Spicy Sausage and Potato Soup

One of my hubby's favorite soups is Zuppa Toscana from Olive Garden, and after making a low fat Potato Leek Soup a few weeks ago, I thought I would merge the two recipes and the result was super yummy!!! The cheese I used is an Edam cheese I found at the local German Meat Market, but almost any cheese will work. Adding chopped kale just before serving would be a good addition as well.

Spicy Sausage and Potato Soup

1 lb spicy bulk sausage

2 med onion sliced

2 ½ lb potatoes, diced

Olive oil

1 Tbs butter

Cayenne pepper

White pepper

Edam cheese

Chicken bouillon

6 cups water

In a large pot or Dutch oven, brown sausage in a little olive oil, until crumbled and cooked through. Remove to paper towel lined plate, refridgerate.

In same pot, add a tablespoon or two of olive oil, butter and onion. Cook on low until onion is soft and translucent. Use this time to peel and dice potatoes.

When onion is done, add water, diced potatoes, cayenne, white pepper and bouillon. Heat on high to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes until potatoes are soft.

Remove half of mixture from pot and puree in a blender with a little broth, return to pot with sausage. Heat another 10 minutes.

Serve with cheese.

Shredded Pork Tamale Pie

Okay, so I didn't make the tomatillo sauce and chiptole mashed potatoes today, instead I made tamale pie! This is very inexpensive to make, the Ro*tel is the most expensive ingredient at $.98+ a can. Total I'd say it cost between $3-5 to make and it can feed 4-8 people depending upon the portion size. This was my first time to make it and I altered the original recipe enough to warrant typing it up here. It came out super moist and spicy. If you don't like as much spice cut down or eliminate the cayenne. It was so yummy it's going to become a regular meal in my home.

Here's how I made it:

2-3 cups shredded pork
1 cup corn meal
1/2 cup milk
2 cups frozen corn
1 can Ro*tel
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
pinch of cayenne pepper to taste
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups water
Butter spray
1/2-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or any kind you like)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a pot, large sauce pan or skillet with deep sides, combine corn meal, milk, corn, Ro*tel, eggs, chili powder, cayenne pepper and salt. Cook over medium to medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes adding 1/4 cup water each time the mixture starts to get really thick and dough-like. There will be a small amount that will burn on the bottom of the pan, don't worry about this.

My pork was sitting in the fridge overnight so I reheated it in a small saucepan with 1/2 c water while I was stirring the corn meal mixture. The last few minutes of cooking I added the shredded pork to the corn mixture along with the water from the pan and stirred until combined and dough-like.

In a greased 2 qt baking dish (about 6"x10") pour the mixture and level. Bake for 30 minutes (another 10-15 minutes if your oven tends to under cook), remove and turn off heat in oven, sprinkle pie with cheese and return to oven for 5 minutes to allow cheese to melt. Remove again, cut into squares and serve.

Mexican rice or refried beans would be great side dishes for this meal.

*Frugal tip, you can use less meat the more finely you shred it. You'll still have all the flavor and never be able to tell there is less meat this way.

Super Easy Faux Hickory Smoked Pulled Pork

So most of us don't have a BBQ Pit or are pit masters. But after watching several BBQ cookoffs on Food Network and the Travel Channel this summer when I spotted a pork butt (shoulder roast) at the meat market for only $.99 a pound this week I couldn't pass it up. When I got it home I had to figure out how to cook the thing. I've had lots of luck making pulled beef in my crock pot and last week I successfully roasted a chicken in the crock, so I knew that would be my vessel of choice again. However, I really didn't want to add any water to the roast, and since I roasted the chicken last week without water I figured I would do a little experiment and put the pork butt in dry and see how it turned out. I have to say it is perfect! Now I've never been a big pork fan but this is really good. Here's how I did it:

I sprinkled on some liquid hickory smoke, seasoned the pork butt (isn't that just fun to say?) with sea salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder and onion powder (it's the base seasoning mix hubby and I use for all our meat cooking), and cooked on each side in a skillet until browned (this is to add flavor). When all the side were browned I put the pork butt in an oiled crockpot (olive oil spray), added a little more liquid hickory smoke for good measure, and cooked for 10 hours overnight on low.

When I woke up (waking up to check on food is always a good start to the day!) I tried picking up the pork butt with a pair of tongs and it just fell apart, so I tried picking up the bone with the tongs and the meat fell clean off the bone (this was a great treat for my black lab mix, Geordi, although it occurred to me after I gave him the bone that it would have been an excellent way to season some pinto beans when I make refried beans from the crock pot). So I shredded the meat with a fork and tongs and as soon as hubby is done working on the car I'm going to mix part of the meat with some BBQ sauce (haven't attempted making this homemade yet, so I buy various Texas brands when we're out at restaurants) for pulled pork sandwiches. The remainder of the meat I plan on making my tomatillo sauce (much like salsa), tossing the meat with it, then serving it with chipotle mashed potatoes (one of my hubby's faves).

So have no fear and give this method a try. I may have to try the same method with a rump roast or brisket just to see what happens. I suspect the rump roast may be a little drier in the end and the fat in the brisket will make this a perfect cooking method. Generally I use a little water with my rump roast then drain before making pulled beef sandwiches, tacos, or empanadas. Each meat (beef, pork, even chicken) would also be great in a posole (soup made of meat and hominy).

A great frugal tip is to look for these cuts of meat when they are on sale: beef rump roast (a good price where I am is $2.19/lb which is comparable to ground beef) and pork butt (shoulder) (good price is $.99/lb). I can easily get 3 meals out of each and sometimes stretch them further. Whole chickens are also inexpensive and I'll blog about how to make it when I try it again within the next week.

