Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts and Thighs – onward MacDuff!

Tags

beets, chicken, chicken pieces, dinner, feta, feta cheese, lemon, one dish, one pan, pilaf, rice, rice pilaf, Stuffed

In my efforts to actually use the all the things I have stockpiled in my chest freezers, I’m trying to use up that feta cheese I got such a good deal on a few months ago.  Aside from it’s appearance as a dip, that feta is having a cameo in some stuffed chicken tonight.  This isn’t the most original recipe, but if it ain’t broke…

 Stuffed meat seems to be disproportionately more impressive than it is hard to make.  It takes a bit of time, but it’s not too challenging and is a great make-ahead dish for when you need a show-stopping entrée.

***And now for something completely different.***

 So, I need your help on difference of opinion that I had with my fireman.  He was helping me cook my rice pilaf, (just a simple one of sauteed onion, rice and a bay leaf) and after it had come up to a boil and been covered, I caught him opening it up and stirring it and I just freaked out in a matter entirely inappropriate for matters of rice cookery.  My reaction was more suited to a situation like finding a kid feeding your dog chocolate bars…

Now, I have a difficult history with ‘white people rice.’  Coming from an Asian household I had only learned how to do rice using a rice cooker.  When I was in culinary school, I learned that once you bring the rice up to a boil in rice pilaf you cover it and let it ride over low heat without ever touching it or opening the lid or stirring it.  Since this seemed to work for me, I have held up this method as gospel.  My fireman says his Mom taught him to stir it occaisonally.  I have no doubt that both methods will result in rice that is fully cooked, and any differences would be that of personal taste and final texture; and the rice was certainly not ruined like my reaction might have indicated.  Infact, it was equally as tasty and fluffy as it usually it.  My whole world is shattered.  What do you do in your house?

On with the show.

Feta Suffed Chicken

Served with Roasted Beets ($1) and Rice Pilaf ($.67)

Serves 4 – cost approx $1.28 per serving, including rice and beets!

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion, small dice, sauteed ($.11)
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 Tbs minced parsley
• 1/2 tsp dry oregano
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs ($0 if home made from stale bread)
• 1 lemon’s zest ($.15)
• 1 egg ($.28)
• 5 oz/1 small package/1 scant cup feta cheese ($.48)
• salt and black pepper to taste

• 4 chicken pieces to be stuffed – could be breasts or leg pieces that have been de-boned ($2.18)

Start off by making the filling.  When I cooked up some rice pilaf to go with dinner I just sauteed one onion and took out half for my stuffing and kept half in the pot for the rice.  If that’s not what you’ve got planned for dinner, saute up that onion half.  Then mix all the ingredients in the first set.

For stuffing chicken breasts (or pork chops or any solid piece of meat for that matter) you can just hollow out a pocket in the meat with a long, thin knife that runs the whole length of the breast.  Then pack in the stuffing through your initial incision.  I’m always amazed how much stuffing a chicken breast can hold!  And for thighs, I just remove the bone and pound out the meat a little bit so that it’s an even layer of chicken and then roll it up with a handful of filling inside and secure it with toothpicks.   I stuffed all my chicken pieces really full, but with the ammount of filling I had, I could have easily suffed twice as many chicken pieces.  But hey, go big or go home, right?

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Heat up a oven-safe pan over medium heat with some olive or vegetable oil in it.  Sear the skin side of the chicken, 3-5 minutes.  Flip over your pieces gently and then toss in the oven for 30 minutes or until completely cooked through.  (Which is 165 F for any stuffed meats, according to The Man, to make sure any salmonella that infiltrated the stuffing is fully dead)  You can toss in some small to medium diced veggies too to cook with the chicken!  I had some beets that joined the party…

Lamb and Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie – On thrifty splurges…

Tags

cremini mushrooms, lamb, leftover mashed potatoes, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, one pot, Shepherd's Pie, stew

Perfect for a chilly day.

Just because you’re trying to save money at the grocery store, doesn’t mean that you have to live on just rice and beans your whole life. Every now and then you have to treat yourself to a little something-something.

