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).

When Life Gives You Lemons . . .

A second post about our wealth of California citrus this time of year . . . we are pruning some fruit trees and I had Meyer lemons to use up.  I made a new muffin recipe (pictured above) that was honestly, just meh.  So, instead of sharing it here, I looked back to see what better muffin recipes I had forgone to make the Meh Muffins and realized I have a ton of lemon recipe ideas on the blog.  If you have some lemons to use, click the "lemon" label on the side or click the link here to see some great options.

Tonight I'm making Big's favorite meal - the Lemon Olive Chicken.  Even though it's in regular rotation, if I say there's chicken for dinner, she immediately asks "lemon olive chicken"? and when I serve something else, she says "You know what would make this better?  If it was lemon olive chicken."

Taco Tuesday

#32 - Big's first season of basketball just ended

The little girls maximize our time running errands in the afternoon

Homework in Zeus's playpen

My three enormous humans!

When the girls got home one night recently and asked, "What's for dinner?"  When my reply was, "well, it's Tuesday!"  They yelled "Tacos!!"  Tacos are a go-to in this house (although it's not often actually on a Tuesday) and my usual recipe is ground beef and hard shells.  I've been looking for a shredded beef recipe and this one did not disappoint!  The rub & combination of orange juice and beef broth was delicious.  The last photo above is some of the citrus that the girls picked in our yard and our neighbor's yard so I used fresh squeezed juice.  We all have our own topping preferences so the most "work" involved in taco night is getting out all the toppings and putting them away.  I usually make a big taco salad for myself with black beans & I use the salsa as dressing.  

If you don't have an instant pot, this could go in the crockpot for 8 -10 hours.  I would usually sear the beef first if I wasn't going to pressure cook but it's probably not necessary.

Instant Pot Shredded Beef (serves 6)

from 365days of Slow & Pressure Cooking

1.5 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cumin

1.25 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 T olive oil

2-3 lbs beef chuck roast trimmed of excess fat & cut into 4 equal pieces

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup beef broth

1 yellow onion, quartered

4 garlic cloves, minced

In a small bowl, stir together the spices and olive oil to make a paste.  Rub this mixture over the 4 pieces of beef.  Add the orange juice & broth to the pot. Lay the pieces of beef in the liquid and spread the onion slices on top.  Sprinkle the garlic on top.

Make sure the valve is closed and set the manual / pressure cook button to 50 minutes on high pressure.  I used a full natural release but you can move the valve to venting after 15 minutes if you want.

Remove the beef from the pot and shred.  I also fished out the cooked onions and served them as a taco topping.

Instant Pot Minestrone

My kids like chili and I make it pretty often and thought minestrone would be a good alternative to change it up.  Two out of three enjoy it so that's not bad!    I served it on New Year's Eve and had the spinach and pasta on the side for people to add to their bowl and then had toppings of parmesan cheese, parsley, and red chili flakes.

Recipe notes:  I like to make the pasta separately and just stir it in at the end - I think the results are better - but you could also add it to the pot when you add the zucchini.  If you want thinner soup, add more water and if there is a particular thing your people don't like (zucchini, spinach) you can leave it out.  I buy the prechopped mirepoix from Trader Joes so this comes together really quickly.

If you don't want to make this in the Instant Pot, you could do it all on the stove top.  Simmer the soup instead of the pressure cook part for 10-15 minutes and add the beans and zucchini and return to a simmer until the zucchini is cooked.

Minestrone Soup (makes about 8 cups)
Adapted from LifeMadeSweeter blog

1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 large celery stalk, chopped
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp dried thyme
32 ounces diced tomatoes
3 T tomato paste
1 bay leaf
4 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 medium zucchini, small dice
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 cups fresh baby spinach chopped (optional)
1-2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
shredded or grated parmesan cheese (for serving)
fresh parsley, finely chopped (for serving)
1-2 cups cooked (al dente) small shell or macaroni pasta

In the instant pot or a stove top pot, sauce the onions, garlic, carrot and celery for about 3 minutes.  Add the seasonings and tomato paste and saute 30 seconds more.  Dump in the diced tomatoes and broth. Turn your instant pot to pressure cook on high for 2 minutes (make sure valve is set to sealing).  When the time is up, do a quick release.  Then, turn the instant pot to saute.  Add the zucchini and beans and cook for another 10 minutes.  Stir in the spinach (if using) and allow it to wilt (1-2 minutes).  Add more water if you want a thinner soup.  Stir in balsamic vinegar, cooked pasta and serve with parsley and parmesan cheese.

Christmas 2019

From back to school to Christmas. . . that about sums up our fall!  We have had such a fun holiday season and really focused on spending time together with the girls and making family memories.  Here are some recent photos before my new Christmas cookie recipe:

Eggnog Snickerdoodle Cookies

(makes 3 dozen)

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup eggnog

1/2 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixture, beat the butter for 1-2 minutes.  Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2-3 more minutes.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg and beat until just combined.  Then add the eggnog and vanilla and mix until smooth.  Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.  Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or up to 5 days).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.  In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon.  Form tablespoon sized balls of dough, roll in cinnamon sugar, and place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 8-9 minutes or until edges look done but the tops appear slightly undercooked.  Cookies will firm up as they cool.  Cool on the baking sheet for 5+ minutes before transferring to wire rack.

Summer side dish

It's September!  The kids are back to school and soccer and our summer adventures seem like a distant memory but it's still warm and summer weather here in So Cal.  I tried to make soup the other night for dinner but on a hot evening, it felt sort of weird!  I thought I'd share a summer side dish recipe that I made over the summer months.  It's a healthy recipe (0 WW points) and makes a big batch.  I've been putting it in smaller containers and grabbing it for work lunches now that my beach days are on hold for awhile. 

The recipe is pretty basic - you can add or substitute other beans if there are some you don't like and you could change up the seasoning (lemon juice and italian seasoning?) to make it go better with your main dish of choice.  A couple of tomatoes are nice too but they get mushy when you have leftovers. Sometimes I put it over a bed of lettuce and add some grilled chicken to make a main dish.

Bean & Corn Summer Salad
8+ side dish servings

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups shelled cooked edamame
1 bag of frozen sweet corn, thawed
a handful of chopped cilantro
1/2 small red onion, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1-2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Stir it all together and refrigerate for half hour or more before serving.  Lasts in the refrigerator for about a week.