Chicken Bundles

Costley Classic :)

Makes 8 bundles


Ingredients:

• Pilsbury Cresent Rolls (1 can with 8 rolls)
• 8oz Cream Cheese
• 3-4 Chicken Breasts
• 2 Celery Stalks
• 1/2 cup Butter
• 2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 TBS Chicken Bullion
• 1/4 Corn Starch or Flour
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

The Bundles:

1. Pre heat oven to 350
2. Cook chicken breasts as desired and cube
3. Chop celery into bite sized pieces and combine with chicken, cream cheese, and salt and pepper
4. Place dollop of mixture in the middle of a crescent roll and pinch roll edges together, repeat 7 more times
5. Melt butter in a bowl
6. Roll bundles in butter and bread crumbs
7. Place bundles on baking sheet and bake for 10-15min or until golden brown

The gravy: 

1. Boil 1 cup of chicken broth and bullion in large pan
2. Mix remaining broth and corn starch/flour very well in a shaker
3. Once the broth and bullion is boiling SLOWLY whisk in the flour/corn starch mixture
4. Simmer for 3-5 min until thick
5. Thin if needed by whisking SMALL amounts of stock
6. Salt and pepper to taste

Chicken Vesuvio

This recipe comes from Cooks Illustrated, is Whole 30 compliant, and Mom LOVES it!
Serves 4-6
For this recipe you'll need a roasting pan that measures at least 16 by 12 inches. Trim all the skin from the underside of the chicken thighs, but leave the skin on top intact. To ensure that all the potatoes fit in the pan, halve them crosswise to minimize their surface area. For the most efficient browning, heat the roasting pan over two burners. Combining the garlic with lemon juice in step 1 makes the garlic taste less harsh, but only if the lemon juice is added immediately after the garlic is minced.

8      (5-2 ounce) bone-in-chicken thighs, trimmed
        Kosher salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, 2 to 3 inches in diameter, halved crosswise
2      Tablespoons vegetable oil
14    garlic cloves, peeled (2 whole, 12 halved lengthwise)
1      Tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2    teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 Cups cooking white wine
2       Tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle on both sides with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Mince 2 whole garlic cloves and immediately combine with lemon juice in a small bowl; set aside.

2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in large roasting pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place chicken, skin side down, in single layer in pan and cook, without moving it, until chicken has rendered about 2 tablespoons of fat, 2 to 3 minutes longer, moving chicken and potatoes to ensure even browning and flipping pieces when fully browned. When all pieces have been flipped, tuck halved garlic cloves among chicken and potatoes. Remove pan from heat and pour wine into pan (do not pour over chicken or potatoes). Transfer pan to oven and roast until potatoes are tender when pierced with tip of paring knife and chicken registers 185 to 190 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Transfer chicken and potatoes to deep platter, browned side up. Place pan over medium heat (handles will be hot) and stir to incorporate any browned bits. Using slotted spoon, transfer garlic cloves to cutting board. Chop coarse, then mash to smooth paste with side of knife. Whisk garlic past into sauce. Continue to cook until sauce coast back of spoon, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat and whisk in reserved lemon juice mixture and 1 tablespoon parsley. Pour sauce around chicken and potatoes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and serve.

Sweet Potato Biscuit

Sweet Potato puree: peel and cube one sweet potato, place in sauce pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook, partially covered, until tender (easily pierced by a knife) about 15 min.

Drain sweet potatoes and puree in a blender, food processor and place aside.

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp light brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
6 tables chilled butter, in pieces plus additional 1/2 Tbsp. for topping biscuits
3/4 cup sweet potato puree (see recipe above made from 1 med sweet potato)
1/3 Cup buttermilk

Pre heat oven to 425 and grease and 8 inch cake pan

Place the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in the bowl of a food processor and pulse few times to blend. Distribute the butter around the bowl and plush again until mixture resembles small peas, about 10- 2 second pulses.

(If you do not have a food processor you can incorporate the butter by hand using a technique called cutting. Hold a piece of butter between two knives and make and x shape with your hands, essentially cutting the butter piece and incorporating the flour. Repeat until well combined.)

In a large bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sweet potato puree and 1/3 cup buttermilk. Add the flour mixture to the sweet potato mixture and stir briefly, until just combined (over mixing will make the biscuits dry and tough).

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead very gently until dough comes together but is still slightly lumpy, five or six times.

Shape into a disk and use the palms of your hands to pat into an even 1 inch thickness. With a floured 2 inch biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits as close together as possible. Gather together scraps and repeat to cut out more biscuits.