If there’s a good deal on a more ‘luxury’ ingredient, snatch it up and make yourself something nice! I found a good deal on ground lamb for just $3.98 per lb as it approached it’s ‘sell-by’ date and I’m going to turn it into two yummy meals. It seems like my fireman was on the same page as me, because when he took a trip down the hill and visited a farmer’s market with his folks he found a good price on some nice cremini mushrooms. With some extra mashed potatoes leftover in the fridge, that seemed like the perfect storm for a nice shepherd’s pie.

What a pretty bag of funghi!

When you think about it, so many of our most beloved dishes were made to stretch out a little bit of something expensive or fancy.  Savory pies, every sort of dumpling under the sun, most soups, stuffed pastas, satays…  Just like every thrifty person since the dawn of time has figured out, if you can pick a dish that economically utilizes a more expensive ingredient, you can get a better bang for your buck.

This dish costs more than my usual dinner-fare, but I think it’s a really great value for the high quality ingredients. A splurge on fancy ingredients doesn’t hit so hard when you know you got a good deal; I think it makes it taste even better.

Lamb and Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie

Serves 2 – 4 – cost approx $2.20 per serving

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb gr lamb ($1.99)
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms, caps quartered and stems small dice ($2.50)
• 1 onion, small dice ($.25)
• 2 carrots, small dice ($.18)
• 2 ribs celery, small dice ($.10)
• 4 Tbs/ 1/2 stick butter ($.37)
• 1/2 tsp dry thyme
• 2 Tbs tomato paste ($.05)
• 2 Tbs flour
• 1/2 cup red wine ($.15)
• 2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup stock – doesn’t matter, vegetable or meat stock will be just fine
• 2 Tbs minced parsley (optional)

• 4 cups leftover mashed potatoes ($.75)
• 2 Tbs parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  In an oven safe large pan or pot brown the lamb, seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove meat, leaving the fat in the pan. Sear caps, over medium high heat and season with salt and pepper 8-10 min. Trust me! Get them nice and brown, only stir it a few times to get them happy and browned up.

Reduce the heat to medium and add in the butter, minced onion, carrot, celery, and mushroom stems and then sauté 5 minutes. Return the meat to the pan and cook 5 minutes more. Add the tomato paste and flour, cook 3 minutes.  Add in the wine, Worcestershire sauce and cook 2 minutes, then add in the stock. Simmer for 10 minutes. Taste to check the seasonings and add salt or black pepper if needed. Finish the lamb stew with the parsley.

Saucy goodness

Top with the mashed potatoes and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Creole Braised Chicken – and grits!

Tags

blackened, blackening spice, braised, braising method, cajun, chicken, creole, grits, how to braise, low fat, one pot

If you’re looking for a flavorful, simple, one-pot meal that’s low fat to boot, well then you’ve come to the right place.  For realsies, no added fat! This was just a weeknight meal that turned out to be especially tasty, thank goodness I decided to take pictures!

The technique for braising chicken is a good one to have in your repertoire because with the same method, you can change the flavor profiles to suit any sort of cuisine.  Seriously, everyone in the world likes braised chicken!  Some tomatoes and herbs and you can go Mediterranean with it, some curry paste and coconut milk and you have a Thai flavored pot of goodness, cumin and a variety of fresh or dried chilis and you have some Latin flair…

Chicken braises are also versatile when it comes to your starches too, you can serve this yummy southern/creole braise with grits like I did, or mashed potatoes, or noodles, or rice.  Super easy-peasy.

Creole Braised Chicken – served with grits

Serves 4 – cost approx $1.47 per serving

Ingredients

• 5 pieces chicken – I prefer thighs ($2.50)
• 3-5 Tbs blackening spice – I’ve got one here: https://fullbellyfullwallet.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/black-macks-heres-to-summer/
• 1-2 onions, large dice ($1)
• 2 ribs celery, large dice ($.25)
• 2 carrots, large dice ($.25)
• 1/2 bell pepper, large dice ($.25)
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 can (3oz) tomato paste ($.25)
• 2 cups chicken stock ($0 for home made)
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2-3 Tbs minced parsley ($.12)

• Starchy side of your choice – about $1 for my grits!

Alright, your basic methodology for braised chicken is just a few simple steps:  #1 Brown your chicken and veggies. #2 Build you flavors.  #3  Deglaze the pot and build the sauce.  #4 Simmer away.  #5 Adjust and finish.

