Chicken Stew

1 - 4-6 lb chicken
1 pinch Bell's Seasoning
1 onion, quartered
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups chicken broth(reserved from cooking the chicken)

Place chicken, seasoning, and onion in a stockpot, cover with water. Simmer until the chicken is tender, remove chicken and set aside to cool, reserve 2 cups of the broth. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove all bones and skin, tear chicken into bite sized pieces. In a large saucepan combine the cream soup with the reserved broth over medium heat, add the chicken and stir until well combined and heated through, season to taste. Serve over rice or biscuits.

Note: This recipe is from Grant's grandmother and the directions were a bit vague, but he says that it tastes right.

One-Pot Cajun Pasta

Ingredients:
- Olive Oil (2 Tbsp.)
- 2 Diced Chicken Breasts
- Andouille or Smoked Sausage (8 oz, sliced)
- Garlic (3 cloves, minced)
- Yellow Onion (1/2, sliced)
- Red Pepper (1, sliced)
- Green Pepper (1, sliced)
- Mushrooms (2 cups)
- 16 oz box of the pasta of your choice (we used linguine)
- Chicken broth (5 cups)
- Heavy Cream (1/2 cup)
- Shredded Parmesan (1 cup)
- Cajun Seasoning (1 Tbsp.)
(You can use a store-bought Cajun spice mix or make your own! We used equal parts cayenne pepper, onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.)

Directions:
Pour olive oil into the pot. Add diced chicken breast to the pot, cover with cajun seasoning, and stir until the chicken is evenly seasoned. Then, add sliced sausage and stir. Cook the meat on medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Once the meat is cooked, add in the garlic, onion, peppers, and mushrooms, and stir. Continue stirring for 3-5 minutes as the veggies cook down.

Add the dry pasta to the pot (if using long, thin noodles, break in half), then pour in the chicken broth. Stir until everything is well-mixed. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, keep covered bring the heat down to a simmer for 10 minutes (stirring every two minutes). If there still extra chicken broth, you can discard it, cook longer until the liquid evaporates, or add a little cornstarch to thicken the liquid.

Lastly, add heavy cream and parmesan and stir until your pasta is well blended. Garnish with green onions, more parmesan, a sprinkle of cajun seasoning (if you want some extra spice), and salt and pepper to taste.

Source.

NOTES:

• This recipe is a little spicier than some of you may like.  The Cajun seasoning I used was homemade, but not by me, so I don't actually know what was in it...  
• I used Canjun Seasoned Andouille Sausage.  I used 12 oz instead of 8.
• There was quite a bit of liquid left after simmering everything, so I added some corn starch to thicken it.
• I added a little more cream and parmesan than it called for.
• It reminds me of spicier version of something I've had before at home, but I can't remember what...Tasty though! 

Old Country Hard Rolls

5 tsp sugar, divided
1 c warm water (90-110 degrees), divided
1 pkg yeast
3 1/2 c flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 c oil
1 egg

• Dissolve 1 tsp sugar in 1/2 c warm water.  Add yeast and let rest 10 minutes.  
• Mix flour, salt, and remaining sugar in mixing bowl using hook attachment.
• Add remaining warm water, oil, and egg.
• Beat until soft dough forms.  Continue to mix another 5 minutes.
• Remove from mixing bowl and place dough in a large oiled bowl. 
• Cover dough and let rise 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.  
• Punch down, cove again, and allow to rise another 10 minutes
• Remove dough from bowl and cut into 8 pieces.  (about 4 ounces each)
• Roll pieces into well formed balls. 
• Evenly place on a cookie sheet and allow to rise another 30 minutes.
• Place a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven (to obtain the desired crust).
• Place cookie sheet in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake 15 minutes.

NOTES:

• From Kramarczuk's cookbook
• These were perfect in every way!
• I used bread flour.
• They made some pretty huge rolls.  Delicious, but a bit of a commitment.

Goulash Stew

1/2 c butter, divided
2 lbs. beef, cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp paprika
2-3 bay leaves
2 tsp salt (start with less and add at the end, if necessary)
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cups chicken broth
3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 carrots, peeled and cubed
1/8 c flour

Melt half of the butter in a large pot over medium heat and add meat.  When it it slightly browned, add the onion and cook until it is transparent.  Add paprika, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and chicken broth. Bring to simmer * and add potatoes and carrots; cover.

Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in a saucepan over medium heat and gradually add flour, stirring constantly.  Cook until mixture thickens and add to stew, stirring constantly.  Cook another 5 minutes or until potatoes and meat are tender.

NOTES:

• Quite delicious!  The spice combo made a fantastic broth.
• From Kramarczuk's cookbook.
• Start with 1 tsp salt.  It's probably enough.
• It's not in the original recipe, but it would be possible to simmer it longer at this * point if the meat needed to be more tender.
• Makes 6 servings.
• Try a more interesting paprika next time.  I just used cheap-o store brand.
• Serve with the Old Country Hard Rolls.

