Chix Pot Pie

1/2 part evoo
1/2 part stick butter
1 large onion – chopped (can add 2-5 cloves of smashed and chopped garlic, if feeling frisky)
1 part flour
11/2 – 2 part chicken broth
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Frozen peas
5 carrots – chopped
1 Lb of baby potatoes (different colors for visual appeal) – cubed
Salt, Pepper, Paprika
2 sets of pie crust

Steam carrots and potatoes in microwave. Potatoes should take longer than carrots. Don’t cook together!
Cube chicken into small bites. Place in boiling chicken broth and keep there until cooked through. Pull out.
Melt the butter and evoo in large sauce pan. Sautee onion on super low heat until clear. Whisk in flower slowly until even consistency is achieved. Should be paste-like. Rehydrate mixture by whisking broth into paste. Don’t add broth too quickly. Add as much or as little as you’d like your sauce thickness to be. Salt and pepper the sauce. Add a bunch of paprika. Whisk all that into an even consistency. Remove from heat.

Add peas, carrots, potatoes and chicken to sauce and turn over into even consistency.

Prepare two pie pans with crusts. You should have enough to make two pies.

Bake @ 400 degree for 1.25-1.75hrs.

It’s about 46 and raining here in Portland, and on these days there is seriously nothing better than a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. Now, there about several ways to go about making grilled cheese, but you must understand I am a grilled cheese purist: a proper grilled cheese sandwich is bread and cheese; once you add anything else, it becomes a “melt.” Add tuna? Tuna Melt. Add tomatoes? I don’t know what you’d call it, but it is no longer grilled cheese. I don’t know why, it’s just one of those things I feel very strongly about. So here’s my grilled cheese recipe:

PDXPup’s Grilled Cheese

2 Slices of bread of your choosing (I usually have this one called ‘Oatnut’ that’s pretty good)
2 Slices Tillamook (yes, Tillamook) Medium Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 Slice Tillamook (see above) Pepperjack cheese
Butter (for bread and melting)

Turn your stove on to just over medium, but not quite medium high and get your pan on there. Butter one side of each piece of bread and set aside. Throw a good chunk of butter in the pan for melting-don’t go overboard, but don’t skimp either…this is the key to a really good toasty outside. Once the butter in the pan has melted put one of the slices of bread, butter side down, in the pan. Add one slice of cheddar cheese to the bread and then layer the slice of pepperjack in, followed by the other slice of cheddar so the three slices sit uniformly across the bread. Put the other slice of bread, butter side up and facing you on top. Let grill for about 2-3 minutes and lift with a spatula to see that it is toasting. Flip over and let toast another minute or two. Keep flipping every minute or so to ensure uniform cheese melting and toasting. Once it’s grilled to your preferred doneness on the outside and inside, put on a plate and enjoy.

For the tomato soup everyone’s got their preferences, but if you’re using Campbell’s try using milk instead of water. So much better for dunking the sandwich into. Another option is Safeway’s Tomato Basil soup that you can buy already made and just heat up. Some people hate tomato soup and prefer another kind instead, which is a-okay with me.

Turkey Meatloaf with Mushrooms and Herbs

2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (plus additional for brushing)
2 cups 1/2 inch cubes crustless, day-old pain rustique (I think that’s bread for us North Idaho folks)
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
8 ounces sliced button mushrooms
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound ground turkey (15% fat)
1 pound ground turkey breast

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a meatloaf-sized pan with olive oil.

Toss bread with broth in large bowl. Let stand until bread absorbs broth and softens, about 10 minutes. Mix in mushrooms, eggs, shallots, parsley, thyme, coarse salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons oil.
Add turkey; mix until just blended. Transfer to pan, mounding in center. Bake until thermometer inserted into center registers 170 degrees, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

4 servings, plus leftovers

(and as an added bonus, they included a recipe for grilled meatloaf and cheese sandwiches: they suggested sandwiching a 1/2 inch slice of meatloaf between two slices of either monterey jack, swiss or provolone cheese and 2 slices of wheat bread. Brush outsides with olive oil, grill in skillet about 3 minutes per side and serve with dijon mustard.)

Creme Fraiche and Chive Mashed Potatoes

3 quarts water
2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt plus additional for seasoning
2 pounds Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch wedges
1/2 cup whole milke
1/2 cup creme fraiche (available at most supermarkets/specialty food stores)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Bring 3 quarts water to boil in heavy medium pot. Add 2 tablespoons coarse salt; add potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 18 minutes. Drain. Press potatoes through ricer (or just mash them however you prefer, I guess) into large bowl. Cover bowl with clean towel to keep warm.
Heat milk, creme fraiche, and butter in saucepan over medium heat, just until bubbles begin to form at edge, stirring until butter melts. Gradually mix hot milk mixture into potatoes. Fold in chives. Season with coarse salt and pepper. (Can be made an hour ahead of meatloaf…Let stand at room temp, reheat in microwaveable bowl.)

