Smoky Black Bean Soup with Corn and Rice

I adore the smell of Autumn. The sweet, smokey scent of wood burning in fireplaces lingers in the air. This is my all time favorite time of the year. Nothing compares to curling up on the sofa with a warm bowl of soup and my family all around me. Often Kiddo and I have a blanket over our laps. Comfort all the way. We love a fresh pot of soup to take the chill off the day.

This wonderful soup was inspired by a recipe from William-Sonoma. Naturally, I did my own tweaking, more sausage, less black bean and the introduction of corn the first time around.

That initial pot of soup was wonderful – all smoky, with wonderful big chunks of sausage and just a little kick from the cayenne pepper. When my guys sat down to the table with soup spoons in hand and began to “slurp” their supper, all I could hear were a lot of “yums.” Thanks guys!

It never ceases to amaze me how one or two tiny changes in a recipe can make a world of difference. The first time I made Smoky Black Bean I added the corn and it was yummy-good. The recipe cooked up enough soup for my family to have two meals. Having so much soup left over was the perfect excuse to tinker around a bit more. By adding 1 pouch of Uncle Ben’s Roasted Chicken Ready Rice to the soup, it knocked this already wonderful recipe right out of the ball park. Wow! What an amazing difference!

Smoky Black Bean Soup with Corn and Rice
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Orange Bell Pepper, cored and diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1/2 Onion, finely chopped
4 Smoked Chicken Sausages, fully cooked
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 pinch Cayenne Pepper
3 cans Chicken Broth
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with juices
1 can (14 oz) corn, drained
1 Package Uncle Ben’s Quick Rice – Roasted Chicken
Sea Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste

Coin cut smoked Chicken Sausage. Set aside until ready to use.

In a heavy pot over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the bell peppers, celery and onion and sauté until the onion is tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the sausage and sauté until browned, about 2 minutes.

Add 3 cans of chicken broth. Season with the cumin, smoked paprika and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Empty 1 can drained, rinsed black beans. Add tomatoes and corn. Stir and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.

Lower heat to simmer. Let soup simmer gently for 20 minutes. Soup is now ready to serve. If desired, soup can continue to summer as much as 45 minutes. If too much liquid evaporates, thin soup with additional chicken broth.

Ten minutes before serving, zap Uncle Ben’s Quick Rice in the microwave; add to simmering soup and give everything a nice stir.

When ready to serve, ladle into warmed soup bowls. Remember to scoop all the way down to the bottom of the pot so that each bowl has a nice helping of sausage and vegetables.

Glistening Orange Glazed Chicken

For reasons I cannot explain, people feel compelled to give me jars of Orange Marmalade when they come to visit. Bottles of wine and little jars of Orange Marmalade. I’ve heard tell that Orange Marmalade is delicious on toast. Truth be told, I wouldn’t know. Rather than find its way onto a slice of warm, buttery bread, in my kitchen the Marmalade has always been used in cooking. The bright orange glaze for this chicken dish relies on the marmalade to sweeten the sauce and provide a beautiful glisten to the sauce.

I love this chicken dish. It’s bright – like a burst of sunshine on my plate. The chicken is moist and flavorful. The dish itself isn’t overly complicated and is perfect for a weeknight supper or casual Sunday dinner.

Orange Glazed Chicken
2 Tablespoon Butter, divided
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
6 Chicken Breast halves, boneless, skinless (about 1 ½ lbs total), butterflied
2 Tablespoons Honey
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Can (14.5 oz) Chicken broth
½ Cup Orange Marmalade
Arrowroot
Orange Slices for garnish

In a small bowl, stir together the honey, sugar, broth, marmalade and lemon juice until smooth.

Set aside until ready to use.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken in two batches, about 10 minutes or until browned on both sides and is only slightly pink.

Remove from skillet, repeat with second batch of chicken. Keep warm.

Add sauce to empty skillet. Cook, uncovered, until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly.

Return chicken to skillet. Reduce heat to low and cook 10-15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring often.

