Making your own chicken broth has so many benefits.  First of all, it’s cheaper than buying cans or boxes from the store.  Also it’s a very thrifty way to use spare chicken bones if you de-bone your own chicken.  Also you can add your own flavor, such as roasted garlic.

Second of all, it’s healthier.  You will be able to control the amount of salt and the fat left in the broth.

The Basics

• Chicken bones
• 2 onions – quartered
• Water
• Celery – roughly chopped
• Cloves of garlic – You can also add roasted garlic for a more intense flavor.
• Salt

The Rundown

Put all the ingredients in a pot, except water.  Add enough water to to cover the chicken.  Bring to a gentle boil.

Simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes.  Add salt to taste.

Remove from heat and let it cool completely.  Skim off the fat.  Using a strainer and a bowl, strain out all the protein, cooked chicken and veggies.

I like storing my broth in zip-top sandwich baggies so that I can use small serving portions at a time.  Stack the baggies in a large plastic container and freeze.

What do to do with a freezer full of left-over cooked meats and sausages?  Make a gumbo! I won’t be so bold to say that this is a traditional gumbo, but I will say that this left me and scraping the bowl!

I think the most daunting part of this is making a roux, which is only laborious because you have to constantly stir it for about 20-25 minutes.  I mean it.  Don’t walk away. Don’t answer the phone, start texting, or grab the remote.  Making a roux is serious business, but if done correctly it will serve you well!

The Basics

• Diced onion – about 1 cup
• Diced celery – about 1 cup
• Cooking oil – about 2 tbsp, and 1/3 cup
• Diced meats – I used precooked chicken, ham, turkey sausage and andouille sausage.  If you are going to buy something, I would say definitely spurge on the andouille sausage.  You can add shrimp too.
• Flour – 1/2 cup
• Chicken broth – About 2 cans
• Green onions – Green part cut on a bias
• Cooked rice
• Salt and pepper
• Okra – I used frozen, but feel free to use fresh okra.
• Spices – I like using some 1 tsp ground sage, 2 bay leaves, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder.

The Rundown

Saute onions and celery in 2 tbsp of oil until onions are translucent.  Set aside.

In a dutch oven or a cast iron pot, add the 1/3 cup of oil and heat over medium heat.  Add 1/2 cup of flour and whisk.  It will look blond (to the left).  Keep whisking and moving the blond roux so it doesn’t burn.  This will take about 20-25 minutes until you see the color start changing.  Keep cooking until it becomes brown (to the right), like milk chocolate.

Carefully add the broth and keep whisking until all broth is added.

Once the base starts boiling, add all the meats.  Then add the spices and cooked veggies.

Bring gumbo to a gentle boil and let cook for about 15 minutes, covered.  Add okra and cook for about 10 minutes more.  Stir occasionally.  Skim off any excess fat.  Add salt, pepper and spices to taste.

Serve over hot rice with a sprinkle of green onions.

Kimchi jjigae (kim-chee gee-gay) is a spicy Korean stew made with kimchi and pork belly.  This recipe was given to me to by a friend who introduced me to Korean food.

Kimchi is a Korean side dish (or ban chan) that is pretty much spicy pickled vegetables.  I’ve tasted the cucumber, turnip and cabbage types of kimchi.  However, this dish requires cabbage kimchi.  Although I don’t typically like spicy food, I really enjoy kimchi because it’s more tangy than hot.

If you already are a fan of kimchi, this is a great way to use old kimchi.

The Basics

• Pork belly – Cut diced.   I’ve been told you can substitute this with Spam, but I haven’t tried it yet.
• Sesame seed oil – 1 tbsp
• Onions – Diced
• Cabbage kimchi with juice
• Water
• Firm tofu; optional – diced
• Doenjang; optional – Korean miso paste

The Rundown

This is what unsliced pork belly looks like.  Yummy! It’s pretty much slabs of bacon that’s uncured.  I dice it without cutting it in half horizontally, so that the skin stays connected with the meat.

Put a small casserole pot on the stove top.  Heat on medium-high heat.  Add sesame see oil and brown pork belly and onions for a few minutes.

Add 1-2 tbsp of doenjang (pictured above), kimchi, tofu and about a 1/2 cup of water to the pot.  Add some kimchi juice if you want to make it extra spicy.  Gently boil for about 30-45 minutes or until the kimchi is softened.

