Friday, December 30, 2011

Tortilla Soup

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Many many years ago....  When I was stilling working for the bank, in downtown St. Paul, I had my choice of so many places to lunch at.  We would take the skyway system to our choice of the day and get whatever flavor or food group it was we were craving.  One day when out on our daily lunch hunt, my friend Nancy and I, went to a sub joint in the Depot building.  This particular place always had homemade soups, and on this day they were serving Tortilla Soup.  I had never had this kind of soup, so of course I ordered it. It was just amazing, and I was in love.  The flavor was like no soup I had ever had.  It was just the perfect Mexican flavorings and veggies all pulled together in one little bowl. YUM!

And then ....this sub place closed. I really was just about devastated. From then on, any time I went to a restaurant, diner or deli that was serving Tortilla Soup, I had to order it. None of the soups I tried have ever compared.  I have tried cooking various recipes myself, but just couldn't find that flavor combination that rocked my taste buds like that first bowl.  Until now that is!! I was so excited when I read the recipe for Tortilla Soup that Sweet Pea's Kitchen had on her blog.  It sounded amazing just reading it!  

Like everything else this month, it was complicated getting ready to make it.  Can't keep the vehicle running to get to the store.  Can't go shopping with all the ice, you know... one thing after another.  Well, finally all ingredients in hand, I made the soup, and it was delicious. The right balance of spices, and I really think the cilantro is what pulled it together with that amazing flavor combination! Next time, I will save just a little bit of Cilantro for some garnish.



Tortilla Soup 

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
2 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (10.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 cup whole corn kernels
1 cup white corn (I used Green Giant Chipotle White Corn)
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2-3 boneless chicken breast halves
Tortilla chips, crushed

Optional
1 avocado, sliced
Shredded Cheese (Cheddar or Colby)
Green onions, chopped
Cilantro, chopped
Sour Cream (I topped with Greek Yogurt)



Heat oil in a medium stock pot over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, tomatoes, broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove chicken and shred. Return to pot and continue to simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Ladle soup into individual bowls and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, green onion, cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.





Saturday, December 17, 2011

Gingerbread Cookie Success!!

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I have never before made any sort of Gingerbread or Molasses cookies, mainly cuz I never have molasses in the house.  The last big grocery shopping trip we made, I saw the molasses on the shelf and grabbed it, just in case I was feelin' crazy this Christmas baking season.  I thought about making gingerbread cookies the other night, but wasn't sure if I should be so daring.... this week was kinda challenging for me, did I need one more challenge?  All the other new recipes I tried had been disappointing.  It took 5, yes 5, days to get our Christmas tree decorated, and we apparently can only have decorations from thigh high or above.  If we go any lower, our insane "crack kittie" Bobbie, will attack.  I honestly didn't expect the tree to be standing the morning after decorating....  It was though, yeay!!!  
What the heck, let's give the cookies a shot.  

I decided to use King Arthur's recipe.  I have been hearing so many people rave about King Arthur recipe's and products.  Why not try it.  Oh my gosh...  LOVE King Arthur.  The recipe was a success.  Another cool thing about the King Arthur website is that for this recipe, they have a blog.  When I was making the cookies, I started to panic as the dough was like no other dough I have run into for a cookie.  That's when I saw that they had a blog, so I flipped over there and found that I was doing just fine!  There is a just a huge reason for refrigerating the dough, (it needs to chill and to set).  On day two, rolled and baked.  Day three decorated.  Not a stellar decorating job, but they are tasty and kinda cute! I rolled mine a little thicker so they are a soft gingerbread, I really liked that, instead of the thin crisp cookie

Now, I need to try King Arthur baking products now and see if they are as amazing as the recipes!




King Arthur Ginger Bread Cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice or cloves
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 1/2 cups flour

In a saucepan set over low heat, or in the microwave, melt butter, then stir in brown sugar, molasses, salt, and spices. Transfer the mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl, let it cool to lukewarm, and beat in the egg. Whisk the baking powder and soda into the flour, stir dry ingredients into the molasses mixture. Divide dough in half, and wrap well. Refrigerate for 1 hour or longer. (Mine was in the fridge for about 24 hours)

Preheat your oven to 350°F. 

Take one piece of dough out of the refrigerator, and flour a clean work surface, and the dough. Roll it out as thin or thick as you like; for slightly less crisp cookies, roll it out more thick (I went just under 1/4 inch). Use flour under and on top of the dough to keep it from sticking to the table or rolling pin. Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter, cutting them as close to one another as possible to minimize waste. 

Transfer the cookies to ungreased cookie sheets. Bake the cookies until they're slightly brown around the edges 8 to 12 minutes, or until they feel firm. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for several minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat. 

I just piped on royal icing for decorating.  Kept it simple.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree....

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A real Christmas Tree, is a tradition I have kept up every year, except for two years when I was taking a break from all the decorating.  Some years the tree's may have sometimes been cut down for me and purchased in a parking lot, but they were real.

Last year it was quite a challenge to find a real tree.  The parking lots were so picked over, only one or two left... and those had probably been sitting there for a month after having been harvested and shipped several hundred miles.  That just wasn't acceptable, so I started doing some research to find a tree farm and to support a local business.  I finally found two within a reasonable distance, but due to how late we were shopping, one of the farms was already closed for the season.  Off to the other we went.  We did love it, it  was so cute and the owners were so inviting. Very cute cottage all decorated and treats waiting when we were done to help us warm up.

