Not the dinner reception I was expecting!

I am usually pretty good at predicting how well something I am making for dinner will go over with the rest of the members of the family.  Sometimes I am WAY off, but usually, I am pretty spot on.  I'm good like that!  But the other night, I was pleasantly surprised (actually it was more like completely gobsmacked!!) when I served black bean soup for dinner and Leighton not only ate it, he had seconds and then begged for some in his lunch the next day and actually ate almost every.single.bite.

Here's why it's weird and completely astonishing.

1. It's soup.  Leighton has had something against soup since he was about 3 for some reason.

2. It had chunks of celery.  Apparently Leighton only likes celery if it comes in the form of ants on a log and never cooked.

3. It had some chunks of cooked tomatoes in it.  Leighton loves fresh tomatoes.  He is good with pizza and pasta sauce with tomato sauce.  But cooked tomatoes have always been a no go.

4. Cooked colored peppers.  Same story and 2. and 3. above.

5. There was even obvious pieces of onion in there.  And Mr-used-to-beg-and-steal-the-raw-onions-while-Mommy-cooks aka Mr-used-to-make-us-dig-out-every-cooked-piece-of-onion-on-our-plates has been 'off' onions for the past couple years.

But sometimes, you just never know!

And the funny thing is that I wasn't even supposed to serve that for dinner.  I had made it in the morning for a friend that recently had a baby, but she was unable to come to our playgroup that day at the last minute, so I decided I'd use it for our dinner instead of freezing it and make her something fresh the following week.

I had all sorts of other deconstructed soup elements on a plate for him, but gave him a small bowl of the actual soup just to see what he'd do with it.  And when he asked what was for dinner, Roy and I glanced at each other and prepared to wince after I told him.  But her replied with a "yum" right away.

So, here's the recipe for miracle black bean soup.  I've been making it for many years, but hadn't made it for a really long time.  It was good to have it back in the rotation!  I *think* it's a Rachael Ray recipe, but not 100% sure ... and I make little changes/substitutions/additions here and there every time.

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Black Bean Soup

- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large dried bay leaves
- 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 ribs celery with greens, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 12oz cans black beans
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp coriander
- Salt and pepper
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 (12-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- cilantro
- sour cream

Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat. Add EVOO to hot pot then bay leaves, jalapeno, garlic, celery, onions and red pepper. Cook 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cans of the beans. With remaining 1/2 can, use a fork to mash up the beans and stir the mashed beans into the pot. Season with cumin, coriander, salt and pepper, and hot sauce. Add stock and tomatoes. Simmer for 30 minutes til thickened to a thick soup/runny stew. Garnish each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and fresh chopped cilantro. 

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And while I am at it, I thought I'd share some other recipes I've tried out in the past couple months that I haven't shared yet.

Eggnog Muffins with Streusel Topping

I can figure out what recipe I used!  But I recall Googling and using a mishmash of a few.  Maybe.  All I can tell you is that they were yummy and if you have eggnog to use up at any point, Good a recipe and make some!

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Swimming Rama

Many years ago when we were still living in Calgary, we got together with some friends and hired a chef and her assistant to come help us prepare a Thai meal.  One of the recipes was for Swimming Rama and it's so easy and tasty that I've been making it ever since.  I am sure there are more authentic versions out there, but this is fast and easy and super tasty, so it works for us!  It's more of a method than a recipe.

 Heat a can of coconut milk in a pot with some red Thai curry paste. Thinly slice some chicken breast and cook in the coconut milk. Crush some peanuts and mix in once chicken is cooked. While the chicken is cooking, make rice and steam some spinach (or thaw and heat some frozen spinach) and season with some salt (and butter if you want). Put rice on plate and top with spinach and then chicken and sauce. Garnish with more peanuts and also Thai basil and/or Thai chilis if you want. 

It also reheats really well, so it's a great meal to make for a friend who just had a baby (different than black bean soup friend, but same playgroup, and there are 2 more new babies in the group right now as well - 4 of them within 6 weeks!).

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BBQ Boneless Rib Sandwiches

When we lived in Calgary, one of our regular places to go after work/school was a pub called Moose McGuire's.  They had great food, peanuts with the shells all over the floor, and it was across super close.  Perfect!  We event went there for a few celebratory events, including the afternoon after I finally got my driver's license and for lunch after Roy defended his thesis (we went to the Keg for steak for dinner, if I recall correctly) with friends from the lab and my parents.  And we watched the Canada vs. USA gold medal hockey game there during the 2002 Olympics (psst Canada won, if you don't remember!).  Certainly a lot of fond memories from Moose's - of good times, good friends, and good food.  I usually ordered the layered Mexican dip.  Or the BBQ boneless rib sandwich.  Or the beef dip.  We ate there a lot ;)

When we were at the zoo a couple weeks ago, we were discussing dinner options and the Moose McGuire's BBQ boneless rib sandwich popped into my head.  We grabbed some pork that Roy grilled, and layered it on some fluffy French bread with lots of BBQ sauce, grilled onions, provolone cheese, and shredded lettuce.  It was so excited to eat it that I forgot to take a picture!  But the next day, we made a recreation with some leftover hamburger buns that were in the fridge and I remembered to take one for you before inhaling it.  The version with the bread was definitely better, but serving it on a more quality bun would be an easy improvement.

