Tuesday Recipes

Here are today's six recipes to try your hand at. Enjoy!

CREAM OF WILD MUSHROOM SOUP

While many of us think of cream of mushroom soup as a canned soup, something to stock on your shelf, this yummy recipe is anything but. This rich-based recipe comes from Ina Garten, star of The Food Network's Barefoot Contessa. Total Time: 1 hr 50 min; Prep: 20 min; Cook: 1 hr 30 min; Yield: 5 to 6 servings; Level: Intermediate

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cream-of-wild-mushroom-soup-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms

5 ounces fresh portobello mushrooms

5 ounces fresh cremini (or porcini) mushrooms

1 tablespoon good olive oil

1/4 pound (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 carrot, chopped

1 sprig fresh thyme plus 1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves, divided

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a dry paper towel. Don't wash them! Separate the stems, trim off any bad parts, and coarsely chop the stems. Slice the mushroom caps 1/4-inch thick and, if there are big, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

To make the stock, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped mushroom stems, the onion, carrot, the sprig of thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add 6 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of stock. If not, add some water.

Meanwhile, in another large pot, heat the remaining 1/4 pound of butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown. Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes, or until they are browned and tender. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the mushroom stock, minced thyme leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the half-and-half, cream, and parsley, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and heat through but do not boil. Serve hot.

SLOW COOKER TORTILLA SOUP

This comes from The Food Network's Melissa d'Arabian, who writes, “This Mexican-inspired chicken, tomato, and bean soup practically cooks itself. I pile the ingredients into a slow cooker while I'm off doing far more glamorous things (like working, picking up dry cleaning, or dropping off a forgotten lunch at school!). My weekday cheat is to use tortilla chips instead of fresh tortillas. My favorite kind are the better-for-you baked white tortilla chips with a hint of lime, but any kind will do. If I'm feeling fancy, I'll add cubed avocado and sour cream before serving. If you have leftover cooked rice in the fridge, a spoonful in the soup is a nice touch, and for a less spicy flavor remove the jalapeno seeds and ribs.” Total Time: 3 hr 10 min; Prep Time: 10 min; Cook Time: 3 hr; Yield: 4 servings.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/slow-cooker-tortilla-soup-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

3 chicken thighs, skin removed

10 -ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups water

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Juice of 1/2 lemon

20 tortilla chips

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

Place the chicken, tomatoes (and juices), beans, broth, water, onion, garlic, jalapeno, cumin, and chili powder in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Uncover the slow cooker and use tongs to remove the chicken from the pot. Once cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and shred, then return the meat to the pot. Stir in the lemon juice. Crumble a few tortilla chips into each bowl and cover with some soup. Serve sprinkled with cilantro and grated cheese.

BAKED BEANS

This comes from Sam Sifton of The New York Times' Cooking e-newsletter. Sam writes, “Proper Boston baked beans would have salt pork instead of the bacon. James Beard cooked them with ribs. The key is to use the little white pea beans known as navy beans, and to allow time to do most of the work. (Or to cheat: Canned white beans make fantastic baked beans in about an hour. If you use them, you'll need four 15-ounce cans. Drain and then follow the directions from step 2 on to the end. Please understand that you’ll need much less water and much less time to get them where you want them to be.) The combination of molasses and dry mustard is a taste as old as America itself, and takes well to both ham and soft brown bread.” Makes 6 to 8 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 cups navy beans

Salt

1/2 pound slab bacon, cut into cubes

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

1/3 cup molasses

2 teaspoons dry mustard

Preparation

Soak beans in a large bowl of water for 6 hours or overnight. Drain beans and put them in a large oven-safe pot with a heavy bottom and a tightfitting lid. Add 1 teaspoon salt and enough cool water to cover 2 inches above the beans. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the beans are just tender, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Drain and remove beans.

Heat the oven to 250 degrees. Bring a kettle full of water to a boil on the stove. Return the heavy-bottomed pot to the stove and turn the heat to medium high. Cook the bacon in the bottom of the pot until it begins to brown, then turn off the heat and add the chopped onion and, on top of it, the beans. Mix together molasses, mustard and black pepper, and add the mixture to the pot. Pour in enough boiling water to cover beans, put the lid on and bake, occasionally adding more water to keep beans covered, until they are tender but not falling apart, 4 to 5 hours.

Remove beans from oven, uncover, stir and season with salt. With the lid off, return pot to oven and let beans finish cooking, uncovered and without additional water, until the sauce has thickened and the top is deeply crusty, about 45 minutes more.

CRANBERRY COFFEE CAKE

This comes from the infamous long-since-forgotten-emailing-list. Serves 6 to 8.

2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pulse cranberries with 1/2 cup sugar in a food processor until finely chopped (do not puree). Transfer to a sieve and let drain while making batter.

Sift together flour, baking powder & salt. Beat together butter and remaining sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 to 8 min. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and milk alternating in batches, beginning and ending with flour and mixing until just incorporated.

Spread 1/3 of batter evenly in well buttered 9x5-inch loaf pan, then spoon half of drained cranberries evenly over batter, leaving a 1/2-inch border along sides. Top with another 1/3 of batter and remaining cranberries, leaving a 1/2-inch border along sides, then cover with remaining batter. Bake in middle of oven until golden brown and a tester comes out without crumbs, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 min. Invert cake onto rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

BEVERLY'S CREAMY BROCCOLI CHICKEN

This comes from Diana Rattray, About.com's Southern Food expert. Diana writes, “This easy broccoli chicken is cooked to perfection in the slow cooker.
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“The simple combination of chicken breasts, broccoli, and condensed soup makes a fabulous everyday dinner. Serve this flavorful dish over hot cooked rice or angel hair pasta.” Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 360 minutes (6 hours); Total Time: 370 minutes; Yield: Makes 6 servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 can (approx. 10 1/2 ounces) condensed Cream of Broccoli Soup

boneless chicken breasts (as many as you need) - I buy the frozen ones with 6-7 in a bag - approx. 3 pounds

1 bag (12 to 16 ounces) frozen broccoli

salt and pepper

1 cup milk

Preparation

Place chicken pieces in the crock pot. Cover with the frozen broccoli and spoon the cream of broccoli soup over all. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH 3 to 4 hours. (Boneless chicken breasts might be dry if cooked too long.) Add milk about 45 minutes before done, or 30 minutes if cooking on high.

Serve poured over rice!!! Yummy!

CRANBERRY APPLE CRISP

Yield: 8 servings

View Online: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/876.shtml

Ingredients:

Filling Ingredients:

3 cups peeled, cored, sliced apples

2 cups fresh or frozen thawed cranberries

1 cup Equal Spoonful*

Topping Ingredients:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup stick butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup Equal Spoonful**

* Substitute 24 packets Equal sweetener

** Substitute 12 packets Equal sweetener

Directions

For Filling, combine apples, cranberries and 1 cup Equal in an ungreased 10-inch pie plate.

For Topping, combine flour, pecans, melted butter and 1/2 cup Equal. Mix until well blended. Sprinkle flour mixture over apples and cranberries in pie plate.

Bake in preheated 350F oven 55 to 60 minutes or until fruit is tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutritional Information (Per Serving): Calories: 145; Protein: 1 g; Sodium: 67 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Fat: 8 g; Carbohydrates: 18 g; Exchanges: 1 fruit, 1-1/2 fat