DIY Croutons

I've made my own croutons before, but here's the recipe I used last night:

Stale loaf of bread
Extra virgin olive oil (enough to lightly coat all the pieces)
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Rosemary (with leaves chopped or torn by hand)
Pinch or two of garlic powder

Mix in a bowl until evenly coated. Pop in an oven on low heat (I had mine at 250F) for an hour or so*.

(*Don't do what I did and go to bed, almost fall asleep and then realize that the oven is still on with the croutons in them. But at that low heat, they didn't burn -- even though they were in for almost 3 hours!!! LOL!)

Watermelon Salad

I made this over the weekend and it was reallllly good. Give it a try if you want something a little different and refreshing!

Serves 4
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 bunches arugula (about 12 ounces total), thick stems removed
1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2-pound piece chilled seedless watermelon, rind removed, cut into small chunks (2 to 3 cups)
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar and oil. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, combine arugula and onion; toss with dressing to taste. Gently toss with watermelon and feta, and serve.

Recipe: Chicken Cheese Bake

All that organizing sure makes you hungry!

Chicken Cheese Bake
Serves 4-6

4 chicken breasts, cut in half (cooks quicker than full boobs)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
Any frozen veggies you have on hand
Stovetop stuffing
1-1/2 cups grated cheese (I used an aged cheddar and swiss)
Preheat oven to 350F. In the bottom of an oven safe casserole dish, dump the soup and milk, stir until most of the soup lumps are gone. Place chicken in dish (swirl around a bit to coat with soupy mix). Add veggies (I did a corn/peas/green beans mix). Prepare stuffing mix according to directions on the box (I did it in the microwave...why dirty up a pot?). Put stuffing on top, pop in the oven for 1 hour. In the last 10 minutes of cooking, put the cheese all over the top.
You should get something like this:
Ooooozy goodness!

Recipe of the day

This is really good on a cold rainy day. I omit the frozen small whole onions, seems a bit like onion overload.

Chicken Stew with Biscuits - Barefoot Contessa Recipe

3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 chicken bouillon cubes
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups medium-diced carrots (4 carrots), blanched for 2 minutes
1 10-ounce package frozen peas (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
For the biscuits:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions, and parsley. Mix well. Place the stew in a 10 x 13 x 2-inch oval or rectangular baking dish. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the biscuits. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Add the half-and-half and combine on low speed. Mix in the parsley. Dump the dough out on a well-floured board and, with a rolling pin, roll out to 3/8-inch thick. Cut out twelve circles with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter.

Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of the filling. Brush them with egg wash, and return the dish to the oven. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the biscuits are brown and the stew is bubbly.

Note: To make in advance, refrigerate the chicken stew and biscuits separately. Bake the stew for 25 minutes, then place the biscuits on top, and bake for another 30 minutes, until done.