2 Day Beef Shank Soup with Meatballs

This soup is truly The Bomb.  It does take 2 days to make, but it would still be worth it if it took 2 weeks to make.  Once you read the directions you will find it's a very easy soup...just takes some planning ahead.

I got this recipe out of the wonderful "Falling off the bone" (Jean Anderson, Publisher: John Wiley and Sons) cookbook.
http://www.amazon.com/Falling-Off-Bone-Jean-Anderson/dp/0470467134/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327819272&sr=8-1

I can't stress what a great cookbook this is turning out to be.

For Day One:

In a heavy soup pot (I used my trusty dutch oven) put 1 pound of beef shanks (that were cut into 2" pieces approx.), 2 quarts (8 cups) of water, 2 bay leaves, about 1 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper over high heat (medium-high heat if using a dutch oven).  Once it is boiling turn down the heat, cover and simmer at a lazy bubble for about 4 1/2 hours.

When done simmering discard bones and cool to about room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to proceed the next day take out of the fridge and discard the fat that will be on the top.  This is very easy to do since the soup is very chilled.  Set the pot over medium heat and add 1 onion that was halved and thinly sliced, 2 carrots (I added 3) peeled and thinly sliced, 2 parsnips (added 3) peeled and thinly sliced, about 2 ribs worth of celery thinly sliced and 1 medium potato thinly sliced.  The recipe called for peeling the potato but I never do.  As long as you wash the potato well and remove any eyes, leaving the peeling actually enhances the flavor and adds fiber.  Do whatever floats your boat.  Now cover and simmer another 50 minutes over medium heat.

While that is simmering, make the yummy meatballs:

In a medium bowl mix 1 pound ground lean beef (I used ground chuck from Silvana Meats), 1 1/2 cups fine soft breadcrumbs (see tutorial below), 4 medium green onions finely minced (the recipe said "white parts only" but I used some of the green parts too--I'm so bad), about 2 Tbs. fresh parsley-finely minced, finely minced garlic cloves (the recipe called for one, but I used 2), 1 large egg, 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. black pepper and 2 Tbs. cold water.

COOKING LESSON: How to make your own bread crumbs using a food processor:
It is so easy to make your own bread crumbs.  You can always be sure your bread crumbs are fresh (no chance that old moldy bread was used) and that the bread was of good quality (cause it's YOUR bread).  Simply ball up a piece of bread (I like to use soft white, but use whatever you want).

Now drop the ball into the food processor while it is on and the blades are whirring madly.

Voila.

Mix the meat mixture with your clean freshly washed hand (the best tool you have in the kitchen).  You will be making little 1 1/4" balls.  I used a "cookie dough scoop" and it worked perfectly.

Line up your little meat balls on a foil lined cookie sheet and pop them into the freezer (this will firm them up a little).

When ready (I had mine in the freezer for about 10 minutes), put 1/4 cup vegetable (I used canola) oil into a heavy skillet over medium high heat, just until you see little ripples in the oil.  Add the meatballs and brown them on all sides.  I used a splatter guard while these browned--highly recommended.

Drain the little darlings on a paper towel lined plate.

Add the meatballs and about 1 1/2 cups shredded slaw mix (found in the produce department beside the bagged salads) to the soup.  Add a little more water if the broth seems skimpy (I added about a cup to mine--feel it out).  Cover and cook 25 minutes.

Now add 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes and their juice, cover and cook an additional 20 minutes.

Finally, discard the 2 bay leaves and taste for additional salt and pepper.

The recipe said that you can add 1 Tbs. raw sugar at this point if the soup is too tart.  I thought the soup was fantastic and opted not to add the sugar.

Holy Moly this was good.

Points:
Beef Shank: 21 pts.
potato: 4 pts.
Ground beef: 31 pts.
Bread crumbs: 6 pts.
Egg: 2 pts.
(I did not assign any points to the 1/4 cup veg. oil because the oil was hot enough where the meatballs did not really absorb the oil and in fact they rendered out some of their fat).

Each serving came out to 5.7 pts. each.  AWESOME.

