Speedy soup is simply taco-licious

Not sure how I got it in my head that I wanted to make taco soup, but it’s been simmering in the back of my mind for a little bit. It’s a chili-like soup that gets its flavor from taco seasoning. After conducting a quick recipe search, I started building my shopping list.

One ingredient that kept popping up was ranch salad dressing mix, which upon first glance might seem a little off but I’ve tried it in chili before and was happy with the results, so there you go.

The majority of this soup’s ingredients are canned, and I must say it’s quite enjoyable to open up all those cans, pour them into a pot without draining anything, and being done with a good portion of the prep. The soup is super easy and cooks up in no time, making it the perfect weeknight dinner.

Taco Soup
1 pound ground turkey
1 white onion, chopped
1 15-ounce can kidney beans
1 15-ounce can pinto beans
1 15-ounce can black beans
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
1 cup corn (I always keep a bag of corn kernels in the freezer)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch salad dressing mix

Possible garnishes: grated cheese, green onions, tortilla chips or strips, sour cream, avocado

Brown ground turkey in large soup pot. Add chopped onion and cook for a couple minutes over medium heat, until onion is slightly translucent and fragrant. Add corn and pour contents of cans, without draining any of them, into pot. Stir in taco seasoning and ranch mix packets. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Serve soup in bowls and top with desired garnishes.

Quick, easy and veg-friendly weeknight winners

Some of the tastiest meals I came up with during our (now long-forgotten) vegetarian month were quite quick and simple.

For example, I made a speedy tomato sauce that worked well with back-to-back weeknight dinners. All it took was one 28-ounce can of plum tomatoes, one red bell pepper, diced, and a handful of garlic cloves, minced. I crushed the tomatoes by hand and simmered them (and the juice in which they were canned) with the pepper and garlic for a few minutes before puréeing everything.

This sauce tasted great simmered with some sliced Tofurkey Italian Sausage and a can of cannellini beans (rinsed and drained), served atop a huge plateful of spinach which I wilted with a couple dashes of soy sauce and some red pepper flakes.

The sauce tasted equally delicious the next night with Trader Joe’s Meatless Meatballs and whole wheat spaghetti.

Some other successful veg-friendly meals that I’d make again even if I wasn’t trying to avoid meat:

• Trader Joe’s Masala Simmer Sauce heated up with a can of chickpeas and a few handfuls of fresh spinach and poured over brown rice. A piece of masala tandoori naan (also from TJ’s) on the side was great for soaking up the sauce.
• Sandwiches with Trader Joe’s Masala Veggie Patties (toasted in a frying pan), tandoori naan, micro greens and spicy hummus
• Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro, wrapped in wheat tortillas 
• And assembling this trusty lasagna took just a couple minutes without cooking up any Italian sausage.

My favorite meat-free menu items

Keeping meat out of my kitchen wasn’t too much of a struggle during our vegetarian stint in January. Avoiding it when dining out? Not quite so easy.

As mentioned in my previous post, we don’t typically keep a lot of meat in the house, so as long as I kept up with my meal planning and grocery shopping we didn’t have any must-have-meat-now! breakdowns.

I don’t know about you, but when going out to eat I try to order something I wouldn’t normally have at home. I’m going for elaborate, rich, and, in most cases, meatier-than-usual options. It’s tough to focus on the roasted beets when you’re normally cruising the menu for filet mignon.

However, we stepped outside of our routine when dining out in January and were rewarded with some wonderful dishes.

We finally got around to checking out Andy Nguyen, and the Buddhist-inspired vegetarian offerings were fantastic.

Buddha Rolls: Lemongrass-infused shiitake mushroom, rice noodles, carrots and daikon wrapped with lettuce in rice paper and served with a soy ginger dipping sauce

Limitless Compassion: Spicy Mongolian “beef” (they have a lot of vegetarian “meats” on the menu) sauteed with broccoli, bell peppers and carrots

Universal Love Lemongrass: Sauteed mushrooms, onions, tofu and mixed vegetables with soy chicken in a spicy lemongrass sauce

We headed to the mountains a couple weekends ago searching for snow and discovered the Cottonwood Restaurant and Bar, which overlooks downtown Truckee -- you can see the glowing red sign atop this ski-lodge-turned-eatery’s roof from the bottom of the hill. Chris and I were impressed with our meal from start to finish: roasted polenta gratin with fresh mozzarella, tomato and roasted garlic with an almond and red bell pepper romesco; a salad of warmed chevre cheese, spiced pecans, roasted garlic and spring greens; and some heavenly butternut squash enchiladas with ancho chile mole sauce, cilantro, white cheddar and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Orphan serves the best breakfast (at least, in my opinion) in Sacramento. Ordering is always tough because their menu is amazing. On a recent Sunday brunch I opted for the soy chorizo breakfast, an amazing pile of scrambled eggs, soy chorizo, jack cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, green onions, cilantro and avocado served atop corn tortillas and black beans. So good!

Meat-free month good way to start 2012

“Why would you do that?” is the typical reaction I’ve received when telling people that I was giving up meat for 28 days. 

