Asian Veggie Soup

Soup is one of those meals that I can't help ordering even if summer is in full swing outside. It is a staple of my diet all year long and I love to come up with some different ideas from standard chicken noodle and the Italian soups like Pasta Fagioli I ate growing up. I have tried to make Tom Yum soup a few times but I always get discouraged because it doesn't taste "right" and it takes so long and uses hard to find expensive ingredients. Sometimes its easier and cheaper just to order take out! This soup is a take on Tom Yum and other south east Asian soups but it uses  ingredients that are easier to find at the ethic market. Since I am a believer in sweating out the heat, this soup base is great for summer time!

I used boxed chicken broth to make this base but please feel free to take the homemade route and either make your own chicken stock or be even more traditional and go for a shrimp stock. If you are interested in making an authentic bowl of Tom Yum check out the directions on Chez Pim.  You can make a million different version of this soup - noodles or none, chicken, shrimp, veggies etc so feel free to add or subtract as you like...one of my favorite treats is pre-made frozen dumpings! The basic broth is really versatile and can pull together all those "why did I buy this?" ingredients that are starting to sag in the crisper drawer.

Click through for the recipe!

Souper Soup Swap & First Annual Soup Awards

Food swaps are the newest craze in the foodie world....they aren't exactly new as cookie walks have been around as a holiday staple basically forever. But now you can mass produce and swap baked goods, soups, baby food, garden harvests, frozen dinners or any thing homemade! The benefits of food swapping are simple instead of having leftovers for a week of the same old boring meal,  you switch with friends (or strangers in some cases) for their versions of the food in question. If you have ever tried to cook soup for one you know how hard it can be - it seems like no matter how carefully you measure you end up with a giant pot simmering away on the stove and lunch leftovers by the dozen.

 (pictured clockwise from top left - split pea, minestrone, indian style seafood stew, 

and tom yum goong) 

We had 9 different soups entered into the swap and everyone who participated brought home 4 different containers for a variety of leftovers. We ended up with three main categories for our soups - vegetarian, meat/seafood and chicken broth based.  It was a lot of fun and we had a great time sharing our recipes and picking our favorites. Then again when you have good friends any reason to get together is always a great time!


Here are the entries & winners in each category:
Vegetarian:
1st Place - Split Pea Soup
2nd Place - Cold Watermelon Soup
3rd Place - Wild Mushroom and Leek Soup

Meat/ Seafood:
1st Place - Indian Style Seafood Stew (pictured above)
2nd Place - Chili
3rd Place - Tom Yum Goong

Chicken Broth-Based
1st Place - Pasta Fagoili (pictured above)
2nd Place - Vermont Cheddar Ale
3rd Place - Minestrone

Some of the participants:

                       

Flexitarian (Chicken) Pot Pies

Most readers of this blog know that I have a very diverse group of eaters that visit me pretty regularly. When I learned the other night that a friend who was joining us for dinner was a vegetarian, my thoughts of a lovely roasted pork tenderloin stuffed with all sorts of goodies faded away. He swore that he would be fine with salad and a side dish but that didn't sit well with me.... back to the drawing board! I have owned Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook for a while now and even though her recipes are delicious (and relatively easy) I don't think that I have ever actually taken more than a glance at the whole book (sadly this happens to a lot of my cookbooks). The last page in the book has a menu for a fireside dinner.... while we do have a fire place it is decorative (and probably hasn't been used in about 50 years!) but this menu gave me some wonderful inspiration!

My ideal dinner for company is a flexitarian one - where I can customize for meat eaters and veggies without having the stress of two separate dishes. This means that no one gets left out and stuck eating salad and no one has to feel "cheated" by leaving out the meat (though there are many hearty veggie friendly ideas out there). Chicken Pot Pies actually were very east to "flex".... with a few changes to the traditional gravy that is used in the pie (I substituted a creamy sauce for gravy) all I needed to do was to add the chicken to the mix after serving up my veggie friends. This dinner is perfect for the fireside or just a delicious dinner that is easy to freeze and can easily be made in bulk so that you have a left over pie for later. I recommend preparing the roasted chickens and pie crust in advance (ie the night before) unless you have a few hours to spend on this meal.

