Chicken and Dumplings

chicken

4 chicken breasts

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 stock of celery

1/4 cup large slices of onion

cover with water, about 6 cups, in a large pot & bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 40 minutes

remove cooked chicken & cut into quarters, set aside & keep warm while cooking hungarian dumplings*.

gravy

1 tablespoon of butter

3 tablespoons of flour

2 cups of milk or add to remaining chicken broth

in a sauce pan melt butter on medium heat, add flour & cook until bubbly @ 1 minute. Add milk or chicken broth. Add salt & pepper, to taste. Serve chicken 'n' dumplings covered with gravy.

*link to Hungarian Recipe

http://whatscookinginloriskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/12/hungarian-dumplings.html

Almost Perfect Pumpkin Cheesecake

photos from Lori's Kitchen

One of Gary's favorite desserts is cheesecake. Christmas Eve a lady in our church gifted me a 10 inch spring form pan and I was so excited to receive it!

I take 2 extra steps in making this cheesecake by making homemade Graham Crackers & secondly, fresh pumpkin puree. Whatever can be made homemade, to avoid a processed food, is better! This is all delicious & very rewarding to make such a treat for my family!

It's best to make this a 2 day process because it's very time consuming. Or try making it all in one day.

Begin by mixing the graham cracker dough, it has to be refrigerated for several hours before baking.

Pumpkin Puree

Preheating oven to 350 degrees/375 degrees for high altitude.

Split pumpkin in half and seed it.

Remove stringy fibers by scraping the insides with a metal spoon.

Place the two halves cut side down in a roasting pan, along with 1 cup of water.

Bake pumpkin until melting tender. about 90 minutes.

Scoop the flesh out of each pumpkin half.

Puree in a food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade.

Graham Crackers

yields 24 crackers

1 cup white flour (substitute by sifting the whole wheat flour)

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

5 tablespoons sugar or (honey, add 1/8 tsp baking soda)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking soda(decrease 1/8 tsp for high altitude)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter, cold & sliced into small pieces

1/4 cup vegetable shortening(I use butter)

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon molasses

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. 1

   Combine flours, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

2. 2

   Work in the butter and shortening with your fingers until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs.

3. 3

   In a separate bowl, mix the honey, molasses, water and vanilla.

4. 4

   Sprinkle this mixture over the dry ingredients and toss with a fork until well blended.

5. 5

   Form the dough into a ball.

6. 6

   Cover and chill for several hours.

7. 7

   Cut the dough in half and let it sit for 15 minutes at room temperature.

8. 8

   Sprinkle a piece of wax paper with whole wheat flour.

9. 9

   Roll out one of the dough pieces flat to about 7 x 15 inches.

10. 10

    If the dough cracks or breaks, just pinch the edges back together.

11. 11

    Poke a fork into the dough at 1/2-1" intervals.

12. 12

    Then cut into 2 1/2" squares.

13. 13

    Use a spatula to move the squares to a large, ungreased baking sheet.

14. 14

    You can place them close together.

15. 15

    Repeat with the other half of the dough.

16. 16

    Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes at 350 deg F or until lightly browned on the edges.

17. 17

    Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

18. 18

    Will keep up to a month (Remember there are no preservatives).

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2 3/4 cups sugar
• Salt
• 2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups sweetened whipped cream
• 1/3 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Directions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Brush a 10-inch springform pan with some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter with the crumbs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, packing it tightly and evenly. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a rack, then wrap the outside of the springform pan with foil and place in a roasting pan.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups sugar and beat until just light, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in the sour cream, then add the pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, 1 teaspoon salt and the spices and beat until just combined. Pour into the cooled crust.

Gently place the roasting pan in the oven (don't pull the rack out) and pour the boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake until the outside of the cheesecake sets but the center is still loose, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the door briefly to let out some heat. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 more hour, then carefully remove from the roasting pan and cool on a rack. Run a knife around the edges, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

Bring the cheesecake to room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Unlock and remove the springform ring. To finish, place a dollop of the whipped cream on each slice and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.

Lamb's Leg with Rosemary & Garlic

Today is New Year's Day & my birthday. I've been waiting for over a month to make my 1st lamb's leg for this special occasion. Even though the butcher told me I needed to make my request 1 week in advance, I lucked out on the 29th. He had one perfect lamb's leg for me ;) We paid roughly $27.50. Considering that it'll serve 8-10 people, that is very economical for a holiday meal! It weighed a little over 3 kilos @7 pounds with the bone and only took 2 days to thaw it out in the refrigerator. This morning I warmed the oven to 425 degrees & prepared the rub. After talking with a couple of people about how to cook a lamb's leg & reading several recipes, I combined a couple & this is what I came up with. This dish is definitely one of my very favorites, it is delicious! It was served with sweet mashed potatoes, wild rice & green salad. Fantastic!

ingredients

1 leg of lamb, bone in(6-7 1/2 pounds)

1/4 cup lemon or lime juice

14 cloves of garlic(cut 6 cloves in 1/2 diagonally to insert)

6 fresh sprigs of fresh rosemary(cut 3 sprigs into 12 pieces to insert w/garlic halves)

1 tablespoon sea salt

2 teaspoons coarse black pepper

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

sauce

1 cup fresh herbs(combination of rosemary, chives and parsley)

2 cups diced onions

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup red wine

directions

preheat oven to 400 degrees(425 high altitude)

Using your hands, rub the lamb all over with the lemon juice. Combine 8 cloves of garlic& 3 sprigs of rosemary by chopping in a food processor. Add pepper & pat the garlic and rosemary mixture evenly all over the surface of the meat. Make 12 incisions in the lamb with a small knife and insert the garlic and rosemary. Season the meat with the salt and pepper and place the lamb in a roasting pan. Drizzle with the olive oil. Place the lamb in the oven and roast for 30 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to cook for about 1 hour longer for medium-rare, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers about 145 degrees F to 150 degrees F (be careful that the thermometer does not touch the bone.) I took my leg out at 160 degrees & it was just perfect! Remove lamb from pan and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

Position the roasting pan over your stove burners. Add mixed herbs and onions to pan, and stir to combine with pan drippings. Add chicken stock and wine to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to release any fond. Reduce over high heat until sauce consistency. Strain before serving, if desired. Slice lamb and serve with sauce drizzled over the top.

Need further encouragement, check out this video example & you'll see that you can't go wrong in trying:

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-roast-leg-of-lamb