White Bean and Ham Soup

We picked up a new toy for the kitchen this weekend, something that Matt has been thinking about and researching for a little while.

It's a Breville Fast Slow Cooker. What the heck does that mean? Well, it's a slow cooker, but also a pressure cooker, and a steamer, plus it apparently makes the fluffiest rice ever. Oh and unlike other slow cookers, you can sauté and sear ingredients in it before starting the slow cooking (love this, no getting another pan dirty). Matt has been wanting a pressure cooker, but I just felt like it was another kitchen appliance to store. He sold me on this one because it can do some many things and take the place of a couple other appliances in the cupboard.

Matt's boss has one and says it makes the most amazing soups, so that is where we started.

This is a pretty basic ham and bean soup just using the leftover ham bone from Christmas and dry Rancho Gordo Yellow Eye beans. We threw everything in the machine, set the pressure cooker for medium and let it go for 30 minutes. I have to say I was dubious about the beans cooking in 30 minutes. (We had a few first timer problems, like "someone" couldn't stop himself from touching it which let out all the pressure and we had to start over part way in.) The end result was pretty amazing though, a rich soup with perfectly cooked bean. We didn't even use stock as the base. So, I would say the first experiment was pretty darn successful and homemade soup in 30 minutes that tastes like it cooked for hours is quite a treat.

White Bean and Ham Soup
We did this in a pressure cooker, but you can easily make it in a slow cooker or on the stove, it'll just take longer

ham bone with meat on it
1 c chopped yellow onion
1 c chopped celery
1 c diced carrot
1 c dry yellow beans (or other white bean)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 bay leaves
2 T chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Cut the excess meat off the ham bone. Chop and set aside. We got about 5 oz of meat from ours. You'll put the bone in your soup.

Put everything except the parsley in your pressure cooker, slow cooker or large soup pan. Add 6 cups of water. In a pressure cooker, set to medium and cook 30 minutes. In a slow cooker set to high and let cook 4 - 6 hours (until beans are soft). On the stove, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and let simmer for about 3 hours, until the beans are tender.

Remove the ham bone. Stir in the parsley and reserved ham. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Makes 5 servings
183 calories per serving (will vary based on the amount of ham meat you put in your soup.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2013 Kathy Lewinski

Chicken and Potatoes in Parsley Sauce

Well, we have jumped right into our new eating plan for 2013. It is taking a little getting used to keeping track of everything, but we are already seeing a difference on the scale which is satisfying. Eating at home is, of course, the easiest and I feel like I'm eating more than I did before actually. What we really have to learn is how to eat out and still stick to our goals. Other than that, the biggest change has been giving up my many trips a week to Caribou Coffee for Chai Lattes and Dark Chocolate Mochas. All and all though, we are still eating very well.

Yeah, does this dinner look like we are suffering? The sauce for this meal came about because I had a ton of fresh parsley leftover after making homemade chicken noodle soup over the weekend (by request of a sick Matt). The sauce is quite delicate and fresh, but a little pinch of cayenne really boosted the flavor. I liked it much better on things, than by itself. I also like the fact it was a good sauce for the main and side.

Chicken and Potatoes in Parsley Sauce

1/2 T olive oil
salt & pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 t unsalted butter
2 T diced shallot
1 1/4 t all-purpose flour
3/4 c skim milk
1/2 t Dijon mustard
pinch or two of cayenne
2 T chopped fresh parsley (or more to taste)
270 grams small red potatoes, boiled, hot

In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts, add to the skillet and cook through. Remove to a plate and tent to keep warm.

Add the butter to the skillet and melt. Stir in the shallot and sauté until translucent. Sprinkle the flour over the shallots. Stir while cooking for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the milk until the sauce is thicken and bubbily. Stir in the Dijon and cayenne. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the parsley.

Serve the sauce over the hot chicken breasts and potatoes.

Two servings. (If you just served the sauce over chicken or potatoes, not both, you could get 4 servings)
96.5 calories per serving for the sauce alone. 238 calories with a chicken breast. 135 grams of potatoes comes in a 100 calories. For a total of 338 per serving.

Oh I should mention, last week I said I wasn't thrilled with the Loseit website, but after the first of the year rush it is working much better. I have to say I really love the recipe function where I can put in ingredients and get the calories for a recipe. This works great for people like us who don't eat much prepared food.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2013 Kathy Lewinski

Changes for a New Year

If you've followed this blog for any amount of time you know Matt and I love food. We love to cook it and eat it. Well, 7 years of enjoying food together has taken its toll on our figures, so this year we decided we needed to do something about it.

