Baked Lemon-Basil-Garlic Salmon and Vegetables

Well, this is about as anti-climactic as news gets, but that $50 Craigslist freezer does, indeed, work — and beautifully at that.  Sixteen half gallons of raw goats’ milk from Miabella Farm line the top shelf, cooked quinoa in hubby-sized portions waves from the door, and I’m chewing my lower lip over the exact composition of the fifty pound grass-fed beef and lamb order I’m about to place with Paidom Meats to fill up the bottom of the freezer.  What next?  I must say, life with a deep freeze suits me just fine.

On another note entirely, here’s a quick and easy recipe that I’m totally digging right now.  I love the lemony zing, and basil always seems just right in the summer.  It’s also a great way to use up the summer squash spilling over the farmers’ market stands — an annual dilemma for me (I wrote a whole post on the subject here).  Costco’s frozen wild-caught salmon filets keep the dish reasonably priced.  I eat it alone or with hemp seeds because my body still doesn’t love grains, but J enjoys it over quinoa or brown rice.  If you keep individual-size portions of cooked quinoa or rice in the freezer, this dish becomes a one pot meal.  Nice!

4 pieces of salmon filet (4 to 6 oz each)
2 large zucchini, shredded (yellow summer squash would work too)
4 medium-large carrots, shredded

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (if your lemons have a dull flavor, you’ll need more juice)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine (e.g., chardonnay or sauvignon blanc, not riesling or zinfandel)
10 medium cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon dried basil or 3 tablespoons fresh basil
sea salt
freshly-ground black pepper (I like to pepper pretty generously)

Preheat oven to 450.

Spray a 9×13 glass baking dish with olive oil and strew shredded zucchini and carrots in it.  In a measuring glass, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, wine, basil, salt, and pepper.  Pour half the mixture over the vegetables and stir to combine.  Cover tightly with foil and bake for 12 minutes.

Remove the foil and lay the salmon filets on top of the vegetables.  Pour the rest of the lemon juice mixture over the fish and veggies.  Recover and bake for 10 to 15 more minutes, depending on how done you like your salmon.  Serve with hemp seeds, rice, quinoa, potatoes, or all by its sweet self.

Serves 4 to 6, depending on size of salmon filets and appetites.

*Note: If you don’t want to deal with adding the salmon later, you can put everything in the dish at the beginning and cook for 25 minutes.  The downside is that you’ll get overcooked fish.

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Decadent GF Chocolate Layer Cake

When I first started this blog, I sang the praisesof Ina Garten’s Double-Chocolate Layer Cake.  It is, indeed, to die for.  My husband declared it his favorite cake, and he requests it for his birthday and Valentine’s Day.  Unfortunately, it is also chock-full of gluten, so I regretfully retired the recipe when I got serious about my allergy.

Last November, though, because I couldn’t bear to see my dear J go cakeless on my account, I created a gluten-free, slightly healthier version of Ina’s masterpiece.  It was my first effort in converting a regular baked good to gluten-free baked good, and it was a huge success.  No one guessed it was gluten-free.  It was awesome!  In fact, this small triumph boosted my courage enough to attempt that gluten-free carrot cake at high altitude over Christmas (also a total success).

Starting with Ina’s recipe, I substituted Pamela’s Ultimate Baking Mix (found at Whole Foods, Amazon.com, and health food stores everywhere) for the flour, switched vegetable oil for coconut oil and white sugar for Sucanat, altered the leavening ingredients, and increased the frosting to cake ratio.  For what it’s worth, I also used duck eggs, which are supposed to be superior for baking, and I froze my layers before frosting them. 

I wish the pictures did the cake justice, but I had to take them after dark.  Still, if you want a rich, moist, deeply chocolaty, not-too-sweet cake that you can serve to anyone, regardless of health/allergy needs, you need to try this. 

