Mexican Poblano Burger Soup

Mexican Poblano Burger Soup

After we got back from our trip to the coast for our anniversary, I harvested the last of my chile peppers and the wee tomatillos and poblanos I managed to eke out with our short summer weather. Half the hot peppers had turned red while we were gone, but that’s OK as I like spicy!

Cooking is quite the challenge one-handed, but I’ve figured out some hacks to where I don’t ask for much assistance any more in food prep. Dicing a fresh onion is the hardest I’ve found, but luckily I have a bag of diced onion in the freezer that I brought home from a work potluck, which can be used in soups and stews.

Tips: A mini food processor can be used for a rough dice of carrots, celery, and onion, and a pair of kitchen shears does quick work on green onions. I do have limited use of my left thumb and forefinger, so I place the green onion between those two fingers and snip away!

This soup was the culmination of wanting to use my peppers and tomatillos in something as well as a large leek that needed to be cooked stat. I roasted the poblanos, tomatillos, and a serrano until charred, then had my daughter peel and mince them for me. I then scrounged the freezer and pantry and came up with a half pound of burger, black beans, and golden hominy. Combined with my homemade beef stock, a filling Mexican-style soup was on the horizon!

I’m still limiting my prep photos until I have two hands again but this is a pretty straight-forward soup recipe. Note: I used all my very small poblano peppers and tomatillos in this, but have adjusted the recipe below for standard grocery-sized produce.

Pepper and Tomatillo Harvest

Mexican Poblano Burger Soup

1 large leek, halved lengthwise and sliced
3 peeled, rinsed and roasted tomatillos
1 large roasted and peeled poblano, minced
1 roasted and peeled serrano pepper, minced
1/2 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Ancho chile powder
4 cups homemade or low sodium beef stock or broth
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can golden hominy, drained and rinsed
2 soft corn tortillas, diced large
Juice squeezed from a large lime wedge
Tortilla chips, sour cream, and cilantro for garnish (optional)

Roast and prep the peppers and tomatillos. In a soup pot or Dutch oven, brown the ground beef and leeks in 1 teaspoon olive oil until burger is browned and leeks have softened. Add the minced garlic in the last minute of cooking them.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the garnishes and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook 15-20 minutes until the tortillas have dissolved and soup thickens, stirring occasionally.

Ladle into bowls and serve with desired garnishes. This soup was even better the next day!

Mexican Poblano Burger Soup

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The Return of The Klutz and a Tasty Veggie Soup

Potato Leek and Broccoli Soup with Pancetta Bread Crumbs

We’re back from our 20th wedding anniversary trip to our RV property on the Siletz River on the Central Coast of Oregon. Not too newsworthy unless I mention the fact that I pretty much shattered my left middle finger on the second day there in a boat launch accident.  I had surgery on the finger the day after we got back, and am now entrapped in a traction device. I don’t have the sling anymore at least, that was just to hold up my arm until the nerve block wore off.  After the recipe so you get to look at a few of “exciting” photos of the trip if you want. 🙂

Finger Traction Device ~ Only the second one made at the clinic, lucky me!

Yet, I’m feeling for ya’! So I’ll share a yummy soup recipe I made just before we left first. It’s the least I can do. I only got a couple of pics since I was also packing for the week.

p.s. I finally purchased a sous vide immersion circulator! I’ve been experimenting it (with the hubby’s help since I’m down to one hand, but so far so good!) Just had an awesome chuck roast beef stew cooked 26 hours at 165F then seared with pan gravy made from juices in bag. I’ll start posting those those types of recipes when I can. Picture-taking is mighty hard at the present. Typing with one hand is not exactly a picnic either…

Potato, Leek, and Broccoli Soup with Pancetta Bread Crumbs
Adapted from Food and Wine

3 cloves unpeeled garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 cup sliced leeks, white and light green parts only
1 pound Russet or other potatoes, peeled and chopped small
2 cups broccoli florets, coarsely chopped small
2 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1/2 cups Half and Half
Wedge of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Salt or Mrs. Dash and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup cubed sourdough bread
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 cup finely chopped pancetta
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon dried and crushed rosemary (or 1 teaspoon fresh)

Wrap garlic cloves in foil and bake at 400F degrees for 35 minutes. Remove and let cool then peel and add to a food processor or blender.

