Creamy Southwest Chicken Soup

Perfect soup for a night like this - nothing beats soup on a cold January evening but this spiced version will warm you up. Instead of using heavy cream, we create a roux using the butter and the flour before adding cheese for texture and flavor. We use beer to help the cheese from curdling though it's usually inevitable using cheese on heat. It sweat and separated a little but it was still very delicious.

This recipe from Cuisine at Home makes about 8 cups and the total cook time is about 45 minutes - including the chopping of vegetables and peppers. You can try this in a meatless version adding corn and black beans instead! The nutrition facts include 396 calories, 22g total fat, 23g carbs, 1g fiber and 25g protein.

Grocery List:

• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 poblano chile, seeded and diced
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. coriander
• 5 tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup beer (recipe suggested Corona, but I used Miller Lite b/c it's all I had!)
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups shredded pepper Jack cheese (I used monterrey jack cheese instead)
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I got a cooked rotisserie chicken and carved then shredded pieces, works great for the flavor!)
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Start by melting your butter in a large pot. Stir in the bell pepper, poblano, onion, garlic, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin and coriander. Sweat mixture until peppers begin to soften, about 5 minutes.


Whisk in 3 tbsp. of flour to help coat the vegetables and cook for about 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, beer and chicken broth until smooth. Bring to a simmer.


Add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring to melt completely before adding the next handful. Finally add your shredded chicken and cilantro, sitting on heat for another 3-5 minutes until well mixed together.




Ladle into bowls and you are ready to go! Enjoy friends!

Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta

This recipe comes from Cuisine at Home magazine, 30-Minute Comfort Meals edition. Tonight we take the delicious fall butternut squash to pair it with some fresh sage, tangy balsamic vinegar, punchy garlic and create this healthy meal in under 30 minutes!

This recipe yields 4 servings with 540 calories, 36g gat, 49mg cholesterol, 45g carbs, 5g fiber and 2g protein per serving.

Grocery List:

• 2 cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• Cinnamon
• Brown Sugar
• Allspice
  
• 8 oz. thickly sliced bacon, diced
• 8 oz. whole wheat pasta
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tbsp. thinly sliced fresh sage
• Balsamic vinegar

Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. I bought my squash pre-cut from Whole Foods so that process was already taken care of.


Take your squash chunks and toss them with the oil, vinegar, pinch of brown sugar, pinch of allspice, pinch of cinnamon. Cover a baking sheet with foil (to aid in easy clean up), add squash and roast until tender - about 15 minutes. This keeps the nutrients of the squash locked in so you get the as much as you can of the nutritional value, while bringing the natural flavors out in the squash. Keep the leftover oil and vinegar mix in the bowl, set aside for later use.


As your squash is roasting, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water. Drain pasta reserving 1/2-1 cup cooking water and set aside.


Saute your bacon on medium heat until crisp, about 15 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined plate and discard drippings. Add garlic to same pan and saute for about 1 minute.


Add the roasted squash, drained pasta and bacon to the garlic in the large pan, tossing to combine and heat through. Add pasta water 1/4 cup at a time (I ended up only using about 1/2 cup) to help loosely coat the pasta.



Take off the heat and toss pasta in the mixing bowl with leftover vinegar and oil, add Parmesan and sage. Serve it up in bowls and enjoy!

Black Eyed Pea Soup

Every year, for as long as I can remember, I go to my parent's house for New Year's Day, watch bowl games with the family and mom makes Texas Caviar and Black Eyed Pea Soup. Every year, for as long as I can remember, I turn my nose up and do not even try either one of the two foods mentioned. Why? I never cared for black eyed peas. I would force down a spoonful of peas for luck and prosperity, whatever the tradition is, but aside from that I stayed far away from them.

As the luck of the black eyed pea would have it, this year, on 1-1-11, I decided to dip that Frito chip into mom's Texas Caviar and I enjoyed it, a lot. Dad decided to create a ginormous crock pot full of chili, there was cheese dip and other snackables so we didn't get around to making the black eyed pea soup this year. I asked mom for her recipe so that I could try to create and enjoy it this new year's weekend.

Mom initially got this recipe from The Little Mushroom Cookbook, a wonderful little restaurant that used to be in the Design District of Dallas. I attempted to make my mom's version but I don't know how well I followed instructions - my soup tasted great but had the consistency of Mexican bean dip, which made me second guess myself. I ran into a few problems with ingredients which could have led to this. Here is my mom's version with my personal additions/commentary for a tasty recipe for black eyed pea soup.

