Chicken Loaf

There is nothing better than comfort food when the wind is howling bringing freezing rain and snow. Yesterday we were still under the effects of the Colorado Clipper as it made its way northwest. I decided a chicken loaf combined with homegrown peas, pickled beets, oven baked potatoes and Asiago cheese would make a nice comfort meal.

Chicken Loaf

I started with 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts but you could use other chicken pieces, deboned with skin removed. I ground them twice then proceeded to make the loaf. This is a recipe I created and will likely tweak a bit more.

This firm loaf is moist, tasty and low fat. It slices nicely, just perfect for making sandwiches the next day.

Chicken Loaf

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lb)
2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 carrot, grated
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp carrot powder
2 tsp zucchini powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 c dry bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten

Cut the chicken into strips, grind twice with food grinder. Mix in the other ingredients well. Place mixture onto silicone baking sheet or parchment paper on a baking sheet. Form into a loaf. Bake at 350ºF (325ºF convection) for 40 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

My notes: I intended to add shredded zucchini as well but it was in the garage freezer and I didn't feel like going out in the freezing rain. Next time I will add about 1 c drained zucchini and reduce the zucchini powder to 1 tsp. The vegetables keep this loaf moist and tasty.

Homemade Meatballs

Meatballs are everyone's favourite not only because they are so tasty but because they are very versatile. They can be made with different kinds of meat or poultry so the possibilities are endless. I bought the Kitchen Aid food grinder attachment mainly for grinding chicken, turkey and pork. The availability of these ground meats tend to sporadic here and while we get ground pork when we buy a half pig, there never seems to be enough ground pork. My husband has a poker game today so I decided it would be the perfect time to try out the grinder.

Kitchen Aid Food Grinder Attachment

The food grinder attachment comes with two grinding plates, fine and coarse. It is easy to assemble and comes appart for easy cleaning. The parts are dishwasher safe with the exception of the knife and grinding plates. The wooden food stomper has now been replaced with a combined heavy plastic food stomper wrench that is dishwasher safe as well. An additional food tray can be ordered to provied a convenient surface of additional food. When doing bigger lots it would be quite beneficial. This grinder can also be used for grinding cooked meats, firm vegetables, dried fruits, cheese, and bread for crumbs. The food processor is already starting to sulk!

Grinding meat works best when the meat is cold and cut into long, thin strips. It is best to work with a well sharpened knife. For this ground meat I used a 5 lb shank roast bought from the butchershop. This was the cut recommended for lean ground beef.

Once the roast was cut into strips, I started grinding. My only problem was having to stand on a wide based step stool in order to feed the strips into the hopper. After the first pass through using the coase grinding plate, the meat was again ground using the fine grinding plate.

Fresh Ground Shank Roast

Surprisingly, grinding twice which is recommended did not take much time at all. I think it helped that I've used a manual food strainer for quite some time so the method was basically the same only a lot less work. I will definitely be buying the Kitchen Aid food attachment shortly to replace my manual one.

The ground meat was so fresh looking! I usually make meatballs in large batches then flash freeze to keep separate, package into meal sized bags and vacuum seal. These are always handy for quick meals. Because I will be using the meatballs in various ways, I tend not to season a lot. The meat will later pick-up the flavour of whatever sauce I use. I also do not like using any fillers in my meatballs.

Meatballs
Milk is used as the binder resulting in a very moist, meaty meatball.

5 lb lean ground beef
1 - 2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp onion powder (optional)
1 tsp ground cumin (optional)
milk - about 1 c
grapeseed oil

Start with very cold ground meat. Add seasonings and mix well with your hands. Gradually mix in milk until the meat will hold shape when pressed into a ball about the size of a walnut. Pour about 1 tbsp of grapeseed oil into a large sautee pan and heat. Form meatballs using a meatball former. Carefully add to the pan as they are made. Turn the first ones as browned then removed when browned through. Continue in this manner adding newly made meatballs, flipping and removing until all the meatball mixture is used.

Once all the meatballs are cooked, if freezing, flash freeze them then package. If using right away, proceed with your favourite sauce.

Hawiian Sweet & Sour

I will admit to cheating with this sauce. The meatballs were destined to travel to today's poker party. The host specifically reqesting this particular sauce that he had had before but could not find which foiled my plans for my homemade sweet & sour sauce. I found some at Sam's Club so decided to use that. The sauce is Mr. Yoshida's Hawiian Sweet & Sour. It was just mixed into the meatballs in the crockpot then the cold meatballs were packed into a cooler for travelling. Still my husband declared them quite good even though they were still cold. All he has to do is plug the crockpot in when he gets there and part of their all day snacking. Warning: Poker parties are hazardous to your waistline!

Cheese Sticks Are Up!

Cheese sticks make great snacks and can really accent a meal. They look fancy but are oh so easy to make! They are perfect for that lazy winter night served with homemade tomato soup. Talk about comfort food.

Cheese Sticks

This recipe is actually for pizza dough but I decided to see what else I could do with it. This is one result. The recipe is for a breadmachine however it could easily be adapted to do by hand or using a Kitchen Aid. Once the pizza dough has proofed, it is cut into chunks, rolled into long strands and covered with cheddar cheese. You can use other cheeses but our family likes them made with cheddar.

If you want to use this recipe for its intended purpose, beer will result in a thicker crust while substituting water will give a crispier crust. We prefer the crust made with beer. It will yield enough dough for two large round pizzas.

Pizza Dough
1 1/2 c beer
1 1/2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 1/8 c white flour
1 1/2 tbsp instant yeast

ABM - add ingredents to pan as per your manufacturer's instructions. Set to dough setting. Remove dough when timer sounds. Then proceed using the instructions for either cheese sticks or pizza.

Handmade/Kitchen Aid: Mix 1/2 to 3/4 the flour with the rest of dry ingredients. Pour in liquid and mix. Slowly add in rest of flour 1/2 c at time until dough cleans side of bowl. If continuing by hand, remove from bowl and hand kneed until smooth and elastic. If using Kitchen Aid, kneed 2 minutes. Cover bowl and let rise until doubled.

Cheese sticks - When finished, turn into cheese sticks by cutting into chunks. Roll and stretch into a long strand. Roll the strand in shredded cheddar cheese until well covered. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Allow to rise about double. Bake at 400ºF until golden brown.

Pizza - When finished, divide the dough and form into two large rounds to fit your lightly greased pans. Top with pizza sauce, toppings and mozzarella cheese. Bake at 400ºF 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

White Cake

A simple white cake recipe is always perfect recipe as everything is usually on hand. It is pure and simple pantry cooking! It doesn't require fancy toppings or icings either. We like it with a little fresh whipped cream and berries.

This particular recipe has been a family favourite for years. I've tweaked it to where I have it the way I like. It is a rich cake that stands up nicely to fresh berries in syrup. What is nice about this recipe is it makes a smaller cake or 6 large cup cakes.

White Cake
source: unknown but tried and true

1 1/2 c flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c shortening
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
3/4 c milk

Mix the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mixt shortening, sugar and eggs. Add vanilla. Add dry ingredients and milk alternately. Beat until smooth. Pour into an 8" x 8" well greased cake pan. Bake 45 minutes at 350ºF (325ºF convection). Top as desired.

My Notes: This recipe works well using silicone pans.