Baby Bok Choy

Believe it or not, I had never cooked anything with bok-choy before! Red and I were walking in the vegetable area of our grocery store, when I voiced disappointment with the quality of the napa cabbage available, which is one of my fave vegetables.

Then, out of nowhere, Red pointed at these gorgeous baby bok choys on the rack. "What about those? Can you make something with those?" I was like, Eeek... ehm, I never made them before. But of course, I said, "Yes, you're right, I am sure I can whip something with these." And I quickly grabbed two big bundles of bok choy. Later on that evening, I wondered why it took me so long before I tried these delicate vegetables. Hmm... yum!


Ingredients

• 2 bundles of baby bok choy, sliced lengthwise
  
• 2 cups of chicken broth
  
• 1 firm tofu, chopped into 1-inch cube
• 1/2 cup of coarsely deveined shrimp
• 1 tbsp of canola oil
• 1 generous tbsp of chopped garlic
• 3 tbsp of fish sauce
• 1 tbsp of salt
• 1 tsp of ground white pepper
• Chopped green onions
• Fried shallot for garnish

Directions

• Saute the chopped garlic in canola oil until soft and slightly browned in medium heat.
• Add the sliced bok choy, and add 2 cups of chicken broth. Turn up the heat to HIGH. Leave covered for about 2 mins.
  
• Flip vegetables to the other side. Keep covered for another 2 mins.
• Turn heat to medium.
  
• Add shrimp, tofu, fish sauce, salt, and white pepper. Let it sit for about 10 mins, covered. Turn down the heat.
• Fold in the green onions.
• Sprinkle fried shallots before serving.

Mexican Chicken Soup

We had some leftover of veggies in the frig, so when we saw this soup recipe on one of Ina Garten's cookbooks and thought we should give it a try! This is very similar to what everyone probably recognizes as "Chicken Tortilla Soup". I personally prefer soups that are not cream-based, like chowder, or chunky soup with some sort of thickening agents. I like the lighter type like this one. I'm okay with a little bit of heavy cream or half and half, but I don't want anything too heavy.

We really enjoyed the flavoring, but Red and I thought that it needed more veggies, so we added a can of sweet corn to give it a little bit more chunks. We also skipped the sour cream & tortilla topping to make it a little bit lighter. I highly recommend the fresh cilantro though, since it really gave the "wow" flavor and aroma. This was filed as keeper. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
• Good olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)
• 1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
• 2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
• 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 1/2 quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed
• 2 to 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional
• 6 (6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas

Directions

For serving: sliced avocado, sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts skin side up on a sheet pan. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until done. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. Cover and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 tablespoon salt (depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock), 1 teaspoon pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Cut the tortillas in 1/2, then cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and broken tortilla chips.

Note: This dish also freezes wonderfully! This makes approximately 6-8 servings, so I froze half of the soup for quick lunches in the future.