From Karen's Kitchen- Petite Steak with Gnocchi

January 25,  2014

Petite Steak with Gnocchi

It's snowing and very cold out so I was in search of something warm, creamy and filling.  I saw a great recipe online for Gnocchi with corn and  arugula in a light cream sauce.  I do not prefer arugula so I substituted it with spinach.  I picked up 3 Petite steaks at La Bonnes Epicure and headed home on some pretty treacherous roads.  This was my first time making Gnocchi and I have to say, I really liked this.
Ingredients

Petite Steak
1 box of De Cecco Gnocchi
Garlic
Baby Spinach

1 bag of frozen corn
1 box of cream cheese
Half and half

Steak
Salt and  pepper.  Grilled until medium rare.

Gnocchi
First I boiled salted water, cooked the Gnocchi for 2 minutes (they float to the top).
Then I took them out and emptied them into a bowl reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.
I then add one block of cream cheese, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 1/2 cup of half and half, one package of fresh baby spinach, 1 bag of frozen whole kernel corn. Stir until all combined and let it come to a simmer, then while the steaks were finishing up, I put the Gnocchi back into the pot with the sauce and vegetables.  A 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and it was finished.

From Karen's Kitchen- Chicken Tortilla Soup

January 5, 2014
Chicken Tortilla Soup

Happy New Year!!
I decided to make Chicken Tortilla soup tonight.  It's the same recipe as before however,  this time I was excited to use my new cast iron dutch oven that I got for Christmas. 
 My son was at the barn horseback riding in the snow.  This soup was exactly what he needed after being outside on such a cold January day.
I hope you will give this a try.  It's delicious and reheats beautifully.

Ingredients
3 Chicken Breasts
1/2 of a red pepper diced
1/2 of a medium onion diced
3 cloves of garlic
1 bag of frozen corn
1 can of black beans
1 can of red kidney beans
2 cups milk
1 large carton of chicken broth
1 can of Campbell's Healthy Requests Cream of Chicken soup
1 tablespoon of Argo Corn Starch
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 tsp Hot pepper flakes
Shredded cheddar cheese
Reduced fat sour cream
Bag of Tortilla chips

This is a very easy soup to assemble.
Saute onions, garlic and peppers until soft add them to a soup pot
Cook chicken and shred it with knife, add to pot.
Add the beans, corn, chicken broth, 1 cup milk with a Tbsp of corn starch( I mix it well to make sure there are no lumps)
cumin, hot pepper flakes, Cheddar cheese soup and finally 1 cup of milk.

 To serve, I crush up a few tortilla chips and put them in the bottom of the bowl. I add a pinch of cheese and a dollop of sour cream.