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Soup soup a doop

Oh soup, how I love thee, let me count the ways. You are easy to make, you smell great and you taste delicious. Not to mention, you are quite nutritious. If you were a man, you would be a fabulous catch. You would be the man that mothers set their daughters up with, and I don't mean desperate mothers, a la Fran Fine's mother.
My latest soup adventure was into the land of alphabet soup. If you think reading a cereal box is enjoyable while eating breakfast, try reading a bowl of soup at lunch. Talk about a challenge! Much harder than deciphering the message in your Cheerios ('oooooooo.'). My usual go-to website for recipes in the past two years has been Weelicious. It is on the healthy side and geared towards cooking for kids. Sometimes I think, "No way in the world is a kid eating some of those crazy concoctions." Other times I think "I wonder if that kid who might be eating it can even pronounce it." So perhaps I have a little mom feeding her children envy, because her children are rock stars of eating. In fact, they would be the eating equivilvent of Elvis, Sting or something other awesome rocker. The website itself is interesting, inventive, delicious and well-rounded, just like her recipes.
Back to alphabet soup. I do not particularly care for most vegetables, unless prepared by the fine chefs at Seasons 52...or Saladworks. However, throw them into a pot of soup surrounded by secret messages, and I will eat just about anything in the bowl.
Awesome. Here is the recipe from Weelicious, I hope you enjoy as much as I did!



Alphabet Soup (Serves 6)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, finely diced
1 Stalk Celery, finely chopped
1 Large Carrot, finely chopped
1 Yukon Gold or Waxy Potato, peeled and chopped
1 Tsp Salt
1 14 Oz. Can Diced Tomatoes
1 32 Oz Box Vegetable or Chicken Stock
1 Bay Leaf
1/2 Cup Letter Pasta (I used 1 cup, which sucked up a lot of broth. We don't mind.)
1/2 Cup Corn (I used frozen)
1/2 Peas (I used frozen)

1. Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and saute the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes and salt for 4 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, stock and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Bring the heat back to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Add the corn and peas and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes or until pasta is tender.
4. Serve.

*Allow to cool, store in appropriate container or Ziploc bag, label and freeze up to 4 months. When ready, defrost in fridge for 24 hours or place in pot and bring to heat over low-medium heat.

something big is brewing...

Although this little blog has only a few, dear readers, I wanted to say "something big is brewing." I have jumped on the 'freezer cooking' bandwagon. Love it. I need to upload pictures and get the post together. But I will say, I am the proud owner of over 30 meals in my freezer. It's a take on Super Suppers. Google it. Love the concept, but not their prices.
Yes, 30 meals. Jealous? :-D

The best mac & cheese - part deux - part of the perfect school lunch.

Let me start by saying I did NOT steal these trays from my teaching days. I actually purchased them at a Mikasa Outlet store about six years ago. This picture is pretty much the most perfect looking school lunch, minus the Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip cookie (my absolute favorite).

Macaroni and cheese is clearly one of the best foods in the world. I should know, I've been out in that big world, like to Niagara Falls-to the Canadian side-and to Tijuana, Mexico-TWICE. So obviously, I know things about the world firsthand, including food. Some may argue that Velveeta is nasty and unworthy of being in mac and cheese. Those people probably have other crazy thoughts too, and I'm not talking about the kind you hope your crazy friend comes up with on a Saturday night that involves $20 and a tank a gas. Regardless, I serve this mac and cheese with everything, from filet mignon on New Year's Eve to hot dogs at a BBQ. I've also found that if you keep a few trays of it in the freezer, you'll always have a last-minute go-to gift, just add a bow and wait for the gracious thank you card to arrive.

The recipe calls for Ritz crackers. Considering that I am quite the fancy person, I use original flavor Pretzel Flips, although I've been known to slum it with crushed pretzels and Ritz crackers. I also recommend doubling this recipe, because it's that freakin good. Enjoy, because everyone else who has had it with me has!

Here is the recipe, from www.kraftfoods.com

Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 40 min
Makes: 5 servings, 1 cup each

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, divided

1/4 cup flour

1 cup milk

1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut up

2 cups (8 oz.) elbow macaroni, cooked, drained

1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/4 cup crushed RITZ Crackers (PRETZEL FLIPS are way better)

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Melt 3 Tbsp. of the butter in medium saucepan on low heat. Add flour; mix well. Cook 2 min., stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring until well blended. Cook on medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Add VELVEETA; cook until melted, stirring frequently.

ADD macaroni; mix lightly. Spoon into lightly greased 2-qt. casserole dish; sprinkle with shredded cheese. Melt remaining 1 Tbsp. butter; toss with cracker crumbs. Sprinkle over casserole.

BAKE 20 min. or until heated through.

