Chicken Soup with Vegetables and Orzo

October 22, 2016 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

I baked a roasting chicken one night and used the rest of the chicken for soup the next. You could also shred half of a grocery store rotisserie chicken. In less than an hour you will have a perfect comfort food that is hearty and full of vegetables and chicken. And it can be easily modified based on your personal preferences and/or what you have in your refrigerator. We all know that chicken soup cures what ails you no matter what’s in it.

Ingredients:

1 cup of onion rough chopped

1 cup of celery rough chopped

1 poblano pepper diced (seeded if you want to keep the heat down)

1 cup of carrots sliced

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 T olive oil

6 cups of chicken broth

1 can hominy drained and rinsed

2 cups baby spinach

1/2 cup each of fresh parsley and fresh cilantro

zest and juice of one lemon

1/2 cup uncooked orzo

salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy kettle or dutch oven heat the olive oil over medium high heat and sweat the celery, onion, carrots and pepper for about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic. Reduce the heat, partially cover the kettle and cook until the carrots are tender.

While the vegetables are cooking bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the orzo according to package instructions.

Drain and rinse the hominy.

Add the broth to the vegetables and bring it to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Drain the orzo reserving some of the pasta water. Add the orzo, chicken and hominy to the soup. Simmer until the chicken is heated through.

Stir in the lemon zest and juice, parsley and cilantro and the spinach.

Stir until the spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper. If the soup needs more liquid add in some of the pasta water.

Ladle into bowls and serve with toasted tortilla strips.

Enjoy!!

NOTE: I love the lemon in this soup but it’s really a matter of personal taste. You could substitute peas and mushroom for the pepper and hominy. Serve with a good crusty bread or your favorite crackers. Cooking the pasta (or rice) prior to adding it to the soup helps to avoid pasta that is overcooked and absorbs all of the broth.

Middle Eastern Vegetable Salad

March 12, 2015March 17, 2015 / featherheadlady / 3 Comments

This is is one of my favorites salads; it’s a recipe I got from a dear friend and I make it frequently. The fresh lemon and herbs always taste like summer to me so I especially enjoy this salad in the winter!

Ingredients:

1 bunch green onions, green and white parts sliced thin

1 lb ripe tomatoes diced

1 cucumber peeled, seeded and diced

1/2 cup chopped mint leaves

1/2 cup chopped basil

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 can garbanzo beans aka chick peas

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

1 T minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

8 oz fresh feta crumbled

Get out a large salad bowl and start chopping. Slice the green onion.

Dice the tomatoes and seed and dice the cucumbers.

I like to put all of my fresh herbs in the salad spinner to wash and dry them well. Then I remove all of the stems and put the herbs in my food processor and give them a few pulses.

Place the green onions, tomato, cucumber, and herbs in a salad bowl. Rinse and drain the chick peas and add them to the vegetables. Combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and minced garlic in a small bowl and whisk.

Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss with a spatula to coat the vegetables. Add the feta cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

This salad is great on its own served with fresh or toasted pita bread. The cheese and beans provide plenty of protein for a good lunch. I think this salad pairs especially well with fish and pork. I served it for dinner with trout and smashed garlic cauliflower.

Enjoy!

Lemon Bars

February 1, 2015 / featherheadlady / 1 Comment

This is Super Bowl Sunday and I was asked to bring something sweet to the party. I thought about making football shaped sugar cookies or some clever sports themed cake but vetoed both for lemon bars and chocolate chip cookies. I have had this lemon bar recipe for ages and am not sure where I first got it. Simple to make. Very rich. Very sweet.

Preheat oven to 325.

Ingredients for the crust:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 cup melted butter

Ingredients for the filling:

4 T fresh squeezed lemon juice

4 eggs beaten

2 cups granulated sugar

4 T flour

Whisk together the flour and powdered sugar.

Add the melted butter and stir until combined. Put the crust into an ungreased 9×13 pan and, using your fingers, pat the crust down evenly. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes.

While the crust is baking prepare the lemon mixture. Whisk the flour and sugar together. Whisk the eggs well.

Squeeze the lemons. Mine were particularly juicy and I got more than 4 T from one lemon.

Once the crust is baked increase the oven temperature to 350. Whisk together the lemon juice, eggs, and flour/sugar mixture. Pour over crust and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Put the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Cut into bars and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Enjoy! I’m thinking they’re yummier than football shaped sugar cookies.

My contribution to the last football Sunday of the season.

(You can find the recipe for the chocolate chip cookies in an earlier post.)

Lemon and Garlic Chicken ala Pressure Cooker

January 6, 2015 / featherheadlady / 2 Comments

Can you imagine cooking an entire chicken in 15 minutes that is moist and fall off the bone tender and has a delicious sauce? It’s that easy in my electric pressure cooker. The beauty of this pressure cooker is that you can brown, boil, simmer and keep food warm. One pan to wash and it’s easy to clean. If you don’t have a pressure cooker you can surely prepare this recipe using a roaster in your oven. Use a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken reaches 165F. I used to be a little frightened of pressure cookers…some of you might be as well. Afraid it would start rocking on the stove and the top would blow off leaving dinner on the ceiling. Trust me, the new electric model is easy to use, safe, and not the least bit scary.

Though I love the combination of garlic and lemon I was a little concerned that the flavors might be too strong but they were not. The sauce had a nice citrus tang but was not overpowering. Good balance. I think you’ll like it.

