Crispy Oven Roasted Parmesan Potatoes over Chicken

This is one we tried last night - very tasty! I'd recommend serving it with some sort of bread or something that will soak up the juices, because they are delicious! This recipe is courtesy of My Recipe Journey.

Crispy Oven Roasted Parmesan Potatoes Over Chicken

INGREDIENTS:
  4 large russet potatoes

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 teaspoon black pepper, divided in half

1 teaspoon garlic powder, divided in half

1 teaspoon onion powder, divided in half

 15 oz. can fat free beef broth

2 Tablespoons of butter

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into thin bite sized pieces

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

kosher salt

black pepper

chopped fresh parsley, garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the potatoes into 1 inch cubes and coat with the 

olive oil and half the pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.

In a medium sized pot simmer the beef broth and butter.

Then add the coated potatoes and bring to a boil for 8 minutes.

Season the chicken pieces with the other half of the pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.

Also lightly season the chicken pieces

with kosher salt and pepper.

Grease a 12"x 9" glass baking pan.

Evenly spread out the seasoned chicken pieces

in the bottom of that pan.

Now pour the boiled potatoes and the broth mixture

evenly over the chicken pieces.

 Top with the grated cheese.

Bake uncovered on middle rack for 50- 60 minutes

or until nicely browned.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

Serve warm with pan juices.

Makes 4 servings.

I made this as directed, though I made it with 6 potatoes and about 1/2 a bag of chicken tenders, which ended up making a 9 x 13 pan, and a 10 x 8 pan as well. I doubled the liquid amount, and used chicken broth instead of beef broth. It seemed weird to me to use beef broth with a chicken/potato dish. The potatoes were deliciously seasoned and cooked perfectly. Compared to the potatoes, the chicken was a little less flavorful, but together, mmmmm, a piece of heaven. 

Paella

This is a family standby at our house, though I realized when I was making it this weekend that I don't think I had made it since moving in to our house, which was over 2 years ago! Man, time flies when you're having fun! There are tons of different versions of Paella - it is a traditional Valencian dish, which is located in Spain. It is comprised of seafood, rice, green vegetables, and spices (and apparently beans, according to Wikipedia), the main seasonings being curry, saffron, and some type of spicy sausage. I'll be honest, I've never made it with saffron, just because I don't have any on hand! This recipe is the one passed down to us from the hubby's parents, and to them by his grandma, which is kind of cool. We've adapted it from there, but in the spirit of keeping the family recipe alive, I will post it as written and share my changes below.

Paella

      Ingredients
12 small fresh clams, 12 medium size shrimp in shells, mussels, squid, octopus, scallops, or any other shell fish
8 oz chorizo or pepperoni, sliced
2 Tbs. cooking oil
Chicken pieces (8 portions)
30 oz. chicken broth (about 4 cups)
1 medium sized onion, cut into wedges
1 sweet red or green pepper, cut into strips
1 tsp minced garlic
2 cups white rice, uncooked
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp saffron (if you have it)
2 tsp curry powder
5 oz. package of frozen green peas

     Directions

1. Clean and shell shrimp
2. Cook sliced chorizo, pepperoni or sausage in skillet for 10 minutes, drain fat, and set aside to cool. 
3. Heat oil in skillet and brown the chicken pieces for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove chicken and set aside.
4. In a sauce pan, heat chicken broth to a boil. Meanwhile, brown onion, pepper, and garlic in the oil remaining in the skillet used for the chicken. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees, and set the bottom shelf to the lowest setting.
5. Add rice and seasonings to the boiling broth. Bring to a boil over high heat and then remove from heat. 
6. Pour rice into Paella or Pyrex pan (use at least a 9 x 13)
7. Arrange chicken, sausage, and shrimp/shell fish on top of the rice. Scatter peas over it all. Set pan on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, or until rice is done. NEVER STIR!
8. When done, remove and cover with a kitchen towel for ~5 minutes, then serve. 

Alright...so from the get-go, I hate peppers. Of any sort. So I don't put those in, ever. For seafood, I use 1 pound of the pre-cooked shrimp and no other shellfish - I've used any size from salad shrimp to jumbo shrimp, whatever your preference is should work. For sausage I use pepperoni cut into chunks (not sliced) and increase the amount from 8 oz to 16 oz. And for the peas, I usually use around 8-10 ounces, because I like peas. And it helps break the spiciness of the dish a little bit. I usually use chicken tenders for my chicken and cook however many will fit on the top of the 9 x 13 pan (usually 6-8). Instead of draining the pepperoni after cooking and using separate cooking oil, I brown the chicken in the skillet I used to cook the pepperoni. It gets an awesome flavor from the leftover pepperoni oil, and browns pretty well. 

