No soup for you!

Sheesh, you'd think I was the soup Nazi! Are there no soup recipes to be had, you ask? Well, I'd better get a move on. SOUP RECIPE #1:

White Chicken Chili:

1 Tb. olive oil

2 lb. boneless skinless chicken

1 onion, chopped

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

4 oz. can diced green chiles

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. dried cilantro
15 oz. can white beans, rinsed

small can green enchilada sauce (opt.)

Cube chicken and cook with onion in oil 5 min. I skipped this step and used cooked, shredded from the freezer. Add broth, chiles & spices. Simmer 15 min. Add beans and enchilada sauce if you choose. Heat through. Top with Monterey Jack or crushed tortilla chips.

By the way, the enchilada sauce is my friend Georgia's "secret ingredient" and I only put the "optional" part for your benefit. At our house it is mandatory.

Wait for the first snow! I will post my mother-in-law's traditional Cream of Broccoli Soup, which is unbelievable.

My New Refrigerator Magnets

And you thought My Little Ponies were only good for one thing...(Can anyone tell me why these horsies have magnets on their hooves and how my daughters discovered it?)

Canning Season

There is something completely satisfying about putting bottled food on your shelves. It may be the "I just saved $2.50 a jar on that apricot jam!" or the "I only eat my mom's pickles, so you should learn how to make them," from my husband, but I absolutely adore looking at jars of food I have canned myself. So here they are: apricot jam from my tree--next year I will pick them underripe (before the birds get the lot of them) and ripen in brown bags; Heather's zucchini relish--my first batch, (zucchini from my garden, most else from the store) and rather tasty if I do say so; Husband's mom's pickles--they really are the best and her 4 cucumber plants have produced some 26? quarts so far; and beets from MIL's garden and mine--mine are the one inchers, though I planted a month earlier than she did click here for my excuse (if you haven't noticed, even I don't visit my garden blog anymore).

Aunt Laurel's "Uncle Ben's" Rice

I had a little trouble deciding where to put my quotes. This is my version of store-bought Uncle Ben's long & wild rice. I made His, smelled it and looked at the ingredients, then came up with my own cheaper-but-similar rice for a Relief Society Dinner (they cut our budget this year).
So here it is:

Long Grain & Wild Rice
12 oz. pkg. long grain & wild rice
2 c. beef broth
2 c. chicken broth
1 Tb. oil
1 Tb. parsley (dried)
1 ts. marjoram
1 ts. garlic powder
1/2 t. each paprika, salt
4 oz. can mushrooms (opt.)

Combine all in pot and follow directions on rice package OR press COOK on your rice cooker.
Add 1/2 c. almonds if you like, and 1/4 c. water/broth to unstick it. Stir and serve. Freezes well, makes mouths happy.

What can I say?

I love Chinese food. So do Husband and Kids. I don't like paying for it, or wondering what is really in it or the tons of sugar and cornstarch and MSG. So, I ask myself, "Can I possibly make Chinese as good as they do?" And I try. And miracles happen.




Beef and Broccoli:
1 lb. beef steak, sliced thin (I used chunks from the freezer)
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
3 T. vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
2 t. grated fresh ginger
1 T. cornstarch
2 T. oil
1 large onion, sliced thin
2 heads broccoli, cut up into florets

Combine beef, water, soy, sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger and cornstarch in a bag or bowl and marinate 10 minutes or more. Drain well, reserving marinade. Place broccoli and a bit of water in a microwave bowl covered in plastic wrap and microwave it 4 minutes until tender-crisp (or, hey, you could steam it "the real way"). Heat oil in a wok or skillet and brown beef and onion together about 3 minutes. Add marinade and bring to a boil at least 5 minutes and until beef is done and sauce is bubbly. Stir in drained, hot broccoli and serve on rice. It's good. REALLY good.
Don't forget my Cashew Chicken when you set up your buffet. I have been promised an egg roll recipe to die for (Joni--that's your cue) or you can try this one. Have yourself an asian night.

Speaking of, Toni, do you remember eating cream cheese wontons on the floor with no shoes? That's a good memory.

Your freezer is your friend

Did I ever mention that I freeze everything? Yes, that extra half a can of mushroom soup or coconut milk. Half & half and chopped jalapenos from my garden. So, I'll let you in on a few secrets so you'll stop crying over what you can't buy because the rest will go bad before you get to it.

1. Tomato Paste. You know you never use the whole can. It's okay to buy it now, it won't go to waste. Scoop it out in tablespoons and place between two layers of plastic wrap. Freeze and plop in a bag. Mine were lovely plump mounds until a two-year-old decided to poke them. Oh well, at least it made her laugh.

2. Cilantro. And other herbs. But mostly cilantro. Pull leaves off of stems. Soak stems in red wine vinegar and eat as a meal-preparatory snack. Place leaves in bowl.

