An Exchange in Health & Nutrition

Willa with her mother Grace 

I had the opportunity to meet and exchange time with Willa Lefever from Sonnewald Natural Foods to talk about my health and nutrition, what was only going to be an hour turned into three. Even though I have been to the store a few times, I didn't really meet Willa until I attended our local time bank meeting. I had a great afternoon listening to her thoughts on helping my body heal, as well as learning a little more about her. Then I proceeded to help her try to understand and learn the banking software. Willa isn't a certified nutritionist but has grown up around natural foods and natural wellness, she did pass on information for a former employee who is, if I feel the need for a more in depth meeting. 

Before our meeting I kept a food journal as well as filled out a questionnaire  these were given to her in advance so she new some of the habits and history before hand. It went beyond food and into my lifestyle, am I living my passion, stress factors, etc. The top three biggest factors, that Willa came up with, were not working within my passion, stress and my water intake. I know I don't drink enough water, I'm not sure why, I guess I just don't think about it, until my lips are dry and my head hurts, I love water. 

That being said, number one is I need to drink half my weight (in oz.) of water, which comes to around 80 oz. a day. Right now my goal is to drink closer to 64 oz. trying to drink 32 oz. before lunch and another 32 oz. after lunch. One trick she mentioned was adding about two tablespoons of chia seeds to one quart of water, the chia will act as little sponges and help some of the water be absorbed into your body opposed to just flushing through. Plus they will add extra fiber and nutrients. 

Number two, she wants to to do some sort of stress relieving activity. Anything. Start exercising, yoga, painting, anything that will help ME reduce my stress levels. I haven't been very active as of late, I also haven't had the opportunities to paint or draw, I will just need to find some time to squeeze in something. (Does this count? I think the time I'm blogging is usually stress free, for the most part.)

And three, the first thing she said when I met with her wasn't hi, hello or how are you...it was oh honey we need to get you doing something you are passionate about. I just smiled. I know my job isn't my passion (as does anyone who knows me) but there are restrictions and obligations that can't be ignored. Depending on who you talk to those things may not matter. But, I recently took a position as the Training Coordinator for the Special Olympics York County and will also have an opportunity to help with a new program that will offer art classes to athletes. My hope is this will help with balancing my work and passion. 

With those being her top three that I need to work on, we then talked food. Until I'm healed, she suggested no dairy and possibly trying a grain free or Paleo diet. She also suggested no coffee or refined sugars. And absolutely no GMOs, or at least as little as possible. (Which I completely agree with.)

Some of her suggestions: 

• Use local raw honey instead of the refined sugars
• Use Dandy Blend or other teas instead of coffee (it's the acidity of the coffee that is harmful)
• Once healed eat only raw grass feed cheeses, if my body tolerates them
• Vegetables! Lots and lots of COOKED vegetables! (Juiced is okay)

She also suggested a few supplements, I already take medication regularly for my UC but she explained how that helps with the symptoms and keeping it at bay or in remission but it doesn't really heal the damage that has already been done to my colon. So, what she has suggested is to help heal the damage.

Supplement suggestions (from most recommended to least):

• Probiotics
• Vitamin D3 (which I already take since I am aware I am very deficient) 
• Fish Oil
• Aloe Vera (George's)
• Minerals & Trace Minerals (I'm consistently craving salt)

She also told me about Intestinew by Renew Life, it is made specifically for UC. I may need to look into it, I would prefer natural over synthetic any day. 

I would recommend checking out Sonnewalds website, there is all kinds of helpful resources on there. Her famous Restoring Life Soup is also on the website, it is a healing soup that is easy on digestion and very nutritious, made using veggie purée and bone broth.

I hope to post a follow up in a few weeks, I have started taking probiotics in addition to my D3 and regular medication. I hope to get fish oil soon, and possibly try the Aloe Vera (I have alway heard good things about it). I have been pretty good with water so far, I carry my Nalgene bottle with me everywhere. I haven't changed my diet too much as of yet, I plan on changing something's up shortly. I just need to come up with a few lists and do some planning.

