Chicken Rice Soup

There's nothing like a nice, hot bowl of soup on a cold, cold winter day. OK, so technically it isn't winter yet, but it sure feels like it. It has been below freezing on more than one occasion already this year, and there is a huge snowstorm pouring down on us as I type. I'm not super excited about that. I don't do well with cold weather. I sure love the way fresh fallen snow looks, but as soon as I have to continue my "regularly scheduled life" with it, I get a little cranky. So, I try to do little things to brighten my mood. Homemade soup is one of those things.

The beauty of this soup is that it is beyond easy to make, and it is versatile. You can make it with chicken, turkey, or really whatever bird you like; and you can use rice, couscous, wild rice, brown rice, or really any grain you like. And since you use cooked meat and cooked rice, it is a perfect recipe for leftovers. Yep, you got it, pull out all of those plastic containers from your fridge and see what you've got. You may have the makings for an amazing cup/bowl of soup.

Just follow this simple recipe.

What You Will Need:
Dutch Oven or Large Pot
Wooden Spoon

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 cup Carrots, chopped
1 cup Onions, chopped
2 Tablespoons Soy Flour
1 Tablespoon Potato Starch
1 Tablespoon Tapioca Starch/Flour
2 cartons (32 ounces each) Gluten Free Chicken Stock
3 cups Rice (grain), cooked
3 cups Chicken (poultry), shredded or chopped (I used the leftover half of a roasted chicken from Costco.)
1 teaspoon Ground Pepper
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Celery Salt
2 teaspoons Chopped Parsley
2 cups Milk (anything but fat free)

Directions:
In a dutch oven over medium-high heat, add butter and vegetables. "Sweat" vegetables until carrots are tender and onions are clear.

Add soy flour, potato starch and tapioca starch and stir until thick.

Slowly add chicken stock, stirring to incorporate flours. Cook until boiling, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to low-medium, add rice, chicken and spices. Stir to incorporate. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Slowly add milk and stir. Let simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve it while it is hot. If you are a purist, leave it alone. If not, serve it with your favorite gluten free crackers or croutons.

MMmmm! So simple and so delicious. I hope this warms your belly and your heart on these bitter cold, snowy days!

"Love and cook with wild abandon"
Sounds like a plan to me.

~Sheryl

Galumpki (Stuffed Cabbage)

Galumpkis were one of my dad's favorites. My mom used to make them when I was a kid, and I would refuse to eat them. They always sounded so weird, and anything with cabbage in it or around it was definitely not on my menu plan. 

Then, a short time ago, a friend invited us over for galumpkis made with cabbage from her son-in-law's garden. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I accepted the invitation, and I tried the galumpkis. Go figure, I liked them. 

On Saturday, my husband and I went to the local farmer's market. I was so inspired by all of the fresh produce. I had a really hard time deciding what to buy, because everything looked so good. We ended up buying way more than we probably should have, and one of the things we bought was a head of cabbage. How hard could it be to make stuffed cabbage? 

I learned, and so will you, that it is really simple.

What You Will Need:
A Large Pot (Big enough to hold the head of cabbage)
A Large Bowl
A Large Saute Pan
9 x 13 Pan
Aluminum Foil

Ingredients:
1 Head of Cabbage
Stuffing
1 1/2 pounds of Ground Beef
2 large Eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 teaspoons Parsley
2 teaspoons Onion Powder
1 cup Rice, cooked (I used long grain white rice.)
1 1/2 Tablespoons Worchestershire Sauce (Make sure yours is gluten free.)
Sauce
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
2 cans Stewed Tomatoes, Pureed
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Basil
1 teaspoon Parsley
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Directions:
In large pot, cook cabbage in boiling water for 4-6 minutes until leaves are tender, but not mushy.

Remove cabbage from boiling water. When cabbage is cool enough to touch, remove the leaves and allow to dry.

Cut out center vein of cabbage leaves.

In large bowl, mix together all stuffing ingredients using your hands.

Scoop a 1/4-1/2 cup of the stuffing mixture and place it on a cabbage leaf. 

Roll the cabbage leaf around the stuffing mixture.

Place stuffed cabbage leaf in 9 x 13 pan.

In hot saute pan, melt butter.

Saute onions until translucent. (This is called sweating the onions.)

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Add remaining ingredients, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Pour sauce over stuffed cabbage in 9 x 13 pan.

Cover pan with aluminum foil, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

Remove aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Serve 'em while they are hot.

Not bad for a first attempt. The sauce I created was exceptionally good.Try it out, and see for yourself. 

"The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before."

Dare to walk alone, even if just once in a while.

Sheryl

Stuffed Zucchini

It is zucchini season here in Michigan. That makes me very happy. I really like zucchini, and I love that there are so many different things you can do with it.

My friends Stacy and Joseph have an amazing garden in their yard. Zucchini is just one of the vegetables that they are growing. Joseph keeps telling me that they have a ton of zucchini, but he keeps forgetting to give me some. No hard feelings, and I'm still looking forward to getting some.

But in the meantime, when I was at the grocery store the other day, I saw several bags of zucchini on the "marked down" shelves. I just had to rescue them. Just look at them, almost as good as just picked. The bag had these three and four more small ones, which I used to make zucchini bread (look for that post in the near future).

I've never made stuffed zucchini before, but I've eaten it. I really liked it, so I thought it would be cool to try it out. It turned out pretty good, but there are a few adjustments that I will make next time. They are included in this recipe. I'm sure you will love it.

What You Will Need:
Large Skillet

Baking Dish 
Non-Stick Cooking Spray

Ingredients:
3 Zucchini (medium to large)
1 pound Ground Beef
1 cup Chicken Stock
2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
1 teaspoon Ground Pepper
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Corn Starch
1/2 teaspoon Cardamom
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
1 cup White Rice cooked with Chicken Stock
1/2 cup Gluten Free Bread Crumbs (made from my Best Gluten Free Bread - posted on May 29, 2013)
1/2 cup Shredded Italian Blend Cheese (or the white cheese of your choice)

Directions:
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, and scoop out seeds and some of the meat to create boats. Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray, and place zucchini boats in the baking dish.

In skillet, cook ground beef over medium heat. Do not cook the meat all the way. Drain fat out of skillet. Add the garlic, pepper, paprika, onion powder, corn starch, cardamom, cumin and beef stock. Simmer over low heat until most of the stock is reduced.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a medium bowl, mix together ground beef mixture and rice.

Scoop mixture into zucchini boats.

Spread breadcrumbs over zucchini boats.

(My kids don't like zucchini, so they asked if they could just eat the meat stuffing. I'm a sucker for their adorable faces, so I filled some ramekins with the extra meat mixture.)

Bake stuffed zucchini boats (and ramekins) for 25 minutes, sprinkle cheese on top, then bake for an additional 5 minutes.

My pictures don't have cheese, because this is
one of the changes I will make next time. I added
cheese on my leftovers the next day for lunch,
and it made all the difference.

My hubby and I really enjoyed our stuffed zucchini. And if your kids are as picky as ours (and you are a sucker for them like I am for mine), the ramekin trick worked wonders. They loved the stuffing. 

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire!" ~ St. Catherine of Siena

Let's set the world on fire!

Sheryl