Hawaiian BBQ Chicken & Pineapple Risotto

In case you’ve missed my posts from the last two days, I’m in love with my new T-Fal 6 quart electric pressure cooker!

Most nights my husband makes a brief stop at home after work before heading to the gym, then back home to spend some quality time on his stationary bike while I’m holding down the fort and figuring out/preparing (or ordering) what we’ll be eating for dinner. That didn’t leave me a lot of time (if any) to get my early evening workout in and I felt more like a short order cook than a valued member of my household. Realizing how much time & effort the pressure cooker saves me has changed my attitude and freed me up to get back to my post-work workouts too!

Tonight’s dinner did take some extra time because it involved cooking two separate dishes in the slow cooker, but the short time needed for the risotto to cook allowed me to prep the main dish for it’s turn in the pot! Next time I will prepare the rice/grain/potato side earlier in the day and reheat so dinner can still be prepped in one step.

Pineapple Risotto

Preheat the pressure cooker to the brown setting.
Pour contents of 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple (in juice not syrup) in to a 4 cup measuring cup. Add water to equal 4 cups + an additional cup and set aside.
Add 1 TBLS Olive Oil to the pressure cooker then 2 cups Arborio Rice and lightly toast it. The rice will turn from solid white to translucent as it absorbs the oil, then back to white. When a couple of grains look golden your rice is toasted!
Add about 2 TBLS of sweet wine (like Moscato) and stir the rice until the wine has fully evaporated.
Pour the contents of the measuring cup and the additional water to the pressure cooker, mix, close and lock the lid. Set to cook on high for 6 minutes.

When timer sounds, release the pressure and open the cooker. Remove the inner pot from the cooker immediately to keep the rice from over-cooking. The rice may still be slightly liquid. Stir, and the rice will absorb the extra liquid in about 30 seconds. If the rice is still very wet, put the open pressure cooker back in the base unit set to brown, and finish cooking it this way. It’s ok if it’s a little sticky for this recipe.

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into 2″ chunks
2 Cups Fresh Pineapple Chunks (or 1 – 20 oz can chunks in juice)
1/2 Cup Water (if using fresh or frozen pineapple chunks)
1 Cup Light Coconut Milk (in the can)
1 Cup Spicy-Sweet BBQ Sauce (I use Guy Fieri Kansas City Smoky & Sweet)
Dried Crushed Red Peppers to taste
Diced Scallion (about 1/4 Cup) green and white parts
Shredded Coconut (if desired)

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the coconut milk, BBQ sauce and crushed red peppers. If you are using canned pineapples, drain 1/2 of the juice into the BBQ sauce mixture.
Add the chicken pieces to the measuring and stir to coat.
Layer the pineapple on the bottom of the pressure cooker pan. If using fresh or frozen pineapple chunks add 1/2 cup water.
Pile the chicken on top of the pineapple but do not mix together.
Pour the remaining sauce over the top of everything and close/lock the lid.
Cook on medium for 9 minutes then push button to release steam/pressure and unlock lid.
Remove the chicken & pineapple from the pressure cooker with tongs and turn unit to the brown setting.
Add 1 1/2 TBLS Cornstarch to 1/4 cup or so cold water then pour into sauce and whisk for about 1 minute to thicken.
Pour thickened sauce over the removed chicken and pineapple.

Pile a good amount of the pineapple risotto on the plate and cover it with some of the chicken, pineapple and sauce. Sprinkle a bit of coconut and green onions on top and enjoy!

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What Goes With Quinoa?

So my first foray into pressure cooking went off without me getting maimed or burned, so I guess I’ll be using my new toy again soon! I made a huge batch of quinoa that turned out light, fluffy and quite tasty. Just one problem: we aren’t big eaters of any grain at dinner time outside of rice, so I was left at a bit of a loss as to what to do with my big bowl of quinoa.

lemonchickenquinoa The cupboards, refrigerator and freezer were rather bare due to the two week vacation we had just returned from, so I was left with very few options. A lemon, Roma tomato, small avocado, a bag of frozen edamame, and 1/2 lb of frozen diced chicken breast were all I could salvage to throw together some kind of dinner hearty enough to satisfy my husband.

