Jewish Penicillin
Day #2 of trying to play Dr. Chef. Last night’s Green Cream of Spinach Soup went over well and was comforting on his throat. He was coughing most of the night and miserable at work all day, SO – I did what I was brought …
Tag: soup
Cream of Spinach Soup
Yes – another GREEN recipe! Now that I am over being sick (and just have an occasional gross cough) Rich’s body decided he wanted to catch what I had. He is pushing through it (and not taking it easy like he tried to force me …
Venison Chili
So I used the 2nd package of venison that my custodian had given me (remember the awesome venison meatballs I made last month!?) to make Venison Chili this week. In all honesty, I was really hoping for a more gamey flavor – but I guess that the venison is just a great meat to take on the flavor of whatever you are cooking in it. This chili is pretty much a variation of my “basic red chili” – awesome with just enough heat but mild enough that you can still taste the flavors. Perfect end to our Groundhog Day 2011 storm (we got a lot less than was forecasted… which is a good thing – although since I am still getting over this flu-type-thing, Rich would not allow me to go outside to help him clear the driveway [guess I shouldn’t be complaining about that])
So if you need a quick, last minute Super Bowl (or any day) dish ~ this chili is a great place to start. The beauty of Chili is that you can add or omit things as you wish…
Recipe
- Venison (or Ground Beef OR Turkey OR Chicken)… 2 pounds?
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobe sauce (these come in a can – just take one out and throw the rest in the fridge)
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 can corn
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can red beans (feel free to add more or mix/match beans)
- 1 can diced tomatoes (drained)
- 1 can tomatoes with green chilies
- 2 Tablespoons Cumin
- 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
- 1 cup (more or less, depending how you like it) water
Brown your meat & drain off most of your fat (more or less depending on what meat you are using – with the venison there was not too much, but I still got rid of about 3/4 of it). Throw in your onion (and garlic) and allow that to cook for a minute or two with your meat before taking everything else and just dumping it in your large sauce pan. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes, taste and adjust as needed.
Serve with sour cream (optional), shredded cheddar cheese & fresh chopped cilantro
My advice for today… HOW TO KEEP CILANTRO FRESH Buy the cilantro with the stems (no roots needed). Then put it in a cup with some water (do not fill it so much so that the water covers any of the herb leaves) and then place the plastic bag you got your cilantro in (you know, those cheap produce bags) over top of cilantro & cup. Place in the fridge & you are good for [at least] a week – if it lasts that long. This cilantro tip has allowed me to have fresh cilantro so much more often & takes my Mexican cooking up a notch… enjoy (as I figure out more herb-saving tips, I’ll let you know)
Chicken (soup) n Dumplings
Today is another one of those snowy days (Snow Day #6 by my count). I used to love having random snow days (skiing, sledding, etc) – but this year I am just so over having “snow storms” which amount to about 3-6 inches each time …
Pasta Fagioli
“Work and play are words used to describe the same thing under differing conditions.” – so: take a lazy, cold day to play and have fun with something you might normally think of as work!
Comfort on a Plate
After making French Onion Soup for the first time a few weeks ago, Rich told me that I HAD to make it more often. I wanted to make a nice comforting soup for dinner the other night but knew that a hardy bowl of soup would not be enough for dinner. My ‘Aunt’ gave me beautiful ramekins for Hanukkah (which I had been wanting so badly, but had not even told anyone – that is why family and friends are so awesome, they know what you want without yo even asking!) Ramekins are perfect for frittatas (especially when this just happened to be during my SOS Broken Oven stage). Frittatas and French Onion Soup crocks both fit in the toaster over, and when the meal is rounded out with a french-caesar salad – it is healthy comfort food!
perfect for 2 (make more if you want to serve more people), give it a shot & don’t be shy. This stuff is delicious!
Salad – greens & some of your toasted bread from soup & dressing made of: french mustard, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper & make it yours!
Frittata (this version) – mushrooms, broccoli, cheese (feta & cheddar) in buttered ramekin. Then pour your egg/milk mixture on top & bake. This is another one of those things that you can just kind of do to taste & can’t mess it up too bad.
DON’T be afraid in the kitchen: when cooking there is little that you can to completely mess it all up. Have fun & cozy up with some yummy treats on a cold day (or this works for those warm days too!)