Delicious Bacon-Chicken Tortilla Soup

The perfect meal for January, I've had a pot of this soup in my fridge for a few days and I'm still loving it!

 Once the soup is made, get out a bowl...

 break some tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl

 sprinkle on some cheese

 ladle over the the soup, it melts the cheese...

 finish with a healthy dollop of sour cream

Delicious cold weather food.

Best Dishes, as Paula Deen would say,

-Carmen Rose

Dinner Time

A friend of mine mentioned Chicken Chipotle Bacon Chimichangas this morning... and suddenly I was hungry.  So I found and printed out a recipe and stopped by the store on my way home and picked up some chicken.  I popped six large chicken breasts in the slow cooker and turned it up on high.  By afternoon the house was starting to smell good and I sauteed up some onion, garlic and some beautiful long skinny red peppers I found at Martins on Sunday.  I threw in some seasonings and shredded the chicken and threw that in.  I rehydrated two ancho chilies and chopped them up and threw them in.  

I stuffed eight big tortillas with the chicken mixture and some monterey jack cheese, brushed them with canola oil and popped them in the oven.  While that was baking I made some Spanish Rice, some guacamole and some pepper gravy from the leftover chicken broth.  The house really smelled good at that point.  I broke my garlic press, so I'll be keeping my eye out for one that isn't so difficult to clean. 
I'm not a big fan of food in general, just good food.  Simple, honest ingredients and simple techniques, sometimes it takes longer to make but it's always worth it.  It seems that good food that is hot and fresh and full of great flavors is far more satisfying.  And then one doesn't need as much, isn't that interesting? 

The Chimichangas were ready, the rice was nice and hot and the gravy and turned out nicely.  The guacamole was fresh and I pulled the sour cream out of the fridge and popped some of that on top. 

And it was gooood.  I couldn't even eat the whole thing though I gave it my best shot.  I like cooking these days.  Far more than I did when I was young, I cooked for my family and later on I cooked professionally and never liked it much.  But these days I really enjoy it.  It's like I've discovered food all over again.

As Paula Deen would say: "From my kitchen to yours, Best Dishes!"
-Carmen Rose

Curry and Cabinet Knobs

I struggled today to get anything done. I have a food allergy that sometimes takes me down a notch. I didn’t know I was consuming the one thing that always kicks my bum, and I really didn’t think it would be a big deal. The next morning the first round of reactions hit and then I felt ok for a while. In the evening the second round hit and I was still feeling it this morning. Now I’m just really worn out. I feel like I was in a car accident.

I didn’t feel like doing much of anything today, but I was hungry for curry chicken salad. I love everything curry, all the different kinds and colors that I’ve ever tried have turned out to be soul mates to my taste buds. So I picked up some chickens at the store and then went home to make stuff. I roasted the two chickens in the oven, and made some chicken stock. When the chicken cooled, I put some of it aside for meals later this week and cut up the rest for chicken salad. I made curry chicken salad using this recipe from Ina Garten. I had to find “Major Grey’s Chutney” at the store. That was easier than I expected it to be. It’s there with the other dressings, sauces, etc. I saw Ina make this on her Barefoot Contessa show this week and I’ve been craving it ever since. It turned out to be as delicious as I expected it to be. I subbed in seedless grapes instead of raisins and it was wonderful. I may add some heat to the leftovers, this kind of thing is always better with a little kick! I think it would be really wonderful in the summer.

I combined the chicken stock with a pureed butternut squash, loaded in some veggies and chicken and made a soup that turned out to be pretty good. I pushed it too much though, I’m pretty much toast at this point.

Oh, and I covered a few other cabinet knobs with polymers. They’re so fun to do that I end up making more not because I need them in the kitchen, but because I enjoy making them.  And it seems that the more I make, the more they evolve and the designs get more interesting.  I'm not out of old knobs to cover, so I suppose that's it for a while unless I find something else to cover.  

I picked up more paint at the store this morning, thinking that I may need to rattle can my old hinges just to get my kitchen put back together. I sent another email to the company that has screwed up my order of hinges and knobs. Still no reply from them. So far I’m not impressed. I’m still hoping that they’ll make it right. I guess we’ll see. I’ll keep ya posted.

I'm planning to curl up and take it easy for the evening and hope I can get some of the toxins out of my system and get back to normal. 

Health and Wholeness to each of you,

(cause nobody likes feeling bad!)

-Carmen Rose

Green Chicken Stock

It's been cold here and we got about a half inch of snow last night.  It put me in the mood to have something simmering on the stove, so I decided to make green chicken stock and figure out what to do with it later on.

First off:  I fried up a pound of smoked bacon, drained off the bacon and set it aside for later use, keeping the fat.

I deglazed the pan with some red wine and then added an onion, a bunch of garlic, and all the green stuff: two jalapenos, a lime, and some herbs.  I didn't bother pealing any of that stuff, it all got strained off anyway.  I added soy sauce and some peppercorns to taste.  I added some water and let it all simmer for a while.

I opened up the chicken package and noticed a bad smell.  Ewww... I'd waited too long to use that one and had to throw away an entire chicken!  How vexing!  Note to self, use it or freeze it.  Sooo... off to the store for a replacement chicken.  (and chocolate, no point in going to the store for just one item after all!)  I charred it on the grill (the bird that is, not the chocolate) just for some added flavor.  

The I popped that bugga in the pot with the rest of the simmering green brew.  I'm pretty sure that's not the "right way" to do this, but it's my kitchen, I don't have to ask permission!  LOL!  Anyway, I think recipes are intended to inspire, not confine - at least in cooking.  In baking, following the directions is a good thing.  Adding enough water to cover the bird, I simmered it for a few hours.  It sure did make a flavorful green brew.

I pulled out the bird bits, separated the meat out and threw the rest back in.  I didn't have time to do much at that point, so I let it simmer a little longer.

I strained it all, threw away the bones and bits.  It's a dark potion with an earthy mellow yum.  Plus the house smells wonderful!

Tonight we had chicken, smashed taters and gravy, (gravy made with chicken stock) green beans with mushrooms, and fresh biscuits for supper.  I suppose it was all about the comfort food.  I would have taken a photo of my dinner plate but it didn't last long enough for that!

The rest of the chicken stock is in the fridge, tomorrow I shall skim off the fat and pack it away for another day when some liquid comfort is again needed. 

Happy Creating!

-Carmen Rose