Chicken Pozole

A few weeks ago, I took one of my beloved cooking classes, and the focus was on Latin American soups. Now we all know that I'm a sucker for Latin American foods, so that was right up my alley. We made pozole, as well as a black bean soup that I plan to make in the next couple of weeks. But the pozole had to be made quickly! I couldn't stop thinking about it. Good stuff.

Chicken Pozole
recipe courtesy of Zach Meloy and Buford Highway Farmers' Market

2 bone-in chicken breasts
water to cover
1 onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-28 oz cans tomatoes, pureed in a blender until almost smooth
1-28 oz can hominy

toppings: chips, sour cream, cilantro, lime wedges, onions, radishes, diced jalapenos, avocado. Whatever you've got is good here. This night, we went with chips, cilantro, onions, sour cream, and lime.


Boil chicken breasts in salted water, just until done, about 35-40 minutes. Take chicken out, allow to cool, and shred or chop. Reserve the light broth.

In a large soup pot, saute onion and garlic until done. Add tomatoes, hominy, and chicken broth. Season to taste with salt. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer at a very low heat for about 45 minutes. Add chicken to soup. Serve with toppings.

Don't be jealous of the world map placemat. All the cool kids have them.

Today, I'm linked to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Salsas

We love Mexican food here. And one of the fun things about taquerias is the salsa bar that they have. Our favorite has about 6 salsas to choose from, as well as pickled jalapenos, radishes, onions, and pico de gallo. So, so good. And so much fun to add to a meal. So for this night, I decided to play around with some of our favorites and try out a couple of new ones, too.

This is chipotle salsa. A surprising hit. It's The Tomato King's new favorite.

Roasted tomatillo salsa. This is the favorite of my kids. It's a Rick Bayless recipe, which is written in a very wordy way. Don't let that turn you off--it's very easy.

My favorite. Tomatillo avocado salsa. Add an avocado to the tomatillo salsa and blend. Easy peasy.


And the old faithful. Roasted tomato salsa .

We're already making a list for the next salsa night. It's a fun, cheap way to bring some new-ness into our meals and make us feel like we're eating something different. Even if it is rice and beans. Again. (are my kids ever going to tire of this????) Good for the budget. Good for the bored mama. Good all around.

Collards

I love greens. Greens in every form, in every way. Almost everything is done in the garden right now, but the collards carry on. A little promise of spring to come and a reminder that even when it looks like nothing is happening, growth still continues. (as an aside...man, I love that garden and its glimpse into life. not so much the work involved...but I can really appreciate the beauty and lessons that I find there)

So, anyway.. This is my favorite way to cook collards. It will work for almost anything else you get your hands on, too. Chard, bok choy, spinach, escarole, you name it. The only thing I don't like this way are turnips and mustard. But collards are definitely my favorite.

Heat olive oil in a large shallow skillet. Add whole garlic cloves and crushed red pepper flakes to taste (I usually do 4-5 cloves and 2 tsp red pepper flakes). Add chopped collard greens until the skillet is overflowing. Then just quickly stir-fry until they are done. If you like them more done, add 3 T water and cover the skillet for a few minutes. But they are good just stir-fried.

We eat this as a side dish, as a filler for burritos, as a main dish underneath a piece of meat (like a steak or chicken breast). You name it--you'll find a use for these collards.

Chinese Chicken Salad

In honor of Chinese New Year this week, I thought I'd post one of our favorite not-really-Chinese-at-all recipes.

Chinese Chicken Salad
inspired by an old recipe from Southern Living June 2003

1/3 cup light olive oil
2 T sesame oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp pepper (white if you have it)
leftover chicken...we eat about 1/2 roasted chicken for this, but whatever your family likes..shredded
1 head romaine lettuce
1/2-1 head napa cabbage (depends on size; you want about half and half with lettuce)
1 can mandarin oranges
1/2 bunch scallions, sliced into 1 inch pieces, smaller towards the white
1 package ramen noodles, seasoning packet discarded, and crumbled into small pieces
1/2 cup sliced almonds

To make the dressing, whisk together the oils, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings (salt, sugar, pepper) if needed.

To make the salad, add lettuce, cabbage, chicken, oranges, scallions, almonds, and ramen to a large bowl. Toss with dressing and serve immediately.

