Greek Chicken Wraps

I got this recipe from Jorge Cruise's 3-Hour Diet Cookbook. Back when I was first on my own and just learning how to cook, this was the only cookbook I ever used. Though it's a book designed to guide you through a dieting routine, the recipes are a great way to learn basic, tasty ingredient combinations. They are also all incredibly quick- some take only minutes and none will have you slaving over a stove for an hour.

[Prep: 10min / Cook: 0-10min]

Ingredients

- 2 chicken breasts
- 4 flour tortillas
- 1/2 cup cooked white/brown rice
- about 1/4 cup (2oz) crumbled feta cheese
- 8 (or more) leaves of big-leafy lettuce (bib, butterhead, romaine, iceburg etc)
- 1 tomato
- about 1/4 cucumber
- 1/2 an onion
- 1/4 cup Ranch dressing

Steps

1. Slice chicken breast into thin strips and pan-fry over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, until cooked through.
2. Rinse and shake dry the lettuce leaves then layer a couple on each of the tortillas.
3. Simply slice the tomato, onion and cucumber. Also layer and distribute across tortillas.
4. Top-off the tortillas with a line of chicken, feta cheese, rice and Ranch dressing down the center.
5. Roll-up and ready to eat!

[Serves 2]

Recipe based on the 3-Hour Diet Cookbook, 

Greek Chicken Wrap

Variations

• The speed of this dish varies depending on your stock of pre-prepared items. A great opportunity to use pre-cooked/left-over chicken and rice, this all-in-one meal can be thrown together in 10 minutes with no cooking time at all.
• If you don't have pre-cooked rice ready, a small amount like this goes quite quickly and easily in the microwave. Put about 1/4 cup in a microwavable bowl with 1/2 cup water and a dash of salt. Microwave for 5 minutes on 75% power. Stir a bit and repeat. If not finished after the second go, heat at full power for 1 minute intervals. *Note that microwave power/cook times vary and the final yield of cooked rice may be more than 1/2 a cup depending on the type of rice. Also, use real rice- not that boil-in-bag stuff.
• Personally, I don't consider Ranch dressing very Greek, so I actually substitute yogurt mixed with a hefty dash of mint or coriander instead.
• Also, the original version called for no rice, smaller portions and only 1 wrap each...but that version is diet and this one is one is a meal. That being said, I made the diet portion-sized ones the other night and as you can tell by the pictures, it's all a bit too much filling for just one tortilla each.

Ham Pockets

I could not wait to try this recipe and it definitely lived up to expectations! Simple ingredients and a neat trick with refrigerated crescent rolls are the secret behind this speedy all-in-one dinner. No one will ever know you whipped it up in less than half an hour...


[Prep: 10min / Cook: 15min]

Ingredients

- 1 tube of large refrigerated croissant/crescent roll dough (usually 6 or 8 rolls)
- 1 1/2 cups of cubed, cooked ham (about 200-300 grams)
- 3-5 oz plain cream cheese (1 package)
- 1 Tbs mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup shredded cheese of choice
- 1 small can (4 oz) of mixed peas and corn
[or 1/2 of a 4oz can of each]

Steps

1. Preheat your oven to 375F (190C) and unroll the croissant dough. Separate the dough into rectangles (do not split into individual triangles) and place on a baking sheet.
2. Soften the cream cheese if necessary and mix in a large bowl with the mayonnaise and cheese. Add the ham, peas and corn and stir until evenly coated with the cheese mixture.
3. Spoon the mixture evenly into the center of each rectangle of dough.
4. Fold the edges of the dough into the center and seal. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
5. Ready to eat!

[Serves 2]

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home: Simple and Delicious, 

Corny Ham Bundles

Note

• Don't worry about how you fold up the dough, just generally close them up. It looks ugly going in the oven, but quite presentable coming out. I was really pleasantly surprised by how pretty mine turned out...almost too pretty for my ugly/messy food blog!

Variations

• The original recipe called for a bit of ground mustard and celery seed to be stirred in with the cheese mixture. These are somewhat "odd" spices for me, so I skipped them. I'm sure they add a bit of punch, but we didn't miss them at my dinner table.
• The original recipe also only used corn for veggies, but I really wanted this to be a meal, so I added peas and carrots. The peas helped in adding flavor in place of the spices I skipped, but the carrots added a somewhat unpleasant texture since they didn't cook much. If you want to add some chopped carrots, I recommend quickly cooking them (boil, pan-fry or even microwave) so that they're nice and soft. Note this will add quite a bit of cooking time, though.
• Finally, the original version topped the dough with a bit of melted butter and crushed corn chips. Really not fond of unnecessary carbs, so I substituted grated parmesan cheese instead. Neither are actually necessary.

