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A Life You Adore Around A Table You Love.

Monday comfort.

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cheesy chicken enchilada soup

Oh my goodness. Are you drowning in snow? Because we so are! I hope everyone is safe and warm and cozy and well fed from SuperBowl festivities. We had enough food to feed an army but somehow made a pretty good dent at it all. #BigEaters

Well, now it’s Monday and that means the start of another snowy and cold week. Let’s whip up something delicious to help us through it all, shall we?

This cheesy chicken enchilada soup has it all. It goes along with this Dinner: Impossible tip, and it’s also a short cut recipe that easily comes together with a rotisserie chicken. Always a win.

Then, there’s the …. flavor. I fully believe it comes from one spot-on ingredient: masa harina. Think Mexican flour.

It gives this a sloooooow cooked, oh so authentic feel yet it comes together in roughly 20 minutes. Heck yeah, dinner’s done.

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup
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Ingredients
  1. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  2. 1 cup diced white onion
  3. 2 cloves garlic, minced
  4. 1/2 cup masa harina (find it in the baking aisle by flours)
  5. 3 cups chicken stock (may need a bit more)
  6. 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
  7. 1 1/4 cups (or 1 10-ounce can) red enchilada sauce
  8. 1 (14-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
  9. 1 (14-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
  10. 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
  11. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  12. 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated
  13. season with salt & pepper
  14. optional toppings: avocado, tortilla strips, cilantro, chopped tomato, sour cream
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a large stock over medium-high heat. (To save time, peel and dice the onion for the minute or so that the oil heats - love this tip) Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, or until cooked and translucent.
  2. Add the garlic and saute for an additional minute until fragrant. Stir in the masa harina and cook for an additional minute to develop that deep flavor.
  3. Pour in half of the chicken stock, and whisk until completely combined. Add in the remainder of the chicken stock, and whisk to combine. Immediately add in the chicken, enchilada sauce, black beans, tomatoes, green chiles, salt, pepper and cumin, and stir until combined. Continue stirring occasionally until the mixture reaches a simmer.
  4. Reduce heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the soup does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Then stir in the cheese, one handful at a time, until combined. Taste, and season the soup to taste with salt.
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven
A Life From Scratch. http://a-life-from-scratch.com/

 

Girl time.

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Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

It was yet another winter weekend and M had plans to fly out for business on Sunday. Always a bummer here as it then feels like the week starts earlier which, let’s be honest, is never a good thing.

Until I received a call from my favorite foodie friend that her husband too was flying out that same Sunday.

You know what that means? Jack pot!

It means our boys can play. It means lots of chilled white wine. It means 4 boys instead of 6 to manage (ha). It means the best cheese from Whole Foods with delicious crackers that B always gobbles up. It means blasting Taylor Swift and catching up on gossip and the best part…

… we can eat whatever we want.

No men demanding steak or pork or only green beans (M) or broccoli (J) or salad with extra croutons and no blue cheese. No, it was just us. So I whipped up the freshest and healthiest thing I could think of, these Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps. M wouldn’t touch this platter with a 10 foot pole, but Catherine and I?

Well inhaled it. Along with our roasted brussels sprouts on the side, because neither of us can make them with the husbands home. All the while Bad Blood was blasting in the background. I’m convinced it was the best girl time, ever. Well – as much as girl time as you could get with 4 boys under 8. YIKES.

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
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Chicken and Marinade
  1. 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
  2. 1/3 cup soy sauce
  3. 2 tablespoons grated ginger
  4. 1 tablespoon Sriracha
  5. 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  6. 3 cloves garlic, grated
  7. 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  8. 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
  9. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Lettuce and Fillings
  1. 8 butter lettuce leaves
  2. 1 cup bean sprouts
  3. 1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
  4. 1 cup julienned carrots
  5. 1 cup cucumber slices
  6. 1 cup cooked thin rice noodles (we didn't find these necessary but some may like them!)
  7. lime widges
  8. 1/3 cup sweet chili sauce
  9. 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
For the chicken and marinade
  1. Mix the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, grated ginger, Sriracha, rice wine vinegar and grated garlic in a large bowl or resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken and marinate, refrigerated, for 2 hours.
  2. Heat a grill pan over high heat.
  3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving platter to rest. Then, slice into strips and sprinkle with the peanuts and cilantro.
For the lettuce and fillings
  1. Set out the lettuce, bean sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, lime wedges and rice noodles (if using) on the serving platter.
  2. To assemble, use the butter lettuce leaves to contain the chicken and fillings. Add some chili and hoisin sauce on top, then roll them up and enjoy!
Adapted from Pioneer Woman
Adapted from Pioneer Woman
A Life From Scratch. http://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Sticky pomegranate chicken.

