Italian Sub Stoup with Garlic Toast Floaters

ITALIAN SUB STOUP with GARLIC TOAST FLOATERS

Stoup Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (twice around the pan)
3/4 pound (3 links) hot or sweet Italian sausage, split and meat removed from casing
1/4 pound pepperoni, diced
1 ham steak, diced (about 1/2 to 3/4 pound)
1 green bell pepper, seeded, quartered and sliced
1 medium yellow onion, peeled, quartered and sliced
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups gemelli pasta or other short-cut pasta

Crouton Ingredients:
1/4 cup for croutons
5 cups cubed crusty bread
3 large cloves garlic, cracked from skin
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a couple of handfuls
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 bunches arugula, trimmed and coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)

Directions:
1.  Place a large soup pot or dutch oven on the stove top and preheat to medium high heat. Add olive oil, 2 turns of the pan and the sausage. Brown and crumble the sausage, drain off excess fat if necessary then add the ham and pepperoni. Cook meats together 2 minutes then add peppers and onions and cook 2 or 3 minutes more. Add diced tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add chicken stock and bring stoup to a boil. Stir in pasta and cook for 8 minutes. Make croutons while pasta cooks.
2.  In a large skillet heat about 1/4 cup of olive oil, 4 turns of the pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add bread to garlic oil, toss and toast the cubes 5 or 6 minutes. Season the toasty cubes with red pepper flakes, oregano and lots of grated cheese.
3.  Stir arugula into soup just before you serve it up. Ladle up the stoup and float several toasty garlic bread cubes in each bowl. 

NOTES:
We've made this meal dozens of times and love it each time. It is just the taste of fall for Ben and me. I measured out the stoup tonight and found that it yields nine 1.5 cup servings, approx 375 calories per serving before croutons.  I set aside two servings and froze the rest. 

The crouton recipe above is how we usually make them. Tonight I wanted to just make only enough croutons for this meal.  I got a mini boule of sourdough bread and cut enough to give us each a half serving. I lined a toaster oven pan with foil, sprayed it generously with olive oil cooking spray. After adding the cubed bread, I sprayed the bread with the oil and broiled until crispy, turning once. I tossed the crispy bread with 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, 1/8 dried oregano, and 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan. The calorie count was definitely lower since I didn't try to saute the croutons in oil. 

I'm sure that in the past we have each eaten a good two cups of stoup and at least a full serving of croutons each. At the end of the meal, Ben and I were feeling full and pleased to have a few more calories left in our day for wine.  

Katie has lived more than 4 years without trying soup. Just wasn't interested. Tonight I pulled out the good old Campbell's chicken noodle soup and she agreed to try. She probably ate one noodle an inch long and gagged. She psyched herself into thinking that it would be awful. I drained the broth for her, but she still wouldn't give it another try.  So, she went to bed without dinner tonight. She wasn't in trouble, but noodles and chicken were her only dinner option. Thankfully for Katie, we have PEPS tomorrow night so she doesn't have to try it again tomorrow. Kyle spit out a mouthful of noodles, but was willing to eat them one or two at a time. He pounded two squeeze pouches of veggies and fruit.

Spicy Peanut Chicken with Rice

I was supposed to have made this dish on Thursday, but a moldy bell pepper and a preschool ice cream social got in my way.  My plan was to take the kids with me to the store this afternoon to get another pepper, but I just didn't want to in the downpour.  It wasn't worth it for one ingredient.  I was ready to figure out another dinner option when Ben suggested making the dish without the bell pepper.  Although I prefer it with the pepper, it was still delicious.  I got the skillet really hot tonight and was worried that the garlic, ginger and chicken were going to burn.  Thankfully, they didn't, and the dish was better than ever! 

SPICY PEANUT CHICKEN

½ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
½ teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, cut into ¾-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or crushed
2 teaspoons grated gingerroot
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into ¾-inch pieces
1/3 cup unsalted cocktail peanuts

1. Mix broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and red pepper.
2. Heat 12-inch skillet (or if you’re advanced, a wok) over high heat. Add oil, and stir-fry chicken, garlic, and gingerroot until chicken is done (about 3 minutes).
3. Add bell pepper to chicken and stir-fry for about 1 minute.
4. Add cornstarch mixture to chicken. Cook and stir about 1 minute or until sauce thickens. Stir in peanuts.
5. Serve over garlic rice. (see recipe below)

GARLIC RICE

Heat a little vegetable oil to your rice pan. Add a clove of minced garlic to the oil once it is heated. Add the rice to the pan and let it get a little opaque. Add chicken stock instead of water and bring to a boil. (Use the ratio of 1 part rice to 2 parts liquid.) Cover and simmer on low for 20-25 minutes.

