Family Chow Hall

I accidentally made this new soup in my crockpot yesterday. I love it when kitchen accidents turn into kitchen successes!

The original plan was to make regular-old chili. However, my son wants grilled burgers one day this week and I have only one package of ground beef in the freezer. So…. the original plan for chili turned into plan B — shredded pork chili. (Because I found a baggie of shredded leftover pork roast lurking in the back of the freezer.) I think I’d better add at this point that I was a bit short on grocery money and was trying to make do with what I had on hand for this week.

Well, I started up the pork chili and when I thawed the baggie of pork, I realized that it was actually shredded turkey left from, I believe, Christmas! Of course, I realized this at the exact moment that the pork/turkey was being added to the soup. No turning back. I probably would have put it in anyway, to tell the truth. Commence plan C.

So, there we had it — I won’t even call it chili anymore… Southwest Turkey Soup. We added diced avocados, light sour cream, toasted tortilla pieces, and I heard no complaints.

Southwest Turkey Soup
serves 6

1/2 large sweet onion, diced
1 T. olive oil
1 can red kidney beans or pinto beans
1 can hominy (we prefer white)
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can Ro-tel brand mild tomatoes with green chilies
1 T. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1/4 t. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 can chicken broth, optional, depending on how thick you like your soup
1- 2 c. cooked, chopped turkey.

I love crock pot recipes, they are so easy to prepare and you are not locked into a specific dinnertime.

First, chop and saute the onion until soft. At the same time, begin opening cans — kidney beans, tomatoes, Ro-tel, and hominy. Dump everything into the crock pot. Add the onions whenever they are done, then add the seasonings and stir. Finally, add the turkey.

This should be heated through and, as with most chilies, tastes better if you let the flavors blend for at least a couple of hours.

For toppings — cut flour tortillas into small squares, heat some olive oil in a skillet, and fry over medium heat until crispy. Dice an avocado, add a dollop of sour cream and even a splash of lime on top of your bowl of soup.

ENJOY!

Okay, after tonight’s dinner, I don’t think I could ever go vegetarian.

These days, I’m eating mostly fruits and vegetables, but OH MY! — Beef is just too good to be eliminated from my diet permanently.

As a Christmas gift, an associate sent my DH a box of Filet Mignons — top-notch, high-quality, thick-cut, and packed in dry ice. This was a few weeks ago, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them, so they went into the freezer for awhile. This morning we decided to make them.

Last year’s batch of Filet Mignons were good, but I wasn’t happy with the way I prepared them - on the grill. It had turned dark while I cooked them and in my inexperience they were way under-done. (I suppose some people would say that Filets cannot be underdone.) Anyway, we ate them, but they could have been better.

Tonight we learned exactly how much better they can be. I did a bit of research and decided to pan-sear the steaks with a cracked pepper crust. I also added a wine/broth mixture for dipping. (There were great without it, even greater with it.)

You can use the same method for other types of steaks - check the cut to make sure that pan-searing is appropriate. This is the single most important thing to learn about beef - different cuts are best prepared in different manners.

The steaks I was working with were cut 1 1/2 inches thick, 8 oz. of pure, delectable beef each. Cooking times have to be reduced if your steaks are not as thick. From what I have read (and the tasting tonight proved it) filet mignon should not be overcooked, rare or medium rare is what you are looking for. A couple of ours were more like medium and they were still delicious, but the redder ones were better.

I have to admit that our family eating these was a little scary. We all loved them except my 3-year old, who sat staring and sucking his thumb. When it was all over, he ate spaghettios. Who can figure out 3-year olds?

Pepper-Coated and Pan-Seared Filet Mignons
makes 6, easily adjustable

6 Filet Mignons - 1 1/2 inch thick / 8 oz. each
1 t. salt
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. sugar
dash cayenne pepper
3 t. cracked black pepper
3 T. olive oil
1/2 c. beef broth
1/2 c. red wine
1 t. parsley

The cooking of these goes pretty quickly, so be prepared. (You might want to read the steps through a time or two.) Have your side dishes ready, the table set, the candles lit, etc. Another note: use a cast-iron skillet if possible, not a non-stick skillet, certainly nothing with a plastic handle. Borrow a cast-iron skillet from Grandma if you need to. Also, be prepared to open the windows in case of a little smoke.

Start by heating the oven (yes, I said the oven) to 375. This was easy for me because I was baking potatoes for a side dish.

Next, lay out the steaks on 3 or 4 thicknesses of paper towels and let them drain. Flip them and pat the tops dry. They should be nice and dry before moving on to the next step.

Combine the salt, peppers, garlic powder, and sugar in a small bowl. Consider this like a rub - sprinkle a bit on each steak and rub it in. Just do one side now and do the other once they are in the frying pan. In a larger bowl, combine the broth, wine, and parsley — set this aside for now.

Heat the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat until good and hot. The oil doesn’t have to be smoking but if you put your hand over the open skillet, it will feel rather uncomfortable.

Place the steaks (peppery side down) in the skillet and set a timer or watch the clock for 3 minutes. While they sear, top with the pepper seasoning. Using a tongs, flip them gently. The reason that filet mignons are traditionally wrapped in bacon is because they tend to fall apart. Sear the other side for 3 minutes also.

Move the skillet (steaks included) into the oven for 3 more minutes. Keeping things simple with the times — don’t you love it?! After three minutes, remove and gently move them to a shallow bowl — I used a pasta bowl. Put the skillet back on the stove and add the broth combination, stirring up and loosening any bits that were stuck to the pan. Then pour this over the filets and you are ready to serve.

Here’s a simple yet scrumptious dip that will be perfect for taking to your New Year’s Eve events…

My son suggested this one after having something similar at CHILI’S. Since I’ve never had it there, I had nothing to go on except that it must have spinach and artichokes.

Our family usually has nothing but munchies on Christmas — purchased appetizers, cheese dip, chips, candy, etc. (This tradition helps me stay available as the designated battery-hunter, instruction-reader, and box-opener.) One of the munchies this Christmas was this Spinach Artichoke Dip, which was served with a variety of chips and crackers.

Party Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 small jar of marinated artichoke hearts
fresh spinach, about half of a bag
OR frozen spinach, 10 oz.
salt and pepper to taste

There are two possible ways to prepare this — I have a small crock pot for serving dips and cheese sauces. This was perfect for this warm dip.

Cube the cream cheese. If you have a small crock pot, put it in there. If not, let it come to room temperature in a mixing bowl, then cream it with your mixer.

Add the mayonnaise.

Drain MOST of the liquid from the artichoke hearts and place them in a food chopper and give them a few pulses so there are no large chunks. Add this to the cream cheese/mayonnaise combination.

If using fresh spinach, chop and then saute until wilted with just a drip of olive oil. If using frozen spinach, thaw it and squeeze as much liquid out as is humanly possible. Add the spinach to the rest of the ingredients.

Dash your salt and pepper in.

Next, if using the crock-pot method, wait until it warms up and stir occasionally. If using an oven, mix it all up, then place in a small greased casserole dish. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes.

Serve with any of these possibilities: bread sticks, pita chips, bagel chips, crackers, corn chips, fresh bread…