Stuffed Pepper Soup

I think it's quite obvious that, by the increased volume of soup posts I’ve shared over the past few months… I love soup! It’s great for a hearty dinner, and also turns into wonderful leftovers that I can have for lunch at work.  I’m a huge fan of Ziploc Twist 'n Lock containers because I worry less about spillage when I carry leftovers, especially soups, in my purse.  This recipe caught my eye because I really like stuffed peppers (evidenced here and here).  I figured a soup version of stuffed peppers would be a big hit with both of us, and I was right! Better yet, it was really easy to make: cook the meat, combine the remaining ingredients, simmer, and enjoy! It was a little under-seasoned, so I added extra Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes, indicated below, and a lot of black pepper. In lieu of rice, this soup would also work with quinoa or small pasta such as stellini.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Adapted from Skinny Taste

Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

2 ½ cups cooked rice

1 lb. lean ground turkey

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

28-oz. can diced tomatoes

15-oz. can tomato sauce

2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp Italian seasoning

½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

1. If rice is not cooked yet, prepare rice according to package directions.

2. Season ground turkey with salt and pepper; brown meat in a Dutch oven on high heat, about 5-10 minutes.  Once no longer pink, drain excess fat, reduce heat to medium-low and add peppers, onions and garlic; cook until onion begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

3. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cover, and simmer on low for 30 minutes.  Stir in rice, and serve immediately. 

Creamy Creamless Tomato Soup

Boohoo! The weekend’s warm weather has turned cold and snowy again, and I’ve come down with an awful cold! Feeling under the weather, I left work early yesterday, and I plan to work from home the rest of the week to keep my germs quarantined (I’ll look for my coworkers to thank me later J).  Luckily KK asked me to make soup over the weekend, so the leftovers came in handy today as a comforting lunch for me!

Creamy yet creamless.  You're probably wondering how that works! The health benefits of no cream are somewhat offset by the bread that's used to thicken the soup, but it's definitely a healthier alternative to heavy cream.  The original recipe called for thick sandwich bread, but we had a bag of unopened croutons that we were itching to get rid of.  I can wholeheartedly (after just finishing the leftovers!) confirm that using croutons was a great substitute.  Ours were seasoned with garlic and Italian spices, so they added nice flavoring to the soup.  After much stirring, I was unable to find the bay leaf, so I gave up and blended the soup with my immersion blender.  The bay leaf must've been emulsified, because we never found it! If you don't have an immersion blender, carefully transfer the soup to a standard blender in batches and blend until smooth.  As you can see from my picture, I copied Tracey, and served the soup with mini grilled cheese croutons.  To make them - I toasted up two pieces of bread, coated both sides with a little butter spread, microwaved for 15 seconds with the cheese (this is a KK-mandated step in grilled cheese making as he swears it leads to perfectly melted cheese), then grilled the sandwich on a heated skillet.  I cut the sandwich into 10-15 little pieces, and they were the perfect addition to this soup. Enjoy!

Creamy Creamless Tomato Soup
Adapted from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients
¼ cup olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
2 (28-oz.) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice
1 Tbsp brown sugar
3 cups small croutons
2 cups chicken broth

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add onion, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and bay leaf to the pot.  Stirring frequently, sauté until onions are translucent and soft, 3-5 minutes.  Pour in the canned tomatoes and their juices.  Using a wooden spoon or potato masher, break tomatoes into smaller pieces.

2. Stir in brown sugar and croutons; bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium.  Stirring occasionally, cook until croutons are soft and begin to break down, 5-8 minutes.  Remove bay leaf.

3. Remove soup from heat, stir in remaining olive oil, and carefully use an immersion blender to puree the soup.  Return soup to the heat; cooking on medium high, stir in chicken broth, and bring to a boil to heat through.  Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

Vegetable Polenta Casserole

After a busy week at work, I headed down to Atlantic City for my friend Leigh's bachelorette (and birthday) party at Harrah's on Friday! We started the evening with margaritas and family style Mexican food at Dos Caminos.  Usually, I prefer Dos Caminos brunch over their dinner, but the variety we got to try with the family-style dinner menu was fantastic.  After dinner, we headed to The Pool After Dark for some dancing.  To clarify - it's the indoor pool area at Harrah's which turns into a club at night, but there is no swimming... just dancing! Much to KK's dismay, I didn't do any gambling, but it was still a really fun night out! Keeping Saturday night a little more low key, KK and I finally watched Captain Phillips which was also excellent!

