Menu of the Week #7

Our seventh menu of the week in 2018 was disrupted, but you can see in the above picture what I intended to make. What didn't get made this week will appear on next week's menu. This post will have the following recipes: Baked Chicken Parmesan Meatballs, 1770 House Meatloaf with Garlic Sauce, and Enchilada Soup.

Menu of the Week #4

This week was a mix of new recipes and some old standards for us. I discovered a new way to make Brussels and cauliflower that I think you will enjoy too. We have to keep our veggie game up to trick family into eating enough, am I right?

Tomato Basil Bisque

On a whim, I decided to make Tomato Basil Bisque and serve alongside a gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. To ensure the kids liked them I cut the sandwiches into strips and called the whole thing, “grilled dippers.” Guess what? Harper was in love, asking for this meal the next two nights. Lucky for her, this Bisque recipe makes A LOT of soup although I could easily half the ingredients next time. Here we are a week later and I’m still enjoying the soup and I must declare it is the best Tomato Basil Bisque I have EVER tasted. Ever. No Lie.

Menu of the Week

Go figure the week that Jim thinks I hit it out of the ballpark I miss the pic of my chalkboard menu wall. At least I snapped a few pics of the dishes before we devoured them.

Menu of the Week

Menu of the Week

Pressure Cooker Chicken, Lentil, and Bacon Stew With Carrots

I'm learning that my pressure cooker is an amazing device for making flavor-packed stews in very short order. In this version, lentils are flavored with big chunks of bacon, chicken stock, carrots, onions, bay leaves, and fall-off-the-bone tender chicken. It all cooks in under an hour from start to finish.

Menu of the Week + Pork Chops with Kale, Polenta and Anchovy Gravy

This turned out to be a great meal plan, pulling from both my HWM archives and some recipes I’ve previously made with Plated.

The Pork Chops with Kale, creamy Polenta and Anchovy Gravy is a repeat dinner in our house. Jim loves pork chops but I’m kind of indifferent towards this cut of meat. I love polenta however, and by incorporating kale into the meal – this dish is a winner for all. Keep reading for the step by step instructions on how I did it.

Meatball Tortellini Soup

I was really surprised how much we all liked this recipe, Harper included. Although it's not as quick of a meal for a weeknight, there are ways to prep on the weekend to speed up the time spent standing over the stove. It's perfect for a Saturday or Sunday because it can feed an army or you can plan to eat this for lunch during the week like I do.
The recipe has three main components: Soup, Tortellini and Meatballs. I used this recipe from Food Network as my inspiration, but called on a couple other blogs and recipes I've made in the past as I went along. Keep reading to find out how it all came together.

Menu of the Week + Chicken & Dumplings Update

Our menu of the week consist of one of Jim's most favorite meals: Chicken and Dumplings. There were two other stars on the menu that I guarantee will be making a comeback on our menu board in a few weeks. The Salmon in Lemon Brodetto with Pea Puree was amazing. Keep reading for links to recipes.

Weekly Menu + Bacon & Bean Soup

 

This is like a "throwback Thursday" post since this was Superbowl week. Game day was an easy cooking day at our house. We had family over and everyone brought a dish to share. We let the kiddos run around while we snacked casually until we were full.

7 Tips for Serving Dinner 7 Nights a Week

On Monday I go back to work full time after being on maternity leave. Oh boy, this is going to be an adjustment. I've been asked how I'm able to cook every night for my family and so I thought I would put a couple thoughts down on the blog.

1. For one, I don't think I would do this if I didn't enjoy it. I absolutely love cooking, it brings me peace and makes me happy.
2. Make a plan. You don't have to stick to it, but making a plan the week before and shopping for everything you need will make pulling dinners together every night possible.
3. Stick with what you know. I add maybe one or two new recipes a week but mostly stick to recipes I've made before so I don't get slowed down following a recipe or trying a new cooking technique.

Soups On!

 

It's a roundup of my most favorite soup recipes. Whether you slurp it, sip it or spoon it - SOUP can be a wonderful first course or made into a meal.

 

Speaking of a one pot meals, this warm and spicy Moroccan Chicken Soup is full of veggies and flavor. Spiced with cumin, curry and paprika, the onions, celery and carrots are simmered along with shredded chicken, chickpeas and chopped zucchini. This Moroccan soup is more likely to be served as a light supper rather than as a first course. These will be leftovers the family will ask for! Reheat and serve over rice, quinoa or couscous.