6 servings (and astonishingly enough, only 214 calories/10g fat per serving)

Glazed Root Vegetables

1 1/4 cups water
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt plus additional for sprinkling
2 medium rutabagas, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 medium turnips, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Bring 1 1/4 cups water, honey, butter, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt to a boil in medium saucepan over high heat. Add rutabagas and return water to boil. Cook for 2 minutes; add turnips. Boil until water is reduced to glaze and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, toss with parsely.

6 servings

Anyway. As usual, I am off track. This isn’t an old family favorite, but I recipe I just dug up on the internet. I made these Tiny Chocolate Chunk and Toffee cookies for my friend for her birthday this week. Super easy and super tasty. And if you don’t know what chocolate covered toffee is, it’s called a Heath Bar. Also available in Blizzards at your local Dairy Queen.

Tiny Chocolate Chunk and Toffee Cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/3-inch pieces
1 cup (5 oz.) chopped chocolate-covered toffee

Preheat an oven to 375°F.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter and vanilla. Using an electric mixer set on high speed, beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Then mix in the chocolate and toffee. Spoon the batter by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart.

Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

-Angela

KFTC: hey, how do i make gramma jo’s potato salad?

JSCHMI: ingredients and technique are key

JSCHMI: small white potatoes cooked til firm, not crunchy nor soft

KFTC: yeah, white potatoes…

KFTC: eggs, dill pickles

KFTC: onions

JSCHMI: dozen eggs, hardboiled, but into 4ths and then halved, so they won’t become too mushy

KFTC: aha

JSCHMI: plenty of Walla Walla SWEET onions, diced small, not fine

KFTC: ok

JSCHMI: high quality dill pickles, diced small, not fine

KFTC: like, uh…the ones we usually get?

JSCHMI: healthy dollop of Best Food’s mayo, less is more

KFTC: ok

JSCHMI: very small amount of pickle juice

KFTC: okay

JSCHMI: lots of salt and pepper to bring the taste out

KFTC: gotcha

JSCHMI: then adjust w/ pickle juice

JSCHMI: let sit one half day

KFTC: what about the egg insides? they get mixed up normally with everything else?

KFTC: the yoke…

KFTC: sorry

JSCHMI: you cut the eggs up and then mix them in

KFTC: okay

JSCHMI: garnish with extra eggs cut up and paprika

JSCHMI: very 50s

KFTC: yes, but it’s the best potato salad every

KFTC: ever

JSCHMI: no mustard, no sugar, no nothing except potatoes, pickles, onions and eggs

KFTC: that’s all you need really

JSCHMI: potatoes much be diced regularly, so as not to mush

KFTC: okay

JSCHMI: not too fine, either

KFTC: bigger hunks then.

JSCHMI: the eggs provide the mushy part and serve as part of the dressing rather than part of the taste

KFTC: yeah

JSCHMI: like?  the egg in the Caesar dressing?

KFTC: aha

KFTC: this is great.

KFTC: you are the shizzle…

JSCHMI:

JSCHMI:

- Angela

Grandma’s Friend Bev’s Barbecue Sauce

1/2 Cup Onion
1/2 Cup Catsup
1/2 Cup Water
1/3 Cup Oil
1 1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Worcestshire Sauce
1 1/2 Tsp. Mustard
1/4 Tsp. Pepper

Blend ALL ingredients in a blender. Brown chicken or ribs and back 1 1/2 hours at 375 degrees. Turn Twice.

- Angela

Papa Harrison’s Cole Slaw

1 head cabbage, finely chopped
1 half medium onion, finely grated
mayonnaise
lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, mixing mayo and lemon juice to taste. For variation, add diced tomatoes or cooked shrimp. If necessary, it can be made ahead and chilled before serving.

- Angela

Jackpot Casserole

1 lb. Ground Beef
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 can tomato soup
1 1/2 cans water
14 ounces egg noodles
1 can cream style corn
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 can olives, sliced

Brown meat with onion and drain fat. Add soup, water and noodles and bring to a boil. Cook until noodles are tender. Stir in corn, half the cheese (or all) and the olives. Top with remaining cheese (optional) and bake in greased casserole at 375 degrees for 35 minutes (or until cheese on top bubbles).

We usually get some baked potatoes in the oven and eat the Jack with baked potatoes, sometimes even using it as an topping for said potato. When Ben moved to Sacramento, the only thing he wanted was a nice casserole dish he could make Jackpot in.

- Angela