Beef Stew with Beer…

Enough said right?  How can beef stew simmered for hours in a nice hearty beer be bad?  In my books it can’t so when I was searching for a stew recipe and came across this one from Ree of The Pioneer Woman I knew I’d found what I was looking for.

This soup was rich and delicious and made for a perfect weeknight meal for a busy family!
Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika (The Pioneer Woman)
Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 2 pounds Stew Meat (I dredged the meat in seasoned flour  (salt, pepper and garlic powder) before browning it)
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 can Beer, 12 Ounce Can
• 4 cups Beef Stock (or 4 Cups Water + 4 Beef Bouillon Cubes)
• 2 cups Water (additional, If Needed)
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Sugar
• 4 whole Carrots, Washed, Unpeeled, And Roughly Sliced
• 4 whole New Potatoes, Quartered
• Minced Parsley (optional)

Directions:
Heat oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown (floured and seasoned) meat in two batches, setting aside on a plate when brown. Cut pieces in half.
Add diced onions to the pot. Stir and cook for two or three minutes until softened, then add garlic for another minute. Pour in beer and beef stock, then add Worcestershire, tomato paste, paprika, salt, pepper, and sugar. Add beef back into the pot. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
*UPDATE: The liquid should cook down to a thicker state. If it gets too thick/reduces too much, add additional water as needed.
Add carrots and potatoes, then cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes. (If stew gets dry, just add a cup of hot water at a time to replenish the liquid.) Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
***We loved this recipe and the only change I made was dredging the meat in seasoned flour (salt, pepper and a bit of garlic powder).  Will be making this again as soon as it’s cool enough…

Tuscan Vegetable Soup

I wanted a Tuscan Bean Soup. Google that.  Go ahead.  I bet you come up with about 500 soup recipes.  I was baffled so I sat on the floor with my ever increasing collection of cookbooks surrounding me and began my quest the old fashioned way…
Thank you Ellie Kreiger for your cookbook The Food You Crave

Tuscan Vegetable Soup (adapted from Ellie Kreiger’s The Food You Crave)

Ingredients

• 2 (15-ounce) can low-sodium canellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 stalks celery, diced, (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Directions

In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.
Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.
**This was a quick and delicious week night meal  I had some whole wheat macaroni left over in the fridge that I also threw in the pot.  A quick and versatile meal?  You know I’ll be making this again and again…

Turkey and Pinto and Black Bean Chili

I’m cold. Now I am not talking just a little cold here, I mean I am bundle up in a bunch of sweaters, fuzzy sock and big slippers, gallons of hot tea being drank, but I still can’t seem to get warm so I guess that’s why my family is eating lots of soups and comfort foods right now! Anything to try and be warm. This chili fit the bill. Needed to simmer on the stove and I knew if would smell just perfect and add the illusion of warmth to the house!

Turned out absolutely perfect and I can’t wait for the leftover for dinner tonight!

Recipe for the cornbread can be found here!

Turkey and Pinto Bean Chili (adapted from Epicurious.com )

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs Olive Oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 medium-size red bell peppers, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1.5 pounds ground turkey
• 5 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, drained
• 1 15-ounce can of black beans, drained
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions:

Heat Olive Oil in a large heavy bottom pot. Add onion, bell peppers and garlic and sauté over high heat until vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add turkey and sauté until no longer pink, breaking up large pieces with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Mix in chili powder, cumin and oregano and stir 1 minute. Add beans, tomatoes with juices, broth and chocolate. Bring chili to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered until chili thickens, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour but can be simmered longer for a thicker chili. Season with salt and pepper.

Zesty Spinach Soup

My sister turned me onto this cookbook. Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook: Delicious Recipes That Will Burn Fat and Re-Shape Your Body! Heard of it?

Pretty incredible recipes. My sister has tried a whole bunch of them but me being the slacker that I am lately have only tried one. But it was good. Really, really good. To the point of being so good that when I told the girls that we were having it again for dinner tonight (slacker and eating up leftovers) they were pretty happy about it again!!! Perfect soup for the cold weather and totally healthy too…

Of course I had to make some changes based on what I had available but I stayed true to the real recipe. It was fast and came together perfectly. I made it in the afternoon but left out the pasta and the spinach. When we got home later on I had the girls shower and get ready for bed while I finished it up. This was a perfect make ahead soup for me…I also figured out that it was 5 Weight Watcher points based on a 1 1/2 cup serving.