VIDEO POST! Pan Roasted Chicken with Ratatouille Sauce

It has been really fun using my new Flip Camera to record recipes. And so far I have gotten some great feed back...and even had a friend make something new because of my video! They say a picture says a thousand words - so what about a video? I know that personally I often look up videos of new cooking techniques because so many of us are visual learners. This recipe really turned out amazing. As I say in the video its fast, easy and really is perfect for company as it makes a great presentation. Don't be afraid of the hard to spell French name - Ratatouille is a wonderful vegetable dish that is a perfect recipe to have when your summer garden is making you see green (zucchini that is!)

I used two Newman's Own products in this recipe - Family Recipe Italian Dressing as a marinade for the chicken and Cabernet Marinara as part of the ratatouille. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts as I find them much more flavorful than the standard boneless, skinless chicken breast. However, if you wanted to serve this with on the bone chicken breasts I think that would be a great option as well. Also feel free to serve this over brown rice, another type of pasta or even something more exciting like quinoa or couscous!

Click the link for the full recipe and instructions

White Chicken Chili

With the North East in the middle of one of the worst winters in memory, its no surprise that hearty, warm soups are being requested more often. For me, it seems like I can barely go a day without having a soup of some kind! New Jersey is pretty much know for its diners - often open all night and serving up what generally is pretty close to homemade comfort food. Diners are not really know for bending to the newest food trend, classics like tuna melts, greek salads and even meatloaf are the staples of these places served with a cup of their homemade soups and a scoop of pudding for dessert. But that is their charm - no matter what diner you do to you almost don't need a menu because you know what they serve...it hasn't changed in probably 50 years!

I recently had a delicious bowl of chili at the Windsor Diner in Clark, NJ and I just couldn't stop thinking about it for days. It was everything that a bowl of chili should be...and came with ample sour cream and salsa on the side so you could dress it up as you wished. This White Chicken Chili on the other hand, is pretty much the complete opposite! While it is delicious, warming and comforting it is more delicate rather than hitting you over the head with a hunk of ground beef. I have tried other recipes before but this was a new one for me and I think that it came out really well. I used my 7.5Q dutch oven to make the chili and let it cook in there for a few hours in the oven to really marry the flavors together. It was a little more soupy than my other attempt but I actually liked it and felt it had more flavor... use a bit less chicken broth if you would prefer a more stew/chili appearance.

click through for the recipe! 

Lightened Up Cassoulet

Traditionally a French dish, cassoulets use a variety of rich meats to flavor a baked bean dish. This rustic dish is like many other baked bean dishes made around Europe - there are as many recipes as there are grandmothers out there! This dish is simple and easy to make - don't be scared by the long ingredient list. It works wonderfully as a lazy Sunday afternoon project when you have time to sit and wait for the flavors to combine perfectly. This will also work for slow cookers - so feel free to prep it in advance and come home to a delicious hot meal.

Generally, very rich meats like goose or duck are used as the main ingredient with additions of pork sausage and bacon to give flavor to the white beans. I decided to lighten my dish up by using chicken thighs and chicken andouille sausage. I do think that a bit of bacon would have been an excellent addition lending some of the smokey flavor that bacon is famous for to the dish. I also strayed from the original by using a mixture of red kidney beans and white cannellini beans which was more a decision based on my pantry supplies than tastes. I also didn't have any onions in my house...but I added some shallots to compensate.

 

Click through for the recipe! 

Winner Winner even more Chicken for dinner?

I know I have mentioned this already before but I really love boneless skinless chicken thighs. This cut is less expensive and more tasty than the breasts. Because it has a slightly higher fat content it will stay moister as well. I find that it is well suited for searing and then oven finishing. Though I have had my spice blends for a while now I am still amazed at how easy and delicious it is make dinner

To make this broccoli rabe a little more interesting I gave it a bit of a kick by adding some fresh squeezed lemon and a bit of crushed red pepper while I was cooking it.

Mexican Chicken Stew and a give away!

Recently I have learned about an amazing new protein to use for dinner... boneless skinless chicken thighs! I know these aren't new but I have just always used chicken breasts. Since my resolve a few years back to get over my fear of raw chicken, I have come a long way. From only cutting partially frozen or cooked chicken to actually roasting a whole one, even if I did need help getting the giblets out! Now I have found out how tasty and delicious the thigh is especially when seasoned correctly. This dinner was made possible by one of my new favorite discoveries. Seasoning Rubs are such an easy way to add a lot of flavor with out many calories (careful though some rubs have sugar added)

Because the thighs are boneless, you can get this dinner done pretty quickly though I think that you would also be fine adapting this to a crockpot or dutch oven and letting the chicken cook down. Feel free to change the heat level of the dish by adding more or less hot peppers, my CSA just sent home a bag of the little hot ones and I couldn't resist them all cute colorful ...luckily they didn't over power things.

