Tinfoil Chef

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Because my jaw has been hurting for the last couple of days I’ve been thinking about softer foods such as soups because there’s seldom been a soup that had enough crunch in it to bother sensitive teeth. Not only that, but this one just plain sounds good. It’s also great for the cold weather that I know is coming. Especially since it’s looking like some cold weather might arrive early this year (here’s hoping I’m wrong about that!)

Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan, stir in two tablespoons of flour and cook that for about 3 minutes over low a heat while stirring constantly. Then set it aside to cool

Wash and trim off tough parts of a bunch (about 10oz or so) of fresh broccoli (you can also thaw out a bag of frozen broccoli florets and use them.) Cut the broccoli into 1/2 inch pieces.

Fine chop a small onion and then saute it in 2 tablespoons butter until it’s tender. Stir in the broccoli pieces and cook 3 for minutes. Stir in 1 qt. of chicken stock or broth and heat to simmering.

Stir small amount of the liquid into the cooked flour and butter mixture until it’s smooth. When it is, return the flour mixture to the broccoli & onions, stirring until the whole thing is smooth. Cover it and simmer until the broccoli is tender, about 30 minutes or so.

Next remove it from the heat and cool slightly. Puree it in a blender or food processor and return it the pan. Blend a half cup of heavy cream into the soup. Salt and pepper to taste and it’s ready to serve.

Top this off with some oyster crackers and it’s ready to warm you up on a cold day

Technorati Tags: soup, cream of broccoli, recipe, broccoli soup, creamed soup

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I was surfing around looking for interesting recipes when this one showed up on allrecipes.com titled simply “Outer Banks Style Clam Dish”

You start with 1/3 pound of fatback diced (Personally I’d probably use bacon instead) and cook it in a skillet over a medium-high heat until it’s good and crisp. Remove the pieces and keep them to one side for use later.

Cut the heat back to medium and add a large diced onion. Saute the onion in the bacon (or fatback) grease until they’ve turned transparent. Dice up 4 medium red potatoes and stir them into the onions. Be sure that the potatoes are thoroughly coated with the bacon grease.

Season generously with black pepper and pour in an 8oz bottle of clam juice. Cover and simmer at a medium heat for about 15 minutes.

While the potatoes are simmering, chop about 24 shucked clams into pieces. Add clams (with their liquid) to the potatoes during the last 3 minutes. Serve in deep bowls with the crispy bits of bacon sprinkled over the top.

Technorati Tags: clams, clam chowder, clam dish, recipe, clam recipe, outer banks clams

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Sometimes I just want to sit down to a good hearty bowl of soup. Corn Chowder is one of those that fills the bill just exactly. It’s great all year round but it’s double good on a cold day.

Fry up six slices of bacon until it’s crisp. Then remove the bacon and set it aside. Saute a half cup of finely chopped onion in the bacon drippings until they’re transparent but not quite starting to turn brown.

Cook 2 cups of diced raw potatoes in a cup and a half of water and t teaspoons of salt, the sauted onion and the bacon (crumbled) in a covered pan until tender. Add 1/8 teaspoon of pepper and 2 cup of cream style corn.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and mix it with 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir in 3 cups of milk and cook until slightly thickened. Then add it to the corn mixture.

Garnish with some chopped parsley, shredded cheese or corn chips on top.

Serve piping hot and be prepared for people to ask for seconds
(makes about 6 servings)

Technorati Tags: soup, bacon, chowder, recipe, corn chowder, potatoes

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I like seafood, always have. Though I’m not into fishing, I’d rather get my seafood in the supermarket than to spend who knows how long on the shores of a river or lake with only three fish in it or worse yet using inflatable boats or something like that to go out on the water and get seasick while I’m busy not catching anything.

Much better is the idea of just popping over to a store and buying what I need and getting down to the making (and later eating) of something good. This clam chowder recipe is a good one to start going in the slow cooker in the morning and have it for a hearty meal in the evening.

Start out with either four 6 1/2 oz cans of clams or 3 pounds fresh or frozen. If it’s frozen, thaw it and cut into bite sized pieces.

