Uncategorized Archives - Foodie With Family

5 Ingredient Taco Soup

Rebecca — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 09:30:00 +0000

You’ve got to love 5 Ingredient Taco Soup both for the exuberantly bold taco flavour and for the incredible ease with which it’s prepared. The best part is this is a budget-friendly healthy dinner that comes together in 15 minutes and makes my entire family happy!

As if that wasn’t enough to recommend this taco soup is customizable based on your own personal preferences and what you have on hand. My default meat or protein in this soup is generally leftover mojo pork or Jack Daniels pulled pork, but I’ve also made it with ground beef from the freezer, leftover rotisserie chicken, or shredded chicken.

When my vegetarian family members have come over, I’ve even made it with double the beans or a meat substitute. It’s really a unicorn soup; magical and perfect!

Taco Soup Recipe

Now people, there are a million taco soup recipes out there (including our slow cooker taco soup recipe!) and many of them are much more complicated than this one. But I’m here to tell you that unless I absolutely need to walk in the door and have dinner ready to scoop into bowls, this is the only taco soup I make these days.

It’s honest-to-Pete so good, so satisfying, and so ever-loving easy, I see no reason to make more work for myself by making any other taco soup recipe! And I almost always have all of the ingredients on hand, whether in the pantry or freezer, so it’s a no-brainer on even the busiest of nights.

When you need a quick dinner on a cold day, this easy soup recipe is going to be your new “old-reliable”. There are so many different ways to make it!

Let’s knock out these short ingredient and equipment lists so you know what to lay by for those nights when you just want a comforting bowl of soup with no hassle. I’m betting you already the full list of ingredients on hand already!

Taco Soup Ingredients

Leftover pulled pork, leftover shredded chicken, leftover taco meat, or ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken
Canned (or cooked) black beans, pinto beans, red beans, or kidney beans
Chicken, beef, or vegetable broth or stock
Canned diced tomatoes (with or without green chilies) or crushed tomatoes, tomato purée, or unseasoned tomato sauce
Homemade Taco Seasoning (or purchased)

Why all the meat options? Because they’re all divine in this soup and it’s awfully nice to have a recipe that accommodates whatever you have on hand.

I almost always have some pulled pork or leftover taco meat in the freezer. Those are my go-tos, but if you’ve got half a rotisserie chicken or some grilled chicken/beef/or pork left, that’ll do the trick, too.

You can choose chicken, vegetable, or beef broth or stock. Again, go with what you like best and have on hand! I default to chicken broth, because it’s what I keep in my pantry.

Canned Beans

Pick the beans you love best. For my family, that’s black beans, but we’ve used just about every kind of bean you can imagine in our delicious soup. You can even opt to make this soup more of a stew and stir in some refried beans to thicken the pot!

If you opt for chili beans, go ahead and include the sauce with the beans; don’t rinse those! However, any other bean should be well drained and rinsed before adding it to the soup.

I use tomato purée most often in my soup, but Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles add a little extra something-something and kick. My household tends to prefer tomato to be in puréed form for soup, so if I choose Rotel, I run it through the blender or food processor quickly.

More Optional Ingredients for Taco Soup

I’m here to tell you that 5 ingredients are really all that is needed to make a stupendous taco soup. Now, you can most certainly go a little further and add in some corn and fancy garnish if you’re so inclined.

I have one kiddo who is not super keen on corn off the cob (don’t ask because I have no idea why), so I just serve it on the side for those of us who love it. Taco soup is also a great way to use up odds and ends of various things from the refrigerator.

I garnish our delicious taco soup with any combination of avocados, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, corn chips, grated Cheddar cheese or pepper jack cheese, fresh cilantro, chopped onions, green onion, bell peppers, pico de gallo, and candied jalapeños and finished it with a dollop of sour cream, plain Greek yogurt, or crema. Basically, if it goes in or on a taco, I’ve put it in or on this soup.

Equipment

Any large pot of 3 quarts or more capacity will work for our taco soup recipe; you don’t need a dedicated soup pot or dutch oven. And everything else pretty well explains itself!

With all the time you save with your lightning fast dinner prep, you can make yourself a cocktail to have before your meal! How about a round of Berry Kombucha Margaritas?

Or whip up a fast dessert! Try a Snickerdoodle Mug Cake {single serve cinnamon vanilla butter cake}, some Churros Waffles – Easy Cinnamon Sugar Waffles, or some Cinnamon Toast Cake!

5 Ingredient Taco Soup

If using leftover shredded chicken, pulled pork or taco meat, stir all of the ingredients together in a stock pot, dutch oven or soup pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil then drop the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve as is or topped with a squeeze of lime juice, plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, or crema, tortilla chips, canned corn, shredded cheddar cheese, diced red onions, green onions, avocados, or whatever else you love!

Notes:

If making with raw ground turkey or ground beef, brown this in your dutch oven or soup pot first. Drain excess fat, then add the rest of the ingredients and proceed as directed.

5 Ingredient Taco Soup

Budget-friendly, family-pleasing 5 Ingredient Taco Soup both for the exuberantly flavourful taco flavour and for the incredible ease with which it’s prepared. It’s done in just 15 minutes!

Course Main Course, Main Dish, Soup

Cuisine American, southwest

Keyword 5 ingredient taco soup, quick and easy taco soup, taco soup

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Servings

Calories 262kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

Soup pot
Can opener
Long Handled Spoon
strainer

Ingredients

3 cups leftover shredded chicken pulled pork, or taco meat, or 1 pound ground turkey or ground beef (see notes)
2 cans black beans drained and rinsed
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles or 2 cans tomato puree, crushed tomatoes, or diced tomatoes in juices
4 cups chicken broth beef broth, or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons taco seasoning

Optional but delicious:

Anything you’d top a taco with!

Instructions

If using leftover shredded chicken, pulled pork or taco meat, stir all of the ingredients together in a stock pot, dutch oven or soup pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil then drop the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Serve as is or topped with a squeeze of lime juice, plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, or crema, tortilla chips, canned corn, shredded cheddar cheese, diced red onions, green onions, avocados, or whatever else you love!
Notes:
If making with raw ground turkey or ground beef, brown this in your dutch oven or soup pot first. Drain excess fat, then add the rest of the ingredients and proceed as directed.

Notes

Notes:
If making with raw ground turkey or ground beef, brown this in your dutch oven or soup pot first. Drain excess fat, then add the rest of the ingredients and proceed as directed.

Nutrition

Crispy Chicken Tacos

Rebecca — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 11:04:00 +0000

Ridiculously easy Crispy Chicken Tacos are the best of tacos, taquitos, and nachos combined! Flavourful shredded chicken and scandalous amounts of melted cheese are baked in corn tortillas until crispy, crunchy and altogether irresistible! This is bound to be your new favourite for busy weeknight meals, friends.

My whole family loved these crunchtastic, crispy tacos. And I was doubly thrilled because it came together in the amount of time it took for my oven to preheat.

