BB; Mexican Chicken Soup

This week's Barefoot Bloggers challenge was Ina's Mexican Chicken Soup chosen by Judy of Judy's Gross Eats. I have made other versions of similar soups in the past, but this one is probably the best. It was perfect for the rainy New England weather we've been having.

The soup starts with carrots, celery and onions sauteing in a pan. Let that go until the onions brown. Then add garlic for 30 seconds, then proceed and add tomatoes, chicken stock, jalapeno peppers, cumin, coriander seed, (I skipped the cilantro), and fresh corn tortilla strips. Let that simmer for 25 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, roast chicken breasts in a 350 degree oven. The recipe calls for bone in, skin on breasts, but after my husband went to two stores to find them with no luck, we used boneless, skinless breasts. They worked fine. After the chicken is cooked, shred and add to soup. I think the breaking down of the tortillas added to the depth of the soup. We ate this Monday night, Tuesday night and I brought a little for lunch on Wednesday. Thanks Judy for picking a great recipe for before Thanksgiving....easy and not too heavy!

BB; Herb Roasted Onions

This week's challenge for the Barefoot Bloggers was chosen by Kelly of Baking with the Boys. She chose Ina's simple and delicious Herb Roasted Onions. I had every intention of making these yesterday and actually posting them on the "due" date, however, when I got home from the grocery store I realized, much to my dismay, that I had forgotten a bag of food at the store. I frantically called the store...as this bag also contained a few new spice containers which cost a pretty penny....they had my bag...phew! So, I went back today and retrieved my bag, which also contained the onions and lemon. So, there you have it, one day late! Moving on...I want to thank Kelly for picking such a great, easy recipe. These smelled great and now so does my house.

The onions are tossed in a marinade consisting of lemon, mustard (I used a stone ground variation), fresh thyme, garlic, salt, pepper and oil. Then the onions are roasted in a 400 degree oven for 30-45 minutes. After removing them from the oven, drizzle with left over marinade. We had already eaten dinner by the time I made these, but we did still snack on a few bites. Thanks, Kelly!

BB; Vegetable Pot Pie

Last week's Barefoot Bloggers Challenge was Ina's Vegetable Pot Pie chosen by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. This was a perfect choice. When I originally saw this recipe in my cookbook I was a bit apprehensive because I'm not a fennel or asparagus fan. But, after deciding to give this a go, a few substitutions later, we had the perfect Sunday lunch.

Our filling consisted of the following right from Ina's recipe, potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, pearl onions and sliced onion. We chose to omit the fennel and substituted green beans for the asparagus. We also left out the Pernod, used MUCH less butter and fat free half and half in replace of the cream. The end result....a perfectly golden delicious pot pie...and it didn't even need the meat! Thanks Deb, for choosing such a great recipe.

BB; Butternut Squash Risotto

So, this recipe comes a week late and the sad thing is I actually made this probably a month ago! I've been really behind with posting. Anyway, last week's Barefoot Bloggers dish was Ina's Butternut Squash Risotto chosen by Rachel of Rachel Likes to Cook. I did make a few changes. First, I skipped the Saffron and added a little fresh Sage instead. And I also omitted the Pancetta as I forgot to buy it at the store. Needless to say with with the changes I made this still turned out fabulously. We ended up eating it with some shredded chicken from a store bought rotisserie chicken...talk about easy dinner!



I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Cat of the Cat's Pajamas for giving me the "I Love you this much Award".


If you haven't checked out Cat's blog you need to. She cooks up some fabulous dishes and her stories always have me wanting more. Thanks, Cat!! I plan to pass this award along soon, so be on the look out!

Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

Just in the nick of time! I finally got the Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup made, and it's not even midnight! Chelle of Brown Eye Baker chose this Barefoot Bloggers recipe and being a big time NON-lover of mushrooms this soup turned out pretty good. I debated making a substitution, but I simply ran out of time so I halved the recipe and made it as is. This recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook, which I received from my husband on my recent birthday, so I was happy to finally crack it open. I will probably not be making this recipe again, as for my strong mushroom dislike, but it was worth the challenge and I'm sure my husband will love a bowl when he gets home tonight.

Barefoot Thursday

A busy few weeks at our house led Thursday to creep up on me...so needless to say we haven't made the cream of mushroom soup. Last week was exterior house painting and this week has been catching our breath week. Keep an eye out this weekend for the soup. I look forward to reading all the other Barefoot Blogs to see how you all did!

