CHICKEN STEW WITH COCONUT MILK

I decided to make a chicken stew for supper without using any nightshades (eg tomatoes, peppers or tomatoes) and no carrots. The DH is not eating nightshades and I wanted to keep the stew lower in carbs. It turned out fine, I likely should have added some curry powder but thought about it after it was made. I used chicken breasts but any cut of chicken could be used. I also used a full can of coconut milk and could have used half a can as the stew had a bit more liquid than what I wanted. But I didn't want to have half a can in the fridge looking for a purpose. I served the stew over mashed cauliflower. Cauliflower rice is also a good choice if you don't want to serve the stew with rice or potatoes. 

Mixing the cubed chicken with coconut flour.

Sautéing the chicken.

The vegetables are being sautéed with the chicken.

Going into the oven to cook

Ready to eat.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp oil

1.5 pounds chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into small chunks

2-3 tbsp coconut flour

Salt and pepper

1 onion chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 gloves garlic, minced

6 mushrooms, chopped

1 can of coconut milk

1 tsp turmeric 

Salt and pepper

2 tsp tapioca flour or corn starch

bunch of chopped parsley or cilantro

Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes

DIRECTIONS:

Dry the chicken with paper towels before cutting up the chicken breast into cubes. Mix the cubed chicken with the coconut flour in a container. Add some salt and pepper. 

Heat the oil in a medium size heavy dutch oven on high heat. Add the cubed chicken, reduce heat to medium and stir often. If the chicken is sticking to the pot, add a little bit of water and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for five minutes stirring often. Add the vegetables and stir. Cook on medium low for another five minutes. Add the coconut milk, spices, flour and herbs. I shake the can of coconut milk to make sure that the cream is dispersed and not at the top of the can before I open it. Combine well. Add a lid to the dutch oven. 

Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes. Check occasionally to see if the liquid is cooking down. If there is too much liquid in the stew you can take the lid off or have the pot partially covered. Serves 4 generously.   

CHEESY BROCCOLI SOUP

With a big bag of broccoli in the fridge and wanting a change from the carrot, sweet potato and cauliflower soup that I have been eating over the past week, I decided to make a broccoli soup with some added cheese once it finished cooking. The DH has gone dairy free and we have switched over to using goat and sheep cheese and nutritional yeast. There is still a little bit of shredded parmesan cheese in the fridge (less than 1/2 cup) which I want to use up. I will use both parmesan and nutritional yeast in this soup to give it a cheesy taste. You can use shredded cheddar instead of nutritional yeast. 

Since I had a frozen package of about one cup cooked and mashed sweet potato, parsnip and rutabaga, I added this to the soup instead of the carrot and potato. Some people like to sauté the onion, celery and garlic before adding the rest of the ingredients. I was lazy and skipped doing that and just dumped everything into the pot. I use an immersion blender to puree soups. If you don't use one, a potato masher or blender are other tools which will help puree the soup. The soup turned out fine. There is a difference with not using real cheddar cheese but it still tastes good. 

To serve this soup, I added a tablespoon of shredded parmesan cheese.

INGREDIENTS:

1 large onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large carrot, chopped
1 medium to large potato, chopped
4 to 5 cups cups of broccoli, cut into small pieces
6 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning or dill or thyme
salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of milk - dairy, almond, coconut or soy
1/2 cup nutritional yeast OR 2 cups of shredded cheddar


DIRECTIONS:

Into a large soup pot add of the ingredients except the milk and cheese. Cover the pot with a lid and heat on high until it boils. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for at least 45 minutes until all of the vegetables are tender. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup. You can leave some small chunks of vegetables if you want. Add the milk and cheese, stir and season with more salt and pepper if required. Serves 6. 

If using a pressure cooker, cook for 15 minutes on medium pressure.

