Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Quinoa

I found this on pinterest, but it (along with the picture) comes from Cookin' Canuck. This was a nice new flavor. Don't skip the olives. You could make this vegetarian by using veggie broth and subbing white beans for the chicken.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded & chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 can (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes
• 2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
• 3/4 cup pitted and quartered kalamata olives
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

1. Steam the butternut squash until barely tender, about 10 minutes. Remove half of the squash pieces and set aside.
2. Steam the remaining squash until very tender, an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Mash this squash with the back of a fork. Set aside.
3. In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer.
4. Add chicken thighs, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
5. Transfer the chicken thighs to a plate and allow to cool. Pour broth into a medium-sized bowl.
6. Return the saucepan to the stovetop and lower heat to medium. Add olive oil.
7. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is starting to turn brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
8. Add minced garlic and oregano. Cook, stirring, for 1 additional minute.
9. To the saucepan, add tomatoes, butternut squash pieces, mashed butternut squash. Stir to combine.
10. Stir in reserved chicken broth and quinoa. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa turns translucent, about 15 minutes.
11. Shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork.
12. Stir the chicken, olives and pepper into the stew and simmer, uncovered, to heat, about 5 minutes.
13. Stir in parsley and serve.

Shahi

Another from Manjula.

Shahi Paneer is a very festive main dish that is creamy and rich in flavor. It is usually a special occasion dish. Shahi paneer can be served with any Indian bread, such as naan or with rice.

Recipe will serve 4.*

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb paneer (approx. 1-1/2 cups cubed)**
• 12 cashew nuts
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 1 green chili chopped
• 1/4 inch of ginger
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1/8 teaspoon asafetida (hing) [I couldn't find this and left it out]
  
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder (dhania)
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric (haldi
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder, adjust to taste
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (hara Dhania)

Method

1. Slice paneer into 3/4 inch cubes. Keep aside.
2. Grind cashews into powder-like consistency. Keep aside.
3. Puree tomatoes, green chili and ginger. Keep aside.
4. Add oil in a pan, over medium heat. Shallow fry paneer cubes till they turn slightly brown. Remove from pan and place over paper towels to absorb excess oil.
5. Increase heat to medium-high and test the oil by adding one cumin seed. If it cracks immediately, the oil is ready.
6. Add cumin seeds to the oil and as they crack, add asafetida and bay leaves. Stir for a few seconds.
7. Add tomato puree, coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder, and paprika. Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes. It will reduce to half its volume and start separating from the oil.
8. Add sugar, cashew powder and yogurt. Cook for another minute then add 1 cup of water*** and salt and bring to boil.
9. Add paneer and cover the pan. Simmer for a few minutes over medium-low heat, till gravy is slightly thick in consistency.
10. Remove from heat, add garam masala and chopped cilantro. Mix gently, cover the pan and let it sit for a couple of minutes.
11. Shahi paneer tastes best if it is served hot.

*It fed me, Sam, and Anna, not quite 4 adults.
** We used chicken instead of paneer.
***I'd suggest substituting chicken or veggie broth for the water. We liked the final dish, but it tasted watered down.

Sam's Hash Browns

While making these pancakes, I suggested to Sam that he cook up some raw potatoes we had that wouldn't fit in the roast we ate earlier in the week. I told him he could do whatever he wanted since I wasn't going to eat them anyway. Here's what he did:

Cook some bacon and keep all the grease in the pan.
Dice some small red potatoes into 1/4 inch cubes.
Reheat the grease and put the potatoes in. Salt and pepper generously.
Cook them for a little while (3 minutes?) and decide they're not going quickly enough. Cover with a pan lid and cook until tender and crispy, stirring occasionally.

Needless to say, these taste like the best french fry you'll ever eat. I ate at least 1/3 of them.

Southwest Pasta Salad

Sam's mom gave me this recipe and I love it. It's really easy to make and is great for potlucks. But be aware, the whole recipe makes a ton of salad. If I'm just feeding our family, I half the recipe and we still have leftovers. Anna likes it warmed.

