slow cooker thai chicken soup

 

Delicous soup.  A big hit.

slow cooker thai chicken soup (platings + pairings)

2 tablespoons red curry paste

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons minced ginger

1 jalapeno pepper

1 (12 ounce) can coconut milk

4 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2" cubes

1 cup frozen peas

7 ounces rice noodles

1 lime, zested and juiced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons fish sauce

salt

garnishes:  cilantro, green onions, jalapeno slices, lime wedges

Combine red curry paste, brown sugar, garlic, cilantro, red pepper, onion, ginger, and jalapeno in a food processor or blender and process until a paste forms.

Add the paste to the slow cooker and stir in the chicken stock.  Add the chicken to the slow cooker, cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.

Use a spoon to break up the cooked chicken into bite sized pieces.

Add the coconut milk and rice noodles and cook for 10-15 minutes longer.

Stir in the frozen peas, lime zest, lime juice, soy sauce and fish sauce and season to taste with salt.

Serve in bowls topped with cilantro, green onions, additional jalapenos and lime wedges.

slow cooker chicken poblano soup

 

Delicious!

slow cooker chicken poblano soup (cooks well with others)

2 pounds chicken breasts

3-4 poblano peppers, seeds removed and diced (I used Anaheim peppers)

2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and diced

1 onion diced

1 red bell pepper diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 (15 ounce cans corn, drained)  (I used 1 summer squash and 1 zucchini, diced instead)

1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce (I used my favorite- Trader Joes brand)

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1 1/2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon cumin

kosher salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes

4 cups chicken broth

8 ounces light cream cheese, cut into small cubes

optional:  grated cheddar cheese, hot sauce and green onions

Put all ingredients except the cream cheese into a slow cooker.  Turn it on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Shred the chicken with two forks right in the slow cooker.  Add the cream cheese and cook 30 more minutes on low, stirring a few times until the cream cheese melts.

Taste for seasoning and add more spices if needed.

Serve with tortilla chips and top with cheese, hot sauce and green onions if desired.

khorasan bread

 

My friend Alexa introduced me to two words I had never heard of: kamut and khorasan.  Look them up- they are ancient grains...and why wouldn't I want to try working with ancient grains?!  We split a 50 pound bag of 100% whole grain khorasan (and saved A LOT of money that way) and this was the first recipe I tried.  I love knowing just how nutritional this bread is AND it tastes delicious.  Everyone in the family who tried it enjoyed it.

You should know that when I make whole wheat bread they really don't like it much.  It's just too hearty and tastes too healthy.  I love that this bread was a go!...because I have 24 more pounds of it to use. :)

khorasan bread (occasionally eggs)

prep: 15 minutes, cook time: 35 minutes, rising time:  1 hour 30 minutes, total: 2 hours 20 min

1 2/3 cups non-diary milk, or dairy milk

2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast

1 pound khorasan flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until just warm to the touch.   Pour it into a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) and stir in the honey and oil.  Check the temperature now- it should be about skin temperature.

Mix in the yeast, then set aside to bloom for about 10 minutes.  If it doesn't bloom, either your yeast is too old or the milk was too hot.

Stir in the flour and salt to form a wet, shaggy dough.

Knead for about 8 minutes on low speed with the dough attachment or knead by hand (that's what I did).

Set the dough aside to rise, covered, for about an hour in a warm, draft-free place,  It should double in size.

Once the dough has risen, grease or line a bread tin.  Generously flour a work surface and turn the dough out onto it.  Dust with some more flour, then press into a rough rectangle.  The short edge should be the same length as your bread tin.

Roll the dough into a tight spiral from the short edge, then place it seam side down into the prepared tin.

Cover and set aside to rise again for 30 minutes, or until the dough has just reached the top of the tin.  While the dough is rising preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden and the bread sounds hollow when tapped.  Cool for a few minutes in the tin before tipping it out and cooling fully on a wire rack.

Let the bread cool before slicing.  

pozole verde

 

Hall of Fame.  My husband had seen this recipe and printed it out and was hoping we could try it.  It was a lot of work but it was worth it!

pozole verde

for the soup:

1 bunch cilantro

1 white onion

6 garlic cloves

2 pounds tomatillos

3 large poblano chiles

1 jalapeno

1 lime, plus wedges for serving

4-6 tablespoons olive oil

salt

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 bunch lacinato kale, torn into bite-sized pieces (8 cups)

2 (15 ounce) cans hominy, drained

4 cups vegetable broth

for the toppings:

2-3 cups shredded green cabbage

2-4 radishes, thinly sliced

1 jalapeno, thinly sliced

queso fresco, about 3 tablespoons per bowl

crema or sour cream, about 2 tablespoons per bowl

flaky salt

sliced avocado

Heat oven to 475 degrees.

