Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

I've been on a little bit of a Thai kick lately. I'm starting to feel like I may as well stock my pantry with cans of coconut milk, red curry paste, and curry powder. It feels like a good time of year for these curries and soups. They can be warm and comforting for Fall, but still reminiscent of summer with the coconut-y goodness and the bright, fresh lime flavors. 

My recipe this week involves a lot of mushrooms, which is another great Fall favorite in soups. And bonus! It's a quick one, especially if you buy the mushrooms pre-sliced. Next week's recipe will also be Thai but no mushrooms involved, for those of you who fear them. :) It's been so nice to get back to cooking after having been laid up for a while and eating mostly freezer foods. Though I will say, it was nice to have a break from my two year old crying at my feet while I prep dinner...

Enjoy!

Thai Coconut Soup

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 T vegetable oil
• 2 T peeled, grated ginger (or 1tsp ginger powder)
• 6 tsp Thai red curry paste
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 6 c chicken broth
• 3 T fish sauce or soy sauce
• 1 T light brown sugar
• 2 (14oz) cans coconut milk (the kind you find in the Asian foods aisle. Not the coconut milk in the dairy section, and not canned coconut cream...that will get you SUPER sweet results that we're not looking for here)
• 1 lb chicken breast, sliced in 1 inch strips (or pre-cooked shredded chicken you have on hand)
• 1 lb white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin
• 3-4 T fresh lime juice (I usually more lime rather than less)
• 1/2 c whole cilantro leaves

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium. While oil heats, stir in ginger and curry paste. Mix around a bit and when it starts to sizzle, cook for about 1 minute. Putting the ginger and curry paste in before the oil is completely hot avoids a lot of spattering and spitting of oil and curry paste. If using red pepper flakes, add them now and stir for 15 seconds. 
2. Add 1/2 c broth and stir until the curry paste is dissolved. Then stir in the rest of the broth, fish or soy sauce, and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 min, partially covered. 
3. Stir in the coconut milk, chicken, and mushrooms. Cook on a simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. If you use pre-cooked chicken, you will still allow a simmer for 5 minutes to give mushrooms time to become tender. 
4. Remove the pot from heat. Stir in lime juice to taste, and season with salt. Garnish bowls with cilantro. 

Mom's Strawberry Shortcake

I grew up in Pennsylvania where summers were the most anticipated time of the year for me. I had a neighbor who gave my siblings and me free reign of both her property and the raspberries on her bushes. I remember eating them in the warm sun until my stomach ached. Other summer food memories that make me more nostalgic than most anything else are corn on the cob bought from road-side stands, home-grown tomatoes, and strawberry shortcake made with locally grown berries. 

Guys, my family was serious about strawberry shortcake. When my mom made it, it was never, ever dessert. It was strawberry shortcake for dinner those nights, and we could eat it until we were stuffed! Geez, I'm smiling into the empty room here as I type just remembering it. 

My mom used Bisquick to make her shortcakes, like her mother and mother-in-law before her. But don't try looking on the side of the box for this recipe, because a long time ago my Nana tweaked it to be even better. That's the recipe I'll be using here. So even though the tweaked recipe came from my Nana, the first images that I remember when thinking of this dish are bursting through the back screen door of the house I grew up in, smelling the shortcakes baking, and seeing my mom mashing up strawberries with a potato masher. Pure childhood excitement, seriously. Enjoy!

Mom's Strawberry Shortcake

makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

For the berries-

• 4 quarts strawberries, hulled and rinsed (I tend to use way more because I like to drown my shortcake, but that's just me)
• Sugar, to taste (the amount varies wildly depending on the sweetness of the berries)

For the shortcake-

• 2 1/3 c Bisquick mix
• 3 T sugar
• 3/4 c milk
• 3 T vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Place cleaned and hulled berries in a large bowl and sprinkle with some sugar. Using a potato masher, smash the berries until juices release and you obtain desired consistency. I always like it pretty soupy and mashed up. Mix in more sugar to taste. Refrigerate covered.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8 inch pie pan by greasing with shortening or spraying lightly with cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, combine Bisquick and sugar. Whisk until combined. Add milk and oil and stir until a soft, sticky dough forms.

   

   This batter is so easy, my 5 year old made it :)

   Pour into the pie pan and spread the dough with a spatula to the edges of the pan.
4. Bake for about 30 minutes or until edges are turning golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs.
   