Ramen Noodle Stir Fry

I know I give ramen noodles a hard time, but I secretly love them. Like many people, they helped get me through college, and since then I've learned to put them to use as the secret ingredient behind many a quick and easy meal.

She doesn't know it, but I first learned the secret of "pumping up" ramen back when we were 18 and I watched one of my very best friends crack an egg in her instant noodles, sprinkle it with nutmeg and call it a meal. There's no rule that says you have to eat your ramen or cup noodles pure and out-of-the-package. Add some meat, or vegetables or even just an egg and suddenly you've nearly got yourself through dinner- or at least a quite decent lunch.

Of course, the best thing about ramen is the speed. Next to heat-and-eat udon, I don't think there's any other noodles out there that are ready to eat after only 3 minutes of boiling. So next time you're unsure what to throw together for dinner and you're reaching for that ramen packet, think about what quick and easy ingredients you have around that you can throw in to pump it up. You might be surprised what you come up with...

[Prep: 10min / Cook: 10min]

Ingredients

- 1/2 lb (250 grams) beef steak, any cut

- 2 packets beef ramen instant noodles (with seasoning packets)

- handful of baby carrots (about a cup)

- handful of snow or snap peas (about a cup)

- 1/2 can (about 4 oz) of water chestnuts

- dash pepper

- dash chili powder

- 1 Tbs soy sauce

- 1 Tbs olive oil

Steps

1. Put a couple cups of water in a pot and set to boil.
2. Meanwhile, slice the beef into thin-ish strips.
3. Heat a large saucepan or wok. Once heated, add the oil, followed by the beef.
4. Add the ramen noodles to the water which should be boiling. Put the seasoning packets aside. If your ramen comes with chili powder, sprinkle it on the beef. Otherwise, add your own pepper and chili powder to the beef.
5. While the beef browns, rinse the baby carrots and cut them in half lengthwise, then cut them in half lengthwise again. Rinse the peas and throw them in with the beef whole, along with the sliced carrots.
6. Slice the water chestnuts however you please and add to the pan as well. Stir fry the meat and veggies for a few minutes until the veggies become crisp-tender (about 5 minutes).
7. Strain the water from the noodles and add them to the stir-fry. Drizzle the soy sauce and the seasonings from the ramen packet on top. Give it a good stir to mix everything up, then turn off the heat.
8. Ready to eat!

[Serves 2]

Recipe adapted from Simple One Dish, 

Easy Asian Skillet and Quick 'n' Tangy Beef Stir-Fry

Variations

• Obviously, you can make this with an assortment of meats. Though if you decide to use pork or chicken instead, I recommend using the pork or chicken ramen packets.
• Part of what makes this recipe so quick and easy is the careful selection of easy-to-handle veggies. When using other veggies (particularly the popular broccoli), keep in mind that it will probably add to the prep time. Using a frozen variety will certainly help, but you may want to nuke the frozen veggies shortly in the microwave first, 'less you will need to stir-fry a bit longer. Alternatively, the original recipe says to use frozen veggies, but to boil them with the ramen before adding it all to the meat. Quite efficient, but boiled vegetables are icky.
• As mentioned, probably the only thing faster than ramen noodles are udon noodles- yummy, thick [also] Japanese noodles that are easy to find pre-cooked. Udon is most often eaten in soup, but I've used them in a similar manner in stir-frys with great results.  

March Meals in Minutes

miniature fast food uploaded by shimelle

Naturally, people often come to me and OntheFly in search of quick recipes. Though, I will be the first to admit that my recipes are not always fast. Easy, yes. Fast, ehhhh, sometimes.

Everyone [or, at least, many many people out there] want to whip up their meals as quick as possible. But here's the truth, as you'll never hear it from one of the hundreds of "fast recipe" cookbooks out there: cooking is just not a fast process. Unless you're vegetarian, no matter how simple your dish or ingredients are, the meat still has to be cooked...and if you are vegetarian, odds are you've got to chop a whole lot of vegetables.

