Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken tortilla is one of my favorite soups - it's full of flavor but still light and healthy.  Soup is so great because you can make enough to freeze and pull it out whenever you don't feel like cooking.  I used homemade chicken stock, I've included the recipe below, but you can use any store bought stock if you don't feel like making your own.  I also used leftover chicken from the roast chicken I made earlier but you can also use new chicken breasts for this recipe. 

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 1/2 jalapeno, de-seeded and finely diced
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 14oz can black beans
3 chicken breasts
6 cups chicken stock (homemade recipe below)
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper
tortilla chips
1 avocado
cilantro, finely chopped or if you don't have that I just threw in about a tsp of ground coriander
cheese, Monterrey is good but anything you have should be okay

Method:

In large soup pot heat olive oil and add onions, cook for about 2 minutes and then add garlic and jalepenos and cook for another minute.  Add tomatoes, chicken stock, beans, salt and pepper - bring to a boil.  Once you reach boiling turn heat down to simmer.  If you are using uncooked chicken breasts add to soup now.  I might cut into large strips.  (If you are using leftover pre-cooked chicken do not add to soup yet). Let the soup simmer for about 25 minutes.   Remove chicken and use forks to shred - set aside.  Add lime juice and cilantro to pot.  Take shredded chicken and place in serving bowls, ladle broth over the chicken.  Top with tortilla chips and slices of avocado.


Homemade Chicken Stock
Makes about 12 cups

Making chicken stock is incredibly easy and it just makes me feel better about eating homemade soup since I know exactly what I will be eating.  I usually make roasted chicken about once a month and then make chicken stock with the bones.  Here's what you'll need to do for a very basic and delicious chicken stock.

Ingredients:

1 chicken picked down to bones
3 carrots, unpeeled
1 onion, quartered (doesn't need to be peeled)
3 stalks of celery
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
Approximately 10 cups of water (more or less depending on the size of your soup pot) 

Method:

Place chicken in soup pot.  Fill water so just the top of the chicken is sticking out (about 1 inch).  Add onion, carrots, celery and bay leaves.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  I cut the carrots and celery in half so they fit into the pan easily.  Bring to boil.  Once bowling turn heat down and simmer uncovered for about 4 hours.  Skim top with spoon to remove any scum.  If you need to add more water to ensure you have a full pot of stock. Put in tupperware and freeze whatever you're not using.  A friend of mine who just happens to be a professional chef, told me to pour stock into an ice cube tray to use for sauces which I thought was a brilliant idea. 

Simple Roast Chicken

Roasting a chicken was one of the first recipes I attempted on my own.  Somehow I had managed to get myself into cooking for Christmas Dinner and let's just say the training wheels were taken off very quickly.  I don't mind admitting that I was absolutely terrified that I was going ruin Christmas by producing some sort of inedible chicken-esqe meal.  That didn't happen of course.  It didn't happen because as it turns out, roasting a chicken is quite simply one of the easiest recipes out there.  I've made several roast chickens since my x-mas experiment and found that I haven't ruined one yet.  Not only are they easy to make they are also super economical - you'll get several meals out of a 4lb chicken.  I also started making homemade chicken stock from the leftover bones because I have become a little weary of canned soup ever since I realized the insanely high sodium content in a lot of those pre-made soups. Also super easy to make.

I used Barefoot Contessa's roast chicken recipe as a guideline, just to make sure I have the timing and temperature correct.  But honestly you really don't need a recipe once you've made a roast chicken it's that simple.

Roast Chicken
Serves 6




















Ingredients:

1- 4lb chicken
1 lemon, quartered
1/2 head of garlic
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Remove any giblets.  Wash chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towel. Liberally rub salt and pepper on the inside of the chicken.  Take full head of garlic and slice in half diagonally - place half inside chicken cavity along with the quartered lemon slices.  Brush olive oil on the outside of the chicken (don't forget the bottom).  Liberally sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and sea salt.  Tie the chicken's legs together with kitchen string so that they don't stick out and as best you can tuck the wings under the chicken - this will prevent burning.  Place chicken in a roasting pan and roast for an hour and 15 minutes.  Check to make sure it is done by making a slice with a sharp knife under the thigh - if the juices run clear then you're chicken is ready to be taken out of the oven.  Cover with tin foil until ready to eat.

Healthy Oatmeal, Banana & Chocolate Chip Bites

The first thing that struck me about this recipe is that it does not include any butter, sugar or flour which, generally speaking, are the backbone of any cookie recipe.  I found this recipe on www.101cookbooks.com which is up there on my list of favorite cooking blogs.  Her pictures are beautiful and she has some really unique and healthy recipes.  Anyways, I wanted to make something sweet but still keep it somewhat healthy.  After much deliberation I decided to go with this recipe and I am not sorry I did, not sorry at all.  So tasty and relatively guilt free.  The only thing to look out for is that that they were pretty crumbly, I might blame that on the fact that my bananas weren't overly ripe but in the end it really didn't make a difference.


