Easter Brunch Menu

                                                     
I like to make brunch for Easter instead of dinner.  Since it is a Sunday holiday, I like to have everyone over earlier so that we can enjoy the holiday and not be rushed to get home and ready for the week ahead.  Brunch is so easy because it is a meal that you can really make anything you like to eat - eggs, pancakes, bacon, shrimp, pasta, lamb etc - and best of all, you can have mimosas.  Add a beautiful Spring Flower Arrangement and your table will look great.  Here is what is on my menu.
  
Hot Foods:

Ham and Cheese Frittata

Lamb Loin Chops
Baked Ziti

Bacon

Breakfast Sausage

Cold Foods:

Shrimp Cocktail
Fruit Platter

Baked Goods:

Lemon Blueberry Scones
Orange Cranberry Walnut Scones

Martha's Herbed Biscuits

Bagels

Drinks:

Mimosas
Orange Juice
Cranberry Juice
Coffee

Desserts:

Macaroons
Rugelach

Organic Chicken Thighs with Israeli Couscous

I received a Dutch Oven for my birthday this year so I am trying to come up with some recipes to use it.  This recipe can be made in your favorite pot as well. I created  this recipe to use the ingredients from my Winter CSA and also to use up some ingredients in my fridge and pantry.  This recipe uses easy to find items, simple techniques and creates a complete dinner in one pot.  As always, I use organic ingredients but you can use conventional.  If you don't want the couscous, just leave it out.

Ingredients:

1 TBS organic olive oil
2.5 lbs bone in, skin on organic chicken thighs (8-10 thighs)


2 TBS kosher salt, divided into 1 TBS each
2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper, divided into 1 tsp each
1/2 white organic onion, diced
2 organic leeks, cleaned and sliced
8 oz organic mushrooms, sliced
5 cloves organic garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1 tsp organic Italian seasoning
1 28 oz can organic tomato puree
1 organic Bay leaf
1 cup organic chicken stock
2 cups organic Israeli (pearl) couscous

Here's how:

In a dutch oven or large pot, heat the oil on medium heat.

Salt and pepper the meat with 1 TBS salt and 1 tsp pepper.

Once hot, add the thighs, skin side down and brown for 5 minutes per side. This may need to be done in 2 or 3 batches to avoiding steaming the meat and overcrowding the pan.  You want the meat browned not steamed.

Chicken into the pan, in the first batch

Cooking on the second side

Remove the chicken and set it aside.

Add the onion and leeks and saute for 1 minute.

Leeks and onions into the pot

Add the mushrooms and saute for 3-5 minutes until softened.

Mushrooms in

Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.

Garlic in

After one minute

Add the wine and use your spoon to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pot - this is where the flavors are.  Cook down the wine by one half - about 5 minutes. 

Scraping down the bottom and cooking down the wine

Wine is now reduced

 Add the remaining salt, remaining pepper, Italian seasoning, Bay leaf, tomatoes and chicken stock.

Ingredients going in

Everything in and stirred

 Nestle the chicken into the sauce, lower the heat to low, cover and cook for 1 hour.

Chicken in and covered with the sauce

Lid on and dinner is cooking

After one hour, add the couscous and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the couscous is cooked and soft.

After one hour.  You can stop here and eat it like this if you want

Couscous is added and ready to cook

Serve in a bowl and enjoy.

Ready to enjoy.  One pot meal

Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Soup

I was trying to create a recipe for my husband that is Paleo-friendly.  I had all of these ingredients in the fridge and came up with this soup.  If you don't like coconut milk or don't want the flavor of coconut, use regular milk, I use 2% as my usual milk, or more broth.  If you like it sweeter, you can also add 1 - 2 TBS of brown sugar to it.  This is a great fall soup but can be made all winter using stored root vegetables. You can double or triple this recipe based upon what your needs are.

Makes 1.5 to 2 quarts

Ingredients:

2 slices thick cut bacon, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 butternut squash, cleaned and diced
1 extra large sweet potato, diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk, chicken broth or coconut milk, or more if you like a thinner soup
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Here's how:

Saute the bacon in a dutch oven until brown.

Dutch oven on medium heat

Thick cut bacon

Bacon cut up and browning

Remove the bacon and set aside on a plate covered in paper towel.

Brown bacon and set aside

Add the onion and carrots to the bacon drippings in the dutch oven and saute for 3 minutes.

Carrots and onions sauteing in the bacon drippings

Add the squash and sweet potato to the pot and saute 2 minutes.

Squash and potato in

Add the broth and scrape the bottom of the pan, stirring until all the bits are into the liquid.


Cover and bring the liquid to a boil, about 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until all the veggies are soft.

Everything is all softened

Add the milk, broth or coconut milk and stir in.

Use a food mill, blender or immersion blender to completely puree the soup.

Pureeing the soup

Almost there

Add the cinnamon and stir in completely.

Cinnamon stirred in

Serve in bowls and top with the reserved bacon bits.

Ready to eat