You know a recipe is good when someone asks when you can have it again while they’re eating dinner. Such is the case with this crispy baked chicken tacos recipe.

Even better, this crispy chicken taco recipe is very budget friendly! Your taco night or taco Tuesday never had it so good (or so easy!)

You can make these as simple or as fawncy as you like, depending on what you decide to top them with. I love a squeeze of lime, some shredded lettuce, avocado slices, some fresh cilantro, and some sour cream and hot sauce or salsa for dipping.

These crunchy tacos are best eaten shortly after they’re made. If you have leftovers, though, I recommend reheating them for a couple of minutes in an air fryer basket for best results.

Ya’ll. These are so, so good.

Baked Chicken Tacos

Let’s go over a quick ingredient and equipment list for this crispy chicken taco recipe so you can gather everything you need. These simple ingredients are easy to find and are budget friendly.

Ingredients

Shredded Chicken (rotisserie chicken or leftover home cooked chicken)
Chicken Taco Seasoning (homemade or store bought)
Corn Tortillas
Olive Oil
Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack Cheese
Lime Wedges
Optional but tasty: Shredded lettuce, avocado slices or guacamole, chopped tomatoes or salsa, hot sauce, sour cream, creamy chipotle sauce, enchilada sauce, salsa verde, and fresh cilantro.

You can absolutely use leftover chicken in this recipe! That is part of what makes it so fast to prepare.

If you do not have leftover chicken to shred, you can purchase a rotisserie chicken and shred it up. Or simply cook up three or four boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 6 to 8 boneless skinless thighs) in your air fryer or instant pot and shred that.

Once you’ve tried these with chicken play around with different proteins. Taco seasoned ground beef, pulled pork, and black beans are all good alone or in combination.

The thinner the corn tortillas you choose, the better they’ll fold! Thick corn tortillas have a distressing tendency to split when you try to fold them in half, even when warmed.

I’ve had great luck with the Mission Extra Thin Super Soft Corn Tortillas. They’re far more pliable than any other brand I’ve tried and they taste great.

You can sub in flour tortillas, but keep in mind they won’t get as dead crunchy as corn ones do. Corn tortillas get as crisp as taco shells!

Soft tortillas don’t necessarily yield soft tacos, but flour ones will be softer than corn ones.

When it comes to cheese, I prefer Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or a combination of the two for our chicken tacos. It melts like a dream!

You can certainly sub in pre-grated Mexican cheese blend or cheddar cheese or another melty cheese with good results, too. It may be slightly less creamy after melting, but it does make nice crispy bits where the cheese escapes the taco onto the sheet pan.

A word about the optional toppings: these crispy tacos are going to be so crunchy you won’t be able to open them to shove toppings in. That’s okay!

Treat your taco like an open faced sandwich and scoop the goodies on top. It’s a fun divergence from the normal taco eating experience.

Equipment

This recipe requires nothing you don’t have in a normal kitchen already, in all likelihood. One or two of these are even optional depending on circumstances!

Mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
2 Half sheet pans

If you have leftover shredded chicken in a zipper top bag already, skip the mixing bowl. Just add the chicken taco seasoning directly to the bag and shake it around to distribute it.

And if you opted for a packet of store bought chicken taco seasoning, you can skip the measuring spoons, too! Simply dump the packet right over the shredded chicken and toss to coat.

Crispy Chicken Tacos

Preheat your oven to 450ºF.

Toss the shredded chicken with the chicken taco seasoning and set it aside.

Wrap corn tortillas in a damp tea towel or paper towels and microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until pliable. Set the warm tortillas near your sheet pans.

Spritz the two sheet pans lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Brush one tortilla on both sides with the olive oil.

Stack another tortilla on it and brush the top side. Continue stacking and brushing the top of the tortillas until they are all oiled.

Place a tortilla on the greased pan. Scatter about 2 tablespoons of grated cheese on half of it. Arrange about ¼ cup of the chicken mixture over the cheese and top with another 2 tablespoons or so of grated cheese.

Press the filling gently so it holds together. Fold tortillas over the pile of chicken filling and carefully flip over so the chicken weighs down the tortilla. Make sure your tacos are in a single layer on the baking sheet and leave a little space around each one for air to circulate.

Continue filling the tortillas until all of them are full and the filling is used up. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and use a spatula to carefully flip over the tacos. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tortillas are crispy and the cheese that has escaped them is crunchy and deep golden brown on the pan.

Allow your crunchy chicken tacos to rest for 3 minutes before serving. The tacos will continue to crisp up as they cool.

Squeeze a little fresh lime juice over the tacos as you serve them. Serve with your favourite taco toppings!

Crispy Chicken Tacos

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American, Latin American, Mexican

Keyword baked chicken tacos, crispy chicken tacos

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings to 7 people.

Calories 651kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

1 mixing bowl
1 sturdy spoon
Measuring Cups
measuring spoons
2 half sheet pans

Ingredients

4 cups shredded chicken leftover is ideal
2 tablespoons chicken taco seasoning
14 corn tortillas
¼ cup olive oil
1 lb shredded Monterey jack cheese or pepper jack cheese
Lime wedges
Optional for serving:
Avocados or guacamole
Chopped Tomatoes or salsa
Fresh cilantro
Sour cream
Shredded Lettuce
Hot sauce
Creamy chipotle sauce

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 450ºF.
Toss the shredded chicken with the chicken taco seasoning and set it aside.
Wrap corn tortillas in a damp tea towel or paper towels and microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until pliable. Set the warm tortillas near your sheet pans.
Spritz the two sheet pans lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Brush one tortilla on both sides with the olive oil.
Stack another tortilla on it and brush the top side. Continue stacking and brushing the top of the tortillas until they are all oiled.
Place a tortilla on the greased pan. Scatter about 2 tablespoons of grated cheese on half of it. Arrange about ¼ cup of the chicken mixture over the cheese and top with another 2 tablespoons or so of grated cheese.
Press the filling gently so it holds together. Fold tortillas over the pile of chicken filling and carefully flip over so the chicken weighs down the tortilla. Make sure your tacos are in a single layer on the baking sheet and leave a little space around each one for air to circulate.
Continue filling the tortillas until all of them are full and the filling is used up. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and use a spatula to carefully flip over the tacos. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tortillas are crispy and the cheese that has escaped them is crunchy and deep golden brown on the pan.
Allow your crunchy chicken tacos to rest for 3 minutes before serving. The tacos will continue to crisp up as they cool.
Squeeze a little fresh lime juice over the tacos as you serve them.

Nutrition

Salmon Soup

Rebecca — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 18:14:45 +0000

Salmon Soup is a light fish chowder in a creamy broth strewn with fresh dill that still manages to be substantial by virtue of hearty potatoes, carrots, leeks, and bite sized chunks of salmon. It’s comforting enough to warm you from the inside out during cold winter days, but delicious and light enough to see you through last minute meals year round.

