Moroccan Chicken Drumstick Soup

I debated naming this "holy hell this is good" soup, but I figured it wasn't specific enough. I stumbled on this recipe by accident because I had some chicken drumsticks I needed to use in my freezer. This was the perfect application for them. The bones and extra fat add so much flavor to the soup, and since drumsticks are so affordable this is a very inexpensive meal. It's tastes spicy (in a cinnamon way, not a pepper way) and is just a very unique take on a traditional chicken soup. 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil 

2 pounds chicken drumsticks bone in 

Water

4 carrots peeled and chopped 

5 celery stalks chopped 

1 large onion diced 

2 cloves garlic minced 

1 tsp red pepper flakes 

1 lemon 

1 bunch fresh Tyme 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg 

3 bay leaves 

Salt & pepper 

Optional add ins: 

1 can navy beans 

1 cup Acine de pepe or orchiette pasta 

Few sprigs fresh Cilantro for garnish 

Add olive oil to large medium heat pot, then add onions, carrots, and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until onions are translucent and carrots are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper and thyme and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and bay leaves and fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken plus about 2-3 extra inches of water depending on how much broth you like. Bring to boil then simmer for 30 minutes.

Cut your lemon in half and juice it into the pot. Then throw in your lemon halves. Add cinnamon and nutmeg and salt and pepper. Simmer for an additional 2 hours.

Pull your chicken, lemons, and bay leaves out. Take the skin off the chicken and remove the bones and excess fat. Return just the good meat to the soup. Then depending on how much your broth has reduced, you can add your drained beans, or your cooked pasta. Season again with salt and pepper if needed. Serve with cilantro as a garnish. 

I would say this soup serves 4 people. It is delish and a one you should really try. 

Original recipe inspiration: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/chicken-noodle-soup-recipe.html

Lentil Soup

This lentil soup has been a go to fall and winter recipe for us for years. It's easy enough to make on a weeknight, makes plenty of leftovers, and is satisfying without being fattening. And it's affordable! It's a real winner winner not chicken dinner.  

4 strips of bacon

3 medium carrots

1 yellow onion

1 1/2 cup dry lentils

2 tsp dried Tyme 

Salt/pepper 

2 cans chicken broth 

1/2 cup water 

3 garlic cloves 

2 tablespoons tomato paste 

1 tsp red wine vinegar

Chop your bacon into lentil sized peices. In a heavy soup pan crisp your bacon on medium heat. (Non crisp peices will be gross in the soup later, so be patient). Then chop your onion and carrots into lentil sized peices and add them into the pot. Cook until onions are clear. Add salt and pepper. Then add minced garlic and tomato paste and cook for another minute. Then add your lentils, cans of stock, Tyme, and salt and pepper again. 

Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 45 minutes. If you cook out all the stock you can add 1/2 cup of water later on. Add your vinegar at the end. Salt and pepper again as needed. You can top with Parmesan shavings if you want, but it really doesn't need it. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I recently made these chocolate chip pumpkin cookies from Sally's Baking Addiction. http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/09/04/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies/  I fed them to my friends and they ranted and raved. My husband said they were the best pumpkin cookies he's ever eaten. High praise. I wasn't madly in love, but I did eat the entire batch in one day. So I guess I am being forced to save my version of this recipe for use next fall. (As you can see my cookies look nothing like Sally's. I didn't flatten mine as she suggested.)  

Mix together:

-1/2 cup MELTED butter (melted es muy importante) 

-1/4 cup packed brown sugar

-1/2 cup white sugar

-1 generous tsp vanilla

-7 tablespoons pumpkin purée 

Mix until smooth.

Then add on top of the pumpkin mixture without stiring yet:

-1.5 cups of flour 

-1/4 tsp baking soda

-1/4 tsp baking powder 

-1/2 tsp salt 

-1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 

-1/4 tsp cloves 

-1 tsp cinnamon 

-1 cup chocolate chips 

Once everything is sitting in a big pile on your pumpkin mixture, fluff all the dry ingredients to disperse them. Then mix them into the pumpkin mixture. Do not over mix. 

Because of the melted butter you MUST chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking. 

Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen cookies. 

Tico Black Beans

During our many visits to Costa Rica, one of my favorite things to eat was what they called a "tico breakfast". A tico is someone who is native to Costa Rica, so their tico breakfast is what all the natives preferred to have each morning. 

I've been on the hunt for a healthier breakfast routine for awhile. Something low in fat, full of protein, that won't have me hungry before lunch time. A tico breakfast is black beans mixed with white  rice to make a dirty rice, served with tortillas and a fried egg. Yum. 

Below is a combination of like 3 of my favorite black bean recipes. Perfect for my tico breakfast. 