Since I ate what felt like more than my fair share of Mexican food at Dos Caminos on Friday, KK picked a recipe packed with vegetables for dinner.  KK was also eager to finish an open bag of polenta we've had in the pantry for quite some time.  We didn't finish it this time around, but we loved this dish, so I have a feeling the polenta will be finished in a few weeks.  The original recipe called for a bag of frozen spinach, but we used a box.  I recommend microwaving the spinach for 20 seconds, then breaking it into smaller pieces with a knife before stirring it into the polenta.  The rest of the casserole came together easily.  I seasoned both the polenta and vegetable mix with salt and pepper.  I went a little light on the mozzarella because my 8x8 pan was looking quite full! As usual, KK and I both topped off our individual servings with extra crushed red pepper.  KK thought we'd finish the entire casserole, but it was surprisingly filling, so we have leftovers which I'm already planning to have for lunch this week!

Vegetable Polenta Casserole

Adapted from Budget Bytes

Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

Ingredients

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup polenta

1 cup water

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

15-oz. can diced tomatoes

½ tsp dried basil

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp crushed red pepper

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions

1. Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large Dutch oven or pot.  In a small mixing bowl, stir together polenta and water.  When broth is boiling, pour in polenta/water mix.  Reduce head to medium low and simmer until thickened, 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  After mixture has thickened, add frozen spinach and stir until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Meanwhile, dice the onion, zucchini, and squash, and mince the garlic.  Combine the onion, garlic, and olive oil in a large skillet; saute over medium heat until the onions soften.  Add zucchini and squash to the skillet and saute for 5 minutes.  Next, add the diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper; season with salt and pepper.  Stir skillet mixture to combine and let simmer for 10 minutes.

3. While the skillet mixture simmers, preheat oven to 350.

4. When polenta and spinach mixture is warmed through, pour it into the bottom of a greased 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish.  Cover polenta with vegetable mixture, and top with shredded cheese.

5. Bake casserole for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly on top.  Serve immediately.

Chicken Pesto Pasta

KK and I went skiing with a group of friends at Gore Mountain over the long weekend.  We ducked out of work a tad early on Friday to beat traffic, and had a "romantic" Valentine's Day dinner along the way at Kingston Yards Grill (don't worry, we actually celebrated on Thursday night at our favorite sushi spot - Teak!).  My friend Emily handled most of the cooking, so I strangely did not spend much time in the kitchen over the weekend.  She made eggs, bacon and home-style potatoes for breakfast every day; grilled steaks (chicken for me!) one night, and her family's "Very Good Chicken" the other evening - delicious! We skied on Saturday and Sunday, and spent the evenings sipping wine by the cabin's fireplace.  KK and I had not skied in 3 years, but conditions were great and neither one of us fell! Another highlight of the trip was Emily's Frenchie, Ruby June.  Ruby was definitely in puppy heaven with all the attention she received over the weekend! We decided to make this trip an annual tradition, so I'm already looking forward to a repeat weekend of fun in 2015!

There’s something about pesto that makes a meal feel fancy! Perhaps it's because pesto seems like a step above jarred marinara sauce? Or because it’s easy to whip up homemade pesto (assuming you have a large quantity of fresh basil on hand)? Whatever it is – both KK and I are huge pesto fans.  As with most of my meals, the protein and sauce come together as the pasta cooks.  I like to keep busy while the pasta water boils :) If you have it on hand, this recipe would be perfect with leftover cooked chicken.  If you go that route, throw your refrigerated pre-cooked chicken into the sauce mixture a few minutes before the pasta finishes, allowing enough time for the chicken to warm up completely.  Garnish each serving with more fresh basil, pine nuts, or crushed red pepper.

