Lentil and Ham soup

A warm hearty soup is the perfect winter meal, lots of healthy fresh ingredients in this flavorful soup. I like to make this after Christmas when I have left over ham, and veggies from the roasted turkey. Use the turkey carcass to make you're own turkey stock so nothing goes to waste.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb dried green lentils
1/4 cup olive oil
3 medium yellow onions, diced
7 garlic cloves, minced
4 stalks celery, diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups spiral cut ham, diced
1 cup tomato paste
5 quarts homemade turkey stock
 boiling water for lentils
Hot sauce for garnish (optional)
grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions

1. Add lentils to a large bowl and pour enough boiling water to cover lentils. Let sit for 15 minutes and drain.

2. In a 7 quart dutch oven heat olive oil to medium-high heat. Once hot add onion, garlic, celery, carrots, oregano, basil, thyme, pepper, salt and bay leaf cook for 20 minutes stirring frequently to cook vegetables evenly.

3. Add in ham and tomato paste, cook for 4 minutes and add in turkey stock and lentils. Bring to a boil  and simmer for 1 hour, uncovered.

Serve with a piece of crusty bread and with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese and a few dashes of hot sauce.

Homemade Turkey stock

Ingredients:
1 left over cooked turkey carcass
5 carrots, cut in half
5 celery stalks, cut in half
8 peppercorns
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 bay leaves
1/2 a bulb of garlic, cut down the middle
8 sprigs of thyme
2 medium yellow onion halved
 water

Directions:
1. Toss all ingredients in a large pot and fill with water, leave uncovered on high. Bring to a boil and let boil on medium-high heat for 1 hour.

2. Strain soup through a fine mesh colander to remove all chunks of turkey and vegetables.
Store for soups, stuffing, keep in freezer containers for up to 4 months.

Chicken Flautas

What a simple yet so delicious dish this is. Everyone enjoys flautas, doesn't matter the age or background. Have a potluck and everyone can help shred the chicken and roll them up. There are plenty of options for dips but they don't really even need anything else, these can also be frozen* and reheated in just a few minutes for a quick snack.

Ingredients:

For chicken:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (can also use a store bought rotisserie chicken, I prefer my own seasoning)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon spice blend

kosher salt and black pepper to taste

For frying:

36 taco size yellow corn tortillas

peanut oil for frying (enough to fill a pot about 2 1/2 - 3 inches deep)

tooth picks

Directions: preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a roasting pan with aluminum foil.

1. Place chicken breasts in the roasting pan and brush chicken generously with olive oil, coating both sides. 

2. Next season with salt, pepper, and spice blend. Bake for 30 minutes, until juices run clear. Loosely cover chicken breasts with aluminum foil to keep the meat juicy, let it rest for 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a 5qt dutch oven until a thermometer registers to 350 degrees F.

3. Once the chicken has rested shred it using two forks, one stuck in the meat to keep it in place and the other pulling away to tear into strips, do this to all the chicken.

4. To the hot oil add a corn tortilla let it cook for only 5-10 seconds and turn quickly for another 5 seconds, (this makes the tortilla pliable) transfer to paper towels to drain for about a minute. Then, sprinkle some chicken shreds in the center of the tortilla and roll the chicken up tightly inside the tortilla, use a toothpick to pierce and secure the flauta to ensure filling stays inside. Return the filled tortilla to the oil and turn to cook all sides, once the tortilla has a golden crunchy shell, remove from oil and transfer to paper towels to drain again. Repeat with the rest of the filling. 

 Serve with queso, bean dip, guacamole or alongside beans and rice.

BE CAREFUL IT WILL BE HOT, LET THEM COOL FOR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE EATING.

To reheat, bake in a 400 degrees F oven for about 7 minutes.

**Freezing instructions: after the flautas are cooked, place on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes, then transfer to a ziplock freezer bag. To reheat flautas place on a baking sheet and bake in a 450 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, until golden and crispy**  

Chinese Barbecue Sauce (Char Siu)

This sauce is great for dipping and also is used in my Chinese Barbecue Pork (Char Siu) recipe.

Chinese BBQ Sauce Ingredients:

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon oyster sauce

3/4 cup rice cooking wine

4 teaspoons sesame oil

3/4 cup sugar

5 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 of a onion, cut into chunks (save the other half for later)

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 1inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into chunks

1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

3 tablespoons cold water

Sauce Directions:

1. Mix water and cornstarch together until smooth, set aside.

2. To a medium-sized pot add; all sauce ingredients, adding the cornstarch water mixture in last. 

3. Whisk and heat to low-medium, simmer for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon (watch it and do not let it burn on the bottom). Sauce should have thickened a good amount, remove from heat and pour through a strainer, set the sauce aside to cool.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Spring Rolls are filled with all different kinds of fillings, these being my favorite combination, change it up with your own meats and veggies.

Makes 8 rolls

Ingredients:

8 thin slices of Chinese Barbecue Pork (Char Siu)

8 raw jumbo shrimp, deveined with shells and tails removed

1 cup Basic Sticky Rice

1 cup rice vermicelli noodles

8 rice paper sheets (spring roll wrappers)

8 small iceberg lettuce, leaves (rinsed and patted dry)

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

water for boiling shrimp, plus extra for noodles

warm water for rice paper sheets

hoisin sauce for dipping

Directions:

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil, add vermicelli noodles, let them cook for about 5 minutes, strain them through a fine colander and rinse with cold water; shake off the as much water as you can, set aside.

2. Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil, add in salt, sugar, and shrimp. Cook for 4 minutes, or until shrimps have curled and are pink. Remove from water, rinse with cold water and pat dry; set aside.

3. Pour warm water into a large circular dish, push 1 piece of rice paper into the water, so it is completely submerged. Remove once the paper is pliable.

4. Lay rice paper on a flat surface and start layering the ingredients however you want, when it comes to rolling it, I place all the ingredients in the center and roll it like a burrito bringing in the two sides toward each other then rolling from front to back but use whatever works for you.

Serve cold or at room temperature, with hoisin sauce for dipping.

Shrimp first.

I put wax paper down and sprayed a teeny bit of non-stick spray to keep it from sticking

Then pork.

Lettuce next.

Now, the rice.

Lastly, rice noodles.

Finished!

Serve with hoisin sauce for dipping!