~ Egg Drop Soup ~

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth

6-8 eggs, lightly beaten

1-2 green onions, chopped small

Sea salt & pepper to taste

Directions: In a soup pot bring your chicken broth to a boil. As you bring it to a boil toss in your green onions and the sea salt & pepper. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Once you have the seasonings how you want them and the broth is boiling, remove it from the heat. You’ll need help with the next step. Have one person slowly pour the eggs through a fork into the soup, while the other person whisks the whole time (do not stop!). Keep whisking for another minute after the eggs are all in. Whisk slowly for bigger pieces of egg or faster for smaller pieces. Serve immediately. ~ Chef ~

~ Colorado Chowder ~

Ingredients:

3 T. unsalted butter

2 cups of onion, diced

2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. dried basil

2 bay leaves

2 cups of water

2 (15-oz) cans of whole kernal corn with liquid

1 (12-oz) can of evaporated milk

Directions: Dice the onion and peel the potatoes. Melt butter over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes until onions are soft. While the onions are cooking, cut potatoes into one-inch cubes. After the onions have softened, add the potatoes, salt, pepper, basil, bay leaves, and water to the pot and stir well. Cover the pot and increase heat to medium-high. Cook for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, you should be able to easily stab the potatoes with a fork, but they should not be totally soft. Add the corn and evaporated milk and stir well. Cover and bring just to boiling. Remove from the heat and remove the lid. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving. ~ Chef ~

~ Chunky Tomato Soup ~

Ingredients:
1 quart tomatoes, cubed
3 cups vegetable broth
½ stick butter
2 cups onions, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 bunch of basil, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
~~~~~

Directions: Sauté veggies in the butter then add in the tomatoes, basil and broth and simmer for ten minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Then place the soup into a blender briefly leaving it a little chunky. Place back into your pot and add your salt and pepper.  Heat until desired temperature. Place in bowl and garnish with 1” cubed home-made croutons and serve. ~ Chef ~

~*~ Sweet Potato Pancakes ~*~

Ingredients:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 Tablespoons evaporated cane juice *
Pinch of salt
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 egg
1 1/2 Tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
maple syrup

*  NOTE:  Evaporated cane juice is harvested from sugar cane also. It is less refined, so it remains a light tan color and retains some of the nutrients found in sugar cane juice. It is processed by boiling to evaporate most of the water in the juice. Organic evaporated cane juice is made from sugar cane raised according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture's organic standards, produced without using most conventional pesticides, synthetic fertilizers or sewage, bioengineering or ionizing radiation.

Directions: In a medium bowl, combine the flours, evaporated cane juice, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In a small bowl, combine milk, egg, canola oil and buttermilk and add to the flour mixture. Add the mashed sweet potatoes and mix just until well combined. Coat a non-stick skillet or griddle with non-stick spray. Heat pan or griddle on medium heat until hot. Pour 3 Tablespoons of batter onto griddle and cook until the top of each pancake is bubbling and the bottom is brown. Turn and brown the other side. Repeat with remaining batter. Top with your favorite maple syrup and Enjoy!  ~ Chef ~

~ Simple Spinach Dip ~

Ingredients:

1 (10 oz) container of frozen chopped spinach –

defrost and squeeze out all the liquid

1 (2 5 oz) can of sliced water chestnuts –

diced into small pieces

1 (8 oz) container of cottage cheese –

blend in a blender until smooth and creamy

1 packet ranch dressing

Directions:  

Mix well and eat! 

How simple is that? 

Great for the Playoffs and the SuperBowl. 

~ Chef ~

~ Black-eyed Pea Salad ~

Ingredients:
2 cans (15 ounces each) black-eye peas (without pork)
1 cup frozen yellow whole-kernel corn
2 stalks celery
1 medium red bell pepper
½ pound thinly sliced Virginia-baked deli ham
½ small onion
1/3 cup V-8 juice
2 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or more to taste

Directions:  Pour the black-eyed peas into a large collander, rinsing the can as necessary to remove all of the peas. Pour corn on top of the peas and rinse under cool tap water for about 1 minute. Set aside to drain.  In a large bowl, rinse the celery and cut into ¼-inch dice.  Seed the bell pepper and cut into ¼-inch dice and add to the bowl. Now add the drained corn and peas to the bowl.  Coarsely chop the ham into bite-size pieces and add to the bowl. Peel and mince the onion and add it to the bowl.  To make the dressing: pour the V-8 juice, vinegar, oil, mustard, garlic powder and black pepper into a small jar with a lid. Shake to complete mixed.  Pour dressing over salad and stir gently until well combined.  Serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve.  ~ Chef ~

~ Glazed Turnips ~

I am finally back!  BLOGGER decided they would do an upgrade.  "Supposed" to make things better ... for whom I'm not sure.  All it did was make us users have to work harder to post.  Sometimes things are better off left alone!

 

Today, we are talking TURNIPS.  Yep, it is that time of year to go pluck some turnips.  Now here in the South we do not eat our turnips this way, but this recipe caught my attention.  If you get a chance to prepare it before I do shoot me an email and let me know how it turned out.

Glazed Turnips

Adapted from Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” 

INGREDIENTS:

4 large white turnips (about 2 lbs)

1 cup chicken stock

4 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp Honey

1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

DIRECTIONS:  Peel the turnips and cut them into 6 wedges. Heat a saucepan large enough to hold them all in one layer over medium high heat. When it is hot, add in the turnips (you won’t need any oil), then immediately add the chicken broth. Cut the butter in 6-8 pieces and dot it around the pan.  When the broth reaches a vigorous simmer, turn the heat down slightly to medium. Let the turnips and broth bubble away, for about 20 minutes, tossing occasionally to evenly cook both sides of each wedge.  In a small bowl whisk the vinegar and honey. After about 20 minutes, there should be little, if any, buttery broth left and the turnips should be fork tender.  If they are not tender yet add in a couple of tablespoons of broth and continue to braise until they are.  Make sure they do not run out of broth as they will burn quickly.  Once they are fork tender stir in the honey and vinegar mixture. The turnips will begin to take on a rich brown color as they soak up the glaze. Continue to cook over medium heat, tossing the turnips often, to evenly glaze them and carmelize the sugar in the honey, 5-7 minutes.  They are done when the glaze is thick and syrupy and coats each wedge of turnip well. Serve immediately.  ~ Chef ~