Pasty/Pot Pie

Generally, I'm not a big fan of pot pie/chicken ala king. Mainly, I don't like gravy, or my veggies and mashed potatoes mixed together. But, a pasty, a dense gravy-free version of the pot pie, is wonderful! This was another "What's in the pantry" meal. I had a left over frozen pie crust from Angel Strata, and then a left over packaged pie crust from an apple pie. It would be just as easy to make your own pie crust for this, also.

While this is not very fancy or unique, it was very easy and very good. I like the idea of baking meats and veggies together into a pie. It's so comforting. The only problem was that the potatoes I cut up didn't all cook through. I might boil them for a few minutes before adding them to the veggie/chicken mix next time. Greg loved this as well, and had two servings before work. He said he was so full that he almost forgot to bring dinner with him for the night.

And, I must let you know that I won't be making another post until after Thanksgiving. Greg has ventured to Michigan and taken the camera with! Have a great holiday everyone!

Recipe: Serves 6 - 8

2 pie crusts/double batch
pie pan
1 C. frozen veggie mix
2 chicken breats, cut into bite size pieces
2 small red potatoes/new potatoes. Cut into 1/2 -1 inch pieces and boil for about 5 minutes
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbs grated parmesan cheese
sea salt

-Prepare pie crust

-Cut and cook potatoes

-Cut chicken into bite size pieces

-Combine veggies, chicken, potatoes, olive oil, parmesan, sea salt and spices

-Pour into pie crust, cover with second crust and put slices in the top. Brush with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt

-Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour at 375 degrees

-Enjoy!!!

Stir Fry

I like to call this "poor man's stir fry", since all I only had broccoli and carrots in the fridge. But, it turned out really well. Both of these veggies are strong enough to hold up well through the cooking process, and their flavor blends well with the soy sauce. This was a good quick cold weather meal. I'm made versions of this before, and will probably keep making versions of this in the future.

Recipe: Serves 2-3

2 carrots, washed and julienne cut
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 inch fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves of garlic, grated
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 C. cooked brown rice (I had instant on hand).

-Start cooking your rice as package/bag directs

-Cut all veggies. Combine broccoli and carrots.

-Heat olive oil, soy sauce and brown sugar over medium high heat in a large skillet

-Add onion, garlic and ginger and red pepper flakes. Saute until onions are tender, stir often to not burn the garlic.

-Add the carrots and broccoli. Continue to stir fry for about 10 minutes until the veggies are cooked. Serve warm over rice.

-Enjoy!!!

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

I've had a few versions of Roasted Red Pepper Soup. This is not my favorite. I prefer my soups to be a bit hearty. As a starter or early course, this would be a wonderful soup. When Greg and I were picking food for our wedding reception, one of the catering suggestions was a Roasted Red Pepper Soup with a Bri soup added in. I think that would make this a bit heavier, and add just enough extra "something" to make this really pop.

When I first ate this, I had a bit of White Bean dip left over. I spread mine over an unbaked whole wheat pita half. It was delicious! I added more cumin and red pepper flakes to this batch of dip, and it was the best yet.

I'm not sure if I'll make this particular soup again, but I will make some version of it.

Recipe: Serves 6

3 red bell peppers, seeded, sliced
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 inch fresh garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 1/2 onion, chopped
4 C. water or broth of choice (I used chicken)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

-Coat bell pepper slices with extra virgin olive oil & salt and pepper. Broil for about 5 minutes.

-Heat extra virgin olive oil in a stock pot. Add onion, carrot, garlic, & ginger. Cook until onions are tender. 5-10 minutes.

-Add the bell pepper slices. Add the liquid. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

-Once cooked, puree in batches if you are using a traditional blender. I prefer my stick blender!

-Drain through mesh if you want this to be very smooth

-Serve warm & with a bit of shredded/grated cheese

-Enjoy!!!

French Lentil Soup

We've had another "fall" like day (but tomorrow should be 81). I made this soup up last night with the plan of eating left overs today and tomorrow. When I first had a bowl, it was OK, but after sitting overnight all of the flavors came out, and it was quiet good! I also made some frocacia bread, from my Cafe Paradiso cook book (thanks Rebecca!) to go along with.

