Tortellini Soup

Ever since I came across this recipe, I have been making it quite often (not by my choosing, but because my husband loves it...what doesn't he love?). It is very delicious and versatile. Like usual, I first made this recipe exactly as I found it...and it is amazing...but I have also made it substituting different kinds of canned tomatoes, adding more spinach and different types of beans...anything I change still works! I try to use whatever I have on hand, and it is amazing.

Tortellini Soup adapted from Annie's Eats

1 tbsp olive oil

½ cup onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

½ tsp dried oregano

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juices (used whole tomatoes, all I had)

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

9 oz tortellini (used spinach and cheese stuffed)

3 cups fresh baby spinach

salt and pepper

Turkey Chili

Today's weather is oh so great for chili! My husband is a huge fan of chili...me, not so much...but only because I do not like ground beef!!! So when he asked me to make chili, and this time substitute turkey for the ground beef (to make it healthier, of course!), I was a little hesitant, but it turned out great! I absolutely love this chili recipe, which calls for ground beef chuck...it even tastes good with ground turkey!

Turkey Chili adapted from Sweat Pea's Kitchen

1 lb ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup

2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

5 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 (15.5 ounce) can pinto beans, drained

1 (15.5 ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained

1 (15.5 ounce) can light red kidney beans, drained

cayenne pepper to taste

Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground turkey into the hot pot, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease. Add onion, red pepper flakes, and the cumin; cook and stir until union is tender.

Pour in the tomato soup, chicken broth, and crushed tomatoes. Season with chili powder, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes. Pour in the beans and season with cayenne pepper; simmer for another 30 minutes.

We normally have this with saltine crackers (because I'm too lazy to make cornbread!), but I figured why not make some cornbread today! Yummy!

Spinach Tomato Orzo Soup

What is it with me and easy meals? I'm still trying to do the whole "no meat day" every week, so I was excited to see this recipe in my favorite site. It is really similar to a tortellini soup I've made before. While this is a really good quick meal, I think I'll stick with my tortellini soup (recipe soon to come!). (Btw, this makes a ton of soup! If I ever make this again, I'll definitely half this recipe.) 

Spinach Tomato Orzo Soup adapted from babble.com

Olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

½ lb fresh spinach

1 – 15 oz can diced Italian tomatoes (with oregano and basil)

1 lb orzo pasta

8 cups of chicken stock

4 cups of water

Preheat a large soup pot. Drizzle with olive oil. Add onions and saute until tender. Add garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add canned tomatoes, spinach, chicken stock, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium.

Add orzo and cook for 10 minutes, or until orzo is tender. 

Mexican Tortilla Soup

This is one of my absolute favorite soups to make! Not only is it easy and fast to put together, it is also so very tasty!! I was a bit skeptical at first, seeing that it isn't really a "Mexican" dish, but I still tried it...and automatically fell in love with it. The aroma is to die for! Even my picky brother had some once (minus the veggies) and said it was good!

Mexican Tortilla Soup adapted from From The Galley serves 4-6

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 onions, chopped

½ bell pepper, green

1 jalapeno chili pepper, diced

2 chicken breasts, skinless

3 tomatoes, chopped

2 tsps cumin

4 cups chicken stock

1 can of corn

1 Tbsp tomato paste

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, sauté the onion, garlic, chili pepper, and bell pepper with olive oil until soft.

Add the chicken breasts, tomatoes, cumin, and stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. When the chicken breasts are cooked through (about 15 minutes) remove from the pot and shred (use two forks to pull apart meat).

Return the shredded chicken to the pot along with the corn and tomato paste and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

*We eat this with tortilla chips, and sometimes sprinkle some shredded cheese on it!

Pizza Margherita

So, my husband and I have been trying to cut back on eating out...and I think we have been pretty successful so far. And by so far, I mean the last 2 weeks or so! 

Being in a new town (actually, new state!), we got carried away with trying all the things! It's not like we didn't eat out before we moved...I think we actually ate out a lot more before, being that we had my family there to eat out with! Our "home town" didn't have much to offer other than your usual chain restaurants...it gets pretty boring. But as soon as we got here, we really got carried away trying all the new restaurants in the area. We are only 45 mins South East from DC, so there are many restaurants to choose from. We've gone to many here, some in Alexandria, and plenty in DC!

But it gets to be a bit expensive, and makes your clothes shrink! So we decided that we would try to keep from eating out as often. And like I said, we've been pretty successful! We didn't completely stop going out all together, we just cut back. (Tuan's friend was in town, so we HAD to go out for drinks...and you can't drink on an empty stomach! Lol! And we also have to find the right Chinese restaurant in the area!) From what I can remember, we only ate out 3 times the last 2 weeks. So that's pretty good for us. 

But even when we don't eat out, we'd get a little carried away when we cook at home. We'd eat like there's no tomorrow! There would hardly be any leftovers. But that has completely changed....our freezer is stocked with plenty of meals! There's plenty of leftovers for Tuan to take to work, and plenty to freeze for later.                                                             

We are prepared for the apocalypse!

