Friday, January 29, 2021

Wedding Soup

1 lb ground turkey
Large onion
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 C. celery, sliced
2 15 oz cans of beans (I used red beans and white kidney beans)
1 lg can diced tomatoes
2 boxes vegetable broth
parsley, chopped
Italian seasoning
box of small pasta shapes

Brown the turkey with onions and garlic. Season with Italian seasoning, black pepper, and parsley. Add celery and allow to cook a bit. Add tomatoes and broth, and allow to come to a boil. You can let it be until you are ready for dinner, then add less than 1/2 box of pasta, if you add too much pasta it absorbs all your liquid. 5-6 minutes to cook pastas and you are done.

Thursday, January 28, 2021

Mushroom chicken risoto

  •  2 tablespoons butter
  • ½ pound mushrooms (cut into thin slices)
  • ⅔ pound chicken breasts (about 2 boneless, skinless, cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper 
  • 5 ½ cups (boxed) low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock (more if needed)
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil ½ cup onion (chopped) 
  • 1 ½ cups arborio rice 
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese (grated, plus more for serving) 
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped) 
 
In a large pot, heat the butter over moderate heat. Add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper. Cook until the chicken is just done, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the mixture from the pan. In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. In the large pot, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir until it begins to turn opaque, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt to the rice. Cook, stirring frequently, until all of the wine has been absorbed. Add about 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and cook, stirring frequently, until it has been absorbed. The rice and broth should bubble gently; adjust the heat as needed. Continue cooking the rice, adding broth 1/2 cup at a time and allowing the rice to absorb it before adding the next 1/2 cup. Cook the rice in this way until tender, 25 to 30 minutes in all. The broth that hasn't been absorbed should be thickened by the starch from the rice. You may not need to use all the liquid, or you may need more broth or some water. Stir in the chicken and mushrooms, the Parmesan, and the parsley and heat through. Serve the risotto with additional Parmesan.

Monday, January 25, 2021

Miso salmon

It wasn't bad, it just wasn't what I was in the mood for. Also, I just happened to have all these ingredients already (minus the edamame, which I bought because they are cheap) so it wasn't a "special meal project", but if it was I probably would be a bit disappointed.
  • 2 Tb. low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 Tb. minced peeled fresh ginger
  • 1 Tb. seasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp. hoisin sauce 
  • 1 tsp. packed light brown sugar 
  • 1 pound salmon, skinned and cut crosswise into 4 equal pieces 
  • 2 tsp. yellow or white miso 
  • 4 tsp. mirin (sweet rice wine) 
  • 2 Tb. fresh orange juice 
  • 1 ⅓ cups frozen shelled edamame 
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
 Arrange an oven rack and preheat broiler. Place a layer of aluminum foil on a baking sheet or broiler pan, and coat with cooking spray. Combine the first 5 ingredients (through brown sugar) in a bowl. Place salmon on foil, and brush with half the soy glaze. Broil 3 minutes; remove from oven, and brush with remaining glaze. Broil 3 minutes more or until salmon is flaky. (This step took me closer to 15 minutes, and gave me plenty of time to make the edamame, but I only cut the salmon into 2 pieces 1/2 lb each) Combine miso, mirin, and orange juice in a blender. Boil edamame in lightly salted water for 3–4 minutes or until tender; drain, reserving 4 tablespoons cooking liquid. Add edamame, reserved water, and salt to blender; pulse. (I used steam in a bag edamame, microwaved it, and dumped the bag's contents - with water in the blender and it worked just fine) Arrange 1/3 cup purée on each of 4 plates. Top with 1 piece of salmon, and drizzle with 1/4 teaspoon soy glaze from baking sheet. Served with a box of Uncle Ben's wild rice pilaf.

Friday, January 22, 2021