Ina Garten's Chicken Stew with Biscuits

As much as I love cooking up a storm and having a well rounded meal complete with at least a few side dishes.  There is something to be said for a one pot meal (this does not mean the cooking or ingredients need to be lack luster).  My husband pretty much grew up on casseroles.  He used to beg me to make some.  I cannot bring myself to cook some ground beef and open a can of soup.  I'm sorry, my inner diva is coming out.  Instead of soup, make your own cream sauce.  Instead of boiling chicken, roast some or do a quick saute.  A little effort makes a huge difference.  The fresh parsley in the biscuits is perfect!  Love them. If you love pot pies, like my honey does.  Make the filling and bake it with pie crust.  A large one family style or make individual servings.  So fun.  This is a perfect dinner with the cooler weather upon us.

Dinner is served with this great recipe from my favorite, Ina Garten.  Recipe from Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook.  This is word for word Ina's recipe.  I don't have any need to change or fuss with anything from her.

For the Stew
3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade (recipe follows)
2 chicken bouillon cubes
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
3/4 cup all~purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups medium~diced carrots (4 carrots), blanched for 2 minutes
1 10~ounce package frozen peas (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

For the Biscuits
2 cups all~purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
3/4 half and half
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil.  Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through.  Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin.  Cut the chicken into large dice.  You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock.  In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium~low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent.  Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.  Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce.  Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick.  Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the heavy cream.  Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions, and parsley.  Mix well.  Place the stew in a 10 x 13 x 2~inch oval or rectangular baking dish.  Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the biscuits.  Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas.  Add the half and half and combine on low speed.  Mix in the parsley.

Dump the dough out on a well~floured board and, with a rolling pin, roll out to 3/8 inch thick.  Cut out twelve circles with a 2 1/2 inch round cutter.

Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of the filling.  Brush them with egg wash, and return the dish to the oven.  Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the biscuits are brown and the stew is bubbly.

* Homemade Chicken Stock~ makes 6 quarts
3 5~pound roasting chickens
3 large yellow onions, unpeeled, quartered
6 carrots, unpeeled, halved
4 celery stalks with leaves, cut in thirds
4 parsnips, unpeeled, cut in half (optional)
20 sprigs fresh parsley
15 sprigs fresh thyme
20 sprigs fresh dill
1 head garlic, unpeeled, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns

Place the chickens, onion, carrots, celery, parsnips, parsley, thyme, dill, garlic, and seasonings in a 16~ to 20~quart stockpot.  Add 7 quarts of water and bring to a boil.  Simmer uncovered for 4 hours.  Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander and discard the solids.  Chill the stock overnight.  The next day, remove the surface fat.  Use immediately or pack in containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

Japanese Onion Soup

So, if you're going to make the Benihana wannabe Ginger Salad Dressing (pictured, and previously posted), you've got to make the Onion Soup right?  They totally go together, I can't have one without the other.  This soup is a great addition to a meal.  It would not be great on it's own.  You'd probably still be hungry, I know I would anyway.  My husband was out of town when I tried this recipe, along with the salad dressing.  I brought it to my friend Camille who thought the same.  Addition to dinner...but not dinner on it's own.
Recipe adapted from Todd Wilbur.

4 cups canned chicken broth
2 cups water
1 white onion
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1 cup all~purpose flour
6 medium mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 green onions, sliced


Combine chicken broth and water in a large saucepan over high heat.  Slice the white onion in half, and coarsely chop one half (save the other half for later).  Add coarsely chopped onion, carrot, celery, garlic and salt to saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the onion starts to become translucent.

As the broth simmers, heat up the vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.  slice the remaining white onion into very thin slices.  Separate the slices, dip into the milk, then the flour seasoned with a pinch of salt.  Fry the breaded onion, a handful at a time in the oil until golden brown.  Drain on a paper towel.  ** You could skip this step and use the canned French's French Fried Onions if you'd prefer.  One small can would be enough for this recipe.

When the soup has simmered 10 minutes, strain the vegetables out of the broth and discard.  Pour the broth back into the pan and  keep it hot over low heat.

