Back to school germs stormed our house this week. On Friday I noticed Steven's voice sounded a bit strange, Saturday morning Steven and Jack both had runny noses and my throat felt scratchy, and sure enough, by Sunday the three of us were miserable. I'm sure everyone has a certain food or drink from childhood that their mom or dad always served to make them feel better. I still find myself reaching for those foods as an adult. A sore throat always leads me to a cup of hot tea and buttered toast. An upset stomach has me sipping warm sprite and nibbling saltine crackers. As a child, the magic cure for a cold was always Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup. (The classic one. Not the one with home style noodles, not the one with ring noodles. I am very particular about that.) And I won't lie; I still grab a can on the occasions I feel especially yucky. So as I lay on the couch Sunday afternoon watching football with a box of tissues, I knew I would be making soup for dinner. While my original thought was to just make some chicken noodle soup, I realized that, one, I didn't have any chicken, and two, I didn't have any noodles. Sort of necessary items in chicken noodle soup. I did, however, have a giant head of cabbage from the CSA, along with some carrots and celery, so the idea of cabbage soup popped into my head. With some onion, garlic, and a can of diced tomato, this simple soup is surprisingly filling, and very comforting. I was actually quite pleased with the results, and happy to watch Steven take down two bowls. Although it didn't magically cure our colds, I dubbed the recipe "Healing Cabbage Soup" just for fun. This recipe makes a plentiful amount; freeze the leftovers or have them for lunch all week.
Healing Cabbage Soup
-1 Tablespoon olive oil
-1 large onion, chopped
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-2 to 3 carrots, small dice
-3 stalks celery, sliced
-pinch crushed red pepper
-1 head green cabbage, sliced
-2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
-1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained
-Salt & pepper to taste
Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, carrot and celery, saute until onion is translucent. Add crushed red pepper, saute one minute. Add cabbage and stock, bring to a simmer and cook until cabbage wilts, about 15 minutes. Add tomatoes; Season with salt and pepper. Let simmer another 15 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld. Serve with crackers.
Another food memory from childhood is my Grandma Muir's applesauce. I've never really been a huge fan of applesauce; I find most of it pretty bland. Even though my grandma died when I was young, I remember loving HER applesauce because it was chunky with lots of flavor. I had a bunch of apples I needed to use, so I thought I would make some sauce for the kiddos. No one seems to have my grandma's recipe (my mom remembers her swearing by transparent apples), but I thought I could at least create a thick, flavorful applesauce similar to hers. The best part is that there is absolutely no added sugar and it's a cinch to make (the fact that it makes the house smell amazing doesn't hurt either). Experiment with your favorite apple varieties.
Easy Baked Applesauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel and core desired amount of apples. Combine apples, the juice of one to two oranges, and one to two teaspoons of cinnamon in a large dutch oven. Cover and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the apples are soft. Using a whisk or wooden spoon, stir and mash the apple mixture until desired consistency is achieved. For a smoother texture, use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Serve warm, room temperature or cold.
Since this post is so late, I am going to skip posting last week's meal plan, and just move into the items from week 17. This is what I received on Friday:
-1 whole pasture raised chicken
-3 lbs sweet potatoes
-2 bulbs garlic
-2 lbs concord grapes
-6 ears sweet corn
-1 lb green beans
-1 head leaf lettuce
-1 butternut squash
-1 spaghetti squash
-1 half pint red raspberries
-1 head cabbage
-2 onions
-1 lb fresh whole wheat linguine
Paul and I were out of town for a wedding over the weekend, so I didn't do any cooking. Today I intended to roast the chicken with the sweet potatoes and onions and serve it with some green beans on the side. Of course, AFTER I peeled and chopped the potatoes I realized that the chicken was still somewhat frozen. Oops. After staring in the fridge and pantry for a while, I decided to carb it up and make whole wheat pasta with roasted sweet potatoes and garlic oil (the oil being a gift from my mom who bought it on a recent trip to California). I was pleasantly surprised by the results. I roasted the potatoes with some onion, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, then tossed them with the fresh whole wheat pasta, some chopped sage from my garden, and a drizzle of roasted garlic oil. A carb lover's dream. And since it combined my 9-month-old's favorite foods of pasta and sweet potato, he was very happy.
My meal plan for the rest of the week:
Tuesday: Roasted Chicken
Wednesday: Edamame Succotash
Thursday: Chicken Salad Sandwiches (with the leftover chicken)
Friday: ??? Something with squash and sausage.
Saturday: Stuffed Cabbage (Or cabbage rolls, as I knew them growing up from my grandma)
Sunday: Crock Pot Chicken Chili (recipe below)
I know a lot of people swear by using their slow cooker all the time. While I love my slow cooker, I tend not to use it often in the summer simply because the types of food I like to cook in it aren't what I consider summer foods. As the weather begins to cool and I start to crave more warm and comforting foods, I turn to my slow cooker on a regular basis, especially to make soups and stews. One of my favorite slow cooker recipes was given to me by my friend Denise. I made this chicken chili for my son's lunch time birthday party last year and cooked it in my slow cooker overnight. Everyone asked for the recipe, even my brother.
White Chicken Chili
-1.5 - 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken (can use all breast or I sometimes use a combo of breast and thigh for more flavor)-3 jalapeno peppers, minced (seeded if you don't want it spicy)
-1 large yellow onion, diced
-1 tablespoon ground cumin
-1 tablespoon dried oregano
-1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-6-10 tomatillos, husks removed and quartered
-2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
-2 cans navy or great northern beans, drained and rinsed
-1 to 1.5 quarts chicken stock
-1 jar salsa verde (I use Trader Joe's)
-16 ounces fresh or frozen corn
Saute onion and garlic in one tablespoon of olive oil until soft. Add all ingredients to slow cooker. Cook on low until chicken is cooked and tender. Remove chicken and shred (I shred it right in the pot), return to slow cooker. Taste and adjust the spices as necessary. Continue cooking on low for several hours allowing all the flavors to blend.
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