cook this!

I love this show. Their family is a lot like mine. Their house looks a lot like mine. Chaos. Complete chaos. Always.

The other day I was watching TV and saw that the Roloffs were going to be on Rachael Ray. I'm not a fan of Rachael Ray; she's a little too perky for me to handle, so I've never watched any of her shows, but if the Roloffs are going to be guests, I'll tune in.

It was on earlier this week, but I watched the segment yesterday (love our DVR!!). She had them cook a meal that looked so good I completely changed my dinner idea for the evening and headed to the store at 4pm to get what I needed for this recipe.

It was so good. It was so easy. It was so quick. I think I am sold on Rachael Ray after just one 15-minute segment on her show.

It's called Paprika Chicken Stew with Potato Pierogies. I've never had a pierogi, so for those of you who have also never had a pierogi, it is a potato filled past shell. It's like a potato pot-sticker. I bought frozen potato and onion pierogies. There was also potato and cheese. Anyway, you boil them for a few minutes, then you fry them in butter until they get crunchy like a pot-sticker. So yummy.

My entire family loved this meal. It was hearty, filling and warmifying. Perfect for a cold night.
We ate the pierogies on the side not on top of the stew. We used sour cream and chives instead of lemon and rosemary.

Enjoy!

Paprika Chicken Stew with Potato Pierogies

This is a great meal for a family because the longer it sits, the better it gets. Leave the stew on the stove top with the lid on and brown up the pierogies right before serving.

ingredients

1/2 pound (about half of a package) smoky, good-quality bacon, chopped into half-inch pieces
3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided plus some for coating the pierogies
3 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs, cut into chunks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large onions, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
5 cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons flour
2 rounded tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup white wine
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
4 tablespoons butter
24 potato pierogies (if unavailable, serve over buttered egg noodles)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chives, chopped

Optional:
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoon parsley, chopped

preparation

Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring up to a boil for the pierogies.

Place a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon, add the bacon and cook until brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes. Season chicken with salt and pepper, add to the pot with the bacon and brown all sides, about 5 minutes. Add onions, carrots and garlic, paprika, cumin, marjoram and bay leaves and cook for about 4-5 minutes, until the veggies are tender. Make a well in the middle of the pan and add 2 tablespoons of EVOO. Add the flour to the EVOO and mix to form a paste.

Add the white wine, scrapping up all of the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock and tomatoes and cook for about 20 minutes until the stew has thickened.

While the stew is cooking, cook the pierogies according to the package in boiling water. Remove from the water, drain and coat lightly with EVOO so they do not stick together. Heat a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, add the butter and cook until butter turns slightly brown and gives off a nutty smell. Make sure not to burn the butter though! Add the cooked pierogies to the pan and cook until slightly browned on both sides, about 1-2 minutes per side.

Serve the stew in large bowls with about a tablespoon of sour cream and chopped chives. Or serve the stew with a sprinkle of lemon zest, rosemary and parsley. Place the pierogies on top of the stew and eat! Yields 6 servings.