Quick & Easy Vegetable Soup

This recipe was inspired by this one from Giada de Laurentis. I doubled it, skipped the crushed red pepper, the beans, and added a lot of vegetables. I made a double batch and froze some of it. I know it is summer, but this is such a quick and easy meal to take to work and if your office is anything like mine, it is frigid in the summer! Feel free to add your own veggies--even frozen ones! It is supposed to be quick and easy. You could also make this meal super inexpensive by using just the marinara, the chicken broth, 1/2 a bag of mixed frozen veggies and the pasta.

Ingredients
1-2 Tbs of EVOO
1 garlic clove, minced
1 onion, diced
1 cup mushrooms
2-3 carrots, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 cup chopped green beans
1/2 cup corn
1 cup frozen pearl onions
2 jars of marinara sauce (I use classico)
4 cups of chicken broth
3/4 cup small pasta (I used piccolini spinach and zucchini wheels)
salt & pepper to taste

1) In a large soup pot, heat the EVOO on medium heat. Add the garlic and stir. Quickly add the onion, mushrooms, carrots, celery, green beans and corn. Heat until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are no longer steaming.
2) Add the pearl onions, the marinara sauce and the chicken broth, until simmering.
3) Add the pasta and cook until soft, about 6-7 minutes.

And you're done! Top with Parmesan cheese if you would like. 

Herb Roasted Chicken with Lemon

I have always been a bit intimidated by roasting a full chicken. However, armed with the poultry shears I got for Christmas, I decided to follow in my mother’s footsteps and make an awesome roast chicken. I purchased my chicken from Costco and I used a fryer. It only cost about $5, which is pretty inexpensive. The best part of making a chicken at home is that you save the bones and and leftover chicken to make chicken soup. You can turn one $5 chicken into 6-10 meals. 

Ingredients

(1) 3-4 pound chicken

(4) springs of rosemary, chopped

(12) sage leaves, chopped

(3) garlic cloves, minced

(1) Tbs of kosher salt

(1/2) tsp ground pepper

(1) Tbs of EVOO

(1) lemon, cut in half

(1) cup chicken broth

(1/2) cup dry white wine

1)      Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Pat the chicken dry, and with poultry shears, cut out the backbone of the chicken. This will help the bird cook more evenly and will also make carving easier. You can find the backbone by locating the tailbone, and then cutting along either side of it and then ripping the backbone out. Once the backbone is out, press down on the breastbone, flattening the bird into a roasting pan or casserole dish.

2)      Mix the rosemary, sage, garlic, sea salt and pepper in a small bowl. Separate the chicken skin, and stuff the herb mixture under the skin as evenly as possible. If you can, try to get the mixture in the drumsticks and wings too. If there is any of the herb mixture left over, you can spread it on top of the skin.

3)      Sprinkle a small amount of salt and pepper over the chicken, and drizzle the EVOO over the chicken, spreading it evenly. Then take a lemon half and squirt it over the chicken as evenly as possible. 

4)      Turn the chicken over, squeeze the other lemon half on the underside of the bird and then leave both lemon halves under the bird, turning the chicken, breast side up. Pour the chicken broth and wine in the casserole dish. The wine and broth will ensure the chicken stay moist.

5)      Place the chicken in the oven, turn the temperature down to 400 degrees (you start with a high temperature to make the skin crispy, but cooking at this temp for too long will make the chicken cook too fast, drying it out). Roast for 80 minutes or until a meat thermometer stuck in the thigh reads 180 degrees.

Success! Crock Pot Yogurt

Recently I learned that you can make yogurt in the crock pot. I love yogurt. I eat it every day, sometimes multiple times a day and I also like the Greek kind, which many of you know is more expensive. I have to admit I was skeptical about making it in the crock pot. I have always assumed yogurt to be one of those foods that most of us would be better off not knowing how it is made--like cottage cheese. However, curiosity got the best of me and I decided to give the yogurt in the crock pot a shot. I did a lot of reading about the process too, so I could understand the "why" behind each step.  My reading led me to the conclusion that industrial yogurt making is not all that different than making it in the crock pot--just in case you are skeptical like I was. The recipe comes from Stephanie O'Dea's blog--which I cannot recommend enough.

The recipe calls for whole milk, but you can use skim or 2%. It is a good idea to start with whole when you are learning because it will set a bit better. Once you got the process down, you can try lower fat milks.  This recipe should be started in the early evening (5-6 PM) or done on a weekend because of the timing.

