Cooking From the Pantry - Crab Chowder

Starting a meal with a comforting bowl of chowder or soup is always great whether at a fancy restaurant, deli, or cafe.  Or have a classic bowl of soup or chowder with French bread or crackers as a complete meal.  While you are enjoying the first course or your complete meal, the soup or chowder is so good that you savor every spoonful to seek out all the flavors you can identify, so you create this meal at home yourself.  This restaurant-inspired chowder is from Crispers, a little bistro deli not far from where I work.  The chowder is called “Kickin Crab Chowder,” and it is full of beautiful flavors but lacks one thing: crab meat.  So, I am creating my version of this chowder, which is full of flavor and has lots of lump crabmeat.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
• ½ cup of flour
• 3 cups Fat-Free Chicken Broth
• 5 cloves garlic (diced)
• ½ medium onion (diced)
• 1 cup Fat-Free half & half creamer (room temp)
• 1 tsp. Creole Seasonings
• 1 tsp. Cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
• 2 cups Corn
• 16 ounces Lump Crabmeat
• ½ cup Red Bell Peppers (dice)

Step # 1 – Making the Roux   Cook time about 3 – 5 minutes

  In a medium saucepan, add olive oil and butter.  Sprinkle in the flour once the butter has melted and combined with the olive oil.  Cook over gentle/low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for about 2 minutes.  (Your roux should be light yellow, so do not let it get dark.)  Remove from heat and gradually stir at room temperature half & half, adding a little at a time and stirring constantly until the cream is incorporated before adding more.  When all the milk has been added, return to the heat and cook, stirring until thick and smooth.  Then add creole seasonings, cayenne pepper, and old bay seasoning. (See special note about making Roux’s) (Set aside for next step).

 Step # 2 – let’s get down to the chowder

 In a 3 - 5-quart soup pot, add chicken broth, garlic, and onions, and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Then add your roux and blend all ingredients well. Now add corn and bell peppers. Season to taste with salt and pepper and let simmer for another 3 – 5 minutes.  

 Step # 3 - Add the crabmeat to that chowder

Add crabmeat and be careful not to break up the lumps.  Let simmer for 3 -5 minutes, then serve in soup bowls and garnish with fresh chives.  This chowder is excellent with French bread, crackers, or parmesan cheese toast.  This chowder has crowd-pleasing possibilities. Enjoy 

Special Note about Roux

Roux is a cooked mixture of flour and fat, traditionally clarified butter. It is the thickening agent of three of the mother sauces of classical French cooking: sauce béchamel, sauce velouté, and sauce espagnole. Butter, vegetable oils, or lard are commonly used fats. Roux is used as a thickener for gravy, other sauces, soups, and stews. It is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight

Pina Colada Delight

A creamy blend of coconut, pineapple, and rum, Pina Colada has to be one of the most popular cocktails worldwide, with a name meaning "strained pineapple."  Pina Colada was introduced on August 16, 1954, and has been the official beverage of Puerto Rico since 1978. I was inspired to make this drink into a dessert using Cream Cheese and Instant Pudding. This will impress your guests at any cocktail party. Enjoy!

 

 

Prep Time:10

Chilling Time:15- 20

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup Pina Colada Mix
• 1 cup Coconut Milk
• 1 package Instant Vanilla Pudding (Sugar-Free -Fat-Free)
• 8 ounces Philadelphia Cream Cheese (whipped)
• 1 cup fresh Pineapple chunks
• 2 tablespoons Rum or Rum flavor if desired

 Step One

 

Combine Pina Colada mix, coconut milk, and vanilla pudding in a blender. Blend well, then add cream cheese, fresh pineapple and rum. Blend until smooth, and the pudding is starting to set.

 Step Two 

Pour Pina Colada Delight into cocktail glasses and let chill for about 15 - 20 minutes. When ready to serve, garnish with pineapple chucks and maraschino cherries.

Stuffed Ground Turkey Cabbage Rolls

 

About This Recipe

Servings 4 – 5 

This is adapted from a vintage Betty Crocker cookbook published in 1978. I love researching and testing recipes from old cookbooks. The recipe calls for ground beef or hamburger meat. I am using 97% lean ground turkey for my recipe. The cabbage leaves are prepared by separating the leaves from the cabbage head by removing the core and placing the cabbage in a large bowl of cold water. Let stand for about 10 minutes, then remove the leaves.

Ingredients

-1 medium head of cabbage that will yield about 12 leaves

-1 pound of 97% lead ground turkey

-1/2 cup uncooked instant rice 

-1 medium onion, chopped (about ½ cup)

-1/2 cup of fresh baby portabella mushrooms diced

-1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

- 1 teaspoon of salt

-1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

-1 ½ cup jar (12 ounces) marinara sauce 

-1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice

-1 tablespoon cornstarch

-1 tablespoon of chicken stock or broth

-2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley for garnish if desired

Equipment – 9” x 13” Baking Dish

Instructions

Step 1

Cover cabbage leaves with boiling water and let them stand until limp, about 10 minutes. Remove the leaves and drain.

Step 2

Mix ground turkey, rice, garlic powder, onions, mushrooms, salt, pepper, and ½ cup of marinara sauce in a large bowl. Place 1/3 cup of the mixture at the stem end of each cabbage leaf. Roll the leaf around the mixture, tucking in the sides.

Step 3

Mix the remaining cup of marinara sauce with sugar and lemon juice. Then, pour half of the sauce into the bottom of the baking dish, spreading it to cover the bottom. Place cabbage rolls seam-side down into the baking dish and pour the balance of the sauce over the cabbage rolls.

Step 4

Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes.  Then remove cabbage rolls from the oven, drain the liquid from the baking dish, and add to a small saucepan.   Combine cornstarch and chicken stock in a saucepan—heat to boiling, stirring constantly for about one minute. Pour sauce over the rolls and garnish with fresh parsley.  

Spicy Pasta Stir-Fry with Turkey Kielbasa Sausage

Turkey Kielbasa Sausage with Angel Hair Pasta

Ingredients

• Hillshire Farm Smoke Turkey Kielbasa (1 link sliced )
• 4 ounces Angel Hair Pasta (cooked)
• Veggies
• 1 small Red Bell Pepper (Sliced)
• 1 small Yellow Bell Pepper (sliced)
• 1 cup julienne Carrots
• 1 cup Asparagus (sliced on the angle )
• 5 Garlic Cloves (minced)
• 1/2 onion (sliced)

 

Ingredients

Cooked Angel Hair Pasta

Combine all ingredients and toss well.

Steps 

1.   In a large non-stick skillet or wok, add 2 tbsp of Olive Oil, then your aromatics - garlic and onions.  Sauté until they are nice and translucent.

2.   Then add Kielbasa and toss together with onions and garlic.  Then add veggies - bell peppers, Asparagus, and carrots.  Toss and coat all ingredients, add angel hair pasta, and combine everything together.

3.   Serve immediately.  (Great for leftovers)