I would love to hear from you:

Have you ever taken any of these supplements to aid in your UC or maybe just to aid in digestion?  

Do you think Paleo is worth it?

Sweet Potato Soup: Perfect for a rainy day

It's fall! Yay! The air is crisp and cool and it's the start of super comforting foods! Plus, I don't know about where you are, but here it is raining...and raining and frankly a perfect soup day.

I had lots of help with this soup, I had the pleasure to watch our friends four kids. I don't know about you but when I have a house of kids I put them to work! Okay, not really, they were excited to help. The older two even helped me paint the deck earlier this summer.

Anyway, I had five kids and was planning on making a soup so when I asked if anyone would be interested in helping all of them said yes. I separated the tasks, most of which involved chopping and put them to work. (And don't worry, I watched them all carefully.)

Coming up with soups can be fun, I had a ginormous sweet potato so it was an easy decision to make that the primary ingredient. Everything else just can through tasting.

Sweet Potato Soup

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

3 medium russet potatoes, cubed

3 medium carrots (about 1-1/2 cups), chopped

1 medium onion, diced

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 large garlic clove (or 3 normal size), peeled and minced

2 tbsp. fresh thyme

2 tbsp. curry powder
1 tbsp. turmeric powder

1 tsp. cumin powder

1 jalapeño, minced

8 cups water

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: sour cream and sriracha 

Melt butter in a large stock pot, add chopped carrots, onion and celery, sprinkle a little salt over the veggies and sauté for about five minutes, cover until veggies are soft. Add garlic, thyme and jalapeño. Stir.

Add water and potatoes. Bring to a simmer and add the remaining spices. Continue to simmer until potatoes are fork tender. Using a blender or using an emulsion blender, blend half the soup. (Blending adds a creamy texture to the soup.) Stir soup and adjust seasoning to your taste. Pour into a bowl and garnish with sour cream and sriracha.

Hopefully you enjoy this as much as I did, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Thai {inspired} Coconut Soup

A few months back we had a girls night that started with dinner at Veit Thai, then of course followed by drinks. Ever since, I keep thinking of Thai and the spicy, sweet combinations.  Then at one of our local time bank* meetings, my friend fed me shared with me more of those wonderful spiciness. So here I am trying to come up with a dish that can satisfy the craving.

And if you are reading this Grace, we need to go back! 

So here is my take on a Thai inspired Coconut Soup, with sweet potatoes and mushrooms.

1 sweet potato
1 small eggplant
8-10 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 qt Vegetable Broth
1 can Coconut Milk
2 jalapenos, minced
1 stalk of lemongrass, sliced thin
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 green onion, sliced
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 cup cilantro, chopped
Sriracha to taste

Chop the sweet potato, eggplant and slice mushrooms, add to stock pot. Cook just to soften in about 1 tbsp each coconut oil and olive oil. Once soft, add the broth and milk. Bring to a simmer.

Add all remaining ingredients, up to the cilantro. Let simmer. Add the cilantro and add sriracha to taste. 

Eat it alone, or serve over rice or rice noodles.

*I am part of our local time bank, York County Time Bank. We currently have close to 70 active members and growing. We are a new bank, but if you are local and interested you should check it out! Or if you are interested in finding out more information or to see if there is a time bank in your community you can check it out here at hOurworld or at TimeBanks USA.

{Recipe shared on Easy Green Mama, Gluten Free Linky for August 27, 2013}

Chicken Vegetable and Rice Soup

Right now is seems that everyone is feeling a little under the weather. One is finally getting over it, one in the heart of it and one starting to feel it. Luckily whatever we seem to have in the house is more on the lines of a cold then the flu (knock on wood). I was originally going to make chicken and dumplings but instead decided on chicken, vegetable and rice soup.

