Saturday in the Kitchen

Well today was one of those perfect afternoons to spend cooking up some yummy
foods for my family. The weather outside was cool and rainy and the house was
quiet. Here is how my afternoon in the kitchen went...



First I decided on my menu:

Potato Chicken Chowder

Garlic Cheese Dinner Rolls

Green Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing

So I began by peeling my potatoes and chopping them into small pieces. I covered
them with water and set them on the stove to boil. I added a little salt too..



While they were coming to a boil I cut the chicken and an onion and got that
cooking in my cast iron frying pan with a little olive oil and some minced
garlic…



After the potatoes were simmering and the chicken was done cooking I made up a
batch of ranch dressing. We make A LOT of this dressing. It is my family’s
favorite dressing. In fact my daughter Sierra was babysitting one day and had a
salad with some store bought ranch dressing and she came home and said.. mom!
That was just gross.. LOL.. I guess she is now a fan of my homemade dressing!
Plus it does not have any ingredients you can’t pronounce! Nothing like real
food… in any case, I made a double batch so it would last us a few days….





Then I started some wheat grinding….



While it was grinding away I made a salad. I made it with romaine lettuce,
spinach, red cabbage, carrots, and tomatoes. I grated the carrots and sliced the
cabbage with my food processor to make the job easier and quicker…




When that was done I decided it was time to stop and clean up. I like to wash
the dishes and keep the kitchen cleaned up as I go along…



The potatoes were done cooking so I add drained almost all the water from them
and began adding the rest of the ingredients. I started by adding the cooked
chicken and onion…



Then I added the corn (and some pepper)…




Then finally added some milk and cream and stirred it all up…



Well.. now the soup is done, the salad is done and the last thing on my list was
my dinner rolls.. so I mixed up a batch in my Bosch..



Then rolled them into little balls and let them rise and bake..



And now.. dinner is ready!!!



And… after all that I made plenty of food for us to have for dinner tomorrow
night too!



Finally I ended my little kitchen afternoon by finishing up the last of the
dishes and sweeping and washing my kitchen floor :)



Now for the recipe for the potato chicken chowder. I don’t actually have an
exact recipe written down, but, I will tell you how I make it. It is actually a
very versatile recipe and you can adjust to feed your family size.



I start with about 5 pounds of potatoes, one pound of chicken meat (I used
boneless skinless chicken breast for this batch), and one onion.



I peel the potatoes and chop them up. I cup up the chicken and onion. Cover the
potatoes with water and add salt. I added about 3 teaspoons. Then boil the
potatoes until they are tender. Drain most all of the water out.



Cut up the chicken and onion into bite size pieces. Sauté them in a little olive
oil and add a heaping teaspoon of minced garlic.



When the chicken and onions are all cooked, add them to the potatoes. Then add 2
cups of frozen corn. Stir this up. Now add the milk until you get the
consistency you like. I make a little soupy (meaning thin) because potatoes soak
up the liquid and it is thicker the next day. Taste and a little salt if you
think it needs it. Then add pepper. That is it!!



You can find the recipe for the Ranch Dressing here:

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/garliccheeserolls.htm


And the Garlic Cheese Dinner Rolls here:

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/ranchdressing.htm






 

Comments

  1. This sounds great! I love following what you do.
    Your way of life is something to strive for.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, Crystal:) Just wanted to say that I really like your new blog. I especially Like this one. I intend to try out the potato chicken chowder, rolls, and salad for one of our meals this week on one of my flex menu days. You're a true inspiration:) You have helped me make positive changes in the way I manage our home the past few months since I found your site. Keep up the great work:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This the first time I have posted a comment, it is more of a question? I have a cast iron pan that is rusted and not used. What to do? Also, how long does the ranch dressing last in the fridge? Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Anonymous.. to answer your question on the cast iron pan.. first you need to clean the rust off.. then you need to begin to season the pan. I use coconut oil to season my pans. Heat up the pan until it is hot, rub coconut oil all over the inside of the pan, put it in a 350 degree oven and let it bake for a hour. Pull it out and let it cool down. Then after each use make sure you seson it again. I have info on how to clean and season cast iron here: http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/cleancastiron.htm

    Ranch Dressing: Well.. we go through it so fast I have never had it just sit for a long time. But I am sure it would last at least a couple of weeks maybe a bit longer..

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you so much for the recipes. I was trying to think of a new chicken recipe just this morning. Read your blog and there it was. I already have it simmering on the stove. Thanks so much. I wanted to tell anonymous I recently cleaned the rust from some cast iron kettles my mother in law gave me. I used an oil and salt mixture to get the rust out. It worked great. Take care and God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Crystal, I made the potato chicken chowder for dinner tonight along with a salad and hawaiian sweet rolls. It was delish! My family really enjoyed it. I am making your white chicken chili tomorrow. Thank you for such a great website. God bless from North Carolina...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello Crystal it's Tammy,welcome to blogspot!

    I have been trying to cut back my grocery budget to help with our overall household budget. Cheap easy whole food meals are exactly what I'm looking for to help me food dollars go further. This recipe,of sorts, :) is easy and filling just up my ally. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks Crystal for the cast iron pan info, I will check out the website for further instructions. I really want to start to use it so this will help. I will try the ranch dressing too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks Donna, good tip!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looks like a great meal to me!

    I referred my readers to your site in today's
    post on my blog. I thought you might like to see it. I have been using your bread recipe for a long time without the gluten. I used it for the first time today. Wow! What a difference. There's something to be said for following the recipe!

    I've also added your new blog to my favorite blogs list.

    http://harvestlanecottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/this-morning-in-my-kitchen-baking.html

    Spring blessings!
    Laura

    ReplyDelete
  11. Its rainy in Western Washington, and sometimes a bit of sun shines before it rains some more. Very wet for this time of year. Meantime, if you can spare a minute you might want to check out this mother eagle and baby...
    http://www.hornbyeagles.com/webcam.htm
    Christine B.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have never posted a comment before but I have followed you blog for many months and love the advice!
    I had a question-Do you think if I mixed the chowder up it would keep well in a crockpot? I've never made chowder, but my dh said it looked good, but he works crazy hours, so I would need to try and use the crockpot. Any advice would help! Thanks! Amy

    ReplyDelete
  13. I just found your blog and love the dinner menu. I've been looking for a good ranch dressing recipe, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Amy, on the crockpot question.. I am not so sure that the milk in the soup could handle the crockpot cooking without seperating and looking all grainy..

    ReplyDelete
  15. Just looked at your links for the recipes on Garlic rolls and the ranch. Wonderful, but I thought I would let you know you switched them. When you click on the ranch dressing link you get the roll recipe and vise versa! Funny! Love it all!

    ReplyDelete

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