Failed Risotto and Successful Soup

So...that didn't work
  I was going to write a whole blog about my failed attempt at brown rice risotto (which, looking back, I knew better than to try) but I have had so many successes in the kitchen (yay! go me: ) that it seems silly to waste a whole blog post on something I won't be trying again.  Let us just say that arborrio rice is the only rice to use for a proper risotto. And even if you don't want a "proper" risotto, brown rice is really not an option.  It takes too long to cook and the bran and germ surrounding the endosperm prevent enough starch from escaping to create the creamy texture that is the whole point of a risotto.  Lesson learned.  Moving on to more delicious things.

So...this did work!
  Well, lately it's been pretty cold here in Kansas (although as a write this, its a nice 60 degrees outside). That means lots of soups. Specifically lots of soups involving lots of vegetables and chicken or beans (or both).  After the success of the Chicken and Navy Bean soup, I decided I wanted to make another chicken and veggie soup.  Wayne and I were both ready for more delicious, healthy, soupy goodness.  I went back to my soups and stews book and found a tomato basil vegetable soup recipe that looked great.  Adding chicken to it just seemed like a good idea.  I really didn't alter the original recipe that much other than to cook it in a slow cooker instead of on the stove and to add chicken, of course.  Also, because the cookbook is pretty old (Wayne's mom had it for a while before she gave it to us: ) it called for spices that aren't easily bought at the grocery store.  Mace and "savory" were seasonings I did not have. After a quick google search or two I picked ginger to replace the mace and poultry seasoning to replace the savory. Normally I wouldn't put a recipe that isn't really my own on my blog, but I plan to try this again with alterations that will be discussed after the recipe so I figured I should post the first attempt: )


Tomato Basil Chicken Soup

 Ingredients
3-4 celery stalks, diced
4 medium carrots, sliced
1 large yellow onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 Tbsp oil (I used 
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 large cans diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp oil (I used coconut oil)
Seasonings to taste (I used the following spices and ratios)
  -1 part poultry seasoning
  -1 part ginger
  -2 parts oregano
  -2 parts thyme
  -3 parts basil
  -no idea how much salt and pepper I used but it wasn't a lot of either

Directions
  Place celery, carrots, onion and garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker and toss with oil, salt and pepper.  Rub chicken with half of total spice blend and place on top of vegetables.  Pour tomatoes on top of chicken and top with other half of spice blend. Cook on high heat for one hour, stir (as much as possible, it's kind of hard) and cook for an additional 1-1.5 hours or until chicken is 165 degrees.  Remove chicken breasts and use a fork and steak knife (or two forks) to shred chicken. Return to slow cooker and serve: )

Notes on the Experiment
  The end result of this small experiment was pretty amazing, however I feel there was room for improvement.   The entire time the soup was cooking I kept thinking about chicken parmesan.  It smelled just like chicken parm baking in the oven! If I had any Parmesan cheese in the house at the time, I definitely would have added it.  I didn't though so I had to settle for dreaming up ways to turn this soup into Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Soup. Because yeah, that sounds ridiculously awesome.  So far I have two different ideas.  Adding Parmesan cheese and noodles to the soup was my first idea and that would be easy enough.  Probably delicious too.  But my way better idea was trying to figure out some kind of french onion soup inspired presentation.  That would take it up at least 2 notches on the epic soup scale, maybe 3.  Maybe add Parmesan cheese to the soup and ladle individual portions into a ramekin (or other oven-safe bowl) then top with garlic toast, a blend of Italian cheese and bake until the cheese reaches epic bubbly, melty awesomeness.  Hmmm....science demands I test this idea out: )

