17 Oct 2014
by sparksfromthekitchen
in Lunch, Main Dish, Soup, Uncategorized
I based this soup on the Curried Udon Soup in the Birthday 2014 issue of BBC Good Food. I LOVE curry and don’t cook with it as often as I should. This is a wonderfully warming, light soup which is surprisingly filling and satisfying thanks to the chicken, shirataki noodles and tons of veggies.
I find that shirataki noodles are really great for soup because they don’t get mushy or disintegrate like regular pasta noodles and they reheat perfectly. I cook them separate initially to get rid of the moisture and incorporate a bit of sesame and curry flavor into them. I like this brand the most. If you’ve never cooked with them don’t worry-they’re easy. I’ll explain fully below.
Yummy? check
Healthy? check
Easy to make? check
Chicken Curry Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped small
- 1 cup fat free low sodium chicken broth
- 2 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp yellow curry* separated
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 8oz packages Tofu Shirataki spaghetti noodles, drained, rinsed and drained again
- 1 13.5 oz can light coconut milk
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 16oz package frozen stir-fry veggies (I used Trader Joe’s)
Instructions:
- In a dutch oven or large pot heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook almost completely. Add the onion and cook for a minute. Add the 2 tbsp curry powder and stir. Add the coconut milk, a bit at a time, stirring. Add the chicken broth, honey and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
- While the soup is cooking put the sesame oil in a pan over medium/high heat. When hot add the noodles and stir for a few minutes to evaporate some moisture. Add the remaining curry powder and continue stirring and cooking until almost dry. Remove from heat.
- Add the vegetables and cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Place 1/4 of the noodles into the bottom of each bowl. Ladle 1/4 of the soup over the noodles.
Note: for left overs store the noodles separately from the soup. Add the noodles before reheating.
Regarding the preparation of the noodles: they are packaged in liquid. To prepare pour the noodles into a colander and shake off as much moisture as possible. Rinse them with clean water and drain again. At this point you can put them aside until they’re ready to use. I find that cooking them in a pan until they’re almost dry really makes a difference.
*I used the British Curry from Teeny Tiny Spice Company of Vermont.
15 Oct 2014
by sparksfromthekitchen
in Lunch, Main Dish
Tags: beef, cheese, one-pot, rice
This one-pan meal is very delicious and very easy to make. It’s a big mash-up of yummy–ground beef, rice and beans, spices and cheese. You probably have most, if not everything, to make this in your pantry already. I love weeknight dishes that I can set to simmer for a few minutes-it allows me to clean everything up while it finishes cooking.
Feel free to change the spices around to your particular taste. The recipe below gives a bit of a kick but it’s not spicy (in my opinion anyway).
This would also be great on nachos, Husband ate it rolled in a tortilla, I just ate it straight out of the bowl. Both helpings 🙂 Leftovers reheat beautifully.
Rice and Beef Mexi-Skillet
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground sirloin
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped small
- 4 cloves garlic, grated or minced fine
- 1 15oz can crushed tomatoes (not drained)
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
- 1 tsp Goya seasoning
- 1 8oz box Goya Rice and Beans (not instant)
- 1/2 cup light mexican blend shredded cheese (I used Trader Joe’s)
- Fat free sour cream (for topping)
- Sliced avocado (for topping)
Instructions:
- Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium/high heat. Cook the beef until nearly cooked through, drain, then add the onion and garlic, cook until onion is soft -just a few minutes. Drain fat again if needed. Then add the tomatoes, seasoning and spices and mix to combine. Transfer the beef to a deep plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
- In the same pan bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add the contents of the rice box and boil for 30 seconds. Reduce heat to simmer and cover. Cook until rice is tender and water is absorbed-about 25 minutes. If necessary add a few extra tbsp of water to cook rice.
- Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the beef and then stir in the cheese. Let it rest for a few minutes until the cheese has melted.
- Garnish and serve.
