Denver Sauce

This is "the sauce" recipe.

I know there is a lot of emotion about sauce.  This recipe actually came to me from a fellow I dated ,maybe twice, whose parents owned a fairly well known Italian restaurant in North Denver.   Years later, my hairdresser, who was a very long time Denver person,  told me her sauce recipe, and it was THE EXACT SAME.

So I will call it Denver sauce.

Like all good things, start with sauteing some onion and garlic.  Now I have heard that using butter is more authentic, but I usually just use olive oil.

Now, I usually do everything in the crock pot, unlike this picture here, but you can do whatever you want--if you are making it in the crock pot, throw your onions and garlic in there, and a big old country rib, pork, and a few handfuls of pepperoni or salami or a combination of the two.  Then, add a big can or two, or a big can and a little can, whatever fits,  of crushed tomatoes. Some like pureed, but I like the crushed, and a small can of tomato paste, and maybe a can of diced, depending on my mood.  Then add a layer, as in cover the top layer of your tomatoes, with Parmesan cheese, or a mix of Parm, Romano, Asiago, (none if doing Paleo) garlic salt, parsley (I know it seems weird, but it does make a difference in flavor), layer of basil, and a  bigpinch of oregano, and maybe some black or white pepper, stir and let it cook all day.

Red wine, about a glass, after you drink a good glug glug glug glug of it.

Sugar in the sauce--this does make the sauce taste better and less acidic. You can use a jar of baby food, carrots, or you can add a few baby carrots and fish them out or not, or even julienned carrots.  (My father has seen the carrot piece before and bleated, "There is a piece of cheddar cheese in my sauce" which is odd, since normally cheese is  NOT A PROBLEM and even more oddly, I have seen this man add cheddar to spaghetti, and even lasagna, which he mispronounces as LASKANA, for some reason, and says he hates it, because it's a casserole...I digress)

Meat and mushrooms--I like to make meatballs and bake them in the oven, just very simple, meat, egg, bread crumbs (get the fancy Italian ones) or oatmeal instead of bread crumbs (really), salt and pepper and maybe a tiny bit of fennel.

You can also use Italian sausage (also better baked, plus skinned) or just ground beef, that you can brown and add in at any time, even in the first step with the onions and garlic.

Normally though, I add the meat about half way through.  If you are going to be gone for the day, then add it all in at once, obviously.

Sauteed mushrooms, last 30 minutes or so.  You can also add in sauteed zucchini, but I will warn you, most men, and lots of children, will immediately be repulsed by this addition.

Serve over any kind of pasta, zoodles, gnoccis or use in LASKANA, manicotti, stuffed shells, mix  it with with Alfredo, whatever you like to do

Broccoli Cheese Soup, May Contain Cauliflower and Carrots

This is similar to the chowder and the black broccoli soup.
This is a fast soup that you can make while you are making the sandwiches or the salad.

Saute an onion in butter.  Or 1/2 an onion.  Add minced garlic if you like.

Next, add more butter, about half a stick, and some big spoonfuls of flour, 2-3.  Do not use arrowroot if you use gluten free.  Some people will take out the onion at this point, because it's sort of a weird thing to whisk out lumps and fight the onion at the same time. But it's not necessary, if you can discern a lump in your flour from an onion piece.

Let that cook for a few minutes.  Then add in about 2 cups half and half, or a cup of half and half and a cup of heavy cream or coconut milk. I like the Thai Kitchen one in the red can for soups.  It is never separated or oddly glooky and glucky :) Whisk out lumps.

Add two cups of your chicken stock--probably your plainer one.

Then add in chopped fresh broccoli, about two cups, or a mix of cauliflower and broccoli, and julienned or shredded carrots--let your veggies cook until they are as soft as you like them. I have all of my teeth and can chew well, so not as long as for me.  You can also put your soup through a food processor, if you like it very smooth, but once again, not a fan of the the super smooth soups.  I don't want to start ranting, but I assume that chewing our food is part of a natural process, and healthier to chew it, than pureeing it and drinking it, unless we have to.  Also, super smoothing out soups makes it look like vomit, in a way. If you have ever read another recipe that has the word "vomit" in it, please let me know.  On that note, I have recently seen the "riced" frozen veggies, cauliflower and sweet potatoes, so that might be something to try in this recipe, for ease of use.  Smile.