Indian Mexican Fusion

I checked out a great cookbook from the library last week, 660 Curries. I love, love, love some good Indian food. I also love, love, love some good Mexican food. So, when I saw the recipe for Mexican Indian fusion, using flavors from both, I knew that I had to have it. This recipe takes some time. It requires making the sauce, preparing the peppers, making the batter, then frying. But it's so. worth. it. One of the best new recipes I've tried in a long time.

Potato-Stuffed Peppers in a guajillo chile sauce
For the sauce:
12 dried guajillo chiles
3 cups boiling water
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 t toasted cumin-coriander blend (I used 1 t of each, but you can buy this as dhania-jeera masala)
1 t salt

For the peppers:
1 pound potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 t salt
1/4 cup cilantro
4 cloves garlic
4 fresh green chiles
6 large poblanos or anaheims (but tailor this for your crowd; count on 1-2 per person)

For the batter:
1 cup chickpea flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 t salt
1/2 t turmeric
3/4 cup warm water (I needed a little more)

Canola oil for frying
2 T cilantro for garnish

To make the sauce, soak the guajillos in the water until soft (about 20 minutes). Take them out and blend until smooth (in a blender), adding most of the 3 cups of water. Strain into a saucepan, then add the salt, cilantro, and spices. Simmer until it's thick enough for a sauce (I just left mine simmering slowly on a back burner while I made the rest of the recipe).

To make the peppers, roast, peel, and then remove the seeds of the peppers. The original recipe called for them raw, but we just prefer roasted and peeled. It's all good. In a food processor, grind the cilantro, garlic, and peppers until very finely chopped. Mix that into the potatoes along with the salt. Then, stuff the peppers with the potato mixture and set aside.

Mix the batter, adding the water slowly, until you get sort of a thick pancake batter. You want it to cling to the peppers.

Heat the oil, and when ready to fry, dip a pepper into the batter, then place into the hot oil. My skillet holds two poblanos at a time, so that's how many I did. Fry until golden brown (cause everything is already cooked; you're just frying the batter). Drain on paper towels.

To serve, top each pepper with the sauce and some cilantro. Enjoy!

Today, I'm linked to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Check it out!

Meal Plan 1/23

Another week, another meal plan.

Tuesday: red chili

Wednesday: potluck (we're taking salad)

Thursday: black bean burgers, chips, salad

Friday: potato stuffed peppers in a guajillo chile sauce (recipe coming tomorrow!), rice, beans

Saturday: bean and rice burritos with green chiles (lunch), ribeye, chard, salad, baked potatoes (supper)

Sunday: pasta with broccoli (lunch), sweet potato black bean chili (supper)

Monday: Moe's Monday (I promised my kids that if they'd eat cheap stuff all week, I'd save out enough money for this, which they adore. Lots of beans this week, only to eat more beans at a restaurant. Go figure. )

Leftover remake

My kids love to eat rice, so we have it frequently. It's great and all, but sometimes... Well, sometimes, I am tired of regular old rice. So, I try to mix it up as much as they'll let me. This was a winner, and we'll have it again.

I started with browning some ground beef, a red bell pepper, onion, and wilting some fresh spinach in a pan.

Added some leftover Mexican rice (just rice cooked with tomato sauce).

And we ended up with this skillet Mexican rice that hit the spot! It's great as is, topped with cheese, or rolled in a tortilla. Whatever floats your boat. But, oh so easy, and surprisingly better than the sum of its parts.

It's Tuesday, so I'm linked to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. I always find great ideas over there. Check it out!

Mexican Restaurant Date Night

A few years ago, my MOPS group had a "favorite things" gathering, where we all stood up and declared our favorite (relatively cheap) splurge. Mine was the beloved Mexican Coke. I still have a friend that teases me about it, but I just have to think that she has never tried my lovely. They are soo good! These are imported from Mexico, where they still use cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. totally worth seeking out. Delicious!

We enjoyed our cokes (let's face it; they were the most important part of the meal!) with another restaurant favorite, shrimp and octopus coktel.