Tofu Scramble

So I woke up this morning with something prodding me to go down stairs.  Now, understand it was 6:30am and this was my only day off to sleep in in days.  I kept thinking "This is dumb.  I should be snoozing away...why do I feel so compelled to go down stairs?"

I left my comfy warm bed and made my way down to the kitchen.  When I turned on the light I realized that this was one of those God things.  My fridge had begun peeing water...everywhere.  We have one of those filtered water dispensers on the front...it was pouring water like someone had a glass held there...only there was no glass...only lots and lots of water.  And the water was coming from somewhere inside the freezer with a cascade of water drenching all my frozen food and creating a huge mess.

I started grabbing towels and yelling for R.J. (my husband).  He came down and quickly pulled out the fridge and shut off the water in the back.

If I hadn't have woken up and come down stairs right away or if this had happened after we had all left for the day....yikes.  I am so glad the Lord protected us and my house as He did.
So I was stuck cleaning out drenched frozen food today.  One of the items I came across was a block of firm tofu.  The following recipe was inspired by this find.

From "The Happy Herbivore" by Lindsay S. Nixon (BenBella Books, Inc. Dallas, TX)
http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Herbivore-Cookbook-Delicious-Fat-Free/dp/1935618121/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330403751&sr=8-1
comes this happy little recipe.  If you have never tried tofu or if you are a tofu hater (don't be a hater), this is a great recipe to bring you into the tofu light.  I think the author of this cookbook thought this is a good alternative to scrambled eggs.  Honestly, they don't taste at all like scrambled eggs but are good in their own right.

This recipe lends itself to all kinds of creative choices.  I decided I wanted to give my lunch a "steak and eggs" flair so I threw 1 veggie "burger" into a pan that I had sprayed with Pam.  (And yes, the Morning Star burgers were drenched along with all the other frozen food I was scrambling to find things to do with)

To this I added 1/2 red onion that I had diced and sauteed both together (breaking up the patty) over medium heat until the onion was starting to soften.

Next I added some baby bell peppers (4 or 5) that were diced and finally some spinach leaves.

This I sauteed until the spinach cooked down, about 3-4 more minutes.  Salt and pepper were added to taste.

Next I transferred the veggies to a bowl and set them aside.

In the same skillet I added the block of extra-firm tofu (1 lb) that were drained well.  This was cooked over medium-high heat until the tofu released it's water, 3-4 minutes, breaking up the tofu as I cooked it.

I added 3 Tbs. nutritional yeast (this can be found in any health food store), 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. onion powder and 1/2 tsp. ground cumin.  Again, salt and pepper were added to taste.

I continued to cook this adding a drizzle of water here and there when the mixture stuck to the bottom of the pan, for about 8-10 minutes.

Finally I added the veggies back to the pan and sprinkled it all with chopped fresh cilantro.

I served mine with a drizzle of A-1 steak sauce to give it that yummy steak taste.  This was very good.

The points looked like this:

Tofu: 12 pts.

Nutritional yeast: 1 point

Veggie burger: 3 pts.

The recipe stated that this serves 2 but since I put the veggies in it I divided mine into 4 servings giving 4 pts. per serving.







Miso Mac and Cheese

A few weeks ago I found this recipe in The Everett Herald (article by J.M. Hirsch, Associated Press).  It sounded just wacky enough to possibly be good.  I think my kids ended up liking this more than I did.  I think the mac and cheese tasted better the next day when the flavors had a chance to dance and mingle a little.  It definitely was "comfort food".


Prepare 1 lb. elbow macaroni according to the package directions.  Make sure the water you bring to a boil is salted enough.  It should "taste like the sea" as the Frugal Gourmet used to say.  When you drain the pasta MAKE SURE YOU SAVE ABOUT 1/4 CUP OF THE COOKING WATER.  very important.

While the pasta is being prepared add 1Tbs. olive oil to a deep skillet over medium heat.  Add about 7 oz. shiitake mushrooms (2 cups) that have been thinly sliced.  Saute until the mushrooms are well browned about 6 or 7 minutes.

