Recipe Review from 9/28/09

Woot! I feel like I've hit the jackpot lately in the cooking department. I had another couple of noteable successes this past week and all were very quick to assemble. Within 30-40 minutes give or take.

The most noteable changes I made were to the soup. I used Swiss Chard instead of Kale; I used dried soldier beans instead of canned cannelli as I had some to use up; I would have liked to have added some kielbasa to the soup, but my kielbasa was still in my folks freezer (they were storing our venision for us) and I kept forgetting to grab it when I was over. I have since brought some back...

I also made some changes to the couscous recipe, but I've listed those below so they wouldn't get lost.


Two Bean Soup with Swiss Chard (Ckng Lght, Oct 09)
This hearty vegetarian soup warms up chilly nights. Use any type of canned beans you happen to have on hand, and add rotisserie chicken or Italian sausage for a heftier dish, if you prefer.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups)

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery (I used Swiss Chard stems)
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups organic vegetable broth (such as Emeril's), divided
7 cups stemmed, chopped kale (about 1 bunch) (I used 3 cups chopped Swiss Chard leaves)
2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added cannellini beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

Preparation
1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, carrot, and celery, and sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in 3 cups vegetable broth and kale. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until kale is crisp-tender.

2. Place half of cannellini beans and remaining 1 cup vegetable broth in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Add pureed bean mixture, remaining cannellini beans, black beans, and pepper to soup. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, vinegar, and rosemary.



Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce (Ckng Lght, Oct 09)
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 breast half and 1 tablespoon sauce)

**I suggest doubling the sauce recipe - 1 tbsp sauce just wasn't enough IMO.

Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I used 3 as that's what comes in a pkg)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers, drained
3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

Preparation
1. Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; pound to an even thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish; dredge chicken in flour.

2. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes. Turn chicken over. Add broth, juice, and capers; reduce heat to medium, and simmer 3 minutes, basting chicken occasionally with sauce. Sprinkle with parsley; cook 1 minute. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

3. Bring sauce to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick. Serve over chicken.



Couscous Pilaf (Ckng Lght, Oct 09)
This versatile side dish pairs well with most any entrée.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup)

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup uncooked couscous
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Preparation
1. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 7 minutes.

2. While vegetables cook, bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Stir in onion mixture, salt, and black pepper. Sprinkle with nuts.

My notes: I used 1 cup israeli couscous to 1 1/4 cup water; I sauted the vegetables 5 minutes, added the water, and brought to a boil. Add the couscous and simmer, covered until water was mostly absorbed. Turn off heat, cover tightly and let stand until rest of dinner is ready or at least 5 minutes. Fluff and serve. This makes the recipe a one pot dish.