dinner roulette

you know what's convenient?

freezing leftovers. or freezer cooking days.

because then you have a freezer full of dinners ready when you are.

you know what else is convenient?

labeling the tops, so you know when and what.

(i used dry erase markers. it cleans right off!)

you know what is NOT convenient?

getting into the labeling habit only in the past month.

which means anything before that....

isn't labeled.

so, husband and i decided to play dinner roulette. and lemme tell you, if it turns out like this every time, i'd love to do this for every dinner! so, looking through the tupperware, any guesses? chili? pasta sauce? soup?



it's taco soup! one of our favorites!

root vegetable soup

here's how to make an awesome winter soup.

root vegetable soup.

something good about my cooking lately?

i've been trying all sorts of ingredients that i would never have tried before.

today's ingredients?

parsnips and rutabega.

here's what you do:

cut up into bite-sized pieces:

3 big carrots

2 parsnips
some celery

as much of a rutabega as you can chop. those suckers are dense. i think i ended up with half of one.

in a dutch oven, brown some beef that's been chopped into similar size pieces as the veggies. add all the veggies (and onion, if you remember. i forgot. it might have made the dish thatmuch better), along with 4 cups of low sodium chicken broth and 2 cups of low sodium beef broth. add salt, pepper, and whatever spices you feel like. partially cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the veggies are fork-tender. before serving, wilt some fresh spinach in there. it only took about 2 minutes for the spinach to cook.

awesome: soup. lame: homework.

have you had a parsnip? it's like a white carrot, but sweeter. have you had a rutabega? it's like a dense potato, but spicier.

together, these ingredients all add up to the perfect winter soup. i'm looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch again tomorrow!

two bean vegetarian chili

i hesitate to actually call this dish "chili", except for the spices that i used. i don't generally use cumin in soups and stews, or else this could be considered a soup. of course, the amount of beans in it definitely earns it the designation of chili, right?
best part about this meal? besides the fact that i could eat it every day for the rest of my life?
there's a measly 400 calories in one generous serving!
add 1 tablespoon of light sour cream, and you've reached a whopping 420 calories.
yumm-o.

i'll do this one the old fashioned way...

1 onion, chopped
most of a butternut squash, chopped into 1/2" squares
red pepper, chopped
garlic cloves, or garlic paste
red pepper flakes
1 cup water, separated
two cans of beans. whichever you like. i used red and pinto.
a can of stewed tomatoes
spices-- cumin, italian seasonings, cilantro-- whatever you like.



in a dutch oven, or large pot, heat some oil. add the onion and saute about 5 minutes.



add the butternut squash, red pepper, and 1/2 cup of water. also red pepper flakes, garlic, and any spices you choose to add. simmer for about 7 minutes.



add the beans and the stewed tomatoes, using the spoon to break apart the tomatoes a little bit. add the other 1/2 cup of water, then simmer, partially covered, for 15-20 minutes, until it thickens a little bit.



serve as is, or garnish with fresh cilantro and a lime wedge. or, a small dollop of light sour cream.

from the "archives"-- french onion soup

this recipe comes from my other blog. i was browsing on it, looking for this recipe-- because it's getting cold and i'm in soup mode. this is one of the best soups ever, especially for winter. and i love how much better it tastes than even one from a restaurant, which is usually too salty for me. this one has a delicious sweetness to it, if you use the right type of onion and *accidentally* double the sugar during the carmelization process.


so, enjoy one of my favorite recipes!

I have this sort of ongoing goal to try a few new recipes every week. This week, you may have seen my horrible attempt at Orange Chicken. Absolutely inedible. Boo.

Well. It's all better this time. I made French Onion Soup for the first time ever and it was amazing. So good, it's worth sharing the recipe with you.

1. Slice 7-ish medium to large yellow or purple onions, and sautee in some olive oil. I bought a special slicer for it (a mandolin), where you run them along it and it slices them really thin. It went so fast! By the time Chris had peeled an onion, I was waiting to slice it. I love it.


Simmer the onions for quite a while. Serious. Like, maybe 40 minutes. 10 minutes into the cook time, add about a half teaspoon of sugar. It helps with the caramelization. Now, mine never actually caramelized, but they got plenty cooked and delicious. After they're cooked, add two cloves of minced garlic and sautee for another minute or so.

2. Add 8 cups beef stock (*not* broth!), 1/2 cup dry red wine, 1 bay leaf, some thyme, and some salt and pepper. Don't add too much salt.


3. Simmer it together for about 30 minutes to let the flavors mingle, then ladle into individual oven-proof bowls.

4. Top with a piece of french bread toast and some cheese. The original post called for gruyere cheese, but Walmart didn't have it (surprise!), so I got Havarti because I know it melts well. Broil for about 10 minutes.


5. Immediately after removing from the oven, top with some fresh parmesan cheese. My only change will be adding more cheese next time.

This one got rave reviews from my new roomie and from my boyfriend. Yay!

posole with recipe

i got a recipe for posole from gerri after she shared hers with me last week. if i would have died after tasting the delicious yumminess that was this bowl of posole, i would have died happy.
(slight exaggeration. i'm a newlywed. i don't want to die after eating posole.)

posole can be made green. or red. with chicken. or pork. the details are up to you.
i edited gerri's recipe a little, so will share with you my version. i really only changed amounts of the ingredients.

POSOLE
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper
8 cups (two containers) chicken stock. or broth. whichever.
2 cans green chili, chopped or diced
2 cups tomatillo sauce
italian seasoning
bay leaf
1 large and 1 small can white hominy
3 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, sliced in half longways.
garnish

in stock pot, sautee onion and garlic with a little olive oil until soft, about 15 minutes, with a little salt and pepper. add the chicken broth, chili, tomatillo sauce, and seasonings, then simmer for about an hour. or an hour and a half. whatever. take the chicken that has been sliced in half, and season it with cumin, salt, and pepper about 15 minutes before adding to the stock. then add the hominy (drained) and the chicken. poach the chicken in the stock for about 25 minutes. or 35 if you forget about it. take the chicken out and shred it with your fingers or with two forks, then add it back to the pot. warm it all up, and serve.
garnish with chopped cabbage. other garnishes are: chopped turnips, avocado, sour cream, or whatever you want. serve with a flour tortilla.

it is sooo good.