Not Challenging Chicken Chili

4 cups chopped yellow onions
1/8 cup good olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
2 red bell peppers, seeded and large-diced
2 yellow (or green) bell peppers, seeded and large-diced
1 cup of corn
1 can of black beans (optional)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
red pepper flakes to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
2 tsp salt
2 28 oz cans tomatoes, undrained
1/4 basil leaves
4 split chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
black pepper


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast on a baking sheet for 35-40 min until just cooked. Separate the meat from the bones, when cool enough and cut into chunks.

While chicken is roasting, cook the onions in oil over medium-low heat for 10-15 min. Add garlic and cook 1 min longer. Add bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, red pepper, cayenne pepper, corn, beans and salt. Cook for 1 minute. Crush tomatoes and add with the basil. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the chicken pieces and simmer for another 20 minutes. Add seasoning to taste.

Serve with corn chips, grated cheese, sour cream.

Chicken Orzo with Salsa Mediterranee

This one is certainly a family favorite.

3-4 tomatoes, chopped
12 olives (green or black - kalamata are best)
2 TBs capers, rinsed and drained
2 TBs Balsamico wine vinegar
2 TBs olive oil (extra-virgin)
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup cooked black beans (optional)
dried basil
salt, pepper
2-3 ounces of blue (or feta) cheese
1/2 lb or more diced chicken meat (I used cooked leftover chicken ;)
1 package of orzo
2 1/2 cups chicken broth

Mix all ingredients up to the meat and set aside. Heat skillet on medium-high and cook chicken meat in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add orzo and broth to the skillet. Lower heat, cover and let simmer for 12 - 15 minutes until the orzo is soft. Check a couple of times to make sure the orzo doesn't stick and add water if needed. Serve orzo with salsa mediterranee on top and sprinkle with blue cheese. A green salad with oranges and carrots is great as a side.

Gazpacho - Grande

Here is a yummy, easy, cool summer lunch. You need
for the soup:
1 cucumber,
2 lbs tomatoes,
1 bell pepper
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1-2 slices of bread
5 TBs olive oil
2 TBs wine vinegar
3 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper

Peel cucumber, slice lengthwise and remove the seeds. Chop into pieces. Peel tomatoes (pouring hot water over them first helps!) and chop them. Remove bell pepper seeds and cut into pieces. Peel and chop onion and garlic. Place all vegetables in a big bowl or pot and puree using a food processor or a handheld blender. Remove bread crust and crumble into the soup. Slowly add olive oil, vinegar and broth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve well chilled with croutons, diced onions, bell pepper, white from boiled eggs...

Sourdough Bread in a Dutch Oven

This sourdough bread really turned out nice. I used the same recipe as in my other post, but preheated a cast iron dutch oven and its lid in the oven at 4oo degrees. When ready, I dusted my risen dough with flour, dropped into the hot pot and covered it with a lid. I baked it for 30 minutes. Then the lid was removed, I lowered the temperature to 375 degrees and baked it 15 minutes longer.

Pizza - Preliminary Perfect

We are on the quest for the perfect, chewy, homemade pizza. We are trying some slight variations of the theme every Saturday. Last week we thought we were very close to perfect. Here how we did it:

1 cup bread flour
1 cup spelt or white wheat flour
1/2 cup semolina flour or stone ground corn meal
5 1/2 TBs sourdough starter
1 TB salt
1 ts yeast
2 cups filtered water
Olive oil
2 - 3 garlic cloves
1 can tuna
1 onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
basil leaves
Using a Kitchenaid I mixed all ingredients. The dough will be very soft and sticky. Let rise for 2 hours or until dough has tripled. Preheat pizza stone in an oven at 450 degrees. Pat dough into pizza shape on parchment paper and brush with olive oil. Slice garlic into fine pieces and distributed on dough. Top with tomato, tuna, onion. Carefully place the pizza on the hot pizza stone. That's the tricky part! Bake for 10 min. or until pizza is lightly brown. Top with mozzarella cheese and basil and bake until cheese has melted and the pizza looks done - about 15 min.

Update:
Placing the dough on the hot pizza stone is probably better, but too tricky. I now just drop the dough on the cold pizza stone (sprinkled with corn flour) and pat it into shape. Tastes pretty much the same!

Berry Breakfast Pizza

Dough for 1 pizza (or ready-made pizza crust)
2 cups plain whole natural yogurt
Zest and juice from one lemon
2 ts honey
2 TBs butter, melted
fresh or frozen berries such as raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries
cinnamon and
2TBs Rapadura

On the evening before, drain the yogurt (place a white plate towel over a strainer and drain the whey into a bowl).
The next morning brush pizza dough with melted butter and bake at 375 degrees for about 8 - 10 minutes. Let cool a bit and sprinkle with cinnamon and Rapadura. Mix yogurt with lemon zest, 2 TBs of lemon juice and honey. (Add more honey if you like it sweeter). Spread yogurt on the pizza. Top with berries. Sprinkle a little more Rapadura on top. Enjoy.

