New Year's Pantry Challenge, The name of the game is flexibility, Day 8

Today's Menu:

Breakfast:
Fruit Smoothie (Persimmon, Orange Juice, Raw Milk, Kiwi, Flaxseed)
Leftover french toast
Scrambled eggs

Lunch:
Wheat Berry Salad
Sliced Apple
Sourdough Toast
Hard-boiled Eggs

Snacks:
Raisins

Dinner:
Sweet Potato Fries
Sourdough Toast with Marinara & Ricotta Cheese
Sliced Oranges
Chocolate Truffle Peppermint Cookies

It's kind of funny that I wrote about my Meal Plan yesterday because today I already rearranged my plan. I guess that's why it's important to have wiggle room; life happens. Tonight I had my Writer's Group, which meets once a month. Our family was invited to a Monday Night Football party as well. I sent Ericlee and the girls to the football fiesta with Sweet Potato Fries (since they were to bring finger foods to share). Meanwhile, I ditched my plan to make Potato-Cheese Soup and opted for a simple sandwich with leftover marinara sauce and ricotta cheese I had in the fridge. This afforded me some extra time to work on my writing and bake some cookies for the ladies in my group. (Yeah, I know Christmas is over but my tree is still up and I needed one last hurrah.)

I decided to work on the Potato-Cheese Soup tonight before bed so it would be ready for lunch tomorrow when our friends the Toslands are coming over. The winter months are a perfect time for experimenting with soups and chilis; they also make great leftover for lunches throughout the week. I scored a bag of potatoes at Fresh & Easy a few weeks ago for 33 cents. Yep, you read that right. I'm all about the deal.

I have a fabulous recipe for Potato Cheese Soup that my friend gave me years ago. It's something like what they serve at Marie Callender's restaurant. As I looked over the recipe, I realized I didn't have the chicken broth it called for, and I didn't want to use the 16 oz. of cheese it required. (My girls are little mice and I have to ration out my cheese this week.) I decided it was time to make my own Potato Soup Recipe with the ingredients in the pantry. A creamy, chowder-like soup sounded like the perfect comfort food for a cold winter's afternoon.

If you're the type who likes to follow a recipe line by line, here you go. Otherwise, you can review the basic idea and use what's in your pantry or winter garden. I can imagine leeks or chopped kale or even sweet potatoes adding something interesting to this recipe. Unfortunately, I didn't have any of those. I chose to make the cheese my soup's garnish so I didn't have to use up expensive cheese but still got that comfort-food-melty-goodness on top. (My girls were fooled.) Enjoy the journey.

Potato-Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1 large yellow onion, sliced
-6 cups or about 3 lbs. russet potatoes, cubed
-1 purple carrot, chopped
-1 orange carrot, chopped
-1 teaspoon paprika
-2 teaspoons salt
-1 teaspoon black pepper
-1 teaspoon celery seed
-2 tablespoons dried parsley
-3 cups water
-4 cups milk
-4 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
-1 15-oz. can corn or 2 cups fresh or frozen corn

Garnish:
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated

1. Saute onions in 2 tablespoons olive oil.
2. Add potatoes and carrots. Sweat in pot about 15 minutes.
3. When vegetables are tender, add water and spices (paprika, salt, pepper, celery seed, parsley).
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Meanwhile, stir together flour and milk. Add to soup pot and boil 5 minutes.
6. Lower heat and simmer until liquid thickens. Add corn.
7. Serve with garnishes sprinkled on top.

Turkey Leftovers: So Many Options, So Many Choices

The big Turkey Day is coming and it's time to rev up those menus. I've been perusing food magazines and recipe files for weeks for new healthy spins on the traditional Thanksgiving dishes. But to be honest my fave part of this holiday is not the Thanksgiving meal at all; it's what I get to create with all the lovely leftovers. Since some of you will probably be shopping and making your menus in the next few days, consider a few extra ingredients for these "Luscious Leftover" dishes.

Last year, we turned our leftover turkey and veggies into Turkey-Lime Tortilla Soup. Don't throw that turkey carcass away. I know, I know, some of you are flinching because I just said the word carcass. Making turkey stock isn't as hard as you think. It's basically throwing all the bones from the turkey carving into a pot and adding a few spices. This is a great money-saving tip as well. If the turkey-lime flavors are not your style, you can use the turkey stock for any of your favorite soups.