I've used a lot of cookbooks, most of them quick-fixes, and after an hour of slaving over the stove, I often wonder how any of these books got published. Turns out I'm not alone in this thinking and even the queen of 30-minute meals, Rachel Ray, gets a bad rap for her meals not actually taking 30 minutes. Turns out you have to read the introduction where she carefully specifies that you "remember to chop up your vegetables" as soon as you get home from the store. Not only does that sound a bit excruciating, but a lot of veggies just are not going to last all week chopped up.

another hobby uploaded by havankevin

The other major pitfall of quick-fix cookbooks is that they don't account for side dishes. Sure the main entree may take 20 minutes, but the side salad takes another 20 and the potatoes need to bake for an hour. Oops. So then it turns out that the truly quick recipe books make brilliant use of pre-cooked meat, pre-packaged rice-a-roni and all sorts of other pre-canned, pre-mixed, pre-packaged sauces and flavorings. To each their own, but with today's new age standards of healthy eating, even I'm afraid of overly-prepared and pre-processed foods. Most importantly, many of these things aren't even available outside of big bad USA.

Thus, I have come to the conclusion that quick cooking is a lifestyle. You're going to have to plan a little bit, and be a bit clever in re-using and maneuvering through your meals, but 30 minutes of planning on Sunday afternoon can help make your cooking a breeze all week long. If you can't bear to plan, then just remember to K.I.S.S. Grill a piece of meat (5min each side is a pretty standard bet) with some seasonings or pour on a simple sauce (soup bases are a great start), chop and grill some simple vegetables on the side while the meat cooks and throw a slice or two of toast in the oven. Done in no more than 20 minutes.


In the meantime, if you are willing to plan a bit, here are some tips to get you started cooking real, well-rounded meals fast:

1.  Manage Your Vegetables

Chopping vegetables is probably the single most time-consuming process of cooking. Conquer your veggies, and the rest of the meal is quite painless.

uploaded by trekkyandy

• For the fastest vegetables, use frozen mixes. Unlike nearly everything else pre-packaged out there, frozen vegetables are actually good for you because they are usually frozen while the veggies are fresh- locking in the nutrients. The downsides are that frozen veggies won't have the nice, crisp texture that fresh do and pound for pound, they're more expensive.
• Canned vegetables are the worst for you nutrient-wise, but most health experts will tell you that just eating your greens is good for you. My favorite veggies to get out of a can are peas, sliced mushrooms, french-cut green beans, water chestnuts and corn (if you consider it a vegetable).
• Pre-prepare yourself. Every now and then I do take the Rachel Ray route and chop up a bunch of vegetables in one go-- usually when I notice something (like broccoli) is about to turn or if I'm already chopping a carrot, I may just finish the whole batch while I'm already at it. However, I freeze them when I'm done. Some things should probably never be done this way, though, like tomatoes, cucumbers or onions, but that's subject to opinion.
• One of the most valuable lessons I learned from my mother was to make (ie: rinse and rip apart) enough salad greens as you'll eat in a week and put it in a salad-keeper. You'll still need to add things like tomatoes and onions the day of, but it saves a good chunk of time.
• Befriend the easy-to-handle vegetables. Baby carrots are brilliant- just rinse and cook. Snow and snap peas can be just as easy, though you may want to quickly chop off the pointy tips. Baby spinach also just needs a good rinsing- usually no need to tear up. Tomatoes and mushrooms are quick and easy to slice and fresh green beans can be a breeze if you just master chopping off the tips in bulk.

2.  Make-ahead

This is where the planning comes in. If you're less picky about eating the same meal multiple times in a week, this can really help.

Getting Along uploaded by Orin Zebest

• Since most meals take roughly the same amount of time to cook no matter how many portions you make, make twice as much and doggy-bag half for another day. Meals usually last for three days in the refrigerator and weeks to months in the freezer. If you're really not fond of eating the same meal on Monday and Wednesday, then invest in some decent freezer tupperware and stock-pile a whole inventory of your own microwavable meals for future use.
• You can also make-ahead individual elements. You've probably noticed that I like to say "dump in a serving of rice" in a lot of my recipes. When I make rice, I make as much as the rice-cooker will handle (the size of decent saucepan or about 2-3 bags worth of boil-in-bag rice). Then I either use it all week long, freeze it in meal-sized portions or both. You can do this with pasta, potatoes or vegetables as well.