Grocery List:
1 can black eyed peas (grocery store didn't have a can of black eyed peas, but they had a bag of them in the produce section. The Little Mushroom recipe tells you to cook the peas the way the can instructs. Well, my bag was not very helpful with that, so I just stuck them in a pot with water and boiled to make them squishier)
1/2 cup onion, minced
2 tbsp. light butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 beef boullion cube (grocery store was out, so I got what was supposed to be a substitute though I don't think it worked how it was supposed to. Without the proper cube, I think I lacked the additional liquid needed, so I ended up using about 1 1/2 cups of beef stock to help thin out and mix the ingredients)
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp. chili powder (I added this for my personal taste preference)
1 tsp. cumin (my addition)
Sharp cheddar cheese
Tortilla or frito chips for garnish

As mentioned above, I started by boiling my peas in a small pot. While I was trying to get those to soften, I heated up my dutch oven and threw in the butter, followed by 1/2 cup of minced onion. Once the onion was translucent, I added the garlic until fragrant.


Mom's recipe told me to add the beans at this time, however, the beans were still not very soft. I went ahead and added the diced tomatoes/green chili mix that was the Whole Foods version of Rotel.


After boiling the beans for about 20 minutes and the clock reading 7:40 PM, I lost patience and drained the beans of excess water, then added them to the dutch oven to join their ingredient friends. Next, I added the beef bouillon substitute from a jar that I don't think worked out well for me.

(squeeeeel! I can take good close up pictures now!!!)

At this time, I whipped out my immersion blender as my mom instructed and I started mashing it all up. It was at this time I decided beef stock was needed and I added 1/2 a cup. That helped in my hand-blender process but needed more, so I added another 1/2 cup. All in all, I think 1 1/2 cup was used.

post-blend round 1

Last, I saw that mom added cheese to it, I overlooked that in my instructions - oops. So, I added a handful of cheddar cheese, let it do it's thing on top then blended it in once it had melted a bit. This is when I added my last 1/2 cup of beef stock, chili powder and cumin. We taste-tested and to us, it was perfect.

post-blend round 2

Ladle into bowls and you are all set! Served with cornbread and a simple salad of mixed greens, red onion, cucumber and tomatoes to round out the meal.

Bacon Wrapped Beef Tenderloin with Madiera

When I saw this recipe, I debated for about an hour whether it was something we should make or not. I weighed the pros and cons - pros being, it's a new challenge and sounds amazing, do it. The cons were the time it may take, the fact that I don't have a large roasting pan, it called for mushrooms in the Madeira sauce and though I've tried, just not there yet with mushrooms... so the cons were winning, we were going to do the new side dishes and just make our traditional steak kabobs.

Then, I get an email. My World Market Explorer newsletter said that their holiday roasting pans were 50% off. That solved that problem, then, further reading the recipe, I decided I could just nix the mushrooms in the Madeira and it was only 4:00 - plenty of time to cook dinner and get ready for the night. Cons canceled, to the store we went.

I will say, beef tenderloin is a bit pricey but it was New Year's Eve, we weren't going out to a big expensive bash or restaurant so we splurged a bit on our homemade dinner, guilt free! This is the perfect special occasion meal and had to be the most tender meat I've had; melt in your mouth, full of flavor, incredible recipe and we loved the savory, tangy Madeira sauce!

Grocery List:
3 lb beef tenderloin, trimmed (plenty for 2, enough for 4)
1 tablespoon ground pepper, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves, divided
6-8 strips of bacon
1/3 cup minced shallots
1 cup Madeira wine
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup Beef Demi-Glace (original recipe called for consomme but they did not have any at the grocery store so they said this demi-glace would be a good substitute)
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 tsp. cornstarch

Sprinkle the tenderloin with 2 1/2 teaspoons pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Chop your fresh herbs and combine 1/4 cup parsley, rosemary and 3 tbsp. thyme and rub over beef.


Wrap the bacon around each section of the tenderloin, securing at the end of the strip with a toothpick. We used about 7 slices for our piece of meat.


Heat a 12" nonstick skillet over medium high and sear the beef for about 8-10 minutes, turning often to brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan, reserving 2 tbsp. of drippings in the skillet.