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Key Lime Pie

I am not sure how this has happened, but I have never tried key lime pie.  I think it's probably because whenever it's on the menu, it gets overlooked by something more sinful and exciting!  But when I saw a bag of key limes for 99 cents the other day, I decided to grab them and make one.  There are so many different versions out there, and I wasn't sure which direction to go in.  In the end, I went with this one.  It definitely needs time to set - we found that out after cutting into it at the 4 hour mark instead of the 6 hour mark!  And Roy was pretty adamant that the longer it was in the freezer, the better it tasted.

See all those little green bits?  That would be the zest that I worked soooo hard getting.  In case you don't know, key limes are small.  And it takes a lot of them to add up to much in the zest and juice department!  My fingers were a little cramped after that adventure!

I really want to try a more 'traditional' recipe though.  anyone have a good one?

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Maple Cinnamon French Toast

When Leighton was little, I used to make him French toast with a little cinnamon added in.  Very yummy.  But then I lucked out and Roy took over breakfast for the last several years (so I could sleep after our lovely children liked to wake me so many times at night!), so it wasn't until last February when Roy had to go away for a night that I found myself back in the French toast arena.  Leighton had grown to be a big fan of Daddy's version so I made him that.  But then for me and Riley, I tossed some cinnamon and maple syrup into the custard (just milk and egg) before dipping the bread.  She loved it.  He looked at it skeptically.  And then agreed to taste it.  And then proceeded to eat all mine.  And guess what I made again the next week when Roy was away?!?!

A few weeks ago, we had some leftover French bread and I felt inspired to make some French toast for breakfast.  It had been quite some time since Leighton had had it and when presented with his options of plain or cinnamon maple, he stuck firmly in the plain camp.  I suspected he might jump ship once it was on the table, but wasn't sure if we could tempt him to the dark side, so I made ample of the plain.  Well, guess who gobbled up the maple cinnamon that I made for me & Riley?!  I mostly shared the plain with Roy while both the kids made short work of the other!

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Pork and Veggie Chow Mein

I was on the hunt for a chow mein recipe a few years ago and after combining a few, this is what I've come up with.

1. Heat a little oil and really quickly stir fry onion, thinly sliced carrot, celery, cabbage, mushrooms. Set aside. 

2. Heat a little oil and stir fry thinly sliced pork. Add in grated ginger and garlic and sliced green onion in the last 30 seconds.

3. Create a sauce with beef stock, oyster sauce (fishy tasting on it's own just a little, but no taste of it once all together), soy sauce, cornstarch, and water.

4. Boil noodles then strain. quickly toss with a little sesame oil so they don't stick together.

5. heat sauce in pot til thick, add in veggies and meat (and bean sprouts if you want). Warm through. Add in noodles

6. Serve and sprinkle with sesame seeds (I forgot this step until after I had taken the photo this time around!)

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Roasted Asparagus

I love asparagus.  Leighton used to (he got a kick out of asparagus pee!).  Riley never has.  More for us!

Toss with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, spread in a single layer, and roast at 450 (or 425 or 475, depending on what I can remember on that particular day!) for about 12 minutes until the tips and edges start getting brown and crispy.  You can sprinkle with grated parm and toss back in the oven for a few more minutes at this point as well.  Mmmmmm.

We like all sorts of roasted veggies - broccoli (with garlic and red chili flakes), cauliflower, root veggies, and a friend recently told me about roasting green beans and mushrooms so I will have to try that soon, too!

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Pancakes

I've shared the recipe for my Mom's pancakes before, but at the time I didn't mention that I am often requested to make all different letters and shapes with the batter.  Always an 'L' to start.  And now an 'R', too.  Hearts are popular.  And apples.  And then sometimes I make a mess trying to make when has been requested and I let Leighton tell me what it is, you know like when you look at a cloud and describe what you see, just with pancakes instead!

On this particular day, the batter wasn't cooperating and the 'L's were a bit messy, but there were no complaints!  One trick I've learned is that you need to pour your batter and make the letter backwards so that after you flip it over, the flattest side of the pancake is your letter.  You'll thank me for that tip one day!

One time a couple of years ago, I was requested to spell out his whole name!

