Saucy Chicken Soup

It's been a while right?

It's windy, chilly and crisp outside...pretty much the perfect Autumn day. As perfect as it can get in L.A. anyway. I've been feeling a little under the weather lately and figured it is the perfect opportunity to make some chicken soup. Saucy Secretary style chicken soup. For a large pot of soup to feed 6-8 or in my single-self case, enough to freeze for those perfect rainy days, you'll need:

(  1  ) Large Can of Chicken Broth
(  2  ) Medium sized Russet Potatoes
(  1  ) Medium Yellow Onion
( 2-3 ) Ribs of Celery
( 1-2 ) Jalapenos
(  1  ) Red or Green Bell Pepper
(  2  ) Cloves of Garlic
(  1  ) Bunch of Kale / Swiss Chard / Spinach
( 1 tsp ) Chicken Bouillon
( 1 tsp ) Dried Oregano
(  2  ) Small or (  1  ) Large Chicken Breast(s)
(  2  ) Dried or Fresh Bay Leaves
(  2 tbsp ) Olive Oil
Salt & Fresh Pepper

Start by chopping the celery, onion, garlic and jalapenos. A rough chop, the soup will cook and they will pretty much disintegrate. If you're not a fan of spicy food or have small kids at home, you can leave the jalapenos out, use only one jalapeno or replace the jalapeno with an Anaheim pepper (they aren't hot).

Add ONE tablespoon of the olive oil to a large pot. Add the celery, onion, garlic, oregano and jalapenos, along with a little salt and pepper.

Give everything a little stir, so the olive oil coats everything and just let it hang out over medium heat.

While the onion and celery mixture is getting soft, start chopping the bell pepper and potatoes. Green bell peppers also work well here, I just think the red color gives this soup a little pop of color.

The potatoes are up next. Be sure to cut the potatoes the same size, so they cook evenly. NO ONE wants to bite into a raw potato. You could also substitute the potato for egg noodles, rice, quinoa, a small pasta? If using anything other than the potatoes, you should add it towards the end of the cooking process. I feel the potatoes work well here because I chop them small enough, so that they kinda fall apart just enough to thicken the soup

Give everything a little stir and let it hang out while you chop the chicken.

Now this next step is optional, I like to pour the celery, onion and potato mixture into a bowl while I brown the chicken in the pot. If you prefer to keep it a one pot meal, stir the chicken in and continue!

Brown the chicken with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.

Sprinkle a teaspoon of the chicken bouillon all over the chicken, while it's browning. Don't go overboard with the bouillon, it will make it super salty.

Add the celery, onion and potatoes back into the pan and give it a good stir.

Add the whole can of chicken broth

Tear the leaves off the kale and add

Add your bay leaves, give the whole thing one last stir before bringing it up to a boil. When the soup is boiling, put a lid on your pot and simmer away for about an hour.

Serve with warm, crusty bread, a box of tissues and the first season of Girls! This soup will clear your nasal passages and put yummy goodness in your belly.

Buon Appetito!

Hey There Sweet Thang!

My quest for the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie is never ending. Just when you find a good one, another one comes waltzing in. I usually stick with the Toll house recipe, because I mean...you can never go wrong with Toll house. Our family recipe makes the cookies cake-like, which I'm not too fond of, I like soft almost raw cookies, crusty and crunchy on the outside and gooey in the middle.

I needed to find the PERFECT recipe, since these cookies were going to be given to some very special people, so I googled it. These are the recipes that caught my eye:

Option #1

Option #2

Option #3

I went with Option #1!

All of them pretty much have the same ingredients, I just thought the description of the texture of the cookies, was exactly what i was searching for.

Three mental notes: You have to refrigerate the dough. So, this can't be a spur of the moment, let's whip up some cookies kind of recipe.

Turbinado sugar is also used in this recipe, you can get it anywhere...I got mine at Ralphs. Side note, a lot of brown sugar is used here so make sure you have enough. I think the amount of brown sugar is what gives these cookies the almost caramel kind of flavor.

Also, she uses chocolate bars and chunks them up instead of the traditional morsels. I had morsels on hand, but this is where the light bulb went off in my head! For Christmas my aunt gifted me a box of truffles and I wasn't sure what to do with them...until I chose to put them in the middle of the chosen chocolate chip cookie!!!

Here are the pictures, very little words are necessary...

The truffles are in that gold bag :)

The Turbinado sugar kind of looks like sand.

I like to add the dry ingredients in thirds.

The last dry ingredient addition is where you add the morsels (I used white ones too, just because I had some on hand)

Waiting will be the hardest part...but a spoonful of raw cookie dough never really hurt anyone!

Truffles!!!

Test cookies. 1st cookie has a whole truffle inside. 2nd cookie is plain, to test the dough recipe. 3rd cookie has a half truffle inside.

