Slow Cooker Chicken Broth

Homemade chicken broth is easy.  Eeeaaasy!  Especially if you have a slow cooker. 

It's also cheeeap if you have leftover chicken bits and bones from a roast chicken.  I used the bits and bones from a store-bought rotisserie chicken. 

I'm a bit picky about my chicken broth; I only buy the kind that is sodium-free and has reduced-fat.  Unfortunately, that's also the expensive kind at the grocery store.  (Which brings me to my perennial question: Why is healthy food more expensive?? If it's good for you, then it should be cheaper, yes?)  So I decided to make my own. 

The prep work is non-existent if you use frozen, pre-sliced/chopped veggies.  It's still very fast if you roughly chop fresh vegetables.  After cooking, I strain out the solids and refrigerate the broth overnight.  Skim off the solidified fat in the morning and ta-da... Homemade, sodium-free, reduced-fat chicken broth!

The broth is a lovely caramel color and it is great for use in other soups, sauces, and to make couscous.  I used it in my Potato-Artichoke Soup.  I recommend using it Beverly's Parsnip Soup, Chicken And Couscous, and Cuban-style Red Kidney Beans.

Slow Cooker Chicken Broth
From Allrecipes.com
Makes 5-6 cups

Ingredients:

Carcass of one chicken (including skin and gristle--anything you didn't eat!)
2 carrots, roughly chopped (or 2 cups of frozen, sliced carrots)
1 stalk of celery, sliced*
1 onion, roughly chopped (or 1 1/2 cups frozen, chopped onions)
1 tbsp dried oregano
6 cups of water

Directions: Put all ingredients into a large slow cooker and cover.  Set the heat to low and cook for 8 hours.

*Note: Leftover celery freezes well!

A note regarding the nutrition information: I didn't include it for this recipe because it was simply too difficult to figure it out using the recipe calculator at Sparkpeople.com.  The nutrition information on Allrecipes.com doesn't sound right--there's too much protein.  I do think that this is comparable to a store bought sodium-free, reduced fat chicken broth. 

Potato-Artichoke Soup

Artichokes remind me of giant green flowers that haven't blossomed yet.  They look interesting but really, what does a cook do with them?

I'll confess that I've never had artichokes outside of a spinach-artichoke dip.  I decided to try them since they are featured this month in my lovely produce calendar.

I know what you're thinking.  Artichokes don't sound exciting. Or appetizing.  I'm sure that I wouldn't have eaten them as a kid.  Then again, I loved eating canned asparagus.  Straight from the can, no less.  I was weird like that.  I still love asparagus but I've moved past eating the canned ones.  I actually don't like canned asparagus anymore--too mushy.

Back to the soup.  Photographing a green-ish soup is tough.  I couldn't find an angle that would make it look good.

 
See?  Green veggies swimming in green broth.  Sigh.  No-win.

It's actually supposed to be blended and I suppose that would make it look creamy and therefore photograph well.  I like my soups chunky; I feel like I'm actually eating something, ya know?

Thankfully, it tasted pretty good.  If I had some fat-free yogurt or fat-free sour cream, I would have put a small bit in there--it would definitely round out the taste very nicely but the soup works for me as is.  I paired it with a 3-oz serving of roasted chicken and brown rice.  Enjoy!

This post is linked to 1) Foodie Wednesday at Daily Organized Chaos and 2) Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen.  Click on the links and share the love!

Potato-Artichoke Soup
From EatingWell.com
Makes 8 servings, about 1 cup each

Ingredients:

1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, choppped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme or parsley
3 cups chopped potatoes*
9oz package of frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped
4 cups reduced-fat, reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp coarse Kosher salt
1/2 cup half-and-half, fat-free yogurt, or fat-free sour cream, optional
Additional salt and pepper to taste
2 cups water, optional

Directions:

1) Melt butter and extra virgin olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions, celery, and garlic.  Cook until the onions and celery are soft.  About 5 minutes.

2) Add the chopped potatoes and artichoke hearts.  Add the broth.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Cook another 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.  Taste and add additional coarse Kosher salt and/or pepper if needed.

3) This step is optional: Puree the soup using either an immersion blender or in batches in a blender. Add additional water to thin out the soup if necessary.  Be careful!  The hot soup can splatter. 

4) This step is also optional: Stir in half-and-half, yogurt, or fat-free sour cream.