 

Decadent Gluten-Free Chocolate Layer Cake

Cake
1 3/4 cup Pamela’s Ultimate Baking Mix
2 cups Sucanat or Rapadura (unrefined sugar, different from turbinado)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (I like Real Salt and Celtic Sea Salt)
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup coconut oil, heated just until melted
2 large eggs (I used duck eggs with fantastic results; they’re especially good for baking)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Frosting
9 oz bittersweet chocolate
3 sticks (3/4 pound) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg yolk (actually, I used 1 1/2 yolks, but you could get away with 1)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
4 teaspoons hot water

Cake
Preheat oven to 350.  If you’re using high quality nonstick pans, simply butter and “flour” (using Pamela’s or cocoa) two 8-inch round cake pans.  If you have regular pans, butter the pans, line with parchment paper, and butter again.  Then dust them with Pamela’s or cocoa, tapping out the excess.  

In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, mix Pamela’s, Sucanat, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt at low speed.  In medium bowl, whisk buttermilk with melted coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla.  Slowly beat the liquid mixture into the dry ingredient until just incorporated, then slowly beat in hot coffee until fully incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pans.  Bake for 30 minutes, or just until a toothpick comes out clean.  Be careful not to over-bake them or the cakes will be dry.  Cool cake in pans 30 minutes, then invert on rack to cool completely.  Peel off parchment paper, if using.

For best results, individually wrap and freeze the layers for 24 hours, removing shortly before you wish to frost them.  This step isn’t necessary, but it seems to produce a moister final product, and it makes frosting easier (something that can be difficult with gluten-free cakes).

Frosting
Melt chocolate in a double boiler or over very low heat, stirring, until melted.  Set aside to cool to room temperature.

In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat butter at medium speed until pale and fluffy.  Add egg yolk and vanilla and beat for 1 minute.  At low speed, slowsly beat in confectioners’ sugar, about 1 minute. 

In small bowl, dissolve instant coffee in 4 teaspoons of hot water.  Slowly beat coffee into the butter mixture.

Mix the cooled chocolate into the butter mixture until just combined.

Assembly
Set a cake layer on a plate with flat side up.  Spread 1/3 of the frosting on top.  Top with the second cake layer, rounded side up.  Finish frosting.

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Turkey Salad with Cranberries, Pecans, Apples, and Nutmeg

Even in the midst of moving madness, I couldn’t resist sharing a new creation from my kitchen.  The story goes like this: I ordered two turkey breasts from my natural meat co-op a few months ago, expecting the breasts to be about five pounds each.  When I arrived to pick them up, I discovered that they were over ten pounds each!  Holy cow.  That’s a lot of turkey for two people to put away at once.   I roasted one this weekend and found myself scrambling for creative ways to present the same ol’ turkey night after night.  Some will go into the freezer, of course, but I’m having cooked meat on hand is super helpful at the moment.

Inspiration struck when I attended a friend’s baby shower on Saturday.  (Well, technically speaking, I missed the shower part, because I mis-read the invitation and showed up two hours late!  Fortunately, my friend was forgiving, the guests were friendly, and the hostess still had plenty of yummy food, so I still go to munch and mingle.  Phew!)  Everyone raved about the chicken salad cups, which I couldn’t eat because the salad rested in phyllo (gluten allergy and all that).  But I asked the hostess how she made the salad.  She mentioned chicken, Miracle Whip, celery, honey, cranberries, and pecans.  Hmmm…  I started thinking. 

And the salad below is what I came up with — shredded turkey studded with sweet apple, tart dried cranberries, rich toasted pecans, crunchy celery, and a kiss of nutmeg.  Yum.  The effect is surprisingly fresh and light tasting.  Think of it as a spring-time twist on a holiday classic.  My husband, mom, mother-in-law, and I all loved it.  This one is a definite keeper!  In the future, I may serve it alongside a salad of baby greens and cranberry vinaigrette.  Hello, beautiful.

