Posole Stew

Chimayo, New Mexico

Since I'm posting recipes with a Hispanic influence, I thought I'd repost this wonderful, wintertime stew.  

I discovered how to make posole stew while living in Medanales, NM, in the summer of 2011.  Posole or pozole is the Spanish word for hominy.  In New Mexico posole stew is traditionally prepared at New Years with the leftover Christmas ham.  In Lexington, KY, Mexican restaurants usually serve pozole only on weekends, and it consists of a similar but much spicier soup made with pork and ground red chile paste rather than with green chiles.  This is my favorite soup.

• 1 Tsp oil
• 1 large onion
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 can hominy, drained
• 1 large can chopped green chiles (or better fresh roasted chiles)
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 1 Tsp oregano
• 1 clove garlic

Sauté the onion in the oil in a large pan.  

When the onions are caramelized or translucent (depending upon your taste), add the broth, hominy, chiles, ham, oregano, and garlic.  Bring to boil.  

Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  

This dish often tastes better the next day after it has set and seasoned a bit in the refrigerator.

A small bowl of posole -especially if with limited amounts of hominy- can make for a 200 calorie lunch or dinner.  One cup of hominy has 119 calories by itself.  

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes* (but only if you leave out the green chiles)
Paleo:  yes* (but only if you leave out the main ingredient, hominy)
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Vegetarian:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Black Bean Soup

The other night Nathan had a dish at a new Latin fusion restaurant served over a thick, delicious black bean soup.  I've craved it since and decided to try to create my own.  The result is quite tasty if I say so myself:

• 2 cans black beans (I used Goya brand.)
• 2 pints of chicken stock (I used Costco brand.)
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 3 small red onions
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Saute the onions and garlic in the oil until the onions are nicely translucent and cooked.

Drain the black beans and rinse with cold water.  

Add the beans, chicken stock, and cumin.

Cook on medium for about 20 minutes to reduce the liquid by about a third.  

Either mash some of the beans into a soupier texture in the pot or remove a portion of the mixture and puree with a blender.  Then put the puree back in the pot.  Simmer on low until you are ready to taste the deliciousness!

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes* (substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock)
Vegetarian:  yes* (substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock)
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes* (up to a cup of soup)

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Posole Stew

Chimayo, New Mexico

I discovered how to make posole stew while living in Medanales, NM, in the summer of 2011.  Posole or pozole is the Spanish word for hominy.  In New Mexico posole stew is traditionally prepared at New Years with the leftover Christmas ham.  In Lexington, KY, Mexican restaurants usually serve pozole only on weekends, and it consists of a similar but much spicier soup made with pork and ground red chile paste rather than with green chiles.  This is my favorite soup.

• 1 Tsp oil
• 1 large onion
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 can hominy, drained
• 1 large can chopped green chiles (or better fresh roasted chiles)
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 1 Tsp oregano
• 1 clove garlic

Sauté the onion in the oil in a large pan.  

When the onions are caramelized or translucent (depending upon your taste), add the broth, hominy, chiles, ham, oregano, and garlic.  Bring to boil.  

Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  

This dish often tastes better the next day after it has set and seasoned a bit in the refrigerator.

A small bowl of posole -especially if with limited amounts of hominy- can make for a 200 calorie lunch or dinner.  One cup of hominy has 119 calories by itself.  

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes* (but only if you leave out the green chiles)
Paleo:  yes* (but only if you leave out the main ingredient, hominy)
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Vegetarian:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Rotisserie Chicken: Getting the Most from that Bird!

Source:  Joe Schneid, Wikipedia Commons

I love roasted chicken.  Sometimes I make my own, but lately I find I cannot beat Costco's $4.99 rotisserie chicken.  I'm not sure how they season their birds, but they are incredibly yummy.

This next series of posts are for chicken recipes. These are some of my favorite dishes, AND these recipes are great ways to stretch your food dollar in inventive and delicious ways.  And it all starts with that yummy rotisserie chicken.





Dinner 1:  Rotisserie Chicken
OK.  You've bought your yummy rotisserie chicken.  Serve it warm with some yummy green vegetables like Choux de Bruxelles aux Lardons et Radis or a nice salad.

When dinner is over, pull the remaining meat off the chicken.  Be sure to keep the richer, dark meat separated from the white meat.  We are going to make different dishes with each.

Lunch/Dinner 2:  Chicken Salad

Dinner 3:  Chicken Manicotti

Dinner 4:  Green Chili Enchiladas

Lunch/Dinner 5:  Homemade Chicken Soup

Lunch/Dinner 6:  Cream Soup

Yummy Cruise Ship Cream Soup

Photo Credit: digiyesica via Compfight cc

The other day I posted my recipe for making delicious homemade chicken stock.  It's an easy way to make something delicious with what would otherwise be food waste.  Today I'll share another trick to extending the feast from that rotisserie chicken and leftover roasted vegetables.


So your week is drawing to a close and in the fridge you have kept a quart of the yummy chicken stock you made.  Hopefully you've frozen the rest for later recipes.  You also have some leftover roasted vegetables such as carrots, butternut squash, etc.  Here is a trick they appear to use on cruise ships:  turn yesterday's roasted vegetables into today's cream soup!  When I have gone on cruises, I have noticed that the first course often consists of a cream soup.  And today's soup -perhaps cream of asparagus- interestingly follows last night's entree with...that's right...roasted asparagus!  Restaurants and cruise ships have found a way to make leftovers today's hot, delicious soup!

• 1 quart of chicken stock, preferably homemade
• Leftover roasted vegetables
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream (half and half will work)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• OPTION:  top with croutons, thin grilled onions or roasted seeds (pumpkin, pepitas)

Heat the stock and vegetables in a pot.

