Chicken Soup with Sweet Potatoes

Joel was sick last week, so I made soup.  I wanted to add potatoes but knew we didn't have any, so I decided to experiment with sweet potatoes.  They were amazing!  While we were eating this soup, Joel said he loved the sweet potatoes and he wished all the carrots were also sweet potatoes. :)  The balsamic vinegar and lemon juice were also an experiment, and I was really worried about how it would turn out.  When I went to shred the chicken, though, I tasted the broth and was FLOORED by how astounding it tasted.  The vinegar adds some color to the broth and puts a little something in the background.  You can't taste the lemon juice on its own, but it tones down the "vinegar-iness" of the balsamic and creates a nice balance.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
5 cups water
1 can chicken broth
1 T dried basil
1 T dried parsley
1/2 T lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 T chicken bouillon powder
1 boneless skinless chicken breast - I used one that was absolutely frozen solid, right out of the freezer.
1 small onion, chopped
1 small head broccoli, chopped
2 large carrots, diced
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and chunked
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 T lemon juice

Optional: celery or other vegetables; dry noodles (add to the boiling broth 7-10 minutes before serving)

Put water, chicken broth, basil, parsley, lemon pepper seasoning, pepper, salt, chicken bouillon powder, and chicken breast into 3-quart pot to boil, uncovered.  After about 20 minutes of boiling, start chopping the vegetables.  About 10 minutes later, add the vegetables to the broth.  When the chicken is cooked through, remove it and shred the meat.  Return the shredded chicken to the pot.  Add balsamic vinegar and lemon juice.  Continue to boil until sweet potatoes are fork-tender. ¡Buen provecho!

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Homemade pizza

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's finally happened!  I've moved into a kitchen that I keep clean enough to take pictures in!  And thus begins the posts that have pictures with them :)  You're about to get more than you ever asked for...

[In hindsight, homemade bread can be kind of tricky if you don't have experience with it, so I'm glad I included so many pictures.]

Homemade pizza is one of my family's all-time favorite foods.  All growing up, it was a special meal because it took a little while to make, and it was often the chosen meal for birthdays, coming home from college, and other special occasions.  The crust for this recipe makes more of a soft, bread-like crust instead of a crispy one, but I'll leave instructions to make it either way if you prefer a crispy crust.  This is my mom's recipe :)

First, let me introduce the star of the show:  

My friends, this is Bosch, Jr.  "Junior" because it's the small version of the glorious mixer variety called "Bosch."  My parents gave it to me my sophomore year of college and I love it.  (Thanks, Mom and Dad!)

Okay, so step one: Mix together 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of yeast, and 1 1/4 cups of hot water.  How can you tell if "hot" is hot enough?  My mom told me it's like this: It should be almost too hot to put your finger in the water coming out of the tap, but not hot enough for steam to also be coming out.  After putting everything together, wait for the yeast to activate.  Here are some pictures in case you're new to bread-making:

This picture was taken pretty soon after putting everything in the bowl.  See how the yeast has started to get a little fluffy, but there are still some small yeast particles, too?

This is after the yeast has been activated.  You'll see the particles float to the top of the water and then quickly fluff up.  At the beginning, you'll wonder if it's happening, but just give it a little time.  All of a sudden big clumps will start to fluff up and then you'll know the party has started!

Next, add in 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 cup of vegetable/canola oil, and beat everything together for two minutes.

Yum! :)

After the two minutes, knead in more flour until the mixture pulls away from the sides.  This is the confusing part, at least for me.  Lucky for you, I took plenty of pictures during the process so you can see exactly what it should look like.  The amount of flour that gets added will depend on how humid the weather is, how humid your house is, whatever the flour feels like doing... you get the idea :)  I like to add the flour 1/2 cup at a time and often have to add about 2 cups, just to give you an idea. 

This is the dough before any extra flour...

And this is it after some extra flour has been added.  See how it's starting to pull away from the sides?