BB; Grown Up Mac and Cheese

This week's Barefoot Bloggers challenge was the Barefoot Contessa's Grown Up Mac and Cheese chosen by Heather of Randomosity and the Girl. I am a self professed cheese lover, and this mac and cheese was good (I had to omit the blue cheese) but I don't feel like it really stood out as I was hoping it would. The bacon added a nice touch though. So, don't get me wrong, this is a good recipe, just not a gold medal winner. You can find the complete recipe HERE.
First you start by cooking the bacon in the oven. This is a mess free way to cook bacon--no messy splatter on the stove. While the bacon is cooking, boil the pasta and make the rue.

Add the warm milk, cheeses (cheddar and Gruyere--I omitted the blue cheese due to pregnancy), salt, pepper, nutmeg, crumbled bacon and pasta. Give a good stir.

Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and top with bread crumbs and fresh basil. This recipe calls for making two individual size dishes, but for the sake of left overs (I can't believe I'm saying this) I doubled the recipe and used a large casserole dish. I also forgot to buy white bread so I used Panko bread crumbs mixed with the basil. They added a nice crunch.

Like I said, this was a good recipe and I would recommend making it, the bacon added a nice smoky depth. All mac and cheese wins in my book. Enjoy.

Barefoot Bloggers Butterflied Chicken

This week's Barefoot Bloggers challenge was Butterflied Chicken chosen by Stefany of Proceed With Caution. Being someone who doesn't love to touch raw chicken (although I get by) I wasn't necessarily excited about "deboning" a chicken. My husband, however, saw this challenge as a reward. He was pretty excited to get his hands on the little bird and cut away. The noise of the scissors and the bones was enough for me, I went outside to wash the cars!

Ina's marinade was perfect. The strong hints of rosemary and lemon complimented the chicken perfectly. We decided to season a few bone in chicken breasts and cook them along with the whole chicken. We've had our share of chicken this week...3 night's of left overs and even some chicken salad at lunch. I think we're done for awhile, but will definitely use this marinade again...perhaps not on an entire deboned and butterflied chicken, that was a little more work than a weeknight can handle! I will note we used a slightly larger chicken (as that was all the store had) and it took about 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour to cook on the grill.

We served our chicken with mashed potatoes and a side of green beans with shallots and bacon.

Here's our simple bean recipe. Anyone will eat beans covered in bacon!
Cook 4 pieces of bacon in a large frying pan on medium heat. Once finished remove bacon and crumble. Add two diced shallots to bacon grease (if there's a lot drain some so the shallots are not swimming). Cook until soften. Add blanched green beans to shallots and return bacon to pan. Cook until warmed through.

Coming tomorrow, Broccoli Gratin.

Barefoot Thursdays

This week's Barefoot Bloggers challenge was Panzanella from the Ina Garten Parties Cookbook chosen by Melissa of It's Melissa's Kitchen. Being married to an Italian man I had to look up exactly what Panzanella meant...check it out HERE. At first I was a little nervous about this recipe because I don't like raw tomatoes (I know, I know) but I was surprised at how much I liked this salad. Ina hit the mark with this one! The dressing was just right, not too over powering and the fresh veggies (tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, onion and basil) tasted great with the toasted bread. We did make one omission, we left out the capers. Being a carb lover I had to include a photo of my favorite part.....
And yes, I ate the veggies too! Thanks Melissa, for choosing such a great summer time recipe. We will be making this one again.

BB Smoked Salmon Spread

This week's Barefoot Bloggers recipe was Ina's Smoked Salmon Spread chosen by Ashley of the Spicy Skillet. Now, I'm not one for smoked salmon, or any salmon for that matter, but decided to make the recipe as is as my husband said he'd eat it and we served it to our friends H&M on Sunday. The feedback I received was that the spread was good, however it make a lot for three people, we have quite a bit left over. We served it with crackers. Because I'm not a salmon person I can't say as if we'd make this again, but it gave me some ideas for salmon substitute...really anything blended into cream cheese would be good! I am looking forward to the August round of recipes and am hoping for some delicious summer time treats...as it's quickly approaching it's end.


Smoked Salmon Recipe:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish, drained
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound (4 ounces) smoked salmon, minced

Cream the cheese in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until just smooth. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, dill, horseradish, salt, and pepper, and mix. Add the smoked salmon and mix well. Chill and serve with crudites or crackers.

