Mexican Chicken and Veggie Stoup

That's right I said "stoup"... lame. I'm a kook. As much as I think Rachel Ray is annoying I don't think there anything else to call this. It heartier than a soup, but not as this as stew. So there you have it.... Stoup(id)

Beth and I recently bought a crock pot and this was my second attempt at using it. My first attempt came out OK. It was a Chicken and Veggie soup. A slow cooker/crock pot is perfect for us with how busy we are. Just throw all the ingredients in the pot before we leave the house in the morning, set it low... and BAM... dinner is ready and waiting after a long day of work and training. No cooking.

Like I said, my first concoction came out just OK. I made a couple of bad vegetable choice (broccoli & Brussels sprouts) that did not hold up well in the slow cooking process. The rest of the veggies (carrots, sweet potato, celery, onion) and the chicken came out well, but the bad veggies kind of killed it.

So this time I was a little smarter and decided to mexi-fy (sweet word... I'm sure it's in the dictionary) it. So here's the recipe.

1 sweet potato, rough chopped
6 celery stalks, rough chopped
1 Huge sweet onion, rough chopped
2 parsnips. rough chopped
4 large carrots, rough chopped
4 small red potatoes, quartered
3 6oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in 1 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, slliced
2 basil leaves
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can smoked, diced green chilies
6 cups of chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste.

I chopped all the veggies and chicken up the night before so the morning was easy. All of this was thrown into the crock pot in the morning after getting off the bike and heading out the door to work. I set it on low for 7 hours and once the cooking time expires it switches to "keep warm" mode for up to 4 more hours. Perfect.

Beth and I both ran with the lululemon run and when we got home dinner was already ready already. sweet.

I topped it with organic, baked yellow corn tortilla chips, avocado, hot sauce, and some sour cream.

It was good and hit the spot.... but still not great. There was something missing. I could have seasoned it a little better. Maybe some cumin or chili powder, ot added some stewed tomatoes... not sure. Any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Next week I'll give the crock pot another go. This time I am thinking beef stew.... or come kind of seafood stew.... or carnitas. We'll see.

Chicken & Veggie Tortilla Soup - Perfected!

First of all... as always... we have been slacking on the food blog front. But we now have some new motivation. Our friend Ryan and his girlfriend Angie just started a killer new blog: Primal Fusion. They are already making us look bad and have posted some really good stuff. Check it out.

For my birthday dinner Beth cooked me one of my favorite meals... Chicken Tortilla Soup. She has made it for me a handful of times and each time it's been a bit different, but always very good. We order chicken tortilla soup when we go out to eat to try find the right combo of spice, veggies, and chicken with out it being to heavy (creamy).

El Caribe probably has our favorite version so we have been wanting to duplicate it.... and even make it better. Well... Beth nailed and made me hands down the best Chicken and Veggie Tortilla soup I have ever had. It was probably the best soup I have ever had.

Beth doing work in her new killer sweat suit.


Here's how it went down.

• 1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
• 1 can of diced tomatoes with jalepeno's
• 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 Green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 zucchini, sliced
• 2 celery stocks, chopped
  
• 2 large carrots, sliced
  
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Everything but the chicken was cooked in one pot. Just chuck all the veggies in the pot and let them cook a bit and then add the Chicken broth. After the vegetables are almost done throw in the chicken. We used organic, free-range chicken breast from traders that we steamed in steamer bags and the she shredded it. They came out perfect.

Once the chicken is shredded throw it in the pot and let if cook for a while so everything is cooked through. Turn down the heat and let all the flavor combine.


I was responsible for making the guac.

• 2 avocados
• 1 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
• juice of one lime
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 small heirloom tomatoes, diced
  
• 2 tbsp of greek yogurt (makes is creamy and works well in the soup)

For the tortillas we used our favorite corn tortillas from La Fe. The La Fe Tortilla Factory is local and they make killer tortillas with very few ingredients. All the package lists are corn, water, lime juice, and salt. You can't beat that. We put the tortillas in the toaster oven to get them crispy and then broke them up into chips of the soup... and some extra for the guacamole.

That's it. It was awesome.

