Chicken Chili soup

What's the difference between chicken chili and chicken tortilla soup?  My intention was to make a chicken tortilla soup but since I don't have tortillas, maybe it's not chicken tortilla soup?  Whatever it is, it was hearty and yummy.  Sorry, no pic.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

8-10 chicken drumsticks

1 large carrot, diced

1 can black beans

1 can green chilies

1 can tomatoes, diced

2 zucchinis, diced

3/4 c corn kernels, frozen

1-2 c water or chicken broth

Seasonings to taste

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Poultry seasoning

Red pepper flake, pinch

Oregano, pinch

Sugar

Chili powder

Cumin

1. Dice 1 carrot.  (Onion would be good too, but I didn't have any.)  Put into crockpot.

2. Arrange about 8-10 drumsticks on top of carrots.

3. Pour in 1 cup of water.

4. Generously season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning.  Also add a pinch of red pepper flake, oregano, some sugar, chili powder and cumin.  Pour 1 can of green chilies and 1 can of diced tomatoes over the chicken.

5. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or until chicken is done.

6. Remove chicken.  Remove bones and dice.  Return chicken to soup and stir in 1 can black beans (drained), 2 zucchinis (diced), and 3/4 cup corn kernels.

7. Add more water or chicken broth for more soup, if desired.  Adjust seasonings as necessary.

8. Cook on high until simmering and zucchinis are to desired tenderness.

9. Serve warm.  Optional toppings include sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and green onions.

Strawberry Sorbet

This is a 3 ingredient recipe.  Strawberries, water, and honey.

Actually, I don't even know what a sorbet is.  Maybe this is just an icee or a smoothie.  Anyway, I stuck it in the ice cream maker and the results were delightful.  However, after a night in the freezer, it was like a brick of strawberry ice, thus the picture.  Within a few minutes, it melted just enough so it was lovely, but then I ate it and there is no after picture.  Sorry, but here's the recipe!

Strawberry Sorbet

1 lb frozen strawberries

water

Honey, to taste

1. Soak bag of frozen strawberries in cool water for approximately 15 minutes, or until half way thawed.

2. In blender, add strawberries and about a 1/4 cup of water.  Pulse.  Add more water to loosen up mixture.

3. Blend until strawberries are puréed.

4. Add honey to taste.  Blend well.

5. At this point, strawberry mixture can be enjoyed just the way it is, churned in an ice cream maker, or frozen in the freezer.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Waffles w/ more protein

A few weeks ago, we started reading the If You Give A... series by Laura Numeroff.  Mr A really took a liking to them and so I began telling him If You Give Mr A a Waffle stories.  So of course, Mr A wanted waffles, and being the sucker mom that I am, I made him regular 'ole buttermilk waffles.  Just regular AP flour, no carrots or pumpkin.  In addition, I served them to Mr A with a little bit of maple syrup on top, just like the book. But then lo' and behold, I start reading about preschoolers and breakfast and how a regular waffle with maple syrup ends up being just like spoonfuls of sugar in their bodies after a couple hours.  All the carbs are quickly broken down into glucose and kids burn and crash quickly.

That's when I realized I needed to add some protein into Mr A's breakfast.  Unfortunately, the recommendation is to just add an egg or peanut butter into your child's breakfast.  Well, we can't do that because Mr A is allergic to egg and peanut butter!  He's not a big meat eater either so I didn't see sausage or ham as a true possibility.

This got me thinking about a waffle recipe that was contributed to my class recipe book last year.  The mom said she played around with the recipe to get a freezer stable, high protein waffle to feed her family in the mornings.  When I saw she put in tofu, I was kind of appalled.  I've had a lot of tofu in my life.  I'm a big fan but using it in baking - that just seemed wrong.  However, I've seen tofu as an egg substitute and a yogurt / dairy substitute.  So it did make some sense that you could toss in half a brick of tofu into waffle batter and it wouldn't be too noticeable.  The taste reminds me a little of unsweetened soy milk.  There's a subtle soy taste, but it's not over powering.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Since my first experiment with waffles using tofu, I've tried adding a half brick of tofu to a few of my favorite breakfast recipes-- carrot-spiced waffles and pumpkin muffins.  Add a half brick of smashed or pureed silken tofu and it works.  The waffles and muffins are a little denser but the tofu almost melts in when you bake the batter.  There aren't any chunks in the waffles or muffins when you bite into them.  I keep the whole wheat to AP ratio about 1:1 and I don't serve the with honey or maple syrup, unless it's the weekend and there's no school.

Pumpkin muffins

Mr A was growing tired of waffles every day so it became time to make muffins!  It's officially Fall.  There are pumpkins everywhere so why not pumpkin muffins?  I pretty much used Libby's Pumpkin Muffins recipe and they turned out fantastic.  I will make them again.

I did make a few tweaks.  I used half AP flour and half whole wheat flour.  I halved the amount of sugar and added a little vanilla extract.  I left out the salt by mistake.  I used buttermilk instead of water/juice.  And I added dried cranberries.  In retrospect, chocolate chips would have been tasty too.