Serve this salmon chowder recipe with crusty bread, butter, and a salad, you’ll have a main meal that you turn to again and again on a cold winter’s night. You’ll instantly see and taste why this creamy Salmon Soup recipe is served throughout Finland and other Nordic countries.

In Finland, where it is served weekly by many schools and families, it’s known as Lohikeitto. Each bowl is usually garnished with a pat of butter and a sprig or two of fresh dill and is served with a sturdy brown bread and butter.

Lohikeitto is both easy to make and delicious. It’s ideal for nights where the schedule is chaotic, but you still want to eat well. It’s refined enough to serve when you have last minute guests, as well!

Salmon Soup Recipe

I love to serve this salmon soup with homemade One-Hour Bread when we’re in a hurry! When we have a little bit of time, though, there’s nothing that compares to a fresh loaf of Papa’s Dilly Bread alongside it.

Here’s a handy-dandy list to help you gather up the ingredients and equipment you’ll need for this easy salmon soup. There’s only one semi-tricky ingredient and we’ll cover a way around it after the lists!

Salmon Soup Ingredients

Butter
Leeks
Bay Leaves
Waxy Potatoes
Fish Stock (see below for a work-around!)
Carrots
Fresh Salmon
Heavy Cream
Fresh Dill
Salt and Black Pepper

Equipment for Salmon Soup

Finnish Salmon Soup

If you’re lucky, your grocery store will carry pre-cleaned and trimmed leeks. That makes leven quicker work of an already fast recipe and makes life easier.

No worries, though, if your store doesn’t have pre-cleaned leeks. Simply slice the white and light green portion off of a whole leek, thinly slice it, then thoroughly wash any sand or debris from the slices before draining well and patting dry.

And if leeks are nowhere to be found, you can substitute a diced onion and still have a delicious chowder. It will be slightly different, but still tasty.

You can use any waxy potatoes you have on hand, and whether you peel them or not is a matter of personal preference. I like to use golden potatoes or baby creamer potatoes and leave the peels on.

Heavy cream is the most traditional “creamy” component in our Finnish Salmon Soup, but you can substitute half and half or whole milk. I don’t recommend using 2%, 1%, or Skim Milk, though, as it just won’t pack a creamy punch.

Now let’s talk fish stock for a moment, shall we? I love to use Better Than Bouillon’s fish base. I keep this on hand at all times just to make this salmon chowder.

But if you do not have this, don’t feel like ordering it, and can’t find it at a local store, I’ve got you covered. You can either substitute chicken stock or vegetable broth or make a simple, fast, homemade fish stock.

How to Make Fish Stock for Salmon Chowder

Add up to 2 pounds of salmon heads, salmon skin, and fish bones, a halved onion, a scrubbed carrot and celery stalk snapped in two pieces, and a couple pinches of salt to a large saucepan. Cover with 5 cups of water and bring to a gentle simmer over medium to medium high heat.

Drop the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth lined colander and voila! Quick fish stock is yours!

Salmon Soup

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed large pot over MEDIUM LOW heat. Toss in the sliced leeks, sprinkle the kosher salt over the leeks, and stir to evenly distribute butter and salt over the leeks.

Drop the heat to low, and gently sweat the leeks until semi-translucent and tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the fish stock, bay leaf, and 2 halved potatoes to the pot and raise the heat to MEDIUM HIGH.

Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes before adding the cubed potatoes and sliced carrots. Reduce the burner to MEDIUM heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove the halved potatoes and mash them then return the mashed potatoes to the pot and stir well.

Cut the salmon fillet into bite sized pieces.

Add the fresh salmon chunks and heavy cream and let it hold at a gentle simmer for 5-7 minutes more, until it starts to boil. Turn off the heat and add half of the dill, adjust with salt, black pepper, and nutmeg, place the lid on the pan, and let it rest, undisturbed, for 5 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf. Serve garnished with the remaining fresh dill and chives.

If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a saucepan or microwave safe bowl just until hot all the way through; do not return to a boil or simmer.

Finnish Salmon Soup Lohikeitto

This creamy Salmon Soup served throughout Scandinavia is known as Lohikietto in Finland. It’s a light, fresh, dill-strewn brothy chowder that still manages to be substantial by virtue of hearty potatoes, carrots, leeks, and bite-sized pieces of salmon.

Course Main Course, Main Dish, Soup

Cuisine Finnish, scandinavian

Keyword finnish salmon soup, lohikeitto, recipe for salmon chowder, salmon chowder, salmon soup

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Resting Time 5

Servings

Calories 508kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

chef's knife
cutting board
Dutch Oven or Heavy Pot
liquid measuring cup
Long Handled Spoon

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
1 leek thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups fish stock or vegetable or chicken stock. See notes for how to make a fast fish stock if you'd prefer to do so.
1 bay leaf
2 large white red, or gold potatoes, peeled and halved PLUS
1 pound white gold, or red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
2 carrots scrubbed and sliced
1 ½ pounds salmon boneless and skinless
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup fresh dill finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chives finely chopped

Instructions

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed large pot over MEDIUM LOW heat. Toss in the sliced leeks, sprinkle the kosher salt over the leeks, and stir to evenly distribute butter and salt over the leeks.
Drop the heat to low, and gently sweat the leeks until semi-translucent and tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the fish stock, bay leaf, and 2 halved potatoes to the pot and raise the heat to MEDIUM HIGH.
Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes before adding the cubed potatoes and sliced carrots. Reduce the burner to MEDIUM heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove the halved potatoes and mash them then return the mashed potatoes to the pot and stir well.
Cut the salmon fillet into bite sized pieces.
Add the fresh salmon chunks and heavy cream and let it hold at a gentle simmer for 5-7 minutes more, until it starts to boil. Turn off the heat and add half of the dill, adjust with salt, black pepper, and nutmeg, place the lid on the pan, and let it rest, undisturbed, for 5 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf. Serve garnished with the remaining fresh dill and chives.
If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a saucepan or microwave safe bowl just until hot all the way through; do not return to a boil or simmer.

Notes

How to Make Fish Stock for Salmon Chowder

Drop the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth lined colander and voila! Quick fish stock is yours!

Nutrition

Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

Rebecca — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 09:43:00 +0000

This Chimichurri Sauce Recipe is our take on the classic herb packed sauce that is popular all over South America and is a staple of Argentinian cuisine. Once you try this authentic chimichurri sauce full of fresh herbs, studded with garlic and red onion and hot pepper in red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, you’ll be hooked forever.

Is it a sauce or a marinade or a relish? Yes, it most certainly is each of those things. And it is the best at all of those jobs.

What makes homemade chimichurri sauce so special? There’s an alchemy that happens when you combine scandalous amounts of chopped fresh parsley, fresh cilantro, and fresh oregano with a hearty portion of minced garlic and onion, fresh hot pepper, a little salt and pepper, and set them a-swim in red wine vinegar and good extra virgin olive oil.

