Day 303: Honey Mustard Chicken

Sorry I'm late today.  We had a late night with all the Halloween festivities.  Because of the predominant religion, anytime a holiday like Halloween or the Fourth of July falls on a Sunday we celebrate either the day before or the day after.  So here we are, in the midst of a complete sugar high.  :)

I made this recipe for my hubby to eat cold on a salad, because he likes that kind of thing.  But we ended up eating  a lot of it when it came out of the pot.  I found this at allrecipes.com.

Honey Mustard Chicken

12" dutch oven

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup prepared mustard (I used 1/4 cup yellow and 1/4 cup Dijon)
1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste, and place in a lightly greased 12" dutch oven. In a small bowl, combine the honey, mustard, basil, paprika, and parsley. Mix well. Pour 1/2 of this mixture over the chicken, and brush to cover.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350°.  Use 1 1/2 rings on top and 1 ring on the bottom.  Turn chicken pieces over and brush with the remaining 1/2 of the honey mustard mixture. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.   Serves 6.

The Finished Product

Can you tell this pic was an afterthought?  Oh no!  We forgot to take a picture!  Throw it on a plate and....Click!

The Review

Of all the Honey Mustard Chicken recipes I've tried, I like this one the best.  It is more than just honey and mustard.  My only beef with it is that the chicken wasn't as tender as I would like.  Next time I'll flatten it with a meat mallet to solve that problem. We gave this a B+.

Day 302: Chicken Bacon and Spinach Pizza

Okay, make-up post #2.  I'm going to overload you all today!  I made this last week for dinner and I was really nervous about how it would be received.  When my kids saw me cooking spinach for a pizza they all moaned and groaned.  But thankfully, this year has taught them to at least try the food before they pass judgement.  I found this recipe here.

Chicken, Bacon and Spinach Pizza
12" dutch oven

Pizza Dough

1 packet active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix yeast with warm water and allow to get foamy – about 15 minutes. In a large bowl, mix flour (about 2 1/2 cups to start), salt, and seasoning, making sure it is well combined. Once yeast is foamy, add to dough and mix with hand. If more flour is needed, add it. Cover and let rise in a cool, dark place for 2 hours.

Sauce and Toppings

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
8 slices bacon, fried and torn apart
4 cups fresh spinach
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove
1/2 block (4 oz) cream cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated smoked cheddar cheese

Divide pizza dough in half and spread out in 2 well greased 12" dutch ovens. Bake alone for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside.

In a 10" dutch oven over a full spread of coals, sautee spinach in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, with one minced garlic clove until it is cooked down. While it is still warm, combine it with cream cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Brush dough with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Spread spinach mix on dough. Top with 1/2 cup mozzarella. Add on grilled chicken and bacon. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan, cheddar, and mozzarella cheeses.

Bake at 425° for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly.  Use 2 rings on top and 1 ring on the bottom.  If it is cold outside add a coal or 2 to the top of the oven.

The Finished Product

The Review

I officially love this pizza!  Most of my kids loved this pizza.  The younger ones were totally put off by the spinach, but I thought that was the best part (besides the bacon).  I didn't love the dough, however.  It was a little tough once it was cooked and when I'm making pizza I don't usually have time to let dough rise for 2 hours.  Next time I'll use my regular dough recipe and add Italian seasoning to it.  This is a recipe you really should try.  Grade A.

Day 301: Pumpkin Biscuits

I'm finally having a chance to write these make-up posts.  I've had the cooking done, but no time to sit down and write.  So I'm going to take advantage of some free time!  :)  I'm currently having a love affair with pumpkin.  It happens every fall.  But my homemade pumpkin puree has put me over the edge.  (You can make it in the dutch oven, but I haven't tried it yet.  I do have some little pie pumpkins left....hmmm.)  I saw these on Real Mom Kitchen and I knew I had to try them.

Pumpkin Biscuits
12" dutch oven

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and shaping
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen, plus more to spread
3/4 cup pumpkin puree, chilled
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons brown sugar

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together.

With a box grater, grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture. With a pastry blender or a fork, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal this should not take very long because the butter is already grated well.

In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin purée, buttermilk, and brown sugar; stir quickly into flour mixture until combined (do not over mix).  Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and gently bring together, folding once or twice and adding a Tablespoon or two of flour as needed so the dough is not too wet. Shape into a disk, and pat to an even 1-inch thickness . With a 2-inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut out biscuits as close together as possible Gather together scraps, and repeat to cut out more biscuits (do not reuse scraps more than once).

Arrange biscuits in a well greased dutch oven. Smear a bit of butter on the top of each biscuit. Bake until golden, rotating once, 20 to 24 minutes.

The Finished Product

The Review

Yum and double yum!!  These were perfect!  As I was making them I was tempted to add some cinnamon or nutmeg or something, but I'm glad I didn't.  They were just right.  I'm going to have to double them when I make them next (which might be tonight!).  Mine turned out a little on the thin side, so next time I'll make sure I don't roll the dough quite so thin.  Other than some operator error, these were fabulous!  Grade A.