And we ended our restaurant meal with a great dessert--berries and cream. This is whipped coconut cream (the thick part of coconut milk). It makes a pretty decent substitute for whipped cream, and it's as close as I seem to get during these dairy free days.

This was fun, recreating a restaurant special. It allows us to have some special foods, both cheaper and easier. Because, let's face it. Sometimes, not taking little kids to a restaurant--it doesn't cause me to be sad cause I have to cook. It causes me to be thrilled that I don't have to deal with the challenge! Making my favorites at home=win/win. And sharing it with my favorite guy...that is even better!

I encourage you to find something new to cook this week. It'll breathe a bit of new life into your kitchen. And better yet, find a time to connect with the one you love. Even better than new life in your kitchen!

Premium Leftovers

In our house, if you declare something "premium leftovers", then it's understood that they should be shared. Not scarfed down in the middle of the night (!) or first thing while you let your very tired wife sleep in on Saturday mornings. Not that that has ever happened. But just in case.

This dish is one of my favorites and very worthy of the premium leftover designation. It will last for a couple of days, but it never makes it that long in our house. If there is any left over, it is eaten by lunch time the next day. I've been known to eat it for breakfast. So good!

Pea/Corn Salad
3 T red wine vinegar
4 T oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 cups cooked peas (these were pink eye, but anything will work; even frozen)
1 cup corn, cut from the cob (about 2 ears)
1/2 cup chopped basil (to taste)
1/2 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced (seeded if desired)

Mix vinaigrette in a medium bowl, whisking until combined (vinegar through sugar). Add peas, corn, onion, jalapeno, and basil. Mix to coat with the dressing. Allow to sit for 30 minutes at room temperature for flavors to mingle. Taste and correct for seasonings if needed. Enjoy!

Quinoa Salad

Don't you love how recipes evolve and change? I think it's fun. This recipe started with one that my friend Tammy enjoyed. She's gluten and dairy free, eating almost no processed foods, and she feels great eating like that. She's been a great encouragement for me in the last year being dairy free. So, she loves this recipe for Quinoa Taco Salad from the glutenfreegoddess. And she goes on and on about it so much that I knew I had to try it. I'm glad I did!

I had some black beans and leftover chicken hanging around, so I also added those. I used scallions in place of the onions. And, because we were eating this for a regular supper, not a light meal, I went for a heavier salad dressing. I borrowed the recipe from our beloved Mexican Chicken Salad. It's a balsamic chipotle vinagrette, and it worked very well with this recipe.

So, there you have it. Inspired by something new, anchored with something familiar, and creating something totally delicious.

Quinoa Salad
4 T balsamic vinegar
a little less than 2/3 cup oil
2 chipotles in adobo, minced finely
salt, about 1/2 teaspoon
Juice from 2 limes
1 cup quinoa, cooked in 2 cups water (just like rice)
1 3/4 cups cooked black beans
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced
1 cup cooked, shredded or cubed chicken
1 cup frozen corn
1 avocado, diced
Lettuce for serving
Cilantro for serving

In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, chipotles, salt, and lime juice. Add the quinoa and fluff with a fork. Add other ingredients, and carefully stir together. Serve over a bed of lettuce mixed with cilantro. This is good right away or, even better, after a couple of hours in the fridge to allow the flavors to meld.

I'm linked to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Check it out!

Early Spring Ramen

I'm a huge, crazy fan of Ramen. I know, I know. But the cheap, beloved food of college students everywhere is still one of my favorites. With my first pregnancy, I ate the stuff almost every day. These days, I don't eat it THAT often, but sometimes, you just want some ramen.

But how to make it into supper?

Add the ramen to stir-fry. That's how! As always, I just grab whatever is in the fridge, and it somehow works together. This was a few weeks ago, so it was what was growing then. Mostly green. I added some chicken, baby carrots, onions, garlic, ginger, and then, the greens. This was a mixture of broccoli, bok choy, spinach, and scallions. Mixed with a sauce and cooked ramen, it's the perfect easy meal for a warm night.

Stir-fry sauce
4 T soy sauce
2 T rice wine vinegar
1 T brown sugar

Mix well and pour over stir fry just as it finishes cooking. Let everything cook together for an additional 1-2 minutes to thicken. Squeeze lime wedges over individual servings and top with Siracha hot sauce to taste.