Lemon Chicken with Avocado & Tomato Quinoa

1 1/2 Cups Cooked Quinoa (See yesterday’s post)
1 Small Roma Tomato (diced)
1 Small Ripe Avocado (diced)
1 Cup Frozen Shelled Edamame (Soybeans) Cooked
Juice of 1 Large Lemon
2 Tbls Olive Oil
1/2 Lb Fresh Diced Chicken Breast
1 tsp Minced Garlic
1/8 tsp Dried Dill
1/8 tsp +/- Arrowroot (to thicken the sauce)
Pinch Cayenne Pepper
Freshly Ground Salt & Pepper

Juice the lemon, stir in the arrowroot and set aside. In a medium frying pan, heat 2 TBLS olive oil and the minced garlic over medium-high heat. Add the diced chicken, season with freshly ground sea salt and pepper, and brown for about 2 minutes per side. Add the edamame, dill, cayenne pepper and lemon juice mixture to the pan and continue cooking about 3 minutes until edamame and chicken are done and sauce is well incorporated.

Spoon about 1/2 Cup of the cooked quinoa and about 1/3 of the chicken mixture into a bowl. Top with the diced avocado and tomatoes and add more ground pepper to taste.

Light enough for my post-vacation diet yet hearty enough that 2 bowls satisfied my husband’s appetite. Win-Win!

A New Kitchen Toy

pressurecooker It seems I am always getting some kind of new kitchen gadget. Something as small as a new pair of nesting measuring cups can make my day. So imagine the glee I felt today when I opened the box from Amazon containing my new T-Fal 6 Quart Pressure Cooker!

To be honest, traditional pressure cookers have always scared me a bit. I watched my grandma and mother-in-law fearlessly use them with ease and skill, but the unpredictable nature of the steam behind the pressure made me steer away from any recipes that even mentioned the need for pressure cooking.

After seeing more and more positive media about the joys of cooking in “no time” using the new electric pressure cookers with pre-programmed settings for as many as 25 different foods, the ability to steam, cook, simmer, an even slow cook in one compact unit, I took the plunge and ordered one for myself.

I also bought the two top rated pressure cooker cook books I could find on Amazon.com so I’d be ready to prepare a gourmet meal upon my return from vacation this week. So what was my pressure cooker’s virginity breaking first meal? I chickened out of doing anything that I might result in me wasting a lot of ingredients and made a big batch of Quinoa!

Combine:

1 3/4 Cups Quinoa
2 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth (If I don’t have any canned broth on hand, I make my broth using 3 cups water boiled with 3 Wyler’s Herbed Chicken Bouillon Cubes)
Pinch of Freshly Ground Sea Salt
1 TBLS Butter

Put pressure cooking pan/bowl back into the machine and secure the lid as per your instructions. Turn your pressure cooker on and, if you have a setting for rice, select the rice setting and hit start. If you do not have a rice setting, you can manually set your machine to cook for 9 minutes on medium then hit start and let the machine get warmed up to do its job.

When cooking has finished, follow your machine’s instructions for releasing steam/ returning to normal pressure before opening the lid. My machine tells me to press the steam release button on the handle and wait until no more steam is escaping before turning the handle and opening the lid.

quinoa Remove the quinoa to a bowl and fluff to separate the grains. If you aren’t eating all of the quinoa prepared, store in a sealed container and refrigerate to eat throughout the week. Quinoa is fun because you can eat it as a side dish plain/with cheese/ or with vegetables, add some veggies to it as a salad, or add meat/chicken/fish/shellfish as a light main dish.

Spicy Shrimp Risotto

grillrender What’s the best part about the day after a barbecue? Leftovers of course!

