“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it.” — George Eliot
Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium-size (9 oz.) yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 3 medium carrots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 2 large celery stalks, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced (about 1 Tbsp.)
- 1 rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded, meat shredded (about 3 to 4 cups shredded chicken)
- 8 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 2 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
- Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
- Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to Dutch oven; cook, stirring often, until vegetables are just soft, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in chicken, broth, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and gently boil 6 minutes.
- Add noodles to Dutch oven.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until noodles are tender, about 6 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley.
My Lazy-Day Pickled Deviled Eggs
Get a jar of pickled beets. Hard-boil 6 eggs. Peel them.
Take the beets out of the jar and save for later (beets are really, really good for you). Put the peeled eggs into the beet brine. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours, but up to 3 days is better. Make sure the brine completely covers the eggs.
Then use the brined eggs to make deviled eggs using your favorite recipe. Yum!
BBQ Shrimp For One
- 6-8 medium shrimp (5 ounces), peeled and deveined
- 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning -use homemade Creole seasoning or your favorite store brand.
- 2 ½ tablespoons salted butter -divided
- 1 clove garlic -minced
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Season the Shrimp: In a small bowl, toss the shrimp with Creole seasoning.
- Cook the Garlic: Melt ½ tablespoon of butter in an 8-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Sear the Shrimp: Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook for 1 minute per side.
- Make the Sauce: Pour in the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of butter. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, spooning the sauce over the shrimp as it thickens.
- Serve: Transfer the shrimp to a plate and pour the sauce over the top. Serve with white rice, French bread, and a green salad.
From One Dish Kitchen
Chicken Lasagna for 8
Ingredients
- 9 lasagna noodles
- Cooking spray
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1/2 large sweet onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 (10 1/2-oz.) can cream of chicken soup
- 10-oz. Alfredo sauce (jarred sauce is fine)
- 1 (7-oz.) jar diced pimiento or roasted red peppers, undrained
- 1 (6-oz.) jar sliced mushrooms, drained
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- 1 (10-oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 1/2 cups chopped or shredded chicken (rotisserie chicken is great)
- 3 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Directions
- Cook lasagna noodles in generously salted water according to package directions for 1 minute less than al dente, about 10 minutes.
- Coat 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray. You can use parchment paper or waxed paper instead of baking sheets. Drain noodles and place in an even layer on greased baking sheets. If overlapping noodles, coat noodles lightly with cooking spray before overlapping. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in soup, Alfredo sauce, pimento, mushrooms, white wine, and basil. Set aside 1 cup of sauce.
- Drain spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towels.
- Make spinach mixture: Stir together spinach, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and beaten egg.
- Place 3 lasagna noodles in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Layer with half each of sauce, spinach mixture, and chicken. Sprinkle with 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Repeat procedure. Top with the remaining 3 noodles and the 1 cup sauce you set aside.
- Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.
- Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup Cheddar cheese, and bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Adapted from Southern Living
Chile Colorado
Ingredients
- 4 dried ancho, pasilla or mulato chiles
- 5 dried guajillo or New Mexican chiles
- 4 cups beef broth (you can use chicken or vegetable broth if using pork)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sweet (not smoked) paprika
- 2 ½ lbs stew meat, or cubed beef shoulder/pork butt roast*
- Salt and pepper
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 2-4 Tablespoons oil
- 1 bay leaf
- Juice from 1 small lime
- Cornstarch slurry (1 Tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 Tablespoon water)
For serving (optional):
- Tortillas, corn or flour
- chopped fresh Cilantro for garnish
- Sliced radishes
- Mexican rice
Instructions
- Remove meat from the refrigerator and cut into ½ inch cubes. Set aside.
- Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles while rinsing them under cold water. Place chiles in a saucepan and cover with broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the meat. Season on all sides with salt and pepper and sprinkle with flour. Add oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the meat and cook until browned on both sides. Depending on the size of your pan, you will need to do this in a few batches to prevent overcrowding.
- Remove meat to a plate and set aside. Add onion to the pan and saute for several minutes.
- As the onions cook, pour the softened peppers and the broth into a blender. Add the sautéed onion and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Return the browned beef (and accumulated juices) to the pot. Strain the chili sauce from the blender through a fine mesh strainer into the pot. Add oregano, cumin, paprika, and garlic powder, and stir well. Add the bay leaf.
- Bring to a slow boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about an hour, or until the meat is very tender.
- Uncover and stir in lime juice and cornstarch slurry. Cook for a few more minutes, until the sauce has slightly thickened.
- Serve as a stew with tortillas for dipping and a side of Mexican rice and beans.
This is a fabulous recipe. Fabulous. Follow it exactly, or as closely as you can get, for a yummy dinner.
Capitol Hill Bean Soup
By Southern Living Test Kitchen
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dried white navy beans, sorted of debris and rinsed
- 1 (about 1-lb.) ham bone or uncured ham hock (I use a smoked hock or smoked turkey.)
- 2 1/2 qts. water
- 1 large russet potato (about 8 oz.)
- 3 cups chopped celery (about 6 stalks)
- 3 cups chopped yellow onion (about 3 medium onions)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3 tsp. kosher salt
- 3/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
- Soak beans: Place beans in a Dutch oven; add water to cover, and soak 8 hours or overnight. Drain beans. Return to Dutch oven.
