Chicken Paprikash
This was my first time, not only making this dish, but ever hearing about it. I’m always on the lookout for recipes that my kids will like just as much as my husband and I. The first thing that caught my eye was the inviting colour. Kinda reminded me of a rosé sauce, which my kids like. Ding ding! Then I noticed how saucy it was. I love sauce so much. Doesn’t really matter what it is, I will add extra sauce over top. Don’t even get me started on Chinese Dumplings and Sweet ‘n Sour sauce. I could drink that sauce. It’s my vice! I digress… Anyway, this seemed like a recipe I had to try, if not for those two reasons alone!
The original recipe serves homemade spaetzle on the side. I imagine it’s super yummy, but I didn’t have the time to make it. I was debating between serving this with egg noodles or rice. I think either would be fine, but I’m glad I chose rice. The sauce has an earthiness to it because of the paprika that lends itself better to rice, in my opinion. I also warmed up some naan for my husband and kids to help sop up all the deliciousness. It all worked well together.
I did use less onion than the original recipe suggested because I was worried my kids would detect them and be turned off. But, after making it, this dish can handle the amount of onion suggested because you are almost caramelizing them, so they break down quite a bit and almost dissolve into the sauce. Plus, the sweetness from the onions really lends itself to the great flavours in this dish.
The chicken in this dish is cooked entirely in the sauce, so the meat is so tender and moist. It almost melts in your mouth. I served this with roasted broccoli, only because I had some to use up in the fridge and it was so perfect with this dish!! My daughter referred to the broccoli as ‘broccoli chips’, but that’s for another post…
I used 8 boneless and skinless chicken thighs. I love them so much. I didn’t want to be chintzy. I actually think I’ll use more next time. We didn’t have leftovers! Did you know that chicken thighs contain a vitamin that chicken breasts don’t that can help fight off cancer? My brother did so much research when my mom was sick, trying to find anything to help her beat this horrible disease and chicken thighs were among the suggestions. Interesting! Bring on the chicken thighs!
Give this recipe a try! It may become one of your go-tos! It will be one of mine!
Enjoy!
Chicken Paprikash
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter The original recipe calls for unsalted. I only had salted. Either work.
- 2 medium onions
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons paprika The original recipe calls for sweet Hungarian paprika. I just used good ol' regular paprika!
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne Optional. I did not add this because of my kids.
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/8 teaspoon sugar
- 1 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs cut into small chunks I used 8 thighs and could have added even more to the amount of sauce made.
- 1/4 cup heavy (35%) cream
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Instructions
- Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, paprika, cayenne (if using) and cook, stirring, until dark red in color, about 2 minutes.
- Add the flour and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes.
- Stir in the broth and sugar and cook until the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Add the chicken to the sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook over medium-low heat until the chicken is tender, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in the heavy cream and vinegar. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Baked Raspberry French Toast
My rainbow baby is turning 3 tomorrow, and as I’m in Windsor taking care of my mom, I had my family over for a Sunday brunch to celebrate my little man. It was so good! This dish is relatively new for my family. I made this once before for my parents and sister, but not everyone else (I have 3 older brothers as well and 7 nieces and nephews). They weren’t all here today, but most of my nieces and nephews were here, so it was great!
The best part for me, once breakfast was served, the house went quiet! 12 people, including a handful of kids and you could’ve heard a pin drop. Everyone was enjoying everything so much, they weren’t talking! 🙂 Winning! 😀
French toast bakes like this are so satisfying, in so many ways. I made everything last night and put it in the oven this morning! So easy! It’s almost like dessert for breakfast. You really must make this! Would be perfect for Christmas morning. 🙂
Baked Raspberry French Toast
Ingredients
- Butter to grease the pan
- 10 extra-large eggs
- 2 3/4 cups half-and-half
- 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest plus extra for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 loaf of challah or egg bread cubed
- 1.5 pints of fresh raspberries
- Maple syrup for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your dish with butter and set aside (I used a 9 x 13 x 2-inch oval baking dish). In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, orange zest, and salt.
- Spread half of the diced bread in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle on the raspberries in one layer. Top with the rest of the bread and pour on the egg mixture, pressing down lightly to moisten the bread. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight*.
- Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until the custard is set and the top is slightly browned. Check after 45 minutes; if the top is getting too browned, cover it lightly with aluminum foil. Cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm with maple syrup.
- Enjoy!!
Notes
My Favourite Macaroni and Cheese
A friend of mine had asked me a while ago if I had a go-to recipe for a gooey, tasty mac n cheese. At the time, I hadn’t, but I told her when I find it, I would let her know! Mac n cheese is one of my husband’s favourite side dishes. I’ve tried out so many different recipes – with squash, with one type of cheese, with many varieties of cheese. You name it! None of them were all that great. I often found them so heavy, that you didn’t need a lot in a serving, which meant tons of leftovers, which I didn’t find worked well the next day.
Over the Easter weekend this past year, I was looking to add a new side dish to my mom’s spread, as she always serves the same things. All great things, mind you, but I like trying new recipes, and what better time when there are lots of people around to try them out!
I came across this macaroni and cheese recipe and what I liked most about it was that the original recipe included ham! I thought this was perfect, as my mom was serving ham! So, I decided to omit the ham from the recipe and trusted that it would be the perfect accompaniment alongside the ham my mom was serving with our Easter dinner.
This dish is really easy to prepare. There’s really not that much in it. But, it had much more liquid than any other mac n cheese I had ever made. I will tell you, I was concerned about this at first. But, I put my trust in the chef who created this recipe, and carried on.
The original recipe calls for this dish to bake for 20 minutes at 450. Guess what?? This wasn’t long enough!!! The dish was still way too loose.
You can see from the picture above, that the top hasn’t browned enough. So much for trusting the chef!! I decided that I couldn’t keep the oven at 450, or the top would get too brown before the inside had a chance to solidify. I turned the oven down to 300 and let it bake for another 30 minutes. The results were perfect!
See??? Ooey gooey perfection. This behaved more like a scalloped potato (minus the potato!) recipe than it did mac n cheese. Which I thought only added to its appropriateness for Easter dinner.
You should make this. Kids love it and it has a slightly more sophisticated feel to it than some other mac n cheese recipes, which is nice for adults. Enjoy!
My Favourite Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- Butter for greasing dish
- 1 package of broad egg noodles
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups packed grated Fontina
- 3/4 cup packed finely grated Parmesan
- 3/4 cup packed grated mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Butter a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and set aside. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling, salted water for about 5 minutes. Stir frequently as the noodles will clump together. Don't overcook them as they will continue to cook in the oven later. Drain well, but don't rinse.
- Whisk together the cream, milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup of Fontina, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, and 1/2 cup of mozzarella. Add the noodles and toss to coat. Transfer this to the baking dish. Top noodle mixture with the remaining cheese, spread evenly.
- Bake for 20 minutes, uncovered, at 450 degrees F. After this, turn the oven down to 300 degrees F and continue baking for 30 minutes or until the top has browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
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