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Nikki’s Recipe Book: One Pan Chicken Pasta

Aug 9, 2022 | Creekside Dreams, Food and Wine, Nikki's Recipe Book

Nikki’s One Pan Chicken Pasta
When The Palace Hotel is packed there is not much time for a home cooked meal. This one pan chicken pasta is a quick and easy delicious dinner.

Ingredients
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs – cut into12 pieces – pat dry
2 tsp. olive oil
Salt & pepper
1 cup chopped ham (not deli ham) cut into 1 inch pieces
¼ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 ½ cups chicken broth warmed
2 cups dry pasta (ie elbows, penne, etc.)
1 cup fresh broccoli florets
1 tsp chopped green onion – for garnish

1.      Heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and tilt pan to spread.

2.      When olive oil is hot, place chicken in pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3.      Turn after 5 minutes, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown for 5 minutes more

4.      Remove chicken to a bowl and cover to keep warm

5.      Decrease heat slightly

6.      Add celery and onion to pan, stir and cook until tender.

7.      Add ham to pan, stir and cook about 2 minutes

8.      Add tomatoes and broth. Heat to simmer.

9.      Stir in pasta, return chicken to pan and cuddle it with the pasta.

10.   Partially cover pan and cook 15 minutes.

11.   Move pasta and chicken around so pasta is submerged

12.   Place broccoli florets carefully on top of mixture.

13.   Cover and cook 10-15 minutes more until chicken, pasta and broccoli are done.

14.   Serve, sprinkling green onion over each serving.

 

Note: type of pasta and size of thighs will determine cooking time

Nikki’s Recipe Book: Macaroni and Cheese with Ham and Tomatoes

Nov 17, 2021 | Creekside Dreams, Food and Wine, Nikki's Recipe Book

Nikki’s Macaroni and Cheese with Ham and Tomatoess
The Palace Hotel in Creekside, Arizona expereinces the best of every season. Flowers in bloom covering trees in Spring bring love to the town. A lite dust of snow calls for cozy nights by the fire with family in Winter.  During the chilly times of year, Nikki warms the hearts of her community with comfort food. For ages she has served a twist of Macaroni and Cheese. Her recipes is NOT from a box. Instead she shreds the cheese and adds flavor with ham and juicy tomatoes. 

Ingredients
2 Tb. Butter
Cooked Ham cut into small cubes
12 dry pasta
¼ cu of white wine
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
¼ cup frozen peas (optional)
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (not pre-packaged grated)
1 additional Tb of butter
Water
Salt & pepper

Directions

  1. Drain liquid from tomatoes into 1 cup measure – set tomatoes aside
  2. Add wine and water to measuring cup to make 1 cup
  3. Melt butter in large skillet
  4. Add liquid, pasta, ham, peas and tomatoes to skillet
  5. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, 9 to 15 minutes, until pasta is cooked
  6. Add salt and pepper and last butter, stir
  7. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until it melts
  8. Let sit one minute then serve

Nikki’s Recipe Book: Palace Potato Salad

May 19, 2021 | Creekside Dreams, Food and Wine, Nikki's Recipe Book

Palace Potato Salad

Nikki Benton, from Sweet Dreams at The Palace Hotel is always looking for fun ways to put together dinner for her growing family while running her business. One meal her family loves is spare ribs from the slow cooker and potato salad. Add a basic green salad and dinner is on the table without turning on the oven or standing over the stove. What makes this Potato Salad unique is the minimal amount of mayo. Having the reduction of the creamy white condiment changes not only the color, but lifts the focus of the dish to be the potato. Yum!

 

Ingredients
5 white or gold potatoes – washed
3 eggs – hard cooked and peeled
3 stalks of celery – cut into thin slices or small chunks
3 green onions – sliced including green tops
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tsp. yellow mustard
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp celery salt
Pinch of celery seed (optional)
6 baby sweet pickles, cut into small pieces

Directions
1. Cover potatoes with water in saucepan, sprinkle with salt. Bring to boil and cook until fork tender, skins may begin to split. (about 20 minutes, depends upon size of potatoes)
2. Drain potatoes.
3. While potatoes cool slightly, combine onion, celery, and pickles in large bowl. Peel and chop eggs and lightly toss with celery mixture.
4. Blend pepper, celery salt, mayonnaise and mustard in a small bowl.
5. When potatoes are cool enough to touch, peel and chop into chunks. Gently stir into celery mixture.
6. Add Mayo/mustard mixture to bowl and stir to just coat.
7. Sprinkle with celery seed.

OPTION:
Store covered in refrigerator. May be served immediately slightly warm or later thoroughly cooled. Nikki usually makes the potato salad the night before, pops the spare ribs in the slow cooker in the morning and her teenagers manage assembling a green salad and getting dinner on the table. Dinner is family time for Nikki, a chance to relax around the table and catch up on the day.
Like Nikki, potato salad always sparks my memories of summer and the time I spent in the kitchen with mom and grandma putting together potato salad and slicing fresh tomatoes. What food(s) trigger your summer memories?

Nikki’s Recipe Book: Tiny Apple Tarts

Feb 9, 2021 | Creekside Dreams, Nikki's Recipe Book

Nikki’s Tiny Apple Tarts
Nikki Benton loves to offer a sweet with the coffee and tea available in the lobby of The Palace Hotel in
the afternoons. In honor of Valentine’s Day when love and sweet treats are everywhere, she adapted
her mother’s apple pie recipe into a tiny apple tart. Making the filling a day ahead means it’s a quick
trick to offer a freshly baked sweet that fills the lobby with the scents of apple and cinnamon.

Ingredients
Pie crust (refrigerated or homemade) enough for a top and bottom of 9” pie
4 red apples washed, cored, sliced thickly and each slice cut into thirds
1 lemon, cut in half and seeds removed
¼ cup butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. brown sugar
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp. brandy (apple juice can be substituted)

Directions
Day before or early in the day:
Place apples in a bowl, squeeze lemon juice onto apples
Mix cinnamon, brown sugar and nutmeg in a small bowl.
Add mixture to apples and gently toss.
Drizzle brandy over apple mixture and cover.
Melt butter over low heat.
Add apple mixture, stirring frequently until apples are soft but not mushy.
Return cooked apple mixture to bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight or several hours.

Next day or later in the day
Heat oven to 350 degrees, line cookie sheet with parchment paper
Roll out pie crust and cut into circles using glass or bowl
Place well-rounded tsp. of filling (for 3 ½ “ circles) in center
Brush water along edge, fold circle, seal with fork tines dipped in water
pressed along edges
Place on parchment paper, poke holes on tops with sharp knife
Bake 10 – 15 min. until light brown, slide onto cooling racks
When cool, store in covered container. May be frozen.
Pour yourself a cup of tea or coffee, find a cozy spot and enjoy a little apple, delish!