Greatly adapted from Goya’s Cheeseburger Rice recipe.
18 Sep 2014
by sparksfromthekitchen
in Lunch, Main Dish, Slow Cooker, Thaw/Reheat & Serve
Tags: black beans, chili, delicata, feta cheese, kidney beans, slow cooker, squash
So we’re coming up on the last weekend of summer. What a fantastic summer it has been-full of outdoor fun, friends, family and baseball.
But I’m ready for fall. It’s such a gorgeous time of year-the colors of the trees, the crisp blue or gloomy grey skies, fall festivals and I can finally pull my boots out again. I miss them all summer.
Even though there’s still summer left last Saturday started cold and rainy. So naturally chili came to mind immediately. The result of pulling different items from my pantry was delicious! Just enough heat, different tastes and textures and it’s very very very good for you.
If you’re not familiar with Delicata squash it’s shaped like a giant pickle and is green and white striped. You can eat the skins but I prefer to remove them for this recipe. The taste is similar to acorn squash-perhaps a touch sweeter. They’re much easier to cut and peel than butternut or acorn squashes. Here’s a photo of the cap of the squash and the diced pieces. I forgot to take a photo of the complete squash but you get the idea 🙂
Delicata Squash Chili
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped small
- 1 clove garlic, diced
- 1 tbsp ancho chili powder
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tbsp cumin
- 4 cups (about 2) delicata squash, peeled, seeded and cubed to 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 16oz can low sodium black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 16oz can low sodium red kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 1 20 oz can fire roasted tomatoes (I used Muir Glen)
- 8ozs frozen corn or canned corn rinsed and drained
- 4ozs green chilis
- 1 & 1/2 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth
- fat free feta cheese for garnish
- sliced avocado for garnish
Instructions:
- In a shallow pan over medium high heat melt the coconut oil. Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring, to soften. Add garlic and stir to cook. Add spices and cook for 1 minute to coat and heat.
- Place the onion mixture and all ingredients above through and including the chicken broth, into the bowl of the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour then low for 4 hours.
- Spoon into bowls and garnish with feta and avocado and serve.
Makes: 12 cups
Serving Size: 1 cup
Reheats and freezes beautifully.
To make vegetarian swap out the chicken broth for vegetable broth.
02 Jun 2014
by sparksfromthekitchen
in Lunch, Main Dish
Tags: avodado, chicken, halloumi, wrap
While in London last month we had dinner one night at Nando’s which is a chicken restaurant with locations all over the UK (and world?) but there’s only one or 2 in th US. It’s a South African PERi-PERi chicken restaurant and it was delicious. I had a wrap with chicken and ordered a side of avocado and grilled halloumi with it. I love that they had that cheese-you never see it on menus here.
When I returned home I wanted to make a similar sandwich as the sauce was so delicious! I found that my Fairway Market sold the sauces-yay! Check your market-they may sell it. If not the closest that I would use is Franks Wing Sauce with a touch of sour cream mixed in. The avocado is so nice and creamy and soothing, offsetting the spice of the sauce, the grilled cheese gives just a touch of crunch and tangy goodness.
This is not a tremendous over-stufffed wrap, it’s very simple with very easy ingredients which compliment each other wonderfully.
Spicy Chicken, Crispy Halloumi and Avocado Wrap
Ingredients:
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, 6-8 ozs
- kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
- half of an avocado
- 4 ozs halloumi cheese
- Nando’s Medium Sauce
- 2 whole wheat wraps
Instructions:
- Slice the chicken breast in half horizontally to make two pieces of similar thickness. season with salt and pepper.
- Grill-either outside or with a grill pan, panini press etc.. then chop into small pieces. Drizzle with a little of the Nando’s sauce, stir and set aside, covered, to keep warm.
- While the chicken is cooking slice the cheese into 1/4 inch strips and place in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Watch it carefully. It will heat and begin to darken. when it reaches a nice brown, flip it over to cook the other side. Remove and set on a board. Cut into long strips.