Moroccan Spiced Chicken Soup

Baby, it's cold outside! Warm up your home and your family with a hot bowl full of healthy vegetables and hearty shredded chicken. Spiced with cumin, curry and paprika, the onions, celery and carrots are simmered along with shredded chicken, chickpeas and chopped zucchini. This Moroccan soup is more likely to be served as a light supper rather than as a first course. These will be leftovers the family will ask for! Reheat  and serve over rice, quinoa or couscous.

This recipe is highly customizable! Use what vegetables your family likes, or what vegetables you have on hand. Here is what I used:

Olive Oil
Onion
Carrot
Celery
Garlic
Dry Sherry
Ginger
Chicken
Chickpeas
Crushed Tomatoes
Chicken Stock
Spices
Zucchini
Chicken Bouillon

I know I didn't list amounts above, that is because you should feel free to use as much or as little of the ingredients as you like. Here is the step by step pictorial of what I did:

Potage Parmentier

I've been ferociously fighting off a cold for nearly a week now. My month is very full and that is exactly what I told the doctor last week, "heal me" because I really don't have the time to lay around. Of course he told me what I didn't want to hear, I needed to lay low and rest. When I'm feeling under the weather, I usually make soup and fill it full of nourishing vegetables. Remember this Chicken Noodle Soup when I came home from New Orleans and was sick as a dog?

A co-worker of mine brought this Potage Parmentier soup to the office earlier this month when we held our first annual Soup Kitchen. Rita artfully combined the best of two superb recipes, one from Julia Child and the other from James Beard. There are many variations on this basic onion and potato recipe, some using leaks, some using cream at the end or water instead of chicken broth. I used Rita's soup recipe and also struck out on my own along the way.

I began with one large spanish onion, thinly sliced on my mandolin. It is a total of 3, almost 4 cups of sliced onions, in my dutch oven with 3 T butter over medium heat.

While the onions cook down, I used my mini chopper to mince a cup of carrots.  This was my addition, since I wanted lots of veggies in the soup.

 

Next, I mince a few stalks of celery. This is another of my additions, I just love using the leaves from the celery stalks in soup.

We have nearly 4 cups onions, 1 cup carrot and 1/2 cup of minced celery.
The veggies got a little dry, so I added another tablespoon of butter.

Continue to cook and stir over medium heat.

Then I sliced some baking potatoes very thinly using my mandolin.

When the vegetables were very very soft, I added a splash of dry sherry and let the alcohol cook off for about five minutes before then adding the potatoes.

Then I added five cups of chicken broth. You can use just water, or vegetable broth also.

Bring to a boil, then cover and let it simmer over low heat until the potatoes are tender. The potatoes are sliced so thinly, it really didn't take long for them cook, maybe 15 minutes.

I thought the seasoning of this soup was brilliant. 2 t salt, 1/2 t nutmeg and 1/4 t cayenne pepper.

The nutmeg adds that certain something that you can't quite put your finger on. The cayenne, adds a very very little burn to the soup which I think is essential! Don't skip!

Most recipes I read then have you push the soup through a food mill or ricer. I don't have one, so I used my immersion blender on the lowest setting to very gently puree the soup. I didn't want to turn this into a tub of mashed potatoes so I just zapped it a couple of times in different places to break up the potato chunks.

The last step was to add 1/2 cup of heavy cream, and serve topped with chives. I think this French soup was very easy to pull together, used common ingredients I had on hand and definitely got me on the right track to healing. I'm feeling better all ready!

HWM Potage Parmentier
(Onion and Potato Soup)


3 c peeled and thinly sliced yellow onions
1 c minced carrot
1/2 c minced celery
3 T butter
2 T dry sherry
4 c peeled and thinly sliced potatoes
5 c chicken broth
2 t salt
1/4 t fresh cayenne
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 c heavy cream
Garnish with chopped chives

Directions:
Saute onion, carrot and celery in butter for 10-15 minutes over medium heat. Add sherry and stir until alcohol has evaporated. Add potatoes and cover with chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add salt, cayenne and nutmeg. Put the soup through a food mill, or use an immersion blender to break up potato chunks. Add 1/2 cup heavy cream and serve with a sprinkling of chives or nutmeg on top.

Taco Stoup made with Leftovers

Do you ever clean out the fridge to find a tower of Tupperware containing bits of dinners past? My mother in law made a fantastic taco salad bar last weekend for the family and used ingredients you would expect to see (tomatoes, lettuce, beans, black olives) and some we were surprised we liked on our salad (pecans, shredded coconut, Frito's and nopalitos, which is cactus.) Jim and I luckily ended up with a good portion of the leftover pulled beef and the ground beef with onions, tomatoes and pinto beans.