Zesty Spinach Soup Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook: Delicious Recipes That Will Burn Fat and Re-Shape Your Body!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp best quality extra virgin olive oil
1 purple onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 thick carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped celery, including leaves
3 cloves garlic, passed through a garlic press
1 tsp sea salt
Pinch of fresh ground black pepper
6 cups of low sodium chicken or vegetable stock (I used 4 cups of stock and 2 cups of water)
2 vegetable or chicken vegetable bouillon cubes (I used 2 tsp of Better Than Bouillon Organic Chicken)
2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used one can of diced and drained some of the juice out, tomato hater in the family)
1/2 cup of well rinsed quinoa (I used 1 cup of uncooked orzo pasta because I couldn’t find quinoa!)
2 cups of white kidney beans, well rinsed and drained
1 tsp curry powder
pinch of ground nutmeg
3 cups of baby spinach leaves

Directions:

• Heat oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add onion and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent.
• Add carrots, celery, garlic and salt. Sauté until vegetables are golden, about 5 minutes.
• Add stock or water. Add bouillon cubes and add to liquid. Add tomatoes, quinoa, beans and spices. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender.
• Add the spinach and cover. Cook briefly, just until leaves are wilted.
• Season with salt and pepper and serve hot with crusty bread.

Beef, Wild Mushroom and Barley Soup in (get this) my Crock Pot!!!

The other day I was going through my freezer looking for what I could pull out and use up this week. I found a round steak that was in there from last year when I had ordered a 1/4 of a cow (Happy Meat). For some reason this steak was never eaten, probably because it was just one and not enough to feed all four of us…Anyway I pulled it out and thawed it to make some Beef Barley soup. Well, we know how plans change and recipes morph into other things so here is what I came up with…

Beef, Wild Mushroom and Barley Soup in the Crock Pot

Ingredients:

2 Tbs olive oil (more if needed)
1 1/2 lbs round steak or stewing beef, cut into bite sized pieces
1 lg onion (chopped)
2 sticks of celery (chopped-I used the tops and all)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 cup dried wild mushrooms (rehydrated with boiling water and chopped)
2/3 cup red wine
10 cups of water
2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried thyme
1 cup pearled barley
1 tsp savory
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 tsp beef base (I use better than bouillon)

Directions:

1. In a large pot heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the meat and brown well. Add more oil if needed. Remove the meat and place it in your Crock Pot (I used a 5 or 6 quart Crock Pot).
2. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the celery, onions and garlic and stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent and soft. Increase the heat to medium add the red wine to deglaze the pan (scrape the bottom to loosen the brown bits).
3. Add your onion mixture to the Crock Pot along with the mushrooms, water, and salt. Turn your Crock Pot on low and let cook for at least 5 hrs. About 1 hr before eating add the barley, thyme, white pepper and the savory and cook until the barley is cooked. Taste before serving and add beef base as needed.

***This was an absolutely delicious soup and it was even better the next day! Serve it with a nice slice of crusty bread and you have a fantastic week night meal!

Chili Verde for the Crockpot

It was cold yesterday.  At least by Southwest Florida standards.  I think we reached a high of about 60F for the whole day.  I’m not complaining.  I live for the cooler weather but I knew that I needed something to warm us up for dinner.  Knowing that we would be at The BMX Track after the sun went down was pretty motivating too!

I pulled out my trusty Crockpot and went to work. 

Chili Verde

6-8 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of pork (this time I used pork steaks and cut them down to bite sized pieces.  Could use Pork Butt or Shoulder Roast)
• 3 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour (seasoned with a small bit of salt and pepper)
• 1/2 Cup water
• 1/2 Cup Tomatillo Salsa
• 2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 1 (7 ounce) can of chopped green chiles, rinsed and drained.
• 1 small jar of pimientos (or 3/4 cup roasted red pepper strips)
• 1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

• In a large bowl toss the pork with the seasoned flour until evenly coated.  Stir in the water , salsa, cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, salt, onions and 1/2 of the green chiles.  Mix well.
• Cover and cook on low heat for about 6 hours (or on high for about 3 or 4), or until pork is tender.  Stir twice if possible.
• Stir in the remaining green chiles, the red pepper strips and the black beans.  Cover again and cook on high 20-30 min. longer until heated through and bubbling again.

Will I make this again?  Definitely.  This will be a go to winter meal for us.  I wanted to try not browning the pork in this recipe and I am really pleased with how it turned out.  Truth be told I ran out of time and needed to get this on.  Worked to my advantage.  The meat was spoon cutting tender.  Everyone in the house loved it. 

Potato and Leek Soup

I get a weekly CSA box from Worden Farms. I kind of have a love/hate sort of thing going on with it. I thought I would really love it. Supporting the local, organic and sustainable farmer and all. Well turns out it’s really not the best thing for me. I am not very satisfied with what is being sent to me. Not that I am being ripped off or the produce isn’t great but I am so uninspired by a box full of veggies. I want to be at the market or the farm and be able to touch, see, smell and feel the vegetables. This past week I went so far as to go to their weekly farmers’ market to see what I was missing I walked out of there with about $30 worth of stuff but also totally inspired again!!! Sadly I think next year will be a Farmer’s Market year and no more CSA box for me!