* Note: I used frozen, cubed potatoes.  They are sometimes called "Southern Style Hash Browns."  If using fresh potatoes, you'll need about 1 1/2 lbs.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:
Calories: 109 (without the half-and-half, etc.), Cholesterol: 4mg, Sodium: 453mg, Carbohydrates: 17g, Fiber: 3g, Protein: 4g

Slow Cooker: Turkey Veggie Soup

     This soup smells so good while it's cooking.  I have a hard time keeping my hands off of it while it's simmering in the slow cooker--a quick taste to make sure it's coming along just right.  A cook has to do her duty.

     I also had a neat discovery with this soup: okra that isn't slimy and actually tastes good!  My previous experience with cooked okra has been pretty gross.  You know what I'm talking about.  Green chunks of a weird looking jalapeno pepper swimming in snot.  C'mon, you've thought the same thing. 

     However, there's no slimy okra in this soup!  Hurrah!  And amazingly, I enjoyed the actual taste of okra.  In this soup, it had the texture of zucchini and it had a mild flavor reminiscent of green beans.

     This soup is chock full of veggies but it's not overwhelmed by them.  The main texture and flavor comes from the meat--I used ground turkey but the original recipe uses lean ground beef.

     This is a really thick soup--more like a Rachel Ray "stewp"-- you could certainly eat it with a fork!  It would pair well with a side salad or a good crusty bit of bread.

     This post is linked to Souper Sunday at Kahakai Kitchen.  Click on the link and share the love!

Slow Cooker: Turkey Veggie Soup
Adapted from Slow Cooker Veggie-Beef Soup With Okra

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
pinch of salt
1/4 cup onion, chopped
14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, no salt added
14.5 oz can of Italian diced tomatoes, no salt added
1 cup sliced frozen okra
2 cups cubed frozen potatoes (sometimes sold as Southern style hash browns)
1 tbsp ketchup
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Heat a sauce pan over medium high heat.  Spray with oil (I use a Misto oil sprayer).  Add the ground turkey and the onions.  Break up the ground turkey into bite sized pieces.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the mixture. Cook turkey and the onions until the turkey is lightly browned.  Drain the grease.  Add the turkey and onions to the slow cooker.

2. Add the diced tomatoes, Italian style diced tomatoes, okra, potatoes, and ketchup to the slow cooker.  Mix everything thoroughly.

3. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for four hours.  Mix everything once again and add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with a salad and/or bread.

Nutrition Information:
Calories: 413, Total Fat: 14.1g, Cholesterol: 69mg, Sodium: 589mg, Total Carbs: 44.2g, Fiber: 9.6g, Protein: 27.3g
    

Good Eats: Durham, NC

The Bull at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park

    In two weeks, I say goodbye to my beloved city of Durham, NC.   I was not born or raised here but I've called it home for four of my seven years in NC.  I'll be starting a new job in Greensboro, NC.  I'm excited about my new home but I will miss the Bull City. 

    Durham has a wonderful history, hidden architectural gems, and friendly residents.  While it's widely known as the Town That Tobacco Built, much of its industry revolved around textiles.

    The downtown area has undergone a wonderful revitalization, with the American Tobacco District (shops/restaurants), the Durham Performing Arts Center,  and Historic Brightleaf Square (shops/restaurants).   It was listed in the NY Times "41 Places to Go in 2011." (#35, page four of the article).

    One of Durham's many charms are the awesome local, independent restaurants.  This town has some Good Eats! This area is home to residents from many cultures and the international cuisine adds to the variety and spice of traditional Southern food culture. 

    If you live here or if you're visiting, check out some of my favorite good eats...listed in no particular order.

1) Watt's Grocery: The chef focuses on local, seasonal ingredients so the menu is ever-changing but the food is guaranteed to be amazing.

2) Nana's: The one and only time I went to this restaurant was on a date.  The food was far more memorable than the guy.  Nana's has a world-class wine list and a menu devoted to local, seasonal foods.  Come hungry.

3) Baba Ghanoush: Excellent, inexpensive Mediterannean food.  You can't go wrong with the lunch buffet.

4) Sitar India Palace:  I love, love, love Indian food and I'm lucky enough to live down the street from a great Indian restaurant that has reasonable prices.

5) Firebirds Wood Fired Grill: This is a chain restaurant but I had to include it because it has the best steaks ever.

