Cream of Mushroom Soup

My favorite soups as a kid, Mushroom, Cream of Celery, Bean and Bacon and Vegetarian Vegetable, all Campbell's. I still eat those soups today but now they are homemade. This mushroom soup is tasty and quick, you can have it made in about 30 minutes. If you want to take this soup to the next level top the soup off with a slice or two of Brie.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Recipe downsized from Diane Phillips

2 tbls. butter

2 shallots, chopped

2 level tbls. flour

1 lb. mixed mushrooms Cremini, Shitake, Button

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup cream

1 tbls. cream sherry

salt and pepper

Melt butter in heavy bottom pot and add shallots. Cook shallots for 2-3 minutes then add mushrooms. Cook mushrooms for about 5 minutes until the juice starts to evaporate, add the flour and cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly. Once the rawness is cooked from the flour add the chicken stock, stir until everything is smooth. Add the cream and sherry and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for just a few minutes making sure everything is incorporated. Serve with a sprinkling of chives and some brie.

This soup is easy to increase, just add another shallot, cup of broth, 1/2 lb of mushrooms and 1 more tbls. sherry.

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Enjoy,
Jaynie

Boeuf Bourguignon

It's been unseasonably cold here this past week, today the sun actually came out but it was still chilly. Nothing better than a long cooking stew on such a day, by late afternoon the house was smelling really good.

This recipe comes from a French woman I took a cooking class from. I really enjoyed the class, the food was great. The dish she cooked was much chunkier but my stew meat was pre-cut in smallish chunks so I cut everything else to match so it would cook more evenly. This has a great taste, caramelizing the onions and mushrooms separately adds a lot of flavor.

Check out more great recipes at Blessed With Grace.

Enjoy,
Jaynie

Boeuf Bourguignon
6 oz. bacon
3 lbs. beef shoulder
2 onions, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large carrots, sliced
2 tbls. olive oil
2 tbls. flour
2 1/2 cups French Bourgogne red wine (Pinot Noir)
2/3 cups beef stock
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tbls. herbes de Provence (blend of thyme, bay leaves, and rosemary)
Several cups of water
20 pearl onions
1 tbls. olive oil
2 tbls. sugar
3 tbls. water
1/2 lb. white mushrooms, sliced

1. Cut the bacon slices into 1/2" lardons (wide strands) . Cook the bacon in a large heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat until the bacon is cooked through, but not crunchy. Remove the bacon from the pot, and set aside.

2. Cut the beef shoulder into 2" cubes. Brown the beef in batches in the pot, being careful not to crowd. If you should need more oil use the 2 tbls. of olive oil. You want to develop a nice fond on the bottom of the pot but be careful not to burn.

3. After the beef has browned add the onion, carrot and garlic to the pot and saute until lightly browned.

4. Add the beef and bacon back to the pot along with the flour and stir, cooking the flour for just a minute, stirring constantly.

5. Add the wine, stock, salt, pepper and herbes de Provence to the pot and mix well.

6. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 2 1/2 hrs, stirring occasionally and adding water as necessary.

7. Meanwhile, peel the pearl onions and place them in a saute pan with 1 tbls. olive oil, sugar and water. Cook the onions over medium heat for about 5 to 10 minutes until they caramelize and the sugar becomes syrupy. Remove the onions from the pan, and set aside.

8. Add the sliced mushrooms to the same saute pan and cook over medium heat for a few minutes.

9. About 10 minutes before the beef mixture is done simmering add the sauteed onions and mushrooms to the pot.

10. Serve immediately over noodles or potatoes.

Chicken Pomodoro

This is a quick and easy chicken dish. Even though it has a little cream in it, the lemon makes it light and fresh.

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Enjoy,
Jaynie

Chicken Pomodoro
4 chicken cutlets, flattened to about 1/4"
2 tbls. Canola oil
1/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbls. fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
2 tbls. heavy cream
1/3 cup scallions, minced

Heat skillet on med-high heat and add canola oil. Season cutlets with salt and pepper then dust with flour. Saute cutlets until just done, a few minutes on each side. Remove from skillet. Pour off any excess fat from pan and deglaze off heat with vodka. Return pan to flame and cook until vodka is almost gone. Add broth and lemon juice and return cutlets to the pan and cook each side 1 minute. Transfer cutlets to a warm plate. Finish the sauce with tomatoes and cream. Heat through, then pour over the cutlets. Garnish with the minced scallions.