Chicken and Navy Bean Experimental Soup

New Name...New blog. Hopefully: )
 Most of the time, when I bring a dish to a gathering or have people to my home for dinner, I find myself saying "This is experimental cheesecake" (don't worry, that will be another blog) or "We're having experiments for dinner".  What can I say? I like to play with food.  Cooking is a art project and a science experiment rolled into one.  A delicious creative endeavor: )  Soup happens to be one of my favorite experiments.  Such a versatile medium!  Seriously, what can't you do with soup? Also, it's really hard to mess up. Anyway, here is the story of the Chicken and Navy Bean Soup experiment. Recipe in blue at the bottom.
   Winter is obviously the perfect time for soup experimentation.  Knowing this, Wayne and I have been looking through a Better Homes and Gardens "Soups and Stews" cookbook that his mom gave to us.  I came across a Ham and Bean Vegetable Soup that looked delicious! Only one problem.  We both gained a little weight over the holidays and are really trying to eat better. We are trying to eat less meat overall and make the meat we do eat organic.  Two pounds of smoked ham hocks wasn't going to work with that.  Wayne suggested chicken and bean vegetable soup. Now that was something I could work with! Wayne played with Riley on the floor while I sat there writing the grocery list and figuring out how to alter the soup.
  The original recipe called for the beans to be soaked, the ham hocks to be added and cooked for a total of one and a half hours at a strong simmer, adding the veggies in the last 30 minutes of cooking.  I felt like chicken, being a much more tender meat, would basically get boiled and fall apart. And while there's nothing wrong with boiled chicken (especially in chicken and noodles...oooh that should be another winter experiment: ), I wanted bigger chunks of still very tender chicken in my soup.  Well that sounds like the perfect job for my slow cooker!  The original recipe called for a standard mirepoix (2 parts onion to one part celery and one part carrot) which is my favorite aromatic group for poultry.  I decided to use those as a bed for the chicken in the slow cooker. I rubbed some poultry seasoning on the chicken and covered it all in chicken broth. Two and a half hours later I had deliciously tender chicken and amazing broth and veggies to add flavor to the beans. Success!
  The original recipe also called for potatoes to be added with all the other veggies.  Potatoes weren't going to add flavor to the chicken so they could wait and be added to the beans with the other veggies. I did that and honestly, I wish I hadn't. The potatoes had very little flavor and were probably cooked too long. They didn't add anything to the dish so I left them out of the recipe below. I do think sweet potato might have worked better and would be an interesting addition. I may try that next time.
  Overall I would definitely rate this experiment a success.  I ended up with a much more healthy version of a recipe I really wanted to try. I also have more ideas for future soup endeavors! I love it when cooking one dish makes gives me great ideas for more: )

 

Chicken and Navy Bean Soup

Servings: 8 to 10

Ingredients

• 4-5 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 4-5 stalks celery, diced
• 2 large, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tsp poultry seasoning
• 12 cups water
• 4 tsp chicken granules (instant bouillon)
• 16 oz dry navy beans
• salt and pepper to taste ( I actually didn't use any added salt because of the salt in the instant bouillon)

Directions

Place carrots, onion and celery in the bottom of a 3-4 quart crock pot. Place chicken breast on top, rub poultry seasoning on top. Boil 4 cups of water, remove from heat and stir in chicken granules. Pour on top of chicken and veggies and place lid on pot. Turn crock pot on high and cook for 2 and a half hours or until thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the breast. When chicken has 1 hour left to cook, rinse navy beans and place in a large stock pot. Cover with 8 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for two minutes, then cover and remove from heat. Let stand for one hour. When chicken is done, remove breasts from crock pot and place on a cutting board. Transfer broth and veggies to the pot with the beans, reserving about 1 cup of broth.  Add any desired seasonings at this point. Bring beans and veggies to a simmer, reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook for 1-1.5 hours or until beans are tender and soup has reduced to desired consistency. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Meanwhile, shred chicken and place back in crock pot, on low, to keep warm. When beans and veggie are done, stir in chicken and serve.

Note: Wayne tends to like really thick soups that are pretty much stews. If you like a thinner soup, you might want to add some water to the beans along with the vegetables.

