The Daring Cooks Make Gumbo

I am interrupting the series on monthly meal planning to bring you this month's Daring Cook's challenge!  The series will resume once again next week.  Our May hostess, Denise, of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need, from creole spices, homemade stock, and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

I can't even begin to tell you how utterly unenthusiastic I was about this month's challenge.  Really.  After reading the challenge I immediately sighed and decided that I was going to make it to bring to potluck game night at the church so that I might not be stuck with so much in the way of leftovers.  I wasn't going to shrug off the challenge just because I didn't think I'd like the food, but I didn't have to be happy about it either.  Lovely attitude, don't you agree?

Now, so far I had only seen the subject line, not the recipe or any of the example photos, and I had already done a mental shrug and eye roll over this challenge.  However, after reading some of the ingredient options and seeing the absolutely stunning pictures in the example, I was feeling a little more charitably inclined toward this Gumbo.  I can't even understand where my prejudice towards Gumbo came from since I've never actually tasted it but it was slowly starting to melt away.  Not enough, however, for me to reassign it on the menu away from the game night.  It might have seemed a little more appealing, but I still wasn't inclined to want a ton of leftovers.

Considering those things, I find it quite ironic that I fell a little more in love with this dish nearly every time I tasted it throughout the cooking process.  And I couldn't have it all to myself since I had already told people what I was bringing to the potluck.  Drat!  It serves me right after forming opinions based on absolutely nothing.  Really, nothing.  I have no idea why in my mind Gumbo = Gross.  Perhaps it was simply the name?  Or the fact that it usually (maybe always?) has Okra, which I dislike intensely.  I have no clue.

While I was making this I made quite a few changes, omissions, and alterations, both accidentally and intentionally.  I knew that I didn't want to make it too spicy, so I left out the spicy sausage called for (not realizing that smoked Andouille Sausage is also spicy!) and I didn't want to have a lot of extra seasoning bottles gathering dust in the cabinet never to be used again so I assembled my own Creole spices but it a much smaller quantity than provided in the given recipe, this also lead me to omit the File Powder.

I dislike okra (I won't even describe what it reminds me of) but I had planned on putting it in anyway because Hey, Babe likes it.  The Okra was eventually omitted when we couldn't find any after checking in three stores.  Another minor change I made was to add half chicken thighs and half boneless breasts instead a a whole cut up chicken.  After the first 45 minute simmer I took all the chicken out and de-boned and skinned it so that I could shred the meat and add it back to the pot, thus making it easier to serve at a potluck dinner.

The last two changes came about after a little...mishap, shall we say, in the kitchen.  According to the recipe you are supposed to cook the roux for 15 minutes, constantly whisking.  Due to either distractions from the kids or the fact that I chose to use some of the leftover bacon oil from breakfast, I am pretty sure that I burned my roux.  The house was slowly filling with smoke, and it was not smelling tasty at all, but the recipe said I was supposed to keep cooking.  I wanted to stop, but according to recipe I wasn't supposed to!

(grossly separating roux)

I should have gone with my gut.  I added the onions and ended up with a weird pot of separated oil and charred...stuff.  It didn't look right and it tasted even worse.  But I couldn't help but wonder if this was actually the result we were looking for?  Who knows, although if any of you think that I was actually on the right track, let me know.  Maybe I'll sacrifice a small experimental pot of it next time.  At any rate, after a little deliberation I decided to start over and cook it less along with no bacon fat this time and with a movie playing for Little Man.  The only problem with starting over was that I only had one onion left.  Oh well!

(the top spoon is the charred version, in case you couldn't tell)

It was the most exquisite form of torture.  Riding in a car for half an hour with the pot of bubbling hot Gumbo sitting in my lap was almost more than I could handle as we went on our merry way to Game Night.  If it hadn't been so very hot I'd have been even more tempted by the intoxicating fragrance to start drinking it up right there in the car.  The general consensus seemed to be that it was delicious, with a caveat from a few who thought that it was a tad too spicy for them.  Next time, and oh, there will definitely be a next time, I'm not too proud to admit when I was wrong!  Next time I will ease back on the cayenne, maybe add a little sweet sausage along with the spicy, and serve it with Tabasco Sauce at the table for anyone who wants to kick up the heat. 

