Diane's Sopa Mexicana

I'm not sure how many who follow my blog know that I spent a semester in college studying in Costa Rica. Stacey and I went together (10 years ago!! Where did the time go??) and we lived with a family; they cooked us breakfast and dinner every day, and the food was always fabulous. Well... except for the plantain and cheese pie. Imagine mashed banana and chewy cheese... in a pie... for dinner. That one wasn't so fabulous. But pretty much everything else was!

One of the dinners our "mother" made was what she called "Mexican soup". She topped this chicken-based soup with white cheese, corn chips, and avocado. It was one of my favorites! Upon returning home I discovered that, sure enough, Mexican restaurants here often serve a very similar chicken soup.

[I can't really find a natural segue to the next paragraph, but I promise I'll tie it together.]

We've recently started buying whole chickens instead of just chicken breasts for meals; we find it's actually quite a bit cheaper and if we're careful we can get 2 meals (plus some lunch) from each chicken. I've also been putting the bones in my crock pot once we've cleaned as much meat off as possible and letting them go for 24 hours with some veggies until I have a lovely chicken broth. Each week I've been making a different soup for my lunches with the broth (plus freezing some of the extra broth for use in sauces and for cooking rice or steaming veggies).

Besides the fact that bone broth has a lot of great health benefits (homemade, of course), it makes quite a warm and satisfying lunch on these colder winter days. My go-to soup is just chicken broth with some veggies (carrots, celery, onion) and rice. Easy peasy! But I was getting a little bored (and hungry) so I started looking for some other ideas. I did a kale and white bean soup one week, which was fabulous, then I did an old favorite potato, chickpea, spinach soup last week (which I ended up being able to share with my friend Cassie while she was snowed in here! Perfect!)

For some reason this week I decided I wanted to do a soup with rice and beans in it and I just started throwing things in a pot instead of searching for a recipe as I usually do. Though I rarely follow recipes as they're written, I even more rarely attempt to cook something without at least a guide, so I'm not quite sure what bug bit me, but once all was said and done, and without really intending to, I ended up with a soup that was very reminiscent of my "Costa Rican Mexican soup".  I enjoyed it so much I thought I'd share the "recipe" for you to give it a try (and as a means for me keep track of it!).

Lovely photo courtesy of Wynn Anne's Meanderings

Diane's Sopa Mexicana

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of chicken broth (I know this is a frustrating measurement if you're using boxed or canned broth, sorry! But, hey, if you need tips for making your own bone broth I'll be happy to share some!)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes, juices included
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt (my broth had no salt at all, so adjust as necessary. I also have the luxury of being allowed to eat as much salt as I desire and I tend to like things salty.)
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of rice (I used about 3/4 cup and it turned out quite a bit thicker than I intended. Still yummy, but I would use less next time.)
• 1 can of beans, drained (I used pinto, but I think Great Northern or even black beans would be yummy)
• 1/2 cup leftover chicken (not necessary if you don't have any)
• Tortilla chips
• Avocado

[As I said above, I rarely follow a recipe as it's written, so I apologize for all my addenda to my list, but I'm always thinking about alternatives and adjustments]

Directions:

1. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, salt, cumin, chili powder, and coriander to a large pot. Bring to a boil.
2. Add rice and lower temperature. Simmer until rice is tender (35 minutes in my case. I used brown rice). [Side note: you could throw in leftover cooked rice and skip this step!]
3. Add drained beans and chicken and cook until heated through.
4. Serve topped with crushed tortilla chips and diced avocado! The avocado is a MUST!

As I said, I added a little too much rice, and it was already quite thick in the above picture, but, as you can imagine, the rice soaked up even more of the broth and now I have more of a stew (or chili as Drew called it), but it is still just as yummy and tasty! Enjoy!