Spectacular Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients

1 large spaghetti squash

1 red onion, small dice

3 bell peppers, any color, large dice

4 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed

3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Italian or Garlic seasoning blend

salt and pepper

Olive oil, for brushing

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

½ cup feta cheese (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Halve spaghetti squash and scoop out seeds. Brush each piece liberally with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with seasonings and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and place butter and garlic in the bottom of the two halves. Divide veggies and place in each half. Sprinkle with more seasonings and a little bit of oil and return to oven for 15 to 20 minutes, when spaghetti squash is done and veggies are at desired tenderness. Sprinkle with cheese and allow to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, use a fork to scoop out the halves into a large bowl. Toss, taste, add additional seasoning if needed and serve. 

Recipe Notes

       This is a very flexible recipe. You can change up the vegetables and the amounts. Zucchini and mushrooms would both be great additions/substitutions. Broccoli too!  You can use more butter and less oil or omit the butter entirely.  And as for the seasonings and cheeses, go crazy! Also, bacon would not be amiss here, but that makes it markedly less healthy: )

Potluck Panini Party!

Happy middle-of-the-week everyone!  This past Friday, Mike and I played hosts for an awesome build your own panini party!  It was fun, creative and because we had guests bring some panini ingredients and side items, it was pretty cheap: )  How do you throw your own Potluck Panini Party?  Well I'm going to tell you!

Step 1: Decide what panini ingredients you want to purchase. Mike and I bought a 1/2 lb of 3 different deli meats (turkey, chicken and ham), 2 different kinds of sliced cheeses (swiss, mozzarella and we already had sharp cheddar slices on hand), pesto, a jar of roasted red peppers (to make roasted red pepper spread, see recipe at the bottom of the post) and bread (Italian)!  Oh and I also had some onion and green pepper that I sliced up for the sandwiches. It doesn't really matter what ingredients you pick...just pick your favorites.  I would recommend getting a fairly hearty bread.  Our Italian bread didn't quite hold up when we grilled the sandwiches.

Step 2: Figure out what awesome friends you are going to invite.  Yes, they have to be awesome.  You can't have a great party without great friends: ) It might also help to set a date and time for the party too!

Step 3:  Decide what to ask your guests to bring.  I always try to give my guests some choices for what they want to bring and keep in mind that everyone is on a budget these days.  One guest I asked to bring feta cheese ( It's her favorite so I knew she would be happy to bring it ) and some zuchinni.  Another friend of mine (actually, a couple) I asked to bring a side dish.  They brought a delicious broccoli, bacon and seeds dish! YUM!  And finally I asked yet another guest to bring a dessert (strawberry cheesecake! Man my friends have great taste: ). 

Step 4:  On the day of the party, prepare all your ingredients.  I sliced my onion and green pepper, tossed them in some oil, salt and pepper and sauteed them over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  I knew the onions and green peppers would not cook on the grill inside the sandwich.  I placed the slightly cooked veggies in a pretty bowl and put a serving spoon with them. I also spread out the cheese slices on a gorgeous little tray. I made my roasted red pepper spread and put that in a serving dish as well.  Then I spread out all the food and serving dishes on my counter.  When the zuchinni arrived, Mike sliced them super thin (about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch thick) and I tossed them in a small (less than a teaspoon) amount of oil and some salt and pepper.  These I didn't cook because zuchinni cooks relatively quick, especially when sliced so thin.  Oh and don't forget to decorate your dining table too!

Step 5:  When all your guests show up, start having a great time!  Have your guests assemble their panini's (no rules here, whatever they want!) and when everyone has theirs assembled, put the panini's on a preheated (350 degrees) griddle. Don't have a griddle? Use a large, flat pan over medium heat.  We also brushed a little olive oil on the outside of the bread so that it was nice and crispy.  Use a fairly heavy cake or pie pan to press the panini's onto the griddle.  When all paninis are cooked on both sides, serve them up and enjoy!

My panini party spread....

After we all ate dinner, the boys went out to play pool and the girls stayed in and played card games.  It was a blast!

Oh yeah!  The recipe.....