Saute 1/2 pound of bacon and a large diced onion until golden brown and then drain it and add it to the slow cooker along with the clams.

Add 6 to 8 large cubed potatoes, 3 cups of water, 3 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Cover and cook on high 3 to 4 hours or until the potatoes are tender.

In the last hour of cooking, combine 2 cups of milk with the 4 tablespoons of cornstarch. Add to slow cooker with another 2 cups of milk and stir well. Serve in large bowls with crusty French bread.

Technorati Tags: slow cooker, clam chowder, recipe, seafood

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As the name indicates, this is originally intended to be a beef and vegetable soup but it’s one of those recipies that will work every bit as good if you substitute ground turkey instead of the ground beef. Actually, these days ground beef would have to be on sale for a really good (as in less than a buck fifty a pound!) for me to want to buy that for this recipe instead of just using the turkey.

In large skillet, a pound of ground beef or turkey, a chopped medium onion, and two diced cloves of garlic until meat is browned and the onion is tender.

If using ground beef, drain any fat. Then in a slow cooker, combine the meat mixture, two cups of pre-shredded cole slaw mix, a 10oz package of frozen corn, a 10oz package of frozen green beans, four cups of vegetable juice, a can of stewed tomatoes (undrained), two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, a teaspoon of crushed dried basil and a quarter teaspoon of black pepper Cover; cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours or on High for 4 to 5 hours.

Technorati Tags: slow cooker, soup, beef, recipe, ground turkey, crockpot, beef prices, vegetable, ground beef

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I’m in a fishy sort of mood today and what I’d really like to do is post a good New England Clam Chowder recipe because that’s what I’d really like right now. Unfortunately I don’t actually have one available right now. What I do have however is one that I think comes pretty close and might just fill the bill anyway.

Start with a pound of Whitefish with the skin and bones removed in a large Dutch oven and enough water to cover it. Cook over medium heat for roughly 10 minutes until fish flakes with a fork. Use a slotted spoon to remove the fish. Break it up into bite size pieces and set it aside.

Measure the water the fish was cooked in and add enough water to bring it up to 4 cups. Cook a cup of diced celery, a large chopped onion and about 5 medium potatoes cubed into bite size pieces in the fish water until they’re tender.

Mix 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup of cold water to a paste consistency and stir it into the chowder. Head until the mixture boils, stirring frequently. Add the Whitefish, 2 6-1/2 oz cans of minced clams with liquid, a 4oz can of tiny shrimp, 2 teaspoons of salt, a half teaspoon of pepper, two tablespoons of butter, and a 12 oz can of evaporated milk.

Heat this all the way through, stirring occasionally.

For looks you could garnish with a bit of parsley and serve with oyster crackers.

Technorati Tags: fish, clams, whitefish, seafood+chowder, clam+chowder, recipe, shrimp

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I know that for most of the country winter is drawing to a close but that doesn’t mean there’s no place for a good hearty bowl of soup. You could even consider it a kind of celebration to have a winter-ish type dish as the weather warms and the snows melt.

It’s a good time to think about the coming spring and the benefits of winter’s retreat…. Heating bills that slow down and then finally dry up as the furnace is turned off for the summer, less chance of slipping and sliding on some frozen patch on the road and driving your car insurance rates up.

There’s the green sprouting out all over the place and before you know it the new batch of flowers will be making their first appearances. Were we live, the Daffodils have already been blooming for a couple of weeks now. Can it be long before the trees regain their green and the lawn stands ready for it’ first cut?

Start out with 6 cups of diced potatoes, a cup of diced carrots, a cup of diced onions and a cup of chopped celery. The original recipe called for all that to be cooked together in just enough water to cover. The change I’d make here is to saute the onion and celery together in some butter until the onions start to turn clear, then add them to the potatoes and carrots..

Add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, 4 cups of milk and 1/4 stick of butter. Simmer that together for 30 - 45 minutes and you’re good to go.

Technorati Tags: soup, recipe, potato, cream+of+potato, potato+soup

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