Chicken Noodle Soup (+STOCK)

Soups in the winter time are a must. Soup brings comfort and warmth from the cold. It can also be the home remedy that your mom recommended for cold and flu season. We just love

a good chicken soup in our home.

Ingredients

Stock
6 cups water
1 Bone in Breast of Chicken

Soup Contents
2-3  Carrots - sliced or a bag in mini carrots. (We prefer regular carrots)
2 Stalks of Celery- Sliced (Save the leaves for the stock)
1 Red Onion - Thinly sliced
or
3-5 Scallions Thinly Sliced
2 Red or White Potatoes - Cubed
1 Turnip - Sliced Thinly
1-2 Leeks - Sliced Thinly
1 Parsnip - Sliced Thinly

Seasoning
2 tsp Himalayan Salt or Cracked Salt
1 tsp Cracked Pepper

Optional
Kale and Chard

In a Crock Pot - Cook the bone in breast fully immersed in 6 cups of water. (You can vary the amount if you want) A bone in breast provides a clear low fat broth. You won't experience gristle when you refrigerate the left overs.) Cook the chicken on Low for 4 hours.

After you create the broth, carefully remove the chicken from the bone. The meat will slide off the bone pretty easily. Be careful to watch for bones as you separate the meat. Add the vegetables to your stock and chicken. Cook for another hour on Low. Check the vegetables for tenderness....set aside and serve.

Waffles with a hint of Ginger - OMG!

Recently, the kids inspired me to try changing up my waffle recipe a bit. So I added a hint of ginger to compliment the Vanilla extract on oh my goodness....so good. Here is the recipe and dads, don't use the box waffle mix when you can have fun making them from scratch. And you kids will love making the batter with you.

Ingredients

1-2 Cups Flour (Enriched White or Wheat)
1 tsp of Baking Powder

2-3 Organic or Farm Fresh Eggs

1 tsp of Vanilla

1 tsp of Grated Fresh Ginger or Powdered

1/4 cup of cane sugar of sugar in the raw
1/2 cup Almond or Organic Milk
Coconut Oil or Spray

In a bowl, mix your ingredients together. Using a whisk, mix the ingredients together until you get a smooth consistency with no lumps. Heat the waffle iron and coat the iron with coconut oil or spray. (If you get the spray, read the ingredients. Many times it is soy mixed in with Coconut extract of icky ingredients. There are natural sprays, just read the ingredients to ensure good health)

Using a soup spoon put a scoop in the center of each waffle template. Try not to over flow, closing the door will ensure an even spread. Set your timer for 3 minutes and you have waffles! This batter is also good for Pancakes if you want to try something different.

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are easy to make. They are also great for dads to experiment with. So many flavors to explore. My kids favorite is Creamy Garlic. However you can vary things to be fun and flavorful. This might be one of your kids favorite recipes. In fact, they can be so good, they might be a request for school lunches. (Mine do)

Ingredients

5-10 Large Baking Potatoes (Red or White)
Garlic Pepper/Salt  (To flavor)
1/4 cup heavy cream (Milk to lower calorie count is fine)
1 stick of Butter (What the heck use the cream at this point)
Cracked Salt and Pepper
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Additional Ingredients to change up your recipe

Bacon Bits
Finely Chopped Chives
Minced Garlic
Minced Onion
Soul Seasoning

Wash your potatoes and set aside. Set your stove top to med high. Cut and cube the potatoes so that you can boil them in a pot. Place the potatoes in a pot and provide cold water and a couple of tsps of salt just about an inch above the cut potatoes. Bring the water to a boil. When it is at a boil, start checking for firmness at around 10 minutes. Depending on the size of the cubes, check for tenderness and set aside when ready to mix in further ingredients.

