Chicken Paprikash

This is one of those recipes that I've been meaning to write down for years because it's such a family classic! If I had to sum up Chicken Paprikash in just a few words, I'd say - Hungarian comfort food. My mom's family has been cooking big batches of this rich, rustic dish for family dinners since I can remember. My Aunt Rita is the keeper of the recipe I'd say. I cook it with her every chance I get when I'm visiting family! Each branch of the family tree puts their own little spin on it, and the recipe below is my contribution to the family recipe book. :)

For those of you who have never heard of Chicken Paprikash, it's basically chicken and dumplings in a sour cream and smoky paprika sauce made with sauteed onions, bacon, and tomatoes. The Galuska dumplings are doughy pillows of goodness. They're kind of like big hunks of pasta, a little firm. Basically - heaven. The paprika and bacon both give the dish an undeniable smoky flavor which is balanced by the tang of the sour cream. It's quite decadent, just like comfort food should be.

Now let's be honest - this dish isn't winning an beauty pageants. But take one bite, and you WILL NOT EVEN CARE because it's so delicious! It's rich, smoky, creamy, meaty, and satisfying. And don't be intimidated by the number of steps in this recipe! Each step is very easy, I promise!

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Chicken Paprikash

by Saucy Jocey's Kitchen June-7-2016

This Hungarian comfort food brings together chicken and Galuska dumplings in a sour cream and smoky paprika sauce made with sauteed onions, bacon, and tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 2 slices bacon
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 bone-in chicken breasts
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 2 batches Galuska (http://www.saucyjoceyskitchen.com/2016/06/galuska.html)
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tbsp chopped parsley and a little sprinkle of paprika for garnish, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Slice bacon into ¼ inch pieces. Chop onion and tomato.3. The first phase of cooking takes place on the stove top. Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat on the stove top until crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a plate covered with paper towels. (If you have a Dutch oven or some other pot with a lid that can be used both on the stove top and in the oven, that’s ideal. If not, use a deep saucepan or pot on the stovetop and a different oven-safe dish in the oven for the second phase of cooking.)4. Pat chicken breasts dry with a paper towel and sprinkle salt and black pepper on both sides. Cook chicken in the bacon fat in the pot for 5 minutes on each side, just to get the outside golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pot.5. Sauté chopped onion and tomatoes in the bacon/chicken fat for 3-5 minutes until the onions are translucent.6. Add paprika, water, and cooked bacon to the pot and stir. Return chicken to the pot skin side up.7. Cover and move the pot to the oven (if you need to, switch contents to an oven safe dish) to bake for 15 minutes. 8. Prepare Galuska while the dish is baking in the oven.9. After 15 minutes of baking, take the top off the pot and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the interior of the chicken breast reaches 165 degrees F.10. Pull the pot out of the oven and remove the chicken. Remove the meat from the bones and chop the meat in 1 – 2 inch chunks. Return meat to the pot. 11. Add sour cream to the pot and stir. Add Galuska and stir.12. Taste and add additional salt if desired. Top with a sprinkle of paprika and chopped parsley, and enjoy!

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 1 hour 25 mins Total time: 1 hour 30 mins Yield: 5 servings

Note: Recipe inspired by "Paprika Chicken" in George Lang's "The Cuisine of Hungary"

Step 1 - 2: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice bacon into ¼ inch pieces. Chop onion and tomato.

Step 3: Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat on the stove top until crispy, about 8 minutes. Aaaaall of those little brown bits on the bottom are going to infuse the bacon flavor in the whole dish! Yum!

Step 3 continued: Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a plate covered with paper towels. 

Step 4: Pat chicken breasts dry with a paper towel and sprinkle salt and black pepper on both sides.

Step 4 continued: Cook one side of the chicken in the bacon fat in the pot for 5 minutes....

Step 4 continued: Then cook the other side for 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot.

Step 5: Sauté chopped onion and tomatoes in the bacon/chicken fat for 3-5 minutes until the onions are translucent. This is where those brown bits in the bottom of the pan from the bacon and the chicken come in! All of that smoky, meaty goodness gets absorbed into the onions and tomatoes.