You let the sauce sit at room temperature while you turn your attention to what will accompany it, because -make no mistake- that batch of chimichurri sauce is going to be the star of the show. It’s undoubtedly faster for me to tell you what this authentic recipe classic chimichurri doesn’t go with than what it does go with, but that’d be bad food blogging, so here’s a brief list of what it can do to get you started.

Serve this unbelievably flavourful sauce drizzled over pretty much any cut of beef or grilled pork tenderloin, sausage, fish, or chicken breast. Use it as a marinade for any of the aforementioned items or for portabella mushrooms. Basically, it’s amazing on any cut of meat or faux meat in just about any way you could possibly prepare it.

Use it as a dipping sauce for roasted or grilled potatoes or vegetables or meatballs. Spread it on a burger or stir it into plain yogurt for one fantastic creamy dip. Heck, you can put it on grilled or fried cheese or use it as a salad dressing. If it’s savoury, there’s a great chance it’ll be improved by chimichurri.

Best Chimichurri Recipe

There are as many ways to make chimichurri as there are people and everyone is convinced that they have the best, most traditional chimichurri sauce in existence. And mercy, everyone has a different method and “secret ingredient” that makes theirs the best.

But we’re talking about my chimichurri sauce recipe today, and I have a not-at-all-secret list of ingredients and equipment for you so you can get on the chimichurri train, too. The ingredient list might look long, but none of it is hard to source or exotic and aside from the fresh produce, it’s all pantry staples!

Ingredients for This Recipe:

Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley
Fresh Cilantro
Fresh Oregano
Fresh garlic
Fresh red hot pepper
Red or White onion
Red Wine Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

(Did you note the theme is Fresh? Fresh herbs, onions, and garlic are what make this chimichurri sauce recipe so incredible.)

Equipment Needed to Make This Recipe:

How to Make Chimichurri Sauce

You might notice that I do not suggest using a food processor or blender to make your chimichurri sauce recipe. This is because -at the risk of sounding hoity-toity- it’s just plain better when you chop your herbs by hand.

Nobody would ever accuse chimichurri of being subtle whether it’s made by hand or machine, but there’s a more delicate quality to the sauce when you hand chop the ingredients.

Somehow the garlic and onions are less assertive but more flavourful. The herbs have a better texture when hand-minced, too.

If knife skills aren’t your thing, don’t panic. You do not have to be surgically precise in chopping your ingredients; just make sure you mince everything pretty well so all the flavours can mix and mingle and marry and get happy together.

And if you categorically refuse to take part in the contemplative joy that is chopping a bunch of herbs by hand (yes, that was passive aggressive), you can certainly pulse all this stuff in a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade. Just remember not to obliterate everything into a paste. You want to be able to recognize bits of all of the ingredients.

Chimichurri Recipes FAQ

My recipe calls for red wine vinegar because it is the classic choice, but you can substitute in any multitude of vinegars from white wine to apple cider to white vinegar. Be aware that each of those will yield a slightly different tasting chimichurri.
Ditto the juice of limes or lemons. Either of those can be used in place of the vinegar, but will create a different sauce.
If there are slim pickings in your produce department, you can use curly in place of flat-leaf, but curly parsley tastes a little more brassy and grassy so it’s not my preference.
No red peppers available from your store or garden? Pop in a jalapeño pepper or some crushed pepper flakes to taste.
You can thin our chimichurri sauce recipe by adding extra olive oil and red wine vinegar, if desired. That makes it easier to spoon over things.
You most definitely do not need to eat this all the same day you make it, but you should refrigerate any unused sauce in a container with a tight fitting lid and consume it within 5 days making it.

Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

Toss together the garlic, onion, pepper, vinegar and salt in a mixing bowl. Let it stand for 10 minutes while chopping your parsley, cilantro, and oregano.

Stir in the parsley, cilantro, and oregano. Add in ½ cup of your extra virgin olive oil.

If you’d like your sauce to be thinner, stir more olive oil 1 tablespoon at a time.

Serve this chimichurri sauce recipe immediately if you desire to, but it improves greatly by resting for at least an hour tightly covered in the refrigerator before serving. Store leftovers in a canning jar or other tightly covered container or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Eat it within 5 days of making it.

Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

This Argentinian style chimichurri sauce recipe is one of the most versatile and flavourful sauces around. Traditionally served with grilled steak and sausages, this fresh herb and garlic sauce is also incredible with chicken, fish, vegetables, meatballs, potatoes, and so much more!

Multi-purpose Chimichurri sauce also makes a killer marinade! Make a large batch, marinate half of your meat, fish or vegetables, and serve the other half with the finished dish!

Course Appetizer, condiment, Sauce

Cuisine Argentinian, South American

Keyword best chimichurri recipe, chimichurri, chimichurri recipe, chimichurri sauce recipe, how to make chimichurri, how to make chimichurri sauce

Prep Time 15

Resting Time 1

Total Time 1 15

Servings

Calories 179kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

1 chef's knife
1 cutting board
1 mixing bowl
1 mixing spoon

Ingredients

3 to 6 cloves garlic minced or pressed, to taste
½ red onion (or white or sweet onion) peeled and finely diced
1 fresno pepper or jalapeño, stem and seeds removed, finely diced, see notes
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 ¾ cups fresh flat leaf parsley firmly packed, roughly chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro firmly packed, roughly chopped
¼ cup fresh oregano leaves roughly chopped, see notes
½ to ¾ cups extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Toss together the garlic, onion, pepper, vinegar and salt in a mixing bowl. Let it stand for 10 minutes while chopping your parsley, cilantro, and oregano.
Stir in the parsley, cilantro, and oregano. Add in ½ cup of your extra virgin olive oil.
If you’d like your sauce to be thinner, stir more olive oil 1 tablespoon at a time.
This chimichurri sauce recipe can be served immediately, but is greatly improved by resting for at least an hour tightly covered in the refrigerator before serving. Store leftovers, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days but it is best eaten before 3 days.

Notes

While fresh is always best for chimichurri, if you need to, you can substitute about 2 teaspoons of dried oregano leaves for fresh. I do not recommend replacing the parsley and cilantro, however, as the freshness of those herbs is part of the classic flavour profile of chimichurri.

If fresh red Fresno or jalapeño peppers are unavailable near you, you can substitute in between 1/2 teaspoon and 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, depending on your heat tolerance.

Nutrition

Sushi Bake – California Roll Style

Rebecca — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 03:04:28 +0000

This trendy Sushi Bake gives you all the flavour of California Roll sushi with a fraction of the work. Sushi Bake never lasts long whether you’re making it for a busy weeknight dinner or a party.

Sushi Bake is hugely popular in the Philippines and has gained in popularity here in the States during lockdowns and during quarantines when folks haven’t been able to get out and about to get their sushi fixes. While they became popular because of the circumstances, I predict they’ll stay popular because of their deliciousness.

At least in our house, this has become a dish we all look forward to weekly. There are so many variations on the theme, but I want to share a classic California Roll flavour combination with you today.

