Health(ier) Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Well, hellloooo there, long lost friends!

I think the last time I plopped down a food blog, was almost two years ago... I'm officially nestled into Seattle's rainy heartbeat, and absolutely love it. The weeks of "morning showers, afternoon drizzles, evening rains" we're in the middle of aren't my favorite, but they'll pass.

I could bloviate for a while about how since we moved here from Nairobi just over two years ago, it's been so much harder to cook healthy, wholesome meals for my family here in the good o'l US of A. About how I will only shop at Trader Joes because at least their label is GMO-free, and their store is small enough I don't cry from sheer overwhelmedness. I could discuss the odd food production in this country, and the crying shame of healthy food being almost unaffordably expensive. But I'll spare you the diatribe and instead commit from here forth to, more or less, just being another little corner of the vast inter-verse that hopefully helps you create food you LOVE. Love eating, love making, love feeding to your friends and family, and helps you love life a little bit more because of edible goodness.

A quick look through this blog will reveal I'm not a strong-finisher...my year of homemade meals made it through about 3 weeks...but what I lack in finishing, I make up in willingness to keep my failures out there and keep learning from them. Maybe I'll pick back up the year of homemade meals some day. For now, it sits as a reminder that...well, whatever you want it to. Just know my visible lack of completion doesn't bother me one bit :) I'm not at all a finished product, and neither is this blog...even as you cook, may you find this blog a place where you feel refreshed, capable, and enough just as you are. Cause you are.

To launch us off, Aunt Sue has requested I post my most recent twist on Spinach Artichoke Dip. Spinach Artichoke dip (the hot kind, mind ya) is one of my favorite appetizers (*cough, cough...meal??) but I was having a pretty hard time with the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, etc called for in every recipe. Read on for Health(ier) (though not recommended for every day) Dip

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients: 
1/2 c chopped red onion 
1/4 c unsalted butter 
1 medium size bag fresh baby spinach 
1 large log herbed goat cheese 
1 c non-fat, plain Greek yogurt 
1 jar artichoke hearts, quartered 
1/2-1c grated cheese (pepperjack will give you a spicier dip, pecorino-romano will produce a more sophisticated dip...pick your favorite cheese and put it on top!)
Crushed red pepper (optional to sprinkle on top) 

Pull the goat cheese out of the fridge so it can soften up a bit. Unless you want a singular huge bicep...then leave it in fridge until mixing time for a one-armed mixing work out.

Saute the onion and the butter until the onions are browned, headed to burnt. But don't let them burn. I recommend a low heat for a long time, but if you just can't wait, proceed with reckless abandon and searing heat. Just don't leave the room. There is no recovery for a charred onion...

Add the fresh spinach and cover with a lid. The spinach will wilt and cook down.

In a mixing bowl (preferably your favorite one, because you should always cook with your favorite things. And if you don't have a favorite mixing bowl, get one right now! Mine is an old crock styled, super heavy, deep cream-colored bowl from my grandmother. She has an identical one in her kitchen, and this one was found in their basement after a house fire that destroyed quite a bit. But this bowl lived on...and while it's full of hairline cracks, and heavy as sin on a Sunday, it's full of love, and memories, and the reminder that eating is a sacred, through-the-ages gift)

Ok, now in your favorite mixing bowl, combine the goat cheese, greek yogurt, and artichokes. Add the onions, butter, and spinach mixture - mix until all is combined.

Pour into a shallow baking dish - I usually use an 8x10 or small casserole dish, but you can use whatever you like. Top with your favorite cheese, and if you want a little more kick, a sprinkle of crushed red pepper

Pop in the oven at 350F until it's warmed through and cheese is melted on top.

Serve with blue corn tortilla chips. Or on toasted sour dough bread. Or with a spoon.

Side note - you can play around with the ratios on this...just like you can with most recipes! Following a recipe to the letter is like color with numbers - it's gonna more or less turn out, but you may not love it. But cooking is art, so explore and create!

I'll drop some pics in this post next time I make this, and until then - dine away!!

Bon appetit, lovelies!

xo
Sarah

Abbreviated recipe: 
1/2 c chopped red onion 
1/4 c unsalted butter 
1 medium size bag fresh baby spinach 
1 large log herbed goat cheese 
1 c non-fat, plain Greek yogurt 
1 jar artichoke hearts, quartered 
1/2-1c grated cheese (your favorite)
Crushed red pepper (optional to sprinkle on top) 

Saute onion & butter until onions are dark brown. Add spinach and cook down until soft. In a separate bowl, mix goat cheese, greek yogurt, and artichoke hearts. Add onion, spinach, butter mixture to goat cheese mixture. Combine thoroughly. Pour in baking dish, sprinkle with cheese, heat at 350F until cheese is melted. Serve. Repeat.

Thai Yellow Curry

I love yellow curry. It's my go to anytime I go out for Thai food. So I decided it was time to try making it. After several times, I've perfected it. Enjoy!

Thai Yellow Curry

1 13.5 oz can unsweetened coconut milk (I prefer light) 

1 c chicken stock

1 Tbs chopped fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

3 tsp curry powder 

 

1 onion, slivered (red onion if you like more 'oniony', yellow if you like more sweet)

4 large carrots, unpeeled & sliced

2 large potatoes, unpeeled & chopped 

1 red pepper, cut into chunks

Any other veggies you want - keep in mind dry veggies (potatoes, carrots, etc) will absorb liquid, while wet veggies (leafy greens especially) will release liquid. 

In a blender, blend the coconut milk, chicken stock, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and curry powder.

Pour into a large sauce pot. Add the other ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce to a simmer and let cook until vegetables are soft. Stir regularly. 

Serve over brown rice. 

Couple notes:
* If you want creamier Thai Yellow Curry, don't use light coconut milk. You could also reduce the amount of chicken stock, and increase the amount of carrots and potatoes as they will absorb the liquid. 

* You're going to have to season this to taste...you may want more curry powder, or less. If you don't like spicy things, you can leave out the crushed red pepper all together. If you like really spicy things, add another 1/2 tsp or more of the crushed red pepper.  You may also want to try 1/2 tsp of salt if you feel the recipe is too bland.

* If you want, feel free to add, well anything! Chicken, shrimp, pineapple, mushrooms, etc all make great additions. Just keep in mind how your various additions will affect your level of soupiness. 

What if it's not as thick as I like it?

Mix 2 tsps of cornstarch with 1/4 c liquid (water, coconut milk, chicken stock), then whisk the entire concoction into your curry - it should thicken up within a few moments. 

What if it's too thick? 

Add some more chicken stock or coconut milk. 

