Soul Food Saturday

With Christmas time very near, our schedules are full of pot lucks, church celebrations and festivities full of food. So we can never have enough quick, go to recipes for delicious side dishes. This one takes a corn casserole and speeds it up. All done on the stove top and you probably already have the ingredients you need. Grab your best traveling pot, because we're joining the party!

Creamy Corn and Leek Casserole
1 tbs. Olive oil
1 tbs. Unsalted butter
1/2 c. Leek, chopped, rinsed
2 14.5 oz. cans sweet corn, drained
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 c. Sour cream
1/3 c. Shredded cheddar/jack cheese


In a medium pan add butter and olive. Heat until butter has melted. Add leeks, then stir to combine. Cook until leeks have soften, then add corn, salt, pepper and parsley. Stir to combine. Cook until corn is heated through evenly and leeks are tender. Add cheese stir to combine and melted evenly. Remove from heat and add sour cream. Stir to combine. Check seasoning and adjust if needed. Cover with a lid for transport or serve immediately along side your family favorites! Enjoy!

Soul Food Saturday

Now that the kids are busy in school and our work schedules seem to run together with our daily activities; we are on the look out for ways to let our grocery store help us out. Not to mention the holiday rush is around the corner! Yep, I said it out loud. Take the help folks! Those bags of precut bagged salads and roasted meats save time! I know what you’re all thinking though, Mrs. Soul Food that is so boring! Fear not, this idea is fun, fresh, and flavorful! And even better than that it’s really quick! Grab a fork, this one is good enough to eat out of the pot.

 

 

Rotisserie Chicken 

and 

Garden Veggie Stir Fry

 1 tbs. olive oil

8 oz. sliced baby Bella mushrooms

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 c. leek, green part, chopped

1 whole rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed, chopped

1 bag broccoli slaw salad mix (no dressing)

2 Anaheim chilies, chopped finely

3 garlic cloves, minced

Salt to taste

 

In a heated large skillet add oil, leeks, mushrooms, chilies, garlic, and salt to taste. Sauté, until veggies have softened, stirring often. Add slaw mix, tomatoes, and additional sprinkle of salt to taste. Stir to combine. Allow veggies to wilt slightly and warm through.

Add chicken and check for seasoning. Add additional salt if desired. Stir to combine, allow chicken to warm through, check once more for seasoning and add any additions if necessary.

Can be served with rice, warm tortillas or alone as a one pot wonder. Enjoy!

Yep, It's That Time Again

What time? Soup time! And more specifically, Crock Pot soup time! What can I say? I am addicted to my new one, and the numerous new recipes I have to go with it. And with the temperatures not rising out of the teens for day time highs, the arctic chill screams for more soup meals. I try to limit it to once per week, but to be honest, if I am cold, there is going to be soup on the table!

When I was trying to "prioritize" the new soups I have to try, so basically putting them in order of "drool factor" this was one that had to be put at the front of the line, for one simple reason. Leeks. I love leeks, but don't get to cook with them nearly enough. Have you ever had them? They look like giant green onions, but have a much milder flavor. They give a dish a slight onion flavor in the background without overpowering the dish. And one thing they were meant to be cooked with are potatoes.

Now when you buy them at the store, they will more than likely have the dark green stems attached. These will not be used. And when you chop and prepare them, here is a great tip. Slice the white and light green part down the middle, vertically. Then slice each piece into half moon shapes, separating the pieces. Fill your sink, or a large bowl, with cold water. Place the separated pieces into the water and gently shake with your fingers. Leeks grow in soil, and it gets into the layers. By doing this, you separate the layers, washing them thoroughly. The dirt and grit will fall to the bottom while the pieces of leek will float. Remove them from the water with your hands or a slotted spoon and place in a colander to drain/dry.

This soup is so creamy with great flavor and is truly "set it and forget it". Serve some sliced bread or maybe my Easy Yeast Rolls, or even Cheddar Biscuits on the side for a full, satisfying and comforting meal. As long as winter sticks around, you can be sure to find more soups here on EMM and I'm guessing a majority those are going to include the Crock Pot!

