Chicken and Vegetables with Buckwheat

Did you know buckwheat is gluten free? The name is certainly misleading in this regard. I decided to toast some in the oven to use as a healthy grain in this casserole sort of chicken, mushroom and zucchini dish.

First, measure out the buckwheat you want to use, on a flat baking sheet. Toast this at 350° for a short time. Maybe 10 minutes, but stay with this, the buckwheat I finally used was my 3rd attempt. The first two went from light to dark and unusable, in no time.

The first photo shows bacon pieces frying. This is sort of an optional incidental. I just happened to be making that to transfer to paper towels, then to containers, just to have in the 'fridge. It sure tastes great as a crunchy topping to many things.

Once the buckwheat is toasted, transfer it to a pot with a lid and cook it like rice, with a buckwheat-to-water-ratio of 1 to 2.

Sauté the mushrooms in a couple tablespoons of the bacon grease until they start to brown. Add zucchini chunks, mix gently, cover and let cook over low-medium heat for several minutes before adding the chopped onion and mini peppers. When everything is crisp-tender, stir 6-8oz. of roasted chicken meat. Serve this with or over the buckwheat. After the first serving, I combined them in a casserole dish. It would travel well and be a unique addition to any potluck.

~ ~ Don't forget the bacon! . .Lin ~ ~

A Scandinavian Woman's Version of Pho. . .

In a 3-4 quart pot, saute these two in 2T TOASTED sesame oil:

4oz. mushrooms
2 ribs of celery

When lightly browned, add:

3 sliced green onions
1 grated carrot
3oz. roasted chicken (cut up dark meat)

When this sizzles, add a little water, cover and let simmer a few minutes. Next add:

A bouquet garni of Pho seasonings
~ I used a coffee filter and stapled it shut
6c cold water
2T chicken Better Than Bouillon

Simmer this on low heat for 15 minutes.

At the very end, bring to a nice bubble, then turn off the heat. Remove the spice packet, squeeze out the broth, and stir in:

2 big handfuls of fresh spinach - sliced

2/3c rough chopped cilantro

4-5oz. rice noodles

Stir gently just to combine. Cover and let stand, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Soup's on!! . . .or. . . Pho is ready 😊. . .Lin

Lemon Chicken Noodle Soup

Cook 8oz. angel hair pasta about half way. Drain and rinse well in icy water. Rinse again every half hour, until you can add it to the soup, so it doesn't stick together.

4 stalks celery - 3 carrots - 3/4 lg. onion
14oz. chicken breast meat
5 big cloves of garlic - 1/3 head of green cabbage

Sauté the celery, carrots and onion in good quality extra virgin olive oil. When it starts snapping, add the chicken and be ready with a little water to keep it from sticking to the pot. Cook and stir for 10-15 minutes.

Add the minced garlic, cubed cabbage and continue cooking this way another couple minutes until the garlic scent reaches you.

Add 2 quarts of fresh cold water
3 bay leaves, soup base and seasonings you like

Stir, then simmer - covered another 15 minutes then add:

zest and juice of 1 lemon
2c small frozen peas

Cover and simmer until the carrots and celery and cooked the way you like. Add the pasta and bring everything back to a simmer. 

Cover and remove from the heat for a little while, to blend the flavors and be sure the pasta is done just right.

This is a good basic soup for summer, eating light or recovering from a virus. . .Lin

Hungarian (Chicken-Vegetable) Mushroom Soup

I've been hearing so much about Hungarian Mushroom Soup. It sounded so good! I checked a couple recipes, then decided to create my own expanded variation. However, I swapped sour cream for the coconut milk shown in my photos.

In a 4-5 quart pot, sauté the sliced-chopped carrots, celery and onion until they sizzle. Reduce heat, cover, adding just a little of the bone broth if needed.

2T EVOO

2 big carrots

1 med. onion

2 big celery ribs

1/3 lg. green pepper

6c chicken bone broth - add as needed for now

Add these ingredients at this time:

3T Truffle, Parmesan and Black Garlic seasoning

3T Better Than Bouillon - chicken

1T smokey paprika 

4 bay leaves

1/4c sherry cooking wine

1 pound mushrooms - sliced

Sauté for a while, adding a bit of broth to prevent sticking. When the mushrooms start to shrink and brown, add the rest of the bone broth.