What if I'm a vegan?

Use veggie stock. But you already knew that, didn't you? 

I recommend serving this over brown rice, and with side dishes of chopped banana, raisins, and coconut (sweetened or unsweetened). 

One last thing - this will freeze beautifully, and if, when you pull it out of the freezer, it's not quite enough for serving the guests that spontaneously stopped by - just chop up some more veggies or potatoes, dice some garlic and ginger, pull out that jar of frozen chicken stock, and add it all the original curry. An extra teaspoon of curry powder will finish it off beautifully, and everyone will think you labored for hours!

Enjoy! 

ps - Trader Joes veggie spring rolls aren't half bad, and a quick combo of white wine vinegar, ketchup, and brown sugar boiled in a saucepan (along with a little cornstarch concoction like I listed above) will make a pretty legit tasting "cheap chinese restaurant" sweet n sour sauce. Makes a nice side or appetizer to the curry.

Homemade Pizza

On the menu for tonight is homemade pizza. It is one of my favorite meals, and is a great meal to do for guests.

Couple tips on homemade pizza:

* Find a crust recipe you like, I recommend this one (note - it can be frozen in a ziploc bag and used at a later date - though it's definitely more of a flat crust pizza). I would also recommend doubling or tripling it, at least so you have 2 pizzas. Pizza makes fantastic frozen leftovers.

* Play around with toppings - you can do anything you like, which is why homemade pizza is so perfect. Don't be afraid to be brave - goat cheese, roast garlic, sundried tomatoes, broccoli, corn, whatever you like - play around with flavors, you're bound to found an amazing combo.

* Use a great sauce - I usually just use some red sauce that's marketed as a tomato pasta sauce. I personally like Trader Joes Marinara sauce, but you can do anything you like. Again - feel free to play around and do a pesto sauce or white sauce.

* Prep ahead - the more chopping, grating, cooking you can do before hand the better. It only takes about 20-30 minutes for a pizza to bake - if you have all your prep done beforehand, it's possible to have a yummy homemade pizza in the oven in

I mean, there's really not a whole lot else to include in this post. So many people don't make homemade pizza because they just don't think about it - I'd hate to tell you exactly what kind of pizza to make because everyone has different pizza preferences (broccoli pizza lovers, I'll never understand the appeal...). This is probably the least specific recipe post that's even been done, but my point is this - the best part of homemade pizza is having homemade crust, and the toppings you prefer.

So - stick it on your menu for the week, make your favorite pizza, and let me know how it goes!

ps - if you're just not up to making the crust, you can ease into the whole homemade pizza thing by buying a crust. Again, Trader's Joes pizza dough isn't a bad place to start - though I would still encourage you to eventually venture into the world of making your own dough.  I'm sure you can do it!

Healthy Meatloaf

It's been a LONG time since I did this, um, *cough*, daily kitchen blog. Oh well...c'est la vie.

I made a meatloaf the other night, and was super happy with how it turned out. For those of you who would like recommendations on every course, and not just the main dish, I also served twice baked potatoes and green beans with the meatloaf. Delicious!

The thing I love about this meatloaf recipe is that it's really healthy - it has oatmeal, oat bran, wheat bran, flaxseed, and greek yogurt in it. As usual, I didn't have every ingredient from the original recipe on hand, but all that means is I can now list this recipe as 'adapted' from the original Rodale Wholefoods Cookbook and post it as my own.

So, without further ado, here it goes.

Oh, one last thing - if you like to bake at all, you should go ahead and buy some ground flax seed (not the whole seeds), some wheat germ, and some oat germ. I use them ALL the time, and often just toss them into recipes that don't call for them - I even put flaxseed in my scrambled eggs, and the kids gobble it right up.

If you're interested, here's a little article on flaxseed and all it's reported health benefits (including lowering risks of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke). Why wouldn't I put that in my meatloaf? Incidentally, 1 Tbs of flaxseed can be used in place of eggs when baking, which is what I did in this recipe. Now you're lowering your cholesterol and eating a power-house food. Didn't ya miss me?

Here's the recipe (and for all you mommies out there, my kids ate it up, though ketchup was admittedly involved).

Powerhouse Meatloaf

1 Tbs olive oil
1/4 c chopped onion
1 lb ground beef (lowest fat content you can afford/want to buy)
1/4 c oatmeal
3 Tbs wheat germ
1 large egg
1 Tbs flaxseed
1/4 c ketchip
4 Tbs Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil

In a saute pan, saute the chopped onions in the olive oil until browned. Set aside and let cool. In a medium sized bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Add the onions to the other ingredients. Mix well. Put in a baking dish, shape as you like,  cover with foil, and put in the oven at 350F for approximately 1hour (could be more or less depending on how thick you formed it. The thicker you make it, the more moist it will be, but the longer it will take to bake).

The meatloaf is done when the meat is no longer pink, and it is hot all the way through.

Enjoy!

Ps - I love it when people leave comments, questions, their own recipes! For those of you who already do - keep 'em coming :) and for those of you who don't, but do enjoy these recipes, I'd love to hear from you! It's motivation to continue posting recipes when I know they are being used and enjoyed!

Boozy Chocolate Chili

I just wanted you to read this post - that's why I called the recipe what I did. Booze and chocolate - what blog perusing person isn't going to be intrigued?

Ok - here's the deal. I've totally fallen behind in meal planning, and I'm having a hard time getting back on the horse. I think I'm close, but no guarantees.

The result - this chili (beauty out of chaos it turns out). I was walking through Trader Joes, picking up a couple essentials - milk, coffee, etc and passed their seasonal section featuring....corn bread! I grabbed and box, deciding instantly chili and cornbread would fit the dinner bill perfectly (in my defense, it was 10am...I had a little bit of time).

I glanced at a couple chili recipes and decided I've never really liked any of the ones I've made so I decided to make up my own. Success. Here it is.


Homemade Boozy Chocolate Chili

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef (96/4 - ie low grease)
1/2 large red onion, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 red pepper, diced
3 steak house tomatoes, cut into 1in chunks
1/4 c unpacked fresh basil, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped (I used baby carrots 
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 13 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground chili peppers (not chili powder - which is a blend of ground chilies and other stuff)
3/4tsp salt
1/3 cup red wine
two modest handfuls of chocolate chips (I know, right?!)


Directions
In a large stock pot, brown the beef, red onions, garlic, and peppers. When the meat is nearly cooked through, add the tomatoes and stir briefly. Add everything else - stirring frequently. Simmer for a while. The longer you can let it sit - either on simmer or just on the stove for a couple hours - the better it will be.