Chicken went home with my girlfriend, the spicy Italian sausage and bacon wrapped jalapenos were devoured by everyone, but there were still some grilled vegetables and a dozen of the large freshwater shrimp left for me to toss into tonight’s dinner!

Spicy Shrimp Risotto

8 – 12 Grilled Large Freshwater Shrimp (Tails and Shells removed)
1 TBLS Olive Oil
1 Red Bell Pepper Chopped
1 Large Portobello Mushroom Chopped
1 -2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 Cup (dry) White Arborio Rice
1 TBLS Butter
2 1/2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth

In a 2 qt saucepan combine the rice with the butter and 2 1/2 cups of the chicken broth. Bring to a boil then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to steam another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another 2 qt saucepan, over medium heat saute the olive oil, mushrooms and bell pepper for about 8 minutes. Chop the shrimp into chunks then add it and the red pepper flakes to the vegetables. Simmer on low for about 5 to 7 minutes then cover and remove from the heat.

When the rice has finished steaming add it to the pan with the shrimp and vegetables. Season with salt, pepper and more crushed red pepper flakes if desired. Serve with chopped avocado and your favorite hot sauce.

Poolside Valentine’s Day BBQ

elm-131167-Valentines-Day-1 — Happy Valentine’s Day From Sunny Southern California

The threats and warnings of the “Fury” and strength of the approaching El Nino has, so far, failed to materialize in Southern California. A week and a half ago we were seeing colder than normal temperatures in the mid-50’s followed by last weekend’s mid to high 70’s and then this week’s high 80’s to mid 90’s. I had barely gotten the dust off of my boots & sweaters and had to dig my spring clothes back out to keep from sweating my ass off while visiting customers this week!

I am neither gloating or complaining, I would just really like the weather to make a decision. I have a great fireplace in the living room (and another one out by the BBQ island), but it just hasn’t been cold enough to justify lighting them. In fact, it’s been so warm and sunny that I turned the heater back on in the pool and invited a single girlfriend & her kids over to catch some rays and barbeque by the pool for Valentine’s Day.

Instead of making reservations for brunch we put together a menu that would need minimal prep, have no gluten and be able to be cooked & served in the backyard.

Backyard Bloody Marys:

Pour 1 1/2 to 2 ounces Tito’s or Smirnoff 21 Vodka (both are Gluten Free) into a glass (or in this case, red Solo cup) filled with ice
Fill the rest of the cup up with a homemade mix comprised of: Low Sodium V-8, a splash or two of juice from a jar of martini olives, a dash of your favorite hot sauce (we used Frank’s Red Hot), a dash or two of Lea & Perrin’s Worcestershire Sauce, a bit of fresh-full strength horseradish, an a dash of A-1 Steak Sauce.
Garnished with a slice of crisp bacon, a stalk of celery, a peeled mini carrot, a thick ring of red bell pepper, and a skewer with sweet peppers, onions, and pepperocini

The BBQ was kept busy with:

Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos Stuffed With Herbed Cream Cheese
Grilled Asparagus Spears
Grilled Portobello Mushroom Slices
Giant Fresh Water Shrimp w/Guy Fieri’s Smoky & Sweet Kansas City BBQ Sauce
Spicy Italian Sausage Links
Chicken Breasts Marinated in Scallion Oil Dressing (from The Restaurant at Ponte Winery)

Two simple side dishes allowed us to spend a couple of hours absorbing some natural Vitamin D, courtesy of our friend The Sun!

A salad of sliced English cucumber, halved plum tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, 2 TBLS light sour cream, a dash or two red wine vinegar, freshly ground pepper and some garlic salt
Chunks of cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, and pineapple, thinly sliced Kiwi, fresh blueberries and a few whole strawberries

All in all a great day!

Weather forecasters promise that we will still be seeing the long promised “Godzilla” rain storms of El Nino, the storms are just taking their sweet time. Weather experts are “expecting a conveyor belt of squalls to enter stage left in late February and continue through March, possibly into April. This is a month or so later than original predictions for heavy rains.” In the meantime I will enjoy a few more days with the top down on my car and the ability to tan myself back from the brink of pale-dom before I have to hunker down in sweaters and rain boots.

