Fun with Food

Thought I would do a post on some new recipes I tried out over the last couple of days. Hope you will try them and let me know your thoughts on them:

The first recipe is for a vegetable soup. You can add additional vegetables and/or not use some of the ones listed below.

Ingredients
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1 medium onion(s), diced
2 medium carrot(s), diced
1 medium sweet red pepper(s), diced
1 medium stalk(s) celery, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
2 cup(s) green cabbage, shredded
2 cup(s) cauliflower, small florets
2 cup(s) broccoli, small florets
2 tsp thyme, fresh, chopped
6 cup(s) vegetable broth
2 Tbsp parsley, or chives, fresh, chopped
1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste (to give it more kick, I used crushed red pepper)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, optional

Instructions
Put garlic, vegetables, thyme and broth into a large soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer, partly covered, about 10 minutes. Stir in parsley or chives; season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

I made mine in the slow cooker and let it cook all day. Here’s a picture of how it turned out:

vegetable soup

The other recipe I tried today was Chinese Pineapple Chicken with Black Bean Sauce.

ingrediants:
4 medium scallions, chopped (green and white parts)
1 tbsp ginger root, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 pound uncooked, boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
20 oz canned pineapple tidbits, packed in juice (I used a fresh pineapple and put in food processor)
1/4 cup black bean sauce (in the asian food section at the grocery store)
2 cups cooked rice (optional) (I did not put it over the rice – trying to cut out carbs)

instructions:
coat skillet with cooking spray and place over med-high heat. Add scallions, ginger and garlic and cook until soft (about 3 min). Add chicken and cook until lightly browned on all sides. Add pineapple, with the juice, and black bean sauce to skillet. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about 5 more minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice (optional).

Here’s how mine turned out, with a nice healthy salad:

Chinese Pineapple Chicken with Black Bean Sauce

Bon Appetit!