Cutting meat out of our diet for 28 days (Chris and I kicked it off January 4 so as not to waste already-prepared meat dishes in the fridge) felt like a good way to kick off 2012, to repent for some of the overindulging that happened during the holiday season, to test myself in the kitchen.

We don’t eat a lot of meat to begin with, and definitely don’t keep a lot of it in the house, but it’s still been a fun challenge to find veg-friendly recipes and to stick to the meatless entrées at restaurants. 

I must confess that neither of us get a 100 percent for sticking to the meat-free diet -- we both put the diet on a one-meal hold for Chris’ work holiday party at the ever-delicious Hawks -- but I’m still proud of what we’ve done over the past couple weeks. We’ve definitely gone through a lot more vegetables, and I’ve spent more time menu planning in order to waste less produce. I made my own vegetable stock, brought barley and quinoa home for the first time, and have consumed more tofu in the last month than I probably did in 2011.

I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t looking forward to Feb. 1 and the promises of cheeseburgers, deli sandwiches and chicken enchiladas it brings, but I’m still happy with how our meat-free month turned out.

As previously mentioned, I finally got around to buying barley this month, which I used to make this super-hearty soup (recipe adapted from Epicurious) that would be perfect for a frosty winter's day. 

Mushroom Barley Soup
1oz. dried chanterelles (I used Fungus Amongus)
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 ribs celery with leaves, diced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces fresh cremini mushrooms
6-7 cups vegetable broth
2 cups whole barley
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper, to taste

Soak the dried mushrooms in at least 2 cups hot water, to cover, for 30 minutes. Strain through a filter and reserve 2 cups of the mushroom water. Coarsely chop the dried mushrooms.

Melt the butter in a large pot (I used my Le Creuset Dutch oven) and sauté the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, thyme and fresh mushrooms until soft, about 5 minutes. Add vegetable broth and barley, reserved mushroom water and bay leaf to the pot and bring to a boil. Stir well and add salt and pepper to taste. 

Simmer, covered, for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until barley is tender and soup thickens. Remove bay leaf and season with adjust seasonings to your liking.

31 flavors

I recently celebrated my 31st birthday with a weekend getaway in Murphys. It’s a charming little town in Calaveras County, CA packed with great wineries.

Chris and I hit the road after work Friday night and friends Lucy, Brett, Kimmy and Ramsey met up with us Saturday morning. Our celebratory crew of six (seven if you count Brett and Lucy’s loveable English bulldog GOB) took over the main drag, visiting quite a few tasting rooms in the span of a beautiful fall Saturday— Milliaire Winery, Twisted Oak and Newsome-Harlow were some of the favorites.

We worked up quite an appetite during our wine-tasting adventure and therefore gorged on a fantastic dinner at Grounds. I thoroughly enjoyed the filet mignon with shrimp, potatoes, baby carrots and bordelaise sauce.

I kicked off my actual birthday Sunday with a delicious breakfast casserole before we packed up and headed home. Once back in Sacramento, Chris and I enjoyed a mellow feast at Lucca, starting with this wonderful spicy shrimp bruschetta

before moving on to a heavenly main course of ricotta gnocchi with Aleppo chili tomato sauce and spicy sausage.

Thirty was a great year for me – running two marathons and starting a new job were some of the highlights. I can’t wait to make the most out of 31, and am grateful I got to kick it off by sharing a delicious weekend of laughter with some of my favorite people.

Satisfying food doesn’t take much effort

Sometimes I want to cook but I REALLY don’t have the patience to do so.
I absolutely love cooking, but I have to be in the right mood to do so. I wanted enchiladas for dinner, but I did some major grocery shopping after work and by the time I got home my motivation to preheat the oven was pretty lukewarm. But, in the spirit of putting to use some of the goodies I purchased, I tossed this rough-around-the-edges concoction into the oven and it ended up tasting great.

Lo’s Lazy ‘Ladas
3-4 cups shredded chicken
2 cups frozen corn
28 oz. can green chile enchilada sauce
6 oz. can large black olives, rough chop
4 oz. can diced green chiles
1 ½ cups grated cheddar
8 medium-sized tortillas, torn into strips

Here’s my layering system: Tortilla strips dipped in sauce. Goodies (chicken, corn, olives, chiles, cheese). Repeat. If baking with a 9-by-13-by-2-inch dish, you’ll end up with, going from bottom to top: tortillas, goodies, tortillas, goodies, tortillas, extra cheese, extra sauce.

A couple notes to consider…

First, I bought a rotisserie chicken at the store and removed all the meat when I got home. I ended up using about ¾ of the chicken meat in this dish.

Second, I used a packet of Mission Artisan Style Tortillas (flaxseed and blue corn blend) for this recipe. Straight-up corn tortillas would have given the dish a little more texture, but this is what I had in the fridge, so that’s what went into the dish. If you’re interested in trying these tortillas, print out this coupon first.

Summer of Smoothies: The Classic

Strawberries and bananas go together like peanut butter and jelly. These classic flavors taste great together when mixed up with some yogurt and milk.

The Classic
1 ripe banana
2 cups strawberries
¾ cup plain lowfat yogurt
½ cup nonfat milk

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.