Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

After the holidays, I finally feel a bit inspired to do more cooking. I made this up from a favorite soup I recall in a restaurant. I think it would also be fantastic with mushrooms. This soup takes a little while to cook the wild rice, but very little hands-on time is needed.

Forgot to photograph the final product!! Here it is just before adding the half & half.

Ingredients:

1 T. butter

1-2 T. olive oil

1 onion, diced

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. dry white wine (I used pinot grigio)*

4 c. chicken broth/stock

1/2 c. wild rice

3 carrots, diced

1 large chicken breast, diced quite small

1/2 to 1 full cup half and half (or heavy cream or milk would be fine)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Melt butter and 1 T. olive oil in medium soup pot. Saute onions over medium heat until soft.
2. Whisk in flour. Add the remaining olive oil if too dry. Cook about 2 minutes, or until just starting to brown a bit. (It will be a rather thick "glob.")
3. Whisk in wine and whisk until liquid is all absorbed.
4. Pour in chicken stock and wild rice. Cover and simmer over med-low about 45 minutes, or until the rice begins to "pop" open.
5. Add the chicken and carrots. Continue simmering covered, about 20 more minutes. 
6. Just before serving, stir in half and half and adjust seasoning to taste.

*If you're really opposed to cooking with wine, you could substitute more chicken broth. And this soup would still be delish (and lower fat) without the cream.

Mangia! (Eat!) . . . Cindy Lou Who

Sesame Crusted Salmon

This is a super-simple recipe, fast enough for a weeknight but upscale enough for guests. I thank my coworker and friend, LaeLoni, for sharing her dad's method for cooking fish, and my dad for supplying our trout. (I've added my tips, too.)

This may not be the most Fall-ish recipe, but we grill year-round. Brave the cold to try it & you'll save washing a pan!

Marinate your fish in soy sauce for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator. (I put 4-6 thawed salmon steaks in a gallon-size Ziplock with about 1 cup of soy sauce.)

Get your grill hot. In a breading dish (or shallow bowl), mix grated Parmesan cheese and sesame seeds in a 1:1 ratio. (Use about 1/2 to 1 full cup of each.)

 

Lay out a sheet or two of tin foil and spray non-stick cooking spray (Pam) on the foil. Using a fork, remove each fish fillet from the soy sauce, coat both sides in the cheese/sesame seed mixture, then place on foil. I put 2-3 fillets on each sheet of foil, then slide a cutting board underneath to transport to the grill.

Grill on med-high heat for 8-10 minutes each side, depending on the thickness of your fish. You can check for doneness using a meat thermometer or checking if the fish flakes with a fork. Enjoy!

*I make this with thick, skinless salmon fillets - marinate about 1 hour, and cook about 15-18 minutes total time (we like our fish a little crispy). It also works great with large trout fillets, with skin on one side - I just skip the marinade step and brush some soy sauce on top, sprinkle the cheese/sesame seed mixture on the no-skin side and don't turn it over while grilling.

Mangia! (Eat!) . . . Cindy Lou Who

Butternut Cranberry Delight

Just had to share this yummy, easy fall recipe. I modified it from a mailer from my real estate agent (Sendsations Power Marketing - November 2013 calendar).

Ingredients:

1.5-2 lb. butternut squash, cubed
3 baking apples, peeled, cored & cubed
~2 cups fresh/frozen cranberries

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 T. Flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

• Put squash in 9x13" microwave-safe pan (ungreased or use a little cooking spray). Microwave 8-10 minutes, or until squash is just slightly softened. 
• Meanwhile, mix topping ingredients in small bowl. (This is also a good time to prepare the apples, rinse cranberries and melt butter.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Stir apples and cranberries over squash, Sprinkle topping over, then drizzle butter and top with pecans. Bake about 30 minutes. 

(*Some random notes: The recipe originally calls for fewer cranberries, apples & squash. I increased slightly to use a 2# squash package - yea, Costco for having already cubed! I used most of a bag of cranberries. The original also called for baking the squash 30minutes before adding the remaining ingredients and toasting pecans on the stoptop, rather than tossing in the baking dish. I prefer the quicker, easier method...)