Potato kale enchiladas

I love enchiladas. So good! I especially like plain cheese enchiladas from our local Mexican place. The sauce is sooo good, the cheese melty, and they always hit the spot. But...with no dairy, it makes it a little harder to eat enchiladas! So, I remembered an old recipe from Veganomicon that I made once for a vegan relative. They were tasty, but a lot of trouble. The filling was what was great about them, though. Hearty and filling, even without the cheese. And, as kale season draws to a close, a perfect choice.

I topped these with an equally old recipe from Cooking Light, for tomato almond mole. It's a really great sauce that goes together quickly (win!).

And, my potato kale enchiladas were born. I was lazy and just layered these, casserole style. My homemade enchiladas always end up a big, tasty, mushy mess, so sometimes, I just go with it instead of doing the work of rolling them. But, rolling works, too. Whatever you have the patience for.

Potato Kale Enchiladas
adapted from Veganomicon
1 pound waxy potatoes
1 bunch kale washed, trimmed and chopped finely
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup toasted pepitas
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 – 14 corn tortillas
Enchilada Sauce (recipe follows)

Prepare the filling: Peel and dice the potatoes, then boil them until tender. Drain and set aside. Cook the oil and minced garlic over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally until the garlic is slightly browned. Add the kale, sprinke with salt and raise the heat to medium stirring constantly to cover the kale with oil and garlic.

Partially cover the pot to steam the kale until it has wilted – 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and mix in the potatoes, vegetable stock, lime juice, pumpkin seeds and salt. Use the back of a wooden spoon to mash some of the potatoes. Cook for another 3 – 4 minutes.

To assemble, place a ladle full of sauce on bottom of 9x13 pan. Add a layer of torn corn tortillas, followed by a layer of potato kale filling. Top with another layer of corn tortillas, and top entire casserole with the enchilada sauce.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Garnish with cilantro and white onion rings.

Enchilada Sauce
adapted from Cooking Light, October 2002
1/2 c roasted almonds
1/2 tsp vegetable oil
2 dried Anaheim chiles -- stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 c chopped onion
1 clove garlic
1 chipotle chile canned in adobo -- chopped
1 1/2 c fire roasted crushed tomatoes -- such as Muir Glen
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cloves
2 6-inch corn tortillas -- torn into pieces
14 1/2 oz chicken or vegetable broth (I used better than bouillon chicken)
1 tbsp white wine vinegar

Place almonds in food processor and process until smooth (about 2 1/2 minutes) scraping side of bowl once. Set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high. Add Anaheim chiles; saute 1 minute or until softened. Add onion and garlic and saute 4 minutes or until onion is lightly browned.

Add chipotle, tomatoes, sugar, spices, tortilla pieces, and broth to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spoon the mixture into a food processor and process until smooth. Return mixture to pan; stir in almond butter and vinegar; cook 1 minute.

I'm linked to the summer link party at Rhoda's, as well as Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam today.

Fancy date night

We like to mix it up a little bit on Saturday nights. Sometimes we do take-out, sometimes we eat our favorite fast food, sometimes we cook an old favorite, and sometimes, I like to try something new. So, last week, when I was browsing the grocery store, these baby octupus jumped out at me as something new to try. No, really, they did look really fresh and good, and the price was right for something new ($2.99/lb).

If I'm making something new, I usually wait until after bedtime to start cooking, and Mike will come into the kitchen with me and share drinks while I'm cooking. It's not quite him cooking with me, but it's as close as we are likely to get (lol), and it's fun.

I searched the internets, and it seems that they are best either slowly braised or cooked quickly with a sear or grilling. I went for the quick cooking. And, because we love everything better as tacos, I went with a Mexican spin on the flavors.

Since we were going Mexican style, we started the night with virgin margaritas, which is a fancy way to say limeade with a salted rim, but, hey, whatever works, right? One glass is a little darker than the other, because I tend to make flavored simple syrups to mix with seltzer, and I like my drink sweeter than Mike's. The simple syrup (rather than making a pitcher) allows you to customize like that. Fancy.

This is a great picture of the octupus, but alas, after this, my camera battery died, and I have no more. At least I got this one.

