Taco Orzo Soup

Despite the warmer weather, the first real meal I made after being sick was a savory soup that is always a big hit with my family. The recipe came from a little shop in Corning, Iowa (The Fickle Frog) who made up a cookbook filled with fantastic recipes that taste like "home". Here is one such recipe.


Taco Orzo Soup serves 4
1/2 pound ground beef
4 tsp beef bouillon granules
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
5 cups water
1 cup salsa
1 cup orzo

Brown the ground beef. Drain off any fat. Add bouillon, chili powder, cumin, salsa and water. Bring this to a boil. Add the orzo and let cook until tender. Serve with your favorite taco garnishes. We like green onion, tortilla chips, and cheese.

**We have added black beans and corn to make this a heartier meal.
***Another favorite garnish is avocado


Enjoy!

So Good ... You May Just Cry

I am still laughing as I write this ... Seriously!

Tonight for supper, I was in the mood for soup. I saw I had a head of broccoli that I needed to use this week - so I decided I would make some Curried Cream of Broccoli Soup for my supper tonight (and still make the planned casserole for my boys to enjoy).

Well, the soup got done before the casserole. So, as I was pulling it out of the oven ... my youngest child walked into the kitchen, looked at the table and saw my bowl of soup and immediately started to wail. Big tears were forming in his eyes and he was crying, "I don't want to eat that supper, Mommy!"

After assuring him that he did not have to eat the icky green soup, I plated up the boys' meals. They were very relieved to find on their plates, one of their absolute favorite meals - Taco Crescent Bake. They cleaned their plates in no time... and I enjoyed my soup (which was only 126 calories).

Savor the flavor - and the time with your families...

Comfort Food: Mazetti

I grew up on a farm and my Mother relied on hearty, filling recipes. One of the meals that frequently was served at our table, was Mazetti. This flavorful pasta meat dish was found in a (very old) Billie Oakley cookbook that my Mother got when she was first married. [She is very well aware how *badly* I want said cookbook, as so very many of my childhood favorite meals are in it - and I have never been able to find this wonderful cookbook anywhere!] The recipes I have hand-written from this cookbook are in my treasured wooden recipe box - and I honestly think that they are some of the best recipes in the entire world. Yep - there I said it. Billie Oakley knew her stuff when it came to the kitchen!

This is a perfect recipe to finely dice vegetables into to serve to children ... I do this frequently! However, the way I will share it today is in the original, Billie Oakley version. I hope that your family enjoys this as much as our family does.

Mazetti

from The Billie Oakley cookbook

1/4 cup butter (I use two Tablespoons... be wise, reduce the amount of butter!)

3/4 cup celery, diced

3/4 cup onion, diced

1 pound ground beef

3/4 pound ground pork sausage

2 cups tomato soup

1 (small) can mushrooms, undrained (it is important to use canned mushrooms to get that liquid)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups dry spaghetti, cut

1/2 cup grated Parmesan (Mother used the powdered stuff, I use the grated stuff - I detect no difference!)

Cook spaghetti. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt the butter and add the celery and onion and saute until it is tender.

Add meats to the pan and cook until no longer pink. Drain VERY well (or your casserole will be greasy). Stir in soup, mushrooms (and liquid), and seasonings. Add cooked spaghetti and stir until well incorporated.

Pour into a greased 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan. . Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Home-made Hamburger Helper

As you may have guessed, I love to cook. I probably own well over one-hundred cook books and I love trying new recipes. However, I have two amazing little boys - with simple tastes and a love for junk food. Thanks, Grandma!

Anyway ... one of the meals that frequents our house as it is my boys' (all THREE of them) favorite is Home-made Hamburger Helper. It is one of my "go-to" meals for busy nights, when I don't have a lot of time to cook ... but I still want to feed my family well.

Home-made Hamburger Helper

(I think this takes about 15 to 20 minutes to prepare and cook - really quick meal!)

