A new cooking experience



Mom, G, Amazing friend
(not sure what mom is looking at)



This past weekend I used a fun coupon. One of our local news stations has deals similar to Groupon. The one I used this past weekend was for a place called Your Secret Kitchen. All the ingredients are ready for you and all you have to do is put everything together. No clean up, no prep, no shopping! Everything is raw so you can take it home and cook it for your meal that night or store in the freezer for a later date. I had purchased a coupon for my mom and myself so we could have a little bonding time and one of my good friends happened to have one as well so the three of us went together. In a little less than two hours each of us had meals for a whole week!

The six meals I made were:

Fruity Stuffed French Toast

Fish El Diablo

Caribbean Jerk Chicken

Cherry Glazed Smoked Pork Loin – for husband

Chicken Manicotti

Slow Roasted BBQ Roast

As much as I enjoy the process of cooking in my kitchen, this was a really fun break and definitely one I will do again in the future. I picked the smaller meal sizes (2-3 servings) since I was unsure how the whole process would go and if I would like the food or not. In the future I may make the family sized portions (4-6 servings) since husband and I like to have leftovers for lunch.

I enjoy cooking at home too much to do this every week but I can see myself doing this a few times a year. I like the idea of having meals in my freezer that I can pull out at any time instead of going out to eat. Premade meals that you can find at the grocery store would work, but these are meals that I made myself and I know what is in each of them. Based on the regular price (not the coupon price) the price of each meal from the package I picked was $10.83. That’s more than I would typically spend on a meal at home but it’s so much cheaper than eating out! When you add in the amount of time I would have spent shopping for those ingredients, prepping the ingredients and the time it would take me to clean up, this really is a spectacular deal. If you have one of these little gems in your town go check them out! Bring a friend or two and be ready to have fun.

Chicken Pasta Salad a l'Orange

This summer heat is stifling. Husband and I lead pretty ‘green’ lifestyle and I’m usually on top of making sure we are conserving resources but this heat is making me think we may need to recheck out insulation. Our basement is wonderfully cool, the first floor is comfortable and our upstairs (where Husband’s office and the master bedroom are located) are not comfortable at all.

 

Normally when I don’t like the weather I like to make something in the spirit of the season I wish I was in, but it’s too hot to be making chili or beef stew. I opted for a nice salad. I pulled this recipe out of the binder and decided that after looking it over for years I would finally make it. I had to do a little research to find credit for this recipe. I copied the recipe out of a cookbook that a coworker in Denver let me borrow. I have a small pile of recipes from the cookbook that i hae tried and they are all yummy.

 

I had already cooked chicken earlier in the week knowing that it was going to be hot. I only had to heat the water to cook the pasta. I omitted the olives and used all 15 oz of mandarin oranges from my can. I did not add the sugar or the avocados. Instead of mixed greens I used some lovely bib lettuce that we received from the farm.

 

I was only able to eat this for dinner once. Husband loved the salad so much he had seconds at dinner and devoured the leftovers for lunch the next day. I definitely take that as a compliment, but the salad was so yummy I really did want more! Oh well, with this heat I wouldn’t be hesitant about making it again.

 

2-1/2 cups uncooked bow tie pasta

2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast

2 celery ribs, thinly sliced

1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges, drained

1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained

1/3 cup fat-free plain yogurt

1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

1/4 cup thawed orange juice concentrate

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

6 cups torn mixed salad greens

1/2 cup cubed avocado

 

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, chicken, celery, oranges and olives.

For dressing, in a small bowl, combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, orange juice concentrate, vinegar, sugar, salt and mustard. Pour over pasta mixture and toss to coat.

For each serving, spoon 1-1/3 cups pasta mixture over 1 cup of greens; top with about 1 tablespoon avocado.

 

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Chicken-Pasta-Salad-a-l-Orange?addtolist=y

Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

We received some beautiful spinach from the farm and I wanted to make something other than salad with it. Salad seems natural, but I wanted something different. I had cooked up a bag of chicken earlier in the week so other than sauteing the veggies and making the quesadillas themselves I didn’t have to heat up the kitchen to make dinner. These quesadillas are very very yummy. These make a great meal alone but would be even better with something small on the side. I served these with ramekins of yellow pepper soup. Salad would also be a great side dish.

I know this recipe is supposed to be healthy (thank you Ellie Krieger for all your fantastic recipes) and that is the reason for using such a small amount of cheese. I completely get that. Please, when you make this yourself, use more cheese! There is just not simply enough cheese to really hold this together well.

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)

8 ounces white button mushrooms, (about 3 cups)

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups cooked chopped skinless, boneless chicken breast (1 breast half)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 cups baby spinach leaves, sliced into ribbons

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

4 (10-inch) whole-grain flour tortillas

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese mix or Cheddar

1/2 cup salsa

1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the mushroom water is evaporated and they begin to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add chicken, cumin, chili powder and oregano and stir until all spices are incorporated. Add spinach, salt and pepper and cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.
Lay 1 tortilla on a flat work surface and sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Spoon 1/2 chicken and vegetable mixture on top of cheese, then top with an additional 1/4 cup cheese. Top with another flour tortilla. Heat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray over medium heat. Carefully place 1 quesadilla in pan and cook 3 minutes. Using a large spatula, gently flip quesadilla and cook an additional 3 minutes until lightly browned and cheese is melted. Repeat with second quesadilla. Slice each quesadilla into quarters. Place 2 quarters on a plate with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 2 tablespoons salsa.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/easy-chicken-mushroom-quesadillas-recipe/index.html

Swiss Barley Risotto

Mmmmmm… vegetables! So delicious, I can’t wait to eat more vegetables.

