Chicken Noodle Soup

No money to go to the store until payday, but there are things in my refrigerator/freezer that I THINK might make chicken noodle soup.  Wait…how do you even make chicken noodle soup?  Ummm…chicken and noodles, duh Christine, but what else?  I’ve seen carrots and celery in there before, but the broth must come from somewhere.  Oh, internet says from boiling a whole chicken with skin and bones, and something called aromatics to make it taste good.  Well that’s just more carrots and celery…lol…got it!

Okay, I’ll try—

It turned out AMAZING!  Instead of a whole chicken, I boiled 2 very large chicken breasts (with skin and bones) in water with good smelling vegetables inside it, then drained and strained it (kinda), then added the chicken back in with more vegetables and noodles and broth to cover…and in 2 hours I had soup!  Delicious, flavorful, hearty soup THAT I MADE…not from a can…from SCRATCH…on a work night.  Yes, swear to God. Real soup.

Now you try it.  But be ready for lotsa hugs because you’re family’s gonna LOVE YOU!!  

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

makes one pot of soup

2 large chicken breasts with skin and bones (you can use a whole chicken but that's alot)
-- skin and bones are a must or your stock won't have enough flavor
1 12-ounce bag wide egg noodles
water

secret ingredient

2 tablespoons butter
3 large green onions
2 whole cloves garlic, peeled and smashed with side of knife
celery stalks
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
whole carrots, peeled (or 1 bunch baby carrots)
black peppercorns
kosher salt/cracked black pepper
1 handful fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2  32-ounce containers chicken broth 
secret ingredient...shhhhh:  Adobo seasoning (I use Goya)
--a spice mixture of garlic, oregano, turmeric, salt and pepper
colander


Place 2 chicken breasts in large dutch oven/soup pot, and add enough water to cover. Break green onions, 3 celery stalks (including leaves), and 2 bay leaves in half, and place in water. Chop 2 carrots in large chunks and add to water with a few whole black peppercorns, thyme sprig, smashed garlic cloves, and some kosher salt.  Bring to rolling boil.  

In a few minutes, skim impurities from the top and add a few shakes of the Adobo seasoning.  Continue to slowly simmer, stirring occasionally, for approximately 1.5 hours.

Remove chicken to bowl and set aside.  Place a colander inside a large bowl in the sink, and pour stock through it.  If you've only broken your vegetables, the colander should be sufficient to catch everything.  Now...taste the stock.  If you can tell it's gonna be flavorful, you will use most of it.  If it's too watery, you'll use only half.  Discard what's in the colander.

When cool enough to handle, take skin off the chicken and discard it--it will come off very easily--and shred chicken in pieces.  

Now make your soup:
Place butter in empty soup pot and saute approx 3 chopped carrots and 2 chopped celery stalks (bite size pieces).  Add your homemade stock back into the pot, plus enough canned chicken broth to make a whole pot of soup.  Add chicken. Simmer for approx 30 minutes, adjusting seasonings and adding salt/pepper/adobo as needed, until flavors come together.

1 bunch baby carrots

Approximately 20 minutes before you want to eat, add egg noodles to soup and simmer until tender.

To serve, place in bowls and sprinkle with cracked black pepper and fresh parsley.

mmmmm...see???

Spanish Corn

This is the little side dish that could!

It's deceptively easy.  You think you're just gonna eat some grilled vegetables, but the flavors are complex and sneak up on you one by one:  first charred, then smokey, then spicy...you'll be tempted to underestimate it at first but don't--it turns out to be the star of the show.  

Because it packs such a big punch, it goes well with all grilled meats and fish.

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(WHAT YOU'LL NEED)

serves 4

4 ears corn, husked
2 small yellow onions, peeled and cut into rings
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into wedges
3 jalapeno peppers, sliced in half lengthwise and seeded
2 tomatoes, cut into eighths
2 tablespoons butter
hot sauce (I use Tabasco Chipotle)
olive oil
salt/pepper

Drizzle olive oil over cut vegetables and char on the grill--be careful not to burn.  Remove and set aside.

Cut charred corn off the cob into bowl.

Place remainder of charred vegetables on a cutting board and chop into bite-size pieces.