Chicken Pesto Pasta

Adapted from Make and Takes

Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

8 oz. pasta, such as bowtie or rotini

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into 1-in cubes

¾ cup evaporated milk

¼ cup pesto

¼ cup grated Parmesan

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Reserve 1 cup pasta water, and set aside cooked pasta.

2. Meanwhile, heat canola oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook chicken until no longer pink inside.  Plate and set aside.

3.  Using the same skillet, bring evaporated milk to a boil on high heat, stirring frequently.  Reduce heat to medium, and let mixture boil and thicken for 4-5 minutes.  Stir in pesto and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper.  Toss in cooked chicken and pasta; stir to combine.  If pasta mixture looks sticky, add some of the reserved pasta water until the sauce reaches a desired consistency.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Taco Ranch Chicken Sandwiches

 Thanks to public transportation, I don't typically mind commuting in the snow, but today's commute was absolutely brutal.  The wind gusts were so strong that my umbrella flipped out on me, and the snow hurt as it hit my exposed skin! I keep telling myself this means there will be fresh snow on the ground when KK and I go skiing this weekend (first time in 2+ years) with friends at Gore Mountain.  With all this snow, I should also mention how very thankful I am for the Hunter Boots that I got for my birthday last year (thanks dad!!).  If this is what winters are going to be like from here on out, I need to find a pair of manly snow boots for KK - anyone have any brands they recommend?

I realize this isn’t necessarily one of the healthiest meals I’ve prepared for you, but it is certainly one of the more tasty ones.  KK decided we’d increase the amount of chicken from the original recipe to make each sandwich meatier and more filling.  When assembling the biscuit sandwiches, make sure to leave free a small edge so you have enough space to seal the sandwiches.  I didn’t properly seal one of mine, and some of the filling escaped while the biscuits were cooking.  You can get fancy while sealing the sandwiches by using a fork or even scissors to crimp around the edges, or you can go my route and just close them off with your fingers.  Because we increased the amount of chicken, I was unable to fit all of the filling into the sandwiches, so we just ate the leftover filling on the side.  To reheat any leftovers, cut each sandwich into fourths, microwave for 20 seconds, and then heat in the toaster oven to avoid soggy biscuits.  The dressing will stay fresh for several days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  I liked the combination of ranch dressing and taco seasoning so much that I might start adding it to regular salads as well!

 Taco Ranch Chicken Sandwiches

Adapted from Pillsbury

Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Cooking spray

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 ½ Tbsp taco seasoning, divided

1 ½ cups ranch dressing

1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

1 medium plum tomato, seeded and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

16.3 oz. Pillsbury Grands! Homestyle Refrigerated Buttermilk Biscuits

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Lettuce, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375; lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Combine chicken, onion, and 1 teaspoon taco seasoning in the skillet.  Cook 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently until chicken is cooked through and onions are soft.  Remove skillet from heat and allow mixture to cool slightly.

3.  Combine ranch dressing and 2 tablespoons taco seasoning in a medium bowl.  Reserve 1 cup of the dressing for dipping in a small bowl.  Add cheese, tomato, garlic, and chicken mixture to the medium bowl.  Stir to coat the mixture with the remaining ranch dressing.

4. Separate dough into 8 biscuits.  Place 4 biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet; use fingers to press each biscuit into a 5-inch round.  Divide the chicken mixture evenly onto the center of each biscuits.  Press remaining 4 biscuits over top of the chicken mixture, pressing the top and bottom edges together firmly to seal the sandwiches.

5. Mix together Parmesan cheese and ⅛ teaspoon taco seasoning in a small bowl.  Rub mixture on top of biscuit sandwiches. 

6. Bake 16-20 minutes until sandwiches are deep golden brown, allowing time for inside of biscuits to cook.  Cool 3-5 minutes prior to serving.  Serve on a bed of lettuce, with dipping sauce on the side.

