Coq au Riesling

Chicken

I call this creamy mushroom chicken, but really it is called Coq a Riesling. Chicken cooked in Riesling (a kind of white wine) with cream and mushrooms. Delicious and succulent. Here is how I made it.

Coq au Riesling

Ingredients
Chicken- Get whatever chicken is on sale. I used chicken breasts. I have used thighs, legs, and a cut up roaster.
1 onion, diced
1 carton mushrooms, sliced —-use about a 1 to 1 1/2 cups of whatever mushrooms you like- I used button b/c they were on sale
3 cloves of crushed and diced garlic
1/3 cup of Heavy Cream—you can use cream, half-and half, or even whole milk- or any combination you have leftover in your fridge
container of regular cream cheese— or marscapone, sour cream, or a combination of any or all
1/2 bottle of Riesling —-If you don’t have Riesling, use whatever white wine you have on hand. I am sure it will still be amazing!

Directions

Cook your chicken in a bit of oil until brown on each side, about 8 minutes or so per side.

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Take them out and cook down your sliced onions and smashed garlic for about 6-8 minutes. Then add your sliced mushrooms for another 6-8 minutes. Add about 2 tablespoons of butter. Add 1/4 bottle of Riesling. Cook down for 5-6 minutes.
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Put in your chicken and add another 1/4 bottle of the Riesling. Yes, that was 1/2 bottle of wine. Just drink the rest. It won’t be good tomorrow. =) Cook for about 30 minutes in sauce.

Take chicken out and add your heavy cream and cream cheese. Mix well. It won’t fully melt yet. Add back in your chicken. Put on the lid and cook until your chicken is cooked and your cream cheese has melted.

Add to a bowl of polenta, couscous, or potatoes and a veggie. Of course, crusty bread is always a great addition!
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Meal Plan 1/5/14 Finding Balance in 2014

Weekly Meal Plans

I hope everyone had a great New Year! I don’t really do the whole resolution thing. I live my life with love, family, fun, and of course, food! I eat what I want in moderation; There is plenty of bacon but also lots spinach; I measure time with cups of coffee and herbal tea along with plenty of glasses of wine and blenders of smoothies and juice. I love my cheese, bread, and chocolate, but I also adore oatmeal, quinoa, and greek yogurt. I love to sit and read for hours, watch TV like a loaf on the couch,and sleep in when I can. I also love to get outside for a long walk/run with my dog, go to the gym, or get in a good yoga session. Life is about balance. I hope you find balance in 2014!

Bacon fat and my Green Juice
baconfatand-spinach.jpg

I have not really done any meal planning since mid-Dec. I have been off the last 2 weeks, so I didn’t really have to stress about food. We ate out some, I threw together meals here and there, and made a few special dinners. This week we go back to school and work, so back to meal planning!

Sun- Creamy Chicken and Mushrooms- Something similar to this
https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/09/08/coq-a-riesling/

Mon- Pork Chops and Mashed Potatoes
https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/07/12/pork-chops-and-mashed-potatoes/
Tues- Chilaquiles
https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/11/26/chilaquiles-2/
Wed- Pantry raid and clean out the fridge

Th- Clean out the Fridge/Pantry Raid

Fri-Family night dinner?????

Steakhouse Dinner at Home

Beef, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains

Happy Friday! So tonight, we had a Family Date Night! All 5 of us had a nice steakhouse dinner at home! Publix had some beautiful New York Strip on sale, so of course I had to buy it! I envisioned some wine soaked mushrooms and onions, broccoli, potatoes, and of course some crusty bread to go with it!

First, I made some delicious slow cooked wine soaked mushrooms and onions. I started them with 2 pats of butter and a turn of olive oil (about 2 tablespoons). Then I put thinly sliced onions and mushrooms in the hot pan. I added salt and pepper, cooked it for about 10 minutes on med. heat, then added about 1/3 of your bottle of red wine. Always use a wine you would drink to cook with. Take a couple of sips first for quality control. Here is the one I used…005
Once I put in the wine, I turned the heat down to low. Cook for 3-4 hours. Yes…you heard me right. It looks like a lot of wine. It will cook down over the course of the of the 3 hours. This is an easy delicious recipe, but it does take time. Stir every 30 minutes or so. It is worth the wait!