Day 300: Pumpkin Stew

This is a recipe I've wanted to make for years, but I've been to chicken to actually try it.  I was worried that my kids would hate it.  Now, I'll admit that I got some strange looks when I brought a whole cooked pumpkin to the table.  But it was a really fun meal.

Making this in the dutch oven presented some challenges.  I did the first step outside in my 12" oven.  The stew has to cook for 2 hours before it is put in the pumpkin.  Be sure to replenish the coals when they need it.  Since you want this to simmer, place about half of the coals on top and half on the bottom.  Keep an eye on it and add or remove a few coals as you need to in order to keep it simmering.  Don't be afraid to move the coals from bottom to top if it is boiling to much. 

The second challenge was that the recipe calls for this to be cooked in a 10-12 pound pumpkin.  I don't know about you, but I don't have a dutch oven that will hold a squash that big.  So I solved that by finding the shortest, squattest pie pumpkins I could.  I was able to barely fit 3 of them in my 14" dutch oven.  The others I baked indoors.

I found this in a Taste of Home magazine.

Pumpkin Stew
14" dutch oven

2 lbs. boneless beef roast, cut into 1" cubes
3 Tbs. vegetable oil, divided
1 cup water
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large green pepper, cut into 1/2" chunks
4 cloves minced garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. beef bouillon granules
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 10-12 lb. pumpkin, or several pie pumpkins

In your 12" dutch oven, brown the meat in 2 Tbs. oil over a full spread of coals.  Add the water, potatoes, carrots, green peppers, garlic, onion, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer for 2 hours with about 15 coals on top and 10-12 on the bottom.  Adjust the heat as needed to keep the stew at a simmer.  Stir occasionally. 

Stir in the bouillon and tomatoes.  Wash the pumpkins and cut a circle around the top stem.  Remove the top and set aside; remove and discard the seeds and fibers from inside the pumpkin.  Make sure it is nice and clean inside.  Place the pumpkins in a 14" dutch oven (or a shallow baking pan if cooking indoors).  Spoon the stew into the pumpkins and replace the top.  Brush the outside of the pumpkins with remaining oil.  Bake at 325° for 2 hours or just until the pumpkin is tender (do not over bake).  Use 1 1/2 rings on top and 1 ring on the bottom.  Serve the stew from the pumpkin, scooping out a little pumpkin with each serving.  Serves 8-10.

The Finished Product

The Review

I was really surprised by how good this was.  There is very little liquid in the stew to begin with, and the pumpkin soaks up the rest as it cooks, so it is very thick.  I was shocked at how much my kids liked it.  My 2 youngest wouldn't even touch it, but everyone else liked it.  I will say that I liked the ones I cooked in the pie pumpkins best.  I used a small carving pumpkin for the stew I cooked indoors, and it didn't taste as good as the pie pumpkins.  So next year I'll use the pie pumpkins again.  I think there is a better stew recipe out there though.  Don't get me wrong, we really liked this, but we like stew with a little more liquid.  And maybe the lack of liquid is just inherent in baking stew in a pumpkin.  But I'm going to do some experimenting for next year!  We gave this a B+.

Day 299: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

I'm sure I've mentioned at some point how much I love pumpkin.  I totally go overboard on it this time of year, but there are so many ways to use pumpkin that I never get bored of it.  I'm going try a pumpkin and black bean soup this week, so be looking forward to that!  I made these yesterday for my kids to eat after school.  Once again, I got this off the Internet and forgot to write down where.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

10" dutch oven

1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
2 cups bread flour (you can use regular all purpose flour but bread flour makes them lighter)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons melted butter

CARAMEL FROSTING

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 dash salt
3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

In small dutch oven, over a full spread of coals, heat milk and 2 tablespoons butter just until warm and butter is almost melted, stirring constantly. In large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Add milk mixture and beat with electric mixer until well mixed. Beat in egg and yeast.

In separate mixing bowl, combine flours. Add half of flour mixture to pumpkin mixture. Beat mixture on low speed 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl frequently. Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly (dough will be very soft). Turn into lightly greased bowl, then grease surface of dough lightly.

Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Spray a surface with cooking spray or turn onto floured surface. Knead a few turns to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make dough easy enough to handle. Roll dough into 12x10 inch rectangle.

In small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush surface of dough with melted butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Beginning with long side of dough, roll up jellyroll style. Pinch seam to seal. Cut roll into 12 1- inch slices using dental floss. Place rolls cut side up in a well greased 10" dutch oven. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.

Bake rolls at 350 degrees about 20-25 minutes or until golden. Use 1 ring on top and 1 ring on the bottom.  Remove from pan to waxed paper-lined wire rack. Cool 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with Caramel frosting. Makes 12 rolls.

Caramel Frosting:

In small saucepan, heat butter until melted. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Cook over medium low heat 1 minute.

Transfer to small mixer bowl and cool mixture. Stir in vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and confectioners' sugar. Beat with electric mixer until well blended. If necessary, add more confectioners' sugar for desired consistency.

The Finished Product

The Review

I am so glad I tried these.  They are delicious!  Just the right amount of pumpkin makes them perfect.  Be careful not to over bake them.  Mine got a little too done, so start checking them at about 15 minutes.  These were so good, that I had a hard time saving some for my hubby.  They were a real winner!  Grade A.