• I also like to prepare basic meats in bulk. E.g.: if I'm boiling and shredding chicken for use in one recipe, I'll make two meals worth and pack away the second half for another recipe later. This is most useful for unseasoned/generically seasoned meats that can later go into a casserole, pasta or a stir-fry.
• Don't forget some of the most useful store-bought "made-ahead" meats: ham and sausage. Though sausage may have some questionable mix-ins, pre-cooked ham is a very reliable meat that need only be reheated.

3.  Make all-in-one meals.

One of my first and favorite cookbooks was Simple One Dish. Though the majority of the meals are not fast and use a lot of pre-packaged goods, the book taught me the highly useful art of turning one entree into a full and balanced meal.

ham fried rice uploaded by jeffryw

• Sliced, seasoned meat cooks quickly and easily in a pan. Cook with some of the easy-to-chop vegetables and add rice, noodles or pasta for your carbohydrates and your major food groups are nicely packaged and ready to eat.
• Take some of the pre-cooked meat you've been making from lesson 2 and layer it in a casserole dish with potatoes or rice and a can of soup of your choice. Bake for 20 minutes and you have a nearly instant casserole.
• Other classic all-in-one meals are stir-frys, fried rice, pasta with meat and veggies (like spinach), soups and big, meaty sandwiches.

Happy Cooking!

Green Pea Soup

This is not quite the easiest soup I could post, but OH MY GOSH is it good. Split pea soup is my absolute favorite Dutch food- even more than cheese and baked goods. There is something just so brilliant about the blend of peas and pork. Plus its nickname is 'Snert' and what could be better and more appealing than a green blob called Snert?

Dutch split pea soup-- its full Dutch name being Erwtensoep --is a slightly tricky little delicacy to make. It involves boiling split peas with various cuts of pork (namely a big piece of bone-in ham or pork shoulder), taking out the pork, putting in vegetables, possibly pureeing and then putting the meat back in again. Certainly worth it, but I've simplified the process a bit and was very, very happy with the results. Unfortunately, though, I've just ruined Snert out-of-a-can (quite decent as it is) for myself probably for life now.

Anyway, the biggest change I've made is substituting real peas for split peas. I've researched this quite intently and while dried split peas are by far the most popular way to make soup, there's really just a few simple pros and cons to each...and for me real peas seemed easiest.

The biggest advantage to dried split peas is texture. Apparently they don't have skins and are a bit more starchy, and so more easily cook down into the appealing consistency of the soup. However, split peas should be soaked for a few hours (not necessary, but helps) and give off a frothy 'scum' in the soup that needs to be skimmed off early on in the boiling process. I'm also uncertain as to their availability outside of Holland.

Canned/frozen peas are just a bit more speedy and I didn't see any scum that needed skimming. The biggest issue is their shells which don't break off or let the peas break down easily during cooking. There are a couple ways to combat this (which I'll discuss later), but mine tasted just fine lumpy, ugly shells and all.

[Prep: 20min / Cook: 1.5 - 2hrs]

Ingredients

- 15oz can of green peas (400 grams)

- 2 1/2 cups / 500mL water

- 1/4 lb (125 grams) thick-cut bacon

- 1 pork chop [optional]

- 1/4 of a celeriac (celery root)

- 1 leek

- 1/2 white onion

- 2-3 carrots

- 2 small/medium white or yellow potatoes

- smoked country sausage (kielbasa, rookworst, etc)

Steps

1. Briefly strain the peas and bring them to a boil in the water.
2. Meanwhile, chop up the bacon and pork chop and throw it in with the peas.
3. Chop up about 1/4 of a celery root. It'll be about a cup's worth once chopped. Slice the leek all the way down to the white base and slice half an onion. Add all to the soup.
4. Let the soup cook for about an hour, stirring fairly frequently (about every 10 min). Crush the peas a bit with the spoon if you'd like.
5. Slice the carrots, cube the potatoes and slice as much smoked sausage as you'd please. Add all to the pot and cook for about 30min - 1hr more, stirring every 10 min until the soup reaches your desired thickness/consistency.
6. Ready to eat!