I made quesadillas for Jim and I one night with the leftovers, and nachos as a snack later in the week. What I needed now was one really good recipe to repurpose all our leftovers and create one last fantastic meal. Enter Taco Stoup from stage left. That is not a typo, "stoup" is a cross between soup and stew. He's spicy, he's meaty, he's not quite a soup but not quite chile. You can eat this Taco Stoup in a bowl with a spoon, or scooped up with a tortilla, or spooned over tortilla chips, fritos or salad greens. This is a play on my original Taco Soup recipe, but I used what I had in the kitchen...and in this case, it just happened to be some fantastic mexican leftovers.

Ground Beef with Tomatoes, Onion and Pinto Beans
4 lbs ground beef
3 large onions, chopped
2 14 1/2 oz cans peeled tomatoes
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
2 12 oz cans tomato puree
4 T chili powder
2 t cumin
1 t garlic powder
6 t salt
2 23 oz cans Ranch Style Beans (My mother in law used pinto beans.)

Directions:
Brown beef and onions, drain fat. Add remaining ingredients except beans and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours. Add beans and heat through.

Pulled Beef
2-3 lb beef chuck, fat trimmed
3 T red wine vinegar
1 1/2 c beef broth
2 T chili powder
1 t ground cumin

Directions:
Cut roast into 3-4 chunks and place in slow cooker. Combine ingredients and pour over roast. Cook 7-8 hours. Final hour: remove beef and shred. Return to pan with juice, cover and cook another hour.
Serves 8-12

HWM Leftover Taco Stoup
Into a crock pot I scoop the leftover ground beef and the leftover pulled beef.

If you have fresh jalapenos, use them. Mine were moldy (gross) so I used leftover canned jalapenos from our tacos salad bar. This is about 1/2 cup.

The can goods I added were Stewed Tomatoes (the mexican flavored variety), Trappey's Pinto Beans (bacon flavored), a can of Kernell Corn and a can of Rotel.

I had a few fresh ingredients (that were not moldy yet,) I shredded a carrot into a saute pan over medium heat.

Next I added three celery stalks that I sliced and added 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Because I didn't plan on cooking this Taco Stoup in the crock pot all day I wanted to give these fresh veggies a head start by sauteing them for about 4 minutes before adding them to the rest of the ingredients in the crock pot.

Following my original recipe, I add one package of Taco Seasoning and one package of Ranch Salad Dressing.


I stirred all my ingredients together and added two cans of water. Set the crock pot to high and let it cook, stirring every so often for as long as you can stand it. If you have all day, then set to low and let it cook for 8 hours. I'm probably going to eat this in one to two hours. All my ingredients are cooked, I just want to heat through and let the ingredients marry and fall in love.


In place of two cans of water, use chicken broth or beef broth if you have it. And that is how I made Taco Soup using leftover ingredients. Be bold and brave in the kitchen, you just might surprise yourself!

Winter Beef Stew

When the weather outside is frightful, it's time to make a big pot of winter beef stew. What I wanted to make was Irish Beef Stew because I absolutely loved the way it turned out last time I made it. But I want to constantly stretch my culinary skills and repertoire so I searched my epicurious iPhone app for a new Beef Stew recipe.

The recipe I settled upon was definitely a different preparation that I am used to. Chunks of beef are braised with red wine, balsamic vinegar, fresh herbs and large chunks of carrots and celery. After 2.5 hours in the oven, you pour everything through a colander and reserve the liquid and beef. This sounded ridiculous to me that you would braise the vegetables and then throw them away.
 

I went along with the recipe, word for word...and I'm so glad I did. This beef stew is far superior to any beef stew I have ever had. I wouldn't change a thing with the recipe. 
 

For braised beef:

5 pounds boneless beef chuck (not lean), cut into 2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil (I used butter)
3 carrots, quartered
3 celery ribs, quartered (leaves and all)
2 medium onions, quartered
1 head garlic, halved crosswise (I used minced garlic)
3 tablespoons tomato paste (I used slightly more tomato paste, basically an entire small can)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (peculiar ingredient, but it worked well)
1 (750-ml) bottle dry red wine (about 3 3/4 cups, please use the good stuff!)
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
2 thyme sprigs
3 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
3 cups water (after I added the wine and beef broth, there was not any room left for water)

For potatoes and carrots:
2 1/2 pounds small white boiling potatoes
1 1/2 pounds carrots

Equipment: a wide 6-to 8-quart heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid

 

Braise beef:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Pat beef dry and season with 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
(I prepared the pieces of beef as I would a roast. I first seasoned with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, then dusted in flour.)

Heat oil butter in pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers melts, then brown meat, without crowding, in 3 batches, turning, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a platter.

