Roast Chicken with Carrots, Parsnips and Potatoes

As you can see I am a little behind on posting since the New Year.  I'm not really sure how it is already January 12th, the last two weeks seem like a complete blur.  It's hard to believe my new nephew is already a month old today!

Earlier this week I made Roast Chicken with Carrots, Parsnips and Potoates for dinner. It was really quite delicious! I must thank my mom for getting everything together and putting it in the oven for me so we could eat at a reasonable hour. I made this with the intent of having the Chicken and Vegetables for dinner one night and making Chicken soup with the extra meat later in the week.

Ingredients
Whole Chicken
3 parsnips
3 large carrots
10 small red potatoes

In a Dutch oven, place sliced carrots, sliced parsnips and whole baby red potatoes.  Drizzle the vegetables with about one tablespoon of olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper.  Place the whole chicken on top of the vegetables. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and some fresh rosemary leaves.  I had my mom add two bone in chicken breasts so that I had extra meat to make chicken soup later in the week.  She tucked them in under the chicken so they didn't dry out.  My chicken was right about 3 lbs so if you have a larger chicken you don't need the extra meat.

Cook on 350 degrees until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees.  It took about 2 hours for my chicken to be ready.

This meal was rated 4.5 asparagus spears

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Another meal that Chris loves is pot roast.  I found this recipe on the Whole Foods website so I gave it a try last week. It was super easy and quite tasty.  


Ingredients
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour* 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1 teaspoon dried thyme 
1 (1 1/2-pound) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat 
3 tablespoons canola or extra virgin olive oil 
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups) 
2 Russet potatoes*, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces 
2 small onions, cut into wedges 
2 cloves garlic, minced 
2 cups reduced-sodium beef broth 
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste


Directions
On a plate, combine flour, salt, pepper and thyme. Dredge meat in flour, coating all sides. Heat oil in a large saucepan and brown meat on both sides, turning once, about 7 minutes total. Meanwhile, place carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic in a 5 or 6-quart slow cooker. Top with browned roast. Pour 2 tablespoons water into the pan you browned the roast in, scrape up any browned bits and add that rich liquid to the slow cooker along with the beef broth and tomato paste. Cover and cook until beef and vegetables are very tender, 8 to 10 hours on the low-heat setting or 4 to 5 hours on the high-heat setting. 


Nutritional Information
Per serving: 330 calories (110 from fat), 13g total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 50mg cholesterol, 520mg sodium, 26g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 8g sugar), 28g protein

Fall has arrived!

Typically I am a big fan of fall weather. I love being able to put on a light sweater and enjoy a crisp breeze on a nice fall day but I am not ready for fall at all.  Fall means only one thing, winter is right around the corner!  Being that it was a little on the cooler side, I'm not sure if we even made it to 60 degrees today I thought soup would be appropriate.

Menu
Pancetta and Vegetable Soup
Heirloom Caprese Salad
Fresh Italian Bread

Ingredients

1/2 lb of Pancetta, diced
1/2 large Spanish onion, diced (approximately 1.5 cups)
3 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium carrots, diced (approximately 2 cups)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Fresh Ground Pepper
14 oz can of Cannelloni Beans, drained and rinsed
14 oz can of diced tomatoes
Approximately 3 cups of Swiss Card, chopped
2.5 large vegetable bouillon cubes
10 cups of water
Parmesan Reggiano Cheese

Directions

In a Dutch Oven heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the diced pancetta. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes and then add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Season with fresh ground pepper.  Cook until vegetables begin to soften.

Add 10 cups of water and 2.5 large vegetable bouillion cubes.  Bring to a light bowl and continue to stir to break up the bouillion cubes.  Reduce to a simmer and add the cannelloni beans and diced tomatoes. Simmer on low for 30-40 minutes.  Add Swiss Chard, place the top on the Dutch oven and continue to cook on low for about 15 minutes, stirring occassionally.  Once the Swiss Chard has wilted, the soup is ready however you can continue to keep on low for a bit until you are ready to eat.  Just don't cook too long or your vegetables will get mushy.  Note: I did not add any additional salt as the pancetta provided some additional salt to the soup. You can always add some if you think it needs it but I would only add a small amount.

When you are ready to serve, grate a little fresh Parmesan Reggiano into each bowl.  Serve with some sliced French or Italian bread and a salad.  I sliced some fresh heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, topped them with some fresh basil, balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil.

Braised Chicken and Leeks

Menu
Braised Chicken and Leeks
Mashed Potatoes and Celery Root
Cinnamon Carrots









Ingredients

• 1 large leek, chopped
• Chicken Breasts, skinless and boneless
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Thyme
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Sprig of rosemary leaves
• Red Potatoes, cleaned and cut into quarters
• Celery Root, remove skin and cut into chunks
• Milk (I typically use skim but only hand whole milk on hand tonight)
• Sour Cream
• Celery leaves
• Carrot, peeled and chopped
• Cinnamon Stick
• Nutmeg

Braised Chicken and Leeks
In a Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter add chopped leek and cook until leeks are softened.


Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and thyme. Remove leeks from Dutch oven and add seasoned chicken breasts. Brown chicken on either side, add 1/2 cup of wine, simmer and scrape off browned bits on bottom of pan. Add back the leeks, the sprig of rosemary and a small amount of butter.
 

Place top on the Dutch oven and cook in oven on 325 degrees for approximately 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of chicken registers 170 degrees.





Mashed Potatoes and Celery Root
Add chopped celery root and potatoes to a pot with water and a bit of salt. Cook celery root and potatoes until the pieces are soft enough that you can pierce them with a fork. Drain water and add back to the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and begin mashing with a hand masher. Add 1/4 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of sour cream, continue mashing. Season with salt, pepper and a dash of Montreal Steak Seasoning. Dice a small amount of celery leaves. Melt a small amount of butter and cook the celery leaves until they soften slightly, 1-2 minutes. Add to the potatoes and continue mixing. If you are not serving right away, transfer to an oven safe dish and place in the oven to keep warm.

Cinnamon Carrots
Place the peeled and sliced carrots in a pan with enough water to mostly cover the carrots. Add some brown sugar, a cinnamon stick and some grated nutmeg. Place a top on the pan and simmer.

This meal was rated 4 asparagus spears

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