[Serves 2 for dinner or 2 twice as a side]

Notes

Celeriac

• All the ingredients-- including dried split peas if I had been interested --are quite easy for me to find this time of year in Holland but may or may not be difficult elsewhere. If you can't find a celery root, you can use celery shoots, the flavor just won't be as strong. Make an effort to look for the root, though. Not only is it awesomely big, but it smells lovely.
• Traditional split pea soup gets its great flavor from ham/pork with the bone in. Using bacon instead really helps with the flavor, but its worth trying with a bone. Since it's a winter soup, keep an eye out for the big family ham around the Holidays and instead of letting anyone throw the bone away, package it up and freeze it. Later you can throw it in this soup and just discard the bone when you're read to eat!
• As mentioned, the biggest issue with using real peas and not dried split peas is that they don't break down as well in the soup. It tastes just fine but maybe doesn't look as appealing (b/c green goo looks appealing to begin with...). If you really want your real pea soup smoother, you can try one of these methods


• Puree the peas in a blender/food processor either before you start, or after that first hour of cooking, before you add in the veggies & sausage (the meats, celeriac and leek will have cooked down quite a bit). 
• OR you could pan-fry the peas and bacon first. Peas really squish down when you pan-fry them and it could actually cut down on your cooking time as well. Because the meat & pea flavors will have already melded, you can cut straight to the veggie & sausage hour after pan-frying.

• They say this soup tastes better after sitting overnight in the fridge. Apparently it thickens and the flavors meld more. I can't know for sure-- my entire batch seemed to miraculously disappear last night --but I'd believe the Dutch!

OntheFly Hot and Sour Soup

When you see one of my recipes specifically labelled with "OntheFly" then you know that it is a true Megan Danna original on-the-fly creation. In this instance, I do this not to pat myself on the back for inventiveness in the kitchen but rather to distinguish that though this recipe mimics, it does not compare to the wonderfulness that is a true Schezwan hot and sour soup.

Real hot and sour soup is basically vegetarian (if you take egg) with tofu, bamboo shoots and bean sprouts or can be seafood-based with shrimp/prawns. It also uses cornstarch to thicken the broth, which- after a year of experimenting with it -I've decided is just too much trouble to even keep in my kitchen. If you've never had the pleasure of real hot and sour soup, take this recipe as a homemade introduction, but definitely keep an eye out for it next time you have Chinese!

What was so fun about this recipe was that on an otherwise distressful night where I had somehow managed to forget to plan dinner and found myself with just two pork chops and a dare by my boyfriend to turn them into soup, I was struck by inspiration and was somehow able to throw this together entirely with staple ingredients in my kitchen. Which makes this awesome spicy soup entirely within anyone's grasp!

[Prep: 10min / Cook: 30min]

Ingredients

- 2 pork chops

- 2 1/2 cups (500mL) chicken broth / water with stock cube

- 1 Tbs soy sauce

- 1 Tbs white vinegar

- a hefty dose of chili powder (abt 1 Tbs)

- black pepper (abt 1 tsp)

- 1 tsp Sambal chili paste OR chili flakes (the pizza topping) 

- 2-3 medium carrots

- 2-3 white mushrooms

- 1/2 an onion

- 2 eggs

- a tiny chunk of ginger (abt 1/2 inch of the root)

- 2 servings cooked rice

- a dash of coriander

Steps

1. Bring the broth, soy sauce, vinegar, chili powder, pepper and chili to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, cut the pork chops into thin slices and add to the broth.
3. Cut the carrots and mushrooms into long, thin-ish slices (julienne if you will) and chop the onions and ginger as much as possible.
4. Add the veggies to the pot, turn down the heat and let simmer for about half an hour.
5. When the half hour is finished, crack the eggs in a small bowl and scramble. Turn the heat off the soup, drop in the egg and lightly swirl it around a bit. Serve over rice or with the rice on the side and garnish with a dash of coriander.
6. Ready to eat!

[Serves 2]

Notes

• You don't have to use pork, of course. You could go without meat or substitute shrimp instead. If you do use pork, though, try to get have it as thin as possible. Here they have great thin "schnitzel" cuts of pork that all I have to do is quickly chop into a few pieces. Otherwise, you can get a couple thick pork chops and cut it into thin strips.
• My proportions are a bit on the spicy side. You may want to start lighter.
• I realize ginger is probably not a "staple" for most people. It's not really essential, but it lends a good balance to the soup. Ginger is cheap and lasts for weeks, have fun and grab a root!

