Friday, September 28, 2012

Apricot Chicken

Apricot Chicken 

Ingredients: 
6 chicken thighs (bone in) 
1 1/2 cups of dried (or canned) apricots. 
2 yellow onions 
1/4 cup of white wine 
1 cup of homemade chicken stock 
Celery - I use the root end that is leftover 
Salt and pepper (to taste) 
Canola oil 

Directions: 
Heat your canola oil, about 2-3 tbsp, in a skillet over med-high heat. Pat your chicken dry (the chicken won't brown if it's wet). Add salt and pepper to both sides of your chicken. Brown the skin side of your chicken thighs. Once browned, transfer your thighs into your crock pot. Slice your onions and saute in the skillet for 2 minutes. Add your wine to the skillet and scrap all of the brown bits and pieces. Pour the onion and wine mixture into the crock pot. Add your stock, apricots, and celery to the crock pot now. Cook on low for 5 hours. Remove the celery and cook on high for one additional hour. This recipe serves 6 people. 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Penne with a Burgundy Onion Sauce

No special story behind this recipe.  Just put together a little dish with some ingredients I had on hand already!

Ingredients
2 cups of penne
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup of Burgundy wine (or any other type of red wine you have on hand)
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of tomato sauce (homemade or pre-made)
Fresh basil

Directions
Boil penne until al dente in salted water.  While the pasta is cooking, saute your diced onion in a pan with olive oil over med high heat.  Once they start to caramelize, add your wine.  (*warning: if you are using a gas stove, you may experience a flare up here, that's ok)  Let your wine cook down and begin to caramelize with your onions.  Once the pasta is al dente, drain and add to your onion/wine mixture.  Add your cream and tomato sauce at this point.  Stir until the ingredients have combined.  Turn your heat down to low and simmer until the penne is cooked to your liking.  To garnish, add chopped basil to the top and serve!
 

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Dump Pasta

This past weekend we celebrated my son's 2nd birthday.  One of the dishes I made was a chicken pasta dish using shredded chicken, penne, cream of chicken soup, and a pack of Artichoke & Spinach Warm Dip Mix.  I made a double batch, hoping to have extra for lunch or dinner the next day.  Well, I didn't have as much as I had hoped, so we added some ingredients to "bulk up" the dish and change the flavor.  We dubbed it "dump pasta".

Dump Pasta
*Left over chicken pasta (2 shredded chicken breasts, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 1/2 boxes of penne, 1 packet of Artichoke & Spinach Warm Dip Mix)
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp of ranch dressing
  • 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup of frozen peas
  • 1 diced onion
(To make the original pasta, I cooked the pasta as I would normally, in a bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients.  Once mixed, add the cooked pasta)
Pull the leftover pasta dish out of the fridge.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Drain your tomatoes.  Mix all of your ingredients together in a baking dish.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes (until the dish is heated through and the cheese has melted).