Whole30- Day 1

So I drank my iced coffee black (and enjoyed it) and fried my eggs in extra-virgin olive oil instead of butter. I missed the taste of butter, but I survived. I usually eat buttered toast with my eggs in the morning, but again, I survived. Praise God that I've been eating eggs for breakfast for the past 5 months instead of my old usual, peanut butter toast with honey. That would have made for a harder transition.

Lunch was a big pot of veggie soup for me. I started with my friend Rachel's Minestrone recipe, using what I had and leaving out what I had to (pasta and beans, for example). I was surprised that eating two big bowls of really hot soup wasn't impossible to do in 90 degree Oklahoma. Triple-digit-degree Oklahoma? That's probably another story.
I had been to Sprout's the day before and got some swiss chard, fully intending to use it up the way I did last summer. Alas, it went into the soup. Sure, I wanted some Parmesan cheese on top and some crusty bread on the side, but the soup was good.

My afternoon snack was a delicious, huge bowl of fresh mixed berries. I am a genius for trying this at the height of berry season. 

Granted, a moment of weakness ensued when I was getting the kids their snacks. I had to force myself to put the peanut-covered spoon straight into the sink instead of licking it clean first. A quick text to a friend and she let me know I had seriously only just begun. 

I knew I was making chicken nuggets for dinner. And I knew that the last few times I made them, I ate the browned and crispy panko bread crumbs left behind in the pan by the fistful. But it wasn't a big deal to make them for everyone else and just saute my unbreaded chicken. I steamed some snap peas for my husband and I, added some brown rice to his plate and more berries to mine. Delicious. 

My food so far has been simple and delicious. Remember, I only just read about this whole plan the day before, so I haven't researched recipes, shopped for ingredients, or planned out the rest of the week. I'm trying not to make this more of a shock to my life-style than it has to be. So taking what I have, using it simply, and enjoying it? I can do that. 

Day 1 was a cinch. 

Veggie Soup

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 quarts (8 cups) chicken stock 

1 can diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1 sprig fresh rosemary

3 medium zucchini, sliced

1 bunch swiss chard, sliced lengthwise and then into ribbons

salt and pepper

olive oil

In a large pot over medium low heat, warm about 1 tbs olive oil. Add garlic and onion and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add carrot and celery, season with salt and pepper, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. 

Add chicken stock, tomatoes, bay leaves, and rosemary and increase heat to medium. Bring to a boil, lower the heat back to medium low, and add the zucchini. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add the swiss chard and let wilt slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Beef Minestrone--AKA Spaghetti Soup

My dear friend Rachel brought me Minestrone a couple of weeks ago. I had three sick children, all down with the stomach bug, and one who had just been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  It was a rough week. She brought her favorite soup for our family and I unashamedly admit that I ate every single spoonful myself.  I still need to get her recipe, but last night I made Giada's version, which I've wanted to try for a while. A few tweaks to make it to our liking and we've got another delicious soup in our rotation. 

Beef Minestrone--AKA Spaghetti Soup (whatever makes it more kid-friendly, right?)

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 rib celery, trimmed and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces lean (8 percent fat) ground beef
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4-6 cups low-sodium beef broth--I used homemade chicken stock- (if you use pasta, like I do, it will thicken the soup. Use more broth if you want it soupier.)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes--I used crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup small cut pasta- elbows, penne, rotini, etc.
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, add the oil and heat over medium heat. Stir in the onion, carrot and celery and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high and add the ground beef and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the beef is browned and cooked through, about 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and mix to combine. Add the broth, tomatoes, beans, and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add 1/2 cup pasta, if using. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the liquid has reduced and pasta is tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with Parmesan.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles

Chicken Noodle Soup is about as basic as it gets, right?  Even the simplest of homemade versions is infinitely superior to anything out of a can.  Even so, I've been bored with mine for a while now.  So to amp it up a bit, I scoured the Internet for a homemade noodle recipe and tried the first one I found.  Egg noodles from a bag will never again float in my chicken noodle soup.  (Well, never say never.  But these are really, really good and well worth the effort.)  

Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles

noodle recipe adapted from eHow

For noodles:

2 large eggs

4 tbs heavy cream (I used half and half- I'm sure you can use whole milk and they'll be fine)

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, then slowly add the cream and salt.  Add flour to the egg mixture, about half a cup at a time.  Blend well with a fork or pastry cutter.  Continue to mix with a fork or by hand until smooth.  On a floured surface, divide the dough into two balls.  Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is as thin as possible.  

Slice dough into thin strips, using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife.  Cut those strips into 2 inch lengths.  Place the dough strips on wax paper.  Allow to dry at room temperature for 30 minutes.  (Don't do what I did and assume they'll be fine if they overlap a bit.  They won't.  They'll stick together and you'll lose quite a few noodles this way.)

