Gone with the wind.........

I had decades worth of recipes written on scraps of paper and 3 x 5 cards that I had been gathering since my teens, my Mom's, and Gramma's, wonderful family recipes of all my favorites ... my Mom's Chili Verde, her amazingly easy, flavorful Chop Suey, Granny's Chicken and Dumplings, desserts, salads, and of course, recipes for those marvelous soups and stews that warmed us on the cold blustery days... anyway, I had always intended to put them all into a book, or to at least digitize them so that they could be saved and shared. I loved those scraps of paper and never got around to it. Those grubby bits of paper and card stock, spattered by ingredients, creased and worn, soft from years of being refolded after use, and smelling oh so faintly of spices, felt real to me. tangible and homey. My mothers familiar scrawl, her funny little notes........Pulling out those handwritten treasures was almost a form of therapy, certainly they were a touchstone for me. They lived in a beautiful wooden and metal scrollwork box on a shelf in my dining room.

We found what was left of the box after the fire, we kinda recognized a bit of the metal scrollwork... my son pried it open while we held our breath, hoping that the once lovely box had somehow protected those vulnerable pages......
Once he peeled back the burned layers of what was left, a few charred edges of my treasured "receipts" fluttered out, then they just disintegrated and disappeared on the breeze.

So my mission now is to piece together those recipes, add in more that I find along the way, and get a cookbook published for my Mom. I think she would have loved that.

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Saturday, January 12, 2013

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 Onion, Diced
4 Chicken Breasts
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
2 4 0z cans chopped mild green Anaheim peppers
1 small can, (15 0z) mild red enchilada sauce
2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 can, (14.5 oz) chicken stock
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 pkg frozen corn
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Garnish ~ lime wedges, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, sliced avocado, sour cream and tortilla chips for garnish

Place diced onion in the bottom of the crock pot and evenly lay the chicken breasts on top.  Add the diced tomatoes, (with juice), Anaheim peppers, enchilada sauce, chicken stock, bay leaf and spices.  Cook on low 4 to 6 hours.  Discard bay leaf.  Remove chicken to platter and shred, (use 2 forks and just pull it apart).  Stir remaining soup well.  Add the frozen corn and allow it to heat thoroughly.  Add chicken and cilantro back to crock pot  and heat through.

Serve with a squeeze of fresh lime, shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream and tortilla chips as desired. 

Muey Sabroso!

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Sausage and Tortellini Soup


2 TBL olive oil
1 lb Italian Sausage, sliced into "Pennies"
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
2 quarts chicken stock
1 - 1/2 lbs refrigerated tortellini
6 oz baby spinach leaves
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 TBL butter

Heat 1 TBL olive oil in heavy bottom stock pot and add sliced Italian sausage in batches.  Saute until browned.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Add 1 TBL remaining olive oil  to pan and saute garlic for for about 30 seconds.  Add wine to deglaze, stir, then add chicken stock and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, and add tortellini.
Cook for about 4 minutes and add spinach.  Lower heat and cook until spinach wilts, approximately 2 minutes.

Return sausage to soup and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes until heated through.  Add butter and allow it to melt.  Stir and serve.

Ladle into bowls and top with grated Parmigiano / Reggiano cheese if desired.

This is actually a great work night soup.  The refrigerated tortellini makes it a quick fix, and it is hearty and satisfying.



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