Chicken and Noodles

The recent yo-yo-ing weather patterns have made it a ripe season for the cold and flu viruses, and to combat them we need all the help we can get - vigilant hand-washing, zealous tissue use, and gobs of chicken noodle soup. It’s the perfect cold-weather comfort food, and paired with 7-Up is the quintessential cure-all for those pesky winter ailments!

I absolutely LOVE my mother-in-law’s homemade chicken noodle soup. The way she traditionally prepares it involves roasting a whole fresh chicken in a slow-cooker with chopped celery, carrots, and onion, which results in really tender meat and deliciously flavored veggies. Unfortunately, I usually don’t have the time (or patience!) to prepare it the “real” way, so I take a few shortcuts! Chopping the vegetables ahead of time (it’s always handy to keep a carrot-celery-onion mix at the ready!) and starting with a pre-cooked rotisserie-style chicken really cuts down on prep time for this classic dish.

Ingredients: (~6-8 servings)

~4 cups cooked chicken, shredded (I usually get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and peel all the meat off, discarding the skin and bones; however, chicken breast would also work - see this post for tips on cooking chicken breast)
1lb carrots, peeled and sliced

1 large onion, chopped

1 celery heart (~6-8 stalks), sliced

12-16oz egg noodles (I usually use the Amish-style ones for this dish)

4-5 cups low-sodium chicken broth

~1-2 TBSP chopped basil leaves (I used dried)

~1 TBSP oil

~1 TBSP ketchup (optional)

~1 TBSP lemon juice

Salt, pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot. Sauté carrots, onion, and celery until soft, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Add the basil and lemon juice, and for a tangy kick, add ketchup.

While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the egg noodles according to the directions on the noodle package. I typically cook them just shy of al dente, since they will be added to the soup and will cook a little more in the broth.

Add the shredded chicken and egg noodles to the vegetables, then pour in the chicken broth and mix well (start with 4 cups broth, then add as needed for desired soup-iness).  Let simmer about 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and dig in!

~ Karla


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Cabbage Soup

The unpredictability of midwestern weather is truly exemplified by the unexpected summer thunderstorms. It can pour down all morning making you walk through deep streams of water to get to work, and by the time you leave for home, the sun would have dried everything up so well, it’d make you wonder if the rain that had completely drenched you from head to toe, really happened - well, unless your feet are still frozen cold from wearing wet shoes all day! Oh well.. I really do like rain, so no complaints!

It’s those rainy days that make me crave a comforting bowl of soup. As much as I like indulging in creamy soups such as broccoli-cheddar or tomato basil bisque, nothing beats a delicious hot broth-based soup. I make cabbage soup often, adding whatever else I have on hand. Corn is one of my favorite things to add to this soup to get a burst of juicy sweetness every now and then. Sometimes I add broccoli to the same soup, even chunks of potato or some boiled chickpeas. The key to tying all these flavorful ingredients together is the broth that’s infused with ginger, garlic and bay leaves. You could also add peppercorns, or cloves if you prefer. I like to make my own vegetable stock*, but a readymade one or even water could be used in this soup.

Ingredients: (~4-5 servings)

½ medium cabbage - chopped

½ - ¾ cup chopped onion

½ red pepper - chopped
1 small carrot - thinly sliced
¼ cup corn kernels (~½ ear of corn)
2 bay leaves
1 garlic clove - minced
½ inch piece of ginger - grated
Salt and/or soy sauce - to taste

~3 cups water/stock* (See note at the bottom for making homemade stock)

½ - 1 tsp oil

Chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

Heat a little bit of oil, add onions, pepper, ginger, garlic and bay leaves, and sauté over medium-high heat until onions are translucent. Add corn, pepper, cover and cook for a minute until veggies are slightly softened. Add cabbage, mix well and saute for a few minutes. Add 2 cups of vegetable stock or water, season with salt or soy sauce and ground black pepper. Soy sauce is especially a good choice if you’re using water instead of stock. Increase the heat, let the soup come to a boil and add more stock as necessary. Add chopped parsley if desired.

 

Serve hot alongside some hearty toasted bread or a light salad with fresh greens.

~Gayatri

*Note: An easy way to make vegetable stock at home is to save vegetable scraps in an airtight bag or container in the freezer. That way, when you need some stock, all you have to do is add them to water, let it boil and reduce for some time, strain and use in your recipe. I’ve even used ice cube trays to freeze extra stock. The good thing about this is that you can control what you put in it and can even flavor it as you like - I like to add ginger and/or some whole spices when I’m making the stock.

