Minestrone Soup

It's not really appropriate for this warm weather, but we were due for a meatless meal and lots of veggies.

Minestrone Soup

1 clove garlic
1 diced onion
1 c. shredded carrots
2 c. shredded cabbage
2 c. chopped spinach

1/2 c. brown rice
1 can diced tomatoes
2 quarts broth (veggie, chicken, beef)
1 can kidney beans

salt/ pepper/ misc. spices like sage, parsley, etc.

You could saute the first five ingredients in olive oil in a big pot, and then add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 min. - hour. Or, you could throw all of the raw ingredients in the Crockpot like I did, and voila! Four hours later, your dinner is ready!

You Probably Have All Of These Ingredients In Your Kitchen Right Now

I didn't know what to make for dinner tonight, and the sight of a can of tuna in the cabinet got the gears rolling. Good ol' Allrecipes.com fit the bill, and I had all the ingredients on hand.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

• 1 (8 ounce) package wide egg noodles (I used spaghetti instead)
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can peas, drained (I didn't have these, so I added some green onions instead)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large pot of salted water, boil noodles until al dente. Drain well.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine flour, butter, and salt. Stir until butter is melted and ingredients are combined evenly. Add milk, and whisk until the sauce thickens (usually it is at the proper consistency by the time it begins to boil). Add cheese to mixture, and whisk until cheese is melted and mixture is well blended. Stir in tuna, peas, and noodles. Spread evenly in prepared dish.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Apple Chicken Sausage Dinner

1. lb. apple chicken sausage (On sale at Sprouts for $2.99 a pound- check weekly mailer)
3 apples, peeled and sliced
2 whole wheat pitas


Cut sausage and cook on medium heat. In another pan, sauté apple slices until tender. Serve with whole wheat pitas.

Easy, quick, and cheap dinner!

Colombian Chicken and Potato Soup

Modified recipe from Real Simple Magazine

Ingredients

* 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I use water)
* 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 4)
* 2 pieces of corn on the cob
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 small onion, thinly sliced
* 4 garlic cloves
* 2 medium russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving (optional)
* kosher salt and black pepper
* cut-up avocado, fresh cilantro sprigs, and capers, for serving


Directions

1. In a large saucepan, combine the chicken broth and 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Add the chicken and corn and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Remove the chicken and corn from the saucepan and reserve.
3. Strain the cooking liquid into a large bowl or measuring cup and reserve.
4. Wipe out the saucepan and heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and the reserved cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, shred the chicken and cut the corn pieces into 1-inch-thick rounds. Return the chicken and corn to the soup. Add the lime juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Serve the soup with the avocado, cilantro, capers, and lime wedges

Enjoy this traditional Colombian soup! It is typically served with rice and plantains.

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california rolls

lauren asked me the other day why bother to make a roast chicken when you can buy one from costco for $4.00. this is a very good question and i'll admit that the cost and time of roasting your own chicken seems more than $4.00. but without sounding all hippy and pretentious, we like to know where our chicken comes from: an organic free-range farm where chickens aren't subjected to hormone and salt injections.

we've always tried to buy everything organic, but after watching the documentary FOOD, INC, i was really implored to make a conscious effort in our market shopping, to know where our food comes from and how it's handled.

as i stumble off my soap-box now, i'll admit that we still occasionally buy a costco chicken (shred it up, throw some good barbeque sauce on it and stuff it in a buttered kaiser roll- an easy saturday lunch!). but i try to roast my own chicken as much as possible. i find that my own chicken also produces a better stock (but maybe that's just a mental thing).

anyway, here's what we had for dinner the other night: california rolls.

(i feel like i do a lot of rice-based meals for this blog. we do eat a lot of grains here. and i am korean. so i apologize if you guys are bored with my rice cooker.)

this is a super easy meal that works with both kids and adults. there's no fancy rolling involved, as everything is hand-rolled individually with the rice and everything tucked inside the seaweed like a taco.

ingredients:

roasted seaweed (cut into quarters)

rice

soy sauce

wasabi

4 eggs (cooked omelet style and then cut up into short straws)

2 avocados (sliced thinly)

imitation crab meat (shredded)

1 cucumber (julienned into short straws)

handroll each roll as you eat: layer rice, cucumber, crab, egg, avocado onto the seaweed. pour on some wasabi/soysauce. eat!

i'll accompany this meal with some miso soup. i don't have a good recipe for this as i do everything the way my mom does it (no measurements, just throwing everything together in a pot). i use anchovy stock, miso paste, soft tofu and scallions. but there are a bunch of good recipes all over the internet with detailed measurements. miso soup is really quick to make.

Mushroom Chicken

A lady from my MOMS Club made this for us after Ben was born. It was soooo good that I asked for the recipe. I'm going to make it tonight for dinner. Here it goes:

Mushroom Chicken

Very easy: you need 2 or 3 large chicken breasts, 1 sliced onion, garlic (I buy ready pressed garlic from trader Joe's in a jar, very good) sliced crimini mushrooms from TJ's, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, red wine or brown ale, a little flour to thicken the sauce.

Pound the chicken breast so you get thin chicken (like for chicken picatta.) and cut flattened breasts into halves. Salt and pepper each piece to taste. On a large skillet with a little oil, brown one side of the chicken so it looks nice and golden.

I the meantime on another large somewhat flat pan or casserole, heat some olive oil and cook the sliced onions till translucent, then add 2 teaspoons of the pressed garlic (or 2-3 mashed cloves) mix well so garlic doesn't burn, and when it all smells really good add the mushrooms and turn heat down a bit and cover to let the mushrooms wilt down. For moisture, Add 1 cup of chicken or beef stock but I've also used water when I am out of stock. Add 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce and mix well. Cover and let simmer for a bit. Then transfer in your chicken which has been browned on one side ( I don't brown both sides so that one raw side will better absorb the juices while cooking in the sauce) and let it cook in the sauce until chicken is done (about 15 min or so)

The final step is to add the wine or beer and thicken the sauce with flour. I add one cup of red wine if I have left over wine from the night before, but If i don't and I don't feel like opening a new bottle, I use a 12 ounce bottle of brown or dark ale (from TJ's of course!). Pour the whole thing in and keep the heat medium high for about 5 minutes to let the alcohol evaporate. Then I take about 1/2 cup of liquid out the the pan and I add 1 tablespoon of white flour to the liquid and stir very well (a whisk works great) until you have no clumps and then you can add this flour mixture to the pan and try to mix it all over the pan and turn your heat to low and let it simmer for another 5 minutes or so and the sauce will thicken. Turn off and keep covered to stay warm until you serve. Serve over steaming white rice.