It's amazingly yummy!!! You could do more or less of the wine, I used classy Charles Shaw and it did exactly what I needed it to :) I figured there are beer chilis out there, but I knew my husband would be bummed if I used the last beer in the house, so I used the 2 buck chuck. If I had had gourmet chocolate on hand, I probably would have used just a few squares - but all I had were Nestle chocolate chips - they also did the trick perfectly.

Notes -

* This makes enough for 4-6 people. Trader Joes cornbread, though, should come in bigger packets - one box only makes an 8x8pan.
* If you are using chili powder instead of ground chilis, you'll want to omit the basil and cumin (and possibly garlic, read the ingredients on your chili powder) and probably increase the quantity.
* To make this vegan - just omit the meat (oohh...and the chocolate chips - try sweetened cocoa powder instead)
 * This will freeze beautifully, and probably taste better the second time you serve it.
* The end result of this chili is a tomatoey, sweet, bean-laden foretaste with a spicy finish. It's not super spicy, by any means, my kids ate it fine (and now will hopefully sleep fine, too). If you want knock your socks off spicy, I recommend adding more ground chili peppers, and perhaps adding some fresh chili in big enough pieces you can remove them before you serve them to your guests. If you want it spicier than that - you shouldn't use this recipe because you'll be wasting wine and chocolate :)

I'd love to know if you make this, how it turns out, and if you make any modifications. Enjoy!

Week #???? and a bit more

Well, there's only one explanation for why I haven't posted in over 2 weeks - we haven't eaten. I mean, that's obviously the only reason why I wouldn't post a recipe every day, and an extensive meal plan/shopping list each week.

Or, alternatively, unlike the other amazing mommy bloggers permeating the blogosphere, I'm just unable to keep up with the little curve balls life throws while simultaneously maintaining a daily, amazingly organized, witty, aesthetically pleasing, recipe-laden, 'my happy toddler' photo saturated blog. I justify my drastic failings (in comparison with some of those amazing blogs - you know the ones I'm talking about) by telling myself those other bloggers' kids are at boarding school, or have mommy issues, or the blogs are actually written by ghost writers. None of those things are probably true, but it's what I tell myself.

What I also tell myself is this - I blog for myself. I'm never gonna make it big like some of those other blogs, for one simple reason - I'm not willing to put the time into it. So, with that said - so sorry for being a couple weeks late, and while I'd love it if it didn't happen again, we should both go ahead and plan on it :) Consider it a, um, push out of the cooking nest - or whatever you want to call it - and go make a meal plan of your own, if you haven't already (which you probably have...in which case, what did you make?! I'd love to know).

Here's what we've eaten over the past couple weeks (which were, by the way, filled with the husband traveling internationally, pink eye, strep throat, holiday weekend, and a semi-panic filled reassessing of my life):

* take out pizza
* bad day back up meals from the freezer (told you those would come in handy - perfect panic food)
* hotdogs (I mean, we put relish, onions & cheese on them & had them with sweet potato fries, but still...hotdogs)
* breakfast for dinner - pancakes, cereal, eggs
* went out to Ethiopian food for dinner (which, if you haven't done, you should consider doing. Unless you live in the midwest [anywhere other than Minnesota], then you should really consult yelp before doing so)


So, not a whole lot to document there :) Except this - our grocery bill was up. My lack of planning, and lack of time put into our meal prep may have meant I had time to tend to other very important things (and it was the right decision), but our grocery bill did increase. Moral of the story - planning ahead and sticking to a meal plan does save money.

So - here's the meal plan for this week, though it's only for 5 days since we are starting kinda late week and we have company this weekend:

Monday night: leftover lasagna (which I'll post a recipe for soon - this one was kind of a fail, but it was because I left out some key ingredients...even good cooks screw it up sometimes - my error was based in laziness and a refusal to go pick up those key ingredients from the store. I paid for it every time I ate that lasagna...even my kids wouldn't eat it. I finally smothered it in a jar of red sauce from Trader Joes and we called it an even)

Tuesday night: hubby made pancakes while I slept off strep throat. For the record, these pancakes were actually quite good. I added 1tsp lemon juice & the hubby used whole wheat flour instead of white, but otherwise I think it was the same as what's listed. I don't usually trust allrecipes, but they pull through on some of the classics.

Wednesday night: bad day back up - homemade enchilladas (I know, I can hear you "wait a minute! where's that recipe?! how can it be a bad day back up if it's not on this blog?! she's cheating on us". I admit it, I did. I made a delicious recipe and didn't get it up here yet. But it's coming - soon. I promise.)

Thursday: Chicken Divan (aha!!! here's the reason why I started this blog in the first place - we've finally got a repeat meal, and now, instead of having to do an entire post on every night's meal, I get a night where I can just drop in a link, recommend a bottle of wine, and then go consume a glass or two of it myself)

Friday: Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup with Homemade Sourdough Bread (which is currently bubbling ominously on my counter).


I'll try and get some of these recipes up - enchilladas and lasagna specifically, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this post illuminating my humanity and subsequently empowering yours. I hope that when reading these blogs, the thought that goes through your mind isn't "I don't know how she does it" (which is what I often think when looking at other blogs) but instead "oh yeah, I can do that too". Not because what I have to offer is so unequivocally great, but because I do know that good cooking, healthy eating, and affordable living are all incredibly compatible and achievable - by any of us.

So, enjoy! And please, if you feel so inclined, leave a comment every now and then to let me know you're reading/cooking, and if you have a blog - let me know what it is. I'd love to check it out.

Enjoy living like you don't have your act all together - that's how we do it here. 

Chicken Divan (aka Creamy Chicken & Broccoli Casserole)

**note** I'll go back and put in links to recipes for homemade mayo and cream of chicken soup.  But for now, here's the basic recipe!**

This is a major comfort food, and in my hubby's top 5 favorite meals so it's a pretty frequent repeat in our house. The original recipe calls for canned condensed cream of chicken recipe, mayonnaise, and sour cream. Phew! Did your arteries just seize up? It's ok, I've modified this recipe so now your arteries will just wheeze a little.

Instead of store bought mayonnaise, we'll use homemade; instead of sour cream, we'll use homemade greek yogurt; instead of canned condensed cream of chicken soup, we'll use homemade cream of chicken soup.

The recipe:

Chicken Divan 

2 c  homemade mayonnaise
2 c sour cream/Greek yogurt
2 c cream of chicken soup
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 c cheese
2 c cubed chicken, cooked
2 c broccoli, barely steamed

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a 9 x 13 baking dish, spread the cooked chicken and steamed broccoli. I recommend slightly under-cooking the broccoli to retain nutrients and avoid overly mushy broccoli.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, cream of chicken soup, lemon juice, and 1 cup of cheese. Mix well and pour evenly over the broccoli and chicken in the 9x13 baking dish.

Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese, and if desired, sprinkle lightly with paprika.

Place in the oven until hot, approx 30 minutes.

Serve over brown rice. Yummy!

Homemade Yogurt - Easiest Recipe Ever

I'm probably the six hundred thousandth person to put down a recipe for homemade yogurt. But here's the thing - it's really so much easier than you'd think. So, I'm going to write the directions as simply as possible, and then give a few more details.

Homemade Yogurt

4 cups milk

1-2 Tbs plain yogurt 

Glass jars that seal 

Candy thermometer 

A spoon

1. Pour 4 cups milk into a pot
2. Bring it to a boil, and stir until it reaches 180F.
3. Remove from the heat and let cool until 110F.
4. Put 1 -2 Tbs yogurt in a small bowl and add 1/2 c milk (or however much you want, the point is a little bit) and whisk together.
5. Add the mixture from step #4 to the rest of the milk.
6. Pour into the glass jars and seal.
7. Keep moderately warm for 8-12 hours (some people just wrap their jars in a blanket and set in a warm place).
8.  Remove jars from their warm place.
9. Put in the fridge.
10. Eat.


That's it. Seriously. I mean - IT.


Here's the science of it:
yogurt contains live bacteria (the container calls them 'cultures' cause that's somehow more appropriate to eat....?). Milk also contains bacteria but some of it can go bad quicker than the bacteria in yogurt/won't make yogurt - thus step #2 (kills all the potentially bad stuff). The little bacteria in yogurt can't quite handle that heat either, so you need to let the milk cool to a temperature bacteria loves - 110F. That little bacteria is just going to grow and grow, thus step #7.

Bacteria will continue growing if it's warm - thus step #8. If you want more tart yogurt, leave it out closer to 12 hours.

Here are a couple tips:
1. Use whole milk.

2. If you have a crock pot, fill it with water and set the temperature to it's lowest setting (on mine, that's warm). Once you've filled your jars with your soon-to-be-yogurt (and sealed them), put them in the crockpot and leave covered. I've found this is the perfect way to keep my yogurt warm. If I'm going to bed and the yogurt has sat in the warm water for 3-4 hours, I just switch of the crock pot and the bacteria growth begins to slow until I bring it to a halt in the morning when I put it in the fridge.

3. Your yogurt will firm up a bit after it goes in the fridge, so don't worry if it seems a bit runny.

4. Want Greek Yogurt? Pour the finished product yogurt (as in, after step #8) into a sieve lined with a cheesecloth and press out the whey (note - whey can be used in a variety of cooking endeavors, so don't toss it. it's also apparently lactose free! What?!?!?!) There you go, Greek Yogurt.

5. Want flavored yogurt? I've put frozen berries on the bottom of the empty jars between steps #5 & #6, and just continued as usual. The end product is a bit more runny, but absolutely delicious. Fresh fruit would also work. For flavored (as in vanilla) - add 1 tsp vanilla and 3 Tbs honey to the milk when it is coming to a boil (or however much you want depending on what flavor you're going for). The end product is not noticeably different from plain yogurt.

6. Need sour cream? Just use Greek Yogurt - seriously. No reason not to. None at all. And your heart thanks you, and so does your urinary tract.

Enjoy!!!!! And let me know if you come up with any other amazing yogurt recipes (or if my science lesson is off :) It's my summary of about 15 different recipes I looked at...

Blueberry Poppyseed Muffins

This recipe is an absolute favorite! My mom has been making this recipe for years, and her muffins still come out much better than mine - though I'm blaming it on the fact she lives in Kenya and therefore gets more pure ingredients in terms of butter, sugar, and flour (probably altitude, too)...well, that's what I'd like to think it is. She's really just got me beat on this one.

Nevertheless - here's the recipe, straight from her kitchen :) (except she usually uses strawberry yogurt instead of blueberry)

Poppyseed Muffins

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 c butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla 

1 cup yogurt (fruit of your choice - if you want Lemon Poppyseed Muffins, use lemon yogurt)

1/4 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbs poppyseeds

2 c flour 

Preheat the oven to 375F. 

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla and yogurt. 

(note: most recipes will tell you to combine your dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Curse you extra dishes! The only reason you are asked to do this in a standard baking recipe, where all the dry ingredients are added at once, is to make sure you don't get clumps of baking soda or salt in your finished product. To make 1 less dish, I pour my flour right on top of my wet ingredients and my baking soda, salt, etc right on top of the flour. I do a quick surface level stir of the dry ingredients while they are on top of the wet ingredients, and then mix it all together. I've never had a clump of distasteful salt in my baking). 

Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Grease a muffin tin and fill tins 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick/knife can be inserted into the middle of a muffin and come out clean - approx 15-20 minutes. 

Best served warm. 

The best thing about these muffins is they are an Everytime Food - great with dinner, awesome as breakfast, perfect as a snack. Love that.

** to make this recipe vegan, though I've never done it, you can apparently substitute flaxseed for eggs, oil for butter, and soy yogurt for dairy yogurt. If any of you try this - I'd love to know how it turns out!

Soy Sauce Chicken

Again - pictures to come later. So sorry!

This meal is an absolute favorite and is always a major hit with guests.

Soy Sauce Chicken 

Ingredients:
1 chicken, in pieces (if you want to buy a whole chicken and cut it up yourself - go for it! And don't forget to make Chicken Stock with the remaining bits of the carcass).

2 cups soy sauce (don't have a heart attack - you're not actually consuming 2 cups of soy sauce. That said - get a less dark soy sauce if you can) 

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil (the healthiest you can find) 

4 star anise seeds

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced 

Combine all ingredients expect the chicken in a large pot and stir well. Add the chicken, making sure the chicken is mostly covered by the sauce. If it isn't, try a smaller pot. If it's still not mostly covered, consider doing 1.5 times the recipe. Turn on the heat until the sauce comes to a boil. Caution: this sauce will boil over quickly, so keep an eye on this until it reaches a boil. 

Immediately reduce the heat to a simmer and allow to simmer until completely  cooked - usually approx 30 minutes.

To make sure your chicken is done, take the largest piece (usually the breast) and make a deep cut. If the meat is completely white, the chicken is done. Pink meat should be cooked a bit longer. It is fine (and actually good) if some juices still come out of the meat - this means your chicken is still moist! 

I recommend serving with brown or white rice, stirfried veggies of your choosing, and Poppyseed Muffins. 

