(or recipes you'd like to try). That would be my case. I'm not afraid to say it: I hate cooking. I just find it so frustrating--all the ingredients and the mess and the measurements. It's kind of ironic that I worked at Glorieta all summer as a cook. :)
(as a side note and speaking of Glorieta, they're hiring for next summer! So if you're a young college student or a 20-something who has next summer free, go apply here!)
Anyway, I don't like to cook. I'm so glad Ellie does. And, if nothing else, I do enjoy looking at recipes of delicious food...it's just the making it that causes a hiccup.
I considered just choosing all desserts, or soups, but I decided to just make this post like a meal. Or, rather, two entrees and a dessert. Enjoy!
I had saved these recipes a long time ago; don't ask me where I found the first and third ones! The source for the second one is under the pic. They all sound delicious!
Chicken-and-Avocado Soup with Fried Tortillas
3 ½ Tp. cooking oil
4 in. corn tortillas,
halved and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips
1 clove garlic
1 jalapeño chile, seeds
and ribs removed
2 ripe avocados,
preferably Haas, skin and pit removed
1 Tp. lime juice
¼ tsp. Tabasco sauce, plus
more to taste
3 ½ cups water
1 ½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. fresh-ground black
pepper
1 onion, chopped
3 cups canned low-sodium
chicken broth or homemade stock
1 lb. boneless,
skinless chicken breasts (about 3), cut into approximately 1 ½-by-1/4-by-1/4-inch
strips
In a large pot, heat 2
tablespoons of the oil over moderately high heat. Add the tortillas and cook, stirring
frequently, until brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the tortillas from the pot and drain
on paper towels. In a blender,
combine the garlic, jalapeño, avocados, lime juice, Tabasco, 1 ½ cups of the
water, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper. Puree until smooth. Heat the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons oil in
the pot over moderate heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until
translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the
broth and the remaining 2 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer.
Stir the chicken into the pot; cook until just done, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the avocado puree. Heat through, about 2
minutes. Serve the soup topped with the
crisp tortilla strips.
I love avocado and chicken, so this recipe sounds amazing! Maybe I'll actually attempt it. :)
Salmon and Vegetable Foil-Pack Dinners
1 lb. fresh or frozen
skinless salmon, cod, or flounder fillets, about ¾ thick
2 cups thinly sliced fresh
carrots
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
¼ cup sliced green onions
1 Tp. snipped fresh
oregano or 1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
4 cloves garlic, thinly
sliced
2 tsp. finely shredded
orange peel
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
4 tsp. olive oil
2 medium oranges, thinly
sliced
4 sprigs fresh oregano
(optional)
Thaw fish, if frozen. Rinse fish; pat dry with paper towels. Cut into four serving-size pieces, if
necessary. Set aside. In a small saucepan cook carrots, covered, in
a small amount of boiling water for 2 minutes.
Drain and set aside. Tear off
four 24-inch pieces of 18-inch-wide heavy foil.
Fold each half to make four 18x12-inch pieces. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine carrots, mushrooms,
green onion, oregano, garlic, orange peel, half of the salt, and half of the
pepper; toss gently. Divide vegetables
among the four pieces of foil, placing vegetables in center of each
piece. Place on piece of salmon on top
of each portion of vegetables. Drizzle 1
tsp. of the oil over each piece of salmon. Sprinkle each with remaining salt
and pepper; top with orange slices and, if desired, a sprig of oregano. Bring together two opposite edges of foil and
seal with a double fold. Fold remaining
ends to completely enclose the food, allowing space for steam to build. Place
the foil packets in a single layer on a baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until carrots are
tender and fish begins to flake when tested with a fork. Open packets carefully to allow steam to
escape. Transfer the packets to
individual plates.
I tried something like this once, except there was chicken instead of salmon. I was on a camping trip with my youth group, and for dinner one night we all had this. It was amazing! Great for camping--you can just put the foil packs over the campfire to cook.
Pumpkin Bread
2/3 cup butter
2 2/3 cups sugar
1 (16 oz. can) pumpkin
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cup flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
Cream butter and sugar. Stir in eggs, pumpkin, and water. Mix in
flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon & cloves. Stir in nuts & raisins. Pour batter into two (9x5x3) loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 55-70 minutes.
I love pretty much anything pumpkin, so this is a recipe for me! I think I'd replace the nuts and raisins with chocolate chips, though; that sounds so much better!
The finished product! As you can see, it's a bit lopsided since there were two pies on the cooking sheet and they had to kind of lean on each other, but we were going for taste over appearance! And it was delicious. :)
The finished product! As you can see, it's a bit lopsided since there were two pies on the cooking sheet and they had to kind of lean on each other, but we were going for taste over appearance! And it was delicious. :)
