Three Little Soups (Part 2)

The other day, I got ambitious and decided to make three very different, very unique soups.  You can check out my recipes for Vegetable Tortellini and Beef Pho here.  If you’re more into spicy, meaty, and hearty, keep reading.

A long time ago, I received a Cuisine at Home cookbook in the mail.  It was one of those trial offer type things I usually throw away, but when I read “Absolutely no ads!” on the cover, I thought I’d take a peek inside.  I was blown away by the various recipes I discovered in the pages.  Not only did the magazine include delicious looking recipes for Shrimp Risotto, Greek Chicken Roulades, and French Onion Salisbury Steak, it was brimming with information.  Everything from making your own pizza dough to the best way to crust chicken (for Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad) to tips and timesavers from the readers leapt from the pages.

As I was pouring over my cookbooks, magazines, and Pinterest boards, I stumbled on my Cuisine At Home cookbook.  I knew I liked most everything in the magazine and wondered if they had any yummy soups I could add to my cooking list.  There, on page 47, sat a delicious looking brothy soup staring back at me.  I read the ingredients list and saw it called for Mini Bacon Meatballs.  SCORE!  I scribbled the ingredients list down and bolted for the grocery store.  Mini Bacon Meatball soup was waiting!

Mini Bacon Meatballs
(from Cuisine at Home meatballs)

2 strips bacon, diced
1/4 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 pound ground sirloin
1/4 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400º.  Spray a broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.  Cook bacon in a saucepan over medium heat until slightly crisp; set aside on paper towels.  In the same pan with the bacon drippings, cook onion until softened.  Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).  Do not burn garlic.  Set aside to cook slightly

In a large bowl, combine meats, bacon & onion mixture, bread crumbs, spices, and egg.  Mix until combined.  Use a small scoop to form mixture into balls.  You want them to be about 1 inch in diameter (or bite sized).  Place on broiler rack and bake for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Remove meatballs from oven and let cool.  I made a double batch and intended to freeze half, but I kept nibbling on them throughout the day.  I even made a “cheeseburger”.  In other words, I heated a few meatballs, topped them with American cheese, and ate them with ketchup.  Oh my.  They were so delicious!  One of my favorite parts about these meatballs are the little bacon pieces sticking out.  Delish!

Now…on to the soup!  I had no idea what the title of the recipe meant, but I sure did think albondigas was fun to say!  Al-bon-dee-ghas!  Upon further googling, I discovered this word was Spanish for Mexican meatball soup.  Yum!

Albondigas Soup
(from Cuisine at Home magazine)

1 cup diced onion
2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, grated
2 tsp chili powder
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
2 corn tortillas, sliced in small strips
1 cup halved grape tomatoes, divided
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups sliced button mushrooms
1 recipe Mini Bacon Meatballs
2 tbsp torn fresh cilantro (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.  Saute onions until softened.  Add garlic and chili powder; cook 1 minute.  Add broth, water, corn tortillas, and 1/2 cup tomatoes.  Simmer for 5 minutes.

Puree soup with an immersion blender (or in a regular blender).  Strain soup through a mesh strainer and return to stock pot.  Add corn, mushrooms, and meatballs.  Simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.  Season with salt, pepper, and lime juice before serving.  Garnish with cilantro and sour cream if desired.

Pulled Chicken Quesadillas

The other day, my sister sent me a random text about her favorite pulled chicken.  She and I do that sometimes.  This was the second time she’d told me about the chicken in a month, so I asked her to resend me the recipe.  “She must really like it!” I thought.

She linked me to the recipe and then added these instructions:

“I add a packet of chili seasoning to the onions while sauteing.  And I toss a can of rotel into the crockpot when adding all the stuff together… Pretty spicy.  Freezable though.”

I added it to my monthly meal plan immediately!

Saturday, before heading to work, I quickly threw the ingredients in the crock pot and left serving instructions with Jeff.  I called him later to ask him how it was and he said it was good!  When I came home from work Sunday, he excitedly told me what he had for lunch.

“You know that chicken you made yesterday?  I turned it into a quesadilla!”