Mangia! (Eat!) . . . Cindy Lou Who

Pumpkin Rice Cereal Treats

Pumpkin Rice Cereal Treats

This is an easy 15 minute project and it made 28 pumpkins. Great for school parties!


Supplies: rice cereal, mini marshmallows, butter, food coloring (red/yellow), green candy for stems (I used Jelly Bellies) and cupcake papers, if desired.


Make a batch of Rice Krispie (R) treats. My basic recipe: microwave 1/4 c. (1/2 stick) of butter until melted. Add 4 c. mini marshmallows, stir and microwave until those are melted (stir intermittently). Add food coloring to make a bright orange - remember it will be "diluted" with the cereal so go bright. Add 5 c. of rice cereal and stir well.

To make the pumpkins: set out wax paper and get your handy-dandy scoop (I used the Pampered Chef large). Spray some Pam (R) on the scoop and scoop out individual balls onto wax paper. Try to pack the mixture into the scoop so it stays together, but don't worry if they fall apart a bit. When all mixture is scooped, spray your (clean) hands with Pam and mold the pumpkins into tight rounds and place into cupcake papers. Make a small divot in the center. Add a jelly bean for stem to finish. Viola! Easy peasy and cute to boot.

Mangia! (Eat!) . . . Cindy Lou Who

Basic Creamy Potato Soup

Basic Creamy Potato Soup

Yum! Creamy Potato Soup

I love soups! The fall is a great time to experiment with soup – a handy way to use some of that last-of-the-season produce, warm your tummy, and put a whole meal in a single pot!

I keep my soups pretty basic, to reduce the squawking from my young ones. The great thing about soups is that you can modify so easily (some bacon or sausage would sub in nicely for ham). I do my best to “hide” the onion (kids like the flavor, but no chunks). I like finely diced ingredients, but if you want a little more coarse chop, go for it.

This makes about 4 hearty servings. You can make it a meal with a side salad (or go for your carb overload and serve with fresh bread, like we did). By mashing a portion of the potatoes, it helps thicken the broth and make the soup rather creamy, without overdoing the heavy cream. It would actually be pretty tasty without the cream at all – that’s up to you. Start to finish, maybe 45 minutes – about 10 minutes chopping/prepping ingredients, about 10 minutes sautéing and maybe 25 to simmer.

Prepped ingredients

Ingredients:

• Potatoes – about 4 medium, peeled (2 coarsely diced, 2 finely diced)
• 3 Carrots, peeled and finely diced
• About 2 t. extra virgin olive oil
• One half onion, diced finely
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• About 1 cup ham, finely diced
• 1 box chicken stock (or broth), 32 ounce
• Heavy cream, one half to one full cup
• Kosher salt, to taste (about 1 t.)
• Black pepper, to taste
• Grated cheddar and fresh or dried chives, optional for garnish

First, prepare, peel and chop all your veggies. Set aside about 2 of the potatoes – just chunk them up and steam them in the microwave with about one-fourth cup water, until “mashable.” (Mine took about 7 minutes. Side note: I LOVE my Pampered Chef steamer – highly recommend! And no, I don’t sell their products.). Finely dice the remaining potatoes. I dice my ham after all the veggies are chopped, to reduce cross-contamination issues. 

In a medium stockpot, heat oil over medium heat, then add onion and garlic. Saute until soft. If they start to brown too much before you’re ready, stir in just a little (quarter-cup or so) chicken stock and continue cooking.

Once the onion and garlic are done to your liking, stir in the ham and lightly brown. It’s extra nice to get some of that brown, caramelized coating to the bottom of the pan.

Ham, garlic & onion - can you almost smell this?!?

While the ham is browning, your steamed potatoes should be done. I left in the little bit of water from steaming and mashed with a fork. (Actually, my unpaid assistant, Ella, did this part. I highly recommend unpaid kitchen staff!) Once the potatoes are all mashed, stir in about a half-cup of chicken stock and mix until smooth.

