Another soup blog

It’s cold here in Indiana. Tonight we might get an ice storm. Yuck. Anyway, my point is that soups and stews are good at times like these. I've mentioned before how much I like soups. Soups can have tons of flavor without added fat or salt. Plus the fact that my daughter will eat vegetables if they are cooked in a soup.

A couple weeks ago, I made waaaay too many lentils for a salad and I froze the extras – probably about 3 cups of cooked brown lentils. I decided I wanted to use those to make some lentil stew this week. I've been trying to eat vegetarian so lentils are a good protein option. I went to Allrecipes to look for a vegetarian lentil soup or stew and found this one:

 Lentil Soup – Not a very exciting name, so I decided to call it Hungarian Lentil Stew based on the description on the site.

I brought my lentils out of the freezer and put them in the fridge about 24 hours before making the soup – they weren't completely thawed, but they were frozen solid either.

For once I mostly followed the recipe.

I sweated (I learned this term from watching Food Network) the onion and celery, added the carrots, garlic and paprika.

I put in two cans of diced tomatoes and beef stock instead of chicken though because I had that handy (obviously if you’re truly vegetarian – use vegetable broth).

I didn't measure the white wine. I just kind of threw some in.

And I put all my lentils in because I did want a heartier soup.

I didn't simmer my soup as long – only about 30 minutes – since my lentils were already cooked.

And lastly, I added a little bit of cornstarch in water to thicken it up a bit.

It was delicious, especially with Crunchmaster GF crackers…and just as delicious today for lunch. I have taco sweet potatoes planned for this evening, but if am too hungry to wait for those to bake, I may just have more soup! 

I want to try these...

http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2011/08/no-bake-energy-bites-recipe.html

That is all. If I had Pinterest, which I do not and I'm stubbornly refusing to join because I refuse to be trendy in that regard, I could just pin this on a board. But instead I'll put it here. Deal with it.

Ahoy! A vegetarian gluten-free meal!

Tonight I have a vegan friendly meal planned. And I’ve been craving it. Its so simple it seems like a silly craving, but hey, I’m weird like that.

White beans with Tomatoes

1 15-oz can of diced tomatoes

1 15-oz can of cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained and rinsed

½ medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp Italian seasoning

2 Tbsp olive oil

Salt to taste

Throw it all in the bowl. 

Let it sit overnight. 

I did that last night.

So tonight for dinner, I’m going to make some rice pasta. Then I’m going to wilt some spinach.  And I’m going to toss some of the tomato-bean mixture with the pasta and spinach. AND I’m going to EAT IT.

I suppose if one were a cheese eater, some good hard cheese grated over the top would be good as well. 

Occasionally I even make things I can't eat

I made another meal last night that is not gluten-free or dairy-free last night. But it looked delicious and Scott loved it so I’m going to share it with you all as well.

I need a name for it though…it was inspired by beef pot pie, but it has a biscuit top instead of crust (and no bottom crust). I’ll work on that later.

Also, note I did this in two distinct steps – 1) filling in the crockpot. 2) finish it in the oven with the topping. I started making it in the crockpot one evening refrigerated that part, then finished it a couple days later mixing up the biscuits and baking it.

Biscuit-topped Beef Stew (does that even sound good? )

Step  1: The Beefy Filling

1.5-2 lbs of stew beef. I left mine in the big chunks the way I bought it from the store. But if you want smaller pieces you could cut them smaller.

12-oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, green beans, etc)

¼ cup red wine

1 can mushroom gravy

1 bay leaf

Salt & pepper to taste

Toss everything in the crockpot. 

Cook on high about 4 hours. 

Fish out the bay leaf and discard.

Pour into a 9x9 oven-safe dish or refrigerate for later use. 

Step 2: Topping/Finish

Bisquick

2 cups quick biscuit mix

2/3 cup milk

½ cup shredded cheese

1 tsp garlic powder (some might find this too strong, we LOVE garlic, but scale back if you aren’t as garlicky as we are!)

2 Tbsp dried parsley

Drop by the tablespoon fulls on the top of the filling, distributing so most of filling is covered by biscuit dough. 

Bake at 425 for about 25 minutes or until topping is golden brown (if you are using refrigerated filling, it might take longer to bake).

