Growing up one of the things I loved the most was my Grandmother's varenyky. These little filled dumplings are pyrohy, perogies, varenyky. To be honest, I don't hear them called pyrohy or varenyky very much these days...everyone knows them as perogies. When I asked my Grandma why she called them varenyky, when everyone else called them perogies, she shrugged and said "in the part of the Ukraine my family came from, that's what they called them. So that's what I call them."
Grandma would make her dough, then roll it out and fill it with one of her two wonderful filings. One was potato, mashed with a little onion and salt and pepper. The other was her incredible cottage cheese filling, with onion, dill and black pepper. I remember my mom and grandma making them together one time in our home (this was while Mom and Dad were still married to each other, of course) I think Grandma was teaching her daughter-in-law the tricks to making good varenyky.
I think they must have made 12 dozen of those triangle shaped little jewels, none more than two bites each. They were lovely little things, made with love and a lot of skill.. You know, the kind that have just the right amount of filling, a tender, softer than pasta-like outer casing that was just right...tender yet holding it's shape. When bathed in butter and sauteed onions and topped with sour cream.....a little piece of heaven (via the Ukraine) on earth.
Now my mom would make perogies and cabbage rolls long after she and my dad split...simply because she wanted to ensure we grew up eating traditional foods from both our Hungarian and Ukrainian sides of the family. But at some point, I took the job of making the varenyky over from her, and I enjoyed it. But as good as our versions were, they still couldn't touch Grandma's....and we kids enjoyed them once a year at the Christmas dinners we shared with her and my dad over the years. I think my nieces have inherited a love of them too which makes my heart happy.
I am not making a Christmas dinner this year, but next year I am dreaming of making these for the Beau and his family. If you want to make your own, here's my Grandma's varenyky recipe:
Pyrohy/Varenyky Dough
3 cups flour
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp cooking oil (I use canola)
1 egg
1 tsp salt
Beat egg, add oil and water. Mix with the flour and salt. Knead well to make a soft dough. Let it stand, covered, for about 15 minutes. Roll it out like pie dough (i.e. on a floured surface, and roll the dough thin like pie dough). Cut into squares and place a little of the filling (about 2 tsps is good) on each square. Fold over into a triangle and pinch the edges together well.
Pyrohy/Varenyky Fillings:
Use 5 to 6 large potatoes and one large onion, unless instructions say differently.
Potato I
Boil potatoes and mash well. While the potatoes are boiling, take 12 strips of bacon and chop into small pieces. Fry with finely chopped onion until onion is cooked through (brown at edges) and bacon is very well cooked. Add the onion, bacon and drippings to the mashed potato. Taste the filling and season with salt if needed and lots of pepper.
Potato II
Boil potatoes and mash well. Finely chop a large onion and then fry it in butter (1/2 cup) along with 1 to 2 cups of finely chopped mushrooms. Saute until both are browned. Combine with potatoes, salt, dill, pepper (taste the filling to determine how much of each you need to add...it's all to your taste.)
Potato III
Peel and boil 3 large potatoes and mash well. Take 6 strips of bacon, chopped into small pieces. Fry this with half of one large onion finely chopped. Take 2 cups of sauerkraut and squeeze as much of liquid out of it as possible. Add it to the frypan. (some people like to add 1 tbsp tomato paste as well). Let it saute for about 5 minutes. Combine with potato and season with black pepper.
Sorry, none of these recipes feature cheese in the filling. I am not that kind of Ukrainian!!!! I am sure you could grate cheese into mashed potatoes with sauteed onions and salt and pepper to make a filling.
Cottage Cheese Filling:
4 to 5 cups of dry curd cottage cheese (NOT creamed)
1 egg
1 onion, finely chopped
Fresh dill chopped (good 1/4 cup)
salt
pepper
Combine the ingredients, mashing the cottage cheese so that it starts to stick together, although the egg will bind it well. Use about 2 tsps of filling for each varenyky.
Putting It All Together:
In a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil. Add salt and then drop the varenyky ONE AT A TIME into the water. Let cook for about a minute, or until they rise to the top of the water. Drain in a colander and place in a bowl. I won't hurt to drizzle some melted butteron them and toss gently to help keep them from sticking together. Bring the water back to a rollicking boil before adding the next batch.
Melt butter in large heavy frypan. Add chopped onion, as much or as little as you like, and saute until onion is cooked through and is carmelizing (getting brown around the edges. Pour over the varenyky and enjoy....oh don't forget the sour cream.
No calorie count for these little beauties, my friends!!!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Oh, Get Stuffed!!!
