Cold Weather Favorite

[ducks4you]

It's always easier for me to harvest okra and then cut into pieces and freeze that day. That way I pitch the tough ones into my burn barrel, except at the end of the season, when I dry out several to save the seeds. Sometimes, if it's been raining, you can get some long AND tender okra.

 

[MontyJ]

I have a few winter favorites...here is one:

Chicken & Dumplings



3 quarts water
1 3-4 pound chicken cut up
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 small onion sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered or pressed
1 bay leaf
4-6 whole parsley leaves
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Dumplings

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon of salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and parsley to the pot. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for 2 hours. The liquid will reduce by about one third.

2. When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside. Skim off the scum from the broth. You can strain out the veggies if you like, but I leave them in. Just make sure you pick out the bay leaf.

3. Pour 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) of the stock back into the pot (keep the leftover stock, if any, for another recipe-it can be frozen). You may also want to use a smaller pot or a large saucepan for this. Add coarsely ground pepper, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the lemon juice, then reheat the stock over medium heat while preparing the dumplings.

4. For dumplings, combine the flour, baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to about a 1/2 inch thickness.

5. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. Use all of the dough. The dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until thick. Stir often.

6. While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle. Tear all the meat from the bones and remove the skin. Cut the chicken meat into bite-size or a little bigger than bite-size pieces and drop them into the pot. Discard the skin and bones. Continue to simmer the chicken and dumplings for another 5-10 minutes, but don't stir too vigorously or the chicken will shred and fall apart. You want big chunks of chicken in the end.

7. When the gravy has reached the desired consistency, ladle portions onto plates and serve hot.

This stuff will warm the coldest toes

 

[MontyJ]

And another. This one is from a friend of mine who used to be a chef in New York:

Turkey Tetrazzini

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pound white button mushrooms, ends trimmed, sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons creole seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken broth
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
12 ounces wide egg noodles
1 pound cubed or bite-size shredded roast turkey
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 (5 1/2-ounce) bag potato chips, crushed
Directions
Saute the onions and bell peppers in 6 tablespoons butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over high heat until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add the mushrooms, creole, and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft and have released their liquid, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle with the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the wine and chicken stock and cook, stirring, until smooth and thick, about 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and very flavorful, 15 to 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the egg noodles until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.
Butter a 9 by 13-inch casserole or baking dish with the remaining tablespoon of butter and set aside.
When the sauce has thickened, add the noodles, turkey, parsley, salt, black pepper, and Parmesan to the skillet and stir until thoroughly combined. Transfer to the prepared casserole and top with the potato chips. Bake uncovered until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

 

[baymule]

I cooked a pork shoulder roast Wednesday and we have eaten on all week. Right now the remnants are simmering on the stove in a hearty soup. I cut up a potato and 2 stalks of celery, added dehydrated tomato paste flakes, dehydrated red bell peppers and dehydrated onions. Sure smells good.

 

[peteyfoozer]

I too love hot soup and homemade bread! I can ham and potato, chicken tortilla, lamb&barley, and a few other soups so all I have to do is heat them or add a roux. Makes for a quick easy dinner, no thawing or cooking time. I also can stews and chilis for cold nights. I seem to have the most pain on low pressure days so doing the canning of comfort foods ahead of time really helps me out a lot and keeps The Man happy :bun

 

[Smart Red]

We had a high of 14 degrees (F) today. In my mind any day is a great day for soup but at 14 degrees, soup was a pure delight. I made a pork/vegetable/pasta soup that was delicious! I am so glad that soup weather is back even if I don't look forward to the snow and cold.

 

[digitS']

Oh Linn,

Any weather can be soup weather.

Think about those hot days in Summer when you just want to drink your meal. A few cool crackers . . . Heating something already prepared on the stove - that's enuf of that! Got the fluid and plenty of savory calories - back to the day!

We get all these bags of frozen broth. Chopped, fresh vegetables, maybe cooked together with a couple slices of bacon. Drop the "chunk" of broth in there. By the time it comes to a boil - soup.

Steve

 

[so lucky]

When I make some kind of "hearty" soup, or casserole, I make so much that we get sick of it before it is gone. It seems that freezing it takes away the great texture and taste that it had when fresh. My chickens usually get the last of it.
So a couple of days ago I made a small turkey pot pie, with a butter piecrust. It was so good I was wishing I had made it bigger, for at least one nice sized left-over meal.:/