Someone has to try them :)

This recipe really is one of the best chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, but the truffles really made them exceptional. I realize that most people don't have truffles on hand, but they're SUPER easy to make and specially baked cookies are a super sweet treat to give to someone special.

That last picture made you want one, I know it did...

Let there be light...

Our kitchen light is out and I cannot reach it, nor can my roommate. This does not make for a great cooking environment. I'm sad to report that I made Lasagna and was hoping to share it, but just like getting dressed in the dark, cooking in the dark DOESN'T work either!

I thought lasagna would have been perfect for this time of year when everyone is shopping and stumbling in at all hours of the night from another holiday party. I usually assemble everything and stick it in the freezer...then pull it out and bake it, cringing at the thought of standing over the stove after waiting in one long holiday line after the other, then eating the leftovers the next day at 2am, when you thought it was a good idea to reward yourself with a drink, which turned into drinks...then shots.

I'm not the kind of girl to put on a low-cut top and knock on a hot neighbors door, so my brother is coming to change the bulb. I have a lot of holiday baking to do...

Cooking and baking shall commence soon....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yeah, yeah...I know I'm a little late, but I thought I should at least post all of the recipes I used for our great Thanksgiving dinner!

I volunteered to host the holiday this year, and it went smoothly...minus a mini meltdown, only one!

Menu:

Cajun Spiced Turkey

Pot Roast
this recipe is basic & comes out AMAZING every time - future post???

Creamed Spinach

Mac n' Cheese
I was a little disappointed because I thought this recipe was going to be a creamy version, it's not.

Green Bean Casserole
It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it! A lot of folks HATE green bean casserole and it occurred to me that maybe it's the cream of mushroom/ mushroom flavor? My dad will not eat anything with mushrooms, so I substituted the cream of mushroom soup, with a can of cream of chicken soup! I used a little less butter to saute the onions and used a tad bit more onion to compensate for the neglected mushrooms.

Stuffing
I wanted to do a yummy Italian sausage ciabatta stuffing and I'm soooo glad I didn't, because I'm sure it would have resulted in another meltdown

Ham
Mom made this...after we ate it, we all kind of wished we actually got it from Honeybaked, lesson learned.

Mashed Potatoes
Mom made these, but not this version. I'm convinced this recipe would have been delicious! Hers to quote my sister tasted like "potato salad minus the mayo" I hope my mom doesn't read this, I don't want her to get discouraged...but on second thought, maybe she just hasn't found a good recipe?

Apple Dumplings
These were incredible, but need to be served warm. Once they cool the sauce turns into caramel and it's almost impossible to pull them out of the pan without making them look like slop.

Sweet Potato Casserole
This was yummy, every time I talk to my dad, he asks about it. I didn't smash the sweet potatoes, I left them cubed and tossed all the ingredients together. The topping was sweet and delicious, but not too sweet.

Cranberry Sauce
Don't bother with that gross can stuff. Seriously! Make it yourself, it's sooo much better. I used a can of orange juice from concentrate, but used half of the water called for on the can to give it more of an orange-y flavor. I also added some orange zest. My dad wanted to use it as a topping for pancakes on Black Friday.

I also made some biscuits which was the cause of the meltdown. Let's just say mixing eight cups of floor is A LOT harder than it seems.

I'm keeping an eye out for delicious Christmas recipes...

Gobble Gobble Turkey Burgers

This recipe is my baby, it was born from all of the family BBQ's my parents had when I was growing up and having those pre-made frozen burgers. As I grew up my dad started to make his own free-form burgers, with beef...and ya'll know how I feel about beef. No matter how lean the meat is, how juicy the burger is, or how hungry I am...I ALWAYS manage to get a chewy, fatty, gristle chunk in my burger and it sends me running to the nearest sink, toilet, potted plant or napkin to spit it out. My dad would have sizzled my hands before he would even let me go near his "man-stove" to put a turkey burger on it, so I did my own thing and here it is....for you all!

RECIPE:

[ 1 ] Pkg of Ground Turkey (I don't use the EXTRA lean here, just because I want all the flavor I can get)
[ 3 ] Cloves of Garlic (Use less or more if you like)
[ 1 ] Small Onion
1/4 Cup of Flat Leaf Parsley
1/4 Cup of Worcestershire Sauce

Turkey Burger Ingredients:

You know how I like to do...Onion is up first, same rules apply from last weeks recipe chop finely:

The onion's ready for it's close-up:

Chop, chop, chop the garlic and parsley and toss everything into a mixing bowl:







 
Wor-cester-shire sauce gets added. That little bottle packs a mean punch (the answer to all your problems is in this little ol' bottle) I love lucy reference anyone?...anyone? bueller?

Add the turkey! Remember fold everything together, lightly...



