Suzie's Spicy Chicken Soup

Eddie, the cook at a restaurant I used to work at, made the most delicious spicy chicken soup. I'm talkin' make your nose run from the jalapenos spicy. So warm it could chase the chill out of any winter day.

I've been craving it lately, so I created my own less spicy version. After all, I wanted normal people to be able to enjoy it too. So here's my version of Spicy Chicken Soup:

1. Chop onions, celery and carrots into chunks that are about equal in size. You can go big or small - whatever you like.

2. Heat a large pot over medium high heat on the stove top.

3. Cover the hot pot's bottom with olive oil. (About two tablespoons or two spins around the pot.)

4. When it's hot, drop the veggies in. Let them soften about 7 minutes. If they start to brown, turn the heat down.


5. Meanwhile, peel and chop three garlic cloves and a jalapeno. Chop more if you're feeling extra spicy.

6. Add them to the pot. Let them soften just about two minutes. Not too long. You don't want your garlic to brown. Stir.

7. Add salt and pepper.

8. Next, add a skinned (Eat the delicious skin first!) cooked chicken to the pot. You can buy one already cooked at the supermarket or roast one yourself.

9. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken. Stir.


10. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about an hour.

11. With tongs, scrape the chicken from the bones. Then discard the bones.

12. Taste the broth. If it's not chicken-y enough for you, add a bullion cube.

13. Keep simmering until the chicken becomes shredded and chunky.

14. Chop lots of fresh parsley. Add it to the soup.


If you want to kick up the spice, add more jalapeno and of course, salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy this spicy twist on a classic! So...what soup do you crave?

Suzie

Pan Roasted Chicken Breast

I love chicken. Maybe because as a kid, my stepfather would roast chicken on Sundays and make the best gravy on the planet and serve it up with roasted onions and mashed potatoes. It was the ultimate Sunday dinner.

When I want a quick and dirty version of his delicious baked chicken, I go for a bone in, skin on, chicken breast. I sear it, skin down, for the ultimate savory crunch, toss in some mushrooms, quartered onion, fresh herbs and shove it in the oven.

This is a great one pan meal for one person. You can also add as you go, get a bigger pan and add a chicken breast per person.

Here's what you do:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken breast, a handful of mushrooms and half a quartered onion. (Add more onion and mushrooms if you're making more than one chicken breast.)

3. Coat the bottom of a metal handled pan with olive oil. Heat it on medium high.

4. When the oil is hot, sear your chicken breast, skin side down. This should take about five to eight minutes. Make sure it's nice and golden brown.

5. Once it's brown, turn off the flame.

6. Drop the mushrooms, onion and a fresh woody herb like parsely or thyme in the pan.

7. Put the pan in the oven for anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the breast. For smaller chicken breasts, check after 15 minutes. If juices run clear and meat is firm to the touch, take it out. Check large chicken breasts around 22 minutes.

NOTE: The more chicken breasts you make, the longer they'll take in the oven. For example, if you put two breasts in the pan you may want to cook them about 30 minutes.

8. Remove pan from oven. Plate food and let it rest for 5 minutes so the juices can redistribute.

And that's it. Sunday dinner in less than a half hour. Easy, right?

Suzie

Chicken Salad

I'm a chicken salad freak. When I was growing up, there was this mall nearby, and I worked at Contempo Casuals. (How 80's is THAT?) Every day, I ordered a chicken salad sandwich from the deli in the foodcourt. I don't know what they put in it, but sometimes, 20 years later, I still crave that chicken salad.

In an attempt to match it, here's what I've come up with:

1. Cube up your leftover roasted chicken. Put it in a bowl.

2. Chop celery and add it to the chicken.

3. Add some fresh chopped parsley.

4. Mix in equal parts mayonnaise and dijon mustard.

5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Eat with greens or put on bread -- whatever you like. Enjoy!

And there you have it. Three meals out of one chicken. Can you think of other ways to enjoy leftovers without them tasting like leftovers?

