sausage potato kale soup

24 May

Soup is always in season in our house.  This is a hearty soup that can be modified in various ways.

Tips:

  1. For a creamy soup, add 1/2 cup of heavy cream soon after the heat is turned off.
  2. Yukon potatoes are my favorite but any kind of potato such as Russet will do fine.
  3. Not a big fan of Kale?  Substitute with Napa Cabbage or just skip it altogether.
  4. Want a little heat in your soup?  Use Hot Italian Sausage and add red pepper flakes to the soup.

Approximate prep and cook time:  55 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 5 Mild Italian Sausage, sliced or removed from casing then separate in smaller piece
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and pressed
  • 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 8 oz chopped Yukon Gold potatoes, approx 2 medium size
  • 1 bunch Kale, chopped
  • salt
  • pepper

Directions:

Use a Dutch Oven or a stock pot.  Heat oil over medium high heat.  When oil is hot add onion and cook until translucent.  Add sausage and garlic, stir occasionally for 3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Slowly add in broth and water.  Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer.  Add potatoes then cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add Kale, continue to simmer for 8-10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper if needed.  Turn of heat and serve while still hot.

Enjoy!

Thai Grilled Beef & Cucumber Salad

25 Apr

This is a quick and tasty salad.  The dressing is sweet and sour and can be spiced up if you need to.

Tips:

  1. Keep the seasoning of the beef to a minimum.  You’ll get plenty of flavor in it once it is dipped in the dressing.
  2. If you don’t find some of the ingredients, you can make substitutions such as rice vinegar for the tamarind paste; 1/2 water 1/2 soy sauce for the fish sauce.
  3. For heat (spicy) add some diced asian peppers or crushed red chili peppers in the dressing.
  4. Don’t use olive oil, it will add a different flavor to the dressing.
  5. Cook meat 7 minutes each side for medium well doneness, longer for well done.
  6. When combining ingredients for the dressing, add fish sauce in portions so as to control the flavor you want.

Serves: 4-6;  Prep and cook time:  40 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 – 2 lbs Flank Steak
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced
  • 1 tsp tamarind paste
  • 4 Tbsp water
  • 1/4 cup fish sauce
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (approximately 1 whole lime)
  • 2 Tbsp light brown or white sugar
  • 2 stalks scallions, white part only minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 1/2 teaspoon vegetable or canola oil

Directions:

Rinse and thoroughly dry steak.  Season with salt and pepper.  Grill over medium heat for 7-9 minutes each side.  Transfer to a cutting board and tent foil for 10 minutes before slicing in thin strips.

While steak is cooking, prepare tamarind paste by soaking in water in a small bowl.  After soaking for 15 minutes, remove tamarind paste and transfer liquid in a large mixing bowl.  Add fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, scallions, garlic and cilantro.  Whisk until sugar has completely dissolved.

Arrange sliced cucumber on a serving platter creating a bed for the steak.  Add oil in dressing and whisk.  Toss sliced steak in dressing and arrange on top of cucumber bed.

Enjoy!

Creamy Beef and Noodles

9 Apr

You can’t go wrong with this recipe.  Everyone in the family seems to enjoy some beef in creamy gravy over noodles.

Tips:

  1. You don’t have to cook the noodles with the gravy.  If you prefer, cook the noodles separately and just add it upon serving.
  2. Use whatever type of noodles you want but spiral type noodles are the best because they hold meaty sauces very well.
  3. Don’t overcook the noodles.

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs Top Round steak, sliced in 2 inch strips
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 packet Beef Stroganoff mix
  • 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
  • 3 1/2 cups water
  • 1 lb egg noodles
  • salt
  • pepper

Directions:

Combine beef, onion, stroganoff mix, soup and 1 cup of water.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours.  Add remaining water and egg noodles.  Cook for another 45 minutes to an hour, stirring at least once.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

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Corned Beef Scramble

18 Mar

Need ideas on what to do with leftover Corned Beef (from St. Patty’s Day)?  Here’s an easy and delicious breakfast recipe for it.  But then, who says you can only have it for breakfast?

Tips:

  1. Don’t bother using salt to season for taste.  There’s enough salt in the brining of the brisket to give it a taste even with the additional ingredients.
  2. If you prefer the corned beef diced, go for it.  There’s no limit on this recipe.

Serves:  4 generously

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp cooking oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 bell pepper, diced
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 1 1/2 cup shredded cooked corned beef
  • 8 eggs, slightly beaten
  • ground pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once oil is hot add onion and pepper, sauté for 3 minutes.  Add tomatoes and continue to cook for 2 minutes.  Add corned beef, cooking for 2-3 minutes.  Slowly add eggs, stirring frequently so that eggs do not stick on the pan.  Cook until eggs become fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Season with pepper then serve while still hot.

Enjoy!