SWEET POTATO, CARROT AND CAULIFLOWER SOUP

I like to add some variety to the soups I make each week. In looking for a soup without grains or beans I decided to make this soup. The carrots and sweet potatoes add sweetness to the taste of the soup and by pureeing it, the taste is smooth. I used six cups of chicken broth and I didn't add the full cup of almond milk but used just over half a cup.  

You could add some barley (1/2 cup uncooked) or chick peas (1 to 1.5 cups cooked) to the soup if you want to bulk it up and thicken it while it cooks. Since I made it late afternoon, it wasn't served as part of supper. But I did have a sample from the ladle and it tastes just right.

Ladling out the soup from the pressure cooker.

INGREDIENTS:

1 large onion, coarsely diced

1 large celery stalk, diced

1 glove garlic, minced

2 tsp oil

2 medium size sweet potatoes, peeled, finely chopped

3 medium to large size carrots, peeled, finely chopped 

3 cups of chopped cauliflower

5 to 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

1/2 tsp dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oil in a large stock pot on medium high. Once hot, add the onion and celery, stir a few times and reduce the heat on the stove to medium. Sauté for four minutes, stir frequently and add the garlic. Stir frequently for another two minutes so that the garlic does not stick. If the vegetables are sticking, add a bit of water to the pot. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the milk. Cover the pot with a lid. Turn the heat up to high until the soup boils. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for 45 to 60 minutes until the vegetables are tender. 

Using an immersion blender, purée at least half of the soup. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can purée the soup in a blender or use a potato masher. Add the milk. Makes 8 servings.

Pressure Cooker Option

If using an electric pressure cooker, follow the same directions for sautéing the vegetables using the sauté option on the pressure cooker. Cook the soup for 15 minutes using medium pressure. Once the pressure is released from the pot, purée the soup and add the milk.

RED LENTIL SOUP

Ready to eat.

Several weeks ago I saw this recipe for red lentil soup from the Moosewood Restaurant Favorites cookbook. I marked it and thought it would be great to make after I had enough of eating turkey soup over the Christmas season. Moosewood Restaurant has produced a number of great cookbooks and I have collected two of them so far. I made a few modifications to the original recipe. In the pantry or freezer, I have frozen tomatoes, diced tomatoes in the can and garden canned tomatoes. I decided to use a 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes and I drained the juice out of the can before adding the tomatoes to the soup mixture as I thought a 28 full can would be too much.

The taste of the soup after cooking in the pressure cooker was wonderful and I look forward to consuming this over the next number of days. 

Soup cooling in the container from the electric pressure cooker.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large potato, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced 
1/2 coloured pepper, diced
1 tsp dried powdered ginger or 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground turmeric 
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander 
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes or a 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes 
1 1/2 cups red lentils
6 to 7 cups water, chicken or vegetable broth

2 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped 
salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS:

Electric Pressure Cooker:

Using the sauté function, add the oil, heat it until hot and add the onion, garlic, potato and carrot. Stir every few minutes and after five minutes add the diced pepper and spices. Sauté for another three to four minutes. Turn the sauté feature off and add the water/broth, tomatoes, lentil and salt and pepper. Set the pressure cooker to cook for 15 minutes. Once the pressure is released and you can open the lid, add the cilantro and lemon juice and stir. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Makes 6 to 8 servings depending on the size of the soup bowl. If you find the soup too thick the following day in the storage container, add a bit of water. 

Stove Top:

Add the oil to a large soup pot, turn the burner to high and when hot, add the onion, potato and carrot.  Reduce heat to medium and sauté for five minutes and stir every few minutes. Add diced pepper and spices and continue to sauté for another three to four minutes. Add the water/broth, tomatoes, lentils and salt and pepper. Increase the heat to high, cover the pot with a lid until it starts to boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for an hour. Add the cilantro and lemon juice, stir and if needed, add more salt and pepper. Makes 6 to 8 servings depending on the size of the soup bowl. If you find the soup too thick the following day in the storage container, add a bit of water. 

Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Favorites