Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I'm having a long term relationship with a rabbit.

Mind you, I love rabbits, and would love to be involved with a fluffy, furry creature for the long haul, but this one is not furry. Or fluffy for that matter.  It's manly.  Yes, I said manly.  How so?  Well it's my better half, Mr MGG himself that is the rabbit.  Or more accurately, he EATS like a rabbit!

I've never met a man you enjoys soup and salad way more than beef and potatoes, or chicken, or pork!  Almost every time (almost) we go out to eat for dinner, I order something hot and hearty, like steak, chicken, tacos, or a wonderful pasta dish and what does he order? Salad, and possibly soup.   I think the stereotypical roles of men and woman's eating habits are reversed here!  What is going on???  

I'm used to it now (almost...ummm, not) but I always feel funny ordering this hearty meal and he gets the light, healthy salad.  But I'm not giving up my treat to have a steak.  So what to do?

Join them I guess!  So since he is such a soup fanatic, I myself was craving a hot hearty chicken soup.  During the chilly evenings I love to have soup and crusty bread for dinner. Reminds me of my mom making her Vegetable Beef Soup. Yum!  The best memories.  So I decided to make us a pot of soup last night, substituting the noodles for wild rice.  I just love rice in soup, don't you?

Kitchen Note:  I used Uncle Ben's wild rice mix which is parboiled and cooks in 20-25 minutes.  Using a regular long grain wild rice mix will require you to adjust the cooking time to about 45-50 minutes.

Nothing beats the flavor of chicken soup, and if you are under the weather a little, this soup will fix you right up.

Simple, quick, and tasty.  That's what this dish is all about. You can have this done in under 1 hour (about 45 minutes) By dicing the vegetables into a smaller dice they will cook quicker.

It's MGG approved, so that means your family will love it as well.  He at 2 big bowls and complimented it all the way. Then he leaned over and kissed my cheek and did the dishes... I guess living with a rabbit isn't so bad!

Enjoy a hot bowl of chicken and wild rice soup tonight.  



Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

serves 4-5

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1/2 large onion, diced
3 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
salt & pepper
10 cups of low sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon of dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 cup wild and long grain rice mix (such as Uncle Ben's parboiled wild rice mix)

In a medium pot add water (enough to cover the chicken breasts) and bring it to a boil.  Add the chicken breasts and poach for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile to a medium stock pot, add oil and heat over medium heat.  Add onions and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add carrots and celery and cook about 8 minutes until softened.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  

Add the chicken broth, parsley, garlic powder, and thyme and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes.  
Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid and allow to cool slightly and cut the chicken into chunks or shred if you prefer.  Add the chicken to the stockpot.  Add the rice and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Serve.

Spicy Tomato Cream Sauce with Spaghetti

Yum

Sometimes we need a little pasta sauce in our lives.

Me?  I actually crave a good red sauce, so whether it is served over pasta, or a fabulous chicken dish, I've gotta have it!

The other day we went out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant.  I was all set to get something with a delicious red sauce to soothe my craving.  Little did I know that I'd end up with a chef's special that was too tempting to resist.  The only down side was that there wasn't any 'red sauce' in sight. 

Although the dish was wonderful and had an outstanding sauce of lemon, wine, and artichokes I started to have that familiar craving a few days later.  I need something with 'red sauce!  Do you ever get those cravings?  I know, a little strange, but it's really calling me.

Into the kitchen I went to prepare our dinner.  Something quick.  Something using pantry items.  Something that features a 'red sauce'...and spice...and cream.

The result was a quick and easy creamy, yet spicy, red sauce served over spaghetti.  Using your favorite jarred sauce makes things easier and definitely quicker for a weeknight meal.  Red pepper flakes amp up the heat a little while the cream adds thickness and comfort to the dish.

Cravings are gone!  My tummy is satisfied until the next craving comes along.  

Enjoy!



Spicy Tomato Cream Sauce with Spaghetti

serves 4

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 (24 oz) jar of spaghetti sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
1 lb thin spaghetti

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the spaghetti sauce, basil, thyme, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.  Stir to combine.  Add the cream and stir.  Simmer about 10 minutes until sauce has thickened and is heated through.

Meanwhile in another large pot, cook your pasta in salted boiling water according to the package directions.  Drain. Add to the saucepan and toss to coat.  Serve.

Streusel Apple Pie Pancakes

My Sundays are lazy...

They are for making a great breakfast and doing things at your own pace at home.  I've been seeing so many different Bananas Foster variations around Pinterest and on all the blogs.  Have you seen them?  There's french toast, ice cream, parfaits, smoothies, and even pies.  So all these yummy dishes gave me inspiration to take a favorite dessert of mine and turn it into something different. 

Like pancakes.

Not just any pancakes, but some worthy of the season, and a lazy Sunday.  

One of my favorite desserts for this time of year is Apple Crisp.  I love the tartness of the apples along with the streusel crumble crust.  A match made in heaven for me!  So why not turn this into some scrumptious pancakes.  Let's do it!

These pancakes are bursting with apples and one side is topped with a traditional streusel filled with brown sugar, oatmeal and butter.  This can't be beat!  Once you top on side of the cooking pancakes with the topping and then flip it over to cook....oh my!  You get a crunchy caramelized side to your pancake.  It's just perfect!

These are pancakes the whole family will love.

Enjoy your lazy Sunday!

Streusel Apple Pie Pancakes 

Streusel Topping

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup quick-cooking oats

3 tablespoons cold butter

Basic Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 large apple, cored, peeled and diced
3 Tablespoons butter

In medium bowl, mix your topping brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cut in butter using pastry blender or fork until mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

In large bowl, stir all pancake ingredients up to the butter, until well blended. Heat a nonstick griddle or large skillet over medium-high heat. 

Once heated add 1 Tablespoon of butter and swirl around to coat the pan.  Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan to form a pancake.  Continue making 3 or 4 pancakes at a time. 

Sprinkle each pancake evenly with about 2 Tablespoons of the topping. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until bubbly on top and dry around edges. Flip and cook the streusel side until light golden brown around edges about 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds. 

Add additional butter between batches of pancakes. Continue with additional batches of pancakes.  

Serve streusel side up with warm syrup and butter.