Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Most recipes are easily converted to a Dutch Oven, once you know certain elements. A 12" Dutch oven is comparable to a 9"x13" pan. Knowing that makes it easy to switch casseroles to a Dutch oven. This is one recipe that can be cooked in a 9"x13" casserole in the oven at 350 degrees. It can also be cooked in a cast iron skillet on the stove top since the cheese on tops just needs to be melted.  This is a mild dish full of flavor, but you can add more spices and heat if desired.







Easy Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 package of favorite taco seasoning

salt to taste
1 (4oz) can chopped green chilies
 2 cups cooked shredded chicken breasts
1 C sour cream
12 corn tortillas, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups grated cheese,

1. In a 12" Dutch Oven, melt butter. Stir in flour, cook for 1 minute and whisk in chicken broth.  Stir until smooth and thickened.
2. Stir taco seasoning, salt, green chilies and chicken into the sauce. Bring to a simmer, and cook a until chicken is is warmed.
3. Stir sour cream into the sauce and add the tortillas pieces, and 1 cup of cheese. Stir until combined and top with remaining cheese. Cover pan and cook for 5-8 minutes until bubbly and the cheese is melted.

This recipes cooks best with more heat on the bottom, I use 12-14 briquets on the bottom and 10 on top. 

Dutch Oven Sourdough Chicken Pizza Barbecue Pizza

This is an easy way to impress people with your Dutch Oven skills. 

We like Black olives, but some people don't so if you are not a fan, leave them off!

Dutch Oven 

Sourdough 

Chicken 

Barbecue 

Pizza

Prepare dough, then while waiting for dough to rise prepare the chicken.

Pizza Toppings for 2 - 12" Dutch Ovens

2 Chicken Breast

1/2 tsp of following seasonings

salt

pepper

garlic powder

smoked paprika

4 cups mozzarella cheese OR 1 package sliced provolone

2 cups your favorite barbecue sauce, divided

1/2 cup sliced red onion

1 can sliced black olives (optional)

Mix seasoning together.  Sliced chicken breast  length wise to make thinner. Coat well with seasoning mix.  Baked at 350° until done, about 30 minutes. Cool. Dice chicken,

After removing Dutch oven lid, pour 2/3 of barbecue sauce on semi-cooked dough. top with 1/2 of the cooked chicken, sliced onions and cheese. Drizzle with 1/3 cup of barbecue

sauce.

Return Lid with heat. Cooke until cheese is melted.

Crust for 2 - 12" Dutch Ovens

1 1/2 cup sourdough starter, unfed

3/4 cup hot tap water

3 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp instant yeast

1/2 tsp. onion powder

Thoroughly stir your starter. add 1 1/2 cups to large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients, adjust flour as necessary depending on thickness of starter.  Mix well and kneed for about 10 minutes. Form into a ball, place in greased bowl and let rise to double.

Generously grease 2 Dutch ovens. Fold 2-3, 6" long pieces of foil  in thirds. place down sides and on bottom of Dutch oven as pictured.

Divide dough in have and roll, pat, toss,  press dough to 13-14 inches. (if doing one at a time, place second half of dough in a cool place).

bake at approximately 450° for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

After pizza is cooked, use the foil strips to lift out the pizza. 

Cool, 

slice, 

enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake with Caramel

 It has been a long while since I have posted, so I have lots of new recipes and a couple of patterns I will be adding in the next few days. I served this one and it was gone before I could take a pretty picture of a single serving with ice cream on top. Watch it closely or it will be dried out if you bake to long. This recipe also works well in a 12" Dutch Oven, for a thinner more bar like cake.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake with Caramel

1 Can Pumpkin

1 White or Yellow Cake Mix

2 Eggs

1 Cup Chocolate Chips

1  12 oz bottle Caramel Ice cream topping

Liberally grease 10" Dutch Oven.

Mix first three ingredients. Pour into Dutch oven. Sprinkle evenly

with Chocolate chips.

Bake at approximately  350°  for 20 minutes, rotating Dutch oven and lid heat at about the half way point.

Carefully remove lids and gently pour all of sauce on top of cake. Replace lid and bake for 10-15 more minutes until done.

If you are not camping out in the middle of nowhere, this is excellent served with whip cream or ice cream!

Brunswick Stew

This is a hearty soup with a unique taste.  With barbecue and Tabasco sauce as part of the ingredients, Brunswick Stew has layers and layers of flavor. You can be cooked this recipe on the stove-top or on  a campfire in a Dutch oven. It will warm you up and keep you warm!