Melt in 2 cups of shredded cheese at a low heat.  Add in salt and pepper, Nature's Seasoning, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, whatever you like.  Don't let it get too hot and separate and get all gloppy and gloopy on you!

Spicy Chicken Vegetable Soup

I think one of these soups is a spicy chicken vegetable soup that I make often--it's healthy and you can make it Paleo and I never get tired of it

Big pot of water.  Chicken.  Mirepoix. (carrots, onions, celery, plus or not peppers)  Sofrita. (onions, tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, peppers)

Once your chicken is ready, you can debone, deskin and add in any and all vegetables and spices you like--you may also have lots of stock, so if you don't need all of it, save some for whatever that other kind of soup is in this picture.

I like to add yellow squash, zucchini, more carrots, more celery, and tomatoes, more peppers and maybe some greens. If you don't care about Paleo, add in hominy or corn or beans.

I like to make this spicy, more like a chicken tortilla soup, but you can add whatever kinds of spices you like--if you make it spicy, it's great served with a slice of lime and a fresh cilantro sprig.

Sweet and Salty Skillet

This is super easy and you can make it Paleo if you want to spend time to make your own corned beef with no crazy additives and use grass fed beef etc, or a little extra money at ye olde Natural Grocers or Whole Foods.

If you are making your own corned beef, you find a grass fed beef brisket, brine it, blah blah blah, stinking up your house for days, then slow cook it, let it cool, dice it, blah blah blah.  Lots of recipes on line. I made that up, but I assume so.

Sweet potatoes--you can bake them first and then cube them, or you can cube them and then microwave them in an air tight container, or you can microwave them, then cube them--you get the idea--cube, then bake, etc.  I like them with some smoky paprika and some hot paprika, and salt.

Cube your corned beef, which is already cooked.  Your sweet potatoes are also cubed and cooked, amIright?...saute away with some oil in a pan, and whatever spices of your choosing and additional veggies. If you are adding in kale, do it at the last minute and try not to talk about it too much.  Eggs, any way you like them or not, preferably added on top of the veggies.

Enjoy for breakfast, lunch or dinner, snacks, midnight snacks, brunch--you got this!

Leftover Alfredo Soup

Big pot of water, chicken, mirepoix, you know the drill...let the chicken, a whole one or some thighs and breasts, with skin, boil until your chicken is loose or falling off the bones.  Debone, deskin and save the stock, and set meat aside.

Saute a big skillet of sliced mushrooms.

Add mushrooms, chicken and left over alfredo sauce, any noodles that you want in there, (cooked, al dente) and then top with fresh spinach.

Hey, that's a joke, there is never any left over Alfredo sauce.

You have to make it.

Five tablespoons of a mix of olive oil and butter.  As in chunka buttah, glug glug glug olive oil.

Put a few spoonfuls of your minced garlic in there, and let it sizzle a little bit over medium heat.

Now, this is the crazy part, add in two cups of heavy cream--or thereabouts. I think that sometimes the containers are not two cups, exactly, or the cow is on strike--regardless, boom, add that in, with my favorite white pepper, shake shake, handful of parmesan, the real kind, no plastic "jars" involved, and a handful or so of mozzarella or gruyere.  Cook until smooth, and stir the whole time.  Do not trust anyone else to do this job, because it burns, sticks and done bad things in a hurry.

You can also just buy Alfredo--make it a good one.

Carnitas

Carnitas are very simple to make, and there are a number of ways to make them, but the easiest way possible is in your slow cooker.

Throw in a pork tenderloin or lots of the country ribs into the slow cooker.

Add a fresh, chopped up jalapeno or two, a chopped onion (you can do big loopy rings) cumin, chili powder (I like the green) lime juice and some beer, but not enough that you are boiling your meat.

It should be done in 6-8 on low.