I was lucky enough to get a goodie bag of Goya treats from Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program that helped the make this dinner possible and want to share! Please leave a comment below and I will pick someone at random to win a prize pack with coupons and 2 recipe books containing some great easy dinners using Goya products.

6/14/10 - After the party: Crudite Plate into Chicken Stir-Fry

There are some parties where all you have the next morning is a splitting head-ache but others leave you with something a bit more enjoyable...leftovers! I usually don't enjoy having to eat the same meal over and over but in certain circumstances there is nothing out there that I am more thankful for. My latest party, a "Big Frickkin' Quarter Century hoe.down" for my friend Mary, was so much fun to plan and even more fun to attend. All of our friends decided to dress up in their best country bumpkin outfit and many came in full character. The next morning, after some advil and a few glasses of water, I went to assess the damage... not too bad!

While most of the food was down to the last scraps there was one thing that was pretty much untouched....the veggie plate! Apparently some of the other dishes were more interesting than my crudites plate. This was an easy recycling job. Since the veggies were already washed and cut, I was already halfway to a stir-fry. A bit of marinaded chicken cut into cubes and some brown rice finished this meal off. The Daily Special on FoodBuzz is another important ingredient in a good stir-fry...fresh oil. Use a cooking oil can like this to pour out a small amount of oil to keep convenient while you store the larger container out of direct light and heat will make sure you never have to deal with stinky bad oil again .

Check out the full menu from the party

5/5/10 - Cinco de Mayo Burrito Buffet

 I just love doing buffets! Guests are able to customize exactly what they want which also means less waste (and more leftovers)! Its really a win-win situation for everyone. Since I love doing theme nights, I used Cinco de Mayo as an excuse to make burritos. This prep was more about chopping than cooking! Luckily I had a helper in the kitchen that was willing to fill up all the bowls of condiments while I prepped dinner. The bar included pickled hot peppers, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese, grilled mushrooms and zucchini, marinaded chicken, sauteed peppers and onions and brown basmati rice.

5/4/10 - Creamy Tomato Veggie soup with Spicy Chicken Sausage

This weekend was almost a diet-buster! Between the burgers, ribs, homemade french fries (!!!) and fresh falafel, grabbing some of the (delicious) spinach salad with some grilled chicken was just not an option. So I tried to obey the good old rule of moderation. In theory, this rule works....in practice, well.....it doesn't count if no one sees it, right? So even though my friends were eating plates full of ribs, I stayed focused and enjoyed more than one taste of all my favorites.  But now its back to the work week and even though we didn't get to the grocery store doesn't mean I have an excuse to order takeout!

This soup is made with some vegetables that were still hanging around in the fridge and few pantry staples that I try to keep stocked....just in case! I took the cue for this soup from a childhood favorite, pasta fagioli - while my mother always made this more as a pasta dish my grandmother's was definitely a soup. I love soups so it was easy for me to twist that recipe into this creation. This dish is easily made vegetarian by increasing the beans and taking out the chicken sausage.

4/7/10 - Mediterranean Stir-Fry

This isn't your traditional Asian stir-fry but its just as easy....and the assembly is very similar - just make sure to cut veggies the same size! I served the stir-fry on a bed of cooked broccoli rabe instead of a more traditional rice or pasta because I had a big chicken club sub today and felt the need to be a bit healthy! This meal was made with chicken however you can easily substitute the chicken for some beans (I would say canellini beans would be best) to make a vegetarian version.

3/29/10 - Chicken Rosa

With the weather getting crazier by the day (last week it was 80 and sunny now its 45 and pouring) and my health only somewhat improved (officially bronchitis), I decided to rely on a shortcut that was sent to me a month or so ago by Foodbuzz Featured Publisher's Tastemaker program, Bertolli's Four Cheese Rosa Sauce. Since Spring is officially sprung, I wanted to include some fresh veggies to give this dish a little of a more healthful spin (if that is possible when using an Alfredo base). I also tried to cut down on the amount of pasta used so that there was a good balance of vegetables, proteins (boneless, skinless chicken breast) and starches.

