Bring You Back from the Dead Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

So I have a dentist appointment tomorrow and I started thinking of what to make that would work on some sore teeth.  So I figured I'd make some of my chicken soup tomorrow, and then Caitlin said she wanted soup tonight, completely separately from my desire to make it tomorrow.  Weird huh?  Well, my chicken soup recipe makes enough to last a week, so making it tonight is as good as making it tomorrow, and she gets to take it for lunch, so double bonus!

Of course, it does take a little while to make, so Caitlin's been bouncing off the walls waiting to get her mitts on a fresh bowl (or two. . . ).  This is a good recipe for this week though: the weather's starting to change and get colder (which I love), we're both sore as crap from soccer (which isn't so great) and I've got the dentist, so I'll need something soft to slurp down with my numbed butter teeth.  I suppose it's only a matter of time until one of us gets sick again too, so hopefully the soup will ward off disease as long as possible.

Here's what you'll need:

Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

128 oz Chicken Stock
4 or 5 Carrots cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 Medium (baseball sized) Red Onion, diced
1 Package of Celery Hearts chopped into 1/2 inch slices
2 Boneless Chicken Breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2-3 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Crushed Rosemary
2 Tbsp Dried Thyme
2 Tbsp Diced Garlic
Handful Fresh Parsley finely chopped
1/2 Cup White Wine
Freshly Ground Pepper and Salt
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
12 to 16 oz Package Egg Noodles

Start off by pouring all the chicken stock and the kosher salt into a large (8qt or bigger) stock pot on the stove on medium-high heat.  Start a saucepan on high with a steamer insert and while the water is heating up peel and chop the carrots and add to the steamer and cover.  Add the wine to a large saute pan and heat on medium-high heat.  While the wine is heating up, quickly dice the red onion and add to the saute pan.  While the onions are cooking, chop the celery and add to the chicken stock, then chop the chicken.  Stir the onions and let the wine reduce by about one half and then dump the onions and wine into the stock.

Return the saute pan to heat and add the oil and the chicken and stir constantly.  Sprinkle on some salt and pepper onto the chicken, enough to evenly cover all the pieces and then add in the garlic, thyme and rosemary and continue stirring for another minute or two to evenly brown the chicken and coat the pieces with spice, then add to the stock pot.  Take the carrots out of the teamer and add them to the stock pot as well and lower the heat to medium-low.  In a large saucepan (or a small stock pot) boil water and add in the noodles.  Let the noodles cook until soft, about 5 or 6 minutes and then drain and rinse and add to the stock pot.

It's a good tip when making soup with egg noodles to boil them in water separately from the soup, because when you boil the noodles, they soak up a little of the liquid, but also sometimes release a little bit of the flour, so if you boil them in your soup stock, you'll lose some stock softening the noodles, and possibly get a bunch of flour that will ruin your soup's stock with a cloudy, nasty noodle funk.

So, boil them separately, drain and rinse the noodles and add to the stock pot and let the whole thing simmer covered together for 5 or 10 minutes at least and then serve!  It tastes great with some crusty french bread or dinner rolls and they'll help you sop up the delicious broth.

Spicy Garlic Teriyaki Lo Mein

Okay peeps, so we're on day 5 of pantry clearing, and I did some inventory and found a package of Lo Mein noodles.  Now with the weather all cool and our nightly exercise complete, it was time to make some greasy chinese takeout at home and I know how Caitlin loves some shrimp lo mein!  Well, stir fry, if done right, is a delicious, healthy and quick meal that has endless possibilities for different combinations of sauce and ingredients.  I was craving something a little spicy too, so I thought I'd kick it up an extra notch.  Here's what you'll need:

1 Package Lo Mein Noodles
1 or 2 Chicken Breasts
2 Tbsp Ginger Paste
2 Tbsp Cilantro Paste
1/4 C diced Red Onion
1-2 Tbsp Crushed Red Pepper (depending on your desired spice level)
1/4 C Garlic Teriyaki Sauce
1/4 C Hoisin Sauce
2 Tbsp Mirin (Japanese Rice Wine)
2 Tbsp Corn Starch
3 Large/4 Medium Carrots
1 or 2 Cups Cooked Frozen Shrimp (more shrimp with less chicken or vice versa)
1/4 C Peanut Oil

Okay, now, the first time you make this, it might not be that quick of a meal.  But with some practice at real stir fry cooking, you can really get in there and get it all chopped, cooked and in the bowl in about 20 minutes.  Of course it really helps if you're making noodles or using the microwaveable uncle ben's rice pouches, otherwise you have to plan ahead, because it takes awhile to cook rice.  Also, the real key to making good (and fast) stir fry is to make sure that all the pieces are cut to to the same size, which helps them to cook at the same rate.