Going green

It is possible that it is things like this that keep me away from the blog:

That's almost 3 gallons of "green" smoothies, packaged in servings and frozen. [I say "green" because they usually look more green/brown than this batch turned out... apparently I didn't increase my amount of spinach proportionally when I attempted to make this large batch.]

Yes, I promised two other posts, but today, instead of the big project and mess keeping me away from the blog, it inspired me.

I have been drinking green smoothies for breakfast for quite a while, and I LOVE them. They taste so fresh and healthy and I swear I feel better when I start my day with them. There are many recipes for green smoothies out there, but in my book the basic idea is that it's a smoothie with spinach (or other green leafy vegetable) added. My biggest shock is that you do NOT taste the spinach one bit. And this is from a self-proclaimed picky eater. Actually, not just self-proclaimed... ask my dad. He'll tell you about the time he secretly added "tasteless odorless" calories-boosting powder to my hot chocolate and how I complained that I didn't like it because it tasted funny. Drew loves the green smoothies, too, and who can deny a child when they want spinach for breakfast??

The biggest problem is that I always find smoothies very time-consuming to make. It seems easy enough- throw a little of this in, and a little of that, whip it up in the blender, and bam! Breakfast in a cup! But the truth is, it just isn't that easy for me. Between collecting all the necessary ingredients, adding them all, trying to get the blender to magically turn them into smooth deliciousness (and by that I mean opening the blender every 10 seconds to mash ingredients around so I don't burn up the motor), and then all the clean up, it ends up being a headache. I think the last time I made a smoothie was when I was pregnant with James. Since then I just haven't had the time for the hassle, the mess, or the noise it makes (especially when baby is still sleeping!!).

Pinterest had this great idea to freeze yogurt in little "pucks" in a muffin tray, and then throw those little pucks in a baggie with your fruit and you'd have little smoothie packs all ready to go- toss a pack in the blender and you've got your smoothie. This was still problematic for me because of the noise, the time (it really takes a while for my blender to work all that frozenness into a drinkable concoction but adding the step of microwave defrosting took away much of the time-saving benefits), and the mess (cleaning blenders is not fun).

I've been trying to eat better for my CF, which includes adding more fresh fruit and veggies for their antioxidant benefits, so I was missing my smoothies, and trying to decide what I could do to make them happen more frequently. I decided I would just go ahead and make the smoothies, start to finish (no pre-prepped packets), then freeze them in servings. I can either set a baggie of frozen smoothie in the fridge the night before to thaw, or thaw in the microwave in the morning, then mash it around and toss it in a cup and drink! (Hey, maybe I can just add a straw to the baggie and save a dirty dish!? Jason would LOVE me!!). I'm hoping they'll still be a tad frozen and slushy- that's how I like mine. [Note: I tried it this morning and they were perfectly slushy after having sat in the fridge all night!] I also decided I wanted to go big. Even when I had tried prepping smoothies in the past, I had never gotten more than 6 days' worth, and it is so disappointing to put in all that work and barely have a weeks' worth of breakfasts to show for it. So I went really big. Almost 3-gallons big.

Before I begin with my "recipe", let me add a note that I am trying to put on weight. Yes, I said I'm eating "better", but for me that means trying to put on a few pounds that I've had trouble regaining after pregnancy/breastfeeding/mothering/etc. (And please, before you make any "I wish I had that problem" comments, please know that trying to gain weight can be just as difficult for some people as trying to lose it can be for others. While I haven't had encounters myself, I know how difficult it is for "skinny" people who don't want to be skinny to be told they need to put on weight, as if it doesn't hurt as much for them as it does for someone who's overweight to be told they need lose weight). I am not "too skinny", but weight loss is a slippery slope with CF so I'm taking a proactive step. SO my recipe is built to boost calories. If you'd like to give it a whirl, but don't want so many calories, sub low-fat dairy products (or water or juice instead of milk), and (obviously) leave out the coconut oil. I'm actually hoping the added fat will make these a little more filling and add some staying power.

