Quick and Easy Veggie Soup

This is one of my favorite things to make on a night when I don't feel like putting a huge amount of effort into dinner. It can be plain and simple or can get fancy if you feel like it. This is from a Rachel Ray recipe, but I've adapted my own twist on it. It works well with a variety of veggies, different store bought broths, and whatever herbs you have on hand. You can serve it with crescent rolls, biscuits, crackers, chicken salad, etc. Here's tonights version, served with crescent rolls:

Quick Veggie Soup with Veggies
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into small coins
1 large parsnip, peeled and sliced into small coins
1 stalk celery, sliced
1/4 yellow onion, sliced
Olive oil
Bay leaf
Fresh parsley - about a handful
Chicken broth (box)
Salt and paper to taste

Place a pot on the stove over medium heat.
Put about 1 tbsp. of olive oil in the pot.
Chop the veggies and add them to the pot.
Sweat the veggies for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
Add the bay leaf and the chicken broth to the pot.
Raise heat to medium high and bring to a boil.
When it starts to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes (or until you are ready eat).
Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top and serve.
Add salt and paper to taste.

Summary:
Prep time - about 10 minutes
Cook time - 10-15 minutes
1 soup pot, chopping board and knife

A few hours of cooking - food for the week!

When it comes to having easy to bring weekday lunches - it is a struggle. We try to bring lunch everyday, taking in leftovers. This week we had a snowy Sunday forecast and decided to make a turkey breast. The turkey is easy to do - cooks for about 2 hours - and lasts all week! Today is Wednesday and we are still working on finishing it!

Every time I make a turkey breast I do it a little differently. This week was inspired by the other leftover ingredients we had in the fridge.

Roast Turkey Breast with Fresh Cranberry Orange Relish

Fresh Cranberry Orange Relish
1 whole orange, unpeeled, cut into eighths and seeds removed
1 12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries

Place cranberries and oranges in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is all in small pieces.

Roast Turkey Breast
Turkey breast
1 onion sliced
A few carrots sliced
Relish (from above)
Chicken broth
Olive oil
Poultry seasoning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a roasting pan (or brownie pan, whatever you have), place onions and carrots in the bottom of the pan.
Place turkey breast on top of veggies.
Lift up skin and spread relish underneath.
Pour about 1/2 - 1 cup of chicken broth over the top of the turkey.
Brush turkey with olive oil.
Sprinkle with about 1 tbsp. or so of poultry seasoning.
Place in oven and bake for about 2 hours (until temperature indicator pops up).
Let rest, slice, and eat!

For more photos - click on the album to the right.

Summary:
Prep time - about 15-20 minutes
Cook time -2 hours
1 roasting pan, chopping board and knife, and food processor.

Restaurant Meals at Home

On New Year's Eve, we had a fantastic dinner out with friends. I had Guiness braised short ribs. It got me thinking that I don't order this enough. When we went to BJ's (like Sam's or Costco) after the holiday, we noticed that they had beef short ribs in the meat case and decided to try it ourselves!

I looked at a few recipes and decided to make my own combination. It was surprisingly easy - just 1 pot, 1 casserole dish and a cutting board and knife for prep. Here's what I came up with:

Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs
Beef Short Ribs
Carrots (chopped
Onion (chopped
Fresh Cranberries (I would leave these out next time
1 bottle dry red wine
Beef broth
Salt, pepper
Bay leaf

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a large heavy pot, heat oil. Sear ribs in small batches on all sides and set aside in a casserole dish/pan.
In the pot, add veggies and brown for appx 10 minutes.
Add in wine, about 1 cup of beef broth and bring to a boil.
Add in the short ribs and a few bay leaves
Cover and cook in the 350 degree oven for about 2 hours, until ribs are tender. Remove ribs from pot and set aside in a casserole dish.
Place pot over medium high heat and cook until sauce is thickened.

We had it with a cous cous blend. You could do mashed potatoes, rice, or any good starchy side dish.

We will definitely make this again - but with different combinations of veggies, a different liquid (next time beer), and some different spices. We had about 4lbs. of ribs. I think we had at least four meals out of it - great value for the price!