#1) First, season you chicken pieces with the blackening spice and sear with the skin side down over medium high heat in a large pot.  Sear the backside too.  Since there’s some fat in the chicken skin, I didn’t need to add any to the pot.  If you want to use a leaner meat or skinless chicken, add a tablespoon or two of your vegetable oil of choice at the get go.

Don’t be afraid to get it nice and truly brown.  Remove from the pot and set aside.

Really brown it up!

Next, toss in your veggies and brown them too, it should take 5-10 minutes.

#2) This is the flavor building step.  With this particular braise there’s a lot of flavor in the blackening spice still left in the pot, so just add the tomato paste and cook it 3-5 minutes or until it gets nice and really brown too.  If it were any other braise here is where I would add any curry paste or dry herbs and spices.

#3) Deglazing is the fun part.  Add in the chicken stock and bring to a boil while scraping up all the yummy brown bits on the bottom.  The stock provides the body of the sauce.  You could deglaze with a up to 1/2 cup of your alcoholic beverage of choice, but use stock for the majority of your liquid.

#4) Simmer down! Once your pot has come to a happy bubble, knock it down to a simmer and return the chicken to the pot.  Add in the bay leaf too.  Let the pot simmer for at least 30 minutes and up to a few hours, partially covered.  Stir every half hour or so.  Honestly though, I put on an episode of Doctor Who and forgot about it entirely for an hour and it was just fine.

See? Just fine.

#5) Finishing it up.  Take a taste of your delicious concoction and add salt and pepper as necessary.  Stir in the parsley.  At the very end is the time to add any fresh herbs or dairy products (like maybe sour cream or cheese?)  You’re only limited by your imagination.

Caribbean Marinade – Grilled Chicken and Veggie Skewers

Tags

caribbean, chicken, curry, grilled, kabob, skewer, spicy, vegetables

Hullo internet friends!  I’m here to share a quick and tasty recipe in this quick and tasty post.

This Caribbean flavored marinade is largely inspired by one we make and put on beef skewers at the fancy, waterfront restaurant where I work.  The sous chef that I work under knows that those spicy beef satays are one of my favorite things and he almost always gives me a little ‘quality control’ snack whenever we serve this one up at a banquet.

My version was quite tasty on some grilled chicken and vegetable skewers served up with some rice!  These skewers would be great with any sort of picnic sides like potato or macaroni salad too.

Caribbean Marinade – Grilled Chicken and Veggie Skewers

Serves 4 – Cost approx $1.43 per serving, including rice

Ingredients

• 1 can coconut milk ($.99)
• 1 jalapeno, take out the seeds if you’re a sissy ($.25)
• 1/4 bunch cilantro ($.25)
• 1 Tbs honey
• 1 Tbs curry powder
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt and pepper to taste

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes or strips ($1.49)
• 1/4 lb mushrooms, large dice ($1)
• 1 red onion, large dice ($.50)
• 1 bell pepper, large dice ($.50)

Sooooo, this recipe is very complicated so pay attention!  Just kidding, it’s easier than taking candy from babies.  First, you blend up all the marinade ingredients in the first list.

Second, you marinade all your goodies anywhere from 2 hours to overnight.  You can pre-skewer and pour over the marinade or marinade the goodies and skewer later.  I did it the later way because I was running late for work and didn’t have the time to assemble the skewers…

Third, you grill them up!

Wet Hot American Summer Risotto – Just a quickie…

Tags

American, bacon, cheese, corn, one pot wonder, risotto, summer

I guess with the afternoon showers and muggy, blanket-like clouds it has been a little bit of a ‘Wet Hot American Summer’ here in Tahoe, but nothing like being at an epic summer camp 😉  If you’re in the mood for a silly summer (for grown ups only) comedy, I highly recommend it…

Anyway, I made this little summery risotto and I thought it was tasty enough to share.  I made it using my ‘Kitchen Sink’ method of throwing in all the little bits of things needing to be used up in my kitchen.  Today it was chicken stock, bacon, green onions and some cheeses that needed to go and so a risotto was born.

On a side note: how do you tell if you’ve married into the right family?  One good clue is when your in-laws send over little baggies of home-made bacon!  Thank you to Mr. W for this tasty treat.  It was subtly smoky, very lean and meaty, like the bastard child of Canadian bacon and American bacon.

