Chicken Stock / Chicken Noodle Soup

Simple Crock pot Chicken Stock / Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

Ingredients
1 pack chicken breast (2 breasts)
3 Cups water
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalk, sliced
Dried herbs (oregano, parsley, basil, etc)
Salt & pepper to taste
Egg noodles (optional)

Directions
Place chicken breast, water, carrots, celery, and herbs in a crock pot.
Set crock pot at high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
(To make chicken noodle soup:  Add egg noodles at the end for about 10 minutes.)
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Baked Onion Rings

one of my vice is onion rings.  when i'm eating out, and there is an option of ordering onion rings as a side, i don't even consider looking at other side choices.  if i didn't mind the "fried" smell that you get when you fry something at home, and if it wasn't so bad for you, i would eat it every day.

but alas, it's not so good for you, is it?

yes it is!  yes it is!!  or at least, there is a healthier alternative. 

Baked Onion Rings

Recipe adapted from Food Doodles

1 medium sweet onion

1/4 Cup flour

1/4 Cup Italian Seasoning Bread Crumbs

1/2 TBS finely chopped Rosemary

1 egg, beaten

1 Cup Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Slice the onions about 1/2 inch thick.  In a large ziploc bag, add flour and Italian Seasoning Bread Crumbs and mix.  Add onion and shake well to coat.  

Put Panko bread crumbs into a large plate or bowl and set aside.  In a small bowl, beat egg and mix in some of the chopped rosemary.  Coat onion ring in egg mixture and then coat in panko crumbs.  Place the onion ring in a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until bottom edge turns golden, then flip the rings over and bake for 10 more minutes or until the rings are nice and golden.  

now, mind you, my pictures don't do justice, but if you go to Food Doodles link above, you will see BEAUTIFUL pictures of the onion rings.  and i mean, b-e-a-utiful.  

after i took the picture above, it took me about 10 minutes to chow down all the rings.  i cleaned up afterwards so my husband won't know that they even existed... hehe.  

Crock Pot Chicken Stock and Quick Chicken Pot Pie from chicken stock leftovers

Chicken Stock 

[Modified from Ina Garten's Chicken Stock recipe on foodnetwork.com]

Ingredients
1 pack chicken breast (2 breasts)
1 large yellow onion, quartered
2 carrots, halved
2 stalks celery, cut into thirds
1 TBS dried parsley
1 TBS dried dill
1/2 TBS dried thyme
handful of garlic, peeled
2/3 TBS kosher salt
2/3 TSP pepper
5 Cups Water

Directions
Place everything in a large crockpot and set to HIGH for 4 hours (5 hours if using frozen chicken).
Strain or ladle the broth into a container and store in the refrigerator for a week or freeze for up to 3 months.
Yields approximately 32 oz (larger size container from below image found on google.com):





Now, Ina Garten's recipe says to discard all the contents.  Me, on the other hand, like to use up the stuff when i can.  So instead, i made chicken pot pie with the chicken stock leftovers.

Chicken Pot Pie 

[From leftover contents of chicken stock - Modified from Ina Garten's Chicken Pot Pie recipe from foodnetwork.com]

Ingredients
chicken breasts from chicken stock
32 oz chicken stock
2 chicken bouillon cubes (optional)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup (raw) onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
dash(?) of Soy Milk (or heavy cream if you can take dairy)
2/3 cup diced carrots from chicken stock
2/3 cup diced onion from chicken stock
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed for 45 min or toasted slice of bread
egg wash

Directions
Chop chicken breast (from chicken stock) into large cubes.  Melt the butter in a large pot (Dutch oven) and saute onions until translucent, about 5-10 minutes.  Add the flour in low heat and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and continue to stir for a few more minutes until sauce thickens a little more.  Add 1 TSP salt, 1/4 TSP pepper, and soy milk (or heavy cream).  Add chicken, carrots, peas, and onions and mix well.