To serve soup, ladle about 1 cup of broth into a bowl.  Drop a few pieces of fried onion into the soup, followed by some of the mushroom and green onions.  Serve.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

When I was a kid, I used to love helping my dad make soup.  I was in love with the fact that he never had a recipe but would just keep adding things to make something really great.  Maybe that's why I can't seem to follow a recipe, I love changing them or making things up as I go along.

Broccoli isn't one of my favorite vegetables, but I really like broccoli cheese soup.  I love cream of anything soup, if I'm being honest.  Another bonus, it's pretty hard to mess up.  This is a combination of a few recipes, that I've kinda made into one.  This is a really great soup and it's easy.  My 9 and 2 year old daughters helped me make this.


6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup all~purpose flour
2 cups heavy whipping cream (you could use half and half)
3 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups broccoli florets
1 large carrot, diced
2 1/2 cups sharp white and yellow cheddar cheese, grated. Plus more for garnish

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook until golden, about 4 minutes, then gradually whisk in the cream until smooth. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves and nutmeg, season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli and carrot to the broth mixture and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth; you'll still have flecks of carrot and broccoli. Return to the pot. (Or puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender.)

Add the cheese to the soup and whisk over medium heat until melted. Add up to 3/4 cup water if the soup is too thick.  Garnish with more cheese.

Potato~Sausage Toscana Soup

One thing I like at Olive Garden is their Toscana soup. So, whenever my husband wants to go~ I'm game. I have a recipe from a guy who was trying to copy restaurant dishes. Unfortunately, the recipe was missing some key ingredients. I played around with it and this is what I came up with. Let me know if you agree...it's pretty good! It's also really simple and quick. This recipe serves about 4 as an appetizer. If you are having company I would double it.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups chicken stock or broth
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 large russet potato
2 cups chopped kale
3 slices bacon or pancetta
1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Heat olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, saute for a few minutes. Add the chicken stock and cream. Slice the unpeeled potato into 1/4 inch slices, then half the slices and add them to the soup. Add the kale.
While the soup is coming to a simmer, saute the bacon and sausage in another pan. When it is cooked, drain and add it to the soup.
Add the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Let the soup simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I have been making this soup for years. It goes great with Mexican Caesar Salad, which I will post soon (for all my friends who have been asking for it) :) If you know me, you know Mexican food is one of my favorites. Try this soup with all the garnishes...that's how it's best!

2 large yellow onions, cut into chunks

5 large tomatoes

5 cloves garlic

olive oil

1 pound chicken breast~ boneless, skinless

garlic powder~ just enough to season the chicken while it sautes

taco seasoning~ just enough to season the chicken while it sautes

4 1/2 cups chicken stock

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

8 day old tortillas, cut into strips

oil for shallow frying

2 fresh red or green chiles, seeded and sliced

1 avocado

Serve with~

cilantro

sour cream

lime wedges

cheddar cheese

reserved fried tortillas

fried chiles

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the onion, tomatoes and garlic on a baking sheet with a little olive oil and roast for about 40 minutes. Roast until the vegetables start to look black and charred. Peel the tomatoes and discard the skins. Puree with the onion and garlic and any bits and juice from the pan in a blender or food processor. I usually break a tomato onto the pan and scrape the pan...this is where all the flavor is :)

While the vegetables are roasting, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a saute pan. Cut each chicken breast into 3 or 4 strips. Season with the garlic powder and taco seasoning. Saute the chicken a few minutes on each side. Remove from heat and let cool before you shred the chicken.

In a frying pan, heat about an inch of oil to fry the tortillas. Fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Fry the chiles in the remaining oil until crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

In a large stock pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil, and saute the tomato mixture for a few minutes. Simmer until it has thickened and reduced. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, season with salt and pepper and simmer, covered for 15~20 minutes. Add most of the fried tortillas to the soup. Save a small amount for the garnish. Simmer for about 5 more minutes. Add a cut avocado to the soup when you are ready to serve. I usually add the juice of at least one lime at the end.

Serve with cilantro, sour cream, lime wedges, cheddar cheese, reserved fried tortillas, and chiles. Enjoy!