Veggie Soup à la Rani

In the first of what I hope are many submissions by friends and OntheFly readers, I'm happy to present my dear friend Rani's veggie soup. Rani is a far better cook than I am, so I am very grateful that he sent this recipe my way for soup month. He's also a bit of a 'closet chef', so if you like this recipe, do take a second to show your appreciation in the comments or on Facebook so that I may have more ammunition when encouraging him to go to culinary school.


And if you would like to send me easy, flying recipes of your own, I'm happy to announce that this week I've activated a new email account to receive your submissions: recipes@ontheflyrecipes.com


[Prep: 10-20min* / Cook: 15min-2hrs**]
*depends on your chopping skills
**all veggie, so edible when boiled, but flavors improve with prolonged cooking

- 4 cups (1L) beef broth

- 4 zucchinis

- 4 celery stalks

- 3 carrots

- 2 tomatoes
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 butternut squash
- 1/2 cup of bean sprouts

- 3 tsp each pepper, cumin, coriander, ginger root

- 2 tsp each salt, garlic powder, oregano,

- 1 tsp chili powder

- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 Tbsp each cilantro and parsley
- 1 Tbsp sage
- 3 tsp basil


1.  Get the broth boiling (or dissolve a beef bouillon cube in water to make beef broth) and start chopping the veggies. Discard bell pepper seeds and thoroughly rinse the bean sprouts.  Set the onion aside.
2.  Dump the veggies into the top with all the beautiful spices.
3.  As that all gently boils, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the onions with the herbs from the second portion of the ingredients list until the onion turns clear. Dump in the pot with all the rest.
4.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook until veggies reach desired softness and broth is flavorful.
5.  Ready to eat!

[Serves 2, twice]

Variations

• This isn't quite vegetarian because of the use of beef broth, but if vegetarian is what you desire, you can- of course -swap out veggie broth for the beef.
• If you're like me- not a vegetarian and want your soup to be as much of a full meal as possible -I would add cubed beef tips (or any other decent stewing beef) in the beginning. Add some toast and you're meal is done!
• OR really make it a meal and add cubed potatoes, orzo or rice and have a hearty stew.

ABC Soup

It's funny. When I look up this soup, every entry I find starts the exact same way it was initially described to me: "I don't know why it's called ABC Soup, and there really aren't any rules on what to put in it...".

So here's my official prognosis: ABC Soup is just an easy soup of left-over veggies and a bit of meat. If you have vegetable scraps and a piece of chicken breast sitting around in your fridge, you can make this soup. It really is a fantastic solution for when you just need to eat.

This is also [make note because this may not happen again] my boyfriend's recipe-- sort of. He taught it to me about a year or so ago when he wanted to make dinner one night, and I gradually tweaked the recipe until it reached its current state. Sometimes the vegetables change depending on what's in my fridge, and I've been using rice a lot more than potatoes, but here's the general idea:


[Prep: 5-20min* / Cook: 30min - 4hrs**]
*depending on your vegetable chopping skills and desired level of "choppiness"
**cooked in 30, but broth tastes best the longer you go

- 500 mL (about 2 cups) chicken broth or water with a chicken bullion/stock cube
- 2 chicken breasts or 1/2lb+ other chicken parts
- 1 tsp of cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- 1/2 tsp coriander/cilantro

An array of veggies:
- 1 onion, quartered
- 2-3 white or champanion mushrooms, sliced
- 2-3 carrots, cut into big chunks
- 2 small/medium tomatoes cut into quarters or eights
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced/chopped
- a few slices of ginger
- a couple small yellow/white potatoes, cut into big chunks

1.  Bring the broth to a boil over high heat and chop your veggies. Dump veggies into the pot.
2.  Cut chicken breast down to manageable sizes if desirable. [I completely skip this step if I'm cooking the soup for an hour or more]
3.  Add the chicken to the pot. Wait for the soup to return to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to medium or medium low, cover and let simmer for 30min to several hours, depending on your preference.
4.  Ready to eat!