As long as we been roasting birds such as chicken or turkey for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving or any other special occasion, there has been a debate about baking the stuffing on its own or inside the bird. I do both. My mom always stuffed the bird, so I followed her lead. And I did this for many years, but I started to do both after a Christmas dinner with my stuffing mad niece!!!
It does a cook's heart good to see someone tuck in and enjoy what you have made for them. She was only 4 and boy could she pack away dressing - it was a huge hit with her, and when I was packaging up things for them to take home to enjoy as leftovers, she kept asking "Aunty, did you give us stuffing for ME to eat?" I did indeed, but the next year I remembered that we had very little left. I found a slow cooker recipe in my Pillsbury Cookbook that I liked because it was very close to the version I made that went inside the bird. And to tell you the truth I always thought cooking the stuffing inside the bird made it more flavourful, but the slow cooker dressing was every bit as good!
I spent Thanksgiving this year in Fernie B.C. with my cousin J and her family. We had two kinds of stuffing....and I laughed when I realized she and I both made the same slow cooker stuffing, but she also had a baked one that featured sweet potato and pecans and was yummy too.
I won't be making stuffing this year at all, and I am hundreds of miles away from family to cook for. But the Beau and I will be in Vegas and he assures me there will be a fantastic Christmas meal there for the two of us. But I would like to share with you my mom's recipe and a few others (including the slow cooker stuffing recipe that's a hit with me and J and our families), with a word of advice...some of these recipes call for both butter and for sausage. If I am using sausage, I use the drippings from the sausage and skip the butter. But I know others will drain the fat from the sausage, wipe out the pan and then use the butter as called for - saying the flavour from the butter adds an extra oomph in the taste of the stuffing. Me, I am fine without it and the additional calories.
Mom's Dressing
1 pound mild breakfast sausage (we always bought a chubb rather than links)
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped celery, including the leaves (get extra leaves if you can)
10 to 12 cups stale dry white bread, cubed** (I like to mix white and brown bread cubes)
1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped fine or 2 tsp dried sage
2 tsp poultry seasoning
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley (1 tbsp dried)
1 tsp salt
1/2 to 1 tsp black pepper
up to 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth (or more)
1 to 2 eggs
turkey giblets (heart, gizzard...NO liver) ground in a meat grinder or chopped in a food processor
** Mom used to dry out bread in the oven...but if you prefer to use fresh soft bread, by all means do so
Cook the sausage in a large non stick pan over medium heat, breaking it up and crumbling it into [ea sized or smaller particles. Add the giblets and cook until meat is cooked through and sausage is no longer pink. Add the celery, onion, sage, poultry seasoning and pepper. Cook until the celery and onion are softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Get out the biggest stainless steel mixing bowl you have....you will need it. Toss the bread crumbs with the sausage/celery/onion/herb mixture. Take one cup of broth and beat an egg into it. Work this egg/broth mixture into the bread cube mixture with your hands but be prepared....it's hot. If stuffing seems dry or not really holding together you can add another egg if necessary and another 1/2 cup of broth. What do you do not want is a really wet stuffing....it will be very soggy if you stuff the bird. You just want it moist enough to hold together but not mushy. Sprinkle the salt on top and mix it in. You can stuff a 20 pound bird with this stuffing, but you can also put it in a buttered casserole dish, and bake for about 30 to 45 minutes until it's hot and cooked through and nicely browned on top.
This makes about 16 cups of dressing, at around 400 calories each one cup serving size.
Slow Cooker Dressing for Madi
1 cup butter
2 large onions, diced
2 cups chopped celery (include the leaves, they add flavour)
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
12 to 13 cups slightly dry bread cubes
1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp ground marjoram
2 to 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 eggs, beaten
Melt butter in a large skillet and saute, onion, celery, parsley and mushrooms. Pour over the bread cubes in a very large mixing bowl. Add seasonings and toss well. Pour in enough broth to moisten, add beaten eggs and mix well. Pack lightly into a lightly greased slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour, then reduce to LOW and cook from 4 to 7 hours longer.
** If I have giblets, I chop them up fine and cook with the veggies. I
This makes about 16 cups of stuffing, at about 325 calories a serving. By the way, you can cook sausage and crumble it into this dressing as well.
When I married my husband (I guess I should say former husband) I inherited a daughter-in-law who didn't like to eat meat, not even turkey. So my usual sausage based stuffing needed to be replaced one Christmas by an alternative. She did like bacon, always eating it when I made it for breakfast. I was kind of annoyed by her demands for a dressing that had no sausage or giblets in it, and was "healthy." She loved my spinach/bacon quiche, so I thought I would give her a similar stuffing. To my surprise, it was a surprisingly big hit with everyone, even the kids:
Spinach Bacon & Cashew Dressing
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, diced
1/4 cup minced fresh sage
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bag (8 ounces/227 grams) fresh spinach, trimmed
7 cups cubed sourdough bread (1 loaf)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cashews
1 cup chicken stock
3/4 cups whipping cream
3 eggs.