Couple notes on this recipe: 

* The sauce is delicious poured over rice and stirfried veggies - be sure to fill a little creamer with some sauce and serve it alongside dinner. 

* The sauce also freezes marvelously and can be used in the future when repeating this recipe. As a bonus, all the oil and fat rises to the top once the sauce has chilled or frozen and can be easily scraped off - which is what I do. The sauce just gets healthier! 

* It may be easier to find Anise seeds instead of the Star Anise - in this case, substitute 2 tsp crushed anise seed for what is called for in this recipe. The link above gives more substitution options, as well. 

Enjoy!!

Week #3 Meal Plan

I made some pretty drastic re-arranges to last week's meal plan, and will probably do the same this week. So, instead of doing day by day, I'm just going to give you a list of the meals on the docket for the week and let you decide when you want to make them based on how each day goes. Cause, that's really what is sometimes more realistic. And the entire goal of this blog is to encourage and model attainable, yummy cooking.

The last couple weeks of new recipes has left me culinarily exhausted, so we're returning to some comfort foods this week. You'll see these A LOT over the next year.

With no further-ado, the meals for this week:

Chicken Divan
* A creamy chicken and broccoli casserole served over rice. This week, I'm trying to make my own sour cream and mayonnaise in order to make this Mid West comfort food a little more healthy.

Salad Night: Spinach Salad
* A bed of baby spinach topped with cranberries, walnut pieces, red onion, hardboiled egg and feta cheese served with a Pear Vinaigrette

Vegetarian Night: Enchilladas
* This week's version will be with homemade tortillas, homemade refried beans, homemade enchillada sauce, homemade salsa, and cheese (not homemade)

New York Style Hotdogs and Sweet Potato Fries
* Needing a comfort night - this should do the trick.

Taco Night
* This recipe will also use homemade tortillas, homemade refried beans, and homemade salsa. We'll do all the work of homemade tortillas and refried beans in one day (with probably an extra contingent to go in the freezer for upcoming weeks) and will subsequently save ourselves a lot of time in the future.


Note - I'm also going to start doing one big Ingredients List, and just * the items I have in my kitchen. My point in *ing the items in my kitchen is to illustrate how a well-stocked kitchen makes for less work when meal planning and grocery shopping. And to illustrate how many non-perishable items can be on hand in order to save you time when shopping. The cost is bigger up front, but as you go through items at different paces, you'll do fewer "big" grocery runs and more "weekly stock ups".

Ingredients List (sorted in order of above listed recipe)
1 lb chicken
1/2 - 1lb broccoli
cheddar cheese
* cream of chicken soup (if you have flour, butter, and chicken stock on hand - I'll do a recipe on making homemade cream of chicken soup)
sour cream (unless you also want to make your own)
mayonnaise (unless you also want to make your own)
lemon
* rice 
spinach
* cranberries
* walnuts
* feta cheese
* salad dressing of your choice
* flour
* salt
1 large can of canned whole tomatoes
1 bag dry kidney beans
lettuce
onion
*garlic
* homemade salsa/ingredients for homemade salsa
* taco seasoning
* ground beef
* chili powder
* hot dogs
buns
relish
ketchup 
If you want to make your own sour cream (I'm actually making Greek yogurt in lieu of sour cream):
* milk
* plain yogurt
If you want to make your own mayonnaise: 
* white vinegar
* egg
* oil
* salt
* salt
* pepper


There you have it, there you go - this week's grocery plan and list. We have fewer meals this week because I did a couple nights of make shift dinner last week (cereal one night, scrambled eggs another). We just moved to Seattle a few weeks ago, really, and sometimes settling in gets the best of me and dinner plans go out the window. Dinner plans will probably go out the window year round, but for this month - I have a very valid excuse.

Happy shopping!

ps - don't forget to get yourself a couple comfort items!

Potato Bacon Chowder

Chowder is relatively easy - take your favorite veggies, cook them til they are soft, add some milk, blend it all up and you have a chowder. Toss some saltine crackers on top or some seafood in the mix? You'll look like a pro.

The difference between cream of whatever vegetable soup and chowder is a little vague, and wikipedia was of no help. So, you can call this soup what you like - but Potato Bacon Chowder sounds yummy, and this was yummy. Enough said.

Potato Bacon Chowder 

4 cups potatoes, diced (peels left on) cooked or uncooked*
1 c chopped onion
2 Tbs butter (use oil to make vegan)
2 c Chicken Stock or milk (use veggie stock to make vegan)
(3-4 cups water if potatoes are uncooked)
6 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled like bacon bits (omit to make vegan)


In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and saute. If the potatoes are uncooked, add and stir for 1 minute. Add 3 cups water (possibly more) until potatoes are covered. Let simmer for 15 minutes, check periodically to make sure potatoes are still covered by water.

Add 2 cups Chicken stock or milk (milk will make for a creamier soup, and arguably make this more of a chowder). Using an immersion blender, blend your soup until it is creamy. Add the crumbled bacon. Serve immediately with warm bread.


Couple Notes:
* I used leftover potatoes (and incidentally a few carrots and bits of garlic) from the Roast Chicken with Root Veggies. I also had some leftover mashed potatoes from a bagel recipe (which I'll post soon) and some leftover baked potato and sweet potato from a meal a couple weeks ago that my kids just wouldn't eat. I had just tossed the leftovers into a ziploc bag and into the freezer. You'll find if you save bits of leftovers like these, you'll quickly come up with enough for a whole meal - no reason to throw away a whole meal just because it presents itself in pieces.

*  If you are making this vegan, add some salt and potentially some more veggies - carrots, garlic, sweet potato to give the soup some more flavor. The longer you saute them, the more flavor you'll have. Potatoes and veggie stock won't create the same result on their own. If you like veggie bacon, add that, too.

* If the soup is too thick, add some more liquid - milk, water, or chicken stock. If it's too thin, add some more raw veggies and let them cook. Blend again. I just don't recommend blending bacon - bacon is meant to be eaten in recognizable form.

Enjoy!

Roast Tomato & Red Pepper Risotto with Spicy Sausage

So, I did a terrible job posting this week - but we still ate. You can expect a flurry of retro-active posts in the next 24 hours.

I also decided to put up recipes right now, and add pictures when I make the recipe again. Anyone who has done a cooking blog knows the pictures are the most time-consuming part, and anyone who has read a cooking blog know the pictures are the most time-saving part. We'll meet in the middle - I'll give you pictures, but later. And going forward, I'll try and be better about taking pictures.

