Last but not least, I'm adding white chicken chili into the mix. This is one of those recipes where I'm sure everyone has their own little variation, but no matter how you make it, it always turns out awesome! This recipe is my mom's, and it has made an appearance more than once on Christmas Eve.
I feel like I say this a lot, but I really, really like this soup. We made a double batch of it last Friday for the savory part of a cookie exchange party, so my husband and I have been enjoying the leftovers all week. It literally is one of those things that I could eat everyday and not become tired of it. The recipe for this soup does call for a 1/2 cup of heavy cream. I have successfully swapped lower fat products including half and half and whole milk. If you are looking to try this, keep in mind that these items will "thin out" the soup a little bit more than the cream and may clump easier if they get too hot in the soup. If you are making it in the crockpot, be sure not to add any of the dairy products until about 30 minutes before you plan to serve the soup or they may curdle. A bonus with the crockpot is that your house will smell so good when you come home!
This is definitely a recipe that will allow for some tailoring, so if something sounds like it would go well in here, try it! I know I'll be enjoying my last bowl tomorrow. Merry Christmas everyone!
(Printable Recipe)
White Chicken Chili
From Mom
Ingredients:
1 lb. cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, shredded
1 Tbsp. oil (only if cooking in stockpot)
1 medium onion, chopped
1-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2-3 cans (14.5 oz each) white beans (navy beans), rinsed and drained
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 cans (4oz) chopped green chiles
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1-1/4 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
If cooking in a stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and garlic powder and saute until the onion is translucent. Add beans, broth, chiles, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and heavy cream.
Crockpot directions: Add all ingredients except the sour cream and heavy cream to the crockpot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Add the sour cream and heavy cream about 30 minutes before serving to allow the soup to re-warm after the addition.
Day 2 of soups for Christmas. This is one of the other recipes that my brother made last week while he was visiting. It is a little similar to this soup recipe that I posted last year in that it contains both sausage and red wine, but the soups are distinct enough that I am considering them different.
Of all the things on my blog, my soups are probably one of the things that we "repeat" the most at home. You other bloggers know what I am talking about. The "are we having something new again for dinner" syndrome. This soup is definitely up with the others in flavor, and that is considering that we really like all of the soups posted here. Given the fact that my brother served us this during the same meal as the chocolate-chip toffee cheesecake, I would certainly say we had a great meal!
Similar to the minestrone, the pasta in this soup will soak up some of the liquid as it sits. Just add extra broth to your preference when you reheat it. This one also calls for red wine, but it can be substituted for the beef broth if you prefer. Enjoy!
(Printable Recipe)
Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
1 lb. sweet Italian chicken/turkey sausage, casings removed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
1 can (14.5) oz. diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 Tbsp. fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
1/2 tsp. ground oregano
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1-1/2 cups quartered zucchini
8 oz. fresh whole wheat tortellini
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
In a large Dutch oven, brown the sausage, crumbling as you cook it. Remove the sausage from the pan and drain the fat.
Add the onion and garlic to the pan and saute until the onion begins to soften. Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Skim fat from the soup if necessary (should be very little if you use chicken/turkey sausage). Stir in zucchini and parsley. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add tortellini during the last 10 minutes. Serve hot with Parmesan cheese.
Crockpot directions: Cook the sausage as directed. Place all ingredients except tortellini and Parmesan cheese in the crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Cook tortellini separately on the stove according to package directions and add just before serving. Serve hot with Parmesan cheese.
Growing up we had quite a few Christmas traditions. Starting the day after Thanksgiving, we'd get up early to grab donuts before heading to the Christmas tree farm to pick out/cut down our tree. We also had a paper nativity scene that doubled as an Advent calendar. My brother and I would alternate days of putting up each character, often squabbling over who would get to put the star up over the manger on Christmas Eve.
One of the other traditions that I still continue - soup on Christmas Eve. The kind has changed over the years (there was a time when I would have a can of Campbell's chicken and stars because the rest of the family was having oyster stew...), but the idea of soup has stayed constant. We've done stews, chili, homemade chicken noodle, and even played with the idea of bread bowls, but it's always homemade and always great! Plus, it is low stress as you can put it in a crockpot and forget about it. Bonus that it leaves room for Christmas cookies :)
As I don't have too many Christmas cookie recipes to share with you this year, I thought I would let you in on our little tradition and offer up a few soup recipes leading up to Christmas Eve.
