Italian Sausage and Lentil Soup with Fennel

So, we are all out to dinner at Carrabba's or Olive Garden one, I can never remember.  What I can remember is the soup.  I really enjoyed the soup.  No huge surprise there, I generally love soups and will almost always be in the mood for a good soup.  When we got home, I logged on to the internet and began searching for a similar soup.  Unfortunately, all I could find were casseroles.  We tried a couple of them and they were pretty good, but I longed for the soup.  Finally, I decided to wing it and see what I came up with. This is not exactly the same, but it is very similar.  

If you cannot find a fennel bulb, you can use the fennel seed from a jar, but the bulb gives a richer flavor.

Chop some of the fern like part of the fennel too!

Saute your onion, celery and garlic.

Stir in the ferny part of the fennel you chopped.

Once you have added everything allow the soup to cook until the lentils, carrots and potatoes are cooked through.

We like our soups hearty, so it definitely has more "stuff".  Overall the flavor profile is the same.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage (if links, slice into bite sized pieces)

10 cups chicken or vegetable stock (you can add more if you like a less hearty soup)

6 cloves garlic chopped (this amount is for normal people which we are not, we like garlic, so I use a whole head of garlic when i make this soup - choice is yours)

1 medium onion chopped

4 stalks celery, sliced

4 carrots peeled and sliced

4 potatoes peeled and cut into bite sized pieces (none in the original, but I like them)

1 bulb of fennel diced (use the white part of the bulb)

1 tsp chopped fennel leaf (the fern looking part of the fennel)

1 cup diced canned tomatoes

1 1/2 to 2 cups lentils - the type is your choice.

salt and pepper to taste

A bowl full of yum!!!

Brown the Italian Sausage in a skillet.  Remove the sausage from the skillet and put to the side.  Take one tablespoon of the drippings from the sausage and put it in your stock pot (8-10 quart pot).  Add you garlic, onion and celery to the stock pot and saute until the onions are just translucent careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the stock and the lentils and cook on medium for about 15 minutes.  Taste at this point and add any necessary salt and pepper.  Add all the other ingredients, except the sausage, and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes.  Add the sausage and continue cooking on medium heat until the lentils, potatoes and carrots are done.  Adjust the amount of stock as needed for your taste, and remember lentils are a dried bean, so the different types could require more or less, so be flexible.   

Let me know what you think.  I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we do.

Southern Chicken Salad Plate

We love chicken salad, but to make it a meal inclusive of veggies, you have to make it more than just a sandwich.

Well, I guess we could call that blog interrupted.  We have still been cooking, and I have even thought to take some pictures, but I have just not had the time to get here and document any of the meals we have been preparing.  So, what has been keeping me so busy?  Probably the same thing that keeps all of you busy.  Family, work, and a nasty cold, yuck!  However, it seems all is much better on that front and it is time for me to do something just for me.  Something like posting on here.

I am also busy working on Christmas presents for a few people, but I can't put those on here until after Christmas.  It may end up being the same few people who check out the recipes.  Speaking of which, I guess some people consider chicken salad a summer dish, but for me it is a year long favorite.  There are as many recipes for chicken salad as there are people in my home town, so you probably already have one, but if you are like me, you never turn your nose up at a new way to try something.  For this particular version I have used a bread and butter pickle relish and Dijon mustard.  So here goes:

4 chicken breast - boneless, skinless are easiest, but not necessary
Salt
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or sage
1 medium bell pepper, diced (the salad is really pretty if you can use a variety of colors, but this time of year I stayed with just green as the others are getting too expensive)
5 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 cup pickles chopped or pickle relish
3 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
Cayenne pepper to taste, I use about 1/4 a teaspoon when people other than family will be eating
1 teaspoon Nature's Seasoning (seasoning blend from Morton's, different flavor profile than a season all and works really well with chicken and vegetables)
15 grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup sliced cucumbers
2 cups chopped lettuce, the type is your choice, we use romaine
half dozen eggs

Rinse the eggs and the chicken and place them in a pot of salted water, add poultry seasoning (or sage) and bring to a boil.  While the chicken and eggs are cooking, prep the bell pepper, celery, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.

Remove the eggs from the water after it has boiled for 5 or 6 minutes.  Place them in a bowl and run cold water over them until they are just cool enough to handle but still warm.  Crack the shell of the egg thoroughly and peel it away from the egg.  Put the eggs to the side.

If you have ever had trouble peeling boiled eggs I have found the key being plenty of salt in the water you are using to boil the eggs, the temperature of the egg when you are peeling it, and finally when you crack the shell, you will need to get under the membrane that is between the egg shell and the white of the egg.

