The Soup Kitchen: Chicken Quinoa Soup

 

This is a twist on a recipe inspired by one from Jennifer Brady shared on Facebook. She did not provide any measurements, so I made it up as I went. 

The ingredients:

Rotisserie chicken deboned and shredded

4 C chicken broth

Frozen carrots and peas

diced onion

garlic powder (1 used approx. 2-3 tsp)

thyme (1 used approx.. 2-3 tsp)

Turmeric (1 used approx 1-2 tsp)

Rosemary (I used approx. 2-3 tsp)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 C quinoa

The recipe: 

I added all the above ingredients to a slow cooker and cooked on HI for approx. 3 hours. 

Note: all of the ingredients are approx. so you can add more or less as you desire. You can add any other spices you desire. I will say the Turmeric gives it great color so if you omit that it will not look the same or taste the same. 

Garnish with crushed red pepper, crackers, or a slice of good bread. 

The Soup Kitchen: Chipotle Black Bean Chili

 If you are looking for a comforting vegetarian chili or just don't have any meat thawed out this is a great recipe. The recipe is based on a vegan recipe so you can easily make this vegan as well. It's a great recipe to throw in the crockpot on these chilly days and let it do the cooking for you. This is like part black bean soup and part chili. Interestingly enough does not use any chili powder. All the chili taste comes from the chipotle and the cumin. 

The ingredients:

1 TBSP avocado oil

1 yellow onion diced

1 TBSP cumin

1 TBSP cocoa powder

5 garlic cloves minced

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce finely chopped

1/4 C tomato paste

5 C black beans or 4 cans rinsed and drained

28 oz or 2 cans of diced tomatoes

2.5 C broth

kosher salt to taste

Garnish: cilantro, cornbread, tortilla chips, cheese, avocado, etc. (optional)

Note: I added a frozen cube of cilantro to mine as it cooked.

The Recipe:

In the crockpot, add the oil, onion, and seasoning and cooked until softened (or in a saucepan).

Add the rest of the ingredients to the crockpot and cook on hi for 3-4 hours. 

Halfway through, use an immersion blender to blend some of the beans and thicken the chili. 

I also add my secret ingredients (masa flour 1 TBSP and a dash of liquid smoke) at this point. 

Let cook the remainder of the time on Low and stir to make sure does not stick to the bottom. 

I added some of my masa cheese puffs to go along with this instead of tortilla chips or cornbread. They are seriously addicting. (See blog post on masa harina for the recipe.) They are seriously addicting. I could eat them all at once. 

The Appetizing Kitchen: Mini Grilled Cheese

This is a great easy and quick appetizer to throw together and uses only a few ingredients. 

The ingredients:

Baguette loafs sliced into small pieces.

Butter

Cheddar cheese

Mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

1/2 jar of pesto

I made two versions cheddar and pesto. 

For the cheddar

Preheat oven to 350.

Slice the baguette and butter one side. 

Add foil to a baking sheet and but half of baguette butter side down.

Top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Top with the remainder bread pieces.

Bake in oven for approximately 5 min. Or until cheese melts and bread browns slightly

Note: use a spoon to add cheese liberally. 

For the Pesto:

Preheat oven to 350.

Slice the baguette and butter one side. 

Add foil to a baking sheet and but half of baguette butter side down.

In a bowl mix Mozzarella, parmesan, and pesto.

Top bread with cheese mixture.

Top with the remainder bread pieces.

Bake in oven for approximately 5 min. Or until cheese melts and bread browns slightly.

Note: use spoon to add cheese mixture liberally.

The Spicy Kitchen: Creole Chili and Cheesy Grits

 I've had an idea to make a Creole seasoned chili and add it to the top of some cheesy grits. It's a bit of a take on Grits and Grillades (Gree-ahds), which is a popular New Orleans dish. I was not sure exactly how the grits would hold up under the chili. Would the liquid just soak through, or would it be more of a layer like I was hoping.  

Creole Chili

1 package of chicken andouille sausage cubed

1 tsp garlic powder

2 cans kidney beans drained

1 TBSP onion powder

1/2 diced onion

1-2 stalks of diced celery 

1 diced green pepper

2 cans Rotel

2 C beef broth

1 can crushed tomato

1 tsp black pepper

1-2 TBSP creole seasoning (can use Cajun)

1/2-1 tsp chili powder.

1 TBSP masa flour

Brown the sausage and cook the onion, celery, and pepper to soften. 

Add all ingredients except the masa flour to a slow cooker and Cook on Hi 3-4 hours, Low 6-8 hours. 

About 30 minutes before the end add the masa flour to thicken a bit. 

Garnish with tortilla chips, cheese, cilantro, etc.

