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Chicken Pot Pie Soup

October 25, 2009 By Kate 14 Comments

I started this soup with some homemade stock that I let simmer all day so that it got concentrated and filled with as many beneficial nutrients as possible.

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Chicken Pot Pie Soup

  • 1 t. oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 4 c. chicken stock
  • 2-3 potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 c. diced chicken
  • Fresh dill or 1/2 t. dried dill, optional
  • 3 T. butter or margarine
  • 3 T. flour
  • 1 1/2 c. milk
  • Pie crust for single-crust pie

1. Heat oil in a large stockpot. Add onions, carrots and celery. Cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic, season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook an additional 3 minutes. Stir in chicken stock. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer as long as desired, but at least 5 minutes. (I had mine simmering for over an hour.)

2. Add potatoes and bring soup back to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently until potatoes are tender. If using fresh dill, add a few sprigs in with the potatoes and then remove when the potatoes are done. Stir in chicken.

3. In a separate pot, melt butter or margarine. Stir in flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened. Slowly stir into soup, bring to a boil and simmer until soup is thickened to desired consistency. Stir in optional dill and season again with salt and pepper to taste.PA250717

4. While the soup simmers, roll out pie crust and cut out as many large circles as you need – one for each bowl. Then cut out additional circles or shapes to top the soup. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, just until lightly browned.

5. To serve, place one circle of pie crust in the bottom of each bowl. Spoon soup on top and cover with additional pie crust circles or shapes.

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Homemade Sliders

October 22, 2009 By Kate 23 Comments

Sliders have a great place of honor in my heart. I remember many a Saturday or Sunday afternoon spent with grandparents at a local White Castle eating sliders by the sack. It always seemed like such a special treat.

Since then though, I haven’t had many opportunities to indulge. In fact, I think I’ve only had sliders once in the past 5 years or so.

So over the summer, when I saw Amanda’s post at Faith, Food and Family about her homemade sliders, I was instantly smitten. Obviously it took me awhile to get around to making them, but it was worth the wait. We all loved these so much!

Here’s how I made them:

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Homemade Sliders

  • 2 lb. ground beef
  • Salt, pepper and garlic powder
  • 20 slices sharp cheddar cheese, from an 8 oz. block
  • Dill pickle slices, mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, green olive slices
  • 12 dinner rolls (We used King’s Hawaiian rolls. Some of our sliders were doubles.)

1. Press the ground beef into a 15×10 baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

2. Remove tray from the refrigerator and cut meat into 20 evenly sized squares. Freeze for 15 minutes. These makes it easier to remove the patties and helps them keep their shape. Stick back in the freezer for a few minutes when needed.

3. Heat a large skillet or griddle. Cook patties about 3-5 minutes per side, until fully cooked. Repeat until done. Cooked patties can be kept warm in the oven or covered with aluminum foil.

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4. Cut rolls in half and flatten slightly with a rolling pin. Build burgers and top as desired.

As you can see, we left off the standard onions. I think they would have been great with the onions cooked along with the patties, but we weren’t sure how the kids would feel about that. I’m going to try it next time though.

Since we weren’t using the onions, we added sliced green olives. There’s a popular fast food chain about an hour away from us called Halo Burger and they are famous for adding green olives to their burgers. I had my very first Halo Burger a few weeks ago and I fell in love with that addition.

Thanks for such a fun idea Amanda!

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Pasta with Portobello Mushroom Sauce

October 21, 2009 By Kate 6 Comments

I know there are a lot of people that do not like mushrooms, but personally, I love them. I love all the different varieties, but I think portobellos are my favorite. Their flavor is so substantial – woodsy and meaty. Plus, there are so many different ways to use them.

Whenever I see portobellos that are a manager’s special, marked down for a quick sale, I grab a package or two. Even if they aren’t on my plan for the week, I know I’ll be able to work them into a meal somewhere. At the very least, they can just be cooked with some butter or olive oil and garlic and then frozen.

This Pasta with Portobello Mushroom Sauce comes together so quickly. The sauce itself is pretty basic, which allows the flavor of the portobellos to shine through.

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Pasta with Portobello Mushroom Sauce

  • 2 t. olive oil
  • 2 t. butter or margarine
  • 1/2 lb. portobello mushrooms, cubed
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large carrot, peeled
  • 1 bunch green onions, sliced
  • 1/2 t. Rosemary
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 c. beef stock or vegetable stock
  • 1/2 lb. pasta, fully cooked and drained
  • Grated or shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and butter or margarine. Add mushrooms and cook for 3-5 minutes over medium heat, until they start browning. Add garlic and continue cooking until mushrooms are fully browned.

2. Using a potato peeler, peel off ribbons of carrot and add directly into the skillet. Stir in green onions, rosemary, salt and pepper. Add stock, bring to a boil and simmer for about 5-10 minutes, until the sauce is reduced by about half. Serve over hot pasta. Garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired.

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