Chicken Stew in White Wine

Fall is here!

I love so many things about the Fall.

The leaves changing colors, the

weather cooling to 60 - 70 degrees

and the Fall flavors of sweet potatoes,

soups, squash and so many other great

foods.

This wonderful meal is from Williams Sonoma.

Chicken Stew in White Wine

Ingredients:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 chicken, 3 to 4 lb., cut into 8 serving pieces
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
3 bacon slices, chopped
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
8 oz. white button mushrooms, quartered
1 lb. red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, crushed
4 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups white wine

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and pepper.

Add the chicken and toss to coat evenly.

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat,

warm half of the olive oil until just smoking.

Add half of the chicken and brown

on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes total.

Transfer to a slow cooker.

Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken.

Add the bacon, onion, mushrooms, potatoes, garlic,

parsley, thyme, bay leaf and stock to the slow cooker

and stir to combine. Remove the sauté pan from the heat,

pour the wine into the pan and return

to medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer,

stirring to scrape up any

browned bits from the pan bottom.

Add the wine to the slow cooker, cover and cook

on high for 5 hours according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Spoon the stew into bowls and serve immediately.

** I made a few changes to this recipe. First, I don't have a

pressure cooker so I used a covered casserole dish.

I added carrots to the dish because I like the

sweetness that they add to stew.

This is an excellent dish!

Baked Apples

Tis the season to bake with apples..... falalla la la la

apple dumplings, apple crisp, apple crumble,

apple strudel, apple sauce......

the list goes on and on of tasty apple treats!

This recipe is for stuffed, baked apples:

4 large baking apples

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

1/4 cup raisins

1 Tbsp butter

3/4 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Remove seeds and core

to 1/2 inch of the bottom of the apples.

Mix the sugar, cinnamon, raisins and nuts.

Place apples in a 8-inch-by-8-inch square baking pan.

Stuff each apple with this mixture.

Top with a dot of butter (1/4 of the Tbps).

Add boiling water to the baking pan.

Bake 25 minutes / until tender

After baking the apple for about 20 - 25 minutes it becomes

so tender it melts in your mouth.

Pasta Gorgonzola

I know, I know I haven't been blogging lately!

I have been busy: working, looking for gasoline

for my car, hanging out with friends, going out

to eat, attending football games, traveling to

see a baby be christened and napping!

But tonight I have a moment so........

There is a local restaurants that serves

a pasta dish called Chicken Gorgonzola.

I 've tried to create this dish a few times

now but haven't been able to get it exactly

right.

Here is the latest version of the dish

minus the chicken but plus a few healthy

vegetables. But of course keeping the best

part of the dish - gorgonzola cheese!

Pasta Gorgonzola

4 ounces uncooked fusilli
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup of half-and-half
4-6 tablespoons Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

salt and pepper to taste

kale, chopped and precooked

chopped, cherry tomato

Grated parmesan for the top

This was a great dish.

The sauce is a little heavy but the

veggies add a light touch.

Salmon Cakes

My husband recently went fly fishing

in Michigan. He was able to bring

back some fresh Salmon from his trip

which we have enjoyed the past few weeks.

This week I made Salmon Cakes

2 cups cooked salmon, flaked

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup diced celery

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1tsp. dried dill

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. oil

Lemon Aioli:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp. heavy cream

zest and juice of one lemon

1 tbsp. prpared horseradish

1 tsp. chopped garlic

1 tsp. dried thyme

These Salmon Cakes are very good!

Sunday Breakfast

We enjoyed a quiet Sunday morning today.

My husband made a wonderful breakfast.

French Toast with cut strawberries, bacon,

juice and coffee.

It is such a nice day that we were able to

work and read with the windows open

to feel the nice breeze.

Ahhh - Relaxation - just what I need.

YUMMY!

A lot of Guacamole

My brother and a friend came to visit a few weeks ago.

We had a great time hanging out, catching up, playing

Guitar Hero on the Wii, going out to eat and having a

Guacamole Competition!

The Guacamole Competition was that we could use any

ingredients we wanted and we could create two

batches of guacamole to submit to the judges (who were

my husband and my brother's friend - that is fair - right?)

My idea was to create one creamy batch and one spicy

batch of guacamole.

For the Creamy Guacamole I used:

avacado

cilantro

kosher salt

white onion

fresh lime juice

a little bit of cream cheese

chopped tomato added at the very end

For the Spicy Guacamole

avacado

cilantro

kosher salt

white onion

yellow pepper, chopped

red pepper

fresh lime juice

Kev's Guacamole

#1 Fresh and Chunky

avacado

cilantro

kosher salt

white onion

lime juice

tomato

*Saved some diced avacado

to add in at the end.

Kev's #2 was similar to number

#1 but I believe his secret ingredient

that was added was a little tabasco

sauce to spice it up a bit.

I don't have any fancy pictures of the guacamole.

I think we were all so hungry once we were done

making the four different kinds that we just put

some chips in a bowl and started eating.

The judges voted for MY spicy one as #1 and

Kev's Fresh and Chuncky as #2.

Lima Bean Dip

So my dear friend C from Mele Cotte is hosting

her second Deep Freeze Challenge.

I know that I have tucked some things in to my

freezer never to be found again but for this

challenge I was willing to dig deep and take a

look at what has been in the freezer for awhile

that I can use to make something yummy.

I found several items that I had frozen

intending to make particular recipes like

bananas, ricotta cheese, and some veggies

but what I came across that I decided to use

are a container of sesame seeds.

I am using a recipe from Cooking Light

with a few substitutions .

Lima Bean Dip

1 pound frozen baby lima beans

3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 garlic clove

Cook the beans in water about 10 minutes

unitl they are very tender.

Drain, reserving a 1/2 cup of the cooking

liquid from the pan.

Toast sesame seeds, the place them in

a blender and process until finely ground.

Add juice and remaining ingredients,

process until blended.

Then add beans and reserved water.

Process this mixture until smooth.

** I added freshly grated parmesan cheese,

ground black pepper and a hint of red pepper.

Serve with vegetables, chips or peta.

Here are the steps:

So
And there you have it Lima Bean Dip!