Here's one of my top favorite meals for the moment (and with a few changes, it can be a gluten-free vegan meal.):

Roast Tomato and Red Pepper Risotto with Spicy Sausage 

Ingredients:
2 c Risotto/Arborio Rice
2 Tbs butter
2-4 c Homemade Chicken Stock 
4 c Roast Tomato & Red Pepper Base
1/2 lb of your favorite sausage (spicy is recommended, though not required) (omit to make dish vegetarian. Omit butter, and instead use olive oil, to make the dish vegan)

In a skillet, cook the sausage. Set aside for later.

In a deep saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the risotto to the butter and stir continuously for 1-2 minutes.

Add 1 cup of the Tomato and Red Pepper Base. Stir continuously. When the sauce is absorbed by the rice, add 1 cup of the Chicken Stock. Again, stir continuously until all liquid is absorbed.

Repeat until the rice is done, alternating between 1 cup Tomato Base and 1 cup Chicken Stock. Add the sausage and let sit for 15 min before serving.


There you go - it really is that simple. A couple notes on Risotto:

* You may need more or less liquid than is called here, Risotto is a bit of an experiment in terms of exact ratios. The general principle is to add liquid 1 cup at a time until the Risotto is done. If you use less than what is called for here - no problem. If you need more than what is called for here, but have run out of Stock and Base, just use water or milk - still 1 cup at a time. Water will turn out a fairly similar product (unless you have to use 3cups or more) and milk will make a creamier, richer end product. 

* Yes, you do need to buy special rice to make risotto. Risotto grains are shorter and fatter, which makes for a fluffier and more moist finished produce. Regular rice cooked this way may turn out softer but will definitely not have the creamy texture risotto is known (and loved) for.  Look for Risotto Rice or Arborio. Most major grocery stores will have one or the other.

*  Risotto has such a nice texture because the liquid is added so gradually. I know it's tempting to dump all that liquid in at once and leave it. Don't. Stand there patiently at the stove, stirring almost constantly, and adding liquid 1 cup at a time. It is VERY worth the wait, and a cup of pre-dinner red wine makes it arguably enjoyable. Have toddlers? Now's the time for those precious 30 min of TV.

* Risotto is done when the rice is soft. If your sauce is opaque enough, you may be able to see the grains become more see-through instead of white. If your sauce is more thick, a simple taste should do the trick. In my opinion, the softer the better - no one likes a crunchy risotto.

* Risotto tastes better over time. It's great to let your Risotto sit for 15 min before serving to allow the flavors time to blend together. I use a stainless steel pot when making risotto, and put the covered pot in a pre-warmed over after the risotto is done (warmed, not hot). It's totally not necessary to let your risotto sit, but if you need to/can, it will taste even better. If it's a bit dried out, add a bit more liquid and stir - should do the trick.

* For a creamier version of this recipe, use milk in place of half the chicken stock.

* Yummy add-ons include fresh garlic, basil, or cream. 

* You can really add the cooked sausage to the risotto at any time, the earlier you add it, the stronger the sausage flavor will be. I think it's nice to let the spicy sausage be a complement to the Roast Tomato and Red Pepper flavor, not dominating the dish - but some of you sausage lovers may prefer more sausage flavor. Sausage away. 

Enjoy!

It's a flop!

A note to readers - this entry is meant to encourage those of you who think "I'm a terrible cook". Sometimes, so am I.

Sometimes great things happen in my kitchen. This weekend alone, the Greek Fruit and Nut Pastries were a hit, homemade bagels (using a new recipe) turned out stupendously, a homemade pizza night with friends solicited a "this is the best homemade pizza I've ever had" from a person who works at a pizza place, and my first attempt at homemade yogurt was gobbled up by the kids and hubby. All recipes of aforementioned yummies to follow.

However, dinner tonight was a flop. I mean, fat man in a Speedo from the high dive flop. 100% splat.

I'm including this recipe as a warning - don't ever make this. Ok, if you love blue cheese, then you might like this. But otherwise, don't do it.

The quote from the husband after dinner (when I offered him the salad I hadn't eaten - which was about half of it) "that's ok, I'm full. It was good though." me: "oh, ok, do you want it in your lunch tomorrow?" Hubs: "no, it wasn't that good. I mean, I wouldn't ever want to eat this salad again in this form. Maybe if you changed some of the ingredients." (in which case it wouldn't be the same salad). Point made. Not a repeat.

Here's the salad to make if you don't like your dinner guests and don't want them to ever ask to come over again:

Roast Pear and Blue Cheese Salad 

1 pear, sliced 

2 tsp honey

2 tsp olive oil 

1/2 tsp coriander (this should've been my warning sign - coriander and blue cheese?)

salt & pepper to taste

4 oz blue cheese, crumbled

3 oz assorted lettuce 

1/8 c walnut pieces

Preheat the oven to 450F. 

In a bowl, toss the sliced pear in the honey, olive oil, coriander, and salt and pepper. Pour on a baking sheet and bake until golden, approx 10 minutes.

While the pear is roasting, place the lettuce in salad bowls (or your serving mechanism of choice) and drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp lime juice. Add the walnut pieces and toss lightly. 

Remove the roast pears from the oven, distribute evenly over the salad, sprinkle the salad with blue cheese and any remaining juices from the roast pear pan (terrible descriptor - too tired to change it). Serve immediately. 

I mean, march your arse to the table immediately - cause that lettuce is gonna wilt faster than you can take a bite. On second thought, don't waste time walking to the table. Eat immediately. 

There you have it, there you go - the worst salad I've ever made. And yes, I based it on a recipe in a great cookbook. I'm not taking full credit for this terrible idea, the blame is shared. 

A special thanks to my husband for finishing his salad, and for waiting a polite hour before telling me he was still hungry and would like a bagel...I hope all cooks have as gracious an eater around when their cooking flops.

Here's to hoping tomorrow nights soup is much, much better than tonight's salad.

Roast Tomato & Red Pepper Base

I first started doing this little recipe when I wanted to make a soup, and it was a massive success. Potentially the yummiest invented thing to come from my kitchen yet. After the soup was such a success, I thought I'd experiment with what else this recipe was good for - risotto was a massive hit.

Within the next couple weeks, I'm sure we'll make the Roast Red Pepper and Tomato Soup, but for right now I just wanted to give you the base recipe since I'm using it this week to make a risotto.

Roast Red Pepper and Tomato Base 

2 Red peppers, de-seeded and quartered
5 lbs tomatoes, halved
1 bulb garlic, head shaved off (in other words, just cut a bit off the top of the entire bulb so you can see into some of the individual cloves)
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Spread the red peppers and tomatoes closely on a 9x13 cookie sheet with sides (alternatively, you could use a roasting pan or 9x13 baking dish- really anything that is oven proof and will hold about 1/2' deep of liquid). Drizzle with olive oil.