Onto the Potato and Leek soup and how it fits into my CSA box story…

I have been getting a bunch of potatoes in my box lately and I had been wanting to make soup out of them but I have been waiting to get some leeks to make Potato and Leek Soup so when I went the other day I picked up a beautiful bundle of leeks.

I really like simple soups where the true flavors come shining through. T. is of the mindset that everything is better with bacon and could not even fathom the idea that I wanted to make a potato soup without bacon in it. Turns out it was a great recipe and he really loved it. Thanks Alana!!! Took it for lunch today if that means anything!

Potato and Leek Soup (Butter is Love)

Ingredients:

• 2 T butter
• 3 leeks (I used 4 because that’s what I had)
• 4 medium potatoes (I used a bunch of small red skins)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 qt. chicken broth
• I added garlic powder and onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• milk to desired consistency

Directions:

1. Thinly slice leeks to the top of the light green part and put in a bowl of water to soak out any dirt
2. Thinly slice potatoes (I leave the skins on for flavor and potassium)Heat 2 T of butter in a large pot over medium heat
3. Add potatoes to the pot and sautée until they start to brown
4. Add garlic and sautée for one minute, careful not to burn
5. Drain and add leeks, sautée until wilted
6. Add 1 qt chicken broth and simmer for 30 min (check your potatoes for doneness)
7. Immersion blend or blend in a regular blender (Be very careful if using a regular blender, only blend half at a time. Trust me.)
8. Blend in milk until desire consistency is reached
9. Salt and pepper to taste

This was a beautiful and simple recipe that let the wonderful ingredients shine without covering it up in bacon fat (which does have it’s place people! Just not in this soup)

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Soup and Chili Weather!

It doesn't really get "cold" here, it just feels like it is to us. After living our summers at 90 degrees and above when the temperature starts to drop below 75 degrees we feel a little chill in the air! Go ahead laugh all you want but when it is in the 40's during the night and only the 60's during the day we need to be bundled up!!! Hence my huge desire for soups and chili last week.

I put a shout out on Twitter (follow me here to find out what I'm up to!) looking for chili recipe and "Wow" did my friends deliver! I have so many chili recipes favorited and that I can't wait to try! Due to my daughter still being sick I wasn't able to head to the grocery store to pick up any missing items so I was rather limited on what I could make. Someone sent me this Weight Watchers recipe though that fit all of my requirements and was low in points (5 points per serving) as well!!!

Bean and Beef Chili (adapted from WW)

Ingredients

	2 tsp olive oil
	1 medium onion(s)
	2 medium stalk(s) celery
	2 medium garlic clove(s)
	1 small jalapeño pepper(s)
	1 pound(s) lean ground sirloin
	2 tbsp chili powder
	2 tsp ground cumin
	1 tsp dried oregano
	2 piece(s) bay leaf
	1/2 tsp table salt
	1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
	28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
	8 oz canned diced tomatoes
	15 oz canned kidney beans
	3/4 cup(s) canned chicken broth

Instructions

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, garlic and jalapeño; sauté until tender, about 4 minutes. Add beef and sauté until browned and cooked through, breaking up meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes; drain mixture through a colander to remove excess fat.

Return beef mixture to pan (set over medium-high heat) and add chili powder, cumin, oregano, bay leaves, salt and red pepper flakes; stir to coat vegetables and beef with spices. Add tomatoes, broth, diced tomatoes and beans, and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.

To serve, discard bay leaves, ladle chili into bowls and top with chopped shallots. Yields about 1 heaping cup per serving.

I loved this recipe and despite it being a WW recipe I will make it again and again! This would be great for a buffet meal or a pot luck. Cook as per directions and then hold warm in a crock pot!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Oh Baby, It's cold outside...

Tuscan Pumpkin and White Bean Soup - Warm and hearty soup for a cold night!

It has been cold here in Florida. Yah, I know it's absolutely nothing like what you are all getting up North but for here it's definitely time to get the soup on...

Last night I wanted something fast, easy, warm and delicious. This recipe sure fit the criteria. I was looking for something with squash or pumpkin (I had roasted and pureed a squash at Halloween that I knew I wanted to use). I also wanted it to be kind on the waist line. I went with a modified version of a Weight Watcers recipe and was very pleased! I will be making this again and again!!!

