Cream of mushroom soup

1 lb button mushrooms large dice
1/4 cup celery fine dice
1/2 cup onion fine dice
1/2 stick butter
2 tbs ap flour
1/2 cup half and half
1 to 2 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste.
Sherry or Madeira optional.

Sweat vegetables in butter.
Add flour and stir until moistened.
Pour in half and half, stir until flour is incorporated. Add milk and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring.
Lower heat, season with salt and pepper, simmer for 15 minutes.
At serving add 1 to 2 tbsp Madeira or Sherry if desired.

Serves 4  one cup servings.

Easy Chicken Rice

Easy Chicken Rice

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup Basmati or Jasmine rice
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 stick butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350
Grease a casserole dish with some of the butter.
Add the rice to the dish; lay the chicken thighs in a single layer on the rice.
Salt and pepper the thighs.
Pour the stock over all.
Dot the top with the remaining butter (if desired).
Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 1 to 1 & 1/2 hours or until the rice absorbs the liquid and the chicken is cooked through. If there is still some liquid after the time is up, remove the foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes or so.

Modification:
Trader Joes (my favorite store!) has frozen grilled peppers and onions. Add a half bag to the top of the rice before adding the chicken. As this adds a bit more liquid your rice will be a tiny bit softer.

Many similar recipes call for canned or dried soup mix which (in my opinion) adds entirely too much sodium. This recipe allows you to control the sodium and fat level.

Can be reheated. Choose the medium level or Reheat option of your microwave to prevent the chicken from getting tough and dry.
Yum rating 4.5/5

Dover Sole

Same seasoning, new fish
1 lb Dover Sole filets.
Lemon, tarragon, flour coating from previous recipe

Dredge the sole filets in the seasoned flour mixture.
Heat a non-stick fry pan over medium heat and when hot, spray with olive oil pan spray.
Add the fish to the pan pretty side down first, being sure to leave space around each filet. Do not crowd the pan. Spray the side facing up with the pan spray.
Cook filet on one side for 1- 2 minutes or until the fish begins to brown slightly. Gently flip the filets over and cook on the other side. These filets are very fragile and will break apart easily so use a wide spatula and flip carefully. Add a bit more pan spray if the pan is too dry.
Continue cooking until the fish is done. You will know it is done when the fish begins to separate slightly, it should only take a minute or 2 more.
Gently slide onto a plate and continue with the remaining filets. If the pan has a lot of flour residue, be sure to wipe it out before continuing with the remaining filets.

This is such a good combination that no sauce is needed.

Yum factor -5 / 5 I cannot think of a single change needed.

Tilapia filets with caper butter sauce

4 tilapia filets
All purpose flour
Corn flour or fine ground corn meal
Dried tarragon
2 dried real lemon packets
Salt and pepper

Mix equal parts flour and corn flour or corn meal in a flat shallow dish large enough to lay the filet without touching the sides.
Add salt, pepper, tarragon and dried real lemon to taste. For a cup of flour (half corn and half flour) I used about a tablespoon of tarragon and a 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, a teaspoon of salt and 2 packets of the dried real lemon. You could use a lemon pepper seasoning instead.

Dredge the fillets in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. The filets should be lightly dusted with the flour mixture.
Heat your sauté pan and add a pat or so of butter to coat the bottom of the pan. When the butter starts to froth, add the filet with the nicest looking side down and cover with a pot lid. This will help the fish steam and cook faster.
After a minute or so, when the bottom of the fish is beginning to brown, flip and continue cooking on the other side until the fish begins to separate very slightly into segments.
Remove the fillets from the pan and place on a warmed plate.
If the butter in the pan is too dark, wipe the pan with a paper towel to remove the residue.
Add fresh butter to the pan over medium heat and add a couple tablespoons of drained capers. If you really like capers (as I do) add more to taste.
Heat quickly, remove pan from heat and stir in about 3 tablespoons of cold butter. Swirl gently in the pan, this will form the sauce so do not heat the butter too much or it will break.

Pour the sauce over the center of the fillets and serve immediately.

