Fideo & Chicken Soup with Queso Fresco

Just my luck. It is my last week of summer vacation and I am sick.  I have been feeling really lousy all week and Wednesday, I woke up feeling a teeny bit better. So I decided to go for a ride with my new clip-in shoes. Bad idea.  I got home, felt even more lousy and have had a fever that is coming and going ever since.

Soup to the rescue!!  

Have I mentioned I love soup? Yes, it might be a small addiction. Maybe I should change the blog to "The S's of Life: Soup and Sweat." hehehe. Okay, maybe a bit extreme.

Anywho - after feeling so icky, I decided to make a soup that I happened to buy ingredients for this past weekend.  I found this recipe in the August chapter of my Williams-Sonoma Soup of the Day cookbook.  It looked delicious and pretty simple.

Here's what you will need for this tasty soup:

Fideo & Chicken Soup with Queso Fresco 
(serves 6 - unless you are like me and eat it all yourself)

2 small skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3 Tbsp olive soul
Salt & fresh ground pepper
1 white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 chipotle chili in adobo, minced (use the whole chili if you like the extra kick)
6 cups chicken broth (I used 4 cups broth, 2 cups water)
1/2 fideo noodles or vermicilli/angel hair pasta broken into 2-inch pieces
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced
3 oz queso fresco, crumbled

Let's get cooking...

I love that most of the ingredients are pantry staples. 

Chicken breasts were roasting for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

 I omitted the cilantro because, well... I didn't have any. 

And as lousy as I felt, I didn't want to go to the store.

 Chop & mince while the oil is heating in big ol' soup pot.

 Saute onion & garlic for 5 minutes, until translucent.

 Add in oregano, tomato paste & adobo chili to onion and garlic mixture.  

Let's take a moment: How cool is this tube of tomato paste?  No more wasting a whole can!

Hmmm..what am I going to do with all these chilis? I guess another recipe soon.

  Add the broth and bring to a boil (I chose broth & water to lower the sodium)

I love watching soup simmer! 

Add noodles & cooked chicken to broth mixture and let boil until noodles are done. My angel hair only took 4 minutes, but the recipe says 8 for fideo noodles. 

Stir a few times while the noodles cook, then salt & pepper to taste!

Since my mumbo jumbo directions probably are scattered, here's the exact recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and put chicken breasts on baking sheet. Brush with 1 Tbsp olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast chicken in the oven until it is cooked through, about 20 minutes.   When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred and set aside. 

2. In a large pot, warm 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano, tomato paste and chipotle and stir well to combine. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and cook til soft. Add the shredded chicken and cilantro and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

3. Serve, top with avocado and crumbled queso fresco. 

 I think Williams-Sonoma would be very proud of how my soup compares to theirs.

 Muy delicioso!

Cheers,

Belle

Strawberry Picnic

 

This weekend I hosted a Strawberry Spring Picnic! 

What is that you ask? Well, each dish we ate included strawberries! Yum!  

         A few months ago, my friend Tammy invited me to be part of a dinner club with a group of her friends who love to cook!  The idea is that each month, one of us hosts dinner club providing the place and theme for dinner and everyone provides a dish.  So far we have done Thai Food and Spanish Tapas. April was my month to host and let's just say... my apartment isn't very big. I had decided to make it a picnic at a nearby park, but after a few days of San Diego rain and a lot of indecision I moved the picnic to my living room. Turns out, it was still bunches of fun just relaxing on the floor and hanging out. Or maybe everyone's legs were so cramped from sitting criss-cross, either way there was good food!!!

Our Menu included: 

Spiked Strawberry Limeade 

Strawberry Balsamic Crostini 

Chile Lime Fruit Salad 

Beef Skewers with Strawberry Glaze

Strawberry Pesto Pasta Salad

Strawberry Lavender Chicken Salad Sandwiches (this was mine! See recipe below)

Strawberry Shortcake 

                  

                        

(Refreshing Strawberry Limeade)

   (Strawberry Crostini with Goat Cheese & Balsamic) 

  

(Strawberry Pesto Pasta Salad)

  

(Beef Skewers with Strawberry Sauce) 

  

(Strawberry Lavender Chicken Salad - my dish!)

(Avocado & Arugula with Chicken Salad = Strawberry Lavender Chicken Salad Sandwiches)

  

It was fun to just sit around in a way that we aren't used to.  I think an indoor picnic would make such a great date!

