Chicken Asparagus Soup

I give up. I don't even remember what I've made the past two weeks. I was hoping to be able to jot down these recipes and experiences for my children someday, but it's just not happening. And I'm not going to take any more photos until my new lens arrives because taking pictures in my house of bad lighting is worthless. I'm such a bad blogger. At least I'm making dinner every night! Anyway, I know this is another soup recipe with asparagus, but this one is a million, zillion times better. Plus asparagus is really cheap right now.

Chicken Asparagus Soup
courtesy of Taste of Home

2 lbs thin fresh asparagus
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper, divided
1 bay leaf
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 cups half-and-half cream
shaved Parmesan cheese, optional

Cut tips from asparagus spears; set aside. Place stalks in a large skillet; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Strain, reserving 4 cups cooking liquid. Discard stalks.
In a Dutch oven, saute the potatoes, onion, celery, carrot, parsley and garlic in oil until vegetables are tender. Stir in the broth, salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, bay leaf and reserved cooking liquid. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Cool slightly.
In a blender, cover and puree soup in batches until smooth (I just use an immersion blender). Return to the pan. Add the chicken, cream, remaining pepper and reserved asparagus tips. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired. 10 servings.

Green Chile Stew

So I had a request for Green Chile Stew, and since I wasn't particularly thrilled with any of the recipes I found, I made up my own recipe!  I liked it, I liked it a lot!!



Green Chile Stew
Recipe by Kathee


Ingredients:

3 lb. pork roast
2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chiles
5 cups chicken broth
2 (10 3/4 oz.) cans cream of chicken soup
1 (14.5 oz.) can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place pork roast in slow cooker with 1 cup of chicken broth and cook on medium high for 6 hours.  After 6 hours shred roast and add remaining ingredients to slow cooker.  Cook for two more hours in slow cooker.  If necessary, make a roux with some of the liquid and some flour to thicken the stew.

I loved this.  I made rice and black beans to serve with it, and put the rice and beans in the bottom of my bowl, then ladled on the stew.  I think next time I will add potatoes and carrots.  So good!!!

Barbecue Beef

This is really, really good!  I love an easy slow cooker meal!


Barbecue Beef


Ingredients:

1 3-4 lb. cross rib roast
1 can Coke (or Pepsi)
1 tsp. garlic
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup Coke (or Pepsi)


Directions:

Place roast in slow cooker.  Pour 1 can of Coke on roast.  Cook on low for 5 to 7 hours.  After meat has cooked put it in a bowl and use two forks to shred meat.  Drain the coke and fat out of the slow cooker.  Mix the  garlic, ketchup, brown sugar, barbecue sauce and 1/4 cup of coke and add along with the shredded beef to the slow cooker.  Cook for another 1 to 2 hours.

Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder

I love the flavor of this soup, it's spicy, smokey and cheesy - a perfect combination!!!



Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder


Ingredients:
5 bacon slices, chopped
2 tbsp. butter
1 med. onion, chopped (of course I omitted this)
2-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 cup chopped red or orange bell peppers
3-4 tbsp. flour
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 1/2 cups russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme (or 2 tsp. dried)
1 16oz. bag frozen corn
2 cups half and half or cream
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (plus more for garnish)
1 or 2 4 oz. cans chopped green chile's
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1/2 cup green onions (do I even need to say I skipped this?)(plus more for garnish)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (plus more for garnish)(obviously I didn't garnish the soup in the picture, I was too hungry to waste time on prettying it up)

Directions:

Cook bacon in a large pot over medium high heat until crisp.  Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain and cool; crumble and reserve for garnish.  Pour off all but 1/4 cup drippings from the pot. (Save those drippings for your refried or black beans for another day!!!!)  Add butter to pot and melt over medium high heat.  Add onions, garlic, chicken and bell peppers; saute until onions are soft and chicken is golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Add flour; stir and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.
Whisk in broth, then add potatoes, cumin, and thyme; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered until potatoes are somewhat tender, about 8 minutes.
Add corn, half and half, cheese, green chile's, and Tabasco; simmer until corn is tender, about 8 minutes more.  Add green onions and cilantro; simmer for 5 more minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.
Garnish with bacon, cheese, green onions and cilantro.

Spinach and Bacon Frittata

I made one of my most favorite dinners last night and it was so gratifying to see my kids gobble it down.  Okay, let me be honest, it was really so very gratifying because I am such a sick woman.  You see, this frittata's main ingredient?  RICOTTA.  Ha ha ha ha ha!!!  They ate it and had seconds!!  I could hardly look any of them in the eye because I was trying so hard not to laugh.  This will be our little secret, ok?

The only problem with this meal is the bacon.  Don't get me wrong, I love bacon.  Bacon holds a place of honor and prestige in my home.  But I had intended to omit the bacon so I could make a Meatless Monday meal.  When I started cooking and even just read on the ingredient list the word bacon, I knew there was no way in heck I was going to omit it.  Bacon has that strong of a pull on me.