This dinner was slightly reminiscent of Mac & Cheese because of the cheese based sauce however it was more elegant than even the most adult versions. With a nice light tomato base, the cheesy Alfredo sauce was the perfect companion to the large chicken chunks. The fresh green taste of the vegetables and parsley, especially,  kept it from being too rich and creamy. It was really tasty and fast dinner that got good reviews from my dinner table.

3/9/10 - Cider Brined Chicken

Even on work nights, roasting a chicken is do-able as long as you have prepped in advance. I brined this chicken overnight and then stuffed it with citrus, garlic and herbs, then trussed it and rubbed it down with olive oil and herbs de Provence before sticking it into a 400F oven for an hour (and then at 350F for another hour).

This was my first time making this particular wild rice blend ( from Trader Joe's) which was a interesting black grain that had a great taste and texture. Since our guests are not the biggest vegetable fans I stuck with a simple string bean which was better received than the squash I served last visit.

The gravy was made using the dripping from the roasting pan (which I poured into a small sauce pan so it was easier to handle), the juice from the meat when I cut it, about 1 c of apple cider and seasoned with finely diced shallots, sage, herbs de Provance and salt & pepper with a sprinkle of Wondra flour to thicken it up.

3/1/10 - Chicken, Spinach and Mushroom melt

I was really lucky growing up my mom always made all of our dinners every night and we sat down to a big meal at 5pm on the dot. When I was young and over friend's houses for dinner I would always be a little confused by the kids getting chicken fingers or a sandwich for "dinner". I had no idea that not everyone had a big multi-course meal each night!

Somehow in my little head I would be jealous of the friends who ended up with what I consider American food. Why can't we have green beans with the onion ring stuff? This recipe is my sort of twist on the classic Campbell's cream of mushroom soup with chicken casserole.

2/25/10 - Snow Day Chicken Soup

Even though its well past Groundhog's day it seems that winter isn't going away here in New Jersey. We have been luck enough to have most of the storms skip over our area since we are right on the coast... but this one was a different story. It started snowing early on Thursday and went all day and night until Friday late night. We ended up with more than a foot which leads to a messy city (and more than 2 trips to the car to dig it out)! Since I was stuck in the house I was so thankful that I had some fresh broth and got started on this.

2/8/10 - Oven Baked Chicken Fingers

As always I went a little crazy and planned way to much food for our Super Bowl "party". There was only 3 of us here so we didn't really need the rounds of courses that I had on hand just in case. I saw a picture online for some oven baked chicken fingers using a spiced up breadcrumb to season them and decided to do my take on them. It was easy and a lot lighter than anything fried yet it made boneless skinless chicken breast delicious and fun.

2/1/10 - Fajita....unwrapped

In an effort to eat a little healthier (yes the new years resolution is still hanging on...by a thread!) I decided to forget the tortilla wrap on my fajita tonight. I still got all the wonderful flavors of the meal, especially the homemade guacamole (thanks Jeremy!).though I did miss the fun and convenience of eating with my hands. While this isn't a fancy meal its still fun to deconstruct your dinner and see what really matters flavor-wise and what you are just eating out of habit. While I admit tortilla wraps make a fajita and "fajita" its still delicious and you save about 100 cals per serving...not to bad!

1/20/10 - Chicken, Kale and Rotini

With my mac & cheese party coming up I decided that I should make a test run with my bechamel sauce to see how long it would take me to put the different blends together. I had chicken left over from one I had roasted earlier in the week and the kale was purchased for what was going to be a chicken sausage and white bean soup but my broth wasn't ready yet and I didn't have time so cheesey gooodness it was!

This spin on Chicken Ziti and Broccoli was just as delicious even if we made a few changes to it. When you are working all day it pays to be flexible - sometimes things don't always go as planned and you still need dinner for the night.

Chicken Kale and Rotini
1 lb pasta - cooked according to directions
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 c warm milk (microwave)
2 c shredded cheese
roasted garlic
bunch of kale
1 c water (or chicken broth)
olive oil
garlic clove
2 c cooked chicken breast- diced
salt & pepper

1) In large saute pan, warm oil and garlic clove - add kale and saute till softened and then add a water and cover
2) make roux with butter and flour - simmer to allow flour to lose raw taste
3) slowly add warm milk and mix to combine
4) add cheese and continue to stir to combine
5) add chicken chunk and combine
6) add pasta and cheese sauce to kale and chicken and mix till combined