Because I made many alterations to the given recipe, I will post my version below.  To use the recipe without my adaptations, or to check out the recipes for Seafood Gumbo click here.

Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo
adapted from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh
Serves 10-12

Ingredients
Seasonings:
1/2 tablespoons celery seed
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (or less if you don't like spicy)
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1 chicken (3 ½ to 4 lbs.), cut into 10 pieces
2 large onions, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 green bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) oil
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) flour
Leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 quarts Chicken Stock
2 bay leaves
14 ounces andouille sausage, chopped
1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4-6 cups cooked Rice (I used brown, but I might try mashed potatoes next time, not traditional maybe but I think it would be delicious!)

Directions:
Combine the seasonings together and sprinkle them over the chicken pieces while you prepare the vegetables.

Make sure all of your vegetables are cut, diced, chopped, minced and ready to go before beginning the roux. You must stand at the stove and stir the roux continuously to prevent it from burning.

In a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan, heat the oil over high heat. Whisk the flour into the hot oil – it will start to sizzle. Reduce the heat to moderate, and continue whisking until the roux becomes deep brown in color, about 15 minutes (the second time I only cooked if for about 10).

Add the onions. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the onions into the roux. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue stirring until the roux becomes a glossy dark brown, about 10 minutes (again, the second time I did this for around 7-8).

Add the chicken to the pot; raise the heat to moderate, and cook, turning the pieces until slightly browned, about 10 minutes.  Add the rest of the vegetables and continue stirring for about 3 minutes.

Add the thyme, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, skimming off the fat from the surface of the gumbo every so often.  (I got a lot of oil off of this, more than 1 cup.  Can anyone explain why we add it just to take it out?  Can't we just toast the flour without the oil?)

Remove all the pieces of chicken to a plate.  Add the chopped andouille and Worcestershire. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Start to simmer for another 45 minutes, while you are removing the skin and bones from the chicken pieces.  Shred the meat and return it along with any accumulated juices back to the pot.  Continue to skim the fat from the surface of the gumbo. Remove the bay leaves and serve in bowls over rice

Daring Cooks Make Cold Soba Salad and Tempura

The February 2011 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by Lisa of Blueberry Girl. She challenged Daring Cooks to make Hiyashi Soba and Tempura. She has various sources for her challenge including japanesefood.about.com, pinkbites.com, and itsybitsyfoodies.com

I neglect you pretty much all month (or two) with sporadic postings and then I suddenly come up with three in a matter of two days?  What is the world coming to?  I know that I am a bit late posting my completed February challenge, and since it is a short month I'm really getting it up last minute, but even though I put up our meal plan earlier today I wanted to make sure I had this post in February.  It's the little things (like posting a February Challenge in March) that would keep me up at night, tormenting me.  Oddly enough, I made the challenge several days before the posting date but since I did not have the opportunity to post about it before it is still a late challenge.

Back in November I put General Tso's Chicken on the meal plan.  For various reasons, probably because of the holidays, we never made it.  General Tso's Chicken happens to be one of Hey, Babe's two favorite meals, and so instead of letting it drop out of existence, it made its way back onto the menu for January (I didn't even pretend it was going to happen in December, I knew better).  Once again, it didn't happen.  I don't really care for deep frying, and if a meal is going to get skipped it is going to be one I'm not thrilled about preparing.

February rolled around and it once again appeared on our meal plan.  In this case, however, I knew that it was not going to be skipped over.  The two strong reasons compelling me to be sure it was made were the fact that it was Hey, Babe's birthday and he was looking forward to one of his favorites for dinner, and the knowledge that I could kill two birds with one stone and use the challenge of making tempura as the base for the General Tso's chicken.

Unfortunately, the cold Soba salad was not well received.  None of us cared for it at all and I ended up just tossing it.  I hate to waste food like that but since no one was going to eat it there was no real other choice.  The tempura battered chicken, however, was excellent.  I loved how easy it was to mix it together and batter the chicken.  The sauce I used to turn it into General Tso's came together well, but I think next time I'll let it get a little thicker.  It was overall very satisfying and the tempura worked wonderfully.

