YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Chicken with Split-Pea Gravy

This recipe inspires an entirely new approach to gravy. It’s extremely flavorful, the texture is spot-on perfect, and it is impossible to mess up. You should consider it when cooking for company, Friday nights or Sunday dinners, Thanksgiving and other holidays, or any time you want something rich, flavorful, creamy, and cozy, with leftovers guaranteed to keep you satisfied. When my children were elementary school age, it was one of their favorite dinners.

8 chicken drumsticks
1 1/2 cups yellow split peas
3 stalks celery, rinsed and trimmed
4 green onions, sliced
1 quart water
2 large potatoes, each washed well and cut into 4-5 thick slices
2 cloves garlic, peeled

  1. Place split peas, water, garlic, celery, and onion in a large pot.
  2. Cook at least 1 hour, until peas are soft. Blend well with immersion blender until smooth.
  3. Pour into a dutch oven, and stir in the potatoes.
  4. Carefully layer the drumsticks on top, cover, and cook at 325F for 2 hours. Leave uncovered the last 15-20 minutes to allow the potatoes and chicken to brown a bit.
  5. Serve 1-2 drumsticks with 1-2 slices of potato per plate, along with generous amounts of “gravy” on top.
  6. Refrigerate leftovers, and feel free to add 1-2 cups water to turn it into soup the next day if you’d like. Serves 4-6.

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Stuffed Peppers and Split Pea Soup

While our kitchen gets its makeover, the refrigerator, microwave, toaster oven, and water kettle have temporarily taken over a corner of the den, and we are doing our best to use up everything we have. It’s a little bit like camping out, except it’s inside your own house. So I’m trying to be extra-creative.

Our lovely little makeshift pantry has a variety of goodies including a half-empty bag of quinoa, and containers of various dry items such as peanuts, raisins, and cashews; and canned beans, baba ganoush, tomato sauce, and pickles.  Continue reading