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We had a leftover chicken carcass so I wanted to make soup, but I wanted something different.
Step 1 - make the stock. In a large stockpot add the carcass, half an onion (I don't chop this, it's going to be thrown out ) and the base and leaf-top part of a stalk of celery. Salt liberally - 3 tbsp or so, I also added 2 bay leaves and 1/2 tsp of thyme. Bring to boil and let simmer, stirring occassionally - for 4-5 hours. Afterwards, pour the stock through a strainer to catch the chicken and veggies. Refrigerate broth until cool and skim layer of fat.
Step 2 - soup! Roughly chop remaining celery and half of onion - will be pureed so dicing doesn't need to be tight. Add 2 chicken breasts to broth and bring to boil. Add celery and onion. Add any veggies - I added roasted corn, carrots, and a potato. Also good would be spinach, cauliflower, etc. Let simmer for 40-60 minutes, until veggies are super soft. Remove chicken & refrigerate until cool, then pull or dice.
Step 3 - puree! Again, pour stock through strainer to catch veggies. separate at least 4 cups of broth. Return broth and stock pot to stove. Place half of the vegetables into a blender with 2 cups of broth. Add 1/2 c of heavy cream, or 3/4 c of milk. Blend, then return to stock pot. Do the same with second half. Add diced chicken. Salt and pepper to taste.
This was so awesome, it was my first pureed soup and I am happy with it. I might even say that it was my best soups - maybe the best, but I have made a lot of soup so I don't want to declare it. Will definitely make again.
I also made some white bread in the bread machine - first time ever using it! It came out pretty good but overfilled the little machine. Aww. But still tasted awesome.
I bought the Everyday Food cookbook after watching a few episodes of the show. They seem to focus on pretty healthy and fast meals.. like Rachel Ray but without Yumbalicious and that nightmarish smile. So this week I picked 4 new recipes to try. Tonight was chicken with a mustard cream sauce.
I was worried about the sauce because I've never really cooked with wine and I don't like the taste of wine so I wasn't sure I would like this sauce. But it came out really good and Phil loved it so I will for sure make it again.
I would also like to give a shout out to my new favorite kitchen tool, THE TONGS. What! Why did I only recently buy these? I literally use them every time I cook. I want to buy another three pairs. I love them so much.
4 chicken breasts
1/4 cup white whine
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 c heavy cream
Salt and pepper both sides of chicken, then saute 10-12 minutes until done, flipping once. Remove from pan and place on plate. Add wine and simmer 2-3 minutes until it thickens. Add mustard and heavy cream, keep stirring until blended well.
We had rice and asparagus on the side. The sauce was really good and would be good for fish too.
I actually may have already posted this, as I kind of made it before but I made some changes to it. I think before Phil wasn't too excited about it but this time he really liked it.
All I had were 2 bone in pork chops so I cut them into 1" chunks and sauteed them with a small onion cut into rings. When the pork chops were brown I added 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 3/4 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of sour cream, and 1/2 package of ranch dressing mix. It makes a kind of gravy/sauce.
Served over mashed potatoes. Last time I used whole pork chops but I think I preferred the cut chops. This would also be really good for chicken.
Tonight I am making chicken fajita tacos. mmmm
What are your rituals or traditions for starting off a new year?
I usually make a long list of resolutions, spend a hundred dollars on cookbooks, and watch James Bond movies.
The exclamation points are a lie. I feel no excitement!
I made chili this weekend - it came out pretty good, and there was a ton of it. I just heated some up for lunch, and I ate waaaay too much. Phil introduced me to adding sour cream to chili, and of course cheese.
I made grilled peaches this weekend too - I didn't really like them, but then I don't really like peaches. They weren't too bad, I also made a butter/cinnamon/honey sauce, I served it with ice cream which improved the taste immensely. I ate two bowls of it, until I thought I might explode.
I'm frustrated with things, like not having a job, just feeling kind
of.. blah, alone, useless, ha ha I am a fountain of sunshine.
Did you go to summer camp? Which one? What did you enjoy doing?
Submitted by Something Else.
No, but I always enjoyed watching summer camp movies.
Would you sign a prenuptial agreement? Why or why not?
Submitted by Lantastic.
Obviously it depends on the pre-nup, but probably.
So I picked up three peaches to grill tomorrow. I think I'm going to
take that third peach and use it in an ice cream. Swirl in some honey,
brown sugar, and cinnamon. I am going to try to make a new ice cream
every week. Why not! Ice cream is delicious, and I am fat.
