Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Smokin' Chicken Soup

I woke up this morning and it was raining. Not an unusual sight as Fall is right around the corner, and the days are getting cooler and shorter. What came to mind as I was getting the kids ready for school? This is perfect soup weather. The kind of day that doesn't feel quite right if you don't have a pot of something warm simmering on the stove top. So after the kids were off to school, their little umbrellas over their heads, I took out my stock pot, raided the freezer for some chicken bones to boil and made some stock. Cut up a few veggies, cut the kernels off a few ears of corn leftover in the fridge, shredded some boneless, skinless chicken breasts I had cooked earlier, and voilà! Soup! Uncomplicated, comforting and healthy too. Who wouldn't go for that!


Smokin' Chicken Soup

This really is the perfect soup to have simmering on the stove on a cold and rainy Fall day.  The kick from the smoked chipotle is just enough to give it a little something different from your usual chicken soup. Please feel free to use this recipe as a guide; add more or less of whatever ingredient you like, change the veggies, add some noodles, use smoked paprika in place of the smoked chipotle powder, etc. Soup is great for experimenting!

1 tbsp olive oil
3 ribs of celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp smoked chipotle powder (more if you want it spicier)
1/2 tsp salt
8 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts) 
2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)

In a large pot, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add the celery, carrots and onions and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic powder, smoked chipotle and salt, mix well. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until vegetables are cooked. Add the chicken and corn kernels, and simmer until heated through.

Nutritional Information  per Serving
Calories: 249.2; Total Fat: 7.4g; Cholesterol: 32.4mg; Sodium: 726.1mg;
Carbohydrate: 27.2g; Dietary Fiber: 3.1g; Sugars: 8.2g; Protein: 19.6g

(Please note that the nutritional information will depend greatly on which type of chicken broth you use, if you add more or less olive oil, whether you add white or dark chicken meat and how much salt you add to your soup.)
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Thursday, September 8, 2011

Oatmeal, Date and Apple Muffins

Summer has come and gone, vacation time flew by like it never existed and already we're back to school, in full swing, like nothing ever happened. And I know, I should, maybe, perhaps, explain where I've been, why I've neglected this blog, my readers, my friends, for such a long time but, I doubt you'd find any of it interesting. Really, it's been a case of I just don't get excited about food the way I used to... Weird, I know! And I miss getting excited about cooking, baking, finding new recipes, I really do. Summer was just all about the sandwiches and salads and taking the kids to their baseball practices and games, all the time, so everything had to be made quickly and eaten quickly and when we did have time to sit down and eat I just didn't have the energy to make anything complicated interesting blog worthy... 

But, lately I've become obsessed with finding the perfect date muffin. One that isn't so sweet it's more like a cupcake, or so moist and fluffy it falls apart. I wanted a muffin worthy of being eaten for breakfast, a sturdy muffin you can feel good about, not guilt ridden afterwards. And, after many tries, I think I've found it!


I tweaked my Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffin recipe and made it into the perfect (imho) Oatmeal, Date and Apple Muffins. Not too sweet, not too moist, full of texture from the dates and pecans, and healthy too! Each muffin has almost 3 g of fiber! Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Maybe, just maybe, I'm getting excited about this food business again after all...

Oatmeal, Date and Apple Muffins
Makes 18 regular sized muffins

These make a quick, hearty breakfast you can grab on the go any day of the week; add fruit and some yogurt, and you've got yourself a pretty healthy breakfast!

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp of granulated sugar
3/4 cup chopped, pitted dates
1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans

2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 tbsp molasses
2 tsp vanilla
3 small apples, peeled and grated (about 1 cup packed of grated apples)

Preheat your oven to 400F. Line your muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, date and pecans. Make sure to distribute the dates well throughout the dry ingredients to prevent them from sticking together.

In another bowl mix the eggs, canola oil, buttermilk, molasses and vanilla. Fold in the grated apples. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones and mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened. If you over mix, you'll end up with tough muffins.

Distribute the batter evenly among 18 muffin cups and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins completely on a wire rack.

Nutritional information per muffin:
Calories: 165; Total Fat: 6.7g; Cholesterol: 21.2mg; Sodium: 184.3mg; Total Carbohydrate: 27.5g; Dietary Fiber: 2.8g; Sugars: 9.1g; Protein: 3.7g
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