Carefully remove from the stove top with oven mitts.  Serve along side a bowl of hot rice soaking in water or tea.  Enjoy!

Thick and packed with flavor, split pea soup with chunks of ham is one of my favorite comfort foods.  This is especially if you have left-over ham.  This recipe makes enough for a large family.

The Basics

• Cooked ham cut into chunks – You’ll need at least 2 handfuls.
• 2 carrots – Peeled and sliced
• 2 potatoes; optional – peeled and diced
• 1 onion – diced
• 2 packages of dried split peas
• Chicken broth – about 3 or 4 cups.
• Water
• 1-2 bay leaves

The Rundown

Rinse one package of split peas with water.  In a dutch oven or a heavy pot with a lid, add onions, hams, chicken broth, the rinsed split peas, and bay leaves.

Bring to a gentle boil and cover with a lid.  Continue to cook for 30-45 minutes — just until the peas are soften.

Rinse other bag of peas.  Add carrots, celery, potatoes and peas.  Bring to a boil again.  Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes — or until the new peas are softened.  The first batch of peas will pretty much turn into mush, while the second batch will keep its shape.  Enjoy!

Beef stew is one of my dad’s favorite American comfort foods.  There are pre-made seasoning packets that you can buy, but if you have red wine, tomato paste, bay leaves and beef broth, you don’t need all the extra sodium!

The Basics

• Beef chuck roast – Cut into hearty 1″ inches.
• Garlic – Peeled and minced; I like garlic so I used 4 cloves.
• Celery stalks – Washed and sliced
• Carrots – Peeled and sliced
• Green peppers – De-seeded, and diced
• Potatoes – Peeled and diced
• Red wine – Use what you drink!
• Tomato paste – Use 2-3 tbsp
• Bay leaves
• Salt and pepper
• Beef broth; about 1 or 2 cans
• Cornstarch; about 1 tbsp
• Water

The Rundown

Season beef with salt and pepper.  Heat a dutch oven on the stove top on medium heat.  Here’s some tips when you’re browning beef:

1. Dry meat with paper towels.
2. Don’t over crowd meat.  Cook it in small batches if necessary.
3. Let beef cook for about 3 minutes before you even think about flipping it.

Once beef is browned, transfer the beef to a plate.

Pour red wine to deglaze the bottom.  Gently scrape brown bits from the bottom of the pan

Add beef, garlic, bay leaves, tomato paste and beef broth.  Bring to a gentle boil on medium heat.  Cover and continue cooking for about 30-45 minutes.

Add vegetables and stir.  Cover and continue cooking for about 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.  Enjoy!

Lamb cassoulet is a French white bean and lamp stew.  When it comes to lamb, I usually like to season it with rosemary, salt and pepper and grill it.  However, I got some lamb shanks on sale so I thought it might be a good time to try something new.

The only thing I would modify is only using one lamb shank instead of two, because the cassoulet was VERY game-y and lamb-y.  Another alternative would be switching the lamb for chicken, which I’m going to try one of these days.

The Basics

• Lamb shank
• Navy beans – the dry kind or you can used canned to lessen prep time
• Celery – 2 stalks, cleaned and chopped
• Onion – diced
• Chicken or lamb broth – about 3 or 4 cups
• Tomato paste – 2 tbsp
• Bouquet garni – This is usually a bundle of fresh herbs tied together with butcher string.  I used dried herbs (whole peppercorns, rosemary, parsley, bay leaves and sage) and MacGyver-ed a herb bag.
• Red wine – about a cup
• 2 slices of bacon
• Garlic – two cloves, peeled and minced

The Rundown

Soak beans overnight in water.  Drain the next day.

In a dutch oven, fry bacon then set bacon aside when cooked.

Saute onions in bacon fat until translucent.

Dice lamb and then brown with the onions.  Add garlic and season with salt and pepper.  Meanwhile oven to 325 degrees.

In a coffee filter, add peppercorn, rosemary and sage.  Tie off with butcher string or cooking twine.

Add wine to the lamb in the dutch oven, and scrape off any of the brown bits on the bottom.  Add broth, tomato paste, and celery.  Lastly throw in the spice bag or the herb bouquet. Heat until boiling.

Put lid on and bake for 2 hours.  When finished remove spice bag and serve.  Tada!