1 1/2 to 2 pounds of ground beef

1 1/2 cups of water

2 cups of uncooked pasta (I love using bow tie pasta)

1 can of condensed tomato soup

1 can of condensed cheddar cheese soup

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the beef until cooked well. Add the soups, water, and uncooked pasta to the pan. Cook until the pasta is done and the mixture is bubbly. Serve to your family. In our family - I have to double the recipe, or I will not get supper that night!

I hope your family enjoys this as much as my family!

Simply Soup

Simmering on the stove or served steaming hot in a bowl, I love soup! In the winter time, soup frequently appears on the menu. What I love about soup? I love the versatility of soup: You can take nearly any protein, any vegetable, any seasoning, any broth ... and when combined, results in the most delicious creation.

I am a firm believer in the healing powers of soup. There may be no medical studies supporting my theory ... but I know that whenever I feel like I have a cold or if I feel like I am getting sick, nothing is as good as a bowl of piping hot soup (especially my Mother's Chicken Rice Soup!)

The soup I made this week is my boys' favorite. It is Barley Vegetable Beef Stew (the title tells it all!). The good thing about this soup is that you can either use canned, fresh, or frozen vegetables, most of the ingredients can be found right in your pantry, and it is one of the simplest soups with the best flavor. I love to add corn, green beans, peas, and other vegetables to this recipe - pick your favorites. I have typed up the way I made the recipe this week. I hope you and your family will love it.

Barley Vegetable Beef Stew

Makes 8 servings at 203 calories per serving

1 1/2 to 2 pounds of beef stew meat or leftover beef roast

1 cup chopped celery (use the leaves too, as they really produce a wonderful flavor)

1 small onion, chopped

4-6 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

7 cups of beef broth (can substitute 7 cups of water with 4 beef bouillon cubes)

14 oz can of tomato sauce

1 1/2 tsp dried marjoram

3/4 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp black pepper

salt to taste

2/3 cup uncooked pearl barley

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

In a large non-stick skillet, brown the beef with the onion and garlic. When cooked thru, add remaining vegetables and all seasonings and cook and stir until they start to get tender. Add broth, tomato sauce, and barley and simmer over medium heat for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The longer it simmers, the more tender the beef will be. Before serving, add the chopped, fresh parsley to the stew and stir well.

***I like to serve this meal with my Crusty French Bread and a garden salad.

Enjoy!

A Little Bit of Spice.

Every week, I try to plan a salad supper into our meal plan. I love salads for supper. There is so much that you can do - so many tasty options.

I love Mexican food. I love going to restaurants and indulging in queso and salsa with those still fresh from the oven tortilla chips (I like to pretend they are fresh from the oven, and not fresh from a vat of oil...) I love squeezing a little fresh lime over a taco. I adore the incredible variety of flavors that attack your taste buds. Deliciousness!

So ... needless to say, this week, I prepared one of my favorite salads: Black Bean Taco Salad.

Here is the line-up of ingredients: Spicy Taco Meat, corn, black beans, green pepper, avocado, green onions, and reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese.

And here is the finished product!

My dressing consisted of one part light sour cream and one part salsa. It was perfect! I have also used a balsamic vinaigrette or just squeezed fresh lime juice over the top as my dressing. Whatever way you go, it is delicious. Another thing that is fun is to take spinach tortillas, slice them in thin strips and then toast them in the oven. They add a nice crunch to the salad, in case you are missing the carbs. The way I fixed it made enough salad for 6 servings at 279 calories per serving. My boys loved eating the meat, beans and corn on the side and I made cheesy quesadillas for them.

Here is the recipe for my Spicy Taco Meat that I used to make this salad:

Spicy Taco Meat
1 to 1 1/2 pounds of lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 pint of grape tomatoes, quartered
2 tsp cumin
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup ketchup

Brown beef with jalapeno, garlic, and onion. Add seasonings. Cook until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and cook for another minute. Stir in ketchup and heat thru. Serve.

*** This meat makes wonderful tacos, enchiladas, or even nachos. The sky is the limit!


Enjoy!

Lazy Days of Winter ...