Simmer, stirring occasionally, about an hour.

8oz. bite size pieces of roasted chicken

1/4c golden or brown roux

Bring back to a simmer, and let it cook on low, for 10 minutes to thicken the soup and blend the flavors. Remove from the heat and let the soup cool for 45 minutes. Stir in 6oz. sour cream then reheat again just before serving. . .Lin

Cherry Chicken Pasta Salad

1c chopped celery

1c chopped sweet onion

1/2c± mayonnaise

1/2c± Lemon-EVOO Dressing

salt and pepper

12oz. roasted chicken meat
3-4c al denté cooked pasta

Combine the chopped vegetables, cherries, dressing, salt and pepper; in a medium bowl, while cooking the pasta; to rehydrate and flavor the cherries. Drain the pasta then rinse well in very cold water. Drain well again, before adding to the bowl. Shake the lemon-oil dressing. Add that, the chicken and mayonnaise. Gently combine then check the flavors, making any needed adjustments. I always think of salads like this as strictly summer food. I was craving it and so glad I made it, for a nice change from heavy winter foods. . .Lin

Another Chicken Cacciatore Redux. . .

I've been making Chicken Cacciatore since the the late '60's!
I would splurge, and buy a copy of Women's Day and Family Circle once a month when grocery shopping. Back when my $20.00 grocery budget bought 4 bags of groceries for the week, and 20¢ for each magazine seemed extravagant. . .Money well spent. I'd read them cover to cover!

I found a recipe for it in Family Circle - and loved it - each time. Even though I made it a bit different from the time before. Sometimes serving over linguine, sometimes over Uncle Ben's 20 minute rice. You know I can't follow someone else's recipe, much less make it the same way twice. So, this one is similar, to that first one of the early '70's, same ingredients, but also way different with additions and different techniques.

This one was really fun. First time ever making a roux to thicken it, or adding kalamata olives, or serve it over gluten free, brown rice and millet ramen noodles! Mmmm!

So here it is, my latest rendition of the original Family Circle's Chicken Cacciatore. 

I started with a package of rotisserie chicken, only using 1# for this recipe! If you roast your own, let it cool enough to touch. Separate it into meat and another container of the skin, bones and tendons. Use that to make bone broth.

I froze all the skin, tendons and bones, shown here, on the right, and will use that for future bone broth.

24oz. baby portobello mushrooms

1 yellow and 1 orange bell pepper
5-6 sm. yellow onions
1 whole bulb of garlic, cut in half, horizontally

I roasted the mushrooms separately from the other vegetables. Slice them, spread on a big baking sheet, drizzle them with a good quality, single source, EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasonings. Chop, oil and season the vegetables. 

Roast everything in a 375°-400° oven, moving them and flipping if possible, so everything develops a bit of a char on all sides. Roasting pulled a lot of liquid from the mushrooms! Shown in the mug. I used a turkey baster to remove it before combining with the vegetables. It's a wonderful flavorful Mushroom Broth! Use it!

While the vegetables are roasting, make a golden roux, using 1/2c butter and 1/2c all purpose flour. I only used part of this, freezing the rest to thicken future soups, etc.

In a big pot, mine holds 6+ quarts, combine the following:

12oz. bone broth - mine was made previously

1 28oz. can diced tomatoes

5 bay leaves

mushroom broth

1-2t brown or coconut sugar

12oz. your favorite red pasta sauce

Gently stir all this together, with the roasted vegetables. Simmer 15 minutes or so. I kept one onion raw and added it now for a little different onion flavor and texture. When adding the garlic, squeeze the cloves out of their papery coverings  Cut them up a little.

Add the chicken and:
1c+ Kalamata (dark red-purple) olives

Simmer 5-10 minutes then check the flavors.
Add chicken soup base, or salt and pepper if needed, to wake up the flavors.

Cook as many blocks of ramen as you need. This is a wonderful, gluten-free, wheat pasta alternative I found at Costco. When cooked it's a lot like slightly curly angel hair pasta. I just love it! It's great in soup.

Since I'm not serving this until Sunday, just visualize how it will look plated, accompanied by a big green salad! This last photo shows everything simmered and ready to eat. It will taste even better with additional reheating. 