These were quick sauteed in a skillet, then mixed with garlic, lime juice, and cilantro. We ate them on corn tortillas, topped with chopped white onion, cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and this killer homemade jalapeno hot sauce from Rick Bayless. So good (really! I'm not just saying that).

Have you cooked something new lately?? What's holding you back? The grocery store is full of great ideas, and if you've got a willing person to share it with, something new can be a lot of fun.

Thanks for peeking into our at-home date night another week!

Salsa Chicken

This meal didn't start out to become this. But, as I realized that I was out of this and that and the other, it morphed into something delicious. Inspired (a little) by my brother's beloved salsa chicken (recipe: Pace+chicken+oven), this turned into an easy, stove top meal that everyone liked.

What's not to love? Tomatoes, black beans, and corn, all cooked with chicken cutlets. I served this pasta alongside, but it'd be great with rice, rolled into a tortilla, or served over some greens (we've got greens going gang-busters right now, so I have greens on the brain). Whatever you choose, it's a great keeper of a recipe. Try it soon!

Black Bean Salsa Chicken
2 cups black beans
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn (fresh is better, but do what you have to do)
1 onion, diced
1-3 jalapenos, diced, seeded if desired
2 cloves garlic
cilantro to taste (I use about 1/2 a bunch)
1-14 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes
2 tsp cumin
chicken cutlets (I use boneless skinless breasts, cut into thirds with a sharp knife and a steady hand), however many you need to feed the family
oil for sauteing (I'm a canola kind of girl)

Heat oil in a deep skillet until shimmering. Add cutlets, season with salt and pepper, and pan-fry until almost done, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan to a plate and keep warm.

Add onion and jalapeno to skillet and allow to cook briefly. Add garlic, beans, corn, tomatoes, and cilantro, and bring to a simmer. Season to taste with salt (if needed) and pepper. Add cumin. Slide cutlets back into mixture and allow to heat through. Enjoy!

I'm linked to Tasty Tuesday over at Beauty and Bedlam. Every week, great ideas, lots of inspiration, plus pretty pictures. What could be better?

Chicken and sausage etouffee

I love cajun and creole flavors. So cozy, so warming, so good. This is a great one to make for a night when you need a meal in a hurry that tastes like it took all day to make.

It starts with a roux, of course. This is a fairly light colored roux. Just this side of peanut butter colored, I'd say. I make my roux with White Lily flour and canola oil. I just think it tastes better that way.

Once the roux is done, add all the good stuff. Onions and andouille.

Celery with the leaves.

And peppers. I usually use bell peppers, but this time, I had a poblano. That works, too.

Mix all that up, let it cook for a while, then add cooked chicken to the pot. I also added a jar of tomatoes, cause I add tomatoes to everything. I prefer home-canned to this or whole tomatoes, crushed yourself, because they don't stay in pieces like commercially canned diced tomatoes do. They sort of melt into the sauce. Simmer until everything is warm and the flavors have melded, about 20 minutes or so.

Just enough time for a pot of rice to cook. Enjoy!

Chicken and sausage etouffee

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 lb andouille, chopped
2 cups cooked chicken
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, crushed with your hands
hot cooked rice for serving

First you make a roux. Mix the oil and flour together, whisking continually, and cook until it is almost peanut butter colored. Add the andouille, celery, onions, and pepper, and cook until vegetables are tender and sausage is browned on the edges. Add the chicken and tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

Menu Plan April 4

I'm so excited that it's April. I love this month, almost as much as September, when all the harvest is rolling in. I think I love the change of seasons most of all. April is also a very sweet month for us, with my parents' anniversary, and the birthdays of three of my favorite people--my sweet Tomato King, my mom, and my stepdad. So, lots of cake this month. Yay! I am rolling around some dairy free options for Mike's birthday, and I can't wait to try them out. This is also the first year that my 4 year old has some understanding of Easter, and he's very excited. I'm loving hearing him tell me all about Easter and why we celebrate.

With the change of seasons, we also change the way we eat a little bit. Less oven meals (too hot!) and more main dish salads. I do a few set meals each week , and I think I'm going to change one of them to a salad meal. We'll see. We're also still in Lent, and our family is doing meat-less Fridays, which has been a blessing to us this year.