Recipe notes:

• I used cameo apples, which are sweet and crisp.  Choose whatever apples you like best, though I would suggest avoiding Granny Smiths for this project.
• Don’t under-salt this salad if you’re using home-cooked turkey (as opposed to canned turkey).  You really need enough salt to bring out all of the flavors.
• Do try to make this a day ahead.  This way, the cranberries soften up and swell a bit, and all of the flavors develop and meld together.
• A nice variation would be to use a good yellow curry powder instead of nutmeg.  I sprinkled a little curry over a spoonful to test it before I added the nutmeg, and it was awesome!  I just found myself in more of a nutmeg mood this week.
• Although I chose to forgo the added sweetness of honey (and Miracle Whip too, for that matter), I’m sure a little honey would taste fantastic, if that’s your thing. 

 

4 cups cooked, shredded turkey (all white meat or a mix of white and dark meat)
3 stalks celery, diced
1 large apple, cored and diced
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped, toasted pecans
mayonnaise to taste (I used Vegenaise this time, though I hope to use homemade in the future)
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and store in the refrigerator overnight.  Serve with crackers, on bread as a sandwich, or on a bed of greens.  It’s all good!

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Poor Man’s Rosemary Beef and Vegetables

I admit that we spend a lot on groceries.  While eating healthfully doesn’t necessarily equal a high food bill, when you toss in the stipulation that grains and most legumes must be avoided too, well, you can only go so low.  Fortunately, I still find ways to cut costs.  I buy quality meats through a co-op, make the most of my Costco membership, comparison-shop like mad, cook from scratch almost exclusively (i.e., no convenience items), buy my eggs from a farmer who doesn’t know his real worth (I wrestle weekly with wanting to tell him that he really should be charging more and yet wanting to keep getting a steal of deal), and try to focus on low-cost cuts of meat and cheap vegetables and fruits. 

Lately, I’ve also been trying to build an arsenal of frugal, grain-free, legume-free recipes.  Most of them aren’t fancy, but as long as they taste good and don’t kill our budget, we’re happy.  The best meals for us are those that work great with the addition of rice or quinoa for my hubby, who needs the carbs.  Poor Man’s Rosemary Beef and Vegetables is just such a dish.  A few weeks ago, I found myself in a real pinch without a menu plan and a dwindling supply of ingredients in my fridge and pantry.  Panicky, I threw a few items together and came up with what turned out to be a new favorite.  It’s not elegant, and it’s not pretty, but, boy, is it tasty!  We liked it so much that we’ve made it a couple of times since, and I have it on the menu for tonight too. 

Made with ground beef (can it get any cheaper?) and the most frugal of vegetables, this recipe is my contribution to The Nourishing Gourmet’s Nourishing Frugal Recipes Carnival.  It stretches a pound of meat a long, long way, especially if you eat it with the rice.  To spread the meat even thinner, try adding diced potatoes to the mix. 

 

1 pound ground beef
6 to 8 garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
3 medium stalks celery, diced
1/2 small-medium head of cabbage (red or green), thinly sliced
28 ounces petite diced canned tomatoes
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
sea salt
black pepper

Brown the beef with the garlic and onions.  Drain.

Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 or 20 minutes.  Adjust seasonings.

Serve alone or over cooked brown rice.

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If You’re Looking For Good, Nourishing Recipes…

I’ve tried some really fantastic ones from around the blogosphere lately and thought I should spread the wealth.  In no particular order:

 

Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Sage Sauce

from Simply Recipes

(Photo taken by Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes and used here with permission.)

This is one of the best meals I’ve ever prepared — rich, savory, addictive, tender, melt-in-your-mouth good.  Whenever I bring it up as a possible idea for dinner, J’s eyes widen and sparkle while he rubs his tummy and moans his enthusiasm.  I’m pretty sure he starts salivating too.  Fortunately for both of us, this is also a shockingly easy meal.  Just a few chops of the knife and a bit of sauteing, and I’m done.  (Fresh sage is a must, by the way.  Don’t even attempt it with dried.)  I served it with Tinkyada rice pasta and steamed green beans with a side salad the last two times I made it, but tonight I’m going to try replacing the pasta with mashed potatoes.  I can’t wait!

