food

WHAT EVERY HOME COOK NEEDS – PART 2 ESSENTIAL SPICES AND HERBS

| mrscheryllacy

Now, most of you will never need or want the fully stocked spice rack that I have at my house. My husband sometimes wonders why I could possibly need everything I have too. There are many spices that you will only use a couple of times a year, like when you are cooking for the holidays. This list will not include those items. These are my must haves for cooking simple and yummy food. This is the second of many posts to help you make your own versions of my recipes. If I didn’t mention something and you’d like to know why it’s not a must have, send me a comment and I’ll let you know. In any case, you may have some must haves that I don’t – but we can compare notes.

Essential fresh herbs 

  • Basil – so much tastier than the dried version and the color looks fantastic in your dishes
  • Cilantro – this is the perfect herb to have seasonally. I say seasonally because it burns and dies when it’s too hot and sunny. For San Diego area, cilantro grows best in my yard in the spring and fall, but not so well in July and August.
  • Parsley – nice flavor and great garnish for more recipes than you realize
  • Thyme – the aroma of fresh thyme can’t be beat, plus it’s compact and doesn’t take up too much space

Essential spices

  • Basil – I prefer fresh, but if that’s not available, you need dried.
  • Bay leaf – used in so many recipes
  • Celery salt – one of my personal favorites
  • Chili powder – for when you need a bit of heat
  • Cilantro – for anything Mexican style, of course
  • Garlic powder – essential if you don’t have a garlic clove available
  • Lawry’s Seasoned Salt – an absolute must have
  • Onion powder – added flavor now and then
  • Oregano – if you do not have fresh
  • Paprika – I prefer Smoked Paprika, but whatever you want
  • Parsley – if you do not have fresh
  • Pepper – Peppercorn, color of your choice, and a good grinder
  • Rosemary – if you do not have fresh
  • Red pepper flakes – for a little heat
  • Iodized table salt – a nice big container only costs around $1.
  • Sea Salt for a grinder – My favorite, which you’ve seen in my recipe pictures, is Pink Himalayan Salt. It has a less salty taste than other salts and is supposedly the cleanest and purest salt found in the world. Personally, I like the color.
  • Thyme – for when you do not have fresh
  • Vanilla extract – can’t bake without it

Other Essentials

  • Olive oil
  • Soy sauce – low sodium is my preferred
  • Spray can style oil
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Vegetable or canola oil
  • Vinegar – balsamic, white, apple cider and red wine

Next issues: Cooking utensils, serving, oven pans, taking the leftovers to work for lunch, baking, preserving

Homemade Chicken Pie

| mrscheryllacy

This chicken pie has been a favorite of all my friends for years. When I’ve had people over for dinner and asked them if they had a preference for dinner, inevitably, they requested chicken pie. A lucky few have been given the recipe in the past, but not with my special notes on how to perfect this pie. There are many chicken pie recipes available, so why should you try mine? Quite simply, it’s easy to make and loaded with flavor. As always, give it a try as is and modify to your particular preferences the next time. Although, from years of taste testing with dozens of people, this should be pretty close to perfect. Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 2 pie crusts (homemade or store bought, see Ideas below)20150731_185206
  • 2 T flour
  • 1-1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 c chicken broth
  • 2 T butter
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 c light cream
  • 2 c cubed, cooked chicken (see Ideas below)
  • 1-1/2 c diced, cooked potatoes
  • 1 onion, diced into large chunks
  • 2/3 to 3/4 c frozen peas
  • 1/2 to 2/3 c of sliced carrots

