What's for dinner?

I love when I am home from work because then I can cook!  I do not get to do this nearly enough.  Long hours and working out puts a damper in my "Giadaness"!

Tonight my family will be enjoying my "Old Time Beef Stew!"
I love this dish on a cool fall evening.  It is real comfort food.  It is also band friendly, and really satisfying.

I will share the recipe with you:

 Ingredients:

2 pounds of lean stew meat

2 tablespoons of olive oil

3 C water

1 T Worcestershire sauce ( I use more like 3)

1 Clove Garlic  ( I use more like 4)

1 or 2 Bay Leaves

1 medium sweet onion sliced

1 tsp salt

1 teaspoon of sugar

1.5 tsp pepper

1.5 tsp paprika

Dash of ground allspice or cloves

3 large carrots, sliced

3 ribs celery, chopped

3 large potatoes quartered

2 T cornstarch

Instructions:

In a dutch oven on top of the stove, brown meat in hot oil.  Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice.  Cover and simmer for 1 1.5 hours.  Remove bay leaves.  Add carrots and celery and potatoes, cover and cook for 30 to 40 minutes longer.  To thicken the gravy, remove 2 C of hot liquid.  Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 C of water and cornstarch until smooth.  Mix with a little hot liquid and return to the pot.  Stir and cook until bubbly.  Serve with hot bread or rolls.

My family loves this recipe and we have it often through out the fall and winter months.

I love it because I can dish up 1/2 cup containers and refrigerate and I have lunch for days at work.

Enjoy!

Rainy Sunday Great Day For Making SOUP! Yum

Cream of Tomato and Basil Soup

I love to cook and until recently, I hardly ever made homemade soup!  It was not fattening enough I guess.  I have been searching for some wonderful recipes because I love soup in the winter time.  Quite frankly I refuse to pay what take out places want to charge for a bowl of soup or a cup for that matter.  I got a cup of vegetable soup at Panara a few weeks ago and it was $4.95 for one cup.  Outrageous I say.

My favorite soup has always been tomato since I was a little girl and mom would make it for me with grilled cheese.  There is still nothing better on a cold winter's day in my mind.  So I set out to make this incredible soup.  It turned out delicious, mouth watering if I do say so myself.

Creamy Tomato and Basil Bisque Soup

Ingredients

Butter, unsalted, 1 tbsp
Onions, 1 medium chopped
4 slices of bacon, cooked crisp
Celery, raw, 1 rib finely chopped
Garlic, 3 cloves minced
Whole wheat flour, 3 tablespoons
Chicken Broth, 4 cups
Canned tomatoes, (I used Fire Roasted w garlic) 14.5 oz 
2 cans
Tomato paste, 1 can
Granulated Sugar, (I use organic sugar) 1 tsp
Bay Leaves, 2 whole
Basil, 2 teaspoons
Light Cream 1/4 cup
Croutons and fresh Parmesan for topping
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Melt butter in a dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onion, celery and garlic.  Cook for 4 minutes.  Stir in flour over low heat.  Add broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, bay leaves and basil.  Turn heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove bay leaves.  In a blender, carefully puree half of the soup.  Return to sauce pan, stir in cream and season with salt and pepper.  Top with croutons and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  
Number of servings: 6
Nutrition info:  Calories 136  Fat 4.7g Carbs 11.0g  Protein 3.2g

Cream of Tomato and Basil Soup

My next soup would be Cream of Asparagus.  My absolutely favorite vegetable.  I thought well, I am going to give this one a try as well.

Asparagus Soup

It turned out really good too!  I was very impressed how easy and simple these soups are to prepare.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Ingredients

2lbs of Asparagus
1 C chopped onion
2-3 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp whole wheat flour
1 tbsp Olive oil
1/4 tsp salt and pepper

Directions

Wash asparagus and snip off the hard stems.  Separate the tips and save them to be added later.  Chop onions and garlic cloves, saute in a tsp of oil until transparent.  Boil asparagus in approx 2-3 cups of water and let it cool. Puree onions and asparagus together using a blender.  In dutch oven add a tsp of oil, saute the flour until golden brown, lower the heat and add the pureed mixture.  Add evaporated milk ( I used Half and Half) and let the soup come to a boil.  Now add asparagus tips and let it stay for a few minutes.  Serve hot and enjoy with croutons and parmesan cheese on top.

