Easiest dinner EVAH!! Ellie’s Roast chicken with Pan Juices. I don’t roast chickens very often. I just forget to buy a whole chicken. If I do, I forget it is in the freezer until it’s too late to start baking it. Ah, Well!! This time, though…
The chicken is rubbed inside and out with paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder mixed with EVOO. GArlic and lemon in the cavity. Roasted in a pan with chicken broth until done and nice and brown on top. YUM!!!
The recipe is from Ellie Krieger’s You Have It Made. (page 215)
But wait, there’s more. Check with Kayte and Gaye for their EWE dishes this week.
Many (MANY) years ago there was a movie titled “If its Tuesday it must be Belgium”. It was a simple romcom about a group of people (Suzanne Pleshette, John Cassavetes, Ian McShane, etc.) on a European tour. Well I’m going to use that title and change it up a bit. If its Thursday it must be Eating with Ellie Day!
This is a super easy dish to make. It is basically Chick Parm with veggies added. It was very tasty. Eggplant, zucchini, red bell pepper were the veggies in the dish. And lots of Parm and Mozz cheese.
And it is KETO friendly. 16 g fat. 10g carb. 3 g fiber
The recipe is from Ellie’s you have it made. page 211
This week GFGF celebrates Ukraine. Considering the situation that is going on now with Russia we wanted to support Ukraine in a way we could. By cooking some of their national dishes.
The thing one has to understand is that Ukraine used to be part of the USSR and so many of their dishes are part Russian, part Ukrainian, part Eastern Europe in general. So I tried to find some recipes that were typically Ukrainian. Still hard to separate them out from so many similar dishes from across eastern Europe.
I made Chicken Kyev first..
I’d heard of this dish for years but had yet to try it out. Turns out it was quite simple. Simply pound a chicken breast ’til thin. Stuff it with a delicious compound butter. Roll it up. Then dip in egg/milk, flour, and bread crumbs. Easy peasy! Fry and then bake. You can find the recipe I used here.
I also tried Ukrainian Syrniki which are pancakes made from Farmer’s Cheese. These didn’t turn out so well. I never could get them to cook right. I tried three times. All I ended up with was a mess. It was like I had never made pancakes before. I did taste them. Not a fan.
Usually they are served with fresh fruit or preserves.
My last foray into Ukrainian cuisine was to try Paska. This is a Ukrainian Easter bread. It is not just a bread. It is a braid that contains lemon and orange zest. This type of bread is enjoyed all through Eastern Europe. There is just a wee bit of difference from country to country.
This was a wonderfully citrusy, rich sweet bread. Often times it is also drizzled with a sweet glaze. Similar to brioche. Or Challah. Definitely a keeper for special occasions.
Yesterday I fixed a balsamic chicken dish from a Donna Hay cookbook. It called garlic couscous on the side. Knowing I couldn’t have the couscous ( not KETO) I served it with Ellie’s Cauliflower “rice” pilaf. Perfect.
Cauliflower rice is simply cauliflower that has been through a food processor until it resembles rice. At that point you can use it as you would any rice. And it doesn’t need as long to cook.
And it is KETO friendly.
Simply cook the “caulirice” with olive oil, pine nuts or almonds (i used chopped cashews), parsley, salt and pepper, and diced onion and you have a nice side dish.
It went quite well with the Balsamic Chicken.
Also cooking in EWE are
Kayte
Gaye
We are a small group but we do enjoy cooking ‘together’.
This particular dish was super simple to put together. Marinate chicken breasts in a mix of Balsamic vinegar, chicken stock, garlic, and sugar. Then just cook the chicken in a shallow pan until done. That’s it. That’s all there is. And unfortunately that is all it was. Chicken cooked in a pan.
I found it to be really bland even though I left it in the marinade longer than suggested. Even with the simmered marinade over the sliced chicken it was still pretty bland. Ah, well. Maybe the next recipe will be more delightful.
Since I am on KETO I subbed out the garlic couscous for another side – tomorrow on Eating with Ellie!! I left the sugar as it was only 2 Tbl. I was afraid to sub in an artificial sweetener like Stevia.
You can find the recipe HERE. It is from Donna’s flavourspage 102
I should really label this as bacon rather than pancetta. But only because I couldn’t find any pancetta. The product shortages are now starting to hit Central Louisiana. Even the basics are starting to come up short. Fortunately, I had all the other ingredients to make Donna Hay’s chicken stew.
The recipe is in several places on the internet so I don’t feel bad sharing it here.
8 bone-in chicken thighs
all-purpose flour for coating ( I did not use the flour as I was trying to make this more KETO friendly)
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 oz pancetta, diced (I had to use bacon, but…)
2 leeks, sliced (make sure you clean them really REALLY well)
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
7 oz button mushrooms, halved
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine (I only used 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup cream
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon (sorry, not a fan)
sea salt and cracked black pepper Flour the chicken, shaking off any excess. Place half of the oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat. Brown the chicken; remove and set it aside.