Be Bold! . . Be Adventurous! . . Happy Cooking! . .😁. . .Lin

Crunchy Pecan Chicken Salad

I'm mentally creating recipes for the chicken I roasted yesterday. This is the first of three.

I'm also thinking about another Simple Chicken Soup and Chicken-Mushroom Stroganoff. Stay tuned! 😉

6 oz. roasted chicken meat

1/2c craisins - dried cranberries

juice of 1/4 lemon

1c chopped pecans

4 stalks celery

4 green onions

mayonnaise

garlic pepper seasoning

Cut the chicken in small pieces into a medium glass bowl. Add the craisins, chopped pecans, celery and onion. Use enough mayonnaise to hold everything together.

Combine the ingredients gently so as not to crumble the chicken. Add seasonings, and a pinch of sugar if needed. Serve on a lettuce leaf with crackers or make a chicken salad wrap with avocado slices and shredded pepper jack cheese in a flour tortilla. . .Lin

Chicken Stroganoff

Cook 12 oz. of pasta until about half done. Drain in a colander then put it back in the pot. While still hot, stir in 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 8oz. of Pepper Jack Cheese. Let it cool a bit then add 1c sour cream.

Set aside until later.

1# chicken breast meat

1 sm. onion

4 lg. cloves garlic

2-3 oz. single source EVOO

1/2 -to a whole- lg. green pepper

14 oz. mushrooms

1c chicken bone broth

salt, black and red pepper

Sauté the chicken, chopped onion and minced garlic in the olive oil for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Slice the pepper and mushrooms and add them along with the bone broth and seasonings. I also added 1T Better Than Bouillon - chicken flavor. Low simmer this for another 15 minutes. Combine the meat and vegetables with the pasta and cream sauce.

Pour into a 3 quart casserole and bake at 350° uncovered, 30 minutes or until it's bubbly. Serve with a simple salad dressed with lemon vinaigrette to balance the richness of the stroganoff. . .Lin

Chicken-Pecan-Strawberry Waldorf Salad

In a big non-stick pan, melt 2T coconut oil and add 8oz. rotisserie chicken meat, cut into bite-size pieces. Stir gently, occasionally, until it's browned and a little crispy.

In a big bowl, combine:

the browned chicken

4oz. whole pecans

10oz. sliced strawberries

DRESSING *

In a smaller bowl whisk together these ingredients and pour over everything in the bowl.

2/3c± mayonnaise

3T brown, grainy mustard

3T fruity white Balsamic vinegar

  ~ or fresh lemon juice

fresh ground black pepper

* If you'd rather use a vinaigrette, this one is my favorite, or, your favorite Raspberry Vinaigrette. Another great one would be the one I LOVE the most on my homemade coleslaw - by Briannas.

Slice everything shown on the cutting board AND one Opal or Golden Delicious apple (not shown). Gently mix everything together. Serve in a bowl as is, or over a bed of crispy Romaine lettuce. . .Lin

Chicken and Liver Vegetable Soup

6 skinny dark green stalks of celery

3 really big carrots

1/2 med. onion (not shown)

2T single source EVOO

6c fresh cold filtered water

Lightly sauté the first group of sliced ingredients together while prepping all the rest. Stir often and add a little of the water as needed to keep it from sticking to the pan. After 10 minutes, add the next group of chopped-sliced vegetables and bring up to a medium simmer for 30 minutes.

2 big Idaho potatoes - peeled

1/2 med. tight head of green cabbage

3T Better Than Bouillon - chicken

32oz. chicken bone broth

Now add the following to the pot, along with the rest of the original 6c of water.

finely chopped celery greens

8oz. roasted chicken cut in bite size pieces

8oz. chicken liver cut into 1"x2" pieces

Stir, cover and simmer another 20 minutes. Check the flavors and make any adjustments. When the carrots are done the way you like them, Soup's Ready! . .Lin

Garlic Chicken and Vegetables with Steamed Broccoli

8oz. roasted chicken meat

2-3T olive oil

8 big cloves garlic

a few little potatoes

1/2 long red bell pepper

4 green onions

Cut the chicken into bit size pieces and sauté in the oil a few minutes until it's sizzling and beginning to brown. Add the sliced garlic cloves, stir and sizzle for a few more minutes.