Chicken, Vegetable and Rice Soup

2 chicken breasts
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
3 celery stalks
2-3 carrots
1 small to medium zucchini
5 mushrooms (about 1/2 cup chopped)
6 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 tsp dried tarragon
2 bay leafs
1 cup brown rice
Salt and pepper

In a Dutch oven, cook the chicken in a little olive oil. While the chicken is cooking, chop all the veggies. When the chicken is almost finished cooking, add the onions. Cook until translucent. Add in the garlic and celery, cook until the celery is just starting to get soft. Remove the chicken, set aside, and add the carrots. Cook carrot until they start to get tender. Add the zucchini and mushrooms. Stir to coat. Add broth and herbs, bring to a boil then add rice.  Continue to simmer until the rice is cooked, about 20 minutes.

I added a little sriracha on mine for a bit of spice, I recommend it, but it is up to you. You could also omit the chicken and use vegetable broth for a vegetarian/vegan option.  I hope you enjoy and stay well!

My top 12 of 2012!

The year is over, and I know I am a couple days late, it has been a long yet quick 2012.  I have made a couple life changes this past year which have made me stronger and healthier.  I accomplished my first triathlon, which I never thought in a million years (and probably anyone who knows me) thought I would ever do. I have completely changed how I eat, going gluten free has been a blessing.

So, I thought I would share my top 12 viewed posts of 2012 (in order from oldest to newest), thank you for following and listening to my rants, struggles and adventures! 

Adventures in Training #3: January recap & February Goals

Vegetable & Tofu Stir Fry

Recycled Crayon Disks

Antojitos: Mexican Pork Tarts

Super Chocolate Cake with a Homemade Fluff Icing

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

Moms Meet: Kashi Chocolate Soft Baked Squares

One Week Down: Gluten-free

Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup

Sandy and Vegetable Quinoa Soup (GF)

My First Gluten-Free Thanksgiving (with recipes)

GF Stuffing

Sporty 3rd Birthday!

It's a soup kinda day!

Potato Soup - My top viewed post!

Looking forward to more in 2013!

Slow Cooker Beef Stew {Gluten-free}

No cookies in this post! But don't you worry, there will be just one more cookie post before the Christmas holiday.

Now I'm going to be honest when I usually make beef stew, I have always used the McCormick Slow Cookers Hearty Beef Stew seasoning packet. Yeah I know, but it was quick and the flavor was good. Surprise, it is not free of gluten so I needed to come up with something else. So here is my version of gluten-free slow cooker (SC) beef stew. (Make and freeze instructions below.)

Slow cooker Beef Stew

(6-8 quart Slow Cooker, may need to be adjusted if you are using a smaller one)

2 lbs. stew beef
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 bag baby carrots
4-5 russet potatoes, small/medium
1 lg. onion
1 lb. button mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups beef broth (I use GF bouillon, since my grocery store doesn't have GF liquid broth)
1/4 cup sherry
1/4 cup dry red wine (plus some for the cook)
1 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. paprika
3 tbsp. GF flour (you can use regular if your not GF, or omit altogether)
1 cup peas
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large zip top plastic bag, add the beef, cornstarch and a little salt and pepper. Shake to coat the beef. Working in batches, brown the beef on medium high heat. (It doesn't need to be cooked through, since it will be cooked in the cooker.) Once browned, set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, dump the carrots in your SC. Peel and cube potatoes, dump in the SC. Cut the onion into wedges (I leave the pieces fairly large so a certain someone can easily pick them out). Add the beef.

Add the mushrooms and garlic to the hot pan that was used to cook the beef. Add 1 cup of broth and sherry, cook making sure to get all the little bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the rosemary and paprika. Slowly whisk in the flour. Add the remaining broth and red wine. Pour all of the broth and mushroom mixture into the SC. Season with salt and pepper.

During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the peas.

Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Serve with crusty bread or a couple slices of GF toast (I like Udi's White).

*You could do this all in a large Dutch oven, start on the stove and finish in the oven, cook until everything is good and tender.

Make ahead: Brown beef and let cool completely, put ALL ingredients into a large zip top bag (double the bag) and freeze.  When ready just dump the whole thing in the SC and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

 Recipe linked on Easy Green Mama!

Before 8 hours of cooking

After 8 hours of cooking

It's a soup kinda day!