American Summer Risotto

Serves 4 – cost approx $1.34 per serving

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, thinly sliced ($0 thanks to my awesome Father in Law!  But about $.75 if store bought)
• 1 small red or white onion, small diced ($.30)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced – optional ($.25)
• 1 lb arborio rice ($1.75)
• 1/2 cup white wine ($.25)
• 4-6 cups chicken or veg stock
• 1 cup corn kernels, frozen or fresh, roasted would be delicious! ($.30)
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese ($.50)
• 2 Tbs butter ($.12)
• 1/4 cup fun cheese, crumbled – I used mozzarella, but feta or goat cheese would be awesome too ($.50)
• salt, to taste
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced ($.15)

Start by crisping up the bacon in a large pot or large saute pan.  Remove the bacon and leave a few tablespoons of fat in the pan.  Saute the onion, garlic and jalapeno 5 minutes or so.  Toss in the rice and saute 2-3 minutes or until the grains are opaque with little white centers.  Deglaze with the white wine.  Start adding the chicken or vegetable stock, 1 cup at at time and stirring regularly and adding more liquid when the rice has absorbed all of the last batch.  When the rice is done to your liking (I like mine a little al dente) stir in the corn, reserved bacon and parmesan cheese.  Next add the butter and stir quickly until it’s all incorporated.  Mix in your fun cheese and add salt to taste.  Garnish with the green onions.

Lentil Shepherd’s Pie – The Lentil Adventure Lingers Awkwardly…

Tags

ideas for leftover mashes potatoes, lentils, mashed potatoes, one dish meal, one pot wonder, vegetarian

My fireman is such a good sport about this whole food-blog business.  He puts up with me standing on a chair at the dinner table to get a good picture.  He uses his phone’s flashlight app to better light my pictures while I’m standing on said chair.  He fishes out the right colored plate that I asked for for the particular meal.  He eats the same meal a few times in the same week if I’ve become fixated on getting a recipe ‘just right.’  He eats lentils week after week if I’ve become fixed on a particular ingredient, like I have been recently.  (Don’t feel too bad for him, I’m also currently experiencing an home made ice cream fixation.)  He nicely answers all my little questions like: How is the texture?  What would make this better?  Does it need more salt?

As we were eating this vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie I asked him “Does this taste almost like meat?” and then he laughed at me and said “No, but it’s very good as it’s own thing.”  For a little while I thought he was trying to make me feel better about a recipe that just wasn’t there yet, but then he took seconds, and then thirds.  I had made myself a little, personal-size portion, he ended up eating part of mine that I couldn’t finish and almost this whole pan!

This recipe isn’t going to fool your family if you try to pass it off as a dish with meat, but it’s pretty darn tasty and quite filling to boot.  It’s hearty, warm and quite vegetarian.  Creamy and potato-y on top and thick and stewy on the bottom!  It would be a good potluck or side dish if you have a mixed crowd of meat eaters and vegetarians.  Also, if you used a dutch oven it would be a one-pot-wonder sort of a dish.  Plus, it can be made ahead (or even frozen!) and cooked when you’re ready to eat.

Now, I wanna talk about mashed potatoes for a sec.  (I called for leftover mashed potatoes in this recipe, but fresh ones would do just fine too.)  In the last year or so I’ve started to always make a huge pot of mashed potatoes; it seems to me like it takes only a tad more effort to prepare and mash up a double batch of potatoes than a single batch and there’s so much you can do with the leftovers!  If I’m not planning to make a second dish with them, like a Shepherd’s Pie, I like to freeze up little 1 or 2 cup portions to use in other dishes.  Mashed potatoes are great to thicken up soups, stews or chowders or you can make potato rolls.

Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

Serves 4 – cost approx $.98 per serving

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb dry lentils, cooked – makes 2-3 cups when all cooked up ($.50)
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1 onion, small dice ($.50)
• 3 ribs celery, small dice ($.11)
• 3 carrots, small dice ($.10)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• 3 oz or 1/2 small can of tomato paste ($.25)
• 1/4 cup A.P. flour
• 3 Tbs Worcestershire sauce – or soy sauce if you’re going vegetarian for realsies
• 2 cups stock, any kind, I used vegetable stock
• 1 cup frozen peas  ($.19)
• 1/4 fresh herbs, minced – I used thyme, sage and parsley ($.25)
• 3-5 cups leftover mashed potatoes ($1.50)
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese ($.25)

Preheat your oven to 375 F.

