New Year's Eve Leek, Barley and Short Rib Stoup

Back in the olden days before we had fancy things like chopping knives or cutting boards, we lived a simple life. A life of one pot meals with minimal chopping and foods that could be reheated in a sauté pan. (And by olden days I mean before we got the delivery of our household goods!)

But how do you celebrate a holiday, such as New Year's Eve, with a one pot meal? With a new soup recipe of course!

I found this great basic recipe for a leek, barley and beef soup and I decided I could do one step better with a little improvisation. So off I went to the commissary for supplies!

Leek, Barley and Short Rib Stoup:

~ 2lbs. of short ribs (with a little bit of fat visible too)

3 leeks, chopped width wise using the white part too

1 cup barley

2 onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 baking potatoes, scrubbed and chopped in bite size pieces

1 can corn

1 can peas

6-8 cups water

shredded cheese (as topping if desired)

sour cream (as topping if desired)

So as you can see above, all of the above chopping was done with a leatherman. Again. During the process of chopping all the veggies, I swore next time we move, I will be packing one of my good knives with me so I will never again have to use a leatherman to do my dirty work. Don't get me wrong, had we not had this, life would have been even more miserable that it was and I am very grateful, but I also learned a HUGE appreciation for current kitchen conveniences. 

Place the ribs in the bottom of your stock pot. Chop your onions, garlic and leeks and just heap them on top of your short ribs. 

I got a little cocky and thought, "Oh, I don't need a stock pot! I can use my regular pot that I normally use to make black beans in! That will be PLENTY of room!" I was wrong. Halfway through chopping up my leeks, I realized quickly that my pot was not going to be big enough. I thought seriously about sending my husband to the PX to pick up a stock pot but then decided against that idea because I love him, but I don't think he would know a stock pot if it bit him on the...foot. 

The only problem with leaving things out while I made the quick trip to the PX was Jack. You remember Jack, that lovable little bundle of catness that likes to eat everything she can get her paws on, especially new ingredients. (See my recipe for bruschetta!) I locked Jack in the bedroom with my husband, ran for a pot and came back. But even in the two minutes I took to tell Alan about the new pot I got, by the time I came back to the kitchen Jack was on the counter inching towards the leeks, the new ingredient in the house! Crazy Cat! 

I transferred the beginnings of my soup to the new, cleaned pot and continued. Once you chop up all the onions, garlic and leeks, add the water, salt and pepper as well as the barley. I used closer to 8 cups of water because I knew I wanted to cook it low and slow for a majority of the day. 

Give the soup a nice stir and bring it to a boil on the back burner. Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and just leave it alone for a bit. When you go into the kitchen, give it a little stir, but otherwise, this is a low-maintenance recipe. 

When you are about an hour and a half to an hour away from wanting to serve dinner, go ahead and add the corn and chopped potatoes to the pot to give them an opportunity to cook but also let a little bit of the starch incorporate to thicken the soup a bit. 

About 15-20 minutes before the soup is ready, remove the short ribs from the pot (bones too if you can find them), and shred the meat. This should be super easy to do! The meat should be just fall-off-the-bone tender and delicious and moist and wonderful! 

Not the best picture ever, but you can see it was easy enough the husband could do it! (Just kidding, he's really an amazing cook as well!) 

Add the meat back to the pot as well as the peas (so they don't get too mushy). Maintain the simmer and skim any grease or fat off the top of the soup. 

While we had bowls and spoons to eat the soup, once it was done I realized a fatal flaw. We had no way to serve the soup from the pot to the bowl. Once again, we had to get creative. We ended up using a mug to scoop and serve it. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do! 

This was the soup before the desired toppings. By itself, it was pretty good. However, I am a firm believer that everything tastes better with cheese. And sour cream is just a bonus. They both worked pretty well for this soup! 

