Chicken and Vegetable Stew

My husband and the kids went Halloweening this afternoon in the nasty, cold, blustery, rainy weather that is almost always the case in late October in our neck of the woods.  I stayed behind to make a nice, rich, comforting chicken stew with dumplings to welcome and warm them when they returned, chilled to the bone and loaded down with candy.  It was also a good bribery attempt to gain some of the loot.

A potential problem occurred when my youngest dog, Huck, ate half of the chicken as I had my back turned to scrub the carrots.  Apparently the chicken is tasty even raw.  Thankfully, I was also making stock, so I had some extra chicken to add to the dish (see the stringy bits?).  It's a good thing I love him so much, considering this is not his first offense (and the second just this week).

Today was stock making day, and my vegetable broth was done way before my chicken broth was finished, so I used vegetable broth in this stew.  The results were highly acceptable, so I'm going to suggest it as a less expensive alternative if you haven't any chicken stock on hand.  Usually I would use whole chicken pieces and spend the time actually stewing them and deboning them, but I didn't have any (time or chicken pieces).  I did, however, have organic boneless chicken breasts on hand, and that worked out very nicely to shave a good  hour or so off the traditional stewing time for this dish.

Chicken and Vegetable Stew
serves 6

• 1 Tbs olive oil or butter
• 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
• 1 tsp sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large carrots, scrubbed and chopped into 1" chunks
• 2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into 1" chunks
• 1 large stalk of celery, chopped into 1" chunks
• 1 medium turnip, peeled and chopped into 1" chunks
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas,  thawed
• 3 cups broth (either vegetable or chicken)
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 Tbs water
• 2 Tbs flour

For the dumplings:

• 3 Tbs butter, chopped into smallish pieces
• 1 1/2 c flour (unbleached white, or a combination of white and whole wheat)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 c milk
• 1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

Heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat.

Chop the chicken breasts into 1 inch chunks.  Season with thyme, marjoram, tarragon, salt and pepper.

Cook chicken in oil for about 5 minutes, or until nicely golden.

Add carrots, potatoes, celery, turnips, and onions.  Cook for about two minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add broth and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir in peas.  Bring back to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer another 5-10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, mix together the dumpling ingredients: combine flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.  Cut in the butter pieces with a fork (or even your fingertips, which is my preferred method).

Pour milk over all and mix just until combined.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the water and flour.

Pour the flour and water mixture into the chicken and vegetables and mix well.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for one minute.

Drop the dumpling mixture by 10-12 spoonfuls over the top of the stew.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Cook uncovered for 10 minutes.  Cover and cook for 10 more minutes, or until dumplings are cooked and tender.

Serve warm.

Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes with Cinnamon Pear Topping

At the beginning of October Unprocessed one of our biggest hurdles was going to be breakfast cereal (which, I'm proud to say is no longer a sore spot after a month of forced alternate breakfast choices).  These pancakes, and numerous others of various flavors, were made en mass to help ease my poor son's pain of having to endure the entire month without commercial cereal.  They freeze well and warm nicely in the toaster.  The fruit and nut topping is quick and easy to make, even first thing in the morning.


All of the pictures I took of these pancakes turned out blurry (and worse than my usual pictures) for some reason, so I just want to mention to you that by the time I captured this particular picture, enough time had gone by that the syrup had soaked into the already very cold pancakes.  And I was hungry, so I ate them.  And by the time I saw the only picture that turned out and noticed that there was no buttery, syrupy topping glistening on top of these super moist, flavorful pancakes, they were gone.

At any rate, they were quite delicious even cold; I'm not sure if it was the richness of the buttermilk, or the pumpkin and pecan combination, or the pears and maple syrup...or a combination of all of those things.

This recipe makes quite a few pancakes, so if you'd like to freeze them like we did, simply cool them on a wire rack, transfer them in a single layer to trays lined with waxed paper, and put them in the freezer.  Once frozen, transfer them to an airtight container and store in the freezer.  When ready to eat, pop them in the toaster or warm them in the oven while you make the fruit and nut topping (which can also be made in larger batches and stored in the refrigerator and warms nicely in a small saucepan on the stove).  I suppose all of the rewarming could be done in a microwave, too, but I don't own one, so I can't say for certain.  If you choose to make them and reheat them in a microwave, please come back and let us know how it turns out.

Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes with Cinnamon Pear Topping
makes 20 4-inch pancakes

• 1 c unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 c whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 2/3 c buttermilk
• 1/4 c pure maple syrup
• 1 c pumpkin puree
• 2 Tbs oil (extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, coconut oil, or melted butter)
• 1 c chopped pecans (or 1/2 c chopped pecans and 1/2 c chocolate chips)

In a large bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy.  Add the buttermilk, maple syrup, pumpkin puree, and oil and whisk until well mixed.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture.  Whisk until smooth.

