Creamy Chicken Soup with Rice

Source: adapted slightly from Quiche the Cook blog

Ingredients:
1 small chicken breast, diced
3 medium-sized carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 Tbs oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cans chicken broth
~1 cup water
1/2 cup rice
1 teaspoon rosemary (I just shaked a few shakes - it was probably less than a teaspoon, but I don't really know)
1 teaspoon sage (I don't have sage, so I subbed marjoram - and it was, again, probably less than a teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk (or you could use cream)

Directions:
In a medium-large pot, heat the oil and cook chicken pieces (seasoning with salt and pepper to taste).  Once chicken is cooked through, remove from pan and set aside.  Saute the carrots, celery and onions in the residual oil and chicken juices until the onions become translucent.  Add the garlic and cook another minute.

Add the chicken broth, water, rice, diced chicken, rosemary, sage, salt & pepper and let the mixture come to a boil.  Continue to cook until the carrots can be pierced with a fork and the rice is cooked (10-12 minutes) (I actually let it simmer low and slow for a good long while - like an hour, but if you don't have that kind of time, a few minutes is probably fine).

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and flour until there are no clumps.  Stir this mixture into the soup and stir until fully incorporated.  Cook another 2 minutes (or another hour if you have the time), or until it thickens slightly.

Notes:
Ever since I saw this recipe I couldn't get the poems by Maurice Sendak out of my head.

"In January

it's so nice

while slipping

on the sliding ice

to sip hot chicken soup

with rice."

In fact, as I made this soup tonight, I recited every month of chicken soup poems that I could remember (I did have to peek at the book a few times because I got stumped on April and June and July).

Let me just say, this soup is awesome.  I didn't really change a ton from the original recipe - mostly just upped some of the ingredients so we would have more to eat (and more leftover for lunch tomorrow).  Gregg, Cal and I all had second helpings tonight - it was just so flavorful and warm and hearty.  Served up with a fat slice of some crusty artisan bread (homemade, and oh-so-easy, no less) we had a magnificent dinner on a chilly January night.

Crusty Artisan No-Knead Bread

Source: Mel

Ingredients:
3 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (about 17 ounces) (I used her whole wheat version and subbed 1 cup of the all-purpose with white whole wheat flour)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups room temperature water
2 Tablespoons honey (for the whole wheat version)

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix until the dough is combined and has a shaggy, sticky texture (it's easiest to just get in there with your hands and do the job).

Cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours. It
will get puffy and bubble.

Scrape down the sides of the dough and let it gentle deflate. Turn it out onto a lightly greased piece of parchment paper (I didn't lightly grease mine because it said on the box that it was nonstick or something - I thought that would be good enough, but next time I'll for sure spray a little nonstick spray on the paper because it was really sticky dough) and using your hands (lightly grease them if the dough is sticking too much) pat it into a thick oblong shape.

Fold one of the long edges to the middle. Fold the other long edge over the top, forming a thick log.

Take one short end and fold it in toward the middle and repeat with the other short end - basically like folding up a blanket or towel.

Carefully and quickly flip the mound of dough over so the seams are on the bottom. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise until puffy and doubled, about 2 hours.

About 30-45 minutes before the dough is ready, heat the oven to 450 degrees. Place a 6- to 8-quart heavy cast iron pot (like the popular enamel covered ones) (she also mentioned that her aunt uses a pyrex bowl or a crock pot insert - I didn't try them, but it's worth looking into if you're interested - just make sure they're oven safe to 450 degrees!) in the oven as it heats and let it stay there for 30-45 minutes.
When the dough is ready, remove the pot from the oven and take off the lid. Lift up the corners of the parchment paper and set the bread and parchment paper right into the pot. Cover with the lid and return to the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid from the pot and bake for another 10-15 minutes (I did it for 5 because it was already pretty brown and I didn't want it burned black) until the top of the loaf is browned and lovely.

Carefully grab the corners of the parchment paper and remove the bread to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes:
First of all, this bread looks and tastes pretty dang awesome, if you ask me.  It's different than any bread I've ever made, but it tastes much like something you'd get in a restaurant bread basket.  It's really soft in the middle, with a nice chewy/crispy crust all around.  And it looks so pretty!