Blythe's holiday turkey burgers

CRANBERRY-FETA TURKEY BIRGERS

'Tis the season to put a holiday twist on everything. Up in San Francisco this weekend, Blythe put together a fantastic pre-party dinner of cranberry & feta turkey burgers on whole grain buns, organic green salad with cherry tomatoes and avocado, and oven-baked sweet potato fries. I had to post about this one because the turkey burgers were genius- why didn't I think of that?!?! Here's the pre-cooked burgers (i think we had too mcuh wine beofre we actually ate the meal to remember to take a picture of the finished product with all the fixins :)

For 8 good size burgers use:

2 packages lean or extra lean ground turkey (Blythe mixed one extra lean (99% fat free) with one lean (93% fat free)- perfect! )

3/4 cup dried cranberries (just throw in a couple handfuls)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Mix 'em together and grill 'em up- about 8 minutes per side. These were PERFECT as is, but james and I were just talking and thinking they could be spiced up even more with chopped celery and onions (kind of like turkey stuffing burgers) or some spices (sage or rosemary?) would both go well.

Serve with oven-baked sweet potato fries of course!

and a picture with the cook!

Grilled Veggies and Summertime chicken

We love salads.

We both usually eat at least one salad a day... sometimes two. They are easy to make, mega healthy, and never get old because there are so many ways to change it up.

This summer I have been really into making grilled veggies(like almost every night!). I still get my salad fix at lunch and dinner it's time to throw what ever veggies we have on the grill.



Some of our favotites:
zucchini
squash
asparagus
sweet potato (yams)
onions
button mushrooms
portobello mushrooms
Bell peppers (all colors)

a lot of the time I will make grilled veggie salads and just throw all the grilled goodness on top of some mixed greens and top with some goat cheese and homemade dressing.

For the protein part of this meal I grilled up some chicken. I don't really have a name for the recipe/marinade I used for the chicken but it's been a staple for me and reminds me of good times in the summer living in Virginia Beach. We used to have big backyard BBQ's at my good friend Ricky's house. We used to surf all day, come home drink some ice cold beers and cook up tons of food. Ricky or his dad would always make their famous "broasted chicken". His dad was a killer cook and actually owns The Jewish Mother in Virginia, and Ricky now runs the place.

Here's the recipe for the marinade. You can use any kind of chicken you want. I think bone-in works is the best but I just had some skinless breasts on hand so I used those.

Summertime Chicken Marinade:
I don't use any measurements and pretty much eyeball everything so these are just guesses.



1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp Tapatio Hot Sauce
1/2 lemon (squeeze out the juice and leave in the dish used for marinading)
1 lime (squeeze out the juice and leave in the dish used for marinading)
fresh ground black pepper to taste
canjun seasoning to taste

That's it. Give it plenty of time to marinade... at least 8 hours. Then Grill. Then get down.

we don't eat fish tacos every night....

yes. we probably eat grilled fish tacos or salads w. lean protein most nights of the week...but sometimes we venture out....a little...

the other night i made chili and strawberry spinach salads (random combo, i know)

for chili:

1 pound lean ground beef ( or turkey) today i used 97% lean beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic , crushed
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon cocoa (confession- i make this chili all the time at my house. so i have cocoa powder on hand. james did not have any and i am lazy. so i threw two dark chocolate hershey kisses in the pot. not kidding. its the same thing, right? the chocolate is the secret ingredient so i couldn't leave it out.)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper sauce
1 can (32 oz) whole tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 oz) beans, undrained. (kidney, black, whatever. i used black today)

Cook and stir ground beef, onion and garlic in 3 quart saucepan until
beef is brown: drain. Stir in remaining ingredients except beans:
break up tomatoes. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer,
stirring occasionally, 1 hour.

Stir in beans. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. simmer uncovered, stirring
mixture occasionally, until of desired consistency. ( about 20
minutes.) then top it with whatever you like.

for the salad:
spinach
sliced strawberries
thinly sliced red onion
slivered toasted almonds
sprinkles of crumbled blue cheese

dressing:
i just mixed 50% balsamic vinegar with 50% light blue cheese dressing . i call it balsamic blue cheese dressing. yeah, real creative....

oh, and i sprinkle on fiber one "croutons".....gross, huh? i LOVE fiber one. but i am also crazy. james orders his without the fiber bomb

james loves chili....or does he?

turkey meatballs and spaghetti squash

there's been some good foodspiration going on in blog-land. lucho's been juicing it up...seems like he's on a yam kick...james has been the kettle chip fairy, spreading the love for some good training tips from Cody....and benson made me jealous with his italian chow.

Also over on mark's daily apple, there are 10 great ways to "eat green".


james and i have been super busy over here (more work for both of us than usual), but still eating well. here's some of the latest:

turkey meatballs with spaghetti squash....

