Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup)

Kevin and I first had Pho a couple of years ago when my cousin had her rehearsal dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. It wasn't until sometime last year that we Kevin attempted to make it. It was so yummy! We were craving it today and even though it was hot outside we decided to make it and just turn the AC down. This recipe is a little more complex than I normally prefer, but it's worth it!

Gather it:
3-4 cloves of garlic
Small handful of whole black peppercorns
5-6 star anise pods
2-3 bay leaves
2 inches of ginger, cut into thin pieces)
1 jalapeño, diced
Small bunch of fresh cilantro, leaves only
2 stalks of scallions, sliced
Bean sprouts
1 lime, cut in wedges
4 soup bones (if it's not in the fresh meat section, look in the frozen section)
2 large boxes of beef broth
1/2 lb roast beef from the deli, shredded into bite sized pieces
Rice noodles, found at Asian store, but my Publix had it too in the International aisle
~ 6 Tbsp of fish sauce (found at local Asian store)

Make it:
1) In a large pot, over medium heat, "toast" first 4 ingredients for 4 minutes.
2) Place soup bones in pot and brown for 4 minutes. Then place about 1/2 cup of beef broth in pot
and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3) Pour remaining boxes of broth in pot and simmer over medium high heat for 20 minutes.
4) Add 5 cups of water, ginger, fish sauce and return to a boil then simmer on low heat for 45 min.
5) Place a fine mesh strainer and pour 2 ladlefuls of the broth in a smaller pot. Fill additionally with water and cook rice noodles according to package directions.
6) Using strainer and ladle, remove the garlic, peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves and ginger from the large pot and throw away.
7) In a bowl, place noodles, jalapeños, sprouts, and roast beef. Pour hot broth over it, top with cilantro and scallions and squeeze lime juice.

The garlic, peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves, and soup bones browning together.

Crockpot Black Eyed Pea Soup

We are having a cold spell here in Florida...as in 50 degrees cold!!! Brrr!!! I'm taking full advantage of this cold weather and making some soup! This soup is similar to the white bean and ham soup I have made before, but there were some changes/additions. This soup is truly the easiest thing to make and so filling. Parker "helped" me make the soup by shaking some herbs into the soup. He loves to help me cook even if it's just to shake the herb container or to stir. When he helps cook, he does tend to eat a lot more. He gobbled it up. Avery gobbled it up. Kevin gobbled it up. I gobbled it up. Easy. Delicious.

Gather it:
1 lb dried black eyed peas
2 thick slices of ham, large cubes (you can also use ham hocks, but my grocery store doesn't carry them)
2 cartons (32 oz each) of chicken stock
1 can (14.5 oz) of chicken stock
1 large white onion, large diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced (we love garlic, you can use less if you're not a fan)
2.5 cups of fresh kale, lightly packed (seems like a lot, but it shrinks like spinach)
dried parsley, more than quite a few shakes of the container b/c Parker tends to go crazy
dried oregano, just a few shakes
black pepper, to taste

Make it:
1. Place all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Avery picked the little bits of ham off first...lol

FYI, I did sprinkle a little bit of sea salt on my bowl of soup, but the kids had theirs unsalted and I also added a few drops of hot sauce that we bought from a local vendor at one of our farmer's market. I literally added 3 drops of hot sauce and my mouth was practically on fire, but it was so good! lol We also had it with corn bread muffins. I drizzled a tiny bit of honey on top of each corn muffin before I baked it so the top got a little sweet hint. The whole meal was absolutely delicious!!!

Egg Drop Soup

I was craving "Asian" food over the weekend so I decided to "research"...aka browse Pinterest. How easy it is to make plays a big factor on whether I will make it or not. I decided to make Korean Beef (it's really turkey though), but wanted something to go with it. Salad just didn't seem "Asian" enough and then I remembered I had pinned an egg drop soup recipe recently. In my research, I saw other recipes adding corn starch to the eggs. I'm not sure what exactly it does, but I surprisingly had some in my pantry. I'm not sure where it came from...maybe from my mom. It wasn't expired so I used it. lol If I didn't have any I would have just omitted it. I've seen lots of recipes with and without the corn starch so I figured it would work without it too.