Potato and Leek Soup Adapted from Crock Pot
5 c. frozen shredded hashbrowns
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of potato soup, undiluted
1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk
1 (14 oz ) can chicken broth
3 leeks, cleaned and sliced
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
12 slices pre cooked bacon, crisp and chopped
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. sour cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
Real bacon bits, for garnish

Combine potatoes, leeks, soup, evaporated milk, chicken broth, crisp bacon, salt and pepper in Crock Pot. Stir well. Cook on LOW 6-7 hours. After 1 hour, add 1/2 c. milk. Throughout cooking, stir about every 30 minutes. Just before serving stir in sour cream and garnish with bacon bits.

Shared on Make Ahead Meals Jan. 28, 2013
Shared on Mandy's Recipe Box Jan. 29, 2013
Shared on Lady Behind The Curtain Jan. 30, 2013
Shared on Miz Helen's Country Cottage Jan. 31, 2013

Soup at Very Good Recipes
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Friends Again

When I first started getting into the kitchen and enjoying it more and more, one of my inspirations was Rachael Ray. I think like many home cooks, her ability to get a meal on the table in 30 minutes or less was something I was really needing in my life. Plus, I watched a TON of her on Food Network. Look, I was a stay at home mom and while I loved being w/ my infant, let's face it, he wasn't the biggest conversationalist, so I turned to tv chefs for company! I made many of her recipes both from her tv shows and her cookbooks. Some of them we really enjoyed, others not so much. That's no offense to her, they just weren't for us. But after a good amount of time I started to notice something. Just like we home cooks find ourselves getting into ruts, I thought Rachael was getting into a few herself. She had so many recipes for burgers, or "stoups" (as she calls them) I felt like I was seeing/reading the same recipes over and over. So I had to take a little break from my friend. I needed to branch out and try other sources for recipes; and now I get so many ideas from so many places, there is never just one I'm stuck on any more. Then a few weeks ago, I was once again watching her morning talk show (again, I was home alone and needed some adult voices), saw her make this, and was in love without even taking a bite! Just the mere sight of it had me drooling a little, and I knew that was my sign it was time to give RR another try! Now, as you are reading the recipe, if it seems a little daunting or time consuming, let me give you a couple hints. One, cook the chicken ahead of time. Either the day of or even the night before. Just bring it back up to room temperature before adding it. Two, clean your leeks (directions below) ahead of time too. I did mine the morning of, covered them and sat them in the fridge. Again, letting them come back to room temperature before using. Both of these steps turned dinner time into a little bit of cooking, and a lot of assembly. Splitting the steps really made it seem like less work for me. But if you have to do it all at once, don't worry, it's still pretty simple! I'm sure RR is still making burgers and "stoups" just as much as she ever was, but with recipes like this appearing too, I'm happy to say her and I can be friends again :)

Creamed Chicken w/ Leeks Over Buttered Toast Adapted from Rachael Ray
3 boneless chicken breasts
1 rib celery, chopped into large chunks
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped into large chunks
1 small onion, peeled, halved w/ root end still attached
1 lemon, sliced
Water
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 medium leeks, cleaned and chopped
2 TBS butter
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS flour
1 c. poaching liquid (see below)
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 TBS Dijon mustard
 1 TBS dried parsley
4 slices white bread, toasted and buttered

In a large pot, place chicken, celery, carrots, onions and lemons. Season w/ salt and pepper. Add water, just enough to cover. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a light boil. Poach until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove chicken and shred. Strain cooking liquid and reserve. Trim green tops off leeks. Split each white bulb down the center, lengthwise. Chop into 1/2-inch "half moons". Fill a large bowl or your kitchen sink w/ cold water. Add chopped leeks and wash well, making sure to separate all layers. Remove from water and drain/dry well on a kitchen towel. In the same pot you cooked the chicken, bring olive oil and butter to medium heat. Add leeks, season w/ salt and pepper and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add flour and cook 1 minute. Pour in poaching liquid and cream. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and Dijon. Stir to combine and heat through. Just before serving, add dried parsley. Spoon chicken mixture over buttered toast.

Shared on Make Ahead Meals Apr. 23, 2012
Shared on Naptime Creations Apr. 24, 2012 
Shared on Mandy's Recipe Box Apr. 24, 2012 
Shared on Lady Behind the Curtain Apr. 25, 2012 
Shared on Newlyweds Blog Apr. 25, 2012 
Shared on Miz Helen's Country Cottage Apr. 26, 2012 
Shared on The Country Cook Apr. 27, 2012

Chicken at Very Good Recipes
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