Chicken Pot Pie-Less Soup recipe

Chicken Pot Pie? No, thank you. I'll have the filling but none of the crusts. I'm trying to cut down on calories.. just kidding! Haha! I don't have a recipe for the crust that's why I left that out. And don't expect this soup to be thick like a pot pie's filling, because after all, this is a soup.

Printable Recipe

Chicken Pot Pie-Less Soup

For the Chicken
ingredients:
• 5 chicken thighs or legs, skin-on & bone-in
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

instructions:
1)  Preheat oven to 400° F. Let chicken come to room temperature. Line a sheet pan with foil for easy clean up.
2)  Put chicken on the sheet pan, drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Arrange chicken in a single layer with spaces in between, and generously season all sides with salt and pepper.
3)  Roast for 50 minutes.
4)  Remove pan from the oven and let chicken cool on the pan for about 15 minutes.
5)  When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and strip the meat off the bones. Dice the chicken and set aside.
◘ note: You can either snack on the chicken skin or discard it.

For the Pasta
ingredients:
• ½ lb medium pasta shells
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• water

instructions:
1)  Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add salt and pasta, give it a stir. Cook 2 minutes shy of al dente. Drain pasta.

For the Soup
ingredients:
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• half of an onion, diced
• ½ cup carrots, diced
• ½ cup celery, diced
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 32 oz chicken stock (Kitchen Basics)
• 1 tsp + 1 tbsp kosher salt, divided use
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper + more for garnish
• 2 tbsp half & half
• ¼ cup Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• ½ tsp thyme, chopped
• 2 cups frozen peas

instructions:
1)  Add oil and butter in a pot over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid browning. Add carrots, celery, and 1 tsp salt; cook for 3 minutes.
2)  Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
3)  Pour in the chicken stock as you stir. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low then add 1 tbsp salt, pepper, and half & half; stir well.
4)  Add chicken, pasta, parsley, thyme, and frozen peas. Give it a stir then cover the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes.
5)  Turn the heat off but do not take the lid off. Let stand with the lid on for 15 minutes before serving.
◘ note: The soup will thicken slightly during the rest period.
6)  Ladle a serving in a bowl and garnish with a few grinds of black pepper.
      

Pan-Fried Chipotle Chile Pepper Pork Chops recipe

There are days when I already know I'm going to feel lazy to cook anything spectacular for dinner, and when that happens this is one of those recipes I fall back on to save the day. Super easy, super quick! Perfect for beginners and anyone else who likes pork chops!

Printable Recipe

Pan-Fried Chipotle Chile Pepper Pork Chops

ingredients:
• 4 porterhouse center cut pork chops, thin sliced & bone-in
• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil (or any neutral, high smoke point oil such as canola)
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp chipotle chile pepper (McCormick)
• 1 tsp seasoned salt (Lawry's Less Sodium)
• 1 tsp garlic-pepper seasoning (McCormick Salt Free)
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp onion powder

instructions:
1)  Mix the following ingredients on a plate: flour, chipotle chile pepper, seasoned salt, garlic-pepper, cayenne, and onion powder. Set aside.
2)  Rinse pork chops and pat dry with paper towels. Season one side with salt and pepper. Dredge pork chop seasoned side down in the flour mixture. Season the side facing up with salt and pepper, then dredge that side in the flour. Shake excess flour off and transfer pork onto a wire rack to rest.
3)  Heat butter and oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once butter has melted and becomes a little brown, add the pork chops in the pan. Fry for 3 minutes. Flip the pork chops and cook for 2 minutes.
◘ tip: Fry in batches if your pan isn't big enough to fit all the pork chops at the same time.
  

Pasta Shells with Tomato Cream Sauce recipe

Stressing over date night menu? Let me help you. Here's a recipe idea, and you can even serve the wine you cooked with. Italian dinner always seems so romantic to me. By the way, I know I always write "freshly grated" for cheeses, but the fact is that I chop the cheese to smaller pieces then I use a food processor to make them ground cheese. It's faster that way and also better for measuring.

Printable Recipe

Pasta Shells with Tomato Cream Sauce

For the Pasta
ingredients:
• ½ lb pasta shells
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• water

instructions:
1)  Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add salt and pasta, give it a stir. Cook to al dente according to package directions. Drain pasta.

For the Tomato Cream Sauce
ingredients:
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• ½ to ¾ lb ground hot Italian sausage
• half of an onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
• ½ cup red wine
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated + more for serving
• 2 tbsp Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped + more for garnish

instructions:
1)  Melt butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add onions and ground sausage, breaking the sausage apart. Cook until sausage is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes.
2)  Add tomato paste, crushed red pepper, and garlic. Cook for 1 minute.
3)  Pour in red wine and let bubble up for 1 minute.
4)  Add tomatoes, basil, salt, and ground black pepper. Cook for 1 minute.
5)  Stir in heavy cream and cook for 2 minutes.
6)  Add pasta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and parsley. Toss to coat and cook for 1 minute, then off the heat.
7)  Garnish with parsley leaves and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
    

Seared Scallops with Citrus Quinoa recipe

Mmmm, scallops. I love both sea and bay scallops, but, sea scallops nicely seared on the outside, salty and slightly crispy crust, is soooo delicious!

Now, let's talk about prices and sizes. Scallops are little pricey but if you cook it deliciously then I think it's worth it. Depending on where you shop you may find sea scallops that are medium in size, while at other stores they're gigantic! For example, at Jewel-Osco the sea scallops we got that day were medium in size at $17.99 per pound. At Mariano's, the sea scallops were gigantic at $22.99 per pound. We bought half a pound at Jewel-Osco which came with 8 scallops, and 1 pound at Mariano's that came with 8 scallops also. I'm not sure if was able to tell any difference in taste, so please forgive me this time for not being able to tell you.