In skillet, fry bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain on paper towel-lined plate. Fry the onion, sage in the bacon drippings until onion is very soft and just beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Add spinach, in batches, stirring until wilted. Scrape into large bowl. Add the bread and cashews to the the bowl. In small bowl, whisk together the stock, cream, eggs, salt and pepper. Pour over bread mixture and toss to coat. Scrape it into a 13 x 9 glass baking dish - smooth out top. Cover and refrigerate until evenly soaked through, at least 1 hour - doing this the night before is best (it can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours). Bake in a 400 degree oven, covered for 20 minuted, then uncover and bake until crusty and knife inserted into centre comes out clean, about another 20 minutes. This can be cut into 8 good sized squares at about 439 calories each. But 12 smaller squares work out to about 300 calories each.
And now , my version of the stuffing J. made this Thanksgiving:
Sweet Potato Cranberry Stuffing
1/4 cup butter
1 large onion, diced
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 cup dried cranberries
2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
8 cups of cubed bread (french, regular white, sourdough, all good choices)
1 3/4 cups low or no sodium chicken broth
1 cup of walnut or pecan pieces, chopped,
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, set aside. Place bread cubes in large mixing bowl, and set aside. Melt 3 tbsp butter in a large heavy frying pan over medium high heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add the potatoes and cook until they are soft and the onion is browned, about 20 minutes. Add maple syrup, cranberries, and 2 tbsp of water and cook until cranberries plump, about 3 minutes. Add sage, salt and pepper, cook one minute more.
Pour this mixture over the bread cubes in the bowl and toss together with the broth. Transfer to the prepared baking dish, dot with remaining butter and scatter nut pieces over the top. Bake until heated through and top is golden, about 30 to 4 minutes.
Serves 12, each serving is approximately 343 calories each.
Lastly a dark and aromatic stuffing:
Pumpernickel/Rye Cranberry Dressing
1 pound breakfast sausage, skin removed (sweet italian sausage works too)
1/2 cup butter
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery, including leaves
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp fresh chopped sage (1 tsp dried if you have no fresh)
1 Tbsp fresh chopped thyme (1 tsp dried)
1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary (1 tsp dried)
2 tsp celery seeds (optional and I have never used them)
1 pinch grated nutmeg (optional again)
1 pinch ground cloves (also optional)
1 tsp salt
10 to 12 cups of a mix of rye and pumpernickel bread, lightly toasted and cubed
1 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth or white wine (or water)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sausage, onion, celery, garlic, sage, thyme, rosemary, celery seeds, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Saute until the sausage is no longer pink and onion is soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Do not drain. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, toss the sauteed ingredients with the bread cubes and cranberries or cherries. Season with pepper and pour the broth over it, tossing to distribute the broth through the stuffing mixture.
Stuff the bird with this mixture or place in a buttered casserole dish, covered, and bake 45 minutes to one hour. For a golden brown top and some crunchiness, bake uncovered for the last 15 minutes.
This will make 14 cups of stuffing, at 307 calories each one cup serving.
It does a cook's heart good to see someone tuck in and enjoy what you have made for them. She was only 4 and boy could she pack away dressing - it was a huge hit with her, and when I was packaging up things for them to take home to enjoy as leftovers, she kept asking "Aunty, did you give us stuffing for ME to eat?" I did indeed, but the next year I remembered that we had very little left. I found a slow cooker recipe in my Pillsbury Cookbook that I liked because it was very close to the version I made that went inside the bird. And to tell you the truth I always thought cooking the stuffing inside the bird made it more flavourful, but the slow cooker dressing was every bit as good!
I spent Thanksgiving this year in Fernie B.C. with my cousin J and her family. We had two kinds of stuffing....and I laughed when I realized she and I both made the same slow cooker stuffing, but she also had a baked one that featured sweet potato and pecans and was yummy too.
I won't be making stuffing this year at all, and I am hundreds of miles away from family to cook for. But the Beau and I will be in Vegas and he assures me there will be a fantastic Christmas meal there for the two of us. But I would like to share with you my mom's recipe and a few others (including the slow cooker stuffing recipe that's a hit with me and J and our families), with a word of advice...some of these recipes call for both butter and for sausage. If I am using sausage, I use the drippings from the sausage and skip the butter. But I know others will drain the fat from the sausage, wipe out the pan and then use the butter as called for - saying the flavour from the butter adds an extra oomph in the taste of the stuffing. Me, I am fine without it and the additional calories.
