Dutch Oven: Chicken Pot Pie

This is kind of a cheater recipe... easy to prepare if your going campoing or to a music festival. It also can be made using a sitove/oven combo in your house. I've made it out in the desert using briquettes and at home. You can cut up your own veggies, but when I went camping I thought it was easiest to bring frozen veggie packs.

Note: I'm using a 10 inch cast iron dutch oven.

1 lb chicken
2 vegetable soup mix kroger brand frozen packages (12 oz)
2 cans cream of ckicken soup (10.5 oz)
Enough milk to fill the soup cans (almost 3 cups)
1 tube kroger brand jumbo biscuits
2 tbsp italian seasoning
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp minced garlic

If our cooking outside with charcol you will need about 22 pieces. I hope you know how to get those goin. When you bake near the end you will need 14 on top and 8 on the bottom to reach 350 degree f... but that's using a 10 inch dutch oven. If it is bigger you will need more. Or preheat your oven to 350.

First things first get the pot warmed up and put the olive oil in. When hot add garlic then add chicken shortly after. Flip the pieces around so that they start to get cooked.

Add veggie packets.

Add cream of chicken soup and milk.

Add italian seasoning and bring to a boil.

I let the mixture thicken up a bit then add the biscuits on top.

Put the lid on and bake for about 13 mins, but pop the lid off and check to make sure the biscuits are done... you don't want raw biscuits.

This can feed about 6 people really well and its simple to make.

Slow cooker: Cincinnati style chili

 2lbs ground turkey - I used turkey or you can use beef
1 29oz can tomato sauce
1 15oz can kidney beans - drained and rinsed
1 medium yellow onion - chopped
6 cloves garlic - minced
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3 bay leaves
1 heaping tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp olive oil
3 pasilla-ancho chilis - deseed and remove tops and try to chop or blend
2/3 cup bbq sauce - sweet rather than smokey
2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 can of pabst beer

Heat olive oil on medium flame in a large pot, add onion and mince garlic. Cook in pan until onions go slightly translucent. Add ground meat and chili powder, cumin, cloves, cocoa powder, cinnamon, allspice,  and brown the meat.

Meanwhile, add the beans to the slow cooker (mines about 4 liters). I would recommend putting the pasilla-ancho chilis to a food processor or blender with a little bit of water rather than chopping (its a pain in the ass) and then add to the crockpot. Add the browned meat and the 29oz can of tomato sauce. Add the bay leaves, brown sugar, vinegar, and the 1/2 can of pabst. Hope you drank the other half while preparing this.

Cook on high in slow cooker for 6 hours. serve on spaghetti with plenty of cheese(sharp cheddar). You can also serve it on hotdogs with cheese or in a tortilla with cheese. I've even made florentine style benedicts and used the chili instead of the benedict sauce, add cheese and it was the shit. I've even put it on leftover pizza... This is one of my favorites. I grew up in the cincinnati area and I hope this gives someone a taste from home.

Polenta con le vongole fungi: dinner for two

3/4 tube of friedas polenta
1/2 red onion - diced
1 Tbsp butter
5 mushrooms - sliced
1/2 jar red sauce, I used 26 oz ragu... or make your own.
5 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
2 mozzarella balls
1tsp italian seasoning
1/2 can of beer
1lb clams

preheat oven at 375f

Prepare oven safe plates by putting down red sauce in equal portions on each. Slice polenta in 8 equal slices. Arrange onto of sauce in a line of 3. Sprinkle some shredded parmesan and italian seasoning onto the plates. Place last slices of polenta on the middle slice on the plate and place mozzarella ball on top.

Place into oven for 15 minutes.

Next melt butter in skillet and make sure you have a glass lid that fits it. When melted add diced onion, minced garlic, and sliced mushrooms. Cook for until onions are clear, about 8-10 mins then add clams and beer and 2 tbsp of red sauce and bring to a simmer. Cover and lower heat to low. Steam the clams until you see them all open up(about 8 mins), discard any that don't.

Now arrange the clams on the hot plate around the polenta, add the mushroom mixture to the slices on the outside and the rest of the parmesan on top. Spoon the juices from the pan into the open clams and serve.