Clare's Soup (..or Kielbasa & Cabbage Deliciousness)

...as I mentioned on the "anything goes" blog, Clare is a woman who used to work with my mom. A long while ago she gave us a recipe for this kielbasa & cabbage soup that is so easy and so good. We always called it Clare's Soup so I am continuing the tradition here. It is wonderful with warm buttered sourdough and a little bit of parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. I think it might actually be ridiculously healthy, too.

Ingredients:
1 medium head cabbage
2 medium carrots, cut into ½ inch slices
1 (10 ounce) Polish sausage, cut into ½ inch slices (we use Turkey Kielbasa for this)
1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
4 cups of chicken broth
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine onion, cabbage, carrots, sausage, tomatoes, sugar, stock, allspice, paprika,
and salt and pepper to taste in a 4-quart non-aluminum pot. Bring to boil. Simmer,
covered, until carrots and cabbage are tender, about 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings
to taste.

Cranberry Relish

There is a good chance I have posted this before--but it bears repeating in the days before Thanksgiving. Also, I wanted to test out my new iPhone camera and pretend I was the Pioneer Woman or Deb from Smitten Kitchen.

We've been making this for Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. Its been a Thanksgiving staple for me and my family. I understand there is a time and place for canned cranberry sauce--but it should not be on the Thanksgiving table because this is far superior in most every way imaginable. Despite this--I am always "battling" with the canned stuff whenever I go to Lars' family's. Don't even get me started. Don't ask me to bring cranberry relish and then have discs of canned cranberry crap on the table. BITTER? ME? No...I'm as sweet as homemade cranberry relish.

So simple and so good.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 cups sugar (you can make this less sweet if you like--I usually only put in about a cup)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 12 oz package (3 cups) cranberries
• 2 medium pears (cored & cubed--2 cups)
• 1/2tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 4 inches stick cinnamon

COOKING DIRECTIONS
Bring sugar and water to boiling in two quart saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil rapidly, uncovered, 5 minutes

Add cranberries, pears and spices. Return to boiling. Cook 3-4 minutes or until cranberry skins pop, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Cover and chill. Remove cinnamon before serving. Store for up to a week in the fridge.

Here's the finished product. If I had my act together I would post it in a beautiful white bowl but you get it like this.

Comfort Me With Chicken Pot Pie (Palos Verdes Style)

I realize that the legitimacy of a chicken pot pie recipe from Palos Verdes is a little circumspect (what do people in Palos Verdes know about comfort food for crisp fall weather and cold winter nights!)...but this recipe will make a believer out of you. Its a little bit of a twist on the traditional chicken pot pie, in that you bake biscuits within and on top of the "pie" in lieu of the pie crust. Comfort food at its finest and perfect for winter weather. Or summer weather if you're Kate and you live in San Francisco. Ginny--I don't think you're allowed to eat chicken pot pie in Florida-might be illegal so you should check with local ordinances. So, really, this recipe is for Erika--my cold weather doppelgänger. We got our first dip into 20 degree weather last night so its very appropriate to post this now.

Recipe here--I give it 5/5 "Noms"

PALOS VERDES CHICKEN POT PIE (Serves 4)

Pie Filling

• 8 teaspoons butter
  
• 8 teaspoons flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup diced carrots, peeled
• 1 cup green peas
• 4 chicken breast halves, skinned, cooked and diced (or a roast chicken from the market)
  
• ¼ teaspoon thyme (so important--love the flavor this adds)
  
• Salt and pepper to taste

Biscuit Dough

• 1 ½ cups of flour
• 2-teaspoon sugar
• 1-teaspoon salt
• 2-teaspoon baking powder
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
• 2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1-cup milk or half and half
  

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Melt butter in a medium pan and stir in flour. Stir in broth and cook over low heat until mixture is smooth and thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in carrots, peas and chicken. Add thyme and season well with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Prepare Biscuit Dough: Place flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in bowl and stir to mix well. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add cheese. Pour in milk and stir briefly until batter is sticky and holds together.
4. Spoon half of chicken mixture into buttered 2 quart casserole. With spoon, drop half of dough over chicken. Cover with remaining chicken mixture and top with remaining dough.
5. Bake until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes.