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Sticky-Pomegranate-Chicken

It’s been awhile since we’ve had a killer chicken recipe around here. This one will be our go-to forever and ever, Amen. Yet it’s truly more of a summer chicken.

Let’s work on a winter one, shall we? Something just as extraordinary, yet suitable for indoor cooking as opposed to outdoor.

Meet sticky pomegranate chicken.

This recipe rocks. it. out. To begin, minimal ingredients. Win. Incredible smell in your home. We win again. And hey, the Orkin pest control guy might invite himself to stay for dinner.

Alright, pretty sure that isn’t a win. Actually, it was totally awkward but hey, he was impressed.

And you will be too.

Sticky Pomegranate Chicken
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Ingredients
  1. 2 lbs chicken, I used bone in skin on thighs
  2. 1 cup low sodium soy sauce
  3. 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
  4. 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Seriously line a roasting pan with foil - cover every inch. This dish gets messy and the foil will make for easy clean up.
  3. In a sauce pan, simmer the soy sauce and juice over lower heat. Add in the sugar and stir until dissolved.
  4. Put your chicken in the roasting pan and pour the juice over. Roast for 45 minutes, flip, and roast for an additional 45. Keep on eye on it at the end as it may get too charred for your taste. I pulled ours out after 30 minutes or so of additional roasting.
  5. I served with brown rice and sugar snap peas!
Adapted from Dinner A Love Story
Adapted from Dinner A Love Story
A Life From Scratch. http://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Happy 500th…!

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DSC_1585-3-2890007723-OWow.

This is my 500th post on A Life From Scratch.

What started as a mere experiment (can I do this? is anyone reading this aside from my mother? how on earth do I take photographs of food?) has turned into a pretty exciting thing around here.

I always say the absolute best part of this blog is that I’m able, through mainly food, to document our lives. I can look back on our very first post, what we ate at L’s 5th birthday party, or the day we brought B home. Sometimes the posts are hard for me to read. I can’t believe how much my boys have grown (sobbing) and my photography skills early on? EEK. So scary.

If you’re new here, thank you so much, for stumbling upon my own little corner of the internet. I hope it captures you enough to deserve a following. And for those of you have been following me from day one, thank you oh so much. Every single comment, like, share, text, email, call is beyond appreciated and makes my day. I’ve gone from 37 Facebook Fans to approaching 3,000 and am averaging close to 12,000 visitors per month. That’s all you.

Let’s see. How to celebrate properly. I think you all deserve something pretty spectacular. Does this work…?

chocolate chip cookie brownies

I thought it might. Or were you thinking champagne? Don’t worry, I was too. So I made the ultimate sacrifice and tested it. These go great with champagne. Or milk. That might be the more logical choice but let’s be honest – that’s just not as fun.

You guys, we know ALFS has always had a serious deep mad obsession for cookies. From gaia cookies to bus stop cookies to the perfect chocolate chip – the list goes on and on. So when I saw these I just had to dive right in.

Is it a cookie? Yes.

Is it a brownie? Yes.

Is it completely ridiculous? Yes.

But hey, you don’t hit 500 posts every day. Make these to celebrate something great going on in your life. You totally deserve it. With the champagne.

