Emeril's Roasted Chile and Avocado Salsa

I was hunting around for a new fish taco recipe the other day and came across one by Emeril Lagasse. Ultimately, I went with a different fish taco recipe (I had cod, not Amberjack) but I loved the salsa with which he paired his.

Roasting veggies has become a favorite pastime of late, so this salsa cried out to be tried. My husband loved it. I think it's really more a spicy guacamole, so that's how I refer to it.

Roasted Poblano Guacamole

 Adapted from Roasted Chile and Avocado Salsa by Emeril Lagasse.

1 Hass avocado, diced
2 poblano peppers, roasted, peeled, and seeded
2 jalapeno peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded
1/4 C onion, chopped
1/4 C cilantro
1/4 c olive oil
juice of one lime

Roast and prep your peppers. Toss all ingredients into a blender or food processor. I have a small KitchenAid that works perfectly for this.

If using for a fish taco sauce, thin it out a little with a few tablespoons of water or coconut milk.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Apples and Sage

We are knee-deep in our last dance team season, so things have been hectic. I've been cooking plenty, but haven't had time to keep track of much.

I prepare a lot of chicken dishes b/c of our diet. A lot. So I try to vary the way I present it. Cooking camouflage, if you will.

I don't often make chicken thighs because of the unhealthy dark meat stigma attached to them, plus the few times I've made them, I overcooked them and they were gross. I seem to be getting the hang of them, though.

Browning meat is something of a challenge for me. I'm much better at it, now that I turn the flame up on the stove and truly heat the oil enough to sear the surface. I couldn't figure out why meat continually stuck to my stainless steel pans. I cooked with Teflon for years b/c I couldn't master stainless steel cooking. But Teflon has its own death sentence attached to it. Given our healthier lifestyle, I'm pushing myself to cook more with stainless.

I'm progressing nicely, but holy cats - the mess! I can't sear meat without speckling my stovetop with olive oil measles. I've tried using a grease shield, but I might as well use a tissue. The mess is slightly less gigantic and hardly worth the effort since every time I remove the shield to check the meat, oil slides right off the shield onto the counter top and floor. I'm using a silicone type shield with very small grips on either side. I'm starting to wonder if the old-fashioned wire screen with the wooden handle wouldn't work better. Do they sell them anymore?

Here is one of my easier meals. I adapted it from Braised Chicken Thighs with Apples and Sage online at Epicurious via Yummly. I believe the recipe originated in Gourmet Magazine, but where they got it, I've no idea. The trail runs cold from there. It is delicious over Baked Brown Rice.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Apples and Sage

9-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (2 Costco thigh packages)
1-2 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 T soy-free Earth Balance
1 T coconut palm sugar
2 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into wedges (16/apple)
1/2 C yellow onion or shallots
1 C chicken broth
1 t apple cider vinegar
5 fresh sage leaves, chopped

Pat chicken dry (important for stainless steel cooking) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a pan to almost smoking and brown chicken in batches (four to five at a time) until brown, about four to five minutes per side.

Set chicken aside in a covered dish (like Corningware). Add Earth Balance, palm sugar, apples, and onions to pan and brown the apples about five minutes.

Add broth, vinegar, and sage. Deglaze the pan, stir up the brown bits, and boil for about a minute. Return chicken to the pan. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer about twenty minutes.

Versatile Chicken or Turkey Soup

One of the few homemade items I've made over the years is chicken soup. But I never found the one recipe that made me long for the soup which inevitably follows a roast turkey or chicken dinner. That's not to say they weren't good; they just never had that yum factor.

I switched from wheat pastas to rice so my son could eat the soup - though he's not a big soup fan - and that especially didn't do it for me. I finally found one that does.

After Christmas, I surfed around looking for turkey soup recipes to make the most of leftovers. I happened upon Michael Chiarello's Next Day Turkey Soup on Foodnetwork.com. I've never added potatoes - let alone sweet potatoes - to a soup before. Correction - I did add potatoes once, but in my culinary innocence, I neglected to precook the potatoes before adding them. I had to simmer the soup for an ungodly amount of time before they lost their raw crunch. By then, the other ingredients were the consistency of saturated skunk cabbage.

With a little more experience under my belt, I took the leap and tried again. This time I roasted some garlic and broccoli and baked the sweet potato. Oh, boy! What a difference.

Maybe it's the hint of sweetness the sweet potato lends to the soup. Or maybe it's the change to the base. Instead of plain water, I use chicken broth (homemade, from the giblets.) Yum factor squared. It makes for a much richer broth. If I don't have enough homemade broth, I add commercial allergy-free chicken broth. It's a cheat, but it's worth it.