The husband added a little hot sauce to his for a bit of an added spice. But then again he adds hot sauce to everything so I wasn't too bothered. Actually, with a little dab of added hot sauce it wasn't too bad. 

Overall, it was a great mid-winter meal to have on a cold, crisp night cuddled up to your significant other waiting for the ball to drop. Literally. We had a great time on New Year's Eve and this meal was just the start to it. (And by the way we figure it, it may have been when we conceived our soon to be baby!) 

Thank you so much for coming by to check out the newest recipe. I really appreciate it. And sorry it took so long to get up since I promised it a month ago!! Forgive my tardiness, but you know what they say: Better late than never!! 

Huevos Rancheros!

I really love Mexican cuisine. For me, the test of a good Mexican restaurant is how their Huevos Rancheros are done. I like mine with black beans and the egg to be cooked over-easy so that when you find the yolk a river of golden goodness mingles with the rest of the food on the plate creating a creamy, satisfying, all-encompassing mouthful. Needless to say, not every restaurant I've tried has been able to satisfy. In fact, some have been downright disappointing. 

While trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight (today being New Year's Eve; and yes, I'll have that tasty recipe up for you in a few days), I stumbled across a new twist on Huevos Rancheros that made me immediately want to run out to the grocery store and return with the ingredients to make it. (Thank you to the Smitten Kitchen for the nudge in the right direction.)

Huevos Rancheros:

1 small corn tortilla

shredded cheese (I used Colby Jack)

1 egg (unless you break the yolk and have to start over)

can of black beans

salsa of choice (if desired)

sour cream (if desired)

olive oil

In a skillet, add just a drizzle of olive oil to the pan. Once its warm, place the corn tortilla in the pan and brown it on the one side. 

Once it's brown to your liking, flip it over and add a layer of the shredded cheese. Let that get warm and melty for a few minutes. 

Once the cheese has gotten there, open the egg onto of the cheese-covered tortilla. After it cooks for a few minutes, and it will be different than cooking the egg directly in the pan, flip it over.

Ah the flipping part. That was a challenge since we still do not have our household goods. Its always interesting on the improvisation needed. In this case, it was a fork. Once the egg is cooked to your liking, which I know might be hard to tell since you can't see the egg but guessing works well, get that baby on a plate. Also, it takes less time on the second side than the first. 

Because I don't have my handy kitchen gadgets, I actually had to slide the egg out onto a plate then invert a plate on top of the first one to get the tortilla on egg side up. 

Once the egg is on the plate, dress it up however you want. I enjoyed having the beans, salsa and sour cream on mine. The only thing I think could add more to the dish would maybe be some rice. A thought for next time, and there WILL be a next time on this recipe. Possibly a New Years Day breakfast as well? 

The husband certainly approved of the new dish and even was gracious enough to be my guinea-pig. (Of course I made him try it first so that way when I made mine, I'd know if I need to do anything differently.) The dogs sat and stared longingly as we ate. The cat pretended not to notice. 

I hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year's Eve! For us, it's some Netflix, maybe a book and of course, the yummy new recipe for dinner!

Thanks for stopping by to check this out. See ya next year!! 

Colorado Chili Sheppard Style!

Part of being an Army wife is the chance to move to new places. Recently my husband received orders for us to re-plant our roots in Colorado Springs, CO! I can NOT TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I WAS TO FIND OUT!! (Do the caps help to get across my excitement at all?)

One of the things that I learned when I moved from the east coast to the west coast earlier this year was what things to pack with you that you will need before all of the rest of your house gets there. Obviously this is still a learning process as there are some small things that I'm seriously kicking myself for forgetting, but for the most part, and after making a dozen lists of things to bring and lists of lists to make, I'd say we did pretty good. I remembered one pot, a 12" skillet, my favorite good spatula, all our spices, and a set of plates and silverware for us both. 