Fold the nuts (and chocolate chips, if using) into the batter.

Oil a griddle or large skillet set to medium heat.  Drop batter by 1/4 c onto hot griddle or skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes, or until small bubbles surface on the top of the cake.  Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes, or until bottom is golden.

For the topping:
2 servings

• 2 tsp butter
• 1 large pear or apple, peeled and diced
• few good pinches cinnamon
• 2 Tbs chopped pecans
• 1/4 c pure maple syrup

Heat butter over medium low heat.  Stir in the pears or apples and cinnamon.  Saute until tender - about 4-5 minutes, depending the size of the cut.

Stir in the pecans and maple syrup.

Serve immediately over pancakes.

Maple Apple Cheesecake

I am not a patient cook.  I am the one who will stick my hand in a hot oven to steal a 425 degree, not quite fully cooked, potato wedge with my bare fingers, or taste the simmering soup with only a few blows and end up burning my tongue.  So when it comes to cheesecake, I'm pretty much a lost cause because the eight hour required settling time drives me absolutely mad, and I just can't keep my fingers out of it for that long.

For the most part, I've found that if I make the cake in the evening, it can have all night while I'm asleep to firm unimpeded.  I say "for the most part", because I go to bed thinking about it resting in my fridge, so naturally I dream about it, and of course I wake up at 2am, go to check on it, and have to poke at it to make sure it's firming, and then scoop a little out to make sure it tastes okay.  I'm quite proud because I only stuck my finger in this particular cake once when I should have been asleep, which is some kind of record for me.  I later found out, while we were eating cheesecake for breakfast, that my son did the same shortly after I did; I guess the apple never really does fall far from the tree after all.

I actually developed this recipe for a contest for midwestern desserts, but since I started late and then forgot to submit it until the day after the contest ended, it was never entered.  So, the recipe is now fair game to publish here instead.  While I was working on the recipe, I made three of the cakes.  In the first, I used honey, but as the cake settled, the honey flavor became so pronounced, that it was really the only flavor that could be tasted (and it was kind of gross).  The second was with maple syrup, which was perfect.  The third was the same as the second, just because the second was so good.

Just because I don't like taking any chances with the cheesecake sticking to the pan, after I butter the pan, I cut out a sheet of parchment paper to fit the bottom, and then butter that, too.  An easy way to be sure the parchment fits is to tear off a sheet (larger than the pan), fold it in half, fold it in half again, and then continue to fold from the center point until you have a narrow triangle.  Once you've got the triangle, place the point in the center of the pan and measure to the edge, making a fold or a mark of some sort, and then cut the paper; when you open it, it will fit perfectly into the bottom of your pan.

Fold the parchment in half

Fold in half again

Fold into a triangle at the fold point

Fold a few more times, keeping the point

Place the point in the middle of your pan, measure where the edge is, then cut 

Unfold and line the bottom of your pan

Maple Apple Cheesecake
serves 10-12

Crust:

• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 1/4 c pure maple syrup
• 1 c flour
• 1/4 c rolled oats
• 1/4 c pecans, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Filling:

• 2 pkgs (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 c pure maple syrup
• 1/2 c sour cream
• 1/3 c applesauce
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp pure maple extract
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Topping:

• 1/3 c pure maple syrup, divided
• 3 cups thinly sliced and peeled apples
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 c pecans, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter the inside of a 9" springform pan.  Line the bottom of the pan with a sheet of parchment paper cut to fit, and butter the parchment as well.

In a bowl, cream butter and maple syrup with a hand held electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Gradually add flour, oats, pecans and cinnamon until well blended.  Press the mixture onto the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the buttered 9" springform pan.

Place on a baking sheet.  Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes, or until set.  Cool on wire rack.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.  On low speed, beat in maple syrup, sour cream and applesauce, just until blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, and beat on low speed after each addition just until combined.  Stir in maple and vanilla extracts (batter will be thin).  Pour over cooled crust.

Combine the apples, cinnamon, and 1/3 cup maple syrup.  Carefully arrange the apples over the top of the batter.  

Add the pecans into the apple bowl and mix to coat in any remaining liquid.  Sprinkle the pecans (and any remaining liquid) over the top of the apples.

Bake at 350F for about 1 hour, or until center is almost set.  Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen, but do not uncinch the pan.  Cool at room temperature 1 hour more, then refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Greek Lima Beans

A while ago I was involved in a discussion with several moms who were trying to find ways to help their kids like Lima beans.  Karyn, a mom whose extended family originated from Greece, shared a super easy, super delicious recipe that my whole family loves.