The first soup is a classic - minestrone. I have made this recipe a couple of times, and I really enjoy it as it is everything a minestrone soup should be: great flavor and loaded with vegetables. The recipe calls for red wine. If you are worried about including alcohol, it could certainly be replaced with some additional broth, however if you can, I would strongly suggest you include it. I love the flavor red wine adds to soups. One thing to note is that the pasta will continue to soak up the liquid (even when fully cooked), so cook it al dente and only add it a few minutes before serving. This is especially important if you are making the soup in a crockpot! For the leftovers in this case, I have just been adding a little bit more broth as needed when I heat it up.
Feel free to join in if you want. It's a fun tradition to start! Enjoy!
(Printable Recipe)
Jamie's Minestrone
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
1-1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, chopped
2 cups chopped celery
5 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cups chicken broth (can use vegetable broth to make vegetarian)
2 cups water
4 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine (optional)
1 can (14.5oz) low-sodium kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup fresh green beans, trimmed into 1-inch pieces
2 cups baby spinach
3 small zucchinis, quartered and sliced
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup small whole wheat pasta, cooked al dente
shredded Parmesan cheese for serving
In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add onion and saute for 4-5 minutes. Add celery and carrots, saute for 1-2 minutes.
Add chicken broth, water, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. If using, add red wine. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans, spinach, zucchini, oregano, basil, and salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, the longer the better.
Cook pasta separately until al dente according to package directions. Drain and add to soup. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
Crockpot directions: Follow the first step through cooking the onions. Add the sauteed onions and garlic to the crockpot with the rest of the ingredients except the pasta, spinach, and Parmesan cheese. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Cook the pasta until al dente as directed above and add to the crockpot with the spinach just before serving. The heat will wilt the spinach. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
Man. I feel like a little bit of a wimp saying this, but it was cold this week in New Orleans. No, not snow cold, but cool weather combined with rain can still be cold. We were there for a pharmacy conference and having to walk around in the rain is not synonymous with fun. I was definitely ready to get back to Arizona desert last night! Nonetheless, the chill stayed with me and has me thinking of one thing. Soup!
In reality, I made this soup a couple weeks ago, almost immediately after I ran across it online, and a bowl of it sounds about perfect right now! Dara from the Cookin' Canuck came up with this recipe on her own, and I have to say she is a genius. Check out her site for the pictures, and let me tell you that this soup is as good as it looks. Extra points in because it is healthy. Delicious + healthy = win.
I changed the soup a little by using a sweet potato rather than a butternut squash and slightly varying the cooking method. The recipe calls for cooking the chicken in some broth, but you could certainly use cooked chicken as a time saver if you want. We loved our end result, but I'm sure it would be great with the butternut squash too. If you're looking to warm up from some cool weather, this would be a great way to do it. Enjoy!
(Printable Recipe)
Hearty Chicken Stew with Sweet Potatoes and Quinoa
Adapted from Cookin' Canuck
Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. sweet potato, peeled and cubed into 1/2-inch pieces
3-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1-1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 can (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes
2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
3/4 cup pitted and quartered kalamata olives
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley, chopped
In a medium saucepan, add sweet potatoes and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and boil for 5-7 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. Remove half of the pieces. Continue boiling the remaining pieces of sweet potato until they are very soft, 3-5 minutes more. Drain and mash with the back of a fork. Set aside.
In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer. Add the chicken and cook until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and allow to cool. Pour broth into a medium-sized bowl.
Return the saucepan to the stovetop and lower the heat to medium. Add olive oil and allow to warm. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is starting to turn brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and oregano. Cook stirring for 1 additional minute. To the saucepan, add tomatoes, cubed sweet potato pieces, and mashed sweet potato. Stir to combine. Stir in reserved chicken broth and quinoa. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa turns translucent, about 15 minutes.
Shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork. Stir in the chicken, olives, and pepper into the stew, and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and serve.
