Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

For day 9 of Soup Month 2013 we made a delicate Asian version of Chicken Noodle Soup.  This soup can be prepared in less than an hour, it's a great way to use up leftover chicken and tastes great with Shrimp Egg Rolls.

This soup begins with a light sesame-infused stock, cooked chicken and a generous amount of mushrooms, sugar snap peas and green onions.  Other vegetables such as broccoli, red pepper, or carrots would also work well in this broth, and you could even replace the chicken with tofu, if you prefer, so the possibilities are endless.

We served the soup over a ladle of whole wheat angel hair pasta that worked really well with the broth.  The combination of sesame oil, mushrooms and pasta produced a nice earthly flavor.

Although my daughter and I loved the mild broth, my husband chose to add a squirt of Sriracha sauce to his soup and even a sprinkle of red pepper flakes can be used for a little extra amount of heat.  We served this soup with homemade Shrimp Egg Rolls.  Enjoy!!

5 oz  Uncooked Angel Hair Pasta
4 tsp  Canola Oil, divided
1 cup  Onion, chopped
2 TB  Minced Garlic, divided
2 TB  Minced Garlic, divided
1/2 tsp  Red Pepper Flakes
4 cups  Chicken Stock
1 cup  Water
2 tsp  Sesame Oil
2 cups  Cooked Chicken, dark or white meat
8 oz  Mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
1 TB  Soy Sauce
1 tsp  Sugar
1 cup  Sugar Snap Peas, cut into 1-inch pieces
3  Green Onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
Sriracha Sauce or Red Pepper Flakes for Garnish

Cook pasta according to package directions, and keep warm.

To make the stock:  Heat a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add 2 teaspoons canola oil then the onion, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 tablespoon garlic and red pepper flakes, stir and cook 4 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

Pour the stock through fine mesh strainer and into a bowl; discard solids.  Return the stock to the pan and keep warm.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the sesame oil and heat 1 minute.  Add the cooked chicken and mushrooms to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring.  Add 1 tablespoon ginger and 1 tablespoon garlic and cook for 3 minutes.

Pour the chicken and mushroom mixture into the stock, then add the soy sauce, sugar, snap peas and green onions.  Reduce heat to a low simmer for 5 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat.

Divide pasta evenly between 4 soup bowls and ladle the soup over the pasta.  Garnish with red pepper flakes and a dash of Sriracha sauce for extra heat.  Serves 4.

Rosemary's Ham and Split Pea Soup

Cooking a recipe that is a family favorite can be a little intimidating, especially when the recipe is from your husband's family! But I think this soup was pretty close to the original.

Since we moved out of state several years ago, this is an annual tradition that my husband has missed, so I figured it was time to try and recreate this soup.  My mother-in-law (Rosemary), would use the leftover Easter ham to create a thick, creamy ham and pea soup, with just a hint of clove in the background.  The addition of celery, carrots and potato makes this soup a hearty meal.

This soup does take some time to prepare, but the hands-on time is minimal.  Just let the soup cook low and slow and you have a pot of soup ready in about 2 1/2 hours. Serve with crackers, either crushed right into the soup or on the side.  The family is equally divided on the proper method of how the crackers should be served, lol.  Enjoy!!

1 pkg  Hurst's Ham Peas Green Split Peas
1  Large Meaty Ham Bone
2 cups  Cubed Ham
2 quarts  Water
1  Whole Onion
1 tsp  Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp  Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp  Ground Cloves
2  Bay Leaves
2 stalks Celery, diced
3 large  Carrots, peeled and chopped
2 medium  Potatoes, peeled and cubed

Rinse the peas in cool water several times, return peas to the pot and cover with 2 quarts of water.  Add the ham bone and the cubed ham to the pot along with the whole onion (leave the onion whole so it can be removed later),  then add the salt, pepper, cloves and bay leaves.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After 90 minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the whole onion and discard, then remove the ham bone and place on a plate.  Remove any extra ham from the bone, return the ham to the pot and discard the bone.  Stir the soup and add the celery, carrots and potatoes to the pot.  Continue to simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes or until the veggies are very tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  If a thinner soup consistency is desired, add a bit more water during the last 30 minutes of cooking.  Serves about 8 - 10 large servings.