Cheesy Grits for one-two

3/4 C milk

1/2 C water

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 C grits

1 TBSP butter

2/3 C of smoked gouda

Combine the milk, water, salt, garlic, and paprika in a small saucepan. Set it over medium high heat and bring to a boil. 

Stir in the grits, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 7-10 minutes stirring occasionally. 

When the grits have softened and thickened remove from the heat. 

Add in the butter and cheese and stir to combine. 

Note: 

to make the Creole Chili and Grits, I then place the grits in an oven safe dish and bake in the oven for approx. 5 minutes to set up. Once done, I top with the Creole Chili, then add back to the oven topped with some additional smoked gouda and allow to cook through and the cheese to melt. Approx. another 10 minutes. This should set the grits up, so it has a bit of a thickness at the top and the chili does not just soak through. 

You will have more chili than grits so you can either make more grits or you can just eat the chili with some cornbread or tortilla chips. 

The Sweet Kitchen: Thin Mint Squares

 This recipe is a twist on my Grandma Dru's Toll House Squares. Her recipe uses Nestle toll house chocolate chips; in my variation I replaced the chocolate chips with crushed thin mint cookies. I used the Kroger brand of thin mint cookies, but this would be a great way to use up those girl scout cookies. 

The ingredients:

2 1/4 C whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 sticks butter softened

1/4 C + 3 TBSP of Truvia sugar blend (or 3/4 C sugar)

3/4 C coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp water

2 eggs

1 package crushed thin mint cookies divided

The recipe:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. 

Combine the butter and sugars and cream for approx. 10 minutes. 

Add the water, vanilla, and eggs and mix until combined.

Mix in flour mixture. 

Add in 2/3 of the crushed thin mints and mix until combined.

Spread dough into a 13x9 pan (I used a jelly roll pan). Make sure you grease the pan. 

Sprinkle with the remaining crushed thin mints. 

Bake for approx. 20 minutes. 

Note: this dough is very thick and hard to spread. You may want to add some cooking spray to your spatula to help aid in spreading and you will need to use some elbow grease. 

The Breakfast Kitchen: Blueberry Sheet Pan Pancakes with Mom's SF Blueberry Syrup

 I love pancakes but am horrible at making them. It's the flipping. They always turn out horrible. I am just not good at the timing. I discovered an alternative while watching The Pioneer Woman. Since then, I have wanted to try it and finally got around to it while deciding on my breakfast for this week. This recipe just uses a basic pancake mix (I used the Kodiak Cakes Protein pancake mix). It's very easy to whip together and you add whatever toppings you like, I just added blueberries this time. Another great option... blueberries and bacon!

The ingredients:

2.5 C pancake mix

dash of cinnamon

2 eggs

2 C milk

1 TBSP oil or melted butter

toppings of your choice (berries, chocolate chips, bacon, etc)

The Recipe:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees

Grease you pan with oil or melted butter (I used a jelly roll pan)

In a large bowl, add the pancake mix, cinnamon, eggs, and milk. Mix until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan and spread evenly with a spatula. 

Then top with your toppings- just sprinkle them right on top of the batter. 

Bake the pancakes for 12-14 minutes. 

You will know they are done when a toothpick comes out clean and the pancakes are a light golden brown. 

Cut into squares and serve with your choice of toppings (syrup, butter, whip cream).

Mom's Sugar Free Blueberry Syrup

2 pints fresh or frozen blueberries

1 C Splenda (or other sugar alternative)

1/4 C water

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp lemon juice

Dissolve the cornstarch in the water. 

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook until thickened breaking up the berries as they cook. 

*I used some cured sumac instead of the lemon juice since I was out. You could also use some hibiscus powder. Both are spice alternatives to lemon juice. 

The Holiday Kitchen: Sweet Treats- Classics

There are some sweets that are synonymous with the holidays. For me, it always included my moms chocolate chip cookies. Another, is a cookie that I always get requested to make....Mexican Wedding cookies. They are my best friends favorites. What are some cookies that are in your holiday arsenal every year?

Mom' Chocolate Chip Cookies

The recipe is on the back of the Nestlé Toll House chocolate chip bag! My tip to make them taste like mom's....cream the butter and sugar for at least 5 min. Dont't laugh it really makes a difference! My neices and nephews love these cookies. I mean who doesn't!

Mexican Wedding Cookies

1 C butter

1/2 C powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 C sifted flour

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 C finely chopped Pecans

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar and add vanilla. Mix well.

Finely chopped Pecans (I used a food processor).

Add nuts, flour, and salt to butter mixture.

Mix well.

Form into small balls (very crumbly dough).

Place on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 10-15 minutes.

Roll in powdered sugar while still hot and once again once cool.

The Italian Kitchen: Creamy Boursin Fettucine with Chicken

 A twist on the classic fettucine alfredo but instead of parmesan you use Boursin cheese. This gives is a creaminess and it has herbs in it so it is herbier. Plus, I added some more seasoning. I recently discovered Boursin, and it has been interesting trying it in different recipes. I also used carb-a-nada garlic fettucine noodles.

