Weeknight lovin' pt. 2- Why everything should be made in one pot

I am a brown bagger.  Well, technically speaking, I'm a 'zip-lock bagger', since I always pack my lunch in the same old freezer bag.  (Far more leak proof, don't-cha know?)  The soup du jour is pretty much always leftovers, most of the time they're decent enough, but every once and a while they leave the whole office greedily sniffing the air and asking hopefully, "did you get that from around here?"

Of course I have to shatter their dreams of a fragrant lunch when I tell them that it's just my leftovers.  (Although I always offer the consolation prize: the recipe.)

At any rate, this dish I'm about to share is one of the aforementioned leftovers that left my coworkers with lunch envy.

It's something along the lines of a gumbo, but with more of a Mexican flair.  It's bursting with flavor, and when served over brown rice, it makes a hearty and satisfying weeknight meal.

Chicken Sausage Stew

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

2 jalapeno chicken sausages, cut into 1/4in half moons

1 medium onion, sliced into 1/2in half moons

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Serrano pepper, finely chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp coriander

2 tsp fresh thyme

2 cups kidney beans

1 cup sliced bell pepper

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

Directions

1.  In a large heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat and brown the sausage.  Once the sausage is browned, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.  In the same oil, add the onions, salt and pepper, and cook until slightly softened and translucent.  Add the garlic and Serrano, and cook until fragrant, about one more minute.

2.  Add the diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and thyme.  Stir to combine and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the beans and peppers and continue to simmer until peppers are softened, about 15 minutes.  Add the lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over white or brown rice.  Garnish with avocado if desired.  (I really recommend it).

greenhorn gourmande is on a budget- episode 2

This post is part of my week long series on how I manage to feed myself and my boyfriend for about $60 a week in New York city.  See the first post <<here>>.


In my last post I emphasised the importance of planning out what you are going to buy.  Pick your meals and stick to what's on your list.  I briefly mentioned that it's important to be wise about what you pick.

Now anyone with a soupçon of common sense could tell you that you are not going to be munching on organic grass fed porterhouse.  However it is a little bit harder than that (but not much).  When I look at recipes (which I'm pretty much constantly doing) I immediately look at the ingredients list and ask myself "does this list have things I know I can't afford?"  i.e. fancy cheese, expensive cuts of meat, or a super special ingredient.  When I see these little red flags I then ask myself can I make a substitution and still maintain the integrity of the dish.  For example, bacon instead of pancetta, or swiss/ cheddar instead of gruyere/comté.  If the answer is yes, then it is one I can put on my list.

Another way I help keep my budget under control is by eating mostly "vegetarian" meals.  Now I say "vegetarian" in quotes because many of my meals will not feature a main protein, but will have maybe a little bacon or chicken stock in them.  The point for me is to not maintain a completely vegetarian diet, but to reduce my meat consumption.  This is good for a multitude of reasons:  meat is generally very pricey, it is not very environmentally sustainable, and most of what I can afford is of inferior quality (read: factory farmed and loaded with antibiotics).

I now currently make meat (poultry, beef, pork, or seafood) about one to two times a week.  In the beginning reducing the amount of meat in my diet was strange, but now I find that I really don't have the desire to eat meat very often.

Of course to compensate for the lack of animal protein I make a lot of protein rich "vegetarian" meals.  In the past six months I've exposed myself to a veritable cornucopia of legumes, pulses, and grains.  I've found that lentils, beans, and quinoa can be equally satisfying to meat and incredibly delicious.  (Visit my recipe page to see a few of my favorites.)

Anyway, I'm beginning to feel like a bit of a self-righteous prig so to make it up to you, feast your eyes on this:

Roasted Chicken.  Perfection in a pan.

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup- Crazy Cooking Challenge!

Hello everyone!!!  Welcome to my first Crazy Cooking Challenge hosted by Tina at mom's crazy cooking.

This month's challenge was chicken noodle soup.  While a very appropriate choice for January, I must admit I was a little dissapointed.  To be quite honest I find chicken noodle soup to be a bit boring.   That is until I found this recipe at inquiring chef.  Thai chicken noodle soup!  Now that's something I can get behind.  I absolutely adore the spicy, complex flavors of Thai food, both of which are found in this dish.

  

Recipe after the jump!

I've Gone Bannanas for Apples!

As all of my dutiful readers will know (hey Mike), I went apple picking a couple of weeks ago.  The fruit of my labors did not go to waste.  With my apples I made a feast fit for Johnny Apple Seed.  This feast included: applesauce, apple bars, apple butter, and Chicken Normandy.

Sadly the applesauce did not last long enough to get a picture taken, but I assure you it was delicious.  If you're interested I followed this man's recipe pretty closely and it paid some tasty dividends.   The only change I made was to sub water for cider because I was to cheap/poor/lazy to buy it.

Moving on, Apple Bars.  They are way better than apple pie.  Twice as tasty, 10 times more portable, and maybe a little easier to make.  I managed to take a decent photo, so the recipe is included.

Apple butter is a concotion that I had heard a lot about, but had never actually had the opportunity to taste.  Let me just say: Do believe the hype.  It is really worth peeling and chopping the apples for what seems like an eternity.