Tuscan Pumpkin and White Bean Soup (adapted from Weight Watchers)

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
15 ounces of pumpkin puree (I used roasted and pureed pumpkin)
1-15.5 ounce can of white beans, drained and rinsed
3-1/2 cups of organic chicken broth
1/4 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
grated Parmesan

Instructions:

• Heat oil in a large soup pot set over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic, cover and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes.
  
• Stir in pumpkin, broth, beans and oregano; simmer 8 minutes.
  
• In a blender (or using an immersion blender), process soup in batches until smooth. (Note: Make sure not to overfill blender in order to avoid splattering.) Return soup to pot and reheat; season with salt and pepper.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Split Pea Soup without the ham...

Don't forget the hot smoked paprika...it really adds to this soup!!!

I love pea soup. Not the traditional pea soup with the smoked ham hock thrown in. Nope I like the pure taste of the peas to come shining through.

I first tried this soup back in February when I saw it on 101 Cookbooks. I wasn't sure though if the rest of the family was going to like it. Lucky for me they did. It's become one of our cold weather staples and we usually have it about 1 every week or so. Over that time I have made just a few small changes like adding garlic and some chicken stock, otherwise this soup is delicious just the way it is!

If you like you can buy or make a nice crusty loaf of bread to add to this hearty, cold weather meal!!!

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup (Heidi of 101 Cookbooks)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, chopped (I added 3 cloves of garlic as well)
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2 cups dried split green peas, picked over and rinsed
5 cups water (I substitute3 cup of the water with homemade chicken stock)
juice of 1/2 lemon (reserve the zest)

a few pinches of smoked paprika
more olive oil to drizzle

Add olive oil to a big pot over med-high heat. Stir in onions and salt and cook until the onions soften, just a minute or two. Add the split peas and water. Bring to a boil, dial down the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the peas are cooked through (but still a touch al dente). Using a large cup or mug ladle half of the soup into a bowl and set aside. Using a hand blender (or regular blender) puree the soup that is still remaining in the pot. Stir the reserved (still chunky) soup back into the puree - you should have a soup that is nicely textured. If you need to thin the soup out with more water (or stock) do so a bit at a time. Stir in the lemon juice and taste. If the soup needs more salt, add more a bit at a time until the flavor of the soup really pops.

Ladle into bowls or cups, and serve each drizzled with olive oil and topped with a good pinch of smoked paprika and a touch of lemon zest.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

My Mexican Style Chicken Soup!

My Mexican Style Chicken Soup with Rice and Pico de Gallo!

I was trying to figure out what to do for dinner and I found 2 chicken carcasses frozen and just waiting to be made into soup. It's still pretty hot here and I never want a heavy soup so I decided to make my Mexican Style Chicken Soup. It is just a light chicken broth soup with some chicken added to it.

I put the frozen chicken bones in a pot and added some onion, garlic, and fresh cilantro and let it simmer away all day. Just before dinner I strained the bones from the soup added the chopped up chicken and cooked some rice. I had made pico de gallo earlier so a nice simple dinner was born!

This is so incredibly simple and can be simmered all day in your Crockpot if needed. The trick to this is to freeze your bones from the roast chicken that you had. When you are ready for a nice pot of chicken soup you have the bones all ready to go!

Update on T's Dad: He had his eye surgery on Monday. They are still waiting for the results of the culture taken. The only thing is nothing is growing yet so they are starting to wonder if it was a blood clot???? He has been coughing up some blood to top everything else off and they had to biopsy his heart valves for the staph and fungus. Still nothing conclusive except for MRSA! We are well into his second week in the hospital...I think we should have more answers by now!

As Always...

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Mexican inspired chicken soup and a tart for dessert!

Doesn't that look amazing? All crispy and crunchy with fresh blackberries scattered around!

Well the school year is almost over and I have absolutely no idea where the time has gone. As of Friday my days are no longer my own. For the rest of this week they are on a half day schedule so I am suppose to pick them up at noon (wonder what happens if I don't???). I guess this is their subtle way of easing us into the summer. Only half days this week and nothing at all next week and for the next 10 weeks. I guess it's better than going cold turkey!!! I have my oldest daughter in for a couple of weeks of day camp but the youngest one will be with me ALL SUMMER long...10 whole weeks...2 and 1/2 months...OMG!!!

Anyway yesterday morning I was looking in my fridge trying to decide what was for dinner and about the only thing that wasn't a condiment was a chicken carcass from roast chicken the week before. I pulled the remaining meat of the bones and threw it in a pot of water. I added some onion, garlic, and fresh cilantro and let it simmer away all day. When T. got home and I was at skating and karate he strained the bones from the soup added the chopped up chicken and cooked some rice. I had made pico de gallo earlier so a nice simple dinner was born!

