Fire Roasted Soup

This soup should wear a caution sign saying, "Eat with caution, flavors might explode in your mouth and could cause an overindulgence in it's deliciousness." The idea originated from a Rachel Ray recipe, but I can't make anything without putting my own twist on it. I just know how I like things and you can always do the same thing too!

The key ingredient (and this is NOT optional) is the ancho chili. I used two for this recipe and it was the base of the soup. Now these are quite hard to find. The way I found them...three grocery stores later, was packaged in a bag in the Hispanic section of the spice aisle. I do not know if you have a section like this in your store but I am in north Cuba so you can bet I have that section. You may also find them in the produce section near the other peppers. The ones I bought were Badia brand. Now here is a little background on the pepper itself. Ancho chili is a dried poblano pepper. They are bright green when fresh but turn almost black when dried this particular way. They are woody and a bit sweet so they are mild as well. They must be reconstituted but it's simple.


Fire Roasted Ancho Chili Soup

Ingredients

* corn tortillas sliced
* 2 large ancho chilies, seeded and stemmed
* 1 quart chicken stock
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 ears corn on the cob, husked, kernels removed or 1 cup frozen kernels, defrosted
* 1/2 large red onion, chopped
* 1 jalapeno chili, seeded and chopped or thinly sliced (wear gloves!!!)
* 1 red chili pepper, seeded and chopped or thinly sliced
* 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 (14-ounce) can fire roasted diced (try to find these, it adds a ton of flavor!)
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 1/2 left over rotisserie chicken, skinned and shredded or just poach some chicken in chicken broth and shred
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 to 2 cups water
* 1/2 lime
* 2 ripe Hass avocados, halved
* Sour cream, for garnish
* Cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions

Add the ancho chilies and the chicken stock to a large pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chilies are tender. Remove from the heat to cool.

While the anchos simmer, heat a medium soup pot with vegetable oil over high heat. Add the corn and saute until charred at the edges, 2 to 3 minutes.

Reduce the heat a little, add the onions, jalapeno, red chile pepper and garlic. Season with cumin, smoked paprika and cinnamon. Saute for 5 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes.

Puree the anchos and the stock in a food processor, then add it to the soup pot. Stir in the honey and the shredded chicken and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Thin the soup with 1 or 2 cups of water and simmer over low heat to combine flavors, about 5 minutes.

Zest and juice 1/2 lime and add to the soup pot. Seed and dice the avocados and add to a small bowl. Dress with the juice of the remaining lime.

Pile some corn tortillas into each soup bowl. Top with diced avocado and ladle the soup over the avocado. Garnish with sour cream and whole or chopped cilantro leaves.

Thank me later! :)

Pasta Rustica

If I had it my way I would die in a pool of noodles. Since I am always on the hunt for new pasta night ideas, I thought I should share this one with you. This is my rendition of a Giada favorite. It is so comforting and rustic that it will please the entire family. I swear by this one. I served it in a cast iron pan for an extra touch of "countryside" service.

Rotini with Sausage and Sun-dried tomatoes

Ingredients
3/4 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced, 2 tablespoons of oil reserved
1 pound Italian hot sausages, casings removed
1/2 cup chopped artichoke hearts
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
16 ounces rotini pasta
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan, plus additional for garnish
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
8 ounces water-packed fresh mozzarella, drained and cubed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
Heat the oil reserved from the tomatoes in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown, breaking up the meat into bite-size pieces with a fork, about 8 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a bowl. Add the artichokes and garlic to the same skillet, and saute over medium heat until the garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the broth, wine, and sun-dried tomatoes. Boil over medium-high heat until the sauce reduces slightly, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta in boiling water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta (do not rinse). Add the pasta, sausage, 1/2 cup Parmesan, basil, and parsley to the artichoke mixture. Toss until the sauce is almost absorbed by the pasta. Stir in the mozzarella. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Then pour it into a cast iron pan. Cut some of the fresh mozzarella and sprinkle it over the top of the dish. Put it in the oven for a bit to melt the cheese.

It looks amazing when it comes out and then I sprinkle it with more basil.

The sauce at the bottom of the pan is so rich and decadent that you could even dip some crusty bread into it to top off your meal.

Peruvian Chicken with a "to-die-for" Aji Sauce

Never have I been anywhere near Peru...however, my little kitchen has been there and back. I always love roasting a chicken, but have grown tired of the typical rosemary rub and side of veggies. Hence, when I discovered the Peruvian art of flavor, I just HAD to try it. They use vinegar in a lot of their recipes which is something I never work with. I was intrigued to try this and it was amazing! The chicken marinates for 12 hours in a beer, vinegar and spice marinade. The meat will literally fall off the bone when you eat it. The chicken is perfectly complimented with an Aji sauce made of fresh jalapeños, cilantro and sour cream. This sauce gets better over time in the fridge and can go on anything your heart desires.

Peruvian Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken
4 oz beer (I used Corona light)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 lime, juice of
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
salt
paprika

Place whole chicken in a large dish and season generously with beer, vinegar, lime juice, salt, garlic powder, cumin and oregano. Cover tightly and marinate overnight.