Fall Root Vegetable Stew

Fall has finally arrived. The temperature was down in the thirties last night and it was a cold and rainy day. Just the right kind of weather for a good stew and this is a good stew. It has a different taste to it with all the sweet root vegetables. The first time I made this stew I tasted the broth at the beginning when the beef was just starting to cook, I thought I'd made a big mistake and it tasted, kinda harsh. But I continued on, figuring The Little Buddy would eat it, he'll eat almost anything. I'd just have peanut butter toast. After the vegetables were added and everything cooked, it was a whole different stew. All those wonderful sweet root vegetables had cooked together and added a subtle sweetness to cut the harshness of the red wine and all that basil and garlic. The two flavors really work well together balancing each other nicely. This is really a unique taste and a good change of pace from the tomato based stew.
This is great with whole grain bread or rolls.

Check out other great recipes at the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Enjoy,
Jaynie

Fall Root Vegetable Stew
1/2 Cup Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
2 lbs. Stew Meat, cut into 1" cubes
3 tbls. Canola Oil
1 Cup Red Wine
2 Cups Beef Broth
3 tbls. Tomato Paste
2 tbls. Worcestershire Sauce
5 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 tsp. Dried Basil
2 Bay Leaves
1 1/2 lb. Sweet Potatoes, cut into 1" pieces,
1 1/2 lb. Turnips, cut into 1" pieces
1 lb. Carrots, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 Cups Frozen Small Pearl Onions
2 cups water (add this as needed)

Combine flour, salt and pepper. Heat dutch oven to med-high heat. While dutch oven is heating cut beef into 1" cubes and dredge in flour mixture. Reserve any leftover flour mixture. When dutch oven is hot add oil. Shake off excess flour from beef and brown in dutch oven until browned on all sides, you may have to do this in a few batches. When beef is browned add wine, beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, basil and bay leaves to the pot with the beef. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hr. This will depend on the type of beef you use. When the beef is almost tender add the carrots and onions, cook for about 15 minutes. You may have to add some of the water at this point. Next add the turnips and cook until carrots and turnips are almost tender, about 30 minutes, then toss the sweet potatoes with the remaining flour mixture and add . Cook until sweet potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Make sure to stir every 15 minutes or so because this will stick to the bottom.

Roasted Vegetables

I had a lot of pieces of different vegetables left over from this week, red, green, yellow peppers, mushrooms, onion, zucchini and asparagus. So I chopped them up, tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted them, not really having any plan on what to do with them when they were done. I could have just eaten them as is but they needed to turn into supper. I ended up mixing them with orzo and chicken thigh meat, sprinkled on a little fontina cheese and it wasn't bad. Forgot to get a picture of that.

As they were roasting I had so many different ideas, frittata's, gazpacho, omelet, different pasta dishes, definitely some things I want to try. Roasted vegetables are so easy to make and have so much flavor.

What are some of the things you do with roasted vegetables?

Thanks,

Jaynie

Quick and Easy Chili

I luuuuuv chili. I could eat it every week no matter what the weather. When I was a kid my mom and I often ate at a little restaurant that had the best chili, I have been trying to recreate it with no success. My standard chili recipe is one my Grandpa got off the radio, it's suppose to be the recipe for the chili served at Chasens, the once famous L.A. eatery. I make that quite often, but I still search for that elusive taste from my childhood. I ran across this recipe a few years ago in the Rachael Ray magazine. It's not what I was after but it was good and it can be made quickly and doesn't use a lot of ingredients. I was a little wary of it at first since it called for adding the beans and liquid from the can. I always rinse canned beans, because I thing the packing liquid is kind of... well gross, but I followed the recipe and low and behold the liquid really adds a thickness to the chili that is quite good. I would recommend using a good quality canned bean like Bush's, which is what I normally use, the one time I used a generic brand from Wally World it was noticeably different and not as good.

How does everyone eat their chili? To me it depends on the chili, I can eat it plain or with a combination of crackers, buttered crackers, jalapenos, Frito's, cheese, corn bread and to the Little Buddy's disgust, pickles. Do you have any odd foods you eat with chili?

Check out more great recipes at the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Enjoy,
Jaynie

Corn Chip Chili

1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup finely chopped sweet onion
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
One 15-ounce can black beans
One 15-ounce can pinto beans
One 10-ounce can tomatoes with green chilies
Salt and pepper
12 ounces pepper Jack cheese, shredded (optional)
One bag Frito's

In a Dutch oven, cook the beef over medium-high heat. Once beef has lost it's pink color, add the onion, garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the beans, with their liquid, and the tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 20-30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

If you want to serve with the cheese turn off heat, then top with the cheese, cover and let stand until the cheese melts, 5 to 10 minutes. Place a handful of corn chips in a bowl. Top with the chili and serve.

You can adjust the heat by using different levels of canned tomatoes with green chilies. Other additions that go well are jalapenos either cooked in the chili or sprinkled over the top as a garnish.