I subbed Tinkyada rice pasta for rice and that gave it an authentic feel. Tinkyada makes the best rice pastas. They taste good, hold up well when boiled, and don't turn into glue paste unless you knock yourself unconscious and wake up an hour later. Then you have glue paste. And possibly a four alarm fire.

The original recipe called for adding leftover Brussels sprouts and green beans, but we don't like sprouts and are restricted on beans, so I switched to broccoli and spinach.

Best. Soup. Ever.

Homemade Chicken or Turkey Soup
Adapted from Next Day Turkey Soup by Michael Chiarello

2 quarts chicken/turkey broth (homemade when possible)
1 chicken/turkey carcass, meat removed, minced, and reserved
1 onion, halved; 1 onion, minced
1 carrot, quartered; 1 carrot, minced
1 stalk celery, quartered; 1 stalk minced
2 bay leaves
2-3 cloves of garlic, roasted and smashed
2 T olive oil
1 sweet potato, baked (I prefer the pale yellow kind for this)
2 heads of broccoli, roasted
several handfuls of organic spinach
half package Tinkyada rice linguine, broken into quarters
5-6 fresh sage leaves, or 1 t dry (for turkey)
or
5-6 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 t dry (for chicken)

Directions:

Preheat oven 425ºF.

Place broth, carcass, onion halves, carrot quarters, celery quarters, (3 springs of thyme for chicken), and 1 bay leaf in a stock pot. If fluid doesn't cover carcass, add water until it is submerged. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Poke sweet potato with a fork several times then bake for 45-55 minutes, dependent on size.

Prep broccoli: cut into florets, wash, and let air dry while potato bakes. (If you don't have roasted garlic, mince 2-3 cloves and add later with minced onion, carrot, and celery).

Prepare a cookie sheet with foil and olive oil. Toss broccoli with salt, pepper, and about 2 T of olive oil. Spread on sheet and place in oven after potato is done. Roast 10 minutes. Stir and roast another 8 - 10 minutes (depends on how roasted you like them).

Let cool then dice sweet potato and broccoli.

Strain broth through a sieve. Discard solids.

Heat 2 T olive oil in pot. Add roasted garlic, carrots, onions and celery. (To save time, I mince my onion, carrot, and celery in a food processor). Saute on medium-low heat until softened, 7-8 minutes.

Tear sage leaves into pieces and add to pot along with broth and remaining bay leaf. (For chicken, add 2 sprigs of thyme intact). Bring to a simmer.

Add sweet potato, broccoli, spinach, linguine, and poultry meat. Bring back to a simmer.

Turn off heat, cover and let steam 5-7 minutes.

Turn on heat, simmer 5 more minutes, and serve.

Sausage Lasagna with Basil Cream Sauce

I've been leery of trying lasagna, given all the substitutions that would be required. But I ran across a vegan site, Oh She Glows, that has a wonderful basil cheeze sauce used in a vegan lasagna. I was so intrigued, I gave it a try. It was wonderful! Both the basil cheeze sauce and the vegan lasagna. Even my picky Aspie son, who has a hard time when different food groups touch, liked it. That's success, my friends.

My version is not vegan anymore, but I did enjoy the vegan version. The carnivores in the family, however, requested a little more protein. And so I obliged.

I did not alter the original basil cheeze sauce, so I'm just posting the link. But I did tweak the lasagna.

Sausage Lasagna With Basil Cream Sauce
Recipe adapted from OhSheGlows.com 

On box of lasagna noodles 
1.5 bottles of pasta sauce 
3 garlic cloves, minced 
1 sweet onion, chopped 
2 small zucchini, chopped 
1 large red pepper, chopped 
several handfuls of spinach 
Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder 
Italian chicken or turkey sausage (container) 
Lemon Basil Cheeze Sauce 
Daiya cheese (for top)

1.      Preheat oven to 400° F.

2.      Bring a large pot of water to boil.

3.      Meanwhile, saute onion and garlic over medium heat for 5 minutes in a large skillet. Add remaining veggies and saute another 10-15 minutes. Season well with Italian seasoning, Celtic salt, and black pepper.

4.      As veggies sauté, brown sausage and boil lasagna until el dente. Rinse in cold water.

5.      Add 1 cup of pasta sauce on the bottom of your casserole dish. Add a layer of noodles, half the basil cheeze sauce, half the vegetables, more pasta sauce, another layer of noodles, the rest of the cheeze sauce, the sausage, the rest of the vegetables, more pasta sauce.

6.      Sprinkle top with Daiya cheese.

7.      Cover with tin foil and prick with fork a few times. Bake 40-45 minutes.

8.      Remove tin foil and broil for 5 minutes if desired.