Chicken Veggie Casserole

I sort of made this recipe up as I went along.  Because of that, some measurements and times may need to be adjusted to taste.

Serves 4
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Ingredients:
2 boneless-skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1" pieces
3-4 carrots, cut into 1" pieces
1 large potato, cut into 1" pieces OR 6-8 fingerling potatoes, cut in half or 1/4's
1 c green beans, cut into 1" pieces
1 can cream of celery soup (cream of broccoli, chicken, cheese or mushroom would also work)
1 T onion powder
1 t dried sage
1 t Dill weed (I used 1 T, but my husband said it was a little too much dill)
1/4 c coconut or apple cider vinegar

Topping:
1/2 c Panko bread crumbs*
1 T French Fry seasoning (combo of salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika)
1/2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

*Please Note: If you use a larger pan, you may need more bread crumbs to cover the top.  I used a 10" round glass pan.

Method:

Step 1:  Mix chicken, zucchini, carrots, potatoes and green beans in a large mixing bowl.

 



Step 2:  Stir in cream of celery soup and vinegar, making sure to coat all chicken and veggies.

Step 3:  Slowly mix in dry seasonings (onion, sage and dill) making sure to evenly mix throughout.

Step 4:  Scoop mixture into a glass or ceramic baking dish (I used a 10" round dish with a lid).  Cover and bake for 45 minutes.  Throughout the 45 minutes, I would recommend removing the dish from the oven 1-2 times to stir everything all up!

    

Step 5:  Mix breadcrumbs, FF seasoning and shredded cheese.




Step 6:  Remove dish from the oven and top with breadcrumb mixture.

Step 7:  Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until top is golden-brown.

Step 8:  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Fried Green Tomatoes

I've had specific requests for a Fried Green Tomatoes recipe.  Right now, I don't really have any photos of some, but here is the recipe!

Tomatoes
Serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients:
1/4 c Bacon grease (you can use canola oil, vegetable oil, shortening or whatever but bacon grease tastes best)
4 green tomatoes (approximately baseball-sized)
2 medium eggs, beaten
2-3 T water (room temp)
1 c flour, divided in half
1 c cornmeal
1-2 T salt
1 T pepper (I prefer cayenne pepper, but black or white pepper also work)
1 T garlic powder

Method:

Step 1: Slice tomatoes.  Do not slice from end to end, but from side to side (the same way you would for regular tomatoes to top a burger or something).  Using the first 1/2 c of flour, coat all tomato slices.  Set aside on a drying rack or plate for about 5-10 minutes.

Step 2: In a large skillet, heat about 1/2 of the oil/bacon grease (you will use the rest as you cook more batches).  Use med to med-high heat, making sure not to overheat the oil.  If using a thermometer, do not heat past 375 degrees.

Step 3:  Beat eggs and water together in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix remaining flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper and garlic.

Step 4:  Dip slices of tomato first into egg mixture, then into flour mixture.  Place flat into skillet 4-6 at a time.

Step 5:  Turn slices after about 2 minutes.  Continue cooking and turning slices until both sides are golden brown.

Step 6: Drain on a drying rack or plate with paper towels.  Serve with your choice of dipping sauce (peppercorn ranch is pretty good).

Apple-roasted pork chops

Apple Roasted Pork Chops:

Ingredients:

2 Bone-in 1 1/2" thick pork loin chops

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

2 large apples (any will do, but I prefer Gala or Fuji) sliced

1/4 c apple juice

Step 1:  Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees.

Step 2:  Place pork chops in dutch oven.  Top with liquids and apple slices.

Step 3:  Cover and bake 3 hours.

Step 4:  ENJOY!

Honey-Mustard glazed potatoes:

Ingredients:

12-15 fingerling potatoes or baby red potatoes, cut in half

1/4 c Newman's Own Light Honey Mustard

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Step 2:  Toss potatoes in dressing to evenly coat.  Spread potatoes evenly in a casserole dish.  

