Lemon-Chicken Soup

If I could, I would pass out bowls of this delightful soup to everyone I meet. Brothy, light and lemony, it's the perfect soup for after the holidays.



Basically, it's a chicken noodle soup, minus the noodles, with the addition of lemon to zing things up a bit. I love it. I've seen several recipes like this lately - one in Cooking Light which had Orzo pasta in it -and this recipe from Southern Living which did not. I sort of did my own thing and added some noodles, but it would be just fine without.

I hope everyone survived the holidays and has a safe and happy New Years Eve.

Lemon-Chicken Soup
adapted from Southern Living

Ingredients

A small batch of orzo pasta, or noodles, that you have already cooked al dente
6 skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts
2 large onions, chopped
5 celery ribs, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 (1-lb.) package carrots, sliced
4 teaspoons lemon zest
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Toppings: cooked barley, cooked green beans, lemon slices
Preparation
1. Bring chicken and water to cover to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 hour.
2. Remove chicken, reserving liquid, and let cool 15 minutes. Shred chicken.
3. Pour reserved cooking liquid through a wire-mesh strainer into a bowl, discarding solids; wipe Dutch oven clean. Add water to cooking liquid to equal 10 cups.
4. Sauté onion, celery, and garlic in hot oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 to 6 minutes or until tender. Add shredded chicken, cooking liquid, carrots, and next 3 ingredients along with your precooked pasta noodles. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook 20 minutes or until carrots are tender. Add parsley. Serve with desired toppings.

A Good Day

Ready for the holidays?

I have a confession to make, something that belies sacred, capitalistic society, I am not big on Christmas.

Oh, I enjoy the food and spending time with my family and watching Christmas movies and all. But what I don't enjoy is the shopping and the hustle-and-bustle and all the noise, noise, noise.

I prefer a simple, quiet Christmas, which is what we are having this year.

Same goes for New Years Eve. My idea of the perfect New Years Eve is curling up in my pajamas watching Sleepless In Seattle eating comfort food.

What can I say?

I'm a simple gal.

It's the quiet, cozy days at home that make me happy.

And today was one of those days. Gray. Quiet. Misty. Bare trees against a cold December sky. A good day. An especially good day since I had the opportunity to pull out the immersion blender. I know it sounds crazy, but nothing makes me happier than using my immersion blender, which is an under used appliance in my kitchen. Each and every time I reach for it, I get giddy with anticipation of the good things to come.

Now, I just realized, I unequivocally must get a life.

Anyway, on days like today, when I'm hankering for something warm and spicy to savor, this is what I turn to.

White Bean and Turkey Chili

Adapted from Cooking Light magazine

I changed the recipe a bit and replaced the turkey with chicken.

1.) Begin by cutting 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts into small chunks and cooking them in a bit of oil along with some salt and pepper. Remove the chicken from the pan, set aside, then saute one large, chopped onion until lightly browned for about ten minutes. Next add a clove of chopped garlic, 1 teaspoon dried Mexican Oregano, 1-1/2 tablespoons of Chili Powder along with 1-1/2 teaspoons cumin, and cook and stir for a minute or two.

2.) Next add 3 cans of Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained, along with 4 cups chicken broth and simmer for 20 minutes.

3.) Now comes the fun part, use the immersion blender to puree a portion of the soup. Not all of the soup, only about half. The pureed beans make the soup nice and thick and creamy without the addition of cream or milk. But it's important to leave at least half the beans in tact, it adds more texture to the soup.

4.) Lastly, add the cooked chicken back to the soup along with 1 diced tomato (or you could used chopped, canned tomatoes here), some chopped cilantro, a good squeeze of lime, salt and pepper, then allow this to simmer a few minutes and serve.

I've gotten a lot of mileage out of this recipe. It really does hit the spot on a cold, December day. You could use ground or even leftover turkey in place of the chicken. Also, the original recipe said to place two cups of the bean mixture into a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. But the immersion blender is way more fun. If you don't already own one, and you've got a procrastinating husband like mine, who waits until the last minute to shop on Christmas Eve, go ahead, ask for one, it's still not too late.

Happy Holidays All!

A Few Of My Favorite Things

For me it is always fun to read other peoples favorites lists. It gives me a little peek into what they like, who they are, and best of all, ideas of new things to try myself.