Often we get together with our neighbors friends and do group dinners, this weekend was no different. We all gathered at our house for pot roast, potato soup, and of course some thanksgiving leftovers.

I made the potato soup, sorry I know the picture isn't the best, with a little help from our friend Mickey. The soup was really simple to prepare. What you need:

5 lbs. potatoes (I used russet), peeled and cubed
1/2 lb. bacon (or 2 tbsp. olive oil)
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
6 cups chicken broth (gluten free of course!)
2 cups whole milk (use could use non dairy)
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste

Optional (but highly recommended) Toppings:
Shredded Cheese
Green Onions
Crumbled Bacon
Sour Cream

If you are using bacon, brown the bacon in a large stock pot, remove the bacon and let drain.  Add the celery, onion and garlic to the bacon drippings (or olive oil) and cook until soft.  Add the stock, bring to a boil and add the potatoes.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the milk and sour cream if using, let simmer until the potatoes can easily be mashed.  (You could puree the soup, but I prefer a few chunks here and there.)  Add the herbs and spices, adjust to taste. Serve with toppings.

Enjoy!

**Linked on Gluten Free Tuesday Linky 9/24/2013 with Easy Green Mama**

Sandy and Vegetable Quinoa Soup (GF)

So this post is a little later than I originally wanted but we have had a lot going on, like a lot of the northeast we were also affected by Sandy. Granted, we had minimal damage compared to A LOT of other people and for that we are blessed. (Please realize that I am not complaining we have nothing to complain about.)

Knowing that Sandy was coming we took precautions and froze water in all our water bottles and some Tupperware, we bought extra non-perishable items and even moved a few things out of the basement all just in case we lost power. And, we lost power. We luckily only lost power for something like 29 hours and just like I feared the most, our sump pump (which is electric and we didn’t have any back up) went out also. Because the water table was so high, we [as in my husband] was not able to keep up with bailing the water. Once we realized that we were going to have a mess, we and some wonderful neighbors help moved anything we cared about or that was laying on the floor to higher ground. With our fingers crossed, we called it a night.

Meanwhile, my parents who live in Delaware on the bay decided to ride out the storm (even though we all thought they should leave.) They too were lucky and any only had minimal damage. The water never made it in to the house, only the garage. Here are some pictures from their house…

Back to our house, when we woke up we didn’t have as much water as we thought we might, only an inch at the most. But still without power there was little we could do. The water level went down in the pit but because of some great design, our pit is not located in the low part of the basement, therefore the water didn’t drain to it. We mopped up what we could, our wonderful neighbors helped out again, and we were able to use a generator for a couple hours and shop vac the standing water. We will need to remove some if not much of our flooring and just work on drying out the concrete, keeping our fingers crossed we don’t get mold.

Enough about that…on Monday before our power went out, I stayed home with my son and we decided to make soup. It was starting to rain harder and the wind was picking up so soup just seemed like a good idea. I rummaged in our refrigerator and decided on a vegetable soup. I used what I had on hand, so it can easily be altered. I invited our neighbors and we had soup and salad for lunch. {Have I mentioned we have awesome neighbors!}

Vegetable Quinoa Soup (aka Sandy Soup)

(I didn’t measure anything so the measurement may be off, but should be close.)

2-3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2-3 large carrots, roughly chopped
2 medium shallots, roughly chopped (or regular onions)
½ head of cauliflower, broken into florets
3-4 medium to large potatoes, peeled and cubed
6-7 cups chicken broth (I used gluten-free granules and water; you could also use vegetable broth)
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. dried thyme (I really wanted to use fresh, but I wasn’t going outside)
2 bay leaves
1 to 1 ½ cups of uncooked Quinoa
Salt and pepper to taste

(I used a food processor for almost everything, but you can use a knife if you would rather.) Heat olive oil in a large stock pot. Pulse the chopped carrot, onion and celery in the food processor until finely chopped. Add to the hot oil, and sauté until just tender.

