Potato Leek Soup

This is one of my husband's favorite recipes and a really nice creamy soup for a chilly fall evening. I have to say that cleaning and chopping the leeks is not really my favorite thing, but I suffer through it for the sake of this delicious meal!

I did make a couple of changes to this recipe. Instead of using the "bouquet garni" I used ground black pepper, and dried herbs. I suppose if you didn't want little specks in your white soup, you could go for Emeril's technique, but I didn't care. Also, I left out the white pepper because I didn't have any and I also left out the cream. Once you blend the soup, I think it's creamy enough without.

Potato and Leek Soup
Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse/Food Network

Ingredients...

• 1 large or 2 small leeks, about 1 pound
• 2 bay leaves
• 20 black peppercorns
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 strips bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 1 to 1 1/4 pounds russet potatoes, diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons snipped chives

Directions...

Trim the green portions of the leek and, using 2 of the largest and longest leaves, make a bouquet garni by folding the 2 leaves around the bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme. Tie into a package-shaped bundle with kitchen twine and set aside. (Alternately, tie 2 leek leaves, bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme together in a piece of cheesecloth.)

Using a sharp knife, halve the white part of the leek lengthwise and rinse well under cold running water to rid the leek of any sand. Slice thinly crosswise and set aside.

In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the bacon. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is very soft and has rendered most of its fat. Add the chopped leeks and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the reserved bouquet garni, chicken stock, potatoes, salt and white pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are falling apart and the soup is very flavorful.

Remove the bouquet garni and, working in batches, puree the soup in a food processor or blender. (Alternately, if you own an immersion blender, puree the soup directly in the pot.) Stir in the creme fraiche and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve immediately, with some of the snipped chives sprinkled over the top of each bowl of soup.

Pesto Tomato Pizza

As I think I've mentioned before, Friday nights is pizza night at our place. Nine times out of ten we made Hawaiian pizza, but every once in a while I try to change it up. This pizza was a little heavy due to the very oily store-bought pesto, but still tasted quite delicious! It would probably be better with homemade if you can get your hands on any decent basil this time of year.


Pesto Tomato Pizza
Recipe courtesy of me and the hubby

Ingredients...

• pizza dough
  
• fresh mozzarella cheese
• pesto sauce
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 tomatoes

Directions...

Roll out pizza dough and precook in a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Spread pesto sauce across crust, top with sliced tomatoes, chopped red onion, and sliced mozzarella cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

Chicken Enchiladas with Chili Gravy

I really like enchiladas, but I've been wanting to try a different sauce than the tomato based kind. I got this recipe from another blog, Smells Like Home, and thought it looked yummy! I really loved the shredded chicken mixture sooo much better than ground beef. Although the chili sauce was a nice change, I think it ended up being maybe a little too much chili powder for my liking. I might experiment with the flavors a little more next time and tone it down a bit.

Chicken Enchiladas with Chili Gravy
Recipe Courtesy of Tara from "Smells Like Home"

Ingredients...

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1/2 a green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups chili gravy (recipe follows)
• 4 flour tortillas **I used 5 and had plenty of filling**
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions...

1. Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
2. Add onion and peppers and cook for about 5 min. Add shredded chicken and stir. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Remove from pan and set aside. Using the same pan, make the chili gravy as follows.

Chili Gravy

Ingredients...

• 1/4 cup lard **I used vegetable oil**
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 tsp powdered garlic
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano (Mexican oregano is preferred if it’s available)
• 2 T chili powder (either homemade or a dark brand such as Gebhardt’s or Whole Foods or McCormick)
• 2 cups chicken broth (or water)
  

Directions...

