Lowcountry Suppertime

I know, it's been a while.

Sorry for the lack of posting, things have been a tad hectic here in our household.  That being said, it's time to get back to cooking.  I may change this blog to, "Duncan's Dinners", or make an additional blog, one that caters to feeding two people on a budget. Your input is appreciated!

In the meantime, let's get going on tonight's dinner.

I'm whipping up a lowcountry soup.  Roasted chicken breast, chicken andouille sausage, okra, corn, and file powder (pronounced "fee-lay" and should have an accent on the 'e').  This recipe is a variation on chicken and sausage gumbo.  I am not a huge fan of rice, so I've left that out and am serving this with a whole grain baguette.

The inspiration for this dish came from my upbringing in the great state of Georgia.  I miss it every day!

Since I cannot be there in person with my Georgia pals, I can be there in spirit and this meal has loads of sassy spirit!!  I used pre-cooked sausages, browning them to lend flavor to my soup pot.  The Cajun seasonings added were used sparingly, as to cut down on sodium. If you want to further cut down on sodium, find a salt-free Cajun mix (I was unable to) and use chicken broth instead of stock.

To stay thankful to my Carolina living, I'm serving Highland Brewing Company's St. Terese's Pale Ale to go along with the soup and French bread.  

So stay dry, warm, and nourished today!

April's Lowcountry Sizzle Soup

Serves:  A Bunch o' Folks

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breast meat, roasted and shredded

1/2 package chicken andouille sausage

(using the whole package will make it greasy and too spicy)

3 cans diced fire roasted tomatoes

1 carton chicken stock (like Swanson's Chicken STOCK, not broth)

1 onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 tsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning

1 cup frozen okra

1 cup frozen corn

1/4 tsp. file powder

Instructions:

Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in large stock pot.  Add sausages and brown on all sides.  Remove sausages and drain on paper towels, and once cooled, chop into bite-sized pieces.  Add celery/onion/pepper mixture and cover, sauteing for about 5 minutes or until soft.

Add canned tomatoes, stock, and 1/2 tsp. seasoning.  Simmer for 15 minutes, then if desired, lightly blend with an immersion blender.  

Add frozen okra and corn, as well as the sausage and shredded chicken.  Simmer for 15-30 minutes.  

Add 1/4 tsp. file powder.  Serve with your favorite sides, including a beer or sweet tea!  Enjoy!

Dinner Is Done!

Wow, it's been quite a long time since my last post!

So sorry to all my readers!  This gal's back finally gave out - literally!  A little surgery, a little recovery, and now I'm back to work!

But while I was "resting", and I use quotation marks because as adults, do we ever really rest?  As I was resting, however, I used that time to search for recipes and for the dietary/culinary needs of my reader friends.

All I can say is, Pinterest.

Ever logged on to Pinterest?  Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board of sorts, using a virtual push pin as a way of creating a bookmark of whatever you find interesting on the 'net.  Since thousands belong to Pinterest, their pins are available for you to enrich - or in some cases, be horrified by - your own Pinterest bulletin boards.  What I've abundantly used Pinterest for is FOOD!

Recipes, recipes, and more recipes.  All those recipes on Pinterest have inspired me to make more meals that are budget-friendly and quick but healthy.  Sometimes the healthy part isn't so easy with Pinterest recipes.  How many cans of Cream of Chicken soup can one family eat per week without turning into pillars of salt??

And, as I'm still recovering, I have to make meals for my family that don't have me on my feet for an hour or more.  Who wants that?  Especially on a week night.

So to all Pinterest recipe fans - I accept the challenge of not only finding easy meals to make, but increasing the health meter while keeping the budget on a lower scale.  Taste?  Of course, darlings, why would I post anything that didn't taste good??

Let's start with tonight's dinner - Sassy BB Stoup.  It's a black bean "stoup" (stew/soup) that takes 10 minutes to prepare and 20 to simmer.  Serve with anything you want - tortilla chips, avocado, cornbread - but make sure those sides you choose don't cost a fortune and won't clog your arteries.  If you can get Jiffy Brand Corn Muffin Mix, that is a very affordable side, the mix itself only costing around $.75. And, if you can't get a ham steak (thick slice of smoked ham), try using some turkey bacon or very lean bacon.  Just don't pig out on the bacon!  PS - I apologize for the blurry photos.  We had a dark storm roll through while I was cooking and I just couldn't get enough light.  Regardless, I hope you enjoy!!

Sassy BB Stoup

1 ham steak, diced
2 tsp. olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
3 cans black beans, do not rinse
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
Juice of one lime
1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne (optional)
2 handfuls of rinsed and chopped cilantro
DO NOT ADD SALT!