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 425 degrees F.20150731_190049
  • Peel potatoes and cut into bit size pieces. Peel and cut the carrots. Place in medium size pot with water just covering them on the stove. Bring to a boil and cook until softened (your fork can penetrate, but they cannot be easily mashed with your fork against the side of the pot.). This takes about 8-10 minutes.
  • Cut onion into large chunks. Put in a bowl and cook in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. This is enough to partially cook the onions and ensures optimal flavor and done-ness in the pie.20150731_190447
  • In a large bowl
    • Add the chicken and separate into small portions.
    • Add the onions.
    • While potatoes and carrots are cooking, prepare the pie crust and sauce, per the instructions below.
  • Pie crust
    • Homemade – roll out 2/3 of the pastry until it’s 1/8″ thick, Fit into a 9″ pie pan. Roll out the rest and cut into strips.20150731_191736
    • Store bought – remove from refrigerator and let sit on counter for about 5-10 minutes before opening package. Place one crust into pie plate. Lay the second crust on the counter and cut into strips of ~1/2″ wide each.
  • The sauce
    • In a small saucepan (I use my smallest, which is 1.5 qt), melt the butter over low heat.
    • Add the flour, salt, pepper and thyme. Mix well and cook over low heat, stirring often, until smooth and beginning to bubble.
    • Stir in cream and chicken broth.
    • Heat to boiling, stirring constantly so that you do not have lumps. Boil for about 1 minute. The sauce will start to thicken a little.

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  • Drain the cooked potatoes and carrots. Add to chicken, onions and peas. Mix.
  • Pour the sauce into the large bowl and mix.
  • Pour this mix into the pie plate.

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  • Place pie crust strips crisscross fashion to make a lattice-style top.
  • Finish the edges of the pie.

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  • Cover the crust with a specialized pie crust edger (like what I use) or with aluminum foil. This will allow for your pie to cook properly, but ensure that you do not have a burnt crust.20150731_192941
    • When using aluminum foil, remember to remove the foil about 12-15 minutes before the pie is done baking.
  • Bake 35-40 minutes, until nicely browned.

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Ideas

  • Chicken – There are 2 ways to prepare the chicken. First, you can purchase some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cook them (in a skillet or in boiling water) and then cut them into bit sized pieces. (Like the pie crust, I have done this many times.) Or you can buy pre-cooked chicken, which is a huge time saver and is super easy to have shredded chicken pieces in your pie. Contrary to my long-thought belief that cooking my own chicken is best, my friends and family have far preferred my pie when it has chicken from a can in it. It saves me a lot of time and effort, and texture-wise, they are definitely right.
  • Potatoes and carrots – put the potatoes in the pot first and the carrots on top.
  • Peas – you can used canned peas if you prefer, but the frozen ones keep their texture better. And if you have them, fresh peas are the best.
  • Pie crust – I’ve made my own pie crust more times than I can remember and that is the ideal choice. That being said, most of us don’t have the time to do this. I normally serve this pie during the week. As a working mother with a small child, I no longer make my own crust except on special occasions. It’s perfectly fine to buy a ready-made, rolled up crust from the refrigerator section of the grocery store. But, buy the brand name crust, not the store bought. For this, I’ve seen a definitive difference in quality, flexibility and smoothness.
  • Chicken broth – if you like your pie a little saltier and are using a powdered chicken broth as I do, use a little more than the recommended amount of powder when making your broth.

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Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

| mrscheryllacy

And the winner of last weeks poll was this Roasted Butternut Squash Salad. This is one of those recipes that I saw on Pinterest and thought looked rather yummy. In my usual fashion, I’ve made quite a few changes to it and have taste-tested this on my very willing coworkers. They believe I’ve perfected this and always hope I will bring some leftovers into the office for them.

This salad is excellent as a side dish or even as a main course. My preference is as a side dish with a good serving of protein (chicken breast, pork loin, steak) to go with it. As always, make changes to this to suit your own tastes, but try it my way first just in case I got it right for you too!

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Dressing

  • 4 T apple cider vinegar
  • 4 T extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 T honey
  • 1 T dijon mustard (or your favorite mustard, just not yellow mustard)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper

Salad

  • 1 butternut squash (between 1.5-2 lbs) peeled, de-seeded and cubed into 1/2″ pieces (Costco usually has a nice peeled, cut butternut squash you can purchase, but like today, not always)
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper
  • Flavored pearled couscous (my favorite is Basil and Herb) – follow cooking directions on the box and add 1 tsp of Lawry’s seasoning salt to it when you add the spice mix
  • 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
  • 5 oz (or as I use, 2 large handfuls) of kale or mixed greens, washed, de-stemmed and finely chopped
  • 1 can (15.5 oz) chickpeas/garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

