Chicken and Biscuits

 I've told my friends that my wife is a better cook than me, but nobody seems to believe me. This recipe was her idea, and is proof that she is an amazing cook. It is essentially a combination of her buttermilk biscuit recipe and my chicken pot pie recipe. It's delightful.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE GRAVY/FILLING

1-2 large carrots, peeled, chopped 

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 large chicken breast, cut into chunks.

1 cup frozen peas

1-2 stalks celery, chopped

2-3 teaspoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1-15 oz. can chicken broth

1/4 cup flour

INGREDIENTS FOR THE BISCUITS:

2  cups sifted flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick butter, cut into chunks

1 cup butter milk. 

Peel, chop and boil 1-2 large carrots. Cook until you can easily pierce the carrots with a fork. Now strain off the water and set aside. 

Saute 1 medium onion, chopped and 1 tablespoon minced garlic in two tablespoons melted butter.

Add 1 large chicken breast, cut into chunks, 1 cup frozen peas, the carrots that you just cooked,1-2 stalks celery, chopped, 2-3 teaspoons dried parsley, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Cook until the peas are thawed and the chicken is done. 

Add 1/4 cup of sifted flour and stir in. 

Now add 1-15 oz can of chicken broth and cook until it starts boiling and starts to thicken.

Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream. Stir in the cream and set aside. 

Now we are going to make the biscuit dough, but first, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Now, mix together 2 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. 

Chop up a stick of butter and... 

 cut it in to the flour mixture with a pastry blender.

Add 1 cup of buttermilk and stir it in.

Form a ball of dough. 

Now pour the gravy mixture into a small casserole dish. 

Flatten out the ball of biscuit dough on a floured surface and cut out biscuits with a biscuit cutter. 

Place the biscuits on top of the gravy mixture. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees then place a sheet of foil on the top and cook for another 5 minutes. 

Remove and let cool before serving. 

Awesome Cheese Balls That Are As Easy As 1,2,3...And Just In Time For Your Christmas Or New Years Party

This is my friend Amber. She made a cheese ball for our staff at work. It was gone in 4.3 minutes. It was like a magic act. Now you see it, now you don't. It was that good. When she told us the recipe, I couldn't believe how easy it was to make. I just had to try it. 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated (Freshly grated only. Amber says the bags of pre-grated cheese do not work. Not sure why, but I'm going with it. She's not one to question or trifle with. )

2-3 stalks green onion, chopped

1-5 oz package of Pecan chips

1-1 oz packet of Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix (NOT the dip mix. The salad dressing mix)

2 packages cream cheese

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS:

Bacon, cooked and cut into small pieces

Crushed Pineapple

Jalapeno Jelly

Horseradish 

Step One: Grate a 1/2 pound of sharp cheddar cheese and set it aside.

Step Two: Chop two to three stalks of green onion and set it aside. 

Step Three: Pour a 5 oz package of pecan chips into a pie plate and set it aside. (I know, I know! There is a lot of 'setting aside' going on here).

Step Five: Throw two blocks of cream cheese, the cheddar cheese, the green onion and the ranch dressing packet into your mixing bowl. 

Step Six: Use the paddle attachment on your mixer (Or mix it by hand. That can work as well). Now mix it on a low to medium speed until combined. 

Step Seven: Using a rubber spatula, scrape the mixture into a ball, like so. 

Step Eight: Put the ball into your pie plate with pecan chips.

Roll it around in the pecan chips until most of them stick to your cheese ball and it  looks like this. You may need to press the pecans into the cheese ball to get them to stay. If you have time, cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge over night. 

Eat with your favorite crackers. Happy holidays. 

Super Thick, European Style Hot Chocolate

My wife loves super thick, European style hot chocolate. There was a little shop here that sold it in the winter, and she loved to go there any buy their hot chocolate. They are gone now, so she is sad every winter, because she can't get it anymore...until my friend Kristen, at work, gave me this recipe. Now my wife can have it any time.

On a side note, I personally can't stand this stuff... too thick, too rich (Shhhh! Don't tell anyone). BUT, if you like this type of hot chocolate, this recipe is the one for you. And a WARNING, this recipe is NOT healthy. One cup calls for a 1/4 cup of sugar, which is half the sugar we normally use for a whole pot. 

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup milk

1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Warm a 1/4 cup of milk in the microwave. Set it aside. 

Place one ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate on a cutting board. 

With a knife, chop it up like shown here. I guess this is more "shaving" it. Set it aside.

Boil some water in the bottom of a small pan.

Put a heat-proof bowl on top of it. 

Oh wait! Before you do that, take out two tablespoons of the hot water.

In the bowl (on top of the pot of boiling water) mix the shaved chocolate, the two tablespoons of boiling water, 1/8 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 cup of sugar.

Now mix it up over the heat. The chocolate will melt and it will look like this. 

Now add the warmed milk and stir it in. Reheat the mixture. 

Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 teaspoon vanilla. 

Drink and enjoy. 

Cube Steak With Red Wine Gravy

I had some cube steak that needed to be used, so I Googled "cube steak recipes" and found this beauty of a recipe. I did some major modification, of course, and made it way better. 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

3 tablespoons of oil

6 cube steaks

1-14 oz can chicken broth

2 gravy packets

1 1/4 cup water

2/3 cup red wine

In a pie plate, mix 1/2 cup flour, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder.

Heat two tablespoons oil in a large pot.

Coat your cube steak, on both sides, in the flour mixture.

Brown the first three steaks in the oil (both sides). Remove them, add another tablespoon of oil and cook the other three steaks the same way.

Now add back the three steaks you had taken out earlier. 

Also add 1-14 oz can chicken broth, 2 gravy packets, 1 1/4 cup water, and 2/3 cup red wine. Cook over medium low heat for 30 minutes. 

Serve with mashed potatoes and your favorite vegetable. 

Killer Hash Browns (Hannakah Potato Latkes)

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I try not to eat hash browns too often, because they are not really that healthy, but when I do, I enjoy every bite. 

This is a recipe that my daughter Lily brought home from school. They were talking about Hanukkah and, of course,  potato latkes were a part of the discussion. If you don't know what potato latkes are, they are a traditional Hanukkah dish and are pretty much...hash browns. They eat them with sour cream (yum) or apple sauce (Yuck! Not a good combo, in my opinion). This is, pretty much, the best hash brown recipe ever. 

INGREDIENTS:

5 large potatoes, washed, peeled and grated

2 large eggs

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

oil for frying

Wash, peel and grate five potatoes.

Strain the water/juice.  

I even mash it down to really get the liquid out. Now put them into a bowl. 

Now beat two large eggs. 

Mix them into to the the potatoes.

Now mix in 1/4 cup flour.

Now mix in 1/2 a teaspoon salt.

Heat about a 1/4 cup of oil in the bottom of a large pot or pan (over medium heat).

Take an ice cream scoop of potato mixture  and...

put it into the hot oil, flatten it out and cook it until brown on each side. 

Put it on paper towels to soak up the grease.

I like  to eat mine with eggs. Enjoy.