YUM rated 4/5

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

2 large eggplants
2 cups spaghetti or pizza sauce
Sliced white melting cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil spray
Salt and pepper
Italian herb seasoning

Cut eggplants into 1 inch thick slices.
Line a cookie sheet with foil. Spray foil with olive oil spray or brush lightly with olive oil.
Lay the eggplant slices in a single layer on the cookie sheet.
Spray or brush the top with oil.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian herbs.

Bake in a 350 oven for a half hour then turn slices over and spray with oil. Continue baking for another half hour or until the slices are very soft and succulent in the center.
Remove from oven, and spoon on a good quality tomato based pizza or spaghetti sauce.
Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Top with sliced white cheese such as mozzarella, provolone, or asiago.
Return to oven and heat until the sauce is hot and the cheese is melted.

A lighter, non-fried version of eggplant parmesan.

YUM rating 4/5

Beef Stew

Easy Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Red Wine

2-3 lb chuck roast
2 large yellow onions
1-2 lbs button mushrooms
1 bag baby cut carrots
2 ribs celery
1 16 oz can tomatoes with juice
1 bottle red wine such as cabernet, burgundy or even merlot
Olive oil
Flour, salt, pepper

Slice the onions.
Brush and quarter the mushrooms
Chop or dice the celery
Open wine
Cut chuck into 1 inch cubes.

Heat the sauté pan to very hot; add a bit of oil and enough of the mushrooms to barely cover the bottom leaving empty space around the slices. Sear the mushrooms quickly to get a good color and prevent the juice from escaping. Once seared, move the mushrooms to a soup pot or deep casserole dish. Continue the process until all the mushrooms are seared and moved to the pot. Drain the juice from the tomatoes into the pot, reserving the tomatoes.
Lower the heat a bit and sauté onions in a light film of oil until translucent or barely colored add celery and continue sautéing. Add the drained tomatoes and cook until they begin to break down. Add the sautéed vegetables to the pot or casserole dish.
Salt and pepper the meat, then dredge in flour. Shake off excess. Sear briefly in a hot skillet with only enough oil to prevent sticking. The meat does not need to be cooked through, however you want to get a nice brown color on the surface.
Add the beef to the pot along with the carrots and half the bottle of wine. Add the other half bottle of wine to the chef.

The wine and the juices from the vegetables should be enough to cover the contents of the pot. If it is not, add some chicken stock, beef stock or even water to barely cover the pot contents.
Cover and lower the heat, cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hour or until the meat is very tender or cover and place in a 350 oven for 2-3 hours.

If desired you can add frozen pearl onions and/or frozen green peas in the last few minutes of cooking.

This stew is great the first day, it is even better reheated the second day. Serve over toast or pasta.


YUM rating 4/5

Good Company Meal

"Creamy" Chicken Vegetable Soup

8 cups chicken stock, homemade is best.
1 can Italian Tomatoes, drained and liquid reserved
1 large Onion, sliced.
2 stalks Celery diced.
1/2 pound baby carrots
2 cups left over cooked rice, brown or white.
Butter or Olive oil to saute vegetables.

In an large pot saute the onions in a bit of oil or butter until translucent and slightly carmelized. Do not allow to burn.
Add the diced celery and carrots and continue sauteeing until slightly tender.
Add the drained canned tomatoes and continue cooking until they begin to break down and carmelize slightly. Add the stock and reserved tomato juice and bring to a boil. reduce the heat and add the leftover cooked rice.
At this point you can eat the soup chunky or puree hot. To puree hot, use an immersable stick blender. If you must use a regular blender, be sure to remove the cap from the lid and place a towel over the opening to vent. Fill the blender only half way to blend properly and prevent a hot soup erruption.

Refrigerate the remainder.
The next day, if you have not already pureed it the day before, ladle the soup into a blender and puree. Fill the blender only half way to blend properly.
Pour the pureed soup into a pot and bring to a boil. Let boil for 2 minutes then reduce the heat.
Ladle the hot soup into a bowl and add stir in 1/4 cup of port, brandy, madeira or marsala if you like.

Serve with warm crusty french bread if desired.

Yum rating 3/5
"Cream" soup without the fat calories.