at home with ann

This is a repeat post from back in March, but it's good enough to see again.  It really is my favorite soup.  And I eat a lot of soup, so that's saying something.  Plus, it gets better as the days go on, making it perfect to whip up on Sunday afternoon and eat all week.   The original post includes the recipe, but it's so good I don't want you to have to click through to get it.   Spicy Mulligatawny adapted from Cooking Light Ingredients 1  tablespoon  vegetable oil, divided  1 can chickpeas 1  cup  chopped peeled Gala or Braeburn apple  3/4  cup  chopped onion  3/4  cup  chopped carrot  1/2  cup  chopped celery  3/4  cup  chopped green bell pepper  2  tablespoons  all-purpose flour  1  tablespoon  curry powder  1  teaspoon  ground ginger  1/2  teaspoon  crushed red pepper  1/4 ...

As you know, I get requests to make tacos a lot.  A LOT.  Jon and I planned to have dinner together on Tuesday night, big excitement around here, even though it ended up with me having dinner with the back of a laptop, so I thought it would be good to celebrate with tacos.  I usually just throw spices in haphazardly, but here is an actual recipe with actual quantities.  It turned out well. Ground Turkey Tacos 2 Tablespoons canola oil 1/2 red onion, chopped 1 lb. ground turkey 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tablespoons chili powder 2 teaspoons ground coriander 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce 8 oz. water Optional toppings: shredded lettuce, tomatoes, green onion, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, hot sauce, salsa, mango, tortillas or chips In a large pan, heat canola oil over medium heat. Cook onions for about 2 minutes until starting to soften. Turn up the heat to medium high and add the ground turkey to brown. When the meat is brown and mos...

I didn't do a whole lot of cooking this past weekend.  Sometimes I take on new recipes, or we make a big dinner together on Saturday night.  Instead, we got Chinese takeout on Saturday night and I made this simple crustless quiche for Sunday.  I used the same basic recipe as for the Crustless Spinach Quiche that I posted back in April.  You can certainly substitute any vegetable and cheese combo you like.  Don't get me wrong, I love pastry crust, I'd just rather eat it with pie than eggs.  Swiss Chard and Goat Cheese Quiche olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1 bunch Swiss chard, washed and torn into small pieces 4 ounces goat cheese 5 eggs 1 1/2 cups milk salt and pepper Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a round ceramic baking dish by coating with cooking spray or butter.  (I have a handy quiche dish, but a pie plate would work, as well). Heat olive oil over medium heat in a frying pan. Cook onion for a couple minutes. Add in Swiss chard....

This recipe was inspired by the Pioneer Woman's new Food Network show .  For those of you who aren't familiar, The Pioneer Woman lives on a ranch in Oklahoma with her husband, four children, and an apparently unlimited number of pets and farm animals.  She's funny, sarcastic, and absolutely charming.  In a recent episode, she made penne a la vodka, which gave me the idea for this recipe.  She  called her husband in from some remote corner of the ranch where he was working cattle to test it.  I called my husband in from the living room where he was putting together our new nursery furniture. Two hours after we ate dinner and I was writing this post I realized I had intended to include baby spinach in the dish, but completely forgot, so I might just stir it in with the leftovers and call it good.  Penne a la Vodka with Turkey Sausage Ingredients: 1 package sausage (12-16 ounces), sliced.  I used hot turkey sausage, but chicken or pork sausage w...

Hummus is definitely one of my favorite foods.  Eaten with pita bread or chips, vegetables, topping a salad, or on a sandwich or wrap.  It's all good.  I totally admit that I don't always make my own.  Sometimes it just seems easier to buy it.  But, I'm always glad when I make it from scratch, it really only takes a few minutes. Also, we can polish off one of those little containers in two days, so this is way better.   Roasted Jalapeno Hummus 2-4 jalapeno peppers olive oil 1/4-1/3 cup sesame tahini Juice of 1/2-1 lemon 1-2 garlic cloves 2 cans chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved To roast jalapenos: Preheat your broiler. Cut peppers in half.  Protect your hands! On a baking sheet covered with foil, put peppers cut side down.  Drizzle with olive oil. Broil until the skin is blackened and blistered.  Keep an eye on them.  Remove pan from oven and fold foil into a packet around the peppers.  You want them to steam u...

This is one of my favorite Fall recipes.  As soon as the farms start putting out huge bins of butternut squash for 69 cents a pound, I know it's time.  Risotto is time consuming, for sure, with the constant stirring, but it's not hard.  And if you set yourself up with a cocktail (or a kitchen partner who likes to stir), you're all set. I used an entire butternut squash (nearly four pounds) in this, but Jon pointed out that the ratio of squash to risotto was a little large.  I responded that since squash is healthy, that means we get to eat more.  If you do keep some leftovers aside, try tossing the roasted squash pieces with chopped apple, dried cranberries, goat cheese and balsamic vinegar.  Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto modified from Barefoot Contessa 1 butternut squash (2-4 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2-1 inch chunks olive oil salt and pepper 1 small onion, diced 2 Tablespoons butter 1 cup arborio rice 3 cups chicken or vegetable brot...