Anyway...this week I was tired of meat. And that's hard to say because I used to not be able to get full without having meat. I HAD to have meat in every meal! It's a Mexican thing! So I wanted something easy to make, very light, and very tasty. We've been making this pizza often since we found this recipe! I used to not be a fan of tomatoes...not raw, not in chunks in my pasta sauce, not even ketchup! But lately I have been enjoying it, except for raw...I don't think I'll ever eat it raw (unless it's in a fresh salsa!). I absolutely love this pizza, it is very filling. And what I really love is that it doesn't leave me feeling stuffed, bloated, or even give me acid reflux or heart burn! 

Foil lined baking sheet! Call me lazy,
but it makes it easier to clean up!

Pizza Margherita Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Grilling 2

4 servings

1 ½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1 can (13.8-ounces) refrigerated pizza crust dough

¼ cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

8 ounces fresh mozzarella packed in water

3 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

salt

ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a small bowl, stir together oil and garlic; set aside. Lightly spray baking sheet with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Unroll dough and place on baking sheet. Press out dough to 13x9-inch rectangle. Bake in oven about 7 minutes or until crust begins to brown. Brush with garlic oil over crust, leaving a 1-inch border. Top with 2 tablespoons of the chopped basil, the mozzarella, and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Return to oven; bake for 8-10 minutes more. Top with remaining 2 tablespoons basil and serve hot.

Pozole

I’ve been craving pozole for a while now. Correction, I’ve been craving my mom’s pozole! And being that we live only 9 hours away from my parents, I can’t really have any of her pozole any time soon. She spends hours making it from scratch!! I’m not a big fan of spending hours slaving over the stove for a pot of pozole, no matter how delicious it ends up being. I mean, she goes to the Mexican store and buys the pork with bone and stuff…that just grosses me out! I don’t like dealing with stuff like that! But I know that the bone is what gives it it’s awesome flavor!

So when I came across this recipe, I was excited to see the few ingredients it required, and how little cook time it needed. I wasn’t expecting this to taste anything like home made pozole, being that it does require canned broth and tomatoes, but I figured it would come close to it. Boy was I wrong! It tastes nothing like the pozole I grew up eating at home, not even close! Don’t get me wrong, it is a very good recipe, very tasty, but it is not anywhere near authentic pozole. I know that not every recipe will be the same…but I’ve had pozole at many parties (and you know us Mexicans love to party and eat pozole!) and they all taste pretty much the same. I guess I now have to suck it up and make it from scratch!

I think napkins are the only Mexican thing I own! And I only have 2!

Pozole The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook  4 servings

2 Tbsp corn or canola oil

1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into ½-inch dice

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1½ Tbsp chili powder

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp dried oregano

3 cups (24 fl oz) chicken stock/broth

1 can (14.5oz) diced fire-roasted tomatoes, with juice

1 can (15oz) white hominy, rinsed and drained

1 jalapeño chili, seeded and diced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Avocado slices, for garnish

Sliced green (spring) onions, white and green parts, for garnish

Lime wedges and warm tortillas for serving

In a soup pot over medium heat, heat the oil. Working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan, add the pork and sauté until opaque on all sides but not browned, about 3 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the meat to a bowl and set aside.

Add the onion to the pot and sauté until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and cook, stirring to blend the spices evenly, for about 1 minute longer. Add the stock, tomatoes, hominy, jalapeño, and sautéed pork with any juices, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the pork is cooked through, about 15 minutes. If desired, test a piece of pork to ensure that it is fully cooked before serving.

To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish with the avocado slices and green onions. Serve with the lime wedges and warm tortillas alongside. Or, serve with toasted tortilla strips.

*I have never had pozole with avocado slices…I’ve never even heard of eating it with pozole, and I wasn’t about to try it now (besides, avocados are so expensive!). And we normally eat pozole with tortilla chips, not tortillas…but that’s just us. As far as garnishes, we just use chopped onion, freshly squeezed limes (or as we call it, limon!), Mexican oregano blend (I’m not a big fan of this), and shredded cabbage (not a fan either). 

Baked Ravioli

Since I have a number of cook books that have gone unused, I figured this blog would help me start trying some of them. I started with something simple to make. Tuan wanted lasagna, but I am too intimidated by it, so I figured the Baked Ravioli would be close enough; and since we're trying to do at least one vegetarian meal a week, this was the perfect recipe. Let me tell you, this was a very delicious and filling meal! at least for me it was.

Baked Ravioli from Food Everyday: Great Food Fast
serves 4-6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
   coarse salt
   fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme or oregano
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 lbs ravioli
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated parmesan

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme/oregano and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon, until the sauce is thickened and reduced to about 51/2 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook the ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted water just until they float to the top (the pasta will continue to cook in the oven). Drain the pasta; return to the post.

3. Toss the sauce with the pasta. Pour the pasta into a large gratin dish or 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle with the cheeses. Bake until golden, 20-25 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

**I did make some slight changes. I never use fresh garlic because I never use it all up before it goes bad, and it ends up being a waste of money...so i buy a bottle of pre-minced garlic...it is so much more convenient and I can never taste a difference. I also use regular salt and ground pepper (so much cheaper, and I always have those on hand). For this recipe I used the dried oregano, maybe next time I'll use Italian blend. And as far as the ravioli, I used spinach and cheese filled. Unfortunately I was impatient with the sauce, so mine ended up very watery, but it didn't affect the taste at all!