Here's what I put in my very large batch of smoothies:
4 bananas
1 10-oz. container of organic spinach (I would double this next time)
2 64-oz (4 lb) bags of frozen organic strawberries
2 10-oz. bags of frozen organic blueberries*
2 32-oz containers of plain whole milk yogurt
Organic honey to taste (maybe 1/2 cup?)
Organic whole milk to blend (maybe 1/2 cup?)
4 tbsp. organic coconut oil (melted)

As for the method... well, that's up to you. It was kind of chaotic in my kitchen because, obviously, all of that does not fit in my blender at the same time. I used just about every large plastic bowl I have in my house and worked in batches. I basically did spinach, yogurt, and a splash of milk in a couple of batches and put that in a big bowl. Then I did a couple of batches with the other container of yogurt, and one package each of the berries  (I defrosted them so they would blend easily) plus some splashes of milk. I put that mixture in a big bowl. Then I did another couple of batches of the berries with honey and coconut oil and put that mixture in a bowl. Then I re-blended everything in batches until it was all evenly distributed and put it all in a very large soup pot (plus one extra bowl). I'm sure there's a better method. A tip: I lined my counter with paper towel under the blender and under my bowls to catch the inevitable drips.

After all of that I ladled my smoothies with a measuring cup into freezer bags in 1 and 2-cup measurements- the 2-cup baggies for me, and the 1-cup baggies for the boys to split. In the end I got 14 2-cup bags and 15 1-cup bags (plus some extra to celebrate a job well done). For me that added up to about $1 per cup- not too bad considering everything is organic! I wish I had gotten a little more than 2 weeks' worth, but we don't usually drink them every day, so I'm hoping this will last us at least 3 weeks.

Pricing, if you're curious (I did NOT include sale prices, and I rounded UP when necessary so this is generous)
4 bananas= $1.40 at Publix
10-oz container of Greenwise** spinach= $7 at Publix
4 lb bag of organic strawberries= $10 at Costco (multiply by 2)
10-oz bag of Greenwise** blueberries= $3.50 at Publix (multiply by 2)
32-oz. Stoneyfield plain whole milk yogurt= $3.50 at Publix (multiply by 2)
Approx. 8-oz of a 16-oz container of Greenwise** honey= $5.00 at Publix (that's being very generous because I think I used half a cup, not a full cup) (divide in half)

I didn't include the amount spent on coconut oil and milk, but the amount used was relatively small and given that I rounded up and didn't include sale prices, I figure it more or less evens out. The total is about $45 and it made just about 45 cups!

Overall it took me approximately an hour and a half, but will probably be a lot faster next time (though the portioning in baggies is really the time-consuming part). I'll see how it goes over the next couple of weeks, but I'll probably try to do this again on a monthly basis.

The proof is in the smiles, right?

Why is it when I try to get a picture of Drew's smoothie smile it isn't nearly as dark as normal? Yesterday he literally had a ring all around his face and a unibrow because of it!

*Berry blends are great because different kinds of berries provide great antioxidants, but I do NOT like seeds in my smoothies, so I pass on blackberries and raspberries.
**Greenwise is the Publix brand (meaning store brand) organic selection

Let me see that pumpkin roll!

Every year for the past four years I have a made a pumpkin roll for Thanksgiving dessert. It started when a girl in one of my classes brought one of these fabulous rolls to class. Everyone loved it so much that the next week she brought a copy of the recipe for everyone. I made it myself a few weeks later to bring to Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' lakehouse. My parents (especially my dad) loved it so I have made one every year since. I chose to try the Libby's Famous Pumpkin recipe this time, with a few small adaptations of my own, and loved the results.

If you like pumpkin pie and cheesecake, then you'll love this recipe. And even if you don't like pumpkin pie or cheesecake, this recipe is still worth a try!

Pumpkin Roll

Cake:
3/4 C flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 large eggs
1 C sugar
2/3 C canned pumpkin

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Sift together all dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg) in a small bowl.