While the vegetables are cooking, shred the cauliflower using the food processor. Add to the vegetable mixture, stir to combine. Add the broth and potatoes bring to a simmer. Then add the thyme, curry, turmeric and bay leafs. Let simmer. Add the uncooked quinoa. Let the soup simmer until the quinoa is cooked. Enjoy! Serves about 8.

Halloween Party...the Friday before the storm (Great friends!)

One Week Down: Gluten-free

I am one week into my Gluten-Free (GF) diet; and just as a reminder, I am not doing this for fun, this is out of a need to heal my body. It hasn't been as hard as I originally thought it would be. I find that I am just eating more naturally GF products (with a few corn chips and GF pretzels thrown in.) I have stopped looking at this change as a bad and disappointing thing but more of a change for the better. I am already noticing that I am making better food choices and my body can tell the difference. I figure it will take a few more weeks to really notice a change but I know my mornings haven’t been as painful. I will still get an upset stomach after eating some things that I thought were GF or anything with too much dairy, but still it hasn’t been as bad. I know I have a lot more research to do to fully understand the GF lifestyle and I am prepared for the challenge adventure.  I am starting to see this as a life change, and not just a hump in the road, I have to admit it is a little scary but like I just said, I am prepared for this and having my family's support really helps.

I have been looking at different blogs, through different books, trying to get inspired for different food ideas. This past week, I ate a lot of salad with all my favorite add-ins, well except the croutons but nuts and seeds make up for the crunch. Some of the other foods I ate/made were: egg muffins with sautéed kale and mushrooms, that were great as a grab and go morning breakfast along with a banana; pumpkin and sweet potato soup, I froze some and the rest brought to work for lunch; tacos! {I love tacos} in corn shells of course and had left overs for lunch. I also snacked on grapes, multigrain corn chips, GF pretzels, hummus and vegetables like cauliflower and celery. I got to try Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix, for one evening we did breakfast for dinner. I personally really enjoyed them. It was a combination of different flours which included almond. There was a chocolate chip cookie recipe on the side of the bag that I would like to try at some point.

I have two parties to attend this weekend, the one I know that I will be bringing at least one dish (maybe two) but the other is a kids party and will probably not have too much for me to nibble on.  Both parties I will probably eat at least something before I go, just in case. [Side note: this wasn't posted until after the parties, I gave in and tried a piece of an awesome Mushroom Marsala Tart and I am not sure how much it did to me because I also drank too much wine and that usually bothers me, but either way my belly was NOT happy with me in the morning.]

Okay, so enough about that and now on to the recipes.  I mentioned this soup on an earlier post, it was originally from The Gluten-Free Goddess, I made a few changes due to what I had on hand.  The flavor was really good, not too sweet, not too spicy. I also try not to over puree soups because I like a little texture.  The egg muffins on the other hand were inspired by something I saw on Pinterest, I like having things I can just grab and go in the mornings.  And these freeze really well.

Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup

(adapted from the Gluten-Free Goddess, see the original recipe here)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 medium carrots, peeled, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
Dash of salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 15-oz. can pumpkin
2 small sweet potatoes, roasted, peeled, cubed
3 cups vegetable broth
3 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons dry sherry

In a heavy soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat, and sauté the onion for about 5 minutes until softened. Add in the chopped carrots and celery, and stir in the spices. Lower heat and gently cook for about 10 minutes.

Add in the pumpkin, sweet potato, broth and sherry; stir together. Cover and bring to a slow simmer, cooking the soup for about 25-35 minutes until the vegetables are very tender.

Remove from heat, and puree the soup. (I used a my blender, and pureed it batches filling only about half way full. Put the pureed soup back into the pot and continue to cook on low. Taste and adjust the seasonings.  This made about 6 servings or so and seems to freeze well.

Read more: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2007/11/pumpkin-sweet-potato-soup.html#ixzz2AKacxJ3O

Egg Muffins with Kale and Mushrooms

(makes 12 muffins)

2 cups Kale, chopped (spinach would work also)

1 cup mushrooms, sliced (use your favorite)

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

6 eggs

3 tbsp plain yogurt

pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat, add the onions and garlic and saute until translucent  Add the chopped kale and mushrooms toss to coat in the oil onion mixture, sprinkle with the salt and cover. Let cook until the kale had wilted and the mushrooms are tender.