That is not me. That is the me I wish I was. That is the me I am trying to become. Buying a share in a farm is really helping me get on that bandwagon, but I think it’s still going to take some time. Week 4’s drop off was fantastic: kale, Swiss chard, beets, mixed lettuces, summer squash and loads of basil. They are all beautiful to look at and they smell delicious but I did have a moment where I asked myself “great, now what.” I passed on the lettuces and the basil to my parents since my grandparents are coming into town this weekend to check out our local Jazz Festival. The kale is being turned into baby food unless I can find the recipe for Olive Garden’s potato and sausage soup. The beets may be turned into cake. The basil will go into EVERYTHING! The squash will be eaten as a side dish. But the Swiss chard, I had glorious plans for this one.

Enter Natural Home magazine. I pick this up from time to time when I’m feeling especially green. I was flipping through a somewhat recent issue at my parent’s house and stumbled upon this gem of a recipe. My dad looked it over and was about as excited as I was. I knew I had everything I needed at home to make this (or ingredients that would be close enough to work) so when my Good Earth delivery arrived I started cooking.

At first glance this recipe looks labor intensive, but it’s really not. I was able to clean my kitchen and make two batches of baby food for little one while this was cooking. I cooked everything in my Dutch oven to avoid lots of dishes. How much is a “bunch of Swiss chard?” No idea, I used what we had. It cooks down quite a bit, and after using the food processor I had a cup of veggies. I used Magi (chicken broth) since I didn’t have vegetable broth on hand. I used Chardonnay as my white wine. We didn’t have any type of Swiss cheese in the house. I had Manchego (Spanish sheep cheese) or parmesan (Italian) to choose from. Geographically, Italy is much closer to Switzerland than Spain so I went with the parmesan.

1 medium onion
2 tablespoons butter
1 bunch organic Swiss chard
1 cup water
1 cup pearl barley
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups mushroom or vegetable broth, divided
3 ounces Gruyere (or other Swiss cheese), grated
Salt and pepper, to taste

Mince onion and toss with butter in a large frying pan over medium heat, stirring regularly until translucent (about 5 minutes). In the meantime, wash chard, remove thick ends of stems, roll leaves like a cigar, and slice thinly. Add chard to pan and toss until wilted (about 2 minutes). Add a cup of water, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 4 minutes.

Set a strainer over a medium bowl and strain cooked onion and chard, collecting pot liquor. Press veggies with a spoon to release liquid, and set liquid aside. Process chard and onion in a food processor until smooth and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat and toss in barley, stirring to coat. Continue to stir for about 5 minutes, until barley begins to toast. Add wine and stir until liquid is absorbed. Add green liquid from chard and 2 cups of broth. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and stir every 5 to 6 minutes for about 45 minutes, adding broth whenever mixture thickens.  When barley is cooked (it should be soft but chewy), add pureed vegetables and cheese, stirring until well blended. Season to taste.

http://www.naturalhomeandgarden.com/cooking/take-comfort-swiss-barley-risotto.aspx#ixzz1S5LO5tJD

Yellow-Pepper Soup

Soup puts me in a very good mood. I don’t care if it’s 100 degrees or ten below outside, if there is a yummy soup I will eat it. If there’s a soup I’m craving I will make it. I could easily say that this soup might fall into my top ten favorite soups. Unfortunately because of the cost of peppers I make this soup about once a year. Oddly, the cost of really good chocolate does not stop me from making brownies – I may have to revisit this.

Yellow peppers can be expensive in my area. My grocery store was trying out something new the other day (which I was not a fan of) where they were selling produce outside for less than what they were selling it for inside. They had pineapples, peppers, melons and various other fruits and veggies. Outside yellow pepper were selling for $.77, inside they were selling for $1.50. Even though yellow pepper soup was not on the menu I grabbed a few peppers anyway. All the other ingredients that go into this soup are typically in my pantry so I was good to go.

I’m not sure where my grandma found this recipe. It is on a magazine clipping taped to an index card with a few notes from my grandma on it. We made the soup for fun one day at her house when I was visiting and I fell in love. I think she had some extra peppers and she needed a way to use them. She sent me home with the recipe knowing that she would more than likely not make it again for her and grandpa. I made this soup with my dad two summers ago and we canned the soup so I had it ready to go in my pantry. Yes, I could have just as easily frozen the soup, but my dad enjoys canning and I enjoy bonding time with him as he cans.

I haven’t made any adjustments to the recipe. Grandma however has crossed out the Yukon gold potato. Her note reads “Very Good! Strong pepper flavor but then try adding more red potatoes.” I’m not sure if she tried this with Yukon golds and it failed or if she just has a soft place in her heart for red potatoes. I used russet because they were in the potato bin.

