Tiny Chef

I mentioned on my Instagram feed (follow me if you don't already: eguill3) when I made this dish that I hardly cook alone anymore.  Rex loves to help me in the kitchen.  As soon as he notices me in there pulling out ingredients and starting to prep he inquires, "Mama, you cooking dinner time?"  Shortly after my confirmation he makes his way to the pantry and pulls out his step stool and puts himself right in the mix.  Normally his first choice is to place himself somewhere in the kitchen that is unsafe, inconvenient and detrimental to my progress.  It usually takes a bit of adjusting on my end and then we are ready to conquer the recipe together.  This particular dish required a bunch of chopping, which of course Rex was more than eager to participate in.  We had to bring in his wooden knife from the toy box, but after he had the right tools he was steadily on his way to claiming his spot as my all time favorite sous chef!

Rex's Veggie Prep Shot from Instagram

Chicken and Vegetable Soup Recipe
Adapted from Cooking Light October 2012

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 1/2 cup sliced baby carrots
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta) 
• 5 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast 
• 2 ounces fresh Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)

Preparation

1. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and next 5 ingredients (through thyme) to pan; sauté 4 minutes.



 Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil.

2.  Add pasta and beans;



cook 5 minutes. Stir in chicken,



and sprinkle with cheese.



Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Hot Liquid Food For Me

 We have been having some yucky weather in New Orleans, very yucky - I'm talking cold, grey, foggy and rainy - total soup weather.  I think I have made 3 soups in the last 5 days. I have never been a big tomato basil soup fan, but since I am on a soup roll I decided to give this one a try.  I like the creaminess that the cream cheese adds and I think next time I would blend for longer to ensure more of a smooth consistency, but overall this was a good starter recipe.

 

Tomato Basil Soup
Adapted from Cooking Light March 2012

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion 
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, cut into cubes
• 2 cups 1% low-fat milk 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in garlic; cook for 1 minute.



 Add basil and tomatoes; bring to a boil.

 

2.  Stir in cheese



until melted.



Place mixture in blender or use an immersion blender (this is easier in my opinion), and blend until smooth.



Return to pan; stir in milk, salt, and pepper. Return to medium-high; cook 2 minutes.

Serve Immediatley.


Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Banana Squash ???

We have been on a bit of a squash kick at our house.  I have made a habit of chopping up two squash, sauteing them in a pan with some non-stick cooking spray and serving them along side the grilled meat of the night.  Forrest and I are enjoying the change of pace from our usual canned green beans or corn.  Rex, on the other hand, has not been so thrilled.  It isn't that he misses the green beans, he never ate those anyway.  The problem for him is that as I stand at the chopping board dicing our squash, his 34 inches of height only allow him a line of sight to recognize the color of the food I am cutting and the yellow color of squash translates to only one food in my toddlers mind - BANANAS.  It is so sad and pathetic.   It is a mix-up that breaks my heart.  As I hear his little feet pitter patter over to the kitchen my heart sinks because I know the "conversation" that is about to ensue.  It is pretty similar to this almost every night:

Rex: "BANANAAAAAA !!!!"

Me: "No Rex, it is a squash not a banana. Sorry Sweetie."

Rex: "BANANAAAAAA !!!!"

Me: "It isn't a banana Buddy.  We are out of bananas.  Do you want some Goldfish?"

Rex: "NANA?"

Me:  "No, it isn't a banana.  It's a squash."

Rex:  "Nana, Nana, Nana - more (insert precious tiny dimpled hands signing the word "more" simultaneously.)  Peees."

And as soon as he breaks out the manners I am toast.  I give him a piece of the raw squash, because I figure it is the only way he will believe me that I am not in fact cutting a banana but withholding it in order to torture him.  And he spits it out in .2 seconds onto the floor and leaves the kitchen.

The moral of this story?  I can't ever let myself run out of Bananas - it is just too sad.

Summer Squash and Corn Chowder
Adapted from Cooking Light August 2010

Ingredients

• 3 slices applewood-smoked bacon 
• 3/4 cup sliced green onions, divided
• 1 pound yellow summer squash, chopped
• 4 ears of white and yellow fresh corn, removed from the cob and divided
• 2 1/4 cups fat-free milk, divided
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese 

Preparation

1. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan. Crumble bacon, and set aside. Add 1/2 cup onions and squash to drippings in pan; sauté 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Season the veggies with a sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste (not included in salt and pepper measurements in the ingredient list).



