Categories
Main Dish

You have to try this delicious ‘mein’ dish tonight

Chicken lo mein is a delicious dinner with tons of flavor and plenty of fresh, sauteed vegetables over yummy Asian noodles.

An article from “Eat This, Not That” by Cheyenne Buckingham breaks down all the differences between Italian and Asian noodles.

I started wondering a bit this week, after I bought a package of lo mein noodles and the finished product really didn’t look a whole lot different from spaghetti, so of course, I had to do a deep dive on the subject.

There is a difference, it turns out. Buckingham interviewed Chef Chris Barch, who said ingredients are the main variation.

“For example, soba uses buckwheat, lo mein uses eggs, rice noodles use rice,” he said. “Italian pasta essentially has two main pasta doughs: egg dough and non-egg dough.”

So, yeah, you totally could use spaghetti instead of lo mein noodles, but you’re probably not going to get the full flavor and texture you’re looking for. So even if they’re a little tougher to find, when you try this week’s recipe, I highly recommend traditional Asian noodles.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Dinner then Dessert” by Sabrina Snyder. You can find the original post at https://dinnerthendessert.com/chicken-lo-mein/. I added extra garlic in my version and left out the bean sprouts.

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Chicken Lo Mein

Chicken lo mein is a delicious dinner with tons of flavor and plenty of fresh, sauteed vegetables over yummy Asian noodles.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Keyword cabbage, carrots, chicken, Chinese takeout, fresh ginger, garlic, green onions, lo mein, red bell pepper, sesame oil, sesame seeds, soy sauce

Ingredients

  • 10 ounces lo mein noodles
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil divided
  • 2 large chicken breasts cut into thin strips
  • 1 red bell pepper cut into thin strips
  • 1 large carrot cut into thin strips
  • 1/2 cup green onions thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger minced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce or fish sauce
  • 1/2 cup cabbage shredded
  • sesame seeds and/or green onions for garnish

Instructions

  • Cook the noodles according to the package instructions; drain them and toss them with the sesame oil. Set aside.
  • In a large skillet, heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
  • Saute the chicken in batches, cooking four or five minutes on each side until it is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan to a plate for now.
  • Add the pepper, carrot and green onion to the skillet and saute until they are cooked through to your liking.
  • Add the ginger and garlic to the vegetables. Saute for one to two minutes or until the garlic is very lightly browned.
  • In a small bowl, mix 3/4 cup water, soy sauce, cornstarch, one tablespoon vegetable oil and oyster sauce, and then pour it into the skillet. Also add the cabbage. Let it cook for just a couple minutes, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and the cabbage wilts.
  • Add the chicken and noodles back to the pan, and stir to coat everything in the sauce. Turn the heat to medium-low. Once everything is heated back through, serve, topped with sesame seeds and freshly sliced green onions, if you like.

On her blog, Snyder notes that this is a lot like takeout Chinese food, and I have to agree. It was a fabulous dinner, and then it heated up for leftovers about as well as normal Chinese restaurant leftovers do. We served ours with some fried rice (Joey accused me of stacking carbs), and it made for a great dinner.

When you do this, make sure to thinly cut your vegetables and really try to get a consistent thickness on your slices. That will help everything cook quickly and evenly.

And don’t forget to get the right noodles for the job. Spaghetti is great in a lot of applications, but in this case, lo mein is a must.

This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 18, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Breakfast Dessert

Roll through your cinnamon cravings with a simple cake

A cinnamon roll cake is an easy way to accomplish the great flavor of homemade cinnamon rolls without all the work.

Do you have those friends in your life where you have to try several times to plan a get-together before you can actually find a date on the calendar that works?

This past weekend, the stars aligned for us to finally spend an evening with just such a pair. They were gracious enough to invite us to their home, where they had a delicious bowl of chili and fresh cornbread waiting for us.

Knowing that chili was on the menu, I started to wrack my brain earlier in the day about what kind of dessert goes with it, and my mind just kept going back to cinnamon rolls.