Spray the muffin pan with cooking spray, fill each cup about half way with the kale and mushroom mixture.  Let cool slightly.

Mean while, whisk the eggs and yogurt together. Fill the muffin cups with the egg mixture. Bake  at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or so until the egg is firm to the touch.

*I didn't add cheese but you could easily add different ingredients. However, I do add a little bit of cheese on top when I heat them in the microwave. They only take about 30-45 seconds to heat through in the microwave from a frozen state.  You could also use a mini muffin pan to make little appetizers. The options are endless!

Mulligatawny Soup

This recipe is from a fellow food lover friend; when he made it awhile ago he let me taste a little. Lately I have been craving it, so I made it.  I made a few adjustments more because of what I had on hand.  I thought the result was good, but I will need to take some to my friend to see what he thinks.  So here it is...

Mulligatawny Soup

4 cloves of garlic
1 piece of ginger (about 1 1/2 inches long), minced
1/4 cup of water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium onions, chopped
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut*
1-1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup flour
7 cups chicken stock (I used vegetable stock)
2 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium rib of celery, roughly chopped
1 medium banana, or potato

Place 2 peeled whole garlic cloves and 2 teaspoons of ginger with the water in a blender, blend until smooth. Leave in blender and set aside.

Heat butter, over medium heat in a large dutch oven, until it starts to foam.  Add onion and tomato paste. Stirring frequently, until onions are soft and starting to brown. Stir in coconut, continue cooking until the coconut is fragrant.

Add minced garlic, remaining ginger, curry powder, cumin, cayenne and flour until combined. Whisking constantly, gradually add broth.

Add carrots, celery and banana (or potato). Increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil.  Cover reduce to low and simmer until the vegetables are tender.

In the blender with the garlic and ginger, puree soup, in batches, until smooth.

Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream.

*I only had sweetened coconut, so I used it but opted to use the potato instead of the banana so it wouldn't be too sweet (and it was not too sweet).

Chicken Enchilada Soup

It is a snow weekend in my neck of the woods and for a while my neighbors and I have been talking about having a soup themed get together.  Well it has come and what a perfect, cold weekend it has been for some hot comforting soups.

 

I made Chicken Enchilada Soup, there was also a Ham and Bean and Potato Cheese.  My soup is very similar to my Chicken Tortilla Soup, there are just a few subtle differences.  You can make this vegetarian by using vegetable broth and omitting the chicken and adding more beans.

 

Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 small onion
1 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 1/2 cups chicken broth, I used homemade
1 10 oz can enchilada sauce
1 10 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
2 chicken breasts
1 10 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 10 oz bag frozen corn
1 can chopped green chilies
1 pablano pepper, roasted and chopped
2 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Chili powder
Lime Juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Optional Toppings:
Sour Cream
Jalapenos
Cilantro
Lime
Tortilla Chips
Avocado
Cheese

Chop onion and saute with olive oil in dutch oven until just translucent. Add garlic, chicken broth, enchilada sauce, and tomatoes.  Let stir and simmer until just mixed.  Add uncooked chicken breasts, cook in soup base for about 10 minutes or until cooked through and juices run clear.  Set chicken aside to cool slightly.

Add the beans, chilies, peppers, cumin and chili powder.  Stir to combine.  Shred or chop the chicken and add back to the pot.  Let simmer.  Add lime, salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with the (highly recommended) optional toppings.

 

Notes:  This could be made in a slow cooker, I cooked it on the stove and let it warm in the slow cooker, but there is no reason you couldn't make the whole thing in the cooker.  Also, this freezes really well so you can make a big batch and freeze it for later.

 

Mushroom Bisque

My mom brought me a lot of button mushrooms from her trip with my aunt to the Brandywine area of PA. So I was trying to figure out what I wanted to make with them, and after my request of ideas via social networking, soup was the answer. I looked online and in my cookbooks to try to find something that sounded good, and the winner was the mushroom bisque from my Moosewood Cookbook.