Preheat the oven at 375.
For the pastry portion, i used a thawed frozen puff pastry, which is much easier than making my own. Once thawed, roll the pastry out so that it is big enough to cover your oven-proof bowls.  Or in my case, oven-proof Corelle mugs and bowls.  Brush the bowl sides with egg wash, then place the dough over each bowl and trim it to cover 1/2 over the bowls on each side.  Fold over the sides and brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top.  Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper.  Bake for 1 hour or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbly hot.


Unfortunately, i'm too lazy to thaw the frozen pastry sheet just to make it for lunch, so i topped the chicken pot pie with a toasted bread.  yum...!

Turkey Bolognaise (Crock Pot)

1/2 lb ground turkey
1/2 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 small can tomato paste
2 TBS olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup water (optional)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions
Heat a large pan with olive oil.
Cook carrots, celery, and onion until translucent, 3-4 minutes.
Add ground turkey and cook until brown, 4-5 minutes, and make sure to break up the meat as much as possible. Add red wine and cook for additional minute.

In a small crock pot, add tomatoes. Once the veggies & turkey is cooked, add to the pot.
Add tomato paste and rest of the ingredient. (add water)
Set crock pot to low and cook for 4-6 hours.

Joys of Grillin' - Turkey Burger!

every recipe that i searched on the web for turkey burger starts with "salt... pepper..." but i was always skeptical of how much salt & pepper were used for each burger patty. 

i had a pack of 1 lb ground turkey and i felt like a burger, so i made 4 burger patties this way:

Recipe:  Basic Turkey Burger

1 pack 1-lb ground turkey
olive oil
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
Worcestershire sauce
cheese - optional

Divide the ground turkey into 4 patties, making sure that the center of the patty is lightly pressed in (courtesy of Bobby Flay's grilling method!).  Lay it out on a plate for seasoning:  coat with olive oil, then generously douse with salt (about a teaspoon) and pepper (about half teaspoon).  Dab (quarter-sized) with Worcestershire sauce.  Flip the patties and season as well.

Grill the patties on a grill or in a medium-to-large-sized pan on medium-high heat.  When the burger is almost ready, place a slice of cheese on top and let it cook for a minute or until the cheese is lightly melted.

//

i also made caramelized onion:

1 large onion, sliced
1/4 TBS olive oil
1/4 TBS kosher salt
1 TSP fresh ground pepper

Heat the oil in the pan and add the ingredients.  Cook until brown, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

//

anytime i grill, i HAVE to have grilled corn on the cob! and while you can put a block of butter and make that corn soooo good, i've changed my method to keep it healthy and still tasty.

Recipe:  Grilled Corn on the Cob

corn on the cob - cleaned and mustache-free
olive oil
Season-All Salt
foil

Brush each corn with olive oil using a sauce brush.  Spread Season-All salt and cover each corn with foil and grill.

if you get a good quality (and plump) corn, this will be a hit!  better yet, you'll know that you are serving a healthy side.

Beef Brisket, or Beef Brisket?

it's no secret that i am severely addicted to The Food Network.

while watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay, an episode featured Beef Brisket:
1) Paesano's Italian Beef Brisket (Philadelphia, PA) versus 2) Bobby Flay's Beef Brisket

thinking that i will try Bobby Flay's recipe, i bought a small chunk of brisket - about 2 pounds. and i ended up using Paesano's recipe instead (minus the tomato paste). it would have been for a dinner party, except i didn't realize it was too small to feed 10 people.  i made it anyway. regardless of many deviations to recipes, it turned out a success.  Below are two recipes with my twist.

Recipes Courtesy of Food Network

Recipe:  Modified version of Paesano's Italian Beef Brisket

Marinade:
1/2 CUP red wine vinegar
dash of minced garlic
1/4 CUP (brown) sugar
dash of kosher salt
1/2 TBS dried oregano
1/2 TBS fennel seed
1/4 TBS freshly ground black pepper
1/2 CUP water

Brisket:
3-5 lb brisket
1/4 CUP tomato paste
4-8 roasted tomatoes (see recipe below)
sliced pepperoncini for serving

Roasted Tomatoes:
1 Jersey tomato (??), cut into eight pieces
1/2 TBS minced garlic
1/2 TSP oregano
dash of red wine vinegar
1/2 TBS salt
1/4 TBS sugar

Directions:
Prepare the marinade by adding all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil - for 5 min.  Let it cool.  Set in a baking dish and place the brisket and marinade. Cover and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight (or vacuum seal for few hours).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F for bristket; 275 degrees F for Roasted Tomatoes. 

