Chef Lisa

After a long absence, I’m back posting again. It’s not that I stopped cooking – far from it – but I just got out of the habit of blogging about it. Today’s recipe has inspired me to do so. Ari thinks it’s the best cobbler she’s ever eaten, and this the name.

I made this for breakfast this morning, and served it along with spiffy scrambled eggs (scrambled eggs that I add stuff to, such as shredded cheese; today’s add-in was real bacon bits). It takes less than an hour to make, from the time I turned the oven on to when it graced my table.

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I made apple butter yesterday, and it turned out so good. I used Gala apples, and found I didn’t need to add any sweetener. Should be good on toast with natural peanut butter, don’t you think? This qualifies in my book as Diabetes Friendly as it’s sugar free, home made, and a good substitute for jam and jelly.

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Those of you who know me know I’m a first generation Canadian. Both my parents are from Germany, and I’ve got a bit of Hungarian and Transylvanian thrown in on the side. Growing up, we ate a lot of German food at home, and Hungarian when we visited my maternal grandmother. Some of my strongest and most loved food memories are of ethnic foods.

Matt and I (well, mostly me) have been making a conscious effort to expose our children to as many different ethnic foods as we can. Whether these dishes have been American-ized or not, the point is to introduce them to new flavors and ideas. It’s especially important to do that with a picky eater like Ari is, and I have to say all our hard work has paid off, as she surprises me with what she’s willing to at least try to eat.

Both of my kids love to help out in the kitchen, and I encourage it when I can because not only is it quality time with me, but it helps create good memories. It is my hope that if they build enough good memories about the kitchen and food, when they’re out on their own they won’t subsist on ramen and take out because they don’t know how to cook anything.

With this recipe, I hope to introduce them to one of my favorite comfort foods – braised red cabbage. I’ll be making it next week, and when I do, I’ll try to remember to take pictures. I’m calling this Opa’s Red Cabbage because it’s my dad’s recipe, and Opa (German for Grampa) is what my kids call him.

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The menu for yesterday had “grilled chicken and salad” for supper. So informative and helpful, I know. The salad was easy, as I had a Caesar salad kit in the fridge (got those on sale for half price). I had several different kinds of chicken in the freezer, but I decided to go with the drumsticks. When they were thawed, I sprinkled jerk seasoning on it and let it sit at room temperature for half an hour. That acted as both a quick marinade, plus getting the meat to room temp makes it cook more evenly.

I’ve also kind of been craving potato salad, but I was feeling too lazy to make any. I decided to grill the potatoes instead. I took the potatoes (Klondike Rose – the red skinned yellow-fleshed potatoes) and sliced them about 1/4″ thick. I tossed them in a bowl with a bit of oil, salt and pepper. Then I sliced up a Vidalia onion (those were on sale too last week) into thick rings.

To cook, I just put everything on the grill at high to medium high heat. (This is a brand new grill, and we’re still learning its quirks.) By the time the chicken was cooked, the potatoes and onions were done.

Everything turned out well. I won’t get that brand of jerk seasoning again, as I feel it was more hot than flavorful (and the first ingredient on the list was sugar, which I didn’t realize until I looked to see why the chicken was charring so quickly). I’m also going to put garlic powder in with the potatoes next time, and drizzle a bit of oil on the onions, as they really stuck to the grill.

And there will be a next time for both the onions and the potatoes, and the monkeys gave them two thumbs up.

We had these for supper on Wednesday night. I wasn’t sure they were going to work out because the batter was just so soupy. It looked rather unappetizing too. And you know what? I just realized I forgot to put the salt and pepper in. I used Jiffy mix, as it was on sale, instead of Bisquick. The biscuits turned out very soft, more like a dumpling than a biscuit. Next time, I will use Bisquick to see if the mix makes a difference, or if I need to cut back on the amount of milk being used.

Chicken Honey Mustard Biscuits

 
Serves 4

3 cups baking mix, such as Bisquick
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded carrots
3-4 scallions, thinly sliced on a bias
1 small zucchini, shredded
1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup mustard
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
Salt and ground black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 425ºF.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the baking mix and milk until almost completely mixed. Add the carrot, scallions, zucchini, chicken, honey, mustard, half of the cheese, some salt and pepper, and continue mixing until evenly combined.

Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, deposit the mixture into 2-inch rounds (just eyeball it) onto two greased baking sheets. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the biscuits and bake until golden brown and the cheese has melted, 15-18 minutes.