3. Beat together eggs and sugar in large bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin.

 

4. Slowly stir dry mixture into the wet mixture.

5. Pour the batter into a rimmed cookie pan. (Preferably with parchment paper on the bottom- I spray BOTH sides of the parchment with non-stick spray). Bake 13-15 minutes (it's actually better if the cake is slightly drier)

6. Immediately loosen cake once it is baked and roll it length-wise keeping the parchment between the layers of the cake (make sure the underside of the parchment is thoroughly coated in non-stick spray or it WILL stick)* The cake is HOT so roll quickly!

7. I like to seal my roll in plastic wrap to help it keep its shape while it cools.

8. While the cake is cooling beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
9. Once cake is cooled, unroll and spread cream cheese frosting over the entire cake. Roll the cake up once again. (Notice my ugly gash on the right- no worries, it still tastes wonderful! And can be covered in powdered sugar!)

See? Still pretty!

10. Refrigerate for 1 hour, slice and serve.

No matter what the outside looks like, it will look fabulous when sliced, and it will taste even better!

*Another method (and the method most often recommended) is to turn the cake out onto a dish towel covered with powdered sugar then to coat the cake itself with powdered sugar. You would then roll the cake up in the towel. I found that this method actually caused a jelly-like layer to form on the outside of my roll because of the cornstarch in the powdered sugar mixing with the moisture of the cake, so I opt to just roll in parchment.

Speaking of rolls...



He's getting awfully good at this! In fact every time I tried to take a video he had already rolled 2 or 3 times.... he's too quick!

P.S. 5 month pics of Drew will hopefully be coming later today, but by tomorrow at the latest. Stay tuned! ;)

Chilly weather chili

The weather here in Georgia has been cool and drizzly.... just perfect for a mug of Pumpkin Spice hot chocolate, or better, a big ol' bowl of chili (with Frito's, please!).

I just made a big pot of it last night and it turned out quite tasty. As you may remember I mentioned some delicious chili I sampled at our local grocery store. Every week Publix features a quick, easy, and cheap dinner recipe. This week theirs happened to be chili. After the sample I just knew I had to make some for myself. I really liked what I tasted, but I also love my mom's chili recipe, so I took a little bit of both and made my own. The final dish wasn't half bad if I say so myself and ended up being a perfect dish for a somewhat busy evening since I was able to make it early in the day and let it simmer in the crock pot.

I am going to share my chili recipe with you, but first, a disclaimer...

*I am NOT promising you the BEST chili ever, because I cannot make the best chili ever. In my opinion this was some tasty chili, but in actual fact I am not a very good judge of chili. To be completely honest, I would call myself somewhat of a chili "virgin" due to the fact that I only in the past two years rejoined the meat-eating crowd, and pre-vegetarianism I would not touch beans (and thus chili). Thanks to the majority of vegetarian entrees containing some sort of bean, I have come to love them, and along with that, chili! In fact, I love beans so much that I put a lot of them in my chili, so you chili purists out there who say chili shouldn't have "fillers" can just ignore me and enjoy your meat and sauce elsewhere.*

That was a really long disclaimer, and I used the word "chili" 10 times!

So here is my chili recipe, adapted from my mom's recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 1 lb. (or more if you like it meaty) ground beef
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1 green chili pepper (optional if you don't want heat)
• 1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
• 1/2 cup beef broth (I used a can of tomato soup this time... I liked it but Jason prefers the beef broth)
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can "chili beans" (pinto beans in chili sauce). Choose your potency- I chose "medium."
• 1/2 a small can of baked beans (adds an awesome flavor, believe it or not!)