I had also made a Lemon Blackberry Tart that I had seen on Nikki's blog at Canarygirl.com. She always has so many great recipes but this was one I had been really wanting to try. We always have berries and lemons here and it was incredibly simple to throw together! The tart crust is one I will use over and over again for the ease of preparation and the final result!


Lemon and Blackberry Tart

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
6 ounces (150 grams) butter
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
juice of 2 lemons (around 1/2 cup?)
1 carton frozen blackberries, drained (I should have drained mine a little better) I used fresh

Preparation:

First and foremost, set your blackberries in a sieve over a bowl to drain.
Now, start the crust.
Preheat your oven to 300ºF/150ºC.
Add flour, powdered sugar and butter to your food processor and pulse until it comes together in a dough.
Press the dough into a tart pan, using your hands and fingers to spread the dough evenly.
Parbake the dough about 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
Raise oven temperature to 350ºF/175ºC.
While cooling, combine the filling ingredients.
Beat eggs first, then add remaining ingredients, except blackberries, whisking well to combine.
Pour filling into tart shell, and then arrange blackberries in filling.
Bake about 25 minutes, or until set.
Garnish with powdered sugar if desired.

This tart was thrown together in about an hour and everyone loved it. This is one I will definitely try again...different berry combinations would be great too!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Mexican Style Chicken Soup

Rough chopped guacamole to be used to top the soup!

Yes, yes, yes. I will use any excuse to make a pot of soup. Beloieve it or not it has been relatively cool here in Florida so I thought it a good time to dust off my suop pot and get to work.

As luck would have it I had a left over shicken carcass from last weekend so I plopped that in a pot of water with some onion, garlic, salt, pepper, dried parsley and dried oregano. I let this simmer away on the stove all day (warmed up the house and made it smell great as well!).

The girls and I went to meet a couple of friends for an afternoon around their pool and then came home to finish off the dinner. I made a real rough version of guacamole. I had 2 ripe avacado, tomatoes, fresh cilantro, onions, a couple roasted jalapeños and 1 fresh. This all got mixed together with some lime juice, salt and pepper. We ladled the coup into our bowls added some precooked rice that we had and then topped it all with the guacamole!

Doesn't that look great?

This soup was incredible. Nice, light, fresh tasting and just full of memories of summer! I will definitely make this one again. Even in the hot, hot, hot summer!

As always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Split Pea Soup

I posted about this split pea soup back in February and have been thinking about it ever since. I loved this soup. It has a clean, fresh taste about it that is hard to describe. T. is still convinced that I have put some ham or bacon in it. I swear I haven't. The only non vegetarian thing that I have done to this is to add chicken stock for some of the water.

I found this recipe on Heidi Swanson's blog 101 Cookbooks. If you haven't checked it out before check it out now. She is a vegetarian so all of her recipes are without meat but the substitutions she makes are incredible. Very well rounded vegetarian meals!


Vegetarian Split Pea Soup (Heidi of 101 Cookbooks)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, chopped (I added 3 cloves of garlic as well)
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2 cups dried split green peas, picked over and rinsed
5 cups water (I substituted 3 cup of the water with homemade chicken stock)
juice of 1/2 lemon (reserve the zest)

a few pinches of smoked paprika
more olive oil to drizzle

Add olive oil to a big pot over med-high heat. Stir in onions and salt and cook until the onions soften, just a minute or two. Add the split peas and water. Bring to a boil, dial down the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the peas are cooked through (but still a touch al dente). Using a large cup or mug ladle half of the soup into a bowl and set aside. Using a hand blender (or regular blender) puree the soup that is still remaining in the pot. Stir the reserved (still chunky) soup back into the puree - you should have a soup that is nicely textured. If you need to thin the soup out with more water (or stock) do so a bit at a time. Stir in the lemon juice and taste. If the soup needs more salt, add more a bit at a time until the flavor of the soup really pops.

Ladle into bowls or cups, and serve each drizzled with olive oil and topped with a good pinch of smoked paprika and a touch of lemon zest.

Serves 4 to 6.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy

www.nofearentertaining.com

Guess what we had for dinner last night?

Yep, once again it was Sunday, the one day a week that I don't have to come up with something new or amazing just good, hearty fresh tasting soup!

I had some chicken bones from a chicken that I had roasted earlier in the week, some carrots, onions, garlic and celery (remember that really nice looking celery from over a week ago? I froze it to use in soup!). I threw this all into a pot and let it simmer for the day. We strained it and I made some Passatelli, which are really a combination between pasta and dumplings. They are usually served just in a broth but I needed something to help make this soup a meal! We finished the soup with red swiss chard and then added the Passatelli and let this all cook down. This soup was great. I think the Parmesan in the noddles helped make it!