Ingredients

1/2 gallon of whole milk, pasteurized (NOT ultra-pasteurized)
yogurt starter (I used 7 oz of Fage, but next time I will use my homemade yogurt)

Instructions

1) Pour the milk into a very clean crock pot. Set to low and leave for 2 1/2 hours so the milk reaches 180 degrees. Most crock pots will bring the milk close to this temperature, but you might want to use a thermometer to check. If is not at 180, leave it for 15-30 minutes. If it nowhere close to 180, turn the crock pot up to high and check in 30 minutes.

Why: By bringing the milk up to 180 degrees you kill the bad bacteria that you do not want in your yogurt that can effect the taste and the texture of the final product.

2) When the milk is at 180 degrees, unplug the crock pot, leave it covered and come back in three hours. At this point it should be at about 120 degrees. If not, let it cool more.

Why: By letting the milk cool to 120 degrees, you bring the milk to a temperature where the live cultures can thrive and do their "thing" that turns the milk into yogurt. If it is too high, the live cultures will die. If it is too cool, the cultures will not turn the milk into yogurt.

3) Scoop out a couple cups of milk and whisk the starter yogurt in and pour back into the crock pot. Wrap the crock pot in a towel and let it sit for at least 8 hours. I put my crock pot wrapped in towel in my oven (turned off). If you are doing this in the early evening after this step you can go to sleep.

Why: You want the milk to stay in a temperature range where the live cultures can do their thing. The longer your milk stays in this range, the better the yogurt will taste. This is why I put it in my oven. I figured if any heat escaped, at least it would be in a small enclosed space.

4) After 8 hours (and even a bit longer if you want tangier flavor), you should have yogurt. It might be a bit runnier than you are used to (store bought yogurt typically contains thickeners), but you can strain it in cheese cloth or with coffee filters. The more you strain it, the thicker it will be.

5) Add whatever sweetener you want--sugar, vanilla, honey, fresh fruit, or frozen fruit. 

Enjoy! It should last 7-10 days in the fridge. I store it in Mason jars. Making your own yogurt will save you a lot of money. I typically by Chobani singles which are $1.35 each. The yogurt I made today cost under $3.00 and I got at least 48 ounces. Next time it will cost less since I can use my own yogurt as a starter.  You also avoid all of the weird things in store bought yogurt and you can control how much sugar or sweetener is in it.

The Straining Process

 

Deviled Eggs--The Appetizer That Will Never Fail You

It is funny the things you inherit from your mother.  For instance, I have to use Dawn dish soap and Tide for my laundry.  If I drink pop, it is Diet Coke and not Diet Pepsi.  I like my coffee black, I refuse to use margarine, and am liberal with the EVOO.  These are all things that I am pretty sure are learned behaviors that I picked up from my mom.  There are two other behaviors that fall in this category--I dislike making appetizers and desserts.  I will make a salad, a side dish or a main course--but ask me to bring an appetizer and the first person I call is my cousin Sarah, who is the appetizer expert. 

However, there is one appetizer that never comes to mind right away and that is deviled eggs.  The recipe below is the most simple version--but be creative with them.  You can add chopped capers, olives of sweet pickles. You can soak the hard boiled eggs in beet juice and bring them to watch the Vikings, who will hopefully win one of these days.  You can add different kinds of mustard and add different herbs.  They are pretty versatile and hey, if you mess them up, at least eggs are cheap.

Ingredients
6 hard boiled eggs (put eggs in pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, remove from heat, let sit for 17 minutes, drain and rinse in cool water)
1/4 cup mayonaise (substitute with Greek yogurt & 1 Tbs. of vinegar)
1-2 Tbs. of chopped green onions
1 tsp. of dijon mustard
paprika
salt & pepper to taste

1) Peel your hard boiled eggs, slice and remove the yolk, scraping it in a small bowl.  Repeat until all eggs are sliced in half.  Place the egg halves on a place.
2) Mix the egg yolk with the mayo, onion, mustard and add salt & pepper to taste.  Mix until creamy.
3) At this point, you can either spoon the mixture into the egg halves (I recommend a baby spoon), use a pastry bag to make it look pretty, or use a ziploc bag with the corner cut off to fill the egg halves.  Distribute evenly between the egg halves and then sprinkle with paprika.

Lund's/Byerly's BOGO Sale

This week (9/8-9/15) it is Lund's Buy One, Get One Free sale. I love this semi-annual sale and use it to stock my freezer.  I managed to get (2) two-pound pork tenderloin roasts, 8 boneless pork chops, two pounds of ground turkey, two containers of cottage cheese, two huge jars of pickles, and two fantastic looking asparagus bunches (I know it is a spring veggie, but I couldn't resist!) all for $40. 