Drizzle the bulb of garlic with olive oil and wrap tightly in foil - make sure the garlic can't be seen, feel free to go a bit overboard on the foil wrapping here. Place the foil-wrapped bulb of garlic on the baking sheet with the peppers and tomatoes.

Place the baking sheet in the oven. Leave for 2hours approximately, or until tomatoes and red peppers have sufficiently roasted. You'll be able to tell because they'll be quite soft, shriveled, and maybe even a bit blackened on the edges (no problem!)

Remove from the oven and, if not using immediately, allow to cool.

Unwrap the garlic and squeeze the garlic from the shell into a deep bowl. The garlic should be a soft paste, and will have a very warm garlic smell without the bite often associated with fresh garlic.

Add the tomatoes, peppers, and any juice/oil remaining on the baking pan to the deep bowl. Use your immersion blender to blend the concoction to a smooth soup consistency. If you don't have an immersion blender - see my entry on Sweet Potato and Chili Soup if you're interested in my opinion on immersion blenders. In summary - worth a purchase.

Use immediately in any desired recipe or store in airtight containers in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

Sourdough Starter

Sourdough bread is delicious, and purportedly not too difficult to make. I've never actually done it, so you're getting invited in on the ground level of this project. I researched a few recipes, and here's what you'll need:

Sourdough Starter 

* 1 Tbs active dry yeast
* 2 c warm water (110-115F)
* 2 c wheat flour

Combine all ingredients in a non-metal/non-plastic bowl or container (large mason jar, ceramic bowl, etc). Mix well. Cover with a towel and put in a draft-free, not too cold place for 48 hours. Stir down occasionally (in other words, if it's working right, it'll puff up and you'll need to stir it to keep it from bubbling over to the counter).

There you go, you've started your starter. In 48 hours, seal it and move it to the fridge. We're using it in 48 hours for Sourdough Bread, and I'll post a recipe then with further instructions. Good job :)

Week #2 Meal Plan

Well, we made it through Week #1. Let's see how Week #2 goes. After a week of doing this, I have a few thoughts:
* this is going to save a lot of money. Total grocery bill for last week came to about $80. A little higher than my target goal, but there were quite a few things I bought last week in bulk and those items are going to be used next week. After doing my grocery shopping for this week, the total looks like it will be around $60 - though I'm sure a milk run will need to happen at some point.
* If you are cooking along with me - do it a week behind. It's just going to be easier as I sometimes change meal plans last minute, remember ingredients I forgot, or experience a terrible recipe that you won't want to waste your time repeating.


This weeks meal plan:

Sunday - Salad Night
* Pear and Blue Cheese Salad

Monday -
* Roast Tomato and Sausage Risotto (to do your prep in advance - up to 1 month in advance, read Roast Tomato & Red Pepper Base)

Tuesday - Soup Night
* Potato and Bacon Chowder
* Homemade Sourdough Bread (Starter should be made 2 days in advance)

Wednesday - Veggie Night
* Beans and Rice (leftovers from a couple weeks ago) 

Thursday night
* Soy Sauce Chicken, Blueberry Poppyseed Muffins, Carrots

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - no plan

Breakfasts
* Banana Bread
* Homemade Donuts
* Homemade yogurt and granola

Lunch
* leftovers
* mac n cheese (it's a weekly staple - my kids love it. It's easy. It's cheap. It's massively unhealthy. Love it.)
* mini pizzas with failed homemade pitas as the crust

Grab Bag
* homemade yogurt
* homemade donuts & banana bread
* crackers & hummus
* maybe, maybe homemade mozzarella or string cheese?


The grocery list:
[Key: *already have it in my kitchen]

Milk - 2 gallons
Butter - 4 cups
Bananas - 8
Blue Cheese
Garlic
Crackers
Onion
Pears - 3
Mixed lettuce

Pepperoni*
Chicken (can be whole or already cut)*
Bacon*
Sausage*
Yogurt - natural *
Eggs*
Cheese*
Carrots*
Potatoes* - I'm using the leftovers from the Roast Chicken
Tomatoes*
Soy Sauce*
Sugar*
Ginger*
Star Aniseseed*
Flour*
Baking soda*
Poppyseeds*
Sugar*
Honey*
Olive Oil *
Whole Wheat Flour*
Yeast*
Flaxseed*
Oat bran*
Pizza Sauce*
Cinnamon*
Baking soda*
Baking powder* 

I think that's it - though I often go back through and realize I've forgotten something on this list; another reason to do this a week behind.

Last night we did homemade pizza night, I'll post a recipe soon, but for now I'm just going to refer you to this amazing no rise pizza dough recipe. The listed recipe is for a 12" pizza, so to make 4 large pizzas last night I made 6x the recipe, and actually used part wheat flour to give it a bit more character and nutritious value. I haven't tried it yet, but this dough should freeze fairly well - maybe we'll try that next week.

Anyway - hope you're looking forward to the meals of the week! I know I am.

If you're going to do this week in full, you'll need to go ahead and make your sour dough starter for your soup Tuesday night. It needs about 48 hours to sit. It takes about 5 minutes to make your starter, so there's no real cooking required today but do make sure you make the starter today if you want to have sourdough bread with soup on Tuesday.

Chicken Tikka and Homemade Pitas

I did it again - I changed the meal plan. A quick glance in the freezer revealed there wasn't as much leftover pasta and sauce I thought there was - so the hubby got it in his lunch for today and I came up with a quick plan B: Chicken Tikka and Homemade Pita Bread.

Part of being a great cook is knowing what ingredients you have on hand to make a last minute meal. Meal planning is ideal, and that's the goal of this whole Year of Cooking - but sometimes life happens and the plan goes out the window. On these nights, bad day back-ups are a good idea, as is take out. But if you're not up for either, being familiar with your kitchen and pantry will make all the difference in the world.

So, here's the skinny on tonight's dinner.

I was going to use a pita recipe from a cookbook, til I read it through and realized it was terrible - water to flour ratios were all wrong, the pitas were fried instead of baked - yuck, yuck, yuck. (I mean, maybe yum on some level, but not what I was looking for). Unfortunately, I read the recipe after I'd started the yeast. So, I decided it was time to do my first experimental baking project. The result? 25% absolute success - 2 out of the 8 pitas turned out perfectly, and the others are good. My conclusion - I have a great recipe and just need to tweak a couple details (which I include in the recipe below).

