Slow Cooker – Mary's Kitchen

LET’S MAKE ITALIAN BEAN & MINESTRONE SOUP -( some things are just TOO GOOD TO THROW AWAY)

Italian Bean & Minestrone Soup – bursting with colour and flavour

There is no better time of year than SOUP TIME! The climate is getting cooler, flakes of snow are starting to fall and Christmas is just around the corner. So let’s get our jimjams (PJ’s) on, click on the Netflix and get a nice comforting bowl of soup with some fresh crusty bread.

Yesterday I was in Morrisons, a UK based supermarket and in the vegetable department I found this really neat idea. Morrisons had these boxes made up which were labelled – TOO GOOD TO THROW AWAY – and each box was full of great vegetables and fruit which they were selling for only £1. This got me thinking, how many times do you open the bottom drawer of your fridge and find an assortment of vegetables that are just about ready to put their best foot forward and take a hike right out of the vegetable drawer. So I decided to rescue the situation and turn these TOO GOOD TO THROW AWAY veggies and turn them into a wonderful pot of Italian Bean & Minestrone Soup. The result was amazing. I even found a half a bottle of Pinot Grigio and how that even made it into the fridge, only the wine fairy knows the answer to that.

An assortment of – TOO GOOD TO THROW AWAYS.

In my search I found 4 softish tomatoes which I chopped up. A bag of carrots that were crying out – USE ME. Some celery that was left over from adorning Bloody Mary’s. A bag of green beans. Several garlic bulbs. In the cupboard I found some Butter and Cannellini beans. Went to the garden and picked some fresh herbs, added 1000ml of chicken stock plus 3/4 cup of pasta and voila. There is no measuring required here and what you will produce is something quite delicious.

ITALIAN BEAN & MINESTRONE SOUP – made easy

4 chopped tomatoes (or 1 tin chopped toms), 4/5 stalks celery, 2/3/4 garlic cloves chopped, 2 chopped onions, 5/6 chopped carrots, some chopped green beans, 1 tin butter beans, 1 tin cannellini beans, 1000 ml chicken stock, 1/2 cup of Pinot Grigio if you have any left over (lol), 1/2 cup of a small sized pasta (macaroni or such like), some fresh herbs.

Add 2tbsp of olive oil to your soup pot – add onions, garlic, carrots, celery, green beans and saute gently. Add tomatoes, wine, beans, chicken stock and whatever else you would like to throw in. Mix well, bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer for 1 hour.

Get yourself some lovely crusty bread and some grated parmesan to top off and just ENJOY.

If you are enjoying my Blogs, follow and have put a ‘like’ on my Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/Marypremiercru/ – “Mary’s Kitchen”. Please subscribe after reading my blog by entering your email address in the subscription area at the end or side of this blog. You will then receive notification when I have posted again. You can also follow my instructional videos on You Tube – Mary PremierCru (again, please subscribe if you enjoy them).

Thank you for stopping by.

Mary Joan Calder

LET’S GET OUR SLOW COOKERS OUT OF HIBERNATION

The autumn leaves are falling, the mornings are frosty and the temperatures are dropping. As we move into the winter months, let’s turn our thoughts to some winter warmers.

I have just dusted off my slow cooker (crock pot) and placed it on the kitchen counter in full view to remind me to use it! I don’t use this kitchen marvel during the summer months, but now the nights are closing in and getting colder, it’s time to crank the slow cooker back into action and produce some wonderful wintery dishes that fill the kitchen with awesome aromas.

Such a versatile piece of kitchen equipment, especially if your a busy mom or working person, the slow cooker can turn a simple selection of ingredients into something quite tasty.

If you are using meat, I tend to like to brown and seal mine first in a frying pan with some coconut or olive oil before adding to my pot. I also like to sauté my onions and garlic a little before adding them along with the other ingredients.

My first recipe I would like to share with you is:-

CHICKEN, MUSHROOM AND WHITE BEAN CASSEROLE3 CHICKEN BREASTS DICED, 3 TBSP. COCONUT OIL OR OLIVE OIL, 1 LEEK (SLICED AND DICED), 1 ONION (DICED), 3 GARLIC CLOVES (SLICED), 3 GREEN CHILLIS (DICED), 6 CARROTS (CUT INTO LARGE PIECES), 2 CANS OF WHITE BEANS (USE ANY SORT – I’M USING BUTTER BEANS), 1 PUNNET OF CHESTNUT MUSHROOMS, 2 – 3 CUPS CHICKEN STOCK, 2 HEAPED TABLESPOONS GREEK YOGURT, 1 TSP CUMIN, 1 TSP CAYENNE PEPPER, 1 TSP OREGANO, S&P.

HEAT OIL IN FRYING PAN – ADD CHICKEN BROWN AND SEAL – ADD SPICES – PLACE IN SLOW COOKER. SAUTE ONIONS, LEEKS AND GARLIC IN SAME PAN – ONCE THEY ARE SAUTÉED ADD A LITTLE CHICKEN STOCK TO FRYING PAN TO DECARAMELISE THE FLAVOURS FROM PAN. ADD TO SLOW COOKER ALONG WITH ALL OTHER INGREDIENTS. COOK ON MEDIUM – READY IN 4/5 HOURS. ENJOY.

LEMON CHICKEN THIGHS & ROSEMARY8 CHICKEN THIGHS, 3 TBSP OLIVE OIL, 2 SHALLOTS, 2 CUPS CHICKEN STOCK, 2 LEMONS (SLICED), 6 GARLIC CLOVES (SLICED), 2 BAY LEAVES, FRESH ROSEMARY, 8/12 PEELED CARROTS (LEFT WHOLE), 1 RED CHILLI (SLICED), 2 TSP CHILLI FLAKES, S&P.

ADD OLIVE OIL TO FRYING PAN, ADD CHICKEN THIGHS AND BROWN SKIN WELL. WHILE BROWNING THIGHS, ADD YOUR CARROTS AND LINE BOTTOM OF SLOW COOKER. PLACE COOKED CHICKEN ON TOP OF CARROTS. ADD SHALLOTS TO FRYING PAN AND SAUTÉED UNTIL TRANSPARENT – ADD TO COOKER. ADD ALL THE REST OF THE INGREDIENTS. COOK ON MEDIUM – READY IN 4/5 HOURS. ENJOY.

If you are in more of a hurry, both these dishes can be cooked in a casserole dish and placed in a conventional oven at 375F (180C). Place foil over top of dish if it doesn’t have a cover. Cook for about 1-1/2 hours.

The luxury of the slow cooker is, you can prepare meals the night before in the slow cooker, place the internal pot in the refrigerator over night. In the morning, turn your slow cooker on ‘low’ and come back later that day to a wonderfully tasty meal that you haven’t had to worry about getting burnt. Because the food is cooking so slowly all the flavours are intensified.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy these two recipes.

If you are enjoying my Blogs, follow and put a ‘like’ on my Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/Marypremiercru/ – “Mary’s Kitchen”. Please subscribe after reading my blog by entering your email address in the subscription area at the end or side of this blog. You will then receive notification when I have posted again. You can also follow my instructional videos on You Tube – Mary PremierCru (again, please subscribe if you enjoy them).

Thank you for stopping by.

Mary Joan Calder