Chicken and Chorizo Stew over Saffron Rice

For day 19 of Soup Month 2012, we have a spicy Chicken and Chorizo Stew served over Saffron Rice.  This is a delicious stew that's a bit of a modern twist on the classic slow-roasted French Cassoulet.  This is truly peasant food at its best! The best part is, this recipe is a lot less work than making a real Cassoulet.  Been there, done that and it takes forever! Try this instead.

The zesty chorizo sausage is a great backdrop to the chicken, vegetables and navy beans, and the fire roasted tomatoes add a layer of flavor that makes this dish taste like it's cooked for hours. 

This recipe is also a great way to use up leftover baked chicken.  TIP: If possible, I always buy a larger chicken than I think I will need for one meal.  For the 5 of us, I try to buy at least a 5 pound chicken and 6 pounds if I can find one.   By doing this I know I will have cooked chicken left over to make dinner for at least one more meal later in the week.  This is a major time saver!

Prep time for this delicious meal is less than 10 minutes, with total cooking time around 45 minutes.  The saffron rice is actually a short cut version from Par Excellence, available through local retailers.  It's a quality product that has great flavor and saves a lot of time while cooking.

1 medium  Yellow Onion, chopped
1 medium  Green Pepper, chopped
2 tsp  Minced Garlic
1/2 lb  Fresh Bulk Chorizo (if using links remove casings)
1 tsp  Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp  Paprika (reduce to 1/4 tsp for less spice)
1/2 tsp  Cayenne Pepper (reduce to 1/4 tsp for less spice)
1 tsp  Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp  Ground Black Pepper
1 14-1/2 oz can  Hunt's Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Garlic
1 8 oz can  Hunt's Tomato Sauce with Garlic
3/4 cup  Dry White Wine
2 cups  Cooked Chicken, white and dark meat (leftover chicken works great!)
1 TB  Cornmeal (optional)

Using a large soup pot over medium-high heat, add onion, green pepper, garlic and chorizo.  Use a spoon to break the chorizo into small pieces and stir to combine with the vegetables.  Cook for 5 - 7 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the chorizo is browned.

Add the oregano, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper to the pot and stir.  Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce and white wine to the pot, stir and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the cooked chicken to the pot, stir to combine and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.

If needed, add the 1 tablespoon of cornmeal to the stew to thicken the sauce, stir and cook over low heat for 10 minutes longer.  If you prefer a thinner sauce, feel free to skip the cornmeal.  Serve the stew over a scoop of Saffron Rice. Enjoy!!

Chicken Pot Pie with Sweet Potato Crust

Some people would call this peasant food or comfort food, but everyone enjoys a home cooked pot pie.   I've always loved to cook chicken pot pies because you can change the ingredients in the filling and take the flavor in a totally different direction.  And that's exactly what we did with this dish.  This is a very easy and tasty way to use up leftover sweet potatoes and chicken into one yummy pie.

For this pot pie I used some leftover baked chicken, sweet baby peas and a generous cup of little pearl onions, with a quick sauce of milk and white wine/herb broth.  I actually cooked the onions in the broth for a bit so the onion flavor would blend into the sauce.

The topping for this pie was going to be something special.  A creamy blend of leftover mashed sweet potatoes, butter, flour and egg proved to be a delicious crust, and it was a nice change from the traditional crust.

This is also a great "plan-ahead" meal that will save you time in the kitchen.  By baking a chicken for Sunday night dinner, and serving mashed sweet potatoes on the side, you already have the two main ingredients of this dish ready to go for a quick weeknight meal. 

For the Crust
2 cups  Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1/3 cup  Butter, melted
1  Egg
1 1/2 cups  Flour
1 1/2 tsp  Baking Powder
1 tsp  Salt

In a medium bowl combine the potatoes, butter and egg; stir until combined.  Blend in the flour,  baking powder and salt and stir until you have a smooth mixture.  Set aside.

To Prepare the Pot Pie
3 cups  Diced Cooked Chicken  (or use leftover turkey)
1 cup  Cooked Peas  (or peas and carrots)
1 cup  Frozen Small Pearl Onions
1 cup  Milk
1 cup  College Inn White Wine & Herb Broth
3 TB  Flour
1 tsp  Salt
1/2 tsp  Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly butter the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish and arrange the chicken followed by the peas in an even layer.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, broth and pearl onions and cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes until warm, but not boiling.  Add the flour, salt and pepper to the broth mixture, blending well.  Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.