Begin by melting the butter in a large oven proof pot.  (If you don’t have one, make the lentil mix in a large saute pan and transfer to a casserole dish.)  Saute up the onion, celery, carrot and garlic over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until the veggies are cooked through.  Season with salt and black pepper.  Add in the tomato paste and flour and cook for 5 minutes while stirring frequently to brown the paste and cook out the raw taste in the flour.  Next, add in the Worcestershire sauce then the stock.  Bring the mixture up to a simmer and be sure to scrape the browned goodies off the bottom.  Add in the cooked lentils and herbs and let simmer for 5 minutes or so.  Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.

Now, top your lovely lentil filling with a nice layer of mashed potatoes and sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top.

so cute…

Pop it in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the top of the mashed potatoes is slightly browned.

Big-Ass Pot of Meat Sauce and a Reduced Carb Lasagna! – Bachelor Cooking Class with Fireman Mikey

Tags

ideas for leftover sauce, lasagna, low carb, meat sauce, spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce

It turns out that Fireman Mikey enjoyed the all the food we made in last week’s little cooking class and we found some time to do it again this week!  We are actually having a little information trade, since I have a little TV perched above the refrigerator, we can put on a hockey game and he teaches me all the rules about hockey while I teach him how to make a new dish.

This week we made a ‘Big-Ass Pot of Meat Sauce,’ or gravy as Mikey calls it.  This is a more basic version than my usual meat ragout and is a recipe for a bigger batch size.  We then used up about half of the sauce to make a Reduced Carb Lasagna, alternating lasagna noodles with thinly sliced veggies to make a HUGE pan of lasagna.  Fireman Mikey is set for a few weeks now!

Big-Ass Pot of Meat Sauce

Makes about a gallon of sauce! – Cost approx $9.25 per batch or $1.15 per pint

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 large onions, roughly chopped (about $2.50 for all the veggies)
• 3-4 carrots, roughly chopped
• 3-4 ribs celery, roughly chopped
• 1 head of garlic, cloves all peeled

• 2 6oz cans of tomato paste ($1 for both cans)
• 2 lb ground meat, beef, pork, veal or Italian sausage or any combination of those ($4)
• 2 large cans of tomatoes, diced, whole, puree or crushed – get whatever is on sale ($1.50 for both cans)
• fresh or dry herbs, to taste: basil, thyme, sage, oregano, bay, rosemary!  Whatever you like!
• salt, to taste
• crushed red pepper, optional/to taste

Start by putting a large pot (perhaps I can suggest to use your largest pot?) on over medium heat and drizzle in the olive oil.  Put all the veggies in a food processor or blender and use that to turn all the veggies into a fine dice/mince/rough puree.  Saute the minced veggies in the olive oil for about 5 minutes and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.  This will add a lot of bulk to your sauce as well as provide a good flavor base.

Next, turn the heat up to medium-high and add in all the tomato paste and ground meat.

Stir thoroughly and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You want to let this go until all the meat is lightly browned and the tomato paste is browning and starting to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Next, see to your remaining tomato product.  If your big cans are diced or whole tomatoes, use a food processor/blender/immersion blender to turn them into a light tomato puree; if you have crushed tomatoes or tomato puree you’re all ready to move ahead.  Stir in your two big cans of tomato product into the pot and about one can full of water.  Bring to a simmer and add in your herbs and some salt and crushed red pepper (if using).   Let it ride at a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Be sure to taste your finished sauce and add salt if necessary!

The most important step is always to taste your food!

Now, here’s what we made with our happy sauce!

Reduced Carb Veggie Lasagna

Serves 6 – Cost approx $2 per serving

Ingredients

• 1 pint ricotta cheese ($1 on a good sale!)
• 1 cup cheap parmesan cheese ($1)
• 1/2 – 1 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided use ($2)
• 2-3 Tbs minced parsley (optional, I just like the color)

• 1-2 quarts meat sauce ($4.62)
• 1 package lasagna noodles, cooked ($1.50)
• about 2 lbs thinly sliced veggies – we used zucchini and eggplant, you could also use butternut squash too! ($2)

Preheat the oven to 350-375F.