Oatmeal, Banana & Chocolate Chip Bites
Makes about 1 dozen

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal, ground almonds in food processor until coarse
1/3 cup coconut, shredded
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 - 1/2 bag of semi-sweet dar chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In mixing bowl combine the wet ingredients:  bananas, vanilla and olive oil.  In another bowl combine the dry ingredients:  oats, almond meal, coconut, cinnamon, salt and baking powder.  Combine ingredients into one bowl and mix well.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Like I said early the dough is very crumbly but as long as you can scoop into bite size chunks you're doing the right thing.  Place bites onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for about 13-15 minutes.  Cool on rack and enjoy!

Mushroom, Onion, Sausage and Spinach Quiche

My mom always made quiche when I was growing up and I loved it.  Of course loved it, when made without considering health concerns quiche contains some of the most delicious and unhealthy ingredients out there...think butter, cream, cheese, eggs,  etc.  I'm all for taste but I think there's always a way to compromise so food still tastes good but is also healthy.  I made the crust from scratch and used a low-fat recipe that I think turned out amazing.  No it wasn't oozing with butter but do you really need that?  Especially with a quiche when there's so much going on ingredient wise.  For the crust I used an Ellie Krieger recipe from the Food Network and for the filling I pretty much made it up as I went.  I think that's the best part about quiche is you can really put anything in there and it will come out amazing.

The one thing about this recipe is I don't think it actually made enough crust.  I find rolling out dough to be difficult as is - so it's always better to have more than less.  I followed the suggested amount verbatim and I didn't nearly have enough to roll out to cover my pie tin.  I'm rubbish at math so I'm just going to post the original recipe but depending on your dish size definitely add more ingredients to give you more dough.

Healthy Pie Crust
Makes 1 pie (barely)

3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp butter, cold and chopped into small squares
4 Tbsp low-fat buttermilk

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease pie pan.

Combine oats, flour and salt into blender.  Pulse a couple of time to mix.  Add butter and pulse until texture looks like little pebbles.  Add buttermilk and pulse several more times.  Remove dough and form into a ball.  I put it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes because it was easier to roll out.  This just makes it easier but isn't necessary - melt a little butter or use cooking spray and coat two sheets of wax paper, place dough in the middle and roll out.  You should roll out so that you can cover your pie ten (about 10" in diameter).   Bake crust for about 8 mins and then let sit until you ready with filling.


Healthy Quiche
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Again you can use any vegetable or meat you'd like - this is a good meal to make if you want to use up extra veggies you have lying around.

8-10 mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, diced
2 chicken sausages, sliced (optional)
1/2 bag of baby spinach, stems removed
6 eggs, 3 with yolks & 3 separated, egg whites only
cheese, I used an extra sharp cheddar but anything you have will do
2 Tbsp low-fat milk
1 Tbsp olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Saute onions in 1 tsp of olive oil until golden brown and carmelized for about 15-20 minutes.  Remove and put in mixing bowl once done.  Add remaining olive oil and saute mushrooms and spinach for about 5 minutes until browned, add to bowl with onions.  I used pre-cooked sausage so I just wanted to brown it a bit, saute for about 5 minutes and add to mixing bowl.  Grate cheese into the bottom of pie crust, add as much or as little as you'd like.  I lightly coated the bottom since I was going for healthy.  Next add your veggies and meat, fill almost to the edge of the tin.  Meanwhile beat eggs and egg whites, add milk, and pour over the filling.  It's ok if the veggies or meat are sticking out of the eggs.  Bake for about 45 minutes or until quiche is firm.  Serve hot.

Weekend Brunch - Egg, Ham & Cheese Muffins

Brunch is a pretty serious endeavor around here and is usually overseen by Ethan.  Yesterday morning he decided he was going to use a recipe I introduced a while ago - Egg, Ham & Cheese Muffins.  My aunt often makes these for Christmas morning and they are so easy but also come out looking incredible.  A great recipe if you want to show off for your guests but not too much work!  Add some fruit, toast and of course some mimosas and you can't go wrong.

Egg, Ham & Cheese Muffins
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1lb sliced ham (thicker slices are preferred)
12 eggs
cheese (we used a extra sharp cheddar)
1/2 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
salt and pepper
cooking spray or olive oil

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the muffin tray with either cooking spray or olive oil. Line each tin with the sliced ham so that you make little cups.  Depending on the size of ham slices you may need to use two - make sure they overlap so the tin is completely covered.

