Tag: dinner

Cooking

Soup For A Change

Iris Rose

I was going to write about a craft today but got sidetracked by soup.  We are following, and have followed for several years, a low sodium diet.  The weather turned cold here last week with the daytime highs at minus 7C or lower; today it is plus 14C, go figure.

 

Anyway, cold weather equals soup in my mind.  Using what I had on hand in the pantry and fridge, ham and bean soup sounded like it would fit the bill.  Getting back to low salt, all of the ingredients that I used are no or reduced salt but you can happily use what ever you like or what you have available.  I make my own chicken stock which is seasoned with poultry seasoning so that affects the flavour a little.

Ingredients:

Ham, 50g or 2 oz. chopped, love ham? use more

1 can mixed beans

1 can black beans

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 sweet potato peeled and chopped

¼ sweet onion diced

Handful of green beans, chopped

3 cups chicken stock

2 Tbsp flour

1 ½ Tbsp butter

½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dried cilantro

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp cumin

 

Open the cans so they are ready, drain the beans.  Melt the butter in your soup pot and add the ham and onion.  Cook until the onion is limp and stir in the flour.  Pour in the liquid from the tomatoes and stir until it starts to thicken a little.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until it comes to a boil and is thickened a bit.  Turn down the heat and simmer until you are ready to serve.

You can use what you have; no green beans, add some frozen corn or peas or both.  No sweet potatoes, add carrots instead.  No ham, use diced bacon.  I’m sure that you get the picture.

I let my pot simmer for a couple of hours but that is not necessary as the ingredients are already cooked.  This made enough for about six large bowls of soup, another words for the two of us, leftovers to freeze.

Serve it up with some crusty sourdough or biscuits and it is like winter pig heaven!

 

Have a lovely week and remember to be kind.  You never know who is having a horrific day and you might just brighten it with a smile and kind word..

Knitting

Love Shrimps? Easy dinner tonight!

Iris Rose

 

I like to cook, I really, really like to cook.  I find that putting together a dish that looks and tastes great is almost (and I did say almost) as satisfying as finishing that great sweater.

Earlier this week I put together a shrimp dish that hit the spot both in taste and eye appeal.  This recipe is for two but can be easily expanded to feed more.  I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did and we will be back to either knitting or crocheting next week with a neck warmer to match last week’s cable hat pattern.

Ingredients for main dish:

Shrimp, fresh or frozen, about 250g or ½ pound or more if you love shrimp as I do.

One zucchini, cubed

Four small tomatoes, cut into wedges

One clove of garlic, chopped

¾ cup of cream or whole milk

1 Tbsp of butter

¼ cup of mixed chopped herbs (I used parsley, basil and sorrel)

Pepper to taste

½ cup grated parmesan cheese (fresh is best)

Fettuccini for two

 

Marinade for shrimp:

¼ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp chili flakes

Mix all of these in a sealable food bag or container.  Add the fresh or thawed shrimps and refrigerate for a couple of hours. 

For the main dish, start with bringing a pot of water to the boil for the pasta.  Start the pasta cooking.  In a sauté pan over medium high heat, melt the butter and cook the zucchini until it just starts to soften.  Add the chopped garlic and stir it to release the fragrance.  Start heating a second pan for the shrimp.  Add the tomatoes to the zucchini and stir.  When the tomatoes are hot, pour in the cream, stir it quickly and then add one half of the cheese.  Turn down the heat to low.  Place the shrimp, without the marinade in the waiting hot pan and cook until done, turning half way through.  This should only take a couple of minutes, don’t overcook.

Drain the pasta and, dividing in half, serve on two plates, top with the sauce and the rest of the cheese.  Serve the shrimp over the pasta sauce and serve.