Pour the mixture over the chicken and peas in the casserole dish, then drop tablespoons of the sweet potato batter on top of the pot pie, lightly smoothing the mixture to fully cover the top of the pie.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the sweet potato crust is slightly browned and solid.  Enjoy!!

French Dip Sandwiches

After enjoying a Standing Rib Roast for Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve dinner, use the leftover beef to make these delicious French Dip Sandwiches.  A French Dip Sandwich consists of thinly sliced roast beef piled high with a few slices of Swiss cheese and is served on a hoagie style bun (or a sub roll) then cut in half for ease of handling.

Roasted and boneless Prime Rib makes the best "french dip" sandwiches because of the tenderness of the cut, not to mention the flavor. Simply trim the tail off of the leftover prime rib and thinly slice the beef for the sandwiches.

Serve with fries and a cup of au jus to dip the sandwich into (add a few croutons and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese to the au jus and you have a yummy bowl of French Onion soup to dip into).


Beef Au Jus Dipping Sauce
1 Large Onion, thinly sliced
3 TB Butter
1 tsp White Pepper
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
2 tsp Beef Base (optional)
Trimmings from the Prime Rib Roast
1 can Beef Broth
5 cups Water

In a large pot melt butter over medium-high heat and add the sliced onion. Saute until tender. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer at least 1 hour (90 minutes if possible to produce the best flavor), stirring ocassionally.  Taste test during the last 30 minutes and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.

Sweet Potato Blondie Bars

My curiosity continues today in finding new ways to cook with Sweet Potatoes.  This began as a way to use up leftover sweet potatoes from Thanksgiving dinner, but now it has become an enjoyable quest to find more ways to use this tasty food in other types of dishes, especially snacks such as these Sweet Potato Blondie Bars.  Remember, sweet potatoes are good for you!  They contain antioxidants, anti-inflammatory nutrients, and they can help regulate your blood sugar, in addition to being a great source of vitamins A and C.

This snack came to be by combining several pumpkin recipes and just substituting the sweet potatoes for the pumpkin on a 1-to-1 basis.  So far the results have been successful and delicious.  Check back for more sweet potato recipes..there are sure to be more in the very near future.  In the meantime, whip up a batch of these Sweet Potato Blondie Bars and enjoy with a cup of tea or hot cocoa. 

2 cups  Flour
1 TB  Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tsp  Cinnamon
1 tsp  Baking Soda
1 tsp  Salt
2 sticks  Margarine or Butter, softened
1/2 cup  Sugar
3/4 cup  Brown Sugar
1  Large Egg
2 tsp  Vanilla Extract
1 cup  Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1 cup  White Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and set aside.

Beat together the butter and sugars on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla and blend until combined.  Add the sweet potatoes and blend on low speed until combined, then add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.  Blend until all of the ingredients are fully combined, then use a spoon to fold in the white chocolate chips.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan, smoothing batter into the corners.  Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides, about 35-40 minutes.  Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the bars. If the toothpick comes out clean, the bars are fully cooked.

Allow to cool before cutting if possible, although I failed on this step.  I could no longer wait to try one of these bars and they are amazing when served warm...with a cup of cocoa...Yummy!

Turkey Enchilada Casserole

The real name of this dish should be "Aunt Micki's Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Enchilada Casserole" named in honor of my sister-in-law who prepares this dish each year for the family.  Thank you Micki for the recipe.  We enjoyed it from many miles away!

This is a delicious way to use up leftover Thanksgiving Turkey.  If you are fortunate enough to be able to find frozen Baca Chilies in your area the flavor is much more intense than using canned.  As another option, a minced medium poblano pepper can be used in place of the Baca chilies.

     

4 - 5 cups  Shredded Cooked Turkey (or you can use about 8 cooked & shredded chicken thighs)
2 cans  Cream of Chicken Soup (not reduced fat or reduced sodium)
2  Garlic Cloves, minced
1 TB  Canola Oil
1  11 oz Frozen Baca Green Chilies (or use fresh minced poblano or 2 small cans diced chilies)
Canola Oil for Frying
18  Enchilada-Style Corn Tortillas
Shredded Cheddar Cheese or Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet add 1 TB canola oil and the garlic.  Saute 3-4 minutes until garlic begins to brown.  Add the defrosted green chilies (or minced poblano or canned chilies) to the oil and saute 10 minutes.  Add both cans of soup and stir to combine.  Once the mixture is heated thru add the shredded turkey and stir until turkey is warmed.  Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside; keep warm.

