Recipes – Page 40 – Simply Norma

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Searching for good recipes on the internet sometimes nets me a really really good one.

I had gone to the website cooks.com to find a recipe for Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. I had my doubts as to whether the recipe would be as good as I wanted it to be.

Being a basic cook, i.e. following every single step one by one, I found that the recipe lacked a step and I had to improvise. So, here is the improvisation of the recipe – I omitted the onions.

The ingredients are as follows:

2 quarts chicken broth

1 box of Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice original recipe (seasoning packet will not be used)

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1/2 cup carrot, chopped

1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped

1 qt whole milk

Salt (to taste)

Pepper (to taste)

8 ounces fresh mushrooms (sauteed in butter)

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

4 cups cooked chicken (I used skinless chicken thighs)

Organic Imagine Chicken Broth

Uncle Ben’s Long Grain & Wild Rice

Ingredients for Chicken & Wild Rice Soup (add butter)

– In a large pot, add the chopped vegetables and the wild rice to the 2 quarts of chicken (or vegetable) broth.

– After it starts to boil, simmer approximately 40 minutes

– While the ingredients in the pot are cooking, melt the butter in a large skillet

– Once melted, add the chopped mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are soft

– Add the flour to the mushroom mixture and whisk

– Slowly add the milk and continue whisking the mixture

– Stir until thick (about 7 to 10 minutes)

– Cut the chicken in medium sized pieces and add those pieces to a small pot of water

– Boil the chicken until it’s cooked (about 15 – 20 minutes)

– Remove the boiled chicken pieces from the pot and cut them into smaller pieces

– Add the mushroom sauce mixture and the cooked chicken to the vegetable/rice mixture

– Add salt and pepper to taste.

Heat through for about 30 minutes.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

The original recipe assumes that one knows what it means when it says “4 cups cooked chicken.” I did not. I am a very basic cook and follow the directions as stated. Since I didn’t know what it meant, I boiled the chicken to cook it. I’ve been told that it can also be baked.

This recipe makes about 10 bowls of soup and tastes great the next day also. I served it with English muffins with the Wild Blueberry Jam from the Sherburne Farm in Vermont.

Vegetarian Curry

I made a very simple dinner last night.

Chopping vegetables is really the only time it takes.

Vegetables for Vegetarian Curry

I used the following vegetables in mine, but you can use whatever pleases your palate.

Broccoli, onion, mushrooms, scallops, 2 carrots, 1 large onion, green pepper, sweet potato, cabbage and green beans.

The amount you use will depend on how many people you are feeding.

Chop all ingredients into bite size pieces.
Add about 2 tablespoons olive oil to the bottom of a pan/pot and heat.
When hot, add the harder vegetables in and stir. (The ones that will take longer to cook like sweet potato, carrots, green beans)
Add 1/4 cup water so the vegetables don’t stick and stir again.
Heat the first batch of vegetables until they are halfway cooked.
Add the remaining vegetables (green onions, cabbage, onion, green pepper, mushrooms)
Add the curry sauce and 1 cup of water.
Stir all and heat through until the vegetables are cooked.

Vegetarian Curry with Thai Red Curry Sauce

Trader Joe’s Thai Red Curry Sauce

I served this with white rice and bread.

Creamy Potato Soup

This creamy potato soup is really good.

I originally started with a recipe from Betty Crocker but after reading the reviews on that recipe that said it was bland, I decided to use the basic ingredients and enhance it on my own. The original recipe also called for a blender which I didn’t have so I used a potato masher instead.

Partial ingredients for creamy potato soup

I doubled the ingredients because I knew we would probably have more than one bowlful.

10 medium red potatoes, rinsed, peeled and cut up in small chunks

2 medium celery stalks, chopped

1 chopped carrot

1 cup of half and half (the original recipe called for milk)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

3 green onions, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

-Put potatoes, celery and carrot in a large pot with water to just cover them.

-Boil for about 25 minutes until all is tender.

-Without throwing the water away, take a cup and remove about half of the ingredients from the pot and place them in a bowl so that you can mash them up.

Mash away.

Place the ingredients back in the pot with the other ingredients that you left there.

Add the half and half, salt, pepper and mustard along with the green onions.

Stir all.

Creamy potato soup – use larger chunks of potato, to your taste

Creamy potato soup

Heat everything through for at least a half hour so that all the flavors are blended.

I like the flavor of mustard and 2 teaspoons was not overpowering for me. If you prefer to leave the mustard out, you can add a different flavor that you like. Some people add garlic, cilantro, parsley, thyme — the choice is yours to please your palate.

This goes great with gingerbread.

Enjoy!

Coleslaw

I have never been a fan of coleslaw made by Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) or store bought that sometimes is too dry.

So, I decided to try a recipe by Betty Crocker. Â I have to admit, this is supposed to be a “light” recipe but I forgot to buy the “light” ingredients.

The ingredients are as follows:

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon celery seed (I used celery salt)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 medium head cabbage (shredded or chopped)

1 small carrot (about 1/2 cup)

1 small onion (about 1/4 cup)

Mix all ingredients except for the cabbage, carrot and onion.