If you’re already a fan of California rolls, you know the traditional ingredients are seasoned sushi rice, nori, cream cheese, imitation crab meat, cucumber, and avocado. We take all of that goodness and make it in a fraction of the time it would take to roll that much sushi.

How to Make Sushi Rice

It is very easy to make sushi rice for our sushi bake, provided you remember three basic things:

Use short or medium grain rice.
Rinse the rice a few times before cooking it.
Cook the rice according to the package instructions.

On the subject of what type of rice to use for sushi rice, I generally use Nishiki brand medium grain rice. I love the way it cooks up and it is always consistent.

You can use a short grain rice, if it is what you have or prefer. In a pinch, you can make this with long grain rice, but it will not be quite as authentic a sushi texture in the end.

You can also certainly use brown rice for the sushi bake, if that’s your preference. The only rice I strenuously advise against is quick or minute rice. It just doesn’t work in this recipe.

Why Do I Have to Wash My Rice

In short, you wash your rice because it is dusty. It may not look like it, but it is.

Rice is polished in a machine to remove the bran. During this process, the bran is rubbed off into dusty little particles.

While they do take care to clean as much of this off of the polished rice as possible, some still clings to it. That bran -if left on the rice- can make the cooked rice too sticky.

Some bran can also contribute unpleasant aromas to the finished rice. It doesn’t take much time to wash it, and the trade-off is perfect rice!

To wash your rice, simply put it in the pot you’ll be using to cook it and cover by a couple of inches of fresh, cool water. Use your hands to swirl the rice and rub it gently together.

Carefully drain off the water (using a fine mesh sieve to help you catch any runaway rice, if desired), and repeat this 3 or 4 times, or until the water is mostly clear.

I always cook my sushi rice (and all other rice for that matter) in my Instant Pot. It comes out perfectly every time.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can use a rice cooker or a regular, heavy-bottomed saucepan with a tight fitting lid.

How to Cook Sushi Rice on the Stove Top

Combine the rinsed and drained rice and water in a medium sized saucepan over high heat, uncovered. Bring to a boil, stirring only once or twice before it boils.

When the water reaches boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and let stand covered for 10 more minutes.

Drizzle with your rice vinegar dressing and toss to coat.

What is Furikake

Furikake is an ubiquitous Japanese dry condiment consisting of shredded nori (seaweed), toasted sesame seeds, bonito flakes, sugar, salt, and other flavourings (often MSG). It is often sprinkled over cooked rice, vegetables, or fish.

Furikake is sprinkled liberally over both the rice layer and the cream cheese layer of our sushi bake. You can purchase it at any Asian grocery store or online. You can also use our fantastic recipe for homemade furikake.

Making furikake at home allows you to tinker with the recipe and leave out anything you don’t like. We often put homemade furikake on our lazy scattered sushi bowls.

If you truly cannot lay your hands on furikake, you can shred up a little nori in a food processor and sprinkle that and some toasted sesame seeds over the rice layer in our sushi bake. This will be a pretty close approximation of the furikake effect.

What is Imitation Crab Meat?

Imitation crab meat gets a bum rap. People glom onto the word imitation and freak out a bit.

Imitation crab may not be crab, but -contrary to popular belief- it is actual, real fish. The fish is de-boned, cleaned of fat and skin, minced, and mixed with starch, egg-white, sugar, salt, and other flavourings to mimic the taste and texture of crab meat at a much lower price.

It’s a delicious and much lower-cost stand in for crab that is almost always used in California rolls, and we use it in our sushi bake with very happy results. If you prefer to be a big spender, you can certainly substitute in an equivalent amount of cooked crab meat.

If you have extra crab leftover, you can use it in this delicious Crab Rangoon! And you can use any leftover unagi sauce to make Air Fryer Salmon!

What Ingredients Do I Need for Sushi Bake

In addition to the medium grain rice, imitation crab meat, cream cheese, furikake, and nori, you’ll also want mayonnaise, sriracha, sesame oil, and green onions. You may also opt for unagi (eel sauce) or oyster sauce or teriyaki glaze.

While any mayonnaise will do, you’ll get the best results (and the most decorative results for your drizzle!) with Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise. It’s ever so slightly different in texture and flavour and comes in a squeeze bottle with a very narrow tip.

If you cannot find Kewpie mayo, though, don’t despair! You can simply use “regular” old mayonnaise. To get the decorative drizzle on top, just load a couple tablespoons of mayonnaise into a sandwich bag and snip a tiny corner off, then squeeze!

You can use the same sandwich bag trick for your unagi or oyster sauce or teriyaki glaze if your bottle does not come with a narrow tip.

Sesame oil is my fave for brushing the pan for our sushi bake because of the subtle touch it adds to the final dish. If you don’t have sesame oil, though, you can certainly substitute in a light brushing of vegetable or peanut oil.

Sushi Bake Recipe

In our sushi bake recipe, I like a good glug of sriracha in the filling to perk it up. The cream cheese keeps the spiciness from being overwhelming, but if you’re extremely sensitive to hot pepper sauce, you may wish to use the lower end of the amount specified in the recipe.

While I generally use regular cream cheese, you can substitute in Neufchatel cheese if you’re looking to reduce the fat in your recipe. This is commonly marketed as “1/3 less fat” cream cheese.

You can make life very easy for yourself by purchasing pre-cut, toasted Korean nori snacks. These are sold at Wegman’s, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and many other markets.

If you cannot find the pre-cut, toasted nori snacks for your sushi bake, you can make your own! Purchase regular nori sheets and follow these instructions:

How to Make Nori Snacks

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly brush four or five sheets of nori with toasted sesame oil on one side and sprinkle with salt.

Place nori sheets in a single layer on a sheet pan and toast until crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool, and cut into strips.

Sushi Bake

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly brush a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with toasted sesame oil and set it aside.

Cook rice according to package instructions. While it rests after cooking, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan or a microwave safe bowl and heat just until the salt and sugar easily dissolve when stirred.

Drizzle the vinegar over the hot rice and toss to evenly distribute the vinegar. Scrape the rice into the prepared pan.

Wet your hands thoroughly and use them to lightly press the rice into the pan in an even layer. Do not compress the rice too much.

Sprinkle generously with furikake and set aside.

In a mixing bowl mash together the softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sriracha with a splash of pickled ginger brine, if available. When it is mostly smooth, stir in the flaked imitation crab meat.

Dollop the cream cheese mixture over the rice layer. Use a flexible spatula to spread it evenly over the rice.

Sprinkle the cream cheese layer generously with furikake again.

Drizzle the unagi (eel) sauce, if using in a decorative pattern over the top. Do this with the mayonnaise and sriracha (if using), as well.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until hot all the way through and the rice is sizzling. This is easiest to discern if you used a glass baking dish.

Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, and cut into rectangles while still in the pan. Use a narrow, flexible metal spatula to lift the sushi bake from the pan.

Serve with nori rectangles, diced cucumber, and avocado to be assembled by the diners at the table.