As for changes in the cooking process, we have found that the rice is NEVER done in the 30 minutes allotted to it in the oven. Usually it takes 45-60 minutes if followed as directed. So to combat this, we combine everything except for the shrimp, peas, and chicken in the chicken broth and boil it for ~10 minutes. Then stir the shrimp and peas into the pot and immediately put into your Pyrex pan. Place the chicken pieces on top and cook for the specified 25-30 minutes. We have found that this keeps the peas from getting mushy and the shrimp from getting overcooked and chewy. This is a hearty dish, which just the right amount of spice to keep it interesting without being too spicy for me! 

I would love to hear if you have made paella before, or what changes you would make! 

Listening to The Piano Guys currently, and getting ready to watch Perception's first episode of season 2. Happy Sunday night to me. :) 

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

I thought I had posted this recipe, but apparently not. It's quickly become an old standby at our house, meaning I didn't think it was a new one anymore! ;) The hubby LOVES chicken noodle soup, and while I don't mind it, this soup is a similar enough to make him happy, and different enough to make me happy. Winner all around! It's a pretty versatile soup, you can change whatever you want (pretty much) and it comes out awesome.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Ingredients
Makes about 6 servings

 1 tablespoon olive oil
 1 small onion, diced
 3 stalks celery, diced
 3 cloves garlic, minced
 2 carrots, shredded
 1 pound cooked, cubed chicken breast
 4 cups chicken broth
 1 (16 ounce) package mini potato gnocchi
 1 (6 ounce) bag baby spinach leaves
 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
 2 tablespoons cold water (optional)
 2 cups half-and-half cream
 salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onion, celery, garlic, and carrots in the hot oil until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in cubed chicken and chicken broth; bring to a simmer.
Stir gnocchi into the simmering soup and cook until they begin to float, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in spinach; cook until wilted, about 3 additional minutes.
Whisk cornstarch into cold water until smooth. Stir cornstarch mixture and half-and-half into simmering soup. Cook until soup thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

To start off, I make this recipe using a Rotisserie chicken. I have never tried it with regular chicken, and while I think it would still be good, I like the added flavor of the rotisserie seasonings. Plus all the meat that comes off of a rotisserie chicken is the perfect amount for soup. Anywho, so pick off all the meat and set aside. Boil the carcass and skin for several hours to make stock. (at this point I usually add some additional chicken bullion to the broth, do this to taste). I then dice 3-4 stalks of celery, 1 onion, and 1 bunch of organic carrots (trust me, I am not on the organic train for the most part, but definitely AM for carrots!), which equals to be about 5-6 smallish carrots. Then follow the recipe as directed. I haven't put spinach in it, because for many years, I've had a phobia of cooked spinach. I recently tried it in the Zuppa Toscana soup, and it was fabulous, so I think I'll start adding spinach to the final product. It is great served with nice crusty bread, and a fresh green salad. Definitely a keeper around this household! I haven't tried freezing it yet (the leftovers are equally awesome and tend to go quickly), but that is my next task. I'll let you know how it goes! 

Pasta Fagioli

Moving on from bacon (as I realized the last 2 posts were about bacon), we'll throw in a recipe with no meat at all! I am a self-proclaimed carnivore. My dad was a meat cutter, so meat was a staple food source as I was growing up. Mom hid all sorts of veggies in regular food - I distinctly remember shredded carrots in lasagna, and tofu ending up in Lord knows what. I'm trying to branch out beyond meals that require meat, and this is definitely going to go into the keeper pile.

Pasta Fagioli

Original recipe makes 4 servings

 1 tablespoon olive oil
 2 stalks celery, chopped
 1 onion, chopped
 3 cloves garlic, minced
 2 teaspoons dried parsley
 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
 salt to taste
 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
 2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
 1/2 cup uncooked spinach pasta
 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, with liquid

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook celery, onion, garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and salt in the hot oil until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes and tomato sauce, and simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes.
Add pasta and cook 10 minutes, until pasta is tender.
Add undrained beans and mix well. Heat through. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Followed this one as directed (mostly). I did use chicken bullion to make the broth instead of already made broth. I tend to be a bit over-enthusiastic when adding bullion, and as a result this was a bit overly salty. Made with the appropriate ratio of bullion to water, I think it would be perfect. I added crushed red pepper instead of pepper flakes, and used the Garden's Delight pasta, which is made from carrots, spinach, and tomatoes. I did forgo the actual tomatoes, increasing the water by 2 cups and the pasta by another 1/2 cup. The soup is richly flavored, and beyond being too salty (my fault), it was incredible. 

    I'm looking in to joining a CSA this summer. My special group read The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball, and I felt inspired. I want to try new veggies that I wouldn't on my own have picked up from Meijer. I want the freshness factor, and the knowledge of exactly where my food is coming from. By no means am I currently jumping on the organic bandwagon, or proclaiming from the rooftops that "this is how you should grocery shop!" I think everyone should make the choice for themselves, what works best for them and their budget. I am definitely excited though, and hoping that if it works out, it will be a growing (lol!) experience.