The ingredients:

8 oz fettucine pasta

2 TBSP butter

2 cloves of garlic minced

3/4 C heavy cream

4 oz Boursin cheese garlic and fine herb

kosher salt and pepper to taste

6-10 small chicken tenders cut up

optional: basil, parsley, crushed red pepper, pizza party, and parmesan for garnish

The recipe:

Cook the noodles until al dente and set aside, reserving 1 C pasta water. 

Cook the chicken tenders and cut up then set aside. 

In pan melt butter and add garlic and cook until fragrant then add the cream. Cook until thickens approx. 7-8 min. 

Add the Boursin cheese and melt and mix well. 

I added some salt and pepper and pizza party to taste. 

Add the pasta to the sauce and combine. 

Add the chicken and toss to coat. If sauce has thickened too much use a bit of pasta water. 

Add some shredded or grated parmesan and mix. 

Garnish and serve. 

The Holiday Kitchen: Sweet Treats- Twist on Classics

Sometimes you just want to try something new. These recipes are all classics I make often but with a twist.

Christmas Snickerdoodles

2 3/4 C flour

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 C softened butter

1 1/2 C granulated sugar + 1/4 C for coating

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp cinnamon for coating

1/4 tsp nutmeg for coating

4 TBSP red and green decorating sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt) and set aside. 

Cream butter and sugar (minus amount for coating).

Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each. Add the vanilla extract. 

Combine the wet and dry ingredients mixing until just combined. 

Prepare the coating in a bowl (1/4 C sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 4 TBSP colored sugar)

Shape the dough into balls and coat in the sugar. 

Bake on 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes until the edges are set and the center is still soft.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Note: you can separate the green and red into 2 separate bowls and have some red and some green cookies. 

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

1 C butter softened

1 1/2 C granulated sugar

1/2 C brown sugar packed

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 C flour

1 C cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp salt

1/2 C decorating sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment.

Cream sugars with softened butter.

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

In separate bowl, add the dry ingredients.

Add dry ingredients to wet slowly until well combined.

Roll out dough and roll in decorating sugar.

Bake 11-13 minutes and allow to cool.

The Holiday Kitchen: Sweet Treats- New recipes

 Sea Salt Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 C butter

1/4 C brown sugar

1/2 C granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C butterscotch chips

1 C chocolate chips

sea salt sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth. 

Add egg and vanilla and mix on low speed until mixed in. 

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just incorporated. 

Using small scoop drop dough onto baking sheet 6-8 per pan. 

Bake until bottom and edges slightly brown approx. 8-10 minutes. 

Let cool for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely and sprinkle with sea salt. 

Browned Butter Brown Sugar Chai Cookie

To be honest this was not my favorite recipe and i had to pivot halfway to make it better but in the end I got about a dozen of good cookies. 

1/2 C browned butter

1 C brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 C Milk

2 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp baking powder

1 tsp chai + 2 TBSP

1/4 C granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment.

Cream butter and brown sugar. Butter would have been browned 1st then allowed to solidify.

Add egg and milk and mix to combine.

Add the dry ingredients (including 1 tsp chai) and mix until combined.

Scoop dough and mix in sugar mix of granulated sugar and 2 TBSP chai.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges set and golden.

Cool.

Note: this is a very sticky dough. My tip is to spray your scoop or spoon with cooking spray and your hands when rolling.

An Apey's Kitchen Original: Five Spice Pork Stir Fry Bowl with Quinoa

 Ok, Five Spice where have you been all my life! This bowl was amazing! A lot of the ingredients used you may have on hand, but the spices are a bit exotic. I bought all mine from Burlap and Barrel. This is an Asian inspired stir fry using garlic powder, five spice, lemongrass, shallot, and chili crisp. I used quinoa as my base. I also garnished with a bit of Sriracha and Coriander Chili Chutney. 

The ingredients:

Sesame Oil

1 lb. ground pork

1-2 tsp garlic powder

1-2 tsp lemongrass

1-2 tsp five spice

1 TBSP sliced shallot

sprinkle of Chili Crisp

1/4-1/2 C soy sauce

diced carrots

peas

chopped broccoli

2 C chicken broth

1 C quinoa

The recipe:

In a rice cooker or pot cook quinoa in 2 C of chicken broth. 

In a pan, add some sesame oil and brown the ground pork, adding all the spices except the chili crisp. 

Add the soy sauce and vegetables and cook until tender.

Sprinkle the chili crisp on top and stir to combine. 

In a bowl add the quinoa and top with the meat mixture. 

Garnish as desired: sriracha, cilantro, etc. 

This may just go into permanent rotation for me. You can change up the veggies as desired.