This year we tried the second "local" farm.  It was not as manicured as the other farm, but charming in it's own way.  It was just like walking out in the woods to find your tree. This year it was strange walking through the field since there wasn't a single snow flake on the ground. BUT, it was nice to not be frozen and shivering during the event.....  (Yes, I am a little "princessy", and not very tough when it comes to dealing with winter conditions.)  With the first couple tree's I picked out, my boyfriend had to remind me of our ceiling height.  We finally found that perfect tree, and it was a balsam!  I was so excited...  I have never had a balsam for a Christmas Tree before.



We (he) cut the tree down, then we (he) went to retrieve the truck and bring it to the tree, so we didn't have to drag it up and over the hill.  Back to the store we went for some hot apple cider and cookies.  We even bought some treats for ourselves while in the store.  Real Wisconsin Maple Syrup, and Wild Rice harvested in northern Wisconsin.  Once we got home, we had to trim the top just a little bit to make it fit. NOW...  if only the lights in storage still worked so that I could finish decorating the tree.  Maybe tomorrow!





Thursday, December 1, 2011

Easy as One, Two, Three

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I love to cook!  I love to eat!  I was such a picky eater for so many years, I really don't know how my parents handled getting me to eat.  Then something happened years later, I started trying new things and found out how many good foods were out there that I had avoided unnecessarily.

With our love of food, I am continually trying to get away from processed foods and make what we are eating better for us.  Sometimes that is a challenge, but I am learning more and more, that it really is simple.  It's just a matter of having your pantry stocked with the right foods.  We love macaroni and cheese.  Who doesn't, right??  Either you make the box with the packet of powdered cheese and who knows what else... I am sure there is corn syrup in there too, but we will get into my hatred of corn syrup another day.  You can also make the box with the cheese you squeeze out of the packet. Probably better, but is it? I haven't read the ingredient label on that, and will probably just skip that.  Especially after this amazingly easy recipe I have found!  I can't believe how simple it is, and how good it is!!

My search for a macaroni and cheese recipe, led me to a blog named Macaroni and Cheesecake .  Seemed like a good place to start??  5 Ingredients, and 25 minutes for homemade goodness!  I had to try it! The first time making it, I tried the oven finish.  The second time, I skipped the oven finish and loved it even more. 


Revolutionary Mac & Cheese

2 cups dried pasta
2 cups milk (I used 2 %)
1 cup loosely packed shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dijon mustard


In a small saucepan, add pasta and milk.  Bring to simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, until pasta is soft, stirring frequently.  Be sure milk does not boil.

Turn heat off, add cheese & salt.  Stir to combine.  Stir in the mustard a little at a time to taste. Cover and let stand for about 5 minutes, then stir again and serve. Add a tablespoon or more milk to your desired creaminess level.  Gently stir.

Oven Finish:
Place in a baking dish and top with a generous sprinkling of cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 10 minutes until cheese has melted.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Thanksgiving Day

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We enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving Day at home.  Before enjoying our very Non-Traditional meal, we went for a drive and were just in time for a picture perfect sunset down in the river valley.


Saturday, November 19, 2011

Fall Baking has begun!

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My mom turned me on to the wonderful world of Penzeys Spices.  For some time, I hadn't been impressed with the quality of spices I was buying in the store, and I knew how she always looked forward to her Penzeys Spice shipment.  So, earlier this year I asked her to order a couple of spices for me the next time she ordered.  I have been hooked ever since.  

Penzey's Spices is a great Wisconsin based company that offers a huge assortment of quality spices.  I have so many new spices that I look forward to trying.  I have also found another bonus of being a Penzey's shopper is their catalog.  Yes, you can order online as you can with most companies today, but they also send a hard copy catalog, periodically, that is full of idea's, pictures, and....  Recipes!!! I hadn't paid much attention to the recipes until the Fall 2011 issue.  I was really craving sweets the day I was reviewing the catalog, as I hadn't baked in some time.  I stumbled across a recipe for Oatmeal Chip Bars.  The next weekend, I made them for my first time.  I wasn't sure if they really were that "out of this world", or if we were that over due for a baked yummy treat.  We decided that they really were that good!  

Today, I made the second batch of these bars.  I did make a couple of changes.  When I had first told my mom about how good these were, she didn't want to make them because of the amount of butter, but wondered about substituting in some peanut butter.   I made that change, as well as omitted adding butterscotch chips, since I never seem to have those on hand.  I hope this pan doesn't disappear as quickly as the first pan did!!



Oatmeal Chip Bars

1/2 c. Butter
1/2 c. Peanut Butter
1 1/4 c. Brown Sugar ( I used 1/2 dark, and 1/2 light)
3/4 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 c. oats (quick cooking or regular)
2 c. miniature chocolate chips

Preheat over to 375.  In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture.  Fold in the oats and chocolate chips.  Spread in a greased 10 x 15 rimmed metal pan, using a spatula or your hands to press into place.  Bake for 20 minutes at 375.  Cool, but cut the bars while still warm, as a knife will go through them more easily.

Enjoy! ! !

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The Beginning...

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I have become quite a fan of following blogs, I enjoy reading others stories and of course recipes!  I hope to be able to share some cooking success's as well as maybe a failure or to.  I am sure to have lots of cute animal stories to share, the occasional ride along in the Peterbilt.  Of course, once morel mushroom season is here, I look forward to sharing the excitement of the hunts!  Now, just to be sure I understand how to publish the blogs and add pictures, all the fun stuff!

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