2 teaspoons olive oil

2/3 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup diced celery

1 ¾ cups low-salt chicken broth

1 ¼ cup water

¾ cup cubed peeled Yukon gold or red potato

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp pepper

2 yellow peppers, seeded, halved and cut into quarters (about ¾ pound)

Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add onion and celery; cook 7 minutes or until onion is soft. Add the broth and next 6 ingredients (broth through bell peppers); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Place half of the bell pepper mixture in a blender, and process until smooth. Pour pureed bell pepper mixture into a large bowl. Repeat process with remaining bell pepper mixture. Spoon soup into bowls; garnish with parsley, if desired.

Green Chile & Chicken Enchiladas

 

This is the enchilada recipe I mentioned way back when I made Martha Stewart’s Chicken Enchiladas Verdes. Martha’s are good, I just think these are better. It may be the addition of the refried beans that makes me like this recipe more or it could be the fact that these are just a little less work.

The sauce can take a little time to make only because the poblanos need to be roasted. Before we renovated the kitchen and I was still using that awful wall oven from who-knows-when I would put the poblanos under the broiler for a good roasting. Now that I have my glorious gas oven I place to poblanos over a flame on the stove. I enjoy the way charring peppers smell. It gives the house a “I’m cooking something delicious” smell.

It may defeat the purpose of Cook Yourself Thin, but I’ve made two small changes to this recipe. I use the whole can of refried beans. One cup is simply not enough for me to be happy. When I have it on hand, I like to add a little extra cheese. In my world, enchiladas are cheesy. I found myself without chicken one evening but I did have some leftover ground beef. I made the switch and it worked well. Don’t be afraid to try different meats!

I’ve made this recipe quite a few times and I am still confused by the mention of a “shredded chicken mixture” in step three. Maybe I’m glazing over where the chicken is mixed with something, if so please let me know. I just add the chicken as it is.

2 roasted poblano peppers, peeled
1 bunch of cilantro leaves, washed, stems discarded
1 lime, zested and juiced
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 corn tortillas
1 cup canned nonfat refried beans
3 cups of leftover roast chicken, shredded
3/4 cup reduced-fat shredded cheese, such as Mexican-style, Monterey Jack or cheddar
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
1 lime, cut into wedges, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Lightly oil a 9-x-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray or 1 teaspoon olive oil. In a food processor or a blender, combine the roasted and peeled peppers, cilantro, garlic, lime zest and juice, chicken stock, salt and pepper, and puree until smooth.

3. Spread 1/3 cup of the sauce in the prepared baking dish. Top with a layer of 6 overlapping tortillas. Spread refried beans evenly over the tortillas. Top the beans with the shredded chicken mixture, and add 1/3 of the sauce, followed by the remaining 6 tortillas. Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas. Cover with foil.

4. Bake the enchiladas until they begin to bubble on the sides, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil; sprinkle cheese and scallions on top. Continue baking until heated through and the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes more. Top with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/cook-yourself-thin/recipes/green-chile-chicken-enchiladas

Chickpeas and Chorizo

Because it’s summer I haven’t been feeling the urge to cook lately. Our pantry, fridge, freezer and deep freeze have slowly been filling up with food over the last few months and I felt it was high time to start cleaning them out. Shopping trips have lead to great deals which lead to buying a little extra for the pantry. Our CSA has been delivering amazing veggies. The deep freeze still has meals that I cooked while I was pregnant because every website and book I read recommended making meals ahead of time and freezing them because I would be too tired to cook once little one arrived. Needless to say, I have been trying to use up what we have. This has lead to some wonderful meals but nothing I am overly proud to share. Red sauce over pasta with feta? Yummy! Not groundbreaking stuff. Buffalo burgers on the grill? Great! A stunning new recipe, not at all. Defrosted bags of frozen soup. Incredible, I will share the recipe when I make the soup again.

I did feel the need to make something out of one of my cookbooks and for some reason summer heat makes me think of Spanish food. Maybe it’s not really summer that makes me think of Spain, maybe it’s listening to husband read little one Don Quiote in Spanish each night that makes me want to cook with chorizo, tomatoes and saffron. What ever the reason, I found this little gem. This recipe requires very little cooking time and the end result can be eaten at room temperature. I didn’t have pimiento del piquillos in the house, but I did have a roasted red bell pepper that need to be used and I think it worked just as well. Crusty bread really is a must!


Chickpeas and Chorizo (Spain)
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped finely
1 large garlic clove, crushed
9 oz chorizo sausage in one piece, casing removed and cut into ½ in dice
14 oz canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 pimientos del piquillo, drained, patted dry and sliced
1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar, or to taste
salt and pepper
finely chopped parsley, to garnish
crusty bread slices, to serve

Heat the oil in a large, heavy bottom skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, but not browned. Stir in the chorizo and continue cooking until it is heated through.

Tip the mixture into a bowl and stir in the chickpeas and peppers. Splash with sherry vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot or at room temperature, generously sprinkled with parsley, with plenty of crusty bread. 

World Food Spain - Beverly LeBlanc