Add the chopped potatoes and chopped pepper. Continue to stir and sizzle a few minutes, then toss in the sliced green onions.

Mix together a little more oil with 1/3c salsa and 1/3c water. Stir this into the pan, then arrange the broccoli florets on top. Don't stir, let them steam, covered, for 5 minutes or so after the mixture comes to a low bubble again. This made three servings. . .Lin

Chicken Noodle Soup (Asian gluten-free)

3 carrots

3 stalks celery

4-6oz. mushrooms

3T total, olive oil + butter

Sauté and stir the chopped-sliced vegetables in a 5 quart pot, for 10 minutes. 

Add the next group of ingredients then simmer another half hour or so. Check the carrots, when they're done the way you like, the soup's ready.

6 sliced green onions

6oz. roasted chicken cut in bite-size pieces

6oz. rice vermicelli noodles

2T jarred minced garlic

1/3c mushroom soy sauce

1-2T chicken Better Than Bullion

1 quart of bone broth

6-8c cold fresh water

If there is soup leftover, by the next day most of the liquid will be absorbed and it will turn into flavorful noodles and vegetables. . 😋 . .Lin

Simple Chicken Stew

Wash, dry and cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Sauté and stir it over medium heat, to create a little browning which will seal in the juiciness and add a lot of flavor to the stew. 

24oz. boneless skinless chicken

a little finely chopped onion

3-4T butter

Lowry's Seasoned Salt and pepper

Chop and add the carrot, celery and onion. Sauté with the chicken 10 minutes. Add the 28oz. can of diced tomatoes and liquid, simmer another 15 minutes. Scrub, quarter and slice a regular and Japanese purple sweet potato and add them to the pot.

Cover and simmer over very low heat an hour. Check the vegetables from time to time. Everything will be ready when the vegetables are cooked the way you like.

This is another recipe that will taste better reheated in a day or so. Cold Weather Cooking . . . I love it!

If, like me, you're in love with cream based tomato gravy, add 2/3 to 1 cup of sour cream to the cold stew before reheating. Stir it in, then slowly bring everything to a low simmer for 10 minutes before serving. . .Lin

Almond-Craisin Chicken Salad

4-6oz. chicken breast or thigh meat

2T single source EVOO

(you could use a couple strips of finely chopped bacon here if you'd like to add that flavor, and texture, instead of olive oil)

salt and pepper

Usually I only make this from a big, whole, roasted chicken. However, sometimes when a craving hits, you have to get creative.

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and sauté over medium heat, covered with a splatter screen, until it's snapping and starting to brown. Add a little water. This aggravates the oil and gets the meat to brown a little quicker. Let it sizzle a while then cover to finish cooking for a total of 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the celery and onion and combine the following in a medium size bowl:

1 big celery stalk and greens

1/4 lg. purple onion

1/2c sliced almonds

1/3c craisins

1-2T fruity white Balsamic vinegar

When the chicken is cooked, transfer it AND the hot remaining oil in the pan, to the bowl and stir. Let stand a couple minutes then add enough mayonnaise to hold everything together. Mmmm, I love chicken salad!!! Lin

Corn Bean & Chicken Chili

To start, sort and rinse 1+ cup of mixed beans, using only those of similar size.

In a 2 quart pan, cover them with fresh cold water and bring to a boil. Drain, rinse in cold water and repeat the boil process several times. Soak in fresh cold water overnight. Or use 3 cans of rinsed, drained beans.

1# bite size pieces of chicken thigh meat

1/4 lg. purple onion - chopped

3T single source EVOO

In a 5 quart pot, 'sizzle' the chicken, onion and EVOO, while stirring. Reduce heat and continue to stir and sauté until the chicken turns white, then add the following chopped vegetables, spices, etc.