Cheers to something that brings back childhood memories and making new adulthood ones!

                             

Strawberry Lavender Chicken Salad Sandwiches:

(adapted from Our Life in the Kitchen) 

Makes about 4 sandwiches

The Dressing

Strawberries, 5 or 6 large

Honey or Agave Nectar, 1 tablespoon 

Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar, 1/4 cup 

Extra Light Olive Oil, 1/3 cup 

Coconut Milk, 1/4 cup

Salt/Pepper 

Optional: 1/2 tsp lavender for extra taste

The Salad 

Shredded & Cooked Chicken Breasts, 3 to 4 cups

Strawberries, 1 1/2 cups, sliced 

Green Onions, 4 or 5 

Sliced Almonds, 2/3 cup 

Lavender, 1 teaspoon

The Fixings 

Arugula 

Avocado 

French Bread or Baguettes

Blend strawberries, honey, vinegar, olive oil & salt and pepper together. Once blended and smooth, blend in coconut milk.  From the original recipe I replaced heavy cream with coconut milk and sugar with honey to make it "healthy fat" friendly. Set dressing aside.

Slice strawberries and onions and mix with shredded chicken, almonds and lavender.  Starting with a small amount, pour & toss dressing with chicken mix.   It was incredible how the lavender meshed with the other tastes. On whatever bread you prefer, add a handful of arugula, some fresh sliced avocado and a scoop of strawberry chicken salad and enjoy a delicious sandwich!   mmmmmmm...

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

This morning, all of Southern California awoke to rain, hail and in some places snow. It turned out to be a perfect day.

Recipe for a Happy Sunday: 
Read for hours in bed
Make soup for lunch
Throw a meal in the crock pot, which took less than 20 minutes
Efficiently get report cards done
Clean apartment top to bottom
Eat yummy dinner
Get back in bed and read some more

I wanted to quickly share the recipe I saw on Pinterest this morning. It comes from a blog, Six Sisters' Stuff.  I think I will be going back to their blog for a few more recipes!


Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken: 
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup honey (I used honey and agave nectar)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 tsp cornstarch dissolved into water
Sesame Seeds
My additions:
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 Tbsp sriracha sauce
add veggies & water chestnuts if you'd like

1. Season both sides of chicken with salt & pepper, put into crock pot
2. In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients except the cornstarch and pour over chicken.
3. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or high 1 1/2 hours.
4. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce
5. Dissolve cornstarch into 6 tsps water, stir cornstarch mix into sauce in crock pot
6. Let sauce thicken for about 10 minutes (I took the lid off to thicken)
6. Cut chicken into chunks and stir back in with sauce
7. Serve over rice! mmm!

  I think this mix could make a good salad dressing, minus the onion & add in some rice vinegar??

Sprinkly on sesame seeds before serving... enjoy leftovers all week!

Baked Pesto Chicken

After Mackenzie's delish Pesto Lasagna on Saturday night, I decided to use my leftover spinach and basil to make a homemade pesto to use throughout this week's meals.  Last night, I was craving chicken and thought about how I could put the two together to please my tummy. I sliced up some fresh chicken breasts and tossed in my pesto... yum! You could even make an entire platter or casserole with this, but I am just cooking for one and it worked out great!

Homemade Pesto
      The thing with pesto is that once you've made it, you can play around with ingredients and adjust according to consistency, smell and taste. I "eyeballed" everything for this pesto because I just wanted to use ingredients I had in my refrigerator.

Homemade Spinach Walnut Pesto:
1/2 bunch of Spinach
A few cups of fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup of Walnuts
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Lemon

In the food processor, puree spinach, basil and walnuts together with some EVOO. Squeeze in juice from lemon. While the processor is going, slowly continue pouring the olive oil until you reach a smooth consistency. 

Baked Pesto Chicken
1 chicken breast, sliced into 1 inch pieces
(Homemade) Pesto
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then change oven to broil for a little crunch and browning of the cheese!

 Spread a thin layer of pesto on the bottom of baking dish

Then lay chicken pieces in dish, spread a little more pesto on chicken 

and then sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

 

Wow, yummy!

I was thinking I might just put the pesto on top of the chicken to cut out more oil.  But this turned out with the flavor and moisture captured in the chicken and the extra pesto just seemed to crust in the dish instead of swimming under the chicken. Pretty great results!

Spinach Mania!

