Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a family recipe for the magical soup that will cure what ails you!

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

8 cups prepared chicken broth (there are low-sodium options)

½ teaspoon black pepper

3-4 cups cooked chicken, chopped

6 oz egg noodles

salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken broth and pepper; bring to a boil. Stir in the chicken. Add the noodles. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the noodles are tender, about 10 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Veganaise Cole Slaw

1 cup Veganaise 

1/4 teaspoon celery seed 

2 tablespoons sugar 

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar 

1 teaspoon ground mustard 

16 oz bag preshredded cole slaw

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Add a 16 oz bag of preshredded cole slaw and toss well. Chill to blend the flavors before serving. This cole slaw also makes a great topping for BBQ sandwiches.

Cold Couscous Salad

I first made this salad one hot summer when I was in graduate school. It's healthy, crunchy, and light. You can use whatever flavor of couscous you like best.

Ingredients:
1 box couscous
1 can corn
1 small to medium red onion, chopped
6-8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or to taste)
1/4 cup light olive oil (or to taste)
kosher salt to taste

Cook the couscous according to box directions. Place cooked couscous into large bowl to cool. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Put in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to blend.

Sauteed Chicken in Tarragon Cream Sauce

This chicken recipe uses tarragon in the cream sauce, which has a really nice, rather sweet flavor. In place of heavy cream I've used skim milk in this recipe and it was good, it just had fewer calories. 

Chicken:
2 tbsp butter
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 

Sauce:
2 tbsp yellow or white onion, chopped
1 tbsp flour
1 cup dry white wine
1 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a large pan, heat butter over medium heat. Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper and add it to the pan. Cook the chicken until brown, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook until just done, 4 to 5 minutes longer. Remove the chicken from the pan and put it in a warm spot.

Reduce the heat to medium low. Stir in the onion and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and stir to combine. Increase the heat to medium, whisk in the wine and the tarragon, and cook until the sauce starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cream and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour sauce over the chicken and serve.

Greek Salad & Dressing

I worked at a Greek restaurant in the suburbs of Chicago when I was a teenager. I was strongly influenced by the food prepared by Greek cooks. I learned to love feta cheese, cream of chicken soup with rice, Greek salad, Athenian steak, and last, but certainly not least, lemon. Lots of lemon. This recipe makes a flavorful Greek salad that doesn't use lettuce but instead, includes tomato, red onion, and feta cheese. 

Salad:

1 lb grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced 

1 cup Greek feta cheese, crumbled

Dressing:

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 garlic clove

1/2 small shallot, chopped

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon dried Greek oregano

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme

1 large basil leaf

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

In a food processor or blender, combine the red wine vinegar with the garlic clove, shallot, mustard, oregano, thyme and basil and puree until smooth. With the machine on, slowly add the olive oil. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, combine the tomato halves, sliced onion and crumbled feta cheese. Toss with the vinaigrette and serve the salad immediately.

I learned this word at the Greek restaurant--Opa! 

A Greek word or pronouncement of celebration; the celebration of life itself.

Baked Mini Meatballs with Feta Cheese

I felt like making meatballs recently so I looked up a few recipes, modified them, added my own touches, and came up with the recipe below. Since lean ground beef is used (90/10 or 85/15) make sure you don't over cook them or they will be dry. This recipes makes about 36 2" meatballs so if that's too many, you can freeze them. You can easily double the recipe if you need a larger quantity. Enjoy!

Baked Mini Meatballs with Feta Cheese

1 pound lean ground beef

1 egg

1/8 cup sweet onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup feta cheese

1/3 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Coat a cookie sheet with baking spray. Mix all ingredients until well blended. Shape beef mixture into 2" meatballs and place on cookie sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes. Sprinkle with kosher salt (I always use kosher but you can use whatever you'd like. I think kosher brings out the flavor of food better.)

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

Remember my previous posts where I told you how good veggies are when they are roasted in the oven? Roasting brings out their natural sugars and you get that lovely carmelization action going on. This is an easy and quick recipe for the next time you're craving the little green sprout.

