Hearty Tortellini Soup

As a lot of you may already know, I'm a planner. Probably to a fault, really.

Having said that, it should come as no surprise to anyone that, every Sunday, I sit down and plan out a menu for the week; from that menu, I make my grocery list. And, as weird as I'm sure it sounds, I really look forward to doing it. 

I'm a huge advocate of menu planning, and I've actually written about it before (check it out here); I can't tell you how much money and time it saves me at the grocery store. On top of that, though, I care a lot about feeding my family well, and menu planning really helps with that. By mapping out our meals, I can ensure that we always have good, healthy options on hand; that, in turn, deters us from resorting to junk or fast food. Not to say that we don't eat that stuff every now and then - we absolutely do. It's just nice not to HAVE to, if that makes sense.

Anyway, I try to make a variety of meals in our house each week. For example, I include at least one seafood meal on the menu, and stick to a limit of one dinner with red meat. This year, I've started doing one "meatless" night a week as well. I also plan for leftovers, because it's nice to have a break sometimes. 

This soup is wonderful for leftovers, and can be frozen very easily should you choose to do so. I made mine with beef broth, but the original recipe (linked below) calls for vegetable stock, making it a wonderful meatless meal as well. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Hearty Tortellini Soup

Original Recipe by Julia Levy, Cooking Light (recipe here)

2 tbs olive oil

1 large vidalia onion

2 cups chopped fennel bulb

2 tbs minced garlic

12 oz sliced gourmet blend mushrooms

2 tbs tomato paste

4 cups beef stock

4 cups vegetable stock

1 cup water

2 cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

4 cups curly kale, stemmed and chopped

10 oz three-cheese tortellini

1 1/2 tbs red wine vinegar

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add onion, fennel, garlic and mushrooms and cook 15 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add stock, water, tomatoes (with juice), and chickpeas and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer for five minutes.

Add kale and tortellini. Cook 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in vinegar. Ladle into soups and serve.

Until next time...

Cheers!

Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches

I use my slow cooker A LOT. You might have noticed.

Honestly, there are just some days when I need an easy, little-to-no prep option for dinner. I know I can't be the only one. There's just something so nice about having a tool that does so much work FOR you.

Side note on that, I can't WAIT to try out the Instant Pot I got for Christmas.

Anyway, this is another meal that my daughter helps me prepare. I brown the beef, but I let her measure and add all of the "flavor" components to the dish; this means that she gets to stir, which is basically her favorite thing to do in the kitchen (at least so far).

As usual, the original recipe comes from Cooking Light, though I've made some adjustments of my own. A link to the original is included below.

Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches

Original Recipe by Deb Wise, Cooking Light Dec 2013 (see it here)

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 tbs onion powder

1 tbs garlic powder

2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 cup sliced pepperoncini peppers (jarred)

2 lbs chuck roast

Ciabatta rolls (or your favorite sandwich rolls)

Place first 7 ingredients in slow cooker, stirring to combine.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Cook beef in skillet for 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Add beef to slow cooker.

Cook on LOW setting for 8 hours. Shred beef with two forks and stir well. Serve on ciabatta rolls.

Until next time...

Cheers!

Thai Steak Noodle Bowl

I mentioned in my blog the other day that I'm kind of on a "try new things in the kitchen" kick for 2016. I feel like I manage to incorporate a good variety into the meals I offer my family, but I can always do more. I love learning about new ingredients and new cooking techniques (and how to use them), and I really want to learn more about balance and nutrition in general. I'm looking forward to doing that this year.

Today's recipe includes an ingredient I'd never used before: red curry paste. I'm so glad I tried it! It smells SO good, for one, not to mention the vibrant color it added to this dish. Since the recipe doesn't call for a TON of the stuff, the overall flavor is mild (slightly, pleasantly spicy to me, while not spicy at all to my husband who loves ridiculously hot stuff and therefore thinks anything less than a ghost pepper carries no heat). You can find red curry paste on the international foods aisle, along with the coconut milk that's also called for in the recipe.

Thai Steak Noodle Bowl

Adapted from Cooking Light, Jan/Feb 2016

2 cups baby arugula

1 tbs lime juice

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

8 oz pad thai noodles (uncooked)

12 oz sirloin steak, sliced thinly

1 1/2 tsp canola oil

1/2 cup water

2 tbs red curry paste (I used Thai Kitchen brand)

1 13.5 oz can coconut milk

 

Mix arugula, 1 tsp lime juice, 1/2 tsp sugr and 1/2 tsp salt and toss well to coat. Set aside.

 

Prepare rice noodles as instructed on package. Set aside.

 

Sprinkle steak with 1/2 tsp sugar. Heat skillet over high heat and add oil, swirling to coat. Add steak and cook 2 minutes. Flip and cook an additional 30 seconds or until browned. Remove from pan and keep warm.

 

Add 1/2 cup water, curry paste and coconut milk, stirring well. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tsp lime juice, 1 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt.

 

To plate, divide noodles into four bowls, then add steak to each dish. Ladle broth over each serving and top with arugula. Sprinkle remaining salt over each bowl.

 

Until next time...

 

Cheers!