 

Ok, that picture is a pretty good one of the dough pulling away from the sides.  It's a little hard to get a picture of during the actual process, but I hope that helps.

 

Alright!  So when the dough has enough flour to have pulled away from the sides (as shown above), take it out of the bowl (put some oil on your hands!) and stretch it out a little.  Hold onto one end of the dough and work it between your hands - like how you might hold a baby up in the air and bounce it up and down - and it will stretch into a tube.  Lay this onto your greased cookie sheet.  By stretching it out now, you have made the rolling-out process later much easier.

 

 

Set the timer for 40 minutes.

 

Yay!  They've risen!  (I always make a double batch, so that's why there are two.)  Now set the oven to 350 degrees, roll the dough out to cover the whole pan, and cook your dough for 15 minutes.

 

Rolled out... I use the sophisticated cup method.

...and baked!

Now you're ready to add on the toppings.  I use canned spaghetti sauce for the sauce, and this time chose to make one pepperoni pizza and one Hawaiian.  

 

Check out that sweet spatula in the spaghetti sauce can. Why yes, it does have arms and legs.

We tried using sliceable mozzarella this time.  Not sure how I felt about that.  Much trickier than just using grated.

Bake your pizzas at 350 for 10 minutes if you want a very bready-textured crust, or for 20-25 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown for a crispier crust.  ¡Buen provecho!

Homemade Pizza
makes one cookie sheet of pizza crust

1 tsp sugar
1 T yeast
1 1/4 c water
1 1/2 c flour (+ additional)
1 tsp salt
1/4 c oil

Pizza toppings

Put sugar, yeast, and hot water into mixer and let stand until yeast is activated.  Add the rest of the ingredients and beat for 2 minutes.  Continue to knead while adding in flour until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Shape dough into a tube and lay out to rise on a cookie sheet.  Let rise 40 minutes.  Roll the dough out to fill up the cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Put on desired toppings and bake an additional 10 minutes for a soft crust or 20-25 minutes for a crispier crust.

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Chicken & Pea Sauce

This recipe is about as "family recipe" as they come at my house.  So much so, in fact, that I'm surprised I haven't posted it here before now.  History of the name: This sauce is supposed to have peas in it, hence the name Chicken & Pea Sauce.  My dad doesn't like peas in the sauce, though, so we usually have them on the side.  Now that I'm married, I sometimes serve peas with this and sometimes serve something else, but we still always call it Chicken & Pea Sauce. :)

(This sauce is incredibly forgiving.  Sometimes I add onions; it's really good with a packet of Italian dressing mix; if I don't have sour cream I use cream cheese + however much milk to make it the thinness I want; it's very tasty with vegetables mixed in, ...etc.)

2 cups chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
cheddar cheese, to taste

Cook chicken in a pot.  Add soup, sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper just to boiling.  Reduce heat and cook until it reaches desired thickness.  Best served over rice, home-smashed potatoes, or baked potatoes. 

CROCKPOT: Put raw chicken, soup, and seasonings in crockpot.  Cook as long as you cook chicken (on low 6-10 hrs or high 4-6 hrs).  When chicken is cooked, shred.  Add sour cream, milk, and cheese and let sit until melted and heated through.
 

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Black Beans & Rice with Chicken and Apple Salsa

This is another recipe from Our Best Bites that we have fallen in love with.  [By the way, have you noticed a theme lately? We eat tons of Mexican and like-Mexican food in our house :) ]  On the first day, we eat it as specified in the recipe.  The second day, it's tasty like that, but we also really like to mix all the leftovers up in a big bowl, scoop it out onto a tortilla, squeeze some lime on top, and eat it like a burrito.  Very tasty and healthy, too!  


By the way - the apple salsa? Trust me.  DE-licious.


Yield: A lot. Around 6 servings.