I mean, yeah, cinnamon rolls are a perfect compliment to a big bowl of chili, but they’re also generally pretty time consuming, and time was not on my side that afternoon.

Thank goodness I found a recipe for a cinnamon roll cake that came to my rescue instead, and I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

This comes from the blog “The Country Cook” by Brandie Skibinski. You can find the original post at https://www.thecountrycook.net/cinnamon-roll-cake/. I doubled the vanilla and quadrupled the cinnamon in my version.

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Cinnamon Roll Cake

A cinnamon roll cake is an easy way to accomplish the great flavor of homemade cinnamon rolls without all the work.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword brown sugar, cake, cinnamon, cinnamon roll, coffeecake, easy cinnamon roll, vanilla

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups milk I used skim
  • 1/2 cup butter melted

Filling Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 4 tablespoons cinnamon

Glaze Ingredients

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 5 tablespoons milk I used skim
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a nine-by-13-inch baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray. Set it aside.
  • For the cake, in a mixing bowl, beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and milk until everything is smooth and well combined.
  • Hand stir in the butter, and then spread the batter evenly into your prepared pan.
  • For the filling, in another mixing bowl, beat together all of the filling ingredients until it forms a smooth paste.
  • Drop the cinnamon mixture by the tablespoonful onto the cake batter, and then swirl it into the batter using a knife.
  • Bake the cake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • When the cake comes out of the oven, whisk the glaze ingredients until it is smooth. If you want a thicker glaze, add a little more powdered sugar. If you want it thinner, add a little more milk.
  • Pour the glaze over the cake and serve warm. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

This was very much like if a coffee cake married a cinnamon roll. The main difference is because you put the glaze on the cake while it’s still warm, it melts into the cake instead of staying visibly on top like a normal cinnamon roll. If you’d rather have that look and texture, I’d recommend letting the cake cool completely before glazing and making a bit of a thicker glaze.

I ended up making an eight-by-eight pan of this by halving the recipe. There was only going to be four of us, and I really didn’t need the leftovers in my kitchen all week, so that made it perfect.

Even better, we had an excellent meal with excellent people. Being able to spend time with friends, cinnamon rolls or not, is so, so sweet.

This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 11, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

Become ‘nut’orious for simple pecan brownies

Pecan brownies are flavored with butter, unsweetened chocolate and vanilla, along with lots of pecans to create a great dessert for a small gathering or cookie exchange.

We had a bit of a scaled-down celebration for Christmas this year, with several of our family members traveling outside of Kansas, so I very carefully considered what treats I would be making.

Normally, I overdo it with several types of candies and baked goods to share, but knowing that our group would be a bit smaller, I promised myself I would stick to only three things.

Well, I had to, of course, make my yearly batch of peppernuts. It just wouldn’t feel like Christmas without them.

Then I decided that I would go easy on myself and make just a few peanut clusters. You know, a couple dozen or so—a small batch.

And finally, I had to throw in a new recipe to try, and sticking to my simple theme for the year, I landed on what looked to be a yummy pan of pecan brownies. The recipe made a nice, eight-by-eight-inch batch of brownies that were perfect for our small celebration, and it’s a great one to keep in the recipe box for future gatherings.

This comes from Taste of Home. You can find the original at https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/pecan-brownies/. I doubled the vanilla in my version.

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Pecan Brownies

Pecan brownies are flavored with butter, unsweetened chocolate and vanilla, along with lots of pecans to create a great dessert for a small gathering or cookie exchange.
Course Dessert
Keyword baker’s chocolate, brownies, butter, cookie exchange, easy dessert, pecans, small dessert, unsweetened chocolate, vanilla

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Prepare an eight-by-eight-inch baking pan by lightly greasing it with butter, shortening or cooking spray. Set it aside.
  • In a medium-sized pot, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring constantly. Once they are completely melted, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the sugar.
  • Let the mixture cool for a few minutes.
  • Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl, and add the eggs, vanilla and flour to the pot, stirring to combine everything well.
  • Finally, fold in the pecans (save a few to sprinkle on the top of the batter).
  • Spread the mixture into your prepared baking pan and sprinkle the top with a few pecan pieces.
  • Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let the brownies cool before slicing them and storing them in an air-tight container.

