Fall Favorite – Indian Potato and Spinach Soup

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Jackie

It’s Wednesday and that means it’s time for another Fall Favorite! Today Erica is here sharing her recipe for an Indian Potato and Spinach soup that is sure to warm you on the coldest fall evening and paired with some fresh from the oven bread and a glass of your favorite drink dinner will be perfect.

I hope that you’re enjoying this series and finding some delicious recipes to try out. Remember… if you’re interested in sharing one of your own fall favorite here just let me know.

Erica Voll is a freelance writer, blogger, marketing maven, content creator and social media consultant. She writes a parenting blog, No Sleep ’til College, and is co-founder of Girls’ Lunch Out . Erica rarely sleeps. Connect with Erica on Twitter,YouTube, Facebook, and Google+.

There are days when I think I might as well cook an elaborate meal, and throw it directly in the trash because inevitably, my kids and husband will hate it.

On a scale of 1 to 10 with “1” being “Ick, gross, I’m calling for take-out” and a “10” being “Make this again!” I’ve observed the following:

30 seconds to throw chicken fingers in the oven + 5 minutes to heat up canned corn + 1 minute to scoop applesauce on a plate = 10
60 minutes chopping, searing, boiling and simmering for a chicken dinner = 5
90 minutes chopping, boiling, cleaning, clearing, plating, topping and serving pork chops, homemade mashed potatoes, fresh brussels sprouts = 1

Look, I am not a foodie. I do not “enjoy” cooking, nor do I enjoy the prep and clean-up that comes with cooking. But I the thought of Indian potato soup just kind of warmed my soul one chilly fall day…

So I thought I would take a chance and make it for my family.
So, this weekend, when I dared to bust out the Indian spices and create a pot of soup, I knew I was treading in dangerous waters. This conversation foreshadowed what happened…

“The kids will never eat that,” said my husband.

“How do you know??” I asked.

“Erica, the kids will not eat Indian food,” he replied.

Well, he was sort of right. My almost-4-year-old told me she didn’t like the way it smelled, and my 18-month-old ate it up. My husband hated it, and I loved it.

I loved it so much, in fact, I wanted to share the recipe with you.

Indian Potato Spinach Soup with Chicken

Serves: 1. Your family will hate it, and you will be forced to eat it for a week because you made it from scratch, damnit!

Ingredients

2 tsp canola or corn oil
2 medium size chicken breast halves, diced
1 large onion chopped
1/2 tsp caraway seeds ( I used sesame seeds since I didn’t have caraway seeds)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 TBSP curry powder
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
6 cups fat free chicken broth
1 cup chopped canned tomatoes with juice
3 cups coarsely chopped potatoes (about 2 large)
1 10 ounce thawed spinach

Directions

Over medium heat in large pot, combine oil, chicken, onion and caraway seeds. Cook, stirring frequently until onion is limp and browns (about 5 minutes)
Add garlic and cook one minute longer.
Stir in coriander, curry and cardamom, cook for additional 30 seconds.
Stir in broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil.
Adjust heat so it simmers.
Cook until potatoes are tender
Add spinach, tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes

Per cup: 187 cals 2.7 g fat, 15 g of protein

Sounds delicious, right?

Monday Menu ~ Roasted Chicken with Pinot Noir Sauce and Rosemary Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Jackie

Welcome back to another episode of the Monday Menu! One of these days I will get to making a cute button for this feature and make it all official like.

Today I have a special guest for you and I was so happy when she agreed to guest post for me! Please give a warm & magical welcome to Gigi from Kludgy Mom! She has a great recipe that I know you’ll all want to make for dinner this week.

Thank God for Jackie Cross, because she asked me to guest post for her Menu Mondays eons ago and the guilt of not doing that in a timely fashion inspired me to head back into the kitchen after a long hiatus!

As one of the founders of #winebuzz, I find myself with a lot of wine around my house all the time. If I drank every last drop of every last bottle we sample, I’d be on Intervention, so I started looking around for some great recipes that use wine as an ingredient.

This recipe is from Cooking Light. I like cooking chicken breasts because they’re easy and fast, and this recipe delivered both. The Pinot Noir sauce is super flavorful, but not overly heavy like most red wine reductions. You can prep the potatoes and pop them in the oven while you cook the chicken and the sauce, and be done in less than 45 minutes. I don’t eat a ton of fingerling potatoes (they are a little pricey) but these were delicious. And the biggest bonus? One breast with sauce + some potatoes is a measly 500 calories. More room for fudge!!
Roasted Breast of Chicken with Pinot Noir Sauce (recipe courtesy Cooking Light Magazine, Oct 2010 issue)

Ingredients:
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 8 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• Cooking spray
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• 2 cups pinot noir
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Sprinkle thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and rosemary evenly over chicken. Dredge chicken in flour; shake off excess flour. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 chicken breast halves to pan; cook 2 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 1 minute. Remove chicken from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and remaining chicken. Arrange chicken in a single layer on the rack of a roasting pan coated with cooking spray; place rack in pan. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160°. Remove from oven. Cover and let stand 10 minutes.
3. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots to saucepan; sauté 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Increase heat to high; bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until wine is reduced to 1 cup. Add broth; cook 16 minutes or until broth mixture is reduced to 1/3 cup. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and sugar. Gradually add butter, stirring constantly with a whisk until smooth. Serve sauce with chicken.