Roasted Red Pepper Spread

1 16oz jar roasted red pepper, drained
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 cup plain breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)

Place roasted red pepper in a food processor.  Use garlic press and add garlic (or chop garlic and add it) to red peppers.  Add the rest of the ingredients and process until the consistency is similar to basil pesto.  Spread on paninis and enjoy!

Easy Enchiladas

Hello everyone!  Just wanted to write a quick post with my enchilada recipe.  Well, I say my enchilada recipe but its mostly a recipe I learned from a friend of mine a long time ago.  I did, however, make a few changes.

Easy Enchiladas- makes 8 enchiladas

2 lbs ground beef

4 cups sharp cheddar cheese

2 cans kidney beans, drained

1 white onion
taco seasoning to taste (equal parts cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder with a little bit of cayenne pepper and oregano mixed in)

8 large flour tortillas

1 (14 oz) can tomato sauce

1 can cream of mushroom soup (condensed)

1-2 small cans enchilada sauce (mild, medium or hot depending on your tastes: )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Dice onion.  Brown beef in large skillet with desired amount of taco seasoning, add onion when meat is about halfway browned.  Drain beef and mix in kidney beans.  Spoon 1/8 beef/kidney bean/onion mixture onto tortillas.  Sprinkle cheese on beef mixture, about 1/4 cup.  Roll tortilla around contents and place in 9x13 baking dish.  Repeat process until all tortillas are filled and pan is full.  In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce, cream of mushroom soup and enchilada sauce.  Pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, top with remaining cheese and bake for another 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and begins to brown.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!

Breaded and Baked Pork Chops

I decided the best way to start this post was to show a picture of the wonderful meal I'm going to write about: ).  Breaded and baked pork chops, garlic and herb rolls and roasted veggies!  I already posted the recipe for the roasted veggies but here are some more beautiful pictures of them.

Before roasting.... (my pan may have been just a tad overloaded...oops!)

After roasting : )

And yes, they tasted even more delicious than they looked!  Anyway...moving on to the pork chops.

I decided this recipe would be an especially good one to post about because it gives me an opportunity to share some helpful tips for breading meat.  The best way to bread meat is to set up a standard breading station.  What is a standard breading station you ask?  Good question!  A standard breading station consists of 5 parts, as illustrated below:

If you are left handed and feel more comfortable setting up your station in reverse (right to left), that is just fine.  I find that pie pans and round or 8x8 cake pans work best for the middle three parts of the station.

Raw product:  This is pretty self explanatory. . .just your raw meat in a pan (or on a plate), trimmed and ready to be breaded.

Flour:  This step in the process helps the breading stick to the meat.  I usually add salt and pepper to the flour but you can also salt and pepper the meat before breading it.  Either way works just fine.  Your goal for this part is to get just a thin coating of flour on the meat.  Shake off any excess flour.

Egg wash:  This is a combination of eggs and a liquid.  I use milk but you can also use water.  Usually about 2 tablespoons liquid per egg.  Whip the two together with a fine wire whisk and you're good to go!

Seasoned bread crumbs:  A good ratio for seasoned breadcrumbs is about 1 to 2 tablespoons of seasoning per cup of breadcrumbs, depending on how seasoned you want your final product to be.  You can use whatever spices and herbs you like but some excellent standard seasonings are: oregano, basil, onion powder, garlic powder or salt, salt and pepper.  Also grated parmesan is a great addition.  Quick tip: because this breading station is set up for baking your product, it is okay to season the breadcrumbs.  If you want to fry your product, you can use the same breading station except the seasoning in the breadcrumbs.  Salt breaks down the frying oil so you don't want any seasonings in your breading.  Season the meat instead: )

Final product:  Again, self explanatory. This should be your finished product on the pan you want to bake it in.

