Chicken Ditalini Soup

Have you ever had one of those days?

You know, the kind where you feel you woke up on the wrong side of the bed and then everything snowballs from there and just goes kinda off.  Well, I had one yesterday.

It started with breakfast.  I was making some new muffins, that just about burnt.  I don't like the flavor of "over browned" muffins, and I'm sure you don't either. So wasn't to pleased with them.  Then I was rushing off to an appointment and couldn't find my keys. That never happens, cause I leave them in the same place all the time...but no, they were not there.  Now I'm rushing and having found my keys in my purse, I rush to the car....Oops!  no GAS!

What else is going to happen?  So, I made it to my appointment on time (barely) and things seemed to calm down for the moment.  So I decided to take a moment and re-adjust my outlook since it was spiraling out of control just as fast as the issues were occurring.  Turning on some music, I decided I needed to cook.

Comfort food was in order.  So I picked up some staples, a rotisserie chicken, and rounded up MGG for an early dinner and a movie.  Soup was in order.  Hot comforting chicken noodle soup, Italian style.  Served with some crusty bread and a nice Mediterranean style salad, the meal was just what the doctor ordered!

It's nothing fancy, but the flavors are hard to beat.  You can make this hearty satisfying soup in about 45 minutes.  Now that's a winner in my book.  

Comfort food is always a perfect way to set things back on the right track.  Trust me, I know!

Enjoy!



Chicken Ditalini Soup

45 min meal

serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small white onion, peeled and diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
7 cups chicken broth, low sodium
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups (about 8 ounces) ditalini pasta
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
2 rotisserie chicken breasts, cubed
salt and black pepper

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add carrots and saute for 4 minutes. Add onion, celery and garlic and saute for an additional 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, thyme, oregano, basil and stir to combine. 

Bring soup to a boil, add chicken and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 min.  Add pasta and cook an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve.

Thanksgiving Leftovers: Turkey and Swiss Panini

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family and fun!

MGG and I hosted a nice dinner with some friends.  The food was perfect and the company even better!  It's so good to spend time laughing, telling stories, and just enjoying friends.

With that said I was exhausted the next day.  I mean I didn't want to even think about putting all the decorations away and getting the house back in order. After 2 days of cooking (the make ahead items were soooo helpful!)  Least of all was that I really didn't want to put much effort into a meal.  With all the leftovers around I always try and find ways to change them up and utilize them in different dishes.

For lunch I whipped up this wonderful Turkey and Swiss Panini.  A perfect way to use the leftover turkey!  You'll need some good bread, I used a country loaf, some leftover turkey slices, Swiss cheese, and veggies like lettuce and tomato. 
For the spread you can swap out several kinds to make it your own version such as leftover cranberry sauce, artichoke garlic spread, mayo, mustard, even tapenade would be great!

Once you put this together you just cook it in your panini grill, or a grill pan and weight it down with another pan....or break out the Foreman grill...!  All work fine.  Soon you will have a wonderful hearty sandwich.

Here's the recipe for this wonderful sandwich, served with a nice green salad.

For more thanksgiving Leftover ideas click on the link below.
Thanksgiving Leftover Ideas: Let's talk turkey!


Turkey and Swiss Panini

makes: 1 sandwich

2 slices of country bread
spread - mayo, mustard, artichoke spread, cranberry sauce etc.
3 slices of turkey
2 slices of Swiss cheese
tomato slices
lettuce

Spread your choice of sandwich spread on each slice of bread.  Layer turkey, cheese, tomato, and lettuce on one slice of bread and top with the other slice.  Cook in a panini grill until golden brown on the outside and the cheese has melted.  About 6 minutes.  Cut in half and serve.

Classic Thanksgiving Side Dish: Mashed Potatoes - Make Ahead Tips!

Don't you just love a potato?

Potatoes today symbolize comfort, especially around the holidays.  They are earthy-tasting, easy to prepare, and are compatible with many other foods and adaptable to all sorts of cooking methods.

Let's talk a little about potatoes...
There are three basic types of potato varieties: starchy, waxy, and all-purpose.