Passatelli (Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)

2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
salt and pepper

• In a bowl whisk the eggs and yolks. Add the Parmesan, bread crumbs, nutmeg, and a bit of salt and pepper to form a very loose dough.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to a day. The dough will firm up.
• Have your soup boiling
• Put portions of your dough in a ricer and press the dough through cutting it into sections by running a knife along the bottom. Allow to cook. When the Passatelli is done it will come to the surface.

This soup was another great one. I guess we just really like soup. It really went well with the chocolate pudding served for dessert!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

It was Sunday Soup Day again!

Nice, fresh, earthy tasting soup using quinoa

So I guess you can tell that we had soup again. Trust me though not 2 pots of soup I ever make turn out the same. I use the soup to help clean out all the produce from last week and make room for the new stuff on Wednesday! This week I had no bones once again so I used some organic, free range chicken stock that I bought at Costco and added to it some onion tops that I had leftover and saved, a turnip, some carrots (yellow and orange), garlic and an inion. I put the soup on about 10 and then we headed out for the day. On our way home I thought we would stop at Ada's (like a Whole Foods) and pick up some chicken for the soup. So we bought some chicken and some other stuff but I was really excited because in the bulk room they had organic quinoa. I bought a couple of cups of it.

When we walked in the soup was smelling good. We decided not to use the chicken but to just add about 3/4 cup of quinoa to the soup. I also had some red chard and romanesco to get rid of so it all went in the pot to cook right down. T. had made some "Creamed Leeks with Smoked Gouda" (I will post this recipe tomorrow) yesterday that he wanted to eat with the soup and some bread we had bought. so we decided that that was enough.


This soup turned out really good. I had never had quinoa before but have heard so many excellent things about and now that I have tasted it I will try and use it more!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Yes...it's more soup

Beef and Barley Soup with Mushrooms

It has been a very busy couple of days in the Chiappini household. I have decided to move my youngest daughter from private school to public school (a thousand different reason that I will not bore you with). With this comes a whole slew of problems especially doing it in the middle of the school year and without telling her that it was going to be happening! We had to tell her on Wednesday night that her last day would be Friday and that she was starting at a new school on Monday! Nothing though could have prepared me for her reaction to the news. It took her about 2 seconds to process this information and then instantly started with the arm pumping and loud screaming "Yes, Yes, Yes...now I will get to make new friends and boyfriends!!!" She is in kindergarten????!!! Still it was so cool to not have her frightened or apprehensive at all about doing this.

I decided to so a small going away party for her at her school. She has been there since she was a baby so this has hit all of us pretty hard. But I wanted to bake a cake for her so I came home yesterday afternoon after doing all the transfer stuff and baked her a nice white cake that I was going to let her decorate. Well it ended up about the thickness of a pancake! So back to the drawing board. By this time I only had just enough time to get it in the oven beofre I had to pick them up from school. I grabbed a bod cake that I have had in the pantry for an emergency. I followed to directions: Add water, oil, eggs. Mix and pour into pan and bake. Pretty simple huh? This freaking thing was as flat as a pancake too???? For some reason I was not to have cake!!!

T. took her to Publix later that evening and got her an Island Princess cake that she insisted on having personalized with "We'll miss you"! Too funny!

Anyway seeing as I was totally brain dead and couldn't even bake a cake from a box (I am a Daring Baker for crying out loud???!!!) I did not want to tackle too much in the kitchen but I did have some stewing beef that I bought so I checked out what else I had and found some barley. I had also gotten some shitakes at the farmer's market on Wednesday so I made Beef Barley Soup with Mushrooms. Turned out really good and we ate it with left over garlic bread from Tuesday night. Big Yum!

Check out this beautiful celery I got from the market!

Beef and Barley Soup with Mushrooms (adapted from Food & Wine Soups and Stews)

2 Tbs olive oil (more if needed)
1 1/2 lbs stewing beef
1 lg onion (chopped)
2 sticks of celery (chopped-I used the tops and all)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1/2 lb of shitake mushrooms (stemms removed and the cap diced)
1/2 lb dried wild mushrooms (rehydrated and chopped)
2/3 cup red wine
10 cups of water
2 tsp salt
1/2 quick cook barley
1 tsp savory
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 tsp beef base (I use better than bouillon)

1. In a large pot heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the meat and brown well. Add more oil if needed. Remove the meat.

2. reduce the heat to medium low and add the celery, onions and garlic and stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent and soft. Increase the heat to medium and add the mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the red wine to deglaze the pan (scrape the bottom to loosen the brown bits).

3. Return the beef to the pot. Add the water, salt and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat and cook barely simmering for about 30 minutes. Add the barley and the savory and cook until the barley is cooked.