Chop leaves with kitchen shears. Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop. Chop.

Pack 2 tablespoons of cilantro into one ice cubicle. Add 1 tsp. of lime juice and pat with finger (important). Freeze. Place cilantro cubes into a bag.

3. Limes. This one does not warrant a picture because the one I took looks like a dirty green freezer bag. Zest limes carefully into a bowl. Place zest in freezer bag. Juice lime and pour into ice cubicles. Lick your fingers.

4. Ginger root. I won't show mine. I put up three cilantro pictures to make up for what you won't be able to recognize, so let it go. Using a vegetable peeler, peel off all skin. Place in a freezer bag. It will last forever and take it from me, it grates much better when frozen. You may have to hold it with a rag or the bag. It is cold and let's not grate our knuckles.

S'mores

Who you callin' desperate?

One salad two ways

No, no. Two salads with one dressing. That's better.


Cilantro Lime Salad:
2 c. frozen soybeans (edamame)
15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c. thinly sliced red onion
1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 c. olive oil
1 tsp. lime zest
1/4 c. lime juice

Prepare soybeans according to package. Drain. In a large bowl combine beans, onion, and cilantro. Whisk together all other ingredients, adding up to 1/2 tsp. salt to taste. Pour over bean mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate covered. Serve cold.

Version two: Replace soybeans, kidney and garbanzo beans with a can each of drained kernel corn, black beans and a chopped tomato or avacado. Also very good. We choose the first recipe while on phase 1 (South Beach Diet) and the second after we have given up.

Standard Breakfast Procedure

Here is the story: I had a phase. A Cracklin' Oat Bran phase. I ate it every day for breakfast and then one day, it was not on sale anymore and I couldn't justify $4 a box. So, I wrote down the ingredient list from the back of the box and googled it on the internet. Like this: "Oats, oat bran, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, almonds, coconut, recipe". Yes, it was a shot in the dark. Something similar to this recipe popped up. I have improved it several times and my kids beg for it in the mornings, so I have no complaints.

Granola for Me!

7 c. rolled oats
1 c. wheat germ
1 c. wheat or oat bran
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1.2 c. honey
1/2 c. water
1 T. vanilla
1 t. each cinnamon, nutmeg, salt
1 c. each sliced almonds, coconut

Preheat oven to 275. Stir up oats, wheat germ and bran. Mix sugar, oil, honey, water, vanilla and spices and pour over. Mix well. Spread onto 2 cookie sheets and bake 45 min. stirring every 15 min. Add almonds and coconut and bake 15 min. more. Let cool. Makes about 13 c. (gallon ziploc)Tips: I forgot it once (after mixing, before baking) and let it "soak" for about 3 hours. It turned out much crunchier than usual and now I soak for a standard 1 hour before baking. You can food-process the rolled oats a little, and the almonds and coconut too. The texture turns out like grape nuts. Eat with milk or yogurt. If you want it more clumpy, before the last baking, with the nuts and coconut, add 2-3 T. honey mixed with the same amount of water. Gives it a nice shiny look. You could also add other things like dates, pecan, craisins, raisins, whatever you like.

Cashew Chicken

I was recently inspired to have a Chinese night for dinner. Okay, so Husband has been begging for a long time. Anyway, I got this recipe so long ago and never tried it because back then I thought I was too poor to afford cashews. Too bad, this one could have saved many a dinner from being Teriyaki again. It is super good and mostly easy/healthy. No MSG, plenty of flavor. So have yourself a night at the Golden Tree (our local chinese) and enjoy! This is also a freezer recipe.

Cashew Chicken:
1/2 c. ketchup
2 T. soy sauce
1/2 t. salt
1 T. worcestershire sauce
3 T. sugar
1 1/2 t. sesame oil
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 c. chicken broth

2 T. cornstarch
1/2 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
3 whole chicken breasts (as in 6 halves) cut to bite size pieces
1/4 c. cooking oil (peanut works good)
2 T. grated or minced gingerroot
1 T. minced garlic
1 onion, chopped

1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped a bit
1 can bamboo shoots, drained and sliced

1 1/2 c. cashews

Combine ketchup, soy sauce, salt, worcestershire, sugar, sesame oil, cayenne, and broth in a bowl. In another bowl, combine cornstarch, sugar and salt and toss chicken pieces in this. Heat cooking oil in a wok or frying pan to a high heat and add chicken mixture, ginger, garlic and onion. When chicken is cooked through, add chestnuts and bamboo shoots, and ketchup mixture and cook until it comes to a boil. Cool, bag and freeze. Freeze cashews separately. Thaw in fridge overnight, heat on medium until boiling and add cashews. Serve on rice.