Ham and Bean Soup with Knoedels- From Zoe's Kitchen

This soup was a staple at my husband's house when he was growing up.  He loves it so much and I have grown to like it a lot too. Plus it is pretty healthy, cheap and easy to make!  I use dried beans because they are easier to prepare for this meal.  I have cooked it both in a crock pot and regular stove top. I will share with you the crock pot version today.

Ham and Bean Soup with Knoedels

2 cups dried beans (I use pinto beans, you can use navy beans too)

1 lb ham diced

1 onion, chopped

6 cups water

2 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

For knoedel (if you are gluten free like me, just leave these out)

1 cup flour

1 egg

1/4 tsp. salt

water

For Garnish

1 onion, chopped

White vinegar

Directions:

Rinse and sort beans. Throw out any shriveled beans. Add beans to large stock pot with 6 cups water. Bring to hard boil, cover and let sit for one hour.

Drain water and add beans to crock pot with 6 cups water. Add ham, onion and salt and pepper.

Let cook over low heat for 6-8 hours.

Turn crock pot heat to high to bring to a low boil. Mix together knoedel ingredients with just enough water to make the dough soft. Drop by small spoonfuls into soup. Let cook until done.

For Garnish (This is what really makes this soup yummy!)

Mix onion and white vinegar in a bowl. Spoon some over the soup and serve! So good!

I will be linking up with a few of these parties!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Fabulous "Not Fried" Fish Fillets and Oven Fries

Yeah, I know I am a dork, but I love alliteration! So here is a great recipe I like to make instead of frying up the fish my husband catches.  I know fried fish tastes good, but fish is such a lean protein that I hate to make it unhealthy by adding all that oil. Plus it makes your house smell really really bad when you fry inside.

This crappie was caught and fillet by my awesome husband but you can also use any white fish from the store such as tilapia. I have also made it gluten free. If you don't have to be gluten free using bread crumbs instead of the cornmeal does taste a little better!

Fabulous Not Fried Fish Fillets

1 lb white fish, filleted

2 eggs (you can subsitute 1 cup milk if you can't have eggs)

1 cup corn meal (or bread crumbs)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

2 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp onion powder

2 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

Directions:Mix corn meal and all seasonings together in large bowl. Crack eggs in seperate shallow bowl and beat.

Dip fish fillet first in eggs and then in corn meal mix, coating both sides.

Place on broiler pan or baking pan with cookie sheet over it that have been sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake at 425 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes until breading is browned.

Remove from oven and serve with tartar sauce or cocktail sauce.

Enjoy!!

Oven Fries

6 potatoes

Olive Oil

Old Bay Seasoning

Garlic Powder

Salt

Pepper

Slice potatoes into fries or wedges. I use this handy little tip from pinterest and use an apple corer. I do usually cut the middle section in half if I use the corer.

Place potatoes in a plastic bag.  I don't usually measure the seasonings, I just drizzle with some olive oil then add Old Bay, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Shake to mix.

Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. Place potatoes in one layer over cookie sheet. Bake at 425 F for about 25-30 minutes until potatoes are browned on the outside and soft in the middle. You may want to stir them half way through baking.

Sprinkle with salt and serve.

I will be linking up with some of these parties!

Have a great day!!

  

Cabbage Hash with Turkey Sausage- From Zoe's Kitchen

This is a recipe that I have been making for a long time. When I was in high school my mother got this recipe book called the New Dieter's Cook Book. Looking on Amazon, apparently there are many editions of this book- I think this one might be the right one!

Anyway, over the years I have altered the recipe- but it is very delicious and easy to make.

Cabbage Hash with Turkey Sausage

16 oz. Turkey Sausage- sliced and quartered

1/2 head cabbage- shredded

15 baby carrots- sliced

4 medium potatoes- cubed

1 onion- diced

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4-1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 cup water

Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine carrots and onions in large stockpot with olive oil. Saute over medium high heat until tender. Add remaining ingredients and 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce and cover with lid. Once liquids are boiling reduce to a simmer.

Simmer for about 25 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Taste. Add additional worcestershire, salt and pepper to taste.

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Thanks for stopping by! Hope your week is wonderful!

Chicken Fried Rice- From Zoe's Kitchen

I love chinese food- I love it so much in fact that I shouldn't order it because I would eat the whole box (probably more than 2,000 calories)! So here is my "slimmer" version of chicken fried rice. My husband even approves! I love this because it doesn't take too long and it fits into my new diet (I will talk about THAT more next Friday).

Chicken Fried Rice

2 chicken breasts, cut into pieces

olive oil

1 med. onion

1 bag stir fry mix ( I like the asparagus or snap pea mix)

4 cups cooked brown rice

2 eggs

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp curry powder

1 Tbsp soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add raw chicken pieces.

Cook until they are 165 degrees F.

Add sliced onions- saute until they are clear.

Add stir fry mix and cook until tender- usually about 7 minutes.

Add cooked rice to skillet and stir.

Add all seasonings at this point.

Crack eggs over top of the rice and turn up heat.

Cook over high heat, stirring frequently until eggs are done.

Enjoy!!

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Carnitas Meat- From Zoe's Kitchen

This is a recipe I started making a couple years ago when my husband went wild hog hunting. I had never really prepared a hog roast before but this recipe is a great way to make Carnitas meat for tacos, burritos or even for pulled pork sandwiches. Plus it is really easy to do in the mornings before work because you can just throw it in the crock pot.