Mom's Dressing
1 pound mild breakfast sausage (we always bought a chubb rather than links)
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped celery, including the leaves (get extra leaves if you can)
10 to 12 cups stale dry white bread, cubed** (I like to mix white and brown bread cubes)
1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped fine or 2 tsp dried sage
2 tsp poultry seasoning
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley (1 tbsp dried)
1 tsp salt
1/2 to 1 tsp black pepper
up to 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth (or more)
1 to 2 eggs
turkey giblets (heart, gizzard...NO liver) ground in a meat grinder or chopped in a food processor
** Mom used to dry out bread in the oven...but if you prefer to use fresh soft bread, by all means do so
Cook the sausage in a large non stick pan over medium heat, breaking it up and crumbling it into [ea sized or smaller particles. Add the giblets and cook until meat is cooked through and sausage is no longer pink. Add the celery, onion, sage, poultry seasoning and pepper. Cook until the celery and onion are softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Get out the biggest stainless steel mixing bowl you have....you will need it. Toss the bread crumbs with the sausage/celery/onion/herb mixture. Take one cup of broth and beat an egg into it. Work this egg/broth mixture into the bread cube mixture with your hands but be prepared....it's hot. If stuffing seems dry or not really holding together you can add another egg if necessary and another 1/2 cup of broth. What do you do not want is a really wet stuffing....it will be very soggy if you stuff the bird. You just want it moist enough to hold together but not mushy. Sprinkle the salt on top and mix it in. You can stuff a 20 pound bird with this stuffing, but you can also put it in a buttered casserole dish, and bake for about 30 to 45 minutes until it's hot and cooked through and nicely browned on top.
This makes about 16 cups of dressing, at around 400 calories each one cup serving size.
Slow Cooker Dressing for Madi
1 cup butter
2 large onions, diced
2 cups chopped celery (include the leaves, they add flavour)
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
12 to 13 cups slightly dry bread cubes
1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp ground marjoram
2 to 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 eggs, beaten
Melt butter in a large skillet and saute, onion, celery, parsley and mushrooms. Pour over the bread cubes in a very large mixing bowl. Add seasonings and toss well. Pour in enough broth to moisten, add beaten eggs and mix well. Pack lightly into a lightly greased slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour, then reduce to LOW and cook from 4 to 7 hours longer.
** If I have giblets, I chop them up fine and cook with the veggies. I
This makes about 16 cups of stuffing, at about 325 calories a serving. By the way, you can cook sausage and crumble it into this dressing as well.
When I married my husband (I guess I should say former husband) I inherited a daughter-in-law who didn't like to eat meat, not even turkey. So my usual sausage based stuffing needed to be replaced one Christmas by an alternative. She did like bacon, always eating it when I made it for breakfast. I was kind of annoyed by her demands for a dressing that had no sausage or giblets in it, and was "healthy." She loved my spinach/bacon quiche, so I thought I would give her a similar stuffing. To my surprise, it was a surprisingly big hit with everyone, even the kids:
Spinach Bacon & Cashew Dressing
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, diced
1/4 cup minced fresh sage
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bag (8 ounces/227 grams) fresh spinach, trimmed
7 cups cubed sourdough bread (1 loaf)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cashews
1 cup chicken stock
3/4 cups whipping cream
3 eggs.
In skillet, fry bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain on paper towel-lined plate. Fry the onion, sage in the bacon drippings until onion is very soft and just beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Add spinach, in batches, stirring until wilted. Scrape into large bowl. Add the bread and cashews to the the bowl. In small bowl, whisk together the stock, cream, eggs, salt and pepper. Pour over bread mixture and toss to coat. Scrape it into a 13 x 9 glass baking dish - smooth out top. Cover and refrigerate until evenly soaked through, at least 1 hour - doing this the night before is best (it can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours). Bake in a 400 degree oven, covered for 20 minuted, then uncover and bake until crusty and knife inserted into centre comes out clean, about another 20 minutes. This can be cut into 8 good sized squares at about 439 calories each. But 12 smaller squares work out to about 300 calories each.
And now , my version of the stuffing J. made this Thanksgiving:
Sweet Potato Cranberry Stuffing
1/4 cup butter
1 large onion, diced
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 cup dried cranberries
2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
8 cups of cubed bread (french, regular white, sourdough, all good choices)
1 3/4 cups low or no sodium chicken broth
1 cup of walnut or pecan pieces, chopped,
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, set aside. Place bread cubes in large mixing bowl, and set aside. Melt 3 tbsp butter in a large heavy frying pan over medium high heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add the potatoes and cook until they are soft and the onion is browned, about 20 minutes. Add maple syrup, cranberries, and 2 tbsp of water and cook until cranberries plump, about 3 minutes. Add sage, salt and pepper, cook one minute more.