 

Braised 7 Hour Leg of Lamb

from The Nourishing Gourmet

Talk about a slam dunk!  This was another make-J-moan meal.  Kimi posted the recipe on Friday, and I was so taken with it that I fired up the oven on Saturday.  The only changes I made were using a boneless leg (only $3.99 per pound from Costco!), reducing the carrots to 3 large ones, and reducing the cooking time to 5 1/2 hours to suit my 5 lb leg.  We spooned pieces of lamb, carrot, potato, and onions into soup plates and covered them with the cooking liquid, then ate it all like a stew.  Whew, I’m starting to get hungry again.  It was so fabulous that I rushed out to buy another leg to prepare the dish again for my mother-in-law’s visit this week.  The best part?  It’s easy, easy, easy — always a plus with in-home guests.  Especially when you have painters swarming your home to prepare it to go on the market next week.  Eek!

 

Chipotle Chicken Salad Tacos

from Serious Eats

This recipe really hit the spot last night, although I didn’t plan ahead very well.  Yesterday morning, I threw a half-frozen chicken into my crockpot and left it to cook on high for a few hours.  In the evening, J helped me pick the meat off the bones, and I whipped up the dressing described in the recipe above.  It consists of chipotle peppers en adobo, shallots (I used them instead of the red onion), apple cider vinegar, oregano, and salt — all of which I happened to have on hand.  We served the chicken over organic baby greens with avocados.  J had some brown rice too.  It was super-fast and very tasty.  I’ll definitely add it to my what-to-make-in-a-pinch folder.  (Beware if you don’t like heat; this chicken salad burns.)

I just love blogs!  I feel like I learn so much and discover so many exciting things to try every day. 

What about you?  Do you have any newly-discovered healthy recipes you’re really jazzed about?

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Salmon Melts in Bell Pepper Halves

I didn’t grow up eating tuna melts.  I heard of them for the first time in the cafeteria line at Hillsdale College.  If you could have seen them, I’m sure you’d understand why I didn’t hazard a first try on those greasy, mass-produced mounds of goop.  I new that if I had a fighting chance of ever liking the dish, I couldn’t experience it for the first time under those conditions. 

Recently, however, I joined Costco (hallelujah!) and bought a bunch of canned tuna and wild caught Alaskan salmon – and found myself at a bit of a loss.  What to do with so much canned fish?   Eventually, the tuna melt idea floated through my mind, so I decided to try it on my own terms.  After a little experimentation, I came up with the following recipe that J and I both really enjoy (my mom just approved it too).  To accommodate my gluten allergy, I use bell pepper halves instead of bread.  It works equally well for tuna or salmon, and I love it as a last minute dinner.  Spiked with dijon mustard, dill, and lots of black pepper, it offers lots of flavor for almost no effort.  Especially these days, amidst the hustle and bustle of preparing our home for the market (can I just say that home ownership is overrated?), that kind of ease is priceless. 

 

Salmon or Tuna Melts in Bell Pepper Halves

Serves 4

2 to 3 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
12 ounces canned wild-caught salmon or light tuna (albacore contains higher mercury levels)
1 to 2 stalks celery, finely minced
1/4 cup shallot or onion, finely minced
4 to 6 tablespoons mayonnaise (I’ve been using Wilderness Family Natural’s mayo)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dried dill or fresh amount to taste
cheddar cheese, grated or thinly sliced (I prefer Organic Valleys extra sharp raw cheddar or my local raw dairy’s offerings)

Core the bell peppers and cut in half lengthwise.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the fish, celery, shallot or onion, mayo, Dijon, black pepper, and dill.  Divide evenly among bell pepper halves.  Top with cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  The fish mixture should be warmed through, the cheese melted, and the bell pepper tender but still with some bite to it.

