Chicken Noodle Soup

OMG I made the BEST soup the other day on pure accident! I was just going to make some soup how I normally make it...some chicken broth, noodles & green onions. Until I saw 2 thawed out chicken breasts in the fridge. I don't normally add chicken to my soup because I love the noodles so much but I figured if I added the chicken, it wouldn't be enough of it to over power the soup. So while the noodles were cooking, I cooked the chicken up with a lot of garlic and ginger and added it to the soup during the last 5 min. There's definitely more noodles than chicken and with the garlic and ginger in the soup, the broth turned out amazing. I will definitely use this recipe over and over and over again! Again, I didn't really use exact measurements so I'll try to guess what I used.

Chicken Noodle Soup:

One pkg of Reames Homestyle Egg Noodles (picture below of what I used)
4-5 green onions, sliced
1 bay leaf
6-7 c chicken or veggie broth (I had to use a combo of both since I didn't have enough leftover chicken broth)
1 tbsp veggie or canola oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into 1-in pieces
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 tbsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley

Bring broth, green onions and bay leaf to boil; add noodles and cook 15 min, stirring occasionally. While noodles are cooking, add oil to saute pan and cook chicken, garlic and ginger, until chicken is no longer pink, 5-7 min.

Once noodles are cooked to your desired consistency, add chicken mixture, along with pepper, thyme and parsley. Stir to combine and heat through, another 5 min. Remove bay leaf and ladle into soup bowls. Enjoy!




Noodles I used...






Enjoy!..

Polenta Bruschetta

This is what I was going to make as an appetizer for Easter but I was worried they would be too filling and I'm glad I waited since they are best served hot or warm. I used the salsa from the Red Lentil Rice Cakes recipe that I posted a couple weeks ago. I also used the pre-made log of polenta. All in all, it tasted pretty good. I only used half a log this time in case I didn't like it. Like I said, it tastes better hot or warm so make sure they are eaten right away. I think I sliced my polenta too thin since I had to eat it with a fork but you can slice it to any thickness you want.

Polenta Bruschetta:

3 plum tomatoes, diced
2-3 tbsp capers
1/4 c fresh basil, sliced
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 log pre-made polenta
1/4 c shredded cheese, any flavor, optional
Garlic powder, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Slice polenta into 1-in rounds. Bake until set and crisp, 15-20 min. During last 5 min of baking, sprinkle each round with a little cheese, if using.

Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, capers, basil and balsamic vinegar in bowl and stir to combine. Let the bruschetta sit at room temp while the polenta bakes.

Once polenta is done baking, sprinkle with garlic powder and pepper. Top with bruschetta and enjoy!




Bruschetta...






Fresh from the oven...






Bruschetta topped polenta...






Enjoy!...

Sticky Rice with Spicy Tomato Relish

Like I said in my previous post, I've been on a major sticky rice kick lately. And I was getting bored with eating it with just soy sauce. I'll be making another stir-fry soon now that I have all the regular ingredients but then I remembered this tomato relish that my best friend made several years ago. Super easy to make and very little ingredients yet very tasty. I thought I had the recipe written down but apparently I didn't so I asked her for it again. I think I used too much cilantro since the relish turned a little green but it tasted okay. It was missing something though-maybe salt. I added a little garlic powder to mine and some soy sauce and it tasted much better.

I've included pictures of the way I make my sticky rice but if you don't have the proper pieces I'm sure you can google how to make sticky rice in a ricer cooker or in a regular pan. I got all my stuff from an Asian store and my best friend went with me to help. The base is a metal pot-you fill it with water and heat it to boiling. The basket is shaped kind of like a funnel so that goes into the pot (without touching the water) so the rice gets steamed. The pan lid on top helps trap most of the steam. I cook my rice for 20 min and it comes out perfect every time. But an important thing to remember..no matter how you cook your rice, make sure you soak the rice in water at least 1 hour before you cook it or it will come out harder than a rock and not good to eat. I always soak my rice overnight just to be safe.

Again, I don't have an actual recipe..I just kinda went by general instructions from my friend and how I like it. According to her, for the cilantro, you should have half the amount of tomatoes and green onions should be half the amount of cilantro. So I'll try to put down what I used.

Sticky Rice with Spicy Tomato Relish:

25 grape tomatoes, halved
4-6 green onions, sliced (I used 6 only because my green onions were tiny)
1/2 c cilantro
1 Thai chili pepper, sliced

Using a mortar and pestle, grind the cilantro and chili pepper until dark green and mushy looking; transfer to a bowl. Boil the tomatoes and green onions until potatoes can be mashed down, about 5 min. In small batches, add the tomatoes and green onions to mortar and mash down. Once mashed, add it to the bowl. Once everything is added, mix it up well. This is when I added some garlic powder and soy sauce to taste.




Rice in the basket...






Steamer basket for the rice...






What I use to make my stick rice...






Sticky rice done...






Ready to be boiled...






Thai chile pepper and some of the cilantro being grinded...






Tomatoes & green onions after they've been boiled...






Everything all mashed together...






Sticky Rice dipped in relish...

Garlic-Ginger Chicken-Tomato Stir-Fry

I have been on a major sticky rice kick lately...for some reason I hadn't made any since I've lived in my current apartment and that will be 3 years in November! Which is stupid because I have a 25 lb bag of sticky rice in my closet that I need to eat! So to give myself some protein to go along with my sticky rice, I decided to use up whatever veggies I had in my fridge and cook up a stir-fry. I wanted the usual veggies but I had little to pick from so I threw some stuff together and minus the larger chunks of ginger that didn't get as minced as I would have liked, it tasted pretty good. Not to mention the broth was excellent when I dipped my sticky rice into it! Again, I don't have exact measurements but I'll try-the broth is mainly made up to your taste preference.

