Two Vinegar Chicken

With all the tomatoes from the garden, it was time to make Two Vinegar Chicken. The original recipe was one my daughter found in the New York Times. I have modified it a bit, substituting items I always keep in my pantry. The texture and flavor of the chicken reminds me of Coq au Vin, without taking the whole day to make. This is special enough for company but easy and healthy enough for everyday.

Ingredients:

2 - 3 pounds of chicken, bone-in or boneless, white or dark   

salt and pepper to taste     

1 - 2  tablespoon olive oil                                           

1 tablespoon butter                                                 

1/2 cup chopped onion                                           

1 teaspoon chopped garlic                                          

1/4 cup white wine vinegar                                    

1/4 cup red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar   

1/2 cup white wine  

1 and 1/2 cups chicken broth  

6-8 medium tomatoes chopped (may substitute canned tomatoes, drained)    

1/3 cup evaporated milk or heavy cream                                                                 

Your Favorite Pasta 

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Use a medium high heat so the chicken will brown nicely. I strongly recommend a cast iron skillet to make clean-up easier. But that did not happen to be an option for me this night.

While the oil is heating, salt and pepper the chicken.

Brown the chicken in the oil. I used boneless chicken tenders, but cut-up chicken or boneless thighs are great too. My only advice is to keep the pieces small (not a huge, bone-in breast). That way the flavors can permeate the meat.

Turn so the chicken will brown on both sides, usually 4-6 minutes per side. The butter is what gives the chicken the rich brown color.

Throw in the chopped onion and garlic. Saute until translucent.

If your skillet is too full of chicken, you can remove a few pieces so the onion can actually reach the surface of the pan. That's what I have done here.

Add the 2 vinegars and de-glaze the pan. That just means you scrape the yummy bits from the pan. Then add the wine and chicken broth. (If you took out any chicken, just add it back in now.) Cook uncovered on a low simmer until the broth is reduced by half, about 20-30 minutes.

Just a note on vinegar. The original recipe had red and white wine vinegar. I have used balsamic and fruit vinegars with great success. Feel free to use what you have, even if you just use one flavor. But the vinegar should be wine-based - not that plain white stuff (too little flavor) or apple cider (too different a flavor). 

This step will finish cooking the chicken and give it the most amazing flavor!

Add chopped tomatoes and continue cooking for an additional 5 - 10 minutes. 

Once tomatoes are falling apart, add 1/3 cup of evaporated milk or heavy cream. Cook an additional 5 minutes, until sauce is thicker. 

I don't know about you, but I only have heavy cream on special occasions and keep evaporated milk in the pantry at all times. In addition to being on hand, the milk is lower in fat. Now it is an everyday dish, not just special occasion. (Believe it or not, the cream is actually a thickener.)

Toss with your favorite pasta, cooked according to package directions. 

Serve with a green salad and some crusty bread to impress your discriminating diners. 

This is great the next day, so I always make enough for 2 meals, possible now that I don't feed teen-age boys. It is easy to warm in the microwave or just eat cold.

I was a bit impatient to get dinner on this night, so mine is a bit soupy. But by the time we had finished dinner, the left-over pasta had absorbed all the extra sauce. Also, I only used half a box of pasta. If I was feeding a crowd, I would have doubled the pasta without doubling the recipe (if that makes sense).

Happy eating!

Let me know how your recipe turns out.

Tortellini Soup

When the weather starts to cool off, this is the meal my family requests - Tortellini Soup. The original recipe came from The Wild Wild West Cookbook - a Junior League cookbook from Odessa, Texas, the town where I grew up. I have made modifications, but that was my foundation.

Just a quick funny story. Shortly after I discovered the recipe, I was visiting in the home of a new acquaintance. Since we both liked to cook, our conversation naturally went that direction. When we both remarked that we had the best soup recipe (in Colorado, hot soup is a big deal), she ran to the kitchen to share hers with me. You guessed it - it was the same recipe ... almost. With great confidence I said, "My recipe is better. It is exactly the same, but you add tortellini."

The broth and vegetables are delicious enough to stand on there own. And the tortellini takes the soup to "Out-of-This-World."

Ingredients:

1 lb Italian sausage, hot or mild                    1.5 cups red wine or water     

1.5 cups onion, chopped                                1 - 16 oz can diced tomatoes

2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped                        1 - 16 oz can tomato sauce

1.5 cups carrots, chopped                              1 teaspoon Italian herbs
5 cups water                                                   2 - zucchini, sliced
2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon beef       frozen tortellini, to taste

I used to be able to buy one pound of ground Italian sausage. Now I can only find the links. Remove the casing and brown the meat in a large stock pot.

While the meat is cooking, chop your vegetables. 

 According to my grandmother (the one with the sofa), the vegetables should be large enough to recognize what they are. (So if you don't want your picky eaters to recognize the vegetables, I guess you should put them in the blender?)

Once the meat is browned, add the onions and garlic. Cook until the onions are translucent.

Just a note. The meat and onions take on a richer flavor when they are cooked a bit longer. I discovered that when I happened to "burn" the soup right at this point. I truly thought it would be inedible. It was pretty black in several spots. Of course, I still served it to my family, and they unanimously agreed it was the even better than usual. If you want to try this, I recommend that you wait to add the garlic until the last few minutes. Garlic gets bitter when it is cooked too long.

Once your meat and onion are burnt cooked, add the water, bouillon, wine, carrots, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and herbs. Cook without the lid for about 30 minutes. 

Note 1: I have found 2 different brands of paste bouillon - Better Than Bouillon and McCormicks. Both are equally good and I highly recommend them. Of course, I get the big jars at Costco. So cheap. If you have homemade beef stock just sitting around, please use that. But then you are probably a profession chef and would not be reading my recipe. You can also use canned beef broth, but that takes up too much room in the pantry. The only thing you may NOT use are those weird little bouillon cubes. Those are nasty.