This week, we are also taking our first camping trip of the season. Two years ago, we bought a new-to-us-but-really-well-used pop up camper. We had a great time in it. Last summer, though, I was pregnant, then had a newborn, plus we moved, so we never made it camping. This year, we have great plans for several trips. This is the first one, to south Georgia, and I'm excited. We're meeting my sister-in-law there, too, so I'm looking forward to seeing her (she's not into camping, so she's going to just come see us and sleep in her comfortable hotel bed.. I'm not sure if I should call her a wimp or brilliant! ~smile~)

But, without further ado, here's the plan for the next 2 weeks:

Friday--omelets with red peppers and chard, home fries, toast

Saturday--leftovers (lunch), sushi (supper)

Sunday--main dish salads with chicken, black beans, and corn (lunch), brunswick stew (supper)--this was a hold over from last week, but I'm glad I finally got to it. Such a hit with our family every time, plus we have leftovers for the freezer

Monday--stuffed peppers, salad, roasted potatoes, beets

Tuesday--pork stir fry with baby bok choy, chard, beet greens, and whatever else I can find over ramen

Wednesday--chicken, sausage, okra gumbo over rice

Thursday--lunch with my mom to celebrate her birthday, then chicken cutlets with mushroom sauce, buttered pasta, salad, any greens left from the week (an easy meal to use up any perishables before we leave for the weekend)

Friday--camping--bean burritos (lunch), vegetarian chili (supper)

Saturday--eggs, sausage, biscuits (breakfast), quesadillas or chicken salad (lunch), hamburgers (supper)

Sunday--pancakes, sausage (breakfast), fast food (lunch), frozen soup (supper)--I'm no fool! Coming home from camping is exhausting, and I need the easiest thing I can muster this night

Monday--black beans and rice and chicken, salad

Tuesday--tortilla soup

Wednesday--salmon croquettes, rice, salad, some sort of vegetable

Thursday--spaghetti

As always, I'm linked to Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie. Lots of great ideas if you need something new!

Brownies

Sometimes an old classic is all you need. I've been revisiting some of my childhood favorites in the last 3 or 4 months for a few reasons. They're cheap, and my kids love them. That's the top two. But, also, my mom always used margarine, so I know that they'll taste okay dairy free, and she wasn't big on cream, cheese, or the like, so most of them are naturally lower in dairy. It's nice to be able to make something that I *know* will turn out. I've made these brownies twice in the last month. They come from the cookbook of my elementary school. We lived at the beach at the time, and our school mascot was a dolphin, hence the name.

This is one of the first recipes I learned to make. I was 9 years old. In the last 25 years, I'll bet I've made these brownies 150 times. Easy. There were years that they were a weekly or monthly treat. It makes me smile to see the splattered page.

But, it really makes me smile to see the pan come out of the oven! So good. So easy. So cheap. You gotta try these.

Brownies
1 stick butter or margarine
6 T cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 egg for fudgey; 2 for cake like
1 t vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 cup pecans, chopped (this is optional, but a good addition)

Melt the butter (I do it in the microwave). Whisk in the cocoa, then the sugar. Add in the egg, whisking well to combine, then the vanilla. Stir in the flour. The batter will be thick. Bake in a greased pan at 350 for 15 minutes. The center will look like it's not quite set. This is what you want! As they cool, the center will stay fudgey and delicious. If you prefer a more cake-like brownie, cook for 20 minutes, until the center is completely set.

These are so easy! What are you waiting for??

Chicken and rice casserole

The very first meal I cooked start to finish was for my 6th grade home economics class. It consisted of chicken and rice casserole (my mom's cookbook called it "chicken supreme"), a can of green beans, and jello no-bake cheesecake. I remember that the family gave me such compliments on it, and those flavors always take me right back. Only thing...chicken supreme is a no-go right now. It has two cans of soup in it, and without dairy, there is no canned soup. What to do? What to do? Cause when you need some chicken and rice, you must figure out a way! This version was really good (surprisingly so), and all 5 of us enjoyed it. Definitely a repeater. I started by browning the chicken. This is most of a cut-up chicken (minus the breasts--I used them in another meal), plus two thighs. It always amazes me how much bigger chicken pieces are when you buy them separately rather than cut up your own chicken. I wonder if they chickens are different breeds...Hmm. Must research this. But, back to the casserole

Once the chicken was brown (you don't want it cooked through, cause it's going in the oven), I toasted the rice in the same pan. Just until the center turns a little white.