Rosemary Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Ingredients
• 2 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes, halved
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Place potatoes on a jelly-roll pan. Drizzle potatoes with oil; sprinkle with salt, rosemary, and pepper. Toss to combine; spread into a single layer on pan. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until lightly browned and tender.

Monday Menu ~ Comfort Food

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Jackie

With fall upon us the grill has been put away and I’m back in the kitchen making breads, pies, casseroles, and all of my favorite comfort foods. This has to be my favorite season partially because I get to bake…. yes, it’s my favorite past time.

Chicken and noodles is one of my favorites as well as my families. It’s one of the few dinners that I can make and have very little leftovers! Now there are a couple ways to go about making this… the easy way or the full out homemade version. I’ve made both and they’re equally delicious and I’ll give the ingredients for both. How much time you want to take will depend on which recipe you make and I’ll tell you that I’ve been able to make the quick & easy version on a weeknight.

Quick & Easy

1 – 2 rotisserie chickens pulled off the bone & cut up
32 oz container of chicken broth
Medium Onion chopped
2 -3 stalks of celery chopped
2 -3 carrots chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 bag of frozen peas
Reames Egg Noodles (1 -2 packages) – or some other thick noodles
1/2 – 1 cup of heavy cream or half & half
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour

Saute all the vegetables other than the peas in a bit olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add in the chicken, bay leaf, and the broth, bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer until the veggies are tender. Stir in the noodles and cook until they’re done. When the noodles are done turn down the heat and stir in the peas.

In a separate pan melt the butter and stir in the flour, cook for 1 minute. Stir in the flour mixture into the soup until thick and finish off with the cream.

Season with salt, pepper, and any other herbs that you like.

Homemade Version

This doesn’t vary much from the quick & easy recipe.

1 whole roaster chicken
32 oz container of chicken broth (may need 2 for this version)
Medium Onion chopped
2 -3 stalks of celery chopped
2 -3 carrots chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 bag of frozen peas
Reames Egg Noodles (1 -2 packages) – or some other thick noodles
1/2 – 1 cup of heavy cream or half & half
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour

Boil the chicken in one of the containers of chicken broth until cooked through and almost falling off the bone. Remove from the broth and let cool until you can handle it and then pull the chicken off and cut it up.

In another pot, saute all the vegetables other than the peas in a bit olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add in the chicken, bay leaf, and the broth from the first pot, bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer until the veggies are tender. Stir in the noodles and cook until they’re done. When the noodles are done turn down the heat and stir in the peas.

In a separate pan melt the butter and stir in the flour, cook for 1 minute. Stir in the flour mixture into the soup until thick and finish off with the cream.

Both are thick, delicious, and warm you heart, soul and stomach.

What is one of your favorite comfort foods?

Don’t forget about the Doodle Roll giveaway! It’s a great stocking stuffer idea!

Lime Grilled Chicken ~ A Guest Post!

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Jackie

Welcome to another Monday and another great recipe (Have you caught on to a theme yet?)! Today I asked Jen from The Misadventures of Mrs. B to share with all of you a great recipe since I was in Chicago all weekend at Bloggy Bootcamp (read… I wouldn’t have time to get a post together). She quickly responded to me when I asked her to guest post and I was so thrilled. So a huge thank you to Jen!

This recipe looks pretty tasty and of course easy! Oh, and I love anything with avocado!

I hope you all enjoy it!

Hey, everyone! I’m happy to be visiting with Jackie today, and to be sharing a super easy and delicious
chicken recipe with you.

Yeah. Chicken. Yawn, snore. I get it. It’s been done to death.

But chicken doesn’t have to be boring. Especially in the summertime when fresh, zesty flavors are what
it’s all about. And when it comes to flavor, you can’t get much better than garlic, minced onion, lots of
lime juice and cilantro. That boring old chicken never had it so good.

Serve it over rice or in a tortilla with some pico de gallo and avocado and I swear you’ll think there’s a
fiesta happening in your mouth. Which kinda makes me giggle, to be honest. You could also add it to
your favorite pasta salad. Either way, be prepared for all the rave reviews you’ll receive because this
chicken is stupid good. I swear, I wasn’t prepared for how well it would be received. Something tells me
I’ll need to add it to my regular meal rotation.

You’d better jump on this recipe fast if you wanna catch that summery feeling. After all, it’s almost
autumn, when soups and stews come back into fashion.

Let’s live it up while we can!

Fiesta Chicken

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and pounded to ¼ inch thickness

Juice of 3 limes (plus zest if you feel so inclined)

½ cup red onion, minced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

¼ – ½ cup olive oil (eyeball it, you may need more to coat chicken better)

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 tablespoon dried cilantro (or handful fresh cilantro, chopped)

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Place chicken in a large bowl. Mix all other ingredients in a small bowl and pour over chicken, tossing
to coat. Cover and marinate in fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight if so desired. Stir or flip chicken
occasionally to marinate on all sides.

When it’s time to cook chicken, remove from bowl and discard leftover marinade. Grilling is best of
course, but you can use a grill pan indoors (which I did) or pan fry until juices run clear.

Serve over rice/pasta or as filling for tacos or burritos.