Monday, November 4, 2013

Roasted Garlic Chicken Soup.

You have a cold.  You need chicken soup.  This is the one to make:  veggies, garlic, chicken and chicken stock.  Take care of yourself; savor the soup.

Ingredients

1 head of garlic, broken into paper-covered cloves.
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 medium onion, diced

1 - 1/2 quarts Swanson Organic Chicken Broth

Olive Oil
Fresh thyme sprigs
2 tsps fresh thyme leaves
Salt and Pepper

Directions

1.  Prep the Garlic.

Preheat a toaster oven to 350.  Line a pan with aluminum foil.  Scatter the garlic cloves on the pan, drizzle a teaspoon or two of olive oil over the garlic, and season with a little salt and pepper.  Add a sprig or two of fresh thyme. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the cloves are soft and lightly browned, but not burned.  Remove the garlic from the oven and set aside to cool.

When cool, squeeze the baked garlic cloves out of the paper shelves and into a large, Pyrex measuring cup. Add some of the chicken broth; use your judgment on amount.  The goal is to liquefy the garlic using an immersion blender.  Blend the garlic into the broth with the immersion blender or you can try achieving this goal using a blender.

2.  Poach the Chicken.

Use what ever method you prefer to poach the boneless, skinless chicken breast.  Here is one example from about.com  After it is poached and cooled, cut into bite-sized dice.

3.  Make the Soup.

In your soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.  Add diced carrots, celery and onion. Saute until veggies are softened and the onion is translucent, 6 to 10 minutes.  Don't burn the veggies!

Add to the pot the garlic-and-chicken-broth mixture, the remainder of the chicken broth, and the 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer everything together for 8 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer another 2-3 minutes.  Check the seasoning and adjust appropriately with salt and pepper.

Serve hot.


Saturday, June 15, 2013

Roasted Cauliflower for Two

This is the basic method I use for roasting hearty vegetables, such as potatoes:  toss the veggie in olive oil, add salt and pepper, and roast in high heat.  Here the cauliflower gets a cheese topping, a traditional additive to this vegetable.

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1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 generous tablespoon of olive oil, plus more to drizzle in the pan
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
salt and pepper

1/3 - 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Toss the garlic and cauliflower florets with the olive oil.  Drizzle some additional oil in the pan.  Add the cauliflower to the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for 25 - 30 minutes, or until the cauliflower is nicely colored.  Remove pan from oven and sprinkle cheese and parsley over the roasted vegetable.  Put the pan under the broiler for about 3 minutes, or until the cheese bubbles and browns.

Enjoy!

Monday, June 3, 2013

Breakfast: Hot Flaxseed Cereal

If you are avoiding wheat or trying to eat low-carb, then breakfast can sometimes be challenging.  A wheatless option I've been experimenting with is hot flaxseed cereal. Here is the basic recipe for one serving:

Ingredients

4 Tbs. flaxseed meal
1/2 C almond milk (the 60 calorie per serving variety)
1 tsp. brown sugar
Walnut pieces

Technique

Put the flaxseed meal in a microwave-safe bowl.  Measure 1/2 cup almond milk into a glass measuring cup.  Heat the milk in a microwave for one minute.

Very, very slowly pour the hot milk into the bowl of flaxseed meal, stirring the milk into the meal using a fork. Stir until incorporated.  Add the brown sugar.  Put the bowl into the microwave and heat for about 30 seconds.  Stir in some walnut pieces and serve.

This basic recipe can be modified by adding fruit or applesauce, or substituting the sweetener of your choice, just like you would when preparing oatmeal or cream of wheat.

Enjoy!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Amaretti

These little cookies are perfect to enjoy with an espresso.

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups almond meal flour
1-1/2 cup sugar
3 egg whites
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp orange extract
Almond slices


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment.
Beat egg whites into stiff peaks. Fold in almond meal, sugar, and extracts.

Scoop 1/2 teaspoon of dough, roll into ball, and place on baking sheet.  Place almond slice on cookie. Repeat, setting subsequent balls about 1 inch apart.  Bake until just golden.  Start checking at 10 minutes.  Remember, oven temperatures vary; in my electric oven, they are done in 10 to 12 minutes and in my very slow gas oven, it takes 20 minutes.    Cool on parchment paper before handling cookies.

Easy Meatballs

Ingredients

1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. hot Italian sausage
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1/3 cup Betty Crocker Potato Buds
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbs finely diced onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Place a rack over the baking sheet; spray rack with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Lightly form 1-1/4 inch meatballs.  Place meatballs on the rack and bake for 15 minutes or until meatballs have reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

Told you it was easy!