What a great idea!  I was on my way home from work today when the image of his quesadilla popped in my head.  I couldn’t think of anything else I wanted, so I came home and threw one together real quick.

It. Was. Delicious.

This chicken is probably the best pulled chicken I have had in a while.  I forgot to add the chili seasoning, but I did throw in a can of black beans!  Corn would have been great with this too.  If you’re looking for a quick, slow cooker meal that your whole family will love, make this pulled chicken.

Quesadilla optional.

Pulled Chicken Quesadillas
(adapted from this recipe on Good Life Eats)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
1 1/4 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 good squeeze Gourmet Garden cilantro (or 1/3 cup chopped cilantro leaves)
2 limes*
1 large onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can Rotel
1 can black beans

In a large skillet, heat your oil and then saute the onion until soft.  Add the spices and mix well.  Let cook for about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, season your chicken with salt and pepper, then put in the slow cooker.  Top with the juice of both limes.  Put your spice and onion mixture over chicken.  Add the cans of Rotel and black beans to the slow cooker.  Cook on low for 3-5 hours, or until your chicken is cooked through.

To serve, pull the chicken out of the slow cooker and shred with two forks.  Put chicken back in slow cooker to soak up all the juices.  Then use however you desire.  As stated above, our favorite way is in quesadillas, but you could have soft tacos, hard tacos, taco salad, enchiladas…the list is endless.

Enjoy!

Summatime Cookin’

I love Mexican food.  I could definitely eat Mexican at least once a week day.    So when I got to the “Tacos” day on my meal plan, I decided to try a new recipe.  We usually have chicken soft tacos, where I use Lawry’s Caribbean Jerk marinade on chicken.  Or, not very often, I use ground turkey to make the filling and we have a traditional “beef” taco.

I wanted something new.  I went to my trusty Allrecipes site and did a quick search.  I found the following recipe for the marinade:

• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika

I quickly threw the marinade together before work and let my beef soak in it throughout the day.  When I came home, it was so hot out, I opted to cook the meat on the stovetop rather than outside on the grill.  It turned out great!

I just added a couple toppings (lettuce, cheese, salsa…we’re simpletons in this household) and chowed down!  This marinade was SO GOOD.  Will definitely be making this again!

To wash everything down, I decided to use my Pomegranate Oolong tea I got from Jungle Jim’s to make a Tennessee staple:  sun tea!  It’s so easy.  Take a big pitcher (you can use glass or plastic, but I prefer glass) and fill it with water.

For traditional sun tea, you add a couple family sized tea bags or 4 personal sized tea bags.  For my flavored sun tea, you add 3 personal sized bags and 1 flavored bag.  I find that if you use ONLY flavored bags, it is TOO STRONG.  Place the bags in the pitcher and cover the opening with plastic wrap.  This serves two purposes.  First, it keeps out any bugs.  Second, it helps create a “greenhouse” type effect and makes the tea percolate faster.

Once the tea is the desired color, you just take it inside, remove the bags and throw them away, and pour yourself a nice tall glass.

Ice and colorful umbrella optional.

Freezer Meals: Chicken Enchiladas Two Ways

You may remember when I did my Marathon Cooking session a few weeks ago.  Well, yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to discover I had been scheduled off for today!  Technically, I’m still on vacation.  So what does that mean?  Cooking, cleaning, and staying in my pjs all day of course!

I made several dishes during my Marathon Cooking session and unfortunately some of them did not turn out as delicious as I had hoped.  This taught me a valuable lesson:  only make bulk dishes to freeze out of meals you already know you like!

Learning this, I decided to make three meals in big batches:  “Cheater” Lasagna, Buffalo Chicken casserole, and Chicken Enchiladas.  I’ll post the lasagna and the buffalo chicken recipes at a later date, but today we are going to focus on the Chicken Enchiladas.  I came up with two different ways of making this dish.  The main recipe is the same, but the construction of the dishes are a little different.

Chicken Enchiladas
The Basic Recipe (makes enough for 2-3 people):

1 chicken breast, poached & diced
1 cup brown rice, cooked
1/2 can refried beans
1/3 can enchilada sauce
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

To start, bring a pot of water to a boil, season with salt and pepper, and poach your chicken in the liquid for 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove from liquid and let cool.  Once it’s cool enough to handle, dice it into small pieces.