In the pot or a separate mixing bowl, add the butter and cream first. Be sure to do this right away. Slice the butter in cubes to ensure a quick melt. Using a mixer, set to low at first mix in the butter and cream. Once you have a texture that is smooth (can be a little chunky at this point) add your additional ingredients. Blend for about 1-2 minutes until you get a smooth texture. Set aside and serve.

Braciole - Now That's Italian

Being a dad and a cook means that you have to take chances at both. Your kids want to see you stretch your comfort level a bit. For years, I wanted to teach myself how to make braciole. An Italian dish that can seem intimidating, but is actually quite easy to make. So I went out and asked a few Italian friends of mine their family recipes and learned braciole can have endless opportunities.

For anyone unfamiliar with braciole, it is a flatted steak (Pork or Beef) that is wrapped and tied with amazing ingredients and cooked very slowly in a tomato sauce. You can serve the braciole over pasta or on it's own. It is tender and full of flavor when done correctly.

Braciole has to be wrapped correctly. Some people use toothpicks while others use cooking twine. Skilled cooks can cook it without the twine or toothpicks if that wrap it carefully and compactly. 

Some ingredients include boiled eggs, spinach, fresh basil, prosciutto, along with a combination of seasonings. Fresh garlic is a must. As with all recipes, the fun is trying different ingredients each time you make it. 

Ingredients

Flank Steak or Thin Pork Cutlets (You will need a meat mallet or a good butcher has steaks and pork that is made to order for braciole) 

2 boiled eggs

Garlic Cloves

Basil or Spinach (I prefer Basil) 

Garlic Powder

Garlic thinly sliced

Cracked Sea Salt

Cracked Pepper

Grated Asiago or Parmesan Cheese

Olive Oil

Parsley

Italian Bread Crumbs (1 cup) 

Optional Ingredients

Prosciutto

Oregano (Fresh)

Provolone Cheese

Preparation 

On a cutting board flatten the steak or pork. If you are using a steak, densely coat with cracked sea salt for 30 mins. This will tenderize the steak. (Salt dissolves the proteins in fat that makes a steak tender) Remove most of the salt and begin to flavor the meat. Add 1 - 2 tsps of cracked pepper, salt and garlic powder to your liking. (Depends on the size of the meat) Next, spread 1 cup of Italian bread crumbs evenly. Add the basil, garlic and grated cheese. Thinly slice the boiled eggs and spread them towards the middle of the braciole. Add any other ingredients you feel would make a great addition. 

Next, roll the braciole tightly into a compressed spiral of 3-4  layers. Once complete, you can add the toothpicks or tie the braciole together to keep it tightly compressed. 

Browning the braciole - Using a cast iron skillet, heat the skillet to a medium - medium high heat with a thin coating of olive oil and garlic. Place the braciole on the skillet and brown the braciole on each side. Browning the braciole gives the meat a great flavor on the outside that compliments the ingredients on the inside. 

In a crockpot, add you tomato sauce base. You can use a jar (Yucky) or use our sauce on the blog (Yummy). It is up to you. Set the crock pot to low and cook for 6-7 hrs. This allows for the meat to become fully immersed in the flavors.

Remove the braciole and sprinkle grated cheese on top when taken out of the crock pot. Serve over pasta or on it's own and you have created a masterpiece. 

 

Stuffed Long Hots

Long Hots are an Italian-American phenomenon in my area, especially in summer. We have them with everything. The amount of heat they produce can be mild to LOOK OUT!!! You truly never know what you will get, but they are simply one of the best peppers. Recently, local cooks have created an appetizer using long hots. They stuff them with a sausage mix and they are simply amazing. So I thought I would take a shot at making them.....and they were delicious.

I have to share, stuffed long hots are not an easy task. My first attempt was a disaster. I had to settle for a long hot salad as I had not idea what I was doing. My long hots were too small and stuffing them was impossible. So, first tip, the long hots have to be wide enough for stuffing. What I should have done is served smaller long hots split down the middle instead of trying to stuff them. Even with the wider long hots, you may have to cut them in half for stuffing. Only the largest and widest can be completely stuffed. Something I have not mastered yet do the the summer harvest is not at it's peak.

