Paula Deen's Chicken Bog

I'm going to say it.

It's so much fun being a mom.

Tell me how you can look at a sweet baby face like that and your heart not melt.

Brent and I used to think having fun meant going out with friends, usually involved spending a lot of money and staying up way too late. Now, fun is getting a smile like this. We still enjoy seeing our friends, we went to a party Friday evening, but when it comes down to it, I'd rather play with Caleb. Because I need to get as much of this baby love in as I can before he grows up.

Since my weekends are filled more with things like playing with Caleb and *gasp* housework than they used to be, I don't have as much time to cook fancy meals. When I do cook, I try to find recipes that make a lot of food so we can have leftovers for a few days. My mom reminded me of this Paula Deen recipe that been a standby of hers for years and has always been a family favorite.

Chicken Bog
Source: Paula Deen

Ingredients:

3 pounds chicken thighs

1 pound smoked link sausage

1 cup chopped onion 1 stick butter

2 teaspoons Seasoned Salt

2 teaspoons Paula Deen's House Seasoning

1 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 bay leaves

8 cups water

3 cups raw white rice

Directions:

Slice the sausage into 1/2-inch pieces. In a stockpot, combine the chicken, sausage, onion, butter, seasonings and bay leaves. Add the water, bring to a boil, cover, and cook at a low boil for 40 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool slightly. Pick the meat from the bones, discarding the bones and skin. Add the rice to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring well. Boil for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the rice is done. Remove the bay leaves, and return the chicken to the pot.

Chorizo Stuffed Bell Peppers

I'm trying to explore new sections of the grocery store...I think they call it 'shopping around the edges'. The idea is to find new foods that you've never cooked with before. Our Wal-Mart has a nice sized Mexican food section in the refrigerator case where I found a bright red tube of chorizo sausage.
If, like me, you've never cooked with chorizo, don't be surprised if it looks like the least appetizing thing you've ever seen in a skillet (seriously, I almost threw it out, but it smelled good so I perservered). Just press the sausage down into a disk and be sure to take a second during cooking to drain the excess liquid (grease I guess)that comes out of the sausage. Flip the disk over and continue browning, then crumble when it's completely cooked. *confession, I had to Google how to cook chorizo, I had no idea*
I created this recipe using items I had on hand. It turned out really well and it came together quickly.

Chorizo Stuffed Bell Peppers

Source: A Hilary Original Recipe

Ingredients:

4 bell peppers
1 pound chorizo sausage
1 onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1.5 cups minute rice
1.5 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
Cheddar cheese to taste
Sour cream, olives, other garnishes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Cut the bell peppers in half, removing stem and seeds. Place on a baking sheet lined with tin foil and put in oven, roasting until slightly soft and liquid is starting to seep from the peppers.

Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, saute the onion and sausage. Once the sausage is thoroughly cooked, add the tomatoes, rice and water. Allow to simmer until rice is cooked and the mixture has thickened. Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Spoon the sausage mixture into the bell pepper shells. Top with chedder cheese and bake about ten minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Garnish as desired.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Brent and I have talked about trying Indian food but had never gotten around to it. I've cooked with curry a few times and we both enjoyed it, so I know we are definitely open to the new flavor combinations Indian food has to offer. Last week I was scrolling through my saved recipe posts and saw Pastor Ryan's version of this dish, Chicken Tikki Masala. Instead of waiting to find an Indian restaurant to try, I'd try to make something exotically Indian at home! One quick trip to the store later and we were set! When I opened the bottle of Garam Masala spice I was instantly smitten. Interestingly enough, the only non perishable ingredients I had to buy were the Garam Masala and the ground coriander which shocked the h3ll out of me, I thought I was making an exotic dish, by gosh! But I already had nearly everything!
This dish was so amazingly flavorful, I know I'll broil chicken like this again soon, even if I don't go to the effort to make the sauce. I loved the cumin and coriander. Of course, the sauce was amazing, but what sauce that includes a cup and a half of heavy whipping cream isn't wonderful? This is a huge recipe, so if you're feeding more than two you might consider cutting it in half. I wasn't really impressed with the way it reheated, so don't count on leftovers. Of course, it might have been the fact that at 7:30 in the morning this country girl does not need to be eating Indian food, but whatev.

Chicken Tikki Masala
Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

3-4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic
2 inch chunk fresh ginger
Cumin
Garam Masala
Ground coriander
Kosher salt
Sugar
2 cups Basmati rice (I used regular long grain rice)

Season the chicken with salt, then sprinkle both sides with coriander and cumin. Coat entirely with yogurt. Place on a metal cooling rack on a baking sheet lined with tin foil and broil, 10-12 inches below the coils, for 5-7 minutes per side. Do not overcook or it will be tough and dry.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the diced onion. Saute until lightly browned. Meanwhile, mince the garlic and grate or mince the ginger. Add both to the onions along with a tablespoon salt.