Ingredients:

1 roasting chicken cut into pieces (I saved the back for broth)

kosher salt to taste

3 T canola or olive oil

5-6 cloves of garlic sliced

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp oregano

1/2 cup vermouth or dry white wine

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup chicken stock

Fresh parsley chopped

Generously salt chicken pieces and heat oil in the pressure cooker. Add the chicken, a few pieces at a time, and brown on both sides. Remove browned pieces to a platter. While your chicken is browning squeeze your lemons and slice your garlic.

Add the garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes to the hot oil and cook for about 1 minute until garlic becomes fragrant.

Add lemon juice, vermouth and stock to the pot and arrange the chicken in the liquid.

Lock the lid and cook at high pressure for 15 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally. Remove the chicken to a serving platter. Bring the sauce to a boil and stir in chopped parsley. If you wish you can thicken the juices with a little flour or corn starch. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

While the chicken was cooking I decided to prepare some smashed cauliflower for a side. An easy, tasty side.

Ingredients:

1 large head cauliflower cleaned and cut up

3-4 garlic cloves (I know, no vampires in our house!)

1-2 cups chicken stock or broth

1/2 cup Romano cheese shredded

1/2 cup Le Gruyere cheese shredded

2-3 green onions thin sliced

salt and pepper (white pepper if you have it) to taste

2 T butter

Cook cauliflower and garlic cloves in the chicken broth until the cauliflower is fork tender. Drain off the broth holding a little back to add in while smashing. Add butter to the cauliflower and begin mashing with an ordinary potato masher until the consistency of mashed potatoes. Add some of the broth if necessary. Add the shredded cheese, salt and pepper to taste and green onions stirring well. This is one of my favorite sides!

I was always taught to use contrasting colors on your plate and white and white are a bit off putting. So I added a sizable sprig of parsley (good for getting rid of garlic breath after dinner) and some cranberry relish which I think is a must have for any poultry dish.

And then there was color.

Lemon and garlic chicken with smashed cauliflower. It’s what’s for dinner tonight. And tomorrow night.

NOTE: My lemons were particularly juicy and 2 of them made a little over 3/4 cup of juice. I put the extra juice in a small zip lock snack bag and freeze it for a time when I have no fresh lemons on hand.

And seriously, parsley IS a good breath freshener.

Middle Eastern Vegetable Salad

November 3, 2014 / featherheadlady / 3 Comments

This is a favorite salad recipe that a good friend shared with me. It has so many flavors that I love…basil, mint, lemon, garlic. How can anything with those components not be good!! I have increased the “greens” in her recipe but other than that it remains as shared.

Salad Ingredients

10 scallions, white and light green parts thinly sliced

1 cup ripe cherry or grape tomatoes halved

1 cucumber seeded and diced

1 16-oz can of chickpeas rinsed and drained

1 cup fresh parsley

1 cup fresh mint

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

5-6 cloves of garlic minced

kosher salt and black pepper to taste

8 oz feta cheese in 1/2 inch dice

Wash all the herbs well. I like to use my salad spinner.

Remove all of the stems. I use a few pulses of my food processor to chop the herbs.

Diced the the cucumbers and halve the tomatoes. I used small salad cucumbers so I diced three of them.

Rinse and drain the chickpeas.

I had no green onions on hand so I diced some red onion. Either works well in this salad.

Combine all the minced herbs, vegetables and chickpeas in a large bowl. Mince the garlic, squeeze the lemons for 1/2 cup of juice, and measure out a half cup of olive oil. Whisk the lemon juice, olive oil and garlic together and pour over the salad. Gently toss to coat the vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Dice the feta cheese and toss in the salad.

This salad is perfect served with warm pita bread or on lettuce leaves. Or just sit down with a fork and a bowl and enjoy. I served it tonight as a side with sweet potatoes and smoked pork chops. It’s what was for dinner tonight.

Lemon Poppyseed Loaf

October 6, 2014November 10, 2014 / featherheadlady / 1 Comment

Today was a baking day. I found a recipe for lemon loaf and made some modifications including the poppy seeds. I remember having lemon poppy seed muffins frequently at the Courtland Room in Jacobsons and when I tasted this loaf it reminded me a lot of those muffins.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 T poppy seeds

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 T butter at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon extract

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 T lemon zest

1/2 cup canola oil

Preheat oven to 350. With a hand mixer on low speed beat the eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon extract, and lemon juice until well combined. Whisk together dry ingredients including lemon zest and poppy seeds and gradually add to egg mixture beating on low until well combined. Add canola oil and mix well.

Pour batter into a greased 9×5″ loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. After 10 minutes or so invert the pan. Allow the loaf to cool completely before adding the glaze.

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 T milk or lemon juice

Add the liquid to the powdered sugar gradually and continue whisking until the glaze is smooth and has a good drizzling consistency. You may not need a full 2 T of liquid. I used lemon juice for my glaze because I liked the additional tartness.

This will be a new favorite for us. I have some key lime extract so I may try using that with key lime juice and zest for a little different taste experience. But it’s all good.

TIP: If you have extra lemon or lime juice measure it out, put it in a zip lock snack bag, and store in your freezer. Next time you need fresh lemon juice for a recipe and you have no lemons you’ll be glad you saved that extra juice.