Another month, another Secret Recipe Club post. I can't believe how fast this past month has gone! Summer - unofficially out the door, my birthday - yesterday, my residency - picking up steam like an unstoppable freight train, football - depending on the league you follow started either last week or this past weekend. I guess fall must really be knocking on the door because they are forecasting temperatures below the triple digit mark here next week. Not sure I am ready yet...
This month for SRC I was assigned Tami from Tami's Kitchen Table Talk. I am somewhat familiar with Tami's blog as she is the wonderful host of the Cookie Carnival in which I've been involved for quite awhile. While I've somewhat known about her blog through the carnival, I was excited to get a chance to look around! Much of the time I've spent over there has involved cookies in some form, so I wanted to find a non-sweet dinner recipe from her archives. As it turns out, this was harder than it sounds as Tami has some yummy sounding desserts over there! Nonetheless, I ended up combining two of her recipes - BBQ chicken sliders in the crockpot and homemade BBQ sauce to make a great, non-involved, easy dinner.
My only change to her recipes was omitting the whiskey from the barbecue sauce. In reality, this wasn't an intentional change. If you are worried about the alcohol, it will all cook off while the mixture is boiling. My issue was the lack of whiskey in our pantry. I swore we had some but when I went to look for it, none was to be found. As a result, my barbecue sauce ended up a little on the sweeter side. While it was still great, I think the whiskey in here serves the purpose of cutting the sweetness a little bit. I also blended it with my immersion blender at the end to incorporate the onion chunks.
The idea for this pairing came from our love loaded baked potatoes. Not the side-dish kind. The meal kind with chicken, onions, and cheese. It has been a long time since we have had them! Growing up, mom always made ours with canned or rotisserie chicken mixed with bottle barbecue sauce. By combining Tami's recipes for BBQ sauce and crockpot pulled chicken, I was able to make both from fresher ingredients in my own kitchen with only a little bit more effort. By making the barbecue sauce ahead of time one Sunday morning and cooking the chicken with it in the crockpot later that day, the only step left was cooking the potatoes and chopping a few ingredients right before serving. A perfect busy day recipe. Success if you ask me. My husband is already asking for them again!
(Printable Recipe)
Crockpot BBQ Chicken Loaded Baked Potato
Adapted from Tami's Kitchen Table Talk
Ingredients:
BBQ sauce:
1/2 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups ketchup
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup molasses
1/2 tsp. pepper
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tsp. mesquite flavor liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. tobasco sauce
2 Tbsp. whiskey (optional)
Loaded Baked Potatoes:
1-1/2 to 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-1/2 cups of BBQ sauce
5-6 russet potatoes
cheddar cheese, shredded
sour cream
red onion, diced
black olives, sliced
aluminum foil
For the barbecue sauce, warm a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Saute the onion and garlic with the whiskey until the onion begins to soften. Combine remaining ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If a smoother sauce is desired, blend with an immersion blender or let cool and add to a regular blender. Blend until smooth. Use 1-1/2 cups in the following recipe. Save the remaining sauce in the refrigerator.
Layer the chicken breasts into the crockpot by alternating one piece of chicken with a little barbecue sauce. Add the remaining barbecue sauce over the top of the chicken. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. After 4 hours, check to see if the chicken is cooked through. It should begin to shred itself if it is finished cooking. If it is not quite done, continue to cook for another hour. Remove the chicken and place on a plate. Shred using two forks. Place the chicken in a resealable container and mix with any remaining barbecue sauce from the crockpot. Refrigerate until ready to use.
On the day you are planning to eat the potatoes, wash and wrap each in aluminum foil. Place the wrapped, raw potatoes in the clean crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. When ready to eat, warm the chicken on the stove or in the microwave. Add more barbecue sauce to the chicken if desired. Top the potatoes with your desired ingredients. Enjoy!
While we may be a few weeks out from the official "first day of summer," I think summer may have hit the country in the past few days. I am used to the 90's, but I saw them all across the weather map this evening on the news. The whole thing was red!
When it is warmer, I try to avoid making meals in the oven, especially anything that needs to bake longer than say 20-30 minutes, so we end up grilling out quite a bit. In fact, we've been grilling a lot this year including things that wouldn't be your traditional grill fare - vegetables, bread, and even some fruit. This was a recipe that landed in my email inbox from Cuisine at Home, and I think it was the launchpad for our current grilling obsession.
