Chipotle chicken, black bean, veggie soup

The past couple nights were simple tacos and spaghetti. Today, I made another good soup! I saved half the chicken I cooked in the shiitake soup and put it in this. I also had carrots and celery on hand so I added those in, turning the soup into nothing like the described it as, but so delicious. Also, Patrick wasn’t feeling spicy food tonight, so I left that out and added a couple drops of super hot sauce to mine later. This recipe is from the Soup Chic’s blog and she heated her soup up more with chilies and hot sauce. Here’s my version of the recipe:

Chipotle chicken, black bean, veggie soup

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 cup corn, roasted
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 can diced tomato, drained
1 cup chicken, cooked and shredded
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper

Directions
In a big pot, heat the oil, brown the onion, garlic.

Add broth, water (use less if you prefer it to have a stronger flavor), corn, carrots, celery, tomatoes, chicken, and black beans and simmer for about a half an hour or until veggies are cooked. Season with salt and pepper.

I made rice to make it more filling and added it to individual bowls. For it to be more Mexican, you could top with sour cream and tortilla chips.

Spaghetti Squash and Corn Truffle

Tonight’s meal wasn’t color pleasing as it was mostly yellow. However, it was stomach pleasing.  I bought a spaghetti squash. They are delicious and simple to make! Prick it,  throw it (well place it) in the oven for 45min- 1 hour at 375 degrees. When it’s done, cut it in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Then separate the strands by running a fork through it; the squash should easily form spaghetti like strands. I topped it with spaghetti sauce this meal. It was delicious.  And below is the recipe for Corn Truffle which was awesome and Meyer Lemon and Nut Cake with Honey Syrup.

Truffled Corn Pudding

(chubbyvegetarian.blogspot.com)

5 ears of corn

2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tbsp corn meal or grits

1/4 cup half & half

1/4 cup 2% milk

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup parm cheese

1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the corn off the cob. In a large bowl, whisk milk, half & half, salt, eggs, egg yolk, and melted butters.  Add the flour and grits and whisk again.  Add the corn mixture and stir to combine.   Pour into a shallow, buttered  baking dish.  Sprinkle with cheese and a few dashes of paprika.  Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Once cooked, let it sit for 10 minutes to settle.

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I don’t ever remember eating fruitcake. I only know about it as the classic Christmas gift but if I had to think about how it would taste, this cake would be it with a twist. I halved the recipe, put it in muffin cups, and used a variety of mixed nuts as well as a variety of dried fruits. It is heavy but tasty. I had some lemons to use up so I found this recipe on thekitchn.com

Meyer Lemon and Walnut Cake with Honey Syrup

3 cups walnuts
2 Meyer lemons
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup sugar
6 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup golden raisins

2 Meyer lemons
1/2 cup juice (from 4 lemons – supplement with water if not enough liquid to make 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey

Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9″ springform pan. Grind the walnuts until fine in a food processor and set aside. Grate 2 Meyer lemons (save juice for later).

Cream the butter and sugar until very fluffy. Add the eggs and beat on high speed until lightened and fluffy. It is very important that these are lightened and airy before adding the dry ingredients; any leavening the cake has comes from the eggs.

Beat in the flour, salt, ground walnuts, and Meyer lemon zest. Stir in the raisins.

Pour in the pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, juice the two lemons you zested for the cake. Zest two more lemons and juice them as well. Simmer all the juice, sugar, and honey until reduced by about half and syrupy. Stir in the zest.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes on top with a toothpick and pour about half the syrup over top. Cover. When the cake is cool, wrap tightly and leave at least overnight – it is significantly better the next day. Serve with any remaining syrup, reheated.

Mushroom Steaks and Risotto with Parmesean Green Beans

Wednesday, we ate a potpie that I had made previously and froze. That was good and filling, but this Thursday, I tried something new and it became another of my favorite meals! The mushroom steaks were delicious and but the risotto was my favorite! The texture and flavor were awesome combinations in this dish!