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Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Heaven

Making dessert for special occasions always intimidates me, and the prospect of preparing a gluten-free one away from home at high altitude this Christmas really had me in a tizzy.  Last holiday season, I settled for a citrus fruit salad with ginger yogurt, which, while delicious, seasonal, and GF, didn’t exactly feel like Christmas dinner dessert.  So I jumped outside my comfort zone this year and attempted a GF, high-altitude version of my very favorite kind of cake, carrot cake.  Lo and behold, against all odds (including an ever growing baking aversion), it turned out fabulously–ultra moist, fragrant, and studded with pineapple, coconut, and walnuts.  Everyone loved it, and no one would have guessed it was gluten-free.  Really. 

My father-in-law even emailed me after the holidays to thank me for the cake:

I also wanted to thank you for my Christmas dessert. Your gluten-free-low-sugar-high-altitude-altogether-successful-experiment carrot cake was about 90% of the dessert that I ate this season, and the memory still causes my taste buds to turn toward the mountains and ask, “Is there any more of that cake left?” It pained me greatly to leave for Las Cruces knowing that there was still a slab of cake languishing in the kitchen, but I just couldn’t squeeze in a farewell bite around the breakfast casseroles.

What a nice man!  I’m sad to say that my turkey brother refused to try the cake because it contained cream cheese. 

Hater. 

(I know.  He’s adorable, isn’t he?)

Anyway, I am so glad finally to have a go-to traditional dessert for special occasions that I can eat along with everyone else, without anyone feeling deprived. 

I won’t pretend this is health food or even a “nourishing” dessert.  It’s not.  White rice flour  (in the Pamela’s mix) and even–gasp!–powdered sugar in the frosting plunk it squarely in the occasional indulgence category.  But what’s life without a walk on the wild side?

Recipe Notes:

• I made this with sweetened coconut, but you could probably replaced it with unsweetened and increase the Sucanat or Rapadura to compensate.  Doing so might affect the moisture level (sweetened coconut tends to be more moist than unsweetened), but it’s worth a shot.  I’ll do this myself next time I prepare the cake.
• Since I baked this cake at 7,000 feet, I used less baking soda and baking powder.  So if you’re baking it close to sea level, you may want to add a bit more of those two ingredients.  Just don’t overdo it because Pamela’s already contains some.
• I buy Pamela’s Ultimate Baking Mix at Whole Foods or HEB, so check in a health food store if you’re not sure where to start looking for it.  You may also purchase it in bulk through Amazon here.  I really love having Pamela’s around because it’s great for dredging chicken breasts or thickening a sauce.  It even produces a great cream gravy.  Score!
• We all thought this tasted even better the second day, so it makes a great do-ahead dessert.  (No need to refrigerate it either.)

Heavenly Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Adapted from this recipe.

2 cups Pamela’s baking mix
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup Sucanat or Rapadura (unrefined sugar)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
3 eggs (preferably free range)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

12 ounces cream cheese ( 1-1/2 packages), softened (Organic Valleys makes a real cultured variety)
6 tablespoons butter, softened (I like to use Organic Valleys or Kerrygold)
3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Cake

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  In a separate bowl, mix sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.  Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.  Fold in carrots, coconut, walnuts, and pineapple.

Divide evenly between 2 greased 9-inch cake pans.  Bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes, just until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool.  (At normal altitude, bake at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes.)

At this stage, I prefer to wrap my cakes and freeze them for 24 hours.  This makes them easier to frost and, in my opinion, moister.  This step is optional.  If you choose to follow it, allow the cakes to partially defrost before icing them.

Frosting

Cream softened butter and cream cheese until smooth in a mixer or with hand beaters.  Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar.

Frost cake, spreading 1/3 of the frosting between the cake layers.

Serve with love. 

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Curried Chicken with Quinoa and Vegetables

 

Sigh.  Well, I missed Kimi’s carnival.  It was one of those days yesterday.  Nevertheless, you should still go check out her postto see everyone’s entries.  If you’re in the mood for inspiration, you’re sure to find something to jazz up your fall table.  And if you want to share a recipe of your own, you can leave it in the comments section.