6) Rue Cler: A cozy French cafe in downtown Durham.  Bring an out-of-town guest here and color them impressed.  Definitely order the beignets. The seating is limited and fills quickly, so make reservations.


7) Lime & Basil: This is actually in Chapel Hill, on Franklin Street.  However, it is the BEST Vietnamese food I've eaten in the Triangle.  I took my Mom here when she came for a visit and she gave it her stamp of approval.  Authenticated by a Vietnamese mama, do you need any more persuasion??

8) Mama Dip's Country Cooking Restaurant: Holy amazing hush puppies, Batman.  I brought two friends here for dinner about four years ago...and they STILL remember it with awe and reverence!  Southern food at it's deep-fried best. (Located in downtown Chapel Hill.)



  

  

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

     Doesn't this look delectable?  A hearty winter soup to warm you up for sure.

     I wanted some comfort food that wasn't going to expand my waistline and I found this recipe at Gina's Skinny Recipes.  (One of my favorite food blogs.) For those who are on Weight Watchers, she always includes the WW points.  I like her blog because her recipes are good AND she includes the nutrition information!  

     The recipe looked like it would be easy to double; it is easy to double so but you need a huge pot.  Half of it went into the freezer.  Soups are easy to freeze: ladle single servings into a resealable bag and place them flat in the freezer.  Once they are frozen, they stack easily to save space.

     This was a "use up what's in the veggie bin" recipe, so I used three fresh carrots instead of frozen and I left out the green beans because I didn't have any.  I'll admit that I'm not a fan of green beans in soup so that's the other reason why I didn't include them!

     The original recipe also called for portabella mushroom--these can be expensive but it is worth it to buy one large strongly flavored mushroom to add depth to the flavor of the soup.  You can also use one dried, rehydrated mushroom.  (Rehydrate by soaking in boiling hot water for 5-10 minutes).  You can then use button mushrooms for filler.  

      The soup is everything it promises to be: creamy and savory with hearty chunks of chicken and vegetables.  I will admit that I added more than a teaspoon of coarse Kosher salt but that was my personal taste.  Overall, this was a good find!  
    
      This post is linked to Foodie Wednesday Blog Hop at Daily Organized Chaos, hosted by Bibi.  Please click on the link and check out her blog! 

Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Adapted from Chicken Pot Pie Soup from Gina's Skinny Recipes

Makes 6 servings,  1 1/2 cups each

Ingredients:
16oz chicken boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
4 cups skim milk (I used lactose free skim milk)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cups water
1 large celery stalk, sliced
8oz mushrooms, sliced
10 oz frozen mixed veggies: peas, corn, carrots, and green beans
2 cups of frozen, cubed potatoes.  (These are often sold as hash browns)
2 teaspoons Wyler's Sodium Free, Fat Free Instant Chicken Boullion
Ground black pepper to taste
Pinch of dried thyme



Directions:

1. Put about 2 inches of water into a medium size pot.  Place the raw chicken breast in the pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Cover.  Cook the chicken until they about 1/2 cooked.  Drain the chicken, lightly salt it, and set it aside.  (You can fully cook the chicken but I really hate overcooked chicken, so I partially cook my chicken breasts and finish cooking them later on in the cooking process.)

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and 2 cups of the skim milk.  Set aside.

3. Heat a large pot or a large, deep sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Mist with oil. (I use a Misto Oil Sprayer).  Saute the onions.  Remove the onions from the pot and set them aside in a bowl.

4. Re-whisk the flour-milk mixture.  Pour it into the same pot you used to saute the onions.  Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Add the remaining 2 cups milk and the water.  You must constantly stir the milk mixture or the milk will scald on the bottom and you get a really ugly brown "skin' on the bottom of the pan.  (It doesn't taste great, either.)

6.  Add the sauteed onions, celery, mushrooms, frozen mixed vegetables, frozen potatoes, and the Wyler's Instant Boullion.  Stir constantly and bring the soup to a simmer.  Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the frozen vegetable are thawed.


7.  Add the cubed chicken.  Again, stirring everything constantly, cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Add a pinch of dried thyme.  Add pepper to taste.


Nutrition Information Per Serving:
Calories: 225.6, Fat: 1.5g, Total Carbohydrates: 25.1g, Fiber: 2g, Protein: 27.1g, Cholesterol: 47.1mg, Sodium: 406mg,