Nurturing my inner... dinner and a movie

Friends.  You just never know where you may find them.  In fact, sometimes they are hiding, lurking even, in the darndest of all places.  Like running class.  What can go from 25 complete strangers can dwindle down in two months to the dedicated (or codependent) 10.  Much like war buddies, we have been deeply bonded by hard times.  Running eight miles in the heat trying not to throw up, getting lost on the Glade Loop when our coach calls every run (no matter which direction we go in) "The Glade Loop," spitting in public which is not exactly becoming for any girl.  Oh yes, the dark side of the sport is now exposed.  So to show some love to my buddies, both male and female, who keep me from seeming like an awkward social outcast (as best they can), I asked them to come over for some grub and a film.  (A running film.  Note the theme.)  We had met early on our day off this morning (now that is dedication... or foolishness - who can say) to run a few in the 25 degree morning chill, so they earned this meal.

(Special note: I'd also like to take a moment to say never undervalue the gift of friends who are available.  It is a great display of care and importance to give your time to someone.)

But what to make?  As to not let you think we're super human health nuts, you'll recall the burger place we went to yesterday, this was my attempt at doing something a little on the lighter side.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 regular-sized rotisserie chicken, picked
1 onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 can tomato paste
1 can corn, drained
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
1 can tiny white beans, rinsed & drained
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp chili seasoning
2 carrots, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
2 dried bay leaves
1/4 tsp salt
6 cups chicken broth
6 corn tortillas, cut into 1 inch pieces

Toppings

Shredded Mexican cheese blend
Sour cream (I used light)
Avocado, chopped
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Fresh lime, wedged

Don't be frightened by that list of ingredients.  You'll throw it all in the pot together and leave it for four and a half hours.  Or more.

Start by pulling out that trusty slow cooker or a dutch oven.  Throw in the zucchini, carrots, onion, diced tomatoes, beans, corn, garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt and bay leaves.  Pour the broth on top of it all.

Gotta love just tossing everything in one
pot at the same time! Looks like
food confetti!

Next add the rotisserie chicken.  (I get every bit.  Put in the time when removing the meat and you'll find you get a lot of chicken from one little bird.)

Perfectly picked. Dark and light. Good flavor.

I decided to add in a some tomato paste to make the flavor richer.

Just keep adding what you like. Other veggies.
Different kinds of beans.

And lastly, five corn tortillas cut into 1 inch squares.  Mix it all up and turn on your slow cooker for 4 - 6 hours.  Stir every 30 minutes or so.  Just to make sure nothing is stuck or burning on the bottom.

Make sure they are corn tortillas. Flour
ones no good in here.

It smelled SO good.  But I had to wait until 5:45 pm when everyone arrived.  Good thing my friends show up on time.  (My stomach is an impatient dinner hostess.)  I let each ladel out some generous bowls and sprinkle on whatever toppings they wanted.  Make sure you have large spoons as your tools of choice.  No room for dainty utensils at this party.  Get comfy on the sofa and press play on Netflix streaming video.

We watched "The Spirit of the Marathon," remained in awe of the one girl in the group who has actually run that daunting 26.2 miles, and dreamed of being one of the people to cross that finish line in victory!  Yes, dreamed.  A dream never meant to be actualized by me.  As there is NO blooming way on earth I'm running that far, ever, without someone blackmailing me or chasing me with a taser.

So perfect on a cold, cold, mighty cold day.

The movie was inspiring (with witty commentary courtesy of my buddies) and the soup was substantial and oh so good for us.  Nice combo.  What moved me the most was that some of the people featured in the documentary were just regular folks like us.  Trying, failing, trying again.  Some were also world class athletes.  Trying, failing, trying again.  Perhaps the elite athletes were in a different class than Joe Average, but in the end, they all were not so different in some ways.  And while most of us may never run a full marathon, some people in my class have run half marathons, 10 milers, trail runs, crazy mud obstacle courses and other long distance variations.  Every mile counts - that's my motto!  So cheers to my pals!  For their dedication in logging all those miles on ordinary, subzero, windy Saturdays and making me do it with them... even though I whine every time I have to get out of bed before 8:00 am on my day off.  Hope you enjoyed some comfort food and watching other people run for a change.

Nurturing my inner... shake and quake

Such a busy, busy time of year.  Good busy.  But short for free time nonetheless.  Amidst all the cookie exchanges and holiday parties, who says you want to give up cooking dinner for yourself though.  (To be fair, maybe you. Yet, not me.)  So I found a great little helping hand from Wegmans.

