Zuppa Toscana ---- Instant Pot

Need something cozy to eat before cuddling in front of the fire this Fall and Winter. I have a great recipe for you. I've made this many times before in my crock pot and love it, but seeing that I have the Instant Pot I figured I'd attempt it in there. I love it even more in the Instant Pot because you take out the extra step of using a different pan on the stove...and I'm all for using one dish when cooking.

Zuppa Toscana --- Instant Pot
1 lb Italian Sausage
1/2 lb bacon chopped
3 cups chopped potatoes
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
4 green onions, chopped
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 cup kale or spinach
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Chop sausage and bacon into bite sized pieces
Turn Instant Pot onto saute on the hottest setting.
Add tbsp of oil or butter
Add garlic
Stir in bacon and sausage, brown completely.
Cancel the Instant Pot, drain the grease off bacon and sausage.
Add potatoes, broth, water, green onions and bacon and sausage.
Close Instant Pot and set to "Soup" mode.
Change time to 25 minutes.
Once done, release pressure and open Instant Pot.
Add whipping cream and spinach/kale.
Close Instant Pot and set for manual 7 minutes.
Release pressure and Enjoy!!!!

Instant Pot---Chili Verde

Having never cooked with Tomatillos before I was excited to try this recipe. And I can tell you I'll be cooking with Tomatillos more often. They were so easy to use and the flavor was spot on. This dish was put together in 5 minutes and then 15 minutes to cook. Couldn't ask for an easier recipe.

Chili Verde
1 white onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled (but left whole)
15 tomatillos, husked and quartered
3 anaheim peppers, remove seeds and chopped
1-2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp salt
3 lbs chicken Chicken, skin on bone in
1/2 cup Cilantro, more for garnish
Green onions
corn tortillas
sour cream

Add chicken, tomatillos, anaheim peppers, onion, garlic, cumin and salt to pressure cooker. Heat on high until gently sizzling, seal Instant Pot and cook for 15 minutes.
When it's done release the pressure take the chicken out and pull off bone.
Add cilantro to Instant Pot and with a hand blender blend until smooth. Taste test to see if it needs more salt or cumin
Add chicken back to sauce
Serve with green onions, tortillas, sour cream & cilantro

Now keep in mind while making this the tomatillos and peppers become your sauce, so the more sauce you want the more tomatillos and peppers you add. Now don't forget if you add more tomatillos and peppers you want to up your onion, garlic and cumin too. You can even spice it up a bit by throwing in some jalapenos or a habanero if you like it really spicy. I didn't go that route as I still have little mouths to feed and was worried I'd get it too spicy for them. But next time I think that I could get away adding a jalapeno as it would add a nice spice.

Enjoy!

For my crock pot folks, don't think I've forgotten about you. This could easily be done in the crock pot, just follow the same recipe cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Crockpot Butternut squash, sausage & spinach soup

Crockpot Butternut Squash, Sausage & Spinach Soup

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lb sausage

1 lg onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups chicken broth (I use my homemade bone broth)

2 cups butternut squashed, diced into squares

1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes

1 cup rough chopped spinach

1 bay leaf

Heat oil in large pan over medium-high heat

Add onion, garlic and sausage (removed from casing)
Cook sausage until browned, and onion is translucent

In crockpot add chicken broth, butternut squash, bay leaf, and can of diced tomatoes

Add sausage to crockpot when done

Cook on low 6-8 hours

10 minutes prior to eating turn temperature to high and add spinach

Good topped with shredded parmesan 

Enjoy!

***Can add pasta if you would like (just cook pasta per instructions on box and add to crockpot with spinach), I cooked up a loaf of fresh rosemary bread to go with mine. 

Whole Chicken

I've finally mastered cooking a whole chicken. Now that it's Fall and we use our bone broth almost weekly in meals, we quickly run out of bone broth. In order to get the bones for bone broth, I need to cook a whole chicken.  This recipe took some work to perfect, but the last 3 times it's turned out perfect. So now it's time to share my secret.

Whole Chicken
2-5 lb whole chicken (I love the Organic, pre-brined chicken from Trader Joes)
4 carrots chopped
4 celery stalks chopped
5 red potatoes chopped (I sometimes substitute, sliced butternut squash, acorn squash or delicata squash)
1 whole onion (red or yellow) cut into quarters
1 large rosemary sprig
1 large thyme sprig
1 garlic head (peel each clove individually)
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Turn on oven to 275 degrees
Place Whole Chicken in cooking pan large enough for chicken and the vegetables
Put potatoes (or squash), celery, carrots, onion and whole garlic cloves around the chicken
Pull some rosemary and thyme off the sprigs and sprinkle around the vegetables
Drizzle top of chicken with olive oil, garlic powder, salt & pepper
Place in oven (no foil necessary) @ 275 until chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit
We then save the bones and that same night make our own bone broth (you can find that recipe in my archives on September 29, 2013). That broth I use for the base of all my soup recipes.
****Mix it up a little bit by substituting the potatoes for a squash, either sliced butternut, sliced acorn, or delicata squash.

Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

I love Chicken Pot Pie, like absolutely love it. The perfect mixture of crust and filling, such a great comfort food on a crisp night. The kids have gotten really excited by using cookie cutters, so as you can tell they decorated the top of the pot pie using their pumpkin cookie cutter. I found this recipe in the Winter of 2008 and it's become a favorite. I think one of the things that make this such a great recipe is we make our own homemade crust which really does make a huge difference, it may seem like "one more step" but it's quick, easy and well worth the extra few minutes to have your own homemade crust.



Chicken Pot Pie
Crust:
2 cups flour (sifted)
3/4 cup butter salted, softened
6 tbsp cold water
Put flour in a bowl, cut in butter until crumbly
Add water until ball is created (may need additional water)
Put in fridge for 4 hours (I've made this both ways by refrigerating and not refrigerating and don't notice a difference. I will say if you do refrigerate make sure to take it out at least 30 minutes before you're ready to use otherwise it's impossible to roll out.)

Filling:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt & pepper
1 tbsp garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 3/4 cup chicken broth (we use our homemade bone broth)
2/3 cup milk
1 lb cooked chicken, cubed
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery stalks, chopped
1 cup potatoes, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas

Preheat oven to 400F
Melt butter.
Add salt, pepper, onion and garlic
Whisk in flour, then add chicken broth & milk (continue to whisk)
Cook & stir until thick
Add potatoes, carrots, celery & cook until desired firmness of veggies
Add chicken & peas
Mix well, pour into pie crust.
Cut slits into crust
Bake @ 400F for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly

Butternut Squash, Sausage & Kale Soup

In my effort to experiment with more and more Fall produce I searched out a recipe to utilize a butternut squash, we typically eat the butternut in a pureed soup (I posted the recipe last Fall if you want to try that one as well). Originally this recipe called for sweet potatoes but I opted for butternut squash knowing the flavors would work.

Here it is...

Butternut Squash, Sausage & Kale Soup

2 tbsp oil

1 lb sausage

1 lg onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups chicken broth (we use our homemade bone broth)

2 cups butternut squash, diced into squares 

1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes     

1 cup dried pasta (loved it with Orecchiette)

1 cup roughly chopped kale

salt & pepper to taste

Parmesan for garnish

Heat oil in large stockpot over medium-high heat 

Add onion and sausage, cook for 5-7 minutes, until onion is translucent and sausage is slightly brown

Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes

Add chicken broth, butternut squash and tomatoes, stir to combine

Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes

Cook pasta on side until al dente and add to soup (you could cook the pasta in the soup but we are very particular about how al dente we like our pasta so we always choose to cook separately)

Stir in kale and season with salt & pepper

Serve with Parmesan

Enjoy!

French Onion Soup

We've been in search of a French Onion soup for a while, and every recipe I read just wasn't quite right. That was until I read Chef Gordon Ramsey's cook book and found the recipe I had always dreamed of, I think one thing I like most about this recipe is we made our own brown chicken stock for the base of the soup. So here it is, one of the best French Onion Soups I've ever had. I'll start with the recipe for the brown chicken stock

If you don’t have time (or let’s be real energy) to make your own stock. Just use 6 cups bone broth 

Brown Chicken Stock

1 chicken carcass

1 carrot

1 onion

2 sticks of celery

1 leek

olive oil 

a sprig of thyme

1 bay leaf

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

2 tbsp of tomato puree (we love Pomi)

2 tbsp flour

Preheat oven to 400F. 

Place chicken carcass in a roasting tray and put in oven for 15-20 minutes

Chop carrot, onion, celery and leek into large chunks. Heat some oil in a pan and add the chopped vegetables, along with thyme, bay leaf and garlic. 

Sauté for a few minutes until golden brown, stirring frequently. 

Add the tomato puree and cook for another 4-5 minutes until the mixture is rich brown in color. 

Five minutes before taking the chicken carcass out of the oven, lightly dust it with flour. The flour acts as a thickening agent, and soaks up all excess fat. Return carcass to oven for final 5 minutes, then add the bones to the pan of vegetables. 

