Chicken Noodle Soup w/ an Asian Twist

It's been quite cold here in Louisville lately, and today is not exception. There's a few inches of snow on the ground and I'm sure the city is in mass hysteria... especially the thousands that can not drive in the snow. I don't know what it is, but this city is NEVER prepared for snow. The snow trucks never come prepared, or salt the night before a known snow is coming. People drive just like they normally would on a sunny day, which is not the right way to drive in the snow. That's how you end up in a ditch or a median. But best of all... on the seemingly coldest and most snow filled day of the year so far... I am intending to test drive and purchase a new car. Am I crazy? Yes. But more importantly, I'm in need of a new vehicle... and why not today. When the salesman don't want to spend hours outside and more time inside signing paperwork and getting the deal done. That's my viewpoint anyway, I'll keep you updated on whether this plan actually worked or not.


Ingredients:
Adapted from The Way The Cookie Crumbles' blog

3 chicken breasts, sliced into medallions
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 small onions, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups water
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 to 1 box of spaghetti noodles
5 large shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced thin
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
pinch or two of red pepper flakes (optional)
2 scallions, sliced thin

This is definitely a crockpot soup. Or I made it that way anyway. Turn your crockpot onto the high setting to get it warmed up.

In a large skillet, heat up oil under medium high heat and cook the chicken medallions until no longer pink. Transfer chicken to crockpot and cover.

In same skillet used for chicken, saute the onions, garlic, and ginger for about 5 minutes, when onions are soft and translucent. Add mixture to crockpot over chicken.

Deglaze skillet of brown bits by adding 1 cup of water to pan and scraping of the sucs. Then dump that water into the crockpot. Add remaining 3 cups of water and 4 cups of chicken broth into crockpot as well. Let simmer in crockpot until almost ready to serve, stirring occasionally. Mine was in there for about 45 minutes.

About 15 minutes before you're ready to dig in, add in noodles and mushrooms. When noodles are soft, stir in rice vinegar, soy sauce, chili flakes, sesame oil, and scallions.

Ladle into bowls and serve hot!


The only problem I had with this dish was that I used too many noodles. But besides that, the flavors were all there and it definitely warms you up on a cold and frigid day. Just a different take on a classic. Enjoy!

Italian Wedding Soup

It was somewhat chilly last week. This week, somewhat different. Kind of like t-shirt and sweatpants weather. Nonetheless, I made this soup last week, when it was chilly and I wanted a warm up. It's a pretty straight forward soup, and the flavors are just spot on. And by the way, sorry for the lack of updating lately. It's getting to be the end of the semester and seems like professors want to jam pack everything all at the end, so I've been super busy... but yet I've still been cooking up a storm! Just not posting them as frequently. Thanksgiving Break will come as a relief and I'm sure many many posts.

Ingredients:
adapted from Rachel Ray's recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg, beaten
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 & 1/2 cups mixture of bowtie and elbow macaroni pasta
2 cups fresh spinach, washed and drained

This is a pretty simple recipe and can be done in a flash when you have that craving for the perfect soup.

Heat the oil under medium heat in a deep pot. Add the carrots, celery, onions, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper and cover pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring about once or twice in between.

While you're waiting for the veggies, you can make your mini-meatballs. Combine the ground beef, egg, garlic, cheese, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Uncover your pot of vegetables and add in broth and water. Increase heat to high and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to low once mixture comes to a boil.

Form mini meatballs with the meat mixture and as each one is done, drop into liquid. When all of meat mixture is used up add in pasta and stir. Cover the pot, increase heat just a tad, and cook for about 10 minutes, when your pasta is al dente or to your liking. Once your pasta is tender, add in the spinach. Stir until spinach is wilted. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.

This is great with a nice piece of crunchy bread or all by itself! The flavors "marry" so well together, and that's why it's called Italian WEDDING Soup. Enjoy!