- Slice the avocado into thin strips.
- Warm the wraps in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.
- Starting with the cheese spoon half of the cheese down the center of each wrap, followed by half of the chicken, followed by a drizzle (or river-it’s up to you) of the sauce finishing with the avocado.
Makes 2 wraps
If you’ve never had halloumi cheese-it’s a tangy, salty cheese that can be heated but won’t melt-it jut gets a little crispy. I’ve also seen it sold as ‘grilling cheese’.
06 May 2014
by sparksfromthekitchen
in Appetizer, Lunch, Main Dish, Soup
I was lucky and got to spend the week leading up to Easter in London. I’d been there before, but not for many years. It was great to get back.
I saw this soup on quite a few pub menus and was curious. In a good portion of the planet cilantro is called coriander-and for good reason-it IS coriander. This recipe uses it in 2 ways-ground coriander seed and the leafy coriander (cilantro).
This soup is SO yummy and SO light. It’s got really bright flavors and is so easy to make it’s unbelievable. It’s a little sweet, thick and deeeeelicious. It could be served as either an appetizer or a main course.
Carrot & Coriander Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 tps vegetable oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 tsp ground coriander seed
- 450g (3 cups) carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 medium russet potato, peeled and chopped
- 1.2l (4 cups) chicken broth
- small handful of coriander (cilantro)
Instructions:
- Heat the oil in a large dutch oven, add the onion, and cook until softened- about 5 minutes. Stir in the ground coriander and potato and cook for another minute. Add the carrots and stock, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the carrots and potato are tender.
- Using an immersion blender whizz until smooth. Taste, season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper if needed.
- Serve with a touch of sour cream, creme fraiche or chopped coriander leaves or scallions.
Freezes and reheats beautifully. 4-6 servings.
Adapted from bbcgoodfood.com
28 Jan 2014
by sparksfromthekitchen
in Lunch, Main Dish, Soup
Tags: beef, carrots, mexican, rice, zucchini
The recipe for this soup caught my eye for a number of reasons-it’s easy and fast to cook and the ingredients are probably already in your pantry (I just had to buy the carrot and zucchini) yet delicious when put together. You can very easily adjust the heat too-add a bit more or less of the chili powders or add some diced green chiles. I made mine rather mild, opting for a few squirts of hot sauce later. I really loved how crisp the veggies stay even after reheating and there’s just enough rice. I served it with a small cheese quesadilla, a bit of refried beans, sour cream and salsa. It was nice to dip the quesadilla into to broth. I think it would be great topped with some tortilla strips or crunched tortilla chips. This recipe is a keeper!!
Mexican Meatball Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 lb 93% lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed to a paste
- 1 large egg
- kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp Goya Adobo
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 6 cups low sodium, low fat chicken broth (I used the last 3 cups of this home made chicken stock plus an additional 3 cups which I purchased)
- 1 large carrot cut into 1/4 inch rounds
- 1 large zucchini, halved then cut into 1/4 inch half-moons
- 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes, undrained (I used Muir Woods Organic)
- 1/2 cup long-grain white rice
- chopped fresh cilantro, for topping
- freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese, for topping
Instructions:
- In a large bowl combine the first 9 ingredients (beef through and including Adobo). Using your hands mix to evenly combine. Be careful not to over-mix. Pinch off tablespoon-sized pieces and roll into balls.
- In a large dutch oven heat the oil over medium-high heat. Place as many meatballs into the pot as you can without crowding them and push slightly on the top to flatten a bit. Brown on all sides for about 3/4 minutes. You do not have to cook them all the way through but they must be mostly done. You may have to work in batches to brown all of the meatballs.
- Add the chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add the carrots, zucchini and rice. Return to a boil then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes until the rice is done and the meatballs are cooked through.
- Season with salt if necessary.