5. For serving- Cut cake into wedges and spoon as much strawberry on top as desired. Top with whipped cream (which I would have done if I had some on hand that day!). In my family, some of us even like to eat it in a bowl with a little milk poured on top. :)

Easy Simmered Black Beans

Let's start this by being totally transparent. I am usually limited on time when it comes to cooking, so most of the time I use canned beans and it works out just fine. But if you are ever in the mood to do things totally from scratch, these beans are really, really good and not difficult at all. They just require you to be home long enough to leave them simmering for a couple hours. Yeah, I know, that's a challenge for me too. That said, here's a glowing endorsement: My kids don't usually eat the beans on their plate that are from the can. When I put these on their plate, they ate them all. Maybe it's a fluke, but I think they tasted better. :) I've used these beans in my Chipotle bowls, enchiladas, chili, refried beans, and more. Enjoy!

Easy Simmered Black Beans
adapted from Pati's Mexican Table

Ingredients:

• 1 lb dry black beans, picked through to get rid of any stones, and rinsed
• 1/2 large white onion, cut along it's equator with the root end intact (this will make it easier to remove from pot later), outer skin removed
• 2 whole garlic cloves, paper removed
• 1 jalapeno, whole with stem removed
• 2-3 tsp coarse salt, to taste
• 1-2 scallions (green onion), chopped and sprinkled as garnish

Directions:

1. Rinse and drain the beans. Pick through them to make sure there are no small stones among the beans. Put beans in a large stock pot, and cover with a generous amount of water (about 3-4 inches). 
2. Add the onion, garlic cloves, and jalapeno if using. DO NOT add the salt until later. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. 
3. Reduce heat to med low and simmer, partially covered, for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Test them at 1 1/4 hours for softness all the way through. 
4. Add the salt a little at a time until it tastes right. Simmer for 15 min more or until the beans are soft enough that they start to come apart between your fingers. The broth will have thickened also. If the beans are still not cooked through, you can add some water if the broth has dried out. 
5. Remove the onion, garlic, and jalapeno. 
6. Sprinkle with chopped scallion and serve.

Salsa Roja

Here's a simple recipe I picked up during my time living in Mexico. Just a few ingredients, but the charring in a dry skillet adds an amazing depth of flavor. It's my go-to red salsa for fajitas, tacos, breakfast tacos, eggs, and more. Enjoy!

Salsa Roja

Ingredients:

• 6 roma tomatoes, rinsed and left whole
• 2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
• 1-2 serrano chiles, stemmed and unchopped
• Salt

Directions:

1. Heat a dry, 12 inch, cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium heat. Place tomatoes, garlic cloves, and chiles in the pan and allow to char on one side. Flip tomatoes, garlic, and chiles until majority of sides are charred. 
2. Remove from pan and place whole tomatoes, garlic with husk removed, and chile into a food processor. Pulse until as smooth or chunky as you prefer. I recommend adding chiles one half at a time until desired heat is achieved. 
3. Stir in pinches of salt to taste. 

Anna's Chili

I had been making chili for years, tweaking it along the way. Then I moved to Texas and was semi-forced into entering a workplace chili competition...long story. This was pretty intimidating because this is Texas, people! I was blown away when it won and started to believe in my recipe a little bit. It's one of those recipes that I make by "what tastes right" and haven't monitored the amounts I use until I decided to type it up here. I love to make this meal on days when I don't have a lot of time to cook and want to make something filling. Enjoy!

Anna's Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground beef (or ground turkey for leaner chili)
• 2 T vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1-3 jalapenos, deseeded and chopped fine
• Salt
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 5 garlic cloves
• 2-4 chipotle chiles to taste, diced
• 1 28oz can petite diced tomatoes, with juice
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 2 15oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 15oz cans pinto or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 c frozen corn
• 2 T adobo sauce from can of chipotle chiles, or to taste

Optional garnishes:

• sour cream
• shredded cheese
• Fritos corn chips (to make the ever-popular regional favorite "Corn Chip Pie")

Directions:

1. In a large stock pot over med-hi heat, brown the ground beef or turkey. Set browned meat aside and drain off fat.
2. Add oil to the pan. Heat over med-hi heat until oil is shimmering. Add onions, jalapenos, and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder and cumin, toast for about 60 seconds.
3. Add garlic and chipotle chiles. Saute for 30 sec or until fragrant. Add tomatoes with juice and red wine vinegar. Stir until combined and beginning to simmer.
4. Add beans and corn. Taste for heat. Add adobo sauce to taste. I used a whopping 2 T of it. We like it spicy around here. :)
5. Add salt at the end to taste and to round out flavor.
6. Spoon into bowls and top with sour cream and shredded cheese. Serve hot.

*Optional: Corn Chip Pie- Place a handful of corn chips in the bottom of a bowl. Spoon chili over top of chips. Top with cheese and sour cream. For those uninitiated, this may sound like a strange combination. I may have even scorned it when I first moved to south Texas. But oh. my. goodness. delicious.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

I just bought a ton of broccoli and was tired of just roasting it in different ways, as delicious as that is. So I looked in the fridge and had some leftover goat cheese that needed to get eaten too. I planned soup for dinner and bread spread with goat cheese as a side. 

