Tag: Potato

Chicken and Mushroom Stew

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs Chicken breast, cubed
  • 1 Sweet onion, diced
  • 4 cloves Garlic, minced
  • 2-3 Russet Potatoes, cubed
  • 8oz Mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 cups Chicken Broth or Stock
  • About 1/8 cup cashews, chopped
  • 1/4 cup Red Wine
  • 1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1/8 tsp ground Thyme
  • 1 Tbs fresh Rosemary, roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp dried Parsley
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Pepper
  • 1/4 cup AP Flour
  • Olive Oil
  • Heavy Cream

Directions:

Add about 2 Tbs olive oil to a large pot or Dutch Oven over Medium High heat. When the oil is hot, add chicken to pot and season lightly with some salt and pepper, toss to coat and smooth the chicken to cover the bottom of the pot in one even layer. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes, then flip the chicken pieces with tongs. Cook chicken for another 3-4 minutes and remove to a separate bowl with a slotted spoon.

To the pot, add the onion, garlic, and potatoes to whatever liquid is left over from the chicken and coat the vegetables in it. If the pot is dry, add a little more olive oil. Cook roughly 6-8 minutes before adding the sliced Mushrooms. Continue to cook until the mushrooms release the liquid into the pot, return the chicken and any liquid in the bowl back into the pot.

Add the flour, measured salt and pepper, and the herbs and spices listed above. Toss to coat and cook another 3-4 minutes, until the flour looks cooked and everything is nicely coated. Pour the wine into the pot and stir, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pot. Pour over the chicken broth and stir, adding the cashews as you do so.

Bring the stew to a simmer, and reduce the heat low enough to maintain the simmer. Cook the stew for 20 minutes. Add a splash of heavy cream to the stew, and warm through. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed and serve.

Farmer’s Soup

When I was little, my mother had a subscription to Taste of Home recipe.

One day, she showed me a recipe for a hearty soup which required special oven proof bowls, in which the completed soup was topped with french bread and gouda cheese to broil until it melted right into the soup. She went crazy trying to find a place that sold the things, and after a few weeks we had the soup for the first time. We had to wait for the bowls to cool down and have trivits at our place settings. We’ve long since lost the recipe, and I could not find it to link you to the original.

I must say, though…

We were not the smartest people. It never occurred to any of us that slapping the cheese topped bread on a greased or oiled cookie sheet would yield the same results without running the risk of 3rd degree burns.

Anyway, here is how I make my version of the soup that wont risk injuring your small children or spazzy adults :

Farmer’s Soup

  • 8 Yukon Gold potatoes
  • 8 Carrots
  • 1 Vidalia onion
  • 1 head Cauliflower
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3-4 sticks Butter
  • French Bread Loaf
  • Apple wood smoked Gouda Cheese
  • 4 cups water and 2 cubes chicken bullion

Instructions:

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, and do the same with each half. Cut into thin slices. Do the same with the carrots. Large dice the onions and break up the cauliflower into small pieces.

Melt the butter in the bottom of an 8 quart pot. Toss in the vegetables and coat with butter. Saute for about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the bullion and water. Add a little salt and pepper, about 1/4 each. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

Slice French Bread into thin rounds and top with slices of Gouda. Place on greased cookie sheet and broil on high heat until cheese melts. Ladle soup into bowls and top with cheesy bread rounds. Let cool two minutes and serve.

And check out Taste of Home. They have some great recipes.