Sweet Corn Risotto

Yield: 6 – 8 Servings

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, chopped
2 ears fresh sweet corn, cut off cob
1 cups arborio rice
½ cup sauvignon blanc wine
3-4 cups chicken stock
¼ cup Romano cheese (parmesan), grated
2 tablespoons minced parsley

1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large heavy bottomed pot, over medium-high heat butter. Add olive oil and garlic, stirring until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add onion and cook till soft.

Add corn and arborio rice, stirring constantly, until the edges of the rice are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add wine, stirring constantly, until almost completely absorbed, 2-3 minutes.

Add 1 cup chicken stock, stirring constantly, until the stock has been absorbed. Continue adding stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring the risotto until the stock is absorbed before adding more. It is important to add the next cup only after all of the last has been absorbed in order to make the starch form a nice sauce. The risotto is done when the rice is tender (begin tasting after 12 minutes).

Stir in the cheese, parsley and butter. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately!

Marinated Portobello Mushroom “Steak”

Ingredients:

2 Portobello Mushroom Caps (3-4 oz. mushroom cap)
4 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 tsp. Fresh Garlic (minced)
2/3 tsp. Basil
2/3 tsp. Oregano
2/3 tsp. Thyme
1/2 tsp. Rosemary

Directions:

Measure Oil and Seasonings, Mix, and Marinate

Measure your olive oil and seasonings, and pour into a microwave-safe cup.
Heat the oil and seasonings for about 20-25 seconds in the microwave. This is to warm up the oil and draw out the seasoning flavors. Cover and set the oil aside, in room temperature, for approximately 6 hours. Once every couple hours, microwave the oil/seasonings for 20-25 seconds. I find this to be a lot of work and not completely necessary to do for such an extended period of time.

Set the mushroom out a couple hours ahead of time so it can get to room temperature.

Prepare and Marinate Mushroom
Remove mushroom stalk.
Place the mushroom cap in a bowl, smooth side up.
Brush a very small amount of the oil onto the smooth side of the mushroom cap.
Turn mushroom upside down (smooth side down/gill side up).
Pour the remaining oil and seasonings into the cup-shaped mushroom cap.
Allow to marinate for approximately 20-30 minutes.

Broil or Grill
Place the mushroom, smooth side down, into your broiler.
Broil for approximately 4-5 minutes. Keep a close watch on it to avoid burning.
Remove from broiler. Once the mushroom comes out of the broiler, it won’t stay hot for long, so be ready to eat immediately.

Patrick experimented by putting the finished mushroom and cooking it a little in a pan. He preferred this crispiness to the mushroom.

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

Skinnytaste.com
Ingredients:

• 12 oz green beans, trimmed (make sure they are dry)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• kosher salt + fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp shredded parmesan

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425°F. (Line a baking sheet with aluminum for easy clean-up.)
Lay green beans out on the baking sheet and drizzle oil over them. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and toss to evenly coat.

Spread them out on the sheet so that they all lay flat and place on the lower third section of your oven. Bake 10 minutes, shake the pan to turn; bake 5 additional minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Long days

Yesterday, Patrick worked a 14 hour day. It was also conveniently leftover night (because I didn’t know when he would be home). Today was another long day, but not that long. our dinner is mentioned below. Note, I made Beet Hummus, and I wouldn’t try that again. The combination of the sweet/savory beets, lemon juice, and tahini was a little much for my tastes!

Corn and Roasted Tomato Grilled Flatbread Recipe

2 flatbreads

1 small package smoked mozzarella

Store bought pesto

Store bought roasted tomatoes (I found these at Trader Joe’s near the pesto)

Handful of arugula

1 ear of corn cooked, kernels removed

Parmesan cheese

Preheat your grill to medium low. Place the flatbread on the grill and cook for about 5 minutes (more or less depending on thickness of the bread). Flip and grill for another 3 minutes or until both sides are crisp. Remove from the grill and add the mozzarella, pesto, roasted tomatoes, arugula, corn, and parmesan in that order. Place the flatbreads back on the grill for 5 minutes. Remove from grill, slice and serve!

