Tortilla Soup

It's hard to find healthy Mexican food. I'm not a big fajita fan, but I do love me some tortilla soup. Especially in weather like this (which is finally a balmy nine degrees Fahrenheit, after a couple weeks hovering around twenty below). But that's another story. Here it is. It took maybe 35 minutes, start to finish. And like most soups, I think it will be even better tomorrow.

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 T oil (I used canola)
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, diced
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can corn, drained (I used the no salt added variety)
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. chili powder
4 c. chicken broth/stock
About 2 c. tortilla chips, slightly crushed

Grated cheddar
More crushed tortilla chips
Sour cream and/or diced avocado

Set the oven to broil. Rinse and dry the peppers, set aside.

Put a big old pan on the stove and set to medium. Add the oil, then when hot add the onions. Give them a stir. Dice your chicken into bite size peices. When the onions begin to turn translucent, add the chicken. Add salt and pepper.

When the oven is hot, put the peppers in on the top rack (right onto the rack). Roast in the oven about 4 minutes and turn with tongs, roasting another couple minutes, or until mostly blackened. Put the peppers into a storage container or ziplock and seal Set aside.

Continue to cook the chicken and onions, stirring frequently, until the chicken is opaque. Add the garlic, and cook about 30 more seconds.

Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce, corn, chipotle peppers, and spices. Adjust spices as needed.

Stir until warmed through, then add the chicken broth. Increase burner temperature to medium-high, and when soup is starting to boil, adjust heat down to medium-low. Add the chips.

Remove the peppers from the container (watch out--they will still be hot!). Remove the skins (this should be easy as long as you don't burn yourself). Remove the seeds and dice the peppers, add to the soup.

Serve the soup immediately and garnish (if you like) with the cheese, chips, sour cream, and/or avocado.

Meal Planning From a Variety of Approaches

One of the biggest hurdles to eating healthy at home every night is dealing with all the fatigue and stress that come from our crazy busy schedules. With everything else on our plates (figuratively) and the ever-present siren call of the drive through window, it's no wonder that only 41% of Americans cook at home 5+ times a week and 11% cook at home rarely to never. This is shocking to me, but not entirely surprising.

The easiest way to get home-cooked food on the table more nights of the week than not (saving calories, money, family time, you name it) is to meal plan in advance. This saves the nightly scramble of, "what do you want for dinner," "do we need to go to the store," and, "oh screw it, let's just go out."

One amazing thing about the internet is the sheer number of websites and blogs, and now apps for your smart phone, that really can help a busy family out. All you need to do is pick a strategy and run with it.

First, you can go old school. I think I have mentioned once or twice that we started meal planning with a very excellent little book called Saving Dinner.

Books like this have menus laid out, seasonally, for every night of the week, with suggested sides. I like this one because it features lots of lean proteins, veggies, and whole grains, and the recipes tend to be very simple and quick to make, perfect for our busy family.

Another option is to subscribe to a meal planning service. Many of these have a small fee attached. Leanne Ely has one, which even has an option for a paleo and gluten free option, which is very trendy right now. The Dinner Page is a free option that's been making the Pinterest rounds lately. Recipe.com, a BHG offering, tracks your local grocery sales, helping you plan your meals around what's on sale, saving you moolah.

Finally, a little more advanced mode is to see what's in season or on sale yourself, and planning your meals around it. All Recipes is a great place to start; you can plan a week or two in advance and it will even generate a shopping list for you to print. The site also offers a free smart phone app called the Dinner Spinner that allows you to select what type of dish you want to prepare and what ingredient you have to use, allowing meal planning on the fly. For Weight Watchers aficionados, Skinny Taste has gobs of great recipe ideas and also posts the points value of each.

If you have children that you want to involve in meal planning (which can be a great tool to help overcome picky eaters), you can do something like this, from Once Upon a Chocolate Chip Pancake where your regular go-to dinners can be selected (photo cards can help younger children who cannot yet read) and pinned to the board. A posted menu can also help fend off dinner time arguments ("But I don't want spaghetti--I want chicken nuggets!").

How do you meal plan? On the fly each night? A week/two/month in advance? Please share!

Toddler Rooms

I know this is way, way, way off-topic. But I'm just so excited (and just can't hide it)! My son's monster-themed room was featured in Toddler Times' slideshow on "normal" toddler rooms. This means rooms that didn't cost an arm and a leg to decorate (ours sure didn't). My favorite part of the room is the AMAZING custom monster applique pillow seen on the glider (and coordinating bunting), courtesy of Shelly at Pink Punk Boutique. The wall art is just color copies from the wild rumpus scene in Where the Wild Things Are decoupaged to inexpensive canvases by my older son and I. How did you decorate your toddler or preschooler's room? Did it change from how you decorated for them as a baby?