Tuesday, 5/3/2011

It was our turn to host our PEPS group tonight. I decided to make chicken fajitas before I knew Ben wasn't going to be home for the evening.  He had a business dinner he had to attend.  I knew I could postpone, but I thought I could handle it on my own.  Yikes, I was wrong.  At about 4:30, I realized that I still had a lot of preparations to do to make the house friendly for five kids to be running around.  The group was scheduled to arrive at 6:30 and the table of craft materials had to go upstairs, the folding chairs had to come downstairs, the bathroom needed cleaned, the diaper pail emptied and moved into Katie's room, the counter cleared and cleaned, the dining table uncovered, toys gathered and arranged for play, etc.  And, I still need to cut up the peppers for the meal.  I barely got everything done before the first family arrived.  Well, I got everything done except for turning on the grill.  That definitely should have been done before they arrived.  I answered the door looking quite frazzled and immediately left Katie with Mike and Naomi while I ran out to turn on the grill.

I placed the marinated chicken directly on the grill and the veggies, tomatoes, red onion, and bell peppers, on a tray on the grill.  The propane tank ran out while I was cooking the food.  I'm not sure when it ran out, but my guess was that it stopped right after I flipped the chicken.  I wasn't confident that I knew how to safely remove and replace the tank, so I asked Andy for help.  Turns out, I would have done it correctly, but I am very glad to have had help.  Anyway, it took me an hour to get all of the food grilled, ready for everyone to eat, and finally sit down myself.  I learned that preparing fajitas on a grill takes a lot of coordination and that timing is crucial.  The flavors were good, but the veggies were cold by the time I ate.  I need to thank the other parents for watching Katie while I managed the food prep and Naomi for cutting the peppers for me.  

This was a meal that just took way too long to prepare, and it was next to impossible to have everything finish cooking at the same time.  Also, I barely had enough peppers and tomatoes to go around. I have tons of chicken left over, but the veggies are all gone.  Oh, and I totally underestimated how much salsa our group would consume.  I thought that one container of salsa would be enough for the chips and fajitas.  Nope.  That was a bad estimate.  By the time I was ready to eat, I was able to scrape maybe one teaspoon of salsa out of the container.   So, never again will I host the group by myself.  I definitely needed my other half tonight. 

At the very end of the night, I did my best to take a group shot of the kids.  Talk about impossible! They wouldn't stop moving, and I chose the wrong lens.  With all of the dinner prep, I forgot to prepare for the photo.  Here's the best of the photos I took.  Again, I definitely needed my other half tonight.  

Wednesday, 4/27/2011

Katie and I made it to the grocery store this morning and stocked the fridge for the rest of the week.  I pan fried a pound of chicken tenderloins.  I heated a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil in a skillet, seasoned the chicken with a lemon, sage seasoning salt, and then fried the chicken until a little brown on both sides.  Katie had some of the chicken with carrots and sugar snap peas for dinner.  I cut up the chicken into a green salad with mushrooms, orange bell pepper, and Italian dressing.  It was pretty darn good for a green salad. 

Wednesday, 1/26/2011

I reheated our stir fry left overs from last night in a frying pan with a little bit more chili oil. Katie wasn't as eager to eat this dish tonight, but she did eat a little. She was more interested in dumping the contents of her bowl onto her tray than she was in eating.  Oh well, at least she's cute:)  Here are a few photos I took of her this afternoon while we were working on crafts for Valentine's Day.

Tuesday, 1/25/2011

We had stir-fry for dinner tonight.  I followed a recipe that we used right after Thanksgiving that is intended to help you use left over turkey.  Instead of using turkey, I used cubed rotisserie chicken.  I added some chili oil to the skillet to bump up the heat, but I don't think I added enough.  When I reheat it tomorrow, I'll add some more. 

One great thing is that Katie ate the meal with us!  She started with slices of bell pepper while I was cooking, then ate a decent amount of noodles, chicken, peas and peppers during the meal.  She didn't finish her serving, but she did try everything in it. 

Monday, 11/1/2010

I stopped by the seafood counter at Fred Meyer this morning, just to see what was available.  I was pleased to see talapia fillets crusted with crushed tortilla chips, chili, and lime.  They looked good enough that I purchased three fillets for tonight's dinner. 

I heated olive oil in the bottom of a "stick" frying pan.  Once the oil was hot, I put the fillets in the pan.  Only one side of each fillet was coated in the tortilla crust.  I put the non-crusted side down in the oil first.  I cooked them for 3-4 minutes on the first side, flipped them, and then waited until the crust started to turn golden brown before I removed them from the pan.  It was an excellent preparation for talapia, which is a pretty bland fish in my opinion. 

We had sauted bell peppers as a side dish.  Ben got me a mandolin for my birthday, and I used it to slice the peppers.  It wasn't the best application for the mandolin, but it was fun to try it out.  I can't wait to make potatoes au gratin with it!  Anyway, I used a non-stick pan for the peppers.  I heated olive oil with a touch of sesame oil in the pan until it was hot.  I then added the sliced peppers and a teaspoon of minced garlic.  They cooked in the oil until the peppers started to char a bit.  

Katie wouldn't eat the fish, but she did eat several slices of pepper.