Dice the chicken being careful to remove any fat, gristle or bone.  As a side note, I don't always dice the chicken.  Sometimes I will shred it by using two forks to pull it apart (a favorite, but labor intensive), sometimes I will put in the food processor, or I will vary the size of the dice.  The version pictured is a medium dice.  All of these variations can change how your chicken salad comes out.  Place the diced chicken in a bowl with the celery, bell pepper, mustard, mayonnaise, pickle or pickle relish (I have substituted diced jalapeno on occasion, which is also good) and the seasonings (celery seed, Nature's Seasoning, cayenne pepper and mix well.  You will notice the salad is not real wet with mayonnaise.  When you are having a chicken salad sandwich, the salad requires more mayonnaise, but a plate only requires enough mayonnaise to help bind the salad.  This is great if you have someone who doesn't like mayonnaise (like my hubby).

If you can get Duke's Mayonnaise and Mt Olive Pickles, I encourage you to try them.  Your salad will love you for it.

 Now that your chicken salad is all prepped and ready to go, all you have to do is put your plate together.  We start with a bed of lettuce, scoop on the chicken salad and add the veggies and halved boiled eggs to the side.  It is a beautiful plate that is also healthy and oh so good.  And, if you know me this makes a difference...the left over salad makes a great lunch the next day. :)

Doesn't that look great!

Creamy Chicken and Asparagus

You will absolutely love the creamy goodness!

Last Friday Mark and I decided to skip what we had planned for dinner and go out.  We have lived here since 1995 and we had never been to the Village Steakhouse.  We heard good things about them and decided it was time to give it a try. We were less than impressed.  So this Friday, we stuck to our planned menu for dinner and we were thrilled with the results!

This particular meal is a twist on Chicken Piccata.  The major difference is cutting way back on the lemon and adding cream.  The sauce becomes this rich, creamy, buttery sensation.  This dish takes about 35 minutes from start to finish.  Enjoy!


Asparagus is one of our favorite vegetables and it is extremely good for you.

Heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter together as you dredge your chicken in flour.

Brown your flattened chicken for 3 to 4 minutes on each side


When you add the wine to the pan you used to brown the chicken, make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the flavor created while you were browning the chicken.  Reduce the wine by half (cook out half of the liquid).



Once the wine is reduced, add the chicken stock, lemon juice, capers and sun dried tomatoes and reduce by half again and add the remaining butter.

Add the cream and return the chicken to the pan.  Simmer for a few minutes (3 or 4 max).

Add the asparagus during the last minute of cooking.

 Serve over pasta.  You will love this dish!!!!!!!!!

Ingredients
 

• 4 Tbsp butter, divided 
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 cups chicken stock 
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2/3 cup white wine, chilled  (not a sweet wine)
• 2 Tbsp capers, drained
• 2 Tbsp sundried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped
• 1 bunch asparagus (approximately 1/2 pound)
• 1/2 Tbsp butter
• 1 1/2  cup heavy cream
• flour 
• salt & fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• pasta

Directions

For the asparagus, you need to remove any part of the stalk that is not tender.  To do this, hold an end of the asparagus in each hand and bend.  The asparagus will naturally snap in the perfect spot to make sure what you are preparing is tender and delicious. For this dish we want the asparagus in bite sized pieces so cut each stalk into 3/4 to 1 inch pieces.  Rinse the asparagus and set it to the side.

Slice each chicken breasts into 3 to 4 pieces (you could use tenders if you would like).  Pound chicken pieces between plastic wrap until it is about 1/4 inch in thickness. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the flattened chicken.   Dredge the chicken pieces lightly in flour and shake off the excess.  Heat the 2 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp butter to a pan. Once the oil and butter are hot and sizzling, add in a few of your prepared chicken pieces.  Saute the chicken on med-high heat for about 4 minutes on each side until light brown. Having pounded the chicken, it will cook really quickly. The pounding will also make sure your chicken is very tender. Remove the browned chicken.  Continue until all chicken has been browned.

Start heating your water for the pasta. When water comes to a boil, add pasta and cook according to package directions, about 10 - 11 min.

In a separate skillet add 1/2 tablespoon of butter and heat on medium until melted.  Add the asparagus and cook for about 3 minutes.  Do not over cook the asparagus as you want it to still be crisp in the final dish.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

On med-high heat, add the white wine to the pan that the chicken was cooked in and reduce to half.  Make sure you scrape up all the goodness (browned bits stuck to the bottom) to incorporate all the flavors into the sauce.  Add the chicken stock, lemon juice, capers, and sun dried tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the sauce by half again.  Add the remaining cold butter and the heavy cream.  Add chicken back to the sauce and allow to simmer for a few minutes. In the last minute of simmering add the asparagus.  Plate the chicken over your drained pasta.