Now, once the ham is browned, add in the diced carrots, diced potatoes, mashed potatoes and about 2-3 cups of the chicken stock. (I didn’t quite use the entire 4-cup box, but you can decide how thick or thin you’d like the soup. Start thick and thin as desired.) Once the soup comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered until potatoes and carrots are at desired doneness. Add salt and pepper as desired.

To finish, stir in heavy cream and remove from heat. Serve with desired garnishes.

Before cream, while simmering

Finished soup - Dish up!

Mangia! (Eat!) . . . Cindy Lou Who

Zucchini Brownies with Fudgy Frosting

Here’s a summery, use-up-that-zucchini and just-plain-amazing recipe: 

Zucchini Brownies with Frosting

This is from Brenda Stanley’s fun (and useful) book, The Zucchini Houdini

Brenda is an awesome local lady and her book is great, with 100+ zucchini recipes – main dishes, side dishes, soups, breads, cookies, and yes, even zucchini brownies. Her Zucchini “Apple” Crisp (which uses only peeled, sliced zucchini and no apples) is fast, easy and yummy comfort food. Try it!

I’m dedicating this blog post and dessert to my sweet daughter, Ella, who helped make these. She is a great little chef (age 10) and you’ll probably see her on Food Network someday, unless she goes to Yale to study neurosurgery (which is one of her current plans).

Brownie Ingredients:

2 cups grated zucchini

1.5 cups sugar

3/4 cup oil

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1.5 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup nuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grate the zucchini. A note on preparing zucchini: My sister passed on some sage cooking wisdom when preparing her zucchini lasagna with a mandoline slicer (and this can transfer to graters, too): When pitting fingers against mandolines, the mandoline always wins! Try not to grate any of your flesh into the brownies please. 

   

   Note this is messy –
   I had zucchini bits everywhere.
   Tidier to use the food processor
   but I didn’t feel like cleaning it.

   

   Note the nifty KitchenAid grater
   with the measuring/storage dish underneath
    – LOVE IT!

   

   A large zucchini, such as this one, yields approx. 2 cups grated
3. Combine zucchini, sugar, oil and vanilla. (Yup, no eggs in this one. It would be a good vegan recipe if you leave off the frosting.)
4. Mix the dry ingredients and add to the moist ingredients. 
5. Pour into greased 9x13 pan and bake 35-40 minutes. Cool. 

Easy, right? And, if you have zucchini, it’s likely you have the rest of the ingredients on hand, too.

Frosting Ingredients

1/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup miniature marshmallows

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional) 

I thought this looked a bit like a fudge recipe, and guess what?!? It tastes a lot like a layer of fudge over your brownies! Incredible. My kids were already plotting the types of cakes on which to place this frosting!

1.  Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and milk, bring to a boil. Stir frequently and cook for 1 minute.
2. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips and marshmallows. Stir until melted. Add vanilla. Spread over brownies. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired. 

Isn't the swirly chocolate-marshmallow pretty?

Then, try to exercise any shred of self-restraint not to eat these immediately. We lasted about 15 minutes. Amazing warm, and the leftovers are amazing cold. (I think you could leave these out, but refrigeration seems more prudent to me, especially as moist as they are.)

We initially cut this into 12 generous pieces, but you’ll probably have chocolate overload. And, I put walnuts both in the brownies and frosting. Delicious! These brownies turn out rather cake-like, so if you like the crunchy edge-piece brownies, don’t expect the same result here. I cook mine a bit on the longer end – about 40 minutes.

If there are any typos or mistakes, please let me know (and don’t blame Brenda Stanley). I paraphrased her directions a bit. Now, go EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!

… and one last guilty secret – I actually let my family have (zucchini) brownie sundaes last night for dinner. I’m waiting to be nominated as Mother of the Year…

Mangia! (Eat!) . . . Cindy Lou Who