Carnitas Meat

1 pork roast (size doesn't really matter a lot unless it doesn't fit in your crock pot)

2 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp Oregano

1 Tbsp Parsley

1Tbsp Cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 bay leaves

2 cups chicken broth (I usually use the granules mixed with water)

Directions

Mix all of the spices except bay leaves in a small bowl.

Place the two bay leaves at the bottom of the crock pot.

Take the spices and rub all over the outside of the pork roast until it is coated. Place roast on top of bay leaves in the crock pot.

Carefully pour chicken broth around the edges of the crock pot- don't pour directly on as it will wash off the seasoning rub.

Cook on low for at least 6 hours (I put it in before I leave for work and it is perfect when I get home)

It is done when meat is tender and pulls apart easily.

Remove meat from crock pot and shred. 

Serve with tacos, burritos, or nachos (especially good with Fresh Guacamole). The seasoning is even mild enough that we add barbecue sauce and make pulled pork sandwiches.

Enjoy!!

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Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Fresh Guacamole- From Zoe's Kitchen

There is nothing that I like as much as fresh guacamole! And probably nothing I hate as much as "Guacamole Flavored Dip", well I can think of a few things I hate more, but I don't like it at all! I have been making this dip for a long time- I serve it with chips, on burritos, on tacos and carnitas.

A few tips about picking avocados:

If you are going to use them that day, pick avocados that are soft but not squishy.

If you are going to use them later, they need to be semi-hard.

Set them on the counter and use them when they are soft, but not squishy to get the most flavorful avocado!

Fresh Guacamole

3 avocados

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced

1 medium tomato, finely diced

1 Tbsp lime juice (this helps keep it from browning)

1 tsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp finely minced cilantro (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Cut avocados in half and scoop out filling with a spoon.

Remove pits but add one to the guacamole bowl (this helps keep it from browning, if you leave this in here the guacamole will stay good overnight, otherwise it will probably be brown by morning)

Add all other ingredients and mix well.

If your avacados are a little under ripe then you may need to mix it in a food processor.

Taste and add more salt and pepper to taste.

Gauacamole is the best if you let it chill about 1-2 hours before serving, that way the flavors can all mix together.

Enjoy!!

I will be linking up with some of these parties!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Fish Foil Packets- From Zoe's Kitchen

When I am looking back at my blog I realize it looks like I eat really unhealthy! Most of the recipes I share are treats and appetizers that really aren't very good for you. But I do eat really healthy foods too (mostly actually!), so I have decided to make more of an effort to add healthy recipes to my blog too!

This recipe is one of my favorite ways to prepare fish in the winter. I definitely prefer it on the grill in the summer but I am not going to fire up the grill when it is this cold out! I got this recipe from the book Clueless in The Kitchen which my mother gave to me in college. It is a great cookbook for teens and young adults because it has simple, healthy, and inexpensive recipes to help young adults learn how to cook.

Fish Foil Packets

1 lb white fish

(I used catfish, but you can use tilapia or any white fish from the store)

1/2 onion

1 cup baby carrots

3/4 cup cheddar cheese

olive oil

salt

pepper

parsley

oregeno

garlic powder

Heavy Duty Foil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Thinly slice onions and chop carrots into coins.

Roll out about 6 pieces of aluminum foil- about 12" X 12" each.

Place in 3 piles, 2 layers of foil in each pile.

Divide fish fillets into 3 even piles, place fish fillets in one layer on Aluminum foil.

1 lb of fish will make 3 packets- if you have more fish you may want to do more packets.

Add onions to top of fish in all packets.

Add Carrots and cheddar cheese to each packet.

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle each of the seasonings onto each packet.

Wrap top foil layer and fold in edges so it forms a flat, rectangular packet.

Then wrap the second layer of foil the same way.

Place packets in preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes at 425 degrees.

Unwrap foil on largest packet to check if vegetables and fish are done. The vegetables should look cooked through and the fish should temp out to 145 degrees F.

Remove from Packet and place on plate- the best part is there are no messy pans to clean!

Enjoy!!

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Red Beans and Rice- From Zoe's Kitchen

It has been getting chilly here these past few days. I am going to share with you a great cold weather dish that warms you up both temperature and spice wise!

I made this recipe up several years ago when I was a vegetarian and I needed a quick, cheap, dinner.. My husband added his spin to it by insisting I add meat- but I think it is just as good without the meat!
I sometimes use chicken and sometimes I use turkey smoked sausage- both are pretty good!

So here it is-

Zoe's Red Beans and Rice-
1 large chopped onion
1 large chopped green pepper
olive oil
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes (I have used both- I like the diced better)
2 cans Red Beans, drained and rinsed
16 oz. package of Smoked Turkey Sausage- chopped
4 cups cooked brown rice (I usually cook this the night before to cut down on prep time)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Tony Cacheres Creole Seasoning (to taste)

Add olive oil, to large stockpot. Saute onion and pepper over medium high heat.

Once vegetables are tender add tomatoes and beans to the pot. Heat through, stiring occasionally.

Add sausage, rice, and all seasonings- stir well. Heat through. With the Creole seasoning you may want to add a little at a time and test to see how spicy it is. I like mine pretty spicy but the flavor is good even if you don't add too much spice.

Turn down heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

Serve topped with cheese or just plain.

The best part about this meal is it gets better as leftovers- the flavors mix more and are delicious!

I will be linking up with some of these parties.


Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!!