Turkey Tortilla Soup

I took a number of pictures of the recipes in the magazine I bought not too long ago and here is one great soup that might come in handy if there is some turkey you have on hand...still.

Turkey Tortilla Soup


Don't forget to click on the picture so you can see it in real size.

Potatoes Natur with Roasted Bell Peppers

It seems that some of you might already be fasting as a preparation for the holy holiday of Christmas, therefor the diet might have adjusted and so have I.
Well, on my blog at least.
For today I chose to post about another side, which takes no time to make and is suitable for pairing with anything from eggs to sausage to steak and so on.
I actually just had these by themselves. No meat.

Ingredients:
2 medium size potatoes per person
1 bell pepper per person
2 TBSP sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Wash, peel and cut the potatoes so that they are approximately 1 inch cubes and place them in a pot with enough water to cover them.

* IMPORTANT : when making MASHED POTATOES it is good to place the potatoes in lightly salted BOILING WATER because that will not affect the turnout, but keep in mind that there is a different in the way you boil potatoes for mashing and the way you boil them for anything else.

* IMPORTANT :when boiling the potatoes to use them UNMASHED, either cubed or whole, peeled or not, make sure you place the potatoes in COLD water because the potatoes need to warm up and reach the boiling point at the same time the water they boil in does. If you dump them in boiling water either cuber or whole, they might become starchy, mushy and crumbly and they will be over-boiled at the surface, but will be tough and undercooked in the middle. Now we do not want that to happen, do we ?

Let them boil until tender, or fork-tender, close to 25-30 minutes.
Make sure you salt the water.
I just used jarred roasted bell peppers, but you can obviously roast your own.
I think it should be done at 450 F for 35 to 55 minutes, depending on your pepper.
When the potatoes are done, just use a slotted spoon to fish them out of the water or just drain them using a colander.
Plate, add the bell peppers


and top with the sour cream


and fresh parsley.


And don't forget to sprinkle some salt & pepper too.
You're done !

Beef Soup

I made this beef soup using THIS recipe, only replacing the pork with beef.
I also used a bit more beef


and a bit more carrots.


This is how small the dice should be.


And this is how small the meat should be cut....about 1/2 inch cubes...


Here is my beef cooking away.


Steamy !!




And here are the veggies sauteeing.


And here is the final result.

Peas Risotto

Elegant, hearty and easy to make, this risotto goes well with any kind of meat. I usually pair it with beef steak, as my husband likes a good piece of steak as often as possible.
Like any kind of risotto, make sure it is liquid in consistency when you take off the heat because it will harden and become more compact as it sits in your plate.
And of course, like with all types of risotto, it should really be served right away.

Ingredients:
2 cups chicken stock or water
1 to 2 TBSP oil (use olive oil if you have)
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced finely
1/2 cup Arborio rice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 to 1 cup frozen peas
1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded cheese (use mozzarella if you have, otherwise go for mild cheddar)

Directions:
Warm the stock/water and have it close by to pour over the rice when needed.
Heat a medium size saucepan and place the oil, garlic and cook for 1 minute or so on medium, then add the rice and cook for 2 more minutes.
Now ladle 1/3 of the stock/water and bring it to a bubble/boil.
Let cook on medium stirring occasionally, adding more stock/water as the rice becomes dry.
The cooking process should take anywhere from 20 to 25 minutes.
At the end stir in salt, pepper, peas and cheese.
Serve with your favorite meat, immediately.
If you are cooking this steak, pour the steak juices all over the rice.


Delicious !

I cooked the meat like HERE.

Thanksgiving Pies

I just baked my pies and here they are !
Pecan pie using THIS recipe.



Apple Pie Using THIS recipe.

It is a Granny Smith deep dish apple pie...quite tall....


with an apple placed in the middle....sprinkled with brown sugar....


....and because it looked sort of naked....I cut some leaves out of some extra pie crust dough that I had.....and I sprinkled some cinnamon on some of the leaves for contrast.



2 of the leaves fell !!!...oh no !!!



...but the apple decor piece browned up nicely


...and the other leaves seem to still hold on to the pie really well....for now




I've been listening to this....

Stuffing from the Magazine

Here are some options for your turkey stuffing.
Enjoy !

Southwest Stuffing


Classic White Dressing & Oyster Dressing

Spaghetti with Thick Chicken Sauce

As I mentioned in the previous post, you can use the chicken breast patties to make this thick, chunky


and delicious sauce to top off your spaghetti.
Make sure you use good spaghetti, preferably whole wheat and thin


spaghetti if possible.

Ingredients:
spaghetti enough for how many people are sitting at your table (I used a handful)
1 cup tomato sauce
6 to 8 chicken breast patties, chopped roughly or crumbled

Directions:
Combine the tomato sauce and the chopped chicken breast patties in a medium size saucepan, bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes, so the flavors can mingle.
For 2 people, you only need a handful of spaghetti, which would be like the diameter of a walnut.
Boil them according to your package,


then rinse and plate.



Top off with as much sauce as you like.


Enjoy !

Chicken Breast Patties

These patties are the favorite thing in the whole world of my sister's boyfriend and he says that nobody makes them like I do.
So that means they must be worth trying, right ?
The final mix will have more chicken breast than other stuff, just like you can see here in this close -up picture, so the main taste will be that of juicy chicken breast cooked to perfection.


Easy to do and I bet that most of you would already have the ingredients on hand.
They keep well in the fridge too and I will show you what I did with the leftovers in a spaghetti recipe that will follow this one.

Ingredients:
1/2 to 1 lb, which would be 2 to 4 pieces of chicken breast, minced (or pulsed for a few seconds in your food processor)
1/2 onion, minced finely
4 to 6 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup or 1 handful chopped parsley
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
Mix all the above ingredients


and either drop and spoonful of mixture into a preheated skillet with 1/2 inch of oil or just form flattened patties, making sure your hands are wet.


I normally keep a bowl with water in it for dipping my hands.
Cook them on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until they look golden.


Serve them with mashed potatoes or anything else you might like to pair them with.
They are best warm or hot, on small pieces of bread, but they are good cold as well.
I paired them here with tortillas


and salsa.


Enjoy !