Cakes & Cooking » comfort food

Chicken Pie with Biscuits

cait — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:14:17 +0000

This recipe for Chicken Pie is time consuming, but well worth it. Simmering the vegetables in broth and then later building a sauce with that veggie-infused broth makes for a very flavorful dish. Without the traditional cream-based sauce of chicken pot pie, this freezes very well. So make double!

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 carrots, cut and peeled, in 1/4″ thick slices
3/4 lb red potatoes, washed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 1/2″ thick slices
3 large celery ribs, cut to 1/2 ” thick slices
2/5 cups cubed or shredded cooked chicken (about 1 lb)
6 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped
6 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 dried thyme

Bring broth to a boil in 4 qt heavy saucepan. Add carrots, potatoes, and celery and simmer until tender, about 15 min. With a slotted spoon, remove vegetables and put aside. Reserve 3.5 cups broth for sauce. Put the cooked chicken in with the vegetables.

Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, about 3 min to make a roux. Add the reserved 3.5 cups broth in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly. Bring to a slow boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, stir in nutmeg, parsley, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.

Add chicken and vegetables to the sauce over low heat or no heat. Fold together to coat evenly, stirring gently until just combined. Serve with cheddar biscuits, baked alone first and dropped over the chicken later.

Slow Cooker Chunky Applesauce

cait — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:52:00 +0000

Nothing says “fall” like the smell of baking things with apples. Apple pie, apple crisp, apple compote, anything. The bad news is that they are all full of fat and sugar, you just can’t go right with flaky pie crust or cripsy oatmeal topping. But you CAN go right with homemade spicy applesauce – all the warm cinnamon apple goodness without any added fats or sugars. All you need is a crockpot.

Apples – peeled and sliced (I use 8lbs of apples to fill a 7qt crock pot, adjust as needed)
Cinnamon – 1 tsp for every 4-5 lbs of apples or so
Sugar (optional) – 1/8 cup for ever 4-5 lbs of apples

Peel and slice the apples. Toss with the cinnamon and sugar. Put everything in the crockpot with 1/4 cup of water. Cook on low heat for 6-7 hours (overnight works wonderfully), stirring towards the end. Serve for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Cheese Fondue

cait — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 23:48:00 +0000

This is a great recipe for cheddar cheese fondue, but it’s also a great basic creamy cheese sauce that can be repurposed for lots of things – adding in veggies, pasta topping, etc.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar

Melt butter, stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat and add milk, stiring until sauce thickens. Add cheese, stir till melted. Serve with crusty white or pumpernickel bread.

Spicy Beans and Rice

cait — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 04:35:00 +0000

My ultimate winter comfort food is spicy black beans and rice. Sometimes I soak beans overnight and spice them myself, sometimes in a pinch I use a box of spicy beans and rice, but it’s always good. Tiny cubes of cheese and a dollop of sour cream round everything off.

Best Macaroni and Cheese

cait — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 20:11:00 +0000

Everyone always needs an excellent homemade mac and cheese recipe, it’s just that kind of comfort food. This one is my favorite. Originally passed to me by a friend, I stared in abject horror at the ingredient list when I saw that it containted Velveeta. I was sure that I would never make it and I planned to tuck the recipe away in my pocket, never use it, and never tell my friend. But she must have known what the mental objection was, because she was quick to assure me that the Velveeta is there just to enhance the texture, and to help keep things smooth when reheating. She then even gave me a sample of Velveeta so I wouldn’t need to go to the grocery store and degrade myself by buying a block of my own. I turned out to really love the recipe and now if I think I might want to make a batch I send my husband to the store for some Velveeta – so I’ll never be caught on camera buying it! My mother would be proud.

Cook 2 cups elbow pasta. I like the slightly nutty flavor of Barilla Plus. Drain, rinse.

Melt 3 tbsp butter with 1/4 cup flour in saucepan to form a paste. Add 2 cups of milk, whisk till smooth. Add in 4oz of Velveeta, cut into chunks. Stir till smooth and melted. Add 8 oz of grated sharp cheddar cheese, stir on low till sauce thickens. (Use a 10oz block of cheese and reserve remaining 2 oz). Salt and pepper liberally, add a pinch of onion powder and a dash of chili powder. Mix cooked and drained pasta into the cheese sauce. It should be very saucy.

Pour into a baking dish. Combine 1 tbsp melted butter with 1tbsp bread crumbs. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and reserved cheddar cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so. This reheats fairly well. Thanks J, for the recipe!

Potato and Cheese Soup

cait — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 20:42:00 +0000

Boy, this one is decadent soup – an attack on the blood sugar and on the arteries all in one. But for an occasional (read: annual) treat, I have found this particular recipe to be unsurpassed.

Potato and Cheese Soup

6 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion, quartered
1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk, divided
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon dill weed
1 cup sour cream
3 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon chili pepper or to taste

Crumbled bacon (optional, but I would never pass it up)

In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, add potatoes, carrots, onion, and chicken broth. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from heat.

While vegetables are cooking, make cream sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter; add flour, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Add milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat. Add cheddar cheese and dill weed. Stir until cheese is melted. Set aside.

In a food processor or blender, in small batches, puree potato mixture with some of the milk. Pour blended potato mixture back into the soup pot. Add the cheese sauce, sour cream, remaining milk, salt, pepper, and chili pepper. Stir until thoroughly blended. Return to medium heat and heat until warm. Remove from heat and serve in soup bowls.

Makes 6 servings.