Trendy Sushi Bake gives you all the flavour of California Roll sushi with a fraction of the work. This makes the best party food and never lasts long!

If this recipe makes you hungry, check out these other Japanese inspired recipes here on Foodie with Family.

Blood Orange Miso Glazed Broiled Salmon

Roasted Ginger Sesame Green Beans

Japanese Salmon over Linguine

Sushi Bake

Trendy Sushi Bake gives you all the flavour of California Roll sushi with a fraction of the work. This makes the best party food and never lasts long!

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American, Asian, Filipino, Japanese, Pan-Asian

Keyword sushi bake

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Servings

Calories 479kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

Sushi Rice Layer:

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 cups uncooked sushi rice rinsed several times
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon Morton’s kosher salt
2 tablespoons furikake

Creamy Crab Layer:

8 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
¼ cup mayonnaise divided (preferably Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise)
1 tablespoon to ¼ cup sriracha divided (we prefer the higher end)
1 tablespoon pickled ginger brine optional
2 ½ cups imitation crab meat
2 tablespoons furikake

Garnish

2 tablespoons Unagi sauce oyster, or teriyaki glaze
2 tablespoons Sriracha
2 tablespoons mayonnaise preferably Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise

To Serve:

3 Green onions thinly sliced
Korean toasted seaweed snacks or nori
Diced seedless cucumber
Sliced avocado

Instructions

To Make the Sushi Rice Layer

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly brush a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with toasted sesame oil and set it aside.
Cook rice according to package instructions. While it rests after cooking, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan or a microwave safe bowl and heat just until the salt and sugar easily dissolve when stirred.
Drizzle the vinegar over the hot rice and toss to evenly distribute the vinegar. Scrape the rice into the prepared pan.
Wet your hands thoroughly and use them to lightly press the rice into the pan in an even layer. Do not compress the rice too much.
Sprinkle generously with furikake and set aside.

To Make the Creamy Crab Layer

In a mixing bowl mash together the softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sriracha with a splash of pickled ginger brine, if available. When it is mostly smooth, stir in the flaked imitation crab meat.
Dollop the cream cheese mixture over the rice layer. Use a flexible spatula to spread it evenly over the rice.

To Garnish and Bake the Sushi Bake

Sprinkle the cream cheese layer generously with furikake again.
Drizzle the unagi (eel) sauce, if using in a decorative pattern over the top. Do this with the mayonnaise and sriracha (if using), as well.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until hot all the way through and the rice is sizzling. This is easiest to discern if you used a glass baking dish.

To Serve the Sushi Bake

Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
Scatter the top with the sliced green onions and cut into rectangles while still in the pan. Use a narrow, flexible metal spatula to lift the sushi bake from the pan.
Serve with nori rectangles, diced cucumber, and avocado to be assembled by the diners at the table.

Nutrition

Instant Pot or Slow-Cooker Ropa Vieja {Cuban Saucy Shredded Beef}

Rebecca — Sun, 17 Dec 2017 11:00:19 +0000

I love Ropa Vieja but sometimes I just don’t have all day to wait for the slow-cooker, so I’ve updated this fantastic recipe for Ropa Vieja that was inspired by my time in Miami to be an Instant Pot OR Slow-Cooker Ropa Vieja. Take advantage of either the slow-cooker or the Instant Pot to turn out this saucy, shredded, salty, sweet Cuban Classic flank steak preparation. Serve with some hot, cooked rice, a shower of fresh cilantro, and some lime wedges for squeezing and and feel like you’ve been transported to Miami!

You know that trip I took to Miami a while back? This will come as no surprise to most of you, but my awesome roomies (Mary and Meseidy) I ate a large swath through that city, decimating all the Cuban food we encountered with no mercy. Yes, I know the city is full of scantily glad beautiful people -Holy Lack of Inhibitions, Batman- but for us it was all about the food and well-clothed friendship.

I demolished Cuban Hash for breakfast (pulled pork, fried potatoes-and-onions-and-peppers, garlic, and a fried egg). I ate Cuban sandwiches for lunch. We went out to a Cuban restaurant for late afternoon snack with girlfriends and ordered an entrée of Vaca Frita that came with a massive plate of fried onions, black beans, and rice. I love unabashedly meat-and-garlic-loving cuisines.

Do you think I got tired of the all-Cuban-food-all-the-time approach I took to the city?

No. In case you’re wondering, that’s the answer. In fact, I went through withdrawal when I got home. WHERE were my plantain chips? WHERE was my bowl of beans and rice? WHERE was my deep-fried, smoked pork chop? WHERE WAS MY ROPA VIEJA? The solution was -as it often is- to make my own.

Thanks to the “Flavors of Miami” demo by Meseidy of The Noshery and Carla a.k.a. CubanBrit, I left Miami feeling like I was totally equal to making it myself. Using Carla’s recipe as a leaping off point, I adjusted to make it mine and baby? It’s good.

You’ll feel like one of the beautiful Miami people when you serve this, although hopefully you’ll be wearing more than that thong get-up I saw that one woman sporting at the nightclub. I mean it’s up to you, obviously, but I prefer to wear something with a little more mid-section coverage so I can go back for seconds and thirds without it being so obvious. You know, like a muu muu or burqini.

I’m clearly not meant to live in Miami among the beach people.

The point is this; the food is spot on whether you serve it dressed like a nun or a nudist. Ropa Vieja -one of Cuba’s National Treasures- is traditionally a flank steak that is seared and then braised in a garlicky tomato sauce with onions and peppers until the steak can easily be shredded into long, thin, ropy pieces like tattered old clothes.

Ropa Vieja actually MEANS old clothes, so there ya go! The shredded meat is then added back into the cooking juices along with green olives and a handful of raisins that provide a sweet counterpoint to the salty olives. It’s usually served with a side of white rice and a shower of chopped fresh cilantro or parsley. UGH that’s so stinkin’ good.

Cook’s Notes

For the record, I think Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja would be outstanding made with venison. Venison flank steak would behave much the same way, using the long, slow-cooking phase to become tender and shreddy.
You could quite likely use a top round or chuck steak in place of a flank steak, but you won’t get the same long, ropy pieces that you would from a flank steak. Still? Yum.
The raisins in the dish are optional, but if you omit them, be sure to add in 1/8 cup of raw or brown sugar, or sucanat to make up for the sweetness they’d bring.
If you don’t want to use Sazon Goya because of the MSG or because you can’t find it in your area, you can make your own using The Noshery’s recipe for homemade sazon here! Sazon is good stuff, though, folks… and it’s a very authentic addition to Ropa Vieja!
Whether you use the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker is totally up to you. I love the convenience of the one pot preparation in the Instant Pot, though, and it only takes a couple hours vs. all day. Plus, if you have an instant pot, you can whip up this Instant Pot Oreo Cheesecake… so win/win!

Use these to make Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja

Look how easy Instant Pot Ropa Vieja is to make!