Now, we aren't going to go on a fad diet or start fasting or anything. Instead we are going to focus on the basics, counting calories and trying to get more exercise. Not glamorous at all. Counting calories can be a little tedious, we are using the free Lose It app to help. (So far, I like the app, but hate the website.)

This doesn't mean A Good Appetite is going to turn into a weight loss blog. But it does mean you will probably see calorie totals with our recipes in the future and less recipes for things like Mac & Cheese. I'm interested to see how much we eat has to change to meet our goals and what the recipes we already use come in at calorie-wise. (I was already surprised to see my Sweet Potato Curry is only 201 calories per serving, not bad for a curry.)

Our plan is to still have lots of interesting, tasty food to share with you, while we pay attention to our health at the same time. Happy New Year!

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2013 Kathy Lewinski

Beef, Mushroom and Farro Soup

We are so busy this time of year getting ready for Christmas. Meals tend to be hearty and easy. If they give us leftovers, all the better. Soup seems to fit the bill a lot.

This classic soup is fill of umami and will keep you satified on a cold winter night.

We used farro in this soup because we didn't have enough barley on hand, you can certainly substitute.

Beef, Mushroom and Farro Soup

1 T olive oil
1 lb stew beef
8 oz button mushrooms
2 yellow onions sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 c beef broth
2 c water
2 T soy sauce
1 t crushed, dried rosemary
1 c farro
salt and pepper

In a large heavy soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Salt and pepper the beef. Add the beef to the pot and sauté until cooked through. Add the mushrooms and onions. Sauté a minute or two until the onions are tender and the mushrooms have released their liquid. Add the garlic sauté another minute. Add the broth, water, soy sauce and rosemary. Bring to a boil. Add the farro. Bring to a boil again. Reduce the heat, cover leaving the cover open slightly and simmer for 20 minutes or until the farro is tender (it should still have a slight toothiness to it). If it seems too thick add another cup of water. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Serve with a crusty bread.

Makes 6 servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2012 Kathy Lewinski

Macaroni and Cheese with Pickled Onions

Oh my gosh, where did the time go? This past month has just been a blur with Christmas shopping, a minor surgery, traveling for the holidays and work and lots of holiday craft projects. It's time I got back to sharing food with you all.

If you remember when I was last chatting with you all, I told you about the amazing dinner we had at Geranium in Copenhagen. One of our favorite dishes was this Hay Cheese Soup with Pickled Onions and Bread Crumbs.

Matt thought it was a fantasic inspiration for a macaroni and cheese. He was so right, though perhaps it is not as refined a version. This could top the list as my favorite version of our homemade mac and cheese. The pickled onions add such a wonderful bite against the creamy cheese while the pumpernickel bread crumbs add crunch and a toasty flavor.

It is really quite an easy dish to make, you just have to remember to pickle the onions ahead of time. I like to do them in the morning for that night's dinner. The longer they sit in the brine the more pickled they will get.

Macaroni and Cheese with Pickled Onions

Pickled Onions

1/2 c white vinegar
1 1/2 T sugar
1/8 t crushed red pepper
1/4 t salt
1 c sliced onion

In a small microwave safe bowl heat the vinegar, sugar, red pepper & salt in the microwave on high for about one minute. Stir until the sugar & salt are dissolved. Put in a jar or plastic container. Add the onions & stir to combine. Refrigerate covered for at least 30 minutes. They get stronger the longer they sit.

Macaroni and Cheese

3/4 lb spiral macaroni
1 Tbs unsalted butter + extra for the top
1/8 C flour
1 C milk
1/2 C heavy cream
9oz mild cheese, chopped into small pieces (we wanted to use Vlaskaas, a Dutch cheese made with flax, but it was out of season, so we went when a young gouda instead. Graskaas made when the cows eat the fresh spring grass would be fabulous too.)
pinch dry mustard
salt
pepper
pumpernickel bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook pasta according to directions drain and set aside.

In a small saucepan melt butter over med-low heat. Add flour an stir constantly for 1 minute. Do not allow to brown. Slowly whisk in milk and cream. Stir until hot and smooth and slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Turn heat to low and add cheese. Whisk until melted. Add a pinch of dry mustard and salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the pickled onions. Mic the cooked pasta, cheese sauce and pickled onions together. Spoon into a casserole dish. Top with pumpernickel bread crumbs and scatter a few small pats of butter around the top.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Makes 4 - 5 servings

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2012 Kathy Lewinski