In a small bowl mix together 8oz. creme fraiche and 3 Tbs. white miso

Notice that my creme fraiche is 7.5oz. instead of the 8oz. package it used to be.  You can't tell me the economy is better and we aren't seeing inflation.  But I digress.

Add a spoon full or so of sour cream to make up for the 0.5 oz. creme fraiche you just noticed you are missing.

To this add 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese and 1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese.

I hardly ever buy pre-shredded cheese.  It is so easy to do in your food pro (and it's cheaper and better for you since you don't have to add preservatives like they do when they shred and package that cheese).  I usually put any extra shredded cheese in quart zippie bags and freeze.  They freeze wonderfully.

Now add 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/4 tsp. hot sauce (I prefer Frank's Red Hot Original) and mix into the creme fraiche/cheese mixture well.  Add this to your mushrooms and drizzle some of the reserved cooking water from the pasta as needed to give the desired consistency.   Take the skillet off the heat.  Adjust seasonings adding salt and pepper to taste.

The recipe ended here but I opted to put the skillet under a broiler just until the top began to brown.  Because that's how I am (and it made it that much better).

Yummy!

The point break-down was as follows:

1 lb. elbow pasta: 43 pts.

1 Tbs. olive oil: 4 pts.

8 oz. creme fraiche: 22 pts.

3 Tbs. white miso: 3 pts.

Parm. cheese: (I actually used 6.5 oz.): 19 pts.

Cheddar cheese: (came out to 4.8 oz.): 14 pts.

You will have to figure how big you want your portions.  I wouldn't recommend eating this daily to be successful on Weight Watchers, but for a treat it really is worth every point.





Potato and Kale Soup (with a Portuguese flair)

Last night's dinner was out of one of my favorite crock-pot cookbooks "Slow Cooker Revolution" (publisher-The Editors at America's Test Kitchen).
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/slow-cooker-revolution-americas-test-kitchen-editors/1030632312?ean=9781933615691&itm=1&usri=slow+cooker+revolution

This was a good hearty little soup and the best part was I got to use the kale out of my garden.  Kale is such a wonder gift from God here in the Pacific Northwest.  It truly is a year-round garden gift that keeps on giving.

Almost all good things start with an onion and plenty of garlic.  This is no exception.

The recipe says to add 4 garlic cloves (minced).  I opted to use the entire head of garlic...and so glad I did.

For a quick tutorial on how to mince your onion and garlic easily, see my previous post: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8722981618940340749#editor/target=post;postID=5291094346845203805

Place the garlic, 1 minced onion, 1 Tbs. olive oil, 1 Tbs. chili powder, 1 1/2tsp. fresh minced oregano and 1/2 tsp. minced canned chipotle chile in adobo (ok...I added more like a very healthy 1 tsp. chipotle but that's because I love flavor) in a microwave safe bowl.  My favorite is a glass 8 cup bowl from Pampered Chef.

The canned chipotle chile in adobo is a wonderful ingredient you can find in almost any grocery (or Mexican grocery) store.

I minced the chile and the oregano with my new favorite new cooking tool that I found at Williams-Sonoma
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/kuhn-rikon-herb-chopper/?pkey=ccooks-tools-kuhn-rikon

It's called the "Kuhn Rikon Herb Chopper"

Basically you just "rock" over whatever you want to mince.  Works great.

Microwave all that goodness for about 5 minutes, stirring about every minute or so.  This helps to "marry" these wonderful flavors and starts to soften the onion.  Now transfer this to your slow cooker.  I used the "slow cooker liners" that I have mentioned in an earlier posts.

They are wonderful.  They help to "seal" the crock-pot and clean up is soooo easy.  I almost always use these.

Add to the crock-pot 6 cups chicken broth, about 1 pound red potatoes (cut into 1/2" pieces) and kielbasa sausage.  The recipe called for "8 oz. kielbasa sausage" but I chose to use what was in my freezer, which was 14 oz. Hillshire Farm Turkey Kielbasa sausage that I cut in half and cut into 1/2" pieces.  Cover the crock pot and cook for about 4-6 hours on low (I let mine cook the full 6 hours).