Oh and funny story: when I was running my dinner ideas by Kevin I asked him if he liked egg drop soup. He said yes so I added it to the menu. Then tonight when I finished adding the egg to the broth (the step I was most nervous about), I commented: "Well it looks like egg drop soup, right?". Kevin looked at the pot then looked at me blankly and says: "I don't know, I've never had it." What?!? lol Here's my version of this yummy and super easy soup!

Gather it:
3 cans of chicken stock (14.5 oz each)
2 eggs, beaten
1 small piece of ginger (optional, I used 2 left over "nubs" I had from grating the ginger from the Korean Beef)
1 tsp of corn starch (optional)
scallions, diced (optional, for topping)
salt
pepper

Make it:
1. Boil chicken stock and ginger over medium high heat then lower heat to a simmer.

2. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Remove ginger. Note: I forgot to remove the ginger and it's pretty hard to find it once you stir the eggs in. Not a big deal if the kids aren't eating it and they don't know that they aren't supposed to eat it. I mean they can, but it can be a little "spicy".

4. n a small bowl, beat eggs and corn starch together. Slowly pour mixture into simmering stock while vigorously mixing the pot to form long threads of eggs.

5. Turn heat off and allow eggs to cook for another minute or so.

Serve while hot and top off with scallions. Parker is going through a soup phase just like I am and he loves eggs so this was the perfect soup for him. He LOVED it!

lickin' his lips. lol my mother in law got me a set of these Asian soup spoons for Christmas a couple years ago after she saw me admiring them at a cooking store in NC and Parker loves to use them any time we are having soup.

he got to the bottom of his bowl and the thick soup spoon couldn't get any more soup. Manners be darned...I let him drink from his bowl. 

baby girl getting some help from Daddy with her soup

Avery is going through an independent phase where she wants to feed herself with a spoon, but she's still trying to figure out how to scoop food out and bring it all the way to her mouth without it falling off. She does pretty well with more solid things like yogurt and mashed potatoes, but rice and soup just falls right off! So she says "heh" (help), but then when I put my hand over her hand to show her to scoop the food, she gets mad and says "NO!". 

Here's the recipe that I based my recipe on.

Crockpot White Bean and Ham Soup

I've been craving soup lately, but winter in Florida usually means it's 80 degrees outside. That didn't stop me though - just turn the AC down low! lol I've never made this soup before, but my friend's mom used to make black eyed pea soup with pieces of ham when we were in elementary school. It was delicious and used that as my inspiration. But she used to simmer that soup on the stove for hours. I've never cooked with dried beans before and I was gonna attempt it on the crockpot...def used my family as my guinea pigs! lol If it failed then we could always pick up a pizza!

I was hoping Publix had ham bones, but they didn't and I wasn't about to go all the way to The Honey Baked Ham store to get some. I just grabbed some ham from the meat section at Publix. I thought it was a big slab of ham that I could dice up on my own, but it was pre-sliced. It still worked and the whole soup turned out so good and this has to be the EASIEST dish EVER! Kevin liked the new recipe and the kids gobbled it up. In Parker's words: "It dee-wicious, Mommy!"

Gather it:
1 lb of dried White Northern Beans, rinsed and sorted through
about 1 lb of ham, large pieces
3 (14.5 oz each) cans of chicken stock
1 medium white onion, diced
pepper
parsley
oregano

Make it:
1. Place all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours.

That's it! lol Easy, huh? I think that's a huge reason why I liked this recipe so much! I didn't add extra salt b/c I wasn't sure how salty the soup would be from the ham. The kids ate it fine without extra salt, but Kevin and I added a little sea salt to our bowls. We also ate it with some mini corn muffins - the Jiffy brand was on sale (not that it's not already cheap) 2 for $0.95. This is the brand that my mother in law uses so it's now my go-to brand. Parker thought he was getting a special treat b/c it was muffin shaped! lol Oh and next time, I'll probably add some spinach to the soup to get some veggies worked into the soup!

Another soup to try: black eyed pea soup
http://sweetandsimpleandadashofcrazy.blogspot.com/2013/03/crockpot-black-eyed-pea-soup.html

Beer Chili

I've been making this chili forever, but the recipe varies depending on what I have on hand. I actually went to Publix last night and bought a few ingredients I knew I didn't have. I thought I had kidney beans in my pantry and didn't bother to check. I should have. I looked high and low and couldn't find any...I finally found a can that got shoved in the back (no worries, it isn't expired!). But it would have been fine without it - this recipe can be made with whatever you have on hand. I have staples in my pantry/fridge/freezer that I almost always have: canned black beans, chicken stock, frozen corn, carrots, ground turkey, and beer.

