Cooking on the Front Burner: January 2013

Vegetable Bean Soup

Soup's on! This is a soup that my mom used to make with her leftover spaghetti sauce. You always knew that after a yummy pasta night, this would appear in the next few days! It is one of my all time favorites. Loaded with veggies, kidney beans, some rice and noodles. Not much more to say about it but just grab a spoon and dig in!

Recipe Source: Mom

(printable recipe)

Enjoy!

I love receiving comments and since I'm on vacation this week, I will respond when I get back!

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Chicken Fried Rice with Leeks/Cranberries

I'm always looking for ways to use chicken. It is a main staple at the house and I was very curious when I came across this recipe - wasn't sure how it would taste but the combo of leeks and dried cranberries sounded interesting. So one night after work, I gave it a try. Prep time wasn't too long - just the slicing of leeks and dicing some boneless chicken thighs - I substituted the rice by using pre-made Uncle Ben's brown rice (2 packets). It needed to be chilled so I just kept them in the fridge after getting my groceries.

Speaking of leeks - do you know how to clean them? I cut off the very green top part and the root. Then I slice in half long way and run water between the layers and drain or pat dry. This will remove girt that sometimes gathers in-between.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Cooking Light
(printable recipe)

The DIY Guy and I both really liked this - the unique flavor of the leeks (kinda oniony/garlic like) and the dried cranberries gave it a sweet-savory taste.

Enjoy!

I enjoy getting your comments but am currently on vacation and will respond when I return.

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Book Club Night

Our book club met this week and we discussed The Girls from Ames - well it wasn't much of a discussion - as we went around the table, no one really liked it. That was a first - usually someone in the group likes it - especially the person who picked it! Some of the stories about the girls were interesting but we all thought it would have made a better article than a book. Sorry, hope I'm not offending anyone who loved it - just didn't hold our interest. But it was interesting that these women have been friends for 40 years. One of the quotes from the book was "you can make new friends, but you can't make old ones." True...

It is always fun to get together with the other gals and Sue had a nice themed Valentine table and treats.

She made up some cute Valentine bags for us with some nice goodies

Dessert was a cake made with lemon curd and fluffy frosting - very good! All made from scratch.

Claudia has picked our next book and I have heard rave reviews...I've read rumors that it might also be made into a movie. I can't wait to start it!

I love reading your comments but am on vacation and will response when I get back...

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Wild Rice and Chicken Soup

Tonight I'm sharing a tasty and quick wild rice soup. This recipe caught my eye in a Midwest Living magazine due the QUICK part being a package of quick-cooking long grain and wild rice (I used Uncle Bens). Another bonus the flavor packet really gave a nice seasoning to the soup. And as you know (well, if you live in the frozen tundra) a nice, warm bowl of soup really hits the spot these last few days when the temps for a HIGH were -2 on Monday and not much warmer since! I think you will like how easy this is to make!

Recipe Source: Adapted from Midwest Living
(printable recipe)

The original recipe called for chopped cooked turkey but I had some leftover chicken to use up. Either way would be just fine!

Enjoy!

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Tiramisu Cream Puffs

Last Friday I met daughter #2 in Minneapolis for a quick lunch and to catch up on life. She suggested a place downtown called Spoonriver that is located by the Guthrie Theater. This place is know for using organic food, local growers and fresh ingredients... they did not disappoint. Danielle had the Cafe Brenda Burger made out of veggies, nuts and rice. I had a fresh green spring salad with herb goat cheese and a small cup of butternut squash soup. Everything was very tasty! We decided to take a look at the dessert tray and I told Danielle she would pick out what she wanted - I only wanted a bite. She settled on a cream puff with tiramisu filling and I ended up having about half! It was soooo good and I really wanted to create my own version.

It was a first for me making cream puffs. These aren't hard to do - don't be scared away! I also needed to come up with a filling with no eggs. Traditional tiramisu has uncooked eggs and that is something I did not want to deal with. I came up with a light, fluffy filling with a bit of Kahlua (you could use strong coffee if not a fan of alcohol). And to top it off is a chocolately ganache with a bit of more of Kahlua. The combination of all three really melded together nicely!

My taste tester was blown away and has already eaten 4 in 2 days! I was very pleased too with the results and now thinking of new fillings to try.... stop by another time to see what I come up with next!

Recipe Source: Original
(printable recipe)

I'm still by no means an expert with my new camera. I took the picture above in natural light and the one below in a light box. Either way, don't they look yummy!

Enjoy!
Next time I hope both the girls can meet me!

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Thai Chicken Pizza

As you know if it's Friday it must be pizza night here! I'm always looking for some new ways to make it and recently met a new blogger on-line who suggested that I give this a try. I am so glad I did - it has some wonderful flavors and one that I will be keeping in the rotation. I did tweak it a bit so if you like to see Cindy's version, click here. My tweak was not pre-baking the dough for a bit (it will make sense as you read my recipe).

Recipe Source: Adapted from Everyday Insanity
(printable recipe)
Dough Recipe

I also had some fun with my new camera before I went to any classes... still lots to learn.

The ingredients

The recipe called for red peppers but I forgot to buy so I used what I had on hand:

Assembling:

Time to eat!

Enjoy!

If you have a non-traditional pizza for me to try - send it my way!!

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John's Lucky (2)7 Chili Revisited

Today we are revisiting the DIY guy's award winning chili. Back on November 30, 2011 he made this (researched the recipe and made it all by himself) for a chili cook-off at work and won! He was pretty excited... So I was thinking a couple Saturdays ago I would make it as we were preparing to watch the Vikings vs Packers in Wild Card action! It was kind of last minute decision so we called up another couple to come over for the game. I ran to the store, bought all the ingredients and thought to myself, great I have 3 hours before company comes - the chili needs to cook for 2 hours - no problem. Well, what I didn't realize is how long the prep would be to get it on the stove and this time I wanted to take some pictures as I went. I just made it before the clock ran out!

This recipe (here) differs from the original by one tweak. We substituted brown sugar in place of the white. I don't know if you could tell a big difference, but the chili turned out great, another winner... The Vikings on the other hand - not. One can only ponder what next year will bring!

Here's the line-up

Browning the meat

Adding everything else

There - simmer for two hours and you are ready to go!
Enjoy!

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Spiked Challenge-Panko Chicken with Champagne Sauce

A couple weeks ago I signed up for a food challenge - I love these things... it gives me a chance to look at recipes and try something new. This challenge was interesting because the secret ingredient was champagne but no drinks or cocktails - had to be used in baking or cooking.

The challenge is being hosted by:

Julia @ This Gal Cooks

Carrie @ Frugal Foodie Mama

I decided to go savory, figuring most people would go for the baking. I was interested in coming up with some sort of creamy sauce that could be served over chicken. The chicken turned out great by using panko crumbs and frying in hot oil. The coating was not greasy and very crispy.

Recipe Source: Semi-Original after much web surfing!
(printable recipe)

The following veggies were used and I really made this my own recipe by adding fresh thyme... it gave it a distinct flavor.

I bought a small 4 pack of champagne since I only needed a small amount... and now have 3 more bottles to use up - I'm sure I will find some other good recipes from the challenge!

This really was a fun recipe to make... my official taste tester was quite pleased! Head over to one of the hosts to see the other recipes either today or tomorrow.

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