070911 - Spanish Chicken

Hot weather and humidity are not conducive to heating the kitchen, but we had a cooler, dryer day and I decided to get out the Dutch oven! 

We added rice and dinner was served!

4-18-11 Pot Roast

Brown roast, add carrots, onions, garlic, a little water and ... a few hours later with low heat and POT ROAST is served.

4-21-11 Chicken and Noodles

When I was little my mom would make the BEST chicken and noodles.  She made homemade noodles that were not very pretty, but we loved them anyway. This was definitely not soup ... not enough broth to call it that ... just chicken & noodles ...any remaining broth was thickened by the flour remaining on the noodles.  YUM! This version uses store bought homemade noodles which are almost as good.  :)



Cut up 6 to 8 chicken thighs in bite sized pieces.  Cook in a little olive oil until no longer pink.  Add chopped onions, carrots & celery.  Cover with chicken broth and cook about 10 minutes until veggies are tender. The noodles can be added directly to the pot, or they can be cooked in a separate pot of boiling, salted water and then added to the chicken & veg (recommended). 

After everything is cooked, a slurry of flour & water can be added to thicken the sauce. (1-2 Tbs. flour to equal part of water)

3-31-11 Chili

An old standby - my sister Kim's chili recipe (with a few embellishments).  Really quick and easy.

Ingredients:  1 lb. ground beef (or turkey or pork); 1 medium onion, 28 oz. can tomatoes (whole or diced), 1 can dark red kidney beans, 1 can green whole chilies (chopped), 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper, 2-4 Tbs. chili powder (or to taste), 1 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder (optional).

 Brown the ground beef with the onions.  Pour off fat.  Add green chilies. 

Add remaining ingredients.  Cook about 30 minutes - or longer.

Dinner is served!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

A first!  I've never before made corned beef and cabbage, so I figured this was the year to make the effort.  Cooking it on St. Patrick's Day would have been nice, but Friday the 18th worked better in our family's schedule.  Can't say that the meat looked all that appetizing by itself in the pot of water, but the end product was quite tasty!

A New Dutch Oven

Brian gave me a beautiful new Dutch Oven for Christmas.  Since then I've made a number of delicious meals in it.  The other day I thought I'd join the ranks of other food bloggers (inspired by Julie & Julia) and journal what's for dinner ... at least when the new pot is pulled into service.  So ... here we go!

P.S.  The "Spoon" part is named for another Christmas gift from Judy at work ... an equally beautiful new wooden spoon!