Brussels, Sausage, and Squash

What up!  Happy pseudo Tuesday people.

I hope everyone enjoyed a lovely Memorial Day weekend filled with delicious food, fun, friends, and family.  I headed out to Atlantic City with one of my best gals.  While I was too busy drinking tanning to take pictures of our food, I did manage to capture a few shots of the fun.

My losings...formerly known as winnings

 Free bloody mary's on the plane?  OK!  (obv we have the essential plane reading materials as well)

Hotel beach umbrella's

Swanky (yeah, I'm pushing it) roof deck pool

That was my weekend, but yesterday it was back to real life and back to the eats!

I got home from work pretty late and wasn't in the mood for anything complicated (nor did I have time to grocery shop) so I went through my fridge and found enough ingredients to make an adaption of Cara's Cravings Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Winter Squash and Apple Chicken Sausage.

I made some slight revisions but it was pretty tasty for a Tuesday.

Ingredients

3/4 lb butternut squash, diced (I used frozen because its what I had)
4 tsp olive oil, divided
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 links jalapeño chicken sausage, diced (I used Trader Joes brand)
3/4 lb brussels sprouts
pinch each of smoked paprika and nutmeg
 

Directions

Place the squash in a microwave-safe dish, add a splash of water, cover, and cook on high for about 2 minutes. (you may want to cook for longer if you're using fresh squash)

Wash the brussels sprouts, remove any yellowing outer leaves, trim, and slice into ribbons.

Heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium-high heat and add the steamed squash with a pinch of salt. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until nicely browned. 

Add the sliced chicken sausage, cook 1-2 minutes more, and then add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and set aside. 

Add remaining 2 tsp olive oil to the pan, turn the heat up just a bit, then add the brussels sprouts. Season with more salt and a pinch of smoked paprika and nutmeg. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring a few times, until nicely browned in spots. 

Add the squash mixture, toss together and heat through. 

Serve immediately. 

I'm enjoying these leftovers today as lunch while I type this post.  Delicious!

Kitchen Proof

Since I was MIA for almost 3 months with alleged "kitchen repairs", I feel like its only right if I show you my new and improved kitchen makeover!  Unfortunately, I don't have a before picture to show you, but the after pics should wow you enough to forgive me.  Lets do this!

Here's the wide shot.  I know, close your jaw.  Its beautiful.  Seriously though, we tore up the floors, cabinets, counter tops, appliances, lights, and repainted.  So its really a brand new kitchen.

Close up of the stove.  Yes, thats an electric stove top with a warming drawer below.  Yummy.

Kitchen sink shot.  Exciting!

Dishwasher (and my coffee mug that I think matches because it too is stainless steel)

Fridge...sorry, flash went a little crazy here!

And there you have it folks.  Tour de Felcher's kitchen.  More food fun to come.

Aaand, I'm back!

Well hello!  I know, I know, its been a while.  I know you missed me but I've been insanely busy which left very little time for good old home cookin'.  Post marathon, my kitchen went under construction.  We tore up the floors, cabinets, appliances, lighting, everything. (I'll post pics later)  Needless to say I was utilizing my microwave quite a bit more than normal.  Mixed in with the construction was crazy amounts of travel.  Some of the highlights include trips to Kentucky (that's right ya'll), Los Angeles, NYC, Austin, Colorado, and Tampa.

Anyways, I'm back at it in the kitchen and obviously my first project was soup.  Since I've made just about every other kind of soup that there is, I decided to go with a tortilla soup.  Let's just call it a belated Cinco de Mayo festival in the Felcher household.

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
2 cans diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 can black beans
1 large onion
1 green pepper
leftover diced chicken breast (you can definitely get away without adding this)
1 package of frozen corn
4 - 5 cups of low sodium chicken broth
2 minced gloves of garlic
1 diced jalapeño pepper
Various spices...I used:
1 tbs cumin
2 tbs of chili powder
a few solid shakes of red pepper flakes
1 tbs of garlic powder
1 tbs of oregano
salt
pepper
cilantro
lime

Garnishes
avocado
tortilla chips
lime
shredded cheese
sour cream (I didnt use any bc I didnt have any but it would have been delicious!)