Arrange biscuits snugly in the greased pan burst with 1/2 tablespoon melted butter

Bake until golden, coating once, about 15 min

Tres Leches

one yellow cake mix, baked to recipe

when cooling/cooled (whichever you have time for), poke holes in the cake.

mix 1 can: sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and same amount of half and half
pour mixture over cake and refrigerate until cold.

Serve with whip cream and slice strawberries.

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

from: @cleaneats_cleantreats (Traeger Grill's Night Out)

NOTE: This salad is FABULOUS, and a crowd pleaser. Lots of prep work! Dress just before serving.

Prep Time:25     Cook Time: 1 hours     Serves 10-12 (add greens to go further)

Ingredients:
2 big bags Mixed Greens (Spinach, Arugula, Romaine)
1/2 C dried Cherries
2 Diced Honeycrisp Apples
2 oz Machego Cheese, thinly sliced
1/2 C roasted Pumpkin seeds
1/2 lb Bacon, cooked and chopped

For Roasted Brussels:
1 lb Brussel Sprouts, trimmed and halved
3 T Balsamic Vinegar
2 T Honey
1 T Olive Oil
1 tsp Lemon Zest
1/2 T garlic powder
Sprinkle of salt
Dash of pepper

For Roasted Butternut Squash:
1 1/2 lb Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed into 1' cubes
2 T olive oil
1/3 C grated parmessan cheese
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 T garlic powder
Sprinkle of salt
Dash of pepper

For Roasted Beets:
8 cooked, beets, quartered or smaller for comfortable bites
2 T olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
sprinkle of salt
dash of pepper

For Apple Cider Dressing:
3/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 C Apple Cider (I used juice, you could use sparkling apple cider as well.  Carol used a Capri Sun)
1/4 C Apple Cider Vinegar
2 T Shallot, finely chopped
1 T dijon
1 T pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp tyme
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper


Preparation:
Pre-heat your oven (or Traeger) to 425 F. Coat three small baking pans with non-stick cooking spray.

For Brussels:
Place brussels in prepared pan. Drizzle with 2T vinegar and oil, sprinkle salt and pepper, toss to coat. Reserve 1 T viengar for later. Roast for 10 minutes. Stir, drizzle honey and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until sprouts are crispy and browned. Drizzle with remaining 1 T vinegar and lemon zest, and let cool.

For Butternut:
Place prepared squash in pan. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast 15 mintues then stir. Roast an additional 5-10 minutes then sprinkle with cheese and basil. Roast another 5 minutes until tender. Let cool.

For Beets:
Place beets in prepared pan. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast 10-15 minutes. Let cool.

For the vinaigrette:
Combine all ingredients in a glass jar with a tight lid and shake well.

To Assemble:
 Place washed greens in a large bowl or platter. Top with remaining ingredients. Right before serving drizzle dressing over salad and toss to coat.

Grandma's Sloppy Joe

Grandma Costley's Sloppy Joe

NOTE: This is even better if you use the meat from Mom's Italian Meat Sauce, and add it to everything from the Ketchup down.

1/2 sweet onion chopped
1 lb hamburger
1/2 C Ketcup
1 can V-8 juice
1/2 C water
2 bay leaves

Saute the onions in 1 Tbls of oil, add hamburger and brown.

Meanwhile in a saucepan, add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Add browned hamburger to the saucepan, cover, and cook on a low simmer for an hour.

Serve on hamburger buns with fries.

Grandma's Chili

This is my best notes from Mom's info about Grandma Costley's chili. I made it for a  Halloween Party and it was devoured!

For the meat, follow the Italian Meat Sauce recipe on the blog, but stop at Tomatoe paste on the ingredient list. I used two pound of meat for this recipe:

4 ounces white mushrooms , cleaned, stems trimmed, and broken into rough pieces
1 large slice high-quality white sandwich bread , torn into quarters Mom removes crust

2 tablespoons whole milk Mom uses half and half

Table salt and ground black pepper
1 pound 85 percent lean ground beef (see note and related content)Mom buys the 5lbs of Ground Beef at Costco and doubles this recipe for that much meat
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion , chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 Cup Finely chopped Celery
6 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Follow the prep and cooking directions for the meat. 

Meanwhile, in a Crock Pot, on High add:

6 can of chili beans (pinto and/or kidney) drain 3 cans, and use the juice from the other 3

1 1/2 Cups Ketchup

2 cans of V-8

2 tsp Chili Powder

5 bay leaves

Let those ingredients simmer while you prepare the meat. 

Add meat directly from skillet, and let everything simmer for an hour or more. Before serving check to see if you need more salt. Serve warm with corn bread.