My Top 5 Bloody Marys

bloodymarybasics There are few things that are more satisfying on a lazy Sunday morning than a great Bloody Mary. But, as we who enjoy them can agree, not all Bloody Marys are created equal.

Personally I like mine to not be so spicy as to rip my throat off as I swallow, or sting it so bad that I can’t enjoy more than the first sip or two. I like a lot of flavor and really enjoy the presentation of a pretty AND tasty drink.

I also enjoy a little variety. My favorites have featured chunks of crab amongst crisp, tall vegetables; entire lobster claws; thick strips of crispy bacon; antipasto on a skewer (tomato/mozzarella/basil/salami); and crispy, fresh vegetables to munch while sipping a perfectly spiced drink.

My Top 5 Bloody Marys:

The Crab House on Pier 39 – San Francisco, CA
Lobster Me at The Palazzo in The Venetian – Las Vegas, NV
Paul Martin’s – Irvine, CA
Olive Garden – Santa Ana, CA (Mainplace Mall)
The Signal Lounge – Orange, CA

After stumbling across a picture of a giant fried WHOLE CHICKEN hanging out of a giant Bloody Mary I decided that I need a list of places to visit just for my favorite Sunday morning cocktail!

Although I’ve been to Milwaukee before, somehow I managed to miss Sobelman’s Pub & Grill and their menu of “Beast” Bloody Marys.

My mouth waters thinking about their 80+ oz concoctions that are meant to be shared by at least 4 people.

chickenfried

The Chicken Fried: $50 and topped with a whole fried 4 pound chicken from Ray’s Butcher Shop in Greenfield. That is one intimidating presentation! It’s a drink for a cause though! During the last 4 months of 2014, for every Chicken Fried sold, the owners of Sobelman’s donated $5 to Milwaukee’s Hunger Task Force.

abc_heeseburger_bloodymary_jp_121212_ms Cheeseburger Bloody Mary: Features a scallion, a stalk of celery, a colby cheese wedge, a Polish sausage, a pickled mushroom, onion & brussel sprout, a pickle & olive, a shrimp, cherry tomato & lemon wedge, a spear of asparagus and a bacon cheeseburger slider.

Another Bloody Mary that is definitely on the “Must Try List” is this 32 ounce monster from The Nook in Atlanta: The Bloody Best: 8 oz. of Absolut Peppar vodka mixed with a special Bloody Mary mix, garnished with pepperoncinis, jalapenos, Tater Tots, steak, a slice of toast, a hard-boiled egg and you drink it through a straw made of meat!

The list is in its infancy and recommendations from enthusiastic Bloody Mary adventurers are welcomed.

On the flip side, I know that there are those who only partake to quiet the ache in their head and swirling of their bellies after a night of over indulgence, to that end, Smirnoff shares their basic recipe for a pitcher of basic Bloody Marys:

9 oz Smirnoff No. 21 Vodka
Tomato juice
1 Lime juiced
1 Lemon juiced
4 tsp Hot sauce
2 tbs Horseradish
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Black pepper
½ tsp Salt
1 tsp Smoked paprika
1 Lime wedge

Blend all ingredients except vodka. Pour into pitcher. Rub lemon or lime wedge around the rim of highball glasses and then roll glass in celery salt and add ice cubes. Fill glass 1/3 with vodka & top off with Bloody Mary mix. Serves 10.

Time for this girl to head to bed so I can wake up and create something somewhere in the middle of these to sip tomorrow!

