Greek Chicken

Baking a chicken is so easy in my Pampered Chef Covered Baker. I LOVE THAT THING! It was expensive but I've used it so many times that I've gotten my monies worth for sure. I love that I can cook a whole chicken in the microwave in 35 minutes if I'm pressed for time. It's fast and easy and the chicken is always tender and juicy. I can also bake a whole chicken in the oven if I have 1-2 hours of prep time for dinner. Since I bought chicken and Feta cheese from Costco, Greek chicken was on the menu tonight!

The chicken bakes evenly in the Baker. 

I'll use the bones and make homemade chicken stock.

Greek Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4-5 lb whole chicken
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• oregano
• thyme
• garlic powder
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 lemon
• 6-8 cloves garlic
• Italian flat leaf parsley (I used a BIG handful)
• Feta cheese, crumbled (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Clean chicken and pat dry.
2. Squeeze half lemon juice on outside of chicken and other half inside cavity.
3. Sprinkle seasonings evenly over entire chicken.
4. Place onion, garlic, parsley and used lemon inside cavity.
5. Place chicken on roasting tray in foil-lined baking dish. If you have a Covered Baker, this is a great time to use it.
6. Roast uncovered for 1 1/2 - 2 hrs or until meat thermometer reads 180F. If using your Covered Baker, bake COVERED for 1 - 1 1/2 hrs.
7. Baste chicken after first hour and repeat every 15 mins. If you want crispy skin, don't baste during the last hour. If using your Covered Baker, you do not need to baste the chicken as it bakes in its juices and remains tender and moist from the baking process.
8. When baked thoroughly, remove from oven and let chicken rest for 5-8 mins before carving. Serve with Feta cheese sprinkled on top.

Suggestions: Serve with salad, rice (squeeze a little lemon on top) and/or veggies.

Source: For the Love of Cooking

Flour Tortillas

Mexican restaurants that serve fresh tortillas are the BEST! Seriously. There's something about fresh tortillas that are just so yummy. If you've had 'em, you know what I'm talking about. A couple weekends ago, I took my sis and her boyfriend to Old Town San Diego. When we were walking around, we saw a couple restaurants with gals behind the big window rolling out homemade tortillas and cooking them on a big griddle. They made it look so easy and the tortillas looked so fresh and delicious. I wanted one. I wanted one really bad but we had just eaten lunch so I was full. I made a mental note to make homemade tortillas at some point. 

I tried a recipe from Our Best Bites and they were beyond delicious! The tortillas were really easy to make thanks to my new stand mixer and my new Roul'Pat. Jeez, I LOVE my new kitchen goodies!

No, they weren't all perfectly circular but they were close enough.

I spread one with a little butter, rolled it up and gave it to my boys.

They raved on and on about how tasty they were. 

YUM!

Flour Tortillas

Yield: 10-12 fajita-sized tortillas, 7-8 burrito-sized tortillas or 5-6 large tortillas

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 c flour
• 1 c very hot water
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 c shortening

Directions:

1. In stand mixer bowl, mix flour and salt.
2. Add shortening and mix well (will look like coarse bread crumbs).
3. Add hot water (45 seconds in microwave was perfect for me) - should be hot enough to melt shortening but not so hot that it melts the dough.
4. Mix until dough forms.
5. Pinch off small amount of dough and form golfball-sized dough ball. Make 'em bigger if you want bigger tortillas. Ball up remaining dough.
6. Make round tortilla shapes: take dough ball in palm of hand and flatten, maintaining round shape. Place on lightly floured Roul'Pat and roll out to round, tortilla shape. Roll to desired thickness (I prefer thin as they seem less doughy and more tortilla-ey).
7. Preheat non-stick/cast-iron skillet (I used my pancake griddle) to med-low heat. Spray with cooking oil if needed (I didn't use any).
8. Place raw tortilla on preheated skillet and cook until you see large bubbles puff up (if you see small bubbles, your skillet is too hot). When you see large bubbles, flip tortilla and cook another 30-45 seconds. I like to see a little bit of browning on my tortillas but don't over-do it as you can over-cook the tortillas.
9. If eating immediately, stack cooked tortillas on a plate. Otherwise, place in tortilla warmer. If you don't have one, wrap tortillas in damp paper towels, then wrap in foil and keep in warm oven (170F) until ready to eat them. ENJOY!