I prefer to use beer instead of broth for the chili b/c it just adds a different flavor. Yes I feed this to the kids - they love it! No, worries, the alcohol gets cooked off and you are just left with the flavor. It's weird b/c I'm not a huge beer drinker. If I drink it, it's usually just a few sips of Kevin's beer. Kevin only had 1 bottle of beer left...I used it for the chili! Shhh!!! Don't tell him! I hope he forgets that he had 1 bottle left!

Here is the version I made today:

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey
celery, cut into half moons (I only had 4 stalks left so I used it all - I probably would have used 1-2 more if I had more)
carrots (I used the fresh microwaveable kind from Publix - we always have this b/c Parker loves to snack on them)
half of a large white onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced (we love garlic!)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes w/ juices (I used the kind w/ garlic, basil, and oregano b/c it was on sale,  I used to use the kind of green chiles, but it's a little too spicy for the kids)
frozen corn
dried parsley
dried oregano
sweet paprika (about 1 Tbsp)
mild chile powder (about 1-1.5 Tbsp)
1 bottle/can of beer or 1 can of chicken stock
1 Tbsp of flour
oil (just enough to lightly coat bottom of the pot so that the turkey doesn't stick)

Toppings:
sour cream
shredded cheese
green onions (I didn't have any...well I did, but they weren't looking too good)

Directions:
1. Heat oil under medium/high heat and brown the turkey. When half the turkey has browned, add onions, garlic, celery, and carrots. Soften the carrots and celery a bit.

2. Add beans, tomatoes w/ juice, frozen corn, dried parsley, dried oregano, paprika, chile powder, and beer/broth. Mix together and allow it to boil. Either allow to boil on medium/high heat for 20-30 min or simmer for 1 hour. I've allowed this to simmer for 1.5 hours and it was PURE TORTURE smelling it cooking for that long!

3. This step is optional. If you want a slightly soup-y chili, then skip it. If you like it a little thick, then add 1 Tbsp of flour in small bowl with about 3 Tbsp of water. Mix until there are no lumps. It will be a runny rue. Add to chili, mix it in, and allow flour to cook through - about 5 minutes.

4. Top it with cheese, sour cream and green onions!

this picture has nothing to do with chili other than she was being cute while I was cooking. She grabbed 2 of her babies and started alternating between walking/bouncing them around the house and sitting down and swaying from side to side and giving them kisses on their heads...all while saying: "Shhh, shhh, shhh kwy." (Shh quiet). 

It's not particularly cold out...in fact, it's in the mid 70s, but I was craving chili. We live in Florida and we haven't had many cool nights this "winter". Just turn the AC down and pretend it's cold out. I made myself a small bowl after the kids had just eaten a snack. Both kids flocked over to me - they LOVE chili! Parker asked: "Mommy, I have some of you chili soup, please?" and Avery demanded: "Bite! Bite!". Of course I shared...but all I could think about was shoveling as many big bites as I could in my mouth before tiny little mouths came back for more. lol Do your kids do this too??? Ask to have some of your food even though they just ate? 

This chili is really yummy with French bread or beer bread! Enjoy!

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

I stumbled upon this recipe on where else but Pinterest. Anyway, I've never been a fan of chicken and dumplings, but Kevin likes it so when I saw how easy this recipe was, I decided to give it a try and that was almost a year ago. It was a big hit with my family! I even shared it with my best friend, Lauren's, sister and now it's one of her family's favorite recipes. Lauren's mom also loves this recipe and has shared it with her co-workers. It's that yummy! And the big bonus is that it's super easy!

