Braised Chicken Thighs with Sauerkraut

This made my German ancestors proud!

Ingredients:

3 slices bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips

8 chicken thighs, again I use the least processed meat I can find

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 large onion coarsely chopped

2 carrots chopped

1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped

3 cups drained sauerkraut, I used a jar of Bubbie's, www.bubbies.com/prod_sauerkraut.shtml

1 cup homemade stock, I made vegetable stock, *recipe will follow

1 teaspoon dijon mustard, I like True Natural Taste Dijon

2 bay leaves

Preparation:

In a large deep frying pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the pan, do this in batches if necessary. Cook, turning, until browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from the pan. pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.

Add the carrot, onion and apple to the pan. Cook over medium heat, covered, for 5 minutes. Stir in the sauerkraut, bacon, broth, mustard and bay leaves. Arrange chicken in an even layer on top. Cover, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat, and cook until chicken is done, 25-35 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pan and discard the bay leaves. If too much liquid remains in the pan, reaise the heat to high and cook until slightly thickened. Serve the sauerkraut topped with the chicken.

*Vegetable Stock

4 cups water

1 large onion, chopped

1 leak trimmed

1 parsnip, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, leaves included

1 jalapeno pepper

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons chopped fesh cilantro

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in small stock pot and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least one hour. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Drain and use.

Pictures of food we cooked

Above are tomatoes stuffed with feta cheese and eggplant salad in the middle.

Hot yellow chilli peppers stuffed with whipped cream cheese and wrapped in bacon served on a plate of cherry tomato salad.

A cherry cake covered with freshly grated dark chocolate.

Chicken with herbs and tomatoes/ Chakhokbili

Ingredients:

Chicken 2.5 lb.

Garlic 6 gloves

3 large onions

8 small ripe tomatoes

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

8 black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

4 Tbsp butter

Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in the large deep pan. Add the chicken pieces and brown them on all sides over medium heat. Stir the garlic and onions into the chicken. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine, lemon juice, herbs, bay leaf and the peppercorns. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, covered, until the chicken is tender, about 35 minutes.

Serve over rice pilaf.

Damlyama/Chicken and Eggplant Stew

Mmmmm.....

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 yellow onion

1 large eggplant, sliced in 1 inch pieces

4 red potatoes, sliced in 1 inch pieces

1/2 pound of green beens, trimmed

1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast sliced into 2 inch chunks

4 carrots, sliced

2 red bell peppers, sliced

1 quarter of average size cabbage sliced in 1 inch pieces

1/2 bunch of parsley

To Prepare:

Cut onion into thin slices. Sautee in a large deep pan in olive oil for 5-10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients in layers in the following order: carrots, peppers, potatoes, eggplant, parsley, cabbage and finish with a thin layer of green beans. Salt and pepper to taste. Let the layered mixture cook on low heat for at least 1 hour.

Roast Chicken with Vegetables/AJ's Chicken

Look at that tasty bird!

Sunday's dinner was roasted chicken with vegetables.

Ingredients:

1- 3 to 4 lb whole chicken (preferably without added hormones or sodium solutions)

1 medium yellow onion cut in half

1/4 stick melted unsalted butter

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

5 small to medium red potatoes cut in half

2 medium yellow onions cut in quarters

6 carrots cut in 2 inch pieces

2 parsnips (optional) cut in 2 inch pieces

1 and 1/2 sticks melted unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Needed: Roasting pan with rack

Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels

Place chicken on rack in roasting pan

Cut 1 onion in half, season with salt and pepper and stuff inside chicken

Massage 1/4 stick melted butter onto skin of chicken

Salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle skin with thyme

Melt remaining butter

Put cut potatoes, carrots, onions, and parsnips into a large bowl

Season with salt and pepper

Pour melted butter over all ingredients and stir to coat

Place coated vegetables in the bottom of roasting pan

Roast at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes then turn down heat to 350 degrees

Roast until done, approximately 1.5 hours

No Corn Syrup Please!

First some background information about us. Our names are Wayne and Olya Shepard. We currently live in Arizona with our three little dogs.

Tobi is a 13 year old Pekingese. He is a little grumpy at times but as long as thing go his way he is a pleasure to live with. We adopted him 5 years ago.

Timmy is a terrier mix who is approximately 5 years old. He is kind of stupid and does things that make everyone mad. We adopted him in 2005 in Las Vegas.

Henry is a 3 year old Pekingese. He was adopted December 5, 2005 in Tucson, AZ. He, along with 66 of his brothers and sisters, were taken from his original owner who was a hoarder.

In late 2006 , Olya received a copy of the book, "Ultrametabolism" by Dr. Mark Hyman. After reading it cover to cover several times, we decided to put this information into action. It was at this time that we cut processed food from our diet. If it had corn syrup as an ingredient it didn't belong in our bodies. That's not the only thing we gave up, but it was a great beginning.

After honing our cooking skills during the last year, we have both become quite proficient in the kitchen. Our goal is to show the world what great meal we are preparing.