Source: Our Best Bites

Eggless Quiche

Hubby was cooking bacon for breakfast when I suddenly craved quiche. I haven't eaten quiche since my lil' guy was diagnosed with a severe egg allergy five years ago. I bought an 8" flan/tart/quiche pan yesterday and immediately knew baking a quiche would be perfect for breaking it in. The problem. Alex can't eat eggs and the mere smell of eggs makes him nauseous so I did a search on egglesscooking.com. I found a recipe for Italian Tofu Frittata. I wanted crust so I could get the cute, fluted edge on the quiche and found this recipe. Wasn't sure if it'd turn out because it was basically a tofu dish. It was good and the texture was very much like quiche.

Used my Roul'Pat for the first time. Made rolling out the crust super easy. Love it!

Forgot to add the cheese. Ugh! I'm always forgetting something. Hubby noticed so I put slices on top right before baking. I should've put the end product under the broiler to brown the cheese but we were really hungry so I just dished it out.

The eggless quiche. Looks like the real deal, don't you think?

I think I may have conquered the crust. I took lululu's advice about prepping the crust in the food processor and doing very little to it to keep a flaky crust. It worked!

Eggless Quiche

Crust: for 9" pie pan

• 1 c flour, sifted (I used 3/4 c for 8" pan)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 c butter (I used margarine), cut into "pats"
• 3-4 tbs milk, cold

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Add flour and salt to food processor and mix. 
2. Add small pieces of butter and process till coarse. 
3. While food processor is running, slowly add cold milk. 
4. Dough should hold together when pinched. 
5. Add a little more milk if necessary.
6. Place dough on heavily floured Roul'Pat, put flour on rolling pin and gently roll out the crust to about 1/4" thick and large enough for pie pan. 
7. To maintain a light, flaky crust, work with dough as little as possible. 
8. When rolled out, gently press into pie pan. 
9. Perforate bottom of crust with fork. 
10. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes till very lightly browned. Crust will finish baking when filling is added and baked again. Set aside.

Filling:

• 1 pack tofu (I used 3/4 of the brick)
• 1/4 c flour
• 1/4 c Swiss cheese, cubed (I used 3 slices, enough to cover 8" quiche pan.)
• olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4-6 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
• 3 sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 3-4 basil leaves, chopped
• flat Italian parsley, handful of leaves, chopped

Directions:

1. In pan, heat olive oil. 
2. Saute onions and garlic for 3-5 mins. 
3. Then add yellow bell pepper, salt, pepper, bacon, basil and parsley.
4. In a food processor, add flour and tofu. Blend well. If too dry, add a little water to make tofu "paste." Add the tofu mixture to veggies and cook 2-3 mins stirring continuously. 
5. Add cheese cubes and mix some more.
6. When tofu mixture is well blended with veggies and cheese, add to crust. 
7. Add cheese slices on top.
8. Bake at 350F for 20-40 minutes depending on size of pie pan. 
9. Cool 5 mins before serving. 
10. Garnish with bacon and parsley.

Source: Crust adapted from Food o' del Mundo. Filling adapted from Olives and Basil.

Short Crust Pastry

I used lululu's short crust pastry recipe for my chicken pot pie crust. My end product looked nothing like hers but at least it still tasted great. I'm hoping with time and practice, I will eventually nail the perfectly browned, flaky, light crust that she has mastered.

To date, I've had 3 failed attempts at this crust. Boo! She uses a food processor but wouldn't the stand mixer work just as well? BTW, I used my food processor for my first 2 attempts then fried the motor during my second attempt. THAT is why I tried my stand mixer this third time around. I invested in a better food processor and the crust turned out better this time around. The less you handle it the better to ensure a flaky crust.

My paddle accessory hard at work.

The dough is coming together quite nicely.

And look, Mom, no hands! :)

I love how it does its thing and I have free hands to do other things.

Thanks again, Mom, for my Christmas present!

Rolled out then cut out. Looks perfect.

Unfortunately, I have yet to bake a perfect crust.

Soon, I tell you, SOON!

Below is the recipe for the Berry Tart from lululu. It's really delish!

Short Crust Pastry:

Yield: 2 tarts

Ingredients: 

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp white sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into little cubes, chilled
1/4 cup ice water (ICE water)

Filling:
2 cups berries (fresh or frozen mix of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 lemon zest
1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour

Directions:
Place flour, salt and sugar in stand mixer bowl. Mix with paddle attachment. Add butter and continue mixing until it resembles coarse meal. While it's mixing, pour in ice water slowly. The dough should hold together when pinched. Add a little more water if necessary.

Gather dough into 2 balls. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins to chill.

Remove the doughs from fridge. Roll each dough on floured surface into a 7" circle. Place the pastries onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Combine berries, lemon zest, sugar and flour in a large bowl. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and divide the filling between the two pastries, leaving about 1" border around the edges. Fold up and seal the pastry edges, leaving the center open.