For the soup:
12 cups chicken stock- preferably homemade (I only had 8 cups so I used 4 cups of water and added more salt and pepper to the end result)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 dry bay leaf
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
salt and pepper to taste
parsley to finish, if your family doesn't scream at the sight of green things in their soup

In your biggest pot, heat 2 tbs olive oil over medium-low.  Add carrots and celery and season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add chicken stock and bay leaf and raise heat to medium-high.  Bring to a boil.  Add noodles to the boiling broth and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.  Add chicken and warm through, about 2 minutes more.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Remove bay leaf. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

(My soup pictured above is obviously veggie-free, simply because my house was veggie-free that day.  Even so, that bowl of chicken, broth, and homemade noodles is probably the best bowl of soup I've ever had.)  

Homemade Chicken Stock

One of my favorite cooking tips ever came from Tyler Florence, who said that most chefs save up the onion peels, onion ends, carrot tips, etc., stash them in a bag in their freezer, and use them to make chicken stock.

I have a bag of veggie scraps in my freezer, and a bag of chicken bones. Once they start taking over my freezer, I dump them in my gigantic "pasta" pot with a built-in strainer. That pot is the other chicken stock game-changer. I bought it not long after we were married, because everyone on Food Network had one, but I hate cooking pasta in it. It's perfect for this.

So I have veggie scraps (they don't have to be scraps, obviously. You could just add a carrot or two, a couple of stalks of celery, an onion) and chicken bones (usually from about 3 roasted chickens). I add a bit of salt (probably 2 tablespoons or so, but it all depends on how big your pot is/how much stock you're making) and about 10 peppercorns (whole ones). I cover the whole thing with water, then slowly bring the temperature up. I used to just let it boil away for a few hours, but I've since learned that it should be just barely simmering.

*Alternatively, I've also made stock in the crock-pot before. Same method (cook on low), just cooked even longer.*

Just let it do that for a few hours, cool, strain, and stash in your freezer in ziploc bags or tupperware. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge. It's so great to have on hand at all times.

And do try to keep your children out of the scraps.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Recipe #4 was Tyler Florence's Roasted Tomato Soup from his book Stirring the Pot. I'm a big fan of Tyler Florence. My husband can't stand him- thinks he's too full of himself. I think having kids has mellowed Tyler, for sure. I like his food a lot, and his cookbooks are gorgeous. The soup was delicious, alongside a grown up grilled cheese. I cut the boys' sandwiches into strips and they dipped them in the soup. Then I copied them. Delicious.

Roasted Tomato Soup

adapted from Tyler Florence

2 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (mix of fresh heirlooms, cherry, vine and plum tomatoes)

6 cloves garlic, peeled

2 small yellow onions, sliced

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 quart chicken stock

2 bay leaves (I didn't have these)

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, optional (I didn't have these either, but used about 1/2 tsp of dried)

3/4 cup heavy cream, optional
Preheat oven to 450˚F.

Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions onto a baking tray. Drizzle with ½ cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until caramelized.

Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion from the oven and transfer to a large stock pot. Pour in any liquid from the roasting pan, ¾ of the chicken stock, bay leaves and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by1/3.

Wash and dry basil leaves and add to the pot. Puree the soup using an immersion stick blender until smooth. (Or use your blender, working in batches and being very careful not to let the lid pop off and hot soup burn you!) Return soup to low heat, add cream and adjust consistency with remaining chicken stock if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

My Perfect Chili

It has taken me YEARS and many inferior bowls, but here it is- my perfect chili recipe. Perfect in my eyes, anyway. Boldly seasoned, deliciously rich, perfect for baked potatoes, hot dogs, Frito pies, or a big old bowl and spoon. My perfect chili is tomato-ey, free of beans and exactly what I want on a brisk fall day.

My Perfect Chili

2 tbs olive oil

2 pounds ground beef

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 - 2 tbs chili powder

2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup tomato paste

15 oz can tomato sauce

2 cups water (or chicken stock or beef stock)

2 tbs cornmeal (optional, for thickening)

In large pot or dutch oven, brown meat over medium heat in oil. Drain off some of the fat. Add spices and let toast for about a minute, stirring often. Add tomato paste and incorporate fully. Add tomato sauce and water (I just fill up the empty can with water). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally for about an hour. After an hour, add cornmeal, if desired, and cook an additional 10 minutes.

Taco Soup

Ah, the joys of soup. On a day like today, when the rain barely stopped at all, nothing wraps up the evening better than a bowl of soup. And what's more versatile that soup? You can add, omit, and adjust the pot to your family's liking. It gets better the longer it sits or the more you reheat it. You can stretch your ingredients and get the most for your money.Ok, you get it. I dig soup. Such as this one...

Taco Soup

1 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 lb ground beef

salt and pepper

taco seasoning (or your own blend of chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano)

1 can black or kidney beans, drained

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 can rotel

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup frozen corn kernels

In large pot, heat 1 tbs olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add ground beef, raise heat to med-high and cook until meat is no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper and taco seasoning. Stir in beans, tomatoes, rotel, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, stir in corn. Lower heat to a simmer and simmer for about 15 minutes. Top with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado, and tortilla chips.