Here’s the recipe I wanted to share for the carnival.  I think curries make wonderful fall dishes.  They’re warming and rich, though this one is on the lighter, brothier side.  It makes a lot of flavorful sauce that I like to layer over a pile of vegetables so that it feels almost like a stew.  It’s equally good with quinoa to soak up the sauce, which is how my husband eats it.  (I don’t digest grains very well, so I try to make them an occasional indulgence.  The picture below is of my plate with just the vegetables and chicken.)  We really enjoy this dish.  Even my parents who “don’t like curry” enjoyed it!

 

 

Curried Chicken with Quinoa and Vegetables

(This recipe was partially inspired by Stephanie’s Fish Coconut Curryand by a number of other recipes floating around the blogosphere.  I combined and tweaked them to suit our tastes.)

4 cups water or chicken broth
2 cups quinoa, rinsed well

1 tablespoon high-quality butter or coconut oil
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
6 large cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon turmeric (for color)
1 small apple, peeled and cored, finely diced
1 to 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast, cubed (dark meat would work too)
1 can coconut milk (I prefer Thai Kitchen’s organic coconut milk)
1 cup chicken broth
sea salt
5 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon virgin, unrefined coconut oil
2 large carrots, cut into matchsticks
4 stalks celery, thickly sliced
1 bunch green onions, cut into 1 inch segments
2 to 3 cups fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch segments
1/4 medium purple cabbage, sliced

In a medium saucepan, bring the water or broth to a boil, then add the rinsed quinoa.  Simmer, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes until all water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add butter.  Add ginger and garlic and saute until soft.  Add the curry powder, red pepper flakes, and turmeric and stir for 30 seconds.  Then stir in the apple, chicken, cocoonut milk, and broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the vegetables.  In another large skillet or a wok, heat the coconut oil over medium high heat.  Add all the vegetables and stir frequently until the veggies deepen in color and become glossy.  (You want them tender but still crisp.)

Add the lime juice to the chicken and season to taste with salt. 

In soup plates (low, wide bowls), layer quinoa, vegetables, and chicken with plenty of sauce. 

Note: You may find hardened bits in your refrigerated leftovers, but this is just the oil in the coconut milk solidifying.  Once you heat it up, they’ll go away.  And don’t forget that those coconut oils are a healthy kind of saturated fat.

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Easy Tortilla Soup

I hosted a Mexican-themed dinner for ten after church yesterday.  Instead of my usual routine (i.e., pulling out all the stops and collapsing in exhaustion afterwards), I tried really hard to plan easy, do-ahead dishes.  Taco salads, tortilla soup, chips and salsa, Spanish rice, and Pamela’s GF brownies with Breyer’s French Vanilla ice cream made the final cut.  The beauty of every one of these dishes is that it could be prepared one to two days ahead.  I admit I could have cut a few more corners.  In hindsight, was it really necessary to make my own avocado dressing, salsa, and taco seasoning?  Probably not.  The few extra bucks to buy these items probably would have been worth it. 

One thing I don’t regret a bit, though, is the tortilla soup I served.  It came together in a snap on Saturday afternoon, then I poured it into my crockpot bowl and stored it in the refrigerator overnight.  Before leaving for church, I plunked it into the crockpot base and cranked it to high.  By the time we were ready to eat, it was perfectly warm and fragrant.  We enjoyed it meatless at lunch since there was already beef on the salads, but for dinner that night, I stirred in some shredded chicken while reheating.  Delicious!  Now it’s in my lunch box. 

I don’t remember where I first found this recipe.  I know it was in one of my mom’s cookbooks, but all I have now is a water-stained sheet of yellow legal pad paper with scribbles and notes on it.  Classy.  Despite its tattered condition, I’m so thankful I rediscovered the recipe.  I’ll keep it on my list of easy meals for future reference.  Next time I need to serve an easy meal to a crowd, I might pick just this soup with the addition of chicken and serve a simple green salad and chips on the side.  That would be far easier than the labor-intensive taco salads.

This post is part of Kitchen Tip Tuesdays as my tip on feeding guests easily.

