Chicken Corn Chowder

I made this soup at least once a year, and its my boyfriend's favorite. You can adjust the amount of cream vs milk you use to make a creamier soup.

Ingredients

• 3 cups of chicken stock
• 3 cups of milk product - use all milk for a lighter soup but avoid skim milk if you can. Replace all or some of the milk with cream if you want a heavier soup. I usually do 2 cups of milk, and 1 cup of cream. 
• 2 strips of bacon, cut into pieces
• 2 cups of corn, fresh or frozen
• 1 large chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 chopped medium onion
• 1 cup of cubed potatoes (I use red skins, use whatever you have on hand)
• 1 pound of cooked chopped chicken
• 1-2 diced jalapeños - depending on how spicy you want your soup
• 1 anaheim chili, seeded and quartered
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large soup pot, cook the bacon until done, remove the bacon and all but one tablespoon of the fat.
2. Over medium heat cook the bell pepper, celery, carrots, onion, potatoes, and jalapeños in the bacon fat and a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
3. While your vegetables are cooking, roast your corn and cumin under the broiler for 5 minutes, or until the born is slightly charred.
4. Add milk, chicken stock, corn, bay leaf, anaheim chili, and bacon.
5. Turn up the heat and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for at least an hour, and then add your chicken.
6. When you're ready to serve your soup, remove the anaheim chili and the bay leaf.

Vietnamese Style Pork Burgers

My boyfriend and I are in love with Vietnamese food, the spices, charred pork, and traditional pickles go perfectly together. I decided to attempt a burger that had those flavors for a Sunday night dinner. This is a ground pork burger, spiced with traditional Vietnamese flavors, topped with mint or Thai basil, cilantro, pickled radishes and carrots, and a spicy sriracha mayonnaise.

Ingredients - The Burger 

- 1 pound of ground pork

- 2 tablespoons of fish sauce

- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar

- 1/4 cup of lime juice

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

- 1 - 2 teaspoons sriracha (or similar chili garlic sauce)

- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

- 1 egg 

- 1/4 - 3/4 cup of bread crumbs (I used panko, but any will do)

• Combine all of the above ingredients, except for the egg and bread crumbs. Mix until just combined, be careful not to over-mix. Let this sit for at least an hour to allow the flavors to come together.
• After an hour, add the egg and bread crumbs to your pork mix, form your meat mixture into 4 patties. 
• Heat your grill, grill pan, or frying pan to high heat (I used a grill pan, it was 25* out when I had this idea).
• Once your cooking surface is heated, start your burgers. Don't be afraid of charring the outside of your burgers, the sugar in the meat will cause the outside to char slightly.
• Char each side for about 3 minutes each, then turn the heat down, and cover for an additional 10 minutes, until the patties are cooked through. 
• Allow meat to rest for about two minutes before placing on a toasted bun of your choice, and finishing with the additional toppings listed below.

Ingredients - Vietnamese Pickles 

- 1 cup radishes, sliced

- 1 cup carrots, shredded

- 2 tablespoons salt

- 2 tablespoons sugar

- 1/4 c, rice vinegar 

• Combine carrots, radishes, and salt together in a bowl. - Make sure the salt is well mixed with the carrots and radishes. 
• Let this sit for at least 20 minutes -  the salt is removing the water from the carrots and radishes.
• After 20 minutes, drain, wash, and rinse your veggies. 
• Add sugar and vinegar and let this marinate together for at least 2 hours
• After 2 hours, drain, rinse, and dry your pickles, and top your burger to your liking. 
• *If after marinating your veggies, you taste them, and think they are too sour, top them with a little extra sugar (an extra teaspoon should do it) to fix the problem.

Ingredients - Additional Burger Toppings

- 1/2 cup mint leaves, or Thai basil

- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves

- 1/2 cup mayonnaise, mixed with 1 tablespoon of sriracha  

 

Amazingly amazing Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts are supposed to be the enemy of children everywhere. They are famously fed to the dog and hid under piles of mashed potatoes, but I can't get enough of them. Besides, bacon makes everything better.

