Category Archives: Damn Good Dinners

Chicken Soup (for the Soul)

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Cold season is in full swing around our neighborhood. People are coming down with it quicker than you can sneeze. My husband happened to bring it home last week and by the end of the week I had caught it too. I can honestly say in all the time we’ve been together we’ve never been sick at the same time. Who was supposed to take care of who?!

Well, as a die hard foodie (and both of us being too sick to go to the store), I stepped up to the bowl (haha?) and made us some homemade chicken soup, for the soul. (Because you can’t say chicken soup without thinking “…for the soul”). Now guys, if I can make this soup while wrapped in a snuggie, you know it’s easy.

  • 1 box of chicken stock or chicken broth (if you want to know the difference btwn the two, check this out. I used chicken stock for this recipe as I like the bolder flavor.)
  • 2 diced chicken breasts
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 turnip
  • 1 leek
  • 1 parsnip
  • 1 piece of celery
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 tbsps of parsley
  • 1 tbsp of dill
  • 1 bag of egg noodles or 2 bags of rice (I prefer rice, but either works)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the chicken in the skillet until slightly brown. Be sure not to over do it it as it’ll continue to cook once added in later with the vegetables. Once done, plate the chicken and cover with foil to keep it warm.

Dice all of the vegetables and spices and place in the skillet you cooked the chicken in. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Let the vegetables cook for 15-20 minutes or until soft. Add in the chicken and let sit for a couple of minutes to soak in the soup. Get well soon!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Happy Eating, XO.

Soup obsession continues…

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For all you haters who think soup isn’t a meal, wait till you try this one. It’s so filling I can guarantee you wont need anything else! There is a starch, a protein, some veggies, etc. Its a meal in a bowl so save your judgments for something else.

Yo on a real tip- grab a big soup pot/pan! Ideally, like a dutch oven type cookware move. Don’t pull a me and start in something too small for all the ingredients and have to transfer to a bigger item half way through. Its going to mess up your whole soup making mojo. Trust me.

  • Chop a medium to large yellow onion into small pieces
  • 3 tbsp. of minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp. of grated parmesan cheese
  • 4 tbsp. of light cream
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 box of low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 package of uncooked, raw, store bought cheese tortellini
  • 1 bag of kale
  • 1/2 bag of spinach
  • 1 package (about 1-1.5 lbs.) of spicy Italian chicken sausage (remove meat from casing and create mini meatballs so they can cook evenly in the broth).

Anyway, once you have figured out your cooking vessel, sweat the onions and garlic with salt, pepper and some olive oil for about 10-15 min on high heat. Add the can of diced tomatoes (whole can, with liquid) and the chicken broth. Once the liquids are brought to a boil, reduce heat and add cheese & cream while stirring add in “meatballs”. Raise heat back to high to bring liquids to a boil again and add the greens. Simmer for 10-15 min (greens will be wilted and meat will be cooked) before adding the tortellini, let that cook for 5-7 min (once they rise to the top of the soup, cut the heat & serve).

Total cook time should be about 45 min, prep is very short max 5 min.You will have multiple meals out of this recipe so its worth the time.

Happy Eating, XO.

Big ol’ Rice Bowl

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One of my favorite restaurants serves these delicious rice bowls. Seeing that I’d probably look stalker-ish if I went there every day  to get one, I recreated it for dinner. And as it turns out, it was really easy (but I mean, come on, would we ever post a super hard recipe?), and I learned how to make fried rice. We should all know how to make fried rice.

  • 2 bags of white rice (I use the instant boil-in-a-bag kind)
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 1 chicken breast, diced
  • 1 container of button mushrooms
  • Salt and pepper to taste

There’s a bit of prep before you begin to combine it together in a bowl. To start, boil the rice according to the box instructions (roughly 10 minutes). In two separate pans, cook the diced chicken and scramble the eggs. (Be careful not to over cook them though as they’ll continue to cook a little longer when combined with the other ingredients.) In a deep wok or skillet heat up the peanut oil over medium heat and add in the peppers, onions, and mushrooms.

Once the rice is done, dump it in to the wok with the vegetables and pour the soy sauce on top. Mix in the chicken and eggs and toss until fully combined. Serve in a big comfy bowl and enjoy!

 

Rice Bowl

 

Happy Eating, XO.

Firehouse Chili

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Football season is in full swing. However, as much as I love me some pizza and wings during NFL Sundays, I am trying to conserve some money. I figured chili is just the way to cook at home, eat yummy Fall food, and still have enough leftovers for the Monday night game. So fire up the crockpot when you wake up next Sunday and have a delish serve your self “buffet” set up for all day game watching. Your wallet will thank you and you can always check out the cute delivery guy next Sunday.

  • 2 yellow onions, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons of minced garlic (fresh not powder)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 pounds Hot  (or Mild) Italian Johnsonville Sausage crumbled (and then 1 pound ground beef, or turkey or even all 3 lbs. sausage, you pick!)
  • 2 cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies (I used Rotel)
  • 2 packages McCormick Chili Seasoning Mix (any flavor)
  • 2 –  15 oz. cans Bush’s dark or light red kidney beans
  • 2 green bell peppers chopped small
  • 2 cans yellow corn
  • Pinch of cumin & red pepper flakes to taste (I ended up just throwing in a jalapeno instead of red pep flakes)
  • chicken broth, as desired for thinner consistency chili. It can also be stirred in at end.

Dump all ingredients in the order listed above and cook for 6-8 hrs. in crockpot. (I stirred half way through to make sure the meat was cooking evenly). I served with a platter of “garnishes” such as: shredded cheese, sour cream, pea shoots (or shredded lettuce), diced green onion, chopped avocado with a side warm baked corn bread. (don’t hate, but I cheated and used the store bought mixes vs. making from scratch). You can even skip the cornbread and crush up some tortilla chips as a topping as well. That’s why I love chili, its so versatile. Spicy, mild, whatever meat, veggies, and toppings galore, just eat and enjoy how you like it best!

photo

Happy Eating, XO.

Lettuce wraps

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Now that the nights are getting cooler, we can start turning to some cozy, spicy, comfort food. I’m not saying jump straight to the heavy chili, but you can definitely ease in to it with these lettuce wraps! They’ll make you sweat and cool you down all at once. Warning: Do not eat these in front of potential significant others! After seeing how messy these can get, they may not come back for seconds, if you know what I’m sayin’.

Pickled cucumbers

  • 1 sliced cucumber
  • 1/4 cup scallions
  • 1 cup rice vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 2 tbsp chopped basil

Lettuce wraps

  • 1 tbsp peanut oil
  • 1/2 sweet onion, diced
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup scallions (don’t worry, the pickles will take care of any rank breath from the garlic and scallions!)
  • 1 tbsp Sriracha (in a pinch, you can use Franks red hot sauce. It won’t be nearly as spicy, but still gets the job done.)
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 lb ground beef (feel free to use ground chicken or turkey)
  • 1 head boston lettuce

Throw all of the ingredients for the pickles in to a jar or bowl and store in the fridge while you prep the wraps.

For the wraps, heat the peanut oil over medium heat. Add in the onions, garlic, scallions, and meat and cook until brown. Slowly stir in all of the sauces – Sriracha, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Cook until they’ve been absorbed by the meat, and serve immediately.

Scoop the meat in to a lettuce leaf and top with the pickled cucumbers. The heat from the meat and spices, paired with the chilled pickled cucumbers will be like a party in your mouth!

Lettuce wraps

 

Happy Eating, XO.