Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup

I have cooked chard three times in the past week. Maybe it's some kind of pregnancy craving or maybe it's that I've been thinking a lot about Arizona. (We always had chard from our garden this time of year and so it just happens to remind me of home... )

Anyways, tonight's version (sorry this was written almost a week ago) was definitely my favorite. I tried a new recipe and was pleasantly surprised. Not only super healthy but it tasted wonderful! And was very filling as well. I am usually a "bottomless bowl" kinda gal when it comes to soups but was full after my first bowl and now I am feeling a little stretched out from trying to fit in that second bowl (but I couldn't help myself, it tasted so good). From Martha Stewart. The changes I made are in bold.


Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup

Serves 4 (Really could serve 6-8 with some nice hearty bread)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
• 2 bunches (about 1 1/2 pounds total) Swiss chard, stalks cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces, leaves torn into 2-inch pieces (keep stalks and leaves separate) I used only one bunch.
  
• Coarse salt and ground pepper 1/8 tsp pepper was a little too much. Just ended up on the spicy side.
  
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Bread, for serving (optional)

1. In a large saucepan with a lid, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened and browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, oregano, and thyme; stir to combine.
2. Add lentils, 5 cups water, and tomatoes with their juice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, 20 minutes. Add chard stalks and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chard leaves; season with salt and pepper, and cook until lentils and chard are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Stir in lemon juice; ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with olive oil, and serve with bread, if desired. Ran out of Olive Oil so I didn't use as much as this recipe calls for, just enough to cook the onion.

Jon's French Fries

Ok, so this is not so much a recipe as it is a technique to make the BEST FRIES at home.  Im serious!  I ate so many while making them that i didn't really have an appetite for dinner and its all Lisa talked about for a few days!

Ingredients:

potatoes  (We used red potatoes and they worked great! Next time we are trying it with sweet potatoes!)

Oil- just regular vegetable oil works great

seasonings  (we used salt, a sea salt and garlic mixture, season salt, and our favorite of all... cavenders)

Prep:

First cut the potatoes into thin fry-like strips and place them in luke warm water.  While they sit in the water heat up your oil (you really don't need much oil for this because you cook the fires in smaller batches)  I set my oil in a large stock pot at  med-high until it got to about 350-375 degrees.  Take the fries out of the water and pat them all dry.  Once the fries and oil are ready put about 1/4 of the fries in the oil for about 4 minutes.  You don't want to cook them all the way or give them any color at this step.  You are just looking for blistered skin and a soft inside.

 When you take them out, place them on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels to soak up the oil.  Once all the fires are done with their first "bath" place the cookie sheet with all the fries in the freezer for about an hour, or until the fries are firm.  Make sure to save your oil because you can just use it again for the second splash down.  After your hour is up, get the oil hot again(the same temp, about 350-375) and get ready for some awesome fries.  This time do the fries in smaller batches stirring more regularly so each fry gets fried on all side

After about 4 minutes and some brownish skin they are ready!  Take them out and put the seasoning of your choice on right away!  ENJOY!

Lisa's note: OH MY GOODNESS!!!! All I wanted to eat for the next 3 days were these fries. You WONT be sorry if you make these. It seems like an annoying process to blister, freeze then fry but its really not. It takes a little organization, thats it! So incredibly delicious!

A "Secret" of the Trade

I used to hate to use recipes that called for brown sugar. Love the ingredient, HATE how it always seems to dry up. Now, I realize there are many remedies for this problem, but the one I have found to work the best and be the least obnoxious is MARSHMALLOWS! Even if the sugar is already hard as a rock, just pop a few marshmallows in with it and by the next morning, you will have brown sugar that is as soft as the day you bought it. Just a little helpful tip :) Happy Baking (or cooking, whatever)!

Carrot Zucchini Pasta

This is one of Jayson's favorite dishes from his mission. It's very simple, and a good way to use up zucchini.

I'm not so sure about the amounts, but the great thing is that you can experiment and add as much or as little as you want of any ingredient.