Smear brisket with tomato paste and place in an oven dish.  Cook for 5 hours or until meat falls apart easily.  Slice the meat against the grain and serve or keep it warm in the jus.

For Roasted Tomatoes, roast for 1 hour. Serve with sliced meat.

//

Recipe:  Modified version of Bobby Flay's Beef Brisket Grinder

olive oil
3 1/2 - 4 lb brisket, trimmed
dash of kosher salt
dash of freshly ground black pepper
2 onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 large carrots, cut into 1-in pieces
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 bottles porter beer
4-6 cups chicken stock
dash of bay leaves, thyme, parsley

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat oil in large Dutch oven over high heat until it simmers. Pat the meat dry with paper towels and season (generously) with salt and pepper, sear brown on both sides and remove to a baking sheet.

Add onions and carrots to the pot and cook about 5 minutes or until soft.  Add garlic and cook for additional minute.  Add beer and reduce the sauce to half. 

Add brisket to the pot and pour chicken stock until meat is half covered. Add bay leaves, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper and bring to boil. Move the pot to the oven and cook for additional 3 hours or until tender and meat falls apart easily.  Slice the meat against the grain and serve or keep it warm in the jus.

 //

i served the brisket with my version of simple stir-fried veggies:
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 large Vidalia onion, sliced
1 pint baby bella mushroom (or any type of mushroom), sliced
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

On a large frying pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced veggies and season with salt and pepper, stir-fry for 3-5 minutes or until cooked. Serve with sliced brisket on a sandwich.

Swordfish, anyone?

last Sat morning, i went over to The Fresh Market to grab some "fresh" groceries, including some fresh ground turkey.  after all, the price was the same as the prepackaged ones at other grocery stores (yay!).  Well, i came home to drop off the goods and had to run out again for something so my husband put everything in the fridge.

when i came back, i started to prep for dinner - ground turkey, check. buns - check. lettuce - check.  swordfish loin - wait, what?

there, in our refrigerator, was rather a decent-sized cut of a swordfish loin, priced at over $10.  it must have been the previous person's purchase that got tucked away @ The Fresh Market and sent over with my groceries. oops.

so here we were, with a surplus of a swordfish loin.  never have i ever ordered swordfish at a restaurant, nor know what what i can do with it; neither has my husband.

so it's been a week since we've been staring at it in the refrigerator, not knowing what to do with it. 

on Sunday morning, as we were staring into our rather empty refrigerator, my husband goes outside and turns on the grill.  "i'm going to grill some swordfish steak!" he said.  We kept it simple - olive oil, salt, pepper... and grilled to perfection.  the texture of swordfish steak was similar to tuna, except it was juicier (cooked well-done) whereas tuna tends to be a little dry when cooked all the way.  yum!

as we're eating it, my hubs turns to me and says, "you need to eat all of the swordfish steak.  somebody had to pay a lot of money for it. SOMEbody..."  hahaha.

so to whoever paid for that swordfish and never got your fancy dinner-for-two's main ingredient, we thank you.  :)

** apparently, swordfish is similar to tuna steak and can be eaten rare.  not for us this time, we opted for fully cooked since it was in our refrigerator for a week... but maybe next time we get a free swordfish filet again, we'll try it... haha **

Recipe:  Grilled Swordfish Loin Steak

Ingredients:
swordfish loin
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
olive oil
fresh lemon or lime (if available)

Prepare the fish by rubbing some olive oil
Season the filet by generously putting salt & pepper
Grill - or cook over the stovetop
Squeeze some lemon or lime over the filet