Spicy Beans and Greens Stew {FANTASTIC DISH!}

Can I share my love of Bon Appetit Magazine.  I absolutely love it, and I love the recipes I find between it's pages EVERY SINGLE MONTH!  I rip at least one recipe out of the mag every time I read.  (Yesterday I read the Mar. issue and I have 6 recipes to try!  Heaven!)  This recipe was featured in the Feb. issue, and I made it the day I read the article.  It just looked so filling, and hearty, and cozy, and warm.  Everything you want on a cold Jan. day.  It's funny though the responses you get from a dish like this.  People are either a lovers or a haters of beans, and especially greens.  I definitely fall into the lover category.

I've always loved a good Bean and Bacon soup.  Actually I love Campbells Bean and Bacon soup straight out of the can!  I've been eating that as long as I can remember.  My mom taught me how to whip up a can of Campbell's at a young age.  It became a Sat. afternoon, and after school staple during my growing up years.  And of course my favorites were the Bean and Bacon, Split Pea with Ham, and Chicken Gumbo.  The last few years I have found a love for  Greens too!!!  It all started with the Zuppa Tuscana Soup, and then it branched out into the Minestrone Soup with Kale, and then my favorite breakfast now entails sauteed greens with a fried egg on top.  It's delicious!!  Those greens are so tasty!!  My Grandpa Barker always had Swiss Chard in his garden and brought my family some almost weekly during the summers.  I remember eating a lot of that stuff growing up.  I loved it.  My mom would steam it, and then we'd eat it with butter, vinegar and salt and pepper.  Lovely! I had just never thought of adding it into soup.  So needless to say when I saw this recipe in the pages of Bon Appetit this last months it didn't take long for me to decide I was going to make this stew.

I had all the ingredients, but there are a few things that may not be staples in every home.  Anchovies being the ingredient that I'm not sure everyone has in their fridge.  Let me just say this- I would never have anchovies on pizza, or would I ever think of using them in a recipe, but if you get over the fact that anchovies are actually fish with eyes, they taste really good!  If you like Caesar Salad then you like anchovies.  They're a key ingredient in the dressing.  They actually give whatever you're cooking a yummy saltiness, and that little bit of "What is it that makes this taste so good-ness?" to the recipe.  Anchovies keep forever in your fridge, and you can actually buy it in a tube (Anchovy Paste) already ground up.  Kind of like toothpaste, so you don't have to look those fishies in the eyes:)

You could make this stew a little thinner if you like, and have more of a soup.  I loved the thick heartiness of the stew, but next time I may want it to be more soupy.  It was great with a yummy piece of bread to dip in.  (Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat was my  choice for the night.) It was awesome the day after in my kids thermos' for lunch.  They got a few, "What are you eating-s?" at school, but most of their friends smelled the goodness in the thermos, and just made the yummy sound:) So I will quote a little saying from James' granny, "Don't be a pantywaist, and make this stew!"  Be brave, and bold, and I promise you'll like this stuff!  And thank you Bon Appetit for another FAVORITE recipe:)  I love you!!

Spicy Beans and Greens Stew
recipe adapted from Bon Appetit


¼ cup olive oil
4 anchovy fillets packed in oil or 2 t. anchovy paste
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 sprig rosemary or 1 t. dried rosemary
salt and pepper
1 pound dried white beans or chickpeas, soaked overnight, drained
1/2 lb or 2 bunches kale ribs and stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped
1/2 lb  flat-leaf spinach coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
shredded Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the top of the stew.

Heat ¼ cup oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook anchovies, if using, red pepper flakes, and garlic, stirring occasionally, until garlic is soft and anchovies are dissolved, about 4 minutes. Add onion, celery, and rosemary; season with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is very soft and golden brown, 8–10 minutes.

Add beans, and 10 cups water.  (I used the quick cook beans technique because I wanted the stew NOW and not the next day.  It turned out perfectly.  Here's a link to quick cooking dried beans. Or you could always use 3-4 cans of white beans.  It would probably work great, and quite easy.)Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally and adding more water as needed, until beans are beginning to fall apart, 3–4 hours.

Lightly smash some beans with a potato masher to give stew a creamy consistency. Mix in kale and spinach season with salt and pepper and lemon juice. Cook until greens are wilted, 5–8 minutes.
Add shaved Parmesan, and a drizzle of oil if you want.  Yummy!

Tiny Spicy Chicken

Today I'm going to tell you about my all time favorite Thanksgiving.  I was probably 8ish years old, and we headed up to Twin Falls, ID to have Thanksgiving with some favorite cousins.  Now, just to clarify here.  I have so many favorite cousins.  These were cousins that we didn't get to see all that often and when we did, we had to share them with their OTHER cousins!  I hated it, but this Thanksgiving we had them all to ourselves.  I remember the dinner spread was spectacular!  Tons of food, but the part that I found so intriguing was that there were tons of little white Chinese Takeout boxes on the table along side the turkey and stuffing.  It turns out that my uncle John had enjoyed a banner pheasant hunt a few days earlier, and had taken all the birds to his favorite Chinese restaurant, and had them magically turned into everything Chinese you could image!!  It was a feast like no other!!  I will admit I miss having pheasant Chinese-ized at my Thanksgiving table.  Tiny Spicy Pheasant is spectacular, as well as Sweet and Sour Pheasant, and Almond Pheasant, and.................  You get the idea:)

So today's recipe has graced my little dining room table as Tiny Spicy Pheasant more than once.  (Grouse works really well too, if you have a bird hunting husband.) But this week we had actual chicken to make the dish with.  This recipe came from a cute little girl named Trina who taught cooking classes at my local grocery store.  I'm sorry I don't remember her last name, but I do believe this Tiny Spicy is famous in Cache County:)  I served it with some rice, and steamed green beans.  It was so good!  This would be a perfect meal sometime during the Christmas holiday.  You know, in between Christmas and New Years, or even on New Years Eve.  And of course Chinese New Years is just around the corner as well, and this would be great!  It does have a lot of sugar, so I don't make it every week, but a fun family night is the perfect occasion.  Enjoy!!  (And try it with some of the game birds is you have a chance.  You will LOVE it!)