My husband wasn't around for the first move this year, so it was an eye opening experience for him to see what needed to be packed, cleaned, arranged, having someone come into your home and pack your belongings, etc. When all was said and done, and lists had been checked and crossed off, we were ready to go. As you can see below, some dogs were pretty stoked to be back in the car! (Goodness knows why they like to travel so much!)

We saw some beautiful sights along the way. I fulfilled my goal of going to Las Vegas, even if it was for less than 12 hours and I lost $50. It was worth it. The thing the husband enjoyed the most was the land as we passed. We drove through the Mojave Desert in California and Nevada and about a 40 mile stretch of Arizona. The bulk of our time was spent driving across the state of Utah and then about 2/3rd of the way across Colorado. The picture below was taken at the salt flats in Utah. It was the last place the Mormon founder, Joseph Smith tried to settle his people before finally ending up in St. George, Utah. It is a beautiful place! Its quiet and serene and really makes you appreciate what you have. The picture doesn't do it justice, but my husband is just so damn cute in it, I had to use it! Otherwise, I hated driving through Utah, especially toward the end. It was flat. And brown. 

On the trip I learned something very interesting. Driving through the Rocky Mountains is a completely different experience than driving through the Appalachian Mountains. Driving through a blizzard in the Rocky Mountains is a freaking crazy-once-in-a-lifetime-don't-know-if-I-want-to-repeat-it-at-10,000-and-12,000-feet-in-elevation experience. And I am not exaggerating at all. Seriously. 

It was once I got here and we are sitting around our empty house with nothing but an air mattress, a laptop with a handful of movies, that I realized meals would be a problem. I can't cook anything that needs to be baked because I have nothing to bake it in or on. I have no microwave to reheat leftovers. I only have the pan, pot and spatula. Hmm...and then inspiration struck! Anything that I cook in the pot I can reheat on the stovetop in the pot or pan! The husband was really excited about this and so, on our first full day in our new home, with the snow blowing all day long and it feeling like -9 degrees outside, I made chili. And as promised to my dear friend Patrice back in California, I am sharing my recipe with you! 

Colorado Chili Sheppard Style:

1.25-1.5 lbs of ground beef

1 diced onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 can black beans (i used low sodium)

1 can light kidney beans

1 can dark kidney beans

2 large cans crushed tomatoes

1 can diced tomatoes for chili

1 palmful chili powder

1 palmful paprika

2 palmfuls cumin

2 dashes cayenne pepper

4 dashes texas pete (or your choice) hot sauce

olive oil

shredded cheese for garnish (if desired)

sour cream for garnish (if desired)

hot sauce for garnish (if desired)

crackers for garnish (if desired) 

Once I decided upon making chili, the grocery store became the next challenge. I don't have a knife for chopping an onion or garlic right now. Luckily they had the pre-minced garlic in the produce section but no diced onion. Challenge accepted. I diced my onion with my husbands leatherman multi-tool. And I must say, I was impressed! That blade works pretty well as a back up! 

To begin your chili, heat your pot over medium-low to medium heat. Once its up to temp, drizzle a bit of olive oil in the pan then add the onions. Saute them until they are golden brown. Add the garlic for a minute then throw in the ground beef. Break that up and cook until the meat is done. 

While the meat is browning, open up all the cans of beans and tomatoes. In a moment of brilliance while I was at the commissary, I realized I had no can opener so I picked up the most basic one they had for $1.99. I was proud of myself for realizing it and thinking ahead! It didn't even open half a can before it broke! My husband tried to open the cans with his leatherman, but it was going to take forever. So I ran out into the cold, knocked on my neighbors door (who I had not met prior to then) and begged for the use of his can opener. Luckily he didn't think I was a crazy can opener lady and was happy to loan it out for 5 minutes. 

Once the meat is done, add all the canned goods. I ended up only using about 3/4 of the second can of the crushed tomatoes mostly just due to the size of my pot but I don't think thats neither here nor there. Add the spices, and salt and pepper, if desired as well. Adjust the seasons to taste and bring the chili up to a simmer. Let it go for about 30 minutes on low. 