2 cans black beans

1 bell pepper chopped

1 SMALL onion

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 bay leaves

2 garlic cloves

2 tsp dried cilantro

1/4 tsp red pepper

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cumin 

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp white wine vinegar 

Salt 

Pepper

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Chop your onion and bell pepper and add to skillet. Once the onions are translucent add your garlic (minced). Then add your beans and all your spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Use a potato masher to break up the beans just a bit. Let beans simmer until they reach desired thickness. Salt and pepper to taste. Would be great topped with a Latin queso fresco. 

Yum! Pura Vida! 

Mushroom Risotto

I make a mean mushroom risotto. (I don't mean mean as in will punch you in the face and shove you in a locker mean, but this certainly will knock your socks off.)

It's creamy and filling and surprisingly low fat. I posted it on this blog awhile back and it's one of the recipes I come back to most. But the photo and directions were so terrible on my previous post, I need to redo it. Hopefully this one is clearer. Either way it's delicious. 

1 cup arborio rice

1 pkg mushrooms

2 cans chicken stock

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

1 cup white wine

Tyme 

Salt and pepper 

1/2 onion chopped 

Dice 1/2 of an onion. 

Put a large skillet over medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. 

Add your onion and sauté for a couple of minutes. 

Then add 1 cup arborio rice to the pan and sauté a couple more minutes. As you do this start your timer for 22 minutes. 

Add 1 cup white wine and cook on high until the liquid is absorbed. Stir frequently. 

While this cooks chop up 1 pkg of portobello mushrooms. (Or whatever type of mushroom you like.) In a separate pan cook your mushrooms in some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cook the mushrooms down until nice and tender. Set aside. 

Back to the rice. You will now add 2 cans of WARM chicken broth in 1/2 cup increments. (I pop mine in the microwave to heat it up.) Keep stirring the risotto frequently and only add the next 1/2 cup when the previous liquid has been absorbed. Your goal is to get all of the stock absorbed by the time the timer says 22 minutes. You may need to turn up or down the heat based on how much time is left. I usually keep mine on high the whole time and just stir it constantly. 

Then stir in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. 

Add 6 or 7 sprigs of Tyme. 

Add in your mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste. 

This should give you a very creamy and rich tasting dish! 

Ranch burgers with hand cut sweet potato fries

Tonight I made ranch burgers. They were delicious. I am always so disappointed in home made burgers because they just don't live up to what you can get in restaurants. But this burger makes the cut when it comes to satisfaction at home. 

Mix 1 pound ground beef (I used 80% lean) with a packet of hidden valley ranch dressing mix. Form into 4 patties 

Grill on a George Forman grill until outside is properly browned. 

While the burger is cooking melt a small pat of butter in a skillet and toast the inside of your hamburger buns. 

As soon as your hamburgers are cooked, top with sharp cheddar cheese so it can melt while the meat is super hot. 

Add fresh tomatoes, arugula, and your toasted bun and you have an amazing burger. 

As far as the fries go, I had some fresh local sweet potatoes I wanted to use. Wash and peel your sweet potatoes. Cut width wise into skinny disks, then cut length wise into fries. Coat with a fair amount of olive oil, sea salt, and rosemary. Bake on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes at 450 then if they need a little added crispness, broil for an added 5 minutes. Enjoy! 

Broccoli Mac and Cheese

I recently got this wonderful organic broccoli. So naturally I decided to make it into a fattening unhealthy Mac and Cheese. Mac and I are in a long term no good for you relationship. I love him so much, I want him everyday, but deep down I know he's no good for me. But on the days I give in, Wowzas. 

I made this gorgeous baked macaroni and cheese, but my husband dove into it before I remembered to take a photograph. So all I got was a shot of a few noodles on my kids high chair. If you want professional blog photos, I am not your gal. 

Boil 8 oz of macaroni noodles in salted water until al dente. You could use rotini or penne noodles as well. Just something that clings to the sauce. 

Boil or steam 1 head of broccoli that has been chopped into bite sized peices.

While that boils make a bechamel sauce. That is a fancy name for a white sauce. This recipe will make 2 cups of bechamel. 

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. 

Whisk in tablespoon by tablespoon a total of 4 tablespoons of flour. 

Remove from heat and slowly whisk in 2 cups milk. 

Return to heat and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Continue cooking until thickened (about 2 minutes.) 

Add salt and pepper to taste

Add 1/4 tsp nutmeg 

Add 1/4 tsp sweet paprika 

Then add 2 bay leaves and stir

Then add 1/2 a finely diced onion and stir

Set sauce aside until broccoli and noodles are done boiling. 

Preheat oven to 375

Grate 2 cups of cheddar cheese set aside

Remove the bay leaves from the sauce and mix with the noodles and broccoli with the sauce and cheese. 

Salt and pepper as needed.

Dump mixture in greased 9x13 pan 

Top with 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Then spray top with olive oil spray so it will get nice and golden. 

Bake until bread crumbs are browned, about 30 minutes. 

This is the hard part, you can't eat it for 5 minutes after so it can set up and cool! 

This macaroni is the bomb dot com. It's not good for you by any means but hey, at least we added broccoli, right?