Free Breakfast Recipes

Once again, I steal from Katy's blog to tell you that there are some yummy-looking (though untried-by-me) free recipes up right now on Cooks Illustrated.com . . . Unsure how long they'll stay available and free, so see if they're of interest.

Companion to the Tomato Soup

Okay, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's ever figured this out, but George Foreman grills make wonderful grilled-cheese sandwiches. I made some on Fri. night to serve with The Tomato Soup.... got a baguette, split it in half and cut it into smaller pieces, brushed it with olive oil, and grilled face-down on the GFG for a few minutes. Then I took the bread out, added thin slices of Vermont Cabot cheddar (hallelujah), closed the sandwiches, and re-grilled them to melt the cheese.

Yes. It was the right thing to do. PERFECT WITH THE SOUP.

White Chicken Chili

I LOVE white chili with chicken and figured I should learn how to make it myself. It was my turn to make lunch for my community group today, so I figured I'd give it a go with 12 people (plus kids) as my guinea pigs. It turned out well, I think . . . I got compliments and Sweet Little Chloe had 3 bowls. I thought I'd pass it along. The basic outline of the recipe was found on AllRecipes.com, but I made some additions and changes of my own enough that I'm going to call it mine. Play around with it, if you decide to make it, and let me know what you come up with!!! (Or if you have a white chicken chili recipe of your own, pass it along!)

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cans (~16 oz) Great Northern Beans (I actually substituted in one can of Navy Beans and one of White Kidney Beans.)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 tablespooon minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin (plus more to taste)
2-3 cups chicken broth
Roughly a pound of cooked chicken (I used chicken tenderloins which made cooking and shredding into bitesize pieced easier)

Directions:
In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic until tender. Stir in 3 of the cans of beans (hold one out) parsley, lime juice and cumin. Add in broth. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, blend up (I used food processor) one of the cans of Great Northern Beans to a puree and add into the mix. (This adds thickness to the chili.) Reduce heat to simmer and add cooked chicken in bitesize pieces. Simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Add in more beans, broth, etc as needed to desired consistancy. I also added some pepper and extra cumin to taste.

I served with sour cream to dollop on top and a mix of shredded italian cheeses.

Smoothies

Okay, I know everyone probably already knows how to make smoothies, but if not, here's an easy and yummy recipe... and people should still have their blenders out of storage from making the tomato soup! (Hint: The quality of the yogurt really matters--if you use non-organic, you can really taste the artificial sweetener and other fake stuff.)

~1 cup Stonyfield Farms vanilla yogurt (lowfat or fat-free)
~Several ice cubes
~2-3 servings of fruit (I usually use 1 fresh banana plus about a cup of frozen strawberries and/or orange or pineapple chunks.. you can buy pre-cut frozen fruit that is especially made for smoothies)
~a few squeezes of fresh lemon
~1-2 tbsp honey

Combine in blender. Easy and yummy! If you like your smoothie to be more drinkable, you can add orange juice.

Hummus

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
(This is my faithful party recipe. Credit to Angie Brown for passing it on a few years ago. It's a big hit. I get requests for it.)

2 cans cooked garbanzo beans
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
7-8 cloves of minced garlic
1 Tablespoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons (plus more "to taste") Tabasco sauce
1 roasted red pepper - roughly diced

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until pureed. I've recently learned that adding in a little water or more lemon juice may help it be a little smoother.
*Serve with pita chips, blue corn chips, vegetables, etc.

Plain, Easy Hummus
(I made this recently to go with the Pakistani Kima. It's nice because it's easy and a nice, more bland element to go with the Kima. Credit to "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman.)

2 cups drained, well-cooked or canned chickpeas (I use cans (1 can = 2 cups) and cook 'em up on the stove top)
1/2 cup tahini
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small clove garlic (I'm gonna have to say, the recipe could use more garlic)
1 Tablespoon grounc cumin
Juice of 1 lemon (I used about 1/2 cup of lemon juice)
1/3 cup water (plus more, as needed)
salt and pepper to taste

Place everything except the water in the food processor and blend. Add the water in as needed to make a smooth puree. Add more garlic, salt, lemon juice or cumin as needed.
Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of cumin on top.

(*Note: I am still wanting to "tweak" the recipe to give it a little more flavor. I think using more garlic and lemon juice may be the trick.)

Magical Peanut Butter Cookies

Cal was watching Paula Deen on the Food Network the other night, and she was (unfortunately for our waistlines) making these unbelievably simple cookies. In an shameless plug for her merchandise, she mentioned that the recipe is in a cookbook of hers that we happened to have (thanks, Christina!). Cal promptly got out of the Ugly Green Recliner, headed straight for the kitchen, and made up a batch in 10 minutes. Now I crave them all the time. Not good. (But, really, oh so good.)

1 c. crunchy* peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix all together in a bowl with a spoon. Scoop onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes (according to the recipe; we cook 'em a minute or two less so that they're gooey) at 350 degrees. Sprinkle on top with sugar.

*In his first experiment, Cal did half creamy, half crunchy. Indisputably better with crunchy. Suit yourselves, though.

Chicken Soup with Buttermilk Dumplings (Cottage Living)

While we're on the soup kick, I thought I'd add my latest favorite (up until the new tomato soup recipe, of course). It's not super simple, but the results are totally worth the half-hour or so in the kitchen. Very creamy and satisfying. NOT, however, healthy, I wouldn't think.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
7 small boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used chicken breasts instead)
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used water with chicken boullion b/c I had it)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme OR 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 (10.2 oz) can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
All purpose flour (for dusting buscuits)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh chives or parsley

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook chicken 6 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. (Chicken may not be cooked all the way through, but that's okay b/c it will finish up when in broth.) Cut chicken into bitesize pieces and set aside.
2. Sautee onion, celery, and carrots in the butter for 3 minutes. Stir in broth and next 3 ingredients. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 5 minutes.
3. Whisk together cream and cornstarch in a small bowl; stir into simmering broth.
4. Cut each biscuit into quarters and dredge pieces in flour, shaking off excess. Add biscuits to broth and cook, partially covered, 3 minutes on each side or until biscuits are firm to the touch (I think it takes a little longer than 3 minutes, but what do I know?)
5. Add chicken, lemon juice, and chives to broth; simmer until chicken is heated through. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.