Aren't the muffin cups pretty?  My MIL bought them at some point.  Mr A described them like flowers when you peel them off the muffin.

Pumpkin Muffins

slightly adapted from Libby's
 

Ingredients

• 1.5 c all-purpose flour
• 1.5 c whole wheat flour
• 1 T pumpkin spice
• 2 t baking soda
• 1.5 c granulated sugar
• 1 can (15 ounces) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Paper-line or grease 30 muffin cups.

COMBINE flour, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda in large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla extract, oil and buttermilk in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture; stir just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.

BAKE for 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store muffins in covered container or resealable plastic bags.

FOR 72 MINI MUFFINS:
PREPARE as above; filling 3/4 full. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes.

FOR 12 JUMBO MUFFINS:
PREPARE as above; filling 3/4 full. Bake for 33 to 36 minutes.

Note: *LIBBY’S 100% Pure Pumpkin is considered a Super Food as it is low in calories and fat and is a naturally rich source of fiber and Vitamin A (an antioxidant). 

Palak Paneer

I first had Indian food in grad school.  I vaguely remember having a fish dish and a couple other things too, but most of all, I remember really liking it and wondering why I hadn't experienced Indian food prior to that.

Ahh... Indian food.  Yum.  So full of spices and flavors.  It can be spicy, but oftentimes, restaurants will accommodate and make dishes mild, which is really more of a medium.  Then there's hot and Indian hot.  Lol.

Palak Paneer.  Google says palak is "spinach".  Sometimes you'll see it called saag paneer.  Saag refers to leafy greens.  Paneer is an Indian cheese.  It looks fairly simple to make.  Curdle whole milk with lemon juice, strain it in cheesecloth, and press into a block.  Sounds very feasible, maybe next time.

Ok, so palak paneer.  I love this stuff, but I have to say This didn't turn out as yummy as when I buy it.  Then again, I tend to think food always tastes better when someone cooks for you and there are no dishes to wash. Maybe I just need to add more salt, but this was easy enough and still yummy.

Thaw a 16oz package of frozen chopped spinach in the microwave on high for about 6 minutes.

Blend /purée in blender.  I used my food processor, but maybe the blender would get a finer texture?  Mine was still a little chunky, which was fine for me.  And I guess if you were really looking for simple, you could just use as is without puréeing.

In a saucepan or pot, heat some vegetable oil.  Toss in cubes of paneer.  Brown on both sides, then remove from pot onto some paper towels to soak up the extra oil.

Add a little more oil to the pot.  Add chopped onions and brown.  When onions are getting slightly brown, add minced garlic, minced ginger, and garam masala.  Garam masala is just a mix spices - cloves, coriander, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon.  If things are looking a little dry, add a little water so the spices don't burn.

Add spinach purée to pot.  Add some salt, bring to boil.

If mixture is thick, you can add some cream, yogurt, or milk for some more sauciness.

When sauce is to desired consistency, add paneer.

Stir gently until combined.  Serve with rice or naan.

Palak Paneer

Ingredients:

16oz frozen chopped spinach

8 oz paneer cheese, cubed (firm tofu makes a good substitute)

3 T vegetable oil

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 t garam masala

1/8 t garlic, minced

1/8 t ginger, minced

Salt, to taste

3-4 T cream, milk, or yogurt (optional)

Directions:

Defrost spinach in microwave, about 6 minutes on high.

Purée spinach in blender to desired consistency.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil.  Brown paneer cheese, then remove from pot and drain on paper towels.

Heat another tablespoon of oil and brown chopped onions.  When browned, add minced garlic & ginger, and garam masala.  Add a few tablespoons of water if mixture looks dry.  Stir mixture for 30 seconds.

Add spinach purée to pot. Add salt to taste. Bring to a boil.  For more sauce and creaminess, add cream, yogurt, or milk.

Return paneer to pot.  Gently stir to combine,

Serve with rice or naan.

Spiced Carrot waffles

Yum.  Dare I say better than pumpkin waffles?

 

Crunchy, just a bit of sweet, and the perfect illusion of being a little healthy. 

Breakfast (lunch or dinner) is served.

Spiced Carrot Waffles

from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:
1-¼ cup All-purpose Flour
½ cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoons Nutmeg, Freshly Ground If Possible
½ teaspoons Salt
2 whole Eggs, Divided
1-¾ cup Mill
1 cup Packed Shredded Carrot
½ cups Vegetable Or Canola Oil

Directions:

1. Sift together dry ingredients. Separate egg yolks from the whites. Combine yolks, milk, carrots and oil; stir into the dry ingredients. Beat whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form. Fold whites into the batter, leaving a few fluffs.
2. Bake on a hot waffle iron.

Cauliflower Mac n cheese

What do you get when you combine creamy cauliflower sauce with plain ole macaroni?

If you think this is a trick question, it's not.  The result is simply delicious.  This is straight out of Pinch of Yum's Creamy Cauliflower Sauce e-cookbook dedicated to creamy cauliflower sauce.  Can I just say, she's my hero?

Ingredients: cauliflower sauce, cheese, noodles, salt & pepper to taste.

Get POY's e-cookbook.  Yum.