So here are the recipes for this week:
*Note - I cook like Grandma - many of my measurements are guesstimates since I don't measure most of the stuff - I go according to taste. Feel free to alter any of these recipes to fit your particular tastes.
The base for many of my soup recipes and chicken recipes is chicken broth or chicken stock. I've become fond of making my own. I've tried making it using some dark meat quarters I had bought on sale, but it works much better using a whole chicken carcass. You can buy an already roasted chicken, or roast your own chicken, serve it for dinner using the drippings to make gravy for your potatoes, then cut off the remainder of the meat. You can leave any of the fat you cut off with the carcass for a little extra flavor.
Chicken Stock
Ingredients
1 chicken carcass with leftover fat/skin and neck, giblets, and heart
4 stalks of celery
4 carrots, peeled
1 large or 2 small onions, peeled
3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt, to taste
water
I use an about 8-10 quart stock pot. Put the chicken carcass and other chicken pieces into the stockpot with enough water to completely cover by about 4-6 inches. Chop each carrot and stalk of celery into 3-4 pieces. Cut onions in half if using small, quarters if using a large onion. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook 4-6 hours, covered, stirring occasionally. Pour through colander to remove all the chunks. (I usually pour it through a couple times. Stock will be a little cloudy. You can also use a cheesecloth in the colander to get a clearer stock, but I like the flavor it maintains.) To get a more concentrated flavor, you can take the strained stock and return it to heat for another hour on low. I add about a tablespoon of salt while my stock is cooking. Then the stock can be canned while still warm, or let cool and freeze. I add any additional salt when actually cooking with the stock - making soup, gravy, etc.
Cheesy Potato Soup (originally from my mom, but slightly modified)
Ingredients:
1 box chicken broth (I use Swanson or homemade and then don't really measure - think it's about 6 cups...)
6-8 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 lb carrots, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 of a large block of Velveeta cheese, cubed
milk (around 1/4 gallon) (as much as necessary - sorry, I don't measure it!!!)
flour (to thicken)
1/2 c chopped onion
1 lb bacon
Chop bacon into small slices and fry until almost crisp. Drain and add onion. Cook until onions are tender. Add chicken broth. Bring to boil. Add potatoes and carrots. Add enough milk to cover all by about 1-2 inches and Velveeta cubes. Cook until potatoes and carrots are almost tender. Whisk flour with some milk and add to thicken. Cook until desired thickness and until potatoes and carrots are desired tenderness. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Creamed Chicken
Ingredients:
6 c chicken broth or chicken stock (I used homemade)
2 tbsp butter
2 c diced fully cooked chicken (I used leftovers)
1/2 c milk
flour (to thicken)
1 1/2-2 c frozen mixed peas and carrots
Salt and pepper to taste
Bring chicken broth/stock and milk to a simmer. Remove some of the liquid to a bowl and whisk in flour to make a roux to thicken sauce (I've learned doing it in a separate bowl reduces the number of flour clumps in the sauce). Whisk roux into the sauce. Repeat as needed to reach just shy of desired thickness. Add butter and mix until butter is melted and incorporated through. Stir in chicken and peas/carrot mixture. Simmer, stirring frequently, until meat is heated and veggies are cooked. Sauce with thicken as it simmers. Add salt and pepper to taste. (You may need a little more salt if you are using a homemade stock. I don't add much salt to my stock when I make it, so I usually have to add more to the final product.) Serve over biscuits or mashed potatoes.
Baking Powder Biscuits (this has become a staple in our house - easy to make and goes great with soups or served with gravy over them!)
Ingredients
2 c flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c shortening
1 c milk
Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening (I use a pastry blender - works great!) until well incorporated and mixture has smaller than pea-sized lumps. Stir in milk until entire mixture is moistened. Now, the original recipe said to bake at 450, but my oven is old and goes into self-cleaning mode if I turn it up that high, so I bake at 375 for about 18 minutes, then add a few more minutes if needed. Biscuits are done when they are browned on the top. This recipe makes 12 biscuits. I cook them using my Pampered Chef Pizza Stone. (I have the old one without handles, but very similar to this.)
I've also been making this amazing Amish Baked Oatmeal I got from Economical Eats by Heather - my family LOVES it made with the raisins. They're not so fond of it with the chocolate chips. I've also put 2 chopped bananas in place of the raisins. I think next time I do the banana, I'm going to add some walnuts too - I think that would be a good flavor. This is really easy to make up the night before, storing it in the refrigerator, then throwing it into the oven while the kids are getting ready in the morning.
Be sure to check out a few others that I had posted before - applesauce, spaghetti sauce, and bean and ham soup.
If you want any of my other recipes, just ask!!
1 box chicken broth (I use Swanson or homemade and then don't really measure - think it's about 6 cups...)
6-8 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 lb carrots, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 of a large block of Velveeta cheese, cubed
milk (around 1/4 gallon) (as much as necessary - sorry, I don't measure it!!!)
flour (to thicken)
1/2 c chopped onion
1 lb bacon
Chop bacon into small slices and fry until almost crisp. Drain and add onion. Cook until onions are tender. Add chicken broth. Bring to boil. Add potatoes and carrots. Add enough milk to cover all by about 1-2 inches and Velveeta cubes. Cook until potatoes and carrots are almost tender. Whisk flour with some milk and add to thicken. Cook until desired thickness and until potatoes and carrots are desired tenderness. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Creamed Chicken
Ingredients:
6 c chicken broth or chicken stock (I used homemade)
2 tbsp butter
2 c diced fully cooked chicken (I used leftovers)
1/2 c milk
flour (to thicken)
1 1/2-2 c frozen mixed peas and carrots
Salt and pepper to taste
Bring chicken broth/stock and milk to a simmer. Remove some of the liquid to a bowl and whisk in flour to make a roux to thicken sauce (I've learned doing it in a separate bowl reduces the number of flour clumps in the sauce). Whisk roux into the sauce. Repeat as needed to reach just shy of desired thickness. Add butter and mix until butter is melted and incorporated through. Stir in chicken and peas/carrot mixture. Simmer, stirring frequently, until meat is heated and veggies are cooked. Sauce with thicken as it simmers. Add salt and pepper to taste. (You may need a little more salt if you are using a homemade stock. I don't add much salt to my stock when I make it, so I usually have to add more to the final product.) Serve over biscuits or mashed potatoes.
Baking Powder Biscuits (this has become a staple in our house - easy to make and goes great with soups or served with gravy over them!)
Ingredients
2 c flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c shortening
1 c milk
Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening (I use a pastry blender - works great!) until well incorporated and mixture has smaller than pea-sized lumps. Stir in milk until entire mixture is moistened. Now, the original recipe said to bake at 450, but my oven is old and goes into self-cleaning mode if I turn it up that high, so I bake at 375 for about 18 minutes, then add a few more minutes if needed. Biscuits are done when they are browned on the top. This recipe makes 12 biscuits. I cook them using my Pampered Chef Pizza Stone. (I have the old one without handles, but very similar to this.)
I've also been making this amazing Amish Baked Oatmeal I got from Economical Eats by Heather - my family LOVES it made with the raisins. They're not so fond of it with the chocolate chips. I've also put 2 chopped bananas in place of the raisins. I think next time I do the banana, I'm going to add some walnuts too - I think that would be a good flavor. This is really easy to make up the night before, storing it in the refrigerator, then throwing it into the oven while the kids are getting ready in the morning.
Be sure to check out a few others that I had posted before - applesauce, spaghetti sauce, and bean and ham soup.
If you want any of my other recipes, just ask!!
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