Add remaining ingredients and toss until it’s well coated then refrigerate for approximately 1 hour.

(Note: Â If you use the onion in this recipe, I’d use a sweet onion or less onion — otherwise it has too strong of an onion taste.)Enjoy!

Black Bean and Roasted Pepper Soup

When I’m told “I’m going to make dinner” and the person proceeds to get humongous amounts of red and poblano peppers, my eyebrows go up in “I don’t know about this.”

But, the meal was delicious. This was not spicy like I thought it would be and was served with pumpkin cornbread muffins. Very delicious. Fresh cantaloupe on the side was also served.

Black Bean and Roasted Pepper Soup

You can find the blog and recipe information by clicking here.

Thank you Sam!

Chocolate Chip Cookies from Scratch

Thought I’d do a little baking and cookies from scratch always seem to taste better.

This is the original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip cookie recipe.

These are the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe. Oops, I forgot the salt. And, I only made half the recipe as otherwise I’d eat all the cookies.

1 1/8 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened (I used unsalted)

3/8 cup granulated sugar

3/8 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

Directions — Preheat oven to 375F

Combine flour, baking soda & salt in a small bowl. (I like to use a whisk to take any lumps out).

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer until creamy. I used the whisk as we didn’t have a mixer. Add egg and beat well.

Gradually beat in flour mixture.

Stir in morsels (the recipe calls for nuts but I didn’t add them).

After mixing, it will look like this.

Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for approximately 2 minutes.

The final product will look like this.

Enjoy!

Click here for the original recipe

Pancakes from scratch

I tried a simple recipe that I found at allrecipes.com for pancakes.

The recipe is included below although I changed one measure — the salt. The original recipe says add 1 teaspoon salt but I found that one teaspoon is too much. I’d suggest trying 1/2 teaspoon salt and if you want a little more flavor add a wee bit of vanilla.

This recipe is so simple and makes quite a few pancakes so I suggest you make a large batch of the recipe and then put some away in a container for future use. No need to go out and buy already made pancake mixes.

Pancakes from scratch

These are fluffy and you can add other ingredients like mashed bananas, blueberries or thinly sliced applies.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well (hole) in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter. Mix until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium heat. (I used butter but I’m sure a non-stick spray will work as well.) Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

I thought 1/4 cup was too little so I added more but the batter spread quickly so I’d stick with the 1/4 cup that it calls for.

Enjoy!

Salad

Sometimes I like to make a simple salad.

Fresh tomatoes from our yard sliced in two, cucumbers quartered and fresh basil diced.

One could add a vinaigrette but why mess with something simple and tasteful?

Eggplant Parmigiana

Eggplant Parmagiana

Eggplant Parmagiana with broccoli

A very good vegetarian dish that even your non-vegetarians will enjoy (as long as you don’t tell them it’s eggplant).

1 large eggplant (I used 2 medium sized ones) peeled
3 eggs
3 tablespoons water
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
Oil for deep frying
2 cups marinara sauce, divided
2 cups shredded Mozarella cheese (about 8 ounces)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Peel and slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch slices
3. In a large shallow bowl, beat the eggs with the water. Using a whisk, stir in the flour and salt until smooth.
4. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until it bubbles when a drop of batter is tossed in.
5. Dip 3 or 4 of the eggplant slices into the batter, then fry in a single layer until browned on the bottom. Turn and cook until browned on other side. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining eggplant slices until all are fried.
6. Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13x2 inch baking pan. Layer 1/2 of the slices over the sauce. Top with 1 cup of the sauce, spreading to cover the eggplant slices. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella over the sauce and top with 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan.
7. Place the remaining eggplant slices over the cheese and spread the remaining 1/2 cup of the sauce over the eggplant. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozarella over the sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.
8. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake 20-25 minutes or until heated through and the cheese has melted.

Enjoy!

1,000 Vegetarian Recipes

Quiche


Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche

This is a really good quiche recipe. A picture/name of the cookbook is below the recipe.

Makes one 9-inch quiche

Ingredients:

Pastry for one 9-inch pie or one 9-inch frozen deep-dish crust
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of milk (I use half and half)
1 teaspoon anchovy-free Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
2 cups chopped fresh broccoli (you could use frozen, thawed but the consistency may be different)
1/2 cup of sliced scallions (both white & green parts)

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle. Line a 9-inch pie dish with the rolled dough. Weigh down the pastry using pie weights or dry beans to prevent the crust from rising. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and remove weights.
3. Decrease oven temperature to 350F
4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Add the milk, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Beat until combined.
5. After 10 minutes, remove the crust from the oven.
6. Sprinkle the cheese into the bottom of the crust. Add the broccoli and scallions and toss gently to combine. Pour the egg mixture over all.
7. Baker 50 to 60 minutes or until puffy and slightly browned on top. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

They say you can also use Gouda or another hard cheese in place of the Cheddar.

Note: I baked this in a convection oven and it only took 35 minutes. So, make sure you check it every now and then. You can check if done by placing a butter knife in the middle of the quiche. If it comes out clean, it’s done.

Enjoy! (see recipe book below)