Baked Paprika Chicken With Garlic And Lemon

I LOVE any supper where I can just mix a few things in a bowl, toss it onto a baking sheet, throw it in the oven and have dinner ready in an hour!   Super easy on a week day.  Here is one of such dinners we frequently make in our home.  My husband loves it and its a great go-to, even when we are relaxing at home with a day off.   Pretty simple way to feed a crowd too.   I came up with this one by accident, when I was in a big hurry.  My husband called me, saying he would be home in about an hour and he was STARVING.   He asked if I could make something good, and looots of it, lol.   I had been so tied up in what I was doing, I didn't think of anything for dinner.   Well, I just mixed up everything I thought would taste good and stuck it in the oven really quick, so I could finish the projects I was working on.   It came out pretty good, so I figured I should share it!

 Baked Paprika Chicken With Garlic And Lemon

Ingredients:

10 to 12 pieces of bone-in chicken, thawed, skin removed

1 medium onion, diced

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp ground paprika

½ tsp ground dried rosemary

4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tablespoon pre-minced garlic from a jar/tube)

Juice of 1 lemon (or 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, depending how “lemony” you like it)

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 large potatoes, quartered (or 6 small, halved)

Directions:

1.        Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2.       With a sharp knife, cut 2 or 3 random slits in the meat of each piece of chicken, making sure to cut to the bone, to help the flavor penetrate the meat. 

3.       In a large bowl, place all the chicken,  onion, salt, pepper, paprika, rosemary, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil.  Mix everything together very well, to combine thoroughly.  Its best to use your hands.  Be sure garlic and spices are coating every piece of meat.

4.       Transfer chicken/onion/spice picture into a large baking dish, at least 2 inches deep.   Spread the chicken out evenly.  

5.       Place the cut up potatoes in and around the chicken.   Try to wedge them between the chicken pieces, so they absorb some flavor as they cook.   The chicken will create lots of its own juices to help this. 

6.       Bake for 1 to 1 ½ hours (depending if you used more or less chicken).  Remove from oven.  Let stand 10 minutes.   Serve, drizzling some chicken juices over the meat and potatoes.  

TIP:   You can also make mashed potatoes instead of baking them and use the juices from the baking dish to make gravy.  

Melissa’s Traditional Greek Baklava

Baklava is a traditional sweet, flaky Greek pastry.  There are some who might argue about the origin being Turkish or Egyptian…   However, I have always known/accepted it as Greek.   Baklava is not really a common “dessert”.  It is more a presentation for special occasions.   In America, it is common to use melted butter for this dish.  But historically in Greece, butter was much too expensive.  Olive oil was more readily available and used by most of the population for this dish.  It was considered a sign of wealth to use butter.   So technically speaking, olive oil is actually more “authentic” (and more healthy).   However, it would be an excellent way to make this dish a perfect mix of both authentic AND high-scale, to use a mix of butter and olive oil-- which is what I do.   But make sure you use UNSALTED butter, or it will give your dish too much of a salty taste.   Then  homemade syrup is poured over the pastry after baking, as a final step to sweeten the pastry and ensure it won’t be dry.   It is best to allow the baklava to soak up ALL the syrup by making the dish 1 day ahead.   It is generally not desirable to eat Baklava too soon after making it, since it will not be at its best until the next day.   Store tightly covered but do not refrigerate; baklava keeps well, and will remain unspoiled until it is eaten.  



Melissa’s Traditional Greek Baklava

Ingredients:

1 lb thawed filo dough (#4 thickness is best)

1 cup melted unsalted butter (or olive oil, or a combination of both)

Filling:

1/2 pound mixed, chopped unsalted nuts (walnuts, almonds and pistachios are most common/traditional)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1/3 cup sugar

Syrup: 

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

½ cup honey or corn syrup

2 tsp lemon juice (this prevents sugar in syrup from crystallizing)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cinnamon stick (or 1/2 tsp ground)

8 whole cloves (1/4 tsp ground)

Tools you will need:

1.       A basting brush for the filo and butter.

2.       A nut grinder, blender, or food processor.

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.       Prepare the filling-- finely grind the nuts and place them in a large bowl.   Add  the ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and 1/3 cup  sugar.  Blend very well.

3.       Brush the bottom and sides of a baking pan (9x13x2) with butter or oil. Unfold thawed filo dough carefully and cover with a damp (well rung) kitchen cloth while you work, to prevent it from drying out. You can pre-trim the dough to fit your pan, or fold the dough in on itself once it is inside the pan, to make it fit. Both are fine. Gently peel 1 sheet of filo pastry up and place it inside your baking pan. Brush the whole surface of the filo sheet with butter/oil. Repeat this with 7 more sheets, giving you a total of 8 sheets.  

4.       Spread 1/3 of the nut mixture evenly over the buttered filo sheets. Top with 5 more sheets of filo pastry, each brushed with butter/oil. Do another layer of nuts, with another layer of 2 buttered filo sheets.  Then do a 3^rd layer of nuts.  

5.       Cover the 3^rd layer of nuts with 8 more sheets of filo, brushing each sheet with butter.  

6.       With a sharp knife, gently and carefully cut the baklava in 1”x2” rectangles or criss-cross diamond shapes. You may also gently insert one whole clove into the top of each rectangle, for garnish if desired. 

7.       Preheat oven to 350. While oven heats, prepare your syrup by combining all the ingredients (1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, ½ cup honey, 2 tbsp lemon juice,  1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 cinnamon stick and 6 whole cloves) into a pot.   Bring to a simmer, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Place in refrigerator and allow to cool.