Fried Rice

I mentioned on the Krapow post that we often make extra rice and will then have Fried Rice within in the next day or two.  Fried Rice is another dish that is quick and easy for work nights and makes an excellent lunch to take to work.  We will usually serve this with a simple salad so we are getting our veggies.  

Start by scrambling 2 eggs

Many people will tell you that soy sauce is soy sauce, but I would not agree with that. There may be little difference between the different brands, but there are different types of soy sauces.  If you remember the Krapow recipe, there were two different soy sauces used.  The black soy sauce has a slightly sweet flavor.  The Tamari soy sauce is a dark soy which means it has a richer more robust flavor.

A more robust flavor in the Tamari soy could allow you to use less

From start to finish the fried rice takes less than 20 minutes.  

Chop and saute 2 onions and 2 teaspoons of garlic

The time you spend sauteing the onions is what is most time consuming.  You want them to begin getting soft and turning translucent.

Add your cold rice to the sauteed onions.  The rice being cold is important.

This recipe will work best in a wok, but can be done in a regular skillet.  You want the heat to be very high and will need to work quickly to make sure nothing burns.

Fry the rice and add some soy sauce, salt and pepper.

You control the amount of salt, pepper and soy sauce you add.  Determine the amount that works best for you!

Add the egg back to the pan and stir well.  

2 Onions chopped

2 teaspoons garlic minced

2 cups rice chilled

2 eggs scrambled

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2-4 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

Scramble the eggs in a small amount of the sesame oil and remove from the pan. Add the rest of the oil and saute the onions.  When the onions are starting to turn translucent, add the rice and stir to ensure all of the rice gets hot. Add the soy sauce and continue stirring.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Right before removing the wok from the heat, add the sesame seeds, and stir well.  

 

Krapow (Spicy Basil Chicken)

What a beautiful dish!

We, both my husband and I, enjoy flavorful food and we have found few dishes to be as full of flavor as the Thai dishes we have sampled.  Thai food is generally spicy, but when you make it at home, you can control how spicy the dish is.  This dish is perfect for a weeknight.  It is quick, easy and will reheat well for my lunch the next day. 

Slice you chicken breast about 1/4 of an inch thick 

Slice your onions very thin.  The thinner you cut everything, the more quickly it will cook.

Bell peppers, if you want more color, you can use red and/or yellow.  It does not change the flavor.

The one thing I like most about this dish is that it is one that Mark, my husband, prepares (as much as I love to cook, I love not cooking on occasion too!).  We try to include this dish in the menu when I will be working late or we know he will be the first one home.  If I am home, we will work together in the kitchen.  I will usually do all the chopping while he does the measuring and cooking.  We like to make extra rice and have fried rice sometime in the next couple of days.

Serrano peppers are quite hot and you should be careful of how much you add.  

For this recipe we are using Thai Basil.  We plant the Thai basil in early spring and will use this basil in all of our recipes during the spring, summer and fall.  If you plant herbs, Thai Basil is more resilient than sweet basil, has more robust licorice tones and has the added benefit of pretty purple flowers.

Chop the basil, but not real small; cutting it will help release the flavor. 

This dish will cook quickly, so it is best to have all your prep work done before you start cooking.  Once you begin cooking, it will be ready in less than 10 minutes.  Total prep time will vary, but if you are used to working in the kitchen, you should be able to have the prep done in 15-20 minutes at the most.  If you have never had Thai cuisine, this is a great way to try it!

Krapow (Spicy Basil Chicken)

·         2 cups cooked jasmine rice

·         4 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil

·         4 cloves of garlic minced

·         2 chicken breast - sliced thin

·         1 onion - sliced thin

·         1 Green Bell Pepper - sliced thin

·         8 tablespoons of oyster sauce

·         4 tablespoons of Tamari soy sauce

·         2 teaspoons of black soy sauce

·         2/3 cup of water

·         1 - 2 cups of fresh basil

·         3 fresh serrano peppers sliced (the more Serrano peppers you add, the hotter the dish will be, you can all less)

·         3 teaspoons of Sambal Oelek (Ground Fresh Chili Paste) this is also spicy, if you have a low tolerance level for spicy, leave this out)

Turn on the stove to the medium heat

• Heat the oil

• When the oil is hot add the garlic

• When the garlic is soft (don’t let it burn) add the chicken

• Stir the chicken until it is cooked

• Add the onion

• Add all the sauces (oyster sauce, soy sauce and black soy sauce) and stir it together

• Add water and stir for about 2 minutes.