Preheat oven to 400F. Place baking sheet on the center rack. Bake for 30 mins or until crust is golden brown and juice is bubbling. Remove from oven and serve immediately with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. 

Source: lululu

Chicken Pot Pie

This was my third attempt at chicken pot pie. I made a big pot of chicken vegetable soup using my homemade chicken stock the night before and had enough leftovers to whip together chicken pot pie for tonight's dinner. All I had to do was add a few extra ingredients, make the crust, and voila, dinner was on the table. So incredibly easy. Really.

The boys (ages 8 and 6) named the paddle accessory "Peace Out" because it looks similar to the peace symbol.

I fried the motor of my blender/food processor the last time I made this short crust pastry so I had to use the stand mixer.

My awesome new stand mixer got the job done. I love how mixing is hands-free, giving me time to put other items together while the dough mixes.

I've since made the short crust pastry again after I invested in a better food processor and it came out beautifully. I'll continue to use the food processor from now on.

Roll out the dough and cut circles 1/2" bigger than the ramekins you're using.

I used my son's cereal bowl to cut out perfect circles.

Mmmm...the filling...

Don't skip the cream and wine as it really enhances the flavors of the filling.

I have yet to get a flaky crust like lululu's but I think I figured it out when I was telling Hubby about my problem and disappointment with another failed attempt at the flaky crust.

I want to conquer the crust!

And I will.

Next time.

My suggestions...

Do not overfill the ramekins or you'll end up with a mess (see pic above).

Try again with food processor or stick with stand mixer...unsure at this point.

Roll out a thinner crust.

Cut vents in dough before pressing into ramekins.

Put a small section of dough into the ramekin and press small sections of dough against the edge with a fork. Then, work your way around, keeping the filling in the ramekin and not allowing it to settle on top of the crust.

I hope to get a flaky crust next time. That's what makes the pot pie. It's all about the perfect crust.

For this batch, I used whole wheat flour because that's what I had. It was still tasty.

There was enough filling and dough for a 9" pie dish, too!

Chicken Pot Pie

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 6 tbs unsalted butter (more or less to taste)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1/2 c flour
• 2 1/2 c low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 1/2 c milk
• 1/2 c cream
• 1/4 c white wine (optional)
• 6 c chicken, shredded
• 3/4 c green peas, frozen or fresh
• 3/4 c corn kernels, frozen or fresh
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 egg, lightly beaten (I omit due to son's egg allergy)
• short crust pastry (double portion)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In large skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Add onions and carrots and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 mins.
3. Add flour and continue stirring for another minute. 
4. Slowly whisk in chicken stock to blend completely with the flour/veggie mixture. 
5. Add milk and cream. Decrease heat to low and simmer for 10 mins, stirring often. 
6. Add chicken, wine, peas, corn, salt and pepper. Stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. 
7. Divide filling among  4-6 ramekins.
8. Roll out crust dough on lightly floured surface to 1/4" thick. Cut into rounds 1/2" larger than circumference of ramekins and cut 1" vent. 
9. Lay section of dough on pot pie ramekin. Fold excess dough over edge and press onto ramekin. Try not to get filling on top of dough.  
10. If using egg, lightly brush beaten egg on each pie. Line baking sheet with foil and place pies on baking sheet. 
11. Bake for 25 mins, until pastry is golden and filling is bubbling. Let cool for 5 mins then serve.

Source: lululu

Beef Stock

I got my Emeril Stock Pot from my Mom. It's not the soup pot with the pour spout but I L-O-V-E LOVE it! I've made several pots of chicken stock, soups, stews, marinara sauce, and now beef stock, too. I used the shortrib bones from our Korean Kalbi Beef dinner. YUH-UMMM!

My first attempt at beef stock. So far, so good. The house smells wonderful!

Beef Stock:

Ingredients:

beef bones

water, enough to cover bones

1 onion, quartered

2-3 celery stalks, cut into 3" pieces

2-3 carrots, cut into 3" pieces

6-7 garlic cloves, halved

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Put beef bones into large pot. Fill pot with water to cover bones. Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, salt and pepper. Simmer for ~4 hrs. Skim fat as necessary. Strain and discard bones and veggies. Bring to room temp (or chill in ice water bath) before storing in fridge/freezer.

Enjoy in soups, stews and pot pies. My favorite recipe using beef stock is Beef Stew. 

Pizza

This isn't just any ol' pizza. It's REALLY GOOOOOOD pizza! I saw this post and just had to make it. I've thrown toppings on a Boboli pre-made crust and have used a lot of the Pillsbury pizza crust from that little silver and blue can but I've never EVER made my own pizza crust from scratch. I was inspired to try my hands at it. Meghan made it look so easy, and with my new KitchenAid stand mixer, I knew it would be possible.

