Chicken Soup (with all leftovers!)

Just put all those leftovers in the pot!!

1 onion, diced
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed
1/2 cabbage diced into chunks about 1" square
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup edamame, shelled
leftover meat from a roast chicken, skin removed
1-2 packages soft/precooked-udon noodles**
2-3 cups Chicken broth
1-2 cups water
2 table spoons olive oil
1/2 cup fresh parsley


1. Saute onions, mushrooms and cabbage in olive oil over medium-low heat for about 7  minutes.
2. Add chicken, broth, water, noodles, and 1/2 package of the noodle seasoning if using 1 pack of noodles (if using 2 packages add 1 seasoning packet) and stir to combine. Raise heat to high and bring to simmer, then reduce heat to low. Let cook about 10 minutes.
3. Add spinach and edamame, cook 1 minute more.
4. When you are ready to eat, drop parley on top of soup and stir in. Serve!!

ENJOY!!
**Bariatric surgery patients should replace the udon noodles with shirataki noodle which are less chewy, find them in the produce section in a bag with liquid. Strain liquid before adding noodles to pot.

Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup with Kale

Let's call this recipe a 'sibling' to the lentil and leek stew with beet greens. All the same cooking methods and principles, just changed up some of the ingredients.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups sliced onion
3 large cloves garlic
1 cup diced green pepper
1 diced red jalapeno, seeds removed (if you want more heat keep seeds and add to soup), if you can't find a red jalapeno a green one will work just fine
1 diced tomato
1 pound, brown lentils
1 medium butternut squash diced (about 3-4 cups)
2 teaspoons West Indian spice blend
3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
4 springs fresh rosemary, stems removed
1 bunch fresh parsley, stems removed

2 cups fresh kale, broken up
salt and pepper

1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add peppers and cook about 5 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper and West Indian spices. Stir to combine.
2. Add lentils, squash and broth. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Cook until lentils are soft. (add water if necessary)
3. Add kale and herbs, stir to combine - cook another 15 minutes to soften kale. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.

ENJOY!!

Lentil-Leek Stew with Beet Greens

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cup thinly sliced leeks (white parts only - this was two large leeks)
2 cups diced white onion (it was 1 very large onion)
1 bulb garlic, chopped
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 bag (1 lb) brown lentil
1 quart (4 cups) chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
1 tablespoon West Indian spice blend
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup torn fresh beet greens
optional: grated/shaved parmesan and Romano cheeses
salt and pepper

1. Heat olive oil over low-medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Let saute for 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, take sliced leeks and place in bowl of water. Separate the layers with your fingers. When all layers have been separated so you are just left with rings, pour leeks and water into a strainer/colander. Then rinse again with water (leeks can be very gritty you want to make sure to wash thoroughly). Strain well and add to onion mixture. Season pot with salt and pepper. Let cook 1-2 minutes more.
3. Add pepper, tomatoes, rosemary and West Indian blend. Stir and cook another 5 minutes.
4. Add lentils and broth, stir well. Raise heat to high, when it starts to boil, reduce to simmer. Stir again, partially cover pan with proper lid, and let cook until lentils are soft (approx 30 minutes, but you can let sit on burner on low heat for up to 2 hours as long as you periodically stir it).
4. 5-10 minutes before serving, add thyme leaves and beet greens. Stir to mix. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Cook 5-10 minutes more.

Portion into bowls, top with grated cheese if desired.

ENJOY!!!

Apple-Cabbage Slaw with walnuts and balsamic

Some days it's just to hot to cook and other days you get goodies from the farmer's market or CSA program and wonder what the heck to do with the items! I found myself in that double-whamy situation last night and this is what I came up with. No cooking necessary and full of fiber!!