According to the matriarch of the Greek side of her family, one needs to add oregano or marjoram  "only if they are sick", but I really love the beans with the oregano and marjoram.  And I'm not sure how Greek my serving manner is, but to make it a main course, I like to serve it over cooked brown rice, topped with a squeeze of lemon, feta cheese, and chopped olives.  For lunch the next day, I like them served with warm pita bread and more feta.  Mmm...

I wish I could find some green dried Lima beans, but alas, there are none at any of my local stores; all are white.  I've made these beans with both small and large Lima beans, and both turn out delicious, but it is ideal to use the large beans, per Karyn's mother-in-law.  Ultimately, use what you can find - you'll find a great tasting dish on your table, regardless.

Be sure to soak your beans - either cover them in water for at least eight hours, then rinse, or boil them for one minute, cover, remove from heat, and let soak for one hour, then rinse before using them in this recipe.

Greek Lima Beans
serves 8

• 1 lb dry lima beans, soaked and rinsed
• 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
• 3 stalks celery, chopped (including any leaves)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 8-10 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 large tomatoes, chopped (about 3 cups)
• 1/4 c chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried oregano (optional)
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram (optional)
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375F.

Place the soaked Lima beans in a 9x13 pan.

In a deep skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil.  Add the celery, onion, garlic, and tomatoes.  Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture forms a nice, juicy gravy.  Stir in the parsley, bay leaves, oregano (if using), and marjoram (if using).  Season with a few pinches of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Pour the gravy over the beans and mix well.

Cover with foil and bake for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the beans are tender.

Pear Studded Pumpkin Bread

I spent the day roasting pumpkin and making puree.  If you haven't done it yourself, this is the year you must!  It's practically effortless, and much, much less expensive than buying the prepared solid packed pumpkin in the stores; I picked up pie pumpkins as the farmer's market for 75 cents each.  Use homemade puree the same as you would the canned puree.

To make your own puree, simply cut your pie pumpkin in half, and scoop out the pulp and seeds (save the seeds for roasting later). Cut each half into 2 chunks (now you have 4 pieces per pumpkin),  place the quarters in a roasting pan, cover with foil, and bake at 325F for about 45 minutes (or until tender).  Remove the pumpkin meat from the shell with a spoon, place it in a food processor and puree.  It's as easy as that.  I freeze mine in 1 and 2 cup portions.

Along with pancakes, waffles, muffins, pies, and soups, homemade pumpkin puree works beautifully in this healthy, hearty, breakfast-worthy quick bread. The bread remains moist because of the pumpkin and the fresh pears.  The sweetness comes from the pears and raw honey, but if you want your bread a little sweeter, you can safely add another 1/4 c honey without compromising the loaf.  Personally, I find it sweet enough (especially once the bread is cooled completely), but often, when people go from white flour and white sugar to whole grain flour and natural sweeteners, they get discouraged because the sweetness is more subtle than it is with refined sugars.  If this is you, I'd like you not to be discouraged, so go ahead and add the extra 1/4 cup of honey.  If this is not you, and your taste buds are already used to the difference, keep the measurements just how they are.

Pear Studded Pumpkin Bread
makes 1 loaf

• 1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder, such as Rumford
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 c pumpkin puree
• 1/2 c raw honey
• 1/4 c oil (coconut, olive, canola, butter, etc...)
• 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract, such as Simply Organic Pure Vanilla Extract, or homemade
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 medium pears, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 c walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.  Oil and flour an 8x4 loaf pan.

With a paper towel or pastry brush, smear the oil or butter all over the inside of the pan

Add about 1 Tbs flour to pan and shake it around until it coats the oil; discard any loose flour

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, honey, oil (be sure to warm your oil to a liquid state if using butter or coconut), vanilla, and egg until well combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined (batter will be thick).

Fold in the nuts and pears.

Spread into prepared baking pan.

Bake 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Run a butter knife around the edges and carefully turn the bread out onto a cooling rack and cool completely before cutting.

Peasant Pea Soup

Sometimes the simplest ingredients yield the most comforting and flavorful dishes.  And that's a beautiful thing on a chilly, rainy autumn evening when all we want is a nice, thick, filling bowl of soup and we don't want to have to work for it.

This soup is amazing because of its meager ingredients, hearty flavor, and it is budget friendly to boot; I don't think the entire pot of soup costs all of $4.  It doesn't need broth to boost the flavor because the ingredients are so harmonious together all by themselves.  To round out the meal, a simple grilled cheese sandwich or a chunk of fresh, warm bread slathered in butter is all it needs.