Next, I made the potatoes. I made a sweet potato and 2 regular potatoes. My husband does not like sweet potatoes, and I thought my girls would not like them. I was wrong. They all devoured at least 1/2 of my sweet potato. I also put some cut up broccoli in some salted water and brought it up to a boil and cooked until tender. My girls are crazy for broccoli! Is that normal?

Last, I cooked the steak in a cast iron pan. I actually used the same one as the mushrooms and onions once they were done. Lots of flavor left in that pan! Salt and pepper then cook on both sides just until it is brown and crusty. Take it out and let it rest for at least 10 minutes. Perfect med. rare! Add some crusty bread and a nice glass of red wine!

Just enough for my leftovers tomorrow. Well, that is until my girls steal some food off my plate!
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Cheesy Bacon Cornbread

Breads and Muffins, Kids

Happy New Year! I live in Georgia, and I am cursing the cold weather here. If you are reading my blog in colder parts of the country, Canada, or other colder areas, I am sorry to complain. It is 20ish degrees and windy and probably won’t snow anytime soon. I hate JAN. and FEB. in GA. It is cold, windy, cloudy, and rainy. There is not much sun and everyone is grumpy. To combat this, I tend to stay inside for about 2 months eating soup and drinking coffee, red wine, and hot tea. I have to go to work; sometimes I make it to the gym; mostly I stay under a blanket catching up on reading and drinking the above drinks.

I made this soup yesterday and have already had 3 servings. Basically, I cleaned out my fridge and freezer and combined them in my dutch oven with chicken stock…
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Tonight, I made Cheesy Bacon Cornbread. It was easy. I just followed the directions for cornbread on the package of yellow corn meal and added 4 pieces of chopped bacon and a cup of Montery Jack cheese. Then I sprinkled a bit more cheese on the top. There was no carrot juice used…Rebecca and I shared a shot while we mixed the cornbread. =) Let the kids help you mix this yummy concoction!
The last picture is all that was left after dinner. 005

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Using up leftover sauce- Eggs Diablo

Eggs, Leftovers/ Freezer Meals

If you have been following my blog at all, you know I love a nice runny eggs, especially on top of leftovers. I have made this on the blog a while back. If you ever have any leftover sauce, like marinara, meat sauce, or Ragu, you can make this easy recipe.
I made some sausage and ground beef sauce for lasagna the other day.

Mushroom and Meat Sauce:
This makes 3 batches for our family of 5.
First diced up 1 onion and 1/2 head of garlic. Cook that for a few minutes in a bit of butter and olive oil mix. Then add an entire 16 oz. container of mushrooms to your dutch oven. Cook that down for a bit. Add plenty of salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning (oregano, thyme, basil, marjoram). Then add 1 28 oz. can of tomato sauce, 1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, 1 28 oz. can of crushed plum tomatoes, 4 squirts of tomato paste, 1/3 bottle of red wine, and 4 tablespoons of Worcestershire, 2 pats of butter, and about 3 tablespoons sugar. The wine and Worcestershire just give it an extra layer of flavor, especially since you are making mushroom and meat (beef)in it. The butter and the sugar help to add a bit of sweetness to the sauce and mellow the acidity of the tomato a bit. Cook for 2-4 hours. The longer the better. Add in browned ground beef and sausage and cook another 1/2 hour or so.

For your Eggs Diablo:
Put your leftover sauce in a cast iron skillet (add some hot sauce to make it extra spicy) and place a few eggs gently on top. Cook in a 350 oven for 15-20 minutes until your eggs are cooked- whites are cooked, but yolks are still runny. Serve with more hot sauce and some crusty bread for dipping.
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