Start your lasagna by making the cheese mixture.  Reserve a handful of shredded mozzarella for topping the lasagna then mix all the cheeses and the parsley together in a small bowl.

Get a large pan (a foil one is cheap, bigger than a traditional casserole dish and can be thrown away when done…) and layer up your noodles, sauce, sliced vegetables and cheese mix any way you see fit.  For the last layer, I like to have noodles covered with the tiniest bit of sauce and then sprinkled with the reserved mozzarella.

Fireman Mikey approves!

Cover with some foil and bake for 45-90 minutes.  Try to let it cool before digging in, lasagna always seems to come out of the oven like a pan of lava.  Lasagna has that magic quality that it seems to get better as it sits, so enjoy it for the next week to come!

There are tons of amazing things to make with leftover pasta sauce!  After making the lasagna, this batch left almost four pints of sauce to put in the freezer for later.  Here’s what I came up with for leftover ideas for Fireman Mikey to make with all his little containers of leftover sauce:

All ready for the freezer! This is a perfect use for ‘white trash tupperware’ since a busy bachelor can just throw it away when he’s done!

• You can put it on any Italian starchy thing like pasta, gnocchi or polenta
• The teenager/bachelor classic of french bread pizza
• Garlic bread sloppy joes
• If you felt like going low carb you could steam a spaghetti squash and fill the middle with some yummy sauce…
• Add some seasonal veggies and some stock then that meat sauce could be thinned out into a soup
• Add some beans, spices (chili powder and cumin) and some sweet and hot peppers to make something chili-like (I’m Texan and have strong opinions on what real chili is…)
• Mix in some cooked grains (like barley, rice or farro) and stuff some peppers with it.

Caribbean Lentil Stew with Jasmine Rice and Roti – The Lentil Adventure Continues!

Tags

caribbean, lentil, stew, vegetarian

As I stare at that huge box of lentils, I have challenged myself to make at least one lentil dish every week.  Hopefully, if I keep it up the lentils will be gone by the end of the year…  Seriously, there’s so many!

This one was a winner, my fireman liked it and my lovely Mother In Law really liked the leftovers he brought over during a visit.  I thought it was quite tasty for that matter too.  I love the exciting flavors of Caribbean food that came from the mixing of African, Indian and European cooking styles using American ingredients.  It’s also quite convenient that most of the spices necessary for creating some magical Caribbean flavors are probably already in your pantry.  (If not they’re in your regular grocery store) Also, serving this lentil stew with rice and flatbread really stretched out a little bag of lentils into a big meal with tons of leftovers.

Caribbean Lentil Stew– served with jasmine rice and roti (whole wheat flatbreads)

Serves 6-8 – cost approx $.53 per serving per serving, including sides

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs vegetable oil
• 3-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbs ginger, minced
• 1 small onion, small dice ($.37)
• 2 carrots, small dice ($.10)
• 1/2 bell pepper, small dice ($.50)

• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp corriander
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp garam masala or 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1 inch cinnamon stick or 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cloves
• 1 bay leaf

• 1 lb lentils, soaked in cold water ($1 in most stores)
• 6-8 cups vegetable stock
• cornstarch (optional)
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, minced ($.25)

Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat in a large pot.  Saute the garlic and ginger 30 seconds or until wonderfully fragrant.  Add in the onion, carrot and bell pepper and saute another 3-5 minutes.  Add in all the spices (all the ingredients in the second set and saute 1 minute.  Heating the spices helps to bring out all their wonderful flavors!

Add in the lentils and cover with enough vegetable stock to just cover the lentils.  Simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are fully cooked, you may have to add more stock if it starts cooking down too much.  If you want it more soupy (and boy would it make a yummy soup!) you can add more stock, if you want a thicker stew you can thicken it up with a little cornstarch slurry, the power is all in your hands.

Taste your wonderful stew and add salt to taste.  Garnish with cilantro and yum it up with rice and or some hot flatbreads!

Lentil and Smoked Sausage Soup – A Lentil Adventure!