Ropa Vieja {Cuban Shredded Beef}

Take advantage of either the slow-cooker or the Instant Pot to turn out this saucy, shredded, salty, sweet Cuban Classic flank steak preparation. Serve with some hot, cooked rice, a shower of fresh cilantro, and some lime wedges for squeezing and and feel like you've been transported to Miami!

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 4 30

Total Time 4 40

Servings

Calories 186kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

2 to 2 1/2 pounds beef flank steak
2 packets Sazon Goya or 1 1/4 teaspoons plus 1 1/4 teaspoons seasoning salt separated
1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil plus 1 teaspoon separated
1 large green pepper seeded, stemmed, and diced
1 large onion trimmed of root and blossom ends, peeled, and diced
4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
1 can petite diced tomatoes in their juices 28 ounces
1 cup beef broth
1 cup dry red wine
1 teaspoon kosher salt plus a pinch separated
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1 jar green olives with pimientos 5.75 ounces or thereabouts, drained and cut in half
1 jar capers 2 ounces, drained and rinsed
1 cup golden raisins If omitting, add 2 tablespoons sugar., optional
hot cooked rice or noodles
cilantro or parsley and fresh lime wedges for garnish optional

Instructions

To Make in the Slow Cooker:

Sprinkle one packet of the Sazon Goya (or 1 1/4 teaspoons of seasoning salt) over both sides of the flank steak. Heat the tablespoon of oil in a cast-iron or other heavy skillet on high heat. When the oil is very shimmery and has faint wisps of smoke rising from it, lay the flank steak down in it carefully. Don't move the steak for 4 minutes. Use tongs to flip the steak to sear the other side for another 4 minutes. After searing the steak, use tongs to transfer it to the crock of your slow cooker. Cover and set the slow-cooker to HIGH.
Set the pan back on the burner, dropping the heat to medium low. If the pan is dry, add the additional teaspoon of peanut or canola oil and swirl, then add the green peppers and onions along with a pinch of salt. Sautee, stirring frequently, until the onions and peppers have a touch of colour around the edges, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes, beef broth, wine, remaining packet of Sazon (or last 1 1/4 teasoons of seasoning salt), olives, capers, raisins, kosher salt, and coarse black pepper, raise the heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Pour over the seared flank steak in the slow-cooker. The flank steak should be covered by vegetables and sauces. Cover the slow-cooker and continue cooking on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
After the time is up, use tongs to scrape anything off of the top of the steak and transfer the steak to a cutting board. Cover and let it cook while you address the steak.
Hold the steak down at one end with a fork. Poke another fork into the steak near the anchoring fork and pull away, down the length of the steak, shredding the steak into long, thin, ropy strips. Repeat until the whole steak has been shredded. Return the shredded meat to the slow-cooker and toss to distribute everything evenly. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature on rice or noodles. If desired, garnish with chopped, fresh cilantro or parsley and some fresh lime wedges for squeezing over the dish.

To Make in an Instant Pot

Sprinkle one packet of the Sazon Goya (or 1 1/4 teaspoons of seasoning salt) over both sides of the flank steak. Heat the tablespoon of oil in an Instant Pot set to SAUTE. When the oil is very shimmery lay the flank steak down in it carefully. You may need to cut the steak in half to fit. Don't move the steak for 4 minutes. Use tongs to flip the steak to sear the other side for another 4 minutes. Repeat with the other half if you needed to trim it to fit. After searing the steak, use tongs to transfer it to a plate.
If the pan is dry, add the additional teaspoon of peanut or canola oil, then add the green peppers and onions along with a pinch of salt. Saute, stirring frequently, until the onions and peppers have a touch of colour around the edges, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes, beef broth, wine, remaining packet of Sazon (or last 1 1/4 teasoons of seasoning salt), olives, capers, raisins, kosher salt, and coarse black pepper, return the flank steak to the pot, pressing to submerge the meat as much as possible. Fix the Instant Pot's lid in place, be sure the vent is in the closed position, and set to High Pressure manually for 70 minutes.
After the time is up, release the pressure by carefully venting, remove the lid, use tongs to scrape anything off of the top of the steak and transfer the steak to a cutting board.
Hold the steak down at one end with a fork. Poke another fork into the steak near the anchoring fork and pull away, down the length of the steak, shredding the steak into long, thin, ropy strips. Repeat until the whole steak has been shredded. Return the shredded meat to the Instant Pot and toss to distribute everything evenly. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature on rice or noodles. If desired, garnish with chopped, fresh cilantro or parsley and some fresh lime wedges for squeezing over the dish.

Nutrition

If you loved this Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja, you might like these recipes:

This post originally published June 10, 2014. Updated December 2017 with Instant Pot instructions and links.

Easy Meal Plan Week 101

Rebecca — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 10:00:21 +0000

Easy Meal Plan Week 101 – 10 great bloggers bringing you a full week of recipes including dinner, sides dishes, and desserts!

Here is the line up for the Easy Meal Plan Week 101:

Monday – Soup/Salad/Seafood/Meatless – start the week off with something a little lighter.
Tuesday – Mexican – Tacos, enchiladas and more!
Wednesday – Pasta/Italian – pasta doesn’t have to mean Italian, so look for all sorts of fun dishes.
Thursday – Rice/Asian – recipes from all over the work that are easy to make in your own home.
Friday – Cocktails! Take a night off from cooking and enjoy a fun cocktail to end the week.
Saturday – Burgers/Grilling/Sandwiches – fire up the grill for an easy dinner.
Sunday – Comfort Food/Slow Cooker – end the week with food your family will love.

Spicy Black Bean Soup – Sweet C’s

Creamy Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas – The Cookie Rookie

One Pan Sausage and Pepper Fettuccine Skillet – Wishes & Dishes

Korean Bibimbap – A Spicy Perspective

Cocktail Night!

The Perfect Mojito – Barefeet in the Kitchen

Persian Herb Frittata – Foodie with Family

Buttermilk Ranch Mac and Cheese – Lemons for Lulu

Cranberry Apple Coleslaw – Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

Boiled Baby Red Potatoes – Barefeet in the Kitchen

Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies – Yellow Bliss Road

Spiked Mexican Chocolate Milkshakes – Pass the Sushi

This week’s meal plan was brought you to by:

Check out all the Meal Plans we have made for even more ideas!

Pin this to your meal planning board for easy access all week long!

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Icelandic Yogurt -How to Make Skyr

Rebecca — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 11:00:54 +0000

Yogurt? Yep. It’s alright as long as it isn’t soupy. Greek yogurt? I love it. It’s nice and thick. But Icelandic yogurt is another thing entirely. Holy moly. I am obsessed with it.

It’s as thick as Greek yogurt and smoother. In fact, it’s silky smooth. It is so filling that a serving of it holds me from early in the morning until I finally get around to lunch. It’s more substantial than Greek yogurt by quite a bit and regular yogurt by a mile. A MILE, I TELL YOU!