Remove chicken from bag, cut chicken in half and place both halves on a large oven safe baking dish, skin side up. Discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken with paprika and a little more garlic powder and salt and bake at 425° for about 50 minutes, basting with the pan juices half way through. To test for doneness, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken; the thermometer should read about 160°F. The chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165°F, but after the chicken is taken out of the oven it should rise to 165°. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before carving.

Aji Verde Sauce

2-3 jalapeños, seeded
3 tbsp fresh cilantro
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp white vinegar
pinch cumin
salt and pepper
2 tbsp fat free sour cream
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Serve over chicken and a side of cilantro, lime rice.

Traditionally, the sauce is served under the chicken but I poured mine all over the top of it. The flavors are ridiculously wondrous together. Try it, I swear by it!

Lean Green

As you guys know by now, I LOVE to purée my soups and now I have a new recipe that's springy and bright. It's a cinch and hardly requires any ingredients so it's cheap cheap cheap! The picture I took is sort of dark but it has a rich green color and the sour cream adds that creamy texture. If you are into presentation, swirl a bit of real butter in it at the end so it looks glossy.

Creamy Zucchini Soup

• 1/2 small onion, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 small zucchini skin on cut in large chunks
• 32 oz fat free chicken stock
• 2 tbsp reduced fat sour cream
• salt
• pepper

In a medium pot, saute onion, garlic and zucchini in about a table spoon of olive oil until almost transparent. Add the stock and cook on medium heat.

Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. If you have an immersion blender, add the sour cream, pinch of salt and pepper and purée until smooth. I used my food processor and did it in batches. Blenders work just as well.

Garnish with parmesan and there you have it, the world's easiest soup and Trevor couldn't get enough of it!

Easy Breezy Pasta

As busy as I am, I ALWAYS make time to serve my man dinner. At the beginning of our marriage, I fell back on what I called my "staple dinners"...I could always count on them and they were the easiest recipes ever. My most common one was pasta and sauce from a jar. HO HUM! My newest goal as a cooking wife was to STOP serving my husband the same meal every Thursday. I have been very adventurous but now more than ever. Since, we moved to Florida, I decided to fill my time up as much as possible with whatever I can. This is my attempt at making Med School more manageable to get through...Enough of my home life, let's talk about what I have begun doing. I want a larger box of tools to pull from. I NEED those easy recipes every now and then so I have found one in particular worth sharing. Aside from my obsession with all things Giada, I have picked up a few new recipes. This one is so easy but looks and tastes so gourmet!

Rigatoni with Almond Bread Crumbs

Ingredients

1 pound rigatoni pasta
3 cups purchased garlic-flavored croutons, (about 5 ounces)
1/4 cup slivered almonds (about 1 ounce), toasted
1 cup julienned roasted red bell peppers
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta into a large bowl.
Place the croutons and the almonds in a food processor. Pulse until it becomes the texture of bread crumbs. Add the crouton and almond mixture to the hot pasta. Add the peppers and the olive oil. Toss to combine and serve.


Now, I would have garnished it with my new basil plant, but it died over the break when I was out of town. Anyone have any advice for my pale-green thumb? How do you keep this fragile herb alive while out of town??? Thanks!

Pesto Presto!

I am absolutely in LOVE with pesto. However, it is kind of expensive and goes bad fast. So I used it across the week. First, I pulled out that frozen pizza crust (see earlier post) and spread it as my sauce. I added a fresh sliced heirloom tomato and some mozzarella cheese and that's all there was to it. Then I spread it on wraps and such for extra flavor. My favorite use of it was in my white bean soup recipe. It is warming up so some people might avoid soups but the white beans keep it springy in my opinion.

White Bean Pesto Soup

5 garlic cloves sliced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 cans white canellini beans drained
3 cups chicken stock
3 tbs pesto
Shredded Parmesan

Saute the garlic in olive oil and red pepper flakes.
Add beans and 1/2 cup water. Stir in pesto and chicken broth. Simmer until thickened. Add the chicken broth. Simmer until heated through.

Now you have some more freedom here if you want to add pizazz. You can add some veggies or kalamata olives chopped. I just put some of the mixture into the blender because I prefer my white bean soups pureed. It makes it feel heartier to me. I garnished it with a bit more Parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil and a few basil leaves.

It's quick and very gourmet! Enjoy!

A Twist on Taco Night

Tacos and Texas go hand in hand. Chili is a favorable second. So I set them up together on a blind date...of course, they got married in my kitchen and the rest is history. Here's how to do it:

Turkey Chili Taco Soup

WW Points+: 5 pts
Serving size is about 1 1/2 cups


1.3 lbs 99% lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
10 oz can rotel tomatoes with green chilies
15 oz canned or frozen corn, drained
15 oz kidney beans, drained
8 oz tomato sauce
16 oz fat free refried beans
1 packet taco seasoning (you can use 40& less sodium)
2 1/2 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth

In a large pot, brown turkey on medium heat, breaking up with a spoon as it cooks. When cooked through, add onions and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, corn, beans, tomato sauce, refried beans, taco seasoning and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer about 10-15 minutes.

I topped mine with fat free sour cream, two slices of jalapenos and some cilantro.

Now I know the refried beans sound strange, but trust me on this one. It thickens up the soup and is a lot better than masa flour or cornstarch since it adds flavor and no carby starches.

It's so hearty, healthy and warm. A great way to finish it off is with a Beano enhanced desert. :)