Pour this mixture over the bread cubes in the bowl and toss together with the broth. Transfer to the prepared baking dish, dot with remaining butter and scatter nut pieces over the top. Bake until heated through and top is golden, about 30 to 4 minutes.
Serves 12, each serving is approximately 343 calories each.
Lastly a dark and aromatic stuffing:
Pumpernickel/Rye Cranberry Dressing
1 pound breakfast sausage, skin removed (sweet italian sausage works too)
1/2 cup butter
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery, including leaves
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp fresh chopped sage (1 tsp dried if you have no fresh)
1 Tbsp fresh chopped thyme (1 tsp dried)
1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary (1 tsp dried)
2 tsp celery seeds (optional and I have never used them)
1 pinch grated nutmeg (optional again)
1 pinch ground cloves (also optional)
1 tsp salt
10 to 12 cups of a mix of rye and pumpernickel bread, lightly toasted and cubed
1 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth or white wine (or water)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sausage, onion, celery, garlic, sage, thyme, rosemary, celery seeds, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Saute until the sausage is no longer pink and onion is soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Do not drain. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, toss the sauteed ingredients with the bread cubes and cranberries or cherries. Season with pepper and pour the broth over it, tossing to distribute the broth through the stuffing mixture.
Stuff the bird with this mixture or place in a buttered casserole dish, covered, and bake 45 minutes to one hour. For a golden brown top and some crunchiness, bake uncovered for the last 15 minutes.
This will make 14 cups of stuffing, at 307 calories each one cup serving.
Monday, December 12, 2011
And That's NOT Chicken Paprikash
I am very proud of my ethnic heritage; I am Ukrainian on my dad's side, and Hungarian on my mom's. There are a bounty of wonderful taste sensations to be found in the recipes from both these cultures. I tend to make the Ukrainian foods for special times such as Christmas, birthdays, or big gatherings, while I make my Hungarian dishes for every day. So in October I was craving some creamy delicious comforting food and I decided I would make a big pot of Chicken Paprikash. I knew I could cut down some of the calories by using Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, and I could actually saute my onions in chicken broth rather than oil. So I chopped up two large onions and slathered a good tablespoon, maybe tablespoon and a half of Hungarian paprika over them. That scent of onions and paprika just makes my heart happy. But as I sauteed the onions I became convinced I needed more paprika...the onions weren't as deeply red as I liked. So I grabbed the container of paprika, popped the lid up and vigorously shook a whole bunch more into my pot.
My nose immediately knew there was trouble. I had grabbed the cinnamon and now a good tablespoon and a half was in the pot with my onions and paprika. Oh I tried to scoop it out, but it was too late; the bubbly onions had absorbed all the cinnamon. And it was smelling very aromatic in my kitchen. I sadly said goodbye Chicken Paprikash and hello Chicken Marakesh! Isn't it nice that chicken is such a world traveller? I ended up with sweet potatoes, chicken, paprika, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, a chopped up jalapeno, garlic and chick peas simmering away on my stove top. I made couscous and added lemon juice, honey, oregano and some raisins to it to give it a little bit of that hint of the East. Maybe it wasn't what I originally planned but it sure tasted good.
There was a time when I would have dumped out everything, cried for an hour and then wondered what the hell I was going to do. Now at this stage in my life I am more willing to look at a mistake and think of it as an opportunity to adapt, improvise or improve. Mistakes in and of themselves can be frustrating, upsetting, heart breaking, annoying or just plain silly. But if you can learn from it, great. If you can take that mistake and turn it into something good, even better. Sometimes it's a small thing, like putting cinnamon into a dish where it doesn't belong....sometimes it's a huge thing like placing your trust in someone and finding out everything you believed in and about that person was a lie. But if you learn how to stay on your feet, adapt, change, learn, grow or just survive it...then it's not a mistake, it's experience. And experience shapes us into the people we are!
Chicken Marakesh in the Slow Cooker
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 large onions, diced or sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 14 ounce can of garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1 19 ounce can of diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
Place onions, carrots, sweet potatoes, chicken, garbanzo beans, tomatoes and garlic into your slow cooker. Combine all spices in a bowl, stir to mix well then sprinkle it all over the ingredients in the slow cooker. Stir. Cook on low heat for 4 to 5 hours or until chicken is cooked through and sweet potatoes are tender.
