Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Storing Up For the Winter?

I have no idea what's gotten into me, but I guess I'm sick of the same old food I always make, so I've been venturing into the land of fattening foods.  I say fattening because they all involve using more fat than most of my meals do, and with no grill to drip through, or saute pan to control the amount of oil I add, I can see my arteries clogging by the moment.

But this stuff is goooooood and winter is a-coming, so I have to get the layer of blubber for this harsh winter they are predicting, right?

First, there was this dish that some evil power in my brain demanded I make.  The very night I thought about it.  And it was pretty good.

Then there was this dessert that blew our socks off and inspired even my sister to splurge and make the night she read about it.  My mother, without even tasting it, has told me I have to make it for Christmas.  She better not think this will be in place of apple pie!  It couldn't be more different, plus it's loaded with butter, so lactose intolerant people have to steer clear!

And then, I found this.  Grandmother's Chicken from bucknrunranch.

My grandmother sure never made anything like this,  but it sounded really good.  My first dilemma is that really, you should use a dutch oven like LeCreuset or something that can be used on the stovetop and in the oven.  You start on the stovetop and then put it all in the oven.

I don't have one and I was afraid my glass pans lids might break in the oven, so I used a saute pan and then poured everything in my Deep Covered Baker.  I figured it would all cook nicely in there.

And OMG did it ever.

I did not use the bacon that was recommended because I had to draw the line somewhere.  I don't know what it would have done to influence the flavor but it might have added more salt than I'd like.  Many a restaurant meal is ruined for me with salt, so I try to avoid it at home.

I must not have cut the potatoes small enough, so they were a little firm, but the rest was amazing.

We ate it one night and then I put it away, with an idea floating in my mind about the potatoes.

It seemed to me I could take out the potatoes and do something to them to make them better cooked and better tasting.  I might be Irish, but I am not the biggest fan of potatoes.  Especially when they are slightly firm.

Also, k-ster doesn't love leftovers, so I thought I'd change it all up for round 2.

I took out all of the potatoes and then removed the rest of the food from the Deep Covered Baker, trying to remove as much liquid as possible.  I simply reheated this part.

The potatoes went into the food processor, along with a lot of onions and mushrooms that hitched a ride.  And then the fun began.

After it all pureed, I added one container of 2% fat plain Greek yogurt.  I am a firm believer that you can use plain yogurt, especially the Greek kind, in place of sour cream.  I mixed it all up and put it in a casserole dish.  I put it in the oven with the dish above and let it all cook for maybe 20 minutes at 350.

As the potatoes got a little crust going, I brought them out and added a little bit of mozzarella on top.  Then I put them back in for 5-10 minutes.

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR.   This is the best way I have EVER eaten potatoes.  I don't know if I read a recipe like this once or if it was divine intervention, but it was amazing.  K-ster was pretty  happy.

The potatoes were a little greyish because of the mushrooms and onions, so they were not the most appealing but the cheese sort of helped with that.

If you have stew or roasted something or other and you need a creative way to serve leftovers, this is your man.  Pull those potatoes out and do this little puree number with some yogurt and everyone will die and go right to heaven. 

And the Grandmother's Chicken wasn't too shabby either!

Linking here:
http://www.2justbyou.com
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2013/11/wednesdays-adorned-from-above-link_26.html 

2 comments:

  1. will try this recipe for the holidays. thanks! Visit my Prawns recipe too!
    http://sunnydaysarelove.blogspot.com/2013/11/prawns-in-basil-marinate.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. these recipes look so good. Thank you so much for sharing with Wednesday's Adorned From Above Link Party. Have a great week.
    Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above
    http://www.adornedfromabove.com

    ReplyDelete

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