I put *asterisks* around ingredients I usually leave out and {brackets} around ingredients I like to add

SOUTHWEST PASTA SALAD

Cook 1 pound tricolor pasta until al dente; do not overcook

In a large bowl, combine the pasta with

½ cup finely chopped red onions

*½ green pepper, finely chopped*

1 cup frozen or canned corn(I just use a whole can of corn)

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 small can chopped green chili peppers (sometimes I leave these out and it's still good)

1 15 oz. can kidney beans, or black beans rinsed and drained (I still use the whole can, even when I half the recipe)

4 ounces cubed or shredded cheese (cheddar, taco mix, or colby jack works well)

{half to a whole avocado}

{one or two tomatoes, or some salsa}

{one or two whole green onions}

{chopped black olives}

{some chicken that I stir fried in garlic powder, chili powder, and oregano)

Whisk together these sauce ingredients in small bowl and then pour over those in the large bowl

3 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp chicken or vegetable broth

5 Tbsp white-wine vinegar

3 Tbsp tomato sauce (or spaghetti sauce)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried oregano

Farmer's Market Vegetarian Quesadillas

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped zucchini

1/2 cup chopped yellow squash

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

1 tablespoon olive oil cooking spray

6 (9 inch) whole wheat tortillas

1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese

In a large nonstick pan, cook red pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, onion, and mushrooms in olive oil over medium to medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until just tender. Remove vegetables from pan.

Coat the same pan with cooking spray, and place one tortilla in pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese evenly over tortilla, and layer 3/4 cup of the vegetable mixture over the cheese. Sprinkle another 1/8 cup of cheese on the vegetables, and top with a second tortilla. Cook until golden on both sides, for approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove quesadilla from pan, and repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut each quesadilla into 8 triangles with a pizza cutter. Serve hot.

We used my griddle for the whole thing and used regular tortillas in stead of whole wheat, and they turned out great. I'm sure you could add other kinds of veggies and it would be just as good.

Roasted Veggies

My new favorite way to eat vegetables is to roast them. I've used this method with sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, broccoli, zucchini, and asparagus. I really like it with broccoli and asparagus. It's like eating green french fries.

1) Preheat the oven to 400-425 (lower for green veggies, higher for starchy ones)
2)Chop up your veggies or trim the ends off the asparagus stalks
3) Drizzle with olive oil
4) Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and minced fresh garlic (1-4 cloves, depending on the volume of veggies you're working with)
5) Toss it all together till it's well coated
6) Place in oven for 10-20 minutes until veggies are browned and a little crispy, turning once or twice while cooking

Last night I made broiled steaks (see previous recipe) and just put the asparagus on the broiler pan with the steak. Even at the higher heat, they did just fine. Experiment with all your veggies! Make thin slices of sweet potato for home-made fries. Try sprinkling with some parmesan cheese or lemon rind/juice after cooking.

Puffy Crusted Chicken Pot Pie

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Serves 8

Filling
2.5 cups of cooked, shredded chicken. Canned works fine, but microwaving the chicken and putting it in the blender on a low speed a chunk at a time works great.
1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup of chicken broth
2 bags of frozen vegetables, 1 lb each (peas, carrots, corn, and green beans), thawed
Seasonings to taste (salt, pepper, whatever)

Crust
4 cups baking mix
1.5 cups milk
.5 cup shortening
Seasonings (it's fun to try different spice blends in different quadrants of the crust)

Put the filling straight into an ungreased 9x13 pan or casserole dish. Cut the crust ingredients together until lumpy and moist, then pour on top of the filling, doing as little actual spreading as possible, since messing with it could make what should be a thick, airy crust come out flat and hard.

Bake at 375F for 45 minutes.

Roasted Vegetable Soup

From Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family.

6 to 8 C chicken stock
1 recipe Roasted Winter Vegetables
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For serving:
Croutons
Good olive oil

In a large saucepan, heat 6 C of chicken stock. In two batches,coarsely puree the roasted vegetables and the chicken stock in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pour the soup back into the pot and season to taste. Thin with more chicken stock and reheat. The soup should be thick but not like a vegetable puree, so add more chicken stock and/or water until it's the consistency you like.

Serve with brioche croutons and a drizzle of good olive oil.

Roasted Winter Vegetables

From Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family.

1 lb carrots, peeled
1 lb parsnips, peeled
1 large sweet potato, peeled
1 small butternut squash (about 2 lbs), peeled and seeded
3 Tbsp good olive oil
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 425

Cut carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, and butternut squash in 1- to 1 1/4- inch cubes. All the vegetables will shrink while baking, so don't cut them too small.

Place all the cut vegetables in a single later on two sheet pans. Drizzle them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss well. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender, turning once with a metal spatula.

Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste, and serve hot.

Serves 8

Use left overs to make Roasted Vegetable soup

*Heather's note: This is one of the tastiest ways I've ever eaten these vegetables. They also look pretty and smell great. I probably used more olive oil and completely forgot the parsley and it was still yummy.