I liked these, because they were chocolatey and nutty and not sickeningly sweet. I also sliced them into small squares, which made them perfect for the Christmas snack table.

In addition to sharing these with our family, they were a nice addition to some Christmas gifts we dropped off with friends on Christmas Eve, and I was very happy with how they turned out.

Even better, they’re already gone and not hanging around on my kitchen counter, tempting me to have just one more.

I can’t quite say the same for the peanut clusters, but hey, at least I tried.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 28, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Air Fryer Main Dish Side Dish

It’s time to sprout a new opinion of the old Brussels

Parmesan Brussels sprouts are a great side dish or vegetarian main dish, with a great combination of herbs and spices and a lightly salty cheese.

As a child, I remember Brussels sprouts as being held up as the epitome of gross vegetables on every kids’ show I watched. The mere mention of the little green vegetable made actors and cartoon characters wrinkle their noses in disgust.

As an adult, I love Brussels sprouts. I figured it was just due to kids not liking vegetables and me having a better palate now that I’m grown up, but then I came across a 2019 report from National Public Radio that explains that Brussels sprouts actually are tastier than they were when I was in grade school.

According to the story, a seed producer in the Netherlands set out to breed a much less bitter version of the plant in the 1990s, and once they perfected the new sprouts, consumers couldn’t get enough. Demand for Brussels sprouts have reached an all-time high.

So, if you’re wrinkling your nose at this week’s recipe, thanks to bad childhood memories, don’t. It’s time to give Brussels sprouts a try once again.

The recipe I tried this week comes from the blog “TropRockin.com” by Tammy Camp. You can find the original post at https://www.troprockin.com/air-fryer-brussels-sprouts/. I tripled the spices and doubled the cheese in my version. I also added oven directions in addition to the author’s air fryer directions.

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Parmesan Brussels Sprouts

Parmesan Brussels sprouts are a great side dish or vegetarian main dish, with a great combination of herbs and spices and a lightly salty cheese.
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Keyword air fryer, Brussels sprouts, garlic powder, paprika, parmesan cheese, thyme

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Brussels sprouts halved
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated

Instructions

  • Clean and trim your Brussels sprouts, and then dry them as much as you can with a paper towel.
  • In a bowl, stir the oil, paprika, garlic powder, thyme, salt and pepper until everything is well combined. Add your halved Brussels sprouts to the bowl and stir until they are evenly coated in the seasonings.
  • If you want to make these in an air fryer, preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees. Place your sprouts in a single layer and cook for eight to 10 minutes, stirring halfway through, until they reach your desired tenderness. Drop the temperature to 320 degrees, sprinkle the parmesan cheese on the sprouts, and cook for another two minutes to melt the cheese.
  • If you’re making these in the oven, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and place your sprouts in a single layer on the sheet. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring halfway through, until they reach your desired tenderness. Sprinkle the parmesan over the top of the sprouts, and cook for another couple of minutes until the cheese is melted.
  • Serve immediately.

These were delicious. I like to roast my Brussels sprouts until they’re starting to get a little crispy around the edges and are fork tender.

And, after this great meal, I’d like to personally thank the Dutch horticulturist who saved Brussels sprouts’ reputation and put them back on menus all over the world. Generations of children (and adults) are in your debt.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 21, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

It’s jarring how great leftover peanut butter can be

Using the last few tablespoons of peanut butter in a jar, you can easily create delicious, elevated ramen with a flavorful peanut sauce. Add in a little chicken, and it’s a great meal.

Despite being a “food columnist,” I have to admit that a lot of my tastes are fairly, well, childish.

For rare meals where I’m eating on my own, I’m likely to give in to my cravings for a serving of box macaroni and cheese or a bowl of cereal, or even more likely, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I’m guessing we go through a lot more peanut butter than households that don’t have toddlers in them normally do. Regardless of its simplicity, though, I just can’t get enough.