Now...I have to tell you I tripled the amount of spices called for. I also added 1 Tbsp of fresh ginger, grated, and 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and minced. I think you could chop about 1/4 cup cilantro and sprinkle it over the top as garnish and it wouldn't be a bad thing. Makes 8 servings at about 300 calories a serving.
Serve over rice, couscous, or quinoa. I like it with this:
In
medium pan heat oil over medium heat.
Add onions and garlic; sauté 2 minutes.
Add stock and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Stir in remaining ingredients. Remove from heat and cover. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir to fluff it and serve.
Chicken Paprikash
One frying chicken, cut up into pieces
2 to 3 large onions, chopped
1 to 2 Tbsp Paprika
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
1 clove minced garlic
1 red and 1 green bell pepper, diced (optional)
Place oil in large pot over medium to medium high heat. Add onions and paprika. Saute until onions are wilted. Add chicken and and let brown, turning pieces over so they become well coated with the paprika onion mixture. Add the garlic and saute just a few minutes. Add about 1 to 1.5 cups of water to the chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let this simmer for an hour to hour and a quarter, until chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender. Add the peppers and let cook another 15 minutes, then add the sour cream or yogurt and let heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over noodles, mashed potatoes, couscous, quinoa or spaghetti squash.
You can saute the onions in chicken broth to cut calories as well. This makes 6 servings, at about 375 calories each when using sour cream and about 345 when you use Greek yogurt.
My nose immediately knew there was trouble. I had grabbed the cinnamon and now a good tablespoon and a half was in the pot with my onions and paprika. Oh I tried to scoop it out, but it was too late; the bubbly onions had absorbed all the cinnamon. And it was smelling very aromatic in my kitchen. I sadly said goodbye Chicken Paprikash and hello Chicken Marakesh! Isn't it nice that chicken is such a world traveller? I ended up with sweet potatoes, chicken, paprika, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, a chopped up jalapeno, garlic and chick peas simmering away on my stove top. I made couscous and added lemon juice, honey, oregano and some raisins to it to give it a little bit of that hint of the East. Maybe it wasn't what I originally planned but it sure tasted good.
There was a time when I would have dumped out everything, cried for an hour and then wondered what the hell I was going to do. Now at this stage in my life I am more willing to look at a mistake and think of it as an opportunity to adapt, improvise or improve. Mistakes in and of themselves can be frustrating, upsetting, heart breaking, annoying or just plain silly. But if you can learn from it, great. If you can take that mistake and turn it into something good, even better. Sometimes it's a small thing, like putting cinnamon into a dish where it doesn't belong....sometimes it's a huge thing like placing your trust in someone and finding out everything you believed in and about that person was a lie. But if you learn how to stay on your feet, adapt, change, learn, grow or just survive it...then it's not a mistake, it's experience. And experience shapes us into the people we are!
Chicken Marakesh in the Slow Cooker
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 large onions, diced or sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 14 ounce can of garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1 19 ounce can of diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
Place onions, carrots, sweet potatoes, chicken, garbanzo beans, tomatoes and garlic into your slow cooker. Combine all spices in a bowl, stir to mix well then sprinkle it all over the ingredients in the slow cooker. Stir. Cook on low heat for 4 to 5 hours or until chicken is cooked through and sweet potatoes are tender.
Now...I have to tell you I tripled the amount of spices called for. I also added 1 Tbsp of fresh ginger, grated, and 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and minced. I think you could chop about 1/4 cup cilantro and sprinkle it over the top as garnish and it wouldn't be a bad thing. Makes 8 servings at about 300 calories a serving.
Serve over rice, couscous, or quinoa. I like it with this:
Snowflake Raisin Couscous
2
tsp olive oil
½
cup chopped green onion
2
large cloves garlic, minced
2/3
cups chicken stock or broth
1/3
cup lemon juice
¾
cup instant couscous
½
cup raisins
½
cup chopped parsley
½
tsp dried oregano
¼
tsp salt
You can also add ¼ cup slivered almonds,
toasted. Do this when you are fluffing
up the couscous. I usually only do this
if I have company.
This makes about 4 servings and can be easily doubled. One serving is about 250 calories.
Chicken Paprikash
One frying chicken, cut up into pieces
2 to 3 large onions, chopped
1 to 2 Tbsp Paprika
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
1 clove minced garlic
1 red and 1 green bell pepper, diced (optional)
Place oil in large pot over medium to medium high heat. Add onions and paprika. Saute until onions are wilted. Add chicken and and let brown, turning pieces over so they become well coated with the paprika onion mixture. Add the garlic and saute just a few minutes. Add about 1 to 1.5 cups of water to the chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let this simmer for an hour to hour and a quarter, until chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender. Add the peppers and let cook another 15 minutes, then add the sour cream or yogurt and let heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over noodles, mashed potatoes, couscous, quinoa or spaghetti squash.
