Deanna's Daughter

Waverly ordered bagel-eggs, as we call them, for dinner on Tuesday – a crisped up half bagel with an egg slowly cooked in the center (definitely don’t add the egg until the bagel is ready!), and once again, they both ate as much as I did – I don’t know how it fits!  So last night, since we were all actually going to be home,  I decided to try this new dish adapted from Cooking Light.  It calls for cayenne pepper, and where normally I would have at least doubled it for Brock and I, I left it out completely for the girls and we all really enjoyed it.  I served it with brown rice, roasted asparagus and what was probably the last Peach Pie of the season (I used less sugar this time and it was perfect).

Creamy Indian Cashew Chicken

1 c. cashews, toasted (I use a non-stick skillet to toast nuts quickly)

1 c. Greek style plain yogurt

1/3 c. ketchup

2 T. vinegar

1 1/2 t. garam masala

1 t. ground coriander

1 t. fresh grated ginger

1/4 t. cayenne pepper (if using)

4 cloves of garlic

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts or 8 to 10 skinless, boneless chicken thighs – cut up into bite sized pieces

1 T. oil

2 good-sized onions, finely diced

2 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed

1 cinnamon stick

2 c. chicken broth

1 1/2 c. passasta (strained tomatoes)

1 t. paprika

1 t. salt

1/2 c. half and half

fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a blender or food processor (with or without the cayenne) and process until smooth.  Combine this mixture with the chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (you could do this the day before and save a lot of time).

When you’re ready to make the dish, heat the oil in a large skillet or pot and saute the onion with the cardamom and cinnamon for about 10 minutes until golden, stirring frequently.  Add all of the chicken mixture and cook for another 10 minutes, continuing to stir.

Stir in the broth, passata, paprika and salt and then simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring regularly, until the sauce has reduced a bit and thickened up.  Remove the cardamom pods and cinnamon, stir in the half and half and cook for about a minute until heated through and then remove from the heat and serve on top of rice, garnished with cilantro.

Waverly called for me in the middle of the night because she was sure there was a fly in the bedroom and she didn’t want it to land on her while she was sleeping.  I looked for the fly, I listened for the fly, there was no fly.  Waverly however, was more than sure there was a fly and was not going to sleep until this was sorted out – thankfully, Marlow hadn’t awakened during all of our conversation.  So, I had an idea,… and then spent the next several minutes wrapping Wavey’s sheet around her head like a hoodie, tucking her blankets in and making sure her animals were covered so that the ‘fly’ didn’t land on them either.  I asked her if this would do and she replied, ‘Yes!…can I go pee now?’.

As I mentioned, I didn’t realize that I hadn’t posted Chicken Pot Pie.  Similar to Mom’s Beef Pot Pie, it’s easily adapted to the ingredients that you have on hand and you can either use leftover chicken or start from scratch – whatever you have time for.  This is the outline for what I do and to be honest, it’s lovely when put into a casserole with a pastry crust on top, but I usually take the easy route and basically make a chicken stew to have over potatoes, sometimes with a salad.

Last night, I wasn’t home so Brock and girls had leftovers, and tonight, Brock won’t be home and I don’t know what the girls and I are going to have yet…

Chicken Pot Pie

1 large onion, finely diced

2 T. olive oil

2 T. butter

1/4 c. flour

2-3 c. chicken broth

1 can (370 mL) 2% evaporated milk (you can use milk or cream but this seems to be creamier with less fat)

1-2 t. ‘Better Than Chicken’ bouillon

Freshly ground pepper to taste

2-3 c. cooked roast chicken

3 sticks of celery, finely diced

4 good sized carrots, finely diced (if you’re in a hurry, pre-cook them for a couple of minutes in boiling water before adding)

2 c. frozen peas

Since we always have this with potatoes, after I’ve prepped the ingredients I put the potatoes on to boil while I cook the pot pie filling (if you’re going to make a crust and bake it, then wait with the potatoes).

Saute the onion in the oil and butter for about 5 minutes until it’s softened then add in the flour and cook for a minute or so while stirring so that there’s no trace of flour left.  Slowly add in the broth while continuing to stir, and then add the milk and continue to stir until it begins to boil and thickens slightly before turning down the heat.

Add in the bouillon and pepper to taste, then the chicken, celery and carrots and once everything is heated through, add in the peas and simmer for a couple more minutes.  At this point dinner is ready, but this can also be frozen once it’s cooled completely or you can put it into a casserole, cover it with a crust or even puff pastry (thawed) and bake at 375 for 30 to 40 minutes.  If you decide to freeze some filling for later, make sure it’s thawed completely before putting in a casserole and covering it with a crust for baking.

This is definitely one of the girls favorite meals!

Flashback #9 – The library was and still is a regular hang-out for us because the girls LOVE their books.  One favorite, when they were about 2 1/2 was a book called, ‘Go Away, Big, Green Monster’ and I think that the idea was to get kids to tell the different monster bits to ‘go away’, and then as he lost his hair, his spots etc. he wasn’t very scary looking anymore.  So, one morning around this time, it was once again time for the girl’s vitamins – not their favorite, but there was usually minimal fuss especially if they had a glass of juice waiting for them – and I asked Waverly (who was hiding) to come and please eat her vitamin.  ‘Go away Big Green Monster!!’, she hollered from the other room.  I laughed so hard, we skipped the vitamins that day.

I have to say that this is an idea more than an actual recipe, but it was shockingly tasty and I found myself thinking it could be used as a sauce for almost anything, or made a little thicker and used as an appetizer dip, or made just for steamed vegetables instead of the traditional cheddar cheese sauce – the list goes on.  I borrowed this directly from the Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipe site and you can easily make as much or as little as you need or make it as thin or as thick as you’d like.  I grilled some chicken breasts and made a big pot of steamed vegetables and then drizzled this over top – you don’t need very much at all.

Cream Cheese and Pesto Sauce

1/2 c. (or 1/2 a pkg.) of cream cheese

1/2 – 1 c. chicken broth

3-6 T. basil pesto (or your favorite, homemade or from a jar)

I cooked my chicken and then covered it up to keep it warm and then used the same skillet for the sauce.  All you do it melt the cheese – carefully – and then whisk in the broth and pesto to taste and to thickness.  It takes a bit of time for it to come together, but it does.

Drizzle it over whatever you’d like and enjoy!