Tasty Tuesday

“We can see a thousand miracles around us every day. What is more supernatural than an egg yolk turning into a chicken?”
-S. Parkes Cadman

Hello! Have the dog days of winter got you down? Well don't let them! Try this slow cooker recipe and it will put smiles on the faces of your entire family! What is not to love? It is easy to make, fairly inexpensive and is truly a comfort food that will warm you to your cockles! ENJOY!

“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.”
-Arnold H. Glasgow


Slow Cooked Hunter Chicken

Ingredients:

* 1 pkg split chicken breasts w/ ribs, drums & thighs (3 Lbs)
* salt and pepper to taste
* flour (for coating)
* 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 cups mirepoix (diced carrots, celery & onion)
* 6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
* 2 cups dry red wine
* 32 oz chicken stock
* 1 cup white mushrooms, sliced
* 1 can Italian style tomatoes
* 2 tsp Herbs de Provence
* 1 Tbsp tarragon, chopped
* Crusty Italian bread

Equipment Needed:

* 6-8 qt slow cooker
* large braising pan


Directions:

1.) Season chicken with salt/pepper & dust with flour.
2.) Heat oil on medium in braising pan.
3.) Brown chicken pieces lightly on all sides, 8-10 min.
4.) Remove chicken & place in slow cooker.
5.) Discard all but 1 Tbsp oil.
6.) Lower heat to medium-low.
7.) Add garlic & mirepoix to pan; cook 2-3 min, stirring frequently.
8.) Stir in all-purpose flour and mix well.
9.) Add wine and stir.
10.) Slowly mix in chicken stock and bring to simmer.
11.) Pour stock mixture over chicken in slow cooker.
12.) Add mushrooms, tomatoes, and herbs, mix well.
13.) Cover & cook on HIGH 3-4 hours or LOW 6-7 hours.
14.) Remove chicken & arrange on a large serving platter.
15.) Stir tarragon into sauce; season to taste with salt and pepper.
16.) Pour sauce over chicken and serve w/ bread.

(P.S. Dunking the bread in the sauce is DIVINE!)

Thought of the Day:

"People who count their chickens before they are hatched act very wisely, because chickens run about so absurdly that it is impossible to count them accurately."
-Oscar Wilde

Have a great day and remember: Go Ahead & Indulge!

Souper Saturday!

"Of all the items on the menu, soup is that which exacts the most delicate perfection and the strictest attention."
-Auguste Escoffier

Hello! I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Today I am sharing a recipe for one of my favorite soups, ENJOY!


Split Pea Soup with Ham

Ingredients:

* 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
* 1 cup mirepoix (minced carrots, celery & onion)
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 16 oz dried green split peas, sorted and rinsed
* 1 cup potato, peeled and diced
* 2 cartons (32 oz each) vegetable stock
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 2 cups ham, small dice
* Chopped fresh parsley

Equipment Needed:

* Blender

Directions:

1.) Add oil to stockpot and heat on medium.
2.) Cook mirepoix and garlic, stirring occasionally, about 5 min, until vegetables are tender but not browned.
3.) Add peas, potatoes & vegetable stock.
4.) Bring to boil.
5.) Reduce heat and simmer about 45 min, covered, until peas are tender.
6.) Puree soup until smooth with blender & return soup to pan.
7.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8.) Add diced ham.
9.) Heat on medium until warmed through.
10.) Garnish with parsley.

Thought of the Day:

"Soup is to the meal, what the hostesses smile of welcome is to the party. A prelude to the goodness to come."
-Louis P. De Gouy


Have a great day and remember: Go Ahead & Indulge!

Souper Saturday!

"Soup is the song of the hearth... and the home."
-Louis P. De Gouy

Hello! Have a wonderful weekend! If you have a chance to try this recipe you are in for a big surprise... It is wonderful! Enjoy!