That also means that I’m often scraping the last dregs of peanut butter out of the bottom of a jar. This week, though, I learned that I don’t need to scrape any more. I have a recipe to use all the last bits. And, boy, is it good.

This comes from the blog “Crunch Time Kitchen” by Nick Evans. You can find the original post at https://www.crunchtimekitchen.com/jar-scraps-peanut-butter-noodles/. I added extra garlic and chili crisp in my version.

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Peanut Butter Noodles

Using the last few tablespoons of peanut butter in a jar, you can easily create delicious, elevated ramen with a flavorful peanut sauce. Add in a little chicken, and it’s a great meal.
Course Main Course
Keyword Asian noodles, chili crisp, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, honey, leftover peanut butter, peanut butter, peanut sauce, peanuts, quick meal, ramen, sesame oil, sesame seeds, udon

Ingredients

  • 2-3 tablespoons peanut butter creamy or crunchy
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 inch fresh ginger grated
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1/2 to 1 tablespoon chili crisp
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 packet ramen seasoning or 1 bullion cube
  • 1 packet ramen or other Asian-style noodles I used udon
  • green onions/scallions for garnish
  • chopped peanuts for garnish
  • sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

  • Begin by cooking your noodles according to package directions (minus the seasoning). Save back about 1/3 cup of the pasta water when you drain the noodles.
  • In your mostly empty peanut butter jar or just a bowl with about two tablespoons peanut butter in it, add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, chili crisp, honey, sesame oil and seasoning, along with the 1/3 cup of hot pasta water.
  • If you’re using the jar, put the lid on and shake to combine the ingredients. Otherwise, use a fork or whisk to thoroughly combine everything.
  • The sauce will thicken up a bit as it cools, but if it’s really thin, add just a bit more peanut butter until it’s closer to what you like.
  • Toss the noodles with the sauce, and garnish with green onions, peanuts and sesame seeds.
  • I ended up doubling the recipe and cooked some popcorn chicken to throw into the mix, as well. That made for a very satisfying meal.

This was absolutely delicious, and not only was I excited to use up the last bits of peanut butter in a nearly empty jar in the pantry, but I also finally opened a jar of chili crisp I impulse bought a few weeks ago. (Side note: that stuff is fabulous.)

If you haven’t dabbled in savory peanut butter dishes, this is a quick and easy one to start with, and I highly recommend it.

Plus, it gives me a grown-up reason to go through even more peanut butter. The fact that 90 percent of the jar is designated for a kids’ favorite is irrelevant. After all, I actually eat my crusts.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 14, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

We now know for whom the pie shell tolls

Toll House chocolate chip cookie pie is a rich dessert based on the classic cookie, with a chewy filling, crunchy walnuts and pops of sweet chocolate.

It turns out, chocolate chip cookies are a much newer invention than I would have thought.

An article on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library website notes that the famous cookies were first invented in 1938 by Ruth Wakefield.

Wakefield and her husband, Kenneth, ran the Toll House Restaurant in Massachusetts, hence the enduring “Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie” name.

There’s apparently plenty of debate surrounding the true lore of how Wakefield managed to create them, but that’s kind of how all of the stories of famous recipes seem to play out.

Regardless, her invention has become such a part of culture that most of us probably don’t even think about them having an origin. The only reason I looked into it was because I wondered where this week’s recipe for a Toll House chocolate chip cookie pie originally came from and stumbled on the history of the cookie. It makes for good reading along with a slice of pie.

The version of this recipe I tried comes from the blog, “A Family Feast” by Jack and Martha Pesa. You can find the original post at https://www.afamilyfeast.com/toll-house-chocolate-chip-pie/. I added vanilla and whipped cream to my version.