1 pound Brussels sprouts, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 oz. bacon, diced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 450. Toss all ingredients together in a baking dish. Roast until the sprouts are tender, about 20 minutes.  Balsamic syrup would make a wonderful topping after the sprouts come out of the oven...enjoy.

Dad's Christmas Cheese Ball

This cheese ball recipe was given to my Dad by his mother-in-law in North Carolina, and it has been enjoyed at Christmastime for many years. Each year, my Dad makes 20-30 cheese balls and gives them to his (very lucky) friends. My personal preference would be to substitute garlic powder for the curry powder (sorry, Dad!). 

2 8-oz packages cream cheese
4 oz blue cheese

4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, diced

¼ teaspoon curry powder 

1 tsp paprika

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 c pecans, chopped fine

Allow cheeses to soften at room temperature. Combine all ingredients (except pecans) in a food processor. Blend well. Chill for 30 minutes. Roll into two balls. Cover balls with chopped pecans. Chill for at least 30 minutes. 

Remove the cheese balls from the fridge and let soften a bit. Grab a knife and your favorite crackers.

The Cookbooks of lizzycooks: A Love Story

I love cookbooks. I currently have 56 in my ever-growing collection.

My first cookbook purchase was in the 1970s. Betty Crocker, of course.

When I was growing up my Mom had the classic Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook with the red and white checks on the cover, what I now call "every Mother's cookbook". I have an updated version of it in my collection. I have antique cookbooks; soup cookbooks; cookbooks from TV chefs; vegetarian cookbooks; garlic cookbooks; Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Greek, and Vietnamese cookbooks; two versions of The Joy of Cooking; and more.

Something that strikes me when I look at the older cookbooks, even the ones from the 60s and 70s, is the change in the type of ingredients compared to what we use now. I see recipes that call for lard, oleo margarine, and shortening.

Something else I've discovered is that just because I buy a cookbook, doesn't mean I will make any recipes from it. I just like having it. It's comforting in some way, the way that cooking is comforting to me. I often look at recipes to get ideas about potential ingredients or see what temperature something should be cooked at, and then make my own modifications. But not for baking, with baking you need to be exact. I don't like recipes that have hundreds of ingredients--in my book, these recipes are only for special occasions! People give me cookbooks as gifts, and just to clean out their kitchen I think. No matter, I love getting cookbooks and buying new ones. I was recently given a 1935 silver-covered Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, the antique version of the previously mentioned "every Mother's cookbook".

I find some of the photographs in the older cookbooks quite interesting. This photo is from the 1969 La Cuisine Cookbook and is called "Glazed Ham Doulce France". It looks like a piece of art, and as I always say, food is art.

You never know what you will find inside of cookbooks either. I recently found this vintage Macy's ad for a groovy 1960s dress inside of an older cookbook.

Some cookbooks have beautiful artwork on the cover.
I will continue my love affair with my cookbooks and hope I have inspired you to love your cookbooks too!

Dad's Three Cheese Risotto with Walnuts

Gourmet comfort food. I had never made risotto until this past Thanksgiving when I was visiting my Dad and Aleta. He suggested I go to his computer recipe files (he's a gourmet cook) to find something I wanted to make for dinner. I chose recipes for bruschetta and risotto and was happy I did. Here's my take on bruschetta. The risotto is beyond delicious and I was told it was the best they'd ever had--high praise! 

5 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 cup walnut halves 

4 tablespoon butter 

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1 small onion, finely chopped 

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice 

¼ cup dry white wine 

¾ cup Parmesan or Pecorino cheese 

¼ cup mascarpone cheese 

2 oz gorgonzola cheese 

salt and pepper 

Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium pot. In a small pan, saute the walnuts in 1 tablespoon butter; set aside. 

In a deep pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and 2 tablespoon butter. Saute the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir until the rice is well coated, about 3 minutes. 

Add the wine to the rice mixture and stir until the liquid has been absorbed. Begin to add the broth one cup at a time, stirring until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes. It is important to continually stir the rice so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and add 1 tablespoon butter. 

Add the walnuts and the cheeses and stir until the cheeses are melted. Salt and pepper to taste. By the way, there are specially made risotto bowls which you can see in the photo--who knew?