I admit, I was nervous to try this recipe, even though I really shouldn't have been.  Mel made it seriously so easy (and really, you should go to her site and look at the step-by-step instructions; they're super helpful).  I don't have an enameled cast iron pot, but I do have a lodge Dutch oven (you know, the kind you cook with outside over coals, size 12) and it worked just great.  Also, I've never bought/used parchment paper till now, but it really was a life saver.  My dough was much, much stickier than Mel's looked in her pictures, and it really just turned into an amorphous blob after its rise on the parchment, but you'd never know how ugly it was as dough after it came out of the oven.

Yummo-rama!  This will definitely be making many more appearances in our house, especially on soup Thursdays (which is what we did tonight - paired with a delicious Creamy Chicken Soup with Rice, we had a mighty fine dinner if I do say so myself (and I do)).

Peach Salsa Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes (Slow Cooker)

Source

Ingredients:
1 (2 - 2.5 pound) boneless pork roast
salt and pepper
1 tablespoons oil
5 small peeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 cups peach salsa

Directions:
1. Scatter the cubed sweet potatoes in the bottom of a slow cooker/crock pot. Put the lid in place and set the slow cooker to high.
2. Sprinkle the pork roast generously with salt and pepper on all sides.
3. Sear the pork roast in a skillet over high heat. Set the pork roast on top of the cubed sweet potatoes. Pour the peach salsa over the top, put the lid in place, and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-9 hours. (The pork is done when it measures 145 F on a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast.)

Notes: Oh my heavens. This was delicious. I served it with garlic-mushroom couscous and green beans and it was one of the best Sunday dinners that we've had in a while. A few notes/adaptations:
- I think the outcome of this recipe is quite subjective to the quality of the salsa you use. As much as I wish I had home-bottled peach salsa in my pantry, I don't (but making some is now on my to do list for next summer!), so I picked up some fresh mango salsa from my grocery store's deli, then added a can of peaches (drained) into the crockpot. When making this in the future, I'll definitely always use something as yellow as possible (as opposed to tomato-based salsa with a few chunks of peach tossed in).
- This didn't have as much flavor as it smelled like it would. I was expecting more of a saturated, stand-alone flavor, but it wasn't like that. We had to top each piece with some salsa for it to have enough flavor. It worked out nicely though because the kids liked how plain it was and gobbled it up. This may also have to do with the fact that I used a huge roast (almost 4 pounds) so that we would have lots of leftovers to freeze for lunches and future pizza nights.
- The sweet potatoes were very soggy, delicious (maybe even my favorite part), but more mashed than cubed by the end.

Ham and Cheese Tortilla Roll-Ups

Source: adapted slightly from here, via Pinterest

Ingredients:
1 block cream cheese, softened
1 can diced green chiles
1 small can sliced black olives (I didn't have any olives, but I would have loved to add them if I did)
1 tablespoon fresh chives (or one green onion, sliced) (I did the onion)
6 slices of ham (I doubled the ham to fit better on each tortilla - so two per instead of just one)
6 flour tortillas
~1/2 cup or so shredded cheddar cheese
a squirt of mustard
a sprinkle of garlic powder

Directions:
Mix your softened cream cheese with the mustard and garlic powder (you don't need much of either, just a little to give it a good flavor) in a large mixing bowl.

Drain black olives and give them a rough chop.  Slice green onions or chop chives (both are tasty so use what you like best).  Place green onions (or chives), roughly chopped black olives, canned green chiles and cheddar cheese in the bowl with the cream cheese mixture.  Stir to combine.  You'll really have to work it all in so it's completely combined.

Now for the roll-ups.  Using a spatula, spread 1/6th of the mixture evenly on top of a flour tortilla and place a piece of ham (or two) on top.  Roll up your tortilla tightly.  Slice each roll with a sharp serrate knife into about 1 1/2 inch pieces.  (Eat the ends that don't really stay together and look ugly.)  Refrigerate till you're ready to eat.

Notes:
I remember my first ever introduction to Tortilla Roll-Ups (and only experience ever, really, until I made some for Halloween last year (those ones were salsa flavored and were a big hit)) was at the Cannon's home in South Weber after they moved away from being our back-yard neighbors.  This must have been years ago.  I'm sure I was no more than 12 when it happened.  I don't know why my family and I were at their house eating Tortilla Roll-Ups, but I remember loving them so much.  Now whenever I see them pop up on food blogs or pinterest, I pin away.