Strawberry Pretzel Parfait

Last weekend was action packed, this weekend was the same! On Friday, KK and I went out to dinner at La Carbonara, and then headed to a friend's 30th birthday party.  A lot of my friends are turning 30 this year, including me - my 30th is just over a month away! Along with the good company, the party host served my new favorite appetizer - Trader Joe's Mac & Cheese Bites.  We fully embodied the "married couple" persona on Saturday morning by cashing in a Groupon for a discounted BJ's membership.  The apartment is now fully stocked with toilet paper, cleaning supplies, shampoo, conditioner, and 4-lb. bag of candy corn :) We redeemed ourselves Saturday evening by visiting KK's cousin at his new, fancy apartment in Long Island City.  Casa Enrique, which opened only a few months ago, served up some excellent margaritas, guacamole, and enchiladas! Since work's been crazy the past few weeks, I had a little work to get through this afternoon, but now I'm looking forward to the Paprika Chicken KK has on the menu for tonight!

Speaking of candy corn, you probably know that I have a serious sweet tooth.  In a perfect world, I would be able to eat dessert or candy with every single meal.  Instead, I try to ignore my sweet tooth cravings and reserve dessert for special occasions.  I even ask that KK buy ice cream flavors I don’t like (strawberry or mint chocolate chip are his go-to choices) to avoid the temptation.  But sometimes, that just isn’t enough.  Last week, with a little Googling for “easy desserts for two,” I found this wonderfully quick and easy recipe.  Fresh strawberries would probably make this dish even better, but without any on hand, thawing frozen strawberries under warm water did the trick.  Instead of dragging out my food processor, I crushed the pretzels in a plastic bag.  It might have been a little more “manual” labor, but it made cleanup easier and I know KK appreciated that! This dessert is best served immediately, otherwise the pretzels will become soggy.  If the rest of the recipes on Dessert For Two are this easy and delicious, I think it’s quickly going to become one of my favorite blogs!

Strawberry Pretzel Parfait

Adapted from Dessert For Two

Prep time:  25 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients

12 strawberries, fresh or frozen, diced

2 teaspoons sugar

1 cup pretzel mini twists

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

¼ tsp cinnamon

Pinch of allspice

¾ cup sour cream

2 Tbsp brown sugar

Directions

1. Spread strawberries in shallow dish and sprinkle with sugar. Let sit for 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place pretzels in a large Ziploc bag and crush with your hands until pretzels are broken into small pieces.  Alternatively, pulse pretzels in a food processor.  Drizzle the melted butter, cinnamon, and allspice over the crushed pretzels and stir to combine.

3. In a small bowl, combine sour cream and brown sugar, breaking up any large brown sugar clumps.

4. In two serving dishes, layer sour cream, strawberries, and pretzel mixture. Repeat until all ingredients are served.  Enjoy immediately!

Spinach and Cheese Pinwheels

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent most of Saturday prepping for my Wine, Cheese, and Dirty Santa party.  I chopped veggies for a crudité platter, laid out an assortment of cheeses, pepperoni, and crackers, and started some crockpot mulled wine which left the apartment smelling glorious.  Per usual, I neglected to take pictures of the Southwest Turkey Meatballs with Creamy Cilantro Tomatillo Dressing, but I promise you that they were delicious! KK was not able to find a tomatillo at the grocery store, so I substituted it for a green pepper and some lemon juice, and the dressing was delicious.  The dressing recipe made way too much, but no complaints here because we’ll be using it for veggie dip and salad dressing for the rest of the week! I also made baked brie with pepper jelly, but again, it was consumed before I managed to snap a photo of it! My friends brought an assortment of desserts for the party: homemade marble cupcakes, chocolate peppermint cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and a 6-pack of Crumbs cupcakes.  Whatever we didn’t finish on Saturday, I brought to Sunday’s Superbowl party instead. It was the perfect way to make use of the leftovers without too much going to waste!