Homemade Pitas

1 1/2 c warm water (approx 110F)
1 Tbs active dry yeast
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs olive oil
3 cup flour (any combination of white and whole wheat - I did 2 white, 1 whole wheat. The more whole wheat you do, the heavier the pitas will be.)
1 Tbs salt


Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl. See my entry on Bagels if you have questions about how to active yeast. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast activates.

Add the oil, flour, and salt - mix well. You'll probably want to use your hands, pita is a bread after all. Your result should be a soft, not-too-sticky dough. If your dough is too dry, add extra water (1tsp at a time). If your dough is too sticky, add flour - a little bit at a time. Once your dough has reached the described consistency, divide it into 8 equal pieces.

Set the pieces on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Cover with a tea towel and let sit for 1 hour in a warm place.

Preheat the oven to 450F. If you have a baking stone, now is the time to use it. If you don't - it's worth investing in if you want to do much bread or pizza making. Just as with stainless steel pots and pans, buy your baking stone from a restaurant depot store near you - much cheaper. Place the baking stone in the oven near the center of the oven. If you aren't using a baking stone, just use a cookie sheet.

On a well-floured surface, roll out each pita to approx 7" diameter. Do not stack, as they will rise a little bit more while you roll out the rest.

Once your oven is warmed, place the pitas in the oven 2-3 at a time (more or less depending on the size of your baking stone) for approx 3 minutes. The pitas should each get massive air bubbles inside of them - like turn into one giant air bubble. If it's been longer than 4 minutes, your pita probably isn't going to puff - congratulations, you have a mini pizza crust ready for another time. As soon as your pita puffs all the way up, it'll sigh (literally looks like it's sighing) and then it's ready to come out of the oven.

Remove the pita, place on a plate, and cover with a cloth. Repeat with your remaining pitas. Clarification for the clueless cook - you can stack all the pitas on top of each other on the same plate.

Viola - your pitas are finished! Serve warm or let cool to use at a later time.

Chicken Tikka

This is essentially the same recipe we did the other night when we made Chicken Tikka Masala - except I left out the lime (because I was out) and we aren't going to do the Masala part. So, follow the Chicken Tikka recipe only.

I'm using the left over chicken from the Roast Chicken on Sunday night, and mixed it up earlier this afternoon so the flavors could blend nicely.

I'll be serving it with lettuce and a yogurt sauce made from natural yogurt, chopped fresh tomatoes, and a pinch of cumin.

There you have it, there you! Quick fix dinner - and it should be delicious!

Sweet Potato & Chilies Soup

Soup night of week #1. I chose Sweet Potato soup since I knew I would have extra sweet potatoes after Roast Root Veggie Salad night.

After eating it, I would rate it as a good soup - but not a great one. We'll make it again later this winter, but I think I may try it with roast walnuts and nutmeg instead of chilies. With that said, this is a good soup recipe, and definitely has a unique, sweet & spicy flavor. Definitely worth a try.

Sweet Potato & Chilies Soup 

1/2 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (more or less depending on desired spiciness)
1 tsp paprika
5 cups sweet potatoes, diced
4 cups chicken stock
* alternatively, you could use vegetable stock to make this a vegetarian meal

In a soup pot, saute the onion, garlic, red pepper, and paprika until slowly browned. Add the diced sweet potato and saute until slightly browned. In my opinion, the longer you let the sweet potatoes saute, the nicer flavor you'll have. Think sweet potato fries turned into soup - um, yummy.

When the sweet potatoes are nicely browned (or whenever you want, really) add the 4 cups stock. Reduce heat to low and allow soup to simmer for approx 20 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are soft. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup to a creamy consistency.  Alternatively, if you don't have an immersion blender - turn off the soup, get in your car, and go buy one. Come home, turn the soup back on, use your new immersion blender. Stand in wonder at the fact you ever made homemade soup without an immersion blender.

Ok, in all seriousness - making creamy soups without an immersion blender is possible, but definitely more laborious and messy. However, if you don't have an immersion blender or don't want one, just transfer the soup to the blender in batches, blend, and then return to the stove once it's all blended.

Once your soup is blended, in whatever way you chose to blend - it is ready to serve. It's delicious with warm bread, sourdough would be amazing.

There you go - pretty easy. Also a great recipe for a quick meal at home.

Make ahead tips:
* do all your chopping anytime within 24 hours before you make the soup, put the sweet potatoes in water if you are chopping them more than an hour before use.

Let me know what you think, and I'll let you know when we do it again with roasted walnuts and nutmeg! I think it'll be like Christmas in a bowl...

Chicken Stock

This post should have gone up yesterday, but here it is today. I guarantee making your own chicken stock will have multiple benefits:
- you'll save lots of money
- your chicken stock will taste better
- your cooking options will expand
- your guests will be impressed
- you'll feel satisfied knowing you didn't let anything go to waste

Now, remember that Roast Chicken from earlier in the week? Time to use it (and really you should do this step within 24 hours of making the Roast Chicken.) Take the leftover chicken and remove as much meat from the bones as you possibly can. Depending on how many people you fed/how much you ate when you first made the Roast Chicken, you will get anywhere between 1-4 cups of chicken.

Put the chicken in a sealed container in a cold part of the fridge, we're using it in a couple nights for Indian Food - Chicken Tikka Masala, to be exact. If you have more chicken leftover than what is called for in that dinner, put it in a ziplock bag and place it in the freezer. We'll use it within the next couple weeks.

Now, all the non-meat bits of the chicken? Yes ALL of them - toss them in a pot. If your Roast Chicken turned out the same way mine did, you should have several cups of broth left in the bottom of your stock pot. Add the non-meat chicken bits to that broth. You can literally add everything - the bones, any innards, any skin, any leftover garlic/carrots/potatoes clinging to the chicken. Add approximately 8 cups of water and place on the stove on medium heat, once it reaches a bowl, reduce heat to low and let stock simmer for about an hour.

Turn off the stove and let the stock cool to room temperature. Pour the stock into containers with tight sealing lids (preferably glass - being sure to leave an inch or two at the top for expansion, otherwise your jars will explode in the freezer. Bummer) and place in the freezer. I find it useful to freeze the stock in jars of various sizes so I can thaw an appropriate amount for the right recipe. Canning jars work incredibly well, as do any glass jars. I also sometimes use washed out juice cartons (plastic ones) to store a larger quantity of stock.

From this chicken, I pulled enough chicken for 3 meals and made 12 cups of stock.

Now that is a well used $6 chicken.

As a side note - feel free to add any other veggies or seasoning to your stock. Popular options include celery (or celery leaves), carrots, onions, garlic, salt, and/or pepper. Have fun!