Next, shred your pork and then fry it in olive oil in a cast iron skillet. If you are adding it to green chili, you don't need to make it that crispy.

Or you can serve it with green chili sauce, refried beans, cilantro, and pico de gallo.

Stay Calm Green Chili

That picture above is green chili with zucchini in it. I know that probably triggers some of you and I apologize in advance.

Nothing gets quite as emotional and silly in the recipe realm as a recipe for "the sauce" if you are an Italian (I am not an Italian.  My kickin' last name is bestowed to me as a sort of a combat pay for being married to an Italian) or green chile if you are a Coloradoan or an New Mexican :)

Mine is simple, and simply delicious.

It all starts with green chile sauce, and you can add meat, or not.
Most people love the pork, but I will occasionally use chicken, a whole one, or just thighs.  I have also made carnitas, but not fried them in the end, and added them to my green chili.  Amazeballs!, as the young kids will say.

This is the basic sauce recipe, with or without meat:

Saute a chopped yellow onion and minced garlic. In oil. (Regarding garlic, I have not bought a fresh clove since the first Clinton presidency, I just buy the jars of minced, a trick I learned at a steak house called Morton's.  I  know, I am a dirty little name dropper)  If you are making this with meat, add it in this step, unless it's the precooked carnitas.  Make sure your meat is all done and cooked down.

Add two tablespoons of flour--if you are going gluten free, don't use arrowroot or almond--neither one "does right" for some reason.  Almond is better than arrowroot, but still...not right...arrowroot makes a gluey mess and kind of reminds me of that movie Aliens.
With the flour, add salt, pepper, cumin and let her rip for about two minutes

Then add in your stock ( you can use your spicy sofrito one or just plain old chicken)--about two cups and keep stirring--it should be smooth and fairly thickish.

Then add in your green chiles, a good cup and a half or so--and oregano, and cilantro if you like.  You can also add in a can of tomatoes or fresh tomatoes at this step--and if you are adding in zucchini, now is the time too :)

Then your about there--if you add in meat, cooked and ready to go, do it now

Not Really a Soup, but a Skillet

This is a delicious, easy and you can make it Paleo, skillet.

Thighs, chicken, no skin, you sautee them in a skillet in ghee or olive oil for Paleo Peeps or butter if not doing the Paleo Thang.  Have some diced onions in there, garlic, if you want--add spices--I like just a little white pepper with this one.

Add lots of shrooms and when shrooms are done, add big dollops of mayo and dijon mustard (you can buy both  Paleo friendly or you can make them if you have a food processor.  Discussing making homemade mayonnaise is one of my least favorite things to do and I just cannot do it.)

Serve over zoodles, (this is zucchini, sauteed, after it has been sent thru a spaghetti-izer type of thing) or cooked spinach or raw spinach, or mashed potatoes, hash browns, gnoccis, or just by themselves

Protein Packed Soup

This is a boil your chicken one.

Boil your chicken with your mirepoix.  Lots of carrots and celery and onion--boil, boil, boil, until your chicken is loose...salt and peppah

Set aside, chicken, debone, deskin, etc.  Shred your chicken breasts.

To the pot, add a good sausage, you can find one, kind of a polska kilbasay one works or a bratwurst type,  white beans, and handfuls of kale.  You cannot see the kale here. You can also use chard, rainbow chard, or spinach.

I like a big handful of red pepper flakes in this one.

This is a lot of protein.  This soup is the protein bomb, beans, chicken and sausage.
You can add more buy adding a little swiss cheese melted on top

Black Broccoli

This soup can have meat in it or not and is very simple to make.

Roast your veggies--this is how you can get some black broccoli or some black cauliflower, so just be careful. I roasted carrots and squash in this too, and just put a little olive oil on them, a little seasoning, nothing much

Saute garlic and onion, with or without meat (I used ground turkey here).  Add your normal soupy spices, like Nature's Seasoning or some rosemary. I like rosemary and garlic together, pepper...love pepper..

You can also add beans of the white variety or not.

Add in your delicious stock.