Reduce heat to medium, then add the large chunks of carrots, celery, onions, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 12 minutes.
(Because I was using minced garlic, I withheld the garlic for the last three minutes so it would not burn.)

Push vegetables to one side of pot. Add tomato paste to cleared area and cook paste, stirring, 2 minutes, then stir into vegetables.
(This is an odd step, but reminded me of a an Anne Burrell Short Ribs recipe where she did something similar.)

Add vinegar and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
(I felt the addition of vinegar was another odd step, and as soon as I added the balsamic vinegar I thought I had messed up, the vinegar thickened and bubbled violently. No fear, you add the wine next!)

Stir in wine, bay leaves, and thyme and boil until wine is reduced by about two thirds, 10 to 12 minutes.
(Please please please use good wine here, something you would actually drink on it's own.)

Add beef broth to pot along with water, beef, and any juices from platter and bring to a simmer. Cover and braise in oven until meat is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.

Set a large colander in a large bowl. Pour stew into colander. Return pieces of meat to pot, then discard remaining solids. Let cooking liquid stand 10 minutes.
(I had to read this step about 10 times before I realized that they were asking me to strain all the meat and veggies, then toss the veggies and herbs, and return the meat to the cooking liquid.)

Cook potatoes and carrots:
While beef braises, peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch-wide wedges. Slice carrots diagonally (1-inch).

Add potatoes and carrots to stew (make sure they are submerged) and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until potatoes and carrots are tender, about 40 minutes.
(I cooked these for at least an hour, and then let the mixture cool and put it in the refrigerator for the next night. I read many reviews that said the stew is better the next day and they were RIGHT!)

Creamy Leek Soup with Ham

Leeks, those lovely leeks. The dark green trimmed leaves may be used to flavor stock or blanched and used as a wrapper for any variety of fillings or bouquet garni.

In general, leeks can be substituted for onions in most dishes that call on onions for flavoring. The exception would be if the recipe calls for a very mild sweet onion or perhaps green onions.  Keep in mind, substituting onions for leeks will result in a much stronger flavor.
Raw leeks can be sliced thin and added to salads, but I like to either roast or saute leeks with chicken stock, wine and garlic. What a heavenly smell! Leeks partner well with veal, cheese, chicken, and ham.

This recipe for Potato Leek Soup is my go to recipe when we have extra ham because it's so easy to make and it's such good comfort food. You can choose to add the extra cream or not. You can puree the soup for a smooth consistency, or just a few pulses for something more chunky and rustic like I do. Experiment as well with herbs or added cheeses.

Leeks must be cleaned very well under running water because they tend to retain a lot of dirt and grit. After I trim the dark green tops off the leeks and cut the root off the bottom, I slice the leek in half lengthwise and then slice thinly crosswise and rinse well under the faucet and then dry in the salad spinner.

In a heavy bottomed pot like a dutch oven, chop some bacon and cook over medium heat until the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon before it burns, and reserve to garnish the soup with later. If you don't have bacon, you could use a tablespoon of bacon grease. What? You don't have a jar of bacon grease in your fridge? I actually used a combination of bacon grease and butter to get 4 tablespoons of fat. Once the butter melts and starts to bubble add the leeks, stirring often to sweat the vegetable for about five minutes.

You don't want the leeks to brown, they will taste burnt. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Then add 1/2 cup of white wine and bring to a boil. Okay so I added a wee bit more than a 1/2 cup.

Once the wine cooks down by about half, add your seasonings. I added 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, just a pinch of nutmeg, 2 bay leaves, 1/8 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme (or a spring of fresh thyme), 1/2 teaspoon dried chives (or fresh chives).

Peel and chop a pound of potatoes. Dice into one inch pieces.

Add 4 cups of chicken stock and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are falling apart. Test by piercing with a knife or fork after half an hour.

Remove the bay leaves and puree the soup either in batches in a food processor, or use an immersion blender and puree right in the pot. I blend it half and half so that it's a smooth soup but you will find chunks of potato here and there.

Stir in one cup of cream or creme fraiche and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Stir in one cup of diced ham and/or the bacon you crisped in step one.

Serve immediately, with a drizzle of good olive oil and some chives sprinkled over the top of each bowl of soup.

I used this special truffle oil with a vibrant green color and wonderful fragrance.

Jim usually rolls his eyes when I serve soup for dinner and although he didn't think he would liked it, I won him over with his first bowl. I think your family will also warm up quickly to my potato leek soup with chopped ham.

For another take on soup with leeks, read my Roasted Potato Leek Soup recipe.