanksgiving dinner ever since. It's the topping that does it... coconuts? pecans? brown sugar? How can you go wrong?

COCONUT YAMS

4 medium-sized yams (about 5 cups mashed)
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk (preferably evaporated)
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans)
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter

Peel yams, cut in pieces, and boil until tender. Drain. Add milk to pot of drained yams and mash a bit. Add beaten eggs and mash to desired consistency. Spread yams in 9x9 pan.

In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients for topping. Toss melted butter with dry ingredients. Spread topping over mashed yams.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until top is brown.

(This can be made ahead of time and frozen. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees until warmed through. Remove foil and let top brown.)

Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin Cookies - from Helena Woidka
2 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix in bowl and set aside. In a large bowl cream together:
1 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 c. canned pumpkin

Add 1 egg, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Add flour mixture.

Drop on a greased sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Glaze:
Heat to boiling and boil 2 minutes -
3 Tbs. butter
4 Tbs. milk
1/2 c. brown sugar

Stir constantly.

Cool and add 1/2 cup powder sugar and 3/4 tsp. vanilla. Glaze cookies

Makes 2 dozen.

Coconut Cookies

What's better to do on a Fast Sunday than to torture yourself with a new cookie recipe? I'm on a coconut kick these days, so I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and made them last Sunday. They turned out pretty good! I dipped the bottoms in chocolate... everything is better with chocolate!

COCONUT COOKIES

ingredients:
* 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1 egg
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1-1/3 cups flaked coconut

directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, then mix in the coconut. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly toasted. Cool on wire racks.

Enjoy!

Orange-Scented Cold Peanut Noodles

I got this recipe from Wondertime magazine and tried it out last night. Super delish! I especially love it because I don't have to heat up my oven when it's 100 degrees outside. I also grilled some chicken on my George Foreman, cut it up and added that as well.

Serves 4 generously
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup orange juice
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon ginger, freshly grated
1/4 cup hot water

1 pound angel hair pasta, cooked, drained and rinsed
2 scallions, very thinly sliced (optional)
1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced into long, narrow strips, then cut crosswise
2 tablespoons cilantro, coarsely chopped (optional)

Whisk together first 9 ingredients in a large bowl. Add pasta, scallions, cucumber, and cilantro, and use your fingers to toss and coat the noodles. Add salt or more vinegar if it isn't as vibrant as you like. Let sit at room temperature if you're going to eat fairly soon — otherwise refrigerate.

Cedar Plank Salmon

I don't have pictures but we used Sam the Cooking Guy's instructions for grilling salmon using a cedar plank. The salmon was absolutely amazing. If you are in the mood for some good salmon, here is the link to Sam's recipe and video to go along with it. I bought a package of cedar planks at Costco a few weeks ago-six to a package and the package was $8.95. Have fun with this one!

Chicken Pineapple Fajitas

I tried this recipe from the Gourmet Momma blog and it was DELISH! The only thing I think I might add next time would be green onions? We'll see. The grilled pineapple totally made this dish.