The original recipe can be found here. Tex-Mex Corn Chip Chili

Turkey Bacon Club Salad

Summer means fresh ripe tomatoes and all the things that go with them. I like turkey-bacon clubs but sometimes I don't want all that bread. Also, I'm not overly fond of hard to eat food, clubs aren't really user friendly. A salad is a good alternative. I can have all the goodness of a turkey club in nice neat little bites, no worrying about keeping the sandwich together and stuff shooting out the back because I have to compress it to take a bite. To make this extra good, make homemade croutons, it really makes a difference. I just make simple croutons for this with only a little salt and pepper for seasoning, I don't want to detract from the salad.

For homemade croutons: Cut some Italian bread into 1" cubes. In a skillet over medium-High heat melt enough butter to lightly coat the amount of bread you are using. Once the butter is hot add the bread and toss to coat, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper. Cook stirring as needed until the bread is browned. Remove to a plate to cool.

For the Salad: Cook bacon to desired doneness and remove to paper towels to drain, then cut into 1" pieces. Clean and prepare iceberg lettuce, chop tomato, and dice a 1/2" slice of turkey into cubes.

When I make these type of salads I put all the individual components out buffet style. The Little Buddy and I never seem to like the same amounts of things in salads. This way we can make our own and everyone is happy, or you can just toss all together in a big bowl.

I want this to taste like a club so I just make a simple mayonnaise dressing. Take mayonnaise and thin to the proper consistency with half and half or cream, then salt and pepper to your individual taste.

Check out more great recipes at Blessed with Grace for Tempt my Tummy Tuesday and The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Enjoy,
Jaynie

Caramelized Pears

I'm back after a little vacation from blogging. We've had a cool stretch this past weekend with lows in the 40's and highs in the 60's. A little tease of fall. It's really gotten me ready for the change in seasons. Fall is my favorite season, The Little Buddy thinks I'm whacked, but I love the colors of everything as they die, leaves rustling, the cool crisp air and the start of the fall rainy season. The food changes to a heartier fare and you go from the berries of summer to apples and pears. The first of the pears haven't really started to show up yet, but I did manage to find a few at the store that would work for the this quick and easy dessert. It only takes a few minutes to make and taste great.

Check out other great recipes at the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Enjoy,
Jaynie

Caramelized Pears

4 pears
about 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 water

Cut the pears in half and scoop out the core. Press pears cut side down in the sugar, then place cut side down in a skillet. You want to use a skillet just big enough to fit all the pears. When I make just 1 pear I use a small sauce pan. Cook on medium heat until pears begin to turn brown. 8 minutes or so.

Add 1/2 cup water, cover and simmer until pears are tender, 5 to 10 minutes (depending on ripeness). Add more water if sugar begins to burn. When done remove pears from skillet. If the liquid in the pan is thin, simmer until thickened to a sauce like consistency. If it's thick, add more water.

Serve pears with sauce. This is very good with ice cream or just drizzled with cream.

Zabaglione

My friend Rosemary (Hi Rosemary) and I went to see Julie&Julia opening weekend. Other than the very rude older lady that stole my seat, which had my purse in it when I went to the restroom, it was great.

The movie was very good. For me the parts about Julia Child were the most interesting and I wish there had been more of them.

Anyway, after the show we dined at the Olive Garden. For dessert I had the zabaglione with fresh berries and mixed berry sorbet. It was delicious, very light and refreshing. I knew I had to recreate this at home.

Well that was easier said than done. While I did make a good zabaglione, it didn't quite taste like the Olive Gardens. I don't know if the Olive Gardens was made with alcohol or not. Zabaglione is an easy recipe, basically a ratio 1:1:2 of egg yolks, sugar and Marsala wine. There are variations with cream, vanilla and a few other things out there, but the basic recipe is just, egg, sugar and Marsala. It can be eaten warm as a custard, topped with some berries or cold as a topping for berries.

The zabaglione came together very easy and turned out great. I did have a problem with the taste but it was due to my personal dislikes. I don't like the taste of alcohol. I have cooked with Marsala before and haven't had a problem with it, but since this really doesn't come to a boil or even a simmer, there was a greater alcohol taste that I liked. I ended up whipping 3/4 cup of cream and folding it in. That diluted the taste and once eaten with the berries, it was just fine.

This was a great dessert that I'll be whipping up again.

Check out more great recipes for Tempt my Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace.

Enjoy,
Jaynie

Zabaglione

4 egg yolks
4 tbls. sugar
8 tbls. sweet marsala wine

Place all ingredients in a heat proof bowl and whisk together. Place bowl over a pan with about 3" of water in the bottom, the water should not be touching the bottom of the bowl. Bring water to a heavy simmer while whisking the egg mixture. Whisk egg mixture until it thickens and becomes lighter in color and about triples in size.