This was a really nice and fast soup. We served to girls over some left over penne pasta that we had in the fridge and it was a great meal. I drank the leftover wine to help me get over not being able to bake a simple cake!!! I guess some things are just not meant to be!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Sunday was Soup Day...

Just about every Sunday morning I put a put of water on the stove and throw in all of the onion tops from the week, garlic remains, an onion, a carrot and anything that will make a nice rich stock. If I have roasted a chicken during the week the bones go into the stock to make chicken stock. This week though all I had was vegetable. So I threw all of my stuff in the pot and let it simmer away. I had found a recipe last week that I wanted to try. It was from Heidi's 101 Cook books. Now I am an omnivore (I was corrected by my very sweet oldest daughter last week that I am not a carnivore???? yeah she's only 7 cute huh?) but I love vegetarian recipes. I find that I can usually alter it to include what I want to have it. Most of Heidi's recipes are like that. You may remember the split pea soup of hers that I made of couple of weeks ago? I used chicken stock for it and it was incredible. Now she had a recipe for Chickpea Soup. I was very intrigued by the recipe. It had chickpeas, bulgur, cauliflower, and swiss chard. All things that I love and had on hand!

For this recipe I made my own stock but I used chicken stock as my base instead of water so really I was just enriching it. When all the veggies that I used had cooked down enough I simply removed them and threw them out. Then I went ahead and followed the recipe. I cooked mine a bit longer to get the bulgur softer so the girls didn't complain about it and I used romanesco instead of cauliflower. I also wanted mine a bit soupier so I added some more liquid near the end.

We loved this soup and I can't wait to try it again!


Heidi's Chickpea Hot Pot Recipe

Leftovers are going to thicken up ovenight - thin with a bit of water/stock while reheating, and adjust for seasoning again. You can find bulgur in the bins at most natural food stores and Whole Foods Markets.

1 large yellow onion, chopped
a splash of olive oil
a couple pinches of salt
2/3 cup uncooked bulgur
1 14-ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cup cauliflower, trimmed into small trees
2 cup kale or chard, destemmed and cut into thin ribbons

olive oil for finishing drizzle
red onion, chopped for garnish

In a large pot over medium-high heat saute the onion in the olive oil along with the salt - for a minute or until the onion begins to soften a bit. Stir in the bulgur. Stir in the chickpeas and the stock. Bring the ingredients to a simmer. Cook for another few minutes, it should start to thicken. Taste to see if the bulgur is cooked through, if so add the orange juice. If not, simmer for a couple more minutes before adding the juice. Stir in the cauliflower and the kale as well - simmer another few minutes, until the cauliflower is just tender. If the stew is on the thick side, thin with a bit more water or stock. Taste, and add salt if necessary.

Serve garnished with a drizzle of olive oil and red onions.

You don't have to be a vegetarian to enjoy a great vegetarian recipe!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

One very messed up day...

Sometimes s*** just happens.

Yesterday we had pretty much decided that we were just going to spend the day hanging around the house. We had a bunch of things that had been sorely neglected in the past few weeks - yard work, getting stuff picked up and just general everyday home things that are so easy to overlook and ignore! I got a bunch of cooking and baking done - bread for the girls lunches for the week, soup stock was on the stove bubbly away just waiting until dinner, one really failed batch of goat milk yogurt in my new yogurt maker and another one started, Banana-Chocolate Chip Squares (King Arthur Flour-Whole Grain Baking cookbook). Then it all started to go a little crazy.

The girls were outside playing and they had the Golden Retriever outside running around with them. Now these girls play really rough with this dog and we have warned them over and over that somebody was going to get hurt one of these days. Yesterday was the day! I was about to get into the shower and I could hear what they were doing...a lot of screaming, running, and yelling. The kids and dog both think that this is fairly harmless. But it was starting to sound a little out of control. So there I was with the shower ready nothing on but a tank top as I was about to get in and I thought that I should just tell them to settle it down a bit. Well that's when I saw it happen...my oldest daughter flying down the slide of the play set with the 85 lb Golden Retriever flying through the air and landing on her just as she hit the ground head first!!! For the first little bit I just kept and eye on her, got ice for the headache that she had (yup imagine that!). I went and finished my shower. I came back out to check on her and she was sleeping with a freezing cold ice pack on her head...this is when I started to get a little worried! We are not alarmist when it comes to the kids and we can ignore a ton of things without guilt but heads are another story.

I called T. and got him to come home (he was out at an impromptu meeting). I was able to wake her back up but at this point I wanted her looked at. Her face had started to swell a little too. So when T. got home off we all went to the ER. We got there and it was so disgusting! The whole place smelt like vomit and some people had already been waiting in there since 9 AM...at this point it was about 2:30 PM. We decided to take her outside and see if this was all really necessary (All I could think was that by us being in there we would catch something horrible and end up there again!!!!) We gave her some juice to drink and asked the triage people what we needed to check for. After going through the check list we decided that we really did not want to be there. We got her home and she seemed to perk up quite a bit. It think we made the right decision! She slept fine and she was okay this morning except for some achy body parts (no surprise there). Whew - It took me well over a bottle of wine to make me fine after that!!!!