1 cup chopped peeled Granny Smith apple
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion, divided
2 limes
1/3 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoons coriander (**I've never included this before.)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 13.5 ounce can chicken broth
2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups cooked brown or white rice (**We've found it's tastier with brown.)
1 rotisserie chicken, or 4 grilled chicken breasts (**We use less than this - about half as much chicken as if we were each just eating a chicken breast - and usually have extra.)
1 lime wedge per person

Combine apple, cilantro, 2 tablespoons onion, and the juice from half a lime.  Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and black pepper.  Set aside.

Combine remaining onion, bell pepper, and oil in a large skillet.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until completely softened, 6-7 minutes.  Add garlic and next 3 ingredients; stir constantly for 2 minutes.  Stir in broth and beans; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium; simmer briskly, mashing some of hte beans with the back of a spoon and stirring often, until sauce is thickened, 8-10 minutes (or longer if needed).  Season with salt and pepper to taste and a big squeeze of lime juice.  Divide rice and beans among plates.  Top with some chicken and apple salsa.  Garnish with additional cilantro and lime wedges. 

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Black Bean Soup

I do not claim this recipe as my own, but I will call it a "family" recipe - We love it so much it's a regular in our house.  We like it best with a little bit of sour cream on top and tortillas to dip in it.  And just so you know, it tastes about a million times better than it looks. :)


(from Our Best Bites)

1 T olive oil

4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3/4 C diced carrots (about 2 med carrots)

3/4 C diced celery (about 2 ribs)

1 C diced onion (about 1 sm-med onion)

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 3.5oz can green chilies

2 cans low-sodium beef broth

1 t kosher salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 t chili powder

1/4 t cumin

1/2 t dry oregano leaves

1 bay leaf

Optional Toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, chopped cilantro, tortillas, etc.

1. Place a large stock pot on the stove-top and set to medium-high heat.  When pan is warm, add olive oil.  Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes.

2. Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.

3. Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until carrots are tender.

4. Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf from soup. 

5. Place soup in a blender. (You could use an immersion blender in place of this step.) Place lid on blender, but remove the stopper in the lid to let heat escape. Place a paper towel over the hole to avoid splatters. 

6. Puree soup until completely smooth.  Optionally you could pulse until a semi-chunky soup is achieved. Squeeze in the juice from one lime and pulse to combine.

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Lime Chicken Burritos of Deliciousness and Love

(named by Joel)

These tacos are so yummy!  Joel asks for it days in a row, even.  I made it up as I went, so the measurements aren't exact.  I did make it with you all in mind, though, so I tried hard to pay attention to how much of everything I added :)

(inspiration from tasteofhome.com)
Makes about 5 servings

4 chicken tenders
1 packet TrueLime (equal to the juice of about one lime wedge)
1/2 T chili powder
3-4 soup spoons full of canned corn
3 soup spoons full of black beans
3/4 cup chunky salsa
tortillas, warmed on the stove fire
Sour cream, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and shredded lettuce, optional
Extra lime wedges, optional

Boil chicken tenders in water until cooked.  Drain all but 1-2 T of the boiling water.  Shred chicken.  Add chili powder, TrueLime or lime juice, beans, corn, and salsa.  Boil until some of the moisture evaporates so it's not too liquidy in the tortilla.  Warm tortillas on the stove fire.  Put cheese on a tortilla and top with chicken mixture and sour cream/lettuce/tomatoes/your favorite toppings.  Yum!

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Cinnamon-Apple Pork Chops

I have no idea where I found this recipe, but I first tried it because it was advertised as a 30-minute meal.  It really does only take about 30 minutes! so it stuck in the rotation and has become a favorite at our house.  It's definitely one of Joel's favorite things to have for dinner.  Best served with rice.  This is the original recipe - look at the end to see my personal notes.