This summer, I fell in love with fresh spinach and ate about 3 bunches per week. Then fall came around and I sort of got sick of it... Thankfully, my craving for spinach is back. I bought 2 full bunches of fresh spinach at Sprouts this week (89 cents a bunch is hard to pass up!)  I love finding new ways to use it in new ways instead of just salads or chopped and tossed in with pasta.

In the last two days, here is what I came up with:

Spinach & Goat Cheese Chicken Breasts

2 chicken breasts 

1/2 bunch of fresh spinach, chopped and sauteed

1 clove garlic, minced

3 chopped mushrooms

3 tbsp goat cheese

1/2 lemon

1 cup bread crumbs (I used gluten-free crumbs)

Fresh Herbs (chopped and mixed in with bread crumbs)

Salt & Pepper

First, saute the spinach in a little olive oil.  While that is cooking, mix up the goat cheese with mushrooms, salt & pepper. Juice the lemon into the cheese mixture and stir in the spinach.  Using a sharp knife, slice the chicken breasts so there is a large pocket for filling. Spoon the filling in and close hole with toothpicks if you have some on hand. Rub olive oil on chicken breasts and dip into breadcrumb mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

                            

 

Add some fresh vegetables on the side and a filling delicious meal!

(Gluten-Free) Quick Vegetable Lasagna

3 cups chopped spinach, eggplant, mushrooms zucchini and onion (can use any veggies you want)

15 ounces ricotta cheese with a tbsp of pesto mixed in

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 jar of tomato sauce (I used portabello mushroom marinara)

Fresh shredded parmesan

8-9 brown rice lasagna noodles

While water is on its way to boil lasagna noodles,  begin chopping your veggies. I am not a big eggplant eater but I have one that grew and I have been dying to use it. Once noodles are boiling, saute veggies in some olive oil to soften and brown - but not too much.
Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of 9x13 pan. Begin layering noodles, veggies, and cheeses until you finish with one final layer of sauce and cheese. Finish with sprinkling fresh oregano on top.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes covered with foil, then 20-30 more minutes uncovered or until cheese bubbles.

I wish it didn't take so long!!

It turned out delicious but I think I would chop the veggies even smaller and add in some garlic, maybe even add more cheese!!! I was definitely inspired by one of my friend's who posted her amazing vegetable lasagna a few weeks ago and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. Then I get to have even more lasagna this weekend, because another friend is making homemade pesto lasagna! Lasagna mania?!

I think I might try to make a spinach soup later this week... If not, I will be eating spinach salad for the rest of the week! I hate letting fresh produce go to waste! 

I also did some shopping for a few new crafts I want to try... keep your eyes peeled for those soon!

Chicken and Barley Soup

I am a big, big fan of soup! I love soup for breakfast, soup after a long run, I am soup weirdo.  

I saw this in my October Cooking Light and have been wanting to try it out.

I made these changes to accommodate my own kitchen:

*I used brown rice and black barley because that is what I had on hand, but I definitely want to make it again because I love the chewy texture of wild rice! If you have never had black barley, try it! So delish

*I substituted the sage for fresh, chopped rosemary and thyme because I don't have any sage in my garden. 

*I eliminated the heavy cream because as much as I love to eat cheesy, creamy foods, I try not to cook anything with cream, half & half, etc...

I used leftover chicken from last night's dinner.

 

 
Two bowls later, this is definitely going into my regular soup rotation! 

It had the perfect amount of flavor, hearty and lite at the same time!

Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken

 For my first meal post, I thought I would keep it simple. Nothing quite like a warm comforting crockpot meal to come home to. I started out with some organic chicken breasts and coated them with olive oil, pepper and freshly chopped oregano from my garden.

 

First, I lightly browned both sides. Don't cook through, just enough to see the edges turn white.

I find this helps the chicken stay moist, instead of rubbery in the slow cooker.

 Next, I placed my browned chicken in the crockpot and chopped up a few cloves of garlic. Then I thinly sliced 2 lemons, leaving one half unsliced. Place the lemon slices on top of chicken breasts and squeeze the rest of the lemon juice into crockpot. Added some chicken stock and even added a little splash of white wine for extra flavor. Cook on low for 5-6 hours... 

Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken:

3 chicken breasts

Olive Oil

Fresh oregano

Salt & Pepper 

2 lemons (sliced, leaving 1/2 whole) 

2 cups chicken stock

2 Tbsp White wine

Enjoy over rice, with some veggies or fresh pasta! The leftovers are delicious over a salad too!