Fufu and Veggie Stew-Poverty Meal

As I shared recently, we're doing poverty meals once a week. This month, for May, we're focusing on West Africa. I decided that we'd do fufu, which is a starchy substance resembling mashed potatoes but made from anything from potatoes to yams to yuca/cassava to plantains, and then a veggie stew. I actually made enough that four people could have eaten this comfortably, with a ton more stew left over. This seriously made a ton of stew, and I was able to freeze some of it for later this month. Talk about a cost cutting/time saving meal. :)

Ingredients:
Stew-
-1 lb frozen cut okra (not breaded)
-2 can diced tomatoes, drained
-2 cans chickpeas (or garbanzo beans), drained
-1/2 cup-1 cup frozen chopped spinach (no need to thaw or drain)
-1/4 cup raisins
-2 cups beef broth (or chicken broth)
-4 cups water
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-1/2 teaspoon chili powder
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Fufu-
-1 russet potato
-1 yam or sweet potato
-1 plantain (green as you can find, not black)
-3 tablespoons butter

Directions:
Stew-
In a large pot, Combine everything but the spinach. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover, add the spinach, and continue simmering on medium/medium low another hour or so, till everything is well incorporated and yummy.

You can also do this on low in a crock pot for about 4 hours or so. You just want to allow the flavors to marry well. Making this ahead of time and just heating it up is fine too.

Fufu-
Peel the potato and yam, then cut into large chunks. Leave the peel on the plantain. In a medium pot, add enough water to cover the potato and yam, then heat over high until it boils. Cook until the potato and yam are tender but not terribly mushy, about 10 minutes at a rolling boil. In a separate pot, cover the plantain with water, and bring to a boil. Cook until plantain is tender but not overly mushy, about 10 minutes at a rolling boil. Drain everything. Peel the plantain and add to the potato and yam. Mash with a potato masher with butter until desired consistency.

I like mine smooth but not too smooth. A little texture is good. :)

Spoon some of the fufu into a bowl.

Ladle some of the stew over it, then serve hot.

Enjoy your fufu and stew while remembering the people of West Africa.

Bacon and Green Pea Pasta

You all know my affinity for pasta. This is just another way to indulge my pasta favoritism. Peas and bacon go really well together. In fact, I have a feeling this is going to be a regular in the pasta rotation at my house. This was really quite yummy. And it has veggies in it, which makes it better, right? :)

This is a simple cream sauce, and I just added some pre-cooked bacon pieces and some frozen peas. So simple, so easy, so yummy. Try it out. You won't regret it.

Ingredients:
-1/2 box pasta (I used spaghetti, and this was for two people, and we had just a smidge left over. adjust accordingly)
-3 tablespoons butter
-2 tablespoons flour
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-1 cup milk
-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (optional, but oh so tasty)
-2 tablespoons pre-cooked bacon pieces (more if desired)
-1/4 to 1/2 cup frozen peas (no need to thaw)

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter over medium/medium low heat (a 4 on a 10 point burner) in a medium skillet. When the butter is melted, whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook for a couple minutes, stirring frequently. Add in the cream and whisk to incorporate. Cook for a minute until the sauce begins to thicken. Add the milk and whisk to combine. Continue stirring frequently while the sauce cooks and starts to thicken. Add the garlic powder and cheese and continue stirring until well incorporated.

If the sauce gets too thick, just add a tablespoon or so at a time of milk to thin it out to the right consistency.

Add the bacon pieces and frozen peas.

Stir in to the sauce. Let the peas get warmed up by the sauce for a few minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the drained pasta

and toss to coat with the sauce.

Serve immediately and enjoy! So yummy!

Taco Soup

This soup was really tasty. It's super thick and yummy, great for a cold night's dinner. This is also pretty easy and would be wonderful to make for a football watching party, or get together at the holidays, or whenever you need to feed a decent number of people. This recipe would easily feed four adults as a meal, I believe, so you could probably serve this for eight adults if you had a bunch of other food there.

This was the first time I have made taco soup, so, as is often the case, I will make some minor adjustments next time. Basically, I think it had too many tomatoes for my preference. I used a can of stewed tomatoes, and a can of Rotel tomatoes and chilis. Next time, I would either not use the whole can of stewed tomatoes, or I would not use Rotel and just add a small can of green chilis to the stewed tomatoes. It wasn't bad the way I made it, just needs a little tweaking for me to love it. I'll give you the exact recipe I used and you can adjust as you see fit.

