Lemon Orzo Spinach Chicken Soup

I had some of Panera's Lemon Orzo Chicken soup the other day and it was delicious. Since I can't realistically go over there every day for it, I decided to make my own. It turned out quite tasty.

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 c celery, chopped fine
1 c carrots, chopped fine
1 c onions, chopped fine
1 tbsp garlic, minced
8 c chicken broth
4 c water
1 c orzo
8 oz chicken, diced
4 c fresh spinach
1/4 c lemon juice
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot. Saute onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in oil until softened.
2. Add broth, water, and spices to sauteed vegetables.
3. Add orzo and chicken to soup. Bring to a boil.
4. After the soup is brought to a boil, reduce the heat.
5. Add lemon juice to soup and let simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Add spinach to soup and stir. Let spinach wilt.
6. Serve hot.

Tips
For a vegetarian version, use vegetable broth and eliminate the chicken.

Recipe Reviews: Alton Brown's Southern Biscuits

I thought it would be good to have a space to post links to and notes on other people's recipes I try. I'll post links to the original recipes, notes on any tweaks or adjustments I made, and, where I can, pictures of the final result.

First up, Alton Brown's Southern Biscuit Recipe. This is probably my favorite biscuit recipe. I make it regularly and serve them with all sorts of toppings: butter, honey, homemade apple butter, homemade berry jam, etc. They even make great components to homemade chicken biscuits! Usually when I make them I make a double batch and I've made a few changes based on what I usually have in the house. So, when I make them, I use:

4 c unbleached AP flour
8 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
8 tbsp butter (cold!)
2 c skim milk or 2 c skim milk minus 2 tbsp, plus 2 tbsp white vinegar

I've also made these successfully with soy milk and a non-dairy butter substitute. They don't get as flaky and fluffy, but they are still tasty. 

Then I just follow Alton's instructions. I usually cut out the biscuits with a drinking glass and that works just fine if you don't have a biscuit cutter. They always come out delicious!

Spicy Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients

2 cups frozen Brussel sprouts

2 tsp water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp Tony Chachere's seasoning mix

1 tsp olive oil

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

2. Put frozen Brussel sprouts in a microwave safe container with water. Cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

3. Cut Brussel sprouts in half, if desired.

4. Toss Brussel sprouts with salt, pepper, seasoning, and olive oil. 

5. Spread sprouts across a baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes, stirring regularly. 

6. Serve hot.

Tips

You can use fresh Brussel sprouts as well. Feel free to skip the steaming step with fresh sprouts.

Use more or less Tony Chachere's and black pepper to make the sprouts more or less spicy. 

Sauteed Spinach with Turkey Bacon

Ingredients


3 slices thin cut turkey bacon
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
8 cups fresh spinach
1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp olive oil

Directions 


1. Cook turkey bacon. Chop into smaller pieces. Set aside.
2. Squeeze lemon juice. Set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
4. Put spinach in pan and stir.
5. As the spinach begins to wilt, add in lemon juice, bacon, and red pepper flakes (add more or less, depending on how spicy you want this).
6. Continue to stir until spinach is wilted.
7. Serve hot.

French Toast

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup skim milk
2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 pieces of wheat bread
2 tsp butter
maple syrup or agave, optional
powdered sugar, optional
strawberries, optional

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
2. Mix together eggs and milk until well blended.
3. Stir in cinnamon and brown sugar.
4. Soak bread in egg mixture for about a minute on each side (or longer, if desired) and place in skillet to cook. Brown the bottom side of the bread (the time needed varies between stoves and pans, but this shouldn't take long).
5. Flip the bread over to brown the other side.
6. Serve hot, topped with any combination of butter, maple or agave syrup, strawberries, powdered sugar, as desired.

Pineapple Berry Banana Smoothie

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

2 medium bananas
1 1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1 cup blackberries OR blueberries
1 cup V8 açaí mixed berry juice

Directions

1. Chop larger fruits up into smaller pieces.
2. Put all the ingredients in the blender.
3. Blend until smooth.

Tips

You can buy pre-frozen berries, but I find it pretty easy to freeze my own. I spread a piece of wax paper across a cookie sheet, then spread the berries across it and pop the sheet in the freezer for at least 4 hours. Then I just toss all the berries in a Ziploc bag to store them in the freezer.

Crockpot Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients: Vegan Option
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1/2 cup celery
3 cups red beans (canned with liquid)
1-3 tsp Cajun seasoning (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp file powder
1-2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 – 1 tsp hot sauce, if desired
2 tbsp corn starch
4 tbsp cold water
cooked rice to serve

Ingredients: Meat Option
(Pictured Here)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1/2 cup celery
3 cups red beans (canned with liquid)
1-3 tsp Cajun seasoning (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp file powder
3/4 lb chicken or pork Andouille sausage, sliced
1-2 cups chicken broth
1/2 – 1 tsp hot sauce, if desired
2 tbsp corn starch
4 tbsp cold water
cooked rice to serve

Directions
1. Begin to heat up your crockpot so you aren't putting the beans into a cold dish. Heat up the olive oil in a saute pan. Saute onion, bell pepper and celery until they begin to soften.
2. Put beans in the crockpot. Add broth to make sure the beans are covered with liquid.
3. Once the onion, bell pepper, and celery are softened, add them to the crockpot. Add seasonings (and the hot sauce if you want it) and stir well.
4. If you are making the sausage version, toss your sausage in the same pan you cooked the onions in until they start to brown. Then add the sausage to the crockpot.
5. Cook on high for 5-6 hours.
6. Put the corn starch into a jar or Tupperware container with a tight lid. Add 4 tablespoons of cold water. Shake to combine. Then add in 3-4 tablespoons of the hot liquid from the beans and shake again. This will help prevent clumps.
7. Add the corn starch mixture to the crockpot and stir to combine. Let thicken until the mixture is a the consistency you want it (a thicker mix will need to cook for a bit longer).
8. As the mixture is thickening, prepare the rice. Serve the red beans over rice.

Tips
1. You can use re-hydrated dried beans if you want, although you may need to add more liquid to the crockpot.
2. You can actually cook this over low heat on the stove as well.
3. This does have a bit of a kick to it with the hot sauce, so be careful if you're not a fan of spicy foods.
4. If you're having trouble finding chicken Andouille sausage, know that you may be able to find miniature ones in the refrigerated meat section of your store. That's what I used here. Yes, sausage purists, I know it isn't pork. It is still delicious.