- Boil ham bone and beans: Add ham bone and water. Cover and bring to a boil over high; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 1 hour.
- Cook potato: Rinse potato; pierce with a fork, and wrap potato in a paper towel. Microwave on HIGH until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes; peel and mash potato.
- Add vegetables and seasoning: Stir potato, celery, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper into bean mixture; simmer over medium-low until beans are tender, about 1 hour.
- Remove meat from bone: Remove ham bone from Dutch oven, and let stand until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard bone and fat; dice meat, and stir into bean mixture. Top each serving with chopped parsley.
Note: If you want to avoid some of the effects of eating the musical fruit, pour off the soaking water and rinse the beans thoroughly before moving on to the next step.
Red Chili Chicken Enchiladas
- Extra virgin olive oil, corn oil, or peanut oil
- 12 corn tortillas
- 2 14-ounce cans red chile enchilada sauce, or 3 cups of homemade enchilada sauce
- 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
- 2 cups grated cheese (about 1/3 pound)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 5 tablespoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed in with 3 tablespoons of water to form a slurry
- 1 medium red onion, chopped, soaked in a mixture of 1/2 seasoned rice vinegar and 1/2 water
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Thinly sliced iceberg lettuce seasoned with salt and vinegar, no oil
- Sour cream
- Sliced avocados or guacamole
Method
Prepare the enchilada sauce: (if making homemade, otherwise use canned and skip to the next step). Heat the oil in a sauce pan on medium high heat. Stir in the chili powder and cayenne. Let cook only for half a minute (if longer the chili will burn), and add the water and tomato paste. Whisk until smooth.
Add the garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and cornstarch slurry. Let come to a simmer and remove from heat. Taste for heat. If you want it spicier, add more chili powder or cayenne. Note that the tortillas and chicken will absorb some of the heat, so allow for that and let it be a little bit spicier than what you want in the finished dish. Mix in 1/4 cup of the sauce with the cooked chicken. Set aside.
Prepare the tortillas: Traditionally, one would dip the tortillas in some sauce and then lightly fry them in a little oil, and then roll them up. It’s a great way to infuse the tortillas with the chili sauce, but it’s really messy and many tortillas are not sturdy enough to handle this treatment without falling apart. So, instead, we soften the corn tortillas first, and then dip them in the sauce before rolling them. To soften them, and give them a little flavor from browning, I’ll show you my mother’s method for cooking the tortillas without using a lot of fat. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a small saucepan to coat the pan. Place a tortilla in the skillet and heat for a few seconds, until the tortilla begin to show some air bubbles. Use a metal spatula to flip to the other side for a few more seconds. Then add another tortilla on top of the first to soak up some of the excess oil. Flip them both together and add yet another tortilla. Keep adding them wherever there seems to be some excess oil. The idea is to heat the tortillas and soften them with the minimum amount of oil. As the tortillas become soft and heated, remove them to a paper towel to soak up even more excess oil. When you find you need more oil in the pan, add it.
Assemble the enchiladas: Preheat the oven to 350°F. One by one, dip a tortilla in the enchilada sauce and place in a 9×13 Pyrex baking dish. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of chopped chicken in each tortilla. Sprinkle with a little cheese. Roll up the tortilla. Place in the baking dish and repeat until all dozen of your tortillas are neatly placed in rows in the casserole dish. Cover the tortillas rolls with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese. I recall often eating these chicken enchiladas with very little cheese on them. (My mom, bless her soul, has no recollection of the chicken enchiladas without the sprinkled cheese. But she’s in her 80s and sometimes doesn’t remember these things. Or she remembers later and doesn’t remember that she ever forgot them in the first place. But heck, I’m in my 50s and my memory isn’t what it used to be either.)
Bake: Place in the oven and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly. Use a metal spatula to serve. Serve with thinly sliced iceberg lettuce that has been seasoned with vinegar and salt (no oil), chopped red onions that have soaked for at least half an hour in vinegar and water, guacamole or avocado slices, and sour cream. Garnish with cilantro.
Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
Ingredients
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup honey
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup Chinese rice wine
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons red bean curd (Optional)
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder (Optional)
- 2 (1 pound) pork tenderloins
Directions
- Gather all ingredients.
- Stir soy sauce, honey, ketchup, brown sugar, rice wine, hoisin sauce, red bean curd, and five-spice powder together in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook and stir until just combined and slightly warm, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, slice each pork tenderloin lengthwise into 1 1/2- to 2-inch-thick strips. Place pork strips in a large, resealable plastic bag.
- Pour marinade into the bag with the pork. Squeeze air from the bag, seal, and turn the bag a few times until pork is well coated. Marinate in the refrigerator, 2 hours to overnight.
- When ready to cook, preheat a charcoal grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
- Remove pork from marinade and shake to remove excess liquid. Set aside the remaining marinade for basting.
- Rake the hot coals into two equal piles on opposite sides of the charcoal grate. Add a small container of water to the grate. Place pork strips in the center of the grate for indirect cooking.
- Cook pork over indirect heat, turning regularly and basting as desired, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C), 30 minutes or long