Place corn and vegetables in large pan with 2 tablespoons butter and a few shakes of the hot sauce (maybe 8).  Heat on medium low heat until butter is melted and stir, mixing all together.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

all ingredients in pan together

Place in serving bowl and bring to table while hot.  I served mine with grilled porkchops

grilled pork chops and Spanish Corn

Spicy White Chicken Chili

Enjoying the cool Fall weather isn't always about hot chocolate and plaid blankets ;) 

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

SERVES 6

This whole pot of chili takes maybe an hour, including cooking time.  So easy-- 

Olive Oil
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts--cut into bite size pieces
2  1/2 teaspoons Cumin
2  1/2 teaspoons Chili Powder
2  1/2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon dried Oregano
salt/cracked pepper
butter
2 small yellow onions, diced
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 small cans (4 ounces each) fire roasted and diced green chilies
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 + 3 = 7 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup salsa verde
2 teaspoons Sriracha
2  15.5 ounce cans white cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 1/2 cups white rice
garnish:  chopped green onions, freshly shredded Monterey Jack cheese (not pre-packaged, it doesn't melt as well)


Cook rice:  use 3 cups chicken broth and 1 1/2 cups white rice

Drizzle olive oil and melt one tablespoon butter in large soup pot/dutch oven.
Combine the chicken with cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder in a large bowl.  Add chicken to the pot and saute until almost done. Remove from pot and set aside.

Heat another tablespoon butter in the pot, add onions and cook until tender.

Add minced garlic and green chilies into the pot.  Stir together and cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions, stir, and cook briefly for a few minutes.  Add remaining 4 cups chicken broth one cup at a time, stirring each time until smooth.

Add the salsa verde, sriracha, oregano, and beans to the pot.  Allow the mixture to come back up to a simmer and add the chicken back to the pot.  Simmer for a few minutes on low and slowly stir in the sour cream, one tablespoon at a time.

Serve with white rice and garnish with green onions, freshly shredded cheese, and cracked pepper.  Sprinkle salt on top if needed.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

You know what spaghetti squash is?  It's a big bunch of delicious magic. 

Raw, it's kinda gross.  When you cut it in half, it looks (and smells) like the inside of a warm pumpkin, and you have to scoop out the stringy flesh and slimy seeds into the garbage...ugh.  But after it cooks, it transforms into velvety soft goodness and when you scrape it with a fork, it looks like spaghetti.  WHAT??  I know, it's crazy.

So when you mix in some butter, garlic, and fresh grated parmesan cheese (if you wanna add a little cheddar I won't stop you) and top it with some cracked black pepper, you have a REALLY NICE side dish or...even better...served with a chilled pinot grigio and a simple salad, a super satisfying vegetarian meal. 

You won't go hungry with me...I gotcha  :)
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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

serves 2 (each half serves one person)

spaghetti squash

1 spaghetti squash
butter
garlic powder
cracked black pepper
water
fresh parmesan, asiago, or pecorino-romano cheese
optional - grated cheddar cheese
roasting pan


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut squash in half.  Scrape out and discard seeds

Place cut side down in roasting pan, and add approx. 1 inch of water to the bottom of the pan so that it steams

Bake uncovered in oven for 45 minutes.  The squash is done when you can insert a sharp knife easily into the flesh

Place right side up and scrape with a fork--it will begin to look like spaghetti

Add a pat of butter to the squash, with a pinch of salt and garlic powder.  Mix well.  Grate cheeses on top and sprinkle with cracked black pepper

buttery, cheesy, garlicky goodness

Cottage Cheese Salad

Football season.  Here in the South we take our football VERY seriously.  In fact, my friend calls it "God's sport."  Friday night is filled with cross-town high school rivalries, Saturday is SEC/Big 10 heaven, and Sunday is betting day--both real and fantasy.

Down here we do a lot of tailgating, which means two things: drinking and grilling.  So while you're mixing your Maker's and Coke and heating up the Weber, I've made my favorite burger/hotdog/chicken/sausage/steak accompaniment--cottage cheese salad.

It's cottage cheese mixed with the freshest tomatoes, green onions, and cucumbers, chilled in Tupperware in the bottom of your cooler until it's time to eat.  I know...I know...you don't think that sounds delicious (or even appealing!) but you're wrong.  So wrong!

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

1  24 ounce container cottage cheese

2 large tomatoes (chopped)

1 cucumber (peeled, seeded, and chopped)

6 - 8  green onions, chopped

black pepper

cayenne pepper 

salt

Place first 4 ingredients, a few shakes of cayenne pepper, and some black pepper,in Tupperware bowl and mix together.   Keep cool in refrigerator or under the ice in your cooler until ready to eat.

When ready to serve, season with salt and some more black pepper to taste, and mix well.

mixed salad

I made this salad last weekend and served it with cheeseburgers and chips.  I like to put worcestershire sauce on my burger before I grill it so it soaks into the meat, as well as salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Then (almost) always:   2 pieces of cheese (both american and swiss), mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, tomato, fresh jalapeno pepper slices, and a slightly grilled bun.  If I also have an onion to grill, that too :)

Burger and chips

This is what my plate looked like before I ate the entire thing, drank 2 Corona's, and had a brownie for dessert...lol:

Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki

A Greek chicken kabob marinated in the bright flavors of the Mediterranean, then charred on the grill, placed on a fluffy pita with a fresh, cool cucumber sauce and toppings, and eaten out of hand like crazy delicious street food.  