Wild Rice Salad

1 cup wild rice, uncooked (3 cups cooked)
1/2 c almonds, sliced
1 cup dried cranberries
1 bunch green onions, sliced thinly
4 ribs of celery, chopped
1 c chicken
Marzetti's poppyseed dressing

Directions:

1. Prepare wild rice as directed on label.
2. In a large bowl, stir everything together.
3. Add enough dressing to coat ingredients.
4. Refrigerate for an hour or more.

Notes:

• I more than doubled the recipe and didn't need a whole bottle of dressing.
• Rotisserie chicken was a great choice!
• If refrigerating overnight, add the almonds just before serving.
• I had this for a lunch at Pacem In Terris and the rice was perfectly cooked.  I'm sure it all tastes the same, but it is prettier if the rice isn't overcooked.

Baked Croissant Blueberry French Toast

French toast made with croissants - seems like the stars are lining up just right, eh?
We (Tony, Emily and I) first had this at a department brunch during her Notre Dame commencement week and it was memorable enough that we analyzed it and took notes with the hopes of duplication.  Fast forward to this week when I have a Costco-sized pack of croissants and a ladies group that needs lunch - again with the stars!  Unfortunately, neither Emily nor I could locate notes, but I did come up with something pretty nice on the 'net.

French Toast
6 -8 plain croissants, cut in half lengthwise
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
1 orange, zest
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt

Topping
1 cup pecans
1/4 cup unsalted butter, plus
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Blueberry Syrup
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

• For the French toast: Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange the croissant halves in the baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, half-and-half, nutmeg, vanilla, Grand Marnier, orange zest, 1/4 cup brown sugar, white sugar and salt. Pour this mixture over the croissants. Cover the baking dish and chill until all of the liquid is absorbed, at least 2 hours.
• For the topping: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a shallow baking pan, spread the pecans evenly and toast until fragrant, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss pecans with the 1 teaspoon butter and salt.
• Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the croissant mixture. Melt 1/4 cup butter with 1/4 cup brown sugar, stirring until the butter is melted. Drizzle this mixture over the baking dish and bake for 20 inutes, or until the liquid from the blueberries is bubbling.
• For the blueberry syrup: In a small saucepan, cook blueberries and maple syrup over moderate heat until berries have burst, about 3 minutes. Pour syrup through a sieve; stir in the lemon juice.
• Sprinkle the croissant French toast with toasted pecans. Serve with the syrup.

NOTES:

French Toast

• I used Orange Curacao instead of Grand Marnier.  It was orange-y, it's a fraction of the cost, and I had it on hand.
• I also ramped it up with about 1/4 tsp. of orange oil.  No regrets.
• I sliced the croissants in half and put some blueberries in the middle.  I also sprinkled some brown sugar in there, but it probably wan't necessary.
• I do remember the original inspiration having some connection with cream cheese in the middle but when I looked at the nutrition facts page of this recipe, I decided that maybe cream cheese wasn't all that necessary after all.
• 6 Costco croissants = one cake pan.
• After slicing them in half, re-assemble by giving the tops a 180 degree twist so the thick side of the top ends up on the thin side of the bottom.  Uniform thickness is the goal.

Topping

• I don't typically bother with unsalted butter.  (Heck, the recipes that use it almost always have you adding salt along the way somewhere anyway.)
• Because I'm inclined to skim while reading wanted to save time, I didn't bother to toast the pecans, and I just added them right away before baking instead of messing around with that whole "increase the temp" and "drizzle carefully" thing.  I just mixed the pecans, brown sugar and melted butter together and spooned it on the top.
• I tried Aldi's canned blueberries for this recipe and they were pretty great.  It's not that gloppy pie filling stuff, but real blueberries canned in a light syrup.  (Sorry, I can't find a link.  They were canned, not frozen though.)

Syrup

• Seriously, don't bother.  It would be too sweet and you've already added enough blueberries by this point anyhow.

One more operation note and one word of caution:

• I started with these top-side-up soaking up all that egg and nutmeg goodness, but even by morning there were still dry spots on the top of those oversized Costco monstrosities.  I ended up flipping each of them upside down to help (and it worked).  A better strategy would be to start top side down and flip them the next day so the more attractive side is up before baking.  A minor detail since it was smothered in blueberries and pecans anyway, but I'd do it that way next time.
• Just focus on the health benefits of blueberries and don't follow the link to the nutrition facts box in the original recipe.

Oven Baked Fajitas

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel)
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into strips

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken strips in a greased 13×9 baking dish.
• In a small bowl combine the oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt.
• Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and stir to coat.
• Next add the tomatoes, peppers, and onions to the dish and stir to combine.
• Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

Notes:

• The method was great.  Actually, better than great!  Quick and easy and things were a good texture.
• I baked for 20 minutes in the convection oven.
• There were probably more spices than necessary, for us anyway.
• I'd definitely do this again.