Brunswick Stew

1 - 1/2 pounds of pork stew meat or pork loin cut into pieces
3 Tbls Oil or butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can chicken broth
2 cups water
1 can diced tomatoes, un-drained
1/2 cup ketchup
3 Tbls Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 medium potatoes, peeled, cubed to 1/2" pieces)
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 Tbls vinegar
1 can great northern beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can green beans OR 1 Package of frozen mixed veggies
1 can cream style corn

Saute meat until browned, and onions and saute until onions are clear. Add Chicken broth, tomatoes, ketchup Worcester and tobacco sauce, salt and pepper,. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for one hour, stirring occasionally. Add pork, potatoes, barbecue sauce and vinegar. Cook 30 minutes. Add beans and simmer for 20 more minutes. Add corn and simmer until warm.

This stew is great with any kind of meat, venison and other wild game work well. Often I will cook my own beans for this. I just soak 1/2 cup the night before, rinse the next morning and simmer until done. I also use home canned tomatoes, I just put them in the food processor and give it a whirl or two. I put the Tabasco on the table and if your guest like more heat they can add more to it. This stew is

Amish Bacon & Corn Chowder

Well, it is a typical Illinois winter. Last weekend it was 60+degrees, beautiful. This week we had lots of freezing rain and snow. Definitely time for some more comfort food. What better way to warm up than Amish Corn Chowder. Not far from our home is an Amish community, and some of the best cooks around! While this soup isn't very pretty, it is very tasty!

Amish Bacon and Corn Chowder

6 Strips bacon, diced
3/4 cup diced celery

1/4 cup diced onion
1 cup diced uncooked potato
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 can creamed corn
1 can sweet corn, drained
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder

In a heavy sauce pan cook bacon, onion and celery over medium heat until bacon is crisp. Drain grease. Add potato and chicken stock. Cover and coo about 20 minutes until potato is tender. Stir in corn, milk and seasoning. Heat through, do not boil.

Easy Rhubarb Cobbler

In my quilting group, the ChristCares Stitchers. we have the very best potlucks. I am not sure which of the ladies brought this, I just remember I liked it. It was so easy to make,  I have made it several time this summer. Since it was so easy and so good, I thought I would share the recipe! I tweeked it a little bit for the Dutch Oven.

Easy Rhubarb Cobbler

4 cups of sliced rhubarb
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 3oz. package strawberry jello
1 yellow or white cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

Lightly grease your 12" Dutch Oven. Place rhubarb in oven, sprinkle sugar evenly on top. Next sprinkle the jello powder on sugar. Do not mix the jello or cake mix, you use them as is! Pour the cake mix and spread evenly. Mix melted butter, water and vanilla together. Pour on top of cake mix, (When I make this recipe for camping I mix the liquids  together and place them in a jar, so I don't have to deal with it while camping)

To bake I place 8 coals on bottom and 16 on top. Rotating every 15 minutes, cook for 1 hour or until brown and crunch on top!

To cook in your home oven, place ingredients in 9x13" pan. Bake at 350 degrees.

Dutch Oven Pigs in a Cornfield

 I needed a recipe for a hot day, I didn't want a heavy dish. I saw several recipes for Pigs in a Cornfield on the internet. They were all delicious looking, had lots of ingredients and canned soups. I liked the idea, but needed a lighter dish so I changed up recipe some and it turned out great. The kids who sampled it all loved it. So here is my version of
Pigs in a Cornfield
1/2 pound bacon, cut in 1' pieces
4-5 potatoes, cut in 1' pieces
1 onion, diced
6 ears of corn, cut in half
6-8 kielbasa or smoked sausage, cut in half
2-4 cups of chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

In a 12" Dutch Oven, fry bacon until crisp. Remove bacon. Line corn around Dutch Oven, next place sausage around oven. Mix spices together. Into the center layer potatoes, bacon and onions and seasonings. Pour chicken stock around outside of pan. you will want about 2" of liquid, this is to steam the corn and potatoes.
I placed 12 charcoals on the bottom and 22 on top. Once the stock begins to boil, it only takes about 30 minutes to cook, Check potatoes and when they are tender your meal is done!

Quick and Easy Chili

This recipe for Chili is the one I use when I am in a hurry or when we are camping. It is quick since you used canned beans. When camping I put all the dry spiced in a zip lock bag so I don't need to pack so many ingredients. It is a simple recipe to make vegetarian by just leaving out the ground beef. I also like to use different kinds of beans. The day I made this batch I used one can each of kidney, pinto and black beans. It is great with all black beans. This recipe is another one given to me by a dear friend. Irene just turned 90 and is amazing.

