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...