Potato Soup

Last weekend was miserable. It rained for almost three days. But a good rainy weekend is good for a few things: staying in your pjs, binge watching netflix, reading in bed, and soup! I thought this was a pretty good potato soup recipe but then I have no experience making potato soup. I've had some very good restaurant potato soup but I'm sure they put a ton of unhealthy things in it instead of just half a ton. I used our Dinosaur BBQ Cajun Foreplay Seasoning and it was divine.

Please excuse my messy stovetop!

 It was served up with some Cabot cheddar, homemade bacon bits, and nice crusty bread.

Potato Soup

(from the Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:
6 slices Thin Bacon, Cut Into 1-inch Pieces
1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
3 whole Carrots, Scrubbed Clean And Diced
3 stalks Celery, Diced
6 whole Small Russet Potatoes, Peeled And Diced
8 cups Low Sodium Chicken Or Vegetable Broth
3 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
Black Pepper To Taste
1/2 teaspoon Cajun Spice Mix
1 teaspoon Minced Fresh Parsley
1 cup Grated Cheese Of Your Choice
Directions:
1. Add bacon pieces to a soup pot over medium heat and cook bacon until crisp and fat is rendered. Remove the bacon from the pot and set it aside. Pour off most of the grease, but do not clean the pot.
2. Return the hot to medium-high heat and add the onions, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 2 minutes or so, then add the diced potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, seasoning with salt, pepper, and Cajun spice.
3. Pour in the broth and bring it to a gentle boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to get tender. Whisk together the flour and the milk, then pour into the soup and allow the soup to cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Remove half to 2/3 the soup and blend in a blender/food process until completely smooth. Pour it back into the soup pot and stir to combine. Let it heat back up as you taste for seasonings, adding more of what it needs. Stir in cream, then stir in parsley, reserving a little for garnish.
5. Serve in bowls garnished with parsley, grated cheese and crisp bacon pieces.

Sriracha Chicken

This chicken dish was pretty yummy and versatile. Although I must admit I still like my Cashew Chicken the best. The first night I served it over quinoa and then the next as tacos. It reheated very well and I took it in for lunch a couple of times. If you're in the mood for something on the spicy side of things than this is the dish for you!

Served over quinoa:

 Augmenting a veggie taco:

There isn't anything like some fresh sriracha!

Sriracha Chicken

(Pinterest find! Adapted from familyfreshcooking.com)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup peanut/veggie/coconut oil (I used less)
1 pound chicken breast, trim into bite sized pieces
2 shallots or one small onion, diced
1/4 cup Sriracha (you can adjust more or less)
1/4 cup Honey
Juice from one lime
Salt & Pepper
Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Saute the shallots until soft.

2. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan with shallots and cook until browned on each side. Drain any excess chicken juice.

3. Whisk together sriracha, honey, and lime juice. Adjust to suit your personal tastes.

4. Add the sauce and simmer for 8 minutes until chicken is fully cooked, stirring often.

5. Serve with rice, quinoa, or tacos.

Things We've Been Eating

Crispy fish tacos with avocado, coleslaw, and sriracha mayo

 Dinosaur BBQ seasoned tuna steak sandwiches with tomato and sriracha mayo

 Veggie fajitas: onion, pepper, and mushrooms

Fajita toppings!

 Kale salad with avocado, hardboiled egg, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds

Hearty Lunch

I cooked up some quinoa in veggie broth, threw in my leftover edamame, and tossed it with leftover hoisin based stir-fry sauce.

Behold a week worth of lunches!

Snow Day Steak

I had another snow day today. At this point it's not even that fun. However it did give me the opportunity to marinate these super on sale steaks that I picked up last week.

Steak Marinade

Ingredients:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

A good splash of olive oil

Directions:

1. Mix it all together and throw in your meat!

uh huh.

Spicy Coleslaw Burger!

That's not healthy.

But it is deliciously yummy.

Salad Time!

Mr. Lawyer got me a delicious smoked danish blue cheese for Valentine's day. It's so rich and flavorful. I thought it would be delicious on a salad and it was!

Bibb lettuce, smoked danish blue cheese, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds.

Grocery Store Crisis

We were going to make this amazing looking tuna steak recipe but the store was all out of tuna! Whomp whomp. Our in store emergency decision was catfish. We still have a pouch of cajun fish fry seasoning from Mr. Lawyer's New Orleans trip. Always delicious.

We'll catch that tuna another day!

Rainbow Love

I love opening my cabinets to be greeted by a cheery rainbow. 

I've been rotating the larger dinner plates based on the colors of the season. We're still in the darker and icy hues of winter.

Fiesta Olympics!

I guess I should invest in a set of black fiesta so I can make the rings authentic. I don't have a set of ivory either.

 Syracuse themed coffee!

 My organizing obsession got a little out of hand today. I saw this colorful binder system on pinterest and just had to have it. Now that we're beginning our journey as a married couple it made sense to organize everything nicely. Our categories are Medical/Insurance, Auto (it should read "stupid car"), House (!!!), Taxes, Bills etc (for any major bills, purchases, warranties, receipts, etc we should keep), and finally Pet paperwork! The store had two more different shades of blue and green...can you think of any other categories we should have? I really just want to buy those last two colors!

 One more Fiesta rainbow shot because I can't resist.

Do you know your colors?

Honey Mustard Love

I've always had a love affair with honey mustard so I might be a little bias when it comes to loving this recipe but Mr. Lawyer liked it too and lawyers never lie right? This was easy and amazing. For lunch the next day I chopped up the leftover chicken and spooned the sauce over the leftover quinoa. It was to die for. This recipe has earned a spot next to my favorite Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps. I want to make both of these recipes over and over again.

Honey Mustard Chicken

(Pinterest find! From goodlifeeats.com)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of grainy, course mustard (I subbed more smooth, spicy Gulden's Mustard)
1/4 cup smooth dijion mustard (Grey Poupon of course!)
1/2 cup honey
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 of a small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenderloins (I cut up chicken breasts)
salt and pepper
3 - 4 small sprigs of fresh rosemary
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, combine the mustards, honey, and 2 teaspoons of the olive oil.
2. In a sauté pan or cast iron skillet, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
3. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until golden and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional 1 - 2 minutes, until fragrant.
4. Place the chicken tenderloins on top of the onion and garlic mixture, or if the pan you cooked the onion and garlic in is not oven safe, transfer the onion and garlic to an oven safe dish and add the chicken to it. Salt and pepper the tops of the chicken according to your personal preference.
5. Pour the honey mustard mixture on top of the chicken. Arrange the rosemary sprigs around the chicken in the pan.
6. Bake the chicken covered at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. Then remove the cover, baste the chicken with the sauce, and continue to cook for an additional 20 - 30 minutes uncovered, or until the chicken is browned on top and cooked through.