Chicken Marsala

 This is a really good one for a special, personal quiet night for two!  A very sexy chicken dish, guaranteed to make the night special!  This recipe' is SO simple & basic, that the video shows/explains it all, no need to even note any seasoning amounts!

Ingredients:

1 cup Vidalia onion, chopped
3/4 tsp Garlic, minced
1 cup Chicken Stock
2 tbs Butter
1/2 cup White Zinfandel
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Grnd Sage
Flour for dusting chicken
Olive Oil

Note; 

1) Add a big pinch (1/3 tsp) of salt/pepper right after the wine.   I just remembered I'd tasted before plating & made the adjustment off camera so...
2) Portobello Mushrooms go Great in this dish!  I didn't use them because the person I was cooking it for didn't like mushrooms!   

3) Recipe' works with Rice, Pasta, or Mash Potatoes!

Now as far as the Asparagus goes, I dowse the spears w/Olive oil, then usually season them with the same "dry" stuff used for the protein/entre' so they pair better;

Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Ground Sage

And though I'd cooked/broiled those in the video on a "Pizza Pizzazz" I now use a more precise technique using my crepe pan; over medium heat, sauté for 2 mins, flip & sauté another 2 mins, remove from pan immediately/plate...  This brings the spears to a perfect Al Dente, with a nice snap & delightfully moist,  dissolving crumbly chew & NO woody grains!

On a side note; this was the dish I'd Christened my new Stainless Steel "Noni" Pan with, thus my comment at the beginning...

Hope y'all enjoy!

Baked chicken & drop dumplings

Ingredients:

Ø  1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast

Ø  1 cup Yellow Onion, diced

Ø  1 cup Celery, diced

Ø  1 tbs. minced Garlic

Ø  1 ½ cups sliced Carrots

Ø  ¼ cup EV Olive Oil

Ø  2 tbs. EV Olive Oil

·         2 tsp. Garlic powder

·         2 tsp.  Onion powder

·         2 tsp. Kosher salt

·         ¾ tsp. Black pepper

·         ⅓ tsp. ground sage

Ø  ⅔ cup Flour

Ø  3 tbs. Better Than Bouillon (chicken base)

Ø  1 tbs. Honey, heaping

Ø  5 cups hot water

Dumplings;

Ø  2 cups Bisquick mix

Ø  ⅔ cup Milk

Note:

To start with, I’m using a 12”Ѳ by 4”↕, 4 qt. casserole pot, that’s very handy; we will be starting on the stovetop & transferring to a 375°f oven to finish.   A 12” frying pan or similar will work, as well as starting with a Dutch oven, then transferring to a 9”x13” cake pan.   Basically, we need a similar surface area for our dumpling/crust to fit. > 

Next, you can find the “Better than Bouillon” @ Wal-Mart, it’s good stuff; it’s like cooking a whole chicken until it disintegrates & reduces down to fit in this little jar. >

Instructions:

1. First, let’s thoroughly mix ALL the dry seasonings (●) together in a small bowl which we’ll refer to as “S1” then remove 2 tsp. of the season mix from (S1) & set aside which we’ll call “S2.”  
2. After everything has been diced & sliced & set aside, cut the chicken into bite size pieces & place in big mixing bowl.  Now sprinkle the seasoning mix (S1) over the chicken pieces, then toss & knead the pieces by hand, thoroughly dispersing & coating pieces with the seasoning.
3. Now pour the ⅔ cup flour atop the seasoned chicken pieces, then mix by hand, tossing & separating the pieces, until all the pieces are coated with flour & wet spots are gone.
4. In a microwave, heat the 5 cups water for about 4-5 min., then add the “Better than Bouillon” & stir until all dissolved.  Then add the season mix (S2) & the Honey until dissolved, set aside. (our Bouillon base)
5. In a small bowl with a little water, microwave the carrots until al Denté, then strain & set aside.
6. Ok, now add the 2 tbs. of EVO-Oil to your pot, atop the stove over med-high heat.  Steam is always expected, but never let it get hot enough to smoke, doing so causes the Olive oil to break down & lose its healthy properties.  
7. Add the onion & sauté about 5 min., then add the celery , garlic & sauté for another 2 min. (this is our “trinity”)
8. During step #9) we want to mix up our dumplings (while browning chicken) just follow the “Bisquick” dumpling directions, only takes 2-3 min.; preheat oven to 375°f as well.
9. Now add the ¼ cup EVO-Oil & mix, spreading the “trinity” around evenly & then place our chicken pieces atop the trinity as evenly in a single layer as possible.  Reduce the heat a little, to just slightly above medium & sauté for about 5 min. with-out stirring, until your pieces start getting a nice golden brown on the bottoms. (<step^8>)  Now, just try to flip the pieces over to brown the other sides, about another 5 min., lightly scraping bottom of pan & shuffling pieces around during so.
10. Time to add our “Bouillon base” to the pot; we are going to slowly simmer this, giving the bouillon base time to dissolve all the breading & yummy caramelized bits from off the chicken & throughout.   So let’s add the bouillon base & reduce the heat to just slightly below medium, stirring constantly for about 30 min.; by then you should have a nice simmer going & be well into the early thickening stage.
11. Let’s add our carrots & raise our heat to med-high & bring it to a modest/light bubble, stirring constantly.
12. Time for the dumplings (those who need to transfer into a baking pan, do so now) using two flatware/tablespoons (dough will be very sticky) we are going to spoon out, fat ping pong ball size dumpling/clumps, then just lightly drop/lay them on top of our yummy bubbling goodness; leave maybe a ½” or so between each dumpling so that they don’t stick together, allowing them to move around as needed as they expand.   You should have just enough dough to cover our top area as noted above^.  You don’t have to rush it, but you can’t stir it once you start adding the dumplings, so we don’t want to play around too much worrying about our dumpling shapes, thus the 2 spoons to help form balls instead of spaghetti.
13. You should have a nice bubbling going by the time you get all the dumplings in. So now let’s place it in the oven & bake @ 375°f uncovered, until dumplings are light brown on top, about 10-15 min.
14. Remove & let stand uncovered for about 10 min.  

Prep = 30 min. ±

Total = 2 hrs. ±

Feeds = 4 Adults

Enjoy!  Todd

Chicken Broccoli Cheese Soup

This one is by no means a low fat dish, but I guarantee this will be one of the best broccoli & cheese style soups you will ever experience!

Chicken Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast fillet, diced (bite size)
• 2 c water
• 4 tbs "chicken base" (bouillon paste, Walmart or most grocery stores)
• 1 head broccoli (cut down to bite size florets/pieces.)
• 1 stick butter
• 1 tsp black pep
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp Tabasco
• 3/4 tsp sage
• 2 c yellow onion; diced (Valdalia if available)
• 2 c celery
• 3 potatoes (volume = to ave. size pear, quartered lengthwise, sliced 1/4" thick.)
• 1 red bell pepper; diced
• 1 tbs minced garlic
• 3 qt.s 2% milk
• 5 tbs Blond roux ( instructions )

Instructions;

1.) Steam broccoli separately to a soft "al dente" texture; set aside.
2.) In a 6 qt pot, add;

• 2 c yellow onion; diced (Valdalia if available)
• 2 c celery
• 1 stick butter
• 1 tsp black pep
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp Tabasco
• 3/4 tsp sage

3.) Saute' (on medium) until onion is transparent,
4.) Add Garlic, Red Bell Pepper, chicken breast & thoroughly cook thru. (15 min.s)
5.) Add 2 c water & 4 tbs "chicken base" (bouillon paste, Walmart or most grocery stores ) Cook on medium until base is dissolved, reduce heat to low;  add the blond roux & thoroughly mix in.
6.) Add 3 qt.s 2% milk, 1 qt at a time, waiting for each qt to get heated before adding the next.
7.) Add cut potatoes, simmer on low medium until potatoes are tender.
8.) On medium high, add 1 of the following at a time, stirring until melted;

• 1ea. 2 c bag of shredded colby/jack cheese
• 1ea. 2 c bag of shredded cheddar
• 1 16oz American cheese, few slices at a time

9.) On medium high, stirring frequently, bring almost to a boil;
10.) Remove from heat, add broccoli & stir lightly.  Serve with a salad & lots of french bread!! (top each bowl w/ couple crumbled Ritz crackers)

Serves  10 - 14 people pending sides.  Prep. time = about 45 min.s,  Total time = 2.5 to 3 Hrs

Enjoy!!  Todd