Using tongs, remove chicken from sauce to a warmed serving platter. Hold chicken in a warm oven. If sauce is not thick enough (remember, it’s a “glaze”), add a little arrowroot, stir to blend and allow sauce to thicken up. Spoon sauce over chicken, garnish with sliced orange. For added color, sprinkle with a little chopped parsley.

chicken-orange-glazed-chicken-07-14-2013-2

Autumn Minestrone with Tortellini Pasta Revisited

This is a recipe I originally shared as my first post, almost a year ago. It received very little attention since I was a novice on the blogging scene. Actually, I’m still pretty green and at times I feel as though I’m wandering around in the dark. Still, this delicious Minestrone deserves a little attention. And what better day than today, the first day of Autumn.

Continue reading “Autumn Minestrone with Tortellini Pasta Revisited”

Traveling Dinner Party – Part 4 – Fish Course

Fish! Yeah, we’ve reached the Fish Course! Now we’re talking – getting down to the real food – the larger courses. For those of you keeping track, it’s the 4th course of a ten course traveling feast. For an eight course meal, the fish course could be one of two “main” courses; for a six course meal fish could be the only “main” course of the night. Confused? Let’s back up a moment.

Continue reading “Traveling Dinner Party – Part 4 – Fish Course”

Margarita Grilled Chicken with Spicy Stuffed Mushrooms

It’s time to say adiós a México, at least from a backyard grill’s perspective.  Soon the weather will turn, the days shorter and the nights longer. Grilling season unofficially ends on Labor Day, although most of us continue to grill until the rains, winds and snow say otherwise. I wanted to go out with a bit of a bang, so I decided to try a recipe I picked up from the Slow Roasted Italian (theslowroasteditalian.com). Don’t let the name fool you  – TSRI isn’t just about Italian foods.  It’s all about home cooking, family values and a love for life.  I’ve made a number of Donna’s recipes, and haven’t had one fail me yet.

Continue reading “Margarita Grilled Chicken with Spicy Stuffed Mushrooms”

Pea and Cheddar Salad with Shallots

Do you ever wonder why? Why do people do the things they do? Traditions? But what’s behind that tradition? I am a sucker for all those mussy Hallmark Movies. I know, most of them are the same two movie. Boy meets girl. Instant dislike, but they are thrown together by inescapable circumstances and the friction leads to sparks and sparks lead to love. Or the couple that were the perfect high school sweethearts. They split, and years later find themselves together again and the sparks are still there. I was watching one of those sappy movies this morning while searching the internet for the answer to a food question. As the movie ended, the bride threw her beautiful bouquet. That got me to wonder, why the bouquet and why is it thrown? Turns out there are pages and pages on the internet to answer those two burning questions, but nothing about the history of Pea and Cheddar Salad. Not one word.  Is it too much to ask where did this combination come from? Why? Who thought cold peas and chunks of cheese would make a delicious pairing? I mean, on the surface eating cold peas doesn’t sound all that appealing to me. Yet this cold, lightly creamy salad is wonderful. When I make this salad for family gatherings that include a lot of children, the recipe is a bit more kid-friendly. When entertaining a group of adults at my table, I like to skip the bacon bits and use shallots rather than green onions. My guys like both, although being big kids at heart, I really think the Thanksgiving Salad is their favorite.

Oh, and one more thing – the reason behind the bouquet in the first place, not a pretty one. And definitely not something to discuss while making a salad . . .

Pea and Cheddar Salad with Shallots
1 Box (10 oz) Frozen Young Peas
½ Cup Cheddar Cheese, cut into small cubes
3 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
2 Shallots, sliced
Kosher Salt to taste
White Pepper to taste

Rinse peas under cold water to thaw. Break apart, and place in a large bowl.

Cut cheese into small cubes. Add to peas. Blend in mayonnaise and shallots. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chill 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

The Casualization of America and Eclectic Entertaining

I’ve been giving this subject a great deal of thought. When Kiddo was a number of years younger, (and the task of setting the table fell squarely upon his shoulders) he once asked me why we went through all the trouble of setting a “fancy” table. Granted, a fancy table setting wasn’t something we did for every meal. Everyday dinners involve a plate, a fork, an occasional knife, and a napkin. Rarely is the table set beyond the basics anymore. Yet “fancy” settings still made an appearance in our home – reserved for “Sunday Best” or whenever we had company at the table for a meal that did not involve barbecue or center around a particular “theme”. I felt it was important that he knew how to set a proper table.

