Enchilada Chicken Soup

I can’t help but borrow the phrase coined by the folks at Campbell’s Soups. "Soup is good food!"

Soups can be made from scratch. That involves creating a stock and simmering and adding and skimming and lots of fabulous smells. Making soup this way is great, but not always practical. The next best thing is a recipe that combines at-hand ingredients and produces a steaming pot of comfort and nutrition.

The comfort value of good soup is undeniable. The steam and aroma calm the mind and the warm feeling once the bowl is empty can fend off even the most abominable winter demons. So, try this recipe; remember soup is good food.

Enchilada Chicken Soup

1 can(11 oz.) condensed Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup, undiluted
1 can (10.75 oz.) Condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 2/3 cups milk
1 can (10 oz.) chunk white chicken, drained.
1 can (10 oz.) enchilada sauce
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
sour cream

In a large saucepan, combine all the canned ingredients and the milk. Mix well and heat through. Serve with a bit of sour cream as a garnish.

The spice-heat of the soup can be varied by selecting a mild or hot enchilada sauce or by adding some diced jalepenos. Careful though, being warm on a cold winter’s night is comfortable, burning from the peppers is not!!!

Enjoy your kitchen!!
MITK

That Humble Chicken!!

Here is a fast chicken recipe that will break up the usual flavor spectrum. If you are pinched for time and looking for something a bit different, this dish is an option. I have made extra for use in sandwiches, its good that way too!

Italian Pineapple Chicken
1# Boneless chicken (I prefer thighs, but breasts work too)
½ cup Italian Salad Dressing
2 tbsp olive oil
1 can, 8 oz., of pineapple slices, drained
1/3 cup shredded swiss cheese

Flatten the chicken if required. Pour sauce into a shallow bowl. Dip each piece of chicken into the dressing . Heat the oil in a skillet. Add chicken to the pan and cook over med-high heat for 5-7 minutes per side. Remove from skillet and keep warm (tent them on a warmed plate, I have found this is best).

Add the pineapple to the pan and warm the rings in the pan juices. That takes only 30 seconds or so per side. Serve chicken with a ring of pineapple on each piece. Sprinkle with Swiss Cheese.

This recipe is from Becky Lohmiller. She is a talented cook from Indiana. She sure assembled a great one here!

How ‘bout a Quickie!

Here is a fast and flavorful one. The pine nut and basil salad adds a nice dimension and it prepares very fast.

Tomato and Mozzarella Quesadillas

8 8-inch flour Tortillas
12 oz. Grated or sliced mozzarella
2 tomatoes cut into ¼ inch thick sliced
1/2 tsp and 1/8 tsp. of kosher salt
½ tsp fresh-ground black pepper
1 bunch fresh basil, picked
¼ cup pine nuts
3 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Prepare a cookie sheet by covering it with aluminum foil (that speeds the clean up). Fire up your oven’s broiler. Arrange four tortillas on a cutting board. Arrange the tomatoes and cheese on the tortillas, leave about and inch border on the edges. Season with the ½ tsp. salt and the pepper. Top each with a tortilla. In a medium bowl, combine the basil, pine nuts and the remaining salt; set aside. Cook the quesadillas under the broiler, turn them once as they brown on the top side.

Cut tortillas into wedges and serve with the basil salad.

Life in the fast lane--not the drive-thru!!!
MITK

Gobble It Up!!!

OK. I am strange. It is simply undeniable. There is no shame in that; we all are blessed with quirky behaviors that are “out of the mainstream”. Those are the elements that make each of us unique. I’ll celebrate my different-ness; you should too.

So, here is the strange bit that inspired my blog-style banter in that last paragraph. On Sunday, the 6th of November, I roasted a turkey breast. Some folks I shared that information with thought me to be batty. Their voices said, Oh?”, their faces said, “Turkey, so close to Thanksgiving?!”

They think me strange. I counter with the facts: people will eat ground beef a few times a week, why is turkey, in November, on a Sunday not a Thursday so peculiar?

It is not. But, like any good propagandist, I am withholding some data. Here is the strange part. I roasted a turkey breast on a Sunday so I could have turkey leftovers for a delightful turkey sandwich recipe that I tested tonight. No arguments from the Man in the Kitchen on that one—I am just a loon.

But, you gotta try this recipe. It’s simple and tasty and presents at the table like it takes lots more work than it requires. (I must give credit, it’s from Cooking Light, the November 2005 edition, page 226.)

Cranberry Shallot Chutney
¼ cup cranberry sauce
1 TBSP minced shallots
1 TBSP cider vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
Combine ingredients in a small bowl.

Hot Turkey Sandwiches

8 sliced of French Bread (1 oz. each)
1 TBSP light mayonnaise
¼ cup turkey gravy
4 reduced sodium bacon slices, cooked and cut in half
12 oz. sliced, cooked turkey breast
2 slices Provolone cheese, halved
1 cup arugula
1 TBSP Cranberry Shallot Chutney

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place bread sliced on baking sheet. Spread light mayonnaise evenly on 4 slices. Spread turkey gravy on the other 4 slices. Top mayo-ed bread slices with bacon, turkey and provolone. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until cheese in melted.
Top the melted cheese with arugula. Drizzle the chutney on each sandwich and top with the gravy-ed slice and press together.

A serving is one sandwich, so the recipe yields four servings.

Nutritional data for one serving: 402 cal., 11 g fat, 38.2 g protein.

I was not able to get arugula at my local supermarket (the frustration of living so far from anywhere!!), so I used romaine lettuce. That substitution will certainly change the flavor, but the arugula, I bet, is a great dimension adder.

Strange, but still cookin’
MITK

Roasted Salmon with Citrus and Herbs

Here is a great recipe from Cooking Light. It is taken from the Reader Recipes section of the November 2005 edition. A Karen Ensign submitted it, she sent in a very good recipe.

Roasted Salmon with Citrus and Herbs
1 TBSP finely chopped, fresh parsley
1 TBSP finely chopped, fresh thyme
1 TBSP minced garlic
2 tsp lemon rind
2 tsp lime rind
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp fresh-ground black pepper
1 2.25 pound salmon fillet

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the first seven ingredients in a small bowl.
Place salmon on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray (I lined the pan with foil to speed the cleanup!). Rub parsley mix on fish. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

This will serve six.

282 calories, 13.3 grams of fat, 36.6 grams of protein.

It’s all in the Plans

Last week was a humdinger. Lots of activities and commitments were further reinforced with a twisted work schedule. I resorted to “brought-in” food. That is not a terribly shameful event; life is a busy affair. As I reflect on the week, thought, I realize something important to my lagging performance: no plan.

I entered last week with no real plan for dinners. So, when the “let’s get something at . . .” challenge came up I was defenseless. I could not quickly assemble a “made-at-home” counter argument.

I feel the decision on what to cook is a much greater burden than the execution of cooking the meal. When one is on the spot, the "what to make" decision easily overwhelms; the poor soul (that's me) falls into the convenient trap of "food through the window".

This week, I am back on the the track with a menu plan and a productive trip to the grocer. I'll let you know how much better it feels!!

Down Under Data

Salutations!!!

I just stumbled across a blog by an Aussie fellow with a feel for low-fat food. Skinney Jeff has an entry on childhood obesity that hits on some of my thoughts--he must be a smart fellow!!!

Check it out.

Eat at Home
MITK