Notes:

• A couple recipes make this with pork ribs or tips. I was taught with chicken, so mine is chicken-based.
• The broth tastes better when you use the dark meat and pieces on the bone...the trade-off is having to pick bones out of your soup.
• This soup is already an all-in-one meal with the meat and veggies and potatoes, but if you want to add more carbs, or just swap out rice for potatoes, you can stir in cooked white/brown rice right before serving. You could cook the rice right in with the soup, but this would require a bit more care and water.

Soothing Soups

Ginger Chicken uploaded by satakieli

With snow almost coming down on my home town last week, it seems like no one can escape winter this year. And with February usually making me shiver (musical reference intended), it's probably the perfect time to explore some nice warm soups and stews.

Fact: drinking a bowl of chicken soup will help you overcome a little winter cold. Actually, most soups will probably help you battle that cold-- not for any magical ingredients in the broth, but the extra dose of liquid goes a long way in helping your body when you're sick. Sometimes there's really something to those old home-remedies.

Now how does something that has to sit on the stove for hours end up on OntheFly? Well...

They're Quick and Easy

A soup can cook in as little as 30 minutes ... or even less if your meat is pre-cooked or you're going vegetarian. And even if you opt to really simmer away your soup for a couple hours or more, it doesn't get much simpler than throwing everything in a pot and walking away for a few hours of television or Facebooking.

Chicken Stock by Homemade Today

Soups keep!

I just love to make a big 'ole pot of something on Monday night, seal up the left-overs and eat it again for lunch or dinner later on in the week. If you don't like eating the same thing more than once in a week, one easy way to mix things up is to add in rice or pasta on the second night or even add new vegetables or seasonings.

They Can be All-in-One Meals

What I really like best about soups is that you can really turn them into a whole meal. Once you've put in rice/pasta, meat and veggies, you're set! And if you really want to go low-impact, you can cheat and use a pre-made soup base like tomato, cheese, cream of chicken/celery/mushroom and just add to it. Remember the tomato soup stew?

Tomato & Basil Soup with Tortellini uploaded by nettsu

Make Quick Fixes with Basic 
Soup Mixes

Similarly, here are some ways to work with pre-made condensed soups or instant soups:

• tomato soup +  spiral pasta, peperoni and mozzarella cheese
• cheese/cream of broccoli soup + broccoli, onions, cubed chicken/ham, potatoes
• cream of mushroom soup + frozen peas & carrots, cubed chicken, bacon bits
• vegetable soup + potatoes or rice, cubed beef/pork, even more veggies

Embrace Ramen

Ramen uploaded by barron

I know I give ramen noodles a lot of crap, but they can be quite useful. Take your basic ramen and throw in shredded lettuce & cabbage and cooked chicken, then top it all off by cracking an egg into it. Suddenly the dorm room staple is actually dinner! You can do other cool things with ramen like turning it into a stir-fry, but that's a recipe for another day...



Go Homemade All-the-Way

And finally, once you become thoroughly convinced with the ease of jazzing up Campbell's and Ramen,  try your hand at making the entire soup, broth and all from scratch. Check out my best bud Rachel's very timely post this week on making homemade chicken broth using chicken and vegetable scraps that you pack away in your freezer and then put to good use making a yummy soup base.

Happy Cooking!

Fresh and Festive Salads

Tomatoes aren't the only way to spruce up a salad these days.  Mix in fresh red fruits with your salad greens to bring a little holiday cheer to your dinner table.  Then, add a little left-over ham, chicken or turkey to make your side salad a meal!





Strawberry Pecan Delight

- salad greens blend (try mixing and matching: spinach, romain, red-tipped lettuce, arugala and endive)
- sliced fresh strawberries
- chopped pecans
- sunflower seeds
- grilled chicken pieces or chunks


1.  Add all ingredients to a large, seal-able bowl.
2.  Drizzle with a light vinagrette dressing such as red wine or balsalmic.
3.  Seal the lid to the bowl and shake until well-mixed.
4.  Ready to eat! 

Cran-Apple Salad

- salad greens blend (try mixing and matching: spinach, romain, red-tipped lettuce, arugala and endive)
- crumbled blue cheese
- dried cranberries
- red and green apples, cut into chunks
- chopped walnuts
- turkey (left-overs in chunks or deli slices cut into strips)

1.  Add all ingredients to a large, seal-able bowl.
2.  Drizzle with balsalmic vinagrette or a quick mix of lemon juice and light mayonnaise.
3.  Seal the lid to the bowl and shake until well-mixed.
4.  Ready to eat!