Tiny Spicy Chicken



3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts,cut into 1.5-inch cubes
2 eggs, beaten
1-2 c. cornstarch
salt and pepper

I cut my chicken into bite sized pieces and then put the 2 beaten eggs into a Ziploc bag with the chicken.  Squished it until it was all coated.  Then I took the chicken out and placed a spoonful of chicken chunks into the cornstarch with a little salt and pepper.  Start with 1 c. cornstarch and then if you get low add a little more and a little more salt and pepper.  Fry the chicken pieces until browned.  3-4 minutes usually.  Don't worry about your chicken cooking through.  It will finish cooking as it bakes for an hour.  My oil was best at 375'F.  The more chicken you add into the fry pan the quicker your temp. drops.  Patience is a virtue as you fry up your chicken pieces, but it will be well worth it.  Place browned chicken pieces into a greased 9x13 inch casserole dish.  I actually used 5 1/2 lbs of chicken last time I made this and that still fit in a 9x13 inch pan.  It was heaping, but still a great size pan.  Now make the sauce.

Sauce: 
2 t. Sambal chili paste
1 c. ketchup
2 c. sugar
2 T.  soy sauce
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. white vinegar

sliced green onions (optional)
sesame seeds (optional)
red chili flakes (optional)

Mix sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugars are dissolved and the mixture boils for a minute or two. Taste the sauce.  See if you need a little more heat, or salt.  It's plenty sweet, but I usually add a little more salt and more Sambal Chili Paste.  Make sure the sauce tastes perfect for your liking.  Pour over chicken  and stir to coat all the chicken pieces, and bake uncovered at 325 degrees for one hour.  You may want to stir your chicken around so the top pieces don't over brown.  The last time I made this I doubled the amount of chicken, but the sauce I just made as written.  It makes a lot of sauce.  The sauce thickens up as the chicken cooks.  I served the chicken with a sprinkle of green onions, sesame seeds and red chili flake.  Totally to make it look pretty, so don't worry if you don't have any of these.

Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup

I love soup!  Always have, and I always will.  Whenever I eat out, I most often choose soup over salad.  I should qualify that statement though.  I'm picky, and I'm not going to choose a generic soup.  I'm not going to choose chicken noodle, or even a tomato bisque over a glorious house made Caesar Salad with homemade croutons, and dressing.  BUT I will be persuaded away from that perfect salad by interesting soup options.  Tempt me with a homemade cream of mushroom, or a pumpkin or butternut squash soup.  How about a spicy black bean soup.  If it's out of the ordinary and something I can't get in a little red Campbell's Soup can, I'm in!  Homemade is the key word here.  I won't bother if it's out of a bag, or can.  You know the kind of places you can count on for a good homemade soup.  

In my little garden this summer I planted a small patch of Sugar Pie Pumpkins.  They are absolutely perfectly sized for making 2 pies, or in this case I big pot of soup.  Each pumpkin produces approximately 30 oz. of pumpkin flesh!  Yum!  I saw a recipe on Pinterest the other day that combined some of my favorite flavors together.  Coconut milk, curry, along with the pumpkin.  Interesting, and tasty.  I decided to try my hand at my version of this soup.  I

sometimes like a little more sweetness to my recipes so therefore you'll notice the addition of a couple of apples.  It's good, and it worked perfectly:)  If you need a Sugar Pie Pumpkin to roast just give me a call.  I've got a small trailer loaded.  Or a 30 oz. can will work just fine.

Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup

• 3 tablespoons coconut oil (or any oil you have on hand.)
• 1  onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 apples peeled and cored and roughly chopped.  I used Gala.  Choose a sweet apple variety.
• 1 tablespoons curry paste (I used a yellow curry paste.  If you don't have paste, curry powder can be used.  It will be a little different, but close enough.  Curry paste comes in red, yellow and green colors and any will work.)
• 1/2 t. ground ginger
• 4-5 cups low-sodium Chicken broth
• 1 30 oz. can of pumpkin puree or the flesh of 1 Sugar Pie Pumpkin cooked
• here's a link on how to roast a pumpkin
• 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/8 c. sugar
• Cilantro or fresh parsley for garnish
• Pepitas or pumpkin seeds for garnish
• Cream or sour cream drizzle for garnish

directions:

Heat a large pot over medium-low heat and add coconut oil. Once it's melted, add in the onions and the garlic, and apples with a pinch of salt and stir. Cook until the onions and apples are soft. About 5 minutes. Add in the ginger and curry paste and stir until it is incorporated. Cook the curry and onion mixture for a few minutes.  Add the pumpkin puree. Pour in the broth.  Start with 3 c. and add more later if needed. You can add more for a thinner soup, or less for a thicker soup.    Cover the pot and bring the ingredients to a boil.  Let bubble away for 5- 10 minute or until all the veggies are real tender.  It's easier to blend.  I have an immersion blender that I can blend my soup in the pot.  If not, work in batches and place the soup in a blender and blend until smooth.