Made the sauce. This is margarine, flour, and chicken bouillon (from a jar of better than bouillon ). I think the bouillon works really well here, because it's replacing canned soup. I was afraid chicken broth wouldn't have the stronger flavor I was looking for. I did add about 1/3 cup of coconut milk (the kind that is in the refrigerator section) at the very end to give it a creaminess. It would have been cream if we ate dairy.

Mix the sauce with the rice, then layer the chicken on top.

Once baked, the rice absorbs the sauce and all the goodness from the chicken, and the whole thing is really, really good. It'll take you right back to 6th grade. In a good way.

Chicken Supreme approx 3.5 pounds of chicken pieces (about 6 pieces) 1.5 cups rice 1/2 stick butter (or margarine for dairy free) 5 T flour 3 cups chicken bouillon (you could use chicken broth, but season it well) 1/3 cup cream or dairy substitute such as coconut or almond milk Brown chicken in a deep skillet and remove. Add rice to the same skillet and toast just until the centers of the rice turn white. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Melt the butter/margarine, and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes to get the raw flour taste out, then add the chicken bouillon, whisking continually until the sauce thickens. Add the cream/substitute and stir well. Taste and correct seasoning (salt and pepper) as needed. Add the sauce to the rice in the skillet, stirring well to combine. Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice. Cover the skillet with a tight fitting lid or aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for approximately 50 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and rice is done.

I'm linked to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Lots of great ideas! Check it out!

Italian Wedding Soup

My sister-in-law is married to a real "Eye-talian" as my grandmother used to say. Her inlaws make gravy on Sunday afternoons, celebrate the feast of Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, and her children count meatballs as their favorite food. Leslie had no choice. She had to figure out how to get her husband the flavors he loved. So, as a result, she is a really good Italian cook. This recipe is one of her husband's favorites.

My children also love it. I think they love the meatballs the most. It starts with really, really small meatballs. I used a pound of ground beef, plus 1/2 pound of pork, and these are the meatballs I ended up with. I counted them, and it was 120 meatballs. That is a lot of balls! My children loved them, of course, so it was worth it (and the soup is darn good! We loved it, too).

Italian wedding Soup

8 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded chicken
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 T Italian seasoning
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, chopped into bite size pieces
1 package frozen spinach
2 t dried dillweed
salt and pepper
1/2 pound small pasta--anything works here. Corkscrews, broken spaghetti, elbows, ditalini

Mix ground meats, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs, and egg together until well combined. Form into tiny meatballs and set aside. In a large soup pot, saute onion until softened. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chicken broth, chicken, carrots, spinach, and dill. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then drop in meatballs. Simmer 10 minutes. Add pasta, and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through and pasta is done.

**sometimes I make the pasta separately, especially if I think that I've made enough soup for leftovers. If the pasta is already in the soup, the leftovers aren't as good as if you store it separately.

Today, I'm linked to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Check it out!

Egg and Olive

One of my old family recipes is so very simple that it's almost stupid. Egg salad with olives. But, the flavors work really well together, and it's a true classic. After 10 years of marriage, I'm *this* close to convincing my husband to try it (and he doesn't like boiled eggs or mayonnaise, so this was a big challenge to undertake). But, really, this stuff is that good. It'll make anyone love eggs.

Egg and Olive (serves 2)

4-5 boiled eggs (depends on how hungry you are)
1/2 cup green olives, chopped
2 T mayonnaise
1/2 t olive juice
salt and pepper to taste (go easy on the salt because of the olives)

Chop the eggs, then mix everything. Egg salad is so intensely personal. If you like big chunks, stir lightly. If you like it more like deviled eggs in a bowl, stir a little more vigorously. Like it creamy? Add a little more mayo. More dry? Then go easy. It's so easy to customize this dish, and it's a great lunch that can be thrown together in 20 minutes (14 of those being the egg cooking time).

I usually eat this as a sandwich or (as above) with toast "fingers". So good. Try it soon!