Last month as I was looking through the blogs, I noticed a couple people posting recipes from a group called The Secret Recipe Club. As members, you are assigned a blog, and your only requirement is to make one recipe from that blog some time during the month. We keep our "assigned blogs" secret until the post day where everyone reveals their blog and their chosen recipe at the same time. Fun right? I was in.
My The Secret Recipe Club blog for May was Anne's Quick and Easy, Cheap and Healthy. I ended up spending the better part of an afternoon looking through her recipes, and I really like her philosophy - healthy and nutritious recipes do not need to be expensive or complicated! I actually had a really hard time settling on a recipe, but in the end I decided on her recipe for A Springy Casserole since it is a recipe that is different from what I would typically make. It is originally a recipe from about.com, but Anne definitely made it her own.
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If I had to pick my season, I would certainly be more of a summer person. The sun, the weather, getting to spend time outdoors, shorts, flip flops, lake trips. If you can't tell by where my husband and I decided to move (Arizona), we dig this stuff. Despite my love of the season, I haven't yet experienced the full wrath of an Arizona summer, so I've been trying to work-up my repertoire of "oven-free" meals to give my air conditioner a bit of a break as the thermometer climbs this summer. :)
The other bonus of "don't heat up the house" recipes is that they are typically pretty quick. Quick. Cool. Delicious. Triple score! This is a no-bake recipe that I found at Multiply Delicious, and I was sold after noticing both asparagus and balsamic vinegar on the ingredient list. The recipe is easily adaptable and could fit different grains (quinoa anyone?), different vegetables, or even the addition of chicken if you need to please a meat-eater in the house. We made it exactly as written with the only exception of brown balsamic vinegar for the white (it's really only a difference of appearance).
Our verdict: It was a great meal! The flavors of the dish really shined despite a relatively simple ingredient list. Light. Fresh. Healthy. It is certainly a meal I am going to keep in my north of 100 degrees folder. Enjoy!
(Printable Recipe)
Asparagus Primavera with Couscous
From Multiply Delicious
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups dry couscous
1 lb. asparagus, rinsed and woody bottoms snapped off
1 cup shredded carrots
1 can (15 oz) White Northern beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups loosely packed baby spinach, cut into strips
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar (white if possible)
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 tsp. garlic minced (I used 2 cloves)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Fill a shallow pot with about 1-inch of water and bring to a boil. In a separate medium pot, bring 1-1/2 cups water to a boil (can use chicken broth if desired), then add couscous. Remove from heat, stir and cover. Couscous will be ready in 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
Cut asparagus into pieces. Place asparagus and carrots into shallow pot of boiling water, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain immediately.
In a large salad bowl, toss remaining ingredients, except Parmesan. Add asparagus and carrots and toss again. To serve, spoon about 1 cup of couscous onto each plate. Spoon salad over the top, dividing evenly and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.
This might be the recipe that won me my husband. See, being from Nebraska, we both were (and are) huge Nebraska football fans since as far back as I remember. My husband and I actually met while we were both in high school, and it was at one of these Nebraska football parties where our relationship really began. Guess what dish my girlfriend and I had made to bring to the party :)
Story aside, we had both sadly forgotten about this recipe until my husband brought it up during my menu plan a couple months ago. While football season is still a few months out, it worked quite well as our main dish for the college basketball finals several weeks ago. One of the things I love about this dish is that it looks really impressive while still being really easy to make. If you can brown hamburger and chop vegetables, you can master this recipe. Besides game day, this recipe would also work great for backyard barbecues and graduation parties. The other thing I love. The taste. It really is all the taste of tacos in a more portable vehicle. What's not to love? We certainly won't be waiting as long to make this again. Enjoy!
