Month: April 2020

Chicken Soup and some Sadness

On By Rob GIn Close to Home, RecipeLeave a comment

I was expecting to write a few posts over the weekend. I had an idea for some light-hearted stuff, including some music I had been listening to on Friday night and my challenges to finding the creative side that I once had. But Saturday morning, I discovered some sad news. Not anything new. It was old news, but new to me, so that put me in a sad place. I didn’t want to go out and about supporting the local small businesses. I didn’t want to go anywhere. Social distancing was easy, since I just wanted to stay inside with no music, no television, no computer, no noise.

I did go out Sunday morning to get some groceries. I bought an already cooked rotisserie chicken and some bolillo rolls. I took the meat off the chicken and made a broth from the bones. I’ve been having some chicken sandwiches for the last couple of days, but tonight I decided to make some soup. I didn’t buy all the ingredients I should have in advance for making a soup, so this unfortunately is without carrots and celery.

I started everything off with 2 medium sized onions that I diced. I put it in a big pot with about a tablespoon of olive oil and put the temperature on high. I let this cook for about 3 minutes. The onions weren’t at the stage of turning translucent, but I didn’t need that.

I chopped up four medium size potatoes and added those to the onions. I stirred those around for about a minute, and then added four cups of chicken broth (I used the chicken broth I had already made). I used enough broth to make sure the potatoes were covered. I continued to stir until the broth came to a boil, then I loosely covered with a lid and let it boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Next, I turned the heat to medium and added 6 more cups of chicken broth, about 1 1/2 cups of shredded chicken, 1 Tablespoon of dried parsley flakes, 1/4 teaspoon of cumin, 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid, 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric. I was eyeballing all of those, so that is my best guess estimate of the measurements.

I continued to let this cook on medium heat for another 15 minutes and then turned the heat to low, since it was ready to eat. The aroma was really nice.

The flavor of this soup was really good. Even though it was just chicken, potatoes, onions, and seasonings, it was just what I needed. The chicken tasted great, the broth was nice and soothing, especially with the hint of spiciness from the garlic and ginger. I’m glad I made a big batch, since this will be my meals for the next couple of days. A relatively healthy meal, and not too heavy. Something good with all of the eating I’ve been doing recently.

I’d like to say that having this soup helped really put me into a positive frame of mind, but it didn’t. I enjoyed eating it, but sometimes you just have to sort through the sadness and all the things that come with it. When it’s time for the positives to shine through, they will. For now, I’ll try to focus on the positives and hope to have a good outlook for this weekend, and maybe share some more posts about what I did, what I ate, or what I made. Be safe.

Getting Creative with Leftovers – 04/02/20

On By Rob GIn Close to Home, RecipeLeave a comment

This past Sunday, I made four meats and a smile. That was a dish that included rice, peas, kidney beans, onions, and four types of meat. The smile came from my face when I was eating it.

Since I knew I would not be leaving the house during the work week, I made enough to have as lunch and dinner leftovers. Now, as much as I enjoy eating these leftovers, it can get a little monotonous. Even if you mix it up with different sauces or cheeses, the basics are still the basics. I know I’ll be eating them for at least lunch tomorrow (and possibly dinner again), so I decided that I would switch things up just a little for dinner tonight.

I took a small portion of rice and a small portion of the meat mixture and put in a bowl. I added two eggs, about a tablespoon of milk, and a handful of cheese, and mixed it all together. I have a small non-stick frying pan, so after that was heated up, I put the mixture in there. I stirred it around for a couple of minutes, almost like scrambled eggs, but I stopped stirring once the the eggs were no longer runny. I put a lid on it and let it sit for another couple of minutes. When stirring, it’s important to make sure that nothing is sticking to the pan. The eggs might be sticky at first, but once they start cooking on the bottom, they should be okay (depending on your pan).

I took a peek and the eggs were completely cooked on top. My dad’s usually does this Spanish tortilla style, and the trick is to then flip this over and cook the top, but I wanted to have one side crispy and one side soft.

I know that I am biased, but it looks like a thing of beauty to me. I didn’t really expect it to come out in one piece with the coloring that I was hoping for.

Biting into this, I was glad that I made it. The rice and meat mixture were really transformed, so I felt like I was eating an entirely different meal. I think the milk made it a little fluffier, so I had the nice light inside and the crispy outside.

This was a fun way for me to do something different with leftovers. It felt like I had something new, so my tastebuds were happy. A great way to Stay Positive!