I love to pile cheese and sour cream on mine and then use crackers and eat some of it like a dip almost. The husband likes just sour cream and more hot sauce. Dress it up however you want! I think a corn chip would be a good garnish or maybe some corn even. Hmm...add corn to the chili also? An idea for next time! 

So Patrice and MC, I know you guys are having chili tonight for dinner and we are having leftover chili for dinner so it will be like we are having dinner together again. Can't wait to see you guys again and have dinner together for real! 

Thanks so much for coming by to check out the recipe! I hope you have a great night!

Carmel Vanilla Crispies!

Today I was going through the pictures on my phone, deleting some, editing others and I came across the pictures from my trip that I took to North Carolina in July. The reason I went out there was to celebrate my birthday with my family and be present for the birth of my niece, Kori.

One of the things that I love to do with my niece and nephew is bake! We made brownies, as modeled by my niece Alyssa above, but my sister was craving cripy treats. After a trip to the grocery store, we returned with the fixings for some crispies, but with a twist! 

Carmel-Vanilla Crispies:

4 tbsp butter

1 1/2 bags of marshmallows (in this case carmel and vanilla)

6 1/2 cups crispy cereal

This recipe is pretty simple. Have your niece put the butter in a large pot on the stove. Instruct your nephew to add the already opened bag of marshmallows. Melt the marshmallows and butter together over medium-high heat. 

My sister was nice enough to take some photos for me for the blog. (Thanks Erin!)

Once the marshmallow and butter mix is melted, have your nephew add the crispy cereal to the mix.

Combine them together and transfer it into a 9x13 pan. Let them cool for at least 30 minutes and then enjoy! 

I had a great time making these with the kids and they were enjoyed by all! Even had to sneak some into the hospital for my sister after she gave birth. 

I know its not the most complicated recipe or even the most gourmet, it is important that everyone know how to make this. What's more American than crispy treats with a carmel and vanilla twist?

Thanks for checking it out and have a great day! 

Chicken in Garlicy-Almondy Goodness!

A few weeks ago I got to play tour-guide for my Mom and her friend Jen who came out to visit me for almost a whole week! We had a great time! Hit all the highlights of the Monterey Bay area: whale watching (with some double tail and close tail at that), Cannery Row, Fisherman's wharf, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Carmel (twice in one weekend). I totally ruined Mom and Jen's life for the rest of theirs as I introduced them to Calamari Steaks. Once you have the whole steak, you can't go back.

One of the other perks about them being here on a Sunday is that for the past month or so I've been having a good old fashioned Sunday dinner with our neighbors and they have spoiled me with their amazing food so with so many great people around, I got to try out a new recipe! 

Chicken in an Almond-Garlic Sauce (adapted from Bon Appetit):

3/4 cup slivered almonds

4 cups cubed white bread

6 cloves of garlic

3ish cups of chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 tsp saffron (if you have it, which I did)

6 chicken legs (thigh and drumstick)

1 onion, minced

chopped parsley for garnish

salt

pepper

olive oil

The original recipe called for 4 chicken legs but since there were 5 of us, I made 6. 

Heat olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat until toasted to a golden brown and then remove from the pan. Place about half of them in a food processor and save the rest for garnish. 

Add the chopped bread to the pan and toast them with the garlic cloves that of course, went through my favorite kitchen tool, my garlic press. Toast everything together until the bread is a very lovely golden brown. I guess in a pinch you could use the nice croutons from the bakery section of your local grocery store but this was pretty awesome too. 

So then remove the toasty bread to the food processor with the almonds. Add some salt, fresh pepper, the saffron (if using), chicken stock and wine to the food processor. A word of advice on this. Because the original recipe was smaller and because there is NEVER enough sauce, I was improvising on the sauce front. A food processor is only capable of holding so much liquid. Luckily, my trusty kitchen elf was there to help me save the sauce and the food processor. I ended up having to whisk in the wine once I transfered it to a bowl. But it was worth it. 