Instructions

  • Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.20150730_203831
  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss the cubed squash in a ziplock bag with the olive oil (less is more on the oil – I use less than the 2T above). Spread the squash in a single layer on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the squash until tender and golden about 20 minutes. Toss halfway through. Cool.20150730_201650
  • Cook the couscous per directions on the box. Remove from heat and cool.
  • Put the onion in a small bowl and cook on high in the microwave for 30 seconds. This is just enough to make the onion a bit “milder” but not too long that the onion will lose its crunch. 20150730_202538
  • Start adding ingredients to a large bowl. My usual order is:
    1. Add onions
    2. Add couscous, mix
    3. Add garbanzo beans, mix
    4. Add kale/greens, mix
    5. Add squash and dressing, mix
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1. Add onions
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2. Add couscous
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3. Add garbanzo beans
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chop up the greens for 4
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4. Add greens
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Mix well
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5. Add butternut squash and dressing

You can serve this now, if you want. I prefer to make this the night before I plan to eat it as I like it cool from the refrigerator. It can keep in the frig up to 2 days.

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Enjoy!

Ideas

  • When picking a butternut squash, choose one just over 2 lbs. Better to have more than less. And really, roasted butternut squash is super delicious (and healthy), so why not have a bit more in your salad?
  • You can use whichever greens you prefer. Kale is recommended, but I love the Power Greens Blend from Costco.
  • Also, if you are missing any of these ingredients, the one I’d miss the least is the greens. Had to make it without then once and the salad was just as delicious, just not as colorful.

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Chicken Fricassee

| mrscheryllacy

Chicken Fricassee was always something that I sort of liked, but felt was too greasy and too heavy. I liked the idea of it though. Last year I came across a great recipe that fixed those issues, but which I still felt could use a few modifications. Try my recipe below for a full-flavored fricassee that is minus the grease and very light on the lactose. It’s not a difficult recipe but does take a good hour to make. The time is well worth it as your family will really like it. Even my 5 year old loves the “soup” as she calls it and will eat a bowl of that without anything else.

You’ll note that I mention a large range in the amount of chicken. My family likes more “soup”, if you do as well, follow us. If you aren’t a fan of chicken thighs, feel free to use white meat instead. Just be careful on the cooking times as white meat can dry out pretty quickly.

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Ingredients

  • 2-4 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4 tsp vegetable oil
  • 4 T unsalted butter
  • 10 oz of button mushrooms, quartered (I prefer crimini)
  • 1 medium onion, minced
  • 2 large carrots (or as I call it, enough carrots equal the onions and mushrooms)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp minced fresh thyme
  • 3 T flour
  • ½ c dry white wine
  • 2-1/2 c chicken broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½-2/3 cup of milk (I prefer 1%)
  • Frozen peas
  • 1/8 c T fresh lemon juice
  • Minced fresh parsley (optional)
  • Egg noodles, extra wide

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ½ the chicken (if using 2 lbs, it should all fit in now) and cook until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. Pour off fat from Dutch oven as needed. Repeat process to brown the rest of the chicken.

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Salt and Pepper Seasoned Chicken Thighs
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Chicken Thighs in Pot
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Cooked chicken

   

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Chopped Vegetables
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Vegetables in the Pot

Pour off any leftover grease in the pot. Add the butter and heat over medium until melted. Add the mushrooms, onions, carrots and ¼ tsp of salt. Cook until the vegetables are brown, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and thyme. Then stir in the flour until it is well mixed with the vegetables. Add the wine and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the broth and bay leaves. Place the chicken and any accumulated juices into the pot.

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Garlic and Thyme
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Flour Added
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Wine Added
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Broth and Bay Leaves Added

Cover and simmer until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.

While chicken is simmering, boil water in a medium pot and cook some extra wide egg noodles.

Transfer chicken a dish and cover with foil.

Add the milk to the sauce plus ~ 1 cup of frozen peas and simmer about 5 minutes (longer for a thicker sauce). Season with salt and pepper per your taste (I don’t usually add any now, but some like to). Remove the bay leaves. Stir in lemon juice (per taste – I like a little more, but be careful you do not add too much).

