Chicken "Pot Pie" with Biscuit Crumble

Ingredients for filling

*         1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts 

*         3 cups chicken broth 

*         2 tbsp vegetable oil 

*         1 medium onion, chopped fine 

*         3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into slices 

*         3 small celery ribs, chopped fine 

*         8 oz white mushrooms, washed and sliced 

*         1 tsp tomato paste 

*         4 tbsp butter 

*         1 cup milk 

*         1/2 cup all-purpose flour 

*         2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice 

*         3 tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves 

*         3/4 cup frozen baby peas

Ingredients for crumble topping 

*         2 cups all-purpose flour 

*         2 tsp baking powder 

*         3/4 tsp salt 

*         1/2 tsp ground black pepper 

*         1/8 tsp cayenne pepper 

*         6 tbsp butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, chilled 

*         1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated 

*         3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Bring the chicken and broth to a simmer in a covered Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook until chicken is done, then transfer chicken to a bowl. Pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl and save.

3. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Sprinkle the butter pieces in and incorporate with your fingers until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in the Parmesan, then add the cream and stir until just combined. Place on a lined, rimmed baking sheet and bake 10-13 minutes until becoming fragrant and browning. Set aside.

4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the empty Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and stir well. Cook until vegetables are tender, and while they are cooking,  shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Transfer cooked vegetables to the bowl with the chicken and  set aside.

5. Heat the remaining oil in the pot and then add mushrooms, cover and cook until mushrooms have released their juices, about 5 minutes. Remove cover and stir in the tomato paste. Cook, stirring until the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are browned. Transfer the mushrooms to the bowl with  the chicken and veggies.

6. Heat butter in the pot, add the flour and cook for one minute, stirring. Slowly whisk in the reserved chicken broth and milk. Bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan to get those browned bits up. Simmer about a minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and parsley. Stir in chicken and vegetable mixture and peas into the sauce. 

7. Pour into a greased 13×9 baking dish and sprinkle crumble topping evenly over the top, or pour 1/2 the filling into a greased 8x8 baking dish and save the other half to freeze for a future evening.  Bake until filling is bubbling and topping is well browned, about 12-15 minutes.

 
Notes

If you have leftover chicken, this is a perfect meal to use that.  And to be honest, it is tough to call this a "pot pie".  It is made in casserole dish and there is no pie crust! You can use any combination of chicken meat, or turkey for that matter!  Perhaps mark this and make it after Thanksgiving.  We used only thigh meat and it was delicious.  If you are going to make this into two meals, only make a half batch of the topping.  Then when you pull the other filling half out of the freezer all you will need to do is make the biscuit topping.  A note about the topping. It called for heavy cream, which is probably to make sure it was a light and fluffy texture.  I used the milk we had on hand, and it still turned out great!

 

Six Banana Banana Bread

Ingredients
* 2 cups all purpose flour
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1 tsp cinnamon
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* 6 bananas, overripe and previously frozen (preferred)
* 2/3 cup walnuts (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Use the wrapper from your softened butter to prep your 9x5 loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a second bowl cream the butter and brown sugar.  Add the eggs one a time and beat after each addition.  Add the thawed bananas one at a time by simply opening the banana peel and letting the fruit and juice drop into the bowl.  Beat each banana into the sugar/egg mixture.
4. Once all 6 bananas have been incorporated, stir the dry ingredients into the bowl.  Do not over mix.  Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.  If using the walnuts, cut them into the batter in the loaf pan at this point.
5. Bake the bread for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let the bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and turn onto a wire rack to complete cooling.

Notes
6 bananas in one loaf???  I thought I had misread the recipe, but no, it really calls for 6 bananas!  This quick bread is dense, but very moist, and very banana-y tasting!  What a great way to use those frozen bananas.

Dilly Beans

Ingredients
* green beans - cleaned and trimmed (for 4 pint jars I needed just about 1.5 lbs)
* 1 tsp cayenne pepper
* 4 cloves garlic
* fresh dill
* 4 grape leaves
* 2.5 cups water
* 2.5 cups white vinegar
* 1/4 cup pickling salt
* 4 pint jars

Directions
1. Bring the water, vinegar and pickling salt to a boil.
2. To each hot pint jar, add 1 crushed clove of garlic and cover it with a grape leaf.
3. Pack the jars with green beans lengthwise, then add some dill and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper in each jar.
4. Pour the boiling brine over the beans leaving 1/2 inch head space.
5. Seal and process for 10 minutes in boiling water bath.
6. For best flavor, let stand for a minimum of 2 weeks.

Notes
The recipe called for dill heads for each jar, but I was unable to get those at my market, so I used sprigs of dill in each pint.  We shall see what kind of difference this makes.  Also- grape leaves are jarred, and I found them over in the international section of my local grocery store.  And if you are thinking of trying this, you can use regular salt, but pickling salt ensures a crystal clear brine solution for your beans or other canned creations.