Chicken Stuffed Peppers

2 large sweet peppers
1 premarinated chicken breast
1/2 a container of small button mushrooms, quartered
2 tbsps chopped onion (I have some in my freezer)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup of cooked black rice
1 cup of pepper jack cheese, shredded
1 tbsp butter

Let's do this assembly line style and get everything prepped and ready so we just have to build them later.  First thing, slice and unseed (deseed? exseed? Just take the seeds out.) of the peppers.  Throw in some boiling water for about 20 minutes to par cook.

Yellow was what they had. But you can get
them in green, orange and red too.

Here's where it gets easy and this is one of my favorite new items from good, old reliable, Wegmans.  Individually, vacuum-packed marinated chicken breasts.  So handy.  I just throw them in the freezer as is and take one out as needed.  Today I used the mojo-flavored one.

I just slice down the middle of the package to
make individual portions.

Into a baking dish then a 400 degree oven for about 30 min. 

Stoneware is handy.

While you're baking up the chicken, you'll have plenty of time for your other tasks.  Like sauteing up some mushrooms and garlic with a bit of butter.

On medium until they become soft.

I also make lots of rice ahead of time and then freeze it in smaller containers, so I can pop it in the microwave and have it ready in minutes.  (Because it takes like 40 minutes to cook the first time!)  I love black rice, so I chose that for this dish.

Black is the new white this season. When
it comes to rice, that is.

Pop out the grater, 'cause you're gonna need some cheese.  Somethin' with a little kick!

Pepper jack in peppers. Irony? Perhaps.

Use the large shred side.  I'm not even sure if I've ever used the smaller side.  Well, maybe once for fresh Parmesan.

Piles of cheese are just the bestest.

And we're going to need some finishing flavors for when we plate it up shortly.

Topping

1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsps adobo sauce and chipotle
1/2 avocado, sliced

I really do love the chipotle pepper. I need a
tshirt that says that.

Into the blender go the sauce and the sour cream.  Give it a whirl.  Tip: Add less sauce to begin with, blend, taste and add more slowly to suit your own level of heat tolerance.  If you go all out at first, you may hurt yourself.  (I cannot be responsible for that.)

Hot and cold together. Balance.

Before I go any further, I must tell a quick tale.  I actually made this a few months back on August 23rd and just haven't posted until now.  It was during the time we had a freak earthquake here in DC.  About a 5.8.  Enough to shake our houses for about 90 seconds, but nothing broke at my place.  Well, nothing - until this freak occurrence...

How in the...

Back to the quake.  It was such an odd sensation.  I thought my above neighbors were having new furniture delivered, as is common to hear rumblings of that sort in condos because we're all attached.  But when I looked outside, there was only one other car.  Not theirs.  And the duration was much longer than any couch delivery should be, even when movers are slogging a sectional up four flights of stairs and into a living room.

Oh yes, at 1:51 pm that day, things in my place definitely shook, including me when I stood up, but nothing fell, nor broke.  Then later that day I go and make dinner and I hear a loud *bang*.  I realized it came form my oven.  I flung open the door and saw it.  A clean split of my baking dish!  Lucky for me, it was at the end of the cook time.  I pulled it out, removed the chicken immediately and looked at it totally in shock.  All I can think of, because these dishes can safely go up to much higher than 400 degrees, was that there must have been a weird flaw in the materials.  And when the heat agitated it, boom, the crack.  Somewhat like an earthquake.  On a very small scale.

Never to be deterred by a little natural disaster, inside or outside of my oven, I forged ahead.  I took the parboiled peppers and laid them in a different, and hopefully heartier, baking dish.  I had sliced up the chicken, that I rescued earlier, and placed a few pieces in the bottom of each pepper.

Pepper boats.

On top of that, a spoonful of the mushroom, onion and garlic mixture.

Gotta have a veggie. Mushrooms are packed
with such great flavor once cooked.

Next up, the rice.  Heat in microwave if frozen or use fresh while hot.  Hefty spoonfuls of that next.

Something about layers really makes a dish
turn into an adventure.

Seriously, you had to know I was going to top this with cheese.  Who wouldn't?!

I tried not to go overboard with the cheese. 
I was exercising a seldom used trait I
 do possess - self control.

Bake in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes covered with foil.  All the ingredients are already cooked and warm, so it won't take long.

Just until cheese is melted.

When hot, it's ready to plate.  That simple.

Gooey. That's a good word. But not unhealthy.

You could eat it just as is.  But it's more fun to dress it up a bit with a little sliced avocado and the chipotle sour cream we made earlier.  Makes you feel like you could have your own feature in Food Network Magazine.

Please.  Enough awesome flavors to punch you
in the face and knock you out!

I really have to thank the good practice of being prepared for this one.  Having precooked rice in my freezer (a fantastic time saver) and then Wegmans premarinated chicken breast made this SO super easy.  Baring the seismic activity of the day and the broken dish, things went rather smoothly.  Some people's earthquake kits include batteries and water.  I guess mine had chicken and rice.