Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

As a busy kindy teacher, pre-making lunches ahead of time is helpful. At our school we only get 40 minutes for lunch. However, by the time we walk home and account for the time it will take to walk back, there is little time to prep and eat lunch. This weekend I cooked one of my favourite lunch time dishes. Soup! This soup from Sophistimom has been one of my go to soups for the past year. It's filling, delicious, and doesn't really take that much time to make. There are a ton of ways to add your own signature with this soup, by adding different spices, pasta, or rice. Try it!

 

Chicken Soup with Wild Rice

Ingredients

4 small chicken breasts

1/2 cup of wild rice blend
2 large carrots chopped into 1 inch pieces
3 stalks of celery chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/2 of a red pepper chopped
6 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of water
1/2 tbsp of vinegar
1 medium onion chopped
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 dried rosemary
3 or 4 dried bay leaves
A pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
To cook the chicken, place in a large pot of water and boil for about 20 minutes. You may need longer if you are cooking from frozen. When the chicken is cooked through, use two forks to shred it into small pieces. In another pot, cook your rice according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large pot over medium low heat, pour in oil and add carrots, onions, celery, thyme, and rosemary. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add red peppers, chicken broth, water, and vinegar. Next, add cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and add more water or salt and pepper if needed.

Place chicken and rice into individual bowls and cover with a ladle or two of soup.

Makes 8-9 individual portions 

Crock Pot Guinness Beef Stew

There’s nothing better than a steamy hot bowl of hearty stew, served with a fresh baguette, smeared with some butter. The best part of this recipe is that it’s delicious and requires little effort. You can make it in the morning and have dinner ready when you get home from work.

Ingredients
4 medium/large potatoes
2 carrots
3 stocks of celery
1 onion
1 pound of cubed lean beef (see Pot Roast post for details on the beef I used)
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 bottle of Guinness beer
2-3 dried bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme
2-3 cups of beef stock
3-4 tbsp of butter
3-4 tbsp flour and a bit extra to cover the beef

First, toss the beef in a bowl with a sprinkling of flour, salt, and pepper. Pour the olive oil into a pot or pan and turn the heat up to medium-high. Place the floured beef in the pot and brown on all sides. Avoid crowding the pan and cook in small batches.

Next, clean, peel, and chop the vegetables into medium chunks. We left the peels on the potatoes this time and the stew turned out as tasty as ever.

Add the beef, spices, and vegetables into the crock pot. Pour the beer in next. Then, pour 2-3 cups of beef stock over the veggies and beef so everything is covered. (You may need more or less stock depending on your crock pot and how many vegetables you used).

Turn the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or high for about 4 hours.

Relax and have a delicious treat, because you deserve it.

After the time is up or your vegetables have cooked through and you can cut the meat with a spoon, it’s time to spoon out the meat and veggies with a slotted spoon. Set aside.

 Using the flour and butter in an even ratio whip up a rue. (To make a rue, simply heat equal parts butter and flour over a very low temperature, while stirring constantly).  Then, slowly add the liquid from the stew and thicken, while stirring constantly over low heat and bring to a boil. Once the liquid has become thick (similar to gravy), pour back into the crock pot. Add the meat and veggies and give it a stir until evenly combined. This process helps to make your stew creamy and the right consistency. If you prefer it runnier, like a soup, you can skip this step.

Serve hot, with thick crusty bread and butter.

Makes 6-8 servings