2. Reserve 1 cup corn; set aside. Place the remaining corn and 1 cup milk in a blender; process until smooth. Add remaining 1 1/4 cups milk, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to blender;


process just until combined. Add pureed mixture and reserved 1 cup corn to pan.



Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/8 teaspoon salt. Ladle about 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 4 bowls; top each serving with about 1 tablespoon bacon, 1 tablespoon remaining onions, and 1 tablespoon cheese.



Click Here for My Printable Adapted Recipe

Priceless Patron

Shortly after Forrest and I moved back home to New Orleans, my youngest brother Kent also moved back after an 8 year stint in Alabama. His move home completed the circle and now my entire immediate family resides back in or around New Orleans, a fact that elated both of my parents beyond belief. Since my baby bro settled back in I have made it a habit of cooking dinner for him fairly frequently. There are a multitude of reasons for hosting him for dinner, some of which include:

1. He is a very adventurous eater and will try anything I make.
2. He is young and single and sometimes has free evenings to spend with us.
3. He is just starting out in a new job, with a new apartment and a new car and my feeding him helps him save money.
4. He and Forrest are really good buddies, despite the fact that they have hardly anything in common, and having him over gives Forrest the opportunity to ask him to do things like throw the football, shoot the bb gun, and insulate the pipes - all to which Kent constantly declines, but Forrest never stops asking.
5. He loves food as much as I do and is always enthusiastic and appreciative of my meals.
6. I want him to feel included and happy in his hometown and hope everyday that he feels he made the right choice to return.
7. He is the baby of the family, and isn't that what you do to the baby? Spoil them!
8. He lives really close to our house, so even if it isn't planned any more than a couple minutes in advance it is still a possibility for him to hop on over.
9. He says annoying baby brother things while I am cooking like, "isn't that just a fancy way of doing it", or "there must be an easier way", and "where did you learn that?" or my all time favorite, "Mom doesn't do it like that, does she?"
10. He is one of the more quiet members of my family and it gives me the opportunity to visit with him sans some of the louder participants and hear what he has to say for a change.

But the number one reason there will always be a place at my dinner table for my now grown up baby brother is......Sometimes when I am in the kitchen chopping, measuring, and sauteing all while taking pictures for this crazy blog, I look up and see this:

Thank God for open floor plans! My baby brother and my baby, Priceless!

The recipe below is one of Kent's favorite things I have cooked for him over the last few months. He talks about it all the time. And trust me, it is well deserved. Although this is an all day recipe (one I made while still on maternity leave and had the whole day to man the stove), it is worth the effort. This is so rich and succulent that it is impossible to forget!

Boeuf Bourguignon Soup
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living December 2010

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 6 bone-in short ribs (2 inches thick, 2 pounds total)
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered
• 3 carrots, 2 finely chopped and 1 cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 3 shallots, minced
• 3 strips bacon, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 cup dry red wine, such as Burgundy
• 8 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium beef stock
• 2 cups water
• No Yolk Egg Noodles, for serving

Directions

Season ribs with 1/2 teaspoon salt and some pepper. Trim white fat. Coat with cornstarch. Heat oil in a large heavy pot (preferably enameled cast iron) over medium-high heat. Lightly brown ribs on all sides, about 6 minutes.

Transfer to a plate.

Add mushrooms to pot.

Cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; add cubed carrot.

Add shallots, bacon, and chopped carrots to pot.

Cook until caramelized, about 6 minutes. Stir in tomato paste.

Return ribs with plate juices to pot. Add thyme and bay leaf. Raise heat to high. Add wine.

Cook, scraping up brown bits with a wooden spoon, until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Add stock and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until beef is tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Remove ribs. Separate meat from bones; discard bones and any pieces of fat left on the beef. Cut meat into bite-size pieces; return to pot. Add reserved mushroom-carrot mixture.