Suzie

Mixed Greens with Chicken

Now that you have leftover chicken, you may be wondering what to do with it. My favorite way to enjoy leftover chicken is to put it in a salad.

Leafy mixed greens are typically low in calories, low in fat, high in protein per calorie, high in dietary fiber, iron and calcium, and very high in phytochemicals such as vitamin C, carotenoids, lutein and folic acid.

Plus, they're delicious. Toss in your roasted chicken and you add a great source of lean protein. All good reasons to go salad, right?

You can combine any veggies and fruits you happen to have in your kitchen, but my favorite salad with chicken is this:

1. Remove chicken from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. It may be leftover, but it doesn't need to be cold.

2. Slice up the chicken into bite sized chunks.

3. Slice half an apple and cut it into chunks.

4. Add chives, green onions or red onion.

5. Top with blue cheese.

6. Dress with a balsamic vinaigrette.

7. Mix it up!

NOTE: I used a bottled dressing. But if you want to do it yourself, an easy way to make a vinaigrette is to use one part balsamic vinaigrette to two parts olive oil. Add salt, pepper and herbs. Toss in a spoonful of dijon mustard and shake it all up.

Remember, you can put whatever you want in your salad. Berries, grapes, carrots, tomatoes, herbs, anything goes. And it's fun to come up with creative combos. This just happens to be my favorite.

What do you like to put in your salads?

Suzie

Chicken, Chicken and More Chicken

A great way to save money and eat healthy is to roast a chicken and use the leftovers for other meals. Sounds boring, I know, but it's not, if you do it right.

For example, today I roasted a chicken. I'll admit, I did not buy this chicken on sale. It was in my freezer and it cost about $8.00. But when you do find them on sale, you can get them for as low as $4.00 and when you consider that you're going to make several meals out of one chicken, you're saving big bucks. Here's how:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Remove the innards from your chicken. Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat it dry with paper towels.

3. Rub olive oil all over the exerior of the chicken and salt and pepper both the skin and the cavity.

4. Now you need to flavor it. The best way to do this is from the inside out. So I went out to my garden and grabbed a lemon and some rosemary. Then I cut up an onion, smashed some garlic and mixed it all together in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. It looked like this:

I do realize that not everyone has rosemary and lemons in their yards. And that's totally cool because the good thing is, you can flavor your chicken with anything you want. If you don't have a lemon, use an orange or a lime. Or skip the citrus. Simply stuff it with garlic and /or onions and your favorite herb. And any herb will do. Time, Oregano, Sage, Parsley. Whatever - they're all scrumptous.

5. Next, stuff the chicken with whatever you've got going on. Put it in a baking dish, sprinkle some more of the herb of your choice on top and pop it in the oven.

6. Now you have to do a little math. A good rule is to roast chicken about 15 minutes for every pound. Since I had a 5lb bird today, I roasted it for about an hour and 15 minutes. To make sure it was done, I jiggled a leg. If the leg jiggles loosely, take it out. If the leg resists jiggling, keep it in a little longer.

NOTE: Before you put the chicken in the oven, jiggle a leg so you know how it feels when it's not cooked. That way you'll be able to identify what you're not looking for.

7. I set my timer for 45 minutes. When it went off, I tossed some veggies in the pan. I had brussel sprouts, onions and carrots in the fridge, so that's what went in. Again, you can use whatever you have. Got mushrooms? Turnips? Parsnips? Potatoes? Whatever. Toss 'em in.

8. When it's ready, pull the chicken out and let it sit for about 10 minutes to redistribute the juices. (I know you know the whole juice reditribution trick by now, I'm just sticking to the rules.)

It should look like this:

Since I was eating by myself, I cut off the wings and a thigh and drumstick and ate them with the veggies. Then I carved the rest of the chicken (two breasts, a drumstick and thigh) put the leftovers in tupperware and stored them in refrigerator.

I will use some of the chicken in one of my favorite salads tomorrow and post the details here. I've already enjoyed one meal for $8. Can't wait to make it two!

So while we're talking chicken, what are some of your favorite chicken dishes? Are there any you'd like to learn how to make?

Suzie