Chicken Lemon Pesto Soup (Recipe tweaked)

I can't get enough of this soup! I loved the taste of the Chicken Lemon sausage that I picked up at Marcello's Meats. At $12.50 for three sausages, it is a little rich for my budget (but it was oh so delicious!). I decided to take inspiration from Marcello's chicken lemon sausages and this is what I did. I made mini-chicken lemon meatballs. Our local grocery store sells ground chicken so I started there.  

Ground chicken

Gluten-free bread crumbs

Milk

Grated lemon zest

Lemon juice

Gluten-free Montreal Chicken spice blend

Gluten-free garlic spice blend

Thyme

Chicken Lemon mini-meatballs

Chicken broth

Carrots

Celery

Leeks

Garlic

Baby Spinach

Green Onions

Pesto

Sea Salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

White kidney beans

Parmesan cheese rinds

Duck Fried Rice

Oh, what to do with left over roast duck? I usually make a fried rice dish when I have left over protein but I will have to say using duck is the best version of fried rice I think I have made.   

Sesame seed oil

Jasmine Rice

Celery, diced

Carrots, diced

Red bell pepper, diced

White onions, diced

Garlic, minced

Fresh ginger, diced

Roast duck, cut in bite-sized pieces

Gluten-free soya sauce

Pesto Chicken Soup II

I discovered a little Italian market in the neighbourhood that sold some lemon chicken sausage and oh-my-goodness is it ever good. I prefer the lemon chicken sausage over using chicken breasts in this soup. I was planning on adding white beans to the soup but someone beat me to the beans and I didn't have any spinach on hand to add to this version. Still a work in progress....

Lemon Chicken Sausage (casing removed and cut into pieces)

Chicken Stock

Diced Carrots

Diced Celery

Parmesan Cheese rinds

Lemon grass

Pesto

For a light lunch I added a simple cucumber and cherry tomato salad drizzled with some balsamic reduction.  

Happy Eating!  

Corn and Crab Chowder

Olive Oil

Unsalted butter

Diced celery

Diced white onion

Minced garlic

Diced bell yellow bell pepper

Diced red potatoes

Vegetable or Chicken stock 

Cayenne Pepper

Gluten-free Creole Spice

Sea Salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Milk

Gluten-free all-purpose flour

Corn

Crab meat

Green onions

Braised Short Ribs

Bison Short Ribs

Fresh Thyme

Minced Garlic

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Fennel

Onions

Celery

Beef broth

Seared and then cooked slowly in a low oven for about four hours until the meat just falls off the bone...

Serve with braised red cabbage.  

Shrimp Gumbo

Avocado oil

White onion, chopped

Red pepper, chopped

Celery, chopped

Parsley, chopped

Gluten-free all-purpose flour (I used Cloud 9)

Canned organic diced tomatoes

Homemade sausage

Left-over water from cooked sausage

Chicken stock

Ground cumin

Oregano

Okra, sliced

Shrimps

Sea salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Cayenne pepper

Crab Salad

Crab meat

Diced red peppers

Diced celery

Diced red onions

Gluten-free Creole Spice Blend

Mayonnaise

Peeled and halved avocado

Beef Soup

Left-over beef stir-fry

Beef broth

Baby bok choy

Carrots

Celery

Sea Salt

Freshly Cracked Pepper

Creole Style Chicken-a-la-King

A basic Chicken-a-la-King recipe kicked up a whole bunch of notches!  

Butter

Celery

Red Peppers

Wild Mushrooms

Onions

Shallots

Garlic

Gluten-free flour (I used Cloud 9 all-purpose blend, available at Costco)
Thyme

Gluten-free Creole Spice 

Milk

Chicken Stock

Left-over Roast Chicken

Serving suggestions:  Serve on sprouted brown rice, quinao, or roasted spaghetti squash.  

What's a Gal to do?

I've been laid up post-op with instructions to keep my leg straight until my next post-op appointment. So this is what I did while sitting around the kitchen.

I pre-diced carrots and celery and put them in freezer bags. They'll save some time when it comes time to make a pot of soup.

And that's my time-saving tip for today.

Ham and Chorizo Jambalya

The start of a good Jambalya: bacon drippings, bell peppers, white onions, shallots, garlic, chorizo...

Melt the bacon dripping. Add the onions, bell peppers, shallots, garlic and celery. Cook for about 7 to 8 minutes until the vegetables start to soften. Then add chorizo and ham, cook for another 5 minutes.

Add jasmine rice that has been rinsed, chopped tomatoes and about 3 cups of beef stock. Season with gluten free creole spice and fresh cracked pepper.  

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and this is the hard part...

Wait for about 30 to 45 minutes as the simmering goodness fills the kitchen with wonderful smells.