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and continue stirring for 3 to 4 minutes, or until it makes a light brown roux.
2. Add all the dry ingredients and continue to cook for 1 minute, constantly stirring and blending ingredients. Add chicken broth or water, mixing and stirring until the sauce thickens. Turn heat to low and let sauce simmer for 15 minutes. **It took about 8 minutes for me** Add water to adjust the thickness. Makes 2 cups.
3. Once the chili gravy is done, add 1/2 a cup to the chicken mixture and stir. Spoon the chicken mixture into the flour tortilla shells and roll up. Spread another half cup of the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish and place the rolled tortillas in the dish. Top with the remaining cup of sauce and shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 min. **I served with some sour cream**

Menu Planning 11/18-11/24

Sunday

Lunch - Leftovers
Dinner - Grilled Tuna and Cheese, Green Beans

Monday

Broiled Tilapia
Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Tuesday

Chicken in a mushroom pan sauce
Sauteed baby spinach

Wednesday-Friday

At Parents' for Thanksgiving

Saturday

Left-overs or Pasta

spinach and artichoke dip

For my sister's birthday party, I decided to make some spinach and artichoke dip to go with the sandwiches my mom was putting together. I looked at a few different recipes, but decided on this one because it didn't involve a ton of ingredients and seemed pretty simple to put together. Rather than using a food processor, as the directions call for, I just chopped up the garlic and artichokes and mixed everything in a bowl. It seemed to go over really well - even with people who generally don't like spinach and artichokes!

Sorry, no pictures this time! My changes are included (***).

Spinach Artichoke Dip
Recipe courtesy Juan-Carlos Cruz/Food Network

Ingredients...

1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, softened
4 cloves garlic, crushed **I chopped it
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, plus more as needed **I didn't have any, so I just left it out
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
Carrot sticks, celery sticks or baked tortilla strips, for serving**I served with pita chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Squeeze all excess liquid from spinach, place in a food processor with sour cream, Parmesan, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, the cream cheese, garlic, pepper and hot sauce. **I just mixed in a bowl, making sure the garlic was finely chopped.

Process until just blended but still slightly lumpy. Add artichokes and pulse to form a chunky mixture. **Again - I just made sure the artichokes were chopped small and mixed them in. Place in a 1-quart baking dish. Top with remaining mozzarella. Bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve with carrot sticks, celery sticks or baked tortilla strips.

Happy Birthday to Me!

This has nothing to do with cooking, but it does involve yummy food, so I thought it was fair game. My birthday was last Monday and my husband surprised me with a yummy cake from Cold Stone Creamery. The delicious treat was made of red velvet cake, along with strawberry ice cream, whipped frosting, and topped with frozen strawberries. YUM!

Stuffed Chicken Breast

Many of the ladies on the cooking board that I frequent are very enthusiastic about goat cheese and I thought it was time to try cooking with it! I had remembered seeing this recipe on somebody's blog (sorry I don't remember who! **Edit: It was MrsPresley's Blog!) but found the original on the Cooking Light website. I served the chicken with some sauteed green beans and a boxed wild rice mix.

I have to say that before eating this meal, my husband claimed to "hate" goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. After eating this dish, he is totally open to them and we actually put them both on pizza last night!

Chicken Breast Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Recipe courtesy Cooking Light, March 2004

Ingredients...

1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped shallots, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons water

Preparation...

Combine boiling water and tomatoes in a bowl; cover and let stand 30 minutes or until soft. Drain and finely chop.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup shallots, sugar, and garlic; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Spoon into a bowl; stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar.

Combine chopped tomatoes, shallot mixture, cheese, basil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring well.

Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff about 2 tablespoons cheese mixture into each pocket. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; cover and keep warm. Add broth, remaining shallots, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and thyme; bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water, stirring with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until sauce is slightly thick, stirring constantly. Serve sauce over chicken.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and 2 tablespoons sauce)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 296(23% from fat); FAT 7.6g (sat 3g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.8g); PROTEIN 43.8g; CHOLESTEROL 105mg; CALCIUM 62mg; SODIUM 787mg; FIBER 0.9g; IRON 2.4mg;
CA RBOHYDRATE 11.3g