Happy New Year!!
Today was not a very productive day for the pile of marking sitting at my front door, but I did get to do some amazing cooking and baking! I haven't put anything on the blog lately, not because I'm not cooking, but because I don't have time to type up the blog post.
So today you are going to get two recipes: a one pot barley and chicken cacciatore and a lemon-blueberry loaf.
And I apologize in advance for the terrible photos I have included - I always forget to take the photo until the leftovers are packed up. Maybe that should be one of my new year's resolutions! ;-)
One Pot Barley & Chicken Cacciatore
This recipe takes its inspiration from Giada DeLaurentiis' Everyday Italian Cookbook. It's a modification of her chicken cacciatore recipe. I decided to add barley because of how much my husband loves it. It is a very filling dinner, and definitely enough for lunch the next day as well.
Ingredients:
4-5 full chicken leg/thighs
salt and pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1-1/2 tsp dried oregano
3/4 cup wine (I used red)
1 can (28 fl oz) diced tomatoes with juice
3/4 - 1 cup chicken broth (I put closer to 1 cup since I was adding barley to the recipe)
3/4 - 1 cup pearl barley, rinsed
Directions:
1. Sprinkle each piece of chicken with salt and pepper and dredge the pieces in flour to coat lightly.
2. In a large, heavy saute pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the bell pepper, onion, garlic and oregano the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Stir in the barley. Add the tomatoes with their juice and broth. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the barley is tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent the barley from sticking, but be careful not to break apart the chicken, and keep the meat covered in the sauce.
4. Remove the chicken and transfer to a platter. You can boil the sauce a little longer to thicken the sauce and cook the barley. Spoon the barley onto plates and place the chicken on top or along side it. This would also go great with pieces of chicken, making it more like a stew.
5. My husband grated some Monterey Jack cheese and sprinkled it over top of the barley. It made it nice and gooey and tasted great as well. This also made my 18-month old daughter devour her dinner, but each mouthful had to have some cheese in it!
Serves 4-5.
Lemon-Blueberry Loaf
This lovely loaf comes from my cookbook: Wanda's Pie in the Sky. It will make a 9" loaf. It is my first time trying this recipe, but as I'm sitting here smelling it as it cools, I can tell it's going to be so moist and delicious.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 cup fresh blueberries
For the glaze:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter and flour ra 9x5zx3" loaf pan.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and lemon juice. Mix until smooth. Stir in the lemon zest. Fold blueberries into the batter just before turning it into the pan.
3. Spread into the prepared pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Once the loaf is baked and cooling, start on the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and lemon juice. Heat until the mixture bubbles and the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Pour over the warm loaf in the pan. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Turn the loaf out and cool on a rack.
(For this part I would let the loaf cool a bit before actually making the glaze and pouring it over and/or wait more than 15 minutes before removing it from the pan - my loaf was still way too warm and started to break as I took it out of the pan - and it had been cooling for quite a long time!)
The loaf just soaked up the glaze and when I took it out it was so moist all the way through! It looks amazing! FYI It also tastes amazing! It is definitely very moist; the glaze definitely helped with that and gives it a nice sheen. It's a very light loaf - my husband said it'd pair well with ice cream, but even a nice cup of tea would do.