So, today the boys and I enjoyed a day together. Matt's plane was delayed and so he will be home this evening (rather than afternoon). After a whole week without Daddy, the boys are looking forward to seeing him tonight ... even though, he will likely get back home after they are in bed.

We spent the afternoon cuddling up on the sofa and watching MacGyver episodes. I love it when my boys enjoy (or at least tolerate) things that I enjoyed as a child. It was a fun afternoon.

They boys were begging all day for Chinese food. I had a new recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken to try out - and my boys were claiming to be willing guinea pigs. I was intrigued by some of the new ingredients that comprised this recipe: Fresh ginger and garlic cooked with the chicken, and ketchup and chili powder in the sauce recipe? Now, I had a pretty good recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken in my recipe file ... but the ever perfect recipe has alluded me. So, I decided to give this recipe a try.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

532 calories per serving

1 tsp olive oil

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

2 tsp grated ginger

1 -2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups green pepper, chopped in larger chunks

1 cup onion, chopped in larger chunks

4 large carrots, peeled and sliced

14 oz can pineapple chunks, undrained

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup white vinegar or rice vinegar

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 tsp. chili powder

Hot rice

Heat oil in a wok. Add chicken, garlic and ginger root. Cook until chicken is cooked completely through and then remove from wok and keep warm. Add vegetables to wok and cook for about 5 minutes until tender.

For sauce, whisk together 1/2 cup pineapple juice, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, chili powder and cornstarch. Add sauce, pineapple and chicken to vegetables in wok and heat through until sauce is thickened and pineapple is warmed through. Serve over brown rice.

**I served this meal with steamed brown rice and Mandarin oranges.

My analysis of this recipe is as follows:

Flavor was good. I loved the meat that had the ginger-garlic flavor cooked into it. However, the sauce was lacking in flavor to me. I still prefer my other sauce recipe (although, it definitely has a higher calorie content). This is a good meal, but did not quite satisfy my Chinese craving ... and did not quite pass my boys' test taste. In the future, I will probably do a variation between this recipe and my other recipe... until I find my "perfect" version of Sweet and Sour Chicken.

What's for Supper?

I am passionate about cooking well-balanced, healthy meals for my family. It is one way that I express my love for them. I love looking at recipes and planning menus that I think will appeal to them.

This week, I have planned 6 meals for our menu. I never assign a specific meal for a specific day of the week. I like to decide what sounds good that day, and also some meals take less prep time, and I like to save those for our busiest days. I work a full-time job, have 2 children, and still love to make a home-cooked meal every night for my family.

Meal #1:
Zesty Barbecue Chicken Breasts
Sweet Potato Fries
Sweet Corn

Meal #2:
Unrolled Cabbage Rolls
Honey-Wheat Bread
Fruit

Meal #3:
Garlic-Ginger Chicken Skewers
Brown Rice
Steamed Broccoli

Meal #4:
Barley Vegetable Beef Stew
Bread sticks
Garden Salad

Meal #5:
Sweet & Sour Chicken
Brown Rice
Mandarin Oranges

Meal #6:
Black Bean Taco Salad
Fruit

Shrimp Gumbo Stew

There is nothing like a cold winter night to make you want to warm up with a hot supper.

I had some shrimp in my freezer just begging to be used... honestly, I really think that they were calling my name! My husband sees shrimp in the freezer and literally starts begging me to make my Skinny Scampi (a lower-fat version of Shrimp Scampi that I like to make). But I was in the mood for something more substantial ... so, I decided to try a new recipe for Shrimp Gumbo. My rationale was that 1) It is COLD outside; 2) Gumbo is a bit spicy ... so it would warm us up really quickly; and 3) I love Gumbo!

I started reading thru recipes for Gumbo and one of the major components in Gumbo is okra. Now, I know my family - and I don't think that a single one of my guys would ever eat okra. So, I decided that an alteration may be necessary.

Reviewing the recipe, I noted that I did not have all of the required ingredients to make the dish. Not wanting to take the time to travel to the grocery store ... I decided to improvise. Here, you will find my "improvisation" for the Shrimp Gumbo. It was delicious!