Go-to Beef Stew

With wind chills in the negative this past week, it was a great opportunity to stay inside and eat big bowls of delicious soups and stews. This has been my go-to stew for a few years now, and it was eaten with gusto by myself and my hungry boys.

I love the simplicity of this stew and the tremendous flavor you get from so few ingredients. I pretty much always have everything on hand, so it's easy to whip up (though it does take about 2 hours total to cook). Perfect for a bitterly cold winter's day.

Go-to Beef Stew

Adapted from Dave Lieberman

2 pounds beef chuck for stew, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
4 medium carrots, peeled, halved and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 small onions, diced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans reduced-sodium beef or chicken broth (I always use both)
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed between fingers
1 medium russet or Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup frozen green beans (no need to thaw)

Season the beef cubes lightly with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy 6-quart pot over medium heat. As soon as the butter starts to turn brown, add half the beef and raise the heat to high. At first, the beef will give off some liquid, but once that evaporates, the beef will start to brown. Cook, turning the beef cubes on all sides until the pieces are as evenly browned as possible, about 5 or 6 minutes after the water has boiled off. If the pan starts to get too brown at any point, just turn down the heat a little. Scoop the beef into a bowl and brown the rest of the beef the same way using the remaining butter.
Scoop out the second batch of beef, then add the carrots and onions and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook until the onion starts to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour until it has been worked into the veggies and you can’t see it any more. Pour in the broth and crushed tomatoes, and toss in the rosemary. Slide the beef back into the pot and bring the liquid to a boil.
Turn down the heat so the liquid is just breaking a gentle simmer. Partially cover the pot and cook 50 minutes. Stir the stew several times while simmering so it cooks evenly and nothing sticks to the bottom.
Stir the potatoes into the stew, cover the pot completely, and cook until the potatoes and beef are tender, stirring occasionally, about another 30-40 minutes. Add the beans and cook for the last 10-15 minutes.

Mom's Chicken Tortilla Soup

This was my favorite soup growing up. My mom would make a ton of it in the crock-pot and it would last all week. Once my appetite came back during my first pregnancy, I made a big batch and ate nothing else for a week.
And how is it that soup just keeps getting better the more you reheat it?

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Saute the following together:
2 tbs canola or olive oil
4 oz can chopped green chilies
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 medium onion, chopped

Combine in crock-pot:
4 cups chicken broth
15oz can diced tomatoes
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
23 oz can Ranch Style Beans (drained)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp instant beef bouillon
2 tsp instant chicken bouillon

Mix together in small bowl then add to soup:
2 tbs corn starch
1/2 cup water

Add sauteed mixture to soup, then add:
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups cooked chicken

Cook on high 4 hours, or on low 6-8.
Garnish with cheese, sour cream; serve with tortilla chips

Corn and Salsa Tortilla Soup

I don't have a clue what week we're on in the challenge, but I did have a successful meal this past week! Hooray!

I made Rachael Ray's Corn and Salsa Tortilla Soup but veered quite a ways off the recipe path and made a dish that we all loved! Yes, all of us- even that picky 3 year old I feed!
Corn and Salsa Tortilla Soup

adapted from Rachael Ray

1 poblano chile
6 corn tortillas, halved then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick strips
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
1 box frozen corn kernels (10 ounces)
1 red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Pepper
One container chicken broth (32 ounces)
One can fire-roasted diced or crushed tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
One can black beans, drained and rinsed
Leftover roasted chicken breasts, meat sliced or shredded
1 lime, halved
1/4 cup sour cream


Pre-heat the broiler. Broil the poblano until blackened, 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover and let cool. Peel, seed and chop the poblano.
Pre-heat the oven to 400°F. On a baking sheet, toss the tortilla strips with 1 tablespoon oil and the cumin. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes; season with salt. (This took quite a bit longer for me, to get them really crispy and not just chewy.)
Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the corn and cook until charred at the edges, 10-12 minutes. Add the red onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, tomatoes and poblano. Add black beans and leftover chicken, heat through. Top soup with a squeeze of lime, a dollop of sour cream, and the tortilla strips.


So, the soup is done at this point. I looked at it, saw all the huge chunks of tomato, pepper, corn and beans, and knew that N wouldn't eat it. So I decided to blend a batch in my blender. It looked disgusting but tasted fantastic, so I buzzed the rest of the soup as well. He ate 2 bowls!

Steak a la Chicana

I remember my Aunt Mae making this spicy dish for large family gatherings. It was so hot, it often made me cry, but at the same time, it's so stinkin' good. I usually use just 5 peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. So great on a cold night (or any other night, for that matter).

1 (1 1/2- 2 lb) round steak
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5-10 jalapeno peppers, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 large can stewed tomatoes
3-4 small cans tomato sauce
2-3 tomato cans of water

Cut steak into bite sized pieces and brown in 3 qt. pan. Add onion, garlic, and peppers; cook just until brown. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 4-6 hours (I do this step in the crock pot and let it cook all day). Serve over rice.