Recipe Redux: Spinach Tomato and Chick Pea Stew (with Baked Eggs)

This is a recipe I have posted before, and have made many times since originally creating it last year. I find as I make dishes over and over again, I add and subtract various ingredients, based on what I have on hand. I also find ways to make them more quickly. 

I enjoyed eating this so much for dinner last night, I wanted to re-post it. As I read through my original instructions I thought, "My gosh, I made that way more complicated than it needed to be !" So, I am re-posting it with simpler instructions. It really is a very simple dish. And so filling. I think you could add other vegetables if you wanted to, but why ? I love it just the way it is ! 

Spinach, Tomato and Chick Pea Stew

5 cloves garlic, finely diced 

2 medium sized onions, finely diced 

3 tablespoons olive oil 

6 cups fresh spinach, chopped 

2 cups chick peas, cooked (two cans drained will work here) 

1 quart chopped canned tomatoes 

1 1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 1/2 teaspoon pepper 

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 

1 teaspoon cumin 

6 eggs 

Preheat oven to 400. In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil and saute garlic and onions until soft. Add all other ingredients except for the eggs, and cook for 20-30 minutes until spinach is tender and everything is cooked through. Using a spoon, make a well in the stew and gently drop an egg in. Repeat this process until all 6 eggs are in the broth. Cover the pot and place in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes until eggs are just barely set. Scoop out into serving bowls and serve with crusty bread. 

Caprese Style Stuffed Meatloaf

Looks tasty, doesn't it ?

I purchased this giant log of fresh mozzarella, because we make a lot of grilled pizza, now that warmer weather has arrived. I started thinking about what else I could do with it. We love meatloaf, especially stuffed with cheese. What could be better ? 

This seems like a lot of prep, but it really wasn't bad, especially because I started yesterday making some of the filling. I roasted the garlic yesterday when we were grilling steaks, and sauteed the extra carrots, celery and onions while prepping some for another dish. Piece of cake...or, in this case, meatloaf ! 

Caprese Style Stuffed Meatloaf 

1 tablespoon butter 

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1/2 cup diced carrots 

1/2 cup diced celery 

1/2 cup diced onion 

1 tablespoon salt 

1 tablespoon pepper

1 1/2 pounds ground beef 

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs 

1/2 cup milk 

1 head roasted garlic

2 eggs 

1 large handful fresh basil leaves 

6 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced thickly

1 pint cherry tomatoes 

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

In a large saute pan, melt butter and add olive oil. Saute carrots, celery and onion together until soft, then set aside. In a large bowl, combine panko and milk, and let sit until milk is absorbed into bread crumbs. Mix together with ground beef, salt and pepper, vegetable mixture, roasted garlic and eggs. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread half of the meat mixture into a large loaf pan. Lay down half of the basil leaves on top of the meat, then layer the mozzarella on top of the basil. Gently place the remaining basil on top of the cheese. Spread remaining meat on top of the final layer of basil. Place tomatoes in a small baking dish and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Place meatloaf in oven, and bake for an hour or more until completely cooked through. Add the tomatoes to the oven the final 25  minutes, bake until they are bursting. Remove both of the items from the oven. Let the meatloaf rest 10 minutes before serving, and smash the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Slice meatloaf, and spoon tomatoes over the top to serve. 

First Place Beer and Third Place Chili

I have to say, I am not entirely sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, I am the reigning champion (two years running) for the Freshwater Theatre Homebrew competition. That being said, there really wasn't much of a competition in homebrew this year. Not that I didn't think I could win anyway, because my bourbon barrel porter rocked, but...

Chili is a different matter. I take pride in my chili, I make some really good chili. And, I compromised to try to win the contest by making....you guessed it, the dreaded white chicken chili. Now, this was one stellar pot of soup (note, I hesitate to call it chili, because, I don't think it is). I was going after what I shall heretofore after call Chicken Tamale Soup, because that was the flavor I was going for. It was complex. It was flavorful, and...it didn't win. I am still disappointed in myself that I didn't just make the chili we like to eat (which is super spicy, heavy on the meat, and really tasty), and serve that. Next year....it's going to be "F**K you Minnesota, this is what real chili tastes like ! "

In the meantime, here is my second third place chili, or, for the ages, Chicken Tamale Soup.

Chicken Tamale Soup 
For the chicken:
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
Mix spices together and rub chicken breasts liberally with spice blend. Grill 4-5 minutes on each side until chicken is cooked through. Remove from grill, let cool and dice into small pieces.

For the chili:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded and finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken stock
2 cans Great Northern beans
2 cans white hominy
2 small cans diced mild green chilis
1 can cream of chicken soup (optional)
1/4 cup cumin
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
2 tablespoons oregano
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup masa
Salt and pepper to taste 
1 cup sour cream
Corn chips and cheese for garnish
In a large stock pot, heat olive oil. Add onions, garlic and jalapenos, and saute until tender. Stir in stock, and canned items. Bring to a boil, then add spices and chicken. Simmer for 60 minutes, then stir in lemon juice and masa . Simmer for approximately 20 minutes more, then taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Just before serving, stir in sour cream. Scoop soup into bowls, and serve with chips and cheese. 

Sopa de Fideo

The lovely Susan Berkson from the Minneapolis Farmers Market put out a call for recipes for inexpensive, family style meals on the Minnesota Fortify food community page. Initially, my instinct was to pull a recipe from my blog, and just hand it over to her. After all, I don't usually use extremely exotic ingredients, and I am definitely not a fancy cook.

