Inspiring People to Cook Again
Chicken Bolognese is an easy recipe that is fresh, lighter and healthier then the classic Bolognese Sauce. Chicken Bolognese gives you all the great flavor but a lot less fat than the original version in a lot less time. You won’t miss any of the taste. […]
This is not going to make many of you happy but I need to say it. I’m putting down some serious cooking information in this blog and suggesting that you eat real foods. That includes dessert and some really tasty things. But soda […]
For everything that ails you and a for a great, healthy meal to have on hand all week long, try this Chicken Vegetable Soup. In under 30 minutes, you’ll have a huge pot of soup.
This can be made with any small pasta like orzo or any type of rice or noodle. I also replace the pasta or rice with potatoes now and then.
There are a lot of vegetables in this soup and you can buy them all separately, but I like to buy the “soup mix” in the produce section because it has most of the things I use for a soup or stew in one package.
Ingredients:
1 package raw chicken thighs
(You can use a whole cut up chicken or just chicken breasts too. I like the flavor of the thighs. You can also use 2 packages of chicken if you want a lot of meat in the soup).
2-tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped or 1 large
2 stalks celery chopped
2 cloves of chopped garlic
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into coins
1 turnip, peeled and chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
4 potatoes cleaned and cut in large cubes (If using pasta leave out potatoes)
49 ounces can Swanson Chicken Broth
2 cups water
2 tablespoons each chopped fresh parsley and dill
Salt, and pepper
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Directions:
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add all the vegetables and herbs and cook for about 5- 10 minutes, or until softened.
Pour in the chicken broth, and add water. Add the raw chicken to the pot and let soup cook on a low simmer for about 1 hour or until the chicken meat is soft and almost falling off the bone.
Remove soup from heat and carefully remove the chicken parts and place them on a plate to cool.
If there is a lot of oil at the top of the soup just skim it off with a soup ladle and discard.
If adding pasta cook about ½ pound of pasta in separate pot of salted water only till it is al dente’. The pasta will cook and expand more when added to the soup so don’t over cook pasta and don’t rinse the pasta. You can add the cooked pasta to the soup.
Once the chicken meat is cooled you can remove meat from the bone and chop or just peel off with fingers and add to soup, discard the bones. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper to taste.
I also like to serve the soup with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
For variety I add different vegetables like squash (pictured here) or leeks, tomatoes, escarole, cabbage, even beans.
A basic chicken soup is great for the body and the soul. My aunt would add a lemon to the soup when I was sick so if you even get a cold be sure to put the juice of one or two lemons and extra garlic. These act as a natural antibiotic to help fight infection. It is an old Mediterranean trick.
I will be adding lots of soup recipes but please don’t be afraid to add extra veggies and get creative. All you will need to do is make sure you have enough liquid. If you need more liquid, add water and bullion or salt or just extra chicken stock or broth.
The soup will freeze well so be sure to make enough to freeze for the following week. Just thaw frozen soup in fridge and heat in pot or individual bowls in the microwave. This recipe will make at least 12 servings.
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If you don’t already have my free “Ten Ways to Lose Ten Pounds this Month”, enter your email at right to get information, including how soup can help you lose weight.
Makes one loaf Ingredients 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 3 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 cup) softened 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, (optional) 1 cup raisins 1 cup buttermilk 1 egg Directions Preheat […]
OK, so the plan consisted of 8 different entrees. They needed enough for 10 days so I doubled up on the stew and the Bolognese sauce. I figured they wouldn’t mind a repeat of that the following week and that was easy to make more […]
Boy, are my feet killing me! Today, I am finally able to sit, soak up my success and rest. Here is the mission, which I had no choice but to accept. Earlier this week, without any prior warning or consideration, I volunteered to cook over 150 meals to send to Haiti for a mission team of 14-16 people.
Mission, accomplished. Sugar, exhausted. But I have to say, I am pretty darn proud of myself. And if tired feet is my only problem, I guess you could say I’m pretty darn fortunate too!
Here’s the story: My husband John and his mission team from the church will board an Air France flight for Port-au-Prince, Haiti, tomorrow before sunrise. I knew I had only two days to buy over 50 pounds of meat and other ingredients, cook, package and then freeze the prepared meals to be flown down to Haiti with the team.
Fresh food is hard to come by down there so I know my food will bring some comfort to the volunteers. They won’t be able to share my food with the local population. Any kind of resources brought into the devastated areas, even under armed guard, can result in riots and serious injury. But my hope is that the food I have prepared will translate to better attitudes and morale for the volunteers out in the mission field, which I hear is very difficult right now. (see video below).
I have to admit that when I took on this task, it wasn’t as altruistic as you would think. Because John is one of the volunteers, I jumped at the opportunity when it presented itself. OK, it didn’t exactly present itself. I heard they needed food and I basically took over the whole food thing. It’s my thing! I’ve been so nervous about him going and I knew that (1) cooking for a few days would take my mind off of the trip and (2) knowing he would be eating my food somehow made everything better.
The team will be in a house outside of Port-au-Prince at night where they have electric and running water but no access to any fresh meat, vegetables or fruits. So without prepared foods, their only option is military MRE’s (“meals ready to eat” or as some in the military fondly call them: “meals refusing to exit”). Yuck!!!
I have never had an MRE but they don’t look very good. Any meal that can last for 10 years in a pouch and be dropped from a supply plane from hundreds of feet can’t taste very good or be very good for you, right? After the volunteers eat those things during the day, I am sure my food at night will taste like a slice of heaven.
I’m sure by now you’re wondering how I had time to shop, cook, and freeze over 150 servings of food in two days. It wasn’t easy but it all started with a plan.
I have thrown a lot of parties with the help of my mom for 80-100 people or more but we never had to shop and cook it all in such a short time and I have never had to do anything that big by myself. I was fortunate enough to have two free days that I could devote to this. It all worked out like the “perfect storm” of sorts this week.
Somehow (praise God), there were no pressing appointments, work assignments or major sporting or school emergencies that prevented me from stepping up to do it. If this had come up in any of the last 30 weeks, I would have not had the time do it. So, you would think that if I had two days off I would have just put my feet up and maybe go get a manicure instead – not my style. I enjoy staying active and I love a challenge.
Whenever I plan a big event, it starts with a list. Whenever I take out a pen and pad, my husband laughs because he knows I’m planning some sort of party. It all starts the same way. How many people? How much food? What will I make? I love that. Just looking at the paper gets me excited. The possibilities are endless and for me the planning is just as fun as the cooking. So, I applied the same principles to the Haiti Mission (Impossible).
. . . What I came up with is eight different entrees:
1. Sausage and Peppers with Potatoes
2. Beef stew with carrots, turnips and peas in a beer brown gravy
3. My Grandmothers Italian Meatball Stew with potatoes and Green Beans in a read sauce. (Love this recipe and it made me think of her all day)
4. Chicken Primavera in a light cream sauce
5. Bolognese sauce with mushrooms
6. Pulled pork with a side of mixed veggies
7. Oven baked chicken with veggies
8. Oriental Pork with Broccoli
Greek chicken pitas are a big favorite in my house. This quick, healthy and delicious recipe is one you can preprare in advance and have ready to go for dinner and another night for leftovers too! I usually prepare my chicken first and have that […]
This weekend, I journeyed from balmy Palm Beach, FL to icy Atlantic City NJ for a girls’ weekend and had the unexpected pleasure of sitting next to NBA Basketball Player, Mark Blount. [Secret: I had no idea who he was.] I only knew […]