Ingredients:
1 pound of Brussels Sprouts, cleaned and cut in half
3 slices of bacon (any kind will do, but applewood smoked works very well for this)
Half a red onion, diced (again, any onion will work, but I recommend red onion)

1. Cook bacon in a saute pan, remove the bacon, but do not drain the fat.
2. Saute sprouts and onion in the bacon fat, until onions are caramelized and the Brussels sprouts are bright green and golden in color.
3. Add the bacon and serve.

Easy Roasted Vegetables

This is a ridiculously simple way to cook vegetables and it makes almost no dishes.

1 pound of vegetables (I used broccoli and cauliflower, but this would work for almost anything)
1 tablespoon butter or oil
Salt and pepper
A sprinkling of Parmesan cheese (optional)

This can be done while you're baking something else in the oven or cooking on the grill and the only thing you get dirty is a butter knife.

1. Make a packet out of tin foil and place your vegetables inside with the butter, salt and pepper and cheese.
2. Fold the packet up so it's sealed and then place it on a grill over indirect heat, or in an oven that is heated to at least 350 degrees.
3. These will finish faster the higher heat you have them on, so if you're grilling them and your grill is about 500 degrees these should finish in about 5 minutes, in an oven it should take around 8-10 minutes.

Impress Your Significant Other Shrimp Risotto

Risotto is a meal that requires patients and a lot of stirring, but it's easy and people are always impressed when it's successful - so you should give this one a try on a date night, get a movie, a bottle of wine and get to stirring!

Ingredients 
1/2 pound shrimp, cleaned, peeled (with tail removed), and de-veined
Oil and spices to marinate the shrimp (I used 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a pinch of cayenne pepper)
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup clam juice
2 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 shallot, chopped
1 1/2 cups of arborio rice
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese

1. About an hour before you are ready to begin cooking, marinate your shrimp in olive oil and whatever spices you like.
2. After an hour, heat a medium saute pan over medium heat, add about a tablespoon of olive oil, and cook shrimp until they are pink and cooked through. Remove the cooked shrimp, do not wash the saute pan.
3. In a medium sauce pan combine chicken broth and clam juice, let simmer and keep warm, but do not boil!
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the saute pan until the butter is melted.
5. Add the shallot, garlic, half the parsley, and tomato and saute for 4 minutes
6. Add all the rice, and coat with tomato mixture. You may need to add an extra tablespoon of olive oil for the entire mixture to coat the rice. Stir the mixture for two minutes.
7. Add 2 cups of broth to the rice, and stir to allow the liquid to be absorbed into the rice.
8. Continue to add 1 cup of liquid once the previous cup of liquid is absorbed, the rice will expand as it becomes cooked. Taste the risotto as you get towards the end of your liquid, to ensure the rice is cooked.
9. Once your rice is cooked through, add your shrimp, the rest of the parsley, and the cheese. Stir until combined, and serve immediately.

 Step Five!

 The finished product!

Cauliflower Soup

I'm a huge fan of soups that taste like they're full of heavy cream, but actually aren't. This soup has a ton of veggie and garlic-y goodness and is very filling.

Ingredients
1 Cauliflower head, cut from the crown into florets
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1 inch cubes
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup of light cream or whole milk
1 cup of milk (you can use whatever milk you like, I used unsweeted almond milk)
3/4 cup of parmaesan cheese
2 tablespoons oil
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, place the cauliflower florets, about a quarter of your chopped onion, and smashed garlic cloves. Set the pot to simmer until the cauliflower is soft.

2. While the cauliflower cooks, put potatoes in a pot to boil until they are fork-tender.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a saute pan. Add onions, carrots, salt and pepper, and saute until tender. 

4. Once all the vegetables are cooked you can begin to puree them all together. In a food processor add your cooked vegetables, garlic, potatoes, along with cream and milk, mix until smooth. Depending on the size of your processor you may have to do this step in batches.

5. Once you have a mixture that looks a lot like smooth mashed potatoes, you can transfer everything to your large sauce pot, add the vegetable broth, stir until combined, and add the bay leaf, and cheese.

6. Simmer covered on low heat for an hour, then taste and adjust salt and pepper seasoning to your liking.