Chicken Taco Soup

Extended Shelf Life for: Tomatoes, Peppers, Onions, Avocados, Limes

If I am truthful, I will let you know that I remember very little about the true way in which this soup came together and as is incredibly common in this kitchen, I have no idea what amount of what went in or stayed out, etc. And I realize that makes me a poor food blogger. But here's the thing, I believe, that sometimes in the kitchen, the most important thing is knowing what goes together, to know your personal preference for how much broth to have compared to the density of other ingredients and above all else, I think what is important is to use what you have, to use it well and enjoy the results as they are...this was a delicious soup and I'm going to tell you what goes into, but as for how much and exact measurements, let go of that and just let it come together, it's a soup for goodness sake!

Ingredients/Directions:
Inspired by Rachel Ray's recipe Mexican Chicken Lime Soup

 In a stock pot or dutch oven saute 1 chopped onion in a drizzle of olive oil until tender and translucent. Add 2-3 (or more) minced Garlic Cloves and 1 minced pepper of choice (or a couple and a variety if you like spice - we have handy-dandy roasted jalapeno ice cubes which I added at the end), saute for a couple of minutes, then push to the side. Add additional olive oil if needed and begin cooking 4-6 Chicken Breasts until juices run clear. At this point, I like to take a pair of kitchen sheers and a fork and cut the breasts into bite size pieces. Add 2-cups Home Made (or store bought) Chicken Broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Run about 10 tomatoes through a juicer (but not on the juicer mode...more like mincing/blending mode) or blender and add to boiling broth. Adjust liquid according to personal preference by adding water or broth. Season with, lime juice, salt, pepper, cayenne, chili powder and cumin. Scoop into bowls top with Shredded Cheddar Cheese and slices of Avocado (or mashed avocado if they're a little ripe ;)).

Sweet Pork Fried Rice

Fried rice is an easy go-to dish, especially with some pulled pork, rice pilaf and rosted veggies waiting patiently in the freezer to be used. My day of cooking back in September is still serving us in May - I could be embarassed by this, but I will choose to be proud that food stays in our freezer for ridiculous amounts of time ^^

In the Korean grocery store it is a simple task to find 'bulgogi marinade' a kind of sweet sauce for one of my personal favorite Korean meats. Therefore, with marinade in hand and a thawed baggie of pork, rice (plus an additional cup left over from a previous meal) and roasted peppers and onions, I went to work re-heating and preparing, topping the whole thing off with some monteray jack cheese and a fried egg!

Chickpea Spinach Pasta

Over a month ago...many months ago in fact, I did a bit of 'once-a-month-cooking', knowing full well I wouldn't use it all up in a month because my life is busy, but not that busy and I just have too many ideas flooding my foodie brain to do all my cooking in one day. Regardless, having things like home-made tomato sauce just waiting for me in the freezer is quite awesome and I'm quite happy on the nights I don't feel like cooking nor walking to any food establishment, that there's something waiting to be prepared quickly and easily.

So, with a CouchSurfing Guest at home and a desire to feed him well while taking time to chat and enjoy his company I figured a quick boil of some pasta along with the defrost of some frozen chickpeas (since we can't get canned one here and it's easier to prepare many at once rather than a few at a time) and my home-made tomato sauce we'd soon have ourselves and enjoyable and hearty meal.

In a large skillet, saute an onion and garlic, add chickpeas, heat through. Next, add a few handfuls of washed and chopped spinach until wilted, dump in two cups of tomato sauce, heat through and mix in pasta , fresh basil and mozzerella cheese, enjoy!

Pork Fried Rice

Spring must be around the corner since I'm a bit anxious lately to 'clean things out' - I've really been taking to my freezer since I have all those pre-made frozen dishes that were intended to get me through the end of my MAED course, which they did.  But so did cheap Korean food.  So, there's still a lot of frozen dishes which have proven a blessing, but also a challenge, I like cooking completely fresh, I'm not a busy mom, so once-a-month-cooking isn't a must...not to mention, cooking is a sort of outlet for me. If I don't cook/bake regularly things get rough, or as rough as they ever do for me and the mild-mannered man.

Anyway, I used up a good bit of frozen pieces in this fried rice, so it was a quick dish to make, which is always nice.

Ingredients/Directions:

Prior to making the rice, prepare some vegetables in this fashion, I did bok choy once again.

Also consider roasting some tofu as suggested and directed here.

In a large skillet, wok or whatever you can fit all required ingredients into, heat some olive oil. Meanwhile, whisk 2-3 eggs with a splash of soy sauce and some minced garlic. Scramble egg and remove from the pot. Next add a touch of oil if needed and throw in 2 cups of shredded pork and three cups of day old or frozen rice and soy sauce to taste, mix and heat thoroughly. Add prepared vegetables and egg, mix and season to taste with soy sauce, serve alongside roasted tofu and enjoy!

Tomato, Spinach, Mushroom and Chickpea Pasta Soup

This came together in the most perfect, beautiful way possible.

I somehow end up with a ton of things in my freezer, all.the.time.

There's all the 'once-a-month-cooking' that I'm still using because honestly, I like to cook things fresh, but having certain things in the freezer is a huge blessing.

There's always some beans because the canned variety aren't abundant in South Korea, so, I'm always putting a load in the slow-cooker and freezing about half.

There's always some homemade chicken broth because that's also great in the slow-cooker and home made broth is outstanding compared to powdered or store bought versions AND if you eat a chicken, why not get the most out of that bird!