All at once, with every bite:  sour lemon, chilled cucumber, umami tomato, piquant red wine vinegar, tangy yogurt, peppery arugula…senses heightened from every direction.  Opa!

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(WHAT TO BUY)

For the marinade
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
juice of 1 lemon

For the tzatziki (cucumber sauce)
1/2 English cucumber (the long one that comes in clear wrap), peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
juice of half a lemon
1 large handful fresh dill, chopped
1 teaspoon salt

Toppings
chopped tomato
other half of cucumber, peeled and sliced into rounds
baby arugula

also:  
fluffy pita bread (the food goes on top of the pita, not in a pocket)
12 boneless, skinless chicken tenders OR  you can buy chicken breasts and cut them into strips longways

Toppings:  baby arugula, cucumber, and tomato

First, marinate chicken approx 6 hours before cooking.  Mix marinade ingredients in bowl and pour over chicken in large ziplock bag. Let sit in refrigerator until ready to grill.

Make tzatziki--mix all ingredients together in bowl and place in refrigerator to cool.

When ready to eat:  grill chicken

Place on pita with tzatziki sauce and toppings.  Salt and pepper over all to taste.  Fold together and eat!

Bagel Sandwich: lemony avocado, tomato, and dill

Laid back Summer Sunday get-togethers:  the freshest ingredients,  the coldest iced coffee, the strongest bloody mary’s, the funnest friends, the best music on the sonos…need I say more?  :)

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

Sesame seed bagels
plain cream cheese
tomatoes
ripe avocados 
fresh dill
fresh lemon
kosher salt/cracked black pepper

1) Cut tomatoes into slices
2) Slice avocados and place on plate.  Squeeze lots of fresh lemon juice over to keep from turning brown.  This will also mix with the other ingredients on the sandwich and flavor everything.
3)  Chop fresh dill sprigs

Split and toast bagels.  Top with cream cheese, tomatoes, avocado, sprinkle salt and fresh cracked pepper over all, add dill to top.  

I eat mine open face, but you can also add cream cheese to the other half of the bagel and eat it like a sandwich--doubly good!

Serve this with your favorite brunch drink (bloody marys, grapefruit mimosas, prosecco) and/or some iced coffee. 

You can make your own coffee or use one of the many cold brews available:   I used Stok for this one, and added sweetened almond milk and chocolate syrup.  You can also add whipped cream, White Chocolate Godiva liqueur, Kahlua...or both.  Both is good, its would be like your own long island iced coffee...woohoo!...lol

PS:  other sandwiches that I love and I know you would, too?  I thought you'd never ask...
lox, tomatoes, and capers with whipped cream cheese on a toasted plain bagel
hummus, red bell peppers, cucumbers, and fresh lemon on a toasted everything bagel
corned beef and plain cream cheese on a toasted onion bagel 

But this is still my favorite

Dirty Banana

My friend recently posed this question:  why do frozen drinks taste so much better 1) on vacation and 2) on an island?  I think I can answer with this story…

Years ago, I was on vacation with my then-boyfriend Ned, and we made a stop at the liquor store to buy cigars.  While he was looking around in the humidor, I announced that I was gonna walk around the corner and get a cool, frosty drink.  He tried to put a 20 in my hand, but I said no I already had money, and off I went on my mini-adventure.

I turned the corner and walked up to the window and a crazy cool Jamaican guy named Donovan asked me what I wanted.  I told him I wanted something frosty…he smiled and said I needed a Dirty Banana.  I said indeed I WAS in need of a Dirty Banana but also a frosty drink…lol.  He said no worries, made it up, put a straw in it, and handed it to me.  I took it to the bench that was directly across from him, sat down, and started savoring it.  So good.

Just as I looked up at him, and at exactly the same time Ned came around the corner, Donovan leaned out the window and yelled to me (in the crazy cool Jamaican accent)  “ARE YOU ENJOYING YOUR DRINK, PRETTY LADY??????”  Ned looked at me stunned, like what did he say? Ahahahahahahaha, we laughed til our stomachs hurt we thought it was so funny, and it became the running joke of the week.  And for years after that, whenever Ned wanted to make me laugh, he’d say it:  good morning, pretty lady…happy birthday, pretty lady…and it always worked. 

Ned bought us 2 more drinks and we sat there, talking and drinking and laughing, looking out at the water and the boats in the harbor, lost as we often were just the two of us, in our own little world of nicknames, private jokes, and general silliness.  We were like two teenagers on love crack, and we couldn’t get enough.  Quite obviously, I didn’t end up marrying Ned, but I’ll remember that vacation and all its sweet wonderfulness as long as I live.