In a soup pot or Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the leeks, potatoes and broccoli and cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the leeks start to soften. Add the chicken stock and 3 1/2 cups of water, cover and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat until all of the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

Working in batches, add soup to the garlic in the food processor or blender, amd puree the soup until very smooth. Return the puree to the pot and stir in the Half and Half and wedge of lemon juice. Season the soup with salt or Mrs. Dash and pepper. Keep warm on low.

Meanwhile, pulse the bread cubes in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. In a skillet, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the tablespoon of oil. Add the pancetta, sage, rosemary and bread crumbs and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until the crumbs and pancetta are browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the pancetta crumbs, and enjoy!

Potato Leek and Broccoli Soup with Pancetta Bread Crumbs

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Here are some pics from our vacation:

An armada of kayakers on the Siletz River

Neighbor and hubby showing off the Dungeness crab

Me showing off some crabs

Our Dungeness crab haul for the day

 

Our Anniversary Dinner ~ Tee Hee!

Hubby built a new deck out of our old dock that washed away in flooding last year

 

 

Spicy Shrimp and Leek Pot Pie

Spicy Shrimp and Leek Pot Pie

We’ve been on a bit of a shrimp binge lately (not a bad thing) as we scored some shrimp at an awesome price recently. Earlier in the day before I cooked this, I made a pot of golden shrimp stock from my hoard of frozen shrimp shells. I ended up with over 8 cups of gorgeous broth!

Golden Shrimp Stock

Since I am an admitted failure at all things pastry, I decided to use frozen puff pastry for this, but all I could find at the store I went to were these completely odd-shaped puff pastry disks that puff up to an enormous height (for a pot pie cover, that is).

Well this was a half-baked idea…

Being the complete ignoramus that I am (admittedly again) about all things bread, I had this stupid ingenious idea to bake them halfway until half-puffed, then place them on the pot pies to finish baking. Well. That didn’t work as I expected as they never fully puffed up all the way. So we’ll just ignore the puffs in the photos and focus on the heart of the dish, which is this completely amazing spicy/veggie/shrimp yummy mixture that you end up with and who the heck cares about the puff, right??

The only other thing to note about this recipe is that I’ll probably parboil the potatoes first next time. It took WAY longer than I expected to soften during the sauté process, even though they were diced fairly small.

Many thanks to Culinary Chronicles for this inspiration. I adapted it quite a bit for the ingredients I had, but certainly head over to look at her recipe as she seems to have a better handle on what a puff pastry should look like when cooked properly. 😀

Aside from the lame puff, both me and the hubs really enjoyed this a LOT. Hubby liked it so much he ate two ramekins of it that night. I reserved the last one for my lunch the next day. (And I even cheated and threw out the old puff and puffed up a new one for it, ha!)

p.s. (Happy Easter to all those who celebrate! We’ll be having the obligatory ham with asparagus and my Pecorino Romano Scalloped Potatoes.)

Spicy Shrimp and Leek Pot Pie
Adapted from Culinary Chronicles Shrimp Pot Pie

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced carrots
1 cup chopped leeks, white and light green parts only, washed thoroughly and drained
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup diced red potatoes
1/4 dry sherry (good quality, not cooking sherry)
1/2 pound (8 ounces) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce, or to taste
1/8 cup flour
1 cup homemade Shrimp Stock or use good quality store-bought seafood stock
1/4 cup Half and Half (or milk)
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 egg, beaten with a splash of water
Frozen puff pastry (sheets if you can find them)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Chop the veggies and shrimp into even bite-sized pieces.

Chopped Potatoes and Leeks

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat then add the celery, carrots, leeks, and potatoes. Sauté until softened, about 20 minutes.

Colorful Veggies!

Meanwhile, toss the shrimp with the Sriracha sauce until evenly seasoned. Set aside.

Add the garlic and thyme sprigs to the skillet and cook for a few more minutes. Pour in the sherry and let it reduce for a few minutes.

