Creamy Polenta

I try to get my kids (my husband and myself sometimes too) to try different foods ALL THE TIME. My latest idea was POLENTA: Polenta is a dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. It may be served as a hot porridge, or it may be allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried, or grilled. It's an Italian side dish.

When we try something new in our house - we take major precautions. I research recipes, land on one that sounds like it will work best for our family and usually tweak it from there. We'll make a normal dinner that we know everyone likes and serve the "something new" on the side - just in case we don't like it - we still have full tummies!

A few tricks for trying/introducing "new foods". Try not to use substitutes the first time. While it's cooking, taste and taste and taste. The recipe was very bland but as I stirred and tasted and seasoned I came upon a great flavor profile I knew my family would love. 

I decided to try Emeril Lagasse's Creamy Polenta recipe. Made a few tweaks and it was a hit all around. Me, my husband, 15, 13, 10, 6 and 10 year old guest all approved. 

I saved our left overs and am going to try to cook it with another medium tomorrow. I'll keep this updated.

Creamy Polenta
4 cups chicken stock (original calls for water)
4 cups milk
3 Tbsp butter
2 tsp salt
2 cups polenta
1/2 cup crème fresh
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
*salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste - I used a good amount of all three - tasting as it cooked.

In a large saucepan, bring the water, milk and butter to a boil. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the water and whisk in the polenta. Whisk constantly for 3 to 4 minutes to prevent lumps. Simmer for 45 minutes, partially covered and stirring every 10 minutes, until the polenta is thick, smooth, and creamy. Add the creme fraiche and Parmesan. Check for seasoning and adjust consistency by adding milk or water to the polenta - I ended up adding a little chicken stock to thin it out. Polenta may be made up to 20 minutes ahead of time. 

Soup's On!!!

This is something I've done every fall & winter for many years - but as with the breakfast burritos - friends are asking me to publish what I do. These are actual recipes - that I'll link in - but you can use it for many different meals - not just soup.

This came about a few years ago when the older our kids got - the more running around I was doing and the temptation of the drive through was real. Not saying the drive through isn't a life saver - but with a little planning you can give your family more nutritious meals - and stop spending money on fast food - so you can spend money on a pedicure without feeling guilty!! LOL

I've waxed philosophical about my love of soup plenty of times on this blog - so I'll skip it. The only thing I will say is that making a huge pot of soup is CHEAP. It also is generally nutritious. My soups almost always include some form of protein and lots of veggies. I much rather having my kids heating up home made soup as an after school snack, a small pre-practice dinner - or after practice snack - than any alternative (something portable from a box in a bag).

I take one day during the week to buy everything I need for the soups I want to make. I always check what I already have on hand and usually work around those ingredients.

I take another day to make the soups. In this particular instance, my shopping trip and my "cook" day were about 1 1/2 weeks apart - life is busy YO!

It took me about 5 hours to get these soups going from start to finish. Keep in mind - with soups - most of that time is totally hands off - just letting all the ingredients marry - and while that is happening - I'm doing several other different things I've got on my "do it" list - also keep in mind that I ran a few errands and had a full house of people I was engaging with.

Today I asked my 6 yo if she thought she could make one of the soups all by herself. She's used to helping in the kitchen but she was so excited to make a meal all by herself. White Bean Chicken Chili.  The pic you see is of my now 13 & 10 yo girls...

I also recruited my 15 yo to open all the cans I needed opened and to brown the sausage and ground beef for the chili he, his dad, grandpa and Uncle will enjoy on the upcoming hunt. Running Ute Tailgate Chili 
http://breakingthereciperut.blogspot.com/search?q=runnin+ute

My 13 yo spent the day with cousins, but as soon as she walked in the door to see what was going on she asked if she could make her fave soup as well. Tomato Basil Soup the link goes to a deluxe version - which is the only one I can currently find on the blog - but usually we omit the pesto and sundried tomatoes bc we don't have them on hand as often.

I also TOTALLY revamped my Chicken Noodle Soup recipe  AND I took my first stab at Zuppa Toscano.

