I'm still under construction, but please check back later. I'll be updating and adding things from time to time as life and work permit. In the meantime, come visit me at my MySpace page.
I'll be adding some of my favorite recipes here.
Yay! my first recipe to be added!
Rae’s Awesome Avocado Soup 1 small onion diced (or half of large onion)
1 clove garlic, minced (roasted garlic is good too)
1 tsp cumin*
1 tsp chili powder*
Pinch of Cayenne powder or splash of Tabasco
½ tsp black pepper*
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (enough to coat bottom of stock pot)
1 large box chicken stock (or four regular sized cans)
1 cup cream (½ pint)
1 cup milk
Salt to taste
5 good sized avocadoes
2 medium limes
2 tbsp fresh minced cilantro (about a palm full)*
Grated Mexican mix cheese (for garnish)
Sour Cream (for garnish) Add olive oil to coat bottom of stock pan and turn heat on
stove to medium. When oil is hot (it
shimmers when it’s ready) add onions and turn down heat to medium low. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder and pepper to
onions and stir. Sauté until onions are
tender and translucent and the spices begin to smell smoky. Add a splash of the chicken stock to deglaze
the pot and pull up any spices that stick to the bottom. Add the rest of the stock, the cream, and the
milk and bring to a slow simmer. Let
simmer at least 10 minutes while you dice the avocadoes. Place avocadoes in bowl and squeeze lime
juice over them. Lightly salt (keep in
mind most chicken stocks are salty already) the avocadoes, add the cilantro and
stir them gently to fully coat with the juice and salt. Turn the heat down on the cream mixture and
add the avocadoes to the pot. Use an
immersion blender to puree the avocadoes and any chunky bits until the soup is
smooth. If you do not have an immersion
blender you will have to puree the soup in batches using a blender or food
processor. This makes a large amount of
soup but the recipe can be reduced easily.
This soup can be served hot or cold and, thanks to the lime
juice, freezes well. Just make sure to
cover the top of the soup with plastic wrap and press out any air before
putting it in the freezer.
When serving hot, garnish the soup with cheese and a dollop
of sour cream. If serving cold, a
drizzle of regular cream and some fresh diced tomatoes looks very pretty and
tastes good. Serve with tortilla chips
or some toasted pita bread.
*All spice measurements are approximate and depend on how
spicy you want the soup. I like mine
with a kick so I’m generous with the cayenne and cumin. Cilantro is a strong herb as well and adds a
lot of flavor.
Best. Chili. Ever.
Okay, so I still can't cook a pot roast to save my life. While trying to salvage the dried out hunk of meat, I lucked into making a flavorful and spicy chili without it being hot enough to
leave you gulping water. I thought, since the salvage operation went so
well, that I would share it with you guys.
1 3-5# pot roast
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
Salt
Pepper
Jamaican Jerk Rub (I used the Pampered Chef kind, thanks, Leslie  )
1 box low sodium chicken stock
1 largish can (about 12 oz?) of plain tomato sauce
1 can Rotel tomato sauce (not the crushed tomatoes, the sauce)
1 can pork and beans
Using the Rachel Ray method of measuring:
1 scant palm full of chili powder
1/4 palm full of garlic powder
1 palm full of Cumin (I like the cumin, it's smoky and spicy without being hot)
1/4 palm full of Southwest Seasoning (I used Emeril's kind because it's what I had)
Make
the pot roast ahead of time by dousing the roast with the
Worcestershire sauce and rubbing it with the salt, pepper, and Jerk
seasoning, add about a cup and a half of the chicken stock. I used a
crock pot to slow cook it over night which left me with plenty of
flavorful stock to use as the chili base. The meat should pull apart
easily, then set aside. Drain the fat from the stock left in the crock
pot and return it and the meat to the cooker. Add the tomato sauces and
pork & beans (I used them because: a. they were the only beans I
had on hand and b. I thought they would help thicken up the base since
I like less soupy chilies and stews) then add the remaining chicken
stock. Lastly add the spices and a little more salt and pepper if
needed. Turn on the crock pot and heat through. The longer you leave it
the better the flavor.
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