Crazy fast curried carrot soup

This dish happened because I had some squash that needed used up, and was in the mood for a thick winter vegetable stew. But I didn't want just acorn squash soup, so I added bunches of carrots for color and lots of spices for flavor.

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash

1/2 cup milk

1 bag frozen carrots (or 1 bunch fresh)

Squirt of sriracha

2 tbsp garam masala

1 cup chicken broth

 

Step 1: Cut the squash in half and pull out seeds with a spoon. Put some water in the middle and microwave on high for five minutes. Flip upside-down and microwave another 5 minutes.

Step 2: The squash should be soft, remove the skin and smash in a bowl. It looks a bit like applesauce at this point.

Step 3: Put the squash in a blender with the milk, stock, spices, and carrots. If using fresh carrots, boil them or microwave for 10 minutes first so they are softened. Blend it all together.

There you have it, a simple thick stew with TONS of vitamins, fiber, and beta-carotene. Enjoy with a winter greens salad or some fresh bread.

Butternut Squash Soup

I recently had a dinner party, and in the spirit of the season (fall) I decided to make butternut squash soup as one of my main dishes. Earlier I posted about butternut squash macaroni & cheese, if you have one and soup just isn't your thing. No reason not to enjoy the bounties of fall, regardless of texture preferences. So as per usual, I googled around and pulled from several recipes and what I had in the house to come up with this. It received universally positive reviews! I made a large amount since I was feeding 6, you can cut everything in half for a smaller number of people.

Ingredients:

2 squash, halved and seeded

2 carrots

2 celery sticks

1 small chunk peeled raw ginger (about 1 inch)

1 white onion

4 chicken bouillon cubes

5 cups water

1 package cream cheese

Cinnamon, nutmeg and coriander seasoning

 Step 1: Place halved squash on a baking pan with a little water. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, until soft when poked with a fork.

 Step 2: While the squash are baking, boil the carrots, celery, onion and ginger in chicken water until tender.

 Step 3: Scoop the squash out of the skin and blend in a blender. There's a surprisingly large amount of flesh in there, I had to do it in three batches. Add hot water from the pot to thin it out. Blend in the cream cheese, the vegetables and chicken stock as well, put it all back into a large stock pot.

Step 4: Add a healthy dose of cinnamon, nutmeg and/or coriander, adjusting to your tastes. Bring to just a simmer, and enjoy.

This is a great taste of fall, good on its own or I'm sure you could pair it with any number of dishes. You could probably mix and match too, if you wanted to try pumpkin or acorn squash instead. You could add milk or half and half to make it creamier, or omit the cream cheese & chicken bouillon to make it vegan.

Slow cooker chicken soup: "Just like grandma used to make"

When I was younger, Sunday was always early dinner, and almost always chicken noodle soup. Grandma or mom would put a pot of soup on to simmer, we would go off to church or on a Sunday drive around town, and come home to a house that smelled delicious and a pot full of warm delight. I like continuing that on my own, though I use the modern miracle of the crock pot so I don't have to worry about it burning on the stove (that's a hilarious story for another time...).

Since I had recently roasted a chicken, naturally I made soup from what wasn't eaten the first day. We had eaten the legs and drums, so I cut off and saved the whole breasts for sandwiches for lunch the next day. The rest of the bird plus a few extras was made into a huge crock pot full of chilly weather goodness. There is nothing like coming home to the smell of homemade chicken soup!

Ingredients:
1 chicken carcass
3 large carrots, sliced
2 potatoes, diced
1 whole onion, sliced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 pint fresh mushrooms
1 cup barley
1 tbsp butter
Water

Step 1: That gorgeous roasted chicken had a tray full of juices and spices that I added into the crock pot first. Waste not want not, and that's some powerful flavor I don't want to waste.

 Step 2: I diced up all the assorted veggies and added them and the chicken (skin, bones, extra meat and all) into the crock pot. I added water all the way to the top and put it on low all day (about 8 hours).

When I came home, the house just smelled amazing. The chicken had been brined in all that lovely salt and sugar and pepper and spices, so I didn't even really need to add anything to the broth.

Step 4: I boiled 1 cup of barley in 1 1/2 cups of water with 1 tbsp butter for 45 minutes. 

Barley is a bit chewy, and I added some of the broth after 40 minutes to let the flavor soak in for the last 5 minutes. Maybe a 1/2 cup.