My vegetarian roommate is probably worried I will break out in meat sweats after my trip to Lund's today, but I do freeze it and use it through the fall.  More than likely you will see a couple crock pot recipes featuring the pork tenderloin.

Anyways--if you are in the Twin Cities definitely check out this sale.  There are lots of different items at a pretty decent price. 

Slow Cooker Sunday: Pork Chops Dijon

This is a recipe my mom used to make when I was little.  It was always a hit with both my brother and I.  She used to make it on the stove, but I tried to adapt it to the crock pot.  The combination of pork and mustard is almost always a win-win conbination, and this recipe demonstrates how well they go together perfectly.  I had a crock pot mishap in the middle of cooking this--the crock pot just shut itself off.  I ended up having to cook it for about 2 hours on high to ensure it was done. 

Ingredients
3-4 bone in pork chops or boneless center cut pork chops
3 Tbs of Dijon mustard
2 Tbs of Italian salad dressing
2 Tbs of EVOO
salt & pepper
chicken broth (about 6 oz)
1 medium yellow onion sliced and cut in half

Directions
1) Heat a frying pan on medium high heat and add the EVOO, allow to heat for a few more minutes.  Sprinkle each side of the pork chops with salt & pepper.  Place the pork chops in the pan and brown each side for 3-4 minutes per side.  Add the contents of the pan, including the oil to a crock pot and set it to low.

2) In a small bowl, mix the Dijon mustard and Italian dressing and then pour it over the pork chops.  Add the onions to the crock pot too.  Pour the chicken broth in until it completely covers the pork chops.

3) Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve with potatoes or something else that absorbs the delicious sauce.

Slow Cooker Sunday: Adobo Chicken

I got this recipe from my blog friend Shannon.  It is a Filipino recipe and not only was it delicious, but it was super inexpensive to make.  I did a few things different--I added frozen broccoli because I wanted to add a veggie to this one dish meal and I also put the peppercorns in a tea infuser because I do not like crunching on peppercorns.  Shannon suggested reducing the sauce, and although it was still good, I would recommend it for a more flavorful sauce.  Additionally, I would add the frozen broccoli about 30 minutes before the dish is done because if it sits in the stew all day, it will get mushy.  


Ingredients
1 lb chicken thighs ($2.50 on sale)
1 12 oz package of frozen broccoli ($1.99)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced into half rings ($0.30)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce (stocked in the pantry)
1/2 cup white wine vinegar (stocked in the pantry)
peppercorns (stocked in the pantry)
8 crushed garlic cloves (stocked in the pantry)
2 bay leaves (stocked in the pantry)
brown rice (stocked in the pantry)

1) Place the chicken thighs in the bottom of the slow cooker and cover them with the onions and frozen broccoli.  Put the seasonings over the veggies.
2) Mix the water, soy sauce and white wine vinegar in a separate dish and pour it over the veggie chicken mixture
3) Let it cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve over brown rice.

This meal is a little over $5 and for about 5 servings.

Money Saving Tip: Stocking Your Pantry and Freezer

If you are like me, you go into the grocery store for eggs and milk and come out with eggs, milk, frozen yogurt, a delicious looking cheese, a new kind of salsa you have never tried and maybe a bag of M&Ms.  I am definitely an impulse buyer at the grocery store, so the less I am there, the better. 

Often I find a recipe that I would really like to make, and a trip to the grocery store is required.  What is frustrating to me, is more often than not, it is an ingredient like chicken broth that should be in my pantry.  So what is the solution?  When I buy an item that I know I will need again, I buy a few of them.  When an item I use a lot is on sale or there is a coupon for it--I take advantage of it.  Now my freezer and pantry are stocked to the point where I can come up with a meal using what I have on hand, without going to the grocery store, saving me time and money.

Here are some items I like to keep on hand: boneless skinless chicken breasts, ground turkey, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, peanut butter, stir fry sauce, cereal, tomato sauce, pasta, rice, black beans, chili beans and tuna. 

You do not have to buy them all at once of course, but when you purchase something at the grocery store, think about how much you use it, and if it is frequently, you might want to buy a few and save yourself a later trip.  This is a great way to slowly stock your pantry and freezer.  It also eliminates a step to cooking, making it easier to avoid going out to eat or ordering take out.