For this recipe, I'll try to explain my methodology for speed while stir-frying.  First, set up your steamer insert in a saucepan with water up to the bottom of the steamer insert and put on the stove on high.  Then, peel and chop the carrots into 1/2 inch pieces and add them to the steamer and cover.  In a large sauce pan, put water on the stove on high to boil for the noodles.  Put the frozen shrimp into a measuring cup and fill with hot water to thaw.  Cut the chicken in half horizontally to make 2 thin filets and then cut into 1/2 inch pieces and add to a bowl.  Drain the shrimp and cut the tails off the shrimp and then cut each shrimp into 1/2 in pieces and return to the measuring cup.  Add in the teriyaki, hoisin, mirin, and corn starch to the chicken and stir and fold to mix the sauces and make sure the chicken is covered evenly.

Clean off the cutting board (or pull out a second one) and dice the onions.  Pull out your Wok (or saute pan if you don't have one) and pour in the peanut oil and place on the burner on med-high heat.  By now the water should be boiling so add in a little oil to the water (so the noodles won't stick together) and dump in the lo mein noodles.  Let the oil in the wok heat up and when you see the surface of the oil shimmering, add in the red onion, ginger and cilantro and stir with a spatula slowly for about a minute or two to cook the onions.  Add in the chicken and stir constantly with a sweeping motion to keep the chicken turning and cooking without letting it sit for more than 10 or 15 seconds.  After the chicken starts to look browned (maybe 4 or 5 minutes), add in the shrimp, carrots and red pepper and continue stirring for another 2 or 3 minutes and then remove from heat.

While the wok is off the heat, drain the noodles and add to the wok and return to heat.  Continue stirring and folding it all together for another minute or two, or until the noodles start to absorb some of the sauce and brown up a little.  After that, remove from heat and serve!  Mmmmm, mmm, greasy delicious Chicken and Shrimp spicy Lo Mein at home in less time than it would take to drive for takeout or have it delivered!

Shish-ka-Scott

Okay, so we're on day 2 of spelunking in our overcrowded pantry. So, for some insight into how these dinners get made and decided on, here's Caitlin and my planning conversation over IM:

Scott: What do you want for dinner?

Caitlin: I don't know, something that won't make me feel gross. . .

Scott: hmmmmm

Caitlin: and not Mexican, I had that for lunch.

Caitlin: How about something grilled?!

Caitlin: shish kabob!

Caitlin: YES

Caitlin: with chicken

Caitlin: and tomatoes

Caitlin: and potatoes

Caitlin: and poblano

Caitlin: and green onions

Caitlin: and whatever else we have in the fridge

Scott: ok, I guess I'll look in the fridge

Okay, so it looks like the plan is set. I'll grab everything in our fridge veggie drawer that's not apples and some chicken and we'll grill the crap out of it! Eureka! Well, that's how you end up with Shish-ka-Scott (since I'm not named Bob, get it?!), though we didn't have any green onions or potatoes. So I thawed some chicken, and checked the veggie drawer and found some red onion, poblano peppers and roma tomatoes. Here's what you'll need:

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts

1/2 Red Onion, cut into 1 inch slices

1 or 2 Large Poblano or Green Peppers cut into 1 inch squares

2 Roma Tomatoes

1/4 Cup Hoisin Sauce

1/4 Cup Teriyaki Sauce

1/4 Cup Lime Juice

So, first thing you'll need to do is cut the chicken into roughly one inch cubes and then place in a bowl. Add in the hoisin, teriyaki and lime juice and stir and let marinade while you cut the veggies. Cut the ends off the roma tomatoes and then cut them in half so you have 4 tomato cylinders. Cut the pepper(s) in half and remove the seeds in the center. Wash them off so all the seeds are gone and then cut the halves in half and then into 1 in squares. Take the onion and cut it in half and then cut off the top and bottom of one half to remove both cores at each end. Take the center piece and cut into quarters and then pull the layers apart and you have a bunch of onion squares.

Take some skewers (these are really handy for this) and thread on a tomato and then layer it with a pepper square, a chicken piece and an onion square until you get to the other end, and then put on another tomato. Keep threading until you run out of pieces and then place in a shallow dish and pour the marinade on top. While the skewers are marinading, go turn on the grill to medium-high. Let it heat up for a few minutes to get the grill grates nice and hot and then go throw the skewers on. Grill on each side for about 8 or 10 minutes or until the chicken starts to get grill marks seared in. Flip them over and finish the other side, and then serve with a little rice or some salad. It's delish and it clears out the veggie drawer!

