Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This soup won the award for best soup two years in a row from the families at Harvard Business School. :)

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking wild rice
cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup Chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped carrot
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cubed peeled baking potato
3 cups reduced fat milk
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, or 10 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley (optional)

More seasoning salt to taste 

Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

Heat large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic; saute 3 minutes. Add broth and potato; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until potato is tender.

Combine milk and flour, stirring well with a whisk. Add the milk mixture to the potato mixture; cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in rice, chicken, pepper, and salt. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Spicy Coconut Shrimp with Mango Salsa

Delicious. I actually didn't make the salsa the way they said, I just did a simpler mango avacado salsa (mangos, avacado, little red onion, little jalapeno, lime juice, salt/pepper). From http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/spicy-coconut-shrimp-with-spicy-mango-basil-salsa-and-lime-jasmine-rice-recipe/index.html.

Ingredients

Salsa:

• 1 mango, peeled and finely diced
• 3 scallions, sliced
• 5 basil leaves, julienned
• 1 lime, juiced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Shrimp:

• 2 fresh jalapenos, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2--inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 lime, zested
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• Small handful basil leaves, torn
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 15 grinds pepper
• 1 pound peeled, deveined shrimp
• Lime Jasmine Rice, recipe follows

Directions

For the salsa: Combine all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Make up to a day in advance. Keep covered in the refrigerator.

For the shrimp: In a mixing bowl, combine jalapenos, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, lime zest, coconut milk, basil, vegetable oil, salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours, refridgerated.

Heat a nonstick skillet over high heat. Use tongs or a fork to remove the shrimp from the marinade and place in an even layer in the pan, reserving the marinade.

Cook the shrimp until well browned on each side, turning once, about 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer cooked shrimp to a serving plate.

Add reserved marinade to pan, bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Pour over the cooked shrimp and serve with Lime Jasmine Rice and Mango Salsa.

Lime Jasmine Rice:

1 cup jasmine rice
3/4 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup water
Pinch salt
1/2 lime, zested

Put the rice, coconut milk, water, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cover and gently simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 12 to 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and stir in the lime zest. Serve immediately.

 

I also added cilantro to my rice at the end!

Karla's Double Brownies

Karla's yummy brownies from the beach. :)

3/4 cup melted butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cream together bnutter and sugar.  Add eggs. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa. Add to creamed mixture 1 cup chocolate chips. Spread on top another 1/2 cup chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Grandpa Wood's Hot Fudge Sauce

Man, this stuff is to DIE for. Whenever grandpa brings it to an event, people rave about it. Who even needs ice cream with this stuff? :)

2 sq (2 oz) semi-sweet chocolate
½ cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
¾ cup evaporated milk

Slowly melt the butter and chocolate. Remove; add sugar and milk alternating.  Whip until smooth. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for 10 minutes as thickens.

Asian Slaw with Ginger-Peanut Dressing

From onceuponachef.com

 

Ingredients

For the Dressing

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter (I like Skippy Natural No Need to Stir)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (Thai hot sauce - optional)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 large garlic clove, minced

For the Slaw

• 4 cups prepared shredded coleslaw
• 2 cups prepared shredded carrots
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup cooked and shelled edamame
• 2 medium scallions, finely sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts (or you can leave them whole)
• 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro
• Sometimes I throw in some chicken

Instructions

1. Make the dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir until the peanut butter is dissolved. Set aside.
2. Combine all of the slaw ingredients in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss well. Let sit at least ten minutes so vegetables have a chance to soak up the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (I usually add a bit more salt.) Serve cold.

Zucchini Almond Burritos

zucchini almond burritos

3 cups chopped zucchini
1/3 c chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup frozen corn
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup salsa
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup sliced almonds
oregano, cumin and basil to taste
salt and pepper

cheese
sour cream
avocado
tortillas

in a skillet, sautee veggies and spices in oil until nicely softened. add salsa and beans and heat thoroughly. add almonds. fill tortillas with mixture and top with cheese, avocado, etc.

Fruit Pizza

I am a sucker for fruit pizza in the summer. I have only ever made single sugar cookies with frosting and fruit on top because I have been intimidated by the large cookie crust, worrying about it falling apart.  But last night I challenged my limitations ;) and made a full size fruit pizza for our guests.  I got the recipe from the cook book Sherie gave us for Christmas last year "Savoring the Seasons: Our Best Bites."  It is a fantastic recipe.  I love the almond extract and orange rind in the cookie crust and the orange extract in the frosting was a good idea too.

CRUST
1 C real butter (no substitutions!), room temperature
1 C sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp almond extract
3 C all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
zest of 1 orange

CREAMY TOPPING
1 8 oz package cream cheese, light is fine
1/2 tsp orange extract
1/4 C brown sugar
1 C heavy cream
1/2 C powdered sugar

FRUIT TOPPING
4 C fruit of your choice, washed, cut into small pieces (if necessary), and patted dry
(I used pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and kiwi)
1/4 C dark or semisweet chocolate chips, or more if you want!

1. For the crust: Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add egg and extract and mix to incorporate.

2. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cups, level off with a knife, and add to a separate bowl.  Add baking powder and salt to the bowl and whisk together.

3.  Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until completely combined.  Mix in orange zest.

4. Spray a round 14 inch or larger pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray and, using your hands and a rolling pin, spread the dough out to the edges of the pan.  I used my thumbs to create a decorative fluting around the edges of the crust. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.  I left about 3/4 inch space around the edge of the pan in case the crust grew larger during cooking.  I think it grew a little but I had extra space left.

5.  When ready to bake the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake crust for 18-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and cooked in the center.  Allow to cool completely.

6. For the creamy topping: When crust is almost cool, use and electric mixer to combine cream cheese, orange extract, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Whip cream and powdered sugar in a separate bowl until medium peaks form.  Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture and combine well.  Spread cream cheese mixture over cooled crust.

7. For the fruit topping: Arrange berries and other fruit as desired over the creamy topping.  Place chocolate chips in a small, heavy-duty zip top bag and heat in the microwave 20 seconds at a time, mashing the bag around until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.  Cut a small corner off the bag and drizzle chocolate over the berries.  Refrigerate pizza until ready to serve and then cut in wedges or squares.