After my successful foray into the Roll-Ups world a few months ago, I've kept my eyes especially alert for new flavor combinations to try.  I happened to have a half block of cream cheese and most of the other necessary ingredients (minus the olives, which I was bummed about, but honestly they were fine without) hanging out in the fridge on New Year's Eve, so I decided at the last minute to add these little beauties to the menu.  I whipped up a half-batch and it was the perfect complement to our other apps we ate that night.  So quick and so easy and oh-so-delicious are these little morsels.  I foresee the Tortilla Roll-Up becoming a staple treat/snack/meal/appetizer in our house!

Honey-Orange Glazed Ham in the Crock Pot

Source: here

Ingredients:
1/2 cup apple juice (I didn't have any apple juice so I just left it out - I had plenty of liquid)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 ham, bone-in or boneless, spiral or not, probably the most important key is that it fits in your crock pot

Directions:
Place ham in the crock pot.  Cover with juices, sugar and honey.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours, brushing with glaze occasionally.

Notes:
Couldn't be easier than that.  We had this for Christmas dinner with a good ol' hash brown casserole (i.e. funeral potatoes), rolls, and a green salad.  Simple, hearty, leftovers for days (the ham freezes great and can be used in soups, sandwiches, pizzas, whatever you want).

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:
2-3 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts or chicken tenders
16-ounce package sliced bacon, thick cut or regular
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (I went with the larger amount on each of these ranges)
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If you have it, place an uncoated metal cooling rack inside a foil-lined large rimmed baking sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray. If not, line a baking pan or broiling pan with foil and lightly grease with nonstick cooking spray.

Cut the chicken breasts into large bite-sized pieces. If using chicken tenders, cut them in half (you can fold over the chicken tender pieces when wrapping so they'll be thicker). Place the chicken pieces in a medium bowl and toss with the salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, garlic powder and red pepper. Let it hang out while preparing the rest of the ingredients (you can cover and refrigerate up to a day).

In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and chili powder together. Cut the entire slab of bacon into thirds.

Wrap each chicken piece with small strip of bacon and holding tightly, dredge them in the brown sugar/chili powder mixture. Place the chicken pieces in a single layer on the baking sheet (or rack set inside the baking sheet). If the bacon isn’t staying put, you can secure with a toothpick.  (I made mine ahead of time and stored the pan in the fridge for most of the day till it was time to cook.  So when it came time to cook them, they took closer to 30-40 minutes to cook since everything was so cold.)

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the bacon is crisp and the chicken is cooked through. Flip it once if the chicken is laying directly on the baking sheet. Serve immediately.

Notes:
I was looking for new appetizer recipes that I could serve for Christmas Eve or New Years Eve or just your average Thursday Eve.  And of course, Mel came through for me again.  These were delicious!  I loved the slight spicy-sweet coating that came from the brown sugar-chili powder dusting over the top of these little delights.  My only complaint is that the bacon never really got crispy.  I don't know if it's supposed to, but I guess I was expecting it to, so when it stayed pretty soft and chewy, I was a little bit bummed.  But, they were delicious.  And they actually warmed up great in the microwave for the next few days as we ate them for lunch.  We even sliced them in half and used them as the meat in a sandwich, which was really quite delicious.

Tomato Basil Soup

Source: here, via Pinterest

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 - 14 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 - 14 oz. can whole tomatoes
2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream (I used 1% milk - loved it)
3 tablespoons of fresh basil, julienned (I didn't have any fresh, so I used 1 1/2 Tablespoons dried basil)
parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil on medium heat for 1 minute - being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the crushed tomatoes.  Add the whole tomatoes one at a time, squeezing them into the pan to break them up.  Add the juice from the whole tomatoes, as well.  Add chicken stock, salt, pepper and sugar.  Cook the soup on medium at a simmer for 10 minutes.

To finish, reduce the heat to low and stir in heavy cream and basil.  Serve topped with parmesan cheese or a grilled cheese sandwich (which is exactly what we did - both!).

Notes:
Every Thursday in the winter I like to make soup.  Of course I have my favorites, but sometimes I like to find a new recipe (I have so many to choose from on Pinterest) to test out.  I'm so glad I tried this one!  I loved it!  It's a thick-ish consistency due to the crushed tomatoes and there's a bit of chew from the whole tomato chunks in there.  Very hearty for a tomato soup.  And lots of flavor!  The perfect complement to a good grilled cheese.  I will be making this one again.