Cheers, friend!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies
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Ingredients
  1. 1 stick salted butter (1/2 cup, very soft)
  2. ¾ cup white sugar
  3. 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
  4. 1 egg
  5. ½ teaspoon vanilla
  6. 1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
  7. ½ teaspoon baking soda
  8. ¼ teaspoon salt
  9. 1 cup chocolate chips
  10. 18.9 ounce brownie mix - my all-time favorite is Ghirardelli Double Chocolate
  11. (eggs, oil, and water for brownie mix)
Instructions
  1. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars in a small mixing bowl. Add vanilla and egg; cream again until smooth. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir gently until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare brownie batter as directed. Pour batter into a glass 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. Scatter pieces of cookie dough over the top of the brownie batter. In my 8x8 square pan, I was able to get about ⅔ of the cookie dough to fit over the brownies and I just saved the rest for regular cookies. Press gently on the dough just until it starts to sink down into the batter a little bit.
  3. Bake for 35-40 minutes (35 for gooey, 40 or more for fully baked), covering with foil if you need to keep the cookies from getting too brown on top. I baked them uncovered for the first 20 minutes, then covered an additional 20 minutes. Let stand for 15-20 minutes and cut into pieces for serving.
Adapted from Pinch of Yum
Adapted from Pinch of Yum
A Life From Scratch. http://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Chicken Cassoulet.

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chicken-cassoulet

Do you have a husband or significant other who works from home?

To quote L, “Dad can work from home anytime he wants to.” While that’s not exactly the case (love 8 year olds’ minds!), his schedule is pretty flexible and hopefully it will stay that way – eek!

See, the day changes for me when M is home, and things I normally have a hard time fitting in, I get to accomplish. For example, instead of being stuck in nap jail while B is snoozing way, I can jet out for a run. Instead of waking B from his nap to rush into the cold to meet the bus, M is here to cover. We can all have a lunch date together. Little things like that change the day for me, especially in the lonely chilly months of winter. It’s also oh so nice to have his help from the late afternoon on, instead of waiting for the (sometimes late) train to bring him home, barely making the boys’ bath and bed times.

The other day it was a work from home day (yea!), and I had these sandwiches on the agenda for the evening. While perfectly delicious, they weren’t a challenge for me. I needed to take advantage of the extra set of hands here. So, I had a change of heart from my carefully scheduled c’s picks and picked up the ingredients to make an oh so fancy, oh so impressive chicken cassoulet. I do this from time to time, you know, to keep the blog interesting.

So, the funny thing is, it’s not all that fancy at all. I mean, it smells and looks that way, but it’s a total fake out. It was almost a let down to me as to how quickly this came together! I’m talking 30 minutes, max. It’s totally a perfect one pot entertaining dish, but I went the traditional route that evening for M. It’s rare I set a plate with the standard that all men love: meat + starch + veggie. Yes, we had cassoulet with green beans and grainy warm bread. All on one plate. And it was devoured.

I think he might work from home even more often, fingers crossed.

Chicken Cassoulet
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Ingredients
  1. 4 whole chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks; about 10 ounces each), excess fat removed
  2. 2 teaspoons olive oil
  3. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  4. 4 slices bacon, coarsely chopped
  5. 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
  6. 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  7. 1 carrot, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  8. 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
  9. 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
  10. 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  11. 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, ground with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder
  12. 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
  13. One 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained, rinsed
  14. 1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
  15. 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  2. Coat the chicken legs with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the legs on a large heavy rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 40 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven; leave the oven on.
  3. Meanwhile, heat a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, or until crisp. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Add the fennel and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Stir in the rosemary, thyme, garlic, and ground fennel seeds and cook for about 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Stir in the broth and beans.
  4. Transfer the bean mixture to a 13×9×2-inch baking dish. Nestle the chicken legs in the beans. In a small bowl, mix the panko and Parmesan cheese to blend. Sprinkle most of the panko mixture over the beans (don’t worry if the juices are soaked up by some of the crumbs) and the remainder over the chicken.
  5. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the bean mixture is bubbling all over and the panko topping is crisp and golden brown. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.
Adapted from Curtis Stone
Adapted from Curtis Stone
A Life From Scratch. http://a-life-from-scratch.com/
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