The next time that I make this, which I definitely will, I think what I would do is actually infuse the saffron into the chicken stock on the stove before I added everything to the sauce. I feel like it would give it a more consistent color and not look so spotted like in the picture above. But just a thought if you decide to use the saffron (which I highly recommend). 

In the midst of sauce madness, I found that my pug was over at the computer trying to put up the Taco Pie...me oh my! recipe. 

Back to the stove though. Now you want to bust out the chickens. Leave the skins on for sure because you want to get them nice and brown on both sides, but not cooked through all the way. Then take the chicken out of the pan. 

We had a very nice onion tonight and because Mom and Jen are not the biggest fan of onions, I had to saute them until very golden brown and very done. That took forever. I think at this point we had cracked the wine. 

Once the onions are nice and done, you add everything back to the pan. Chicken in then cover it with the sauce. You then want to bring the sauce up to a boil, reduce the heat, pop a lid on that pan and let it work its magic. 

Add a little vino, some great company, a game of catch phrase and you have the ingredients for a great plate and a great meal. I served this with rice and beautiful peas (from the frozen food section) and this is what we got! 

I was really glad that I made that sixth piece of chicken because MC came hungry, everyone went back for seconds on the rice covered with gravy, and I think one person even had seconds on the peas. Overall it was a hit! I was really glad that I made the extra gravy too. 

Thanks for coming by and checking it out! Have a great night! 

Oh, and a very big thanks to my Mom and the Kitchen Elf for coming all the way out here to see me! 

Grilled and Stuffed Pork Chop? Yes, Please!!

I have discovered a love for grilling. Prior to living in California, we lived in an apartment and per the landlords rules, it out lawed grilling. We tried once in the first apartment we lived in. But one day we didn't pull the grill in fast enough after it cooled and the maintenance guys threw our grill away. 

But here in Cali, we have an excellent backyard full of sand, a few patio squares and a grill! 

So here ya go. My take on stuffed (and grilled) pork chops:

2 large inch thick pork chops

goat cheese

fresh spinach

one red and orange bell pepper

radicchio 

2 sweet potatoes

olive oil

salt

pepper

As always, try to get the freshest meat and produce possible. 

Start by mixing the goat cheese and spinach together in a bowl. And who doesn't like anything with goat cheese in it? Thats one of the things that I miss most from NC. Garlic and herb goat cheese fresh from the farmer's market. Ahh...

I found that mixing it by hand was the best approach. Somehow a fork and knife just didn't cut it. 

Using a sharp knife, slice through the middle of the pork chops but just to split them, not seperate. 

While your husband starts the grill (or you), stuff the pork chops with the goat cheese/spinach mix. 

We secured them together with tooth picks to make sure all the yummy goat cheesy goodness stayed inside. One thing we did do that I wish we hadn't was started them on the grill in aluminum foil. That was a bit of a downside but once we realized it and took them out of the foil and straight on the grill, things went a lot better. 

The one thing that was good grilled in aluminum foil was the sweet potatoes. Start the potatoes as soon as the coals are ready to go in the grill. 

In the mean time, chop your veggies. We opted to go for strips of peppers. I sprinkled them with a little olive oil, some salt and fresh cracked pepper before we threw them on the grill. 

I just loved all the combination of colors that we got in this meal. 

The time it takes to grill your potatoes and pork to perfection is going to depend on the size of the potatoes and the thickness of your pork chops. However, this is a meal that is totally worth the wait! 

Doesn't he have a sexy hand?

But once everything is grilled to perfection, pop it on a plate. Add some butter to the potato and enjoy! 

We enjoyed our meal sitting outside in our backyard of dirt. But we had a great day. 

Thanks for coming by and reading! I really appreciate it!! (And tell your friends too!)

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