Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup with Spinach

I am back!  Sorry for the unannounced hiatus!  I still haven’t even had a chance to post my Christmas dinner recipes yet – that is how behind I am!  This recipe I did even before Christmas and is a good recipe for this upcoming week of cold unspring like weather.  I love sweet potatoes and this recipe for Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup is a great combination of sweet and spicy.

Ingredients (original recipe from Smitten Kitchen)

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 10- to 11-ounce fully cooked smoked Portuguese linguica sausage or chorizo sausage, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3large), peeled, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 6 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1 15oz can white beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 9-ounce bag fresh spinach

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook until brown, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Transfer sausage to paper towels to drain.
2. Add onions and garlic to pot and cook until translucent, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add all potatoes and cook until beginning to soften, stirring often, about 12 minutes. Add broth; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Add beans and reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
3. Using potato masher, mash some of potatoes in pot. Add browned sausage to soup. Stir in spinach and simmer just until wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon oil.
4. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls and serve.

 

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken with Cilantro Rice

There is just something wonderful about coming home after work to a deliciously smelling house.  Since both of us work full-time the slow cooker can be such a welcome break to our busy schedules.  This recipe for Slower Cooker Salsa Chicken sounded too good to pass up and I had to pair it with cilantro rice because that seemed only appropriate :)

Slower Cooker Salsa Chicken (original recipe from Allrecipes)

Ingredients

• 1 16 ounce jar of salsa
• 1 package of dry taco seasoning mix (I make my own with the following spices:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon oregano )

• 1 lime, juiced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 lbs skinless boneless chicken breast, halved if you want to shred later or sliced to desire size
• 1 15 ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup of frozen corn

Directions

1. Place everything up to the chicken breast into the slow cooker and stir to combine.   
2. Add the chicken breasts, and stir to coat with the salsa mixture.   
3. Cover the cooker, set to high and cook until the chicken is very tender, about 4 hours.  Or set to low and cook 6 to 8 hours.   
4. About 30 minutes before serving ( I put in right before starting my rice) add the black beans and corn and stir to combine.

For the rice I combined 2 cups of cooked rice with the juice of ½ a lime and 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro.

Serve the chicken on top of the rice and enjoy!

Sautéed Kale with a Poached Egg and Parmesan

One of our favorite and quick wintertime meals is just simply Sautéed Kale with a Poached Egg and Parmesan.  Kale is all over the farmer’s market in the winter and is so deliciously fresh mixed with a poached egg.

Sautéed Kale with a Poached Egg and Parmesan

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

• ½ a bunch of Kale (we normally get a $2 bag and the farmers market and spilt it over two nights, it just depends on how hungry you are but remember that kale reduces down greatly so I wouldn’t do any less than ½ a bunch for 2 people)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• ½ tablespoon crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1 tablespoon Parmesan
• 2 eggs
• Splash of vinegar (I typically use balsamic because that is what we have but really any vinegar would work)

Directions:

You have to consider timing of your food with this recipe, cold kale or a cold egg are not as exciting as if they are warm.  If you enjoy your kale really cooked then you can start it right away, we like it still with a little crispness so we start it after one egg is poached.

To Poach an Egg:  Everyone has their own method, so if you have a process that works then go ahead and do that.  I find the following instructions the easiest for me:

1. Fill a saucepan ¾ full of water – you want enough water to cover the egg when it is cooking.  There is nothing wrong with too much water, it just takes longer to heat up. 
2. Add the splash of vinegar and heat to just about a boil.
3. Crack the egg into a small dish.  Take a spoon and stir the water in the saucepan to create a whirlpool effect.  Once you have the water spinning pretty well, slide the egg into the center of the sauce pan.  Then leave it alone!  No touching to “fix” it.
4. Make sure the water never comes to a full boil.  After about 5 minutes take a slotted spoon and scoop out the egg.  Have a plate with a paper towel ready and place the egg on it. 
5. Since we make one egg per person I put the cooked egg in the microwave to keep it warm.

Sautéed Kale:

1. Wash kale and tear into pieces.  If the kale is fresh I keep the ribbing but if it is a little older I leave out the tougher pieces.
2. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a sauté pan.  Add garlic and red pepper and cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Add kale and the rest of the olive oil, stir to coat.
4. Cover and reduce heat.  Cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

Place kale at the bottom of a bowl, add the poached egg and top with the Parmesan.  Enjoy!

 

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

I frequently get in the mood to make Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells.  It is one of my all time favorite dinners and is sooo delicious!!  It is pretty easy to make and a beautiful dish to have for company.  This recipe uses spinach but in place of the spinach you could also use a ground meat.  You probably should make this for dinner tonight :)

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

• 12oz jumbo shells, cooked according to package

Sauce:

• 28oz can of Crushed Tomatoes
• 8oz can of Tomato Sauce (preferably one with garlic and basil included)
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced into itty bitty pieces
• 1 tablespoon Dried Basil or Italian Seasoning
• 1/3 cup red wine, optional

Stuffing:

• 16 oz. Ricotta
• 2 cups Mozzarella
• ½ cup Parmesan
• 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 10oz box of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

Sauce:

1. Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and simmer on low for at least 30 min. to incorporate flavors (this makes the house smell amazing so feel free to simmer longer!)

Stuffing:

1. Combine all ingredients and mix until they are all incorporated.

Once sauce and stuffing are done you are ready to combine everything!  

1. In a 9x13 baking dish or bigger, place some sauce on the bottom – just enough to cover. 
2. Take cooked shells and place a heaping tablespoon of stuffing in it.  You want enough stuffing in them to be overflowing just a bit.  Place the shell on the sauce in the baking dish.  Repeat until you run out of room (usually what happens to me), run out of stuffing or run out of shells. 
3. If you have extra stuffing, mix it into the rest of the sauce.  No worries if you don’t, sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t, it comes out great either way!
4. Spread the remaining sauce over the shells to cover.
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove the foil and cook for another 10 minutes.