My sausage mix was outstanding and flavorful. Feel free to experiment with yours. No limits with this recipe. You can change your stuffing and experiment as you see fit.

Ingredients

Long Hot Peppers (Wide as possible)

Stuffing Mix
Sweet, Medium or Hot Ground Sausage Mix (1 pd.)
1-2 eggs
1/2 cup of Italian Bread Crumbs
Asiago Cheese Grated (1/4 cup)
Cracked Salt and Pepper 1 tsp
1 tsp Garlic salt
1 tsp Oregano
Thinly slice garlic

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the stuffing mix. Crack the eggs over the mix. This allows for the mixture to stick consistently. You can add the cheese in the mix or as a topping on the peppers if you decide to slice them because they are too small. What you want to do is experiment with the consistency. You may need to add more bread crumbs if you feel the mix needs it. That's what is great about trying something new, you can experiment with the recipe to your liking.

There are multiple ways to cook them. You can use a Cast Iron Skillet (my favorite) coated with Olive Oil. I love the skillet because a seasoned skillet absorbs and redistributes the flavors evenly in my opinion. Another option is to cook them on a gas grill. The fire roasted flavor adds a different twist. Lastly, you can cook the peppers in the oven. (Broiling at the end would be my recommendation for the tops of the peppers and melting the cheese.)

Try different cheeses and add different flavors to the mix. You can add red wine, crushed red pepper, or any Italian Mix you find at the grocery store.

So good.....enjoy!

Fish Fry (Fried Haddock)

I am a lucky dad. Early on, my kids love fresh fish. Whether we catch them, or buy them from the market, they absolutely love a good fish fry. What makes cooking with your kids so valuable is it extends their palette. By introducing them to foods as early as possible, they become adventuresome and want to try new foods.

This is a basic recipe for new cooks. Easy to make, and soooo good.

Ingredients

Fresh Haddock Filet(s)
Italian Bread Crumbs (1 cup)
Flour (1 cup)
Panko (1/2 Cup)
Cracked Pepper (1 tsp)
Cracked Salt (2 tsp)
Soul Seasoning (1 tsp)
2 eggs with milk whipped
Cooking Oil (1/8 - 1/4 inch to cover the skillet or fry pan)
Ice Water in a bowl

Prior to getting all the prep work done, rinse the fillets and keep them in a bowl of ice water until ready to fry. Next, you will want a mid size bowl for the egg mixture and a large size bowl for the breading mixture.

Preparation for the breading is to add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside and setup by the stove egg mixture bowl for dipping, the breading, then the fry pan.

Prep the fry pan at a medium heat.

Once ready, dip the filet in the egg mixture, then the breading on both sides, and set in the fry pan. On a medium heat, each fillet should be ready to a golden brown about 5 minutes on both sides. Periodically peek prior to flipping the filet. Flip the filet carefully to avoiding breaking it. Cooking on the skin side first also allows for firmness and prevents the filet from breaking.

Serve on a plate with some kettle chips or fries with a lemon wedge. You have one great fish fry.

Some additional ideas for the breading are kettle chips in a sandwich back pounced to the consistency of Panco. Sea Salt and Vinegar would give it a nice flavor. You can change the breading each time you make it by trying different mixtures.

Tarter Sauce

Tarter Sauce is easy to make, and so much better than store bought sauce.

Ingredients

Mayonnaise (Hellmans)
Dill Hamburger Slices Diced
Cracked Salt (1/8th tsp optional)

Additional Options
Minced Onion
Sweet Pickle Relish
Lemon Juice

I prefer a simple tarter sauce, which is the top 3 ingredients. Served fresh its the best. However, I have made it with the additional ingredients when I want a change of pace. As with all Cooking It Up With Dad recipes, be creative.