THE THIGHS HAVE IT

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This colorful and tasty Sunday Supper was perfect for the fall transition!  I had some apples and a couple of peaches just about on their last leg, and half a cauliflower head.  So I got some delectable chicken thighs and created an autumnal appetition of chicken thighs with pan au jus, sauteed apples, and au gratin faux-tatoes, and finished it off with a peach upside-down cake!  OhmuhGAH!!  I.  Can't.  EVEN!!

FRESH THYME CHICKEN THIGHS

1 pkg chicken thighs

sea salt

pepper

6 tbs fresh thyme

extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

Season chicken thighs with sea salt, pepper, and thyme.  In a heavy pan (I use my cast-iron, of course!) sprinkle enough evoo to cover the bottom of the pan and heat on medium-high heat for two minutes.  Add chicken thighs to pan, top-side-down to get a beautiful sear on them.  Cook for two minutes before turning heat to medium.  Cook another six minutes on same side and then turn.  Cook eight minutes on bottom side and remove chicken thighs from pan and let rest.

NOTES:  Remember not to overcrowd your pan or you will not get the brown color you are looking for here.

PAN Au JUS

drippings from chicken thighs

1/2 red onion, diced finely

1 cup broth of your choice (but chicken broth works best here, for obvious reasons)

sea salt 

pepper

1 tsp fresh thyme

1 tbs butter

Using the same pan the chicken was cooked in, keep heat on medium and add to the drippings the onion.  Cook for three minutes and add broth, scraping all the meaty bits from the bottom of a pan with a wooden spoon.  Add sea salt and pepper to taste, and then add thyme.  Bring to a slow boil, stirring constantly, and remove from heat.  Add butter and stir until melted.  Serve over chicken thighs

SAUTEED APPLES

6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into about 1/2-inch chunks

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

4 tbs butter

1/2 tsp ground clove

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pepper

In a pan on medium heat, add apples to evoo and butter and cook for two minutes.  Add seasoning and cook an addition five minutes.  Serve with chicken thighs and pan au jus.  And then wipe your eyes, because this WILL make you cry a little.  It's THAT GOOD.

Au GRATIN FAUX-TATOES

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized chunks

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup heavy cream

sea salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

1 tbs mustard powder

1 tbs garlic powder

Combine all ingredients into a prepared baking dish and mix well.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Serve alongside chicken-thighs-over-apples.  

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used.

PEACH UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

I got this AMAHZ recipe HERE

NOTES:  You're welcome.  ;-)

Creamy Dreamy (Leftovers?)

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I had leftover pasta from sausage ragu night.  I had leftover roasted chicken from Sunday Supper.  I had leftover salad I had used as a side.  I loathe waste so I can't throw it all away!  What's a girl to do?  Simple!  Throw it all into a bowl and smother it in a creamy, dreamy sauce and give it a name everyone is familiar with, like Pasta Chicken Salad, and voila!    No more leftovers!

CREAMY PASTA CHICKEN SALAD

leftover pasta (or just make some!)

leftover roasted chicken, de-boned and shredded (or some store-bought rotisserie)

leftover salad, consisting of spinach, lettuce, carrots, celery, green onion and cucumber (or cut up these veggies or any veggies you like!)

Toss this all together in a bowl.  Await dressing.

CREAMY DREAMY DRESSING

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

1 tbs prepared horse radish

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

sea salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

slight squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Put all ingredients into a jar with lid and shake or place in a bowl and whip with a whisk.  Pour over pasta chicken salad and eat.  Close your eyes, let out a slight moan of deliciousness.  Repeat.

NOTES: Carb-free or low-carb?  Prepare the chicken and salad with dressing first and set some aside.   Add pasta for everyone else and mix!

American Pie

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used.

This was a dessert from a Sunday Night Supper, which I decided was going to be American.  It came after a beautiful chicken and rice dinner, with a side of green beans and yeasty pull-apart rolls, and was actually perfect for our transition into the fall weather.  We had Schmooly-Wooly & The Daughts over, and they LOVED IT!

EASY APPLE PIE

2 pie crusts (home made or store bought - your choice)

6 green apples, cored, peeled, and sliced

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbs cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 stick butter, cut into thin slices

Heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Put one of your pie crusts into your pie plate, and then add the rest of the ingredients, stirring all of them together so that butter is distributed evenly among mixture and spices are mixed well and covering apples.  Place second pie crust on top and seal edges with a fork to decorate and close up tight at the same time.  Slice three cuts into the top of the pie crust, with the two on the sides, being shorter than the one in the middle.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.  Top with some ice cream and get ready for yummy tones coming from the people eating it!!

NOTES: For summer, you can omit the cloves, but the flavor of them is perfect for fall. I used home made buttery crust that's super-easy, but most people prefer the ease of the store-bought.  I used organic dairy-free soy vanilla ice cream on top while it was warm so it got all melty.  Okay......it wasn't exactly Blue Bell, but it was delicious!!