January 2017 – Katie Curtis

Giada’s ‘House’ Soup

27 January, 2017/in humbleonion/by Katie

Oh, January. You’re so cold. And you make me want to curl up on the couch and watch TV and eat popcorn. Which then makes my pants feel tight.

Luckily, you also make me crave a big bowl of steaming soup.

I recently got Giada DiLaurentiis’ new cookbook, Happy Cooking: Make Every Meal Count without Stressing Out.

She is not the first chef to point out how lovely it is that soups are so flexible and can use up odds and ends in the fridge, but she had me at kale and sausage, and even more when she added lemon and Parmesan cheese rind to the broth (one of my very favorite cooking tricks – it adds instant umami).

She calls for farro which I often have a hard time finding – (I finally found a source though and I can’t wait to make David Leibovitz’s Farro with Mushrooms and Bacon). So I used lentils instead, and I loved it. It would be great with white beans, rice, chick peas, Northern Beans…you get the idea.

The lemon and the Parm in the broth makes this soup so comforting and flavorful. And of course, you feel great after you eat it.

Also – if you saw my Instagram Story about how I made strawberry fruit leather, I got the recipe from this cookbook. But you can find a similar recipe here and a video here though I love that Giada uses 2 T. agave and 2 T. lemon juice with 1 pint of fresh strawberries and it tasted so fresh and bright and good.

So look out, February. I’m coming for you. And I have a big pot of soup that will fuel me through.

Happy Eating, xoxo Katie

Giada’s “House” Soup (printer version here):

Gilda’s Note: This soup was created to use up odds and ends, so feel free to substitute the grains, beans, pasta, and veggies with the ones you want to use up. Just don’t omit the cheese rind or lemon; they give the soup a lovely savory flavor.

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 leek white and tender green parts, washed well & finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped (Giada recommends 1 sliced and 1 chopped)

½ fennel bulb, cored and finely chopped

Kosher salt

½ t. Crushed red pepper flakes

¾ c. dried small white beans, such as navy

½ -¾ cup lentils (Giada’s calls for farro but I wanted to use lentils)

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 quarts chicken broth

2-3 fresh thyme sprigs

1 (2×3 inch) piece of Parmesan rind

½ lemon

13 oz. turkey kielbasa or any kind of sausage (I used chorizo), cut into half-moons

4-5 large leaves of Tuscan kale, ribs removed, chopped

Freshly grated Parm for serving

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the leek, carrots, and fennel, season with about ½ t. salt and the red pepper flakes, and saute slowly until very soft but not browned.
Add the beans and the lentils and toast for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes with their juices and the chicken broth, thyme, Parmesan rind, and half lemon. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a steady simmer and cook for about 40 minutes or until the beans are tender but not mushy. Season to taste with salt.
Add the kielbasa, kale, and sliced carrot. Cook until the kale and carrot are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove and dicard the thyme sprigs, Parm rind, and lemon (squeeze into the soup before discarding). Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of Parm if you like.

Best Instapot Beef Stew

22 January, 2017/in humbleonion/by Katie

Oh, my goodness. This is Heaven in a bowl.

This recipe makes me so glad that I am still blogging about food. (Novel almost finished! A week or two before I hit send to the publisher and I am so, so proud of how it’s turned out. Will keep you posted when they tell me its available.)

After I did an IG story where I made beef stew in the Instapot, I had a bunch of people ask me how I make it, so I was determined to snap some pics the next time we had it. Lucky for you, we made it last night. The sun set while it was cooking away and we took a nature walk, so these last few shots are only lit with artificial lights, which is my photo pet peeve. But the recipe is SO amazing, I have to spread the love, sub-par pics and all.

To start with, you just shake your cubed meat in a ziplock bag with the flour and salt and pepper. I tend to buy the already cubed meat from my farmer or local grocer, but cutting up a chuck roast or pot roast or even steak are fine too. Then brown them. (If you are trying to make this whole30 compliant, skip the flour and use Coconut Aminos instead of Soy Sauce. I think Worcestershire sauce is ok? If you want to be on the safe side use 2 cups beef broth + 1 cube beef bullion).

Note: This recipe calls for 2-2.5 lbs of meat, or enough for 6+ servings. You can sauté them in the Instapot on the sauté setting. But the bottom of the Instapot is small, so you have to do it in batches so you don’t crowd the pan. I usually just brown half in the instant (top picture) and half in a pan (bottom picture). You can see that both yield that lovely caramel brown color on the meat that adds so much flavor.

