Soup's On!

Ahhhh, fall has finally hit the Great Plains after the longest, hottest summer on record!  I say, bring it on.  I'm ready for tumbling in autumn leaves, wearing boots and jackets, and eating steamy pots of soup.  Lately I have been slightly fixated on chicken noodles soup.  I'm not sick.  I'm not sad.  Maybe a little stressed but what else is new?  Anyway, it just sounded...good.  So today I hauled out the soup pot and started cooking.  Here goes:

1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts, mine was 1.2 pounds
1 box chicken stock
1 C water
1 lemon, halved
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 onion, halved and trimmed of ends
2 bay leaves
Several black peppercorns

Clean and trim chicken.  Add to pot with other poaching ingredients.  Poach gently on medium low for about 20 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove chicken to a large bowl and strain out solids from poaching liquid.  Reserve the onion and garlic, chop and add back to the pot with the other veggies.  Shred chicken with two forks and set aside.  Now onto the veggies!

2-4 large carrots, chopped, diced, sliced, whatever
4oz. white mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
1 small Fresno pepper, finely diced (this adds a nice fruity, mild spice to the dish)
Notice I did not use celery, 'cuz I don't like it.  Toss some in if you want to be "authentic."
Reserved chopped onion and garlic from poaching liquid


Add veggies to the pot and simmer for 20-30 minutes.  Add chicken back in.  Add black pepper, paprika, and cumin.  While veggies are simmering, boil a pot of water and cook 6-8oz egg noddles.  Check seasonings  (you may need to add salt if you used unsalted stock).  Scoop noodles out of boiling water with a slotted spoon and add to soup.  It doesn't  matter if you get some noodle water, it is soup after all and the starchy water will add an extra consistency to the soup.  Cook, stirring, for a few more minutes until everything comes together.

Ladle into large soup bowls and top as desired (I used parmigiano reggiano and chopped chives) and serve with bread or crackers.  Mmmmm....mmmmm.....good!

The Curry Experiment

In an effort to raise kids who are "global" eaters, I made an attempt at feeding them curry earlier this week.  I am not a uber-experienced curry chef myself so I went with a good-quality, mild seeming jarred curry sauce.

This one was labeled mild and flavored with "juicy tomatoes and roasted cumin."  I also made a veggie-packed rice pilaf, hedging my bets in case the curry was completely rejected!  So, here goes:

Chicken Curry with Rice Pilaf

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and cubed
1 T Vegetable oil
Cracked black pepper and poultry seasoning
I jar Patak's curry cooking sauce, any flavor you like

Heat a large skillet with veg oil and add seasoned chicken.  Cook until browned all over, then reduce heat and add curry sauce.  Cook with sauce over low heat approximately 15 minutes, or while rice is cooking.

2 cups quick-cooking brown rice
1 3/4 cups water or water and chicken stock mix
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
5 green onions sliced, green tops reserved
2 cloves garlic, minced
Handful of fresh almonds, chopped

Heat olive oil in sauce pot over medium heat.  Add dry rice and stir, coating rice with oil.  Toast rice in oil for 5-6 minutes.  When rice has toasted, add veggies and liquid.  Once liquid is added, cook according to package directions.

When rice is finished, give it an extra stir to combine.  Serve a scoop of rice pilaf and top with chicken curry.  Top with green onion tops and chopped almonds.  Enjoy!

In the essence of honesty, I will say that my "good eater" daughter took one look at this and declared "I don't like it."  Then again, she tends to reject anything with cumin but I keep pushing it on her.  Optimistic of me, right?  We finally cajoled her to take one courtesy bite of chicken and then she was served a bowl of rice pilaf, which she ate well so I'd call that a semi-success.  My "picky eater" son loved it and ate nearly his whole bowl.  Go figure!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Today just seemed like a soup day.  Perhaps because I found myself screaming at my children before 8 am.  Perhaps because my 2 year old ate the camera's memory card but not one of his Cheerios (so don't expect any pictures here - my phone is not smart).  Perhaps just because it's Monday.  So, here is a "use your imagination on how yummy this looks" recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed, trimmed, patted dry, and cut into 1 inch cubes.
A good mix of your seasonings of choice - I used cumin, paprika, coriander, black pepper, oregano, and chili    powder.  I tend to heavily season the chicken here and then just let it seep into the broth.  Saves a step!
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and cubed
1/2 a large or a whole medium red onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped.  Yep, still using these beauties!
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes with green chilies.  You can mix this up with whatever tomatoes you like.
1 can beans, drained and rinsed.  I used kidney but I really prefer black.
4-6 cups chicken stock or broth, boxed or homemade
6-8 green onions, sliced
1 tomato, chopped
1 lime
Cheese of choice (pepper jack for me...mmmmm)
Tortilla chips

Heat large dutch oven or soup pot to medium high heat with olive oil.  Season chicken liberally and brown in pot.  Remove chicken and add veggies, except garlic.  Stir and cook veggies until semi-browned (about 6-8 minutes), then add garlic.  Stir and cook a minute or two more.  Then add canned tomatoes, beans, liquid, bay leaf, and half of the green onions.  Bring to a boil, check seasonings, then turn to low and let simmer for 1 hour.