You will need:
Pasta
2-3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Clove Garlic- Minced
1/4 C. Chopped Onion
1-2 C. Grated Carrot
1-2 C. Grated Zucchini (You will want more zucchini than carrot, because it cooks down.)
1 Pint Heavy Cream

1. First cook any pasta you like according to package directions. We use 1/2 lb. of Farfalle and have leftovers.
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add garlic and flavor oil for only a minute. (Don't let your garlic burn!)
3. Add grated carrot, zucchini, and onion. Saute until tender, but not mushy, adding more oil as needed.
4. When vegetables are tender add about half of the pint of cream. Reduce heat and simmer, cooking down liquid into a sauce, adding cream as necessary to make the sauce.
5. Combine the pasta and sauce and serve with Parmesan! Mangiamo!

We love regional foods. Does anyone have something new for us to try? Maybe something from your mission?

A Major FLOP!

I thought anyone reading would appreciate this. We've all had moments like this. In this case, I was making a carrot cake for Jon's brother's birthday. An amazing recipe that I have used a few times. 10 minutes from it being done, I smelled burning and noticed the kitchen was a bit foggy. I opened the oven door and smoked spilled out. I turned off the oven and opened all the windows and doors. Thank goodness the smoke alarm didnt go off since Pax was super sick and finally taking a nap. Bummer. It would have been so scrumptious. Anyone have any disaster stories?

Beef Stroganoff, or "Don't crowd the mushrooms!"

Hi, I'm Rachael, Michael's wife. I'm one of the lucky ladies to marry into the Carlson clan, and mom to a toddler. I also work as a nurse three days a week, so when I'm home I want fairly simple stuff I can cook quickly, and have plenty of leftovers for the nights I work. This is one of those meals that tastes just as good the next day, and really wasn't a lot of effort. Oh, and did I mention it's DELICIOUS?

Beef Stroganoff

(Ready in 30 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 ounce) package egg noodles, cooked and drained
• 6 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped (I also added a little bit of garlic to punch up the favor)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 lbs beef, cubed (you can play around here- I used stew meat which was slightly tougher, but inexpensive- ask your butcher for recommendations)
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook egg noodles in boiling water until done, about 8 minutes. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a large skillet, cook mushrooms and onions (and garlic if you choose) in 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat until soft; remove from pan

3. Using the same pan, melt remaining butter. Cook beef in melted butter until browned and cooked to liking. Mix in flour. Stir in beef broth slowly, and cook until slightly thickened. Add mushroom and onion mixture; stir in sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until sauce is hot, but not boiling (seriously, don't let it boil, it'll curdle the cream. Don't worry about microwaving the leftovers though, it's not a problem). Serve sauce over egg noodles.

Thoughts:

Two reasons this version is my favorite. First, it doesn't use ground beef. You can, and the original called for it, but trust me, the beef chunks make it taste so much more upscale. Second, the mushrooms! I felt like Julia Child in Julie/Julia as I sat there cooking my mushrooms, thinking "Don't crowd them, don't crowd them..." (if you haven't rented it, do!). Honestly, they add tremendous flavor. Don't leave them out. Puree them into oblivion if you need to disguise them, but USE them!

And finally, a suggestion. Don't fear the butter. Don't substitute something else. This meal is meant to be hearty and warm and rich. Indulge yourself!

Love, Rachael

Aguas Frescas

Here's something refreshing for summer! If you've ever had the fruit drinks from Mango's on Mesa's Main Street, you will love this recipe. I usually don't go out and buy fruit specifically for this but the other day I had a big container of cut up cantaloupe in the fridge that needed to be used up. Woohoo!

Aguas Frescas

Blend Together:
1 C. Ice
2 C. Fruit
1/4 C. Sugar (*or more, to taste)
1 T. Fresh Lime Juice (optional)
2 C. Cold Water

Strain out pulp and serve over more ice. Makes about 1 quart or 4 servings. *The sugar ratio of this recipe works well for cantaloupe but when we tried watermelon we needed more sugar.