BB Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Better late than never! We made the Barefoot Contessa Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread this weekend for the Barefoot Bloggers challenge. This recipe was chosen by Sabrina and Alexander of Cooking with the Kids. The recipe was overall quite tasty but it turned out a bit dry. It was about 95 degrees and very humid so don't know if that attributed to the dryness. It would have gone nicely with a big bowl of chili but couldn't bring ourselves to be making chili in the middle of the summer. We ate ours with the Barefoot Contessa's Parker's Fish and Chips (forgot to photograph that!). You can find the Cornbread recipe HERE.

BB: Parmesan Chicken

This week's Barefoot Bloggers challenge was Parmesan Chicken chosen by Megan of My Baking Adventures. We made this meal at a normal hour on Sunday, much better than the Pasta and Pesto which we made at midnight! This chicken is really simple but has great flavor. We found cooking it slowly over medium/low heat kept it from getting too browned. And as a bonus, our year and a half son has been gobbling it up, and he's not a huge chicken guy!

Recipe Courtesy of Ina Garten the Barefoot Contessa (serves six):

4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon water
1 1/4 cups seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
Unsalted butter
Good olive oil
Salad greens for 6, washed and spun dry
1 recipe Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe follows (we halved the vinaigrette)

Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/4-inch thick. You can use either a meat mallet or a rolling pin. (We used a meat mallet)

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a dinner plate (we used glass pie plates). On a second plate, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water. On a third plate, combine the bread crumbs and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Coat the chicken breasts on both sides with the flour mixture, then dip both sides into the egg mixture and dredge both sides in the bread-crumb mixture, pressing lightly.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan and cook 2 or 3 chicken breasts on medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Add more butter and oil and cook the rest of the chicken breasts. (We used 2 pans to speed up the cooking process and using the medium-low heat really kept them nice and golden. We also wiped the pans out between batches just to remove some of the really dark bits).

Toss the salad greens with lemon vinaigrette. Place a mound of salad on each hot chicken breast. Serve with extra grated Parmesan.

Lemon Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons) 1/2 cup good olive oil 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

We served ours with a side of sauteed zucchini, yellow squash and onion. This was a great meal and will definitely make it again. In fact we have so much we're eating the left overs several nights this week. One night we turned the chicken into baked chicken parm and served it with spaghetti and a quick homemade sauce..yum! No picture of my four pawed sou-chef tonight. He slept through the whole process on his bed only to get up when we opened the dishwasher...a dog loves nasty food smells!

BB: Pasta, Peas, and Pesto

Our first Barefoot Bloggers dish was chosen by Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food. She chose Pasta, Peas and Pesto. Yum you say. In typical fashion we decide to start making this meal around 8:30pm on the hottest day of the year so far. The thermometer read 95 degrees and the humidity was at least 100%. Needless to say, it was a hot adventure!

We managed to get through the task with only one minor issue--which you might notice in the final product picture--but it was remedied after the fact. Here goes...Recipe Courtesy of Ina Garten the Barefoot Contessa: Pasta, Peas, Pesto

Ingredients:

3/4 pound fusilli pasta
3/4 pound bow tie pasta
1/4 cup good olive oil

1 1/2 cups pesto, packaged or see recipe below

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/4 cups good mayonnaise (I used just shy of a cup)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted (I used 2 cups)

1/3 cup pignolis (pine nuts)

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pesto:

1/4 cup walnuts

1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts)

3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)

5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed (I used maybe 3 cups)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups good olive oil (I used just shy of 1 cup)

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

What to do:

Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until each pasta is al dente. Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.

I made the pesto first:

Place the walnuts, pignolis, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 15 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top. Yum, love Pesto

Back to the main recipe now that the pesto is made. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the mayonnaise and puree. I used a reduced fat mayo (I know, probably not the best tasting, but needed to spare a few calories). And here's where the heat got to me. I misread where it said to use 1.5 cups of pesto, I just added the spinach, etc right to all the pesto I made...so you can imagine the HUGE amount of sauce I had created. At first I was annoyed that I had misread the recipe, but after a good laugh we decided extra pesto sauce was just fine...we used a little extra when coating the noodles.

Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pignolis, salt, and pepper. Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature. And, for the finished product we have the slightly overdressed pasta, but none the less, it was delicious. We ate ours with some ricotta and herb stuffed chicken hot off the grill.

And it appears my fruitful kitchen helper was defeated by the heat. No pesto for you this time big guy. Stay cool.

Barefoot Bloggers

I did it. I joined Barefoot Bloggers. I love Ina Garten and am glad to have found something I can actually do! One of my friends thought Ina's name was In A Garden (honestly)...she thought she was Barefoot In A Garden...we still joke about it today.