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Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie

Toll House chocolate chip cookie pie is a rich dessert based on the classic cookie, with a chewy filling, crunchy walnuts and pops of sweet chocolate.
Course Dessert
Keyword brown sugar, chocolate chip cookie pie, chocolate chips, cookie pie, semisweet chocolate chips, Toll House cookies, vanilla, walnuts, whipped cream

Ingredients

  • 1 pie crust
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips plus a few for decorating
  • 1 cup walnuts chopped
  • about 2 cups whipped cream

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  • Roll out your pie crust and place it in a deep, nine-inch pie plate. Crimp the edges to your liking and set it aside.
  • In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs for about two minutes or until they are light yellow.
  • Beat in the flour, sugar and brown sugar, and then beat in the butter and vanilla until the batter is smooth.
  • Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts, and spread the batter into your pie crust.
  • Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
  • Let the pie cool completely and top with whipped cream and some extra chocolate chips.

When my pie came out of the oven, I didn’t think the top was very pretty, which is why I decided to slather it in whipped cream and chocolate chips. It gave it a real visual wow factor, and the flavors were great together.

This is also a great recipe for a beginning pie baker to try. It’s really easy to put together, and it’s easy to tell when it’s done.

It’s also a great way to enjoy a classic, 85-year-old recipe in a slightly different way. The only drawback is that you probably can’t dip this into a glass of milk, but I won’t fault you for trying.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 7, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish Side Dish Soup

Winter can’t squash my love of fall vegetables

Roasted butternut squash soup is a fabulous combination of warm, late season flavors that create a delicious side dish for any fall or winter meal.

I know now that we’re in post-Thanksgiving life, I’m supposed to transition to only Christmas-y flavors and foods with tons of sugar and peppermint and red and green food dye, but I have to be honest, I’m still not ready to be finished with fall vegetables.

Luckily, our local grocery store isn’t, either, because I was able to get a huge, beautiful butternut squash this week that I immediately knew needed to become some kind of soup.

I did a search and found a recipe from the blog “Little Spoon Farm” by Amy Duska that was just what I was looking for. You can find the original post at https://littlespoonfarm.com/roasted-butternut-squash-soup-recipe/. I added extra garlic and seasonings in my version.

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Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Roasted butternut squash soup is a fabulous combination of warm, late season flavors that create a delicious side dish for any fall or winter meal.
Course Main Course, Side Dish, Soup
Keyword butternut squash, fresh garlic, garlic, pureed soup, roasted vegetables, sage, thyme, vegan, vegetarian, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash 3 to 4 pounds
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 2 heads fresh garlic
  • 2-4 tablespoons olive oil divided
  • 2 teaspoons dried sage
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream or coconut milk

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Cut the butternut squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds, but don’t throw them away.
  • Cut the onion into quarters, and cut just the tops off the heads of garlic.
  • Put the squash, cut side up, and the onions on the baking sheet. Pour just a touch of olive oil over the top of each head of garlic, sprinkle them a little sage, thyme, salt and pepper, and wrap them loosely in foil. Place them on the baking sheet, too.
  • Rub a coat of olive oil over the squash and onions, and then sprinkle them with sage, thyme, salt and pepper, too.
  • Roast the vegetables in the oven for 45 minutes or until the squash is fork tender.
  • Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set aside so the vegetables can cool enough for you to handle them.
  • In the meantime, rinse the seeds you removed from the squash to get rid of all the goopy strings. Dry them with a paper towel, and then put them in a small bowl, along with one tablespoon of olive oil and salt, to taste. Stir well to coat the seeds in oil and salt.
  • Heat a small skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the seeds and let them brown, stirring regularly (be aware that they might try to jump out of the pan as they roast). Once they are lightly browned, remove the seeds from the heat, and set them aside.
  • If you have an immersion blender, heat a stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat at this point. If not, you’ll want to have the pot ready but first add the ingredients to a blender and then transfer them to your pot after you puree them. (Remember to add a little stock to the blender with each batch so there’s liquid to help the blending process.)
  • Add the vegetable stock to the pot. Scoop out all the squash, discarding the skin, and put it into the pot, along with the roasted onions. Carefully squeeze as much of the roasted garlic out of each bulb as you can into the pot. Using your immersion blender, blend the soup until everything is smooth, and continue stirring regularly until the soup is hot. Stir in the cream, add any more seasonings, and serve with the roasted seeds sprinkled on top.