Add about 3 tablespoons Garam Masala spice. For a spicier dish, you can add chili peppers at this time (Pastor Ryan suggests serranos). Add the tomatoes and deglaze the pan by scraping the pan bottom with your spatula. Add 1 tablespoon sugar and allow the sauce to simmer for about 5 minutes.

(Meanwhile, cook your rice as usual so that it is finished at the same time as the sauce. I added frozen peas to my rice (the heat from the finished rice cooks them perfectly) for a great color contrast.

Once the sauce has simmered, add the cream. Chop the chicken breasts into bite sized chunks and stir into the sauce. Serve over the rice along with naan. Enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

I purchased some photo editing software a month or so ago, but I never got around to learning how to use it. I made this casserole for our dinner the other night and when it was finally done, it was dark outside. The pictures I took all turned out dark and awful! I couldn't not (yes, I realize that's a double negative, I'm using it for effect) share the recipe, but I was embarrassed by my dark photography. Thank goodness for that software, I was able to enhance the light enough on this picture so ya'all bloggity readers can tell how yummy the recipe actually was.

Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole
From: Lauren's Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (next time I'll probably use two, we like onion)
1 bell pepper, diced (I left out, I don't like green bell peppers that much)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb diced ham
2 c cooks, shredded chicken breast (I used a pound package)
4 T butter
1/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
14 oz can chicken broth
3 cups cooked rice (I used cooked minute rice and it worked just fine)
1 c shredded cheddar
1 c shredded mozzarella or swiss

Preheat oven to 350°

I precooked the chicken by poaching it in a pot of water with chicken granules for about 25 minutes. Allow to cool and shred with your hands or a fork.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the onion and peppers until tender.

Add garlic, chicken and ham and cook until heated through, another 5 minutes or so.

Add the butter and once melted, sift on the flour salt and pepper and stir. You're making a roux here so allow to cook for a few minutes while the mixture thickens.

Stir in the chicken broth and rice.

Pour the mixture into a 9x13 casserole and top with the cheese mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melty and yummy. You might need to cover with foil to keep from overbrowning the cheese while the casserole heats through.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

I made these the other night for my husband and father in law. Unfortunately the only picture I have is this sloppy picture of the stuffed peppers on a baking sheet. I'm kicking myself for not getting another picture once I had plated these babies, the plate was beautiful I tell ya, just beautiful. I served them with Mexican Sour Cream Rice, but I changed up the rice recipe by including cilantro and changing the cheese from Monterrey Jack to medium cheddar. Brent and I liked this version MUCH better, probably because it was more colorful!

I was initially inspired by this Black Bean and Rice Stuffed Poblano recipe on Food alla Puttanesca. I love black beans, but Brent isn't really a fan, plus, he prefers meals with meat. I created my recipe to fit his criteria :)

Ingredients:

8 poblanos, 6 sliced lengthwise, with seeds removed, 2 diced
1 pound hamburger
1 red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 12 oz. can diced tomatoes
1.5 cups chicken stock
1.5 cups quick cooking brown rice
3 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
Dashes of hot sauce
Salt and pepper
2 cups cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400°

Place the 12 halved poblanos on a baking sheet (I like to line with aluminum foil).
In a skillet over medium heat, brown the hamburger and season with salt and pepper. Remove the hamburger and drain.
Next, in a little olive oil, saute the red onion, garlic, and diced poblano until soft. Add the tomatoes, stock and spices and bring to a boil. Add the rice, stir to combine and allow to simmer until the rice is cooked.
Now, take the poblanos out of the oven (they should be getting soft by now), spoon the hamburger mixture into the pepper halves, top with cheese and place back in the oven for another 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and yummy.

Mexican Sour Cream Rice

I just found the pictures from this meal on my hard drive and was instantly reminded how much I enjoyed the rice. Unfortunately, I don't remember much about the pork chop, it must not have been anything special. The rice dish has made it into my side rotation several times since.

Mexican Sour Cream Rice
From: Lauren's Kitchen

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1 (8.75 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (I think I left this out)
salt and ground black pepper to taste

In a large pot, bring the rice and chicken broth to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish. In the pot with the cooked rice, mix the sour cream, green chile peppers, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, corn, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish, and top with remaining cheese.
Bake uncovered 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.