Easy Chili

1/4 cup chopped onions
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 pound lean ground beef (I also like to use ground venison)
2 cans tomatoes
3 cans beans (drained & rinsed)
1/2 cup salsa (my add in, optional)
1/2 cup barbeque sauce (my add in, optional)
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin (my add in, optional)
 Fry onions and ground beef in oil until done, add tomatoes, beans and seasonings. Thicken with cornmeal. I start off just adding about 1/4 cup, adding more until the right consistency is made. Simmer about 30 minutes.
This is not a hot chili, so I usually set tabasco sauce on the table for those who like it with more kick to it.

There is a history to this recipe....it was used by Irene's husbands family in their restaurant on East Wood Street in Decatur about 1917.

Sloppy Jakes (a Dutch Oven Variation of Sloppy Joes)

I am Back! After almost two weeks without a computer I am so happy to be back on line and I have a few new recipes to share in the next few days!
A few years ago we canceled our cable TV. We don't miss it. My husband and I are both avid readers and if we want to watch something we will just pop in a movie. We are also big movie fans, so we enjoy watching movies without the commercials. Being without the computer is another story. I was unable to look up recipes and patterns and Hubby was unable to do genealogy, which is his hobby.  When we finally gave up on having the old one fixed and bought a new computer it took several days to get everything set back up the way we like it. It sure is nice to have it back...
The recipe I am going to share with you today is for my version of Sloppy Joes. Now, I love Sloppy Joes, but I hate commercial buns, they get soggy and then fall apart. So this is how I like to make them. I make them with biscuits...almost like dumplings or an easy pot pie. I call them Sloppy Jakes after my son Jacob, not because he is sloppy, but, because he LOVES biscuits.
Any kind of biscuits can do, you can even use canned biscuits if you are in a pinch. Biscuits are so easy to make, why would anyone want to use canned?

Cheese & Onion Baking Powder Biscuits

2 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. shortening

1 cup grated Cheddar Cheese

2 Tbls. finely chopped onion

1 Tbls chopped parsley

3/4 c. milk
 

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder into bowl. Add shortening and cut into flour with fork or pastry cutter. Stir in cheese, onion and parsley. Pour in milk and stir lightly until dough holds together. Turn dough out on lightly floured board. Pat dough out until 1/2 inch thick and cut with biscuit cutter or cup rim. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes. This recipe makes about 10  2 1/2 inch biscuits.

 

Sloppy Jakes

3 lbs. ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
2  15 oz. cans of Sloppy Joe sauce
1 cup water
Cheese and Onion Biscuit dough

               In a 12" Dutch Oven, brown the ground beef with the onions and peppers. Drain off the fat. Mix the ground beef mixture, Sloppy Joe sauce and water together. Heat till bubbly. While meat mixture is heating, roll dough to about 1/2 inch thick and cut with any size biscuit cutter. when mixture is bubbly drop cut biscuits on top.  Cook in the Dutch oven for 20-30 minutes with 8 coals on bottom and 14-16 on top. Rotate lid about every10 minutes to brown evenly.

This is a super easy meal for camping. Any biscuit recipe will do, but I like Baking Powder Biscuits best.

Sourdough & Dutch Ovens

I don't know why, but when I make sourdough bread, it just call out to my Dutch ovens!  We had a Pioneer Day Activity here in Decatur for the kids 8-11 years old. I talked to the kids about how the pioneers cooked. It was so much fun! I made "Utah" scones and sourdough bread. The kids made butter to put on top of the breads, and it was delicious!



Most often for sourdough bread I will use the recipe on King Arthur Flour for Rustic Sourdough bread. It is very basic, fast and delicious.

 

The recipe uses yeast to help it rise faster, but this is just as great without yeast. The night before you want the bread, make the recipes as directed omitting the yeast. I form 1/2 the bread dough and place it in my greased 10" Dutch oven. I then place it in my refrigerator over night. I remove it from the fridge about 2-3 hours before I bake it. If I was cooking it in colder weather I might take it out in the morning.  I then cook the bread with 8 briquettes on the bottom and 14 on top, rotating every 15 minutes. The sourdough starter here in Illinois is more sweet than commercial sourdough or San Francisco sourdough.  This bread is wonderful served with soup or salads. I also like it with flavored butters! To see the full recipe go to my sourdough page at this blog!

"Utah Scones" not to be confused with British Scones.



Deep fried bread dough, best served with butter, honey or molasses!