This is an updated recipe (see the original).  The main difference is that I played with recipe by adding more seasoning.  I think most people tinker with recipes when cooking at home.  I just wanted to post this update because I think it worked out really well!

The Basics

• 1 can of chicken broth
• 2 celery stock, diced; save the celery leaves
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1/2 small/medium onion, diced
• 1/2 cup Matzo meal
• 2 eggs
• Cooking oil
• salt
• garlic powder

The Rundown

Heat oil in a medium-sized pot that has a lid.  Saute celery, onion and carrots for about 5-10 minutes on a low heat.

Add a chicken broth.  Fill can with water and add it to the pot.   Add a pinch of salt.  Cover and let simmer as you prepare the matzo balls.

Combine matzo meal, eggs, garlic powder, salt, minced celery leaves, and 2 tbps of oil.

Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

After refrigeration, take out matzo ball dough.  Using your hands, roll matzo balls (about 1″ in diameter).  Don’t make them too large, because they are going to expand as they cook.

Add matzo balls in the soup.  Increase heat until you get a soft simmer.  Cover pot with a lid and cook for about 30 minutes.  Enjoy!

pastrami sandwich on wheat, and homemade matzo ball soup = my post-Christmas shopping lunch =)

Updated matzo ball soup 2.0 recipe coming soon!  Or if you can’t wait, read my first try at matzo ball soup.

It’s a really simple family recipe; I call it a “can” recipe because you just open  a bunch of cans and throw it in a pot.  I came up with this recipe based off a turkey goulash recipe I saw in “The Biggest Loser: Cookbook”.  My nephew Jaden loves it so much he said, “If the president gave you $1 million dollars for this, you should say no”.  Gotta love rave reviews from the kids! =)

Even if you aren’t a fan of ground turkey, give this a try!  I’ve converted even the most discriminating eaters with this one pot recipe.

The Basics

• Can of corn – drained
• Can of kidney beans
• Can of black beans
• Can of cannellini beans
• Can of garbanzo beans – drained
• Can of diced tomatoes – drained
• 1 lb of ground turkey
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• 1 half medium onion; diced
• 1 yellow squash; diced
• 1 zucchini; diced
• Handful sliced mushrooms
• Hot sauce
• Cooking oil;  enough to coat the bottom of the pot

The Rundown

1. Add oil to a large pot over medium heat.  The pot will have to be large enough for all the ingredients and extra room for bubbling and stirring.
2. Saute onion until caramelized.  Add ground turkey and cook until turkey is cooked thoroughly (no longer pink).
3. Add all the cans of beans and veggies — except the squash and zucchini.  You don’t have to drain the beans because the liquid will thicken the chili.  You may want to rinse the black beans so the chili isn’t too dark
4. Add entire package of taco seasoning.
5. Bring to a gentle boil and let cook on low-medium heat for about 20-25 minutes, covered. Stir occasionally.
6. Add squash and zucchini and cook for about 5-10 minutes longer.
7. Add hot sauce to taste.  You can also add a few dashes of garlic powder, salt and pepper to intensify the flavor.

Chicken mami (pronounced exactly the way it looks “mah-mi”)  is a wonderfully simple Filipino chicken noodle soup.  Personally I think it celebrates everything about the chicken.  Also this was a really cool way to use spare chicken parts I had saved for a broth.

The Basics

• Chicken on the bone – Make sure you have enough meat on the bones if you are planning to use spare chicken parts.
• 2 cans of chicken broth
• Green onions – Sliced
• 2 hard boiled eggs – diced
• Garlic – 3 cloves; thinly sliced
• Egg noodles – I used whole wheat egg noodles that had 8g of protein (*This notation is just if my trainer reads my blog)
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic powder

The Rundown

1. Cover chicken in water. Add a bit of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Boil until done, which should take you about 20-30 minutes depending on how much meat is on the bones.
2. When chicken is cooked, remove from water and shred into pieces.  I prefer to use my fingers rather than using forks.  It works better and you get better control.
3. Boil egg noodles according to package directions in a different pot.  Drain noodles when done and set aside.
4. Gently fry garlic in a frying pan with a bit of oil.  Stir garlic constantly.  Be careful because garlic will burn quickly.  Remove from heat in a bowl.
5. Heat chicken broth until just boiling.
6. In serving bowls, add noodles, chicken, green onions, eggs and garlic.  Carefully add hot broth.  Add salt and paper.