(I used whole wheat sandwich rounds, homemade pesto (thanks Patrick’s parents!), corn, farmers market cherry tomatoes, and string cheese)

Spicy Rainbow Rice and Beans

• 1 cup uncooked brown or basmati rice
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1.5 cups frozen peas
• 2 cups fresh cooked corn (or frozen)
• salt to taste

1. Cook the rice in a medium pot according to package directions.

2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and add sweet onions, garlic, and spices. Sauté 4-5 minutes, until golden and sizzling. Add the black beans, soy sauce, peas, and corn to the skillet. Heat on medium-low for 6-7 minutes, until hot, stirring often.

3. Stir in the cooked rice. Add an additional splash of soy sauce if necessary.

(This wasn’t a really exciting dish., but it is a good filler dinner for Patrick. Like usual, I didn’t have all the ingredients… like coriander or soy sauce.)

Roanoke Rapids. Then with one word, gone for a weekend in Charlotte.

Patrick was off to the plant on Thursday. I went to the hotel’s gym and then I started planning the meals. Throughout my life, I have collected recipes- mostly magazine articles and family recipes are the paper recipes and online I have my pinterest collection. I hope that in my life of a traveler, I will have found some recipes that can be staples for our life, a nice collection to fall back on and to use in the future. (Side note, did you know there are 5 oceans? Patrick and I must be living in the dark, but we thought there were only 4… After researching we found the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and as of  2000, they classified a new ocean, Southern.) So Wednesday, I went through and sorted my paper collections. When Patrick came home that night earlier then expected, we just had veggie burgers for dinner, mmm! On Friday, Patrick had a half day. Some things need to get done at the power plant which is why he will need to work in Charlotte on Monday- Tuesday they will resume work at the plant. For lunch on Friday, I made Black Bean and Corn Pizza. And for dinner, Tuna Nicoise Sandwiches.Or at least I these were the baseline recipes I used.

Here are the original recipes:

Smoky Corn & Black Bean Pizza

INGREDIENTS

• 1 plum tomato, diced
• 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels, (about 2 ears)
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 pound prepared whole-wheat pizza dough
• 1/3 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella, preferably smoked mozzarella

(My simple version/twist included canned corn, black beans, turkey, and bbq warmed on a toasted baguette.)

PREPARATION

1. Preheat grill to medium.
2. Combine tomato, beans and corn in a medium bowl. Sprinkle cornmeal onto a large baking sheet. Stretch the dough into about a 12-inch circle and lay it on top of the cornmeal, coating the entire underside of the dough.
3. Transfer the crust from the baking sheet to the grill. Close the lid and cook until the crust is puffed and lightly browned on the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes.
4. Using a large spatula, flip the crust. Spread barbecue sauce on it and quickly sprinkle with the tomato mixture and cheese. Close the lid; grill until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the crust is browned, 4 to 5 minutes.

Tuna Nicoise Sandwich

INGREDIENTS: 1 Arnold® Multi-Grain Sandwich Thins® roll 4 oz. canned tuna 1 tbsp. light Dijon Vinaigrette 1 tbsp. black olives, sliced 1/2 c. arugula, loosely packed 1/2 tomato, sliced 1 tbsp. hummus

DIRECTIONS: Remove tuna from can and drain liquid completely. Mix the Dijon Vinaigrette with tuna thoroughly. Place the tuna on the bottom half of Sandwich Thins® roll. Add the sliced black olives, arugula, sliced tomatoes and hummus. Based on personal preference, add the sliced egg. Add salt and pepper for taste. Finally, place the top half of the Sandwich Thins® roll.

(Our sandwich involved thins, tuna, hummus, tomato and avocado.)