Hearty Spanish Soup

Servings: 12 cups

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
* 1/2 lb Chorizo sausage, diced
* 1 cup mirepoix (carrots, celery & onion), finely diced
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/8 tsp saffron
* 1/2 cup long grain white rice, uncooked
* 32 oz vegetable stock
* 32 oz chicken stock
* 1 can garbanzo beans, drained (reserve liquid)
* 1 can black beans, drained, rinsed
* 1/4 lb ham, medium diced
* 1 cup diced, cooked chicken
* 1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
* Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.) Heat oil in large stockpot on medium, until oil faintly smokes.
2.) Add sausage, stir and cook 30 seconds, remove and set aside.
3.) Add mirepoix, stir and cook 2-3 min, until soft but not browned.
4.) Add garlic and cook 1 min.
5.) Mix saffron and rice, stirring to coat rice with oil; cook about 1 min.
6.) Add vegetable stock, chicken stock, and reserved liquid from beans.
7.) Simmer about 10 min, until rice is tender.
8.) Add garbanzo beans, black beans, ham, chicken, and sausage.
9.) Simmer 5 min to blend flavors.
10.) Skim fat from surface of soup.
11.) Stir in cilantro.
12.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.

"Between soup and love, the first is better."
-Old Spanish saying

Have a great day and remember: Go Ahead & Indulge!

Souper Saturday!

"A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting."
-Abraham Maslow

Hello! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I know the weather is warming up, but soup is good year round! Enjoy!

"Anyone who tells a lie has not a pure heart, and cannot make a good soup."
-Ludwig van Beethoven



Squash & Pear Soup

Servings: 9

Ingredients:

* 1 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
* 1 cup cleaned & chopped sweet onions
* 3 cups cleaned & cut butternut squash, 1/4-inch dice
* 3 medium Bosc or Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and quartered
* 32 oz vegetable stock
* 1 Tbsp minced thyme
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Pumpkin Oil


Equipment needed: Handheld or conventional blender

Directions:

1.) Heat oil on medium-low in large stockpot.
2.) Add onions and squash to pot.
3.) Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, 10 min.
4.) Add pears, stock, and thyme.
5.) Bring to a boil; then reduce heat to low.
6.) Simmer about 25 min until squash and pears are tender.
7.) Puree until smooth with blender.
8.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.
9.) Ladle into warm bowls.
10.) Drizzle with some pumpkin oil prior to serving.

Tip:

For the smoothest consistency, use a conventional blender. Ladle small batches (about 2 cups at a time) into blender, being careful as you handle the hot soup. Puree until smooth. Return soup to pot; reheat on low.

Bad Joke of the Day:

What do you call a chicken in a hot tub? Soup!


Have a great day and remember: Go Ahead & Indulge!

Souper Saturday!

Every winter,
When the great sun has turned his face away,
The earth goes down into a vale of grief,
And fasts, and weeps, and shrouds herself in sables,
Leaving her wedding-garlands to decay -
Then leaps in spring to his returning kisses.
-Charles Kingsley


Hello! I live in upstate New York, so soup is always welcomed, especially in winter. For those of you living in warmer climates, soup may not be needed to ward off the chills - however, it is always sure to "warm" you in other ways! Enjoy!


"Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables. They probably get jet-lagged, just like people."
-Elizabeth Berry



Moroccan Lentil & Chick Pea Soup

Serves: 8
Cost Per Serving: $2.25

Ingredients:

* 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
* 1 cup (8 oz) mirepoix (finely chopped carrots, celery and onion)
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 16 oz organic green lentils, sorted and rinsed
* 1 can (28 oz) cut roma tomatoes with seasonings
* 2 cartons (32 oz each) vegetable stock
* 1 tsp coriander seed or ground coriander
* 1 tsp cumin
* 1 tsp turmeric
* 1 tsp cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
* 1 can (15.5 oz) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
* 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
* Salt to taste


Tools needed:

* Hand-held or regular blender


Directions:

1.) Heat stockpot on medium and once warmed, add olive oil.
2.) Add mirepoix and garlic. Cook, stirring, 5-6 min, until soft but not browned.
3.) Stir in lentils, tomatoes, stock, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, and cayenne.
4.) Cook, covered, 20-25 min.
5.) Puree briefly (15 secs) with hand-held blender or in regular blender, just to thicken (don't puree all the lentils).
6.) Return to stockpot if you used a regular blender.
7.) Stir in garbanzo beans and cilantro.
8.) Season to taste with salt.
9.) Simmer about 5 min on medium until heated through.


"Great eaters and great sleepers are incapable of anything else that is great."
-Henry IV of France


Enjoy the day and remember: Go Ahead & Indulge!