- Serve garnished with cilantro and cheddar cheese if desired.
This soup reheats beautifully for left overs and I would imagine that it freezes well-although I didn’t try.
Adapted from February, 2014 issue of All You Magazine.
16 Jan 2014
by sparksfromthekitchen
in Lunch, Main Dish
Tags: cheese, chicken, panini, pesto, red peppers
Sometimes something really great comes out of needing to make a meal when you didn’t think you’d need to. That’s where this sandwich comes in. It was so very very very tasty and so many different layers of flavor!!! And mmmmmmmm melty cheese.
I had plans for Saturday which, super-sadly, fell through due the weather being awful. Torrential rain, dangerous winds etc.. I watched the figure skating championships instead. I can’t wait for the Olympics to start in February-figure skating is probably my favorite of the winter sports. Remember that whole Nancy Kerrigan thing years ago? Lifetime made a really great (well as far as a Lifetime movie goes) about that and boy did they make it dramatic and fun to watch. I think we have some great contenders for medals this year.
I always have boneless, skinless chicken breasts frozen individually in the freezer. I buy the large family packs (they’re FAR less expensive than the 1lb packs), I bring it home, trim up the chicken, weigh it and then use my food saver to package it up. I write the date and weight on the package. Those are lifesavers on nights when you want to make something fast. In a bowl of cold water the chicken only takes a short time to defrost.
Chicken, Pesto and Mozzarella Panini
Ingredients:
- 4oz boneless, skinless chicken breast
- Mrs. Dash seasoning (I use the low-sodium)
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp olive oil plus 1/4 tsp
- 2 tbsp pesto
- 1/4 cup fresh mozzarella cheese-cut into thin strips
- 2 tbsp thinly sliced roasted red peppers
- 1 flatbread
Instructions:
- Sprinkle chicken with seasoning, salt and pepper.
- In a small skilled over medium high heat heat up the 1 tsp oil and then add the chicken breast. Cook a few minutes on each side until fully cooked. Remove from the pan. Chop into very small pieces and set aside.
- Microwave the flatbread for a few seconds to loosen it up.
- Brush a thin layer of the remaining olive oil onto the flatbread and then turn it over so that the oil side is down.
- Smear the pesto onto one half of the bread, then lay down the cheese then top with the peppers and chicken. Fold the top of the bread over and gently press to make sure it’s all staying together.
- Place it on the panini press and cook until cheese is melted and bread is crisp.
- Eat immedately.
Makes 1 panini.
13 Jan 2014
by sparksfromthekitchen
in Lunch, Main Dish, Slow Cooker
Tags: beef, peppers, provolone, sandwiches
These are delicious! The beef is cooked all day and just falls apart. The very slightly hot peppers, the melty provolone cheese and the tomatoes makes this one tasty hot sandwich. Save some of the juice for dipping if you’d like. This cooks for 8 hours which makes it ideal for a weeknight dinner also as it can stay on ‘warm’ for a while after cooking.
I put the roast in my slow cooker at about 10am on New Year’s Day. I didn’t really have any plans for the day except catching up on some DVR’d shows and doing some chores around the house and laundry but on a lazy day off it was nice to not have to worry about dinner and have such a delicious sandwich waiting for me. It also reheats really well. I brought some left-overs to work the next day, put the roll in the toaster oven with a slice of cheese and nuked the beef. It was delicious!
Italian Beef Sandwiches-Slow Cooker
Ingredients:
- 1 3lb eye round roast (or chuck or rump)
- 1 2oz packet Italian Dressing mix (dry)
- 6 small Pepperoncini peppers
- 1 cup low sodium low fat beef broth
- 1 14.5 oz can Muir Glen Organic diced tomatoes w/italian herbs
- Sliced provolone cheese
- Butter
- Rolls
Instructions:
- Put the roast into the cooker.
- In a bowl combine the dressing mix and broth and stir to combine.
