Thursday, July 21, 2011

Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken Stew Ingredients:
    • 1 (5-pound) roasting chicken
    • 1 large yellow onion, unpeeled and quartered
    • 2 carrots, unpeeled and halved
    • 2 stalks celery with leaves, cut into thirds
    • 1 large parsnip, unpeeled and cut in half, optional
    • 8 sprigs fresh parsley
    • 5 sprigs fresh thyme
    • 5 sprigs fresh dill
    • 1 head garlic, unpeeled and cut in 1/2 crosswise
    • 1 tablespoons kosher salt
    • 1 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
Plus:
3 carrots
3 celery
5 potatoes

Directions:
• Place the chicken, onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, parsley, thyme, dill, garlic, and seasonings in a 16-quart stockpot. Add 3 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 1-1.5 hours. Strain the entire contents of the pot through a wire mesh colander, save the chicken and discard the rest of the solids.
• Take all the meat off the chicken, cut up into bite sized pieces and put all or most of the chicken back into stock. Simmer on med-low.
• Into the stew:
    -Peel and slice 3 carrots
    -Slice 3 stalks of celery
    -5 potatoes, peel and cut into cubes
• Simmer 10 minutes, then start dumplings.

Dumpling Ingredients:
4 cups Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix
1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 1/2 T fresh)
1 tsp dried parsley (or 1 T fresh)
dash of ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups milk

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients then slowly add milk and mix lightly. Drop by heaping spoonfuls into boiling stew. Cover and cook until dough is cooked through. About 10-15 minutes.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

4 lbs sweet potatoes (garnet yams actually) cut in half lengthwise and half again--slice 1/4 in thick
2 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground pepper
8 T goat butter
1/4 c whole goat milk (this is exact, don't eyeball it because it will be way too much--I just made this mistake!)

Stir, cover, low heat, 35 minutes, stirring occasionally

2 T whole goat milk (or cream if you can find it) and mash

Great with Pan Fried Pork Chops

Pan Fried Pork Chops with Mashed Sweet Potatoes

4 boneless pork chops (about 3/4" thick)
3 slices nitrate free bacon
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground pepper
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 c gluten free flour

Dredge pork chops

Let sit on plate for 10 minutes

Cook 3 slices of bacon--eat the bacon! :-)

Add 1/2 cup vegetable oil to bacon fat, heat over medium high

Dredge pork chops and pack on the flour

Look for wisps of smoke from oil

Cook 3-4 minutes per side.

Serve with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and a veggie.

Pasta with Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Roasted Asparagus

  • 2 bunches asparagus (2 pounds total), tough ends removed
  • OR roasted zucchini is good too!
  • 4 tablespoons goat butter, cut into small pieces
  • 12 ounces gluten free cavatappi or other short pasta
  • 1 small log soft goat cheese (5 ounces), crumbled
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons snipped fresh chives, for garnish
  • 2 grilled organic chicken breasts, sliced

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta. Place asparagus on a large rimmed baking sheet; dot with 1 tablespoon goat butter, and season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, tossing occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes; cut into 2-inch lengths.

    Grill chicken or use left overs.

  2. While asparagus is roasting, generously salt boiling water. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Set aside 1 1/2 cups pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine goat cheese, remaining 3 tablespoons butter, and 1/2 cup pasta water. Season with salt and pepper, and whisk until smooth. Add goat-cheese mixture and asparagus to pasta; toss to combine, adding more pasta water if necessary for sauce to coat pasta. Serve pasta garnished with chives.

Pork Bolognese

  • Adapted from Everydayfood.com  --- I'm always happy when a recipe starts with bacon ;-)

  • 3 slices nitrate free bacon, finely chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 pound ground bison
  • 1/4 cup organic tomato paste
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 1/4 cups whole goat milk
  • 1 can (28 ounces) tomato sauce
  • 2 cups organic chicken broth
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 5 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped and chopped
  • 2.5 t coarse salt
  • 1/2 t ground pepper
  • Cooked gluten free penne rigate, for serving
  • Grated hard sheep cheese, for serving
  1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, cook bacon over medium heat until fat is released, 5 minutes. Add onion, carrot, and celery; cook until soft, 6 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high; add pork and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, 7 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook until pork is coated, 4 minutes.
  2. Add wine; cook until reduced by three-fourths. Add 1 cup milk; cook until reduced by half. Add tomato sauce, broth, bay leaf, thyme, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour. Stir in 1/4 cup milk. Serve sauce over pasta, topped with cheese.