Sunday Supper: Week 1 & 2

Week 1

Recipe: Roasted Chicken over Creamy Asparagus Pasta

Added to Cookbook?: Yes

Thoughts, Tips & Tricks: First, Noah and asparagus don't mix so we will be holding off on this until after I finish nursing. 

He does look cute as a helper though!

We really enjoyed making this meal. I didn't think the amount of asparagus that was called for was going to be enough but it did the trick. I was also wondering if it needed to be cooked before we put it in the food processor but there was no need, it pureed perfectly.

Showing off my cute apron "Santa" brought me in my stocking.

Scott was in charge of chopping up the full chicken. I was impressed with his butchering skills.

We didn't have a cast iron pan so we went with our Le Creuset dutch oven.

The asparagus beautifully pureed.

After baking. We probably added more spices than it called for but we wanted to make sure it was flavored and it was perfect!

Next time the only thing we would change is to go with 2 cloves of garlic instead of 3. Otherwise we were happy with the end result. 

The finished product.

Recipe:

Roasted Chicken over Creamy Asparagus Pasta

serves 4

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken cut up

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)

2 sprigs fresh oregano

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tsp coarse salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

juice from half a lemon

1 pound brown rice spaghetti (or whatever you have on hand)

1/2 bunch asparagus

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Coat the bottom of a cast iron skillet with a little oil, along with coating all sides of the chicken. 

Nestle the chicken pieces in the pan. Pour the wine over the chicken. Top with the fresh oregano and thyme leaves, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast for 40 minutes. Change the oven to broil, and broil 5 more minutes. Bring it out of the oven and spritz with lemon. Let rest for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, give the asparagus a rough chop and throw it into a food processor. Add the garlic and blitz until finely chopped. Add the cream, broth, a good pinch of salt and pepper. Blitz a bit more until everything is combined and creamy.

Pour sauce into a small saucepan and simmer lightly while the pasta cooks.

Cook the pasta until it reaches al dente. Drain and add to the saucepan. Toss to coat with the cream sauce. Toss in the sun-dried tomatoes. 

Serve creamy asparagus pasta topped with a piece of roasted chicken.

**click on recipe name to be directed to original recipe source.

Week 2

Recipe: BBQ Pulled Chicken, Asian Slaw & Cornbread

Added to recipe book?: Yes on the Asian Slaw, not necessarily on the chicken and cornbread.

Thoughts, tips and tricks: We made this because I wanted pulled pork but it was Sunday so that wasn't allowed since we needed to try a new recipe. The reason we aren't adding this to the recipe book is because we prefer the pork over the chicken but it was quite tasty. 

The Asian slaw took home the gold medal in my opinion. Crick & Kyle had made this for us once before and I am happy we took it on for Sunday Supper.

I don't eat cornbread (it's a texture thing) but I hear it was just ok.

Bon Appetit!

Recipes:

Barbecue Pulled Chicken

Serves 4-6

1 and 1/2 lbs. skinned and deboned chicken thighs (use dark meat here for most flavor!)
1 T olive oil
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T cider vinegar
1 T yellow mustard
1 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Directions:
Brown chicken for four minutes on each side in one tablespoon of hot oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Remove from heat and place in a slow cooker.

Combine ketchup and next six ingredients. Pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on high for one hour. Reduce heat to low, and cook five to six hours.

Remove chicken from sauce and then shred it into a large bowl, using your hands. Stir shredded chicken into the sauce. Spoon mixture onto buns, serve over a salad, or coleslaw.

Green Chili Cheddar Cheese Cornbread (we didn't use the chilies since spicy + breastfeeding aren't always a good mix).

Adapted from Epicurious.com

serves 10-12 

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 (heaping) cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 4-oz can diced green chilies

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 stick butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, cheese, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the chilies, buttermilk, eggs and melted butter and mix well to combine.

Pour batter into a greased 9 inch casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Serve warm with honey.

Red Cabbage Slaw with Lemon-Ginger Vinaigrette (from Raising the Salad Bar cookbook)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

4 cups thinly sliced red cabbage (approx. 1/2 head)

1 red bell pepper cut into very thin strips

1 large carrot, peeled and shredded or cut into matchsticks

1 cup snow peas, strings removed

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Lemon-Ginger Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger

4 teaspoons maple syrup

3 tablespoons canola oil (we used Smart Balance oil)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Directions:

In a serving bowl combine the cabbage, red bell pepper and carrots. 

Blanch snow peas in boiling water for one minute then run under cold water to stop the cooking (we missed this step and it was still delicious). Slice each snow pea lengthwise into 3 thin strips and add to bowl.

In small bowl whisk together all dressing ingredients. Dress salad just before serving and add sesame seeds for garnish.