French Onion Soup for Two

Do any of you ever have cravings from restaurants where you used to live, but none from where you currently live? My cravings this week come from Le Madeleine in Washington, D.C., thousands of miles away from Seattle. Their French Onion soup has been on my mind all week... ahhhh.... it's SO GOOD. And it's the perfect dish when it's cold and foggy outside.  

I realize Britt already posted a recipe for French Onion soup a while back, but this recipe is more up my alley. I am all about easy recipes. Her's looked intimidating (really, it just had ingredients I didn't have). This recipe is revised from several recipes to accommodate my lack of certain ingredients, but even better... it's revised to feed just TWO people.  Which I know you all basically cook for two, since your children eat like birds.  

So, here we have it. It was amazing. I just wish I had those little bowls/cups to eat it in. I had to resort to a big bowl, which was just fine, because that meant I got to eat more. 

FRENCH ONION SOUP FOR TWO

3 cups beef broth

1 large onion, sliced thin

3 tablespoon butter, divided (or olive oil, if you insist on being healthy)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 minced garlic clove 

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Dash of nutmeg

Several slices of Gruyere cheese (or Swiss)

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese 

2 slices French bread (it must be noted that my grocery store here sells mini baguettes... perfect for this recipe )

In a large saucepan, saute onions in 2 TBS butter (or oil) until golden brown. About ten minutes in, add the sugar to help caramelize. When onions are soft and golden, stir in the garlic and dash of nutmeg. Saute about one minute, then add the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 1 TBS butter; add sliced bread. Cook until golden brown on both sides. 

Ladle soup into two-oven proof bowls, leaving room at the top. Place sliced bread on top of bowl, cover with slices of Gruyere, and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. 

Place bowls in oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and brown. 

Enjoy! 

Healthy Black Bean Salsa

Today I took two different kinds of salsa's to work and asked my co-workers to taste them and let me know what they thought.  This salsa won the taste test.  Everyone seemed to love it.  (I know the photo isn't great...and don't you just love the container?) 

Try it and let me know what you think.

Healthy Black Bean Salsa

1/2 can of corn

1/2 can of tomato pieces 

1/2 can black beans

1/4 bunch of cilantro, cut into little pieces

1 or 2 green onions cut into small slices

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1/2 juiced lime

1 T. olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy with your favorite tortilla chip. 

Coconut Syrup

Coconut Syrup - it's rich and divine!

     1 cube of butter (no not use margarine) 

Melt butter in a sauce pan, then add:

                           1 cup sugar

                           1/2 cup buttermilk

Boil for 1 minute - no longer!  Stir into the mixture:

                            1/2 tsp. baking soda

                            1 tsp. coconut flavoring

BEWARE  - The baking soda will expand the syrup.  

Serve warm

Yummy on waffles, pancakes and french toast!

Simply Delicious Dumplings

I had turkey left over from a holiday meal so the other day I made turkey and dumplings.   My older sister use to make chicken and dumplings when my parents would go out of town and last week I was thinking that I've never made a dumpling. 

This recipe is so easy and they taste delicious. Try them, you'll like them!

This recipe would also be good with a thicker beef stew.

1 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 T. butter

1/2 c. milk

Stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until crumbly.  Stir in the milk until the flour is absorbed.  Drop by spoonfuls into the hot stew.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes without lifting the lid.  Serve hot.

Spinach Apple Bacon Salad

Dressing: whisk the following ingredients together
1/4 c. water
3 T. vinegar
2 T. olive oil
2 T. honey
4 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 Royal Gala or Granny Smith apple, cut lengthwise into small slices
8 cups baby spinach
sliced red onion - to taste
sliced mushrooms
2 slices of bacon, cooked until crisp & broken into little pieces
1-2 tablespoons of feta cheese (to taste)

Place apple slices in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of the dressing.  Add spinach, onions, mushrooms and remaining dressing; toss to coat.

Sprinkle crumbled bacon over the top of the salad.

Makes 4 servings
*From Smith's Grocery Store

Blueberry Coconut Cake with Lemon Sauce

I made this last night because I was craving something sweet that wasn't chocolate, with the promise to myself that I could eat a piece or two and give the rest away. It was tasty! And I brought the rest with me to work today to share with coworkers.

The only things I would do differently are add more coconut to the top, and make sure to not overcook it. Mine was a tad dry, but it was still delicious, especially with the lemon sauce.  

INGREDIENTS:

For the cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (unthawed)

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup flaked sweetened coconut

For the sauce:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 cup water

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch aluminum baking dish and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula just until moistened. Toss the fresh or frozen blueberries with the 2 tablespoons flour and fold them in very gently to the batter. Don't overmix or the batter will start take on a blue-ish tinge.

Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the coconut and bake for 18-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack.

For the sauce, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and grated lemon zest. Gradually whisk in the water until blended. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking often, and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes at a boil until the mixture is thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and lemon juice. The sauce can be used warm or at room temperature.

Cut the cake into squares and drizzle each piece with the lemon sauce. Serve.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

I can see Rob and Lorena and Andrea really liking this pasta, okay, and Amy and John. Dad, probably wouldn't "care for it." It got rave reviews on Pinterest so I decided to give it a go. At first I thought it was kind of weird because I wasn't used to these flavors in pasta, but after a few bites I really, really liked it. It was different way to satisfy my Mexican food craving. The only thing I would change would be to add a dollop of sour cream on top, along with fresh tomatoes. The only toppings we had were avocados (definitely recommend) and olives. Green onions would be good, too. Anyway, it was easy and yummy and something totally new--give it a try!

 

CHICKEN ENCHILADA PASTA

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced (I left this out)

1 {4 oz.} can diced green chilies

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

2 {10 oz.} cans green chili enchilada sauce

2/3 cups red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cheese {I used colby & monterrey jack}

1 cup sour cream (I used low fat)

Penne pasta

Optional toppings

Avocado

Green Onions

Black Olives

Tomatoes

Sour Cream

Cook chicken, drain, and shred {or shred your rotisserie}.  Meanwhile boil pasta according to package and chop the veggies.

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet and cook onions for about 3-5 minutes.  Add garlic & red pepper and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Add cooked chicken, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, & enchilada sauces.  Let sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

Add cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and heated through.  Now toss in the sour cream, but whatever you do, DO NOT bring to a boil!  Cook on low heat or the sour cream will curdle.  Gross.

Stir until sour cream is well mixed and heated through.

Drain pasta & return to pot.  Pour sauce over pasta and mix well.  Serve and garnish with avocado, tomato, green onion, and a dollop of sour cream.