Directions -

Dice the ham steak into small cubes.  Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in stock pot.  Cook ham for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add onion and pepper, cover, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring once.  Add garlic, cumin, and oregano and cook for one additional minute.

Add tomatoes and black beans, combining well.  Then add lime juice and cayenne. I really did measure the cilantro in two handfuls.  Add, stir well, and cover.  Simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve with whatever you like, but please try to keep it healthy.  I prefer it as is, with maybe a piece of cornbread or a few whole grain tortilla chips.

I shopped for all the ingredients at a supermarket instead of Walmart, and if I'd shopped at Wally World I know I would have saved a few dollars.  This makes six 1-cup bowls and each bowl cost me $2, rounded up.  That's $12 for this stoup, and you can't buy a fast food dinner for you and your family for that little.  This has veggies, protein, carbs, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats.  The veggies are fresh and the flavor is plentiful as well as adjustable.  What will the golden arches give you? Never mind, don't answer, I don't want to know!

Diet Note:   I frequently hear from readers, "I can't eat beans..." for the obvious reason. Try Gas-X Prevention.  It's an enzyme that helps prevent bloating and other gastric upset.  It's better than the other brand.  Of course, this is only a suggestion, and I am not a doctor.  Please consume (or do not consume) responsibly.


Salt Note:   I really do mean not to add salt.  It may seem at first, while the stoup simmers, that it needs salt.  Believe me, in 20 minutes, the lack of those beans being rinsed will come through and it will be salty enough. If you want to reduce the sodium, rinse the beans and add some water from one of the cans.  

Positively Pre-Cooked

If you've read my blog entries before, you know I love to use pre-cooked chicken breasts that I keep in my freezer.  I buy a large package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and bake them for 45-60 minutes at 350.  Then I place them, usually by threes, into freezer bags.

This solves a lot of my dinnertime dilemmas.  I mean, A LOT.

I believe that by keeping staples at the ready - chicken broth, canned tomatoes, canned beans, onions, garlic, seasonings - that you have the ability to make any dinner easy and quick.  Please remember my first rule... (other than wash your hands before you cook)...KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Tonight's dinner is a product of this belief system.  YEA!!!!!

I didn't even defrost the two chicken breasts all the way, that's how simple it was.  The link of chorizo sausage is pre-cooked by the manufacturer.  I used the seasonings and veggies that existed already in my kitchen, and you should employ the same theory.  Don't have potatoes?  Use rice and cook it on the side.  Don't have the same seasonings?  Use ones you do have.  Some of my recipes are not versatile, they need to be made to the letter.  But most of my posts, such as this one, include recipes that you can make any which way but loose.  Give this meal a shot.  It's gonna spice up my Thursday quite nicely!


Chicken & Chorizo Stew
Serves 4


Ingredients:

2 tsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (I used a poblano)
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 tsp. oregano
1 link Aidell's chorizo
1 & 1/2 cups Dutch Yellow Baby Potatoes, halved
2 pre-cooked chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 pinch of saffron threads
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. Bijol powder
(If you can't find Bijol, use a mix of cumin and turmeric)

Heat a Dutch oven on medium, adding olive oil.  Saute onions, oregano and pepper until soft.  Add garlic for one minute.  Add chorizo and potatoes.  Saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add chicken and saffron.  Stir well.  Add in tomatoes, broth, paprika, and Bijol.  Cook on medium to med-low until potatoes are fork tender.

This can be served with Queso Fresco (white crumbly Mexican cheese), Feta, or even a sharp Cheddar.  A nice piece of hard bread, a glass of wine, and you've got a meal that is more than worthy of the effort and the eating.  Bon Appetit!

One More Time...

Another soup recipe.  I know, I know.  You're probably sick of all the soup I've been making.  But this one is fast and flexible.  And, if you're having the same miserable weather I am, this soup will jazz up your day a tad.

I served my soup for lunch with a slice of reduced sodium Ezekiel Bread topped with 1/2 cup sliced avocado.

~ Food Science Time ~

I'm no Sheldon Cooper, so here goes...
People ask me how to keep avocado from turning brown.  I rinse my hulled avocado under running water, then I drizzle lime juice on it.  The water rinses away the component that helps oxidize the avocado flesh and the citric acid in the lime juice helps preserve it.  Our culinary nerd moment is now complete.


Quick Black Bean Soup
Serves 6 


Ingredients:

2 tsp. safflower or olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 Cubanelle pepper, diced
1 Serrano, diced (optional)
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp. Mexican oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 (15 oz.) cans of seasoned black beans
1 (14.5 oz) can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
A bunch of cilantro, rinsed and chopped
2 tbsp. Hatch roasted green chiles, mild (optional)

In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium.  Add onion, Cubanelle, and Serrano.  Saute for about five minutes.  Add garlic, oregano, and cumin.  Saute for one more minute.