In a large skillet heat about 1 cup of canola oil over medium-high heat.  When frying the tortillas, the goal is to make them flexible, so they are easy to work with, but not totally crispy.  A little crisp on the edges is good.  Heat the tortillas about 5 seconds on each side, then place on paper towels to drain.  Blot off any excess oil and place 6 cooked tortillas in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch cake pan.  This will create the bottom layer.  Continue to cook the remaining tortillas and set aside.

Next, spoon 1/3 of the turkey mixture onto the layer of tortillas, smoothing to the corners.  Add another layer of cooked tortillas, then 1/3 of the turkey mixture and repeat again for a total of 6 layers, finishing with the turkey mixture on top.  Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Cut into 6 square portions and serve with Spanish rice and black or refried beans.

Hearty Turkey Noodle Soup

This is a great way to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey or chicken.  With a generous amount of veggies to make it a healthy and satisfying meal, this soup can be on the table in about 30 minutes. Serve with a loaf of warm French bread.

1 TB Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced 
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
2 Carrots, sliced into coins
2 tsp Chopped Thyme
4 cups Chicken Broth (or Turkey Stock if you have it)
2 cups Baby Spinach
2 cups Cubed or Shredded Turkey or Chicken
1 1/2 cups Uncooked Wide Egg Noodles
1 (15-oz) can Cannellini Beans, drained
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onions and carrots and cook for 8 - 10 minutes. Add thyme and stir to blend. Add broth, spinach, turkey, noodles, beans, and salt and pepper and stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 15 minutes, or until noodles are tender. Ladle into bowls and serve.  Serves 4

**Note: If you do not have leftover turkey or chicken on hand, and still want to enjoy this comforting soup, use a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken.

Sweet Potato Cookies

Now this is a great way to use up leftover sweet potatoes!  Today we have for you Sweet Potato Cookies that get just a bit of sweetness from white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.  You will have to forgive me for the picture, these cookies literally disappeared from the tray and the only two left were going into my daughters lunchbox!  So that's the picture we have, at least until I make another batch of these...which will have to be soon.

My favorite thing about these cookies was how easy they were to make.  I'm a bit of a short-cut baker; I don't usually "bake" but when I do get the urge to bake cookies, I like recipes that I can whip up pretty quickly.  Add the wet ingredients, blend, add the dry ingredients all at once, blend, done! Now that's how easy cookies should be to make!  Bake up a batch of these cookies to snack on after you finish your holiday shopping, add a mug of tea or hot chocolate and enjoy!

1 Stick Unsalted Butter, softened
1/2 cup  Light Brown Sugar
1/4 cup  Sugar
2 TB  Honey
1 tsp  Vanilla
1  Egg
1 cup  Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1 1/4 cups  Flour
1 tsp  Baking Powder
1/2 tsp  Baking Soda
1/2 tsp  Salt
1/2 tsp  Cinnamon
1/8 tsp  Ground Ginger
1/8 tsp  Ground Nutmeg
1/2 cup  White Chocolate Chips
1/3 cup  Dried Cranberries (Craisins)

Preheat over to 350.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, blend the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and honey until smooth.  Add the egg, vanilla and the sweet potatoes and blend until smooth.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all of the dry spices.  Blend until fully combined, then add the chocolate chips and cranberries and finish mixing by hand.

Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake about 9 - 12 minutes, turning cookie sheets halfway thru cooking if needed.  Let cool 1 minute on cookie sheets, then move to wire racks to finish cooling.

Chicken and Wild Rice Chowder

This is a great way to use up leftover chicken. If you cut up the carrots and celery in advance, this recipe can be prepared very quickly.

1 cup Carrots, sliced (2 medium) 
1 cup Celery, sliced (2 stalks)
1 cup Mushrooms, quartered
1 tsp Garlic, minced
2 TB Butter
1 TB Olive Oil
3 TB All-Purpose Flour
2 14-oz cans Chicken Broth
1 cup Precooked Chicken Breast, diced
3/4 cup Cooked Wild Rice
1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1-1/2 cups Milk

In a medium saucepan heat butter and olive oil. Add carrots, celery, mushrooms and garlic and saute until tender. Stir in flour and mix to coat. Add broth, chicken, wild rice and pepper. Cook and stir until mixture is bubbly and slightly thickened. Stir in milk and heat through.  Serves 4.