Tags

lentil, one pot wonder, smoked sausage, soup

 I think my next challenge coming down the pipes is working on a bunch of good recipes using lentils.  Now, this is going to sound like a line from the most boring mafia movie ever; a friend found herself needing to get rid of a few boxes of lentils and, knowing that I’m a thrifty cook, she gave me several pounds of lentils…

Lucky for me, many cuisines cook a mean lentil: French, Indian, American, Caribbean to name a few.  I’m all full of inspiration and my kitchen is all full of lentils so let the adventure begin.

Lentil and Smoked Sausage Soup – served with feta cheese and fresh bread

Serves 4-6 – cost approx $.69 per serving

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 lg onion, diced ($.50)
• 2 carrots, diced ($.14)
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 lb smoked sausage, diced ($.45, I got a great deal!)
• 1/4 tsp dry thyme
• 1/4 tsp dry sage
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 lb lentils, picked over and soaked in cold water ($0 – you can often get lentils for about $1 per lb at discount grocery stores)
• approx 6 cups stock – chicken or vegetable stock, it’s up to you! ($0 for homemade!)
• salt and pepper

• 1 6 oz pkg feta cheese – or any other flavorful cheese you like! ($.99)
• fresh bread ($.50)

Start by heating the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Saute the onion, carrot and garlic about 5 minutes.  Add in the smoked sausage, thyme, sage and paprika, saute another 2 minutes or so.  Next, add in the lentils and enough stock to cover by about 1 inch.

Bring the pot to a simmer and let it bubble gently for 45min-90 minutes, or until the lentils are fully cooked.  Stir occasionally to make sure the lentils don’t stick to the bottom.  When the lentils are nice and soft but not completely mushy, add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with some slices of hot bread and garnish with crumbled feta cheese.

Chorizo Tortilla Soup – Fireman Approved!

Tags

chorizo, one pot wonder, soup, tomato, tomato soup, Tortilla Soup, tortillas

This is another soup that was inspired by our resident Soup-Master at the restaurant, Sous Chef Ceasar.  A few weeks ago he made this wonderful soup and I was quite taken with it.  It’s like a chorizo-filled, dream makeover for the classic tomato soup.

In addition to being a hit at the restaurant where I work, my version was quite the hit at home too.  My man has a deep, deep love for chorizo.  He walked into the house while I was cooking and immediately his eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face as he asked with hope in his voice: “Chorizo?”  Chef Ceasar was happy to hear that my fireman liked this soup so much.

Chorizo Tortilla Soup – served with sour cream and garlic toast

Serves 4 – 6 – cost approx $.90 per serving

Ingredients

• 10 oz package pork chorizo – or beef chorizo or soy chorizo ($1.19)
• 1 onion, roughly chopped ($.30)
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped ($.17)
• fresh chilis, roughly chopped – to taste and optional
• 2-3 Tbs tomato paste ($.14)
• 1/2 can cheap beer – optional ($.33)
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes ($.79)
• 4 – 6 cups meat or vegetable stock
• 1 Tbs chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• garlic salt, to taste
• 12 corn tortillas, roughly chopped – a good use for stale or leftover tortillas ($.33)
• 1/2 bunch cilantro ($.25)

• garlic rubbed toast ($.50, I used home made)
• sour cream ($.25)

*Since this is a pureed soup, there’s no reason to make the vegetables look pretty, just a rough chop will do!*

Start the yummy soup by browning the chorizo in a large pot.  Remove to a bowl, leaving the delicious mystery grease in the pot.  Add in the onion, carrot, garlic and chilis (if using) and saute 5 minutes over medium heat.  Add in the tomato paste and saute 2-3 minues, letting a layer of happy brown crud form on the bottom.  Deglaze the pan with the beer and scrape up all those yummy brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Next, add in the can of tomatoes and stock and bring to a simmer.  Add in the dry spices, garlic salt and tortillas.  Cover and let simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  While the soup is simmering, the tortillas will get mushy and thicken the soup.  Check to see that all the vegetables are soft and fully cooked, then remove from the heat.  Throw in the cilantro (whole!) and blend with and immersion blender, the cilantro will get chopped in the process.  Once the soup is thick and smooth, put it back on the heat and simmer.  Add back the chorizo and taste your creation, add salt if necessary and add more stock if the soup is too thick for your tastes.  Ladle yourself a bowl and serve with a dollop of sour cream and a few slices of garlic rubbed toast.

That’s a pot of love! Yum!

I see you admiring my TARDIS cookie jar…