Prep/Total time: 25-30 minutes

4 boneless pork chops (**can use ribs)
2 T butter, divided
3 T brown sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg  (**can be replaced by a dash or two of allspice)
1/4 t salt
4 medium Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
optional: 2 T chopped pecans

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook pork chops in 1 T butter for 4-5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.  You may be tempted to check the pork more often than this - don't do it! If you leave them for this amount of time on each side, they will develop a tasty golden brown crunchiness.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Remove pork chops and keep warm.  Add the apples, pecans, brown sugar mixture and remaining butter to the pan; cook and stir until apples are tender.  Serve with chops.

Notes:
- I usually take the pork chops out of the pan and put them on a plate (not paper or it will absorb the juices!) until the apple mixture is almost ready.  I then add them and their juices back to the pan to reheat and absorb some of the apple flavor until the apples are done.
- We love the sauce so we often double it for the four apples.  The sauce gets sticky so I often use a tablespoon or two of water to get it the texture we like it.
- If you're using ribs and think it'd be a good idea to cook them in the crockpot to get them nice and tender, don't do it!  The tastes of the pork and the sauce do not meld well together at all if you do.  If you decide to remedy that by adding applesauce to the crockpot with the ribs, especially don't do it!  Trust me.

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Beef Stroganoff

(inspiration taken from Paula Deen's recipe and my mom's)

*Note on the ingredient amounts: The amounts on everything but the broth, flour, onion, and cream of chicken soup were eyeballed. I have included my best guesses.

Ingredients:

1-2 T olive oil, separated

1 medium onion, sliced

1 New York steak (about a pound)

2 T flour

½ T salt

½ T garlic powder

½ tsp black pepper

1 can beef broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

½-1 cup sour cream (to taste)

Directions:

1. Sauté the onion in a pot with 1/2-1 T olive oil.

2. Cut up steak into small bite-sized pieces and add to the onion.

3. Add flour, salt, garlic powder, and pepper.  Stir until combined.

4. Add another 1/2 T or so of olive oil to moisten things up a little.  

5. Put lid on the pot and cook until meat is cooked through.  You will need to stir it occasionally because the meat will start to develop delicious crunchies on the bottom of the pot that will burn if left alone the whole time.  

6. When meat is cooked through, add broth and cream of chicken soup.  Stir until combined.

7. Put lid back on the pot and simmer for about 30 minutes.

*If you like your stroganoff thicker, simmer covered for about 20 minutes and then remove the lid until it's as thick as you like it.

8. Before serving, add sour cream and stir until fully incorporated.

9. Serve over noodles.

10. Try not to freak out - it's delicious.

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Cranberry Chicken: Adapted

As I was considering what to make for dinner this morning, I decided I was in the mood for cranberry sauce and chicken, but not my normal cranberry chicken recipe.  I looked around for a recipe online but didn't see anything I liked, until I ran across one that suggested including apples.  I didn't use that recipe, but I used the apple idea to make this one up.  It turned out pretty tasty! 

Cranberry Chicken: Adapted

chicken (I used two boneless skinless chicken breasts)

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 tiny onion, quartered

2 gala apples, cut into slices

a couple dashes cinnamon

a couple tiny dashes all-spice

a couple splashes lemon juice

Serve on rice and with some lime juice if you want.

Make a "plate" for the chicken by laying one apple's worth of slices on the bottom of the crockpot.  Put chicken on top, followed by a "lid" of the second apple.  Dump in the can of cranberry sauce, followed by  a quarter of the onion in each corner of the crockpot.  Dash on the cinnamon, all-spice, and lemon juice.  I didn't even stir it!  Cook on High for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.  Wait in anticipation to see if it turned out well...

Crockpot bags. They're best thing ever. And here's how it looked before cooking... sorry I don't measure spices :)

Yumalicious!

RESULT:

I thought it was really great, and Joel loved it!  Definitely going to make this again.  It would be better, in my opinion, with firmer apples, because the texture got a little too mushy for my preferences, but it still tasted delicious with galas.  The leftover juiciness also makes a very tasty sauce for rice.  

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