Swine Flu Soup

The Palmers gave me this book for my birthday. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who enjoys food/health. It breaks down each food and tells you how it benefits the body and the best way to cook them. Because of this book I've been trying to get more greens into my diet. I had some home made chicken stock so why not make a soup!
Ingredients:
*cooked chicken
*Red chard
*collard greens
*1/2 lemon
*1/2 diced onion
*mushrooms
*salted ham (or ham hock if you have it)
*2 tablespoons of red chili flakes
*3 cloves of crushed garlic
*salt and pepper
*parm cheese for garnish
*6 cups chicken broth



Sautee the onion and ham for at least 20 min. Then dump the rest of the ingredients in. Be sure to de-stem the collard greens. I rolled the leaves up like a cabbage roll and just cut them into strips. Simmer for and hour or 2...just keep checking the greens. It is SO not soup season. But this is very tasty!! :)

Chicken Salad 2 ways

This past weekend I boiled a chicken. I decided to make 2 different chicken salads with some of the meat. The first was a traditional chicken salad. I got this recipe from food network.
Ingredients:
*1 cup of cooked chicken
*1/4 cup mayo
*1/2 of a fresh lemon juice
*1 tablespoon mustard
*Scallions
*2 tablespoons chopped celery
*salt and LOTS of fresh ground pepper










This was great!! Very traditional flavor. The scallions really make it! Finished product:



















The second chicken salad I just made up. I wanted something with a Mexican twist. Ingredients:
*1 cup cooked chicken
*1/4 cup mayo
* 2 chipotle peppers
* 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce
*1/2 fresh lime juice
*chopped cilantro
*salt to taste











This was my FAVORITE :) you have to add lots of cilantro to cut the smokey chipotle flavor. Very, very tasty! :) Finished product:

Bruschetta Chicken

I hate tomatoes. HATE THEM. but when they are done bruschetta style I like them.
Frist I made the bruschetta mix. I chopped fresh tomatoes, LOTS of fresh basil and then added about a tablespoon of olive oil, 1 clove of chopped garlic and some salt.

Then I seasoned thinly sliced chicken breast with salt and pepper and then seared it in olive oil till the chicken was cooked.

The key to this is getting fresh mozzarella from the deli. Cut thick slices of the cheese and put this on top of the cooked chicken. Top with the bruschetta mixture on top. Place under the broiler till the cheese is melted.

Santa Fe Steak

Recently I was in McAllen and we had the best steak I've ever had at Santa Fe Steakhouse. It inspired me to make tonights dinner.
The first step is to roast the garlic. Peel the paper off the garlic, chop off the top of the bulb. Season with olive oil and then roast in a 400 oven for 30-45 min.
Before/After


Then grill the steaks to your liking. I got center cut filet and kept the seasoning very light. Only a bit of salt and a tiny bit of fresh cracked pepper.


Once the steak is done, cover with Brie cheese, and finely diced red and yellow pepper. Put this in a 400 oven till the cheese is melted. This only takes about 5-7 min. Top the finished steak with roasted garlic cloves. OH MY!!!!! so decadent and absolutely PERFECT.

Blonde Brownies

My boyfriend is taking a very important test this weekend so I wanted to make him a special treat while he studies. Junk food always helps! His favorite thing in the world is chocolate chip cookies. He doesn't like anything fancy added to them just PLAIN Nestle chocolate chip cookies. I decided to make him blonde brownies. Basically a chocolate chip cookie with a tiny twist. This was my favorite growing up.
Ingredients:
2 c flour
1/4 t baking soda
1t b powder
1 t salt
2 cups brown sugar
2/3 c butter
2 eggs slightly beaten
2 t vanilla
add one pkg chocolate chips

Cream butter and brown sugar. Add remaining wet ingredients. Sift dry ingredients and add to wet mixture. Put batter in a well greased pan and top with chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 30 min.

I had to make it a little special and since Easter is this weekend, I made Drew and his Grandad a little basket full of blonde brownie goodness!! :)

LC Rudy's style Quiche

Rudy's BBQ is not known for their breakfast tacos, but there is one directly across from my work and every once in awhile i stop in for a sausage taco. What I like so much about it is they use link sausage instead of breakfast sausage. This gave me idea for this low carb quiche.
The cast of characters:
*Link sausage
*1/2 onion
*pickled jalapenos
*cheddar cheese
*6 eggs
*1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
*salt & pepper to taste








Cut up link sausage in small pieces and brown them in a small skillet. This will give you some good cooking fat for the onions and jalapenos. Put the sausage at the bottom of a greased pie plate.


Saute the onion and jalapenos in the same pan until onions are golden.
Layer this mixture and the cheese on top of the sausage. Beat the 6 eggs with the cream. Make sure to well season them with salt and pepper. Pour on top of the quiche. You'll need to work the egg into the sausage mixture so everything is well mixed.


Bake at 350 for 30-40 min. Top with sour cream and salsa. Wow this turned out GREAT!!!!!

LC Chicken Divan

Well it's that time of year again. Time to start losing weight and getting serious about summer. So back on the Low Carb band wagon I go. I love eating low carb actually. It's when I get to cook the most and experiment in the kitchen. It's the only way I really lose weight so let the fun begin! :)

CHICKEN DIVAN
3-4 cups diced cooked chicken
20ounces frozen broccoli florets
4 ounce can mushrooms, drained
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
3 ounces fresh mushrooms, minced
1 stalk celery, minced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
Salt, to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon curry powderd

Season chicken breasts. Sear in olive oil and then bake till done.

Cook the broccoli according to package directions for 7-8 minutes; drain.
In a large non-stick skillet, sauté the fresh mushrooms, celery and onion in the butter until soft and lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper. Add the broth; bring to a boil and reduce by half. Gradually whisk in the mayonnaise until well blended. Stir in the curry powder.

In a greased 9x13" glass baking dish, mix the chicken, broccoli and canned mushrooms. Season to taste. Mix in the cheese.

Pour in the mushroom sauce and mix well. Cover with foil and bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes until bubbly and a little browned on top.

Yum! This is really good, but the sauce is really time consuming. The curry really makes it!