Eating Healthy

As I write this I am recovering from a terrible cold. You know the kind that lingers for about two weeks and leaves you feeling like you have an elephant standing on your chest so that you have to sleep sitting up otherwise the coughing keeps you awake all night. Really not a lot of fun! Thankfully, my freezer and pantry/refrigerator were prepared for me to take some time off from the kitchen while I was trying to get better. The following is a list of the pantry/freezer items and how they were used to feed my family even when I didn't feel like getting off the couch.

Freezer Items:
1 Whole Roasting Chicken (bought on sale a while back)
4 cps Homemade Chicken Broth
2 cps Frozen Corn

Refrigerator Items:
4 Celery stalks
6 Carrots

Pantry Items:
3 cans Cannelini Beans (aka White Kidney Beans)
1 can Chopped Tomatoes
1 sm can Chipotles in Adobo
1 tbs Organo, dried
2 lge sprigs fresh Rosemary (from the garden)
2 sm Onions
4 cloves Garlic

Ok, now I know that sounds like a lot of things, but you will be able to make two wonderful and completely different meals with these ingredients that will feed a family of four easily. The first night you will eat Slow-cooked Chicken with Vegetables and Rosemary and the second night you will eat Chipotle Chicken and Corn Soup

Slow-cooked Chicken with Vegetables and Rosemary
1 Whole Roasting Chicken
4 cps Homemade Chicken Broth (store bought is OK too!)
4 Celery stalks
6 Carrots
2 lge sprigs fresh Rosemary (1 tsp dried)
2 sm Onions
4 cloves Garlic

Rinse the chicken under cold water and remove any extra items from inside the cavity; place in crock pot. Cut celery and carrots into 2-inch segments; slice onions into large segments; chop garlic cloves; place in crock pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste; pour in chicken broth; toss in fresh rosemary. Set crock pot to cook for 8 hours.

Serve with Rice or warm French Bread.

Note: Don't throw away the bones and left over broth! You will need those for the second recipe! Store the bones and broth in a container in the fridge until the day you want to eat the next recipe.

Chipotle Chicken and Corn Soup
Step 1:
Place chicken bones and any broth in a stock pot. Add 6-8 cups of water then allow to simmer for 1 to 2 hours. (This may seem like a lot of work, but it's really not, because you don't have to watch over this at all. The best part is that you end up with the best tasting chicken broth you will ever taste!)

Step 2:
After the broth has simmered for a couple of hours you will want to strain it. I use a metal strainer and then go back with a glass fat separator to remove any excess fat and impurities off the broth. (Fat separators are extremely handy to have around the holidays for making gravies!)

Step 3:
Place the broth back on the stove and add...
2 cps leftover Chicken pulled into bite sized pieces
2 cps Frozen Corn
3-15oz cans Cannelini Beans, drained and rinsed
1-15oz can Chopped Tomatoes
1 sm can Chipotles in Adobo (Use as much or as little as you would like, but beware these are extremely hot! I only use a couple of spoonfuls of the adobo/sauce.)
1 tbs Organo, dried

Allow to simmer for 15-30 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Serve with crumbled tortilla chips, shredded cheese and slices of avocado.

There you go, two extremely healthy and flavorful meals for days when you don't feel like being in the kitchen!