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Ginger, Honey and Lemon Glazed Carrots

Carrots are not one of my favorite foods, but I’m a sucker for beautiful fresh vegetables. So when I saw these lovely carrots at the Original Farmers’ Market in Indianapolis last weekend, I was drawn to them. The vendor offered me a carrot to taste, and I was sold after just one bite!

 

These were very sweet and tender carrots, unlike what I typically buy from the produce section of a store. I decided to keep them whole and roast them in a pan with a ginger, lemon and honey glaze. The quantities for these ingredients can be adjusted to your taste. Since I was cooking these on the stove top and not in the oven, I steamed the carrots first to tenderise them before pan roasting.

Ingredients:

4-6 fresh carrots

1 tsp olive oil

1-1.5 tsp grated ginger

1/2 tsp honey

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Salt, ground black pepper for seasoning

Chopped cilantro for garnish

Trim the stems close to the carrot top. Wash the carrots well and use a knife to scrape off any impurities from the surface. Steam the carrots until tender (~10 min).

Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add ginger and the carrots. Drizzle honey and lemon juice. Season with salt & pepper. Toss well to coat the carrots. Cover and cook for a minute or two until the the carrots are browned on one side. Turn them gently, then cover and cook again until browned on the other side. Take the pan off the heat, squeeze more lemon juice on top if you’d like, and serve garnished with chopped cilantro.

~Gayatri

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Ginger, Honey and Lemon Glazed Carrots - a delicious dose of Vitamin A!http://cooksofcakeandkindness.blogspot.com/2015/12/ginger-honey-and-lemon-glazed-carrots.html

Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Thursday, December 17, 2015

Ricotta pancakes with carrots and chives

This recipe is a result of a whatever I had available in the fridge on one particular evening, when I got home from work and was too hungry to make anything that needed more than 15 minutes total. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed these soft fluffy pancakes speckled with little bits of carrots and chives. The creaminess of ricotta cheese elevates both the taste and the texture.

Ingredients:

¼ cup ricotta cheese (I used low fat)

1 egg

¼-½ cup milk

½ cup of whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour)

2-3 tbsp finely grated carrots

1-2 tbsp chopped chives

1 tbsp Chia/Flax Seed powder (optional)

salt

pepper

~1 tsp oil/butter for frying the pancakes

Beat egg, add ricotta, carrots, chives and mix well. Add flour and milk (adjust milk quantity till you get desired consistency to make pancakes). Add chia/flax seed powder (optional). Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

In a pan over medium-low heat, add a couple drops of oil. Add about ¼ cup of batter. Cover and cook for about a minute until the bottom is cooked and the pancake can be lifted without breaking. Uncover and flip the pancake. Let the other side cook for a minute or so. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serving suggestions:

1. Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with chopped chives.

2. Serve warm topped with a poached egg. The runny yolk makes for a wonderful sauce.

3. Make a “sandwich” with two pancakes. I did this with the leftovers as lunch for the next day (it reheats nicely in the microwave in just a few seconds). For the filling, I thinly spread sour cream on one side, avocado on the other side, and the filling was thick and chunky tomato sauce that I had leftover from something else. You can get creative with the fillings.

Any way you choose to eat it, it will make a delicious snack/meal!

~Gayatri

Carrot (cake) oatmeal

What better way to start your Easter morning than with some carrots? That might not sound as exciting, but how about carrot cake? Here’s a recipe for something just as delicious but in the form of a healthy breakfast. This carrot cake flavored oatmeal is made with old fashioned oats (I like the texture better that way), but it can be easily adapted for quick oats.

Ingredients:

½ cup old fashioned oats

¼-½ cup finely grated carrots (I used a heaping ¼ cup) - If you buy shredded carrots from the store, you can pulse them in the food processor a few times to make them finer.

½ cup milk

¾ cup water (the milk/water proportions can be adjusted to your liking)

2 tsp brown sugar

~⅛ tsp cinnamon (adjust to taste)

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of cardamom (optional)

1 tbsp raisins

chopped walnuts/pecans (optional)

honey (optional)

Heat milk and water in a saucepan. Add carrots and let it come to a boil. Add oats, sugar, spices, and cook on medium heat stirring occasionally. After a minute or two add the raisins. Cook till the oats are cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed (about 5 minutes). Add more milk or water if required.

If using quick oats, cook the carrots with milk and/or water for a few minutes. Then cook the oats with the carrot + liquid mixture along with sugar, spices and raisins.

Serve warm topped with chopped nuts and a drizzle of honey.

Wish you all a happy Easter!

~Gayatri