 

Just look at all those gorgeous veggies! And the sheen on the surface, that's from the natural chicken fat that dissolved into the broth. Sure it isn't the healthiest thing in the world for you, but boy howdy does it taste great! And you can let it cool in the fridge then skim the extra fat off the top.

The barley was surprisingly perfect for this soup. Normally I use egg noodles but didn't have any on hand. The flavors blend so well and are perfect for nippy fall nights. It is so easy to make, and you will have leftovers for days (unless you share). I guarantee* you won't get sick, or if you already are you will immediately feel better.

*Guarantee based only on personal experience, not actually backed by anything or redeemable for anything. But other experiences and comments are welcome to be shared. =)

Candied Carrots

Everyone knows how hard it is sometimes to get kids to eat their vegetables. Heck, it's hard to get adults to eat their vegetables! But my mom knew all the tricks and I remember several vegetable side dishes that we all actually enjoyed as kids. Candied carrots was always one of my favorites. Not only to carrots already have a naturally sweet-ish taste, but then you add butter and brown sugar, and it's almost like dessert with dinner! Not exactly the healthiest thing in the world, but at least it will get some vitamin A and beta-carotene into your diet.

Ingredients:
3 large whole carrots, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick?)

 Step 1: Slice all the carrots (peel if you want, sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. Always wash them first though) and place in a saucepot.
Step 2: Add the butter and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes, until the carrots are soft when poked with a fork.

That's really all there is to it! They are soft and sweet and a perfect side dish for just about anything. If you have a favorite side dish from your childhood, or a way to cook vegetables such that kids and family members don't complain, feel free to comment and share!

Slow cooker soup-in-a-bag

Dinner can literally not get any easier than:
Step 1 - take bag out of freezer
Step 2 - pour in crock pot
Step 3 - hit "start"
Ok, maybe "pick up phone and dial Pizza hut" is one step shorter, but you have to order, wait, tip the delivery guy, their customer service is outsourced to Pittsburgh... it's way healthier my way. In my humble opinion.


Maybe this is partially inspired by these things you see on Pinterest all the time about a salad in a mason jar. Which is a great idea, and someday I'll try it. But anyhow, with bits and pieces from other meals, I just accumulated veggies in a bag and one day after I'd made chicken and had leftover bones and grease, I used that to create a simple soup.

Ingredients:
Chicken bones, skin, fat from 4 drumsticks
1 tomato, diced
1 potato, diced
3 whole carrots, sliced
1/2 white onion, diced
2 tbsp chicken flavoring
Dash garlic salt and Italian seasonings

That bag can be tossed in the freezer to be pulled out whenever you want a quick meal hot and ready for you that night.

Step 1: Put bag of 'stuff' into crock pot. Add seasonings if you want, or extra chicken meat if you want.

 Step 2: Add water until crock pot is about half full. Set on low all day.

This is easily customizable to whatever veggies or meat you like. You can also add a grain like noodles, rice, or barley. If you're full vegan, don't use chicken leftovers as a base, you can make your own veggie stock.

Cracker-breaded baked pork chops & roasted vegetables

Pork chops are one of the cheaper meats these days, and I've previously professed my love of oven-roasted vegetables. Roasting any veggie in the oven makes it softer, sweeter, and more delicious in my opinion. You can't go wrong with several cups of veggie chunks and olive oil at 350 for 25 minutes...

Ingredients:
1/2 cup crushed butter crackers
2 tbsp garlic salt and black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2-4 pork chops
2 cups diced onion, potato and carrot
2 tbsp olive oil

 Step 1: Coat the chops in egg on both sides. A shallow plate is best for this.

 Step 2: Butter crackers really make this crust tasty! Smash up about a cup in a plastic baggie. I then added some garlic salt and black pepper too. Coat both side of the chops and place on a sprayed baking pan.

 Step 3: Put the pork in the oven at 375 and set a timer to 45 minutes. While they bake, dice up your veggies.

 I had recently gone to a farm market and they had heirloom colored carrots, so of COURSE I had to buy some. Purple carrots, turns out on the inside they are still orange. Disappointing but ok. The white ones really were white though. I added half an onion and one large russet potato.

 Step 4: Place diced veggies in an oven-safe pan, mix in 2 tbsp vegetable oil and sprinkle with salt. When the timer reads 30 minutes, put the veggies in the oven too. Cover with foil if you want, I didn't this time.

 Halfway through cooking (at about 15-20 mins left) flip the chops and mix the vegetables around.