Add in beans (entire cans, do not rinse or drain), tomatoes, broth, cilantro, and chiles.  Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.  Blend with an immersion blender until 2/3 of batch is blended.  Cook for 5 more minutes on a full simmer until heated through.  Serve immediately.

Weight Watchers Points+ per bowl: 3 per one cup bowl, the avocado sandwich was another 4+ points

The Perfect Pozole

I've been craving soup quite a bit this winter.  Odd, considering I've never been a fan of soup.  Too much slurping, usually not at all filling, and many times over, it's too salty.

Or, in some cases, reminds you of when you had the flu.  Not at all appetizing.

But tonight's soup was very appetizing.  My youngest daughter loves it and has deemed it in her top two (the other being black bean soup).  It's a bowl full of spicy, sassy, steamy goodness.  I've combined a Yucatan Lime Soup with a Chicken Pozole.  Please feel free to leave out the cloves and the seeds in the Serrano pepper if you do not enjoy either, but please leave the cinnamon stick in as well as the hominy.  Without the cinnamon and hominy, this soup would be a sad mess.  I used canela instead of common cinnamon sticks and I also used Mexican oregano.  Try your Food Lion or Asian market for the canela.  I found mine at the Asian market.  Most supermarkets have the McCormick brand of Mexican oregano, and I like the whole dried leaves so I can crunch them myself.  Invest in both if you can, it does make a difference, a difference your taste buds will appreciate.

Before I  post the recipe, let's talk about one of the more important savory staples - GARLIC.  I am going to rant here.  Do not, whatever you do, buy jarred garlic.  Please.  If you love yourself and those you cook for at all, you'll put that jar you have straight into the garbage.  That is disgusting.  It looks as though someone has chewed up perfectly good cloves of garlic and once made into mush, spit them into a jar full of funky chemicals.  And you're going to dare to put that in your food and serve it???  If you hate peeling cloves, buy them pre-peeled in your produce department.  Heck, even garlic powder is better than jarred garlic.  And do not kid yourself - those in the know will always be able to flag a dish that has been made with the sour, bitter, foul-smelling, half masticated bits of jarred garlic.  Use fresh.  They cost less than a buck a head and they keep rather well in a dark cabinet.

And while you're at it, toss that plastic lemon out.

Thank you.  No - really.  Thank you.

Maggie's Chicken Pozole
Serves 6 Large Bowls


Ingredients:

1 tbsp. Safflower or Olive Oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 Serrano chile, sliced thin (leave seeds out for less heat)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. Mexican oregano
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 stick Canela or Cinnamon Stick
8 black peppercorns
6 whole cloves
Cheesecloth
32 oz. carton chicken broth
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
Juice of one lime, use only FRESH LIMES
3/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, roasted and shredded
1 can corn niblets, drained
1 can hominy, drained

In a large Dutch oven, heat oil and then saute onion and Serrano.  Cover and cook on med-low until soft, about five minutes.  While this is cooking, make a pouch from the cheesecloth for the peppercorns, canela, and cloves.  Tie into a bundle.  

After onion and pepper are soft, add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, and oregano.  Combine and toss in the bundle, sauteing for one minute.

Add broth, tomatoes, lime juice, and cilantro.  Stir well. Simmer on medium or med-low for 30 minutes.  Discard bundle.  Use a stick blender (if you do not want a chunkier soup) to make contents smooth.

Add in chicken, hominy, and corn.  Stir well and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.  

Maggie and I enjoyed ours with Quesadillas made from low-carb tortillas and a few thin slices of queso blanco.  This soup, I believe, has the magical ability to turn any frown upside down and gray skies into sunshine.  For you vegetarians out there, skip the chicken broth for veggie and add a can of chickpeas in place of the shredded chicken.  It's the perfect Pozole either way. 

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Here's a quick and easy sauce to put over chicken, crab cakes, or pasta.  If you're serving it over pasta, double this recipe.  Adding a touch of cream or cream cheese also might make this tasty for those of you who enjoy the creamier sauces.  Bon Appetit!

April's Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:


1 tsp. EVOO
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. Herbs de Provence
1 cup water-packed roasted red peppers
1/2 cup drained Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt


Directions:

In a small frying pan, heat the teaspoon of olive oil.  Add onion and cover, cooking for 5-8 minutes or until soft.  Add garlic and herbs, cooking for one minute.

Place peppers, tomatoes, and vinegar in a blender.  Add in the onion mixture.  Toss in a pinch of salt and puree until smooth.  Heat in a small saucepan on medium-low, simmering until heated through.  Serve when ready.