Slow Cooker Masala Chicken

We all know what a deal breaker is, right? Its something you can't live without. I feel as though my ultimate relocation deal breaker would be proximity to a Trader Joe's. Somehow, its become the only place I shop. I don't know how--but I've just discontinued my weekly trips to the more traditional grocery stores, do the bulk of it all at TJs, and occasionally pick up some items at Target or Kroger (Ralph's equivalent).

That said--I found this excellent/easy recipe for slow cooker chicken masala which uses the Trader Joe's simmer sauce as a base. Its kind of cheating--but kind of not. We're all incredibly busy, right? Why not let TJ's ease our cookies woes if only for a little while.

The recipe can be found HERE--but the pictures don't do it justice. I mean--it looks wrong. But it tastes so right. For mine, I actually did not add that much half & half and I did add some red pepper flakes to up the heat index. Also, I just made regular old rice with butter and mixed in some peas for the base. Lastly--I bought some Trader Joe's frozen Naan bread and ate that on the side. Delicious. Plus you just kind of throw everything into the slow cooker and let it go. I love this.

Shrimp with Avocado-Mango Salsa

This was a very easy, quick meal and healthy too. It was pouring outside so I used the broiler setting in the oven and the only mis-hap was using a silpat to line the baking pan.  Turns out, Silpats+broiler=FIRE; so I advise against using a silpat in this recipe.

Also, toddlers + cous cous=GIANT MESS.  Be prepared to spend more time cleaning cous cous off the floor than cooking.  I generally wait until it's dried (about an hour) and it's much easier to sweep up.

Shrimp with Avocado and Mango Salsa

Vegetable oil cooking spray

8 cups baby spinach

1 cup couscous

1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 teaspoon salt,divided

1 large mango, peeled and diced

1 medium avocado, diced

1 medium tomato, diced

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/2 jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Heat grill. Fold four 18-inch-long pieces of foil in half; unfold and coat inside with cooking spray. Place 2 cups spinach in center of 1 half of each piece of foil. Combine couscous with 1/4 cup water; divide evenly among packets, placing on top of spinach. Combine shrimp, 1/4 cup cilantro, oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Divide shrimp evenly among packets, placing next to couscous. Fold foil to close and crimp edges to seal; place on grill; close lid; cook until packets are fully puffed, 10 minutes. Combine remaining 1/4 cup cilantro with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, mango, avocado, tomato, onion, jalapeño and lime juice in a bowl. Carefully cut foil to open; stir contents; garnish with salsa before serving.
(Source: Self Magazine, via www.epicurious.com)

Mediterranean Lentils and Rice

So here is a vegetarian recipe that I enjoyed. I wouldn't say it made it into our top ten but it might be a contender with a few additions (mainly some form of protein for the husband). It was very easy and healthy! Plus it made the house smell FANTASTIC (thanks, cinnamon).

PS--Who swapped out the layout? I lava it!

Mediterranean Lentils & Rice
(serves four)

Ingredients:
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 cup dried lentils, sorted for stones nad shriveled lentils and rinsed
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (I had chicken broth on hand and this is what I used instead--no harm no foul).
1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes undrained
2 more cups low-sodium broth
1 cup uncooked rice
1/2 cup of water
1/3 cup dried currants or raisin (I would actually recommend MORE of these--they're so flavorful and when all was said and done, I wished there was a higher ratio of them in the dish).
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne. Cook for 10 minutes or until the onion is soft.

Stir in the lentils and first two cups of broth. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients except the feta. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes--or until the rice and lentils are tender.

To serve, sprinkle with feta.

Taming the Beast--Conquering Cravings for Mexican Food in the Great Lakes Region

So--now that I've conquered fish tacos-it was time to think about shredded beef. Now there's an introductory line if I ever wrote one.

I love love love shredded beef in Mexican food. I've made it a couple of times before but I've never been able to make it as wonderful as it is in some of the B-Grade restaurants/shacks in San Diego. Fear not, my friends--for I have found a recipe that I made last night and it was so good (and sooooo easy with a little bit of planning). Searing a giant chuck roast at 8am is not my idea of a good time--and this is before I had my coffee!--but it was worth it in the end.

Here it is.

It makes a lot (I made it for 6 adults and we still had quite a bit of leftovers)--so would recommend making it for a large group or being prepared to eat tacos or some variation of tacos for a while after making the meat.