 Add in the coconut milk, sugar, salt and pepper, and stir. Cover and cook the soup for 10 minutes until it's completely warm. Taste and season additionally if desired. Garnish with cilantro or parsley, and pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of cream.  

recipe adapted from How Sweet Eats

Tomato Cucumber and Avocado Salad

Also known as my favorite salad on the planet!  I know it's Oct., and my garden should be long gone, but I baby it these last few weeks.  I do everything in my power to keep it going just a little longer.   I remember the first year I was married to James and we lived in a cute little house in Ogden.  I had planted about 6 tomato plants.  That was my extent of gardening, but I remember by Nov. I was praying those tomatoes would just DIE.  In Avon it's usually a different story.  There's usually a cold snap some time in Sept., and if I can just keep my tomatoes covered for a few days I'm usually looking at a beautiful Indian Summer that I can squeak a few more tomatoes out of:)

This salad is so easy, nothing special, just straight from the garden goodness.  If you don't have garden tomatoes then cherry tomatoes will be your best bet.  I just used a combination of yellow and red tomatoes.  The colors were stunning!  I had small little Armenian Cucumbers, and a red onion.  Oh,avocados too.  It's great as a salad, as a salsa with chips, and as breakfast too.  Try it with a fried egg.  Enjoy the last little bit of garden goodness:)  I'll take every little bit that I can get.


Tomato Cucumber and Avocado Salad

tomatoes (cherry's cut in half, or just big chunks of red and yellow tomatoes)
cucumber cut thin in half circles
red onion slivered
avocado cut into large chunks
olive oil
rice vinegar
salt and pepper
fresh basil

In a large bowl place all the veggies except the avocados.  Drizzle a little olive oil, and rice vinegar and salt and pepper.  Toss lightly and taste.  Adjust to your liking.  Add the avocado right before serving and toss lightly so you don't mush the avocado up.  I like a sprinkling of fresh basil as well.

Summer Pasta Salad

This salad is wonderful!  Perfect in the summertime when your garden is bursting at the seams.  There really are no set ingredients.  Use what you have on hand.  Color wise I've used sliced olive, or black beans.  Red pepper strips or tomatoes.  Yellow peppers or corn.  The key to this salad is color.  The more color, the prettier the salad, and I swear it tastes better too.  The salad dressing is my old standby.  It appears in my Everything Salad as well as this pasta salad.  Rotisserie chicken would be fabulous, or left over teriyaki chicken you had last night.  Our favorite is fresh chicken bossoms cut into bite sized chunks and then fried in a little butter with salt and pepper.  It may be a little indulgent, but my mom started with that little trick, and it's hard to do anything else.  

If you're like me this time of year, I struggle cooking at home. It's hot, and I'm just not up for a lot of preparation, or heavy eating.  Both James and Emma here at my house could eat this salad every day.  It is just perfect with a lovely slice of Great Harvest Sourdough Bread, or some homemade breadsticks.  


Summer Pasta Salad

1 lb. cooked bow tie pasta
1 red pepper chopped
1 yellow pepper chopped
1 orange pepper chopped
sliced olives
cucumbers
green onions
black beans rinsed and drained
or whatever combination of veggies you have on hand
chicken breast chunked up and fried in a little olive oil and butter
salt and pepper

(other suggestions are: sliced olives, sliced zucchini or crookneck squash, sliced cherry tomatoes, chopped parsley, dill, or cilantro. Anything else your heart desires.)

Dressing

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. vinegar
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper

Bring all ingredients to a boil and immediately pull off heat.  When the mixture has cooled add 1 c. vegetable oil.  Shake until combined and pour over pasta salad ingredients.  Top with shredded Parmesan Cheese.  You can eat the salad cold or hot.  It's good both ways.  

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Delish!  It's the only word to describe this tasty little soup.  It's been a little cooler and rainy at my house the last few days, and I wanted something warm, but light as well.  Can I just say this soup really is SOOOOO GOOD!  I love it!!  I made good use of a whole rotisserie chicken for this recipe.  I may just suggest that that is the way to go.   Real convenient, and quite easy too.  The base of the soup is a homemade stock, but really, use what you have.  If it's a box of broth, or just bouillon cubes it will still be great.  I hope you slurp up every last bit of this soup, just the way I did.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

a Lisa original, but it really wasn't that hard:)

10 c. chicken broth

2- 10 oz. cans of Rotel Tomatoes with Green Chili

(I used the Hot variety, and it was quite spicy.  Use the regular or mild if you're not into a lot of heat.)

1 c. chopped yellow onion

1 c. shredded carrots

1 c. chopped celery

Bring these ingredients together in a big pot or Dutch Oven, and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to medium low, and let gently simmer away until the veggies are tender.  Only about 10-15 minutes.  Taste and add a little more salt and pepper if needed.  Add to the soup:

3-4 c. chopped cooked chicken breast

(I used all the chicken from a whole 4 1/2 lb. rotisserie chicken.)

To serve have ready:

1 c. chopped cilantro

10-12 sliced corn tortillas or fried tortilla chips crunched up.

In each bowl I place a good tablespoon of cilantro, and a generous amount of tortilla strips.  Pour the piping hot soup over the cilantro, and tortillas, and serve with a squeeze of lime if you want.

You can always add black beans, or corn or both to the soup if that makes you happy.  I liked it just as it was:)

Side note:  I made a homemade stock by placing the bones of the rotisserie chicken in a pot with about 8 c. of water.  I let the bones simmer away for about 1 1/2 hours uncovered.  The broth reduced to about 4 c. total, but it was glorious broth.  It wasn't see-through, and pale, but it was kind of like gravy, and full of goodness.  I needed more broth for the recipe so I ended up just adding plain old clear broth, but having the homemade stuff too really made the flavor good.  I've also made homemade broth in a crock pot overnight as well.  Just take the carcas of a chicken or turkey, skin and all, and place it in your crock pot and cover with water.  Let it cook on low overnight, and in the morning you have something utterly wonderful.  Store it for use later or freeze.