Icelandic Yogurt -also known as Skyr- when served side by side with plain, unsweetened Greek and regular yogurt,

is much less tart and tangy. It’s far more difficult to find in stores, though, sold with a pretty hefty price tag by the brand Siggi’s in mostly higher end grocery stores like Whole Foods, Wegman’s, and more with robust health food sections. Targets often carry it, too, but oof, that price.

What sets Icelandic Yogurt apart from Greek Yogurt (or Syrian Yogurt, depending on who you ask…) is complex. Greek yogurt is merely strained while Icelandic Yogurt is both strained and whipped. The resulting texture is far lighter, far fluffier, and far silkier while still being lower in fat naturally (since it is made with skim milk) and higher in protein.

The methodology is much the same as making yogurt in the customary way, but with one tiny little added ingredient; three drops of liquid rennet. That’s right; the same rennet used in mozzarella and other cheesemaking. Those three little drops make the difference between the sometimes grainy Greek yogurt and the ethereally smooth Icelandic yogurt.

The process is quite easy.

How to Make Icelandic Yogurt or Siggi’s CopyCat:

1. 1. 1. Bring the milk up to a high temperature, then let it slowly lower to 110°F. Stir some of the warm milk into leftover Icelandic Yogurt or some store bought vanilla or plain Siggi’s yogurt or Skyr. Stir that into the pot of warm milk, then add the three drops of rennet stirred into cool, chlorine free water and stir that in. Let it set in a warm place for 12 hours, or until it looks like this…
    2. Line a colander perched over a bowl with a double layer of cheesecloth or with a flour sack towel or plain, unbleached muslin. Any of those options is fine! Scoop the curd into the bowl. Don’t pour until you reach the very end of the pot or it will damage the delicate curd.
    3. Let the curd drain in a cool place, undisturbed for between 4 and 8 hours, reserving the whey that drains from it.
    4. The strained curds will be fairly firm. Transfer them to a bowl and whip them with a hand mixer, adding in 1 tablespoon of the reserved whey at a time until it reaches your desired, silky consistency.
    5. Sweeten to taste when you serve, being sure to reserve 1/2 cup of the leftover Icelandic Yogurt to make your next batch!

That’s not so bad, is it?

Cook’s Notes

This recipe -like Siggi’s- is made with skim milk, making it ultra low fat and ultra high protein.
Ideally, you’ll use plain or vanilla bean Siggi’s to help culture your batch. If you can’t find it, use plain or vanilla Greek yogurt as your “starter culture”.
I use one vanilla bean per batch, splitting it down the center, scraping it, and adding both the beans and the scraped ‘caviar’ to the pan.
Do use a non-reactive pan (i.e. Stainless steel, enameled cast-iron, or copper) to bring your milk to the scalding temperature. This prevents off flavours.
Take care to slowly bring your milk up to temperature or you’ll face the dreaded “scorch” on the bottom of the pan. If you realize you’ve forgotten to stir very well over the bottom of the pan or you tried to bring it up to temperature over constant high heat, all is not lost… simply don’t scrape up the scorched bits on the bottom.
I start my temperature at low until the milk reaches blood temperature before moving it to medium until it is hot to the touch, then to high to bring it up to 185°F.
Let the milk drop back down to 110°F slowly. I do this by letting it sit on a cool burner in my approximately 65°F kitchen. Once it reaches that temp, you stir a ladle full of the warm milk into your 1/2 cup of Siggi’s or leftover yogurt, stir that into the warm milk, then stir together the rennet and water before adding it and incorporating it to the warm milk.
Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and top with a double thickness of towel, resting the whole lot in a warm place or simply cover the pan and put in an empty oven with the light on for 12 hours.
Scoop the curd into a colander lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth or a single thickness of butter muslin or floursack towel and let strain in a cool place for 4 to 8 hours, being sure to place a bowl underneath to collect the whey that drains off. While you’re scooping it, remove the vanilla bean.
Add the strained curd to a bowl and mix mercilessly with a hand mixer, adding 1 tablespoon of the reserved whey at a time until it is silky smooth and the desired consistency.
Don’t throw out that remaining whey! You can use this for lovely homemade English Muffin bread.
Sweeten your Icelandic Yogurt to taste when serving instead of sweetening the entire batch.
Hang onto 1/2 cup of the Icelandic Yogurt to “recycle” into the next batch!

Use this to make Icelandic Yogurt:

Stainless steel soup pot
Whisk
liquid measuring cup
hand mixer
butter muslin or doubly thick cheesecloth
Liquid Rennet
Vanilla Bean

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Icelandic Yogurt {Siggi’s Copycat Skyr}

Course break, Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine American, european, scandinavian

Servings

Calories 114kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

1 gallon skim milk
1 vanilla bean slit lengthwise, caviar scraped
2/3 cup Siggi's" plain or vanilla skyr
4 drops liquid vegetable rennet or 2 drops double strength rennet
1/4 cup cool non-chlorinated water

Instructions

Add the full gallon of skim milk, the vanilla bean, and the vanilla bean caviar to a large, stainless steel or enameled pot with a nice, thick, heavy bottom. Slowly bring the milk to a steady simmer over a medium-high burner, stirring frequently to prevent scalding on the bottom of the pan until it reaches 185°F-190°F; about 15 to 20 minutes.
If it does scald, take care not to stir the scalded bits into the rest of the milk. As soon as it hits the target temperature, remove the pan from the burner and allow it to cool to 110°F. Whisk together the Skyr or Siggi's and 1 cup of the 110°F milk until perfectly smooth. Pour that into the pot and stir until fully incorporated.
Use a small whisk to combine the rennet and cool water then immediately stir that into the pot until fully incorporated; about 1 minute. Put the lid onto the pan. Double up a thick bath towel and lay it over the pot. Put the pot in a warm, draft-free place or simply put it lidded pan into an empty oven with the light on for about 12 hours.
Now you have options. You can line a colander with a double thickness of cheesecloth, use a large nut milk bag, or sew a bag of muslin with straps at the top. Spoon the skyr curds into whichever of those you choose, removing the vanilla bean as you go. You do want to spoon and not pour the curd as it is delicate enough that pouring it could break it. Let the cheesecloth rest int he colander or suspend it and allow it to drip over a bowl. You want this place to be rather cool, so a mudroom, refrigerator, or cool room is your best choice. You let this drip for 4 to 8 hours.

To Store:

Transfer to jars or an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. Sweeten as you serve**. You'll be able to re-culture this homemade skyr, but should do so within 2 1/2-3 weeks of it being made for optimal results.

For silky smooth skyr:

Hang onto the whey that drains from it as it thickens. Transfer the skyr to a mixing bowl before jarring it. Beat mercilessly with a hand or stand mixer, dribbling in a tablespoon of whey at a time until it is silky, smooth, and perfect.

If you want to pre-sweeten this skyr:

You can draw off the amount you'll use to reculture it and leave that unsweetened. Sweeten the skyr as you beat it mercilessly in the stand mixer before you add any whey. Then adjust accordingly. Honey and maple syrup are both beautiful choices, but my preference is for dark maple syrup.