Chicken and Rice Soup

For once Matt requested soup for dinner.  I wasn't going to waste this opportunity since it rarely presents itself.  I had seen something similar to this but I expanded on it.  Perfect way to warm up!  Definitely hearty enough to have for dinner.  (sorry the picture sucks... my friend "borrowed" my kitchen light a year ago and hasn't returned it.... so the lighting in my house is really bad!)

Chicken and Rice Soup
Serves: 2+

Ingredients:
-Olive oil
-1 chicken breast cut into bite sized chunks
-salt and pepper
-1 tablespoon butter
-1/2 cup diced onion
-2 cloves minced garlic
-1 tablespoon flour
-1 tablespoon dried parsley
-1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
-1 bay leaf
-1 can chicken broth
-1 1/2 cups of milk or half and half
-1 cup water
-1 cup instant rice (uncooked)
-1/2 small can sliced carrots (or fresh sliced if you aren't the lazy type)
-1 stalk celery sliced
-1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

1.  Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Place chicken in the pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook 5 minutes, until juices run clear. Remove chicken, and set aside.

2.  Reduce heat to medium-low. Melt butter in the pot. Stir in onion and garlic and cook 5 minutes. Stir in flour, and cook until lightly browned.

3.  Throw the chicken back in along with the broth, milk, thyme, parsley, Old Bay, carrots, celery and bay leaf.  Simmer 15 minutes. Then start step 4.

4.  In a Pyrex container, put the water in the microwave and heat to boiling (like 3-5 minutes).  Dump in the rice and stir.  Cover with foil and set aside for 5 minutes.  Fluff and dump into the soup.  Let it all mingle for a few minutes then serve.

**If the soup is too thick for you, just add another 1/2 cup or so of water until you get it the way you like.

Shrimp Etoufee

Yum yum!!  I combined a few recipes I found to make this winner.  We will definitely be eating this again.  (I am pretty positive I remembered the recipe for this, but if something doesn't turn out right, please let me know so I can revise it)

Shrimp Etoufee
Serves: 2+
Calories:  1300 in recipe

Ingredients:

-about a pound of shrimp, tails removed
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon pepper
-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
-1/4 cup butter
-1/4 cup butter
-1/4 cup flour
-1 cup diced onion
-1 cup sliced celery
-1 cup diced green pepper
-maybe some cornstarch
-1 1/2 cup water

Directions:
1.  In a large skillet, place 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup flour over medium heat.  Cook until it gets as brown as you can get it.  The longer the better without it burning or getting nasty.

2.  Throw in the onions and rest of the butter and cook for a few minutes.  Then throw in the celery and bell peppers for a couple more minutes.  The onions should be translucent and the celery and peppers should be softened but not mushy.

3.  Throw in the salt, pepper, and red pepper with the shrimp and water.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.  If the mixture isn't thickened, take out some of the liquid and mix in a teaspoon or two of cornstarch, mix until dissolved, and then return to the skillet for a couple more minutes until it is as thickened as you like it.

4.  Serve with rice.  We used Zatarains yellow rice.

I'm back... kind of.

Yes, I am a terrible person.  I abandoned my food blog for over a month.  To tell you the truth, it was feeling a little like homework and I was getting annoyed.  I think I will start posting again, maybe just a couple things per month.  The biggest problem I am facing is that after trying all these new recipes over the past year, I keep making them!  So I have nothing new to blog when I am just making the same thing all the time.

My focus has also changed for the moment.  I am now making a lot more recipes that are super cheap and easy.  Now, this doesn't mean gourmet food... and I am betting most food bloggers don't post this kind of stuff.  Too bad.  So if you are gonna get all nuts on me about opening several canned foods to make a recipe... you should probably leave now.  But if you are looking for some cheap easy recipes to add to your weekly routine, you may want to stick around because I have a couple saved up.

Thanks for coming back.... I plan on posting one recipe today and hoarding the rest for later.