February 19, 2013

Pork chop and sauerkraut casserole

Pan with pork chop and sauerkraut casserole being served.

An easy and flavorful dinner for two - pork chop and sauerkraut casserole bake is perfect for an autumn evening meal.

February 15, 2013

Carrot-ginger soup


Things have been quiet here on my blog recently.... That's because I was on vacation for a while. A completely unplugged vacation. I don't have a smartphone and didn't take the laptop - and, honestly, it was wonderful. It was wonderful to get away from the constant "chatter" of the online world. I slept a lot. I sat in the sun. I read an entire book. We looked at a lot of birds. And, my favorite part, we visited manatees. Those gray shadows are manatees that we visited in Central Florida at a state park where the manatees over-winter. They were so beautiful.

February 5, 2013

Chicken taco soup


This soup is something I make pretty frequently, but I never posted it until now... Mostly because I don't really measure when I'm making it and rarely make it the same way twice. It's a very forgiving soup that is terrific for using up leftovers. This time, I decided to actually measure and take note when I was cooking it so that I could share it. However, feel free to modify it to use what you have on hand. For example, I like to make this with leftover chicken, but I think that turkey, beef, or even an extra can of beans would work (You can also cook the chicken thighs in the soup, remove them from the pot, shred the meat, and return it to the soup if you don't have leftover chicken). Speaking of beans, this time I used black beans, but I have made this with pinto and red beans in the past. No frozen corn? No problem. No chipotle in adobo? Just use a jalapeno and some extra smoked paprika. No tomatoes? How about some salsa instead? Feel free to toss in other vegetables as well. If I had some scallions, they'd probably be in this soup. If I had some black olives that needed using up - yep, they'd be sitting on top of this bowl. It's such a great way to use up odds and ends (like corn chip crumbs that are rapidly going stale).

All that being said, here is my basic recipe that I use as a guide for my chicken taco soup. This soup is delicious and full of spice and heat which is why all the toppings are perfect - they add cooling, creamy, salty crunch, and sour - giving you a balanced dish. This recipe will make about four to six servings of soup.