While your chicken is cooking, make your rice.  I used my Cuisinart rice cooker to make this rice.  Typically when you make rice, you use a 1:2 ratio.  I used one cup of rice to two cups of water plus a pinch of salt for flavor.  With my rice cooker, I just add the ingredients and flip the switch to “cook”.  Once it’s done, it switches to “warm” and lets me continue what I’m doing until I need the rice.  Just follow the directions on your bag of rice to ensure it turns out perfectly.

Once the chicken and rice are cooked and ready to go, add them to a big bowl along with your salsa, beans, cheese, and enchilada sauce (just to help the beans incorporate into the dish).

This is where you can get creative!  Add whatever kinds of Mexican-y things you like!  Corn, black beans, cilantro, green chiles, you name it!  Jeff is a simple man and is not a big fan of veggies in his enchiladas so I left them out.  I figure I can make a nice little Mexican side salad the night we eat this so I get all the yummy veggie nutrients.

That’s your basic recipe.  Here are two ways to use this filling to create a couple yummy dishes:

Method One:
Mexican Rollups

1/3 cup enchilada sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 burrito sized tortilla shells

Since I am freezing my meals, I opted to use foil 8×8 cake pans.  We are just two people, so typically I only want to make a small portion.  If you have a bigger family, you can double the above recipe and use a 13×9 dish.  It’s totally up to you.  I sprayed my pan to ensure no sticking and then started rolling.

Take a burrito sized tortilla shell, add about a 1/3 cup of filling towards the bottom of the shell, tuck the bottom of the shell over the filling, fold in the sides and roll the remaining of the way up.  (Yes, I realize I should have taken pictures of this, but I didn’t think I would be doing a blog post about these meals.  Hey, when inspiration strikes…)

Line your rolled enchiladas in the pan, top with enchilada sauce and the cheddar cheese.  Cover with foil and freeze.  I decided to turn up the collar of the pan just to provide a little extra holding power for the sauce.

Method Two:
Enchilada Lasagna

With this method, you just want to create layers in the dish.  I put one tortilla in the bottom of the pan, added 1/2 the filling,

topped with a second tortilla, some of the enchilada sauce, the remainder of the filling, a third tortilla, and the remainder of the sauce. Just use your judgement as to how much sauce you want to use.  Obviously you don’t want the sauce to be overflowing, but you want enough for the tortillas to soak up while cooking.  Finally, finish with the cheese.  Cover and freeze.

One thing I decided for my last tortilla layer was to cut the tortillas to fit.  I would have done this for the whole dish, but again I wasn’t thinking ahead.  To do this, just lay your tortillas in the pan and cut the excess off the sides like so:

When you are ready to serve either dish, you can preheat the oven to 400º and bake for about an hour (or until the meal is heated through) or you can thaw it overnight in the fridge and shorten the cooking time to about 30 minutes.  My husband is funny.  When he decides he’s hungry, he’s hungry now.  I think his hunger cues are off because it’s almost like when he realizes he’s hungry, he has to eat then or he’ll faint from starvation!  He also likes to eat around 6p (apparently he’s in his 60s), but I don’t get home until 5:30p at the earliest.  For this reason, I have to try to plan things well in advance.  This is why thawing the dish ahead of time is better for us.

So there you go.  Two freezer meals that are simple, delicious, and crowd pleasers!  Hope you like them!

 

Slow Roasted Beef Enchiladas

Have you ever made a beef roast with no plans for it?  Me neither.  Until now.  The other night, in an effort to have a delicious meal waiting for us when we got home, I made a beef roast in the crock pot.  The verdict?  A bit dry unfortunately.  Luckily, Jeff had a date with his brother, so I was on my own for dinner.  I packed up the beef, stuck it in the fridge, and heated up some fried rice instead.  I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, but I knew I didn’t want to throw it away.

Tonight, on the way home from my new store (I’m a manager at Walgreens), I had a light bulb moment:  ENCHILADAS!  I stepped on the gas and hurried home.  This meal was super quick to make and I imagine would freeze beautifully!