Now you need to add about 8 oz. kale that has been cut into 1/4" ribbons.  I covered how to do this in a previous post:

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8722981618940340749#editor/target=post;postID=5291094346845203805

Cover and turn the crock pot on "high".  Let this cook for about 20-30 minutes until the kale is tender.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve each bowl with a little Parmesan cheese on top.

My husband really liked this one.  Point-wise it was a winner also:

Olive Oil: 4 pts.
Potatoes: 8 pts.
Turkey Kielbasa: 17 pts.

29/8.5 servings = 3.4 pts. per serving.
Add 1 pt (depending how much parm. cheese you put on there)

WINNER.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (A La Bon Appetit)

At our church we are encouraged to bring something yummy to put on the back table for all to munch on before, during and after church.  Our church has 3 basically three components:  1) The "front door" where we hope all in our community feel welcome to step through (regardless of where they are in life), the 2) "living room" where we grow in the Word of God and in our relationships, meeting in small groups (literally in each other's living rooms) and finally 3) the "kitchen" where we roll up our sleeves and work side by side keeping the church itself going. Besides being coffee girl every Sunday for the past 2 months I wanted to share something yummy that would feed the soul.  What better than chocolate chip cookies that have crunchy goodness on the edges and soft bliss in the center.  This recipe out of Bon Appetit this month fills the bill.  The recipe itself is very simple and the cookies came out divine.  A home chef at any level can turn out a batch in no time.

I decided to double this recipe since I knew I would be feeding my congregation and it still only made about 33 medium sized cookies.  When I make these again I think I will spoon out the dough into much smaller balls (the cookies I served this morning were healthy golf-ball sized dough balls).  The recipe below reflects the "doubling".

First you want to take out 3 sticks of unsalted butter (1 1/2 cups) and 2 large eggs.  These really need to come to room temperature (don't cheat and use them cold out of the fridge).  Now adjust the racks in your oven so the top one is 1/3 from the top and the bottom one is 1/3 from the bottom.  Turn the oven on and preheat to 425F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  I used this new product from Reynold's Wrap called "Pan Lining Paper" (OK, I had a coupon).

It works pretty well.  Since there is foil on one side it can mold itself easier to your baking dish than just plain parchment paper.  Plain old parchment paper works well too...and it is more frugal (unless you are one of those super coupon divas that gets 80% off of all that they buy...which is not me).  Anyway, if you are using this product make sure the parchment paper side (the white side) is facing up.

In a medium bowl whisk together (really....use a wire whisk) 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and 1 tsp. baking powder.

Now in your large mixer bowl beat together the butter (is it room temperature?), 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar and 1/2 cup sugar (plain old white sugar).

This will take about 2-3 minutes on medium-high speed.  You want it to get creamy.

Now add the eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla extract (please use the real stuff.  This blog is all about keeping it real).  Again, beat it for another 2-3 minutes until it is light and fluffy.

No tasting the uncooked batter.  Bad germies lurk in raw eggs.

Now fold in (this means stir in gently by hand) 2 cups of chocolate chip cookies.  (I used 1 cup semi-sweet and 1 cup milk chocolate...feel free to get creative and choose whatever chips sound good to you).

Now spoon little balls of dough onto the parchment lined baking sheets so they are about 1 1/2" a part.

Bake them in the pre-heated oven for about 6-8 minutes, rotating the pans about half way through baking.  They are done when the outer edges just begin to brown.  Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the sheet and then transfer them to racks to completely cool.

Mine came out a little "square" because I didn't adhere to the "keep them 1 1/2" a part" rule.  I'm sure yours will be much prettier.

Yum!!

For me, each cookie came out to about 5.9 points each:

Flour: 26 pts.
Butter: 71 pts. (yikes)
Brown sugar: 35 pts.
Sugar: 11 pts.
Eggs: 4 pts.
Chocolate chips: 49 pts.