Chicken Stew

I stumbled upon a great blog the other day while looking through the other blogs nominated for a Homeschool Blog Award this year. I am pleased to have found Wha'cha got Cookin'? Although I confess that I have only read a few of her posts, my eye caught the recipe I am sharing today. Giada's Chicken Stew.

Giada's Chicken Stew

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 (14 1/2–oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (14–oz.) can low–salt chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
2 chicken breast with ribs (about 1 1/2 lb.)
1 (15–oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed


Heat oil in pot over medium heat. Add carrot and onion; saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with juices, broth, basil, tomato paste and bay leaf. Add chicken and submerge. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, turning chicken and stirring occasionally about 25 minutes. Transfer chicken to cutting board. Discard bay leaf. Add beans to stew and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Discard skin and bones from chicken. Cut chicken into pieces; return to stew. Bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Makes 4 to 6 servings Total Cooking Time: 50 minutes

I needed more spices for my taste, so I added an extra carrot, two stalks of celery,more chicken broth to the recipe. 
I also added: sage, marjoram, parsley, a pinch or two of sugar, onion pwder, and salt and pepper. I do not measure spices. I start out with about 1/2 tsp of a spice and let it simmer a minute or two, taste and add more if needed.
This one is a keeper!

And the Family Wins!

You will notice that I have not added the pork roast and rice recipe to "my recipes". While I personally loved it, we had a split vote here at my house.

Remember my life's mission in regard to food? To serve and bless my family with good home cooked meals that they love. At least the big people need to love it.

They didn't love this one.
Oh, they ate it, said it was "OK" and they absolutely said thank you, but for me that's not good enough.
So I am going to lose the recipe.

In order to make it to my recipe box 5 out of 7 of us need to love a recipe or my husband alone needs to rave about a meal.
Truth is, my husbands vote is the most important vote to me.
If I can wow his taste buds, then I feel like a queen.

(Maybe not that dramatic, but I know how hard he works, so if I can prepare him something he loves I feel like a better wife. Maybe too simple a thought for some of you, but after 20+ years its the little things that make a difference)

How about you? How do you rate your recipes?

My Family of Guinea Pigs

Its nearly time for me to go grocery shopping again, and you know what that means? I am running low on food. Honestly, this is not the case, but I am low on variety and I even ran out of a few staples this time.

I am a stickler for staying within our food budget, so in my house if we run out we simply wait until I go shopping again. Since I do not have my menu and list ready, I wouldn't even think of stepping in a store. I do not shop well with out a plan.

So what will I do? Today I will slip into my lab coat and "experiment" on my family.
mwaahaahaa!!!

I just visited  Taste of Home and entered in a few ingredients that I know I have on hand into their search box. Today I have 2 sick kids, a Lego Robotics meeting from 6-8pm, and some rice and pork chops to work with.  While the website was not any help with my schedule, I stumbled upon an easy looking recipe that shows promise.

Italian Pork and Rice. It looks good to me and a quick pantry check reveals it is a do able recipe. If my family likes it, I will add it to my growing collection of tested recipes.

What is your day and dinner plan?