Hands Off Bread

If you live in the Anchorage, Alaska area, you may be familiar with Europa Bakery's amazing rustic bread offerings. You may also be (painfully) aware of the highish prices. This recipe, from the How to Cook Everything iPad app, mimics the yeasty, crusty, and chewy goodness of a high-end loaf of bread, but without any kneading. Yup, no kneading. It does take some foresight to make this bread, and it's a little messy. The original recipe in no way prepared me for how much flour needed to be added after the original mix. But it was worth it. Plus, you can make a fun heart-shaped loaf of bread like me. OK, heart-ish shaped. The recipe name in the app is Jim Lahey's No-Work Bread, but that name conjures up a different Jim Lahey, the drunken trailer park manager in Trailer Park Boys. So I retooled the name a bit.

Hands Off Bread

Ingredients
4 c. bread flour, plus
1/2 t. yeast
2 t. salt
2 c. water, about 70 degrees F

Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add the water and stir until blended (it's going to be goopy, don't worry). Cover the bowl with saran wrap and let rest for 12-18 hours (see what I mean about foresight?).

Flour a work surface. Give the dough a stir with your hands then plop it out onto the prepared surface. It's going to be pretty sloppy still. Sprinkle liberally with flour and work it in with your hands until the dough can kind of hold a round shape. I promise, this is nothing like kneading and goes really fast. Cover the dough loosely with saran wrap and let rest 15 minutes.

Using more flour to keep the dough from sticking, quickly shape it into a ball. Coat a cotton, non-terry cloth dish towel with corn meal and plunk the dough on it. Sprinkle more flour on the top to keep it from sticking and cover with another towel. Let rise another 2 hours, until it's roughly doubled in size.

At least 30 minutes before you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 450 and place a covered baking dish (mine was heart-shaped) in the oven. When the dough has risen, pull the dish out of the oven, place the dough in it, and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove the cover, reduce temperature to 425 and cook another 15 minutes.

Chicken Chard and Rice Casserole

So if you read yesterday, you know that we are doing some veggie clean-up in the fridge this week. We had a nice bunch of rainbow chard in the fridge, and if you have ever bought chard you know that it goes limp faster than, well, you get the idea. The chard needed to be eaten, like, yesterday. So I monkeyed with another Moosewood recipe. Turned out pretty good and very filling.

Chicken Chard and Rice Casserole

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 T. oil
1/4 c. chicken broth (or water)

2 c. uncooked brown rice
1 T. butter
1 onion, minced
1 bunch of chard, stems removed and chopped (you can sub spinach or any other green)
salt and pepper
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cayenne
2 T. Dijon mustard
3 beaten eggs
1 1/4 c. milk
1 1/2 c. grated cheddar or swiss

Put the rice in a rice cooker with 3 c. of water and turn to cook (start this right away!).

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat a medium cast iron skillet over medium high with 2 T. of oil in it (I used canola). When it's hot, place the chicken in and salt and pepper. Brown for a few minutes then flip. Give the second side another couple minutes, then add the broth and cover, turn to medium. Cook covered for about 10 minutes, until middle runs clear. Remove chicken to a cutting board to rest and cool.

Chop your onion, then turn a large pan on medium and add the butter (if you are anti-butter you can sub oil but please don't let me know of this crazy perversion). Saute the onions until translucent and maybe just starting to brown on the edge.

While the onions cook, de-stem and chop up the greens and mince the garlic. When the onions are clear, add the garlic, greens, and salt and pepper. Stir frequently and cook about 5 minutes, remove from heat.

Pam a 13x9 pan. Chop or shred the chicken (it should be well rested by now, must be nice). Add the rice and the greens mixture. In a bowl, beat the eggs and then mix in the mustard, spices, milk, and cheese. Add this to the pan and stir everything until well incorporated. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is set.

Nacho-topped Beans and Rice

So I think I've mentioned, maybe once or twice, that we have been subscribing as of late to the Full Circle box organic produce program. The boxes are delivered to our pickup spot on Thursday afternoons, which means my husband has the chore of picking up the box and getting the contents to the fridge. Which he is very good at.

Where our skills are lacking, however, is in communication. I usually do the meal planning, and he usually forgets what came in the box that week. So Monday I opened the fridge to see what's left of the prior week's box and found tons and tons of goodies I didn't know were there. 