  













Meanwhile saute the diced onion and pepper until lightly browned and soft.  Layer a spoonful of the cooked onion and pepper, an egg and then a top with a slice of cheese to each muffin.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until fully cooked and serve.  I like to put a little hot sauce on it but you are feeling ambitious you could make a hollandaise sauce.

Mahi Mahi Tacos with Cabbage & Radish Slaw

Ethan bought some mahi mahi on sale at Whole Foods about a month ago - we had no use for them at the time so they've been in the freezer ever since.  I am usually adverse to frozen seafood, maybe unfairly, regardless I also didn't want to let the fish go to waste so I thought tacos might be a good way to test the waters.

I used a Tyler Florence recipe from the Food Network website as my basic outline for the fish.  I opted to bread and fry it in olive oil - which I normally wouldn't do but the frozen fish idea was still bothering me and I wanted to mask the fishy flavor a bit. 

Mahi Mahi Tacos
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1lb Mahi Mahi fillet, skinned and cut into 1inch chunks
2 eggs, lightly beaten with 1 tsp of water
1 cup flour
1 cup bread crumbs (the recipe recommends planko but I didn't have any so I used regular & it was fine)
Olive oil
salt and pepper

Method:

Dip the fish into the flour, eggs, and then bread crumbs.  Season with salt and pepper.  Fry in olive oil in skillet until browned.  Remove from pan and let drain on a paper towel. 

Oddly enough cabbage is truly one of my favorite foods.  I think one of the reasons I like making fish tacos is because slaw goes so well with them.  I usually avoid the high fat mayonnaise recipes and just use a vinegar and honey combination.  You can pretty much add any vegetable to slaw - tonight I decided to try adding radish which gave it a tangy spice and was totally delicious.


Cabbage & Radish Slaw
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/4 head of cabbage, shredded
3 large radishes, sliced thinly
2 Tbsp feta cheese
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp honey
lime
pepper

Method:

Combine shredded cabbage, sliced radishes and toss with white wine vinegar and honey.  Add feta, pepper and squeeze about a teaspoon of lime juice to taste.  Mix well.  Garnish with lime and finely chopped cilantro.


Serve tacos on small corn tortillas heated in oven.  Garnish with low-fat sour cream and hot sauce.  Yum!

Healthy Mini-Pumpkin Pies

I absolutely adore pumpkin...maybe it's because I'm an October birthday but more likely it's because it's so delicious and healthy.  I found a recipe on the Huffington Post for mini pumpkin pies and of course I had to try it.  They were super easy to make and really quick although I thought they were more of a souffle than a pie.  Regardless, top with a dollop of whip cream and you will not be disappointed!!

Ingredients:
Serves 12


1-16oz can plain pumpkin
3 eggs 
1 cup milk
1/4 maple syrup
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line muffin tin.  Combine the pumpkin, eggs, milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt in a food processor.  Blend on high until smooth, about 2 minutes. Taste to adjust.  Fill each muffin cup 3/4 the way full. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the top is slightly cracked.  Top off with whip cream and eat warm.

Tapas Dinner

I might as well start my blog with my most ambitious meal to date.   A sudden moment of inspiration led me to pick up my new copy of Everyday Tapas, a present from Santa, and with the help my very best sous chef and friend Lisa, put together my first ever Tapas dinner party.  The thing I always find to be the most challenging about organizing a meal is timing.  I am convinced that only comes with experience and there is really no way to learn other than with practice.  Coordinating six dishes to be ready at once was by far the largest challenge of the evening.   And I won't lie, there was a little madness at the end but everything came out wonderful and I will definitely do another tapas dinner in the future.   Another great thing about making tapas at home, is that you can actually eat enough to be full.  I have been to some NYC tapas restaurants with outrageous price tags but for not a lot of food.  I'm just saying, they could spare a few extra asparagus spears...

The recipes:  Green Beans with Pine Nuts; Patatas Bravas with fresh Aioli; Roasted Asparagus with Serrano Ham; Chorizo Empanadillas; Chickpeas & Chorizo; and Lamb Meatballs with a Tomato Sauce

I started with the tomato sauce for the meatballs as it required the most time and was fine to leave on the stove while I worked on other things

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

4 tbsp olive oil
10 garlic cloves
1 shallot, chopped
4 red bell peppers, chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 thin strips of fresh orange rind
pinch of hot red pepper flakes to taste
salt & pepper




Method:

Heat oil in a medium size sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the garlic, shallots and peppers - cook for 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally until peppers are soft.  Add the tomatoes, orange rind, hot pepper flakes and salt & pepper.  Reduce heat to as low as possible and simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes, or until sauce has thickened.  Keep on low heat until ready to serve.