Deer Steak with Butter Zucchini Tomato Sauce

1/2 Lb deer (thanks to the Food Bank) or beef steak
4 TBs butter
1 zucchini, peeled and chopped in bite size pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, mashed
1 big tomato, chopped
Salt and pepper
Oregano
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (ideally from raw milk)
1 bag good cheese ravioli (ok, I know that's not from scratch ;))

Bring ravioli or noodle water to a boil. In a heavy cast-iron pan fry steak very briefly in grape-seed oil (only about 1 min. on each side). Place meat on a plate and keep warm. Using the same pan sautee onions in butter on medium-low heat until soft. Add garlic and zucchini, fry a couple of minutes. Add tomato. Season with salt and pepper and oregano. Cut steak into fine slices. Prepare the ravioli (or noodles) according to package directions. To serve arrange pasta on a plate, top with steak and zucchini/tomato sauces. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I served it with Arugula leaves.

Carlotta's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

For all you cookie lovers out there, this recipe is bound to please your taste buds!
Amount: about five dozen
Ingredients:1 stick soft butter
2/3 cup honey
1 egg
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 teaspoons nutmeg1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups Quick Oats, uncooked
1/2 raisins (optional)
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup coconut, shredded (optional)
1. Beat the egg until smooth, adding butter and honey. Set aside until later.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Then add the oatmeal, raisins, chocolate chips, and coconut, mixing with a wooden spoon until well blended.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring until everything is evenly mixed.
5. With a tablespoon, drop onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, closely together. If the dough doesn't hold, dampen your hands, and press together.
6. Place the cookies sheet(s) into oven, and bake for 10 - 12 minutes.
Enjoy!! --Posted By pastor's girl to Pastor's Girl's Ponderings

Special Spelt Gnocchis - with Chicken

2 LBs russet/Yukon gold potatoes
2 cups spelt flour
salt
2 large eggs
pepper
nutmeg
cooked chicken pieces (or other meat)
4 TBs butter
Sage

Cook potatoes - unpeeled - until very soft (about 25 minutes). Drain and let them cool a bit. Peel and mash them. Add flour and eggs, salt, pepper and a little bit of nutmeg. Mix with a fork until well combined. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Knead dough on floured surface until soft and smooth. Divide dough into smaller pieces (5 - 6-). Roll each piece into a long rope about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 1-inch gnocchis. Press fork on top of gnocchis to leave ridges. Bring water and salt to a boil in a big pot. Add half the gnocchis and simmer gently until they rise to the top. Give them about 30 seconds longer and remove them with a slotted spoon. Add the other half of gnocchis.
Melt butter in a sauce pan until slightly browned. Add sage and fry until crispy. Add chicken. Pour sage butter and meat over the gnocchis. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with a green salad.
Either tomato or gorgonzola sauce with spinach are also great with these gnocchis.

Black Bean Tacos

Soak 1 cup of organic black beans with 2 TBs of whey and 1 ts salt overnight.
The next morning drain the beans, cover with water and boil. Skim off the foam and season with 1-2 smashed garlic cloves. Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours. Add water when necessary.
Mix chopped tomatoes, 1 small chopped onion, cilantro, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, chopped jalapeno peppers, pepper, salt and keep in the refridgerator for at least one hour.
When ready to server fry corn tortillas in oil, fold and keep warm in oven. Fill with beans, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese, avocado slices. We found that plain yogurt also works well, in case you're out of sour cream :)

Good for you Soup

Left-over meat, cut in bite-size pieces (kind people gave us some deer steak)
1 medium-size onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 bell-pepper, chopped
1/2 cup or more corn
2 cups beef broth (ideally home-made)
1/2 LB rice noodles any shape
1 clove garlic
2 1/2 TBs tomato paste
salt, pepper
parsley

Sautee onion in butter or olive oil until soft. Add carrots, celery, meat and broth. Simmer of 1 1/2 hours or longer until meat and vegetables are soft (chopped potatoes would work well too). Add bell-pepper and corn as well as tomato paste, garlic, noodles, salt, pepper and 1 cup more water. Cook until noodles are done and add more water until desired consistency.
Serve with sour cream and/or cheese.

Black Bean Bruschetta

Slices of Ciabatta or other rustic bread
1 cup of cooked black beans (or 1 can)
1 clove of garlic
1/3 cup of Tahini
2 TBs olive oil
parsley

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add oil to reach desired consistency - should be of peanut butter consistency. Add salt, pepper and parsley.
Toast bread slices in the oven or toaster.
Rub with an extra clove of garlic, sprinkle with some olive oil. Top with black bean mousse and tomatoes.