Garlic-Ginger Chicken-Tomato Stir-Fry (2-4 servings):

3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 3-4 in piece fresh ginger, minced
1 green onion, sliced
1/4 c red bell pepper, chopped
1 pkg grape tomatoes, halved
2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 tsp Sriracha
1-2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
1-2 tbsp fish sauce
1-2 tbsp veggie oil

Heat oil in grill on med-high. Add chicken, garlic and ginger and cook until chicken is no longer pink in middle. Add bell pepper and green onion and cook until tender, 2-3 min. Add tomatoes and cook until they start to burst, 3-4 min. Add Sriracha, hoisin, soy sauce and fish sauce; stir to combine and heat through. Serve with rice.




Enjoy!...

'Ghetto' Spaghetti

I got this recipe from a guy I used to date a couple years ago. He made it up one night after we were hanging out and we were starving but there wasn't much food in the house. He wanted to make spaghetti but didn't have any spaghetti sauce. So he improvised and used Italian dressing instead and named it 'Ghetto' Spaghetti. Dumb name lol but it works and every time I make it now I think of him. When I was planning my trip to Vegas, my friend asked what kinds of food I wanted and I mentioned this spaghetti, not even realizing she had no idea what I meant! But she said she tried it and said she loved it. It's a simple meal to make when I don't really feel like cooking and it's delicious! I don't have actual measurements..it's pretty much made to your taste.

Cooked spaghetti noodles
1 tbsp butter
Italian dressing
Shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Combine the butter with the noodles as soon as they are done being drained so the butter melts into the noodles. Add as much or as little dressing as you like and top with however much cheese you want. Mix it all up and enjoy!




Enjoy!...

Roasted Chickpeas

Besides bringing the fruit bars to Easter, I also wanted to bring along a snack. I debated bringing a polenta appetizer but thought it may be too filling. (I will be posting that recipe hopefully this week or next week however when I make it for myself!) I have seen several recipes for roasted chickpeas so I thought I'd try to make them and bring those with me. It seemed super easy and it was but it didn't have a lot of flavor. For some reason, the chickpeas didn't absorb any of the spices, except for the red pepper flakes. And they were definitely patted dry. I may do some more experimenting with smaller batches and with different spices to see if I can get them to stick.

I found this recipe on Rachel Ray's website.

Crispy Roasted Chickpeas (Rachel Ray):

3 cans chickpeas
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Lay on paper towels to thoroughly dry (you can also gently pat them dry). Line a cookie sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray. Transfer chickpeas to a med bowl.

Combine olive oil and spices and whisk to combine. Immediately pour over chickpeas and toss. Bake 45-50 min or until browned and crispy. Serve hot or at room temp.

Store at room temp.




Rinsed and drained chickpeas...






Spices mixed with the olive oil...






Ready to roast...






Fresh from the oven...

Fruit Squares

I found this recipe in a Eating Well magazine and it seemed like a really good Spring dessert. With Easter coming up, I decided to try making these. The recipe had 3 different variations for these bars: Blueberry bars, Strawberry-Rhubarb bars & Raspberry bars. My plan was to make a double batch in the same pan, not realizing that the flavors would blend together to make a marble effect. It turned out okay in the end though. I had originally wanted to make raspberry and strawberry-rhubarb but it's not the season for rhubarb and Whole foods didn't have any fresh or frozen rhubarb so I went with blueberry instead.

I made this dessert the night before Easter at like 1 am because I had bowling leagues that night and I went out with some friends after. It was either make it when I got home and sleep in in the morning or wake up early to make it..I opted for the sleeping in part! I didn't realize what a process it was to make! But it was definitely worth it in the end! I had a lot of leftovers so I should have just made the one batch but it worked out okay. Some of my family said it was too tart while others seemed to like the tartness of it just fine.

I'm posting the single batch so if you decide to make a double batch like I did, just double the measurements!

Fruit Squares (9 squares) (Eating Well):

*Crust

1 c white whole-wheat flour
1/3 c powdered sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp butter

3 c blueberries or 2 c chopped strawberries with 2 c chopped rhubarb or 3 c raspberries
1/3 c water
2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1/3 c sugar

3 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 large eggs

Garnishes: Sliced raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8-in square baking sheet with foil and coat it with cooking spray. Combine flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch and salt in med bowl. Add oil and butter; using your fingertips, blend into flour mixture until evenly combined. The mixture will be a little crumbly. Firmly press dough into prepared pan. Bake until just barely beginning to brown, 15-20 min.

While crust is cooking, combine fruit of your choice and water in med saucepan. Cook over high, stirring, until fruit is mostly broken down, 4-6 min. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve and press on solids to extract all the juice; discard solids. You need 1 c strained juice; remove any extract or add a little water if you are short. Stir in lemon or lime juice into strained fruit juice.

Whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt in med bowl until well combined. Whisk in eggs. Stir into the juice mixture. Pour filling over crust.

Bake until just set, 15-20 min. The center should still be a little jiggly-it will firm up as it cools. Let cool to room temp on a wire rack about 1 1/2 hours. Using foil, gently lift bars out of pan. Cut into 9 squares. Garnish with fresh fruit and dust with powdered sugar just before serving.




Blueberry & Raspberry filling...






The flavors blending...






Fresh from the oven...






All decorated...






Enjoy!...