In the United States we just celebrated Thanksgiving. The traditional meal consists of turkey. The trimmings vary from home to home and region to region. Do you still have any leftover turkey?
Last year I posted a chicken corn chowder recipe that I threw together. The post was about substitutions in recipes.
Well, I substituted again using the same chicken corn chowder recipe.
I used some leftover Thanksgiving turkey instead of the chicken.
Delicious.
Mr. Aitch and I love freshly baked bread and rolls. In fact we’ve been known to have that and a bottle of wine for dinner! Unfortunately it’s just too darn hot in the summer to turn on the oven. We usually end up having store-bought “freshly” baked bread or rolls. Until now.
I cheated and used the frozen bread dough already shaped into rolls.
I sprayed the 8×8 aluminium pan with cooking spray. Then I placed nine rolls in the pan and sprayed a piece of plastic wrap with the cooking spray. This was placed over the rolls (spray side down) to keep them from sticking to the plastic while rising.
Once they were doubled (or tripled) in size, Mr. Aitch fired up the grill to 400 F. Our grill has three burners so he turned off the center burner (indirect heat) and we placed the uncovered pan of risen rolls right on the cooking grate.
Sorry for the overexposed photo but we were in a hurry! He closed the lid, set the timer and turned them half way through the baking time according to the directions on the package. He was able to maintain a fairly consistent temperature (350 F) adjusting the burners as needed.
18 minutes later we had freshly baked rolls. Perfect.
After we took them off the grill, I dumped them out of the pan, brushed the tops with a little bit of bacon grease then wrapped them in a cloth to keep warm while he grilled the rest of our dinner.
We’ve done this twice within a week and can’t wait to do this again.
Have you grilled anything unusual?
That word conjures up all sorts of interesting memories for Mr. Aitch and me. My mother was the queen of substitutions when it came to recipes. Sometimes it worked out and sometimes it didn’t.
If I alter a recipe, I have to be very careful when I tell Mr. Aitch that as he usually makes a face if the word “substitution” is uttered.
I was in the mood for Chicken Corn Chowder awhile ago. A few years ago is more accurate. This is really strange as I had never had it before but it sounded like comfort food in a pan. I scoured the recipe sites on-line and decided I could make my own version using what I had in the house.
It was delicious and I was smart enough to write it down as I went just in case it was good.
I use leftover roasted chicken from another meal and things that I’m sure most people have in their pantry/refrigerator.
Last night I made a batch to take to our daughter’s house today. Our plans changed so we will have it for our dinner tonight.
I’d love to show you a beautiful photo but I’m not a professional food stylist so this is as good as it gets.
Here’s my recipe…and feel free to substitute or add whatever YOU like.
Chicken Corn Chowder
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Salt
Pepper
2 cups corn (fresh, frozen, creamed or canned)
13 oz. can chicken or 2 cups cooked cubed chicken
14 oz. can fat-free, reduced sodium chicken stock
1 15 oz. can evaporated skim milk
8 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup milk, half and half, or cream
Melt butter in large pan. Saute celery, onions, and pepper till softened. Add corn, mash up with a potato masher, if desired. Stir in poultry seasoning. Add chicken, chicken stock, and evaporated milk. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add cream cheese and allow to melt. Stir in milk and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste.
Makes 4-6 servings.
Serve with salad and rolls.
I basically threw in what I had on hand. Creamed corn would work and I intended to use that but I didn’t have any so sometimes I use a potato masher to make it smoother and sometimes I don’t. I always use leftover chicken but the canned is fine. A tub of spreadable cream cheese would probably work though I’ve never tried it. Some people put potatoes in there recipe but I don’t. Obviously.
When I made this last night, I didn’t have any red peppers so I “substituted” a frozen medley of red, yellow and green peppers.
These just came out of the oven and will go quite nicely with the chowder.
Is it time to eat yet?
Mr. Aitch is semi-retired. He retired from a 34-year teaching career in 2008. He’s semi-retired as he has two part-time jobs. He works at a retail store two days a week and is also the choir director at his church.
When I come home from work, the dishes are washed. He even washes my breakfast dishes that I leave for him.
It’s so nice to come home to an empty sink.
It wasn’t always like this. When the kids were still at home, I would come home to a sink full of dishes in the summer when they were all home from school. The kids have been out of the house for a few years. The clean sink is just a new perk since 2008.
Before I went to work this past Tuesday, I set out a frozen roast on the counter. I emailed Mr. Aitch (from work) asking him if he saw the roast as I was waiting for him to call or email me asking what to do with it. He saw it when he made his morning coffee and put it in the oven with the usual veggies. He saved the last email I sent him with the directions so I wouldn’t have to send them to him yet again.
Dinner was ready and waiting when I got home from work on Tuesday.
The house smelled so good.
This morning I got out the Crock-Pot, the cutting board and knife, and a can of diced tomatoes. I put a bag for frozen mixed veggies on top of the leftover roast in the refrigerator. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to get anything in the Crock-Pot before I left for work.
Yep, that’s what my Crock-Pot looks like. One of the originals.
I was very busy at work today and finally had time to call Mr. Aitch around 1:00 to ask if he needed any directions on making beef and veggie soup from the leftover roast he fixed on Tuesday. Nope. He had it under control.
The house smelled so good when I got home.
I think I’ll keep him.
Knitting In Flashes 