Chipotle Honey Grilled Corn

This recipe is from my brother Josh.  I do believe it's the first recipe courtesy of Joshua since starting this blog.  I've had a few from his lovely wife, but not him.  He's actually a great cook.  A fun cook.  I'm talking Ceviche from Ecuador with popcorn.  Delish!  Josh found this recipe years ago in the pages of Sunset Magazine I believe, and it has been a hit at many a Bear Lake BBQ since.  It's super easy, but packs a lot of flavor.  I love using the sauce on shrimp as well for Shrimp Tacos.  Yummy!!  So buy you a can of chipotles.  Chipotles are a dried and smoked Jalapeno pepper in a delicious sauce.   A little goes a long way.  Most recipes call for 1 or 2 chipoltes.  Each can holds a lot of little peppers.  I place the extra contents of my chipotle can in a Ziploc bag in the fridge for use at a later time.  They're also really great in THIS soup.  The peppers last forever.  Kind of like mustard:)

Enjoy this corn at your next BBQ.  Use the extra sauce to dribble on your corn:)

Josh's Chipotle Honey Grilled Corn

Recipe from Sunset Magazine

2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

1/2 cup butter, melted $

1/3 cup mild-flavored honey, such as clover

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ears fresh corn in husks $

Preparation

1. Heat a charcoal or gas grill to medium-hot (you can hold your hand 1 to 2 in. above cooking grate only 3 to 4 seconds). Combine chiles, butter, honey, garlic, and salt in a blender and whirl until smooth.

2. Put unhusked corn on grill and cook, turning occasionally, 15 minutes. Husks will blacken. Transfer to a work surface, remove husks, brush ears generously with butter mixture, and return ears to grill. Grill until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Serve warm, with remaining butter.

3 Cheese Au Gratin Potatoes

Call these potatoes whatever you like.  These tators come with many names.  As a kid we called them Rotten Potatoes, or Dutch Oven Potatoes and we absolutely loved them.  My mom made them with Velveeta, and bacon and they are still some of my favorite potatoes.  Don't let the fact that there are three cheeses in this recipe throw you.  It really was just a "clean out the fridge" kind of night, and I just happened to have 3 different types of cheese.  I used cheddar, Asiago, and Blue, but I've had just as good of luck with other cheeses.  Swiss is lovely in there too.  You can use one or 10 different cheeses and it will be lovely.  This really is an easy potato dish, and it always gets rave reviews.  I used to think I needed the bacon that my mom always used to make this dish taste good, but honestly bacon is not necessary.  The potatoes can stand on their own.

So for your next BBQ, or even the next time you're cooking in a dutch oven over a fire these potatoes will be perfect.  Tis the season for Au Gratin Potatoes!

3 Cheese Au Gratin Potatoes

thin sliced potatoes (1-1 1/2 potato per person is oodles.)

I use both red and Russet potatoes in this recipe.  I use what I have on hand.

1 thinly sliced onion (Red or Yellow)

salt and pepper

cheeses of choice:

Cheddar

Swiss

Parmesan

Blue

Velveeta

Asiago

Whatever you have.  I love the potatoes with a little of the Blue Cheese.  It gives a ton of flavor. 

Cream, half and half or milk

All work great!

Spray a large dutch oven or casserole dish with non-stick spray. Start layering potatoes in the bottom of the pan.  Over the potatoes spread a thin layer of sliced onion.  I usually salt and pepper each layer just a bit.  Add the cheese.  Any combination of cheese to lightly cover the potatoes and onions.  I don't use a ton of cheese.  A little goes a long way especially with the stronger flavored cheeses.  Continue layering potatoes, onion, s&p and cheese.  I usually do about 3 layers of each. At this point I pour in enough milk to cover about 1/4 up the side of the potatoes.  You don't need a ton.  Place the lid on the dutch oven or cover the casserole dish with tin foil.  Place in a 375'F oven and bake for 45-60 minutes.  Test potatoes with a fork to make sure they're tender before taking them out.  If you'd like to crisp up the top of the potatoes, take the lid or tin foil off the last 10-15 minutes of baking.  

Let sit for a few minutes and then enjoy!

Thai Pasta Salad

I've posted this salad before, but it's such a good one, AND I took a better photo of it this time. It needed a repeat:)  It is such a standout salad at any gathering.  The colors are beautiful, and the salad is so fresh, and light.  You could turn it into a main dish item by adding the meat from a rotisserie chicken, or maybe some grilled shrimp over the top.  Yummy!!  Again, thanks to my sister-in-law Susan who introduced me to this salad.  And also to Mr. Jamie Oliver (The Naked Chef) who first posted it.  I used rice noodles this go around, but it turns out just as lovely using linguine noodles as well.  I had a bit left over and I was worried it would be a yucky mess the next day, but Emma claimed it tasted better the second day.  So the verdict is the salad is awesome freshly made, and it's amazing after a Fast Sunday at church.  And I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that we were STARVING right after church:)  Enjoy!!


Thai Pasta Salad
Make's 1 enormous bowl of salad
recipe adapted from a recipe on The Pioneer Woman and originally from The Naked Chef TV show.

1 lb. of linguine pasta cooked or 1 lb of rice noodles (For rice noodles a quick minute or two in boiling water should soften them up sufficiently.