I separate the soups into 16 oz Tupperware containers for quick snacks/dinners OR bigger containers for a meal for 2 OR one large container when I know we'll be eating it together as a family. A few of the containers go into the fridge - most go into the freezer.

Fast Zuppa Toscana

Oh yeah babe. Zuppa Toscana. 

The great thing about any soup is that if you make it - it is inexpensive, usually has protein and lots of veggies and can be eaten as a lunch, snack, dinner or after practice/game tummy love. So satisfying! 

Apparently it also has incredible healing powers - LOLOL. Great for flu season!

I researched a bunch of recipes and came up with my own - feel free to tweak it according to your taste!!

Fast Zuppa Toscana
1 lb ground sausage
2 T red pepper flakes
2 T butter
1 lg onion, diced
1 T garlic, minced
2 qts chicken stock
20 oz fully cooked diced potatoes *
1 c heavy cream
1 c chopped kale
Salt & Pepper to taste
More red pepper flakes if desired

Brown the sausage and red pepper flakes in a large dutch oven. When the sausage is fully browned, remove and drain on paper towels.

Add butter to the dutch oven, add diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes - add minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute more. Add chicken stock, potatoes, kale, sausage, salt and pepper. Bring up to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn down a bit and add the heavy cream. Continue to cook until it comes up to temperature - and ENJOY!!

*I love to get stuff like this to make the cooking process go a million times faster. If you were to peel, cut and add raw potatoes, you would have to add 30 - 45 minutes to your cooking time to ensure the potatoes are cooked.

Vietti Chicken Noodle Soup

I've expressed my feelings on Chicken Noodle Soup on my last post about the recipe I'd been using. Jen's Chicken Noodle Soup. As you probably know, almost every single chicken noodle soup recipe, can, box, etc. uses egg noodles and celery in their recipe - both of which my son is allergic to. SO... this is a different spin on Chicken Noodle Soup - but I can promise you that the flavor and the comfort is alive and well in this version. I'll note where I've made substitutions so you can make it to suit your family.


Vietti Chicken Noodle Soup

2 T butter
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion
Shredded carrots
Bok Choy, diced*
1/2 t chopped garlic
Salt and pepper
3 T flour
4 qts chicken stock
4 bay leaves

Chicken

Pasta

1 c of Kale - stem removed, washed and cut down into small pieces.

1 T lemon pepper

1 T Italian seasoning (basil, oregano, parsley blend)

CHEATS!!!!!: Onions come diced in the frozen section, carrots come shredded in the produce section, BOK CHOY is the perfect sub for celery!!! Egg noodles are the norm. I use 100% semolina spaghetti noodles bc of the allergy issue.  You can buy rotisserie chicken taken off the bone and vacuum sealed everywhere - what an awesome cheat!!

Melt butter in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil, onion, bok choy and carrots and saute until the bok choy/celery and onions are soft. The carrots will still have a little bite in them - but don't worry - they'll be perfectly soft when the soup is done. Add garlic and saute until fragrant (1 min). Stir in the flour one tablespoon at a time and stir frequently until it coats the vegetables and makes a paste and looks blonde. Gradually whisk in the chicken stock, making sure there are no lumps. Add the bay leaves, Italian seasoning, lemon pepper, salt and pepper, chicken and kale. Simmer for at least 10 more minutes - up to service time.

**I like to use kale instead of spinach - bc I feel it holds up better

Cheater Pho

This is one of my go to week night meals. With all the different sports and extracurriculars we have going on during the week, I try really hard for everyone of us to have a hot meal - this soup is perfect for just that.

I've made this several times with many different proteins and then let everyone decide what garnishes to add. This recipe serves a family of 6. My soup pot is a 6.5 Quart cast iron pot - so if you aren't feeding as many people as I am cut the recipe in half - unlike most soups - it just doesn't keep overnight - or at least - I've never tried... 