Last but not least, Chicken Normandy.  If you read my post (Red Red Wine) you would know I have an affinity for cooking with le booze.  Chicken Normandy meets this requirement.  Picture it:  Succulent fried chicken legs braised to perfection in a hard cider cream sauce.  Drool worthy, no?  That's enough words, here are the pictures.

    Apple Bar.  You can find the recipe here.

Apple Butter.  I used this recipe, with a substitution of alspice instead of cloves.  There are a lot of apple butter recipes floating around on foodgawker at the moment, but this one appealed to me because it uses honey instead of sugar.

                                                 Chicken Normandy.
Sadly this photo turned out to be the ugly stepchild of my apple pictures collection.  Do not let the image deceive!  This recipe is fantastic.  I followed it to a T.











This brings us to the end of my apple shenanigans, tune in tomorrow for another enthralling edition of WIAW.

Weekend Cooking Bonanza!

Now that I'm employed (yeah!)  at a shitty temp job (boo!) I find that I am less inclined to cook during the week.  While I still manage to make meals Monday through Friday, extracurricular baking and such has been relegated to the weekend.


And this weekend I was quite the A+ student.


I made Pumpkin Banana Bread, Roast Chicken with Fennel and Red Potatoes, and Roasted Cauliflower and zucchini Cheddar Soup.  All three were AMAzING, but I have to say the soup was probably my favorite.  It's one I made last fall, and it was as good as I remembered!  Anyway that's enough of my idle ramblings, here are the recipes and some tantalizing food porn.

Pumpkin Banana Bread

Makes 2 9x5x3 loaves

Ingredients

•   1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 13/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cups granulated white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
• ½ cup water
• 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup mashed banana
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and lightly flour two 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

3. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs until lightly beaten and add sugar and mix until blended.

4. Add pumpkin puree, water, and vanilla extract and mix together with the egg/sugar mixture.

5. Add banana and melted butter.

6. Add the dry ingredients (in #2) and stir until the ingredients are combined - do not over mix.

8. Bake for 55-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean and dry.

9. When you remove the loaf pan from the oven, let the pumpkin bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.

I culled this recipe from several Pumpkin bread recipes.  I knew I wanted to make a Pumpkin-Banana bread, so I just substituted Banana for oil.  This loaf is delicately sweet and incredibly moist.  I usually pop a slice in the toaster oven for a few minutes and then give it a healthy smear of cream cheese.  Next time I make it I think I'll add some walnuts or mini chocolate chips.  

    Roast Chicken with Fennel and Red Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 (3 to 4 lbs) roasting chicken
• 2 fennel bulbs, top removed and sliced into ¼ inch thick slices
• 1 lemon halved
• 4 medium or 2 large red potatoes cut into 1in chunks
• 1 bulb garlic, peeled
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Remove giblets and excessive fat from chicken. Rinse chicken including the inside. Pat dry the outside. Liberally sprinkle salt and pepper on the inside and outside of the chicken.   
3. Place the bird in a medium sized baking dish.  Stuff the lemon in the cavity.
4. Place sliced fennel bulb, potatoes, and garlic in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
5. Arrange the vegetables around the bird in the pan. 
6. Roast for approximately 1½ hours or until the juices run clear from an incision at the juncture of the leg to the body. Let rest for 15 minutes before carving.

This recipe was inspired by Ina Garten's roast chicken from her Barefoot Contessa cookbook.  The chicken came out moist and flavorful.  It's really amazing what a little salt and pepper can do.  

Roasted Cauliflower and Zucchini Cheddar Soup

Ingredients

•   1 head of Cauliflower (chopped up into medium sized pieces)
• 1 medium sized zucchini (cut into medallions)
• olive oil
• salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 28 ounces of  low sodium chicken Broth
• 1 shallot medium diced
•   1/2 a small onion medium diced
• 3 cloves of garlic small diced
•   3 strips of bacon
• 2 cups of white cheddar

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. On a cookie sheet, place the chopped up cauliflower and zucchini, drizzle with olive oil and top with the sea salt and course ground pepper. Place into the over for 30-40 minutes or until the cauliflower is easily pierced with a paring knife.
2. Fry the strips of bacon until crisp, reserving about a tbsp of the grease.
3. In a large dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot reheat the reserved bacon grease.  Add the shallot and onion and saute until lightly browned and fragrant.  Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.  To this add the chicken broth and crumbled bacon strips.  Bring to a boil.  Once the cauliflower and zucchini are done add them to the broth; cover and simmer for another 15 minutes.  Next turn off the heat and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.  Once cooled blend using an immersion blender until smooth and creamy.  
4. Return the soup to a low heat and gradually stir in the cheddar cheese.  Salt and pepper to taste.

This soup is so good!  The cauliflower takes on a slightly nutty taste from the roasting, and the cheddar cheese ( I used extra sharp) makes it incredibly creamy and savory.  Although the zucchini doesn't play a pivotal role in the flavor profile of the soup, it adds lovely viridescent specks  to what would otherwise be a rather bland looking pottage.  Seriously though, you need to make this soup.  Like right now.  For reals.