Shrimp Gumbo Stew

304 calories per serving

1/4 cup flour

1 Tablespoon butter

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

2/3 cup carrots, peeled and diced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

3 cups chicken broth

14.5 oz Italian-style tomatoes

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and roughly chopped

Brown rice, cooked (serve the gumbo stew over rice)

In a small dish, place the flour and toast in a 400 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes until golden brown. Stir a few times while toasting to avoid flour from scorching. Remove from oven and transfer to another bowl to allow the flour to cool.

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions, celery, garlic and carrots. Cook and stir until veggies begin to soften. Add seasonings to the veggies and stir to combine. Stir in toasted flour and cook for another minute. Add broth and mix well. Add tomatoes (with the juice) and the zucchini. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 20 minutes until vegetables are tender (but not mushy).

Add the shrimp to the pot and simmer for about 5-7 minutes (until the shrimp is cooked through). Serve the gumbo stew over a bowl of brown rice.

**I served the Shrimp Gumbo Stew over brown rice with crusty bread and a garden salad.

Bon Appetit!

Annette

A Full Plate

While I was debating on whether or not to start a blog, I asked some friends what to call my blog if I should ever start one. One friend, Matt (my favorite Math teacher), suggested "A Full Plate". It was catchy, it was accurate ... so, I decided that it may just be the perfect name for a blog.

I love to cook. I love perusing through cookbooks at the bookstores. I probably own one hundred ... who knows, I sure don't count them! I read cookbooks like some people read novels. It is true. I love picking out a "cookbook of the week" when I am menu planning, and trying out a couple of recipes from that cookbook during the upcoming week. I write little notes to myself in these cookbooks: Documenting the special occasion which we first enjoyed the recipe, writing my husband's "critique" of the meal, classifying the recipe for future reference.

You may be wondering what my cooking style is like. I have to say, I am Paula Deen's biggest fan. I have all of her cookbooks (and her sons' cookbooks too!) I love "down-home" style cooking. Meals like what I grew up with while living back home on the farm. "Comfort" food. I admit, I like to try new recipes too; to try to capture the same flavor and zest of dishes I have sampled in restaurants. You will see a wide variety of foods in my menus and recipe files.

Right now, my focus is to make healthier versions of my family's favorite types of food. I am trying out new "low-fat" recipes and experimenting a bit with some of my favorite recipes.

I have a little three ringed binder that my good friend Lori gave to me years ago. In this binder, I keep all of my "perfect" recipes. The recipes that are so good, I do not ever have to look for another version of that type of recipe. I have officially found "the perfect recipe" for Cinnamon Rolls, Chicken Pot Pie, Escalloped Potatoes, Blueberry Muffins ... (okay, I will not list them all right now).

One new addition to my "perfect recipe" binder is an Asian Sesame-Ginger Marinade. I used this fabulous marinade recipe to make Asian-Infused Sirloin Steaks last week. I served this savory steak with baked sweet potatoes (sprinkled with brown sugar) and garlicky green beans. My husband rated this meal as "perfection" (and has requested I make it once a week...)

Doesn't it look delicious?
















Asian (Sesame-Ginger) Infused Sirloin Steak
262 calories per serving

Combine:
1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
Juice of 1/2 of a lime
3 Tablespoons Heinz 57 Steak Sauce
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 inch piece of ginger, shredded
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix well and pour over a 2 pound (nice and thick!) sirloin steak. Let this marinate overnight (or at least 4 hours). I usually just use a nice big plastic bag (resealable) to marinate the steak in.

In a grill pan that is preheated, add the steak and the marinade. Grill the steak over medium-high heat until desired "doneness" is reaches, brushing occasionally with the marinade. I cooked it for about 6 minutes per side and then transferred the whole pan (steak and all) into the oven for a few minutes to finish cooking.


Let meat rest for a few minutes before cutting into individual serving sizes (or you can slice it into thin slices if that is preferred). Serve immediately.

Hope you all enjoy!

Annette