Cooking With Rick

Chicken soup is one of my favorite recipes and one of my favorite ones to eat. It’s simple to make, it tastes good, and it’s good for you. And the ingredients are inexpensive. What’s not to like?

This recipe is flexible, accepts a number of different ingredients, and still turns out well. For instance, the vegetables can be fresh or frozen, you can choose between potatoes or beans – you can choose between white beans, black beans, or chickpeas, and you can opt for uncooked wide noodles, long-grain rice, or barley.

I like lots of vegetables and chicken, so my soup sometimes turns into a stew, which can be nice, too.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 pound of vegetables

32 ounces chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes

1 14 ounce can of beans (white beans, black beans, or chickpeas) / or three potatoes diced

1/3 cup barley / or 4 ounces wide egg noodles / or 1/2 cup long grain rice

4 chicken thighs (or 2 thighs and 2 legs)

Ground black pepper & salt to taste

Directions

1) Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large pot over medium high heat.

2) Chop and cook the onion for two minutes until softened.

3) Add a pound of assorted diced vegetables to the pot.

4) Cover the vegetables with broth.

5) Add the diced tomatoes and beans, stir and cover with broth.

6) Mix in the barley.

7) Add the chicken and cover with broth.

8) Turn the heat down to halfway, and let the soup simmer for 20-25 minutes.

9) Remove the chicken, let it cool slightly, and remove the meat from the bones. Discard the skin and bones.

10) Return the chicken to the pot, and let it simmer another 15 minutes.

I’m at our place in northern Michigan working on the roof, and half-listening to the next-door neighbors. They are entertaining and the host is trying to start a fire in his charcoal grill. He pours the charcoal in, slathers it with lighter fluid, and lights it right away. The flames leap up and a minute later they’re burnt out. He adds some more fluid and lights it up with the same result. Finally, he quits trying to light the charcoal and instead stirs it around every five minutes.

I’m thinking, he’s not going to have a very satisfying fire, and more than likely, the food he plans to cook is going to reflect that.

Lighting a charcoal fire is easy. Here’s how you do it:

Make a pyramid with your charcoal
Pour  some charcoal on one side of the cooker. (I use Kingsford because of its uniform shape, but any charcoal will do.) Make a row of five charcoals opposite the pile close to the edge of the grill. Repeat four more times until you have five rows of five. You should now have a grid of 25 charcoals. Now, add a second layer of  rows with four in each row adding up to 16 charcoals. Add a third layer with rows of three, and a fourth with two rows of two. And, of course a single charcoal on the top.

Use lighter fluid sparingly
You don’t want a fiery conflagration to get your fire started; you just want to get the charcoal lit. Squeeze a modest amount of fluid on each side of the pyramid. Let it sit for a minute or two before trying to light it. Use this time to put your charcoal and lighter fluid away. When you return, use a fireplace match or grill lighter to start the charcoal. Light the pyramid on all four sides at the base. You should see a small flame spread upwards and around the pyramid. Let it burn until it goes out. You should see a rime of white at the edge of some of your charcoal. This means your charcoal is lit.

Leave it alone
The hardest part of cooking with charcoal is letting it alone. The idea is to have all of the charcoal turn to gray. This means it’s ready to cook. It does take some time, however, from a half-hour to forty-five minutes. The pyramid you made with the charcoal will help the process along since it creates a “chimney effect”

This is a simple, quick, and easy recipe, and it is pretty tasty. Add some vegetables and mashed potatoes or rice on the side and you’ve got the makings of a good meal.

 

Ingredients

6 16 inch long sheets of aluminum foil
9 chicken tenderloins cut into thirds
1 medium onion roughly chopped

12 ounces sliced mushrooms

12 tablespoons Marsala wine

 

 

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lay out all six sheets of the foil

2) Distribute the chicken, onions and mushrooms evenly on all six sheets

3) Sprinkle two tablespoons of the wine on top of the chicken mixture

4) Wrap the foil into loose packets and put on a baking sheet

5) Bake for one hour

 

 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
One pound chicken thighs and drumsticks

Directions

1) In a small bowl, combine the ginger, garlic, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, lime zest and lime juice; season with salt and pepper. Spread the spice paste all over the chicken.

