Crazy Girl's Kitchen

Get ready:

• 1 rotisserie chicken meat, roughly chopped
• 2 Tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium celery, sliced
• 3 carrots, halved and sliced
• 1 lb lentil, rinsed and drained
• 1 Tsp dried tarragon
• 8 cups chicken stock
• salt and pepper

Now let’s play:

Heat up oil in a large stock pot. Add diced onion and a pinch of salt; saute for 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots; saute for another 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to broil. Add lentil and let simmer for 25 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken meat and tarragon. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve (6-8 servings).

After-play thoughts:

This is soup is great for chili weather, busy schedule, or weight control.

Get ready:

• 1.5lb ground beef
• 2 Tsp canola oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 Tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground cayenne
• 1 Tsp dried cilantro
• 1 14oz can tomato sauce
• 1 16oz can black beans, drained
• 40 tortilla chips
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper

Now let’s play:

Heat up canola oil in a large saute pan. Season ground beef with salt and pepper. Brown and break apart the beef with a spatula till no longer red. Add onion and saute for another 3 minutes. Add chili powder, ground cumin, and ground cayenne. Saute for another 2 minutes. Add beans and tomato sauce. Cook for 3 minutes. Fold in dried cilantro leaves. Spread tortilla chips at the bottom of a large roasting pan. Spoon on half of cooked mixture on top of the chips evenly. Top off with cheese and scatter jalapeno slices over the cheese. Place the whole thing under a broiler (set on high) for about 3-5 minutes or until cheese melted. To serve, using a lasagna server to scoop out a small portion onto a plate. Then scoop out another small portion and lay it on top of the previous scooped out portion, so each serving has two layers. You can make another batch of nachos with the other half of cooked mix, or store it for later use (about 2-4 dinner servings).

After-play thoughts:

It’s a quite lean dish if you opt for 90% or above lean ground beef.

Get ready:

• 4 Tsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried theme
• 1lb barley
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 15oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup black olives, chopped
• 2 lb shrimp (thawed if frozen)
• salt and pepper to taste

Now let’s play:

Heat up 2 Tsp olive oil and saute chopped onion with a pinch of salt for 3 minutes. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and saute for another 2 minutes. Add barley, basil, theme, and chicken stock. Bring to boil and then simmer for 20-30 minutes. Stir in olives and beans. Set aside. Heat up the other 2 Tsp olive oil in a separate pan. Add the rest of minced garlic. Infuse the oil for 2 minutes. Add shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook about 2 minutes on one side and another minute on the other side until it’s pink and cooked through. Scoop the barley mix onto a serving dish or plates, and pour shrimp with the garlic sauce on the top. Serve immediately (about 4-6 servings).

After-play thoughts:

It’s very easy to over-cook shrimp. I find it helpful if you only cook for 2 minutes on the first side at medium heat, flip, watch closely so you can fish the shrimp out as soon as they start to curve up. As to the size of the shrimp used in this receipt, “31/40 per lb” seems to be the best.

Get ready:

• 6 pound coarsely ground beef chuck, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 5 Tsp olive oil
• 3 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 10 clove garlic, minced
• 2 large jalapeno pepper, halved, seeded chopped
• 4 Tsp chili powder
• 2 Tsp ground coriander
• 1 Tsp ground cumin
• 1 Tsp sweet paprika
• 1 Tsp dried oregano
• 1 Tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 Tsp dried sage leaves
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 12 oz bottle dark beer
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock
• 3 (16 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (15.5 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (15.5 ounce) cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15.5 ounce) cans light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15.5 ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• salt and pepper to taste
• shredded cheddar for garnish

Now let’s play:

Heat up 2 Tsp olive oil in a 7-qt or larger dutch oven and brown half of the grounded beef for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Repeat with the rest of the meat. Add the remaining 1 Tsp olive oil and a pinch of salt. Saute onion for 5 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeno pepper. Saute for another 3 minutes. Stir in chili powder, ground coriander, ground cumin, sweet paprika, dried oregano, dried thyme leaves,  dried sage leaves, ground cinnamon, and sugar. Cook for 5 minutes. Add beer and chicken stock. Add back browned grounded beef. Stir to combine. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add tomatoes and beans. Simmer for another 15 minutes. Garnish with cheddar cheese and serve (about 8-10 servings).

After-play thoughts:

This receipt is perfect for friends gathering, cold day dinner, and brown-bagged lunch since it re-heats excellently.