Tag: comfort food

Three Cheese Chicken and Pasta Bake

I found myself with no protein thawed out, so I tried to think of things to make with shredded chicken (since it is so easy to do, from frozen, in the instant pot!). And, I do love a casserole – so this is what I came up with!

I decided I wanted to use pasta – I chose penne (but, any pasta would do). I also had an unused container of ricotta cheese on hand, some mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

I decided to boil my pasta separate. I boiled it to al dente. Be sure not to overboil it, or it will be too chewy in the casserole. While the pasta was boiling, I started to work on the sauce (I guess that is the appropriate term when you’re going to add it to something and make a casserole? I will call it that). I started by grating 2 cups of mozzarella cheese.

Then I cooked some garlic in a large skillet, with a little bit of butter.

Once the garlic was done, I added in a little bit of water and the milk. I only had skim milk on hand, but certainly, this would be so much better with a whole milk or even a bit of heavy cream! I brought the liquids up to a boil. I added in my seasonings at this time.

I then started adding in the cheeses. I started with the ricotta first and let it get mostly melted. I then added in the mozzarella and parmesan. I brought the cheese sauce up to a boil.

I then added in the shredded chicken and stirred through.

In a greased dutch oven, I poured in the al dente pasta.

Then I poured the sauce over top and stirred everything together. ** Note, I had forgotten to add my spinach to the sauce, so I just stirred it in at this point.

I, then, topped it with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese, as well as the panko bread crumbs.

The casserole was cooked in a 400 degree oven (I think I’ve mentioned this before, but my oven tends to run a little cooler – that said, feel free to drop the temperature if 400 seems a little high) for 30 minutes. I did turn the broiler on for a couple min, at the end just to brown the top a little more.

Three Cheese Chicken and Pasta Bake

1 box pasta of choice
2 chicken breasts, shredded
1 cup water or chicken stock
2 cups milk
1- 15 oz container of Ricotta cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella (reserve 1 cup)
1 cup grated parmesan (reserve 1/4 cup)
2 tbsp garlic
1/2 tbsp butter
4 cups fresh spinach
1/2 to 1 tsp salt, depending on your tastes
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

  • Boil pasta to al dente (do not overcook)
  • In large skillet, saute garlic in butter
  • Add in water or chicken stock and then milk
  • Bring up to a boil
  • Add in pepper, basil and pepper flakes
  • Add in cheese – ricotta, mozarella and parmesan
  • Pour pasta into a greased dutch oven or casserole dish
  • Pour the cheese sauce over top and add in spinach, stir everything through
  • Top with remaining mozarella, paremesan cheese and bread crumbs
  • Cook, uncovered, in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes
  • Put under broiler for 1-2 minutes if your cheese ins’t browned after 30 minutes
by Michelle

Easy Black Bean Soup

I love cooler weather, partly because I love soup and stews and cooler weather makes it more ‘acceptable’ to cook soups and stews more often. I would, honestly, eat soups year round – but, they do taste better when there is a little nip in the air.

For black bean soup, you could certainly start with dried black beans – but, this is a recipe for a quick and easy black bean soup. That said, I used canned black beans (the picture shows 3 cans, but I actually used 4). Along with the black beans, I added in some carrots, onion, celery and a jalapeno. As far as seasonings, I kept it simple – just cumin and salt. I diced all the vegetables pretty small.

I actually used 4 cans of black beans

In a large pot, I warmed a bit of olive oil. To that, I added in the chopped vegetables and seasonings.

I allowed the vegetables to cook until the vegetables started to soften.

Finally, I added in the black beans and beef stock.

I also remembered that I had a jar of roasted red peppers in the refrigerator (it was about 3/4 full). I drained them and threw that in.

Since I chopped the vegetables pretty small, it doesn’t take long to cook this soup – but, it is good to let it simmer long enough for all the flavors to meld. I would say let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.

This soup is great on it’s own – but, you can add any variety of toppings if you like. I topped mine with a little bit of sour cream.

Also – this recipe is super easy to make vegetarian – just use vegetable stock, in place of the beef stock!