I found the recipie on epicurious. Many of the reviews stated that the soup was bland, until they added lots of seasoning. That's my cue to play with the recipe as much as possible! Okay, well I really didn't change too much. I doubled the amount of onion to be cooked down, and added thyme, rosemary, oregano, a bay leaf and basil. Herbs de Provence would make a very nice substitute as well.

For our next day meal, we noticed that all of the liquid had been absorbed by the lentils, making this more of a mush. It still had a nice texture, and would go over rice or in a pita really well. We also thought that this tasted very much like a beef stew that my paternal Grandmother makes, adoringly called "Grandma's Stew". Her stew also contains parsnips, which I plan on putting in the next time I make this. Also, I think that cubed beef, venison, or bison would make a great addition for all of the omnivores out there.

All in all, we are pleased with this soup/stew/mush. Like the Pumpkin Pasta, it might not look that great, but it tastes wonderful and is very satisfying.

Recipe:

1 1/4 C. dry lentils
4 C. chicken broth
1 C. chopped carrots
2 C. chopped celery
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
15 oz can diced tomatoes, plain
4-5 gloves garlic, smashed
2 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil

-Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat with garlic and seasonings
-Add chopped veggies, stir to coat. Cover and let cook until the onions are transparent, about 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
-Add tomato, lentils and chicken broth, bring to a boil
-Cover and bring down to a simmer. Simmer until lentils are cooked, 35-45 minutes
-Remove bay leaf
-Blend part of the soup with a stick blender or a traditional blender/food processor. If using a traditional method, return blended soup to the stock pot and stir to combine.
-Serve warm, plain or over rice.
-Enjoy!!!

Gazpacho

This past week has been super hot. Each day has been in the mid to high 80's or low 90's, and only getting down to the 70's at night. It's hard for me to want to eat and cook (or anything else) when it is that hot. I know it will only stay this way or get worse, so I figured we needed to start acclimating, and that gazpacho would help!

My Mom used to make gazpacho in the end of the summer when we realized that there were way to many tomatoes and cucumbers for us to put on salads or sandwiches. I remember taking a large yogurt container full of this cool raw soup to football practice/training in August, and that it was always super refreshing.

Since we don't have a garden, Greg and I ventured out to the local farmers market this morning to gather our bounty. I figured that there would be a noticeable difference between store bought tomatoes and the farmers market ones, but I had no idea just how much better they would be! There was so much meat on these baseball and larger sized tom's that you could have easily eaten one like an apple! They were just wonderful!

Staying to form, I browsed as many gazpacho recipes that I could find, and saw that there are really only three main ingredients: tomato, garlic, and bread. Yes, bread; I don't remember my Mom putting any in hers, but every other recipe calls for bread! Other common ingredients included: cucumber, bell pepper, cumin and paprika. Celery, jicama, and jalapeños were listed on several recipes, but I don't like that the celery flavor overpowers other more subtle flavors, so I opted to not use any. My end result is really not so much a true recipe, but a "technique" as my Mom would say.

The end result was pretty good. I like that the bread adds texture and substance to the soup, without changing any flavors. Next time I would put more cucumber and less Worcester sauce, but try to keep everything else about the same.

Recipe:

2 pieces of bread
5lbs of tomatoes
1 large cucumber
1 red bell pepper
3 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 C. of tomato juice (I'm sure V- 8 would also work fine!)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp Worcester sauce (I recommend using less, though)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

- Chop up half of the tomatoes, cucumber, and bell pepper. Keep skins, juices and seeds. Place into a large pot. Thinly slice the garlic and add to the vegetables. Tear apart both pieces of bread and add to the vegetables. Add the tomato juice, paprika, cumin, Worcester sauce, salt and black pepper. Blend this mix until it has formed a smooth puree.

-Finely chop the remaining vegetables. Add to the puree. Chill and serve cold. Stirring a spoon full of sour cream through the soup is also a delicious garnish.

-Enjoy!!!