A little background on Moosewood if you don't know. The book I have is the 15th anniversary, New Revised Edition by Mollie Katzen; which means the recipes are a little lighter and use less dairy and eggs. The cookbooks are vegetarian and she also has a restaurant named Moosewood in Ithaca New York.

Now for the bisque... (side note, this could easily be made vegan if you wanted)

2 medium potatoes, I used russet
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 Tbsp butter or margarine
2 cups chopped onion
1 small stalk celery, chopped
1 1/2 lbs mushrooms, I used button
1 1/2 to 2 tsp salt
1 to 2 small cloves or garlic, minced
1/4 tsp thyme
3 Tbsp dry sherry
2 tsp soy sauce
Fresh black pepper to taste
1 cup milk, or soy milk
Optional:
Croutons
Minced scallions

Peel potaoes, chop into small pieces, and place in a small saucepan with water. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a deep skillet or Dutch oven. Add onion and celery, and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and salt, cover, and cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Somewhere in there, add garlic and thyme. (Adding garlic later keeps its flavor stronger.) Remove from heat; stir in sherry, soy sauce and pepper.

Use a blender or food processor to puree both the potatoes in their cooking water and the mushroom saute in its own liquid. (When you run out of the liquid use the milk.) Combine yhe purees in a kettle or Dutch oven.

Stir, and heat gently; taste to adjust seasonings. Serve very hot, with optional but highly recommended toppings.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

My husband has not been feeling very well lately (he even missed the Ravens football game today), so when thinking about what to have for dinner my mind instantly went to soup. I didn't want to do just plain chicken noodle so I did a twist on Mexican and the classic soup and sandwich combo.

There are a few things that I would add next time, like roasted pablano peppers and black beans. I did add the black beans when I reheated it for lunch, my husband doesn't care for beans. I also would have added more heat but because my son was eating it I left it more mild.

Chicken Tortilla Soup with Cheese Quesadillas

For the Soup:

3 cups shredded chicken
4 cups chicken broth
1 19oz can enchilada sauce
1 10oz can roasted diced tomatoes
1 4oz can green chilies
3 ears of corn, kernels cut off or you can use frozen or canned
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream, lime and cilantro for garnish
Tortilla Chips

Add all ingredients into a slow cooker, stir and cook on high for about two hours or on low for four. Serve with a lime wedge, dollop of sour cream and crushed tortilla chips.

For One Quesadillas:

1 flour tortilla
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/8 cup black beans (optional)

Add the cheese and beans to one side of the tortilla, fold the tortilla over and using a press bake or grill until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is slightly crispy.

Enjoy!

Shepherd's Pie (even kids will love)

I wanted to make an Irish meal since this was St. Patrick's day week, but everything I was going to make was followed by a not so happy look from my husband. So I just stayed in the isles instead and made a Shepherd's Pie. Basically a Shepherd's Pie is a beef, mutton or lamb stew that is covered with mashed potatoes and baked. This recipe was a hit with both my husband and son.

Shepherd's Pie

Filling:
3 medium carrots
2 leeks, tops removed*
2 celery stalks
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/8 cup fresh parsley
1 cup frozen peas
Salt and pepper to taste

Topping:
4-5 baking potatoes
2 tablespoons margarine
3/4 - 1 cup whole milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Rough chop and clean vegetables*, add to a hot pan along with the garlic and olive oil.  Saute until leeks and celery are just translucent. Add the beef and brown.

While the beef browns peel and cut the potatoes. Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Once the beef is browned, add the broth and tomato paste. Stir to combine, add the flour andcontinue to stir until the flour is Incorporated. Add the thyme and parsley to the mixture and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and place back into the pot, add the margarine and milk.  You may want to add more or less milk depending on how smooth you would like your potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

Add the peas to beef mixture, and season to taste.  Transfer the mixture into a casserole dish.  Top with the mashed potatoes.  Use a spatula to completely cover the dish.