Once the sauce was on the stove I moved onto prepping the meatballs. 

Lamb Meatballs
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

olive oil
1 red onion
1lb ground lamb
1 egg
2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp mint, finely chopped
salt & pepper

Method:

Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in a large pan.  Add onion, cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not brown.  Remove pan from heat and let cool.  Combine the cooked onion, egg, lemon juice, cumin, cayenne, mint, salt and pepper to the lamb in a large bowl.  Shape into small balls (about 1 - 1/2 inch around).  Place on tray and let chill for about 20 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, place meatballs in a single layer (don't overcrowd pan).  The recipe says cook for 5 minutes but it took me about 10 - I think was guilty of overcrowding the pan.  Cook until the outside is nicely browned but the inside is still pink.  Serve with the warm tomato sauce.

While I was working on the meatballs Lisa was busy getting the patatas bravas ready.  In college we studied together in Barcelona and developed a lifelong appreciation for patatas bravas - it's hard to think of a tapas meal without them. 

Patatas Bravas
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

1lb potatoes
3 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
olive oil

Method:

Combine the paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in a small bowl.  Mix well and set aside.  Slice potatoes into 8 thick wedges.  Pour about 1/4 - 1/2 an inch of olive oil into a heavy bottom frying pan.  (The recipe called for 1" of corn oil but we used olive oil and it was perfectly fine and to be a little healthy we chose to use less oil).  Heat the oil and place the potatoes in a single layer - cook for 10 minutes or until brown.  Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.  While they are still warm place in bowl and coat with seasoning mix.  Toss well.  Serve with aioli as a dipping sauce.


The asparagus is so easy and quick to make - you just want time so it comes out when you are ready to eat.

Roasted Asparagus with Serrano Ham
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
6 slices of serrano ham
12 asparagus spears
pepper

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Cover roasting with half the olive oil.  Cut the ham slices lengthwise into two pieces.  Wrap ham around asparagus spears - place in roasting pan and brush with remaining olive oil.  Season with pepper.  Roast for 10 minutes until firm but still tender.  Serve immediately.


We made the aioli last but it can be made at anytime.  I would just leave it in the food processor and whip it before you serve so it's light and frothy.  This can be served with both the patatas bravas and the asparagus with serrano ham.


Aioli

Ingredients:

1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, peeled
salt and pepper
7 Tbsp olive oil

Method:

Combine the egg yolk, vinegar, garlic and salt and pepper into a food processor.  Blend well.  While food processor is one, slowly add the olive oil until the sauce starts thickening. 

Tapas just wouldn't be complete with chorizo.  We couldn't decide on one dish so we got a little crazy and did two.  They were both incredible although I think the consensus was that the empanadillas would have been better if with was some shredded pecorino or any tasty cheese you have around. 


Chorizo Empanadilla
Serves 6

Ingredients:

4oz chorizo, diced
1 package of pre-made puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten
paprika
Shaved Pecorino or any cheese will (optional)
 
Method:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly sprinkle the counter or cutting board with flour, roll out the puff pastry and cut into 12 pieces.  Put about 1 tsp of chopped chorizo on each square and sprinkle with cheese (optional).  Dampen the pastry edges with water then fold.  Seal edges with your fingers and then use fork prongs to press on edges for a decorative look.  Cut a small slit on the side of the pastries with a sharp knife.

Place the pastries onto baking sheets.  Brush with beaten egg to glaze.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden and puffy.  Dust with paprika. Serve warm.


Chickpeas & Chorizo
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

9oz chorizo, diced
4 tsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic cloves, crushed
14oz canned chickpeas
6 pimentos del piquillo, drained and sliced
1 tsp sherry vinegar
fresh parsley, finely chopped for garnish

Method:

Dice the chorizo.  Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat.  Add onion and garlic.  Stir occasionally until onion is softened but not brown.  Stir in chorizo until fully heated.  Combine ingredients from pan into a bowl with the chickpeas, pimentos, sherry vinegar and salt and pepper.  Serve hot or room temperature.  Serve with toasted bread.


Green Beans with Pine Nuts
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
1lb green beans, trimmed
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper

Method:
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, add pine nuts and cook for 1 minute, constantly stirring, until lightly brown.  Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.  Transfer to bowl, add paprika, and set aside.

Boil trimmed green beans for 5 minutes or until tender but still firm.  Drain in strainer.

Reheat the olive oil from pine nuts, cook onion for 5-10 minutes or until browned.  Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add green beans and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place in serving dish and sprinkle with lemon juice and add pine nuts.  Toss and serve.


Serve with a couple bottles of Spanish Reds and enjoy!!