8.       Pour syrup evenly over every inch of the baklava.  

9.       Let baklava rest overnight, lightly covered, to absorb the syrup and enhance all the flavors.   Serve the following day.  

TIP:   Store tightly covered.   DO NOT refrigerate.  Baklava keeps quite well without spoiling, until it I eaten.
 

Pie Dough For Tender, Flaky Crust

This pie crust recipe is slightly different from my other one, in that it is less sweet.   I prefer this recipe when making savory / meat pies.    Generous portion, tender, flaky (more so than my other one) and delicious!   Classic, simple flavor that actually goes great with both sweet and savory pies.   

Pie Dough For Tender, Flaky Crust

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter-flavored vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
• 1/2 cup ice cold water 

1Directions:  

.       In a large mixing bowl, blend flour, salt, and sugar until combined. Add butter and shortening, cut the butter/shortening into the flour using 2 butter knives or a pastry cutter.  Continue cutting/blending until none of the butter/shortening pieces are larger than a pea. 

2.       Sprinkle water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.  Roll out to ¼ inch thick between 2 sheets of wax paper or parchment paper and use as top and bottom crusts for our favorite pie.  

Melissa's Chicken Pot Pie

I made up this recipe after doing some research online on many other different chicken pot pie recipes.   These were the flavors and portions that I found most appealing.  Nice classic taste with a hint of rosemary, good flavor and flaky crust!   You can also do this with any kind of meat (and any broth to match) like beef or turkey.   You could even dice up a potato or some garlic and add that to the vegetable mix!  Its versatile and easily customized to suit your taste.  I prefer to use thigh meat rather than breast meat, because it is more flavorful and tender.   But you can use whatever you like.

Melissa's Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 pound raw boneless, skinless chicken cut in ½ inch chunks (thigh meat is best)

2 ½ cups your favorite frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn, green beans, etc.), or use the same amount of fresh or canned diced vegetables, drained.

½ tsp salt

½ tsp dried rosemary, well crumbled

¼ tsp celery seed (optional)

1 tsp dried thyme

1 medium onion chopped

¼ cup white wine (optional)

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup milk

¼ tsp turmeric (for that nice yellow color in the filling)

2 prepared raw pie crust (one for bottom layer, one for top layer), both rolled out with one molded in the pie pan and the other kept flat and separate.   

My preferred pie crust recipe for this dish:  Click Here   

Directions:

1.        In a large pan over medium heat, sauté the chicken, mixed vegetables (except the onion), salt, rosemary, celery seed and thyme, until meat is done.   There should be no pink in the middle of the meat and it should be firm (at least 15 to 20 minutes).   Remove chicken and vegetable mixture, set aside in a large bowl.   

2.       Melt butter in the pan you used for the chicken, over medium heat.  Add onions and turmeric, cook until onions turn clear.   Add flour and blend well.  

3.       Add chicken broth and milk to the onions, blend very well to break up any clumps in the flour.  Turn up heat to medium-high and cook until thick like a gravy, stirring frequently.  

4.       Place bottom pie crust (with its pan) on a baking sheet for safe and easy transport.   Spread meat and vegetable mixture evenly over bottom of pie crust.  

5.       Add second pie crust over the top.  Trim edges to fit the pie pan, if necessary.  Pinch the edges of the top and bottom crusts together, all the way around.  Cut 4 one-inch slits in the top crust for the steam to escape during cooking. 

6.       Heat oven to 425 degrees, F.   Place pie (on baking sheet) in the oven and bake 35 minutes, or until crust is golden.   Carefully remove from the oven and let cool 15 minutes.   Cut in wedges and serve. 

    

Easy Turkey Stuffing Recipe, Make Regular, or Gluten Free!

 I saw this recipe online and I have used it a few times.   LOVE it!   I like the Stove Top brand of stuffing / dressing, but its always nice to know you can still make it if there is any reason you can't buy it at the store.   Maybe you were too late on grabbing some stuffing on the shelves, or you live outside town, or the weather is bad?  Or maybe you just want the bragging rights of making your own.  Feel free to jazz it up too, if you want (add cranberries, nuts, whatever you like!).

IDEA:  For "Gluten Free" stuffing, just grab a loaf of gluten free bread, an follow this recipe!  

Ingredients

• 8 slices of bread (or 2½ cups store bought dried plain bread cubes or croutons)
• 4 tbs unsalted butter
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
• 1 tbs dried parsley
• ½ tsp sage
• ¼ tsp marjoram (optional)
• ⅛ tsp pepper
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 11/3 cups chicken stock

TIP:   If you are using store bought bread cubes, skip the bread toasting directions.  If you are making your own bread cubes, follow all of the directions.

Making Bread Cubes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the bread evenly on a sheet pan and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
2. Then flip the bread slices and toast until the other side is golden brown, roughly 6 minutes more.
3. Remove the toasted bread from the pan and dice into ¼ -1/2 inch cubes and set aside.

Making the Stuffing

1. Dice the celery and onion and portion out the remaining ingredients so that you have them on hand.  This makes the preparation quicker and easier.
2. In a large sauce pan, melt the butter and kosher salt over medium heat.
3. Add the celery, onion and garlic and cook until the veggies are softened and the onion starts to become translucent. Roughly 5 minutes.
4. Add the herbs, spices and chicken stock to the mix and stir. Bring to a boil.
5. Once the mixture hits a rolling boil, add the bread cubes. Quickly mix in the cubes to the liquid and then cover.
6. Remove from the heat and let the pan sit for 5 minutes. Using a fork fluff the mixture and serve.