Now for MORE smoky flavor! The paprika gives the dish such a deep flavor AND color.

Step 6: Add paprika, water, and cooked bacon to the pot and stir. Return chicken to the pot skin side up.

Step 7: Cover and move the pot to the oven (if you need to, switch contents to an oven safe dish) to bake for 15 minutes.

Step 8: Prepare Galuska while the dish is baking in the oven. Pictured here is 1/3 of a batch. You'll make 2 full batches!

Step 9: After 15 minutes of baking, take the top off the pot and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the interior of the chicken breast reaches 165 degrees F.

This is what it looks like when the baking is done!

Step 10: Pull the pot out of the oven and remove the chicken. Remove the meat from the bones and chop the meat in 1 – 2 inch chunks. Return meat to the pot.

Step 11: Add sour cream to the pot and stir. Look at that beautiful color!

Step 11 continued: Add Galuska and stir.

Step 12: Taste and add additional salt if desired, sprinkle with some paprika and chopped fresh parsley, and DIG IN! This dish will absolutely warm your soul. It's so creamy and meaty and smoky but the tang of the sour cream balances those flavors very nicely. And the Galuska is the PERFECT vehicle for all the saucy deliciousness. Enjoy!

SJK Approved - Vegetable Lasagna

I am SO excited to share my first SJK Approved post with you all. I'll be featuring recipes, restaurants, kitchen gadgets, and other foodie goodies which I have personally tested and approved and LOVE! Stay tuned and follow along at #SJKApproved for more!

First up is Vegetable Lasagna by The Pioneer Woman. This is one of those recipes I've made over and over again because it's just so darn good. Pasta? Check. Cheese? Check. Hearty veggies cooked in a spicy tomato sauce + a little wine? Check. Done and done. It's not heavy like some lasagnas I've had, and you don't miss the meat at all! Meatless Monday never tasted so good.

My husband puts in requests for this recipe! And while I'm usually cooking for just the two of us, I don't mind making a big batch because this lasagna freezes VERY well. I use a few zucchini in place of the mushrooms because Paul isn't a mushroom fan :( I'm saddened by this, but the veggie lasagna tastes amazing either way.

Can I also gush about how much I love Ree Drummond for a minute? She's so fun to watch on the Food Network because she's so cheerful! I love the personal touches she puts on her recipes, sometimes planning them with specific family members in mind. She's such a great story teller and you can see all of the love she puts into her food on the show! She's lovely and her recipes have never failed me. Two thumbs up for Ree Drummond.

You all NEED this vegetable lasagna in your lives! See the recipe and Ree Drummond's flawless step-by-step pictures here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/04/vegetable-lasagna/

My Big Fat Greek Recipe Collection

In honor of Greek Easter on Sunday, I thought I'd compile and share my Greek recipe posts! Greek Easter as a youngster for me meant celebrating with loads of family, loads of food, and an Easter egg hunt with hundreds of eggs filled with candy and cash (not just coins my friend, bills. The Greeks don't mess around with Easter).

Even if you don't celebrate Greek Easter (or Easter at all), look at Sunday as an excuse to eat Greek food! It's also Cinco de Mayo - What's a girl to do? Greek for lunch, Mexican for dinner probably. Check out my Cinco de Mayo Pinterest board for recipes and entertaining ideas!

Pictured to the left is little-me and my Papou :) Some of my fondest memories of him are of him coming over to my house and cooking for us, dictating the recipes to my parents. My parents gifted me with those written recipes a few months ago, and I was so happy I was brought to tears.

I feel the most connected to my Greek culture when I'm cooking! Below are some recipes from my family, some from me, and there is a whole recipe book full of more to come! Enjoy!

  Not only is Greek Salad undoubtedly DELICIOUS, but Greek Salad Dressing is extra virgin olive oil and vinegar based, do it's healthy! I love making a chunky salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, feta, and red onions. One of my go-to pot luck/tailgate/picnic dishes is Greek Pasta Salad, which is just the normal salad with rotini pasta and chicken! It's wonderful with or without the chicken.