This year I want to try out a Turkey Pot Pie and a White Bean Turkey Chili. Both of these are great opportunities to use leftover turkey and fresh vegetables with a healthy twist. I've been working up this pot pie recipe for a few weeks now. I love homemade crust. This whole wheat crust is great during winter when oranges are in season. If you want to save time, pick up some ready-made pie crusts from the freezer section at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. The key to this pie is using the vegetables and ingredients that are in season. For winter, broccoli, potatoes and carrots are a great choice. In summer, try corn or zuchinni. In spring, break out the fresh peas or asparagus.

Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients:

Crust: (Best if made ahead; should be enough for two pie crusts or the top & bottom of an 8x8 Pyrex dish for pot pie)
-2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 cup + 1/2 tablespoon organic butter
-2 teaspoons grated orange peel
-1/4 cup cold orange juice
-1 tablespoon cold water

Filling:
-1/3 cup organic butter
-1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/4 teaspoon black pepper
-1/2 teaspoon paprika
-1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder (or chili powder or red pepper flakes, depending on how much spice you desire)
-1 teaspoon parsley
-1 3/4 cups organic cage-free chicken broth
-2/3 cup raw milk
-1/2 cup onions, chopped
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-2 cups turkey or chicken, shredded and cooked
-1 cup carrots (or diced potatoes or corn), chopped
-1 cup broccoli, chopped (or peas)
-1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Prepare pie crusts. If making the homemade crust, measure out flour and salt. Cut butter into dry mixture and use pastry blender or large fork to blend until forms pea-sized balls.
2. Add orange peel, water and orange juice and mix together until dough can be formed into two large discs. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
3. Chop and prepare all vegetables.
4. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
5. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir in paprika, chipotle pepper and parsley. Cook until mixture bubbles (approximately 2-3 minutes).
6. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling and stir continuously for one minute.
7. Stir in turkey, cheese and vegetables. Remove from heat.
8. Roll out pie crusts into shape of your pot pie dish. (I like to use an 8x8 pyrex but you can use a round, deep pie dish or double the recipe and use a 9x13 for a larger family or leftovers.)
9. Ease pastry into dish and line edges. Pour in filling.
10. Top with second pie crust and turn edges of pastry under or flute. (Hint: Even if your pie crust is crumbly or doesn't lay perfectly on top you can still use it. Just dump all the crust & crumbs on top of your pie.)
11. Bake about 35 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Monday Pantry Challenge: Chicken Cacciatore

What's for Dinner:
Baby greens salad with Fuyu persimmons, Feta Cheese & Almonds (Our garden & Farmer's market) 
with Champagne Pear salad dressing (Trader Joe's)
Mama Maria's Chicken Cacciatore (recipe below)
Rotini Whole Wheat Pasta (Trader Joe's)

Today is the official launch of our Great Pantry Challenge. We skipped our grocery shopping for this week in an effort to save money, live out of our pantry and contemplate the abundance we are blessed with in the United States. If you're just tuning in, find out more details here.

We just returned from a weekend hanging out with my brother and his family in Los Angeles. Since most of our weekend meals were provided by them, we'll say that tonight's dinner is our starting point for reflection. Our meal began with a Baby Greens Salad. The greens are the first we have ever harvested from our own garden. No, we didn't plan for them to be ready today. We have been aspiring to garden for years but never really got around to it. A friend helped us build planter boxes from Sunset magazine in June. Then we had to wait until we returned from a month-long trip to Haiti before we could plant.

Our 3-year-old picked out seeds at the local garden store for bok choy (her fave), a variety of greens (for salads) and a mix of sunflowers. We also plan to do carrots. We finally planted the seeds about six weeks ago and then waited. We've been watering (when we remember) and checking on the plants every few days. Finally on Friday we were able to harvest our first two bunches of bok choy and then today a handful of greens was ready. This was a perfect quantity for a salad. We sliced up a fuyu persimmon and sprinkled feta cheese on top. The "fuyu" persimmon is like an orange, squatty tomato and firm when ripe. These are great in place of apples or pears in your fave dishes. We have a few fuyus left from our last farmer's market trip (October 17). We pretty much always have feta cheese or goat cheese in our fridge so we added that with a handful of whole almonds we had from a local farm.

Our main entree was Chicken Cacciatore, an Italian dish I learned to make from my mom. This comfort food dish melds together the flavors of onions, green peppers, tomatoes and black olives with tender chicken. We only had frozen chicken thighs so I substituted them for the usual chicken breasts. I also had to ditch the mushrooms since we didn't have any and I threw in some fresh zucchini instead. I stock up on canned organic tomatoes (when they're not in season) and sauce from Costco at the start of each month. The great thing about this meal is that I actually made it last Thursday to feed my family (including my parents). We had enough to feed our family (of 3 minus the baby) tonight when we rolled in from L.A. and even more for at least one lunch leftover. I love making meals that I can freeze or refrigerate extra portions for another meal. I try to make at least one of these kinds of meals a week so I can save time on another busy night.