Tip for breading:
     The easiest way to bread any product (whether for baking or frying) is to keep one dry hand and one wet hand.  The dry hand (for me it's my right hand) picks up the raw product, dredges it in flour and sets it in the egg wash pan (preferably without getting the hand wet...duh).  The wet hand (again, for me it's my left) coats the meat in the egg wash and deposits the product into the breadcrumbs (preferably without touching the breadcrumbs).  Then use the dry hand again to coat the meat in the breadcrumbs and place it on the baking pan. Why do all this?  Have you ever breaded anything before?  If you try to use the same hand for all tasks, you end up with a clumpy, gooey mess all over your fingers! You basically end up breading your fingers and I'm pretty sure that is not the goal.  If you're not used to doing this, it can take a while to remember to switch hands but the effort is well worth it: )

Alright already!  Enough breading station talk....lets FINALLY get to the recipe: )

Breaded and Baked Pork Chops (Italian-style)

4 pork chops
1.5 cups panko bread crumbs
1.5 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch salt
2 eggs
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) milk
enough flour to dredge meat in
salt and pepper to taste for flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Set up standard breading station.  Using the wet hand/dry hand method, bread the four pork chops.  Place pork chops in oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

Garlic and herb rolls

Pre-made Dinner roll of your choice
2-3 tbsp melted butter or margarine*
1/4 tsp each of the following seasonings
- oregano
- basil
- garlic powder
- paprika
- whatever other seasoning you like

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine seasonings and melted butter.  Let sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes, to allow flavors to mingle.  If butter solidifies, remelt it in microwave.  Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the rolls with flavored butter.  Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, or until roll is warm and begins to brown.

If I had been thinking properly when I made the rolls, I would have sprinkled some fresh, chopped thyme on top....ooops! Oh well...

*If using butter, you must clarify the butter before brushing it on the rolls.  Clarifying butter removes the water and milk solids from the butter, leaving just the butterfat.  Why do this?  Unclarified butter will burn on top of the rolls within minutes, before the rolls can even heat up.  How do you clarify butter?  Here's what my Professional Cooking book suggests:
Method 1
     Melt butter in heavy saucepan over moderate heat
     Skim the froth from the surface
     Carefully pour off clear melted butter, leaving the milky liquid at the bottom of the saucepan
Method 2
     Melt butter in heavy saucepan over moderate heat
     Skim the froth from the surface
     Leave the pan on the heat and continue to skim the froth from the surface as it forms.  The water at the bottom will boil and gradually evaporate.
      When the butter looks clear and no longer forms a scum, strain the butter through cheesecloth.

Whoa! That was a long one! Okay done now...hope you enjoyed it!

Quick After Dinner Post

I just had an amazing mostly-homemade meal and I had to share it with my readers.  No original recipes this time...I finally got around to reading my July/August copy of Food Network magazine and found my dinner inside!

My husband and I made this recipe from the magazine and it was amazing!  Mike played grill master and I was queen of the knife and cutting board.  By the way, if you have a significant other and you don't already cook together...start!  Mike and I have wonderful nights in cooking dinner together: ) 

Anyway...back to the recipe.  I actually changed very very little in it.  Mainly I used around 2 teaspoons of minced garlic instead of one and ground red pepper instead of red pepper flakes.  Also, I picked shallots over red onion and used chicken breasts instead thighs.  After having made the recipe, I don't think I would change anything else!  It was fantastic!  Well, mike wasn't a huge fan of the grilled romaine but I was amazed I even got him to eat half a serving.  He's a meat and potatoes kind of guy.

I also think this recipe could be easily altered to work with different flavor profiles.  You could try changing the vinegar, herbs and/or vegetables used.  I was thinking of making this dish next time with green onions, sage and maybe rosemary(?) instead of shallots, oregano and red pepper.   I would also reduce the amount of garlic.

For dessert, we made ice cream sandwiches (another idea from the magazine).  We bought small cake doughnuts and light mint chocolate chip ice cream.  Not the most healthy dessert to follow up a healthy meal (oops...) but it was so good!!!  We used the tips from the magazine and they made it so easy! (1) Put the "bread" (in our case, doughnuts) in the freezer for a little while before cutting and/or assembling the sandwich.  (2) Use hard ice cream. (3) Freeze the whole sandwiches for about an hour before eating.

Well I just had to share this great meal.  I hope you can try it an enjoy it sometime: )