Easy Black Bean Soup

2 carrots, chopped small
1 stalk of celery, chopped small
1/2 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced small
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 cans black beans, undrained
6-8 oz roasted red peppers
1 carton (4 cups) beef stock (or vegetable stock, if you want it to be vegetarian)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil

  • Prep vegetables
  • In large pot, add olive oil and heat
  • Add in onion, garlic, celery, carrots and jalapeno
  • Add in seasonings and stir through
  • Add in the stock, black beans and roasted red peppers, bring to boil
  • Once boil is achieved, cover and reduce heat.
  • Let simmer for at least 30 minutes

Soup can be served with various toppings: sour cream, cheese, avocado or chips

by Michelle

Corn Chowder

I think that I’ve made it very clear that I love a soup, stew or chowder (well, I’ve never said, on the blog, I love a chowder – but, suffice it to say, I do – now you know!). When I decided to make corn chowder, I got to wondering what makes a chowder a chowder – why isn’t it a stew, for example. In my research, I found that a chowder uses a roux to thicken – perfect, I was planning on using a roux for this dish! I was making a chowder! Go me!

For my corn chowder, I used chicken stock and some bacon – but, you could easily make this a vegetarian dish by foregoing the bacon and using vegetable stock.

Since I wasn’t planning this to be a vegetarian dish I knew I was going to put bacon in it. So, I started by frying a few slices of bacon.

I prepped the potatoes, onion and carrots.

Then I made my roux. For the roux, I used 2 tbsp butt we er (and the bacon grease that was left over) and 3-4 tbsp flour. For a roux, it should be equal parts fat and flour, I just guesstimated on the amount of bacon fat that was left in the dutch oven. I then added in a bit of the chicken stock, brought up to a boil and whisked well, picking up any stuck on bacon pieces from the bottom of the pan.

I added in the remaining chicken broth and 3 cups of skim milk. I added in the vegetables and dry seasonings and brought the broth up to a boil.

I added in the heavy cream last and then stirred everything through. I added in 1/2 of the bacon, crumbled, to the dutch oven.

I reduced the heat, added in a bay leaf, covered and cooked the chowder for about 45 minutes.

Serve topped with crisp bacon.

Corn Chowder

1 large bag frozen corn (32 oz)
4 carrots, chopped
4 russet potatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups milk (I used 3 cups skim and 1 cup heavy cream)
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp Umami seasoning
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

2 tbsp butter
3-4 tbsp flour

  • Prep vegetables
  • Fry bacon and remove from dutch oven
  • Make roux, using remaining bacon fat, butter and flour
  • Once roux is done, add in chicken broth and then milk
  • Add in vegetables and seasonings, bring to a boil
  • Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes
  • Serve with crisp bacon, if desired (I also added a few pieces of cooked, chopped bacon in prior to simmering)

** If you want to make this vegetarian, use vegetable stock and don’t add bacon

by Michelle

Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Stew

I love chicken stew. Here in the south, at least chicken stew I’ve had all my life, chicken stew is usually just chicken in a milk based broth with seasonings. And, is eaten with hot sauce and saltine crackers. I started to make that (and I will sometime, and will share it when I do!), but I decided I wanted some vegetables – so I came up with something a little different.

I started with shredded chicken. I realize I sound like a broken record, but I will say it again, for anyone that may have missed it – if you ever need shredded chicken, and you own an instant pot, use your instant pot – and cook your chicken (you can even do it from frozen, if you forgot to thaw it out), with some chicken stock – and then shred it with a hand held mixer. You can get more details here.

While my chicken was cooking, I prepped my vegetables. I used 7 potatoes, 4 carrots and 1 onion. I also added a can of whole kernel corn.

I love my Le Creuset and I use it several times a week. Tonight was no exception. It is, truly, one of my favorite things in my kitchen. I had wanted one for quite a while, but never could justify dropping that much money on one – but, I was given the opportunity to get one as my 20 year anniversary gift from the place I work. I didn’t know I would love it as much as I to – but, I digress… that that to say, I cooked the chicken stew in my Le Creuset. I have 6 3/4 oval Dutch oven, in Cerise.

I added the olive oil, onions and carrots and cooked until they started to soften.

I then added in the seasonings (when I can, I like to add seasonings, like thyme, before adding the liquids – I feel like it opens up the flavor more, if you do). and I just stirred it all through.

I then added in 1 cup of the chicken stock and made sure to pull up any of the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Once that was done, I added in the potatoes, the corn, the chicken (including the stock from the instant pot), the remaining stock and the milk and brought the stew up to a boil. Then, reduced the heat, covered the pot and let it simmer for 45 minutes.