Then enjoy! The cracker crust is buttery, salty and delicious. A perfect compliment to the hearty pork, sweet carmelized onions and carrots and earthy potatoes. Yum!

100th post: Pheasant is pleasant

I know I started this blog as a poor college kid. And trust me, I still enjoy occasional easy mac, ramen, and hot dogs. There will still be simple recipes with 3 ingredients or less. But as I've progressed through my Masters and am now in PhD school, my tastes have evolved and I like to expand my horizons. Thus I decided at least once a month I will try making something I've never had, slightly exotic dishes.

For June, as my 100th post, I give you, roasted whole pheasant! The ~3lb bird itself was $25, but the brine and the accompanying roasted veggies were less than $10, so it's still not bad for a super cool and fancy meal for two plus leftovers. Also you then have forever bragging rights.

Brine:
8-10 cups water (enough to cover the bird)
3/4 cup salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp whole cloves
3 cloves crushed garlic
2-3 bay leaves
Juice of 1 whole lemon
Juice of 1 whole lime

Step 1: Add salt and maple syrup to water, bring to a boil so all salt and syrup dissolves.
Step 2: Let cool to room temp, add spices and juices. Place the whole pheasant in the brine. Mine was frozen so I thawed it in the fridge overnight, but you can put it in there frozen whole too. Let the bird soak a minimum of 4 hours up to overnight. The longer it soaks, the saltier and more flavorful it will get. Mine soaked overnight, about 20 hours total.

Step 3: Take the bird out of the brine and drip dry it. Rub it all over with butter, including loosening the skin and rubbing butter underneath, directly onto the flesh if you can. Optional: place spices from brine over the bird or add fresh.
Step 4: Place a quartered onion and/or halved apple inside the cavity of the bird. Place it in a buttered or sprayed oven-safe pan and tent tin foil over it.

 Step 4: Roast the pheasant at 400 degrees for ~1 hour. Then lower the oven to 350, remove foil and roast an additional 30-50 minutes, until no longer pink and juices are clear. I'm sure there's a temperature recommendation too but as I have no meat thermometer, I just looked and said, yup that looks done and delicious.

For vegetables:
1 yellow potato
1 normal russet
(I wanted one purple too but the grocery didn't have them)
1 onion, sliced
1-2 cups baby carrots
Garlic salt

Add the cut veggies in a sprayed pan to the oven for the final 30-50 minutes of baking. Add some bringing liquid if you like for extra flavor. Sprinkle with garlic salt when done.

And so you see, you can make a magazine-looking-worthy meal with very little work. If a busy, poor PhD student can do it, you can too! And trust me, brining overnight is definitely worth it! The meat was salty and tender, not at all tough or dry or gamey. I would highly recommend trying this.

Asian tofu/cabbage soup

This is a spin-off of a soup a friend of mine made that was fabulous. I had most of the ingredients and a friend wanted to go to the Asian specialty store where I could get the rest of the ingredients. It's so simple, but it is delicious!

Ingredients:

1/2 Napa cabbage

1 package tofu

1 package mushrooms

2 large carrots, diced

4 cups water/stock

 Step 1: Dice the cabbage, mushrooms, tofu and carrots.

 Step 2: Cook the veggies in order of hardness, carrots first, then cabbage, then mushrooms. Add the stock and any seasonings you like. I used veggie stock and put some extra chicken stock and black pepper in for spice.

Spiced pork roast & oven-roasted vegetables

This is a satisfying, hearty meal that takes so little effort! I'd been craving pork, and roasted veggies is just the best side dish for anything! I had spontaneously decided to try brussel sprouts because they were on sale. Guess what? They are delicious! Trust me, just try it and you will be amazed you ever lived without them.

Pork rub:
1 tsp cayenne or chipotle powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp paprika

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp dried onion

2-3 pound pork roast

5-10 cloves fresh garlic

Vegetables

1 cup fresh broccoli florets

1 cup cauliflower florets

2 cups brussels sprouts

2 stalks celery, in 1" chunks

3 carrots, in 1" chunks

1 large potato, diced

1 whole red onion & 1 whole white onion, sliced thin

~1/2 cup olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

 Step 1: Cut slices into pork roast and insert one garlic clove into each. Mix spices together, rub over pork roast. Let sit in refrigerator an hour - overnight.

Step 2: Cut all veggies. Mix well in olive oil to coat, sprinkle on seasonings. Spread in a 9x13 baking pan and roast at 350 for about one hour. Cover to keep broccoli & cauliflower from scorching.

