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Archive for the ‘Main Dish’ Category

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Posted in Comfort Food, Entertaining Ideas, Main Dish, Quick and Easy, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on February 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

creamy chicken rice soup in bowl

A few weeks ago, I had company coming for dinner and since it was a week night, I knew I wouldn’t have a lot of time to put together something fantastic when I got home from work.

Dragging my slow cooker out of the cupboard and rinsing off the cobwebs, I decided a nice, hearty soup would do nicely. At the time, the temperatures were ridiculous frigid, so the idea of a steaming bowl of creamy deliciousness sounded really yummy.

This soup is so good,  comes together quickly, and can be left simmering in your slow cooker all day, ready to razzle-dazzle your guests (or family) when you get home from work.

Ingredients

Ingredients

Cut boneless, skinless chicken breast into bite-sized pieces.

Cut boneless, skinless chicken breast into bite-sized pieces.

Chop celery and carrots into about 1/4 inch thick pieces.

Chop celery and carrots into about 1/4 inch thick pieces.

Place chicken in the slow cooker and season.

Place chicken in the slow cooker and season.

Add carrots and celery.

Add carrots and celery.

Add rice and frozen veggies.

Add rice and frozen veggies.

Pour in broth, cover and set to cook for eight hours. (If you'll be home sooner, set it for six, later, set it for 10 on low).

Pour in broth, cover and set to cook for eight hours. (If you’ll be home sooner, set it for six, later, set it for 10 on low).

About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, pour in a cup of heavy cream, and stir to blend it into the soup.

About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, pour in a cup of heavy cream, and stir to blend it into the soup.

By this time, your mouth should be watering and you can't hardly wait to scoop up a bowl and devour.

By this time, your mouth should be watering and you can’t hardly wait to scoop up a bowl and devour.

To serve, add a little parsley garnish, a sprinkling of grated cheese or some toasted bread crumbs.

To serve, add a little parsley garnish, a sprinkling of grated cheese or some toasted bread crumbs.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1 1/2 pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breast

1 32-oz box of chicken stock

1/2 cup celery

1/2 cup carrots

1 16-oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables

1 16-oz. bag of wild rice blend

salt

seasoning

1 cup heavy cream

Spray the inside of your slow cooker with a non-stick cooking spray. I used a 5.5 quart Crock Pot, so if yours is smaller, just reduce the amount on the ingredients accordingly.

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt and seasoning (I used about 1 tsp. salt and 1 tbsp. seasoning).

Chop celery and carrots into pieces about 1/4 inch thick. Add to chicken. Add frozen veggies and the rice. (I used a blend of long grain brown, sweet brown, black and wild rice).

Pour the chicken stock in, cover and set your Crock Pot to cook on low for eight hours. (Mine ended up cooking 10 by the time I got home, which was just a tad longer than it should have gone).

About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, add 1 cup of heavy cream to the soup and stir thoroughly to mix.

Serve with a garnish of parsley, shredded cheese, or toasted bread crumbs.

Perfect for a cold wintery day!

She Who Needs to Make This Again

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Porky Pie Pockets

Posted in Appetizers, Comfort Food, Easy Recipes, Main Dish, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on November 2, 2012| 3 Comments »

I needed something quick and easy for dinner the other night, so after browsing through what I had on had, I put these little pie pockets of perfectly palatable pork together.

It was a good decision. At least Captain Cavedweller seemed to think so as he scarfed down his third one.

The come together in a hurry, are fast to make and use pretty simple ingredients.

You can make these “hungry man” size or even bite-sized for appetizers.

Here’s the easy-as-pie instructions:

Ingredients

 

Start by browning a pound of ground beef and a pound of ground pork (I used regular mild, but you could go for whatever flavor floats your boat).

 

Once the meat is brown, drain well then mix with cream of mushroom soup and grated cheese.

 

If you are using crescent rolls, you can pinch two together to make a rectangle. You can also use one triangle per pie to keep the size smaller.

Spoon filling onto the dough, then start folding dough around it.

 

Continue folding dough until you have a nice little “pocket.” Pinch edges to seal.

 

Bake at 350 about 12 minutes, until golden brown.

 

Remove from oven, plate and devour! Can be served with a side of ranch or barbecue sauce if you so desire.