(Printable Recipe)
Taco Ring
Recipe from the Dobbes
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained
1 pkg. taco seasoning or homemade taco seasoning
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 Tbsp. water
2 pkg. crescent rolls
1 medium green bell pepper (any color will work)
1/2 head lettuce, shredded
1 small onion, chopped
1 can sliced black olives
1 cup salsa
light sour cream
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine cooked meat, seasoning mix, cheese and water in a large bowl. Arrange crescent triangles in a circle on a 13" round baking stone or other baking dish with bases overlapping in the center and points to the outside (there should be a 5" diameter in the center). Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the meat mixture over the rolls. Fold the points of the triangles over the filling and pinch dough together at the center (filling will not be completely covered). Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Using a v-shaped cutter or regular knife, but off the top of the bell pepper. Remove seeds. Shred lettuce and cube tomato. Chop onion. Place bell pepper in the center of the ring; fill with salsa. Mound lettuce, onion, tomato, and olives around the pepper. Garnish with sour cream. Slice with pizza cutter and enjoy.
It has been a little while since I made this dish, but I feel like it is right in line with the spring flavors right now. For me, this was actually a recipe that came about to use several things that I hanging around the kitchen. While I was home over my Christmas break, I had some family friends gift us several bags of local (ie. grown in their backyard) lemons, tangelos, and grapefruit. We devoured the other fruit plain, but I really wanted to find a couple recipes to showcase the fresh lemons. One of the recipes that I settled on was these muffins. This is the other.
Since I finished my school schedule a couple months early, I have been enjoying the opportunity to spend a decent amount of time in my kitchen. I have been trying to use this extra time "wisely" to tackle some of the meals on my "must-make list" that tend to take a little bit longer. You know the type. Yeasted breads. Decorated cupcakes. Mile long ingredient lists. While I have some time right now, this may not be the case in a couple months because a couple weeks ago I accepted a residency position that starts in July. I am REALLY excited for it to get started, but I also know that this means I need to start looking for some quick meal ideas.
This is a recipe I spotted in a section of Cooking Light called "store-bought shortcuts for easy, home-cooked meals." They included a section about how using store-bought pizza dough, pie crust, rotisserie chicken can be okay (even nutritionally) if you have a night where you need to get dinner finished quickly. I actually defeated the purpose of the article by using my own pie crust, but to my credit, I had one in the freezer that I only had to thaw before using. They have a good point, and while I like to try to make these things at home when I plan out our menu for the week, there are nights (like last Sunday) where Trader Joe's pizza dough certainly comes in handy.
So what about the part that matters. Were they good? Definitely! I was a little disappointed that my homemade pie crust didn't brown much like the one in their photo, but on that thought, I don't think it was a pie crust recipe that I will use again anyway. It just didn't work quite right here or in the pie that I made. I only made one change because I realized at the last minute that the chicken sausages we had were already pre-cooked, so rather than crumbling them, I simply diced them and browned them quickly in the skillet. Besides my aesthetic browning issue, the turnovers were great! I was pleasantly surprised that they packed as much flavor as they did from a list of pretty unassuming ingredients, and I know that the hubby really enjoyed them too. Don't let the pie dough turn you away. Even with it, all of this comes in at less than 350 calories per turnover. It is certainly a recipe that will be going in the "quick and easy" file for the next year. Enjoy!
I am linking this post to Melt in Your Mouth Monday!
(Printable Recipe)
Savory Chicken Sausage, Spinach, and Onion Turnovers
Adapted from Cooking Light April 2011
Ingredients:
Cooking spray
2/3 c. diced, peeled red potatoes
1/3 c. diced red bell pepper
1/3 c. diced yellow onion
2 (3.5 oz) links hot chicken Italian sausage, casings removed (or diced if pre-cooked)
3 c. bagged washed baby spinach
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 (14.1-ounce) pkg. Pillsbury refrigerated pie dough (or homemade dough for 1 crust pie)
2 Tbsp. water
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp. grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add potatoes, bell pepper, and onion to the pan; saute 4 minutes or until onion begins to brown, stirring frequently. Add sausage; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble if using the uncooked variety. Stir in spinach; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Stir in basil, salt, and crushed red pepper. Remove from the heat.
Cut dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 5-inch circle. Spoon about 1/2 cup potato mixture on half of each circle, leaving a 1/2-inch boarder. Fold dough over potato mixture until edges almost meet. Bring bottom edge of dough over top edge; crimp edges of dough to form a rim with fingers or a fork.
Place turnovers on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray if needed. Combine 2 tablespoons of water and egg white in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk; brush evenly over the dough. Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons cheese over each turnover. Bake at 400 degrees for 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.