Serves 4. 

Soup for a sick kid

I know most people think chicken noodle soup when they are sick, but since I don’t eat noodles and my daughter prefers rice (aww, she takes after me), we do chicken and rice soup. The kidlet has been battling a fever and congestion for the last four days so Saturday I ran out and grabbed the stuff to make her favorite chicken & rice soup.

I think this kid would waste away if she didn’t like soup. Since she was about 3 years old, soup has been one of the best (and sometimes only) ways I can get her to eat vegetables . I’m starting to suspect a biological reason for this, but I’m waiting to find out about this from a doctor.

Anyway, here’s my chicken & rice soup :*

*This is not necessarily a gluten-free or dairy-free recipe. I knew I was not going to be eating it, so I wasn’t checking the ingredients in everything.  I also was trying to make it fast. Cream of chicken soup is NOT GF or dairy-free. I’m not sure about the Uncle Ben’s.  

Chicken & Rice Soup

1-2 lbs of chicken thighs, with skin.

8 cups of water

3-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp whole peppercorns

Juice of one lemon

1 box Uncle Ben’s long grain & wild rice

6 oz frozen mire poix (diced celery, onions and green peppers)

6 oz frozen sliced carrots

1 can cream of chicken soup

Place the chicken thighs in a large stock pot. Add water to the pot. Then add the seasoning packet from the box of rice (do not add the rice), garlic, lemon juice and peppercorns. Bring water to a boil.  

Reduce the heat to low and let chicken cook at a slow boil, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Remove the pot from heat and cover. Let stand for about 25-35 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

Take the chicken out of the stock with tongs and let cool until you can remove skin.

While the chicken is cooling, strain stock with a mesh strainer. Make sure you have a bowl or pot large enough to catch all the stock. Pour the strained stock back into the stock pot. I only put about half the stock back in the pot and refrigerated the rest for future meals.

Place the stock pot over medium-high heat and add the veggies. Bring the mixture to a boil and add rice. Lower heat to a simmer.

While soup is simmering, remove skin from chicken and discard. Then remove meat from bones. Dice chicken into small pieces. Add about half the chicken in the soup and keep the rest for later meals. If you want more chicken in the soup, add all of it!

Once soup has simmered about 15 minutes, whisk in the cream of chicken soup (this could easily be replaced with a little cornstarch roux to thicken the soup as well…or even leave it out for a thinner, brothier soup).

Let the soup simmer about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately!

Serves 6-8. 

Baked Apples for Breakfast

For part of the second week and all of the third week of the Ultimate Reset, fruit is the breakfast. So for the last 6 days I've only had fruit for breakfast and it is getting old fast! It doesn't help that it's winter here in Indiana and having a cold breakfast isn't nearly as refreshing in February as it is in June. So today I decided to bake my apples. 

If I weren't on the Ultimate Reset, I probably would have added some chopped nuts and possibly some oats, but for today it was pretty simple. 

Baked Apples

3 medium apples

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp coconut oil

pinch of salt

Peel and core apples. Cut into 1-inch cubes. 

Grease the bottom of small baking dish with coconut oil - I used my brie baking dish. 

In a bowl, toss apples with cinnamon and salt until apples are evenly coated. 

Place apples in greased dish. 

Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. 

Serves one on the UR, but it could probably serve two if you are having other things with your breakfast.

I'm hungry.

I am on Day 19 of the 21-day Ultimate Reset and I have to admit, I'm hungry. I want more to eat. Not necessarily non-healthy foods, just different ones. I've been eating fruit for breakfast for the past two weeks and I am so bored with it. I WANT some hot cereal. Thursday...Thursday I will have quinoa for breakfast.

I have had some good food though - squash with tahini is delicious. Curried cauliflower is still a favorite. Roasted beets are fantastic.

But I want cashew butter on crackers. I want bean salad and avocado hummus. I want dolmas and roasted red pepper spread.  I could totally go for some colcannon with kale.

Not awful foods. I don't want a cheeseburger or donuts, but I do want some additional variety. Two more days. Hopefully by then my daughter will be better. She's been sick for the past three days and it looks like she'll be home again tomorrow - she just can't shake this fever.