Hey, this is two recipes in one post! So if you find that scallops are a little out of the budget, you can leave that out and just serve my Citrus Quinoa with whatever you like.

Printable Recipe

Seared Scallops with Citrus Quinoa

Citrus Quinoa
ingredients:
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1½ cups unsalted chicken stock (Kitchen Basics)
• 1 orange, zest (some for garnish) & juiced (¼ cup)
• ½ tsp ground coriander seed
• 1½ tsp kosher salt, divided use
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
• 1 tbsp parsley, chopped

instructions:
1)  Put quinoa, chicken stock, orange zest, coriander, and ½ tsp salt in a medium saucepan. Give it a stir and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes.
2)  Meanwhile, whisk the following dressing ingredients in a bowl: orange juice, lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil. Set aside.
3)  Fluff quinoa with a fork. Add chickpeas, parsley, and stir in the dressing. Cover the pan and simmer for 3 minutes. Turn the heat off, but do not take the lid off. Let stand for 15 minutes with the lid on.
4)  Fluff with a fork. Garnish with orange zest and serve.

Seared Scallops
ingredients:
• 1 to 2 lbs sea scallops
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter + more if needed
• 1 tbsp olive oil + more if needed

instructions:
1)  Rinse and pat scallops dry with paper towels. Season one side with salt and pepper.
2)  Heat butter and oil in a large pan over high heat. Just before it starts to smoke, gently add the scallops in the pan one at a time (space in between) seasoned side down. Sear for 2 minutes. This is the time to season the side facing up with salt and pepper. Flip scallops and sear for another 2 minutes.
◘ tip: Use at least a 12-inch pan. If you have a smaller pan, fry in batches. Dump out the old oil (wipe it clean with paper towels if necessary) and start over with 1 tbsp each of unsalted butter and olive oil.
   

Miso Ramen with Soft-Boiled Egg recipe

I love ramen! No, seriously, even on a hot day! Even better when you make it yourself! Don't worry, you won't need to actually make the noodles for this ramen but you do need to make the broth. Here is the recipe, it's enough for 3 ramen servings! You're welcome.

You can play around with the toppings. Check out the 3 versions I made below.

Printable Recipe

Miso Ramen with Soft-Boiled Egg

For the Egg
ingredients:
• 1 egg, room temperature
• water
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp sake
• 1 tsp mirin
• ¼ tsp sesame oil
• ¼ tsp baking soda

instructions:
1)  In a small zip top bag, add the following ingredients: soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sesame oil. Seal the bag and shake to mix the marinade. Set aside.
2)  Add water and vinegar in a saucepan, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, carefully add the egg by using some type of spoon to lower it in the water. For soft-boiled egg, cook for 3-4 minutes. For medium-boiled egg, cook for 6-8 minutes.
3)  While holding the egg back, quickly drain the hot water. Add baking soda in the pan and place it under cold, slow running water for 2 minutes. You can also transfer the egg to an ice bath with baking soda for 2 minutes, if you prefer. Remove the egg from the cold water, give it a gentle tap all the way around then peel.
4)  Add the egg into the marinade, squeeze as much as air as you can out of the bag, then seal. Marinate in the fridge up to 24 hours, or use it immediately after making the ramen.
5)  Remove egg from the marinade, discard marinade. Slice egg in half and serve on top of ramen.
◘ tip: For soft-boiled egg, keep it whole and break it apart in the bowl so you won't lose any of the yolk.

For the Miso Ramen
ingredients:
• 2 cups homemade pork broth (recipe here)
• 2 tbsp Hikari Dashi Iri Genen Miso
• 1 tsp low sodium soy sauce

instructions:
1)  Strain the pork broth into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once at a rolling boil, turn off the heat. In a ladle, add miso and some broth and stir with a fork until miso is dissolved. Combine the miso mixture with the rest of the broth and add soy sauce. Turn the heat on and bring to a simmer (do not boil!) for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, start cooking the noodles.

For the Noodle
ingredients:
• 1 serving Japanese Curly Noodles Chuka Soba
• water

instructions:
1)  Add water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add noodles, cook for 3 minutes. Drain noodles well and transfer it to a bowl. Ladle in some broth, add egg halves and other toppings of your choice.
     

New England Boiled Dinner recipe

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Appropriately enough, today's recipe post is New England Boiled Dinner.

Printable Recipe
New England Boiled Dinner

ingredients:
• 3 lbs corned beef brisket
• water
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 parsnip, chopped
• 3-4 carrots, chopped (or 1 carrot, same size as parsnip)
• 3 small turnips, cut into wedges
• 1.5 lbs red potatoes, quartered or halved depending on size
• half of a green cabbage, cored & cut into wedges
• 2 tsp kosher salt, divided use
• freshly ground black pepper for serving

instructions:
1)  In a heavy-bottomed pot, add corned beef along with the spice from the packet, onions, and enough water to cover (about 8 cups). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim off any scum.
2)  Reduce heat, cover the pot and simmer for 2½ hours.
3)  Add parsnip, carrots, turnips, potatoes, and 1 tsp salt. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes.
4)  Remove meat only. Add cabbage to the pot, season with 1 tsp salt and give it a stir. Simmer uncovered for another 15 minutes.
5)  When meat is cool enough to handle, either slice thinly against the grain or shred it. You can return the beef in the pot to gently warm it before serving.
6)  To serve, put meat on a platter and top with vegetables. Or, place sliced beef on a platter and serve vegetables with broth in a bowl. Have a pepper grinder to pass around the table.