So this week became a sort of fridge clean-out week. The key, I believe, to not wasting food, is to have a decent selection of cookbooks on hand, or a working knowledge of where to find recipes on-line. Since we were dealing with veggies, my go-to vegetarian cookbook is the New Moosewood Cookbook. Mollie Katzen has written and entire library of veggie-based cookbooks and I really encourage you to check them out, if you haven't already (our local library has a huge selection of her titles). She makes healthy, veggie-laden food taste like, well, delicious comfort food. And with her help, you can do it, too.


This recipe, served over canned refried beans and steamed rice (if you have leftover pinto beans, even better), is pretty easy and the taste is very deceptive--I am not a bell pepper fan and I seriously destroyed a plate of this. The sauce tastes a bit like the old Rotel-Velveeta dip, but the flavor is much more complex. If you want some meat in the dish, I think a half pound of browned ground beef would be pretty tasty mixed in as well. You could also use the nacho topping as a dip for a Super Bowl party. Like I kind of mentioned earlier, it's adapted from a Moosewood recipe.

Nacho-topped Beans and Rice

Ingredients:
2 T. olive oil
1 small-medium onion, diced
salt and pepper
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. coriander
1/4 t. cayenne
2 large bell peppers, diced (I used one red and one green)
3 medium tomatoes, chopped (you can sub a can of diced tomatoes too)
2 T. flour
8 oz beer (I used a Corona but you can use whatever you have on hand, and flat beer is fine, too)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. sugar
2 c. grated cheddar

steamed rice
2 cans refried beans (I like to mix about 1/2 c. of salsa with the beans), warmed

crushed tortilla chips for garnish*

Heat the oil on medium in a large pan. Add the onions and sprinkle with salt. Saute until the onion is translucent. While it cooks, chop your peppers and tomatoes. When the onions are translucent, add the peppers and tomatoes, along with the cumin, coriander, cayenne, and some fresh ground black pepper. Cover and cook over medium for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Start the rice in the rice cooker. Open the beans and put them on the stove over low (or in a microwave-safe bowl), and mix in the salsa if you are using it.

When your peppers are soft, whisk in the flour, dissolving all lumps. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Whisk in the beer, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste the mixture, add salt if necessary. Add the sugar. Whisk in the cheese and stir until it's melted and incorporated. Serve hot over rice and beans. Garnish with some crushed tortilla chips if desired.

*optional

Chicken Diane

So who is this Diane, anyway? And why does she make such delicious chicken? This recipe, adapted from Saving Dinner, makes enough for four. I served it with a salad, quinoa, and kale chips. Quinoa is an acquired taste for some, like my husband, because it it a little chewier than, say, couscous or white rice. I cook it in my rice cooker and substitute chicken broth/stock for the water. It provides a lot of flavor and the rice cooker really does a nice job, in my opinion.

Chicken Diane

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 T. olive oil
2 T. butter, divided
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 T. lemon juice
3 t. Dijon mustard
1/3 c. chicken broth
salt and pepper

If you are serving a grain like quinoa or rice with this, start it now. Then place the chicken, two at a time, in a freezer ziplock and pound with a rolling pin until the breasts are about half their original thickness.

In a cast iron pan, heat the oil and 1 T. of the butter. When it's hot, add the chicken. Salt and pepper the chicken, and cook about four minutes each side. Remove chicken from pan and place on a plate. Tent the chicken with tin foil to keep it warm.

Add green onions, lemon juice, and mustard to pan, whisk constantly for 15 seconds. Whisk in the broth and whisk until smooth. Then whisk in the remaining butter. Remove from heat. Spoon sauce over the chicken and eat up.

One Fish Two Fish Birthday Cupcakes

My son's birthday is coming up, and we are doing a One Fish, Two Fish theme for him. He wanted to bring some cupcakes to school to share, so I copied a Pinterest idea and made these. He loved them and loved making them, as he (like most kids) is a big fan of sugar, butter, and goldfish crackers. The frosting is just buttercream and piped on with a ziplock bag with a hole cut in a corner, with sanding sugar, sugar pearls, and colored goldfish crackers for garnish. It was colored with Wilton sky blue paste color. The cupcakes themselves are just Funfetti mix cupcakes. In my non-expert opinion, cake mix is pretty darn tasty, but packaged frosting is pretty nasty.

Cincinnati Skyline Turkey Chili

I offer full disclosure for this recipe: I have never been to Cincinnati, nor have I had Skyline chili before. But being curious, I wanted to try it out. I mashed a few recipes together for this. And another full disclosure, apparently authentic skyline chili has beans as a garnish; mine has the beans all mixed in. So if you have had REAL skyline chili, maybe try mine and tell me how far off I am? I did not add any cocoa powder (apparently a part of the original), which after having this I think would be pretty good in it. I served some rooster sauce on the side (this recipe is not spicy at all) so my husband and I could enjoy a spicy dish while our son could eat his mild.

