Weeknight Spicy Chicken Soup

Posted on by aurorameyer

Spicy Chicken Soup

Weeknight Spicy Chicken Soup

As the weather cools, we start eating more and more soups. I would never have tried this without the urging of J. It doesn't sound delicious.  Plus when he told me it was a Bon Appétit recipe, I thought it would be way too complicated and complex. Turns out, it's super simple and  does taste delicious. It's definitely a new favorite. We've used leftover turkey and rotisserie chicken and both have been wonderful. The recipe says it serves four, but it can stretched to serve more, or cooked down longer to serve less.
Print Recipe
Course Main Dish
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 prepared rotisserie chicken we've occasionally just used the rotisserie chicken breasts with good luck
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion thinly sliced (we use yellow)
  • 1/2 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms or sliced button if your local grocer is out of shiitake
  • 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
  • 1 1 in " piece ginger peeled, chopped (we LOVE using the already minced gingerthe jar!)
  • 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper a little goes a long way in this dish
  • 2 cups baby spinach
  • Kosher salt freshly ground pepper
  • 2 scallions thinly sliced
  • 4 Lime wedges for serving, or you can use about aor more lime juice once you've ladled the soup into bowls

Instructions
 

  • Pick meat from chicken, shred, and place in a small bowl (you should have about 4 cups); discard skin and bones.
  • Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
  • Add onion and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 8–10 minutes.
  • Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring often, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper.
  • Add shredded chicken, broth and cayenne and bring to a boil.
  • Turn heat to low.
  • Add spinach and divide soup among bowls.
  • Top with scallions and serve lime wedges alongside for squeezing over.

Notes

My opinion:
That's it, really. It takes a total of between 15 and 20 minutes to prep everything and about 40 minutes to cook per the recipe.  This recipe is easy enough to be a weeknight dinner. If you let it cook down longer or reheat it for lunch the next day, the flavors intensify and meld together even more. If I am planning to eat it the next day, I leave the spinach out and add it in right before eating.  I adore this dish!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Posted on by aurorameyer

This easy meal takes less than a half an hour including cooking time. It’s perfect for one of those rushed, weekday meals.

Ingredients:
6 ounces ground turkey breast
4 green or red peppers
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup shredded carrot
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup minced onion (red or white)
1/4 chopped baby spinach
1/2 cup wild rice (precooked)
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Directions:
Cut the tops off the peppers. Take out the seeds and membranes. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, over medium heat, heat the oil. Add and brown the ground turkey. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Add the garlic and onions. Cook about 4 minutes, or until the onion in translucent and the garlic fragrant. Add the cooked rice, carrot, spinach. Heat through. Stuff the mixture into the peppers. Add stuffed peppers to an oven safe dish (we used a bread loaf pan). Cover with foil and cook 15 minutes. Remove foil and cook five more minutes.

My Opinion:
This dish was easy, filling and delicious. The only thing I’ll change is next time, I’ll add more Italian seasoning. The meat was well seasoned, but the rest of the dish needed a little more.

Baked Tomato Pasta with Spinach

Posted on by aurorameyer


Baked Tomato Pasta with Spinach by Aurora Meyer on aurorameyer.com

Baked Tomato Pasta with Spinach

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • ngredients:
  • 2 cup whole-wheat penne
  • 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon olive oil divided
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 4 cup baby spinach chopped
  • 3 cup diced tomato divided
  • 1 tbs dried oregano or any herb
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup shredded low- fat cheddar cheese divided

Instructions
 

  • Directions: Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a skillet over medium. Add garlic and stir until fragrant. Add spinach and 2 cups of tomato; cook for 4 minutes, until spinach wilts. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup of tomato, herbs, and salt. Transfer the cooked tomato mixture to the bowl and stir well. Add pasta to tomato mixture and combine thoroughly. Stir in 1∕2 the cup of the cheese. Grease the bottom of the baking dish with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Pour tomato pasta mixture into the dish. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 1∕4 cup cheese. Bake until cheese melts, about 4 more minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

My opinion:
I liked the spinach chopped up to give for more even cooking. Do not overcook the spinach. When it starts to wilt, kill the heat. It will keep cooking. Instead of adding everything to a second bowl, I just used the dish I put in the oven to combine everything. Instead of oregano, I used Italian seasoning and fresh basil. Don’t skimp on these, the flavor is so much better with them.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!