You can saute the onions in chicken broth to cut calories as well. This makes 6 servings, at about 375 calories each when using sour cream and about 345 when you use Greek yogurt.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas
We humans are such contrary creatures. This year, for the first time since 2008, I will not be alone at Christmas. The Beau and I fly to Las Vegas the morning of December 25 to spend Christmas and New Year's Eve there. Instead of focusing on that, all I can think about is all the wonderful things I could have made us for Christmas dinner here. I wonder what celebrating Christmas with his family, who seem so very nice and normal, would be like.
Like thousands of Canadians, I grew up in a dysfunctional family and Christmas seemed to bring many tensions and conflicts to the forefront. We had some not very merry Christmases over the years, but I have learned that this is not uncommon. I have been very blessed in that I have never spent Christmas homeless, cold, hungry or in the grips of an addiction that made being with friends and family impossible.
My mom yearned for the kind of Christmas you saw in the movies, with the beautiful feast and love and tenderness between all the celebrants. By Christmas of 2000 Mom had been fighting bone cancer for four years. She had been admitted to palliative care that November, but we had been told she would be allowed to leave from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Christmas Day to come home and spend it with her loved ones. I had big plans for making a meal and a day Mom would never forget, and I wanted the day to be just what she wanted.
I can get all tense when I am doing a big meal, and sometimes not so much fun to be around; I start yelling and getting upset. I am the type of cook that needs people to stay out of my way, not break my rhythm, or try to help me. In my head I have my schedule, my plans for when I am doing what, and I just need to be left alone to do that. It took me almost 30 years to figure this out and now for these big meals I just ask people to let me carry on and we will all be happy...and we are! And this Christmas was the first time I just told everyone to stay out of my way and things would be fine. And they were! I had such a good flow in that kitchen, and everything came together as I had hoped and prayed it would.
I had decorated the house and it looked fabulous. I had a beautiful artificial tree, 5 feet tall that fit nicely in the corner, the windows had Christmas lights and there were decorations everywhere. It was very festive and I made sure I had used the multi-coloured lights my mom loved so much. I had planned a huge meal: turkey, ham, cabbage rolls, perogies, stuffing, turkey gravy, mushroom gravy, two jellied salads, carrots and turnips, mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli, raw veggies with dip, buns, cranberry sauce, a tossed salad. We had invited some friends to join us, so there would be 10 of us for supper. And I had decided for dessert I was going to make a trifle, something my mom always wanted to have at Christmas, but that we usually voted against, preferring pumpkin pie or the fabulous carrot pudding she made for Christmas. She thought trifle was the most perfect Christmas dessert and so I was determined to make it for her.
I think that Christmas was a gift to us from above because the angels knew Mom wasn't going to be around much longer. There was no tension, no harsh words, no hard feelings. We exchanged gifts and each of us got what turned out to be our last Christmas presents from Mom. At the time my nieces would have been about 5 and 3. Mom was able to hold them and cuddle them and have fun with her grandchildren and we were all careful not to tire her out. We had a wonderful meal and the trifle was a huge hit with everyone. Mom was in tears seeing it and told me over and over again how much she loved it and me for making it for her. It was a radiant, shining day, and all too soon my brother very tenderly put her in his vehicle and drove her back to palliative care. Before she left she told me it was the best Christmas she ever had, and I think she truly meant it. It certainly is one that stands out for me. We never had another Christmas with Mom, she passed away the Victoria Day weekend in 2001.
I am hoping Christmas in Vegas is not tacky, but I have a feeling it will verge on it. This will be our first Christmas together - last year he was with his children and parents and I was on my own. But this year we will do Vegas and next year I will head to Saskatchewan and we will have a family Christmas. I think I am anticipating that more than anything.
And now one final thing....the trifle I made for Christmas? I had found a recipe that had raspberries, crumbled coconut macaroons, a wonderful anglais creme and some other wonderful things as ingredients. And it was so good. And I have never been able to find the recipe again. Every year I go through my binders, my cook books, the printouts I have been given and kept, the little newspaper books that get published with local recipes looking for it, and I NEVER find it. In a way it's fitting; that trifle was made for my Mom and once it was shared with her, it disappeared so it can never be duplicated. Kind of a magic Christmas thing, I think.