Cincinnati Skyline Turkey Chili

Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
1 onion, minced
1 green pepper, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey breast
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 t. ground cinnamon
1 bay leaf
2 t. chili powder
1 shake of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
1 package spaghetti noodles
grated cheddar cheese for garnish

In a big dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. When it's hot, add the pepper and onion. Stir often and cook until lightly browned. Add the garlic, cook another 30 seconds or so. Add the turkey, salt and pepper to taste, and brown. To this add the tomato products, beans, and spices, and stir. Bring to a simmer then bring heat down to low. Cover. Boil a pot of salted water and add the spaghetti, cook per package instructions to al dente. When the noodles are done, strain and add to a big bowl. Pour the chili mix over the noodles, then top with the cheddar (I think I used maybe 3/4 cup, though more would have been even more delightful). Serve.

If you are paying attention to this photo, you will find out that I was out of spaghetti noodles and had to substitute some wider ones. Oops. Always check your pantry contents before heading to the store.

S'more Martini

My husband makes a mean chocolate martini. I saw something called a s'more martini on Pinterest that was similar his recipe, except with a fancy rimmed glass. I will tell you what he says are the key to a good girlie martini (or any martini for that matter): good vodka, and drinking it while it's ice cold.

S'more Martini

Ingredients for one big one:
2 shots Grey Goose or other premium vodka
1 shot Godiva or other chocolate liquer
1/2 shot frangelico
Marshmallow cream
1 graham cracker, crushed

Fill your martini glass with ice water to pre-chill it (remember the cold rule). Fill your cocktail shaker with ice. Add the booze and put the lid on it. Wrap a towel around it and shake until a nice coating of frost is on the outside of the shaker. Empty the martini glass, use your finger to wipe some marshmallow cream around the rim then dip the rim into the crushed graham crackers (a saucer is a good place to put the cracker crumbs). Give the shaker one more shake and strain into the glass. Prost!

Shepherd's Pie (with greens)

I love shepherd's pie. Like seriously, it's one of my top comfort foods. My favorite version is (or at least, was) served at a restaurant called Kells in Portland, Oregon. They simmer the beef in Guinness and let me tell you, it is GOOD. I didn't have any Guinness on hand this week (or any other dark beer, for that matter) but I did have a head of collard greens from last week's veggie box. I thought I would try to do a pie with collards in the veggie layer. It turned out pretty good, and was a good mask to the somewhat bitter, swampy collards (you can sub in any green you like, or any other veggie for that matter). You can see in the photo that I like to add some sharp cheddar to the top as well, but of course you don't need to do this step. If you are anti-potato (please do not tell me if you are, I will automatically distrust you), you could do a mashed cauliflower on top instead. 

Shepherd's Pie with Greens

Ingredients:
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1 pound lean ground beef
worcestershire sauce, about 3 T.
about 1 pound, or 5-6, yukon gold potatoes
1/4 c. milk
2 T. butter
1 bunch collard or other greens
1 t. rooster sauce*
3 T. canola oil
1/2 #, or half a small bag, baby carrots
1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese*
salt and pepper
*optional

Preheat the oven to 375.

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Wash, peel, and cube the potatoes. When the water is boiling, add the potatoes and boil until tender.

Meanwhile, wash and chop the greens. Put a large pan on the stove and heat 2 T. of the oil over medium-low heat. When the pan is hot, add the greens and carrots, stir.

Finely chop the onions. Put a medium pan on the stove and heat the remaining oil over medium heat. Add the onions. Mince the garlic and add it to the onions, and give the pan a stir. Frequently stir both the greens/carrots and onions, until the greens are tender and the onions are translucent. Turn the greens/carrots off when they are done and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the rooster sauce if you are using it.

When the onions are translucent, add the ground beef and salt and pepper to taste. Brown the meat, then add the worcestershire sauce and stir to mix. Turn off the heat.

When the potatoes are tender, strain them then mash (or use a mixer like I do) them with salt, pepper, the butter and milk. 

Pam or oil a large covered casserole dish. Put the ground beef in an even layer. Then add the veggies in another even layer. Finally, spread the mashed potatoes on the top. Sprinkle the cheese and cover. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the cover and bake an additional 10.