Continue reading “The Casualization of America and Eclectic Entertaining”

Classic Fish and Chips

One of Hubby’s all-time favorites has got to be Pub Style Fish and Chips. I’m not sure if it’s the idea of fried fish, the batter, the tarter sauce or the perfect marriage of all these ingredients coming together. Kiddo and I are the Malt Vinegar type when it comes to Fish and Chips. Kiddo likes Malt Vinegar so much, he even puts it on his fries. While I’m a fan of malt vinegar, I work hard to make sure it NEVER comes in contact with my chips aka fried potatoes.

Continue reading “Classic Fish and Chips”

Kicking Salsa Verde Chicken with Cornbread Puffs

First off, I want to give special thanks to Kevin and Amanda over at kevinandamanda.com for this phenomenal recipe, originally posted on their site back in November 2012. If you aren’t familiar with Kevin and Amanda, be sure to check them out. Great pictures, interesting travel experiences, and step by step directions for terrific recipes that are always a success. To their original recipe, I made very little changes.

Continue reading “Kicking Salsa Verde Chicken with Cornbread Puffs”

Red Roasted Cajun Potatoes

Recently Hubby and I made Sunday Supper together. He grilled up my awesome Sweet Carolina Style Barbecue Chicken while I whipped up the perfect sides. What goes better with sassy, sweet barbecue chicken than some buttery corn and Red Roasted Cajun Potatoes? These potatoes were perfect for a number of reasons – first for taste (yeah, that’s important – who wants a side dish that is boring?) and also timing. When Hubby started the coals in his grill chimney, I started preparing the potatoes. The chicken went on the grill about the same time as the potatoes were popped into the oven. By the time Hubby was pulling the chicken from the grill, the potatoes were reaching that perfect state of roasting.

Continue reading “Red Roasted Cajun Potatoes”

Italian Chicken Scampi served over Pasta

Italian Chicken Scampi served over a bed of perfect pasta is not only delicious, it is nearly a complete meal all on its own. Add a vegetable side or serve with a crisp salad, and this Italian supper is now complete. All you need to do is decide which wine to serve. The simplicity of the sides is a good thing because the scampi itself is a bit complicated.

Continue reading “Italian Chicken Scampi served over Pasta”

Harvest Supper Celebration in Six-Courses

I know, it’s only mid-September, but I am anxious for Thanksgiving. It’s too early to start planning my menu, so I thought I’d put together a nice supper with a harvest theme to get the ball rolling.

Continue reading “Harvest Supper Celebration in Six-Courses”

Easy Chicken, Vegetable and Mushroom Pub Pies

Although the calendar indicates that Fall is nearly upon us, it hardly feels that way. The nights have been pleasant, leaving me to ache for Autumn suppers with crisp fall weather. Hardy stews, pot pies, the stuff that warms the body and the soul. Finally, in frustration and longing, I decided to adapt my Steak and Ale Pub Pies this time made with canned chicken. While I believe the recipe would be wonderful – if not better – with “real” cubed chicken, for time and convenience sake, I used canned chicken. The end result was a delicious pub pie that could easily be whipped up on a busy week night. This recipe will easily feed six hungry adults. Served with a simple salad and a crisp hard apple cider, it made for a wonderful supper perfect for fall.

Continue reading “Easy Chicken, Vegetable and Mushroom Pub Pies”

The Velouté Sauce Makes Five

I can’t believe we did it! We have reached the fifth and final Mother Sauce of French Cuisine. While I’m no expert or even a trained chef, I understand the importance of sauces in cooking. Frankly, I think some of the things we eat are nothing more that a vehicle to transport a luscious sauce to our lips. I love escargot, but I’d have to admit it’s a fancy way to get garlic dripping in butter from the plate to my anxiously awaiting mouth.

Continue reading “The Velouté Sauce Makes Five”

Chipotle-Orange Glazed Pork Chops with Mango-Jicama Salad

The first time I made this dish, I was a bit apprehensive. Chipotle and maple syrup together? Really? Yes, really! There’s just enough kick from the chipotle that you know it’s there, yet the maple syrup is your savior, taking the edge off just a bit. An added bonus is that sweet-salty sensation these beautiful chops impart.

Continue reading “Chipotle-Orange Glazed Pork Chops with Mango-Jicama Salad”