I decided to make it tonight even though it's not chilly outside since I never made it a few weeks ago as planned when it was cold out and I still had all the ingredients. Kevin even requested I make this in the middle of the summer! He likes it that much! As always, I made changes to the original recipe - nothing big, but just added a few things. Here's my version:

Ingredients:
- 4 chicken breasts
- 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
- 1 (14 oz) can of chicken broth (I use low sodium, fat free)
- 2 small white onions (diced)
- dried parsley (the kids like to help "cook" and shake the container over the pot)
- Italian herbs
- black pepper
- frozen peas and carrots (I just eyeball how much to put in, but I do tend to go heavy on veggies. I usually add celery too, but Kevin made boneless buffalo chicken for dinner last night and we ate the last bit of the celery with it)
- 1 can of refrigerator biscuit like Pillsbury (the original recipe only calls for 4, but the first time I made it I used 6 since the Publix brand was smaller and Kevin requested I add more next time. So now I use the whole can, which has 10 biscuits)

Directions:
1. Mix diced onions, both cans of soup, broth, black pepper, parsley and Italian herbs (I don't measure my herbs - I eyeball it, depends on how much you like) in crock pot.
2. Cover and cook on high 4-6 hours or on low for 8 hours.
3. About 35 minutes before it is about done, take biscuits out of the fridge and cut each biscuit into 6 pieces and set aside.
4. Take a pair of tongs and shred the chicken while in crockpot. It should fall apart easily, but I like to leave a few chunky pieces.
5. Add veggies and biscuit pieces into crock pot. Stir.
6. Cover and let the biscuits cook and the veggies warm up for about 30 min.

Enjoy the yummy goodness of this dish!

Crockpot Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

After 2 failed crockpot meals (pineapple chicken and potato soup) due to not reading the instructions very well (cooking w/ 2 crazy kids including an 18 month old who keeps trying to get between me and the counter is tough) I decided it was time to try another crockpot meal. I will try those recipes again though. Anyway, I found this recipe at simplymadewithlove. She has lots of great recipes that I can't wait to try! Oh and I use crockpot liners for easy clean up! Whoever invented this is a GENIUS! I hate scrubbing burnt food on the sides of the crockpot! 

You might think this is just a regular chicken and rice soup, but the roux really makes a difference - it makes it thick and creamy. Kevin and I also added some extra pepper and a sprinkle of salt to our bowls (I tend to not cook with salt and also to limit the kids' sodium intake). The whole family loved it. Avery even had seconds when Parker finally decided he wanted to eat (he doesn't like to eat at 5:30 when we typically eat and instead eats around 6:45-7, which I'm ok with right now as long as he eats). 

I tend to tweak recipes and rarely measure (except for wet ingredients and stuff like flour)...here's my version:

Ingredients:

46.5 oz chicken broth (this is 1 carton and 1 can of broth)

2 cups water

3 boneless chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs)

2 pkgs of Rice A Roni long grain and wild rice

1/2 cup all purpose flour 

1/2 cup butter (per the recipe, but I used butter in a tub, so I "estimated")

2 cups half and half

half a bag of microwaveable carrots (found at Publix - these are smaller and thinner than baby carrots)

5-6 stalks of celery (cut in half moons - I used the inner stalks including the leaves)

onions - diced

black pepper - 4-5 twists of the grinder

dried parsley 

Directions:

Combine broth, water, carrots, celery, onion, parsley, black pepper, chicken and rice (including seasoning packet) in slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours. About 30 minutes before you want to eat, shred chicken in slow cooker - I used a pair of tongs and the chicken just falls apart. Replace lid.

*** I originally used only 1 carton (32 oz or 4 cups) of broth and the recipe called for 4.5 cups. I didn't want to open another box/can for just 1/2 cup. I figured I could add extra broth later if needed. I probably could have gotten away with it, but I needed to add more since I also added an extra package of Rice A Roni in the beginning. 1 package just didn't look like enough. This Asian girl forgot how much rice actually expands. I ended up adding 1 can of broth about 3 hours into cooking. This will make A LOT of soup. We have enough for left over lunch tomorrow and then some. Next time I'll follow the directions and use 4.5 cups of broth and 1 pkg of rice. lol ***

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in flour by tablespoon to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Stir cream mixture into slow cooker and then let cook on low for 15 more minutes. 

*** left: butter and flour mixture; right: half and half added to mixture - it will resemble a pancake batter in consistency. As you mix the half and half in, it will clump up together. Eventually, it will thin out. You will be getting a good arm workout! ***

the roux mixed with the rest of the soup

all done! the lighting made the soup look yellow...it's not!

ENJOY THE YUMMINESS!!!