 

Porky Pie Pockets

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork

1 tsp. onion flakes

1 tsp. all-purpose seasoning

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tubes of crescent rolls (8 regular size)

1 small can cream of mushroom soup

2/3 cup shredded cheddar or colby-jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown meat with onions, seasoning and spices.

Drain well.

Mix with cheese and soup.

Roll out crescent dough. Pinch triangles together to form rectangles for pockets or use individual triangles if you want smaller-serving sizes.

Spoon filling onto dough. Fold dough around filling and pinch edges to seal.

Place on greased baking tray (or if you are a lazy slug like me, I lined mine with foil and then sprayed it with Pam) and bake about 12 minutes or until dough is golden brown.

Serve immediately. You may need to hide one or two if you have a meat-eater in your house like I do!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Shake and Bake

Posted in Comfort Food, Main Dish, Recipes, tagged , , , on September 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The other day I decided to see what would happen if I made by own “shake n bake” mixture for some pork.

Turns out it happened to be a pretty tasty idea.

It was simple to make (honestly, it didn’t take much more time than digging out the pre-packaged stuff I normally use and was way better).

Captain Cavedweller declared it “edible” which interprets to better than average and pretty darn good.

Ingredients

 

Dump your seasonings into a resealable bag and give it a good shake, then stick in your meat and coat thoroughly.

 

 

Place in a foil-lined pan and bake at 425 about 15 minutes or until done. (Baking time will vary depending on the thickness of your meat cuts).

Yum!

Shake and Bake

1/2 cup Panko Crumbs

1 tsp. pork rub

1 tbsp. all-purpose seasoning

1/2 tsp. coarse salt

3 pork chops

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix seasonings, crumbs and salt in a resealable bag. Shake until blended. Add in pork chops, one at a time to coat. Shake well then place on foil-lined pan. (The foil is because I’m lazy and don’t want to scrub the pan later).

Bake for 15-20 minutes until meat is cooked to temp and coating is brown.

You can also use this coating on chicken.

She Who Will Need to Make This Again Soon

 

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Spaghetti Carbonara

Posted in Comfort Food, Easy Recipes, Main Dish, Recipes, tagged , , , on June 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The other day I decided to make something different and fun and exciting for our bored taste buds. Digging through my cache of recipes, I decided it had been forever and a day since we’d eaten Spaghetti Carbonara.

I originally got the recipe from my friend Jolene who is a fabulous cook. I tweaked the recipe just a bit and came up with one I like and Captain Cavedweller will eat – a double winner!

It is easy to make and comes together fairly quickly. Serve with warm bread and a crisp green salad and you’ve got a fantastic meal.

 

Ingredients

 

Bring salted water to a boil then add noodles. Cook al dente.

 

Chop bacon into small pieces and cook in large skillet.

Cook until slightly crispy. Save all that wicked bacon grease in the pan. Remove bacon pieces and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

 

Cook sausages in bacon grease, turning to brown each side. When brown, cover with water and let simmer for about 12-15 minutes until cooked through.

 

Add cream, Parmesan cheese and beaten eggs to noodles. Stirring quickly to keep eggs from going all weird on you.

Add bacon and return pan to low heat, stirring to coat noodles and cook eggs.

 

Top with some chopped parsley and enjoy!

 

Spaghetti Carbonara

1 pound spaghetti

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

6 slices bacon

4-6 sausages

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 eggs, beaten

2 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley

Bring a large pot of  water to a boil with salt, add spaghetti and cook until al dente. Drain well. Toss with  olive oil, and set aside.

Chop bacon into small pieces and fry in a large skillet until slightly crispy. Remove from skillet and drain. Set aside.

Using remaining bacon grease fry sausages until brown on all sides, then cover with water and cook for about 12-15 minutes until cooked through. Italian sausages would be best but you can use whatever you have on hand.

When sausages are nearly finished cooking, add beaten egg, Parmesan cheese and cream to noodles, stirring vigorously to keep the egg from getting all funky on you. Add bacon and return to low heat, stirring to coat all noodles and to make sure eggs are cooked before serving.

Sprinkle fresh parsley (or dried if you don’t have any fresh) over the top and serve with sausages.

Yum!

She Who Needs to Not Love Pasta Quite so Much!

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