Pumpkin White Chocolate Oatmeal

A blog that I read, The Heir to Blair, posted an oatmeal recipe this morning, and it sounded soooooo good. I've been trying to eat a lot of oatmeal lately (it's supposed to help maintain supply for nursing moms like me), and the recipe sounded like a nice change, plus an easy way to sneak in a little more veggie into my day. A little advice, my almost-three-year-old was a little bummed when the chocolate chips were melted in and couldn't see them anymore, so you might just sprinkle them on top for kids if you use them.

Pumpkin White Chocolate Oatmeal (serves 2)

Ingredients:
1 c. dry oatmeal
1 3/4 c. water
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1+ t. raw sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/8 c. white chocolate chips

Prepare oatmeal by package instructions. When it's cooked, remove from heat and stir in pumpkin. Divide between two bowls. To each bowl, add sugar (for my son, I use just a pinch of sugar and for me about a teaspoon) to taste. Sprinkle on cinnamon. I like a heavy sprinkling; not only does it taste good, it can help regulate blood sugar. Win! Then add chocolate chips and stir, they will melt easily. I do all the condiments last so they can be adjusted to each person's taste.

Swiss Chard Tart

Don't be scared by the name. This is good (I promise). It's also a painless way to use lots of greens, and even maybe get your kid to eat them, too. I adapted it from a recipe from a friend, who I believe got it from The Joy of Cooking. If you got a Full Circle box last week, that chard isn't getting any fresher. You can substitute any greens for the chard.

Swiss Chard Tart

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 c. white flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. olive oil

Guts:
2 T. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pound (1 bunch) swiss chard, most of bottom stem removed, chopped (give it a good wash, it's usually dirty)
1 1/2 t. dried basil
1/4 t. salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
3 eggs
1/3 c. milk
1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Mix the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the oil and water and thoroughly combine. Press the dough into a square baking dish or tart pan and put in the fridge for at least an hour.

When you are ready to start cooking, preheat oven to 375. In a large skillet, cook the onion and garlic in the 2 T. of oil, over medium-low, until the onion is translucent. Add the chard and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Stir fairly frequently.

Remove from heat. Add the salt, pepper, and basil.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and cheese. Stir in the veggie mixture from the pan. Pour the mixture over the crust and bake until golden brown on the edges and firm, about 40-45 minutes. Cool. Serve.

Here's what your crust dough should look like when it's ready to be pressed into the pan.

Hot out of the oven!

Ready to eat

Salmon Cakes with Cheesy Polenta and sautéed zucchini

There comes a time in every home cook's life when you start scraping the bottom dregs of your freezer's contents. Around here that time is usually around spring or early summer, as we pull out the last of the previous summer's salmon. Fish is especially delicate and doesn't always weather the freezer too well. If or when this happens, consider making up some salmon cakes (or salmon croquettes). Of course, you don't have to use old fish. You can use fresh, or even canned. It's also a great recipe to use up leftover cooked salmon, as I precook the fish first. I served it over some cheesy polenta with a side of sauteed zucchini from my Full Circle box.

Salmon Cakes

Ingredients
About 2 pounds, or one large, salmon filet
3/4 c. bread crumbs
2 eggs
About 1 T. blackening or cajun seasoning
2 T. lemon juice
oil (you want a high smoke point oil preferably, like corn or grapeseed)

If the salmon is raw, bake it (try about 375 for 20 or so minutes) with salt and pepper. If you are using leftover or canned salmon, skip ahead!

Put the salmon (take the skin off if it's not off already) in a medium bowl. Break apart/flake with a fork or your hands, removing any bones still in, until salmon is in pretty small pieces (but not mashed). If you are fairly certain you don't have bones you can do a rough chop in the food processor.

Add the eggs, bread crumbs, seasoning, and lemon juice to the bowl. Mix with your hands until ingredients are well incorporated.

Put a cast iron pan on the stove, medium-high, and add about a centimeter or so of your oil. When the pan is hot (flick a drop of water in; if it sizzles, you are there), place patties made of the salmon mixture gently into the heat. When they are brown, flip. Put finished patties on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Serve hot.

If your fish is pretty old or freezer burned, feel free to sprinkle some more lemon juice on the patties after they are cooked. If your fish is in good shape, you will not need this. My husband also likes these when I add some rooster sauce to the patty mix.

 Cheesy Polenta

Ingredients

6 c. water
1 t. salt
1 3/4 c. yellow cornmeal
about 1 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese

Bring water to boil in medium pot. Add the salt, then gradually whisk in cornmeal (hopefully you have more patience than me as I always end up with a couple lumps). Reduce heat to low and cook until mixture thickens and cornmeal is tender, about 15 minutes, stirring often. Turn off the heat. Add cheese, stir until melted and combined. Serve immediately.