This was absolutely delicious. It would make for a perfect meal with a sandwich, but we opted to put ours alongside some steaks. It was one of those soups that warmed you all the way through with all the flavor of roasted vegetables and herbs, and it reheated well as leftovers, too.

Also, this recipe taught me that you can roast squash seeds. I have done pumpkin seeds many times, but I never thought about doing the same thing with the other members of the gourd family. They were a great add, creating just a little crunch and nuttiness in the bowl.

I’m so happy there is still squash on the produce shelves. I’m crossing my fingers they’ll be there through the rest of winter, too, because I definitely want to make this soup again. There are some parts of fall that even Christmas can’t beat.

This piece first appeared in print on Nov. 30, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

A hearty pot pie is a ‘crust’-try recipe this time of year

Mushroom and leek chicken pot pie is hearty and delicious. Even better, it can be made using lots of Thanksgiving meal leftovers.

For a recent meal with friends, I made a cherry pie to share, and since I knew I sometimes get carried away with lattice pie crusts and run out before I’m done weaving, I made one extra crust, just in case.

Of course, once I was done making pie, I wrapped the crust up, determined I would use it for, well, something.

When Joey spotted it, he suggested something I, amazingly, have never tried making before: a chicken pot pie, pointing out that people might have leftovers around Thanksgiving that would be perfect for such a meal.

I did a lot of digging to find just the right pot pie to try and finally landed on one from the blog “Brooklyn Supper” by Elizabeth Stark. You can find the original post at https://brooklynsupper.com/mushroom-and-leek-chicken-pot-pie/. I changed things up to include more veggies in the pot pie and added extra seasonings in my version.

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Mushroom and Leek Chicken Pot Pie

Mushroom and leek chicken pot pie is hearty and delicious. Even better, it can be made using lots of Thanksgiving meal leftovers.
Course Main Course
Keyword bay leaves, black pepper, black peppercorns, carrots, celery, chicken, chicken legs, chicken thighs, fresh mushrooms, leek, meat pie, pie crust, pot pie, potatoes, puff pastry, Thanksgiving leftovers, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 2 large carrots diced
  • 2 large celery ribs diced
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 20 to 30 peppercorns
  • 1 pound bone-in chicken thighs or legs
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 ounces mushrooms I used baby bellas, sliced
  • 1 leek thinly sliced
  • 2 medium potatoes diced (I used Russet)
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1 sheet thawed puff pastry or one pie crust
  • 1 egg

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  • In a Dutch oven or stockpot with a lid, add four cups water, onion, carrots and celery. Put the bay leaves and peppercorns in a tied-up cheese cloth or a tea infuser, and place that in the pot, too. (If you don’t have that, put the bay leaves directly in the water and just put freshly ground pepper, to taste, in the pot.) Turn the heat to medium, and place the lid partially covering the pot, letting the water start to simmer gently.
  • Prep the chicken by sprinkling it with salt and pepper, to taste.
  • Heat one to two tablespoons olive oil in a large, oven-safe skillet (I used cast iron) over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the chicken, searing on all sides until it is golden brown.
  • Once the chicken is golden on all sides, add it to the simmering water and put the lid back on, partially covering the pot. Let the chicken simmer until it reaches 165 internal temperature, and then carefully debone it, chopping it into bite-sized pieces as you go.
  • While the chicken cooks, add another tablespoon or two of olive oil to the skillet if there isn’t much fat in the pan, and add the mushrooms and leeks, sauteing over medium heat until the leeks are soft and the mushrooms are just starting to crisp up a bit. Stir in the potatoes and the flour, continuing to saute until the flour is no longer white and all of the vegetables are evenly coated—five to 10 minutes or so.
  • Remove the bundle of seasonings (or the bay leaves) from the broth pot, and begin spooning the broth into the skillet (along with the veggies), about one-half cup at a time, stirring well and giving the gravy time to thicken in between. Once all of the broth is in the skillet, and you’ve given the gravy time to thicken up, add flour, a sprinkle at a time, if you feel like it’s too runny.
  • Finally, stir in the chicken and more salt and pepper, to taste.
  • In a small bowl, beat the egg and have it and a pastry brush ready for the next step.
  • Roll out the puff pastry or pie dough into a circle large enough to cover the entire skillet. Carefully place it onto the top of the skillet, folding over any overhang back into the skillet.
  • Brush the crust with a quick egg wash, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and cut at least two slits in the top of the pie.
  • Bake for 20 minutes, turn down the heat to 350 degrees and then bake another 30 to 35 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and the filling is fully heated through.