Berries and Beverages

Okay so we all know how important water is to our health and most of the time I love plain water, but from time to time I want something more. I love unsweetened iced tea more than life itself but I live in Texas and man does it get hot!!! At times I tend to get a little dehydrated which triggers migraines for me so I know I need just water. Here's a little trick I decided to try when one day I was craving some Kool-aid from my childhood days but didn't want all the sugar. I grabbed a handful of raspberries from my freezer and added them to the water with some ice. I just let the berries infuse the water and they naturally sweeten it just a hint.

Now a little treat later for my husband I'll be making some Italian sodas with some blueberries I have in my freezer. Back in high school I was on the school newspaper as a staff writer and Features editor and on my lunch break while out running errands for the paper I would stop at the local coffee shop for turkey on a croissant and a raspberry Italian soda. It's still one of my favorite meals but since I can't handle the calories now quite like I used to, it's an occasional treat.

Here's how I do it:

Blueberry Simple Syrup:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup blueberries

I cook the ingredients together in a medium saucepan on the stovetop until the sugar is dissolved and the berries have mostly burst. Drain the mixture with a mesh colander to catch the blueberries. I store the syrup in a mason jar in the fridge for up to a month (although it never lasts that long!).

Italian Soda
8 oz Carbonated water
Ice
4 Tbs Blueberry syrup (more or less to taste)

Over the ice, I pour the syrup followed by the carbonated water (I prefer seltzer water, my husband likes tonic water). To make this a French soda add a little milk or half-and-half.

Some frugal tips for you:
*If you don't like the taste of tap water, try an under sink water filter which eliminates about 99% of impurities in tap water. Since we have poor quality water where we live we further filter the water in a Brita system and the water tastes clean and crisp after the dual filtering.

*This simple syrup works great for other dishes too. Try it on pancakes or waffles for breakfast and pound cake for dessert. Also make the simple syrup with only the sugar and water to add to tea or kool-aid and eliminate sugar granuals in the bottom of the pitcher. Hmmm... thinking about it, the fruit syrup would be very yummy with iced tea too!

Au Jus

French dip sandwiches are one of my all time favorites. I make them at home from time to time but in an effort to cut down on our grocery bill I thought I'd try to make the Au Jus myself. I tried looking online for a simple recipe using just beef stock but didn't have much luck, so I winged it with some ideas I got from looking at various recipes, and it turned out wonderful!!! A friend did mention that Au Jus no matter how you make it is hard to mess up, but I'm very happy with the results I got.

Au Jus

3 cups water
3 reduced sodium beef bouillon cubes
1 tsp cornstarch (you can use a little more or omit)
1 tsp Kitchen Bouquet (browning sauce)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Heat until boiling, add sliced roast beef (I just used deli roast beef) and cook until meat is heated through about 1-2 minutes. I'll make a French dip sandwich with the roast beef and either Provolone or Baby Swiss on a toasted French baguette or Mexican bolillo bread.

Orangeade

Winter is orange season in Texas and I've been buying them up by the bag every chance I get. Unfortunately hubby and I don't always get them all eaten before they start to go soft. So tonight I made some orangeade that my dear friend Lupita taught me how to make from her days growing up in Central Mexico. When she comes over to cook with me she always heads straight for my fridge to see what citrus I have on hand to make this wonderful beverage. We use any citrus on hand and combining them is always an adventure for the taste buds and takes me back to my childhood days of 5 Alive. Remember that??? Anyway, I digress...



Orangeade (or any kind of Citrusade)

8-12 oranges (lemons, limes or grapefruit work as well)
1 cup sugar
2 quarts of water

This is almost exactly like making a pitcher of Kool-Aid only you're using fresh juice instead. Juice the oranges into a pitcher, add the sugar and stir. Gradually add water stirring as you go until sugar is dissolved.

A couple of tips for you, first I cut the oranges into quarters to make juicing easier, second if you have a hard time getting sugar to dissolve try making a simple syrup of 1 cup sugar and 1/2 water (the ratio for a simple syrup is always 2 parts sugar to 1 part water), cook in a sauce pan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Then add to fresh squeezed juice and remaining water, stir and serve over ice.

A bit of trivia for you as well. Texas produces very sweet, juicy oranges and grapefruit from October to May. They are grown in the Rio Grande Valley along the Texas/Mexico border. The warm, humid South Texas climate produces an orange that is lighter in color with a thinner peel than oranges from California, Arizona or Florida.

Spicy Chicken and Rice Soup

I have a sinus infection today which is making my head feel like it's about to explode, so that combined with the cool, cloudy weather we're having made me want some soup. When I'm sick I usually make tortilla soup but I wanted to use up some frozen veggies I had left over from the summer and some rice I have on hand. So here we go...

1 lb chicken
chicken bouillon
adobo paste
oregano
chipotle powder
black pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
chili powder
2-5 garlic cloves minced (we like a lot of garlic)
1 onion chopped
frozen veggies (I used bell pepper, onion, zucchini, yellow squash and corn; use what you have on hand)
1 cup uncooked rice

In a large pot bring approx 8 cups of water to a boil and add chicken, bouillon and adobo (I just followed the instructions for the proper amount each of bouillon and adobo to be added to that amount of water). Once chicken is cooked, remove and either shred or dice returning to broth.

Once cooked chicken is added back to broth, add about a tablespoon each of oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder. Add about a teaspoon each of chipotle powder and black pepper. Also add garlic and onion, other veggies, and rice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked.

Serve with jalapeno cornbread. For this I just use a box of Jiffy cornbread mix, add a half cup of frozen corn and 1 diced jalapeno and cook according to directions.