Note 2: To wine or not to wine. That is the question. You can always use cooking wine, found in the grocery store with the vinegar. It's really pretty expensive if you look at the per ounce price, plus it has added salt (to keep anyone from drinking more than a small taste, I'm sure). Or you can use grape juice with a bit of vinegar. Or, like the recipe says, you can just use water. But I confess, I use wine. I buy a full-sized bottle of $3 wine at the grocery store and keep it under my sink. No one ever drinks anything under the sink. Right? And for $3, I suspect any oenophile would drink drain cleaner before drinking a $3 bottle of wine.

Note 3: I always have dried Italian herbs. But sometimes I get creative and use fresh basil, thyme,  oregano, and/or rosemary. All very easy to grow, by the way. Or you can just add an assortment of dried Italian herbs you happen to have around - basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, sage. Just make sure they total about 1 teaspoon if dried. You can use more if they are fresh. 

That probably took 30 minutes to read, so it's time to add the zucchini ... and maybe the tortellini. If your large family is starting to dig through the fridge and the pantry, claiming that starvation is eminent, add the tortellini - lots of it. When the pasta is done, soups on.

If, on the other hand, you making this ahead and will be freezing the broth or eating the soup later, hold off on the pasta. This stores and freezes beautifully. Just reheat and add the tortellini 5-10 minutes before you eat.

If you are only going to be feeding a small group, add just enough pasta for your diners. When you eat the left-overs, you can add more tortellini and it won't be all mushy and over-cooked.

Now why did I not tell you how much tortellini to use? My family digs for the tortellini. The first few times I made this recipe if you are the last person to serve your plate, you got no tortellini. That will never happen again!

You are the best judge of how much tortellini your crowd will need.

 I have also been known to take one left-over serving of soup, add a boatload of pasta, and serve 3 people. 

Also, the left-over soup can have disappearing broth. You will know when this happens. Just add some water.

Tortellini Soup

topped with Grated Parmesan Cheese

Green Salad

Crusty Bread

If you have a favorite soup recipe, I would love to hear from you. Soup is my favorite meal.

Chicken and Vegetable Soup

Now that falls is arriving, it's time for all my favorite soup recipes. Chicken and Vegetable Soup is delicious and super healthy.

Quick story. My friend, Melanie, dropped by one afternoon just as I was removing the last of the meat from a Costco chicken carcass. As I headed to the trash with the plastic tray full of bones and skin, she asked if she could have the carcass. I knew she and her little family were on a tight budget since hubbie was in law school, but they couldn't be reduced to eating garbage! When I looked puzzled, Melanie told me it made the best chicken broth. And was she ever right.

The recipe comes with a bit of a disclaimer - If you never met a recipe that you didn't try to tweek, this might just be your thing. If, on the other hand, you like a recipe to give you exact directions, you might want to wait for another recipe. The only two rules are: (1)Use the rotisserie chicken from Costco and (2) Add herbs. 

Step One: Remove the beautiful meat and set it aside.

 Reserve all bones, skin, fat, drippings and disgusting bits in a large pot.

Be sure to get all the tasty congealed drippings out of the plastic container. I then rinse the container with hot water and put that water in the pot with the bones. I don't want to lose any of that flavor.

Step two: Cover the bones with water (approximately 6-8 cups). Cover with a lid and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Let cool and strain through a colander. Once the broth cools, I stick it in the freezer for quick meals.

See that cottage cheese container?? It was holding 48 oz of tasty broth that I made this summer (when it was too hot for soup) and stuck in the freezer. (If I die and you are responsible for cleaning out my freezer, all those odd plastic containers are chicken broth. Don't throw them away! Have a feast!)

Nuke the huge chicken-flavored ice cube and put it in a large pot to boil, with a lid on. The broth you saw me making above is now frozen and will be used for a completely different recipe.

Step three: While my broth is coming to a boil, I gather my vegetables and ...

Chop them into bite-sized pieces. The peas and green beans are just frozen vegetables. The rest in the picture are fresh. Some of my favorites are: onions, peppers, broccoli, zucchini or yellow squash, mushrooms, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, and celery. This is where you get creative. Love rutabaga, throw some in. Hate onion, leave it out. One thing about mushrooms - If you choose to NOT use any chicken meat, this adds a meaty texture to the vegetables. Butternut squash or any of the winter squashes also make it heartier.

Step four: Stir in the vegetables along with ... 

a can of diced tomatoes, a can of beans (I used red this time), 1-2 teaspoons of herbs (I used dried Italian seasoning), and salt (about 1 tsp) and pepper to taste.

Feel free to get creative with herbs. Have fresh basil, thyme, rosemary? Throw it in. Hate oregano? Don't use it. Experiment until you find the perfect blend, or mix it up so it always surprises you.

Put the lid back on and simmer for 20 minutes or so, just until the vegetables are tender. (Do not cook it so long that the green vegetables turn gray. Yuck.) 

Once the vegetables are done, add bits of chicken - as much or little as you want. Or leave out the chicken. It's your secret recipe. No need to heat the chicken - it's already cooked.

Serve alone or with crusty French bread and a salad. Healthy and yummy!!

Ingredients:

Costco rotisserie chicken

6-8 cups water

3-6 cups assorted vegetables

1-16 oz can diced tomotoes

1-16 oz can beans (black, red, kidney, white, garbanzo, ...)

1-2 tsp herbs

salt and pepper to taste

P.S. This freezes well in that recycle cottage cheese container.

Let me know your favorite vegetable and herb combinations!