My list is nothing like Oprah's. I am not rich, I don't like shopping - unless it's for food, I have a weird taste in music and books, and I'm practical - I don't buy a lot of girly things.

These happen to be a few of my quirky, favorite things:

This first one is going to seem strange -- tea. Yes, my secret is out. I buy tea online. And I've been doing so for a number of years, ever since my husband made a trip to Sam's and came home smiling with this enormous box of bargain tea. At first I was miffed, it wasn't our usual brand. But this tea turned out to be so good that my kids and I now refuse to drink anything else. And of course, Sam's stopped carrying it. So now we have to order it online. My husband and I both come from southern families who drink a lot of iced tea, and Walter's Bay Iced Tea is the best we've found. http://www.waltersbay.com/




This cookbook is great because it gives you lists and substitutions and recipes that are simple. It also gives you master recipes and variations on how to prepare recipes many different ways. I like the fact that none of the recipes, that I have found anyway, include corn syrup or shortening. I don't know why but I just can't bring myself to use those ingredients in my cooking. This cookbook will probably leave the house one day with one of my kids. It is the perfect, simple, go to cookbook.






I love Sting, a true artist, he keeps expanding as a musician. I also happen to like winter, perhaps that has something to do with being born in January. A beautiful CD for a beautiful season.










I was amazed when this crate of canned tomatoes arrived at my doorstep the other day. I have been using Muir Glen organic tomatoes for years. And if you go to their website http://www.muirglen.com/ you can order their 2009 Reserve Tomatoes for just $7.00. This beautifully packaged crate included four cans of their Reserve Tomatoes - two Mexican inspired and two Italian - a recipe booklet and some recipe cards. The labels on two of the cans are so pretty that I am hesitant to open them. This would make a great gift for someone who loves to cook with tomatoes.



At least once a week, my kids eat pita pockets filled with homemade hummus, Tabouli, Feta, Kalamata Olives, Pepperoncini, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. I have tried many different Tabouli recipes and many different types of Tabouli grain, but Bob's Red Mill Bulgur cracked wheat is the best I have found in my area. This is such an easy, no-cook meal, that we keep this Bulgur Wheat on hand at all times.

Tabouli Recipe
I like to make a basic olive oil/lemon vinaigrette and pour it over (1) cup of Bulgur that has been soaked in (1) cup of boiling water for about an hour. Stir the vinaigrette along with the tabouli, some diced cucumber, diced tomato, chopped parsley, chopped mint, and chopped red or green onion. Salt and Pepper to taste.

A good friend, a French woman no less, sent me this book last summer. It is the perfect lighthearted comedy. There are other books in this collection, but this is the only one I have had the pleasure of reading. My Francophile daughter, however, has read several of them and said she enjoyed this one most.


What are the holidays without a few good Christmas movies? I first saw The Gathering starring Ed Asner and Maureen Stapleton on TV back in the late seventies. And it's been at least a decade since I last saw this movie on TV. It is about a businessman who tries to reunite with his wife and family for what may be his last Christmas. I think one of the things that first attracted me to this movie was seeing the home they gathered in and it's decor. I have been known to watch movies for their decor alone. Strange, I know. I am sure the decor in this movie is now long outdated, but you will enjoy watching Ed Asner who plays the perfect curmudgeon. Unfortunately this movie is not out on DVD. But I was shocked to see it in the cable lineup, playing Saturday, December 5th, at 10:00 am, Channel 178 in my area, which is a strange channel to me, called GMC. I've got my DVR set.

Another older, somewhat Christmasy chick flick I can recommend is Falling In Love with Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro. I think it's available through Netflix.

Lastly, I cannot leave without recommending my favorite Scrooge of all time, Alastair Sim, in this 1951 version of A Christmas Carol titled Scrooge. You know the part at the end of the movie where Scrooge sees the light and hollers down at the little boy to fetch him a Christmas goose? Alastair Sim is giddy and hilarious in this part and his Christmas enthusiasm is contagious. I've seen most of the Scrooge movies and this one is my absolute favorite. I believe it's available on DVD, but I'm still needing to check the cable lineup for this one.

So how 'bout it? What are some of your favorite things? I'd love to know!