In a really large bowl ( I love my IKEA honking huge silver bowl) add:

1 head Napa cabbage chopped
peppers sliced (A combination of red, yellow, and orange is best.  You know it's all about the presentation!)
purple cabbage
matchstick carrots if you don't have colorful peppers
fresh bean sprouts
a bunch of green onions sliced
some cucumbers sliced
1 bunch of cilantro chopped or a lot of chopped fresh basil  (Basil is best!)
sliced water chestnuts
a few big handfuls of baby spinach (you can add more or less of this to stretch the salad)

Any of the veggies can be adjusted to your liking.  If you don't have something don't worry.  Just improvise or add a little more of something else.  Once the noodles are cool toss them in the bowl with all the veggies.

Dressing

1 c. olive oil
3/4 c. rice wine vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. sesame oil (optional)
1/2 t. ground ginger

Toss the salad all together and make all sorts of yummy sounds!  Sprinkle a handful or two of chopped peanuts, or sugar glazed almonds.  Taste it.  I usually add a little more sugar, but it's up to you.

Thai Coconut Chicken Red Lentil Soup

Winner!!!  This soup is a knock out winner!  It was so good, and made such an enormous pot, I ate it for lunch and dinner for about 3 days straight.  I may have even had it for breakfast one of those days.  Last week a very fun friend was talking to James after a church meeting, and mentioned she had a recipe for us.  She knew we'd love it.  She had tasted it at her daughters home a little while before and loved it and was kind enough to think of the Clawson's!!  (Joni and Erika I will FOREVER be in your debt.)  There is one preface I must make before heading on to the recipe.  You must have RED LENTILS.   You can't substitute regular brown/greenish lentils.  I had already made that mistake a few weeks prior to receiving this recipe.  There is nothing appetizing to a soup that is the color and texture of vomit.  Yup, you read that right.  I had tried to make a similar soup before Christmas, and I hadn't looked hard enough for red lentils.  I didn't think it would make that much of a difference, but trust me, it did.  The entire pot, of lovely brownish- chunky-ish soup was fed to the kitties.  They loved it, but I just couldn't.

Red lentils are actually a lovely salmon-ish, pinkish, orange-ish color.  The more fancy, upscale grocery stores will have them, or if you know of a store with a great bulk food section.  If you're lucky enough to live near a Winco Foods they have these lentils.  After my huge disaster a month or so ago, I had picked up a bag of red lentils at my not-so-local Winco, and had them just waiting to be used.  Talk about being prepared.  My 1 year food storage will now include red lentils to go along with my split peas, chocolate chips and cocoa.  I totally know what is going to be important should they end of the world befall us:)  The only other funky ingredient is the red curry paste.  If you've read my blog long enough you will now have a bottle of that curry paste in the back of your fridge.  It's another staple at my house.  It will last forever, and lends such a great flavor.  Here's a link and here and here and here and here, to a couple of other recipes that you could use your new curry investment in:)

The soup tastes even better the second day.  You will love it, and it is so pretty.  The texture is somewhat similar to split pea soup, and I included chicken to make it a little more hearty.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Thai Coconut Chicken Red Lentil Soup
Recipe adapted from Erika Andrus  (Thanks Erika!)

Olive oil drizzle for the pan (about 1-2 T.)
1 large onion diced
1 red bell pepper diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 large yam or sweet potato peeled and chopped
1 large baking potato peeled and chopped
1 c. red lentils (A must!  No substitutions unless you don't mind nasty colored soup.)
2 t. salt
4-6 c. vegetable or chicken broth (I went with 6 c.)
2- 15 oz cans Great Northern or white beans rinsed and drained
2-3 T. Thai red curry paste (Here's a link to an image of the curry paste I see in the grocery store most often.  I think I actually used about 4 T.  Just check seasoning and add more.)
1- 15 oz can coconut milk
28 oz. can of diced or crushed tomatoes
2-3 large chicken breasts sliced into thin bite size chunks
1/8 c. sugar
Fish sauce to taste (optional- if you don't have fish sauce just use salt to taste.)
1/2 c. cilantro
Lime for garnish
Red peppers or jalapenos sliced thin for garnish

Preheat a large stock pot and pore in the oil and onions and peppers.  Saute until almost tender and then add the garlic.  Saute a minute or two more.  Don't let the garlic burn.

Add the yam, potato, red lentils, salt and broth.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Once it's boiling turn the heat down and let cook for 15-20 minute until the lentils are starting to break down and the potatoes are tender.  Stir frequently so the lentils don't burn or stick to the bottom of the pot.  When the veggies are tender add the curry paste, tomatoes, raw chicken chunks and continue to cook about 5- 10 minute until chicken is cooked through.  Add the coconut milk, and sugar.  Adjust seasoning to your liking.  This is where I like to add fish sauce to adjust the saltiness.  You can totally just use salt.  Throw in some cilantro, and garnish with fresh lime slices and more cilantro.  So dang tasty!!

Korean Bibimbap

I subscribe to Bon Appetit magazine, and it's one of my guilty pleasures!   Sitting on the couch and delving into the latest issue with nothing to distract me is pure loveliness.  Some of my all time favorite dishes have come from this beloved mag.  This pizza especially has been a favorite, as well as many other recipes.  There is always a recipe or two, and sometimes three that get ripped out of the magazine and make their way into my bulging recipe book to be cooked sometime in the near future.  Well this Korean Bibimbap recipe made it all of two days before it was a must to be made at my house.  This is how it went.  I sat down and read the mag, and consequently ripped a few pages out from between the covers.  Those said pages made it to the kitchen where my oldest son saw them and immediately BEGGED for this recipe to be made.  I will say I was smitten as soon as I saw the picture of this dish, but I didn't quite expect the reaction I got from my kids.  So needless to say I made the recipe the next day, and dang it, it was a HUGE hit!!  If I can just say, it was soooooo stinking good!!   As James was eating he said, "This is definately a keeper.  Something you need to make quite often."  Exact words!  We loved it.