"Captain Hook" makes making dough easy peasy.

The homemade pizza crust (originally found here) was super tasty. It made a thick crust so next time I'll make 2 thin crust pizzas or save half the dough for another day. I'll also roll it out so that it bakes "flatter."

Pizza prepped and ready for the oven.

Mini Heirloom tomatoes, Italian sausage, turkey-roni, onions, yellow peppers, garlic, Italian seasonings and mozzarella cheese.

Yummers!
Hubby loved it and the boys did, too. They said it was the best pizza ever. :)

Slightly thicker crust than I like but everything was still AWESOME!

My slice square had extra tomatoes (hubby doesn't care for them) and lots of red peppers.

Next time, in addition to the sauteed veggies, I'll add some raw veggies (onions and more bell peppers) as well as artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes.

Che Pizza è Deliziosa!

Yes, this was a delicious pizza indeed!

Ingredients:

Pizza dough

~8 oz pizza sauce (You can buy pizza sauce but homemade tastes so much better.)

1 package ground turkey sausage, cooked and crumbled (~4 ounces - Recommended: Louis Rich)

Turkey pepperoni (Recommended: Hormel)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 yellow pepper, finely diced

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced (sweet or regular)

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Parmesan cheese, grated

Pizza/Italian seasoning, to taste

Cornmeal, ~1/4 to 1/2 cup

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium/high heat. Add the yellow pepper and saute for 3 minutes. Then add half of the onion (equivalent of 1/4 onion) and garlic and saute until softened, about 3-5 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 500F. I did not heat my *pizza stone for 30 mins. as original recipe suggested.

*Another Pampered Chef tangent: Their stoneware is awesome. Cooks/bakes food evenly and quickly. Great stuff! I used my large bar pan and it's the perfect size for pizza.

3. Generously apply cornmeal to a large surface (like a cutting board) and roll out dough into a large rectangle if using a bar pan (or a circle if your pizza pan is round). Using ample cornmeal is essential to eventually sliding the pizza onto the pizza stone.

4. Add pizza toppings. I added in this order: sauce, pepperoni, sausage, sauteed onions, peppers, garlic, mozzarella cheese, grated Parmesan cheese and then a sprinkle of Italian seasoning.

5. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned.

6. Remove pizza from oven, cool for 5 minutes, slice and enjoy!

Source: adapted from You're Gonna Bake it After All

Pizza Dough/Pizza Crust

The first time I ate homemade pizza was in Lake Tahoe about 12 years ago. We were staying at a beautiful condo in North Lake with some friends. Eric, our chef friend, put together the most fabulous pizza I had ever eaten. Red onions, mushrooms, yellow peppers and garlic. So fresh. Truly the best I've had. Well, at least until tonight.

I've made pizzas using Boboli pre-made crusts and Pillsbury's dough-in-a-can but I wanted to give homemade pizza dough a shot. I wanted to recreate that Tahoe treasure from way back when and it was an opportunity to try out my brand new KitchenAid stand mixer as well. Plus, Meghan, at You're Gonna Bake it After All made it sound like a really easy process.

Introducing...

My mesmerizing mixer and the extras that it came with.

Thanks, Mom, for my Christmas present!

Making pizza dough was a great way to test out the spiral dough hook accessory. My boys (ages 8 and 6) named it "Captain Hook."

The dough is pressed into the pan.

(Next time, I will roll it out and then put in the pan.)

So back to the pizza crust...

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water (~110F)

1 envelope (~2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast (AKA Rapid Rise)

1 1/4 cups water, room temperature

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 cups (22 ounces) bread flour, plus more for dusting work surface and hands

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

olive oil or nonstick cooking spray for greasing bowl

corn meal, for dusting pan

Directions:

Make the dough:

1. Fill a 2-cup liquid measuring cup with warm water and sprinkle yeast on top. Allow to sit until yeast dissolves and swells - ~5 minutes. Meanwhile, add flour and salt to stand mixer bowl and stir with paddle accessory to combine.

2. Add room temperature water and oil to the yeast/water mixture and stir to combine. Slowly add liquid ingredients and continue mixing at low speed until cohesive mass forms. Stop mixer and replace paddle with dough hook. Knead about 5 mins. or until dough is smooth and elastic.

3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand a few turns, shaping the dough into a smooth, round ball.

