Chicken Stew

Ok so for tonight dinner I decided to take left over chicken and make chicken stew with it.  Not sure how it is going to turn, but it can't be much different from beef stew.   It smells really good so far.  I will post a follow up after dinner to let you all know what the kids and everyone thought.  As I was cooking mine, I noticed that there wasn't much juice, so I added a cup of water to get it the juice that stew is suppose to have.  Here is the recipe.


Ingredients:


1 onion chopped
4 lg potatoes peeled
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs of tomato paste
1/2 cup water
4 skinless chicken breast cut into cubes
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 pound baby carrots
1 can of chicken broth
1/2 tsp ground pepper (optional)
1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional)




Directions:


Place onion, chicken, carrots and potatoes in big pot
add the salt, turmeric.  Dissolve tomato paste in water and to the pot
add some pepper and garlic if you like.
simmer gently for an hour to an hour and a half over low medium heat.


Yield 4 servings

Sweet N Sour Chicken

Well over super bowl weekend Keith and I made Sweet N Sassy chicken tenderloins.  They were a big hit at the party.  Here is what you need.


bag of chicken tenderloins
homemade sweet n sour sauce (recipe is in older post) you can add what ever spices you want to make it perfect. 


Directions:
place chicken in 9x13 dish and cover with foil.  Bake at 350 F for 1 hour or until no longer pink in the middle.  Drain any juice from chicken.  Pour sweet n sour sauce over chicken recover and place back in oven for about 30 min.  

Apple Butter

Here is the recipe for the apple butter like I promised.


4 lbs of apples (about 16 medium)
4 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove


Directions:
To prepare pulp: Wash apples, core, peel and quarter apples.  Combine apples and 2 cups of water in a large saucepot.  Simmer until apples are soft.  Puree using a food processor or a food mill, being careful not to liquefy.  Measure 2 quarts apple pulp.
To Make Butter: Combine apple pulp, sugar and spices in a large saucepot.  Cook slowly until thick enough to round up on a spoon.  As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking.  Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps.  Process 10 minutes in boiling-water canner.  
Note: If butter becomes too thick, add water or apple juice for desired consistency.

Applesauce

Okay so tonight I decided to take the 20 lbs of apples that I bought the other day and make some homemade applesauce and apple butter.  I wasn't really to sure on how they were going to turn out, but oh my goodness they turned out amazing.  The kids (except Kenzie) loves the applesauce.  I added cinnamon to it to and it was a hit.  Apple butter is amazing also...I have never had apple butter until I went to Cracker Barrel.  So I thought I would give it a shot.  So here is the recipe for the Applesauce.  I will post the apple butter and pics in another post.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend, I know I am.  :)


3lbs of apples per quart
water
sugar




DIRECTION:

Wash apples; drain.  Core, peel and quarter apples.  Cook apples until soft in a large covered saucepot with just enough water to prevent sticking.  Puree using a food processor or food mill.  Return apple pulp to saucpot.  Add 1/4 cup of sugar per pound of apples or to taste, if desired.  Bring applesauce to a boil (212 F), stirring to prevent sticking.  Maintain temperature at a boil (212 F) while filling jars.  Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles.  Adjust two-piece caps.  Process pints and quarts 20 minutes in a boiling-water canner. 


Recipe Variation:  spiced applesauce can be made by adding ground spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice, to they sauce during the last 5 minutes of cooking.  For a chunky sauce, coarsely crush half of the cooked apples; process the remaining apples through a food processor or food mill.  Combine crushed and sauced apples mixtures; continue as for Applesauce.

Well tomorrow we will be making homemade applesauce, apple butter and apple jelly.  Plus we will be making more sweet n sour sauce and more sweet n zesty sauce.  I'll post later tomorrow how it all turns out.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Slow Cooker Venison Sloppy Joes

Well the menu for tonight is slow cooker venison sloppy joes.  We didn't have enough elk for the recipe so we added beef tips.  We have it cooking in the slow cooker now and the house once again smells amazing.  Here is the recipe that we used.  Either I or Keith will get on on post a review after its all said and done.  We will also let you know what the kids think.  

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound bacon
• 6 pounds venison stew meat
• 3 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1-1/2 cups brown sugar
• 3/4 cup wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard
• 3 cups ketchup
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Remove from skillet, crumble and set aside. Brown stew meat in bacon grease for flavor.
2. Put onion, sugar, vinegar, cumin, chili powder, garlic, mustard, ketchup, salt and pepper in slow cooker and mix well. Add bacon and venison and stir together.
3. Cook for a minimum of 8 hours on Low setting. Use a fork to separate the meat into a thick and yummy Sloppy Joe-style barbecue.                 

Update with results from dinner

Well our seafood Lasagna was a BIG hit.  The kids and our friends LOVED it.  All the kids had 2 helpings of it, and some of our friends had anywhere from 3 to 5 helpings.  So I think it was a hit.  We served it with salad and corn.  Here are a few pics of how it turned out.  I will have to say, it was defiantly a crowd pleaser tonight.