Cheater Pho
16 oz Rice Noodles (I used 3 packs of ramen on this day - just the noodles - not the flavor packet)
96 oz chicken stock (3 boxes)
4 - 5 Tbsp minced garlic
2 - 3 Tbsp minced ginger
3 Tbsp minced shallot (find all 3 of these next to each other in the produce area)
Salt and Pepper to taste
15 oz can Bean Sprouts
3 - 4 Tbsp Hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp fish sauce (I omit bc of a food allergy)

Protein options:
Costco rotisserie chicken in the vacuum sealed pack - this is a SERIOUS time saver for SO MANY MEALS!
Shrimp
Ling Ling chicken and vegetable pot stickers OR Bigio pot stickers
OR you can just add frozen stir fry veg if you are keeping it meatless

Garnishes:
Green onions
Cilantro
Mint
Jalapeno thinly sliced
Limes

Put a couple of Tbsp of olive oil in the bottom of a large soup pot. Add garlic, ginger and minced shallot and cook until fragrant - 3 -5 minutes. Add chicken stock, salt and pepper, Hoisin sauce and fish sauce.

Let it come to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Add noodles and cook as long as the package says. If you are adding frozen stir fry veg - add them now. When the noodles are cooked - now it's time to add your protein. If you are using rotisserie chicken - add now just so it can heat through. If you are adding pot stickers - use the microwave method suggested and then add them to heat through. If you are using shrimp - add very last - they take no time to cook. They are done when they are pink.

My foodie girl and I add all the garnishes - so good. My picky eaters try something new every time to figure out what they really like.

There really isn't anything that compares to authentic Pho - but this is a quick substitute. AND it's something different to add to your recipe rut :)

Garden Bounty

Our family loves having a garden. We've had one for the last 10 years or so. We try a few new things every year. The kids love to help plant and pick our bounty. They also help weed because they know that the weeds are taking the water and nutrients from our garden plants - so they are totally into it. Plus - pulling weeds - SO SATISFYING!!! And Mr. 15 is the till master around here - we don't even have to ask him to till the front and back yards before he has it done once a week.

This year, we planted: one beef steak tomato plant, one jalapeno, one Anaheim, 2 groups of yellow beets and 2 groups of red beets, 2 kinds of watermelon, pumpkin, cucumber, strawberry and hula berry plants. We also planted cilantro, dill, parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, lavender, sage and 3 kinds of mint.

We've been out of town a lot this summer - so our garden hasn't gotten the love it really needs - BUT we are harvesting like crazy.

I'm going to post some of my favorite garden bounty recipes - some may really surprise you!

Summer Squash Gratin
Roasted Summer Veggies
Jack's Favorite Salsa - we sub the canned tomatoes, jalapenos, cumin and garlic for fresh
Watermelon Salsa
Tomato Pie
Spinach Pie
Avocado Salsa
Patty's Beet Salad
Mary's Salsa
Onion Beet Salad

  Enjoy the harvest!!!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is another dish I've made forever - but it's so simple it doesn't feel like a "recipe" to me. But my family loves it so much - I thought I'd share.

We're back to school and sports around here - which means our week nights are insane. To save money and tummies - I like to have the 6 of us eat ANYTHING but fast food. It's a challenge - but one I feel I've done a good job at.

I made this last night and it was gone in a flash. I think next time I'll double the recipe by stacking the ingredients - if I do I'll give you an update.

Fastest Chicken Cordon Bleu in the West
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 can Cream of chicken soup
S & P
6 slices Swiss Cheese
12 slices deli ham
6 breaded chicken patties*

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine heavy cream and cream of chicken soup, salt and pepper to taste. Microwave mixture for about 60 seconds to make it easier to incorporate.

Drizzle about 1/4 of the cream sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish - spread it around with a spatula. This just helps anything from sticking.

Place the chicken patties in the casserole dish. Top with 2 slices of ham and 1 slice of swiss cheese each. Pour the remaining cream sauce over the entire dish.

Bake for 30 minutes. DELISH!

*I use Foster Farms frozen chicken patties - you don't even have to thaw them!

UPDATE: I made this again - but this time I made it in my crockpot bc crazy week nights... So I doubled the liquid - put half in the bottom of the crockpot, added 8 chicken patties, a package of diced ham and 8 slices of cheese then added the rest of the liquid on top - set on low for 2 - 3 hours - or high for 1 hour. Everyone gets a nice warm dinner when they have time!