September 28, 2012

Is this really my last post for September?  With October around the corner I guess I will have to admit that it is fall.  We have been enjoying the zucchini carrot muffins from last week - made another batch again this week!  The kids are loving them - calling them the cinnamon muffins.  Since they love muffins, why not make some that have some veggies in them?

I tried a few new things this week, and was most disappointed when "poached salmon and leeks" ended up fairly flavorless.  What a bummer.  Completely edible, but everyone doctored it up to suit their own taste.  Unfortunately my high hopes were dashed and I am unable to recommend this recipe. 

On the flip side, we have a major keeper this week!  Dutch oven pulled pork - this was a smash hit at our dinner table.  Leftovers were fantastic, and it had a wonderful balance between heat and flavor.  I typically make pulled pork in the slow cooker, but this method was nice in that you can put it together in the afternoon rather than in the morning.

Do you have any favorite fall recipes?  Email them to me at monkeysinthekitchen@gmail.com or leave a comment here.  I'd love to know what dishes you love to make in the autumn.

New Recipe
Dutch Oven Pulled Pork 

Dutch Oven Pulled Pork

Ingredients
* 2 tbsp oil
* boneless pork shoulder, 3-4 lbs
* 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
* 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
* 2 tbsp tomato paste
* 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
* 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
* 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
* 1 tsp kosher salt
* 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325. While the oven is heating, whisk together all the ingredients except the pork and oil.  Make sure the sauce is very well combined.  Set aside.
2. In the Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the pork and brown all sides of the pork, about 1-2 minutes per side.
3. Once the pork has been properly browned, carefully pour the sauce over the pork, turning the pork to completely coat it.
4. Place the lid on the Dutch oven and place it in the oven.  Braise the meat for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  Check on it after about 1 hour to turn it over.  The check on it again every 25 minutes or so to monitor to sauce - it will thicken and begin to get dark, but you don't want the sauce to burn.
5. Carefully remove the pot from the oven.  Remove the pork to cool o a cutting board. Use 2 forks to shred it into bite sized pieces.  Once it is completely shredded, serve as desired.

Ideas to use the shredded pork: serve it on rolls or plates with your favorite barbecue or hot sauce, in tortillas with taco fixins', between tortilla shells with cheese as quesadillas.

Notes
This is a spicier pulled pork than my usual.  Traditionally I throw a pork loin or couple of tenderloins in a crock pot with some onions and our favorite barbecue sauce.  While that is good, this method flavors the meat without making it "saucy" which in turn makes it a bit more versatile.  Ryan clearly preferred this way over my usual slow cooker way, and the kids were fine with the heat, though a little more milk was consumed over dinner! This pork is definitely a keeper!

September 21, 2012

Hannah is officially out of the boot!  Fantastic!  She gets to play in her first soccer game of the season; she is looking forward to that.  And Owen's soccer season is humming along - they've tied both their games this season, but we'll take that over the alternative!

We tried a few new recipes this week but only one was voted a keeper.  I had especially high hopes for baked sesame tomatoes, but they seemed to be lacking something.  I will likely try them again, and perhaps with an addition of some Parmesan they might move up to the keeper realm.

The kids and I did love the zucchini carrot muffins I made, so that recipe is listed below.  A muffin that has 2 vegetables in it and has the kids asking to have another - tough to not vote that one a keeper!

New Recipes
Zucchini Carrot Muffins

Zucchini Carrot Muffins

Ingredients
* 2 1/2 cups flour
* 1 tbsp cinnamon
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup grated zucchini
* 1 cup grated carrot

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and prepare two muffin tins.  This recipe made 18 muffins.
2. In a bowl whisk together the flour. cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl combine the oil and sugar.  Beat until well combined. 
4. Add each egg, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Squeeze the zucchini to remove any excess moisture.  Add the zucchini and the carrots to the sugar and egg mixture and mix well.
6. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the batter, stir long enough to combine well, but do not over-mix.
7. Divide the batter into the muffin tins; anywhere from 18-20 depending on how evenly and high you fill the cups.  Try not to fill more than 3/4 full.
8. Bake for 19-20 minutes.  Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then serve warm!

Notes
All my kids loved these muffins.  They were best the afternoon we made them, but reheat them a little the next day to enjoy again!  The addition of nuts to this batter, probably about 1/2 to 1 cup, would probably be fantastic! 

If you are inclined to make this as a loaf instead of muffins, try using two 8 x 4 loaf pans.  I haven't tried this as a quick bread, but I would cook them for 60 minutes and then start checking.  They might take up to 90 minutes, but you definitely don't want to over-bake the loaves, so better to check a little too often to find the right time, then to miss to optimal cooking time and end up with dry bread!