Spinach and Bacon Frittata
Recipe from Everyday Food Magazine


Ingredients:

6 large eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
coarse salt and ground pepper
5 strips bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 boiled potatoes
spinach leaves

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, ricotta, Parmesan, 1 tsp. salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a medium nonstick ovenproof skillet, cook bacon over medium high head until crisp. Drain all but 1 tsp. of fat from pan. Add potatoes and cook until warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes. Add spinach and toss until barely wilted, about 30 seconds.
Add egg mixture and stir until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until center is set, about 15 minutes (20 for me.)

Here's what I do sometimes to make it faster; I use the real bacon bits things instead of frying bacon, just a tablespoon or so and I use about a cup of frozen hash browns instead of the potatoes. It's all about convenience and time savings. This takes about 5 minutes to put together and 20 in the oven, so it's a really quick meal. AND DELICIOUS!!!  AND IT HAS RICOTTA!!!  AND BACON!!!

Rice Balls with Meat Sauce

I've been told that I've taken my rice obsession too far with this recipe.  Deep fried, cheese filled rice balls?  Yes, please, sir, may I have some more??!!

I loved this so much, but I didn't follow the recipe exactly.  For instance, if I had added the artichoke hearts, the kids would have fainted.  If I had added the peas, the kids would have woke up from their faint and run screaming from the dinner table.  If I had added the mushrooms, flat out mutiny would have occurred and I'm sure flying rice balls would have been involved.


Rice Balls with Meat Sauce
Recipe from Taste of Home


Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, finely chopped (since I HATE onions, I used about 1 tsp. of onion so finely minced it is nearly non existent, more like onion juice I guess)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (15 oz. each) tomato sauce
1 can (14 oz.) water packed artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 jar (4 1/2 oz.) sliced mushrooms, drained
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. pepper
CHEESE STUFFED RICE BALLS:
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups cooked rice
1/3 cup butter, melted
2/3 Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into 3/8 inch cubes  (3/8 in.??  really???)
1 cup dry bread crumbs
oil for frying


Directions:

In a large saucepan, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Stir in the next nine ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  In a bowl, lightly beat 2 eggs.  Stir in the rice, butter, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.  Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls.  Press a mozzarella cube into each; reshape balls.
In a small bowl, lightly beat remaining egg.  Dip each ball into egg, then roll in bread crumbs.  In a deep fryer or skillet, heat oil to 375 degrees.  Fry rice balls until golden brown, about 4 minutes.  Drain on paper towels.  Discard bay leaves from meat sauce; serve with rice balls.

Chicken Smothered With Love and Vanilla Cupcakes

For Valentine's Day I made my love his favorite meal, Chicken Smothered With Love. It's oh, so good. I made mashed potatoes, broccoli, rolls, and chocolate covered strawberries on the side. I made Shirley Temples and vanilla cupcakes, too. We were stuffed. I love to feed my family.

Chicken Smothered with Love

Boneless skinless chicken breasts (4), salted and peppered
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 cup Flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 onion sliced
1 1/2 cup hot chicken stock pinch of red pepper flakes

Season chicken with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika...then dredge in flour. Heat oil and butter in skillet add chicken and brown all sides...then remove and set aside. Add onion to skillet and sauté until translucent and beginning to brown. Return chicken to skillet; add hot chicken stock just up to the side of the chicken and add red pepper flakes.Bring to a boil... lower heat to simmer, cover and cook 30-40 minutes until gravy thickens.

Vanilla Cupcakes

From Bake and Shake, Adapted from Amy Sedaris' recipe

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups vanilla sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups All Purpose flour, Dip-And-Sweep method
1 1/4 cups milk, pref. 2% or above, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Whisk or sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy and light yellow, 45 seconds to a minute.

Add eggs, one by one, mixing to combine. If mixture looks slightly curdled, don't worry -- it should come together once you add the flour, or tears of failure. But this can be avoided by making sure your eggs are room temperature. I like to rinse a ceramic bowl out with hot tap water, dry, and set the eggs inside that. They come to temperature easily.

Add Vanilla, and then alternate flour mixture and milk, beating after each addition. I like to begin and end with the flour. Mix on low speed until batter is lump-free and almost glossy looking. It should be silky. Using an ice cream scoop or similar, scoop or spoon batter into a muffin tin lined with paper or foil baking cups -- if you're not lining, use a little vegetable oil or butter and flour your tin. This recipe will easily give you 16-24 cupcakes, depending on how high you fill them.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, checking after cupcakes have risen and begun to turn golden around the edges. When they're done, they'll be dry on top, slightly golden around the edges and a skewer inserted in the middle will come out dry. Allow to cool for three minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack. Frost and eat, or display for three days, swearing each time a hand nears them.

Vanilla Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 ounce softened cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar, as needed (2-4 cups, depending)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Food coloring, if desired

In a large bowl, whip the butter and cream cheese together until completely smooth. Add in sugar, cup by cup, until desired consistency/sweetness level is reached. Divide into smaller bowls and color, if you want. Swirl generously on top of fully cooled cupcakes, and decorate as desired. (I double the frosting).