A note from our Nutrition Guy (aka my hubby, Ericlee):

Tonight's pasta was whole wheat "rotini" (curly-Qs) from Trader Joe's. We try to eat whole wheat pastas in place of the typical enriched pastas. Since Bible times wheat has played an important role in our diets. Today, we seldom think about where pastas and bread come from or what is used to make it. The life of a wheat kernel begins once it is broken open through a process called milling. Essential nutrients immediately begin to oxidize when the kernel is milled. Within 72 hours of milling, 90% of more than 30 nutrients have oxidized or disappear.

Looking back in history, the 1920s brought new technology which allowed enterprising millers to separate wheat components. They removed the germ, germ oil, and bran, and the remaining white flour could be stored forever. Now white flour was accessible to the common person and not just to royalty and the wealthy. White flour also became a status symbol; the whiter the flour, the richer the household. But while some people were feeling rich, they were eating white breads and pastas with very few nutrients and thus were getting sick. In the 1940s, the U.S. government made it mandatory that some nutrients be returned to flour so the large mill companies “enriched” the flour by replacing 3 vitamins and 1 mineral.

For more details about grains and personal grain mills, read Grains of Truth by Donna Spann or check out her web site.

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:

3 lbs. cut –up chicken pieces

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cage-free eggs, well beaten

1/4 cup raw milk

1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Sauce:

1 29 oz. can organic diced tomatoes

1 15 oz. can organic tomato sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves, crushed

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil

1 green pepper cut up in 1 in.x 2 in. slices

3 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1. Wash chicken and pat dry.
2. Heat oil to medium heat in large skillet.
3. Mix flour with salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and garlic in a plastic bag and shake together.
4. Combine eggs, milk, and parsley in a shallow dish. Shake chicken 2 pieces at a time, coating all sides. Roll in egg mixture and place skin side down in skillet. Brown all sides, turning pieces as necessary with tongs (about 20 minutes).
5. Sauce: While chicken is browning, sauté onions in a Dutch oven a few minutes, then add peppers and garlic.
6. Add all other ingredients of sauce and cook on low until chicken is browned. Carefully add pieces of chicken to sauce.
7. Cover tightly and cook on low for 30 to 45 minutes or until thickest part of meat is fork tender. Add a small amount of water if sauce becomes too thick. Chicken Cacciatore may be served plain or over cooked pasta of your choice.

Recipe of the Week: Gouda Mac & Cheese & All Your Leafy Greens

We tried out this recipe for our "Deceptively Delicious" Cooking Club on Saturday. All the recipes had to include some kind of "hidden" veggies. This one is my kicked-up version of an old classic. Some restaurants might call this "Adult Mac & Cheese" because of the fancy cheese and greens. I say feed it to your kids and let them enjoy the tasty benefits of a homemade comfort food. Our family could eat off this dish for days - great leftovers for lunches.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs or 1 cup Trader Joe's Fried Onion Pieces (These onions are like the kind used on green bean casserole but TJ's brand doesn't use all the nasty preservatives like MSG and other chemicals found in other brands.) do.

1 8-ounce package uncooked whole wheat pasta (We love rotini - the curly noodles - because they hold the sauce well.)

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup shallots or green onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups milk

3 tablespoons ground flaxseed, optional

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup smoked gouda cheese (or cheese of your choice), shredded

1/2 cup parmesan, grated

3 cups spinach, kale or swiss chard, coarsely chopped (frozen or fresh)

Olive oil spray

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Boil water for pasta, cook and strain.

3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet melt butter of medium heat.

4. Add chopped shallots or green onions and garlic and cook about 1 minute until translucent.

5. Add flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in flaxseed, salt, pepper and milk.

6. Bring mixture to a boil, whisking until thick.

7. Remove from heat and add gouda and parmesan cheese. Stir until melted.

8. Spray 2-quart casserole dish with olive oil spray. Mix cooked pasta and greens in casserole dish. Pour cheese sauce over top.

9. Sprinkle top with bread crumbs or fried onions.

10. Bake approximately 15 minutes until breadcrumbs/onions are browned and sauce is bubbly.

Serves 8-10.