- Pour the mix over the roast followed by the tomatoes. Place the peppers into the broth around the roast.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
- When the cooking is complete remove any pieces of fat from the beef or liquid and discard.
- Remove the roast from the liquid and set aside. Strain the liquid to remove any fat that may be left. Retain the strained liquid and tomatoes.
- Slice the rolls in half the long way.
- Heat a pan over medium/high heat. Melt a tbsp of butter and when foaming place the halves of as many rolls as can fit into the butter (interior side down). Weigh down with something (I used my tea pot) and cook until crisp. Remove from the pan and place provolone onto the bread and then top with some beef and tomatoes and cooking liquid if you’d like.
- Serve immediately.
As an alternate serve the cooking liquid in a small bowl along side the sandwich for dipping.
Adapted from thecountrycook.net
10 Jan 2014
by sparksfromthekitchen
in Appetizer, Lunch, Main Dish
Tags: cheese
I’ve always had a thing for fondue. When I was young my Mom used to make it and it was always a treat. Melty cheese on a chilly night-perfect!! What’s not to love? I’d not ever made fondue from scratch but it was easy. If you can grate cheese you can make it.
I’m not really all that big of a New Years Eve person–truth be told it feels like any other night to me but since others make a big deal about it well I might as well do something 🙂 New Year’s Eve this year was so nice! I made the fondue, Mom brought over lobsters, Grandma brought a salad. We played cards and ate delicious food and laughed our heads off.
Thanks for holding that below Mom.
Fondue!
Ingredients:
- garlic clove-smashed once
- 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
- 1 cup shredded swiss emmentthal
- 2 tbsp AP flour
- 1 cup dry white wine (chardonnay)
- bundle of fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
- french bread, granny smith apples etc.. all cut into small squares for dipping.
Instructions:
- Rub a medium sauce pan with the garlic. Add the wine, thyme bundle and lemon juice and bring to a simmer for a minute or 2.
- Combine the cheeses and flour in a bowl and mix to coat evenly. Add it to the wine mixture a bit at a time, stirring until melted and velvety.
- Pour into your fondue pot and place over the appropriate heat source.
- Serve with diced bread, apples etc…
I put the bread and apples out with other small things to eat easily with the fondue fork but not to dip into the cheese-dill gerkins, kalamata olives. They were a nice addition to the plate.
27 Dec 2013
by sparksfromthekitchen
in Lunch, Main Dish, Slow Cooker
Tags: chicken, salsa, slow cooker
You may have noticed that I haven’t posted anything for quite a few weeks. It’s been crazy crazy crazy since the weekend before Thanksgiving. We spent the first 2 weeks of December on vacation in Mexico (and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly) but the weeks before Thanksgiving turned into a ludacris crunch of putting up our Christmas tree, decorating the house, finishing all holiday cards, finishing shopping, getting ready for vacation etc.. By the time we arrived in Mexico I was really ready for a margarita.
But now that Christmas has come and gone it’s time to get back to normality.
After returning from Mexico we hoped to extend the fun and vacation feeling (even if it was just in our mouths) so I pulled out a recipe that I had pinned earlier in the year. Taco Chicken!! And it was delicious! The chicken was moist and just fell apart. The taste is very nice-it has a touch of heat but isn’t spicy and is just really flavorful. I added a bit of hot sauce to my tacos as I prefer them a bit spicier but even plain they were just delicious.
Salsa & Sour Cream Chicken-slow cooker
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pour 1/3 of the salsa into the bottom of the slow cooker then add the chicken. Pour the taco seasoning onto the chicken then top with the rest of the salsa (make sure it’s all over the chicken and seasoning). Do not add the other ingredients at this time. They’re for later.
- Cook on low for 8 hours.
- Shred the chicken and then add the rice, sour cream and black beans. Stir to combine then cook on low for 30 more minutes.
- Serve in warmed tortillas with grated cheese.
Adapted from TheMagicalSlowCooker.com
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