• Starchy or mealy potatoes, such as russets, are best for baking and mashing because they cook up dry and fluffy, but do not hold their shape well.

• Waxy potatoes, such as red or white potatoes, are low in starch.  Use them for potato salads and other recipes where you want them to hold their shape and are not relying on their starch content to thicken a soup or sauce. (Great for roasting!)

• All-purpose potatoes have a medium starch content and are good for both uses.  Yukon Golds are among the best known.

Select potatoes that are firm, not blemished, wrinkled, tinged with green, or cracked.  The eyes, of the potatoes should not have sprouted.

Store them in a cool dark place with good circulation for up to 2 weeks. Don't put them with onions!  These two veggies together produce gases that cause rapid spoilage.  Best when used 2 or 3 days from purchase for their fresh sweet flavor and texture.

Mashed Potato Techniques

Cooking the Potatoes:  Boiling whole potatoes with their skins on keeps the potatoes from becoming waterlogged, improving the texture of the final dish, and help to prevent nutrients from being lost in the water.  If you want to boil peeled potatoes, cut them into small cubs so that they cook quickly and are exposed to the water as briefly as possible.

Courtesy of Williams-Sonoma

KITCHEN TIPS:

• Ricing, hand mashing, using a mixer...it's up to you and what you prefer. 

• One great tip is to melt your butter and heat some half and half or cream with it to a warm temperature.  When you add warm milk and butter as you are mashing the potatoes they will stay nice and hot. 

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

This has been my go to method for several years now and they always turn out wonderful!  

1.  Boil and mash your potatoes early in the day.  
2.  Then place the completed dish in a crock pot on low.  
3.  Add a little cream on top and let them sit there until dinner time. (I would say for 5 hours at most)  
4.  Stir and serve.  You will always have HOT potatoes!

My favorite Mashed Potato recipes

Mashed Potatoes and Celery Root

by Williams-Sonoma

Also known as celeriac, celery root is a knobby, round winter vegetable that contributes a subtle celery flavor to purees when cooked and a crisp crunch to salads when used raw. In this recipe, celery root is mashed with potatoes, giving the dish a lighter texture than if potatoes alone were used, and an interesting, fresh taste that matches well with full-flavored foods such as roast turkey. Both peeled celery root and potatoes discolor quickly when exposed to air and should be immersed in water if not cooked at once to prevent discoloring.

Ingredients:

2 large celery roots, about 2 lb. total, peeled and cut into slices 1 inch thick 

2 1/2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into slices 1 inch thick

Kosher salt, to taste

3/4 cup half-and-half

3 Tbs. unsalted butter

Freshly ground white pepper, to taste

Directions:

Put the celery roots and potatoes in separate large saucepans. Add water to cover and a large pinch of kosher salt to each pan. Bring both to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Just before they are done, place an ovenproof serving bowl in a 200°F oven. (There is no need to preheat the oven.)

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the half-and-half and 2 Tbs. of the butter and heat until the butter melts. Turn off the heat and cover to keep warm. Drain the potatoes and celery root, then return them to one of the large saucepans and set over medium-low heat; shake the pan until the vegetables begin to stick to the bottom. Remove from the heat.

Pass the vegetables through a ricer into the warmed serving bowl. Alternatively, pass the vegetables through a food mill, or mash them in the pan with a potato masher. Stir in the warm half-and-half mixture. Season with kosher salt and white pepper. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and swirl the top of the puree. Top with the remaining 1 Tbs. butter and serve immediately. If necessary, keep warm in a 200°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or cover the bowl and set it in a pan of hot water.

Classic Mashed Potatoes

by Williams-Sonoma
Ingredients:

5 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/4 cups half-and-half, heated
salt & pepper

 

Directions:

Put the potatoes and the 2 tsp. salt in a large pot, add water to cover the potatoes by 3 inches and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently cook the potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well in a colander.

Place hot potatoes in the large bowl of a mixer.  Mix on medium low speed until potatoes are smooth.  Add butter and a little half and half at a time until your desired consistency is reached.  Add salt and pepper to taste.   Serve immediately. Serves 8 to 10.

Picture courtesy of Southern Living.com