So far this season there are two frontrunners: Shepherd’s pie and roast chicken. I did both this weekend.
Tastes Like Chicken
I roasted the third chicken of the season on Friday night, when I had Casey and Jacob over for a mini-Thanksgiving (no turkeys on the shelves just yet) with stuffing, green beans, a lot of gravy, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream (thanks to which Jacob discovered that using a hand mixer is really fun). I didn't take any pictures because we were too consumed by the spread to stop to take a photo.
Shepherd’s pie started one day with an abundance of garden cabbage...
...and some other random veggies and potatoes I didn’t know what to do with. I’d never made it before but I winged it and it turned out so well I've made it at least four times since then. Shepherd’s pie is great because you can put absolutely anything into it. Today’s has leftover chicken (there was so much that it served for both soup and casserole), caramelized onions, broccoli, carrots, beet stems, cabbage, and is topped with mashed potatoes of course (the only real requisite). I season it with Dijon mustard, oregano, garlic, bay leaves, and salt and pepper. Luckily I have a willing food audience among K, M, and Toddler J where I will be spending Halloween evening tomorrow, because this pie is massive. I can also count on them to have cheese in the fridge which really brings the deliciousness and top-crispiness to a new level. Here's today's in the assembly stage:
Isn't this the most beautiful carrot you've ever seen?
I roasted the third chicken of the season on Friday night, when I had Casey and Jacob over for a mini-Thanksgiving (no turkeys on the shelves just yet) with stuffing, green beans, a lot of gravy, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream (thanks to which Jacob discovered that using a hand mixer is really fun). I didn't take any pictures because we were too consumed by the spread to stop to take a photo.
What I love about roasting a chicken is that it’s super easy, insanely delicious, and leads directly to one of my timeless cozy meals: soup. With the three chickens I’ve made chicken with wild rice, chicken with barley, and today, chicken noodle. I go to my parents’ house most Sunday evenings and this time dinner’s on me! I also love that I can get a organic, free-range chicken for $10-$15; a package of organic chicken breasts runs more than that and I’m a sucker for a good value. I also prefer cooking with whole foods as often as possible and it doesn’t get more whole than an entire chicken.
Now All I Need is a Flock
Shepherd’s pie started one day with an abundance of garden cabbage...
...and some other random veggies and potatoes I didn’t know what to do with. I’d never made it before but I winged it and it turned out so well I've made it at least four times since then. Shepherd’s pie is great because you can put absolutely anything into it. Today’s has leftover chicken (there was so much that it served for both soup and casserole), caramelized onions, broccoli, carrots, beet stems, cabbage, and is topped with mashed potatoes of course (the only real requisite). I season it with Dijon mustard, oregano, garlic, bay leaves, and salt and pepper. Luckily I have a willing food audience among K, M, and Toddler J where I will be spending Halloween evening tomorrow, because this pie is massive. I can also count on them to have cheese in the fridge which really brings the deliciousness and top-crispiness to a new level. Here's today's in the assembly stage:
Isn't this the most beautiful carrot you've ever seen?
I'm also strongly on the soup wagon, but that supersedes all trends. In addition to the chicken soup, I've also made spinach soup a few times and I think five pumpkin/squash soups. What can I say? I'm a sucker for roasting things.
Happy cozy eating to all of you in a wintry climate!
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