The Watermelon Drink

A friend recently asked me for the recipe of "the watermelon drink" and I was surprised it never made it to the blog.  I found it in the depths of my Pinterest and I don't think I ever made it last summer.  It's a good one - perfect for the start of summer!  I usually make a big jug of pitcher of it without alcohol and let the adults add a shot or two to their cups of ice before adding the watermelon mixer.  I prefer gin but vodka, white rum, or tequila will each work well and give a slightly different taste.  Cheers!

Watermelon Mint Cooler (makes about eight 8oz servings)
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

3 cups coarsely chopped seedless watermelon
1/4 - 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, chopped
2 cups white grape juice
1-2 tsp finely shredded lime peel
3/4 cup fresh lime juice, chilled
32 ounces club soda, chilled
fresh mint sprigs or lime wedges (optional)

Place the watermelon in a blender and blend until smooth.  If you want, you could put it through a fine sieve and discard the pulp.

In a pitcher or mixing bowl, put the sugar and mint leaves.  Use a large wooden spoon or muddler to crush the mint by pressing it against the side of the pitcher or bowl.  Add the grape juice, lime peel, lime juice and watermelon puree and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Stir in the club soda.  Serve in glasses over ice.  Garnish with mint sprigs or lime wedges.

Quarantine Soup

This is a very flexible, adaptable recipe for using up what produce and protein you have.  You could add more beans or leave them out, add cooked chicken or beef or pork instead of the sausage, start with water instead of chicken broth . . . it ended up delicious and was hearty - just what we needed.

Quarantine Soup (about 4-6 servings)

Start by sautéing an onion and some other vegetables (like a mirepoix) - I used
1/2 - 1 cup chopped onion
1/2  - 1 cup chopped celery
1/2  - 1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

When it's pretty much sautéed, add a few cloves of garlic (diced) and saute a little more.  Then add your liquid and beans.  I used 4 cups chicken chicken broth and a can of white beans (drained but not rinsed).  Add some seasonings - I eyeballed some Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, paprika, and threw in a bay leaf.

Let it simmer for awhile - I let mine simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Then add your cooked protein.  I added 2 links fully cooked Italian sausage, sliced thin.   Right before I was ready to serve it, I stirred in a few handfuls of kale (spinach would also work well or you can leave out the green stuff) and a tablespoon or two of good quality balsamic vinegar.  Taste and add salt and pepper if it's needed.  Grate some parmesan cheese over the top

Enchilada Verde Soup

Some things my girls have done to amuse themselves while we had to stay at home . . . 

Taking glamour shots of each other on my iPhone

Lots of drawing (check out Art Hub for Kids)

Visiting local farms / produce stands

Jedi light saber battles

Painting random crap (she's getting really good!)

Studying (so glad we got the new desk set up before all this) 

Riding bikes

Swimming

Dyeing hair and holding the guinea pig

Back when it was raining while we were doing "stay at home" I was craving some comfort food.  From, chicken enchiladas are the ultimate comfort food but I had also been wanting to make white chicken chili - this is a combination of both. I had some of these ingredients, an old recipe and wanted to remake it for the Instant Pot.  I'll give the IP directions first using frozen chicken and then the way to make it in a slow cooker or on the stove.  I know that using the cooking liquid might seem a little gross at first but it just made a really flavorful chicken broth and since I was using boneless, skinless trimmed chicken breasts, it wasn't very fatty.

I served it with a sheet pan of nachos from the oven which was delish but tortilla chips to dip into it or crumble on top will also work great!

Enchilada Verde Soup (serves 6)

1 lb frozen chicken breasts
1 can of chicken broth (or about 2 cups)
1 can of diced green chilis
12 oz salsa verde or green enchilada sauce
1/2 cup diced onion
1 T cumin
1/2 T chili powder
1 cup frozen corn
8 oz block cream cheese

Place the frozen chicken breasts in the instant pot with the chicken broth and pressure cook at high pressure for 12 minutes.  Do a 5 minute natural release.  Leave the liquid in the pot and remove the chicken and shred it (if it's not shreddable, you can put the lid back on and pressure cook for 2-3 more minutes and do the natural release again.  Mine was good with this amount of time).

Put the shredded chicken back in the pot in the cooking liquid and add the green chilis, salsa verde, frozen corn, diced onion, cumin, and chili powder.  Pressure cook 3 more minutes and do a natural release.  Open the pot up and  add the cream cheese.  Put it on sauté and stir it until the cream cheese is melted and incorporated.  If it's too thick, you could add a little water or chicken broth.  Taste and add salt / pepper / something spicy (tabasco or cayenne pepper?) if desired.

*With chicken that's not frozen:  Adjust the initial cooking time (probably only 7 or 8 minutes)

*Without an Instant pot:  Cook the chicken in some broth on the stove top or in a slow cooker until it's super tender and will shred.  Then add the rest of the ingredients except the cream cheese and simmer for about 20-30 minutes on the stove top or slow cook for 2-3 hours on low.  On a low simmer, do the rest of the steps (stir in cream cheese / check seasonings).