For the challenge recipes, please visit the Daring Kitchen website.  To make General Tso's chicken, add the following sauce recipe to Tempura Battered Chicken:

Sauce for General Tso's Chicken
Ingredients
3/4 cup chicken broth canned
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon Molasses
1/3 cup Soy Sauce or Soy substitute
1/4 cup white or apple cider Vinegar
1/4 cup dry Sherry
2 tablespoons Cornstarch
1" knot fresh Ginger peeled & grated
4 scallions, chopped
4 Garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (or less if you don't like it too spicy) 

Instructions
Whisk together broth, sugar, molasses, soy sauce, vinegar, and sherry. 

Spray a wok or non-stick skillet with oil. Cook ginger, scallions, garlic and red pepper flakes for about 2-3 minutes. Add more oil if necessary.

Whisk the cornstarch into your sauce bowl to create a slurry before adding it to the skillet. Heat the sauce until boiling, add the cooked tempura chicken and then reduce to a simmer for a few minutes to coat the chicken pieces.  Serve over rice with steamed broccoli on the side.

BBQ Chicken Braid

Remember that no knead bread recipe that I (along with many others) posted a while back?  I have found so many uses for it, as a base for pizza, english muffin style, stuffed, dipped, for sandwiches.  I think I am going to have to go out and buy a designated bread rising container because I could use some of it pretty much every day, especially in Little Man's practically daily PB&J!  My sister has been reminding me that I need to make it as pizzas again (and take pictures this time) so that I can post about what a wonder it is to behold, but I'm not going to just yet.  Instead I'm going to share with you how awesome it was stuffed with BBQ Chicken. 

I can't recall where I first heard of such awesomeness, but if I were to take a wild stab in the dark I'd guess it was probably at a Pampered Chef party.  The recipe probably called for packaged biscuit dough.  Actually, now that I think of it that sounds spot on, I believe it actually called for croissant dough and was somehow shaped into a wreath.  I am certain that it called for several specific Pampered Chef kitchen tools in the recipe, which I always find rather amusing.  (I may mock, but I like a lot of their things.)

All that is besides the point.  You don't need any particular brand tool for this recipe or brand name ingredients for that matter.  This can be made from scratch or totally assembled from grocery store convenience products (or some happy middle ground, your call).  All you need to make it is some dough, cooked chicken, BBQ Sauce, shredded cheese and whatever veggies you think are calling out your name to be tossed into the mix. 

I am pretty sure that you really can't mess this one up.  Whether you decide to make it for a snack, an appetizer, or the entire meal, odds are that you and whomever you have joining you will be thoroughly satisfied.  Unless you don't like chicken.  Or BBQ sauce.  Or Cheese.  But if you didn't like those you probably wouldn't eat it in the first place, so those are kind of moot points.  Next time, I might add some bacon.  Or mushrooms.  Or a splash of Chipotle Tabasco.  Have you ever tried that stuff?  It is so good on pizza!  But now I'm off topic.  Just try it.  (I meant the Chicken Braid, but that could go for the Chipotle Tabasco also). 

BBQ Chicken Braid
Ingredients
Dough- package of croissant dough, 1/2 lb store bought pizza dough, or about 1/3 of the no knead bread recipe
1 cup your favorite BBQ sauce or more to taste
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
2 cups shredded cheese- I used a combo of mozzarella and cheddar but you can use whatever you'd like

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F. 

On a piece of parchment paper, roll your chosen dough into a rectangle, roughly about 12" x 20".  Using either a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut into the dough a fringe of 4" x 1" strips over the two long  sides and the top of the rectangle.  Be careful not to completely remove them or disturb the middle portion of the dough. 

Transfer the parchment paper and dough onto a baking sheet.  Over the middle of the dough, spread the BBQ sauce and then top with the chicken, cheeses, and veggies.  The ratio of filling is completely up to you, if you want, top the filling with a little more BBQ sauce.

Starting at the top, begin to fold over strips of dough, alternating side to side, until you have braided down the entire length.  With the remaining ends of the dough strips, twist and tuck them under until the loaf is sealed.  Allow the entire thing to rest for about 10 minutes before baking for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Allow to cool a few minutes before slicing.

Chicken and Broccoli with Pasta

Having grown up in a large family with eight kids, going out to eat was something we did extremely rarely.  We hardly did it at all unless it was a very special occasion and even then going out usually meant walking to the local pizzeria and sitting in their dinning room getting fancy pizza (i.e. pizza with toppings other than cheese).  I remember going out to eat one year with my family and grandparents for Mother's Day, and since it happened so long ago there were a lot less of us kids (I think maybe only 5? I'm not sure, less than 8 anyway).