Tandoori Chicken Curry with Potatoes

So it's getting to the point where our pantry and fridge are just packed with stuff that I've bought and we've never made. We eat indian food all the time, yet apparently I buy stuff for it way more often than I make it. I guess that trip to Lotte Plaza (the Asian food market) was maybe a bad idea. Anyway, so in an effort to clean out the backup, I envisioned making some delicious indian food and using some of the stuff we had sitting around before it all goes bad.

So one of my Lotte Plaza purchases was a number of indian pastes for marinades and sauces: Tandoori, Tikka, Curry, Vindaloo and Korma. I like the prepared indian bags of veggies with the Tandoori sauce, so I thought I'd combine a couple of them and make my own simmer sauce. Here's what you'll need:

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
1/4 Cup Tandoori Paste
6 oz Plain Greek Yogurt/Heavy Cream/Coconut Milk
2 Tbsp Oil
3 Carrots cut into 1/2" cubes
5 or 6 Red Skin Potatoes
Salt and Pepper to taste

Okay, first thing you need to do is boil about 2 cups of water in a medium sauce pan with a steamer. While the water comes to a boil, peel and chop the carrots and then dump them into the steamer. Make sure the water doesn't come above the bottom of the steamer insert. Let the carrots steam until they start to soften, about 8 minutes. While the carrots are steaming, cut the chicken into about 1/2 inch pieces and put in a large saute pan with the oil on medium-high heat. While the chicken cooks, quickly wash and cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch size pieces. Remove the carrots from heat if they're softened and ready to go.

Cook the chicken until the pieces start to brown slightly and none of the sides are raw. Remove the chicken to the side and add the potatoes to the pan. If the pan is dry, put in a little more oil to help them cook up. Stir the potato pieces until they start to soften, then add back in the chicken and the carrots and turn the heat down to medium low. Combine in a bowl or measuring cup the tandoori paste and the yogurt/cream/coconut milk and add to the pan and stir everything together. Let simmer covered for 5 or 10 minutes to let all the sauces and spices marry together and then serve with jasmine or basmati rice and/or some toasted naan.

Don't forget the milk...

Often when I'm rattling off what I want for dinner to Scott, he'll head out to the store. That's right ladies, not only does he cook, he shops for groceries too (in record time). I'll rent him out for an hourly rate...
Anyway, this is often how I feel when he dashes out the door to the store:

Potato Gnocchi with Shrimp and Homemade Pesto Sauce

So I had to go to the dentist and Caitlin's stomach was feeling a little weird today, so I thought I'd make something comfortable, delicious and not too spicy (since I've been making a lot of spicy Mexican and Indian food lately). Also, our Basil plant in our garden is HUGE and since it's starting to get cold at night, well, it's probably going to die soon, so it needed to get eaten.

This is a real quick meal to make (even more so if you have a food processor), so here's what you'll need:

Semi-Homemade Pesto Sauce:

1 Cup Alfredo Sauce

1 Cup White Wine

2 Cups Loosely Packed Basil Leaves

1/2 Cup (or a big handful) Sage Leaves

1 Cup (or 2 big handfuls) Baby Spinach

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1 Tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1 Tsp Salt

For the Pasta:

16 oz Package of Fresh Gnocchi

8-10 Frozen Cooked Shrimp (per person)

Fresh Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Sundried Tomatoes, Julienne Cut

Pine Nuts

First thing you'll need to do is thaw the shrimp in a bowl filled with some warm water for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then, fill a pot with water with a pinch of salt and a little olive oil and place on the stove on high to boil for the gnocchi. To start off the sauce, combine the alfredo sauce and white wine and whisk together in a medium saucepan on medium heat while you gather the pesto ingredients.

Next you'll need to make the homemade pesto portion. Combine the basil, spinach, sage, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse for 5 or 10 seconds until well mixed and chopped and then add into the saucepan. Heat up a frying pan on medium high with a little olive oil and throw the shrimp in with some salt and pepper. Toss the shrimp around to heat up for a few minutes. Once the water is boiling, add in the gnocchi and boil for 3 or 4 minutes or until they start to float. Strain the gnocchi and serve in a shallow bowl or plate and spoon on some sauce and then top with some shredded Parmesan, pine nuts, and sundried tomatoes and enjoy!

Kitchen Bear - Now with 50% more pictures!

Scott has put me in charge of taking the pictures for this blog. It's no easy task; I have to remember to snap some pics before shoving my face full of food....

When I forget to take a picture, I'll just draw one!

I have no drawing skills...but that won't stop me!

BEAR GRILLS
(or BEAR-B-QUE)

~Caitlin