Southern Comfort Food

I'm falling behind in my quest!  I was on an (almost) once a week pace until the weather got nicer.  This recipe was made on Saturday and I am only now blogging it Monday.  I made Chicken and Macaroni Bake.  Very rich and filling.

Ingredients:

•8 ounces elbow macaroni or small shells (I used egg noodles)
•salt
•3 tablespoons butter (I used 4)
•3 tablespoons flour
•1 cup chicken broth (I used almost a whole can, oops)
•1/2 cup heavy cream
•3 to 4 ounces smoked gouda cheese, shredded or cut in small pieces
•pepper, to taste
•1 teaspoon fresh parsley, optional (didn't use)
•1 1/2 to 2 cups cubed cooked chicken
•1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed (I used sliced fresh mushrooms instead)
•1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
•1 to 2 teaspoons butter, melted

Preparation:

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water as package directs. Drain and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium low heat, melt butter; add flour. Cook, stirring, until flour mixture is well blended and bubbly. Gradually stir in chicken broth and cream. Stir in cheese until melted and smooth. Add pepper, to taste, along with parsley, if using. Cook, stirring, until thickened. Add the chicken and vegetables; cook for about 1 minute longer.

Combine the sauce with cooked and drained macaroni; pour into a 2-quart casserole. Toss bread crumbs with melted butter and sprinkle over the casserole. Bake at 350° for about 25 minutes, until bubbly and browned.

Serves 4 to 6.


http://southernfood.about.com/od/chickencasseroles/r/bl60414a.htm

(NUMBER TEN in 2010)

Butternut Squash Soup, surprise!

More domesticity...

A few nights previous I had bought a rotisserie chicken from Wegmans.  I industriously cleaned much of the meat from its bones and put the carcass in a pot of water with carrots.  I let it boil away for quite some time.  What was left was some good chicken stock.

Today (Sunday) I bought about 2.5 lbs of butternut squash (already cleaned and cut) and decided to make soup. 

Loosely following a recipe, I baked the squash for about 30 mins (light coating of olive oil) and then poured it into the pot of stock.  I'm not sure how much stock there was, I'd say no less than 6 cups.  I also cut up a granny smith apple and plopped it in, along with the remainder of the bag of carrots.

I then squirted a good 3T of honey on top, threw in some bay leaves, and then liberally sprinkled cinnamon on top.  A little bit of cayenne pepper, some curry powder (not much) and my kitchen is now aroma laden and I hope this will turn out well.  When I get closer to the end I will put a cup of heavy cream into the mix.

When all was said and done I used a potato masher to even out the big chunks.  It worked out very well - very flavorful!  I now have several meals...