Directions
In large soup pot, heat olive oil and saute onions and peppers and garlic until soft.

Add spices and let sit for a few minutes until it smells delicious

Add chicken broth, tomatoes (I used the juice of one of the cans too), corn, beans, jalapeños and simmer for a half hour.

Add in cilantro and chicken and a few squeezes of lime juice.

Serve this beauty up and top it with cheese, tortilla strips, avocado, and a lime.

EAT and REPEAT.

Dinner of a Champion

Not sure if I've mentioned this yet, but tomorrow I'm running the Hyannis half marathon...13.1 miles of pure hell bliss.  No, I'm kidding...not about the marathon but about the hell part.  I've been training and I'm ready to go!  Just as long as the snow holds out until I'm done.  Because then it actually will be hell.

Anyway, in an effort to find an excuse to carbo load pump my body with fuel, I cooked myself a little pasta party for one.  Delicious, Nutritious, and Gone.

Ingredients:
1 cup dry pasta
1/3 lb ground turkey
1 cup baby portobello mushrooms
2 Tbs grated parmesean cheese
1/2 cup tomato sauce of your choice
spices for turkey (I used paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat saute' pan over medium-high heat with some olive oil or cooking spray and add turkey.  Add spices and cook until golden brown.  Set turkey aside.

In the same saute pan add a little more oil or cooking spray and add mushrooms and spinach until cooked through and wilted.

In a separate sauce pan, bring water to boil and add pasta.

When pasta is cooked, drain, and add turkey and spinach and mushroom mixture.  Stir in tomato sauce and grated Parmesan cheese.

I also baked up a new batch of granola bars for some morning pre-race fuel.  I've switched up the recipe a bit since the last time I posted, and I think its much better.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup oats
2 Tbs of almond paste
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 package of peanut butter & chocolate chip mixture
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup apple sauce
2 large eggs
2 - 3 Tbs of maple syrup or honey

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients together.  Add wet ingredients.  Pour into baking pan and even out with the back of a spatula or spoon.

Bake for 28 - 30 minutes until slightly browned.  Let cool, and serve!

(Sorry, this iphone pic is beyond terrible)

Wish me luck!

An Oldie, but Goodie

After 60 degrees on Friday, it was disappointing when we dipped back down to 20 degrees over the weekend.  The sudden drop in temperatures made me crave something warm and comforting.  I had been promising some matzo ball soup to one of my co-workers and took this as the perfect opportunity to cook up a big batch.

Now, anyone who knows me knows how much I love my matzo ball soup; and if someone were to tell me matzo balls and cape cod chips were the last two things I would ever eat, that'd be fine with me.  In fact, bring it on.

Anyway, growing up there was always homemade chicken noodle/matzo ball soup around.  It didn't need to be a special occasion for my dad to cook up a pot of soup, and you bet I was always the taste tester.  (Take that elbow to the ribs, Joel)

27 years later, I'm happy to say I've perfected my dads recipe.  In fact, I miiiight say its better, but I wont.  

I like my soup with lots of chicken, hearty veggies, noodles, and the most light and fluffy matzo balls ever.  When time allows I'll make my own broth and balls but on Monday this was not the case so I improvised with store bought chicken stock and matzo ball mix.  

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken stock

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 chicken or split chicken breast with ribs

6 celery stalks

6 carrots, peeled

2 parsnips, peeled

1 onion, sliced

fresh parsley or dill (depending on your taste)

salt and pepper to taste

1 bag of whatever your favorite soup noodles are

1 box of matzo ball mix

Directions:

In large stock pot, heat 6 cups chicken stock and add 3 - 4 cups water.  Bring to a boil, and add bouillon cubes.  

Wash chicken, and place into boiling water.