Directions:

1. Sautee onions until tender
2. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper and chili powder
3. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink
4. Add peppers, beef broth, and tomatoes. Stir to combine.
5. Let simmer on stove top (or in crock pot) 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
6. Add beans about 30 minutes before serving. (I actually add about 3/4 of each can instead of the whole can, but that's because Jason doesn't like beans like I do.)
7. Taste test (a must!) and add salt, pepper, chili powder and/or red pepper flakes to taste

And, by the way, I truly believe chili is NOTHING without Frito's on top and some cheddar cheese... just sayin'!

And since I pretty much never do a post without a picture, and we kinda devoured the chili before I thought to take a picture, here are some pictures of my mess....

I am a pretty sloppy cook!

Let's get cookin'!

It seems I don't get much done these days.  Besides diapers and being "milk maid" I spend a lot of time (happily!) like this...

I do still enjoy having time to cook though, even if the laundry, vacuuming, cleaning, etc. get left undone.  And even though I'm not good at cooking, I love pretending that I am.  I actually find chopping and dicing relaxing at the end of a long day, and I love the creative outlet (yes I play with recipes... shhh... don't tell Jason.  He doesn't trust me as much as I seem to trust myself so he never likes anything if he knows I've strayed from the recipe).

Though I do enjoy cooking, I really haven't done much since Drew was born.  I've cooked some very simple dishes, but mostly it's been frozen meals of various varieties (meals that I had cooked and frozen while pregnant, meals that people made for us, and yes, meals from the freezer aisle at the grocery store too).  This was my first meal that I actually spent a little time preparing, and enjoyed every minute of it (including the mess I made!)

The "Chicken Broccoli Braid" is a Pampered Chef recipe that Laura reminded me is delicious.  It was one of my first few "meated" dishes after 7 years of being vegetarian!  "Great" Aunt Wynn Anne requested that I post the recipe for you!

Chicken Broccoli Braid

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
4 oz. (1cup) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp. all-purpose dill mix
1/4 tsp. salt
2 pkgs. (8oz. each) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 tbls. slivered almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. 
2. Basically chop/shred/measure everything and throw all of it except the crescent rolls, egg whites, and slivered almonds into a large bowl and mix.
3. The "braid" can be the tough part.  I laid the triangles of crescent dough out, corners overlapping, on a circlular baking stone.  I spread the filling along the center of my circle then wrapped the points around the filling.  Here are the directions Pampered Chef gives:  
• Unroll 1 package of crescent dough; do not separate. Arrange longest sides of dough across width of 12" x 15" rectangle baking stone. Repeat with remaining package of dough. Using roller, roll dough to seal perforations. On longest sides of baking stone, cut dough into strips 1 1/2 inches apart, 3 inches deep using a pizza cutter (there will be 6 inches in the center for the filling). Spread filling evenly over middle of dough. To braid, lift strips of dough across mixture to meet in center, twisting each strip on turn. Continue alternating strips to form a braid. Tuck ends under to seal at end of braid.
4. Brush egg white over dough and sprinkle with almonds. Bake 25-28 minutes.

Ours was actually on the healthier side with reduced fat crescent rolls, low fat cheese, and light mayo!

As a former Pampered Chef consultant (and to prevent being sued for copyright infringement or something) I feel the need to promote two contraptions that make preparing this dish a breeze.

First, the food chopper. One of the most popular Pampered Chef items.  I actually rarely use mine since, as I said above, I actually like chopping and dicing, but if I am in a hurry or am just not feeling it that day it is a great way to chop a ton of stuff (and let out some frustrations as you pound it!).  It's also great for onions- no more crying!

Second, the stoneware.  Pampered Chef is famous for the stoneware too and I love it!  It's all natural (no chemicals or funny metals leaching into your food), it becomes "non-stick" as you use it, it cooks VERY evenly... the color you see on top is the color your food is on the bottom, and it holds heat which means your food stays warm while you serve it.  I love my large bar pan which is great for cookies, pizzas, baking chicken, etc. I also love the pizza stone but my very favorite is the deep covered baker (currently unavailable, sad!) that I can use in the microwave to cook awesome meals like white chicken chili!