My friend Jackie is one of my favorite people in the world.  She's awesome in about a million ways.  We have been friends since college, and even though I never see or talk to her as much as I'd like, we always pick up right where we left off.  This is us before my wedding two years ago. I'm so excited she wrote a blog post to share with you all, enjoy! Sorry to all you New Englanders... I am clutching to the last bit of summer down here in good ol' Tennessee with one of my personal favorite recipes.  This simple chicken salad is fantastic on reduced-fat Wheat Thins or (my preference) straight out of the bowl. :) The Jackie's Tropical Chicken Salad 1 whole chicken, cooked 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped 2-3 stalks celery, chopped 3 stalks green onion, chopped 1 can chopped pineapple, drained 1 can mandarin oranges, drained 1/4 cup mayonnaise chopped cilantro to taste salt & pepper to taste I always use a rotisseri...

We went to my in-laws on Sunday afternoon to visit, watch football, and meet their tiny 8 week old puppy.  I brought scallops wrapped in bacon for an appetizer, and then in all the excitement (playing with the tiny puppy and inhaling scallops), I completely neglected to take a photograph.  I'll share the recipe, and you'll have to imagine what they look like.  Instead, you can see pictures of the puppy.  Scallops Wrapped in Bacon makes 24 Ingredients: 3/4 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup soy sauce 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard 12 large sea scallops, cut in half 12 slices bacon, cut in half width-wise 2 Tablespoons brown sugar 24 toothpicks Make the marinade for the scallops by whisking together the maple syrup, soy sauce and mustard. Put halved scallops in a bowl, and refrigerate in the marinade for at least an hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put cut slices of bacon on a lined baking sheet and cook for about 10 minutes.  You only want to par cook the baco...

It seems that I make almost weekly posts about some sort of Mexican-ish food.  If you know my husband, you understand.  Also, you won't be surprised that this morning he mentioned I had said I would make tacos soon and that hasn't yet happened.  And he's wondering what the delay has been.  He's going to have to wait a little longer, and survive with enchiladas in the meantime.  You can easily substitute canned black beans in this recipe, which would make the whole thing super fast and easy.  I opted for the long approach and made black beans in the crock pot.  If you have the time, it's so worth it. So, first we'll start with the black beans.  I soaked a one pound bag of black beans overnight.  The next morning, I drained, rinsed, and added just enough fresh water to cover.  Also into the crock pot went a chopped onion and sliced jalapeno.  Don't forget to use a plastic bag or gloves when handling hot peppers.  I forgot on ...

I had a bounty of carrots in the fridge.  Four bags of carrots.  Rabbits could not eat that many carrots raw. A whole bunch went into the chicken pot pie I made for dinner last night.  Chicken gravy is good.  It also had 5 tablespoons of butter in it, so this soup is nice to balance a bit. Another pound went into this Carrot Ginger Soup.  Very simple, quick to make, and healthy.  Also, if you use vegetable broth, it's vegan, and I'm fairly certain gluten-free.  All sorts of diets can be fed with this soup.  The ginger adds a little spiciness.  It was an excellent accompaniment to my lunch, along with some sort of dipper.  I went with a mini bagel.  I'll leave it up to you to decide. Carrot Ginger Soup Olive Oil 1 Shallot, minced (or one clove garlic) 1 small onion, chopped 1 Tablespoon grated ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 pound carrots, roughly chopped 2 cups vegetabl...

This was just a basic stir fry, with a couple of interesting additions.  First, instead of using rice or noodles, I supplemented the vegetables with quinoa.  A slightly different texture, but also very high in fiber and protein.  And gluten free, if you care about that sort of thing.  Second, instead of cooking the quinoa in straight water, I took an idea from Veganomicon and cooked the quinoa in a combination of water, pineapple juice, and soy sauce.  It added another flavor dimension, a little sweetness in the background. The rest of the stir fry was pretty basic, lightly sauteed and steamed onion, bell pepper, broccoli, and swiss chard (I added this in because we had a bunch in our CSA and, try as I might, I don't really like it.  I know it's super healthy, so stir fry is a good way to use it to create some bulk and add nutritious vitamins.) I seasoned the vegetables with a drizzle of sesame oil and ginger rice wine vinegar.  Once the quinoa was ...

Loosely based on Healthy Tipping Point's Santa Fe Casserole, this is a basic rice and bean based combination plus a whole bunch of vegetables, and a topping of melted cheese.  I think it would also freeze well, just double wrap in foil after cooked and then reheat in a 350 oven.  Southwest Casserole 1 cup brown rice, cooked according to package directions canola oil 1 onion, chopped 1 large bell pepper, chopped 1 jalapeno, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 1 tomato, diced 2 ears corn, kernels removed 1 15 oz. can red beans, drained and rinsed 2 eggs, beaten 3/4 cup milk 3/4-1 cup cheddar, shredded While rice cooks, heat oil over medium heat in a frying pan. Saute onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno for a few minutes until soft.  Add in the garlic for the last minute. In a large bowl, combine the cooked vegetables, rice, tomato, corn, and beans. Pour the eggs and milk over the top. Spread in a casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle ...

Thanks for bearing with me through my week-long hiatus.  We took a long weekend and went to the beach house in Rhode Island at the end of last week.  Friday was one of the nicest beach days of the year, hot and sunny.  Saturday we were evacuated due to the approaching hurricane.  Sunday we spent the day at our own house, without power or water,  listening to trees and branches crack outside.  Monday, facing a second day without power and no end in sight, we fled to my parents' house in New Hampshire.  Finally, yesterday afternoon I arrived back home and spent the afternoon throwing out half the food in our refrigerator and actually cleaning the shelves.  It's nice to have things back to normal. I've mentioned before how much I hate wasting food.  It feels wrong to me on so many levels.  When I saw that five of the tomatoes from the CSA had some ugly black spots on them yesterday, I knew I wouldn't be making fresh caprese salad, but I c...