Roasted Beet Hummus

It's the end of football season, the only part of the season that I actually get into, except maybe the very start of the season.  Okay yes, I am a fair weather fan, so I hope by the time we get to playoffs there is at least a team or two on my short list of faves still in the running.

You see for me it's not so much about the football, the football just serves as the event.  For me, it's about the food.  I try to keep it in line, just a few choice items, so they need to be good.  I certainly will make some killer nachos and wings, but I also feel I need something in the offering that is, dare I say it, on the healthy side.  What!? I know.  Anyway, this cool looking hummus served with veggies and baked chips fills that need perfectly.  

Now go grab a beer and start cheering!        

Roasted Beet Hummus

1 medium  beet
1 head  garlic
15 ounces  garbanzo beans, canned -- rinsed and drained and peeled
2 tablespoons  tahini
2 tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup  olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Cut the end off the head of garlic, exposing the cloves, wrap in foil. Wrap the beat in foil, drizzled with a little olive oil, salt and about 1/2 teaspoon of water. Roast both for about 45 minutes.

Let the beet cool, then rub the skin off and roughly chop.  Put the beet in a food processor or blender, and pulse a few times. Open the garlic packet and squeeze it straight into the food processor.  Throw away the skins.

Add the peeled garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and some of the olive oil and pulse.  Drizzle in the rest of the olive oil and add more if needed for consistency. Taste and season to your preference.

Serve with carrots sticks, cucumber slices and pita chips.

Pepper Steak in the Slow Cooker

Juggling your kid's after school activities with serving a home cooked meal is not always easy. I see why fast food, carry out and frozen meals are popular, but I do my best not to go there often, so I need a better strategy.  One is my slow cooker. Once in a while I will make time in the morning to get something going for the whole day, but there are also other ways to make this kitchen tool work for you.

If the activity allows about 30 minutes at home before we head out, I like to put together something that will basically keep warm in the slower cooker such as taco meat, or something that needs simmer time.  That's where this recipe comes into play. I've posted a version of this recipe before, but this has been modified for the slow cooker.

It takes about 15 minutes of minutes of prep to get it into the crock pot and it's worth it. I'm not a big fan of putting raw meat in the slow cooker, taking a few minutes to brown your meat such as in this recipe yields much better results. Even with that extra step, this recipe for Pepper Steak can be put together quickly so it can simmer in the slow cooker for a few hours while you are gone.  Then when you return, you put on the water for the noodles, add a few last minute items and dinner is served! 

Pepper Steak With Egg Noodles

Serving Size  : 6    

 

1lb Flat iron or Sirloin steak steak -- cut into 1/8 inch strips

3 tablespoons  olive oil

1 onion -- sliced

1 Clove  garlic -- pressed

salt and pepper to taste

1/8 cup red wine

1 can  beef broth

2 tablespoons  Worcestershire sauce

1 green pepper -- thinly sliced

2 tablespoons  cornstarch

1/4  cup  water

3  tomatoes -- sliced into thin wedges

12 ounces  egg noodles

Brown meat in oil in large skillet. Add onions cook a minute or two longer, add garlic and then wine. Allow a a few minutes for the alcohol to cook off.  Add beef broth and Worcestershire sauce to meat. Move all to the slow cooker. Add the green pepper strips on top. Cover and set slow cooker on low for about 2 1/2 hrs.

Turn slow cooker up to high. Put the water on for the noodles.  Combine cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; stir into meat mixture. Add tomatoes. Cover and cook on high 5-15 minutes longer. Cook noodles according to package directions. Serve pepper steak over the noodles. 

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Per Serving: 422 Calories; 13g Fat (26.9% calories from fat); 26g Protein; 51g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 98mg Cholesterol; 501mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 3 Grain(Starch); 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

This dish started out as a quick easy meal for a busy night.  Some chicken broth, frozen tortellini, onions, carrots, spinach, throw in some crusty bread and you've got dinner.  You know that's all fine and good, and while canned chicken broth may do in a pinch, I've gotten to the point where it wont do at all.  If you have the time, make your own.  It's very simple and is best done with the last of a roasted turkey or chicken, but when that's not what's in your fridge, take a few chicken wings and use those.  Lots of good skin and bones for flavor and just the right amount of meat for soup.

Okay I'm getting ahead of myself, so please don't let my food snobbery stop you from making this with canned broth. It still makes a easy and quick weeknight dinner.  But if you have the time, try it with homemade stock; you may never go back. In that case it's not a quick weeknight meal unless you happen to have homemade stock in the freezer, which I suggest.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

Stock
8 chicken wings or roasted chicken carcass
1 gallon water
1 onion roughly chopped
2 carrots roughly chopped
2 stalks celery roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
generous amount of salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon sage or to taste
several fresh sprigs of thyme
3 cloves garlic smashed

Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion diced
6-8 cups stock or canned chicken broth
2 carrots peeled and sliced in 1/8 disks
3-4 cups fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
6-8 ounces fresh spinach roughly chopped
reserved chicken meat
freshly shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish


For the stock add all ingredients to a stock pot and bring to a low boil, turn down heat to low an allow to simmer.  After about 1 1/2 hours use a slotted spoon to pull out the chicken pieces,  Remove the meat and store it in the refrigerator for later.  Return everything else back to the pot.  Simmer a few hours longer.  Use a fine mesh strainer to strain the stock into another pot for the soup or to a large container for storage.  Discard all the material in the strainer. If you have time this is the best method because once the stock has cooled you can go back in and skim the solidified fat from the surface.

For the soup, in a large stock pot, saute onion in oil until soft.  Add the stock.(Note: if using canned broth add some sage, thyme, garlic etc to pump up the
flavor a bit). Add the carrots and bring to a boil.  Add the tortellini and simmer until the tortellini are done.  Add the spinach and chicken meat.  Once the spinach is limp turn off heat.  Let set until ready to serve.  Garnish with Parmesan and serve with some crusty bread,