Yield: 4 turnovers (4 servings)
I am linking this to Hunk of Meat Monday.
I have a few more sweet posts in the works, so I thought it might be time to mix them up with something more on the savory side. This was one of the first 3 recipes that my husband had lined up for me to make after I returned home. I have talked about his love for Chinese food on here before, but I am really not kidding. While we were in undergraduate college, we went to the Chinese buffet so often that the owners would ask him if he wanted them to make anything else for the buffet when we walked in the door. The guy loves his Chinese.
One of the things I like about making Chinese food at home is that you can make it so much healthier than you can get at a restaurant. The basis of the food is good for you - lean meats and vegetables served over rice. If you watch the sodium in your ingredients and don't fry your meat, you can have an easy, healthful meal.
Home! I can't believe how good it feels to be able to type that word. I finished up my last clinical rotation for pharmacy school this week. It hasn't quite sunk in yet that I'm done and get to stay, but until it does, I'm just going to enjoy being here =)
I think the hubby must have missed "our" cooking while I was gone because the first three things we made since I've been back are pizza, chocolate chip cookies, and Chinese food in that order (more recipes to follow). I'm certainly not complaining because they've all been good, and it's not just because I've been subsisting on pb&j and lunch meat for the past 3 weeks.
This pizza recipe is one that my husband picked out for dinner from my Cooking Light magazine while I was at a residency interview this week. I received a couple new magazine subscriptions for Christmas, and I have set a goal for myself to make a certain amount of recipes from each issue to help keep things interesting around here. If the rest of them are anything like this recipe, we're certainly going to be eating pretty good this year!
We ended up using the prepared pizza dough from Trader Joe's for this pizza because we were making it on pretty short notice. Their dough is really good, but I'm hoping to get back into the swing of making our own crust from scratch as I get back in the kitchen. Pizza is one of the things that my husband made on his own while I was gone, and he has his crust-baking technique down. It was perfectly browned and crispy enough to support the moister sauce that came with the extra ricotta cheese. The flavor profile is pretty similar to the chicken pesto pizza that I blogged on just a few posts ago, but the ricotta cheese gives it just enough of a twist that it's different. Just looking at the pictures is making me want to make it again. Enjoy!
(Printable Recipe)
White Pizza with Tomato and Basil
Adapted from Cooking Light, March 2011
Ingredients:
1 pkg or recipe of prepared pizza dough (we used TJ's herbed dough)
Cooking Spray
3 Tbsp. pesto with basil
3/4 c. shredded light Mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. part-skim ricotta cheese
2 sliced small tomatoes
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 c. small basil leaves, torn
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place a stoneware pizza pan in the oven to heat for at least 10 minutes.
Roll out a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover the pizza pan. Stretch or roll out the pizza dough to desired shape and thickness and place on the parchment paper. Lightly coat the crust with cooking spray. Spread pesto evenly over the crust, leaving a 1-inch boarder. Sprinkle Mozarrella cheese evenly over the pesto. Dollop ricotta, by teaspoonfuls, evenly over the Mozzarella. Arrange tomato slices and basil over the pizza. Sprinkle with the black pepper.
Remove the pizza pan from the oven and carefully transfer the parchment paper and pizza to the hot pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the crust is nicely golden-brown. Slice and enjoy.
Pesto
It has definitely been no secret on this blog that the hubby likes pizza, but since I've been apart from him for school, it hasn't really been something that's been on my menu. Not only would a whole pizza take me a week of suppers to eat on my own, but I'm also apart from my breadmaker and a little scared to try rising the dough on its own in a bowl.
Enter Trader Joe's prepared pizza dough. Right around their grand opening I scored some whole wheat pizza dough from TJ's for less than a dollar! Not too bad! While I'd like to get around to making my own again once I make it home, this one would definitely be a great substitute for those emergency pizza cravings. My husband has also been using it to make pizza on his own, and he says that the garlic one is great.
This pizza is one that I crafted after finding the dough one night. I've been on a pesto kick lately, and it sounded like it would make for a good base to a pizza recipe. I added chicken, sliced tomatoes, and Mozzarella cheese to this one, but next time, I think I want to add chopped artichokes to it as well. The pesto idea was definitely a hit. We'll be recreating this one more than once.