So back to the question:   why are frozen drinks so much better on an island vacation??  The love, baby.  It’s all about the love :)

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

This makes a full blender of drinks--

I think Donovan probably makes his with vodka, but I love dark rum so that's what I've always used

1/2 cup dark rum (I use Meyers)

1/2 cup Creme de cocao

1/2 cup banana liqueur 

1/2 cup Kahlua

1 cup half and half 

1 whole banana, peeled

ice

chocolate sauce

Place all ingredients in blender (except chocolate sauce) and blend.

Drizzle a little chocolate sauce in the bottom of the glass and pour your drink over it.

Dust off the Bob Marley: Legend CD (that's right, I said CD) and make some vacation memories with the people YOU love 

Linguini with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes and Melted Brie

I liked her instantly!  She had just gotten married to a co-worker of mine and he kept telling me how amazing she was and how I HAD to meet her, all the while showing me pictures of their wedding and gushing about how beautiful she looked.  He was right.  She had a casual elegance to her that put you at ease immediately, and though she claimed not to be comfortable in the kitchen, her dinners suggested otherwise.  

Though parties were more often at my house, she was an effortless guest--both informative and inquisitive.  Our get-togethers were always wonderful when she was there:  full of the kind of laughter only good friends and too much wine could produce, and you couldn’t wait to entertain with her again.  And I did…repeatedly and gratefully.  Twenty years later, she’s still fun to eat with.

This is a version of the first dish she made for me.   If you don’t like brie, you can always use gorgonzola or feta.  I’ve tried it with both--still good!

Colleen…this is for you...

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

serves 4

   

2 cans fire roasted, diced tomatoes (do not drain)

1 pound linguini

2 cloves chopped fresh garlic

Brie cheese (room temperature) – as much as you’d like.  

Dry white wine (approx ¼ cup)

Olive oil

Garlic powder

salt/cracked pepper

Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Cut the top and bottom rinds off the brie cheese and let it come to room temperature on a plate. 

Start sauce:  Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil in skillet and sauté garlic over medium heat.  Add tomatoes (no need to drain, you need some liquid).  Simmer until it starts to smell delicious, then add wine and sprinkle in some garlic powder. Stir.  Simmer over low heat until it smells even more delicious-er!  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Turn heat to very low and let simmer until pasta is done.

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain (save a ladle full of pasta water in case you need it for the sauce).  

Check sauce and adjust as needed, adding pasta water, seasonings, etc.

Place pasta on plate and drop cheese by chunks into the pasta while it’s hot.  You will see it start to melt.  Add sauce on top and  garnish with parsley.  Serve.

Black Beans and Yellow Rice

The Cuban influence is everywhere in South Florida.  If you're lucky enough to get over to Miami and can go to Calle Ocho in Little Havana, or up to Ybor City in Tampa to the original Columbia Restaurant, you're in for a real treat--authentic Cuban food rich in tradition and flavor.  If you can't get to these places though, no worries...I gotcha covered.

Black beans and rice is one of my favorite dishes.  Sometimes white rice, sometimes yellow rice, topped with sour cream and salsa or shredded cheese and green onions...it's comforting, delicious, low in fat, and full of protein.

I like to serve this with a cold, effervescent beer like Modelo Especial or Pacifico, and lots of fresh limes.

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

serves 4 - 6

1  16-ounce bag yellow rice (I like Vigo or Mahatma)
3  15-ounce cans black beans (I use Bush's)
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
red pepper flakes
splash dry white wine
2 cloves garlic, chopped
hot sauce (I use Crystal)
red wine vinegar
1 or 2 limes
salt/pepper
garlic powder
onion salt
seasoned salt (I use Lawry's)
garnishes:  green onions, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa
optional:  garlic bread

Note:  your rice may call for either butter or olive oil in the cooking directions


Add some red pepper flakes to the water and cook rice according to package directions.  Approx 5 minutes before it's done, pour a splash of white wine into the rice and quickly mix it in.  Recover and let rice finish cooking.  When done, sprinkle with seasoned salt and cracked pepper,  Keep covered.

While the rice is cooking, make the beans:

Drain 2 of the 3 cans of beans and place all in large pot.  Turn heat to medium and add garlic, juice of half a lime, and chopped onion.  Next add a few shakes of:   red wine vinegar, hot sauce, garlic powder, and onion salt.  Stir and season with salt and pepper as necessary.  Cover and turn heat to low, simmering until all the flavors come together and the beans are soft and hot.  It will be ready about the same time as the rice.

Chop green onions on the bias for garnish. 

When done, let beans and rice sit for a few minutes.  Squeeze juice of the other 1/2 lime in beans and stir. Stir and fluff rice.

Place rice in bowl, top with beans and garnishes (green onions, shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa).  Cut remaining lime into wedges and serve alongside beans.  Serve with garlic bread, if desired.