Chicken Soup With Dumplings

Feb 20, 2012 by lovelypantry

Some recipes show up when they are most needed. If ever there were a time that I needed something to comfort me and make me feel better, now would be it. Last week was a rough week. Between eye infections, visits to the doctor, a trip to the hospital and a root canal, I’d say the members of my family have been pretty active. I think this is the first time in my young family’s history where we’ve all been hit with “something” in such a short space of time. It was a lot to deal with but I sure hope we are finished. Mama’s got things to do.

To put everyone at ease, we are all doing much better now. Apparently we bounce back very well. I was the one who ended up at the hospital after picking a strange infection after frolicking in a pool. The following day I went in for a root canal. I’m still eating soft foods for now. Which of course sent me looking for recipes – ah! the silver lining! Today’s recipe  is from Everyday Food, Issue 89. It was just perfect. I’ve made it twice so far and plan to make it again this week.

These are not the dumplings my mother makes! I’ve never had dumplings like this before. They were so good! Making them was fun too. Scoop with two spoons and drop in the broth. Its way better than rolling the flour in your hands and getting all messy. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now this was a soup worth  making!

Happy Monday! And to all my  Canadians in ON, AB & SK – Happy Family Day!

 

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Seared Scallops with White Kidney Beans & Spinach

Nov 30, 2011 by lovelypantry

 

Cooking brings me such joy and calm. Looking at beautiful photographs of food, and envisioning how I’ll prepare it inspires me to make what I see or to do something similar. I like to use ingredients that are available to me in the moment. For this recipe, adapted from Cooking Light’s Mix & Match Low Calorie Cookbook,  I pretty much had everything available. Except the Scallops! They look tasty and I’ve read that they have a really mild flavour. So off I went to get these scallop things from the supermarket. Scallops are generally available year round – fresh or frozen.

Scallops are a great source of : Protein, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Vitamin B12, Magnesium and Potassium. It’s good to know how what you eat benefits your body, don’t you agree?

 

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil, divided

1 LB Sea Scallops

1 Onion, finely chopped

2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped

1/4 Cup Dry White Wine

1/2 Cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1 Can White Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained

2 Cups Baby Spinach

Salt & Pepper for seasoning

 

Preparation:

Rinse scallops well and pat dry. In a medium-sized skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Cook on both sides  for about 2 minutes or until a nice golden colour is achieved. Set aside and keep warm. You may have to do this in batches so that you don’t have too many scallops in your skillet at one time.

Using the same skillet, add the remaining oil and saute the onions for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and combine. Add wine and cook until most of the liquid has been reduced, about 2 minutes. Add broth and beans, allow to cook for 2 minutes. Add spinach and cook for about a minute or until it wilts nicely.

Remove from heat. Add additional salt and pepper, if needed.

I can’t believe how velvety these scallops were. Very mild and almost sweet! I enjoyed this meal and I bet you will too.

 

Lyn

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Almost Lasagna

Oct 31, 2011 by lovelypantry

 

There are some days when I am willing to make Lasagna, and there are days when I wonder why go through all the layering. Don’t get me wrong, we love lasagna. It’s a beautiful thing. This is a recipe that happened one day when I started to make lasagna but never quite made it. You just never know how things will turn out  in my kitchen. This was a great meal!

 

 

Add colourful veggies. Serve and enjoy!

 

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Sacchettini & Spinach

Aug 1, 2011 by lovelypantry

Oh how I wish I could say that I made this from scratch. However, I`m prone to pick up frozen pasta occasionally. There are so many to choose from and the varieties are so visually appealing. On a recent trip to the supermarket, I picked up a packet of Chicken and Bacon Sacchettini. These little pasta are beautiful and they taste great too. I simply followed the cooking instructions on the packet and served it over a bed of steamed spinach. The final touch was just a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Now that`s what I call an easy mid-week meal! Sensible portions with well planned sides, wont break the scale.

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Chicken Meatballs & Spinach Pesto Linguine

May 22, 2011 by lovelypantry

 

I love a good meatball. I found a recipe by Sunny Anderson (Cooking for Real) and gave it a try. WIN!

Ingredients:

1 lb Lean ground chicken

3 Cloves garlic, minced

1 Egg, whisked

3 Tblsp unseasoned whole-wheat breadcrumbs

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tsp Hungarian or Hot Paprika

1 Tsp Onion Powder

1 Tsp Chopped fresh oregano leaves, about 1 small sprig

1 Tblsp chopped fresh Thyme leaves, about 5 sprigs

1 Tsp Brown Sugar

1 Lemon, zested

1 Tblsp Unsalted Butter

1 Tblsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kosher Salt & Ground Black Pepper (to taste)

 

Directions:

In a large bowl, gently mix the chicken, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, onion powder, oregano, thyme, brown sugar, lemon zest, 2 pinches of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Form into mini-meatballs, slightly smaller that a golf ball. It should make 28-30 meatballs. Place them on a sheet of parchment paper.

Warm the butter and oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Transfer the meatballs to the pan and do not disturb for 3 minutes in order to brown well. Turn, cooking another 3 minutes without disturbing. Keep cooking until browned and cooked on all sides, but still juicy and plump with a spring to the touch. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb some of the oil. Serve atop Spinach Pesto Linguine, if desired.

 

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