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Plus Chicken – Ready To Simmer
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Final Cooking Time

Put egg noodles in the bottom of a shallow bowl. Place chicken on top. Then ladle the sauce over both. Sprinkle parsley on top (optional) and eat.

Enjoy!

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Albondigas Soup (Mexican Meatball Soup)

| mrscheryllacy

This simple soup is full of complex flavors to delight any palette. Make it as spicy (hot) as your family prefers, but try my standard recommendation first.

Albondigas Ingredients

Broth Ingredients

  • 1 medium/large onion, finely chopped
  • 14 oz. can of chopped or diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 chipotle chili canned in adobo sauce (1/2 a chili, not 1/2 a can), mashed or finely chopped
  • 28 oz. of chicken broth
  • 28 oz. of beef broth
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed or diced fine
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • Salt (if needed for flavor)
  • Cilantro

Meatballs

  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 1/2 lb ground pork
  • 1/3 cup uncooked rice
  • 1 egg
  • 1 clove garlic, pressed or diced
  • 1/2 chipotle chili (the other half from the broth), mashed or finely chopped
  • 1 T adobo sauce from the chilies
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 T salt
  • Pepper

Other

  • Gloves
  • 1 cup of rice

OnionsDutch OvenStart by heating about 2 T of olive oil in a dutch oven.

Saute the onion until softened and they start to brown a bit (7-8 minutes).

Add the tomatoes and cook another 5-6 minutes. 
Oregano-Garlic-Chili Simmer timeThen add the garlic, the chili and oregano. Stir to distribute about 45 seconds.

Add the broths and reduce heat to simmer. Cover, leaving a small gap at the edge of the pot.

Cook for about 20 minutes. During this time, you will make the meatballs.

Mix together all the meatball ingredients and form small balls (see picture below, right). Think of these as the size you would want on your soup spoon without necessitating splitting them in half to eat. Wear gloves – no one wants uncooked meat residue on their hands.

Meatball Ingredients Ready to make meatballs Meatballs

After the broth has cooked for 20 minutes, drop in the meatballs. Simmer for another 20 minutes and it’s ready to eat.

Ready to simmer with meatballs Adding Meatballs3

Check the meatballs to make sure they are cooked, by cutting one open. 5 minutes before serving toss in about 1/3 of a bunch of cilantro, coarsely chopped with stems. Alternatively, finely chop cilantro and garnish soup (per my picture).

Cook rice (takes about 20 minutes) in rice cooker or on top of stove, per your preference.

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Serving tips

  • Place about 1/2 cup of cooked rice in bowl. Ladle soup over rice. Sprinkle chopped cilantro on the top.

Recipe tips

  • For lesser spice, do not use a smaller amount of the chili or adobo sauce as you will lose flavor. Either add additional broth (chicken and beef) and tomatoes to the overall recipe (and everyone will have a less spicy soup) or have extra warmed up broth (minus the tomatoes) on the side, so people can add to their soup individually.
  • You can use canned beef and chicken broth. I prefer the powdered as it dissolves quickly and is easily scaled up to make more for those who need a less spicy soup.

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Welcome and Happy Eating

| mrscheryllacy

Welcome to the Not So Scientific Gourmet blog where it’s all in the name except for when it isn’t. I work in science and my coworkers keep asking for my recipes. They suggested something scientific. On the other hand, the way I create (aka cook) is more from instinct than science. Hence the name, Not So Scientific.

Enough about the name and more about why you want to read this on a weekly-ish basis. I’ve been cooking ever since I can remember, why don’t we just say for over 30 years, and I love it. Cooking is not only about making something delicious that my family can enjoy but also about perfecting recipes that seem perfect already, but really aren’t. In keeping with Chef Gusteau from Ratatoullie, “Anyone can cook”, which is true, but also anyone can tweak and perfect recipes to the personal preferences of themselves and their families.

Each week, I will post one of the recipes that people keep asking me for. Try it out yourself. Let me know what you think and send me your ideas for what you want to taste next.