The Rockpot

I am in love. It's with my crockpot. It was a 'free with purchase' item, nothing too big or too crazy about it. However, it's become the employee of the week. With the help of my freezer with a precooked meal (turkey shepard's pie...so fabulous), Saturday night dinner at my mom's and my first attempt at making pizza, there has been a homecooked dinner on the table for seven nights. Some dishes are served two nights. If you don't like leftovers, then you're probably in the wrong kitchen. Let's see what week #2 brings us.
Last week's menu:

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie: this has been on my food radar for quite awhile. Being a Cooks Illustrated recipe, I thought it would rock my socks off. The consistency was perfect, I could not have asked for better. The mistake was with the wine. I used savingnon, which I did not allow to evaporate long enough. It had a strong taste. Would I make the recipe again? Absolutely. Use the same wine? Eh, perhaps not. Make sure I give it enough time to cook-off: you better believe it. The prep time was ridiculously long as well. It requires a lot of attention. The homemade biscuits are easy and worth the effort. Then again, I really hate opening those Pillsbury containers of dough. That popping sound gets me every time. Ugh.

Turkey Shepard's Pie: this is a Rachel Ray Kids recipe. The prep time is ridiculous, I can only make it on a weekend when I have my mom to entertain Abby for hours on end. Maybe I move a little slowly in the kitchen, but I have yet to meet someone who thinks Rachel Ray has accurate prep times listed in her recipes. Regardless, this is one of my most commonly requested recipes. I recommend a side of turkey gravy. While in Ireland (summer 2007), my husband repeatedly commented on how great Shepard's pie was. I finally pointed out that I made it at home, quite often. For anyone who thinks Irish cooking may be bland and icky, you're wrong. My husband says so.

Ham and Potato Au Gratin: someone once sent me a PDF file of Weight Watchers crockpot recipes. Awesome, because so many of the ones I have are super fatty. This was a traditional cream of crap recipe and we loved it, even our little lass, Abby. Highly recommended.

Ham and Potatoes au Gratin (3 Points)
2 full cups diced extra-lean ham
4 cups diced raw potatoes
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar Cheese
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can Healthy Request
Cream of Celery Soup
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. prepared yellow mustard
Spray a slow cooker with butter flavored cooking spray. Combine ham, potatoes and onion.
Sprinkle Cheddar cheese evenly over top. In a small bowl, combine celery soup, black pepper,
parsley flakes, and mustard. Add soup mixture to potato mixture. Mix well to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours. Mix well before serving.
Serves 6 (1 cup) 181 calories, 5 gam Fat, 3 gm Fiber 3 Points for 1 Cup


Pizza: I have finally found the best pizza in New Jersey, it's in my kitchen! There is no pizza like Cornet or Pizza City pizza. Making pizza is enjoyable and easy. My mom pointed out that I have a super awesome Kitchen Aid Mixer that makes dough making much easier. Very true. So while the recipe reviews say that they required more dough, boohoohoo, I had no problems. Quickest recipe of the week, and perhaps my favorite. I added a cornmeal bottom. It was also the inaugural use of the pizza stone. Don't forget to pick up a pizza peal too! I used a can of Cento sauce and some mozzarella cheese I had in the fridge. If you know of a good sauce recipe, please share!


Hope you had a delicious week too!

PS - Just for fun, here is Abby's breakfast from one day this week. Doesn't your French Toast look this French?

Been a long time...

The Shady Kitchen has been very busy...being Shady. Although I am sure that I am one of two possible readers, I have decided to attempt resuming blogging about my food in my kitchen. There is one major note of interest that I should mention. October 22, 2008, was the birth of our fabulous little one, Abby. Cooking for her has been awesome, of course. I used the Beeba Babycook Baby Food Maker, and loved it. I still use it from time to time to make things for her. Making baby food is a lot of fun, and it even helped me like a few more foods, namely odd vegetables that I hadn't eaten since my mom pureed them for me.
So I'm happy to say...we're back! Stay Shady and stay tuned!

Fail-proof Chicken Dinner...with Cream of Crap Soup

I must admit, I am a Campbell's Soup girl, born and raised. Heck, my personalized soup mug (thanks Nan!) and I live approximately 5 miles from Campbell's Soup. However, as I develop into more of cook, there is quite a bit of controversy about recipes that use "Cream of Yadda-Yadda" soup. The sodium content scares me, but being that I am not a snail, I can live on the edge once in awhile and use it.
Therefore, when a quick and tasty dinner is necessary, I turn to this recipe. Bon appetite!

1 pkg. (6 oz.)Stove Top stuffing mix for Chicken
1 cup water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), pounded
to 1/4-inch thickness
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. paprika

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Combine stuffing mix and water in large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes.
Stir in eggs. Spread stuffing mixture evenly onto chicken breasts to
within 1/2 inch of sides. Roll up from one of the short ends to
enclose stuffing mixture.

Place, seam sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish. Mix soup and milk;
pour over chicken. Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through