Shrimp and Peas Added

Meanwhile whisk the flour and shrimp or seafood stock together in a bowl and set aside. Mix the shrimp and thawed peas to the skillet.

Pour flour slurry into the skillet and cook for several more minutes. Add the Half and Half or milk, whisking constantly until the mixture has thickened.

Shrimp Pot Pie Filling

Remove the skillet from the heat then take out the thyme sprigs. Season the mixture with sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste.

Ladle the filling into individual ramekins or other ovenproof dishes. Cover each dish with a puff pastry and brush with the egg/water wash. As a treat for any pets you might have, microwave the rest of the egg as a treat for them!

Place the pot pies onto a baking sheet lined with foil, then transfer to the preheated oven. Bake the pies for about 20 minutes until the crusts are golden brown. Remove and let cool a few minutes. Serve with a side salad.

Spicy Shrimp and Leek Pot Pie (This is my next day lunch pie.)

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Lighter Chicken and Leek Pot Pie

Lighter Chicken and Leek Pot Pie

I’m not a big pastry eater, and even when it comes to homemade chicken or beef pot pie, I typically leave a lot of the soggy bottom crust behind. Then lo and behold, I came across this “skinnified” version of the dish! Yes!

Tons of flavor, not too many carbs, and nary a “cream of” can of soup in sight. My kind of meal! This dinner was inhaled by me and my family. I just loved the fact that I had the crispest of pastry set on top for a nice crunch with almost every bite. No soggy here! This recipe can be easily doubled, as you get two pie crust sheets in a box of refrigerated pie crust rolls.

The original recipe came from Cooking Light, and then foodie blogger Wendy Weekend Gourmet adapted it, and then I adapted it from her. Sharing the love!

And I decided to get Fancy-Schmancy with my lead-in photo and added a title to the pic. I just happened to have a lot of space at the top of the photo that I typically crop out, and have seen many bloggers add this, so what the heck. I hope you like both the recipe and the photo!

Lighter Chicken and Leek Pot Pie
Adapted from Cooking Light and Wendy Weekend Gourmet’s Skinny Chicken-Leek Pot Pie

Pot Pie Filling:
3/4 to 1 pound chicken breast meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup diced baby carrots
1 cup diced potatoes, any kind
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth, homemade or low sodium
2 ounces Neufchâtel or low-fat cream cheese

Pie Crust Rounds:
1 packaged refrigerated pie crust sheet
Milk, for brushing pastry
1/2 teaspoon dried whole thyme

Chopped and Seasoned Chicken

Mix the cut chicken with the poultry seasoning, black pepper, and a half tablespoon of oil and set aside.

Sliced Leeks and Baby Carrots

Add the trimmed leeks to a bowl of cold water to rinse out any grit or sand, then drain.

Cooking the Carrots and Potatoes ~ A mushroom snuck in there off the cutting board and jumped right into the middle of my photo!

Add a tablespoon of the oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots and potatoes and stir to evenly coat with the oil. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, then cover and steam the mixture for about 10 more minutes, uncovering and stirring occasionally.

Cooking the Chicken and Veggies

Add the chicken, leeks, and mushrooms and cook for another 10 minutes or so, also stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese and chicken broth in a large measuring cup and microwave for 2 minutes. After, whisk vigorously until the cream cheese is completely combined with the broth and set aside.

Step away for a second and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

When the chicken is fairly cooked through, evenly sprinkle the flour over it all. Stir well to combine and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Reducing the Delicious Cream Cheese Sauce

Pour the hot cream cheese/broth mixture into the pan with the chicken and veggies and stir well to combine with everything else until smooth. Reduce heat to low, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile (again), line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and unroll the refrigerated pie crust onto it. Use a small ramekin (or other) bowl as a guide to cut four pie crusts.

Cutting the Pie Crust Dough

Brush each round with milk, then sprinkle with the thyme.

Pie Crust Circles Ready to Bake

Place in oven and bake until golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes, then remove. By now your pot pie filling should be done.

To serve, divide the pot pie filling into bowls or ramekins and top with one of the crispy pie crust rounds. Serve and enjoy a bowl of yumminess!

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