My brothers and their families are going to be making the trek to my house in the next few weeks for our annual Chinese New Year festivities.  With a husband, two brothers, and a sister-in-law who all served LDS missions to Taiwan, and an adorable niece, and nephew who were adopted from Vietnam we ALWAYS celebrate the Chinese New Year.  It's usually full of pot stickers from Taiwan, Mango Rice from Thailand, maybe some Pho from Vietnam this year as well as this Bibimbap from Korea.  I'm definately putting Bibimbap on the menu:)  Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Bibimbap:

Bibimbap (비빔밥, Korean pronunciation: [pibimp͈ap̚][1]) is a signature Korean dish. The word literally means "mixed rice". Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating.[2] It can be served either cold or hot.

Well we ate it hot, and it was splendid.  There is nothing strange, odd, or weird in this recipe.   Just a wonderful mix of fresh veggies, meat and rice.  Amazing!!  I can honestly say I have never had anything Korean before.  I'm a little scared of Kimchi, but who knows, maybe I'll try some.  Since Bibimbap is so good I'm sure Kimchi would be too.

Korean Bibimbap
recipe from Bon Appetit (Thanks for a FANTASTIC recipe!)

(Click on this link to take you to Bon Appetit's site.  From there you can click on other links for all the veggie recipe.)



Ingredients
Meat
1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup finely grated Asian pear with juices
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon raw or brown sugar
2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger
1 pound thinly sliced (1/8-inch) boneless beef rib-eye steak or short ribs
Crisp Rice and Assembly
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil, divided
8 cups steamed sushi rice or mixed grain rice (from 2 1/2 cups dry rice)

Bibimbap Mix-Ins Click here for a link to all the veggie recipes.

(Sesame-Pepper Bean Sprouts, Sesame Carrots, Garlicky Spinach, Soy-Glazed Shiitake Mushrooms, Sauteéd Zucchini, Scallion Slaw, Wakame, Gochujang Date Sauce)
8 fried eggs
Kimchi


Preparation

Meat

Whisk first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add beef; toss to coat. Cover; chill for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.
Crisp Rice and Assembly
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add rice; pat out in an even layer. Cook, rotating skillet for even browning (do not stir), until rice is golden and crisp on bottom, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add one-quarter of beef and cook, turning once, until cooked through and lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat in 3 batches with remaining oil and beef.
Divide rice among bowls. Top with beef, Bibimbap Mix-Ins, and eggs. Serve kimchi alongside.

French Onion Soup with Bleu Cheese Toasts

It is cold around these parts.  Really cold!  Like, freeze your boogers the minute you take a breath cold:)  You know what I mean?  Eyelashes are frosted over in a matter of minutes, and shoe choices are very important.  I will admit to going with style instead of function a few times in the last few days.  I'm staying very warm though thanks to a wonderful husband that keeps our wood stove burning day and night, and keeps this house absolutely toasty!   A fire in the fireplace is wonderful.  It's a different heat than just the furnace.  It warms the house from the core out.  The walls are warm, the tile floors are warm, and I am warm as long as I stay inside.

Soup is important this time of year.  It's like a wood burning stove.  It totally warms you from the inside out.  I love soup at all times of year, but during these cold, beautiful, bleak winter days it's on the menu more than a couple of nights a week:)  James and I went on a date the other night and had a wonderful meal.  If you're ever in Logan Utah check out The Elements.  Lovely!  James had French Onion Soup for his soup/salad course, and I decided since I couldn't give up my lovely Caesar Salad, I'd just have to make some French Onion at home.  Glad I did because it has now warmed me up twice.  Dinner last night, and lunch today.  It actually tastes better the second day.  James makes fun of me for this, but I think the flavors enhance overnight, and taste more wonderful on a lot of things.  This soup being one of them.

I take a bit of the easy route in this soup recipe, but if you're more of the fancy/perfectionist type, go ahead and make a lovely beef stock from scratch.  I don't think you can go wrong with that.  You'll need 2 quarts of broth for the soup.  I also switched up the cheese melted on top a bit too.  I used Swiss, Asiago, and Bleu Cheese!!!  It was delish!!  Definitely a must.  I served with some roast beef sandwiches to dip in the soup and a big Everything Salad.  My all time fave.  So if you need a little warming up I hope you enjoy:)

French Onion Soup with Bleu Cheese Toasts

5-6 good size yellow onions sliced thin

2 T. olive oil

1/2 t. salt

In a large stock pot or even better a large saute pan, place all the onions, olive oil and salt.  Turn the heat up to medium and let those onions start to sweat.  I had the lid on my onions for about an hour and they still weren't really turning brown.  Once I removed the lid, the liquid the onions released, evaporated quickly and the onions started to brown/caramelize.  Once they start to brown turn the heat down to low and just let them cook until they are a a deep brown color.  It usually takes a good 20-30 minutes.  I burned mine quite quickly by becoming too preoccupied when the heat was still high so make sure to turn the onions down, and check and stir them frequently.  

Once the onions were a really pretty color I added:

2 qts. water (or beef broth)

1 packet dry Au Jus mix (If you add broth don't add the Au Jus.)

5 beef bouillon cubes

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 of a 6oz. can tomato paste (Freeze the rest for use later.)