We were all crammed at a long table filled with your standard plates, flatware, napkins and glasses of water, one setting for each of us, as you'd expect.  As the waitress came to get our orders, somehow one of us kids managed to bump their large, full glass of water, spilling it over onto the table.  We all scrambled to fork over napkins, first needing to remove the utensils hidden within, and the waitress hurried off to get dry napkins and a fresh glass of water.  Chaos ensued.

My poor Grandpa and my poor Dad (not to mention the poor waitress).  I can still picture them now.  Both bristling and blustering at the embarrassment, inconvenience, and mess we kids caused as we proceeded to knock over nearly every single glass of water at that table.  My brother Joseph maintains that he did not knock any over, as he was too busy guarding his own glass.  Honestly, I can't recall who started it or even who participated.  I am not even entirely positive of Mom and Grandma's reactions at the time, only their laughter whenever they recounted the tale (especially when it was done in the hearing of my Dad or Grandpa).  Perhaps not going out to eat was less a matter of ability or desire and more a means of self-preservation for my parents.  After this, I don't think we went out to eat again until the oldest of us graduated from High School.

During the years that Hey, Babe and I were dating, we use to often accompany his parents to eat at any one of the typical variety of chain restaurants after church.  Unlike Hey, Babe, I hardly ever order the same thing twice in any given restaurant, preferring instead to experiment and try new things.  This pasta dish is along the lines of something that I first tried while I was out to eat one of those Sundays.  It is a simple Alfredo sauce, served along with broccoli and lightly seasoned, baked chicken.  It isn't very time consuming or difficult.  And if there is any risk of a cascading domino of water glasses in your future, I say skip going out and make this instead.

Chicken and Broccoli with Pasta Ingredients

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced in half, horizontally
1 box of your choice of pasta (we almost always use whole wheat pasta)
1 bag of broccoli florets, (not pieces) defrosted
1 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese (NOT the powdered kind, trust me)
pinch of red chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F.  On the chicken fillets, drizzle with oil and season with some salt and pepper. Place them on a baking sheet and put into the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until cooked.

Meanwhile, bring a pots of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until 2-3 minutes shy of the box instructions for becoming al dente.  Add the defrosted broccoli to the pot for the remaining cooking time.  Once the pasta and broccoli are cooked, remove from heat and strain.  The broccoli should still have a vibrant green color.

While the pasta is cooking, stir the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it begins to thicken. Toss in the garlic, parmesan cheese, basil, rosemary, and chili flakes. Continue to whisk to prevent the cream from burning, and allowing it to thicken.

Remove the chicken from the oven, and cut into quarters. Add most of the sauce to the pasta and mix. Top chicken with reserved sauce and serve with the pasta and broccoli.

Chicken, Corn, and Black Bean Soup

 

Last month I selected several black bean soup recipes for our meal plan, and this was one of them.  When I think of black beans I always think Tex-Mex because that is that capacity in which I am most familiar with them, but if that is what you are expecting from this soup you will receive a pleasant (I hope) surprise.  This soup is far from that style of black bean.  This is a more more woodsy, herbal, country cottage with a vegetable garden kind of soup.

I keep wanting to call this a vegetable soup because all of the colorful vegetables took up so much of the spotlight that I forget that there even was chicken in it.  To me that means the chicken was superfluous and so next time I will leave it out, turning this into the vegetable soup it is at heart.  I don't typically like vegetable soups but I think the black beans nestle in and fill it out so perfectly that I am tricked into giving this one a pass.  Go ahead and take advantage the soup weather that has come upon us by setting a pot of something delicious to simmer on the stove.

Chicken, Corn, and Black Bean Soup

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions diced
1 green bell pepper ribs and seeds removed, diced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken, chopped bite sized (optional, I'm leaving it out next time)
6 plum tomatoes diced
1/4 cup dry red wine (or Worchestershire Sauce, which is what I used)
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels
1 can (15 ounces) black beans drained and rinsed
shredded cheddar cheese to serve (optional, but man oh man was it good with it!)