• Add the chili peppers and basil, stir it couple of time and it’s done

Braised Brussel Sprouts

During the week, when we are working we are always looking for quick dinners.  Something good, but that does not require a great deal of work.  I am sure you find the same to be true.  I have finally admitted that the most important thing is to have a plan.  It usually takes us much longer to decide what to fix for dinner than it does to fix it.  An added benefit is that we are saving a little money on the grocery shopping.  By knowing what we will be having for dinner each week we can shop smarter and we experience less waste.

Before our weekly trip to the grocery store (another benefit - we rarely have those extra trips during the week now) we do a quick inventory of what we have on hand and begin planning the menu.  We only plan our evening meal and we try to have a couple things during the week that are good reheated so I can take lunch to work.  We also try to incorporate at least one new dish each week.  We are both (hubby and I) always looking for new recipes or ideas for new recipes.

Last night we had a pan seared flat iron steak.  Flat iron steaks are easy to prepare and in our experience require little additional work.  We simply sprinkle with the Weber steak and chop seasoning blend about 30 minutes prior to cooking.  You can grill it, but for those nights when you don’t have time to fire the grill, pan searing works out wonderfully for a flat iron steak.

We had found some beautiful fresh brussel sprouts when we shopped and we thought they would be perfect with the flat iron.  This recipe is incredibly simple and the results are stellar...a great way to explore whether or not you like brussel sprouts.  

 The onion and sprouts will brown or caramelize making the dish almost sweet.

Prepare you brussel sprouts by trimming the end and cutting them in half. 

Place the brussel sprouts in a colander and rinse thoroughly. 

Cut the bacon into pieces about a half an inch wide and brown it in a skillet you can later transfer to the oven. 

While the bacon is browning dice the onion. 

 When the bacon is nice and browned add the onion and brussel sprouts to the skillet, sauté for about 5 minutes (longer if your brussel sprouts are large).  Add your salt and pepper at this stage.

 Place the skillet in the oven for approximately 10 minutes (it could take longer if your brussel sprouts are large).

ENJOY!

Pan seared flat iron steak, braised brussel sprouts and parmesan potatoes. 

Place the skillet in the oven for approximately 10 minutes (it could take longer if your brussel sprouts are large).

ENJOY!

Braised Brussel Sprouts

1lb fresh brussel sprouts

4 strips bacon

1 medium onion

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400. 

Prepare you brussel sprouts by trimming the end and cutting them in half. 

Place the brussel sprouts in a colander and rinse thoroughly. 

Cut the bacon into pieces about a half an inch wide and brown it in a skillet you can later transfer to the oven. 

While the bacon is browning dice the onion. 

When the bacon is nice and browned add the onion and brussel sprouts to the skillet, sauté for about 5 minutes (longer if your brussel sprouts are large).  Add your salt and pepper at this stage.

Place the skillet in the oven for approximately 10 minutes (it could take longer if your brussel sprouts are large).

ENJOY!

Pan Seared Halibut with Mango Salsa

So I know I should have taken advantage of being up early this morning and headed out to the farmers market.  I mean, it is September, how much longer will I have access to all the colorful fruits and veggies of summer?  Instead of heading down the road, I debated starting a blog and ultimately decided to go for it and set up this little gem. 

With the farmers market closed, hubby and I head to Raleigh for a little shopping excursion.  I had mentioned earlier today that I thought the menu for tonight said dine out, but hubby said he didn't recall us planning an evening out.  On the way to Raleigh, he begins talking about where we can eat...uh, no, it doesn't work that way.  We left the house to go shopping, not to go to dinner.  Why doesn't he understand that the jeans and t shirt I will wear to go shopping may not be what I would wear to dinner out?

Anyway, we decided go to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.  We do hesitate to drive all the way to Raleigh just for groceries, I mean Raleigh is an hour away after all.  But options are sometimes a little limited here, so we make the drive to a neighboring metropolis on occasion.  We don't really have a meal plan for the week, so we are just looking to see what appeals to us. We got lucky and found some beautiful halibut on sale and decided we would pan sear it and serve it with a mango salsa.

Mango Salsa

2 cups chopped pitted peeled mango

1 cup chopped bell pepper I use red to add more color to the dish

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 fresh fresh jalapeno, seeded and diced

¼ cup fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons lime juice

4 teaspoons olive oil

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.  Can be made a day ahead of time (gives flavors time to blend).  

Cut the fish into serving size portions and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in a skillet until the oil is just below the smoke point and add the fish. Turn the fish after a few minutes. 

When the fish is done serve it topped with some of the Mango Salsa.