Rigatoni Bolognese

We were lucky to be in Aspen on Valentine's Day, which meant a romantic meal out to Casa Tua, my most favorite restaurant in town. Only one hiccup, we had a six year old Miss F with us. We had an early reservation and low expectations. Miss F did amazingly well and thoroughly enjoyed her rigatoni Bolognese. She couldn't get enough of it! Though her favorite part of the meal was both the bread selections (she had one of every type) and an amazing chocolate dessert. She proclaimed it her new favorite restaurant and wants to return next time we are in town. I decided to try and recreate the pasta at home, using Martha Stewart's recipe for Bolognese as a basis. Miss F didn't think it was as good as Casa Tua, but she still very much enjoyed it.

Rigatoni Bolognese

1 slice bacon, finely chopped
½ onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground beef chuck
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup milk
Pinch of ground nutmeg
½ cup dry white wine
1 cans (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree
1 ½ to 2 cups water
1 pound rigatoni, prepared per package directions

In a Dutch oven, cook the bacon, onion, celery, carrot and garlic over medium heat until softened, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper. Break up the meat with a spoon, cook until browned, 8 minutes more. Increase the heat to high, add the milk and nutmeg. Cook, stirring, until the milk is evaporated, 8 minutes more. Add the wine, cook, stirring for 8 minutes more. Stir in the tomatoes, reduce heat to medium-low, simmer for two hours, adding water as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the rigatoni and serve.

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Chicken and Dumplings

I love dumplings. They were one of my favorites as a kid, whenever my mom made beef stew, I always filled up on dumplings and ate very little of the stew itself. And whatever stew I did eat, I dipped it in ketchup, even the carrots.  This recipe from Smells Like Home is a classic chicken and dumplings recipe.  I can still pretend it is fall, even though the temperatures are still in the 80s and 90s around here.  I used my disher to scoop out the dumplings and it really made things quite easy.

Chicken and Dumplings

2 ½ pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and legs
2 teaspoons canola oil
4 carrots, peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick
2 ribs celery, sliced ¼ inch thick
1 onion, minced
¼ cup flour
1 tablespoons dry sherry
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen green peas

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter

Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin side down and brown both sides. Remove the chicken from the pot and remove the skin from the chicken. Add the carrots, celery, onion and ¼ teaspoon salt to the pan. Cook until the vegetables have softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the flour, then whisk in the sherry, scraping up any browned bits. Whisk in the broth and milk, then add the thyme, parsley and bay leaves. Return the chicken to the pot, cover and simmer on low for one hour. Remove the chicken and bay leaves from the pot. Discard the chicken bones and then shred the meat. Stir the shredded chicken into the stew, add the peas, then salt and pepper to taste.

Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the milk and butter to a two cup measure, microwave for one minute. Stir the milk into the flour mixture just until combined. Scoop out golf ball sized pieces of batter and gently lower them into the stew. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes. Serve.

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Turkey Gumbo

Firstly, happy new year!  C left for Aspen the day after thanksgiving to take ski lessons, so he missed out on the best part of Thanksgiving: the leftovers. So while Miss F and I visited Aspen, we had a second turkey feast, C style. Pop n serve rolls, log cranberry sauce from a can, and copious amounts of gravy. Since there were only three of us eating the turkey, I had a ton of meat leftover. My friend Erica was telling me about the turkey gumbo that her family made with leftovers. And it took me back in time, because I used to make turkey gumbo every year after Thanksgiving, but it has been at least 10 years since I have done it. The roux takes nearly an hour to make, but it is worth it. I set my laptop next to the stove top and caught up on my internet browsing (Pinterest!) This recipe is adapted from Emeril Lagasse.

Turkey Gumbo

¾ cup canola oil
¾ cup flour
½ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
½ cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
6 cups chicken or turkey broth
2 bay leaves
Salt and cayenne
Creole spice
2 cups shredded cooked turkey meat
Steamed rice, for serving

In a large soup pot slowly heat oil and flour together over low heat, stirring constantly, until it becomes a nutty brown color and is very fragrant; be careful not to burn. Add onions, pepper and celery and cook, stirring, 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add broth, bay leaf, 2 teaspoons salt, cayenne and Creole spice to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add turkey and simmer 30 minutes more. Adjust seasonings and serve with hot steamed rice.

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Crockpot Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

I saw frozen noodles on Pioneer Woman's show on The Food Network. They looked so much better than dried egg noodles and I knew I wanted to try them in something.  The noodles (Reames brand) were a bit tricky to find.  They were in the ethnic food part of my grocery freezer.  I can't wait to use them in other recipes, they were so amazing.  Miss F loved this recipe, of course she loved the chicken the most.  So we made a couple chicken for noodles trades during dinner.  How did I end up with a kid who isn't obsessed with carbs?

Crockpot Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
inspired by Key Ingredient

¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk, divided
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon thyme
1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped
½ onion, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 pound chicken breasts
1 package frozen egg noodles (12 ounces)
½ cup half and half

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in flour; keep stirring until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and add 1 cup milk, a little at a time, stirring to keep smooth. Return to heat. Bring sauce to a gentle boil; cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens.

Whisk together the sauce, remaining 1 cup milk and chicken broth. Salt and pepper to taste. Add to the crockpot with the carrots, onion, celery and chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Remove the chicken and shred with two forks, return to the crockpot. Increase the heat to high, add the egg noodles and cook for one hour more. Stir in the half and half, serve.

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Buffalo Chicken Chowder

I have decided the crockpot excels at two tasks: cooking meats that will be shredded (chicken soft tacos, Dr. Pepper pulled pork, etc...) and making soup (chicken enchilada soup.) This soup was no exception. I altered my meal plan to include it as soon as I saw it on Prevention RD's fabulous blog.  I made a few changes, I omitted the bleu cheese and added carrots...just like I like my Buffalo wings.  C and Miss F both enjoyed this soup very much, but both of them refused to eat any celery.  Their loss.  Little did they know that there was celery inside the soup.  Tricky, tricky.

Buffalo Chicken Chowder

4 to 6 red potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
2 breasts boneless, skinless chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
½ onion, roughly chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper, divided
¼ teaspoon ground thyme
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups half-and-half
2/3 cups chicken broth
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Franks hot sauce or wing sauce of your choosing
5 celery stalks, cut in half, for serving

Add the potatoes, chicken, onion, carrots and celery to your crockpot. Sprinkle in salt, pepper, thyme, and cayenne pepper.

Combine the half and half and chicken broth in a four cup measure. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Add the hot sauce and whisk again. Pour the hot sauce mixture over the chicken and vegetables in the crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or low for 10. Before serving, stir well.

Top with drizzle of buffalo sauce, if desired. Serve with celery stalks.

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