Now cover bones with just enough cold water (cold water only) to cover the bones. 

Bring stock to boil, turn heat down, skim the scum off the top and let simmer for an hour. 

Pass through a sieve and it's ready to use as a base for your French Onion soup.

French Onion Soup

5 tbsp butter

5 onions, peeled and sliced

1-2 heads of garlic peeled and sliced 

5 bay leaves

4 tbsp apple cider vinegar (recipe calls for Sherry vinegar but I couldn't find it)

2 tbsp flour

6 cups chicken stock (we used a mixture of stock and remainder water)

12 slices of baguette (depending on how many you're feeding 2 per bowl)

2/3 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

Heat the butter in pan

Fry onions, garlic and bay leaves slowly until golden brown and caramelized

Add the vinegar and stir to deglaze the pan, scraping up all the brown residue

Sprinkle in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes

Add the hot stock and bring to boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 30 minutes

Preheat oven to 475F

Pour soup in heatproof bowls

Top with 1-2 slices of baguette and grated cheese

Place bowls on a baking tray and place in preheated oven until soup is bubbling up through the bread and cheese is golden brown

Enjoy!

Beef Stew with Parmesan Dumplings

With the crisp evenings upon us nothing sounded better last night than a comfort food and I remembered I had found a beef stew recipe with parmesan dumplings and I was more than excited to try them.  This turned out to be the best beef stew I've ever had in my life, and everyone in the family couldn't get enough. What was wonderful was the texture of the dumplings, they added a great saltiness every time I got a little bite with my stew.

Beef Stew with Parmesan Dumplings
1 lb stew meat
1 onion, chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 sm can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 cup red wine
2 tins beef stock (use can from chopped tomatoes)
1 bay leaf
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I used cremini)
salt and pepper to taste

Dumplings
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup Parmesan grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk

Drench stew meat in flour, salt and pepper.
Sear in pot until browned on both sides
Remove from pot and set aside
In the same pot, fry the onion, celery, carrots until soft and fragrant
Add garlic and fry for another 30 seconds
Pour in the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, wine and soy sauce and allow to come up to a simmer
Add the beef back into the pot and pour in the beef stock, add the bay leaf and thyme
Turn the heat down and cover with a lid. Allow to simmer until the beef is soft
Add the mushrooms and allow to cook for 10 minutes uncovered
To make dumplings:
Place the butter, flour, baking powder, salt and Parmesan in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles rough breadcrumbs
With the motor running, pour in the milk slowly until the mixture comes together in a ball.
Remove and form dumplings, just slightly smaller than golf balls
Place the dumplings on top of the stew and cover with the lid. Allow to steam for 10 minutes (make sure the stew is simmering or they will fall apart)
When the dumplings are cooked through, remove the lid and serve immediately.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Fall is upon us and the weather has started to change, the leaves have started to turn colors.  The produce at the grocery store has become squashes, pumpkins and brussels sprouts.  I love trying new things inspired by the seasons, which brought me this recipe for Stuffed Acorn Squash.

1 lb ground beef
2 acorn squash (I got a small one for the kids to share and a large one for my husband and I to share)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp cornstarch
1-2 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350
Spread butter over the cut side of acorn squash
Sprinkle withe some salt and pepper
Place the squash, cut side down onto a baking sheet
Cook at 350 for 1 hour or until soft
While the squash is cooking brown ground beef
Add the garlic, onions and mushrooms, cook until onions are translucent
In small bowl, beat the egg,  add cornstarch
Add milk and 1/4 cup of cheese
Add milk mixture to beef mixture and mix well
Season with salt and pepper
Allow mixture to thicken for about 5 minutes
Stuff beef mixture into the cooked squash
Top with remaining cheese
Bake for 30 minutes
Enjoy!

Farro with sausage, apple & fennel

Farro with Sausage, Apple & Fennel
Farro (I used quick cooking Farro from Trader Joes)
2 cups Chicken broth
3-4 Italian sausages (casings removed)
1 diced shallot
1 large apple, chopped (I used granny smith)
1 head of Fennel, chopped

In large skillet over high heat crumble sausage and stir until browned, about 5 minutes
Add farro (not cooked), shallot, garlic, apple & fennel
Add wine to reduce
Add broth, bring to boil
Reduce heat to low, until chicken stock reduces (about 20 minutes), stir regularly.
If farro is not tender add additional water until tender.
*For a quicker recipe
Boil farro per instructions on package
In separate pan cook sausage until brown
Add shallot, garlic, apple & fennel
Add wine and reduce
Add farro and broth
Cook on low until reduced, stirring regularly
Enjoy!