Italian Chicken Soup

Pioneer Woman is one of my favorite bloggers. Michelle F loves her too, and we were feeling soupy, so we made this Italian chicken soup (recipe here)--minus the heavy cream, with less celery, minus the parmesan, and with a rotisserie chicken rather than a raw fry chicken. Very good. I'd make this again easily, and I love how versatile it is. You could add or subtract pretty much whatever you want (one of the great things about soup). I even made another soup with the leftover chicken parts (bones, skin, etc.) with water. So easy!

RECIPE (original here):

• 1 box Ditalini Pasta (very short Macaroni noodles)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 whole cut up fryer chicken (we used a rotisserie chicken)
• 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 whole medium onion, diced
• 2 whole green bell peppers, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced (we used just two small strips of celery)
• 2 whole fresh jalapenos, diced
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 can (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 Tablespoons minced fresh oregano (didn't use fresh)
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste (doesn't have to be fresh pepper)
• Parmesan cheese shavings (we excluded this)

(1) Cook pasta according to package directions (don't overcook it!). Drain &rinse in cold water to cool. Toss in 1 tablespoon olive oil & set aside.
(2) Remove rotisserie chicken from pot and shred meat. Discard bones & set meat aside.
(3) Dice canned tomatoes & return them to their juice & set aside.
(4) Heat small skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil & oregano & turn off heat, stirring over the next minute to keep oregano from burning. Set this aside.
(5) Either pour chicken broth into a separate container or use a new pot to saute onion, green pepper, celery, & jalapenos in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until tender & golden brown (~10 min).
(6) Add chicken broth, shredded chicken, & tomatoes with their juice
(7) Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer
(8) Add cooked pasta & all oregano & olive oil from small skillet. Stir to combine & turn off heat.

White Rabbit Coffee Co.'s Vanilla Bean Ice Blended - Yucaipa, CA

White Rabbit Coffee Co.
35256 Yucaipa Blvd
Yucaipa, CA 92399

Friday, 10/7/11

They also have good sandwiches here, but I didn't take a picture of mine (turkey with honey mustard, which I usually don't really like, but I loved it in this sandwich). I went here with Kavita and then went back with her again after we were done with our school business for drinks.

 I really should try their coffee before I post about a coffee place like this, but oh well. Someday. They had a few delicious-sounding flavors like Kona, Hawaiian Hazelnut, French Caramel, Highlander Grog (ok not sure what that one is), & Pumpkin Spice.

 

I thought The Coffee Bean only uses the term "ice blended." I really want to try a coffee-flavored ice blended here, but this time I chose the Vanilla Bean because that was the first one the employee recommended to me. Also, I've been a little obsessed with real vanilla beans lately. I'll tell you why later. Or maybe I should wait until after Christmas because it'll give away my holiday gift ideas. Hmmm...

I know it just looks like white frothy stuff, but it has little vanilla bean specks, and it really tastes like vanilla. Would I buy it again? If I had a vanilla craving...yes...but it's not one of my all-time favorite drinks. I'd give it a B+ if I had to grade it, although if you like vanilla, I'd give it an A. I reserve my As for drinks like Peet's Caffe Freddo Extra Bold and The Coffee Bean's Black Forest Iced Blended.

Jo's Candies - Dark Salted Caramels, Pumpkin Spice Toffee Corn, Pumpkin Spice Bark, & Dark and Milk Chocolate Grahams

Jo's Candies
Website here.
Small batches of chocolate since 1946.
That's not their slogan, and they did not tell me to advertise for them. I just love spreading the word when I find excellent food, which is the whole point of this blog. I am very picky when it comes to chocolate (among other things), and these are SO good. I absolutely loved the chocolate grahams and dark chocolate caramels...and the popcorn and pumpkin bark were pretty good too, although I wouldn't say that I absolutely loved them. Definitely good quality. Check out their delicious-looking products here. I want to try their S'mores Cookies, Peppermint Crunch, and English Toffee Nuggets. Oh my goodness.

First, the pumpkin ones. I am a huge fan of pumpkin and pumpkin-flavored things. Usually I'm a pumpkin snob and only like products with actual pumpkin in them that truly taste like pumpkin, but I'd say that those "pumpkin spice flavored" Hershey's Kisses and these two products below are good enough to feature here. The bark even reminds me of those Hershey's Kisses. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of very fancy sweet popcorn, but this popcorn was good. I do wish it had more of a pumpkin flavor, but that's the pumpkin snob in me being picky. I bet most sweet popcorn fans would love this. Note: There's no actual pumpkin listed as an ingredient in either of these products.

The Jo's Candies website mentions that their Chocolate Grahams are popular, so I was excited to try them. I was definitely not disappointed. Delicious. They are generous with the chocolate, so these are wonderful for chocolate lovers.

My favorite = the dark chocolate graham crackers. SO WONDERFUL and rich and thick. I love dark chocolate so much. I am eating one right now. My friend ate two or thee of the milk chocolate ones the other night.

Here's part of a milk chocolate graham:

I love these dark salted caramels too.

 

So where can you find Jo's Candies? My friend gave me the pumpkin spice bark and bought it from World Market. Here's what the company website says about where to find their items:

"Our chocolate covered grahams are our most popular item and they can be found at a variety of upscale gourmet markets across the United States. Dayton-Hudson, Dean & Deluca, Eli's and The Vinegar Factory, Oakville Grocery, Dragers, Bristol Farms, Admiral Thrift, QFC (both in the Pacific Northwest) Zupans, and Norm Thompson (mailorder), and a host of other specialty catalog companies.

"Our chocolate graham crackers are available at Border's Cafe, Caribou Coffee, Coffee Bean & Tea, Diedrich, Gloria Jeans, Nordstrom, Neiman-Marcus, Tully's and thousands of other coffee bars."

Garlic & Herb Roasted Potatoes [and Butternut Squash & Acorn Squash]

This is an Emeril Lagasse recipe. That guy is awesome and is so hilarious with his humming and enthusiasm for food. I found the recipe here and have used it three times now. My only complaint is that it is VERY difficult skinning and cutting up the two types of squash. It is such a workout and can be dangerous if you don't use the knives carefully.

The acorn squash is on the left, and the butternut squash is on the right. I didn't end up using the entire butternut squash because it was huge and I got tired of chopping it.

Inside the butternut squash (such a pretty color!):

Inside the acorn squash (with the seeds taken out):

The raw ingredients all in a bowl:

The fresh thyme & rosemary:

Pre-roasting:

Butternut squash seeds (YUM!!):

Acorn squash seeds (YUM TOO!):

All of the seeds mixed together and cooked in the oven with olive oil and salt (very similar to pumpkin seeds, but I was able to eat the shells of these seeds):

RECIPE (here):

• 2 1/2 pounds assorted small potatoes, such as fingerling, Yukon Gold or red Bliss, scrubbed (I just cut russet potatoes into chunks)
• 1 acorn squash, peeled & cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 3 cups butternut squash, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (or more to taste)
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled & roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
(2) Put potatoes & squash in a large bowl & toss with olive oil, rosemary, thyme, garlic, & salt and pepper to coat well
(3) Transfer vegetables to a large baking sheet & spread into a single layer, keeping any leftover oil from the bowl
(4) Roast vegetables until tender, turning every 10 minutes with a long-handled spoon (about 45 minutes to 1 hour)
(5) Remove from oven & add as much leftover oil to vegetables as desired
(6) Season to taste & serve immediately