This was really delicious, and it was amazing as leftovers, too.

As for using Thanksgiving leftovers, you’ll want to have about three cups of chicken or turkey broth that you’ll simmer the vegetables in, along with a couple cups of shredded turkey. Basically, you’ll just skip the step of sauteing the chicken and making your own broth.

And even if you don’t end up with enough leftovers to make pot pie, put this on your “to try” list. It’s hearty, filling and a great cold-night dinner.

I imagine it would be pretty fabulous with a side of leftover cranberry sauce or mashed potatoes, too.

This piece first appeared in print on Nov. 23, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish Pressure Cooker

You can cook a whole chicken—even under pressure

A whole chicken can be cooked quickly, along with sliced onions and bell peppers, to create a delicious, slightly spicy bird, perfect over rice, mashed potatoes or served inside a tortilla.

Last weekend, Joey attended a day-long bowling tournament.

The day before he left, he lamented that he didn’t think he would have time to throw a whole chicken we bought on the smoker and may have to toss it back in the freezer.

Instead, I offered to put it in the oven on my day alone and have it ready for dinner when he came home.

When he stepped in the door at the end of the day, I was happily putting fresh bedsheets on our mattress, feeling accomplished with my day of laundry.

“Did you decide not to do that chicken,” Joey asked, after we talked about his tournament.

Oops. I totally forgot about the chicken!

Joey waved off my mistake, but I immediately started searching online. I still had an hour or so before dinner time, and I knew just the appliance that could save me: my pressure cooker.

So, this week’s recipe isn’t about a deliciously slow-roasted chicken, basting in its own juices in my oven. Instead, it’s a quick, delicious and slightly spicy bird that managed to save dinner and give us plenty of leftovers for the week.

The recipe I used came from the blog “Chew Out Loud” by Amy Dong. You can find the original post at https://www.chewoutloud.com/instant-pot-whole-chicken/. I doubled every spice in my version and added bell peppers.

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Spicy Pressure Cooker Chicken

A whole chicken can be cooked quickly, along with sliced onions and bell peppers, to create a delicious, slightly spicy bird, perfect over rice, mashed potatoes or served inside a tortilla.
Course Main Course
Keyword bell pepper, black pepper, cayenne, chicken broth, chicken stock, garlic powder, Instantpot, paprika, pressure cooker, thyme, whole chicken, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 5 to 6 pound whole chicken
  • 3 teaspoons salt
  • 4 teaspoons paprika
  • 3 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoons thyme
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 medium yellow onion sliced
  • 2 bell peppers any color, sliced
  • 1 cup chicken broth I subbed in a bouillon dissolved in water

Instructions

  • Prepare your whole chicken by removing the giblets, and patting it dry—inside and out—with paper towels.
  • In a small bowl, combine the salt, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne, thyme and black pepper, and stir to mix them together.
  • Using a knife, loosen the skin around the breast, back, legs and thighs of the chicken so you can slide a spoon or your hands inside, and evenly distribute about two-thirds of your spice mixture under the skin all over the bird. Press the rest onto the top of the skin and inside the bird, coating it as evenly as you can. Set the bird aside.
  • In your pressure cooker, line the bottom with the sliced onions and peppers and pour in the chicken broth. Place the prepared bird on top of the vegetables (it doesn’t matter which direction is up or down). Secure the lid and cook the bird on high pressure for 25 minutes, letting the steam naturally release for at least 15 minutes afterwards.
  • Temp the chicken. It should read at least 165 degrees in its thickest spots. If not, do another 15 to 20 minutes of high pressure cooking until it does.
  • Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before slicing or shredding it. Serve it with the vegetables over rice, mashed potatoes or in tortillas.