A couple tips:

  • Since the chicken is precooked, you can eat the stew as soon as your vegetables are soft, but the longer you let it simmer, the more the flavors will meld.
  • I didn’t have whole milk, but wanted a creamy soup – so I used some skim milk and some heavy cream. Feel free to adjust which milk to your taste. If I would have had whole milk, I would have just used all whole for the 5 cups the recipe calls for.
  • If you prefer a less ‘creamy’ stew (or just want to make it a little healthier), just adjust the broth to milk ratio, to your liking – but, we definitely prefer the chicken stew with more milk, than broth.
  • If you like a thicker stew, you can certainly add a slurry at the end to thicken.
  • Try it with some hot sauce – that’s how we like it! And, some saltine crackers if you have them – unfortunately, we didn’t tonight.

Chicken and Vegetable Stew

3 large chicken breasts, shredded (with stock from cooking)
4 carrots, chopped
6-8 potatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
3 cups chicken stock (one cup comes from cooking the chicken breasts – if you cook in instant pot, like I do)
5 cups milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp olive oil

  • Cook chicken and shred
  • Prep vegetables
  • In large pot or dutch oven, add olive oil, onions and carrots and cook for 4-5 minutes
  • Add in seasonings and stir through
  • Add in chicken stock, pulling up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot
  • Add the potatoes, then the chicken (including stock from cooking)
  • Finally add in milk – and bring to a boil
  • Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes (or until vegetables are tender)

by Michelle

Hearty Beef Stew

When it starts to get cooler, it’s really hard to beat a good stew. And, beef stew is one of our favorites. It’s warm, filling and feeds a lot – what’s not to love about it?! OH, and it is super easy to make!

I started by chopping my vegetables. Since it was going in a stew, I just rough chopped everything.

The cooking started with, as so many things that I love do, a little bit of olive oil, the onions I chopped and garlic. I cooked the onions and garlic until they started to get soft.

Then I added in the stew meat and browned it – adding in the seasonings, when it started to get browned.

Finally, I added in 4 cups – or one carton – of beef stock, the can of crushed tomatoes and the vegetables.

I let it come to a boil and then reduced the heat and covered the stew.

** Side note, the recipe is written up to indicate that you should, after lowering the heat cook it for about an hour (which is what I would normally do) – however, tonight, my daughter had volleyball and I was getting the dinner ready prior to leaving for the match, so I deviated slightly. I brought it up to a boil and then simmered for about 30 minutes or so. I had preheated my oven to 450 degrees. When I had to leave, I put the dutch oven (lid on) in the oven, turned off the oven and let it continue to cook in the oven. While this isn’t necessary for this recipe, and isn’t even how I would normally do it, I do mention it in case it is helpful to someone! The Le Creuset dutch oven is so well insulated, that this works perfectly – and kept the beef stew nice and warm for the time that we were away from the house. It was nice to be able to come home, only needing to thicken the stew before eating!

When we got home, I removed the dutch oven from the oven and returned it to the stove, as I wanted to add a quick slurry (just a couple tablespoons of corn starch mixed with about 1/2 cup or so of cold water) to the stew to thicken it a bit. To help it thicken, I brought it back up to a boil prior to adding in the slurry. Point of note – even after being in the oven, which wasn’t on – but, had been preheated to 450 degrees, for a couple hours – the stew was still pretty hot and was up to a boil in a matter of about 2 minutes.

We were hungry and we were cold – we enjoyed our beef stew about 10 – 15 minutes after adding the slurry! Super easy – super filling – super delicious – super perfect for this busy evening.

Hearty Beef Stew

2.5 – 3 lbs stew meat
5 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
6-8 red potatoes, diced
1 large can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
4 cups beef stock
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
3/4 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp Umami seasoning

  • Chop vegetables
  • In a large dutch oven, add olive oil and then onions and garlic, cook until soft
  • Add in stew meat and brown, add in seasonings
  • Add in tomatoes and beef stock, bring to a boil – then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for approximately 1 hour (timing may vary depending on the size you cut your veggies)
  • Just before serving, bring back up to a boil – and add in a slurry of cold water and corn starch to thicken

by Michelle