The only thing I did manage to snap a (quick) picture of were these pinwheels.  I’ve had a box of Puff Pastry in the freezer for a few months, so KK was glad when I found not one, but two recipes to use it with this weekend! The baked brie was a hit, as were these pinwheels.  Don’t forget to thaw your puff pastry before starting.  I hate when recipes say a dish only takes 30 minutes, but neglects to clearly mention any thawing or marinating time required! I didn’t roll the pinwheel log tightly enough on my first try, and I struggled a bit to cut the pinwheel slices.  After re-rolling the log, it was much easier to cut the pinwheels.  After cutting the log, reshape the pinwheels into circles so they bake up in a round shape.  Some of my pinwheels looked more like ovals, but they tasted just as good!

Spinach and Cheese Pinwheels
Adapted from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Time: 25 minutes + 40 minutes for puff pastry thawing
Makes: 20 pinwheels

Ingredients
1 egg
1 Tbsp water
½ cup shredded Muenster cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan
⅛ tsp garlic powder
Flour for dusting
1 sheet Puff Pastry, thawed
10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

Directions
1. Preheat 400 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and water.

3. In another small bowl, stir together Muenster cheese, Parmesan, and garlic powder.

4. Lightly flour work surface.  Unfold thawed puff pastry and, using a floured rolling pin, roll lightly.  Brush surface with egg wash; reserve remaining egg wash for later.  Top puff pastry with an even layer of the cheese mixture, followed by the thawed spinach.

5. Tightly roll up the puff pastry to form a pinwheel log.  Carefully slice the log into ½-inch pieces, and place pinwheels onto baking sheet.  Brush tops and sides with remaining egg wash.  Bake 15 minutes, or until puff pastry turns golden brown.  Cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Happy Super Bowl weekend! We've already had a busy weekend, and kickoff is still hours away! We celebrated a friend's birthday on Friday with dinner at Zack's and drinks at Cork City; discovered a fun wine/social networking app called ViVino; and I hosted my annual Wine, Cheese, and a Dirty Santa party with my girl friends.  I spent Saturday afternoon prepping for the party, so I promise I'll eventually have a recipe recap for you! Tonight we're watching the game at our friends' apartment in town.  With the game being played less than 7 miles from the apartment, going anywhere requiring the car would be a bad idea! Since we are so close to MetLife Stadium, Hoboken has some Super Bowl swag of it's own.  The picture below, courtesy of my old roommate who snapped it bright and early this morning, is of Super Bowl roman numerals on Hoboken's Pier A.  I'm not rooting for any team in particular tonight (better luck next year, Redskins!), so I'm most looking forward to tonight's commercials!

The original recipe called for adding a full cup of water to the sausage as it cooked.  I was tempted to skip that step, but ended up adding half the water to make sure we didn’t end up with a dry shell filling.  I used heaping teaspoons of chili powder, hot salsa, and hot enchilada sauce.  And guess what? This meal was rather spicy! If you can’t handle spicy foods, consider using less chili powder or more mild varieties of salsa and enchilada sauce.  Nevertheless, this meal was pretty good.  KK preferred this dish over the one I made a few weeks ago, most likely because he loves enchilada sauce.  I liked them both, and probably wouldn't be able to tell which shell was which if you gave both of them to me at the same time!

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Adapted from Barbara Bakes

Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

14-16 jumbo pasta shells

1 lb. ground chicken sausage

2 tsp chili powder

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

dash cayenne powder

½ cup water

4 oz. low fat cream cheese

1 ½ cup salsa

10-oz. can enchilada sauce

1-2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Sour cream, optional topping

Green onions, optional topping

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain, rinse with cool water, and set aside.

2. After pasta water boils, preheat oven to 350°.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, cook chicken sausage and spices over medium-high heat; use a spatula or wooden spoon to break up large pieces of sausage.   When sausage is almost cooked, add water and continue to cook until water is absorbed.  Reduce heat to low, add cream cheese, and stir until cheese melts.  Set aside to cool.

4.  Coat bottom of 9x13 baking dish with salsa.  Stuff each pasta shell with meat mixture, and place in prepared 9x13 pan open side up.  Spread enchilada sauce over stuffed shells.  Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes; salsa will be bubbling and shells will start to brown.  Uncover baking dish, sprinkle shells with cheese mixture; bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until cheese melts.  Serve warm.  If desired, top with sour cream, green onions, or more salsa.