Week 32 Recipes & Shopping List Notes

NOTES
• This is the second week of formatting the posts a bit differently. You will see 7 posts per shopping list - the first one is general notes about the week's recipes, the next 5 are the recipes and the final post is the shopping list that corresponds to the recipes.
• I will be taking the next few weeks off as I will be traveling a bit for work. This will also give me some time to do some more organizing and work on the recipe index.
• See recipes from last January and February here.
• If you missed it, see the recipe posted on Wednesday for soft oatmeal raisin cookies - these are REALLY good.

Recipe 1, Week 32: Chicken and Roasted Poblano Soup

NOTES
• This soup is packed with flavor!
• Modified from Rachael Ray
• I did steps 1-3 ahead of time. Step 1 should defintely be done ahead of time as the chicken needs to boil for about an hour. Steps 2-3 can be done the night or morning before you want to eat the soup to make a quick prep when you want to eat.
• The soup freezes great so make a double batch!
• Serve with homemade cheddar biscuits (see Recipe 1.2 - the post below this one).


INGREDIENTS

For the poached chicken:

• 2 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken breast
• 2 ribs celery, quartered
• 1 onion, peeled and halved
• 2 carrots, peeled and quartered
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 lime, sliced

For the soup:

• 6 large poblano peppers (dark green pepper - see here for picture)
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 2 large (1 1/2 to 2 pounds) starchy potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1ish cup defrosted corn kernels
• 1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped (optional) or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• Salt and pepper
• Garnishes: lime wedges, corn tortilla chips, fresh chopped cilantro, etc.

DIRECTIONS

1. In large soup pot, cover chicken and poaching ingredients (celery through lime slices) with about 2 1/2 to 3 quarts water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Simmer and poach 1 hour. Remove chicken breasts to a plate to cool. Peel and remove bones from chicken and slice the breast meat. Strain the poaching liquid through a sieve and reserve. Toss the cooked veggies.

2. Preheat the broiler. Place poblano and red bell peppers on a baking sheet covered with foil and broil and turn until skins are evenly blackend all over. Place peppers in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam peppers and loosen flesh from skin for 5 minutes. Peel off blackened skin, remove seeds, and chop. Puree in food processor with a little reserved chicken stock until smooth.

3. In a small pot, cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Salt water and cook potatoes until very soft. Drain and mash (either with a potato masher or in your food processor) until very smooth with some of the reserved stock. Add to pureed peppers.

4. In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add corn, garlic, jalepeño (if using), coriander and cumin, and stir a few minutes over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and thin soup to desired consistency with reserved poaching liquid. Add chicken, salt and pepper to taste and cook to warm the meat through. Adjust seasonings as necessary again (I had to add quite a bit of salt). If freezing, let soup cool and pack in freezer bags or containers.

5. Serve with desired garnishes.

Recipe 1.2, Week 32: Cheddar Biscuits

NOTES
• Serve these biscuits with Chicken and Roasted Poblano Soup this week!
• You can mix them up and bake them in just 20 minutes!

INGREDIENTS
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/4 cup coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar
• 3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Add cheese and toss to coat.
3. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir just until a dough forms (dough will be wet and sticky like a thick/chunky pancake batter). Drop biscuit dough onto an ungreased baking sheet in large mounds. Bake until tops are light brown, about 10-15 min.

Recipe 2, Week 32: Roasted Eggplant & Red Pepper Pizza

NOTES
• Pizza can be an easy weeknight meal! I make pizza dough and freeze it in ziplock bags. Before I head to work in the morning, I set a frozen dough in a greased bowl covered with plastic wrap in the fridge. It thaws in the fridge and when I get home, I remove it to come to room temp (15-30 min) then roll out on a lightly floured surface and place on a greased pizza pan. Top, bake and enjoy! See here for my homemade thin crust recipe.


INGREDIENTS
• 1/2 med eggplant, peeled and chopped

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 sweet onions, thinly sliced
• 1 c pizza sauce
• 1 1/2 c shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 c chopped roasted red peppers (or roast your own by placing a whole red pepper just under the broiler in your oven. Roast and turn until blackened on all sides. Place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap for 5 minutes. Peel off blackened skin, remove seeds and chop)
• 1 c crumbled feta cheese
• 1 pizza crust (see here for how to make your own)


DIRECTIONS
1. Cover a baking sheet with foil and brush with olive oil. Toss chopped eggplant with oiland spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 10-12 min or until lightly browned; set aside.
2. In a large pot, melt butter over med heat. Add onion, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to med-high and cook, stirring frequently until caramelized; set aside. See here for how to caramelize onions.
3. Spread pizza sauce over crust; sprinkle with 1 c mozzarella cheese. Top evenly with eggplant, onions, roasted peppers and a little salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and feta cheese.
4. Bake at 425 for 12-15 min.

Recipe 3, Week 32: Ravioli Casserole

Taste of Home Photo

NOTES
• I made this ahead of time and stored in fridge until ready to cook. However, I think this caused the ravioli to stick together so I would recommend making before actually wanting to serve it. Allow about 20-30 minutes to prep then 35 minutes to cook.
 
INGREDIENTS
• 1 pkg (about 25 oz) frozen or refrigerated cheese ravioli
• 1/4 c. butter, cubed
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 c. milk
• 1/4 c. white cooking wine
• 8-10 leaves chopped (or cut thinly with a kitchen scissors) basil
• 2 c. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 c. marinara or spaghetti sauce
 
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour and salt until smooth. Gradually add milk and white wine. Bring to a boil and cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in basil, 1/2 c. mozzarella and 1/4 c. Parmesan. Set aside.
2. In a large pot, cook ravioli until al dente (a minute shy of package directions; important thing is to NOT overcook).
3. Drain ravioli and toss with white sauce mixture. Transfer to a greased casserole dish (13x9). Top with half of remaining mozzarella and marinara sauce then sprinkle with remaining  mozzarella and Parmesan. 4. Cover and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Uncover, bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe 4, Week 32: Cream of Tomato Soup

My picture didn't turn out so here's one similar to how mine looked from foodnetwork.com

NOTES
• Modified from The New Basics Cookbook
• This soup needs to simmer for about an hour on the stove. Make the night before or morning of (do not add cream until end) and store in fridge until ready to reheat and add cream.

INGREDIENTS
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large cans (28-35 oz each) plum tomatoes, with their juice (or whole tomatoes)
• 8 large fresh basil leaves, slivered (use your kitchen scissors to thinly slice) OR 1-2 tbsp prepared pesto
• Pinch of sugar (takes the bitterness out of the canned tomatoes)
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 4 c. chicken broth
• 2 c. heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS
1. Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic. Cook over medium heat until veggies are tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes with their juice, basil (if using pesto instead, do not add until the end), sugar and salt (start with 2 tsp), red pepper flakes and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes then add the chicken broth and slowly bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, partially ocver and simmer for 50 minutes.
3. Puree the soup in batches, in a blender or food processor. (If freezing, stir in the pesto (if not using basil) and freeze. To reheat, thaw, reheat and stir in 2 c. cream, adjust seasonings and heat through.) If eating immediately, return pureed soup to pan and add pesto (if not using basil) and cream. Heat through and adjust seasonings. (May need to add several more teaspoons of salt.)