One serving note: don’t forget the limes for this soup.  They really enhance the flavors.  If you prefer, you can add the juice directly to the pot of soup, though I prefer to add it to individual bowls to preserve its bite.

1 tablespoon oil (virgin, unrefined coconut oil or good quality olive oil)
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced

3 cups water
2 cups V8 (spicy or regular) or tomato juice
1 can cream-style corn (regular corn works well too, of course)
8 ounces diced mild green chilies
1 large tomato, chopped or 1 small can petite diced tomatoes
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
sea salt (I use Celtic sea salt or Real Salt)

3 corn tortillas, cut into strips
shredded chicken breasts or thighs (optional)

cilantro snippets
lime wedges
shredded cheese (preferably raw)

Heat the oil in a soup pan over medium heat, then add the onion and garlic and saute until soft.  Add the water, V8 or tomato juice, corn, chilies, tomato, cilantro, jalapeno, chili powder and cumin.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Season to taste with salt.

Just before serving, stir in the tortilla strips and, if desired, chicken and heat until warm. 

Serve with extra cilantro, lime, and cheese.

Serves 4 as a main course.

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Menu Plan Monday, 10/20 + Omelet Recipe

Deliciously cooler weather greets me each morning these days, and I couldn’t be more pleased!  I always look forward to this time of year.  Houston may be brutal in the summer, but I can’t imagine prettier weather than lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s.  Happiness itself.

Yesterday, my husband and I shared a morning date rather than our usual Friday night affair.  I got up and threw together an omelet, then we caught a morning movie matinee.  Breakfast turned out so well, I decided to share the recipe here.  That way I won’t forget how to make it.  We definitely want to have this one again and again.  (Menu plan follows the recipe)

 

Omelet with Kale, Tomatoes, and Goat Feta

(Please forgive the shoddy photo.  I promise it tastes better than it looks.)

6 eggs, preferably local and free-range (my omelet looks so yellow because the yolks are nearly orange)
salt and pepper
virgin, unrefined coconut oil

1 tablespoon butter (preferably cultured, grass-fed butter like Kerrygold)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
several leaves of kale, slivered (spinach, chard, or collards would work equally well)
handful of grape tomatoes, chopped
~2 ounces goat feta

Beat the eggs, salt, and pepper in a bowl and set aside.

In a saute pan, melt butter over medium heat and saute onion and garlic until soft.  Add kale and stir until wilted.  Toss in the tomatoes and cook until slightly softened.  Season with salt and pepper.  Turn off the heat and stir in goat cheese.  Set aside to melt.

In whatever pan you use for omelets, heat the coconut oil over medium to medium-high heat.  Pour in the eggs and allow to cook, turning once if possible.  Spread the filling on one half of the eggs and fold over.  Serve.

 

Monday
Breakfast: low-glycemic smoothie
Lunch: leftover taco salads (made with this GF seasoning recipe and this cilantro-avocado-lime dressing), tortilla soup, cultured veggies
Dinner: chicken curry (I’ll share the recipe on Tuesday for Kimi’s Nourishing Fall Carnival), veggies, green salad, cultured veggies

Tuesday
Breakfast: eggs and veggies
Lunch: leftovers, cultured veggies
Dinner: lemon chicken with thyme (I never got to it the other week when I planned it), steamed broccoli, green salad, cultured veggies

Wednesday
Breakfast: low-glycemic smoothie
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Lemon Lentil Soup with Collard Greens, green salad, and quinoa for J, cultured veggies

Thursday
Breakfast: eggs and veggies
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Mediterranean Chicken with Roasted Peppers (from Karina’s Kitchen), green salad, and brown rice for J, cultured veggies

Friday
Breakfast: low-glycemic smoothie
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: leftovers

Saturday
Breakfast: another omelet!!
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Beef and vegetable soup, salads, cultured veggies

Sunday
Breakfast: low-glycemic smoothie
Lunch: leftover soup
Dinner: leftover soup, salads

For more menu plans, visit the Organizing Junkie.

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