Too complicated for a Friday? Maybe but it was good!

Our freezer needs some work... like we need to eat what is in it because we have a quarter of a cow coming at some point, so we need to work on what's in there. Sure, we keep adding jam, pork chops, chicken, peaches too! MUST clean out the freezer! I ended up taking some chicken thighs out to make some room for pork chops, so needed to find a use for them. This Herb Chicken fit the bill. I also made it with egg noodles so my kids were happy to add butter and garlic salt to that... Andy and I soaked our noodles in this herb sauce which was fantastic I might add. This recipe was wonderful. I mean pounding chicken, dredging, and cooking it in oil is a pain in the butt. It is, I'm not going to lie about that. It's messy and you are always wondering if this stuff is actually cooked. But is it worth it? 100% worth it for a great dish. On a Friday when I'm ready to be done with the week worth it? I mean I guess... that's what I did. And yes, we sat and ate as a family and were thankful for a great dinner.

Herb Chicken
Chicken
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1.5 lbs.
Salt/Pepper
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Sauce
1 cup chicken broth
10.5 oz. cream of chicken soup
¾ cup sour cream
¼ cup milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Seasonings
1 teaspoon EACH: onion powder, garlic powder, basil, oregano
½ teaspoon EACH: mustard powder, dried parsley
Fresh Parsley, to garnish, optional

Combine the chicken broth and seasonings. Set aside. Measure out remaining ingredients before beginning.
Slice the chicken in half lengthwise to create 2-3 thinner slices. Cover with saran wrap and use the textured side of a meat mallet to pound it to ½ inch thick. Pat the chicken dry.
Lightly sprinkle each side of the chicken with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Dredge in flour and tap off excess.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken in batches for 4-5 minutes per side, until a golden crust has developed. Set aside.
Turn the heat off and add the chicken broth/seasoning mixture (from step 1 of prep work). Use a silicone spatula to "clean" the bottom and sides of the skillet.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in the cream of chicken soup until fully combined. Gradually stir in the sour cream until combined, followed by the milk, then the lemon juice. Make sure the heat isn't too high, you don't want the sour cream to curdle.
Add the Chicken Back and Serve
Add the chicken back and spoon sauce over the top. Let heat through for 5 minutes or so. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired and serve!

Saving every fuzzy drop of peach goodness

This summer we were swimming in peaches. This years' peaches were not big and pretty. They were somewhat small but tasted amazing. Maybe it's because we had zero peaches last year - so all peaches were loved and cared for as much as we were able. I get to the point where I'm just done canning fruit, sure let's freeze them, but canning? I get to my end. Nicholas suggested we make Peach Sorbet - and it was a raving success. We did our normal ratios - a pound of fruit and quarter cup of sugar - blend that up, freeze it, Ninja Creami that pint! We all loved it. We have lots more peaches frozen to make more, fresh peaches all winter long! Looking forward to next summer to fresh peaches again!

Ninja Creami Peach Sorbet
Ingredients
16-ounce chopped fresh peaches
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Wash, peel, and chop fresh peaches. Place in the bowl of a food processor.
Add sugar to the bowl of the food processor. Puree until smooth.
Transfer mixture to a Ninja Creami pint container and secure the lid. Place on a level surface in the freezer and freeze for 24 hours.
Remove pint container from freezer and remove lid. Place pint into the outer bowl of the Ninja Creami and lock the outer bowl lid into place.
Secure the outer bowl into the Ninja Creami machine. Press the Sorbet button and let the cycle run (this should take about 2 minutes).
Remove outer bowl from machine and take off the lid. If the mixture appears crumbly, add a tablespoon of lemon juice, then return to the machine and press the Re-Spin button. If necessary, repeat re-spin cycle until desired texture is achieved.
Scoop and serve!

No precook for the goo, but oh the goo!

Church potluck time means pull out a new recipe to try. All the peaches mean make something with peaches - Peach Pie Crumble Bars. No glaze because I'd already sent Andy to the grocery store once and I ran out of powdered sugar and I wasn't going to send him back or go myself.... so... no glaze this time. The peach layer had corn starch which is often an iffy thing. Andy hates corn starch, mostly because he has zero patience in cooking with it. He doesn't get the concept of hot and fast... cook that stuff hot and fast and it'll goo up for you. This recipe doesn't require any stovetop cooking, you just stir it up and pour it out on the shortbread and add the crumble on top. The pie filling gelled up perfectly. It peeled away from the parchment like magic. The bars sliced up and served great. They were a hit at the potluck and pretty sure we'll be making those again sometime soon - with some frozen peaches since peach season has closed.