Bring to a simmer; cook until cubed carrots are tender. Skim any remaining fat off the top of the soup. Season with salt. Ladle soup over bowls of egg noodles and serve.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Fast Flu Fix

My Mother in Law raved about the outcome of this very easy recipe. It seemed so simple to make that I knew I had to give it a try, but could never find the right time. Then my husband got a sick belly and I knew I had found my opportunity. I whipped this up in no time at all and he was more than pleased with his homemade sickly soup solution. It was ready in the same amount of time I could have run to the supermarket, purchased and can, opened it up and heated it - and it was soooo much better than any canned soup could ever dream of being.

Quick Chicken Noodle Soup
Adapted from Cooking Light January 2010

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 32-ounces homemade chicken stock
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup prechopped onion
• 1/2 cup prechopped celery
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 6 ounces no-yolk egg noodles
  
• 2 1/2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
• 1 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley flakes
  

Preparation

1. Combine 2 cups water and chicken broth in a microwave-safe dish, and microwave at HIGH for 5 minutes.

2. While broth mixture heats, heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, celery, salt, pepper, and carrot; sauté 3 minutes or until almost tender, stirring frequently.

Add hot broth mixture and pasta;

bring to a boil. Cook 7 minutes or until pasta is almost al dente. Stir in chicken; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.

Stir in parsley.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

15 Things to Make Before You Die - Installment #2

Next up on my journey to becoming an "accomplished cook" was chicken stock. I researched several different recipes and came up with one conclusion - ingredients in chicken stock are adjustable. I also realized that I didn't have a stock pot big enough to make the amount of stock yielded in most recipes. So I adjusted my ingredients to accommodate what was already in my refrigerator, decreased the amount to fit my 10 quart stock pot and substituted rotisserie chicken carcasses from my weeknight meals for raw chickens. I don't know if that would technically be considered cheating since most recipes I found used raw chicken and I was using cooked chicken carcass, but it worked with what I had on hand and was way cheaper than buying a chicken for the soul purpose of making stock. Regardless of my changes and my deviation from most traditional recipes, I ended up with stock and it was a delicious stock at that. This was extremely easy, but I am not sure that I am a converted homemade chicken stock lover just yet. The boxed stocks with the screw tops are so convenient and they stay fresh for such a long time in the fridge. I guess I need to use my homemade stock in a recipe before I declare boxed stock the winner. I will update this post after the homemade stock has been put to the recipe test. The best part of cooking chicken stock is the wonderful aroma that filled my house all day Saturday as I sat home and cheered for my Saints!

View my progress on the list below:

1. Yeast Bread - Check.
2. Beef Tenderloin Steaks
3. Cream Pie
4. Creme Brulee
5. Fudge
6. Cream Puffs
7. Crown Roast
8. Fried Chicken
9. Roux - Check.
10. Pasta and Cream Sauce - Check.
11. Roasted Turkey and Gravy - Check.
12. Chocolate Pudding - Check.
13. Layer Cake - Check.
14. Souffle
15. Chicken Stock - Check.

7 down, 8 to go!

Homemade Chicken Stock

Ingredients

• 2 rotisserie chicken carcasses
  
• 1 large yellow onions, unpeeled and quartered
• 3 carrots, unpeeled and halved
• 2 stalks celery with leaves, cut into thirds
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 10 sprigs fresh parsley
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 head garlic, unpeeled and cut in 1/2 crosswise
• 1 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
• 1 gallon of cold water
  

Directions

Place the chickens, onions, carrots, celery, parsley, thyme, garlic, and seasonings in a 8 to 10-quart stockpot.

Add 1 gallon of cold water

and bring to a boil.

Simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours. Do not stir during simmer. Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander placed on top of a large bowl to catch the liquid and discard the solids.

Strain the liquid again through a fine sieve to eliminate all herbs and small particles (see below) left in the liquid.

Chill the stock overnight. The next day, remove the surface fat.

Use immediately or pack in containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

Click Here for Printable Recipe

Backyard Blend

If someone were to ask me when I started cooking, I guess technically the correct answer would be 4-5 years ago. But the truth is I have been cooking long before that - just not with real food. I am interested to see if my baby brother would remember this, but when we were kids we used to cook up quite the soup in my Grannie's backyard. Kent and I would secure a 5 gallon bucket, fill it with water from the hose on the side of the house and get started on our Mud Soup. Mud Soup consisted of anything we could find to throw into the concoction, but always started with...... you guessed it, water and dirt. Leaves, flowers, berries, sticks, grass and bugs (only if Kent got those) were frequent stars of the show. We would fill up our bucket with the "ingredients" and stir vigorously using a plastic Wiffle Ball Bat. It was great fun and probably my first attempt at creating a recipe despite the fact that we never got to eat our final results.