Prepare the soup:  Separate the cilantro leaves and tender stems from the thicker stems.  Place the thicker stems on a large sheet pan and refrigerate the remaining until ready to serve the soup.

Halve and peel the onion.  Cut into rough wedges and place on the sheet pan; finely dice the second half and set aside.  Peel the garlic cloves; place 3 whole cloves on the sheet pan, then mince the remaining 3 cloves and set aside.  Peel and quarter the tomatillos; halve, seed and stem the poblanos and jalapeno; and halve the lime; add all to the pan.

Drizzle the contents of the sheet pan with a hearty amount of olive oil and a very generous tablespoon of salt.  Toss together until well coated.  Roast until the vegetables are well-browned yet there is still plenty of liquid in the pan, 25 to 30 minutes.

While the vegetables are roasting, heat a large pot over medium.  Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the diced onion and a generous pinch of salt.  Turn down to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, 7 to 9 minutes.  Stir in the minced garlic, cumin and oregano, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to open up the flavors, then stir in the chopped kale.  Cover and adjust the heat to low, stirring occasionally to cook down a bit; continue cooking while you tend to the roasted vegetables.

Take the roasted vegetables out of the oven and immediately transfer the poblano chiles to a bowl, cover with a plate and set aside to steam.

Let the remaining roasted vegetables cool for 5 minutes.  Remove the lime halves and squeeze the juices and pulp onto the roasted vegetables; discard the peels.  Using tongs, transfer the vegetables to a food processor.

Carefully pour and scrape the juices and any roasty bits from the sheet pan into the pot and stir into the kale mixture.

With the vent on the food processor lid open to allow the steam to escape, pulse the vegetables until combined yet still chunky, then scrape into the pot.  Turn the heat to medium-high. Add the hominy and broth, and salt to taste.  Stir well to combine and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.

While the pozole comes to a simmer, peel off the clear outer skins of the poblanos and discard. Roughly chop the poblanos and add to the soup.  Let simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the flavors have melded.  Taste and adjust salt; don't be shy here- the salt will help pull all the flavors out and balance the acidity from all the tomatillos.

To serve, ladle a hearty portion into each bowl, top with cabbage, radishes, jalapeno slices, queso fresco, crema and the reserved cilantro.  Add a generous pinch of flaky sea salt to finish and serve with avocado and more lime, if you like.

lavash bread pizza

 

This is my new go-to.  It's SO easy to throw together especially if you have some things already prepped in the fridge like I did. 

It was just my son and I home for dinner and I had some leftover lavash bread from when I made pinwheel sandwiches.  I thawed some homemade marinara sauce I had stored in the freezer and made some pizza for myself and some for him.  You can see we like different things. 

lavash bread pizza

It's one of those recipes you don't really need a recipe for.

Spray some nonstick spray onto a rimmed baking sheet.

Place a sheet of lavash bread on it.

Spread some marinara sauce or pizza sauce all over it.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Add the toppings you love.

My favorites tonight were chicken (that was already in the fridge), diced red onion (already in the fridge), jarred red peppers and capers.  Sometimes I add mushrooms and spinach too.

delicious shrimp tacos

 

These were SO delicious!  I used a combination of two recipes that I found.

delicious shrimp tacos (pinch of yum for the shrimp spice, natasha's kitchen for the sauce)

shrimp spice mix

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon salt

sauce for tacos

1/3 cup light sour cream

1/3 cup light mayo

1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon hot sauce

you'll also need

1 pound shrimp, pre-cooked, deveined and peeled and tail off

1 tablespoon oil

corn tortillas

toppings:  diced red onion, shredded cabbage, avocado, cilantro, lime

To prepare the shrimp for the tacos, mix the shrimp spice mix with the shrimp.  Heat a frying pan with 1 tablespoon oil.  Get the oil nice and hot.  Add the shrimp and stir-fry until heated through and a little crisp.

Assemble your tacos the way you like them with all the toppings.

roasted bell peppers

 

Great recipe!  Loved it.

roasted bell peppers (slightly adapted from healthyrecipesblogs.com)

4 bell peppers

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Cut the bell peppers into quarters then remove the seeds and membranes.

Put the following into a gallon sized ziploc bag: oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano and red pepper flakes.  Add the bell peppers.  Seal bag.  Coat the bell peppers with the oil and seasonings.

Place peppers on the lined baking sheet.  Roast until tender and charred in spots, about 20 minutes.  Serve immediately.