Add chopped veggies (I like to chop my veggies on the larger side to add texture to the soup)

Cover, and simmer soup for 2 hours.

When chicken is fall off the bone tender (yeah, I said it) remove from soup and place in large bowl.  Using two forks or a fork and knife, remove meat from bones and replace in soup.  I like my soup with white meat only.

Add parsley, salt, and pepper to taste.  Cover and let simmer for 30 more minutes.

While soup is simmering, prepare matzo ball mixture (you can pretty much follow the description on the box).  (I was too busy eating tasting the soup to document this part, but I assure you, its thrilling)

Simmer mballs, covered, for 30 minutes or until they have reached desired texture. (For you first time mballers out there, trust me...light and fluffy is where its at)

Remove balls from heat, and set aside.  I like to reserve the water I cooked the matzo balls in to cook the noodles.  Not only does it have flavor, but the pot is already hot.

Add a few matzo balls and noodles to a large soup bowl and enjoy!

5 seconds later, refill.

Crunchy, Salty Sunday

It's no secret that I am obsessed with chips, specifically cape cod chips.  Something about the crunchy, salty, clusters of chips just gets my taste buds going.  I know, everyone loves chips or cape cod chips for that matter, but my obsession is borderline unhealthy.  Not only can I (and have done many more times than a few), but I'm actually known to house bags at a time.  I've woken up with my hand inside a bag, woken up with an empty bag as my bedside companion, and woken up with swollen salt lips after shoveling them in faster than you can blink and miss the freak show.  (Just ask Dan the man or the late night cashier at Shaw's.  I wish I was kidding.)

Anyway, after my run this morning, I had little motivation to do anything but lounge around the house.  I did some work, some cleaning, and realized I had some sweet potatoes I needed to use up before they went bad.   So, in the spirit of my race next weekend in Hyannis and my love for all things salty and crunchy, I decided to make some homemade sweet potato "cape cod" chips.

Ingredients:
1 Sweet Potato
Spray Olive Oil
Salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Peel skin off potatoes and begin peeling "slices" for chips.  You'll probably need to make these in a few batches.  Once I had enough to fill 2 cookie sheets, I sprayed the sheets with some olive oil and laid the potato peels in a single layer.  I sprayed another layer of olive oil over the potatoes and topped them off with a sprinkle of salt.

Bake for 5 - 10 minutes, depending on the level of desired crunch.  I baked mine for about 8 minutes.  Keep your eye on these, as they will burn quickly if you're not watching.

Repeat with the rest of the potato, and eat the whole bowl enjoy.

These were delicious! And very "cape cod" like.  A perfect snack for my lazy Sunday.

I'm Stuffed

I think it's safe to say there were little to few leftovers from last nights dinner surprise.  And what I didn't house like a hippo (Jamie that's for you) eat last night, became lunch today so I needed to improvise for dinner tonight.  I haven't gone food shopping yet this week so I did a quick survey of the fridge and decided I could pull off some stuffed peppers.  

All it took was 2 leftover bell peppers, some ground turkey, an onion, shredded cheese, and tomato sauce and voila! Instant weeknight dinner.

Ingredients:

2 green bell peppers

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tbs shredded Mexican cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Cook quinoa in chicken broth until all liquid is absorbed.

Heat saute pan over medium-high heat and cook ground turkey.  I added some chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and a little cumin to give it some flavor.  Once turkey is cooked, add onion until browned.  About 5 - 10 minutes.

Prepare peppers by cutting off tops and removing seeds and insides.

 

Combine cooked quinoa and tomato sauce to the turkey mixture, heat for 2 minutes.

Add Parmesan cheese, and begin filling peppers.   Cook for 20 - 25 minutes or until pepper is slightly browned and soft.

Add shredded cheese and bake or broil for 2 - 3 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Mmmm.....

I enjoyed one of the peppers with a small caesar salad and will bring the second pepper for lunch tomorrow.  

Awkward?  Good!