Place beef on a rack in a roasting pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 - 50 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the tenderloin registers 140 (for rare) or 160 (for medium).


Remove tenderloin and cut slices by the bacon, about 1/2 inch thick. It looks so perfect and tender!


While tenderloin is in the oven, heat reserved pan drippings for the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and remaining thyme.


Cook 3 minutes then add Madeira, stirring to loosen particles from the bottom of the pan. Add beef broth and demi glace (or consomme if you decide to use that instead), bring to a boil. Boil 10 - 12 minutes or until reduced to about 3 cups.


Remove from heat, add remaining pepper, parsley and butter, whisking until the butter melts. I wanted it to be a little thicker, so at this time, I added about 1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch to the sauce.


Finished product of the Madiera sauce...


Complete meal at the table!

Sundried Tomato and Garlic Whipped Potatoes

For every Easter brunch, the chef at my parent's country club always prepares sundried tomato mashed potatoes. I've googled recipes for this but to no avail, until I came across it in my Southern Living Ultimate Christmas Cookbook. I have to say, my attempt at them were not as good as I have had, they were fun to try for our New Year's Eve dinner. This recipe contains 183 calories, 3g of fat, 4.6g protein, 35.9g carbs, 74 mg calcium.

Grocery List:
5 Yukon gold potatoes
1/4 cup dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
4 large garlic cloves
1 1/2 cus reduced fat milk (I used 1%)
2 tablespoons light butter
Salt and pepper

Start by peeling and chopping your potatoes. I received this amazing over the sink cutting board with expanding colander from Mr. Max's family for Christmas!! It was perfect for my chopping preparation.


Once potatoes are chopped into small cubes, add to pot of water and boil until soft to mash. Once soft, drain and set aside. Meanwhile, take your drained dried tomatoes and garlic cloves, pulse in a food processor until finely minced.


Combine the milk and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Partially cover with heavy plastic wrap and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes until butter is melted. Combine potatoes, warm milk/butter, salt and pepper to taste in a mixing bowl.


Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until potatoes are fluffy.


Gently stir in dried tomatoes and garlic.




The full meal with balsamic beans and beef tenderloin with Madeira sauce!

Balsamic Beans

This side dish was made as part of the New Year's Eve dinner from the Southern Living Ultimate Christmas Cookbook. It was a quick addition without much preparation. Perfect for a special occasion or just because!

Grocery List:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 cups haricot verts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

I chose to use frozen haricot verts - to help in the thawing process, I simply ran them under warm water. Next, toss them in the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and spread out along a cooking sheet.


In a skillet, cook the vinegar over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until syrupy and slightly reduced. Bake the beans at 475 for 15-18 minutes or until charred in appearance. Remove from oven and toss in the balsamic glaze and serve immediately.

Winter Greens with Pomegranate-Champagne Vinaigrette

The original Southern Living recipe was for a cranberry-champagne vinaigrette, however I had just bought a bottle of pom juice for pomegranate glazed salmon so I decided to substitute this. I bought a pomegranate, peeled and seeded for the first time, attaining the delicious red pearl-like seeds. I plan to make this vinaigrette to have on hand for future salad use.

Grocery List:
Mixed greens (I used about 3 cups worth)
1 pomegranate
3 tbsp. pomegranate juice (I used store-bought, but you can crush the seeds for juice as well)
2 tbsp. champagne vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
4 tbsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese
1/4 cup red onion (sliced into "C" like strings)
1/4 cup chopped pecans (I used our favorite honey-glazed pecans from Whole Foods)
1 Pear, sliced into small bites

Start by rinsing your greens and set aside in a large bowl. I used this handy video because I didn't know what I was doing and it did seem a little complex. Take your pomegranate and cut off the top, then score the sides by making four cuts top to bottom along the skin of the fruit. Put your thumbs in the center and gently pull apart the sections. The seeds mainly popped out but I followed the video instructions, putting in a bowl of water to loosen those caught in the fruit.


In a small mixing bowl, combine the pom juice, champagne vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper, whisking well. Then add about a handful of pomegranate seeds to the mix, set in the fridge until ready to use.


Combine the greens, Gorgonzola crumbles, pecans, pear and red onion, toss with the vinaigrette dressing and garnish with remaining pomegranate seeds.