But it is so worth the wait!

Mushroom and Cornish Game Hen Soup

Yesterday was nippy outside, today it is down right cold! It feels like a north wind that is blowing out there. Perfect weather for soup.

Mushroom and left-over cornish game hen was the foundation for this pot of soup. Add some shallots, freshly minced ginger, carrots, celery, flavourful water from a previously cooked home-made chorizo, mushroom stock, thyme, sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Happy Eats!  

Beef Fried Quinao

It is nippy outside. Perfect day to use up some left-overs and cook up something to take the autumn chill off.  

White onions, minced garlic, diced celery, carrots sauteed in a stir-fry pan with sesame seed oil. Add diced yellow peppers and roughly chopped exotic mushrooms. Cook a few minutes more.  Add cooked and cooled quinao, season with gluten-free soya sauce. Add left-over roast beef. Season with more gluten-free soya sauce if needed. 

And enjoy!  

Soothing Soup

It is cold season here. I'm fighting off a nasty sinus infection and cough for a few weeks now. And it has me thinking.

Can chicken soup help fight a cold or the flu? It has been a long held believe of mine that it does help.

I swear by cayenne pepper in my steaming hot pot of soup as my secret weapon. (Skip the pasta.) I also have a friend that swears by garlic and grated ginger in theirs to help loosen congestion and get things draining.

How about you?  What's your secret ingredient?

Gluten-Free Stuffing!

It has been years since I enjoyed stuffing, until yesterday when I gave this recipe a try.

There was a lot of prep work but it was totally worth it. All I need now is an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner next month. I'll bring the stuffing!

Ham and Sausage Jambalaya

This is one of my favourite meals on a chilly winter day... actually, it is one of my favourite anytime meals.

 I started with 1/4 cup of lard. Yes, I said lard, or bacon drippings if you prefer. Trust me on this one. I once made this dish with olive oil. It is not even close to the level of deliciousness that lard brings it to.

Add one small onion, and several shallots. You can use garlic instead of the shallots if you prefer.  Add three celery stalks. If I had a green pepper on hand I would have added 1/2 pepper. Saute for about five minutes or until the vegetables are starting to soften.

Add about 1 cup of diced ham and 1 cup of spanish chorizo or a homemade spicy smoked sausage. Continue to cook for about 8 minutes.  Add 2 cups basmati rice that has been rinsed. Cook for about five minutes. Add 2 diced tomatoes and 3 cups of stock. If I had used homemade sausage, I would use the reserved cooking liquid.  Season with sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper and cayenne pepper.

Reduce heat. Cook until all the liquid has been absorbed, approximately 45 minutes. Add green onions, adjust seasoning if needed and enjoy!

Is it still Gumbo if I didn't add the Okra?

My friend Chris thinks I should call it "Gumb". He said the "o" in Gumbo stands for okra. And hense his logic. Works for me. Anyway, here is how it came together.

Cook onions, celery, red pepper, parsley, and garlic with 1 tbsp. olive oil for about 8 minutes. Add 1/4 cup gluten-free flour, stirring constantly. Add cumin, paprika and oregano.

Add Italian hot sausage, tomatoes and 6 cups of seafood stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and let cook until it thickens slightly.  

Add tiger shrimps. Season with salt, freshly cracked black pepper and cayenne pepper.

Ham & Sausage Jambalaya

In a large pot cook 3 celery stalks, 6 cloves of garlic, 1 large green pepper, 2 white onions along with 2/3 cup of bacon fat until vegetables are soft.

Add 1 lb. ham and chorizo, cook for about 8 minutes.

Add 2 cups of rice, stir well and brown for about 5 minutes.

Add 28 oz can of diced tomatoes.

Add 3 cups of stock (I like to use homemade veal stock) and season with freshly ground black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper. Reduce to a simmer, cover and let cook for 45-55 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked.  

At the final stage of cooking add shrimp and green onions.

And there is dinner.

Chestnut Bisque

Melt 1 Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan.
Add 1 diced onion, 4 carrots, 2 stalks of celery.
Saute for about 7 minutes

Add 2 pounds of peeled chestnuts.
I used fresh chestnuts that were cooked in a pot of salted water.
Saute for another 5 minutes.  

Add 6 cups of chicken stock, 1/2 cup fresh parsley, salt, pinch of nutmeg, and freshly ground pepper.
Bring to a boil, simmer for 20 minutes.  

Puree, adjust seasoning if needed.  

Enjoy!  

What's on the stove today...

I'm making the Winter version of Jamie Oliver's Chicken stock. You can find the summer version here. I don't have a readily available supply of fresh herbs in the backyard right now, so I'm using the dried version of the same backyard herbs.