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Chicken Salad with Grapes and Red Onion

When we moved to the Bronx, we were excited to have a car and to try out all the different grocery stores we newly had access to.  It became a regular thing to go grocery shopping before dinner when we were all hungry.  Not the greatest idea.  I know.  But it resulted in the routine of picking up a rotisserie (or, Round and Round, as it's known around our house!) chicken and some bread and salad (and usually corn for Leighton) for a super fast meal.  And from that routine, my favorite chicken salad sandwiches were born.  Reheated round and round chicken isn't great.  But we don't like to waste.  So dicing up the leftovers for a cold sandwich is the perfect plan.  I like mine with a little mayo, quartered red (has to be red) grapes, and diced red onion.  And sometimes celery.  And then lots of fresh ground pepper.  It's especially delicious served on a croissant that you buy by the sheet full at Costco when you are getting the round and round chicken, but I also enjoy it with Stoned Wheat Thin crackers or on any bread or bun. I'm not picky.

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Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I used to love the broccoli cheddar soup at the Cactus Club restaurant in Vancouver.  I'd always order it if I went there.  Several years ago, after not having broccoli cheddar soup for many years, I decided I needed some and combined some recipes on the internet to create my own.

When I'd make it when Leighton was little(r!), he'd eat so much so fast, and I'd freeze any leftovers so I could give it to him for lunch or dinner on days he wasn't having the same as us.  Somewhere along the way, he stopped loving this soup, but when we got him his thermos for school lunches this year, he suggested it as something to take.  I've made it a couple times, and although he will eat it, he doesn't love it.  I am not sure he even likes it.  He just consumes it to please me!  Remember, it's soup, after all!

The other day, I was reading a book with Riley and it had broccoli soup in it.  She got all excited to tell us that we haven't eaten that soup since the old house.  "No broccoli soup new house!  Old house!"  We were surprised she would remember something like that.  It was really very cute.  Leighton got excited about it and asked for it for dinner.  I made it the following night.  Riley wouldn't even take a tiny lick of the spoon and Leighton stomached one bowl before deciding he was full ;)

Oh well.  I like it!

1. Saute 1 medium onion in some oil or butter.
2. Add in a couple bunches of broccoli very well chopped.
3. Add in 2-3 potatoes, peeled & chopped.
4. Add in 2(ish) cups chicken stock.
5. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
6. Add in a couple shakes of nutmeg, mustard powder, garlic powder.
7. Simmer til broccoli & potato are tender. Add little amounts of water as necessary.
8. Remove from heat & mash with a potato masher or blend in a blender or in the pot with an immersion blender.
9. Return to heat.
10. Stir in some cream/milk if you want (I usually want!).
11. Stir in a couple handfuls of grated cheddar.
12. Simmer to combine flavors.

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Cheesy Breadsticks

I needed something to go with the broccoli cheddar soup that I knew my kids would eat, so I planned to make these quick breadsticks.  Well, I didn't have parmesan, so I have to change my plan really quickly.  I was already grating cheddar for the soup, so I did some extra and twisted it into the dough before baking.  Tada - cheesy breadsticks!  Leighton must have said, "These are SO good that Mommy should have never made them!" about 50 times during our meal.  I am not 100% sure what he meant, but he thought it was extremely funny and kept saying it between mouthfuls of breadstick.  Ah, the mind of a 5 year old!

*Note that this recipe needed some serious work.  Don't attempt to follow it exactly.  The blogger suggests 2 cups of water to 3 cups of flour.  No way.  Not gonna happen.  You will need at last 5.  Maybe even 6.  I should have recognized this from my pizza dough making experience, but I was rushing and not thinking and stood there dumbfounded for a few moments when I had a wet gooey mess after 3 cups were added!  Also, there is no salt in the dough.  It needs it.  Don't be like me and ignore the fact that you know this and still don't add it in.  And the baking time is a bit too short.  My new oven seems to bake everything on the shorter end of suggested ranges and they needed a few minutes more than this recommended.

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Garlic Butter and Parmesan Breadsticks

Two nights after the cheesy breadsticks night, I was determined to try out the real garlic butter version.  Roy ran to the store with Riley while I stayed home with sick-o Leighton.  I asked him to get some parmesan, but the store he was going to isn't the best place to get the fresh, yummy stuff, so I told him to just grab the kind in the shaker/container.  I figured it would be fine.  Good enough.  Well, it was fine.  Not amazing or great, but fine.  There will now HAVE to be a take 3 of this recipe so I can get the good stuff (See, Lindsey - I could never go Paleo!)!!

I made the necessary adjustments to the recipe (halved the yeast, sugar, and water and added in salt).  I also used way less butter and real grated garlic instead of garlic powder.  These have serious potential!  The breadsticks are super soft and tasty.  We just needed better parm.  Next time!