Step 3: Bake pork at 350 for at least 1 hour, covered, or until no longer pink. Remove cover and bake another 15 minutes.

Step 4: The pork should be fork-tender and slightly spicy, while the veggies are crispy-soft and slightly sweet. Enjoy the amazing flavors & textures! Leftover pork can be shredded and covered in BBQ sauce for sandwiches the next day.

Chicken & veggie alfredo

This is just something I came up with on the fly, I was hungry and needed something quick which didn't take much time to make. My usual on the fly recipe is meat + carb + veggies. When I checked the pantry, I found pasta and alfredo sauce, which I love. Then I had a chicken breast in the freezer as well as frozen spinach. I added some shredded carrot, which turned out to be a great addition as it looked like cheddar cheese but way healthier!

Ingredients:
1/2 pound rotini pasta
1 jar alfredo sauce
2 carrots, shredded
1 chicken breast
1/2 bag frozen spinach

Step 1: Begin boiling the water, and thaw the chicken in the microwave 2 minutes on each side.
Step 2: Boil the pasta 7-8 minutes. Cut the chicken into 1 inch thick pieces and put in a frying pan with 1 tbsp oil. Add any desired spices to the chicken, and cook about 5 minutes on both sides, until browned and chicken is no longer pink.
Step 3: While chicken is cooking, shred the carrots.
Step 4: Drain the pasta. Add the spinach, carrots and cooked chicken. Mix well and ensure it is heated through and the spinach is thawed. Add the alfredo sauce and enjoy!

This was deliciously creamy and fulfilling!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Simple and filling, tuna noodle casserole has been a mainstay throughout my childhood. With very few ingredients, it is a great fall-back weeknight dinner for when I don't feel like cooking something extravagant. And it also is a great dorm food, believe it or not. I used to make a super-poor version as an undergrad student all the time! You can use a microwave and a pack of Ramen noodles to make delicious tuna noodle casserole. Just heat the noodles in the microwave for 5 minutes, let cool a bit and drain. Add a can of drained tuna and a can of cream of mushroom, mix it up and enjoy! If you get the soup on sale it can cost less than a dollar. This is the grown-up version, bulked up with extra veggies and baked to a crispy finish!

Ingredients:
1/2 pack egg noodles
2 cans tuna, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 celery rib, diced
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peas & carrots
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Garlic salt

Step 1: Open & drain the tuna, mix it in a bowl with the cream of mushroom soup.

Step 2: Boil the noodles for ~8 minutes. Add the diced celery in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Drain the noodles and celery.

Step 3: Mix the noodles into the tuna mush, and add the peas & carrots.

Step 4: Spray an 8x8 casserole dish and pour the mixture into it. Add the 1/2 cup milk and let it sink in.

Step 5: Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and garlic salt on top.

Step 6: Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown on top.

Makes roughly 4 1 1/2 cup servings. Warm and homey, this is a great easy dinner. You can add whatever veggies you feel like, or dried onion and other spices.

Garlic pot roast & winter veggies

Since it's been cold here in Colorado lately, I've been craving your typical cold-weather, stick to your ribs type foods. So I got a nice 1.5 pound beef roast to slow cook all day. It's a perfect lazy, cold, Sunday meal.

Ingredients:
1.5 pound roast
Garlic cloves
3 large carrots, peeled and cut up
1 large potato, rinsed and diced
1 celery stalk
1 cup beef broth
1/2 onion, cut into quarters or eighths
Salt & pepper (or Nature's Seasons)

Step 1: Brown the roast on all sides in a frying pan over high heat. It only takes a few minutes per side. It will be nicely browned. Place in the crock pot.

 Step 2: Peel several cloves of garlic. (Don't do this part if you don't like garlic, obviously.)

 Step 3: Cut small slits in the roast and stick the cloves inside. Season the roast all over with Nature's Seasoning or salt & pepper.

 Step 4: Cut up veggies and add to the roast. Pour in beef broth.

 Step 5: Cook on high for at least 4 hours, up to 7 hours. The roast should be cooked through, and fall-apart tender.

 I cut 1/2 inch slabs of beef and a big spoonful of the veggies. Delicious with a piece of bread & Country Crock and a glass of milk. It really hits the spot and makes your tummy happy!

My boyfriend came up with another way to eat this, by taking a piece of buttered bread and topping it with a thick slice of beef and some veggies, then adding a sprinkle of cheddar cheese on top. Also a great way to enjoy this fall favorite!