The key is to get the browned bits up with the beef stock, so don’t forget to de-glaze the pan with a cup or so of beef stock or the liquid mixture after you dump the meat into the Instapot. This is just 2 cups beef stock, 1 T. Worcestershire, 1 T. Soy sauce, and 3 T. tomato sauce.

Once all the browned meat is nestled into the Instapot with the liquid mixture and brown bits, add 2 bay leaves and 4 or so thyme branches, then put the lid on. Turn the Instapot “Meat/Stew” setting on, and it might default to 50 minutes, or 30 minutes. Use the +/- buttons to set it to 40 minutes. It will first just say “On” like this, but as the minutes start to tick down you will see the number of minutes left.

When it is done cooking you can see the amazing dark gravy that the Instapot produces:

While this cooks, chop up your veggies. I use 4 carrots, 4 potatoes, 2 celery, all cut to 2-inch size pieces, plus 2 onions sliced. When the 40 minutes is up, just toss all the veggies in, and add 1 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper on top.

Then, hit the Meat/Stew setting again, and using the +/- buttons set it for 15 minutes. When it is done you get:

What is in the bowl can be Whole30 compliant. What is outside of the bowl cannot.

The Instapot is fairly easy to use, the only thing that stresses me out is getting the lid on and off sometimes, but otherwise it is strait forward. If you have any questions using it feel free to leave me a comment or message me on IG.

I am blown away for the third time by how delicious this recipe is in the Instapot. I am convinced it makes the meat even more flavorful and tender than any other method. I hope you get to try this soon with your family. Mine licked their bowls. So so yummy.

Happy Eating, xoxo Katie

Best Instapot Beef Stew (printer version here):

Serves 6

4 T. extra virgin olive oil*

2-2.5 lbs. cubed stew meat

2 t. salt

1 t. Pepper

4 T. flour* (omit for whole30)

2 c. beef stock

1 T. Worcestershire sauce*

1 T. soy sauce*

3 T. tomato paste

3-4 sprigs thyme

2 bay leaves

4 carrots

4 potatoes

2 celery stalks

2 onions, sliced

* Items with asterisk may be omitted or substituted to make recipe whole30 compliant

Directions:

Cook Times: Brown Meat = 5-10 minutes – Meat + Liquids = 40 min. – Veggies = 15 min. Total = 60-70 min.

Set Instapot to Saute setting and let it get to Hot. (You will need to cook the meat in batches to not crowd the bottom of the Instapot. To save time, you can cook half in Instapot and half in a pan, so here I preheat a large pan on stove to medium high heat and add 2 T. oil. and cook second batch in pan while first batch cooks in Instapot.)

Add cubed meat to ziplock bag, and add flour, salt and pepper. Shake well to coat evenly.

Add half of seasoned meat to Instapot, half to hot pan (or cook in 2 batches in the Instapot). Cook until meat in each until it is browned, about 5-6 minutes, stirring both pans frequently to brown all sides. While it cooks, mix together beef stock, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato paste and mix together.

When meat is browned, put all meat into Instapot along with bay leaves and thyme. Deglaze pan with some of liquid mixture, scraping up brown bits, and add along with the rest of the liquids to Instapot. Add lid, and set Instapot to Meat/Saute setting for 40 minutes. Allow steam to release when done.
While meat cooks, chop carrots, celery and potatoes into 2 inch chunks. When meat is done, add to pot along with 1 t. salt and ½ t. Pepper. Add lid and set Meat/Saute setting to 15 minutes. When done, let steam out and then remove lid.

Healthy Eats & Wellness Ideas

10 January, 2017/in humbleonion/by Katie

Happy New Year friends! After our time away in the mountains we came back about as refreshed as you can be skiing with 4 kids (my husband is seriously passionate people!) My husband had lots of work trips as soon as we got back, and I have had almost constant solo parenting which is why he is sending me away this weekend with my best friends. The spa appointments are made and that point of relaxation with girlfriends and wine is what I am thinking about during this LONG stretch of cold winter weeks.

I am trying to bring that Spa-like mindset into our days despite the cabin fever tendencies. Long books, bubble baths, essential oils, spa-food and music playing. Something to make up for the void from all the delights of the senses that get used in December. Plus I hate feeling deprived as I get healthy and so do my kids. So I am trying to find things to add to our surroundings that make us feel better instead of reminding us of what we are going without, you know, like sunshine and sugar.

So here is the list I’ve come up with of things that are helping me – and the kids. I can’t believe how much each one of these things has been met with great results with them! I hope they help you and your family too.

1. Afternoon Snacks –

The window after school is a tough one for me. I feel like I have the same conversation over and over again about sugar and nutrition. I was on a mission to find things they wanted but weren’t horrible.