So, without further ado, Taco Soup!

Ingredients:
-1-1.5 lb ground beef (use more for a larger group)
-2 or 3 tablespoons garlic powder
-2 tablespoons onion powder
-2 tablespoons chili powder
-1 teaspoon paprika
-1 teaspoon cumin
-1 can stewed tomatoes
-1 can Rotel tomatoes and chilis
-1 can pinto beans
-1 can whole kernel corn, drained
-1/2 to 1 cup water (as needed)
-1 package ranch dressing mix
-sour cream and shredded cheese for topping

Directions:
In a large pot over medium high heat, cook the ground beef until no longer pink. Drain and return to pot.

Reduce heat to medium.

Add in the garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, and paprika.

Stir it into the meat. It won't be 100% incorporated, but that's ok.

Next, add in the tomatoes and Rotel, canned liquid included.

Next add the pinto beans, liquid included.

Then the DRAINED corn.

Stir all the ingredients together until everything is well mixed.

It should be almost wet enough for soup from all the canned liquid added, but you can add some water if you need to.

I ended up adding a cup of water before I let the soup cook at all, and I was surprised how much more liquid was released from the veggies as they cooked, and probably could have gotten away with less water, but it was ok anyway.

When everything has started heating up and cooking and melding together, add in the ranch dressing mix. Stir to make sure it's well incorporated and not clumping up somewhere. Reduce the heat to low and let the soup simmer another 10 minutes or so to let everything marry together.

Serve hot, and top with a little dollup of sour cream...and some shredded cheese. :) I also served mine with tortilla chips, which was awesome.

It was nice to have a little bit of crunch in with the soup. Enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

In addition to soup, hot casserole dishes seem to grace my table with their presence more during the winter. I guess it's partly because they're usually decently hardy and usually served piping hot, both things I tend to crave when it's cold.

This is a bit of a variation on a typical chicken and rice casserole, and I think it turned out pretty well. I hope you enjoy it as well. :)

Ingredients:
-1 cup raw cubed chicken breast meat
-1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
-2 cups cooked rice (I used instant white rice, but use whatever you like)
-3 tablespoons butter
-2 tablespoons flour
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
-1 tablespoon onion powder
-salt and pepper to taste
-shredded cheese to top the casserole (I probably used about 1 cup-ish of colby jack)

Directions:
Combine the rice, chicken, and broccoli in a 2 qt or so casserole dish.

In a small sauce pan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Whisk in the flour to make a roux. Continue cooking the roux, stirring frequently, for a couple minutes. Whisk in the heavy cream and cook sauce until slightly thickened. Add the milk and whisk it in, continuing to cook the saice until it thickens slightly once again.

Add in the onion powder and salt and pepper. Whisk to combine well. Reduce heat to low and cook another couple minutes until the sauce is thickened a bit but still a pourable consistency.

Pour the sauce over the casserole ingredients already in the casserole dish. Stir slightly to let the sauce coat as much as possible of the other ingredients.

Top with the shredded cheese.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 30-45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, the cheese is melted, and everything is hot and yummy.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Beef Veggie Soup

Yes, it's still cold, and yes I still want soup. Haha. This one is super simple and pretty hearty. I tossed a little orzo pasta in to get rid of it and add a little extra starch to thicken it a bit. You don't have to, I just did. I used cube steak because it is ridiculously tender and won't get tough from cooking in the soup like a lot of other cuts of beef will. I hope this warms you up on a cold winter night! :)

Ingredients:
-1 lb cube steak, cut into bite sized pieces
-1.5 cups chopped carrots
-1 cup fresh green beans, trimmed and chopped
-1 large russet potato, scrubbed and chopped
-3 cups beef broth or stock
-2 cups water
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 cup small pasta (optional)

Directions:
In a large pot, bring broth and water to a boil over high heat. Add in the veggies and beef.

Add in the pasta. Let boil for about 10 minutes so veggies start to get tender and meat is mostly cooked through, and pasta is almost al dente.

Reduce heat to low and let simmer for another 10 minutes, until the meat is cooked through and the veggies are tender.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Chicken Corn Chowder

As we get farther into fall, I'm wanting to make more soups. It just seems like soup is perfect for dinner on a fall evening, when it's cold outside and you want to feel all toasty inside.