2 T. fresh thyme or 1 t. dried 

 Bring ingredients to a gently boil, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Depending on how sweet your onions are, you can add a little sugar.  I didn't need any last night, but I have in times past. 

To serve:

Ladle the soup into soup bowls or crocks.  I toasted some French Bread Slices ahead of time to use in the soup.  In each bowl I place a small slice of Swiss cheese in first and then topped it with the toast.  It helps with the sog factor.  Then I placed another slice of Swiss cheese, a T. or so of shredded Asiago Cheese and 1T. of Bleu Cheese crumbles.  Make sure your bowls are broiler proof and place bowl under the broiler.  I waited until the cheese was completely bubbly, and starting to brown a bit.  The bowls are dang hot so be careful, but dig in and enjoy!

New Years Noodles

I know what I'm having on New Year's Eve.  How about you?  Nope it's not Prime Rib, steak, shrimp, or anything of the sort.  It's going to be my favorite meal on the planet.  My Granny B's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup!  Now these noodles are truly tradition. The first gal I know who made them was my great granny on my moms side. Her name was Viola Telford, but we always just called her Grandma Great. My mom has an old photo of her and her sisters up somewhere near Morgan making these noodles al fresco (outside). It is a great pic. They're all in there dresses and aprons rolling and cutting noodles for another great family meal together. Grandma Great then passed this tradition onto my grandma Barker and what a treat that has been.

Grandma Barker wasn't the warm fuzzy kind of granny who would squeal and hug the guts out of you, but she loved you in her own way. She never gave big gifts for birthdays or Christmas, but she never forgot your birthday either. I think I was her favorite (OK so Hollie really was but that's ok) because every birthday she would call me and tell me to come over for a little something. At her house sitting on the counter would be big brown grocery bag filled with noodle especially for me!! I know it took her hours to make those noodles, but Grandma knew they were my favorite thing in the world. Just shows she really did love me best! I would take them home and my mom would fix a big pot of Chicken Noodle soup for me. I loved it. I loved Grandma Barker.

My kids now love this noodle soup as much as I do.   It was one of them that suggested this soup for New Years.  We're going to be with family, and trust me, my brothers are going to be in childhood heaven once they start slurping! Here's to a fantastic 2013!!

dough balls

rolled as thin as possible

cut as thin as possible

Grandmas Noodles

3 c. flour

7 eggs

2 t. salt

Mix all the ingredients together and form into 5 balls. Let the dough rest a few minutes. Roll each ball into a thin sheet. Let sit until almost dry.  This part takes awhile.  I usually set my convection oven to 150' F. and drape the noodle sheet over a rack until somewhat dry.  Otherwise you're going to be waiting hours for the sheets to dry.  You don't want them completely dry or they just crack and break when you cut them.  Still pliable, but dry enough that they don't stick together.  When dry cut into 2 1/2 in. strips and then cut into super thin noodles. Let dry. When ready to cook, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook 5 mins. Drain noodles and add to chicken broth. Serve with shredded chicken, green onions, and bug juice. (soy sauce) Serve with blueberry muffins.

Beef Stew with Bleu Cheese Mashed Potatoes

It was my birthday last week and I turned 40!  40 used to be so old, but my word, I feel better than ever:)  It's totally better than 25.  You are so much wiser, and happy too..............Happy Birthday to you!  The bakery has been on overdrive the entire month of Dec.  It usually doesn't happen quite like that most years.  We have a few weeks after Thanksgiving to gear up for the rush, but the rush came, and the entire family has been working at the bakery, everyday for the last 2 1/2 weeks.  Bless their hearts!  They have been mixing, baking, stacking, packing, tying, and shipping THOUSANDS of cookies, so needless to say my birthday was spent............doing just that.  Cookies!  That's ok.  I had tons of well wishes, my Visiting Teachers plastered hearts all over my door, and after the cookies were done for the night, we went out to dinner.  A fast dinner mind you.  We didn't have time for something spectacular.  It was too late.

All I wanted to eat on my birthday was this Beef Stew.  So the day after I started dinner early.  Something about the potatoes being in mashed form and served on top of the stew instead of cubed chunks inside, make me so happy.  It is so comforting and delicious, and totally makes weary family members melt at the sight and smell.  This recipe is a compilation of a couple of different recipes, but it has everything I like.  It's a crock pot meal so you can make it ahead and let it cook low and slow all day.  When you get home you're just about ready.   I love the step I learned from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  She places most of the ingredients to her stew in the crock pot, but the carrots go in a foil pouch and then is set on top of the stew mixture during cooking.  It keeps the carrots a more bright orange instead of the dingy brown from simmering in beef juices all day.  Either way it will taste the same.

Now don't feel like you have to make fancy mashed potatoes.  You can use instant mashed potatoes if necessary.  Or you can put potato chunks in the stew itself.  Whatever you need, or have the time for.  The Bleu Cheese Massed Potatoes are a staple at my house.  We love Bleu Cheese.  I always have a giant tub in my fridge so it's an easy addition.  You don't have to make a special purchase.  You can just have naked mashed potatoes, or add Parmesan, Cheddar, or Ranch Dressing.  All of the above will make a great mashed potato.  Enjoy!!