This was moist and tender, and we ended up making burritos, along with some Mexican rice. The chicken had just a bit of a kick to it, but it wasn’t so spicy that it knocked our socks off. If the heat scares you a little or you don’t think your tablemates are up to it, just decrease or eliminate the cayenne pepper.

Thanks to my pressure cooker this weekend, dinner was saved in the Young household. Now if I could just find the laundry equivalent to quick cooking, my future weekends might really be set.

This piece initially appeared in print on Nov. 16, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Breakfast Dessert

Breakfast bars are ‘apple’utely great for a morning treat

Apple crisp breakfast bars are not overly sweet. The warm cinnamon flavor, along with the nuttiness of oats, makes these a fabulous morning treat with a hot cup of tea.

Recently, I had the chance to meet one of our readers from Hesston.

We had a fairly short (but very pleasant) conversation, and before I left, he gestured to a bag on his kitchen counter.

“Do you like apples?” he asked me.

And that’s how I became the excited owner of four huge, beautiful golden delicious apples. He said he bought an entire case of them recently and had been working through them, little by little. I was happy to take these off his hands.

I was very tempted to just eat all of them, but instead, I felt like the gift deserved a spot in a new recipe, and after searching for an apple recipe that used sweet apples instead of tart, I landed on the one I’m sharing with you this week.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Healthy Family Project” by Amanda Keefer. You can find the original post at https://healthyfamilyproject.com/recipes/apple-crisp-breakfast-bars/. I added extra maple syrup and cinnamon in my version.

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Apple Crisp Breakfast Bars

Apple crisp breakfast bars are not overly sweet. The warm cinnamon flavor, along with the nuttiness of oats, makes these a fabulous morning treat with a hot cup of tea.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword apples, breakfast bars, cinnamon, Golden delicious apples, maple syrup, quick oats, sweet apples

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup and 4 tablespoons maple syrup divided
  • 4 tablespoons butter room temperature
  • 4 teaspoons cinnamon divided
  • 1 egg
  • 2 sweet apples I used golden delicious, diced
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an eight-by-eight-inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper, and set it aside.
  • In a bowl, mix the oats, flour, salt, one-fourth cup maple syrup, butter and two teaspoons cinnamon, and mix until everything is well combined and the texture resembles coarse crumbs.
  • Set aside one-half cup of the mixture.
  • In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg with a fork, and then pour it into the remaining crumb mixture, stirring to incorporate it completely. Spread the dough into the prepared baking dish into an even layer.
  • In another bowl, mix the apples, remaining maple syrup, remaining cinnamon and cornstarch until the apples are well-coated.
  • Spread the apple mixture evenly over the dough in the pan, and then top it with the oat mixture you set aside, crumbling it evenly over the top. (It won’t completely cover it; just get it evenly over the entire thing.)
  • Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the apples are fork tender.
  • Let the bars cool completely before slicing them into squares.
  • Store the bars in an airtight container.

These are not overtly sweet, even with the extra maple syrup I added in my version. They truly are a great breakfast bar, even though you could totally get away with sharing them as a dessert, too.

I ended up doubling my batch of these bars and sharing them as part of a brunch with friends. It’s an incredibly easy recipe to double.

It was nice to be able to take a simple gift and turn it into another gift for others. (I’m sure there’s a small-town metaphor in there somewhere.)

And it was a doubly sweet experience to have a nice conversation on a cold afternoon. Thanks again, Harvey; I hope we will chat again one day.

This piece first appeared in print on Nov. 9, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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