Creamy Herb Chicken Soup

Creamy Herb Chicken Soup

2 TB Olive Oil
4 TB Butter

1/8 cup Roux
3-4 prepared Chicken Breast - chopped (Boiled, Grilled, or Baked)
2-3 slices Bacon (crumbled)
1 medium sized Onion (chopped) - could use Green Onion
1 TB Fresh Garlic (chopped) - I used 2 cloves
1 qt Whipping Cream (Heavy Cream)

1 qt Milk -Less to make thicker

1 can low sodium Chicken Broth
1/8 tsp Coarse Ground Black Pepper
Pinch of Sea Salt
1/8 cup of Chives (reserve for garnish)

3 Sage Leaves
1/8 cup Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese (reserve 1/2 for Garnish)
Fresh Parsley (for Garnish) can use vivid green freeze dried

Using a heavy bottomed Stock Pot, melt butter and add Olive Oil, heat til oil is hot. Saute' onion, stirring frequently about 3-4 minutes until almost translucent. Add chicken and continue saute' another 2-3 minutes to heat through then add garlic. Make a roux by adding about an 3 TB flour to pan, then slowly add Cream or Milk and can of Chicken Broth. Add seasonings, bring to a low boil, if you bring it to a full boil you risk the chance of curdling the milk & creeam, reduce heat to a simmer. Stir in 1/2 of Parmesan Cheese and continue simmering for 10 minutes until thickened.

Serve in large bowls and garnish with Parmesan Cheese, Chives, and Parsley and a side of Garlic Cheese Bread.

Shallot-Garlic Chutney by J_in_OFallon (twitter)

Shallot-Garlic Chutney
by J_in_OFallon (twitter)

2 medium shallots, minced fine
2 medium cloves of garlic, crushed and minced fine
1c White wine, Chardonnay
2c Orange Juice
2TB fresh Lemon Juice
2TB Clover Honey
Sea Salt

Warm olive oil in a medium sauce pan. Add shallot and sweat with a pinch of sea salt until clear and tender. Add garlic and sweat until soft and fragrant.
Deglaze with 1c of white wine. I used Chardonnay. Add 2c orange juice, 2TBS lemon juice and 2TBS clover honey. Stir well.
Reduce to 1/4 of original volume or until liquid is thick and syrupy. Salt and pepper to taste. Tart/sweet/savory.
Mmmm Gahhlic! Serve on fish or poultry either as a thick chunky sauce or use the syrup as a glaze and a large dot of the garlic/shallot "chutney" as a garnish.

J_In_OFallon Was awesome on grilled Mahi-Mahi. (2:54 PM Sep 3rd)

J_In_OFallon One reason I shared it. I am having fun taking risks in the kitchen... (11:18 PM Sep 3rd)

Pot Roast w/Carrots, Potatoes, & Onion

Pot Roast w/Carrots, Potatoes, & Onion

serves 4-6

3-4 Pound Chuck Roast

4 TB Olive Oil

1 1/2 Pounds Baby Carrots

2 1/2 Pound small Red Skin Potatoes

1 Small Onion

2 Stalks Celery

4 tsp Beef Bouillon Powder

Morton Nature's Seasonings: Seasoning Blend

Garlic Powder

Coarse Ground Black Pepper

1 # Amish Style Egg Noodles

Take out the roast, put it on a clean surface such as a cutting board rub in two TB of olive oil on the roast. Get a heavy bottomed stock pot put about 2 TB of olive oil in pan. Season roast with Seasoning Blend, Garlic Powder, and coarse ground Black Pepper to taste. Let seasoned roast rest. Turn heat on to stock pot and prep vegetables. Chop onions, quarter potatoes, chop the celery, and rinse carrots.

When oil is smoking slightly in stock pot, place seasoned roast in pan to sear it and seal in the flavors and juices. Turning ever 4-5 minutes with a pair of tongues being careful to not pierce the meat. Sear all sides including the edges. Spray the crock pot with PAM to assist in cleaning later and turn on high.

Once seared, remove from heat and finish preparing the vegetables. Put in one cup of hot water and 1 1/2 tsp of bouillon into crock pot, stir to dissolve. Place half the vegetables into the crock pot, reserving carrots.

Season vegetables with the seasonings used proir. Place seasoned meat onto the bed of vegetables you just made and then add all the carrots around the seasoned meat. Then add the remaining onion and potatoes. Once again season the vegetables and place 2 tsp of bouillon on top by sprinkling over. Then pour water over to rinse the vegetables, enough water to not quite cover the meat. Leave on high about 40-50 minutes, then place temp on low to finish.

Should take 6-8 hrs total.

You can check periodically or leave on while you are at work, attempt to not pierce the meat other than when using a meat thermometer.

Once you decide it is completed, with Beef it should be 130 degrees F for rare, 140/medium, and 150 for well, remove from crock pot, cover losely with aluminum foil and let rest.

(Meat will continue cooking and temp may rise an additional 10 degrees while resting. This also allows the juices to properly distribute)

Place vegetables into a bowl and keep warm, drizzling with some of the pan juices for flavor and moisture. reserving juices in the crockpot to make the fresh pan gravy, placing crock pot on high. Taste to see if you desire to add more bouillon for additional beef flavor. Season to taste, you want it to be strong, never salty. Bring to a boil. (if it will not boil, place stock into a sauce pan on the stovetop.)

Take a 1/2 cup of warm water and disolve 1 tsp of flour or corn stach. Slowly stir into the beef stock and stir frequently until a full boil is acheived. Reduce heat to a fast simmer, continue to stir frequently until desired consistance is achieved.

Serving suggestion: You may serve the vegetable as is or mash the potatoes.

Steamed Broccoli
Amish style Egg Noodles

To mash the potaotes:

Mashed Redskin Potatoes

Seperate potatoes from carots, onions, & celery.

Mash with a potato masher.

Add enough cream or 1/2 & 1/2 to thin out.

Add 2 TB butter.

Season to taste with Sea Salt & Pepper. (Garlic & Parsley if desired)