Servings: 6 1 cup servings

Nutrition:  Calories 156.9    Fat 7.4g  Carbs 17.3g  Protein 8.3g

Asparagus Soup

Cheddar Broccoli Soup

The last soup I made today was requested by Alan and Nichole. Broccoli Cheddar Soup they love it.


Broccoli Cheddar Soup


Ingredients


2 T olive oil
1 medium sweet onion chopped fine
2 stalks of celery chopped fine
2 C low sodium Chicken Broth (I use organic)
2 C half and half
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 C chopped broccoli florets
1/3 pound of chedder cheese, shredded about 1 1/3 C
Croutons for topping


Directions


Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat.  Add the celery and onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the chicken broth, half and half, both potatoes, bay leaf, 2 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, put the broccoli in the microwave and cook until fork tender.  When the potatoes are tender, remove the bay leaf from the soup and transfer the soup to the blender.  Puree until smooth, leaving the filler cap slightly open to let the steam escape.  Return the soup to the pot and thin with water if needed. Return to simmer over medium low heat; stir in the broccoli and season with salt and pepper.  Add the cheese and stir until melted.  Ladle the soup into bowls and top with croutons, if desired.


Makes 6 servings


Nutrion:  Calories 524  Fat 34g  Cholesterol 97mg  Sodium 642  Carbs 50g  Fiber 8g  Protein 22g


This soup is fantastic, and it is pure comfort.

The last thing I made today was dinner.  Tonight it was "Honey Mustard Roasted Chicken"

This is an easy recipe to make and oh so mouth watering.  My family loves it!

Ingredients

1 lb potatoes, cut into wedges
2 lbs of chicken tenders cut into chunks
6 medium carrots, sliced into chunks
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons of Honey
3 Tablespoons mustard
1 teaspoon of rosemary
2 heads of garlic, peeled
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 in a shallow baking pan, toss potatoes and carrots with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Nestle peeled garlic cloves amongst the vegetables and scatter the rosemary on top.  Arrange the chicken among the vegetables and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, stir the mustard and honey together.  Remove the pan from the oven.  Carefully take the chicken from the pan to another and spread the honey mustard mixture over the chicken.  Stir the vegetables in the pan, return coated chicken to the pan, and place pan back into the oven.  Bake 10-20 minutes, until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender.


Nutrition:  Calories 356.7   Fat 8.9g  Carbs  39.4g  Protein 30.5g


Weight wise, Nichole and I swam this morning and I actually did 32 laps.  I was amazed, I am sore tonight.  My shoulders are tender.  


I also had an NSV, Alan was rubbing my sore shoulders and I was sitting on the floor in front of him.  When he was done I said thank you and just hopped up.  That is right, I just hopped up.  It was effortless.  Alan was like "WHOA" I have not seen you move that fast from the floor in 30 years.


It felt great!


Well 4am comes early for this Chick, and I am off to bed.

Kristin's Fabulous Low Cal Guacamole

Ingredients

3 - 4 Lg Avocados (flesh only)
1/2 Medium onion, chopped
1/4 Cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine
1 Serrano pepper, chopped fine
1 Clove garlic, chopped fine
1 Lime, juiced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a masher until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with vegetables or baked tortilla chips.

Note: Some serrano peppers are very spicy, some milder. Add half, taste, and than add more if desired. Remove seeds first if you want a mild guac. Remember to keep your hands away from your eyes when handling and chopping peppers.

Number of Servings: 10

This is an incredible dish.  I use it on top of veggie burgers, with eggs, and you name it.  I never knew how good it was till about 4 years ago.


Enjoy!