There's always other random bits and pieces of only God knows what.

And the other night, a little bit of all that mess made for a most fabulously delicious dinner that way exceeded my expectations and which could be re-created...I think ^.~

Ingredients/Directions:

Since most of these are pre-made but still home made you may want to experiment, I'm sure by the end you could have something delectable and quite similar

Saute in a touch of oil one chopped Onion.  Add to the pot 3-5 minced cloves of Garlic, saute one minute before adding 2 Tbsp. Butter and 1 cup chopped Mushrooms. (If you don't want butter, no problem, I just believe that butter and mushrooms are a beautiful combination).  After a few minutes of sauteing these veggies together, add 1 cup home-made Chicken Broth, 1 cup Water (or 2 cups store bought broth ^.~), and 2 cups Tomato Sauce (I recommend the one linked here as it has a few added depths and flavors that really amp up this dish) and 1 cup Spinach Pesto - without cheese (or you can add chopped spinach toward the end of cooking and surely have an equally delicious experience). Bring to boil add one cup of Chickpeas (or one small can) and about a cup of Pasta (macaroni or another short style) continue to boil 10 minutes or until pasta is cooked to desired tenderness, add water if needed. Serve with toasted baguette slices, a glass of red wine and enjoy!

Ginger Pork Noodle Bowls

Once again, thanks to a plethora of frozen foods, the Man and I plus our friend Aaron had a decent meal regardless of the hours I had spent and still needed to spend sitting at a computer busting out MAED papers and such.

So, with a bag of thawed pork and a few fresh ingredients including: ginger, bok choy, bean sprouts and green onions, I set to work on these Ginger Pork Noodle Bowls

Ingredients/Directions:

(from Everyday with Rachel Ray - September 2011)

Soak rice noodles in warm water.  In a large pot bring 1qt. of beef or pork broth, 4 cups water and a 1 inch sliced piece of ginger to a boil.  Divide 1 cup (or two if you want more meat) pork, 6 baby bok choy, 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts, and 1/4 cup sliced green onions among 4 large soup bowls. Divide soaked noodles into four equal portions.  Using a mesh strainer lower one portion of noodles at a time into the boiling broth for 1-2 minutes. Transfer noodles to soup bowls, continue until all noodles are cooked.  Ladle hot broth into bowls serve with fresh cilantro, lime and hot chili oil.

Shredded Pork and Rice Brunch Burritos

Inspired by Rachel Ray - adjusted to meet the needs and available ingredients of the day, these burritos were so Quick and Easy, and would likely remain so regardless of whether you had various pieces pre-made in the freezer.

A quick reheat of 1 cup of Rice Pilaf. A simple saute of Bell Peppers (or using 1 cup frozen veggies), followed by the scrambling of 4 eggs, the reheating of 1 cup Shredded Pork, the Chopping of one Tomato and the assembly of 2 large Burrito-Tortillas is all it takes to enjoy a filling, nutritious Sunday Brunch between writing MAED papers and banging your head against the wall ^.^

Spanish Rice and Shrimp

Starting to use some of my pre-made freezer goods since I've been living in the uncomfortable space that is two MAED courses simultaneously (we've also eaten a TON of fried chicken...don't judge) Regardless, having food stuff ready and waiting in the freezer is awesome when I want to have somebody over, eat something relatively fresh and home-made and want to get to work on my MAED in a reasonable amount of time.

So, October saw the creation of Rachel Ray's Spanish Rice and Shrimp - a simple, simple compilation of:

4 cups Rice Pilaf, heated in 2 Tbsp. EVOO, set aside in a bowl.
4 cloves Garlic, chopped plus 1 lb. Deveined, Peeled Shrimp and 1 Tsp. Paprika heated in same skillet as Rice Pilaf.
1 cup Tomato Sauce and 1 cup Roasted Peppers added unto the Shrimp mixture and heated through.
Pilaf returned to the pan, mixed, heated served with Parsley (if available) and lemon wedges.

Enjoy with friends and a glass of home-made wine or any wine should do.

Shredded Chicken: For a Month-ish

I'm quite certain this bit of chicken isn't meant to last a month because I opted for the slow-cooker once again. However, should I do this one or two more times I will in fact have plenty of chicken and chicken broth for the month!

The chicken entered the slow-cooker with a sprinkling of salt and pepper a touch of water for the pot and a few squeezes of lemon juice. At the end of the day, the chicken meat was eager to come of the bones and be shredded and store in the freezer, 1 cup at a time. Next day, the chicken bones happily entered the slow-cooker with a quartered carrot and onion and a bay leaf simply to be covered in water and made into a fabulous broth.

I love the slow-cooker. That's all.

Roasted Veggies: For a Month

Roasted Veggies don't require much explanation. Rachel Ray roasts up some assorted bell peppers and onions followed by (or preceded by, doesn't matter much) a couple of cubed Butternut Squash.

I also roasted peppers and onions. However, I opted for small Korean pumpkins rather than Butternut Squash and rather than cube and roast, I simply set the beasts in the crock-pot (it's best to scoop out their innards first, but it can be done either way), turned it on for 6-8 hours on low and froze smashed pumpkin rather than cubed and roasted. I looked through the recipes which call for the cubes and decided a pure would work as well, differently, but it would still work. Also, I highly recommend cooking pumpkin in your slow-cooker, it's so incredibly easy, too easy really.