Chop Suey ~

One of my favorite memories is of Halloween.  Oh, the costumes, the fun, the Trick or Treating, those are all great, but I am talking about the meal.....my Mom had "accidentally" started the tradition of making Chop Suey for dinner on Halloween.  I say accidentally because she would never cop to doing it on purpose.  When we were old enough to notice and remark on it, she would say, "don't be silly, it is just a coincidence", but she always had this little glimmer in her eyes when she would serve it to us with the packaged dried chow mein noodles that my brother Bobby had dubbed "fried worms".  We would look forward to our steaming, fragrant bowls of "Slop Chuey and Fried Worms" with almost the same glee as we did the trick or treating that we knew would come afterward.  Dad would roll his eyes at this silliness, but he would tuck into it with the same enthusiasm that we did.  It is a wonderful and easy meal and may be my all time favorite comfort food.

Depending on the amount of vegetables you usse, it can be considered either a soup or a stew.  I think it falls somewhere in between. 



Ingredients:




1 pound  boneless pork, cut into bite sized pieces

2 tablespoons Olive oil

1 cup celery in thin slices cur on the diagonal

1 onion peeled and cut in thin slices

1 tsp powdered Ginger

1 cup sliced mushrooms, (optional)

1 small can Water Chesnuts, drained

½ pound bean sprouts

8 cups, (roughly) of Chop Suey or Stir Fry Vegetables.  You can usually find these fresh in the produce section, pre-bagged, but if you can't, chop some Bok Choy, Napa Cabbage, Snow Pea Pods, Carrots... Really any veggie that sounds good to you.  8 cups sounds like a lot, but they will cook down nicely.

1/4 - 1/3 cup Soy sauce.  Start with 1/4, add more to taste if desired

4 cups chicken or beef stock

1 Tbl Cornstarch or Arrowroot to thicken

Heat oil in large suacepan , brown pork in small batches with the onion and celery and remove to bowl as needed to keep from crowding the pan.  When the meat is all browned, drain any excess fat from the pan, but leave the browned bits in the bottom of the pan.  Put the pan back on the heat and add the broth to deglaze.  Return the celery, onion and browned pork to the broth in the pan, add the soy sauce and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through.  Taste for seasoning and correct if needed.  Add the chopped vegetables (and the optional water chestnuts and mushrooms if desired).  Simmer for another 15 minutes or until the vegetables start to cook down and soften.  Take about 1 cup of liquid from the pan and stir in the Cornstarch or Arrowroot until it is dissolved and has no lumps.  Return this thickened liquid to the pan and stir well to avoid lumps.  Add the Bean Sprouts and simmer gently until done.

Serve over Rice, or Chow Mein noodles.  The Pennsylvania relatives love it over Mashed Potatoes.  No matter how you serve it, it is delicious!

Southwest Garlic Soup

It is flu season, and the weather is chilly, so I’ve been searching for a delicious, flavorful soup that would warm our bodies as well as our spirits. This soup delivers on all of that. Savory, fragrant, and loaded with flavor, this soup has lots of healthy garlic and smoky chiles for flavor and heat.


INGREDIENTS



3 whole heads of garlic (trust me, would I lie about garlic?)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

8 cups chicken stock

2 dried chipotle chiles (cut the dried chiles into small pieces or strips using your kitchen shears)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Juice of 1/2 lime

Steamed rice

Avocado slices to garnish

Tortilla chips



1. Preheat oven to 400F. Brush garlic heads lightly with some of the oil, place them on a foil lined baking sheet or in a garlic roaster, and bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes, until very soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Squeeze each clove gently and the roasted garlic will pop right out.  Set aside.

2. In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, saute onion in oil until it is golden and softened. Puree in blender along with reserved garlic, adding stock as needed to make a smooth blend.

3. Heat a little oil in pot over medium heat and add puree from blender, stirring until it begins to darken. Add remaining stock, chile peppers, cumin, and salt to taste, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Remove soup from heat, add lime juice, and stir to combine. Ladle into bowls with a scoop of  hot rice,  top with avocado slices and serve with tortilla chips. Serve hot.

This is also really good with warm corn tortillas, spread with a little butter.

Low Carb Green Chili Chicken Soup

For my Low Carb Friends!
This is a really tasty soup, naturally low in carbs, but you do not miss them at all.  It is rich and satisfying, spicy and delicious.

1 T. butter

2 T. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

2 t. paprika

4 cups chicken broth

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced.  (Thighs work really well in soup.  They do not dry out and just make a better broth imho.)

1 1/2 cups jarred salsa

4 oz. green chiles

1/4 t. ground cumin

 shredded cabbage

Shredded Monterey Jack cheese

salt  and pepper to taste


How To Prepare: Melt butter and oil together. Saute onions and garlic for a mintue, then add chicken and saute until color changes. Add paprika and saute one minute longer. Add broth, salsa and chile.  Add cumin and simmer about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper as needed.  Ladle over shredded cabbage in bottom of soup bowls and top with shredded cheese if desired.