This soup has a somewhat creamy broth, and for some reason, that just equals yummy comfort food soup to me. Chowder seems to be a little hardier than a lot of soups. Perfect for making soup a meal! I think it turned out pretty well, and I hope you do too. :)

Ingredients:
-4 cups chicken broth
-2 cups water
-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
-1 or 2 russet potatoes, scrubbed and cubed, depending on how much you like potatoes in your soup
-1 can whole kernel corn, drained
-1 can cream-style corn
-1 tablespoon onion powder
-1.5 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup reserved
-4 tablespoons corn starch

Directions:
In a large pot over high heat, bring the chicken broth and water to a boil.

Add the chicken pieces and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the potatoes and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the two cans of corn and stir. Add in the onion powder and stir to incorporate.

Continue cooking another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium high.

In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and 1/2 cup reserved heavy cream. Slowly add to the soup while stirring. This will help thicken the soup. Slowly add in the rest of the cream while stirring.

Let the soup cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until it's thickened up a bit, about 10-15 minutes. Stir it occasionally to keep things from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Serve the soup hot and enjoy!

We had some toasty bread to go with ours. Yum!

Cheater Shepherd's Pie

I made this the other day, kind of out of the leftover food I had at my house. I wanted something hearty but not overly dramatic. This fit the bill. I've made Shepherd's Pie before, but this was just slightly easier in method, so it worked for me. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
-1 lb ground beef
-3 tablespoons flour
-3/4 cup heavy cream
-1/2 cup milk
-1.5 teaspoons onion powder
-1/2 cup veggies (I used peas and carrots), chopped small
-2 russet potatoes, for mashing
-2 tablespoons butter
-1/4 cup milk

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Scrub the potatoes, leaving the skin on, then cube them and add them to the boiling water. Cook the potatoes until fork-tender, then drain the water. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes. Add the butter and milk to smooth it out just a bit.

You can also season it with a little salt and pepper if you want. Set the potatoes aside.

While the potatoes are cooking, cook the ground beef over medium high heat in a skillet until no longer pink.

Drain the meat, reserving the fat from cooking (the "grease"). Set the meat aside for later. Return the grease to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium/medium low. Whisk in the flour to make a roux.

Cook the roux for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add the cream and whisk to combine. The sauce should begin to thicken up a bit.

Add the milk to thin it out slightly, and whisk to incorporate. Add the onion powder and stir to combine. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes or so, stirring frequently.

It will thicken up a little bit again. Add the veggies to the sauce

and stir to combine. Add the meat to the sauce and stir to coat.

Serve the mashed potatoes on the plate, and top with the beef mixture.

Enjoy the yummy goodness!

Creamy Orzo and Veggie Soup

As we get further into fall, I'm beginning to make soups more. It's just how it goes. Haha.

When I make soup for dinner, I try to make it hearty enough to fend for itself. Wimpy soup is no good. That's why I usually try to add a starch, and why my soup often times has a cream based broth. This has both. This is a great "get-rid-of-all-the-veggies-in-your-fridge-and-freezer" soup. I happened to have broccoli and carrots, so that's what made it in the soup. Feel free to adjust. Haha.

The starchy component was a rice-shapped pasta called orzo (which I also had leftover in my pantry). You only need about 3/4 cup, so it's a good use-up-leftover-pasta soup too. I would recommend, however, that whatever pasta you use is either small, or broken into small pieces. It just works better to have small pieces for this one.

You could also add some chicken to this if you'd like a little more meatiness. I would say two chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces. I didn't add this, however, because I am suffering from pregnancy-induced aversion to chicken. It's interesting. Haha.

And with that, away we go!

Ingredients:
-4 cups chicken broth
-1 cup water
-1 cup heavy cream, with 1/4 cup reserved
-2 tablespoons flour
-1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
-1 cup carrots, chopped
-3/4 cup orzo
-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large pot, heat the chicken broth and water until boiling. Add in the broccoli and carrots and let them cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the orzo and let it cook for several more minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour with 1.4 cup of the cream. Slowly stir into the soup. This will help to thicken the broth slightly. Slowly add in the rest of the cream, stirring to combine.

Let the soup warm up again. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 more minutes, making sure everything is hot a cooked through.

Serve immediately and enjoy!