3/4 lg. purple onion

2c chopped celery

2 chopped kale leaves - rib discarded

28oz. can petite diced tomatoes

28oz. can crushed tomatoes

28oz. fresh cold water 

1# frozen corn

1t coarse sea salt

2T ground cumin

2T turbinado sugar

1t AZ Smoked Garlic Chipotle

1t Little's Chili Lime Seasoning

1t Penzeys ground black pepper

Simmer everything gently for an hour, covered, stirring occasionally. This made almost a full 5 quarts. Later I'll make cornbread to go with it for lunch after church tomorrow. . .Lin

Strawberry-Broccoli-Chicken Salad

1 broccoli crown - washed and dried

Break this up into florets. Cover with a damp paper towel in a single layer, in a flat bowl. Microwave for 90 seconds. Uncover and add:

2c chopped celery
4 sliced green onions
2oz. chopped walnuts
5-6oz. cubed roasted chicken
1/4c Asian Yum Yum Sauce
. . .or poppy seed dressing. . .
2T fruity white Balsamic vinegar
1t Everything Bagel Seasoning
fresh ground black pepper
quartered strawberries

At this point, you can cover the salad with plastic wrap and chill it to serve within the next several hours, or a day or two, or serve right away.

To serve, scoop some into a bowl then toss a bit, since it's a layered salad, to coat everything with the dressing.

This is a really good salad! . .Lin

Olive-Mushroom Chicken Piccata

Cook up 6-8 oz. of your favorite thin spaghetti, to al dente. Drain, saving about a cup of the starchy pasta water, rinse in cold water to chill, then drain again, sprinkle on 1T dried parsley, and set aside.

A lot of home cooks and chefs swear the only way to serve pasta is piping hot, fresh drained, just after cooking. However, after reading articles such as ~this~, I now cook, drain and chill it, before reheating to serve it the first time.

Begin by sautéing the following over low-medium heat, for just a few minutes, until the chicken looses its pink color. Usually, truffle-infused EVOO should be only a finishing oil, but if you keep the heat low, definitely well under its smoke point, you can impart wonderful truffle flavor to dishes.

8 oz. small pieces of chicken

~or shrimp~ add these later*

a little of chopped purple shallot

1 clove or so of the sliced garlic

fresh ground black pepper

2-3T truffle-infused EVOO

Next add 8 oz. of mushrooms, continuing to stir and sauté a couple minutes. Add a couple ounces of the pasta water then cover, and let it steam on low heat. When it's sizzled a bit, remove the cover, turn up the heat and let it cook until half the cooking liquid is evaporated. Add the *(shrimp) rest of the chopped shallot, garlic, zest and juice of 1 lemon.

After the garlic turns translucent, continue to evaporate the liquid, lightly browning everything. Add a little more of the cooking water and 1/3c of chopped olives and 1/3c of drained capers. Stir, shut off the heat and cover for a few minutes before adding the pasta to the pan and combining it.

Now combine 3-4oz. of hot pasta water with 1T chicken Better Than Bouillon. When that dissolves and cools a bit, stir it together with 1/2c sour cream. Pour this over everything in the pan, bring it to a bubble for just a minute or two, to thicken the sauce, cover and turn off the heat for a minute before serving. Sprinkle with a little half-sharp Hungarian paprika for a little pop of color and spicy-peppery heat.

I have other food for dinner tonight, but made this today since my lemons and mushrooms were starting to look tired.

This will taste much better chilled and reheated tomorrow, when eaten for the first time. . .Lin

Chicken Shrimp Mushroom Piccata

Start by sautéing these vegetables:
2 stalks of celery
1/3 green pepper
1 med. yellow onion
1 med. sweet onion
10 oz. sliced mushrooms
1t fresh ground black pepper
4T butter

Sauté this together, while stirring releasing the liquid, scent and becoming a little translucent, for about 10 minutes. Then add: 2-3c finely chopped dark green kale - leaves only

Cover and simmer 5 minutes then add:

8oz. chicken thigh meat - cut in bite size pieces

4 big garlic cloves - sliced into thin matchsticks

1/3 green pepper - chopped

2 thinly sliced green onions

1/3c rinsed capers

Stir and turn up the heat to medium, allowing some of the liquid to absorb and evaporate, for 20 minutes or so. Add the last ingredients:

1T Better Than Bouillon - lobster

10oz. thawed jumbo shrimp - cut in half

juice of 1/2 lemon

Stir and bring up to a low simmer for 10 minutes. Just before serving, stir in sour cream, or keep it on the side to be mixed in. Serve over al dente pasta. . .Lin