Any way, the soup was still on the stove so we knew what was for dinner and you have seen enough of my soups to know what they look like and it was really to chaotic here to try and take pictures (also had a friend over for a quick meal with us-yep someone will actually voluntarily come and eat with us!). When she called and I invited her I was just making the biscuits. I had decided to try a new recipe also from the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook.

Parmesan-Pine Nut Biscuits

Makes twelve to fourteen 2-inch biscuits

These are made with white whole-wheat flour, which has a milder flavor than its tan cousin. The biscuits would go nicely with smoked turkey or a creamy chowder. Adapted from "King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking" (Countryman Press, 2006).

2 cups (8 ounces) white whole-wheat flour (I only had regular whole wheat-white may have made them lighter)

1/2 cup (2 1/8 ounces) bread flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter

1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for the tops (topping optional)

1 cup (about 5 ounces) pine nuts

1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary (optional) (did not use T. doesn't like it)

1 large egg

1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk, plus more for brushing the biscuit tops

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a large baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using a fork, two knives, a pastry cutter or a food processor, combine the butter with the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add the cup of Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and rosemary, if desired.

In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the egg and buttermilk. Add to the flour mixture, blending lightly and quickly with a fork until the mixture is evenly moistened. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a bench knife or dough scraper, fold the dough over on itself 3 or 4 times until it comes together. Pat or lightly roll out the dough until it is 3/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into squares or 2-inch rounds and transfer the biscuits to the prepared baking sheet. Stack the scraps on top of each other, fold them as you did for the original dough and pat out and cut again to form the rest of the biscuits. Brush the tops with buttermilk and sprinkle with more cheese, if desired. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Serve warm, or transfer to a wire rack to cool; store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

All in all it was a good day and thankfully my oldest daughter was not really hurt!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Sunday was Soup Day...

Egg Drop Soup the Chiappini Way!

First off Mom - Happy Birthday to you! I love you and wish I could be there to share this day with you (I would have baked you a great big huge delicious cake as well). Enjoy your day! P.S. took care of the flower issue and they have made it better! Glad you like them!

So around here Sunday has become Soup Day. I think because it is near the end of my produce week and I have found that this is a great way to get rid of all of the leftover things that I have so I can be nice and cleaned out for Wednesday when I go to the Farmer's Market again! This Sunday though I had no bones to make a stock from so I used some organic free range chicken stock that I had bought at Costco (gotta love Costco) and tossed in some onion and onion tops, celery, carrots, garlic, parsley and a tsp of thyme. I turned my pot on low and off we went for the day!

I had been looking for some other Farmer's Markets in my area and I was coming up with nothing. I love the one that Worden Farm's holds on Wednesday but, human nature - we always think that there might be a better one out there! I found one that sounded kinda neat but it was in Tampa which is about 2 hours from here. We had nothing else going on other than tidying up the house which I will find any excuse to get out of...so to Tampa we went!
It was a true hippie type thing. I am really not so into all of that. Personally I am not out to change the world by eating organic and free range this and that. I want to feed my family the best tasting and safest food products available. Amid all of the recalls I think that this is almost becoming a necessity as opposed to a choice! So for me this was a little over the top. But I was able to get some duck eggs!!! The woman who was selling them had already ran out of chicken eggs so I got the next best thing I could! I was also able to get my hands on some heirloom seeds to start for the fall. Other than that the produce that I get from Worden Farms was far superior to theirs and this place smelt very strongly of patchouli and other herbs! Would I go again...probably not but I am glad that I went and saw that the grass was definitely not greener there!

My happy, fresh, duck eggs!

Note attached to the egg carton

So with my eggs in hand we drove back home and were going to stop at Ada's (like a Whole Food's but local) or Publix and grab some chicken to cook into the soup I had started at home. T. then suggested that we use the eggs to make egg drop soup. What a great idea that turned out to be!!!

We added some of the swiss chard and potatoes I had left over and then broke 3 eggs into a bowl, scrambled them and then dropped them into the soup through a strainer.

Would I make this again? Most definitely and if you can ever get your hands on some duck eggs I would highly recommend them!

I was going to tell you about the delicious goat milk pudding I made for dessert last night but I have my oldest daughter home from school today (apparently they don't take to kindly to your daughter vomiting throughout the classroom) so my post is shorter then I had wanted it to be! Tomorrow will be pudding!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com