Remove from heat and blend the stock and vegetables into a puree.  I use my favorite kitchen gadget, my immersion blender.  If you don't have one, you can also use your blender but blend the vegetables and stock in small batches instead of all at once.  This will help the vegetables to puree properly.

Taste the soup.  You might like it just as the tasty roasted vegetables pureed into the warm, salty stock.  

I usually go one step farther by mixing in a cup of heavy whipping cream and returning briefly to the heat.  Stir and heat until the puree and cream are a nice, warm temperature.  Serve immediately.  Can be saved for lunches later.  Salt and pepper to taste.

NOTE:  Different vegetables will produce different tastes.  Carrots, parsnips, pumpkin, and butternut squash tend to lend a sweet taste to the soup.  Roasted asparagus and celery have great but different flavors.  Even leftover green peas make a tasty soup.  You may wish to experiment with adding different spices.  For example:

• The sweeter vegetables such as carrots and butternut squash pair well with ginger, curries, a bit of brown sugar, and even a dollop of maple syrup.
• Green peas (even the mushy ones from a can) can make a great warm or chilled soup.  I tend to hate tarragon, but even this vile herb has its uses.  It goes surprisingly well with peas.  
• That half can of leftover diced tomatoes or the roasted tomatoes from last night's dinner can become a quick gazpacho with some stock, minced onion, celery, and garlic.  Leave out the cream.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes* (leave out Nightshade family vegetables)
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  no
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Homemade Chicken Stock ...and Soup

Photo Credit: I Believe I Can Fry via Compfight cc

What can be better on a cold winter day than some yummy hot chicken soup?  It's even better when you are saving some money and not wasting food.

So, you've eaten well from that tasty rotisserie chicken.  Having had chicken the first day, you've now pulled the remaining meat from the bone to use with other dishes.  Yes, there are some bits of meat still stuck to the bones as well as the roasted skin, etc.  Time to toss the remains into the rubbish bin?  NO!  Now it's time to make chicken stock!

• Leftover rotisserie chicken
• 1 onion
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 stalks of celery
• 2 carrots

Put the remaining bits of your rotisserie chicken in a large stock pot.  Cover the chicken with water and place on the stove.

Add an onion cut into quarters, some black pepper, salt, celery, and carrots.

Bring to a boil and then allow to simmer on low for an hour or two.  The simmering will cook the fat and flavor of the chicken into the water.

Place a colander in a pot.  Pour the chicken stock into the pot.  You may need to stop several times and transfer the stock to large containers for freezing.  Once you've strained the chicken and vegetables from the stock, discard them.  Some people also allow the stock to cool and remove any chicken fat that congeals on the top of the stock.  I find the fat adds a lot of the flavor and keep it.  Now you should have 3-4 quart containers of homemade chicken stock for later recipes....including:

Homemade Chicken Soup

Often I find the best part of my rotisserie chicken meals is the chicken soup.  You can experiment to find what you like best.

• Homemade chicken stock

I often just use the stock as a simple soup.  You can experiment and dress it up with a variety of ingredients:

• Cooked noodles
• Finger carrots and cabbage boiled in the stock (or leftovers added to the soup)
• Thinly sliced mushrooms and green onion

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes* (leave the red pepper out of the Gorgonzola Cream Sauce)
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  no
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.    

Leftover Ham: Posole Time!

Photo Credit: Emily Barney via Compfight cc

This is a good time to re-post my recipe for my favorite soup.  You have all that ham left and here is a fantastic way to use it!

I discovered how to make posole stew while living in Medanales, NM, in the summer of 2011.  Posole or pozole is the Spanish word for hominy.  In New Mexico posole stew is traditionally prepared at New Years with the leftover Christmas ham.  In Lexington, KY, Mexican restaurants usually serve pozole only on weekends, and it consists of a similar but much spicier soup made with pork and ground red chile paste rather than with green chiles.  This is my favorite soup.

• 1 Tsp oil
• 1 large onion
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 can hominy, drained
• 1 large can chopped green chiles (or better fresh roasted chiles)
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 1 Tsp oregano
• 1 clove garlic

Sauté the onion in the oil in a large pan.  

When the onions are caramelized or translucent (depending upon your taste), add the broth, hominy, chiles, ham, oregano, and garlic.  Bring to boil.  

Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  

This dish often tastes better the next day after it has set and seasoned a bit in the refrigerator.

A small bowl of posole -especially if with limited amounts of hominy- can make for a 200 calorie lunch or dinner.  One cup of hominy has 119 calories by itself.  

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes* (but only if you leave out the green chiles)
Paleo:  yes* (but only if you leave out the main ingredient, hominy)
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Vegetarian:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Vegetable Gold Mine

When I am cooking in the kitchen, I invariably produce a variety of vegetable scraps that I used to toss away.  Now I view these as a gold mine for making vegetable stock!














These scraps:

• onion peels
• the outer leaves of cabbage
• the leafy parts of celery stalks
• the ends of carrots, peppers, tomatoes, etc.
• the peelings from apples, carrots, and pears
• basically any vegetable part that is clean and not rotted

are fine makings for vegetable stock.  I keep a large plastic carton in my freezer.  When I start chopping vegetables I pull it out and put these scraps in the carton.  When it gets full I toss the scraps in a stock pot with water, bring to a boil, and then simmer for an hour or two along with some salt and black peppercorns.

The end result is a delicious vegetable stock!  Yum!

Once the stock cools, I put it in plastic containers and freeze.  When I need stock for a recipe or soup, I have some homemade stock which I've made from what otherwise would have been food waste.

And, what about those boiled scraps once the stock is strained?  Well, you can compost them for some fine soil to grow your garden vegetables.  Or, if you have a friend with chickens, the scraps make a fine chicken feed.   

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes* (depending on the vegetables used in the stock)
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.