Instructions
Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell pepper, thyme, 1 1/2 tsps salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to brown, 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste; add chicken and saute until it is no longer pink.  Add the chopped tomatoes, wine, and 2 1/2 cups water (feel free to add more wine and less water). Cover and bring simmer, about 15 minutes.

Stir in corn and black beans, and continue to simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes.  Serve on a chilly autumn day.

Baked Chicken Parmesan

When I was scanning through dinner possibilities on BigOven last month, I came across this recipe for Lighter Chicken Parmesan.  Chicken Parm is one of Hey, Babe's favorite meals (the other being General Tso's Chicken) and I hadn't made it in a while.  One of the reasons is because it takes so many dishes because of the breading process, but since we have a dishwasher that is no longer an issue.  The other reason is because I can't guarantee that I will have the use of my hands at dinner time so I try to choose things that can be made earlier in the day and either kept hot or reheated, or are something I can make with one hand holding a cranky baby.

 

As I scanned over the instructions I noticed that one of the reasons this was lighter was because it was breaded and baked instead of being fried.  To me that meant I could assemble the whole thing while the kiddos napped and have it ready to pop into a preheated oven at the right time (one handed if necessary).  It worked wonderfully.  Personally I prefer my Chicken Parm fried, calories and all, but this is not a bad substitute. 

I think that next time I will toast my panko quite a bit less.  See the first picture above is what it looked like before I toasted it, and the second is after.  This was too dark for a crumb that was going to be going into the oven and getting more toasted.  The time given in the recipe was way to long and I was distracted so I wasn't watching carefully or I may have noticed it getting a bit dark.  I also think that since I am not going for lighter but rather more convenient, I will add a bit more oil (or maybe even butter for more flavor) to the panko.  I think that part of the reason this wasn't as good as the real deal was because the breading was drier than the regular fried version, these two tweaks would help solve that problem.  Who knows, maybe changing those two things will make it even better!  Well, probably not better, how can you beat fried foods?  But it might help make it a closer second.

Baked Chicken Parmesan Ingredients 1 1/2 cups panko (or regular bread crumbs) 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter (or more) 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup) 1/2 cup flour  1 tablespoon Salt 1/2 teaspoon Pepper 2 teaspoons garlic powder 2 eggs 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat and halved 2 cups tomato sauce warmed  3 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 3/4 cup) 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil  Instructions  1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 475°F. Combine the panko and oil in a medium pan and toast over medium heat, stirring often, until golden. Spread the toasted crumbs in a bowl and let cool; when cool add the Parmesan. 2. In a second bowl mix the flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper together. In the last bowl beat the eggs. 3. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack on top (I found that the one from my toasted oven fits very well). Pat the chicken dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the chicken in flour and shake off the excess.  Dip the coated chicken into the egg whites and the place into the bread crumbs.  Press firmly on the bread crumbs to make sure they stick. Lay each piece of chicken on the rack as you finish it until they are all completed. 4. Spray the tops of the chicken with vegetable oil spray. This is where I stopped and set the tray into the fridge until it was time to start dinner.  When ready to proceed, place in preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through. 5. Remove the chicken from the oven. Measure 2 tablespoons of sauce onto the center of each cutlet and top each piece with mozzarella. Return the pan to the oven until the cheese has melted, 5 minutes or so.  Serve with cooked spaghetti and sauce and extra parmesan.

Chicken Pot Pie and Biscuits

One of the many things that I inherited from my Mom is my love of leftovers.  She and I both agree that leftovers are a wonderful thing.  I have always liked them as far as I can recall, although I'm not sure how we ever had any considering the fact that there were so many of  us (eight kids).  What's not to like about them?  You spent time and energy preparing a meal, you sat down and enjoyed eating it, and now you can do it again the next day but without the whole spending time and energy part?  Sign me up!  I never understood why people bemoaned having leftovers until if finally dawned on me that the trouble was probably that the meal wasn't very good in the first place and it did not improve with age (some things are like that, fish for example).

I like most leftovers in all three forms they come: cold from the fridge (Hey, Babe does not understand this, his loss), reheated on the stove or in the oven (not a microwave, blah, we don't even own one), or reinvented into another dish.  They make great lunches, snacks, or if there is enough, another whole dinner.  This dinner falls into the last category.