Add the remaining oil and cook the pancetta, leeks, garlic and mushrooms until golden; remove and set aside.
Bring the chicken stock and wine to a simmer in the pan, scraping up anything from the base of the pan. Return the chicken to the pan and cook, covered, for 25 minutes.
Add the pancetta, leek, garlic and mushroom mixture, the cream, parsley, tarragon, salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until reduced and thickened.
Donna always takes me out of the box with her recipes. I would have loved the pancetta in this because of the flavor it would have added. Next time…
The recipe originally comes from modern classics Book 1. I’ve been cooking from this book since 2013 and there are still plenty of recipes in it I want to try.
Today is Thursday. That means it is time for another episode of Eating with Ellie. Recipes from Ellie Krieger.
Kayte, Peggy, Gaye and I have revived this weekly cooking group. We have always loved Ellie’s recipes and missed cooking with them.
This week I chose to make Chicken Romesco.
Grilled chicken topped with a tasty tomato pepper sauce. The pepper is roasted red pepper. I didn’t have any so I used yellow instead. I don’t think it affected the taste. Red and yellow peppers are equally sweet. I would, if you don’t like really spicy, cut the paprika down a smidgeon.
I did enjoy this sauce. I only used about 1/3 of it on a single breast. I get to enjoy two more meals from this recipe. The recipe is on page 153 of Ellie’s weeknight wonders
IT has been quite a while since I have cooked/baked with Donna Hay. Kayte and I started cooking from her books in 2015 (she started before I did) and the last time we posted a recipe was 2017. I had not heard of Donna Hay until Kayte came along. Thanks, Kayte.
So here we are again. Kayte, Peggy, Gaye, and me….for now.
I have had lots of recipes marked to make from Donna’s flavors and then we stopped. Now I an go back and cook them – with one difference – I’m trying to do only the ones I can convert it to KETO. Since here recipes use fresh ingredients it shouldn’t be too hard.
Like this soup.
Ingredients: My changes are below
3 cups coconut cream milk
3 cups chicken broth
2 Tbl shredded ginger
2 Tbl red pepper flakes redchillies seeded and chopped
1 Tbl fish sauce Red Boat Fish Sauce
3 fresh coriander roots bruised
3 chicken breasts sliced thin
2 Tbl basil leaves, dried 1 cup shredded basil
3.5 ounces bean sprouts (NOT KETO friendly)
In a deep sauce pan mix the coconut milk, broth, ginger, chilli flakes, fish sauce, and coriander (if using).
Bring to a slow boil over medium heat.
Simmer about 5 minutes then add the chicken until done. Add in the basil.
If you used the bean sprouts place them in a bowl and pour the broth over the top.
This is so good and comforting on a chilly day. I love the mix of the coconut and ginger. It was super easy to make. I do wish I had had some fresh basil but my plant passed away. 😦 I made 2/3 of the recipe it was plenty for 3 servings.
The recipe is adaptedfrom Donna Hay flavors page 152
My choice this month and I chose Winter Squash. That would include butternut, pumpkin, acorn, delicata, hubbard, and spaghetti squash (to name a few). I love butternut so that is what I worked with.
IF you have read my blog in the past you know I love ethnic cuisine – Indian, Asian, Latin American – and I love to cook it. Using the butternut I made Thai butternut and chicken curry.
My cookbook collection includes everyday asian which is where I found the recipe but it is also available on The Williams Sonoma website. The recipe is here. It calls for pumpkin or butternut.
It was OKAY. I liked it but I didn’t LOVE it. I think the butternut was too sweet for a curry. But that’s just my humble opinion. I don’t think I’ll make it again.
This weeks veggie is EGGPLANT! My choice! I love eggplant but don’t get to use them that often in recipes as the Man is NOT a fan of this lovely purple fruit.
I thought about making Moussaka but I wanted to try something different so I found a new recipe for a Veggie Moroccan Tagine. But I wanted a dish I could use for a meal rather than just a side so added some chicken to it. That was a good choice as it made a great KETO meal. The recipe is from Essential Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet Cookbook gifted me by my great friend Kayte who is also in this group.
You can find the recipe here. Veggies include eggplant, cauliflower, zucchini, onions, garlic, green olives, and artichoke hearts.
I browned some seasoned (salt and pepper) chicken thighs in some EVOO until almost done. Then I simply added it to my dutch oven (sans skin) with the veggies and let it cook just a little longer to get the flavor into the chicken.
Absolutely delicious. The spices: ginger, cinnamon, cumin, and paprika added so much flavor to the vegetables. I wanted to just sit down and dig into the pot with a big spoon. I’m sure there will be some veggies left over. Maybe…I hope…
This serves 6 and (without the chicken) has; 309 calories, 21 grams fat, 24 grams carb (15 net) 9 grams fiber and 6 grams protein. Each chicken thigh adds
More Eggplant recipes from…
Kayte
Nancy
Ulrike
Peggy
Ellen
Donna
Our next Ingredient is corn
And then we start with some salads. Looking forward to that in mid-April.
Tea and Scones 