When done remove from heat and either pour in bowls and top with a few berries or chill and use as a topping for berries.

If you would like a more mousse like consistency, whip 3/4 to 1 cup cream until it will hold a stiff peak and fold into chilled zabaglione. If you just want to lighten the taste of the zabaglione but don't want it mousse-like, just beat the cream to a soft-medium peak.

Sloppy Joes

Yikes, I didn't do a very good job in chopping the celery and onion. I usually like a small dice for this, but last night I hacked stuff up and threw it in.

There are a ton of different Sloppy Joe recipes out there ranging from very tomatoey (is there a recognized spelling for tomatoey) to very sweet. This recipe falls somewhere in the middle. You can adjust the sugar to your own taste, but you do need some to offset the Worcestershire and A1 sauces which give this a great depth of flavor.

Enjoy,
Jaynie

Sloppy Joes

2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 celery rib with leaves, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1-2/3 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon steak sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Cook beef, onion, celery and green pepper until the meat is no longer pink and the vegetables are tender; drain. Add the rest of the ingredients; mix well. Simmer, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Chicken With Broccoli

Chinese again tonight. I love, love, love Chinese. Have I said that before? Probably.

A few years ago I took a cooking class with Helen Chen and I learned a few things that really make my Chinese food taste more authentic.

1. Slice the meat and then stir in cornstarch and a little sherry. This light coating of cornstarch really makes a difference when you stir-fry the meat. If you've ever went to fry your meat and too much moisture comes out and it ends up stewing instead of frying, this will take care of that. I use cream sherry and it adds just a bit of sweetness.

2. Adding the ginger to the oil with the garlic at the beginning and stir-frying for just a minute or two before adding the meat, really adds a lot more flavor than just adding the ginger during cooking.

3. If at all possible use authentic Chinese ingredients. I'm lucky that I live not too far from a college town with a huge Asian population, so there are several Asian markets. Things are so much cheaper there I get 2-3 times as much for half the price of some items. If there isn't an Asian store near you there are several online sources.

I like this recipe because it is fast and easily adaptable when it comes to quantity.

Chicken with Broccoli

1 head broccoli
1 1/2 lb chicken breast - sliced 1/4" thick
4 cloves garlic - sliced thin
3 tbls soy sauce
1 tbls cornstarch
1 tbls cream sherry
2 quarter size pcs of ginger 1/4" thick
1 tsp sugar

Mix chicken, cornstarch, sherry and sugar and set aside. Separate broccoli into florets. Put a few inches water in the bottom of the wok and add broccoli. Cook broccoli a few minutes until crisp tender, remove from wok and empty water out of wok.

Heat wok on high heat until hot. Add enough canola oil to pan to lightly coat. Add half of garlic and 1 pc ginger to the wok, stirring constantly, when garlic and ginger start to perfume add 1/2 of chicken and cook until just done. Repeat with remaining garlic, ginger and chicken. When the second batch of chicken is done add the chicken and broccoli back to the wok. Add soy sauce and stir to coat and bring back to temperature. If you would like to have a little more sauce you can mix 1 tbls cornstarch with 1/2 cup cold water and add to the wok.

Serve with rice.

Check out more great recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Enjoy,
Jaynie

General Tso's Chicken Revisited

If I had to pick a favorite cuisine, it would be hard. Mostly because I'm decision making challenged when it comes to things like this, but Chinese would be battling for 1st.

A few months ago I ran across a recipe for a lighter General Tso's Chicken at Everyday Food. It turned out very well, had a great taste and I loved the lighter breading on the chicken. But I didn't like that it only had pea pods. I needed more veggies.

This time I added broccoli, red pepper and some pineapple. It turned out great, I will be making this again and again.

Check out more great recipes for Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays at Blessed with Grace.

Enjoy,
Jaynie

General Tso's Chicken
adapted from Everyday Food

1/4 cup cornstarch
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 or 2 crowns of broccoli, depending on size
1/2 red pepper, cut into strips
8 oz can chunk pineapple, drained but save juice
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated and peeled
3 tablespoons light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
2 large egg whites
salt and ground pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons canola oil


In a large bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water until smooth. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, pineapple and red-pepper flakes; toss to combine, and set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together egg whites, remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken, and toss to coat.

Slice red pepper and separate broccoli into florets, set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Lift half the chicken from egg-white mixture (shaking off excess), and add to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining oil and chicken, and set aside (reserve skillet).

Add soy mixture to skillet, add broccoli and red pepper and any of the pineapple juice to taste if desired. Cover; cook until broccoli is tender crisp and sauce has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet (with any juices); toss to coat. Serve with rice.

This recipe is easy to double.