Trying New Things: Dinner

I tried out 2 new recipes today. Both were a hit!!! Dave is not a huge "soup person" and he loved it. We had cauliflower soup, organic brown basmatti rice, and chicken oreganato.

Recipe 1 - Cauliflower Soup, from Pioneer Woman

I changed it up a bit. I used beef broth in place of chicken broth. Then I used 1 3/4 cup skim milk and 1/4 cup heavy cream for the whole milk. Instead of 1 cup half and half I used 3/4 cup heavy cream. I also skipped the sour cream. The recipe made enough for tonight's "veggie" and lunch for tomorrow for Dave, Kieran, and I.

The rice turned out the best rice has ever turned out for me. I adapted a trick online where you bring the rice to a boil then simmer it 5 minutes without doing anything to it. I simmered it for 30 minutes and it was done perfectly. Maybe I had a smaller amount than they used. Either way, I added some freshly made butter (like 5 minutes old) and a dash of salt and we were set.

The chicken oreganato is actually from my new recipe book that I have been reading at night. Yeah, literally. I have told my husband about 10 times that I couldn't wait to try it. It is "Don't Panic, More Dinner is in the Freezer. I bought it at Borders for, oh, maybe $3. I guess I can thank the college girl who needed to educate her guy friend on what Kegels are and how they help your sex life, in very descriptive terminology in Borders, in the cookbook section, in front of my 8 year old son. Seriously, I don't know why her reading off cookbook names had to changes from Kugels to Kegels. Anyway, her reading off the name of the book that is now ALL MINE, and proclaiming "how dumb it is. Why would anyone want that" is what brought my attention to it. Girl, little do you know that someday those Kegels might lead to "the best sex you ever had"(another thing she alluded to) and in turn, end you up with a darn good reason to have some dinners in the freezer.

Ok, so here's the recipe, just in case you ever need "dinner in a hurry".

Chicken Oreganato
6 Servings

3 # cut up chicken pieces
4 medium potatoes cut into chunks
4 roma or plum tomatoes
1 large onion cut into medium chunks
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh oregano, coarsely chopped
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

In large bowl combine chicken and vegetables. Add oil, salt, pepper, and oregano. Stir until chicken and vegetables are evenly coated. Place chicken and vegetables in freezer bag and freeze.

Thaw completely, Preheat oven to 50 degrees. Place chicken and vegetables in large roasting pan, making sure chicken is skin side up and resting on top of the vegetables. Roast until chicken juices run clear, appr. 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

Ok, so, do you think I actually followed this?? No, but I will next time. It was very good with the time and ingredients I had. I had to use the chicken up fast. I was actually afraid that the difference in last night and this morning would be the difference in good and bad chicken. I put the chicken in a pan with onion but no other veggies, drizzled the oil over and then appr. 1/8 cup dried oregano. Covered the dish with foil and baked it over night, 11 PM to appr. 5:15 AM on 200 degrees. Dave pulled it out and put it in the fridge before he left for work. This evening I put it in the oven at 375, covered with foil. It cooked while the rice cooked and was heated when the rice was done (30'ish minutes. It was so good and moist. We loved this also.