But then I started thinking about a food drive we had at work recently, and how sometimes when you have limited income, you rely more on canned goods, dried pastas, and things that can be easily stored. Then, I set about creating a dish that could rely more on those items, and less on fresh. This one combines both, and is super affordable ! After I did the calculations, this will make eight really healthy sized portions for roughly $0.85 each! Even I was shocked ! And, you could replace the meat with canned beans and save even more money.

So, this is loosely based on a recipe from an old church cookbook I have in my collection, and it is also one contributed to the book by a dear family friend. I hope you like it, I know when I made it for my husband, he ate three bowls of it !

Sopa de Fideo

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 pound vermicelli noodles, broken into one inch pieces

1 pound ground beef

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups celery, finely sliced

2 cups onions, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup green pepper

1 small jalapeno, minced (optional, but adds nice heat)

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 1/2  cups water

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
In a large dutch oven, melt butter. Saute vermicelli until golden brown. Add ground beef, and cook over medium heat until meat is completely browned. Add all remaining ingredients except for cheese, and gently stir. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and simmer for 25-35 minutes until vegetables are tender. Serve topped with cheese.



Crockpot Mac and Cheese Bar

I have been in charge of my workplace employee gathering events for the past eight years. I love planning these, because they almost always revolve around food. I am about to hand off the baton to someone else, who will coordinate the events for the company.  In order to do this, I am organizing a potluck for people who volunteered to help this year.

My contribution to the potluck is going to be this very decadent crockpot macaroni and cheese. I was sceptical that a cheese sauce in the crockpot would be creamy, and smooth, but you won't believe how good this is.

 There is a little "cheese science" in my combination of ingredients here. Normally,  I am opposed to the "processed cheese spread" needed here. But, the oil content is needed to keep this smooth in the crockpot. Don't worry, you won't really taste it. This is amazing...and the topping choices are endless. Feel free to post suggestions !

Crockpot Mac and Cheese Bar
3 cups uncooked macaroni
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 3/4 cup milk
3 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
1 pound processed cheese spread, cut into cubes
2 cups pepper jack cheese, shredded
2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Toppings, such as bacon, salsa, chili, green onions, pickles
Cook macaroni according to package directions,  leaving slightly undercooked.  In a large bowl, mix together butter, eggs, and milks. Pour mixture into the crockpot,  then gently stir in macaroni and cheeses.  Cook on low for 2 to 3 hours, stirring at least once. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Farro Risotto with Chorizo and Corn

This dish was inspired by a favorite lunch dish at a restaurant near where I work.  They have a rotating, lunch risotto,  but this chorizo version is, in my opinion,  the best thing on the menu. I was inspired to try to recreate it at home, when the weather was bad, and I wanted to make dinner out of what I had on hand.

I had purchased some farro, but had never cooked with it. It is rumored to be the world's oldest grain, in the package it looks a bit like small pieces of puffed wheat. I had heard it would work in risotto,  so that was a twist on the original restaurant recipe I had in mind. I didn't have the right kind of rice for risotto anyway, so I had to go with it.

One tip, we don't normally use chorizo,  because it is super greasy. For this recipe, I browned it, rinsed it under warmed water, then stirred it in. That's an old dieter's trick to remove fat from a recipe, but for this application, I wanted the flavor, but not the grease.

Farro Risotto with Chorizo and Corn

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic,  minced
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cups farro
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 pound chorizo, browned,  drained and rinsed
3/4 cup roasted corn
1/2 cup white cheddar cheese
Lime zest and cilantro for garnish
Start stock simmering in a small pot on the stove. Using a Dutch oven, melt butter and olive oil together.  Add onion and garlic,  and saute until soft. Stir in farro, and continue to stir until farro starts to brown.  Add wine, reduce to simmer,  and stir until wine is almost completely absorbed.  Start adding stock one half cup at a time,  stirring between each addition until liquid is almost completely absorbed.  When all of the stock had been added, gently stir in chorizo and corn. Warm through,  then stir in cheese. Remove from heat, let rest 5 minutes, then serve, garnished with lime zest and cilantro.

Caprese Style Baked Quinoa

1. I won an amazing prize at our Christmas party this year. It was two full bags of groceries from Trader Joe's, all organic stuff, courtesy of our "Green Team" at work. And, it's a good thing too, because we were down with the flu over the holidays, and didn't get out of the house to buy anything. I was able to create this dish out of what we had on hand in the refrigerator, and the pickings out of my Christmas haul !

It was the perfect thing for us after a week of eating soup and feeling like not doing much. It was simple to put together, warm and comforting.

 

Caprese Style Baked Quinoa

3 cups cooked quinoa

2 cups prepared spaghetti sauce

2 tomatoes, diced

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 small can tomato paste

1 cup shredded mozzarella

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced

Balsamic vinegar

Fresh basil, cut into ribbons

Preheat oven to 375. In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except cheese, balsamic vinegar and fresh basil. Simmer over low until thickened, and then place half of the mixture in an 11 by 7 pan sprayed with non-stock. Top with the shredded mozzarella, then spread the remaining quinoa mixture over the top. Top with the slices of fresh mozzarella. Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes until bubbly and cheese is golden brown. Let rest 10 minutes before serving, and top with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and fresh basil.