This soup isn't complicated to make, is packed with lots of broccoli goodness, and not overwhelmed with too much cream. Enjoy!

Cream of Broccoli Soup

from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 T unsalted butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• Salt
• 2 T flour
• 4 c chicken broth
• 1 1/2 lbs broccoli, finely chopped by hand or in food processor
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• Pepper
• Cayenne pepper
• Optional: sauteed crispy bacon pieces

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and 1/2 tsp. of salt and saute until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. 
2. Stir in flour and cook for about 1 minute. Slowly stir in broth and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom (those brown bits add tons of flavor!).  
3. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
4. While broth cooks, chop broccoli in food processor. Add to the soup and simmer until the broccoli is tender, about 8-10 minutes. 

   

   I hand chopped these, but food processing pulses would be much faster

   
   
5. Set another empty medium pot on the stove. Puree the soup in batches until smooth in your food processor. ***take the "food pusher" out while blending hot foods to avoid pressure build up and spewing hot food. Also, only fill half way and pulse a few times before running the processor to avoid leaking hot foods from under the lid. 
6. Pour the first pureed batch of soup into the empty medium sized pot. Continue until all the soup is pureed. Stir in the cream.
   
   Bring to a simmer just for a few seconds, then remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add some cayenne pepper if you want a little heat. 
7. I didn't have time for this when I made it, but finely chopped, sauteed bacon sprinkled on top of this soup would work really well. What's not better with a little bacon??

Crispy Roasted Potato Wedges

I love using red potatoes since they don't require peeling. There's also something special about crispy-on-the-outside and soft-on-the-inside potatoes. These potatoes may take a little longer than skillet potatoes, but they are pretty hands off while they roast. And they are so tasty! My husband loves them, and my kids inhaled all the leftovers the next day....much to my husband's chagrin. :) Enjoy!

Crispy Roasted Potato Wedges
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 medium red potatoes, sliced into 3/4 in wedges (I tested this with thinner wedges, but the thicker wedges were easier to flip without sticking and breaking. Also, if you get large potatoes instead, you will be making several batches as it will be too many and overcrowd your baking sheet.)
  
• 3-4 T olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with tin foil and brush foil with a thin coating of olive oil. 
2. Scrub and rinse the potatoes. Slice potatoes and place in a gallon-sized Ziplock bag. Drizzle oil into the bag and sprinkle some salt and pepper into the bag as well. Seal and shake/massage the bag until all the potatoes are coated with oil and salt/pepper is distributed.
3. Dump potatoes onto the baking sheet, making sure each piece has one cut-side down.
   
    
4. Cover the sheet with tin foil and place on the middle rack of the oven. Roast covered, for 20 min. 
5. After 20 min., remove foil (carefully!!) and place back in the oven. Continue to allow the first side to roast for 10-15 min more, until that side is browned nicely (golden brown). 
6. Remove pan from oven and flip each potato to the other cut-side. (tongs or a metal spatula worked well for me) Place back in the oven for 8-10 min more, or until the other side is well browned. 
7. Remove from oven, sprinkle with some coarse kosher or sea salt. Serve hot. 

Salsa Verde Cruda (by Pati Jinich)

Once upon a time, I lived in Mexico and loved, loved, loved homemade green salsas. Then I moved back to the States, bought jarred green salsas, hated them, and gave up on green salsa in general. What a MISTAKE!

 

First let me say how much I adore Pati Jinich, both her show on PBS and her recipes. This recipe is barely even adapted by me because I just love it the way it is.

Secondly, this is the easiest salsa recipe I have ever made. No cooking required...just ingredients and a food processor or blender! The flavors are fresh, bright/tangy, spicy, and creamy. We put this stuff on everything: tacos, eggs, salads, chips, nachos, etc. I pretty much keep it in my fridge at all times. Enjoy!

Salsa Verde Cruda  

from Pati's Mexican Table

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. tomatillos, husked, rinsed, quartered (they have sticky skin once husks are removed, so be sure to rinse)
  
• 1 avocado, pit removed
• 1-2 T white onion, in rough chunks
• 1-2 serrano or jalapeno chiles, depending on desired heat
• 3/4 tsp. coarse kosher salt

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine the tomatillos, avocado meat, onion, chiles, and salt. I usually add one chile, run the food processor, taste for heat, then add more chiles if I want.
2. Cover and pulse the food processor 4-5 times, then run until smooth.
3. Enjoy on everything!