Place in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes to really marry all the flavors. During the last few minutes, place under the broiler just until golden.

*Because leeks are grown in a sandy soil you really want to clean them well, cut the leek lengthwise and then slice place in a large bowl of cold water.  Agitate the water slightly, all the dirt will sink to the bottom and the leeks will float.  Just scoop the leeks out of the water and leave the dirt behind.

Chili, Chilli, and Chile

So I'm a week late, a sick child will do that to you!

On to the topic...Chili, depending on who you ask and what region their from they will tell you what chili is or is not. Beans? No beans? Veggies? Whatever, my theory is what ever you (the cook) likes is right. I am however a believer that is should be tomato based. I know there are other cream based chilies out there but to me tend to be more cowdery. I'm sure I just stepped on some toes and I'm sorry.

Now I am going to through out a couple definitions here (from dictionary.com):

chili con carne: a Mexican-style dish made with chilies or chili powder, ground or diced beef, chopped onion and pepper, and usually kidney beans and tomatoes.

chili: a meatless version of chili con carne

Notice that neither of these say that chili doesn't have beans, but if you talk to a Texan they may disagree.

OK so the reason that I have decided to talk chili is because last week our office had our 3rd Annual Chili Cook off.  There were eight entries, one of which was me (I didn't win). All of the chillies were distinctly different; some were very spicy, some where mild, one was a white chicken, some were very simple and some had unique ingredients.  I wanted to get some pictures but I didn't, sorry.

Here is the recipe for my non-winning but good Three Meat Chili:

1 lb. ground turkey
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. beef stew meat
2 large pablano peppers
2 Serrano peppers
1 habanero pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium apple
1 - 32 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 - 5 oz. can tomato paste
2 cups water
1 - 10 oz. can corn
1 - 48 oz. can dark red kidney beans
1/2 - 1 cup chili powder
1/4 cup cumin
2 tsp. Cinnamon
salt
black pepper

Brown all the meat in a large stock pot, season with some of the chili powder and salt and pepper. While the meat is browning, put the peppers on a baking sheet and drizzle with a little oil (about 1 tablespoon).  Place in the oven about 5 inches from heat and broil/roast until the outside blisters, rotating to get all sides.

Transfer cooked meat to a paper towel to drain. Add the chopped onion to the pot, cook until just translucent.  Peel and chop the apple and add to the onion, cook a few minutes.  Add about half of the spices to the pot. Stir.

Remove the peppers from the oven and place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, this will help remove the skin. Remove the skin and seeds and chop peppers, add to the onion and apple mix.

Transfer the meat back into the pot, along with the can of tomatoes, water, tomato paste, corn and beans.  Let simmer and add the remaining spices.  The longer is cooks, the more the flavors will merry.  Cook for at minimum 2-5 hours. 

Note: all spices and pepper types can be edited for your heat tolerance.

Here are some links for other chili recipes:

Chuck Wagon Chili
Cincinnati Chili
White Chili
Chile Verde
Original Texas-style Chili

Share your favorite chili ingredient!

Corn Soup

This corn soup started out being a cold soup (it is summer) but I ate it warm and think maybe it could go either way.  It was really simple with fresh in season ingredients.  I didn't measure anything out so below is the process.

Corn Soup

Start by cutting the kernels off 4 ears of corn, put the kernels in a saute pan and the cob in a large pot.  Cut up one jalapeno and add to kernels. Place another jalapeno in the pot with the cobs. While the kernels are sauteing, add carrots, chives, salt and pepper in with the cobs.  Add about 2 cups of water and two chicken bouillon cubes to the pot, cook on medium heat to infuse all the flavors in the now broth. 

In the saute pan, add a couple tablespoons of cumin, a couple cloves of garlic, tomatoes and salt and pepper.  Saute until everything is combined.  To thicken it up I added about a half a cup to a cup of left over mashed potatoes.

Add the broth to the saute pan, mix and simmer for a few minutes.  Cool slightly and add to blender to puree. (You don't have to puree if you like thicker soups.)