From our Food Goddess, TaMara:
They were predicting snow today, it did not show up, but it’s unseasonably cold. SNOW. I am not ready. But it does put me in the mood for cool weather recipes. Soups and tonight’s featured recipe, easy Chicken and Buttermilk Biscuit Pot Pie.
Life has been hectic, I’ve been busy with house hunting, work and of course the puppy, so I’ve kept meals simple. I haven’t linked to it in a while, but I have a bunch of tips for keeping meals quick, easy and full of flavor right here, which may come in handy now that school and activities are back in full swing.
For the dog lovers, Bixby updates are here and here. He’s now
3334 lbs and so smart, he’s been a breeze to train.On to the recipes. Soup is what I miss most in summer, so as soon as the temperatures dip, I break out the soup recipes. Here are three for you:
Cream of Chicken Soup (recipe here).
Spicy Black Bean Soup (recipe and full dinner menu here)
Chicken Tortilla Soup (recipe here)
What’s the weather like in corner of the planet? What’s on your plate for the weekend? Hit the comments and share some of your favorite fall recipes.
For tonight’s featured recipe, I brought together some of my favorite comfort foods into one dish. If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, you can transfer the chicken mixture to a baking dish and top with biscuits.
Chicken and Buttermilk Biscuit Pot Pie2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
Salt & pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoons butter
1/2 small onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cups sliced carrots (frozen ok)
2 tsp crushed garlic
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
2 large Yukon Gold Potatoes, scrubbed and diced
1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 cup peas (frozen ok)Set a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat
In a large bowl, combine the chicken with salt, pepper and olive oil. Sear chicken in pan, stirring occasionally, until the chicken begins to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside in a separate bowl. Add butter to the pan and, when melted, add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the stock, browned chicken, potatoes, and spices.
Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce heat so that the sauce just simmers, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken and potatoes are tender…about 25-35 minutes.
While it simmers, prepare Buttermilk Biscuits, below.
Just before adding biscuits, fold peas into chicken mixture and then remove the pan from the heat.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Place the biscuits on top of the chicken and gravy, with 6 biscuits around the edge of the pan and the remaining 4 biscuits in the center (if you have a left over biscuit or two, bake on a separate baking sheet). Be sure the biscuits do not touch, so they cook thoroughly. Brush the tops of the biscuits with the melted butter and bake until the biscuits are golden brown and flaky…14 to 15 minutes. Allow the pot pie to cool briefly before serving. Makes 4-6 servings.
Buttermilk Biscuits:
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1/3 cup shortening
¾ cup milk
4 tbsp powdered buttermilk
2 tbsp melted butter to brush on formed biscuitsMix dry ingredients, make a center hole in the dry ingredients and add in shortening and milk. Blend together, then knead 10-12 strokes on a floured surface, roll out to ½” thick, cut into 8-10 biscuits.
That’s it for this week. Have great weekend. – TaMara
raven
I makes a killer chicken and dumplins!
WaterGirl
@raven: Recipe, please!
Edit: have you ever had the chicken & noodles at the Apple Dumpling?
WaterGirl
Oh my gosh, Bixby is so huge but built like such a puppy! What is Bixby’s dog buddy going to think when BIxby turns out to be HUGE?
raven
@WaterGirl: This month was the 30th anniversary of me leaving. I don’t think it was there.
I use the Joy of Cooking dumpling recipe and eyeball the rest. Chicken, spuds, onions and carrots. Some time green beans.
Poopyman
Wait, SNOW? Where the hell is this? The temps have finally settled into the 70s, which is typical for Southern MD this time of year. Don’t be talking about snow!
raven
@Poopyman: It’s 48 in the windy city.
Mnemosyne
I saw a dietician yesterday and she strongly advised me to try a FODMAP diet to figure out what’s irritating my bowels. Of course, pretty much every fruit and vegetable I like is on the damn list. Sigh.
WaterGirl
@Poopyman: I’m pretty sure TaMara lives in Denver.
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne: How much did she charge you? I could have told you “stop eating anything you life” for less than half of that! :-)
NotMax
@raven
Ages ago, when my young step-sister (who then might have been able to successfully boil water on the 4th or 5th attempt) was moving into her first digs, my housewarming gift was The Joy of Cooking.
She’s thanked me about 11,000 times since then.
Howard Beale IV
Frost warning up my way
Biscuits
That looks like a nap in bowl, but also delicious !
trollhattan
Snow. Frost. What are these strange words?
Elizabelle
@NotMax:
It seems some families use Betty Crocker cookbooks; some are Joy of Cooking.
We are firmly in the Joy of Cooking camp, but the older versions.
Love that cookbook. Have loads of others, but if you were allowed one cookbook only, Joy has everything you need.
Elizabelle
@Howard Beale IV:
yikes. what region are you?
lovely weather in dc area.
Yatsuno
@trollhattan: It was 100 in Fresno today.
Mnemosyne
@WaterGirl:
The plus side is that it was free (it’s a benefit offered by the Giant Evil). I’m going to see what the gastro thinks of it, if I remember to ask before or after they pump me full of drugs on Tuesday and stick a camera up my butt. ;-)
satby
Going down to 47 here in beautiful Michissippi tonight, but I flat out refuse to turn on the heat yet. REFUSE!
Southern Beale
Ah black bean soup! Great fall recipe thanks so much for that one!
My work load just doubled (this was self-inflicted, they asked me if I wanted another class and I said YES like an idiot), so I think the slow-cooker is going to be very important to the Beale household over the next 8 weeks.
Southern Beale
@Poopyman:
Can’t imagine snow. We finally got a cold front in down here in Nashville. It’s open window weather — down into the 50s tonight. So thrilled, it really feels like fall, finally!
NotMax
@Elizabelle
Growing up, remember the old Betty Crocker cookbook a-sittin’ on the shelf, the one with red-and-white gingham cover and in which every photo’s colors were printed out of register, – muted and slightly fuzzy.
NotMax
@Southern Beale
Black beans? Once eating hearty Brazilian feijoada, soups lose their appeal.
Many variant recipes; here’s just one, which also includes the traditional sides.
cckids
Snow. . . cannot quite imagine :)
Here in Vegas, we’re headed back up close to 100 degrees this weekend. Sigh. So, so, so tired of the heat.
shelley
I’ve an older version too. One that still shows you how to skin a squirrel
marindenver
@WaterGirl: Well we did get a dusting of snow last night but warming up good for the weekend. Our normal weather pattern is super nice weather through October 30 then practically a blizzard on the 31st so the little kids have to wear parkas over their costumes. I’d throw Fannie Farmer in the mix for good traditional cookbooks too.