Peach Pie Crumble Bars
Shortbread Base
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
Peach Layer
3 cups chopped peaches, about 4-5 large peaches
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Crumble Topping
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup large flake oats, quick oats or old-fashioned oats work too
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-5 tablespoons cream, or milk

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang around the edges.
Make the Shortbread Base. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, powdered sugar & salt. Stir in the melted butter.
Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake for 15 minutes.
As the base is baking, make the peach layer.
Toss the chopped peaches with the sugar, lemon juice & cornstarch until the peaches & evenly coated.
Make the Crumble Topping. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar. Then stir in the melted butter - it should resemble wet sand.
Spread the peach mixture on top of the baked shortbread base. Then crumble the oatmeal crumble topping in your palms, and sprinkle over top of the peach layer.
Bake in the preheated oven at 350F for 35-45 minutes, or until the top looks golden brown.
Cool fully.
In a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract & cream until smooth. Add in a little more cream or powdered sugar as needed.
Drizzle the glaze over top of the bars.

All the tomatoes and basil

 

Andy's been having a work emergency for about two weeks so it's been me and the kids vs. the world... getting everything possible done, doing all the everything. On the day I had to be back in person in my office, I decided to try this recipe. It was a crazy busy day, then added a trip to school to do a walk through, then grocery shopping, I wasn't feeling like trying a new recipe, but with nothing else thawed and our road a mess... doing it. I sent Nicholas out to the garden to pick some fresh tomatoes and basil. This recipe had tomatoes picked and cooked within minutes... it doesn't get much more fresh than this. It was so good! We used skim ricotta and survived, maybe it wasn't silky smooth but it sure did taste good. I think everyone went back for seconds - I'd say that was a pretty good sign. Keep those fresh tomatoes and basil coming!

Tomato Ricotta Pasta
For the Pasta:
12 ounces pasta (penne, rigatoni, or spaghetti)
1 tablespoon salt (for boiling water)
For the Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes, blended)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, for spice)
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup ricotta cheese (whole milk for the creamiest texture)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup pasta water (reserved)

For Garnish:
Fresh basil leaves, chopped
Extra Parmesan cheese
Drizzle of olive oil
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, following the package instructions. Before draining, reserve about ¼ cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and set aside.
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the minced garlic and chopped onion, sautéing until soft and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute to deepen its flavor. Then, add the crushed tomatoes, dried oregano, dried basil, red pepper flakes (if using), salt, and black pepper. Let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it thickens slightly.
Lower the heat and stir in the ricotta cheese, mixing well until the sauce becomes creamy. If the sauce is too thick, gradually add a little reserved pasta water to reach the desired consistency.
Add the drained pasta to the skillet, tossing everything together so that each piece is coated in the rich tomato-ricotta sauce. Sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese and stir well.
Divide the pasta among plates and garnish with fresh basil, extra Parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Not wasting "God's bounty"

When you are trying not to waste "God's bounty" you find any and all ways to use said bounty - we gave peach jam a try with our bounty. We had quite a storm roll through and so many ripe peaches fell off the tree so we collected a bunch to make jam. We race the bugs at this stage of peach picking... and sometimes the bugs win. You cut open a peach and blech! Worms... Scoop them out and move on right? That's what we did anyway. This jam firmed up more than any jam I've ever made. So either the double pouches of pectin or the ripe peaches made this work very well. Nicholas declared this amazing and couldn't wait to have more. I'd say this was a raving success!

Peach Freezer Jam
2-1/2 cups chopped peaches (buy about 2 lb. fully ripe peaches)
4-1/2 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
1 pouch SURE-JELL CERTO Premium Liquid Fruit Pectin
3 tbsp juice from 1 lemon

Rinse clean plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly.
Peel and pit peaches. Finely chop or grind peaches. Measure exactly 2-1/2 cups prepared fruit into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.
Mix pectin and lemon juice in small bowl. Add to prepared fruit mixture in large bowl; stir 3 min. or until most of the sugar is dissolved and no longer grainy. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)
Fill all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze extra containers up to 1 year. If frozen, thaw in refrigerator.