Other fun and fruity ways to bring a little red to your holiday salad:

• cherry tomatoes
• grapefruit
• raspberries
• fresh cranberries
• red grapes
• red nectarines
• raisins
• dried or fresh cherries

Hearty Beef and Spinach Pasta

Quick, dirty and festive!
This all-in-one meal gets dinner done!







- bow tie (farfalle) pasta... about 2 cups dry
- 1/2lbs+ of ground beef (.2 to .3kg)
- 8oz. can of tomato sauce or paste
- 8oz. of whipping cream
- fresh, raw spinach
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- garlic powder
- onion powder


1.  Boil pasta according to package directions.  Drain.
2.  Spray a large saucepan lightly with cooking spray and begin browning the beef over medium-high heat with a dash each of garlic and onion powder.
3.  When the meat begins to change color, add the tomato sauce and cream.
4.  Bring to a boil.  Turn heat to low and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
5.  Stir in the cooked pasta, cheese and spinach.
6.  Pasta is finished when the cheese melts and the spinach begins to wilt.
7.  Enjoy!

[Serves 2]

Notes:

• A lot of people like to drain the fat from their beef.  I prefer to buy lean beef so I can skip that step and let the meat cook in the sauce.  To drain your beef, cook it fully first (about 5-10 minutes 'til there's no more pink) then remove it to a bowl or plate lined with a paper towel for a few minutes before putting it back in the pan with the sauce.
• How much cheese and spinach?  I throw both in by the handful, but start with about 1/2 cup of cheese and 2 cups of fresh spinach and add on from there as you please.
• To make this dish a more rounded meal, add chopped onions, tomatoes and mushrooms!

Tomato Chicken and Veggies

This is not the fastest recipe, but it’s easy, tasty
and the chicken comes out nice and tender!

-  4 chicken breasts or about 1lb/.5kg chicken fillets or piece

      -  mixed veggies of your choice 
  [I used broccoli, carrots and sugar snap peas]

      -  clove of garlic or garlic powder

      -  2 packets instant tomato soup powder or 1 can tomato soup

      -  2 Tbs. soy sauce

      -  2 Tbs. white vinegar

      -  olive oil

      -  4 servings of white rice 
(as desired)

1.   Start the rice cooking.

2.   Cut and rinse the veggies, and set them aside in a strainer.

3.   Cut the chicken breasts into strips [skip this step if using fillets/pieces]

4.   Heat a wok or large frying pan (12”) over high heat.  Add a splash of olive oil to coat the pan and stir-fry the chicken until browned (chicken strips should turn white but not be thoroughly cooked yet).  Remove from the pan.

5.   Add another splash of olive oil and the garlic/garlic powder for about 30 seconds.  Stir-fry the vegetables until their color becomes vibrant and they just start to become tender [be careful as the pan is already very hot and will splatter].  Remove to the strainer.

6.   Prepare the instant soup and bring to a boil in the pan with the soy sauce and vinegar.  Add the chicken and boil until fully cooked [about 10 minutes].  Mix in the vegetables and cook for about a minute more. 

7.   Serve over the rice.

[Serves 4]

Notes:
o   There will be a bit of excess sauce, which is best poured over the rice. 

o    This recipe keeps reasonably well.  Since this recipe serves 4 rather than my usual two, you can pack the rice and chicken/veggies separately and refrigerate for about three days for reuse.    

o   Methodology:

           -     Browning the chicken first helps lock in the moisture before boiling, which is what keeps it tender.  And removing it from the heat while you cook the veggies allows some of the fat and oil to collect and be poured out.

           -     You should always remove the excess water and let veggies dry in a strainer after rinsing for best stir-fry results.

           -     Heat the wok/pan before adding the oil.  This helps keep the meat/veggies from sticking and allows the seasonings to flavor the oil. 

Variations:

o   Use your favorite stir-fry vegetables, but I would suggest adding white onions and Chinese mushrooms to these.

o   For a super-quick, super-easy version, use a bag of frozen veggies and a packet of pre-cooked chicken strips.  Frozen veggies taste relatively OK when they’re pan fried rather than boiled or cooked in the microwave.  Also, experts say that frozen veggies pack just as many nutrients since they are typically frozen fresh.  

Recipe adapted from Campbell's Kitchen: Tomato Chicken Stir-Fry here.