* My turkey was from frozen, so the mixture was a tad bit more wet than normal, so I added 1/4 cup of plain bread crumbs (yes, the same kind you used last week too!)

The burger mixture in general is pretty wet, so DON'T add more than 1/4 - 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. You want a juicy, flavorful burger. Start forming the burgers...options: [ 4 ] GINORMOUS Burgers, [ 6 ] Average Burgers & 8-10 Mini Sliders

I opted to make 5 Big Girl Burgers:

Are you ready to start grilling...like Bobby Flay? I use a grill pan, you can also use just a regular non-stick pan.

Prep the pan before adding the burgers. If you have a pastry brush, dip it in vegetable oil, then on the grilling surface of the pan. You can also pour some vegetable oil in the pan while its heating up and spread the oil all around with a napkin. Non-Stick cooking spray also works wonders!

Cook the burgers on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes.
. . . I like to use this time to clean up a little...

Time to flip!

I can't have a burger without cheese...add whatever kind you like: Cheddar, Havarti, Provolone...Goat. I had Muenster on hand...

While the other side of the burgers are grilling and the cheese is melting, I like to prep all the toppings!!

Add your burger!

Assemble and dig in!

I LOVE lots of lettuce in my burger and crunchy pickles. Mmm...burger (Homer voice) Do it, you know you want to.

Mama Mia Meatballs!

It's initiation time bitches! I chose this recipe for the first entry because it's simple, tasty and you can use them a few different ways. I use turkey in this recipe just because I'm not a huge fan of ground beef and because ground turkey is light enough that I can make it a few nights a week. But feel free to use whatever meat you prefer. You can also use the "traditional" meatball mix of meats: Ground beef, ground pork & ground veal if you want to make these extra special.

Here is the recipe:

2 Eggs [large]
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs [I had plain on hand, italian style work too or you can make your own!]
1 Small Onion
2 tblspoons Milk
1 pkg of Ground Turkey
2 tblspoons Rosemary
1/4 cup Fresh Basil
1/4 cup Flat Leaf Parsley
4 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano [get the good stuff that's actually part of a wedge]
1/2 cup Parmesan [get the good stuff here too, it has waaaay better flavor]
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper [about a teaspoon of salt/half teaspoon of pepper]

Everything is all set [the eggs are hiding behind the massive onion I got!]:

I like to start with the onion and the garlic. Chop both finely, think about proportions...no one wants to bite into a chunk of garlic or onion. Take the extra time to chop both well. [I only used 1/3 of that GINORMOUS onion]

Next up is the herbs. First the rosemary, take off all the leaves and chop extra fine. The parsley is next, DON'T waste your time picking off all the leaves. Some of the stems are a bit thick, so just chop off the stems and keep the top leafy parts [bottom left is what you should keep]:

Grate the cheeses and then everything will be prepped:

In a large bowl whisk the eggs and add the onion, garlic:

Add the herbs, milk, salt and pepper [reserve some basil for your sauce, if you'd like]

Add the cheeses & bread crumbs:

Mix it all up:

Add the turkey by folding it into the cheesy mixture with your hands. Don't squeeze or knead the mixture, this isn't bread dough, you want the meatballs to be light and yummy...

Once everything is mixed...we can start forming:

You can make them as small or as large as you like, I find meatballs a little smaller than golf ball size are the easiest to work with and the most universal for other meals.

Since I'm a single girl I like to cook 8-10 and freeze the rest for other dinner ideas. You can eat them alone or put them in a sub-roll with melty provolone cheese for an excellent game day sandwich!

Add the olive oil to a good-sized pan and get it pretty hot, but NOT smokey:

Everyone into the pool! You can skip this step if you just prefer to cook them in sauce, which would take about an hour, your choice!

Turn meatballs every 3-4 minutes until all sides are browned:

Pull the meatballs out of the pan once they're fully cooked and browned on all sides:

Bring in your favorite jarred pasta sauce and pasta...it was spaghetti today and I'm a sucker for anything with vodka in it, including pasta sauce:

While the pasta water is brought up to a boil [DON'T forget to salt the water!]:

Add the sauce to the old meatball pan and the already cooked meatballs...don't forget your reserved basil! Think of this as a jacuzzi for the meatballs, you want the meatballs to rest and become one with the sauce:

Toss everything together, add some extra cheese if you want and eat up!

There you go...everyone loves a yummy meatball! Please send me an email if there is something you want me to attempt to make I'm always open to suggestions!!

Don't know what to do with all those fresh herbs you just bought? Add the basil and some tomatoes to a grilled cheese! Add a few sprigs of rosemary to a freezer bag with sliced lemons and some chicken and let it marinate while you're at work, bake it off when you get home! The cheeses? EVERYTHING is better with cheese...

p.s. No one likes the smell of garlic and onion lingering on your hands, so rub them against your stainless steel sink, or just buy one of these: Rub-Away Bar