Are you on Facebook? You might be interested in the things I may not devote an entire blog post to: recipes, food facts, nutritional information, photos and other things that make my mouth water. I may not write a blog post every day, but there are daily updates to my This Girl Loves To Eat community at: https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood

Fit Fat Tuesday Feast

I love the comfort foods of winter but, because California gets a very short spell of cool weather, that means that I can’t just eat what I want and hide under sweatshirts and big sweaters…UG! Case in point: last week we had some of our lowest temperatures for late January/early February and this week it’s been in the high 80’s and low 90’s. I am going to be back in spring clothes before too long, so I have to stick to my diet plan.

Just because I’m watching what I eat doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy Fat Tuesday, right? By re-working one of my favorite Mardi Gras delights, I can (and did!) Laissez les bon temps roulez.

Let the Good Times Roll “California Style” Jambalaya

1 – 12 oz Chub Jimmy Dean Reduced Fat Premium Pork Sausage
2/3 pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Diced
12 oz – Raw (Peeled, Deveined & Tails Removed) Shrimp
6 oz – Aidell’s Cajun Style Andouille Sausage
1 – 14.5 oz Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes
2 Pkgs – Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice Natural Whole Grain Brown Rice (90 Second Microwave Packages)
1 Red Bell Pepper – Chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper – Chopped
1 Bunch Green Onions
2 TBLS Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic (Peeled & Minced)
2 TBLS Zatarain’s Cajun Spice Blend
Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper To Taste

In a heavy duty skillet, preheated over medium-high heat, add 1 TBLS olive oil, the garlic, chopped onions, and chopped bell peppers. Cook while stirring about 5 minutes.

Preheat a large heavy duty stock pot or stew pan over medium high heat. Add 1 TBLS olive oil and the pork sausage to the pan. Break up with a wooden spoon and cook until nearly done, Add the diced chicken, sprinkle with the Cajun Spice, and continue cooking until chicken is nearly cooked through (4-5 minutes). Slice the sausage into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices and add to the pan. Cut each peeled, deveined, tailed shrimp in half and add to the other meats in the pan. Cook about 2 minutes.

Tear the packages to vent and microwave the Uncle Ben’s rice packets for 90 seconds each on high.

Add the sautéed vegetables to the cooked meat. Stir in the canned tomatoes and bring all to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the two packages of rice to the pan.

Stir to combine. Add 1 TBLS ground black pepper and about 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper.

Serve with hot sauce of your choice, and, if you’re like me and love it California Style, add 1/4 of an avocado to the top of your bowl of steaming jambalaya.

Rainy Day Delight

It’s such a rare occasion in Orange County, California to have a cold, rainy, stormy day that I was excited to see a wet patio outside my window when I got up this morning. WOO HOO! I am SO getting the slow cooker out and making some chili!

Not my usual rip-off of Mom’s XLNT Brick of Chili Con Carne based chili with ground beef, cubes of left over steak, canned crushed tomatoes and red beans. Nope! Today’s a White Bean Chicken Chili day.

It’s a ridiculously easy recipe and practically cooks itself.

Rainy Day White Bean Chicken Chili

1 Can Diced Ortega Chilis (Mild or Hot – your choice)
2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts – about 1 1/2 lbs (Frozen or Thawed)
16 oz Chicken Broth
1 – 16 oz Bag of Dry Great White Northern Beans
2 tsp Dried Cilantro Flakes
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
2 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Devil’s Dust (or any Smoked Chili seasoning you use)
Sour Cream and Chopped Fresh Cilantro to serve (if desired)
1 Ripe Avocado Chopped (if you have one)

In a large stock pot, 6 to 8 cups water on to boil.

Using a large colander, rinse and drain the white beans. Pick out any icky ones and then add to the boiling water. Boil the beans for about an hour then turn off the heat, cover and let stand for another hour.

While the beans are soaking get the other ingredients going in the slow cooker set on low heat.

Empty the can of diced green chilis (undrained) into the bottom of the slow cooker
Put the frozen chicken breasts on top of the chilis
Pour the chicken broth over the breasts
Dust the tops of the breasts with the spices (ending with the cilantro)

When the beans have finished soaking, empty them into a colander and then transfer them to the slow cooker. Stir just enough to mix everything together and leave it the chili to cook for 6-8 hours on low heat.