1 small head green cabbage (about the size of softball), quartered and then thin sliced
1 small red onion fine diced (about 2/3 cup)
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced lengthwise, seeds and pith removed, fine diced
1 large red apple, shredded (I just pulled one off a tree outside, but a Pink lady would work nicely or a Granny Smith would add some nice tang whichever you prefer)
1 handful raw walnuts, rough chop (cashews would also be nice or raw pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (I used white balsamic so that the color of the vegetables wouldn't change but you could use regular balsamic as well)
1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1. Combine all the vegetables, apple and nuts in a bowl.
2. Whisk oil, vinegar and mustard together and then pour over slaw mix. Toss to combine and coat vegetables fully.
3. If not serving immediately, let sit in ice box up to overnight. I let it sit for 30 minutes before dinner and the cabbage had started to soften from the acid but none of the other vegetables were getting soggy yet at that point.

ENJOY!!!

Overnight Oats = breakfast without thinking

These can soak overnight and up to 3 days if you want to make a whole bunch of them at a time!

Makes getting out the door in the morning easy and great start to your day a snap!








3/4 cup old fashion oats
3/4-1 cup milk of your choice, I prefer unsweet almond (milk should cover the oats)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4-1/3 cup fruit, I used blueberries and strawberries this morning, but peaches/mango/frozen mixed berries/bananas would all be great!

1. Put oats, cinnamon, fruit into a Tupperware container. Pour in enough milk to completely cover oats.
2. Put lid on Tupperware
and place in the fridge. When ready to eat, give it a stir and you are done!

ENJOY!

Coconut Panna Cotta, by Chef Joe

Recipe #2 from 8/3/15 Support Group

1 oz (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup half and half
1/3 cup Splenda
1.5 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin into water and let stand about 1 minute. Then heat, over low heat until gelatin is dissolved, then remove pan from heat.
2. In large saucepan, bring coconut milk, half and half, and Splenda just to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring. Remove pan from heat and stir in gelatin mixture and vanilla.
3. Pour into shallow serving dishes or into a baking dish with sides at least 1/2" high. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight to let the panna cotta 'set up'.

Would be great, served topped with fresh raspberries and mango cubes!

ENJOY!

Summer Squash Casserole

I found myself in a predicament with too much summer squash hanging around the kitchen from the local CSA. What does one do with all those squashes?! So I thought I would whip up a side dish for dinner that could then be portioned out and taken for lunches to work.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white onion, thinly sliced
3 large cloves fresh garlic, sliced
5 summer squash ('yellow squash') sliced - zucchini or kuda squashes would also be excellent or a mix of all three, roughly 6 cups raw
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon fresh oregano
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated cheese (I grated Dubliner)
fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil over med-low, add garlic and onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (I grind fresh Himalayan salt and pepper right into the pan). Saute until very soft and fragrant, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove onions and garlic and place in bottom of a glass baking dish
4. Add squash to pan, slightly increase heat, add balsamic and a little more salt and pepper, and let saute until squash starts to soften, about 10 minutes. Then spread over onions in baking dish.
5. Meanwhile, in a separate small saucepan, melt the butter then add the flour and stir until a paste forms. This is your roux to thicken your milk with. Stir the roux in pan until it starts to brown. You are basically toasting the mixture. The darker the brown, the deeper the flavor, but you can definitely burn it too! When the mixture is between the color of a raw walnut and almond it is done. Remove to a plate.
6. Heat milk in same pan (less dish washing!) over medium heat. When milk is warm but not boiling, add thyme, oregano and roux. Raise the temperature of the burner to med-high, whisk the mixture to combine the roux and start the thickening process. As bubbles start to appear on the surface of the milk, it will start to thicken. Cook about another five minutes, whisking constantly, then pour over vegetables in baking dish. NOTE: it might not be enough liquid to fully cover vegetables and that is correct! Sprinkle breadcrumbs over top and grate cheese over breadcrumbs. Bake about 20 minutes or until topping is browned to your liking.
7. Remove from heat and top with ripped fresh basil leaves.

ENJOY!!!