Chicken Stew and Biscuits

Have you ever noticed how cold weather makes you want warm food? Like soup or casseroles, or warm brownies. Well on one especially cold day, when I happened to have extra parsley and carrots in my fridge, I decided that I really wanted chicken and biscuits (I don't like dumplings, they taste like raw mush to me). So after searching, I found a recipe by Barefoot Contessa. I altered it a little bit, and it turned out delicious! So I present...

Chicken Stew and Biscuits
Prep time: about 1 - 1 1/2 hours

3 chicken breasts

5 cups chicken stock

1 ½ tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp celery salt

1 tsp dried parsley

12 Tbsp butter

2 c yellow onion, diced (about 2 onions)

¾ c flour

¼ c milk

2 c diced carrots (about 4-5 carrots)

2 c frozen peas

½ c fresh parsley, minced

2 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper

Biscuit Ingredients

2 c flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp sugar

½ c butter

¾ c milk

½ c fresh parsley, minced

1 egg

1 Tbsp water

Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat chicken stock over low heat and add onion powder, garlic powder, ½ tsp salt, celery seed, and dried parsley. In a large pot, melt butter and sauté onions for 10-15 minutes until translucent. Add flour and cook over low for 2 minutes. Add hot stock and simmer for 1 minute. Add 2 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper. And ¼ c milk. Add chicken, carrots, peas, and ½ c fresh parsley. Mix well. Pour into large glass pan (at least 10x 13 but larger is better). Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. While baking, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In mixer with paddle attachment, add butter to flour mix and stir on low until butter is almost pea size. Add milk and parsley until just mixed. Roll our 3/8” thick. Cut into 2 ½” rounds. Put biscuits on top and brush with egg and water. Bake for 25 minutes at 375. If biscuits are not brown, turn oven to high broil and leave in oven for 1-2 minutes until biscuits are lightly browned.

*If prepared ahead and stew is refrigerated before cooking, bake stew for 25 minutes before adding biscuits to top.

Best Banana Bread

This is possibly one of my very best recipes. It always goes fast, and turns out not only delicious but pretty! It's perfect fresh out of the oven, and even better the next day (if it lasts that long)

Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

2 eggs, beaten

1 ½ cups mashed ripe banana (about 5 or 6 medium bananas)

1 cup sugar

½ cup applesauce

¼ cup chopped pecans

1 recipe Streusel-Nut topping (optional, but highly recommended)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease baking pan(s).

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, banana, sugar, and applesauce.

Add wet mixture all at once to dry mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter will still be lumpy) Fold in nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). If desired, sprinkle Streusel-Nut topping over batter in pan(s).

Bake until toothpick comes out clean. (Most large bread pans will be around and hour. Smaller loaf pans, a half hour, and muffins 15 minutes. Watch carefully the first time using your pans) Watch and make sure not to burn. Cool pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Using a plate, remove loaf from pan, and return to wire rack. Enjoy!

Streusel-Nut Topping

In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup packed brown sugar and 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour. Using a pastry blender (or two knives cutting in an X), cut in 2 Tbsp butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/3 cup chopped pecans.

Tip: I like to double the recipe for the topping to ensure proper coverage of the bread.