1 spaghetti squash

cut the squash in half and scrape out the seeds. preheat the oven to 375 degrees. brush in olive oil, salt and pepper. place on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minute to one hour. After its soft...take it out of the oven and scrape the flesh with a fork to get the "Spaghetti"... Season as you like it with salt, pepper, olive oil, maybe a little sage or parsley


turkey meatballs with marinara
1lb 99%lean ground turkey
2 egg whites
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 an onion-diced
3/4 cup diced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
worshteshire sauce- a bunch of shakes
parsley, salt, pepper, oregano
sprinkle o cheese (i used part-skim mozz)

i sauteed the onions, garlic and mushrooms with a little bit of olive oil in the pan. i heard that by adding in mushrooms, the lean turkey would stay moist and hold together in meatballs better. after that, i mixed up all the ingredients and formed into 8 balls. put them in a saute pan over medium heat and brown on both sides (3-4 minutes a side? clearly from the picture i made mine "crispy") then dump in as much spaghetti sauce as you like (i like organic ones with low-ish sugar content- you really need to look at the labels on red sauce, they vary SOOOO much. whole foods 365 brand has some great choices)

yum!
that's it for now.. i also made some good chili and strawberry-spinach-balsamic salads this week...more on those later...and i think we're doing some healthy thai apps in the next few days.okay, time for dessert. bye!

Keeping it in the Family: Pollo Asado Tacos

Ok... so I had my Dad throw together a post for us. He killed it!

Make these... they are good.

Healthy Pollo Asado Tacos

Your food blog says "a different kind of fast food". This is NOT fast food. Homemade marinade and homemade salsa. Check it out. Turned out pretty good.

Simple: one carb smart tortilla (warm), pollo asada, cabbage, salsa fresca, cheese, EAT. (Note: Paper plate, for James)


You might have noticed that I have borrowed from the fish taco arena by garnishing with cabbage. It is crisper and cleaner tasting in this application. Also, if you use canned salsa, you might want to chop some onions, tomatoes, and lettuce for additional garnish.

Pollo Asada

5-6 chicken breasts
Pollo Asada Marinade (See Recipe)

Split/Filet each chicken breast to approx. 1/2 thickness, resulting in 10 - 12 pieces. I find that doing this allows the marinade to soak in and flavor the chicken better. Place the chicken filets into a 1 gallon Ziploc bag with the marinade. Close the bag and mix the chicken and marinade by turning over several times and agitating the mixture.Do this for several minutes. Open the bag and carefully squeeze out as much air as possible.Reclose and place in refrigerator for 2 - 4 hours, turning periodically.

Remove chicken from marinade and grill to desired degree of doneness.

Chop chicken filets prior to serving.

Off the grill.


Chopped and ready to serve.


Green goo marinade. (Note: Mario bowl, for Beth) Recipe follows:


Carne / Pollo Asada Marinade

4 garlic cloves
1 roasted, peeled, cleaned jalapeño pepper
1 large handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped
salt & pepper to taste
2 limes, juiced
1 orange, juiced
1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp. lime zest
1 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. white vinegar
1/2 cup first, cold pressed, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
(Note: The zest contains most of the citrus flavor, so I hate to waste it. It only enhances that citrus zing.)

Roast jalapeño pepper on grill or stove top burner. Peel off all skin, cut off ends, halve, and clean out seeds and veins. Dice.

Press garlic and diced jalapeño pepper into a non-reactive bowl using a garlic press. Add cilantro, salt and pepper. Using a spoon, press / crush ingredients against side of bowl, to form a "paste".

Add lime juice and zest, orange juice and zest, and lemon juice and zest. Mix with spoon to combine. Add vinegar and olive oil, stir.

Pour into a large, 1 gallon. Ziploc bag.

Chicken in marinade. Place in refrigerator for 2-4 hours.


Dad's Salsa. Recipe follows:

Dad's Salsa Fresca

1 1/2 - 2 cups, seeded, diced tomatoes
1/2 - 3/4 cup diced red onion
1 Tbsp. roasted, jalapeño pepper
1 Tbsp. roasted, pabalano pepper
3/4 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 large, or 2 small limes, juiced
1/2 tsp. lime zest
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Cut tomatoes into quarters and remove seeds. Dice tomatoes. (I like to use a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of vine ripened and roma tomatoes. The vine ripened for sweetness, the roma for body). Dice red onion. Roast peel and clean jalapeno and pablano peppers, dice. Mince garlic. Juice lime and zest. Chop cilantro.

Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl. Adjust seasoning and peppers (heat) to taste. Refrigerate until needed.