If I'm motivated in the morning, I like to put all the ingredients in the slow cooker and let it simmer on low all day.  But if you do this, especially on a cold autumn day where you just want to put your pajamas back on and get cozy with a good book, be prepared for the fragrance of the soup filling your house to make you feel absolutely starved all day long.

Peasant Pea Soup
serves 8

• 1 lb dry split peas, sorted and rinsed
• 1 cup diced carrots (about 3 medium)
• 1 cup diced celery, including any leaves (about 4 stalks)
• 1 cup diced onion (1 medium)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 Tbs fresh parsley, minced, optional
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 8 cups water

Combine everything in a stockpot.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low/simmer.  Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the peas have broken down, stirring occasionally.  Give it a taste, adjust salt and pepper, and serve.

Easy Steakhouse Oven Fries

Potatoes rank right up there with pizza on my list of favorite foods.  Baked, fried, sauteed, grilled, boiled, mashed, whipped, scalloped - it doesn't matter; potatoes are just good.

Making your own potato wedges or french fries is ridiculously easy, and by doing so, you can customize the flavors, use a quality oil, and eliminate the ingredients no one ever needs on their potatoes (such as modified food starch, dextrin, disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate...you know, things like that).  Yes, it takes a little more time than tearing open a bag and pouring them onto a pan, but not much.  And they taste better.  A lot better.

These potatoes are similar to some of my favorite "fries" available at a local steakhouse.  For this picture, I used small red potatoes because I have an abundance of them, but medium reds or russets (and even sweet potatoes, although sweet potatoes will cook faster, so if you use them, adjust your time) work extremely well, too.

Smoked paprika is essential to create a delicately smokey flavor, reminiscent of a steakhouse.  If you've not used smoked paprika before, now would be the perfect time to get some - it is amazing on these potatoes.  Likely you'll find yourself putting some of this spice in a lot of other dishes that might benefit from a little smoke flavor.

This recipe calls for "shredded onion".  Use a regular old box grater and grate the onion on the shredding side.  Like this:

Easy Steakhouse Oven Fries

serves 6

• 2lbs potatoes, scrubbed
• 3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbs shredded onion
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425F.  Lightly oil 2 15x10 jelly roll pans.

Cut the potatoes into quarters (or into eighths if using larger potatoes - just be sure all the wedges are of similar thickness; about 1/2"-3/4").  Place the potatoes on a towel or paper towel and pat dry.

Transfer potatoes to a large bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to coat.

Divide the potatoes evenly between the two pans.

Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until golden, turning halfway through baking time.

Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce

The sauce for this pasta is extremely easy and budget friendly.  It contains easy to remember measurements and can be on the table in less than 30 minutes from beginning to end, unless you make your own fettuccine (in which case it will take a little longer).

In the springtime, I would add a pound of chopped asparagus into the pot with the mushrooms, but since it's October and definitely not asparagus season, I left it out, and it was just as good with only the mushrooms, along with a side of roasted green beans tossed with garlic and olive oil.  Oh, and crusty bread smeared with roasted garlic (yum!).

Put your pot of water for the pasta on the stove top to boil when you begin the sauce.  Just before you stir in the cream for the sauce, add the fresh pasta to the pasta pot (fresh fettuccine only takes about 3 minutes to cook), and everything will be done at the same time.

Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce
serves 4

• 1 small leek, thinly sliced and rinsed
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbs butter
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 lb portobello or cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and roughly chopped
• 1 Tbs fresh rosemary leaves, minced
• 1 c dry white wine, such as Chardonnay
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbs fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 c whipping cream
• 1 Tbs flour
• 9 oz fresh fettuccine pasta (homemade or refrigerated)
• More fresh, chopped parsley, if desired

In a dutch oven or heavy skillet, heat butter over medium heat.  Saute leek and garlic for about 2 minutes or until leek is tender.

 Remove and set aside.

(Start your pasta pot now:  bring 2 qts salted water and 1 Tbs olive oil, if desired, to a boil.)

Turn the heat for the dutch oven or heavy skillet to medium high and add 2 Tbs olive oil.  Add mushrooms and rosemary.

Cook, stirring occasionally, 10-15 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender and the liquid has been absorbed.

Stir in the wine, salt, pepper, and parsley.  Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half; 1-2 minutes.  Return the leeks and garlic to the pot.  Stir well.

(Add fresh fettuccine to the pasta pot.  Boil 3 minutes and drain, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water*.)

Stir the flour into the cream and add to the mushroom mixture.  Stir and cook until the mixture reaches a boil. Stir and cook for 1 more minute. *If you prefer a thinner sauce, stir a few tablespoons of the pasta water into the sauce until it reaches the desired consistency.

Serve mushroom sauce over hot fettuccine.  Top with additional chopped fresh parsley, if desired.