The only complaint I have is the baking temperature. The hubby and I have found that the dough packages here in Nebraska differ in temperature from those in AZ. Ours say to bake it at 350 degrees while his say 450. This is somewhat of a debate as the hubby thinks I just read the package wrong, but I am sure that it said to bake at 350 degrees. 350 is definitely not hot enough to fully cook the crust in the middle, so I say go with your normal pizza method. We like to roll the dough out on parchment while preheating a stone in the oven at 450. Placing the dough helps cook the dough from the bottom up so that you don't end up with a soggy middle in your pizza. My other home pizza tip is that if you like your cheese a little browned just switch the oven to broil for the last minute or so of baking. Enjoy!
(Printable Recipe)
Chicken Pesto Pizza
The Cookin' Chemist Original
Ingredients:
1 pkg. prepared pizza dough or 1 recipe of homemade dough
1/4 - 1/3 c. pesto
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
1-1/2 c. Mozzarella cheese
2 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
artichoke hearts, chopped (optional)
other vegetables (optional)
Place a stone pizza pan or stoneware pan in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
On parchment paper, roll or stretch out the pizza dough to desired thickness. Spread with pesto and top with chicken, tomatoes, artichokes, and other vegetables if desired. Cover with Mozzarella cheese. Remove the pan from the oven and place the pizza (while still on the parchment paper) on the hot stone. Alternatively, you can use a pizza peel if you have one. Bake for 11-14 minutes or until the crust starts to turn brown. If you want to brown the cheese, switch the oven to broil and let it cook for no more than 1-2 minutes. Slice and enjoy!
I've got quite the string of sweeter recipe posts going, so I thought it's time that I posted more of a healthful, savory meal. I first noticed the recipe for this salad in an older issue of Vegetarian Times. I don't know about you, but I always seem to pick recipes out of magazines while I'm sweating away at the gym. Good thing they don't have TV's at the student gym. If I start watching food network, I would really be in trouble =)
Anyway, after coming home and immediately looking the recipe up online, I've already made this recipe twice. Since it was in the July/August issue, it has more of a "summer flair" to it, but I can attest to the fact that it was still delicious in October. The second time, I even divided it up into lunch-sized portions (minus pre-packing the dressing) and enjoyed it all week. The recipe calls for you to make a simple homemade dressing, and it is absolutely my favorite part. It ties the whole salad together and gives it just a little kick.
I made a few swaps to the recipe using black beans rather than pintos, halved cherry tomatoes, and fresh bell peppers instead of roasted peppers. It is definitely one of those meals where you can swap ingredients wherever you see fit. If you've been craving vegetable-packed meals like I have, give this a try! It only serves as proof that lower-calorie, healthful meals can still be filling, flavorful, and delicious!
(Printable Recipe)
Mexicali Chop Salad with Crunchy Tortilla Strips
Adapted from Vegetarian Times
Ingredients:
Tortilla Strips:
cooking spray
3 6-inch corn or flour tortillas
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
Dressing:
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. lime juice
1/4 c. chopped green onion
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
pinch cayenne pepper
Salad:
8 c. romaine lettuce (1 head) or spinach
1 pkg. cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, diced
3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, diced and seeded
1 c. fresh or frozen corn (thawed if frozen)
3/4 c. black beans
1/2 c. fresh red bell pepper, chopped (can use roasted)
1/3 c. finely chopped red onion
To make the tortilla strips, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the tortillas with non-stick spray and spread on a baking sheet. Combine chili powder, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and sprinkle the mixture over the tortillas. Cut tortillas in half with a pizza slicer and slice into 1/8-inch wide strips. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp.
To make the dressing, heat the olive oil, garlic, cumin, coriander, sugar and salt for 2-3 minutes over low heat until the garlic begins to sizzle. Add the lime juice, green onion, and cilantro and blend with an immersion blender until smooth (this can also be added to a stand blender if desired).
Toss together all salad ingredients. Layer tortilla strips on top of the lettuce mixture and top with the dressing.
Yield: 4 (The original recipe says it serves 8, but those would be little salads. You will have extra dressing for only 4 salads).
Note: The dressing will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