One of my favorite dishes of all time is a Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce. For me, the more garlic, the better, which is why I could pretty much eat tzatziki sauce plain by the spoonful. There's only one time in my life when I uttered the words "Well that's just too much damn garlic." I was eating skordalia at a restaurant and my dad (the only full-blooded Greek at the table) was the only one who could eat the seemingly half potato, half garlic spread, which is usually very tasty, but had gone a little overkill this time. Anyway, the point is, if you love garlic, you will love tzatziki sauce! Try it if you haven't already!

These 3 recipes are straight from my grandparents' recipe book. Tiropita is a savory cheese pie, which is enticing enough I think! The phyllo dough is buttery and flaky and the cheese filling is hot and creamy... You can't beat it. You just can't. 

Dolmades are stuffed grape leaves, and just about every recipe for the filling is different. Ours is ground beef and rice based, but there are quite a few vegetarian versions out there too! These little bite-sized meaty bundles are the perfect hor d'ouevre!

Last but not least, for dessert - the simple, understated perfection that is Rice Pudding. It's nothing fancy, but it's my FAVORITE. I even like it better than baklava! I know, I know, where's the baklava? It's still in the book! Coming soon though :) don't worry.

Check out My Big Fat Greek Recipe Board on Pinterest! 

I hope you all enjoy my family's recipes :) It makes me happy to be able to share the love and share the food. It's the Greek woman in me - I need to feed people. Now go eat some Greek food!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

I am so DELIGHTED to be finally sharing this recipe! Stuffed Pepper Soup is a staple in my kitchen and in my family but it's been so HOT outside that I haven't been able to make it until now! Lucky for me, North Florida has a lovely fall season and I finally got to bust out this classic :) As I said, I've been eating this meal as long as I can remember. My mom is not a huge fan of cooking but she LOVES making this, and everyone loves eating it. The French bread and butter is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY. The soup is just not the same without it. Don't skip that step. It really doesn't get much more simple than this! So few ingredient, but so much flavor, it amazes me really. The beef, peppers, and tomato flavors blend beautifully together with just one standard seasoning - salt. That's it, but I promise the basic ingredients come together in a wonderful way.

Featured in La Petite Fashionista Magazine!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Makes 4 Servings

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1/2 cup rice

1/4 cup water

1 egg

46 fl oz tomato juice

46 fl oz water

3 green bell peppers

1 loaf French bread

1/4 cup butter

Salt to taste

1. Mix tomato juice and water in a large pot and turn heat to high. Mix ground beef, rice, water, and egg in a large bowl.

2. Slice off the top third of two of the bell peppers. Cut around and discard the stems. Discard any seeds. Tightly pack meat mixture in the hollowed out bell peppers.

3. Cut the remaining bell pepper and top pieces into 1 1/2 inch cubes, discarding stems and seeds. Form the remaining meat mixture into meatballs 2 inches in diameter.

4. Add stuffed peppers, meatballs, and pepper chunks to the pot. When the pot comes to a boil, cover and turn heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serve with sliced French bread and butter. 

Mix the tomato juice and water in a large pot and turn the heat to high. To make your life easy simply pour the tomato juice in, fill the tomato juice container with water, add that to the pot, and mix!

Mix the ground beef, rice, water, and egg. Simple ingredients.

Slice the top third off of two bell peppers. The larger bases will hold some of the stuffing! Discard any seeds and stems. Don't waste the pepper pieces around the stems though!

All clean.

Tightly pack the meat mixture in the hallowed out bell peppers and add them to the pot.

Chop up the other bell pepper, discarding the stems and seeds like before.

Form the remaining meat mixture into 2 inch meatballs and add all meatballs and peppers to the pot!

When the pot comes to a boil, cover and simmer on low for an hour and a half. This is another one of those meals that makes your house smell scrumptious!

Salt to taste and serve with French bread and butter. This recipe is perfect for feeding large groups of people! Depending on the size of your pot, you could fill it with more stuffed peppers and meatballs for a larger crowd. I've even had two pots going on the stove at the same time for large groups! It's definitely hungry-man approved - my boyfriend puts in requests for this soup! The flavor tastes as if you put 49189173679 times more effort into the recipe than you really did, which is always good! Enjoy this easy and hearty family recipe :)