When I was making this minestrone soup I was reminded of the Mud Soup "Cooking" sessions I shared with my baby brother because this recipe was just as easy. It consisted of roughly two steps - throw everything into a pot and stir. It was just like the old days, but with a more deliciously edible outcome.

Minestrone Soup
Adapted from Cooking Light November 1995

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, undrained
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups diced zucchini
• 1 cup chopped leek, green part only
  
• 3/4 cup sliced celery
• 1/2 cup diced carrot
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 1/3 cup dry red wine
• 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
• Parmesan Cheese, for sprinkling
  

Preparation

Place 1 can of kidney beans in a food processor, and process until smooth.

Spoon bean purée into a Dutch oven; stir in remaining can of kidney beans, water, and the next 10 ingredients (water through tomato sauce).

Bring to a boil;

cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the elbow macaroni;

cook, uncovered, an additional 10 minutes or until tender.

Serve hot with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Fall Fancy

Growing up in South Louisiana I never knew a true Fall Season. Of course I knew about Fall as I had learned in school. I knew that it came after summer and it was around the time of Halloween and that the leaves were "supposed" to turn colors and fall off of the trees. It wasn't until I moved to DC that I would be fortunate enough to learn the true meaning of Fall and experience those colored leaves I had always read about. My eyes had never laid eyes on such a variety of foliage. In Louisiana, leaves are one of two colors - green and brown. I have lived in DC for three years now and every Fall it is the colors of the leaves that amaze me most. I had seen it in movies and read about it in books, but until you see with your own two eyes you can't imagine the vibrancy. I will never grow tired of spotting that first tree filled with fire engine red leaves and its nearby neighbor filled with amber leaves. I am not a big nature person - shoot, I am not even a big outdoor person; but fall in DC blows my mind. It is gorgeous. During Fall it is so exciting to drive down the street and see the vividly colored leaves fly off of the trees in mass quantities onto your windshield with every gust of wind. That is what it is like right now in DC - full out Fall.

And just like every other beautiful or exciting experience I have had in life, I want to share it with others. Every other time of year when I miss my family I want to travel home to my beloved New Orleans to be with them. But during Fall I find myself longing for my loved ones to be here with me to share in the amazing experience of the season. Right now I wish that I had my parents and my brothers and sister and their children here in town to see what I see everyday. And after they took in all they could of the surrounding landscape I would serve them each a bowl of this flawless Fall soup to help take the chill out of their day.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup
Adapted from Sunset October 2007

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup wild rice
  
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 ounce dried oyster mushrooms
• 5 tablespoons butter at room temperature, divided
• 4 ounces pancetta, finely chopped
  
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 leek, halved, rinsed, and white and light green parts thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Preparation

1. Put wild rice, salt, and 8 cups cold water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat to maintain a steady simmer, and cook until rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, put dried oyster mushrooms in a small bowl and pour in 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Let sit until soft, about 15 minutes.

3. In a large pot, cook 1 tbsp. butter and pancetta over medium-high heat until the meat renders some of its fat and turns a lighter pink. Add button mushrooms and leek.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms give off their liquid, about 10 minutes. Season the mushrooms and leeks with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Meanwhile, lift oyster mushrooms from liquid with a slotted spoon (reserving liquid), chop finely, and add to pot.

5. Sprinkle vegetables and pancetta with flour and cook, stirring constantly, until flour starts to stick to the bottom of the pot (scrape it up as much as possible while stirring). Add wine, reserved liquid from soaking oysters (pouring slowly so as to leave any grit behind), and broth. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook 15 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, combine remaining 4 tbsp. butter, the parsley, and pepper. Set aside. Wrap in cling wrap an form into a small log and refrigerate until soup is ready to be served.

7. Add reserved wild rice to vegetable mixture and cook 10 minutes.

Stir in cream and cook until hot, about 1 minute.

Divide soup among 8 bowls and serve hot, with a dollop of parsley butter on each serving.