One of the things I like to make most is homemade cranberry sauce. It's very simple and I can never figure out how anyone can say they love the canned stuff when the homemade sauce is so much better. Here's some cranberry sauce recipes in case you feel like making your own this year:
Easy Fresh Cranberry Sauce
1 12 ounce package fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Wash the cranberries. Add the wash berried, sugar and water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Add this point you can add in "bling" to change it up a little. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes; berries will burst. Sauce is done with it's a deep red and thickened.
Bring on the bling!!! Here are some variations:
Chunky Apple-Pear Sauce: add a grated or finely chopped apple, pear, or half of each to the berries as they simmer.
Cranberry-Rhubarb Sauce: use half cranberries, half fresh or frozen chopped rhubarb. Simmer until thick.
Citrus-Port Cranberry Sauce: simmer 1 bag (4 cups) fresh or frozen cranberries with 1/2 cup ruby Port, 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup brown sugar and a cinnamon stick until the berries pop.
Roasted Coronation Grape Sauce: spread out a bunch of dark purple coronation grapes on a rimmed foil-lined baking sheet, drizzle with oil and roast at 450F until they burst and start to turn golden (about 20 minutes); stir into your simmering cranberry sauce.
Ginger & Honey Cranberry Sauce: simmer a bag of berries (3-4 cups) with 3/4 cup honey, 1 cup water or juice, 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger and a cinnamon stick.
Chipotle Cranberry Sauce: add a half a finely chopped chipotle en adobo sauce as your sauce simmers.
Apricot-Grand Marnier Sauce: use 1 cup orange juice as your liquid, and add 1/2-1 cup chopped dried apricots and 1/4 cup Grand Marnier.
Spiced Cranberry Sauce with Raisins: add a handful of raisins, a cinnamon stick or two, and a pinch of powdered ginger, allspice and freshly ground black pepper.
Rosemary Balsamic Cranberry Sauce: add 1 tsp.-1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary as your sauce simmers, and 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar at the end.
Citrus Spice Cranberry Sauce: add the grated zest of an orange, then peel it and roughly chop the orange itself; add it too, along with a cinnamon stick. A spoonful of marmalade works, too.
Warm Spice Cranberry Sauce: grated ginger, or allspice, nutmeg and cloves - do this to your taste of course.
Exotic India: Grated fresh ginger and a spoonful of curry paste
Ina Garten's (Barefoot Contessa) Cranberry Conserve
1 12 ounce bag fresh or frozen cranberries
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (white or brown)
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, corred and diced
Zest and juice of one orange and one lemon
1/2 to 1 cup of raisins or chopped dried apricots
1/2 to 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Cook cranberries, sugar and 1 cup of water in saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes or until the skins pop open. Add the apple, zests and juices and cook 15 minutes more until the berries burst and the mixture thickens . Remove from heat and add dried fruit and nuts. Let cool, best served chilled. Deb's note: toast your nuts before adding to the sauce.
Cranberry Sauce with Grapefruit and Rosemary
1 12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries
3/4 – 1 cup sugar
2 grapefruits (preferably ruby red)
1 lime
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, diced, plus more for garnish
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 – 1 cup sugar
2 grapefruits (preferably ruby red)
1 lime
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, diced, plus more for garnish
1/4 teaspoon salt
Rinse and pick through the cranberries, removing any soft ones, and set aside. Remove the zest and supreme the flesh from one of the grapefruits. Juice the other until you have 1/2 cup grapefruit juice. Zest the lime.
In a large, non-reactive sauce pan, combine the sugar, grapefruit zest and juice, and the lime zest. Heat over high heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Then add the cranberries, grapefruit flesh, rosemary and salt. Simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until most of the cranberries have split down the middle. Transfer to a non-reactive dish, bring to room temperature and serve. Or, wrap tightly and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Serve with a twist of grapefruit and a few sprigs of rosemary.*
* If you like a tangy, slightly more tart cranberry sauce, use the smaller amount of sugar
Cranberry Ginger Sauce
1 12 oz bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
In small sauce pan, bring cranberries, ginger, sugar and 2 tbsp of water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and let cook until cranberries have popped, about 15 minutes. Add the vinegar and let cool to room temperature.
Cranberry sauce with maple and orange zest
1 12 ounce (340g) bag, or 3 cups of cranberries
juice and zest of 1 orange
1/2 C (100g) sugar
1/4 C (110g) real maple syrup
juice and zest of 1 orange
1/2 C (100g) sugar
1/4 C (110g) real maple syrup
Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring just to a boil, lower heat and cook on a very low simmer for 15 minutes. Cranberries should pop. Transfer to a bowl to cool completely, then refrigerate.
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