About 4 hours into the cooking time, shred the chicken beasts with forks and mix the chicken back into the chili.

When the cooking time has completed taste the chili, adjust the spices and serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro on top. If you’re lucky enough to have a ripe avocado on hand, do yourself a “flavor” and chop it up to put on top of your bowl of chili!

You can speed this recipe up, making it one you can throw together in 10 minutes or less when you are leaving for work so it can cook all day, by substituting 3 cans of white beans from the grocery store.

I can’t wait for dinner time!

It’s A Comfort Food Kind Of Day

dietfoodjuliachild

I try to balance being somewhat diet conscious with being creative in the kitchen like I did with the dinner I made last night: Bacon & Roasted Cauliflower Chowder. It was hearty, satisfying, and had a lot of flavor, but, with the exception of the fat & sodium from the bacon, was super healthy! I even kept my husband from his requested bread/bagel chips/ crackers alongside by baking up some thin crispy sweet potato chips while the soup was cooking. I satisfied his need for something starchy but didn’t add unnecessary carbs or calories! Win-Win!

That said, I have been known (alright, it happens a lot) to totally justify throwing all thoughts of the diet out the window when I eat at restaurants and indulge in luscious dishes I am not quite skilled enough (or brave enough) to try to re-create at home.

It’s hardest of all to be diet conscious when I’m feeling tired, stressed or sick and just want comforting, basic, no frills food like my Mom, Grandma and Alabama Aunts used to make.

Today is one of those comfort days. I have been battling bronchitis for more than 3 weeks and all I wanted was a no hassle simple bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. I dug through the cupboards and found a variety of options:

Gluten Free Oats (on hand for my gluten intolerant girlfriend);
Whole Rolled Oats (unopened and I don’t even remember buying them);
Quaker Quick 1 Minute Oats in the Cardboard Cylinder (for making cookies);
Quaker Old Fashioned Oats; and
A single microwave packet of Nutrisystem Oats ( my husband’s) YUCK and NO THANKS!

I have no interest in the over-processed, artificially sweetened and flavored, chopped into dust oats from a skinny envelope! I wasn’t in the mood for the time involved in cooking the whole rolled oats, skipped the cookie & gluten free ingredients and that left me only one viable option:

oatmeal The stomach filling, hunger suppressing, creamy goodness and comfort of the white haired man on the round cardboard package of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats!

I had always assumed that the pre-packaged diet foods that come in those expensive, very restrictive diets was healthy. Boy was I in for a surprise! Have you ever looked at the back of one of those boxes of instant oatmeal in the envelope?

For 150 Calories, in a package of Maple Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal, you also get:

35.4 g Carbs (3 g Fiber)
7 g Sugar
1.5 g Fat
4 g Protein
140 mg Sodium

In order to make their oatmeal, you have to prepare it with 1/2 cup of fat free milk which adds an additional:

40 Calories (190 Calories total)
65 mg Sodium (205 mg Sodium total)
6 g Carbs (41.4 g Carbs total)
6 g Sugar (13 g Sugar total)
4 g Protein (A bonus for 8 g Protein total)

Compare that to what you get from a bigger (what they call “Heart Healthy” on the label) portion (still only 150 Calories) of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats that you spice up yourself with about 1/8 tsp Real Vanilla Extract and 1/4 tsp Cinnamon:

27.6 g Carbs (4 g Fiber)
1 g Sugar
3 g Fat
5 g Protein
0 mg Sodium

By taking 1 more minute in the microwave or a whole 3 more minutes to prepare in a pan on the stove you do lose the 3 extra g of Protein that using milk in the prep of the packaged oats adds, but you add 1 g of additional filling Fiber and save yourself from ingesting:

40 additional calories (that can be spent towards a glass of wine later)
205 mg Sodium
12 g Sugar

The preparation is really simple.