So here is our substitution for Ice Cream – we keep these stashed in the freezer:

And cookies:

They are loving both of these! The muffins are made from this pancake mix which is full of whole grains and protein, and I add fruit in too.

Honorable Mention: We also got a Sodastream and they are loving it! I can get healthy-ish flavors or a little juice to add to the water and we don’t have to have a conversation about sugary drinks.

Ok, next up, let’s talk about vehicles for Veggies.

2. Soups:

Soup is winter’s answer to all those salads and raw veggies we eat all summer.

My kids love this soup – something about the comfort food factor I think. They totally forgot they were eating cauliflower. But the key to this soup is you can use ANY VEGETABLE and it will still taste good.

Think of this recipe below as a templet, and then improvise.

You can throw handfuls of the bottom of your veggie drawer and it will still taste good if you sauté onions, add broth, simmer for 20 and puree. I just tried this one Skinnytaste’s Cookbook, and it is a gem. (I actually just went to get you the link to her website and her latest post is almost this exact recipe + some Brussel sprouts thrown in.) So experiment and have fun. Tweak it to any diet you are doing – Whole30 or Gluten-Free, leave out the flour, leave out the onions, if you do the other things, trust that warm salty veggies in pureed form will still taste good.

Skinnytaste’s Cauliflower Soup (printer version here):

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp unbleached flour (all purpose is fine too)
1 medium head cauliflower – chopped
1/2 cup chopped onions
4 cups fat free chicken broth (veggie broth or chicken bullion + water work too)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, make a roux by melting the butter on low heat. Add the flour and stir about 2 minutes.

Add the chicken broth, onions and cauliflower and set heat to medium. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium-low heat until vegetables are tender (about 20 minutes.) Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. (from skinnytaste.com)

I like it with some of the whole roasted veggies on top so I will make soup with one head and roast another at the same time for salads etc.

Here are some other soups and salads we love:

Lemon and Dill Soup from A Life From Scratch (Hi Courtney!)
Crockpot Lentil Detox Soup from A Pinch of Yum (and prayers for their sweet baby’s passing).
Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Chicken Tortellini Soup – this is a go to for us, since I buy rotisserie chicken every other week. I make a broth with the bones, cut up the meat for the soup, and just add tortellini and whatever veggies are in the drawer.
Giada’s Creamy Artichoke Soup – I live on this soup. Especially when I am PMSing since I crave salt and potatoes. Leeks are a diuretic so they help flush out water retention too.

3. Salads:

This Cannelloni Bean Tuna Salad is my go to since I always keep everything on hand. It is everything canned + some fresh herbs, olive oil and lemon juice. This concept can be stretched in a million ways but this is my favorite: cannelloni beans, artichokes, tuna, and red onion, with some parsley, evoo and lemon juice.

Winter Spa Salad with Lemon Chicken
Lentil Quina Salad
I can’t wait to try this gorgeous beet salad from Manger. (At the end of the post).
Making this Bahn Mi Salad (or maybe this Bahn Mi Bowl) tomorrow night.
Every one of these 10 salads from Real Simple look amazing. I am just loving dressing greens simply now with lemon juice, olive oil and vinegars, salt & pepper too.

4. Other Greens:

Now that my herb pot is covered in snow, I always make sure I keep lots of herbs on hand (you can wrap them in damp paper towels and put them in ziplock to keep them longer.) I use them up in making stock, but I hate having everything on hand for a recipe except for fresh cilantro and rosemary. It keeps reminding me that the winter will thaw, and we will have herb pots again.

I also try to buy some fresh new houseplants to make up for all the greens we take down after Christmas.

5. Isagenix –

I know there are a lot of diet companies out there, and I was SO completely skeptical about this program when I first heard about it. But then I had the luck of having my whole circle of friends try it, and now it is spreading through my kids school. And moms are just losing weight and feeling great. I feel like the nutrition in their shakes is just the best, though I know people who love Shakeology and Argonne, so do whatever works for you. I just had the best results with this shake because it just made me feel nourished.

I came back from vacation knowing I was just going to hope back onto my shakes for breakfast and with the hope of clean eating most of the time. The reality was we had pizza and fast food on the weekends. But this program has 2 day cleanses that really reset your brain and your belly, and let you get back on track. I am on my second day of fasting (with specially designed drinks and amino-acid rich chocolate wafters that make your brain feel like you are getting a boost) and I feel great. Lose jeans after a holiday is why I love this program!

What are your favorite ideas when you try to get your family healthy? I am all ears.

Happy (Healthy) Eating!

xoxo, Katie