Beef Stew with Bleu Cheese Mashed Potatoes

3-4 pounds boneless chuck roast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons oil (you'll need more)

2 onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

8 oz. mushrooms

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

4 cups water

1 beef stew seasoning packet

1/4 c. Red Wine vinegar (or 1 c. red wine)

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1/8 c. sugar

1 pound carrots, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 15 oz. cans green beans or 1 bag frozen peas

In a large fry pan or wide stock pot place the oil and saute the meat until browned.  You'll have to work in batches or the meat ends up boiling instead of searing.  You want some nice browned chunks.  Season with salt and pepper.  Once all of the meat is browned and seasoned place in the crock pot.  In the same pan you cooked the meat, now add a little more oil, the onions, garlic, and mushrooms.  Let them sizzle around until softened.  Add the tomato paste at this time.  Stir it around until it spreads evenly through the veggies and then add the water, beef stew seasoning packet, vinegar and soy sauce.  Stir until combined.  At this point I usually check the seasoning of the sauce.  I usually add just a little bit of sugar and more salt and pepper if necessary.  Adjust to your liking.  Now pour the veggies and the sauce in with the meat.  Turn crock pot to low, and get your carrots ready.  

You're going to want to use some pretty heavy duty tinfoil, or a double layer of foil.  Place all the chopped up carrots on the foil and drizzle a little olive oil and salt and pepper over top.  Fold up as you would a tinfoil dinner.  Make sure there's no holes.  Place the foil packet on top of the meat mixture and cook according to directions.  You'll want to cook on low for 6-8 hours.  My crock pot cooks everything on high even on the low setting, so the stew only took about 4 hours.  You just want your meat to be extra tender.  I placed my stew on the "Keep Warm" setting for quite a few hours and it still turned out great.  right before serving take the carrots out of the foil and pour them and the juices they created into the stew.  Add the drained green beans or frozen peas.  Whichever you want to use.  Just let them sit in the stew until they're warmed through.  

I like my stew a little thinner, but if you want a thicker stew you can add a little cornstarch and milk mixture to the stew and stir quickly to prevent lumps.  The mixture needs to come to a boil after the milk mixture is added to fully thicken up.  If I was doing this I'd use:

1/4 c. milk

1-2 T. cornstarch

To serve the stew I use big deep dishes as bowls.  We ladle up the stew and then top with a big spoonful of mashed potatoes.  The thinner stew is so tasty with the taters.  If you don't want to make the mashed potatoes, then by all means add 3-4 c. chopped potatoes with the carrots in the foil packet and cook away.

Bleu Cheese Mashed Potatoes

5 lbs. Russet or Red Potatoes (I use both at different times.  Either one.)

Peel and cube potatoes and place in a pot and pour enough water to almost cover the potatoes.  Add a good size pinch of salt.  A good 2 t. usually.  Bring the potatoes to a boil and then turn the heat down and let them boil gently for 20 minutes.  Check for tenderness when done.  If they're still a little crunchy, let them cook a little longer until soft.  

Drain water and mash the potatoes with a potato masher.  Once they are mostly mashed I add:

Butter (approx. 1/4 c.)

Sour cream (appox 1/2 c.)

Bleu Cheese crumbles 1/2 -1 c. depending on how strong you want them to be.

Onion salt

Pepper

milk or half and half. (appox. 1 c.)

I use my hand mixer at this time and star blending.  I've noticed that I usually have to make my potatoes a little wetter than I would like to eat because by the time they get to the table they usually stiffen up a bit.  Taste seasoning.  If you need more bleu cheese bite, then add it, or salt and pepper.  You want these potatoes to be able to stand on their own.  You don't want them to just be the filler for the sauce, you want them to be tasty just by themselves.  Serve on top of stew.  Enjoy!!

Roasted Tomato Rice Bisque

This is a delicious soup.  My mom loves this soup.  I found this recipe YEARS ago in a Martha Stewart Living Mag.  I've changed it up quite a bit to suit my tastes.  It is so simple, yet has such a great flavor.  I made this a few weeks ago with the last of my cherry tomatoes from the garden.  They actually lasted into the first part of Nov.  It's always such a treat to eat homegrown tomatoes through Nov.  Don't think that roasting tomatoes is a necessary step to make a tasty soup.  It's not.  It was just something I thought I'd try.  If you have a ton of extra tomatoes then try this step, otherwise, canned tomatoes work amazingly well.  Enjoy with some hot bread or a grilled cheese sandwich.  And curl up by the fire and watch a good movie:)

Roasted Tomato Rice Bisque

2 T. butter

1 T. Olive Oil

1 onion chopped

2 t. dried oregano

2/3 c. rice

salt 

pepper

32 oz. canned chopped tomatoes (or a cookie sheet full of roasted tomatoes)

4 c. chicken broth

2 c. milk, or half and half, or cream

Melt butter in a saucepan with oil.  Add onion and stir until transparent.  Add oregano, rice and, 1 t. each salt and pepper.  Stir until the rice is coated in the butter and the oregano is fragrant.

Add tomatoes (I usually puree the canned tomatoes a bit.  If you're using the roasted tomatoes place them in a blender or food processor with a little stock and buzz them up a bit.  I like a little chunk, but my family doesn't like big chunks. ) and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and let it bubble slowly for 20 mins. or until the rice is tender.  If the rice has soaked up too much juice add a little more chicken stock if you want.  Stir in milk or cream and add more salt and pepper if necessary.  Sometimes I add more milk, just depending on how creamy I'm feeling:)  Serve with a great crusty bread or grilled cheese.  Serve with Parmesan Cheese.

Roasted Tomatoes

On a large silver cookie sheet place a single layer of tomato chunks or cherry tomatoes.  Drizzle with a little Olive Oil and sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Place in a 425'F oven and roast until the tomatoes are a little browned on the edges.  Probably around 20- 25 mins.  Make sure you get every bit off the pan.  It's full of flavor.  You can add this to the soup, or make a pasta sauce out of it.