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Chicken Lo Mein

27 Feb

Chicken Lo Mein

You can cook take-out Chinese food at home.  All you have to do is try…

Tips:

  1. Buy cooked noodles usually found at the frozen section of your local Asian market.  This will shorten your cooking time.
  2. If there are no Asian markets around you, you can substitute the noodles with spaghetti or undercooked Ramen noodles just make sure you don’t use the seasoning when you boil them.
  3. If egg noodles are not your favorite, try rice noodles.
  4. If the noodles are too long, cut them with some kitchen shears.
  5. Cut and measure all your ingredients while chicken is marinating.
  6. If you don’t have a wok, , a large skillet will do.

Serves: 4-6 generously

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb boneless and skinless chicken breast, sliced thin
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp corn starch
  • 2 lbs cooked egg noodles
  • 1/2 lb snow peas, cleaned and cut in half
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch diagonally
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 3 tsp canola oil
  • 3/4 cup oyster sauce
  • Salt

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl, combine chicken, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and cornstarch.  Transfer to a bowl, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2.  Transfer egg noodles to a strainer and rinse with cold water.  In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 Tbsp of oil over medium high heat.  Once oil is hot, carefully add chicken and cook for 4-6 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl.  Using the same skillet or wok, heat remaining oil then add carrots and cook for 2 minutes.    Add snow peas and cook for 1 minute.  Add onion and cook for 1 minute.  Add chicken and oysters sauce, stir and cook until noodles are heated through, 2-3 minutes.  Make sure you frequently toss the noodles so they don’t stick and burn at the bottom of the skillet or wok.  Season with salt if needed.

Enjoy!

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Potato Salad

14 Feb

So simple, yet so delicious!  My kids call this GT’s (Grandma Terry) Potato Salad.  My mother-in-law shared this recipe with me.

Tips:

  1. For a creamy potato salad, use Yukon Gold.  Make sure you peel them before cooking.
  2. The more eggs you add, the creamier  the potato salad is.  My rule of thumb is 1 egg per medium potato.
  3. You can add shredded carrots to add a different layer of flavor to this potato salad.
  4. Potato Salad is best when you let it sit in the fridge for a while so that all the flavors blend together.  4 hours for this dish will do the trick.  You can also prepare this a day ahead.
  5. The vinegar cuts down on the starch.
  6. Potatoes are done when you can easily stick a fork through it without any resistance.
  7. I’m a Hellmann’s girl so no Miracle Whip for me :)

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (approximately 6 medium potatoes), peeled
  • water
  • 1/2 cup white vinegar
  • 4-6 hardboiled eggs, peeled and quartered
  • 1 small onion finely diced
  • 2 celery stalks, sliced
  • 1 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/8 teaspoon celery seeds
  • salt

Directions:

1.  In a large stock pot combine potatoes, vinegar and enough water to cover the potatoes.  Bring to a boil  and cook until potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes.  Drain water and let potatoes cool before cutting in eighths.

2.  Once potatoes have cooled down and cut, combine with celery, onion and eggs in a large bowl.  Mix together.  Add mayonnaise and celery seeds.  Season with salt to taste.  Transfer to a serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate for up to 4 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Pork And Tomatillo Stew

26 Jan

An awesome Pork Stew that can be served over rice or with tortillas.

Tips:

  1. Remove as much fat as you can off the roast.  The slow cooking process will produce a lot of fat if they are not sliced off prior to cooking.
  2. If you use canned Tomatillos, make sure you drain all the liquid.  Use 1 28-oz can as a substitute for 1 lb of fresh tomatillos
  3. Make sure to thoroughly rinse the tomatillos once you remove the husk to get the waxy substance off it.
  4. You can add vegetables such as bell peppers as well as starch such as Hominy but do this at the last 30 minutes of cooking time so they are not mushy.  If you are adding harder vegetables such as carrots, you can put add them at the start of cooking.

Ingredients:

  • 3 – 3 1/2 lb Boston roast  (butt) cut in 1 inch chunks
  • sea salt
  • pepper
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 pound tomatillos, quartered (approximately 6-8 tomatillos), removed from husk and thoroughly rinsed
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced (remove seeds if you don’t want heat)
  • chopped cilantro

Directions:

  1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Season pork chunks with salt and pepper.  Brown all sides in skillet.  If skillet is not large enough, brown pork in batches.  Transfer cooked pork to slow cooker.  Stir in cumin.
  2. Once pork is cooked, remove skillet from heat and slowly add chicken broth.  Return to heat and with a wooden spatula, scrape all the brown bits off the skillet.  Allow  to simmer for 2 minutes.
  3. While broth is simmering, add tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapeño to pork.  Remove broth from heat and pour onto pork mixture.  Stir, cover and cook for 3/12 – 4 hours on HIGH.  Once complete, transfer pork to a serving bowl using a slotted spatula.  Skim fat off of sauce.  Season sauce with salt for taste.  Pour over pork and finish with a garnish of chopped cilantro.  Serve.

Enjoy!

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