When soup is ready, ladle into a bowl.  Mix the remaining onions and fresh tomato with the juice of half a lime and sprinkle over the top of soup.  Add cheese, maybe a "dollop of Daisy" and crumbled tortilla chips.  Avocado would be super yummy too.  Or cilantro, if your husband doesn't have cilantro hang-ups, which mine does.  Or jalapeno if you really want to get wild.  Really, the possibilities are endless!  Yummy for the tummy and the heart.  Again, a picture would be fabulous but not today.  Sigh....

Sunday Supper: Roast Chicken

Last week I found myself with some lemons and limes that had seen better day.  So, I thawed out a whole chicken that had been hibernating in the freezer for a while and decided to make a "classic" Sunday supper:  citrus herbed roast chicken.  The secret here is the herbed butter under the skin.  If you put it on top of the skin it just melts off Mr. Chicken and burns in the bottom of the pan.  Again, I did not invent this concept, I just know that it works awesomely.  I probably got the idea from my secret best friend, Rachael Ray.  Secret as in she doesn't actually know that I exist.  But one day she will, and then we will be best friends!  Annnnnyyyyway, back to the bird:

1 medium whole chicken, rinsed and cleaned (go to your happy place and think of the yummy end result), and patted dry
1-2 assorted citrus fruits, thinly sliced and zested.  I used 1 large lemon and 1 large lime.
1/2 onion
3-4 large cloves of garlic, divided
2-4 T butter
1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

To make compound butter:  Combine 1/2 garlic, butter, herbs, citrus zest, and salt and pepper in a bowl.  Use a fork to smoosh it all together.  Don't melt the butter, you want it to be semi solid for "stuffing."

With your fingers (again, go to your happy place), separate the skin from the breast, thighs, wherever you can make a little pocket, and shove in some pats of the herbed butter.  Slip a few slices of citrus under the skin with the butter and smooth it all out.  If you have any citrus left, put it inside the chicken cavity with the reserved onion and garlic. I also tucked a couple of slices under his wings and tossed a couple more on top...it was a large lemon.  Pat any remaining butter all around the chicken and season with extra black pepper.  At this point, if you are more talented than me, you can "truss" the chicken by tying his little legs and wings close against his body.  If you are lazy like I am, you will place him breast up on the roasting pan (with rack) and just tuck his little legs and wings under his body.  The point is to get everything to cook evenly by not having the limbs flopping around and burning while the rest of him is slowly cooking.  So, once your bird has been poked, prodded, and seasoned in every way possibly and you are sick of the sight of him, toss him in the oven at 350 for 1 1/2-2 hours.  After 90 minutes, pull him out and wiggle his leg.  If it wiggles loosely and easily, chances are he is done.  Or, you can inspect the "juices" coming out of him and see if they are clear.  Either way, cook until he's cooked!

When he is about 45 minutes from being finished (after about an hour or so), toss some veggies with a drizzle of olive oil, pepper and herbes de provence.  I used carrots, onions, and portabella mushrooms.  Add them on a baking sheet to the oven with the chicken.

Let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes when it comes out of the oven.  This is when I would prepare Stove Top Stuffing!  I'm not Betty Crocker, I do not make my own stuffing.  Serve and enjoy the accolades.

You should have enough left over for sandwiches, enchiladas, or soup.

Slow Cooked Chicken Noodle Soup (aka The Only Soup My Daughter Will Eat)

I used to buy a whole chicken, roast it, pick it, then boil the bones with herbs and veggies, to make my own stock. It was a 24 hour + job. Then, I got smart and cut out a couple of steps and several hours. I start with a very small (1-1 1/2 pounds) free-range, local chicken. I remove the skin and yucky fatty bits (this makes me feel better about being to lazy to skim the fat after the fact). Of course, it changes a bit every time but here's the basic story. 1 small free range, local chicken 2-3 T olive oil Salt, pepper, herbs de provence to taste 1 large onion chopped 2-3 cloves garlic, minced, 3-4 medium carrots, diced 1 bay leaf 1/2 lemon 1 can petite diced tomatoes 6 cups water 1/2 Cup frozen corn Minced fresh parsley 6-8 ounces alphabet (or other small) noodles, cooked separately Rinse chicken and pat dry. Remove as much of the skin and fat as possible. Preheat large cast-iron our enamel oven-safe soup/casserole pot with olive oil. Season chicken liberally and sear in very hot pot, turning once until chicken has a nice crust on it. Add all other ingredients except corn and parsley. Cover and cook on medium low on stove top or at 250 in oven for 2-3 hours, until chicken is falling off the bone. Remove chicken, bay leaf and lemon. Pick meat off of chicken and return to pot with corn. Cook a few more minutes until soup is heated through. Stir in noodles individually into bowls and top with parsley. Yummy yum, homemade soup with fresh stock in a fraction of the time!