Step 3:  Bake for 25 minutes, stir and toss potatoes.  Bake 25 more minutes.  Serve immediately.

Cooking healthy class

I took a healthy cooking class and this is what we made!  Something really yummy here is the fruit salsa.  I have made basically the same thing before from this recipe through Allrecipes.  It's excellent!

Pizza!

So, not a great photo but I wasn't going to try too hard for it because I used a fair amount of store-bought ingredients, such as a crust from the Publix bakery section and and some Alfredo sauce from a jar. It was super yummy, though!

Basically, here is how it went:

Ingredients:
Prepared, uncooked pizza dough (for one pizza)
1/8 c alfredo sauce
2 T olive oil
1 T garlic powder
2 T Italian seasoning, divided in half
1 jar (or can) Artichoke hearts, quartered
1 block fresh mozzarella (16 oz)
6-8 slices prosciutto, chopped (bacon or ham work too)
10-12 Kalamata olives, sliced
8 oz crumbled feta cheese


Step 1:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Step 2:  Roll out dough and place on pizza pan or pre-heated pizza stone.

Step 3:  Mix alfredo, olive oil, garlic powder and 1 T Italian seasoning.  Brush entire crust with mixture.

Step 4:  Shred Mozzarella cheese.  Sprinkle about 2/3 of the shredded cheese evenly over crust.  Sprinkle with the remaining Italian seasoning.

Step 5:  Evenly top pizza with Artichoke, Olives, prosciutto, and feta cheese.

Step 6:  Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.  Bake 20 minutes or until cheese near crust begins to brown.

Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup!

We had a 3lb bag of carrots in the fridge as well as a few sweet potatoes from the farmer's market in the cupboard.  Plus, it is the first day that actually feels like Fall (and in South Carolina, I know it won't last).  Therefore, I decided to make a nice root-veggie soup with carrots, onion and sweet potato.

Recipe
Yield Approximately 3 servings

Soup Ingredients:
1/4 c Butter
1 small onion, chopped
3 lb bag of carrots, washed and ends cut off
1 large or 2-3 small sweet potatoes
2 c Chicken broth (I make my own, but canned or boxed work too)
1 t Ginger powder
2 t Garlic powder or 1 t fresh minced garlic
1 sprig Rosemary (dried works, but will have to be strained out later to get the texture)
1/2 c Buttermilk (Half and Half or Whipping cream would work too if you prefer) plus small amount for drizzle
3 T Lemon Juice
2 t Apple Pie Spice
1 Cinnamon Stick
2 t salt

Croutons:
About 4 slices fresh Italian bread, cut into cubes
1/4 c Olive Oil or Melted Butter
1 t Garlic powder
2 t Apple Pie Spice


Step 1: Preheat oven to 300.  In a dutch oven, sauté onions in butter until translucent.  About 7-10 minutes on med-high heat, stirring frequently.

Step 2:  Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Cut carrots and sweet potatoes into a more manageable size and add to the pot.  Reduce heat to medium.

Step 3:  Add Ginger, Garlic, Rosemary, Apple Pie Spice and Cinnamon stick to the pot.  Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes (until veggies are soft).

Step 4:  While the soup simmers, toss cubed bread in a bowl with oil/butter, garlic and apple pie spice.  Spread evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 300, turning once at 10 minutes.

Step 5:  Remove Rosemary sprig and Cinnamon stick from the pot.  Remove soup from heat.

Step 6:  This is where you can choose one of a few ways to work with your soup.  Basically, you want to puree it as smooth as possible.  I use an immersion blender and a China Cap, but you could also put the soup in a blender or food processor to achieve the same smooth consistency.

Step 7:  Pour the soup back into the pot and turn on a low heat.  Slowly stir in the lemon juice and salt (more or less of both can be used based on taste).  Once the soup has heated back up, slowly add the milk, stirring frequently.  Cook until warmed through.

Step 8:  Ladle your soup into bowls, drizzle with milk and top with croutons!  Enjoy!