2) Wrap in aluminum foil and place on the grill slightly away from the heat. Cook for one hour.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small white onion, chopped finely
4 green onions, white and green parts, chopped coarsely
1 small green bell pepper, seeded, and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 stems celery, thinly sliced
6 buds garlic finely chopped
14.5 ounces diced tomatoes
(1 can)
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon powder
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
(or 2 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped)
10 ounces frozen cut okra
1 pound catfish, scrod or other firm white fish, cut into 1″ cubes
3/4 pound cooked shrimp,peeled and deveined, cut into halves
Salt and pepper
Hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Directions

1) Heat medium-large heavy pan over medium heat. When hot, add oil.

2) Cook onions, pepper and celery, 10 minutes, until softened.

3) Stir in garlic and
cook 1 minute more.

4) Add tomatoes, water, bouillon powder, okra, basil and red-pepper flakes. Cook on low heat, 5 minutes.

5) Add fish and shrimp to saucepan; cook 6 minutes, turn off heat. Allow food to continue cooking until seafood is opaque and just barely cooked through.

6)Place into serving dish.  Season with salt and pepper. Serve with hot pepper sauce on the side.

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium red onion chopped
3 celery ribs chopped
4 tablespoons minced garlic
1 can tomato paste
1 tomatoes and green chilies
1 can stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup jalapeno slices
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 1/2 tablespoons Cumin
1/2 teaspoons Cayenne
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon onion alt

Directions

Brown the ground beef with half of the onions, half of the garlic and salt and pepper
When the beef is browned, drain the excess grease from the pan
Combine all the ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir every two hours.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 Cup heavy cream

4 Ounces cream cheese

3 Tablespoons Splenda

2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 Teaspoon salt

Directions

1) Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

2) Add heavy cream and cream cheese. Whisk until smooth.

3) Add Splenda; adjust for taste.

4) Heat until bubbling; stir constantly.

5) Reduce heat and stir in cocoa and salt. Blend well.

6) Pour into a small buttered dish and place into the refrigerator to set for three to four hours.

7) Cut into eight pieces. Keep refrigerated.

Chicken soup is one of my favorite recipes and one of my favorite ones to eat. It’s simple to make, it tastes good, and it’s good for you. And the ingredients are inexpensive. What’s not to like?

This recipe is flexible, accepts a number of different ingredients, and still turns out well. For instance, the vegetables can be fresh or frozen, you can choose between potatoes or beans – you can choose between white beans, black beans, or chickpeas, and you can opt for uncooked wide noodles, long-grain rice, or barley.

I like lots of vegetables and chicken, so my soup sometimes turns into a stew, which can be nice, too.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 pound of vegetables

32 ounces chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes

1 14 ounce can of beans (white beans, black beans, or chickpeas) / or three potatoes diced

1/3 cup barley / or 4 ounces wide egg noodles / or 1/2 cup long grain rice

4 chicken thighs (or 2 thighs and 2 legs)

Ground black pepper & salt to taste

Directions

1) Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large pot over medium high heat.

2) Chop and cook the onion for two minutes until softened.

3) Add a pound of assorted diced vegetables to the pot.

4) Cover the vegetables with broth.

5) Add the diced tomatoes and beans, stir and cover with broth.

6) Mix in the barley.

7) Add the chicken and cover with broth.

8) Turn the heat down to halfway, and let the soup simmer for 20-25 minutes.

9) Remove the chicken, let it cool slightly, and remove the meat from the bones. Discard the skin and bones.

10) Return the chicken to the pot, and let it simmer another 15 minutes.