Slow Roasted Beef Enchiladas

6 oz slow roasted beef, shredded*
1/2 cup salsa
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 small can green chilies (not drained)

4 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup vegetarian refried beans
1 cup 2% cheddar cheese
1 can green enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 425º. In a small bowl, mix the beef, corn, green chilies, and salsa.

Spray a 6×9 inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Spread 1/8 cup beans on each of the tortillas.

Spread 1/4 of the mixture on each tortilla and roll up.

Place in the dish, cover with enchilada sauce and cheese, and stick in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and the enchiladas are heated through.

One word sums it up:  DELICIOUS

*I roasted a beef roast in a bottle of Lawry’s Caribbean Jerk marinade mixed with a bottle of water on low for 8 hours in my crock pot.

Restaurant Review: Sammy’s El Pueblo

Normally I like to eat at a restaurant a few times before determining whether I’ll like the place or not.  Tonight was not one of those nights.

Jeff and his mom tried a new restaurant that opened near us called Sammy’s El Pueblo.  Jeff kept going on and on about their food, so tonight when dinnertime rolled around, I suggested we go back so I could sample the grub.  These guys greeted us when we arrived.

With a name involving “El Pueblo”, you’d think the restaurant would be Mexican.  You’d be sort of right.

They have Mexican food, but they also have gourmet burgers!  Yum!  As I’ve said before, I consider myself a burger connoisseur, so when Jeff said the burger was among the best he’d ever had, there was no question what I was going to get.

They had an extensive menu.  The burgers alone took up one page!

I opted for the Bourbon Burger, which had lettuce, tomato, onion straws, swiss cheese, mayo, and bourbon sauce on it.  As I’m not a big fan of mayo, I requested it not be on the sandwich.  Jeff got the Boneless Buffalo Wings with ranch.

While we were waiting for our meals, they brought us a basket of chips with some salsa.  Remember how I said I would take a bath in the salsa at Cazadores?  Well, I’d swim in Sammy’s salsa.  It was perfect!  Not too spicy, not too much cilantro, salty with a hint of sweetness.  And the chips!  I must say they were even better than Cazadores’ chips.  They were just a bit thinner, which produced a crunchier crunch.  Nom nom nom.

The burger was Ah-mazing!  The bourbon sauce and the onion straws were sweet and the beef was nice and juicy.  The flavors melded together perfectly!  The fries that accompanied the burger were so interesting!  They tasted (and kinda looked) like a cross between a fry and a churro.  Jeff even commented they had a hint of cinnamon in them!  I believe they were fabulousness on a plate.

Jeff’s Buffalo Wings were great too!  Again, they weren’t too spicy and they were perfectly cooked and sauced.  I hate when you order wings and it seems like there is more sauce on the plate than chicken!

Being as this restaurant is about three minutes from our house (and across the street from the best ice cream shoppe ever Graeter’s Ice Cream), I predict we will be going here a lot!

UPDATE (9/10/10)

After I posted this early review of Sammy’s, I had a few people ask me about the Mexican food there.  Seeing as Jeff and I both only ordered American food, I didn’t really have much to go on.  That’s changed!

We went to Sammy’s on Friday night with Jeff’s brother (Paul), his brother’s wife (Shannon), and his brother’s stepdad (Kenny).  Kenny treated us to a couple rounds of frozen margaritas, which were DELISH, as well as a great meal.  Thanks, Kenny!

I, being the typical burger connoisseur, could not seem to want Mexican when there were hundreds upon thousands of burgers to choose from.  OK, so maybe there were only twenty, but still!  I ordered the Mushroom burger and it was even better than the Bourbon burger if you can believe it!

Shannon went with the Salmon burger and she said it was fabulous.  If I was a fan of salmon, I might have ordered it, but I like my beef.  Kenny ordered the Hawaiian burger and he said it was spot on.

Paul and Jeff opted for Mexican.  Paul ordered the Barbicoa soft tacos, which Jeff munched on the Chiptole burrito.  Both said the food was great and very flavorful.

I’m thinking I need to try the Mexican fare for myself, but I just can’t get past the first page of the menu!  In time, my friends, in time.