The fastest way is to prepare it in the microwave. In a microwave safe cereal bowl, I measure 3/4 Cup Quaker Old Fashioned Oats and stir in 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon. I then add 1/2 cups water and 1/8 tsp Vanilla stirring all until it’s well combined. I cook the oatmeal on high power for two minutes then give the mixture a stir to test the consistency. My microwave is 10 years old, so I play it safe to avoid the dreaded boil over. I add 2 more cycles of 30 seconds on high, stirring in between, and end up with a creamy, but not dense and pasty bowl of hearty oatmeal.

I wish I could convince my husband that it really is easy to do, and can even be pre-packaged in a zip bag to take to work, so that he would stop buying and eating the Nutrisystem meals that bring so much unnecessary sodium and so many preservatives into his system, but that’s a fight for another day.

Today I am just going to sit here and enjoy my healthy, hearty, and oh so comforting, bowl of steaming hot oatmeal.

Bacon Roasted Cauliflower Chowder

dinnerreservations I haven’t been to the grocery store this week and was at a loss as to what to make for dinner tonight.

The meat & cheese drawer gave me a pound of uncooked bacon fresh from the butcher, a wedge of parmesan cheese and another small chunk from a wedge of aged gouda-parmesan.

In the crisper was a bag of fresh sweet mini peppers, a head of cauliflower that was nearing extinction, half a red onion, some carrots, celery, a Rubbermaid container with some still viable sliced Portobello mushrooms and a few other items that found their way right into the compost bucket.

Not a lot to work with, but I’m a gamer (and thankfully my husband will try anything I make) so I trudged forward hoping for some inspiration.

A wrinkly but still salvageable Poblano chili was on the counter and inspiration for a nice warm soup struck.

Bacon & Roasted Cauliflower Chowder

½ Cup Sliced Portobello Mushrooms
6 Slices Bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces
¼ Poblano Chili finely diced
½ Red Onion diced
¼ Cup diced Orange Sweet Bell Pepper
1 Carrot chopped
2 Ribs Celery chopped
2 Cloves Garlic minced
1 Medium Head Cauliflower
4 Cups Beef Broth (4 Bullion Cubes in 4 Cups Boiling Water)
1 – 5 ounce can Evaporated Milk
2 Bay Leaves
Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper to taste (1 added about 2 tsp)
Reserved Rind of Parmesan or Parmesan-Gouda Cheese
Shredded Parmesan or Parmesan-Gouda Cheese (if desired)

Cut the cauliflower in thirds, trim off the stem, spritz with olive or coconut oil spray and roast 45 minutes at 400 degrees.

sweatvegetables Cook the bacon over medium high heat for 5 minutes. Add the diced Poblano chili and continue to cook until bacon is crisp but not too brown. Remove both from pan and drain on paper towel.

In the same pan add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and bell pepper. Saute’ about 8 minutes over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and return the bacon and Poblano chili to the pan. Continue cooking another 10 minutes while bacon fat breaks down some more then switch heat to low.

addcauliflower Roughly chop 1/3 of the roasted cauliflower into small pieces and add to the pan. Add the bay leaves and seasoned pepper, stir and cook on low about 5 minutes to allow the cauliflower to absorb the flavors of the bacon and other vegetables.

Put the remaining 2/3 of the cooled roasted cauliflower and 2 cups of the cooled broth into the Vitamix or Food Processor/Blender container and process on low until well combined. It will have plenty of texture, but if it’s not thin enough to easily pour, add a bit more of the reserved broth.

Increase heat to medium, then add the can of evaporated milk, a can of water and the contents of the Vitamix container to the pan. Stir well to incorporate. Stir in the remaining broth, the reserved cheese rinds (if you have any) and bring soup just to a boil. Return heat to low and simmer about 20 minutes.

soup Remove the bay leaves before serving. Serve with toasted French bread chunks/croutons or crusty bread and butter. Sprinkle chowder with shredded parmesan or parmesan-gouda cheese and chopped parsley if desired.

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