When I make a roast it is with the intention of using the leftovers in another dish.  Even though Little Man is a great eater, his is still just a little man right now and roasting a whole chicken for the three of us leaves me with a lot of bird after the meal is done.  I count on this and plan into the menu to make a soup or a casserole a few nights later.  We were supposed to have Chicken Pot Pie this week but Hey, Babe requested biscuits and since that isn't a big deviation from the plan I agreed.

This is a very simple meal, I am sure many of you have made it before.  I like that it can be homemade in varying degrees.  Each of the components can either be made from scratch or substituted with a convenience item from the grocery store, and while I prefer the whole thing to be made from scratch, I admit that I have gone completely the other route and just assembled the whole thing from purchased items.  Tonight I went with making the whole thing from scratch.  It is so simple that there really isn't a need for measurements for anything except the biscuits but I have included estimates.  Feel free to throw in things like diced potatoes, chopped and sauteed onions and celery or whatever else you like.

Chicken and Biscuits Ingredients For Casserole Portion: 1-2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces 1 bag mixed vegetables 2-3 cups chicken gravy For Biscuits: 3 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon sugar  4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 sticks frozen unsalted butter (if using food processor. If not, have the butter chilled and diced into 1/4 inch pieces) 1 cup buttermilk Instructions Preheat oven to 375°F. Pour the frozen mixed veggies into a baking pan, toss the chicken on top and then stir in the gravy until it is thoroughly combined.  Set aside. In bowl of your food processor combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda together.  Using the shredding disk, feed the butter through the tube to grate the sticks into small pieces.  Remove shredding disk and pulse everything until the butter is distributed and resembles coarse meal.  (or by hand, use fingertips to rub 3/4 cup chilled butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse meal.)  Add buttermilk and pulse/mix until evenly moistened.  Between well floured hands, flatten smallish pieces of dough and place them on the top of the chicken mixture until it is evenly covered.  It does not matter if there are seams in between the pieces, this allows some of the steam to be released while it is cooking.  Place the dish in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes until the biscuits are cooked through and golden brown on top.

Is it Chicken Parmesan or a Quesadilla?

Actually, it is both.  Or neither.  If you ask Hey, Babe they are Chicken Parmadillas.

The three cuisines I make more than any other are Italian, Tex-Mex, and Chinese.  These three styles have very interchangeable components. I have come across and made recipes for Southwestern Eggrolls, Mexican style Lassagne, and one night I accidentally made the Chicken Parmadilla.

We were supposed to be having pesto chicken wraps for dinner.  Sauteed Chicken, mozzarella, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and onions, all drizzled with pesto and wrapped up in a pesto tortilla.  They are delicious, however, Little Man won't touch them.  All those vegetables falling out all over the place seem to turn him off.  So, knowing he wasn't going to eat a wrap with veggies and knowing that he likes chicken and cheese, I decided to make him a Quesadilla with his share of the ingredients and use some leftover tomato sauce to bind it together.  It was delicious.  Little Man ended up not wanting it anyway, but Hey, Babe and I were more than happy to polish it off for him.

Chicken Parmadillas

1 chicken breast chopped
salt and pepper
1 tsp oregano
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 to 1 cup chunky tomato sauce chilled
4 10" pesto tortillas
oil for pan
extra sauce for dipping

 Instructions
Heat a skillet over a medium flame, add a drizzle of olive oil and saute the chicken until about half way cooked. Stir in salt, pepper and oregano and finish cooking. Remove chicken to a bowl, first chopping to smaller pieces if necessary. (I prefer them to be on the small side so I can get everything in each bite).

In still hot skillet saute chopped onion about 1-2 minutes, adding more oil if necessary. Add chopped peppers to the onions and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes until veggies are just starting to soften (don't cook them too long if you don't want them to loose their bite).

Remove veggies to bowl with chicken and add mozzarella and chilled sauce until mixture is thoroughly moistened and beginning to stick together. Be careful not to add to much sauce as it will make the filling too runny.

Divide the mixture evenly among the tortillas, spreading it on half of each one. Fold the empty half of the tortilla over the filling and press down. Cook one or more at a time (depending on pan size) with a drizzle of oil over medium heat about 2-3 minutes per side or until cheese is melted and tortilla is beginning to brown.
Serve with extra tomato sauce.

I think next time I may add mushrooms.