4. Place the dough ball into a deep, oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm area (away from draft) until doubled in size approx. 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Bake the dough:

*Note: The original recipes calls for a pizza stone that is preheated to 500F for 30 minutes and the pizza is then cooked at this temperature for 8-12 minutes. I have a Pampered Chef Large Bar Pan and I absolutely LOVE it! I used that in lieu of the pizza stone since I don't own one of those. The crust was tasty and baked nicely in my bar pan. 

If you don't have a pizza stone, follow the temp/time listed below:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease a sheet pan with olive oil, dust with corn meal.

2. Press the dough to deflate it. Divide dough into desired portions and place them back in the bowl, covered with a damp cloth to allow dough to rest for at least 10 but no more than 30 minutes.

3. Press dough out into desired shape. Brush lightly with extra virgin olive oil. Pre-bake crust for ~5-7 minutes.

4. Remove crust and top pizza as desired. Bake pizza for 5 minutes, then raise oven temperature to 500F for 3-5 minutes, or until crust is golden.

**This recipe made a lot of dough. Next time, I will make 2 thin-crust pizzas or save half the pizza dough for another day.

Source: You're Gonna Bake it After All and Brown Eyed Baker

Chicken Stock and Soup

I've been buying cans and boxes of chicken stock from Costco and Ralph's as well as their ready-made whole chickens. Lately, I've been baking whole chickens in my Pampered Chef Covered Baker and started making my own chicken stock using the carcass of the whole chickens. It's so easy and tastes much better than the store-bought stuff. If I'm not using the stock immediately, I measure out 3-4 cup portions and freeze in ziplocs or snapware for later use. I'm finding that chicken stock is used in lots of recipes so I'm going through it pretty quickly.

Quick Pampered Chef tangent...

I LOVE my Pampered Chef Covered Baker! I can cook a whole chicken (5 lb or less) in 35 minutes in the microwave. Yes, that's right...the microwave...and it's juicy and tasty, too. I love that thing! The baker is expensive stoneware but it's paid for itself with the numerous meals I've cooked in that thing. It's such a time saver! Oh, and it's also oven safe.

Back to the chicken stock post...

The house smells so good when stock simmers for 4+ hours...

Chicken Stock:

Ingredients:

• Leftover bones and skin from whole chicken.
• water (enough to cover chicken bones)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp sage
• 1/4 tsp marjoram
• 1/4 tsp parsley
• 1/4 tsp rosemary
• 3-4 celery stalks, cut into 2" pieces
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2-3 carrots, cut into 2" pieces
• Italian parsley, handful chopped
• 6-7 garlic cloves
• bay leaf

Directions:

1. Put chicken carcass into large pot. 
2. Fill pot with water to cover carcass. 
3. Add seasonings, celery, onions, carrots, parsley, garlic and bay leaf. 
4. Simmer for ~4 hrs. Skim fat as necessary. 
5. Strain and discard bones and veggies. 
6. Bring to room temp (or chill in ice water bath) before storing in fridge/freezer.

Notes: Enjoy in soups, stews and pot pies. My favorite recipe using chicken stock is definitely Chicken Pot Pie. What's yours?

Chicken Vegetable Soup

Strain out the bones and veggies. I always throw out the soup stock veggies as I feel that the flavors of the veggies are gone by the time the stock has simmered for hours on end. Plus, they're too soft and over-cooked. You decide if you want to keep or discard the veggies. If adding fresh veggies, be sure to simmer soup long enough to cook them. Then add cooked, shredded chicken and you have Chicken Vegetable Soup. So easy, quite healthy and very tasty. What's great is that you can add anything to the chicken stock for a delicious and hearty soup. :)

Add some crushed red peppers...YUM!

Source: My Mom

I NEED THIS...

Since I usually make simple dishes and desserts, my hand-held mixer has served my needs. Now that I'm spending A LOT of time in the kitchen trying all sorts of new recipes, I'm thinking the stand mixer is the way to go. Especially since I've been making my own breads/doughs, the stand mixer would make life so much easier. I know Christmas is over but I'm putting this on my wish list. I have a feeling Mom is going to get me one as I've been raving about my mad kitchen skills and how much easier my life would be with a lovely KitchenAid mixer...HINT HINT!

UPDATE: 1/5/10

I got the mixer! I've stared it so many times while browsing the aisles at Costco and I finally picked one up. Thanks, Mom, for the Christmas gift! It's BEAUTIFUL!

The Costco special:

Extra accessories and an instant $20 rebate.

PLUS...

KitchenAid is currently offering a $30 mail-in rebate, a 1 year subscription to Food & Wine and a recipe book.

Total awesomeness!

Now to find a nice place on my counter so that I use it often.

I love it already and I haven't even used it!