Winter Squash and Chicken Stew

As promised, the recipe for this wintry, warming stew. I cannot take credit for this recipe, and I will post it as written, but will also make side notes and suggestions.

I wrote this all out on Facebook the last time I made it, complete with pictures and notes, and then my browser crashed. I'm just getting around to doing this again.

Let's get started. According to my notes, this recipe is from Bon Apetit - November, 1995. Wow, I had been married a little over 2 years and was  3 months pregnant.  How time flies.

The Recipe:

2 teaspoons olive oil

6 chicken thighs - no skin (I like the flash frozen boneless and skinless. They work great)

1 1/3 Cup chopped onion

3 Garlic cloves, minced (diced, sliced, squeezed, pressed... it doesn't matter)

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 Cups peeled, cubed butternut or acorn squash. (I always use butternut, but it's a personal preference)

2 Cups peeled, cubed Russet potatoes (I use whatever I've got on hand)

1 Cup chicken broth

1 14.5 -16 oz can diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons cilantro (optional)

I used potatoes and onions from my summer garden, and I measured out

the spices ahead of time

 Method:

Heat 1 tsp oil in Dutch oven- Season Chicken with salt and pepper, and brown on all sides. (About 8 minutes) Transfer to plate

Heat remaining tsp. oil - add onion and garlic, saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder, cumin and cinnamon and stir one minute.

Return chicken to pot, add squash, potatoes, broth and tomatoes.

Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until chicken and potatoes are cooked through and liquid is slightly reduced, about 8 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper

Sprinkle with cilantro

This is a great recipe used just as written, but I find that it easily adjusts, and you can play with it. I don't measure out the potatoes or squash or onions either. I just use the entire squash because it's almost always more than 4 cups. Also, there is no law against using more garlic in my opinion!
I started using boneless chicken thighs simply because no one wants to deal with trying to get the meat off the bone in the middle of their soup bowl.
The same with my preference to Butternut, I find Acorn to be a pain to peel!
As far as tomatoes, I think I used stewed tomatoes last time. Sometimes I add more broth, water or tomatoes, depending on what is available and how much extra vegetables or chicken I'm using.
Go ahead and experiment. Sometimes I use more chicken...or less! You can't mess it up.
The only thing I do measure out is the cumin, curry and cinnamon. These are potent spices and can overwhelm a recipe if you have a heavy hand. I find this blend is perfect just as written. The cinnamon is a subtle surprise. I would never have thought of using it in stew before.

I love cilantro, but I won't make a trip to the store for 2 Tablespoons. I appreciate it when it's there, but don't miss it when it's not.

I hope you'll try this recipe, and share your thoughts and results.
I appreciate you when you're here, and miss you when you're not. Not like that silly cilantro!

Carrot soup and whatever jumps off my fingertips.

Happy Holidays Droolers. I didn't post during the Christmas baking season, because I think there are probably enough cookie recipes out there. I made about four cookie platters, but nothing out of the ordinary in my opinion. However I did try my mom's Butterhorn recipe for the first time. The dough is made with a lb.of butter and sour cream! Then cut into triangles, filled with cinnamon, sugar and walnuts, and then rolled up like a crescent roll. They really are pretty fab. If anyone wants that recipe, please request. :)

As for the carrot soup I made today, I decided to wing it because I bought a 2 lb. bag of organic carrots, not realizing I already had another unopened bag in the crisper drawer. For those of you who really need to follow a concrete recipe, this might be a pain in the butt. If you're like me and fly by the seat of your pants, it'll be a piece of cake....or a bowl of soup....It's a little like when your grandma tells you "a fair amount of this, or a smidgen of that". I promise you, it's not hard.

Here's what I did:

I took one big onion and chopped it up, along with

3 garlic cloves, and sauteed them in a little bit of olive oil.

When the onions were softening and turning translucent , I added the 2 lbs of carrots, which I cut up in pieces. Not chopped, not diced.

I also added 3 medium potatoes that were left from last summer's garden, cut them up and threw them in  with about 6 cups of liquid. I used 2 cups of chicken broth and the rest water because that was all I had. Otherwise I would have used more broth. Vegetable broth would be good too if you wanted no animal products.

 I started to think I needed some spices in there, but since I was winging it without a recipe, I had to stop and think. So I added a few shakes of cayenne pepper, a few shakes of cumin, and a couple more of curry powder.

If  I'd  had some fresh ginger, I might have grated a little in with the onions while they were sauteing. If I'd have thought about the seasonings beforehand, I probably would have added them in with the onions for a minute or so before adding the carrots and broth.

I put the lid on, and let it simmer away in my antique cast iron dutch oven. It's been passed down from the grandparents,but by this time I have no idea from which side of the family because they both had a collection of cast iron cookware. It's ok. The feeling is the same no matter who used it.

When the vegetables were fork tender, I put a few cups at a time into the food processor. I didn't really want it smooth, so I pulsed it until it was a combo of chunky and smooth. I stirred in some fresh chopped cilantro, some salt and pepper to taste, and that was the end. I think it needed extra salt to bring out the flavors, because I used more water than broth. I also think it will taste better tomorrow.

 

I think this would be an easy recipe to add things to as well. I could see adding some chopped, sauteed mushrooms, or celery. It's a base you can build on. You just have to look in your fridge or pantry and take a chance. That's what I do. Who knows, this time tomorrow this could be a totally different soup!

Bye for now, and keep on Droolin'.