Now, fancy people can puree the whole thing in a fancy food processor, and ADD IN CREAM CHEESE and maybe a little yellow cheese of some kind too--you can also make it creamy with cream, as in from a cow or a coconut (make sure coconut milk is unsweetened)

The less fancy folks,  just dump in the cream cheese and see how it goes.

Pumpkin Chili

This is a picture of the browning stage.  Do you see my cute Cutco masher browner thingie?  Both parents are Capricorns, they love gadgets and tools and the best of the best. I would never think to buy this for myself, but it is great.

Pumpkin is one of those things that white people seriously like, according to my Chinese daughter, and I am not sure why, but HEY, IT'S A VEGETABLE.

I browned
1 lb of grass fed beef
Pumpkin chunks, do you see them?
Red Pepper
Yellow Onion
and possibly some jalapenos or green chiles
Spices--I used some Emeril's rib rub and the regular chili suspect spices

THEN
I added in my stock and some canned tomatoes, and let it simmer.

I loved it.  No one else did. Maybe because I am the whiter one.

Red Chili and White Chili (Rojo y blanco)

Two Colors of Chili in One Post--this might be cute if you are bringing to a potluck or just have a lot of pigs in your family that will eat anything and a lot of it


Red Chili

Brown an onion and the buffalo or beef together.  You may need to add good olive oil if it's buffalo...I always add in a huge handful of chili powder of a packet of Gordo's chili powder.  Also add in lots of the green chili powder, a little salt.  Then add in some stock, or hot water, can of the fire roasted tomatoes or rotel, some green chilies, beans (whatever kind--I have even used black eyed peas and no one noticed) and let simmer. I say, let it get up to pretty good bubbling for like ten minutes, simmer for no more than 30 or your beans turn into refried beans in your chili. Or you can let simmer and then add the beans, whatever works for you. Easy peasy.


White Chili

Brown an onion and turkey or ground chicken together.  You may need to add good olive oil, because it will be a little dry.  Once brown, add a jar of green salsa, I always like Herdez or my own homemade, but who I am kidding, I have not made tomatillo salsa since late in the Bush 1 presidency) cumin, white pepper, salt, stock and let simmer, once again, for about thirty minutes on low, but let it get rolling first, and then add in a can of white beans of some kind.  Cannelini beans, Navy Beans or Great Northern beans all work well, but don't use garbanzo beans, or chick peas!  You can also add in a can of corn.  Then the ***secret ingredient**** pepper jack cheese***.  You can add in shredded pepper jack or even some Gouda with peppers and pepper jack the last few minutes of cooking.  Creamy and delish.

Take your Lactaid and stop whining.

This is awesome with blue chips.  Then you have red, white and blue.  Are you serious?

Back to stock.

Remember to always boil your rotisserie chicken carcasses to make stock.  Just add your mirepoix veggies and let it boil for an hour or so.

You can keep it in containers, about two cups or in zip lock bags.  This stock is very read because I added lots of ground red chili peppers to it, for when I make a spicy Mexican type of soup or use the stock for chili.

The bananas have nothing to do with the picture, but add color and interest. I bet you are thinking about lots of fun bananas adventures you have had, maybe even in pajamas.

Tie Me Up in a Hurry, I mean Thai Curry

This is a another soup that you make your stock as you go, or not--

Big pot of water, throw in chicken and mirepoix.  (Carrots, onions, celery, peppers, garlic, go)

When your chicken is getting loose, take her out and let debone and deskin, chop up the meat how you like it, shred it.

Add to your stock curry, big handfuls, or a jar of the good ready made kind, and regardless, add  a can or half a can of coconut milk--I like Thai Kitchen brand the best.

Now throw back in the chicken.

Serve very hot and add in handfuls of fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, chard, even romaine lettuce, cilantro and jalapenos, whatever you like. It's kind of like pho style, but it's Thai.  I like a big squirt of Sriracha in mine. Imagine the fun you can have referring to the sriracha as "cock sauce".  

Chicken and Chard

This is one where you can make your own stock as you go.

Fill up your big pot with water, throw in a whole chicken, and mirepoix.
I don't want you to get overally emotional about your mirepoix--some say it's one part carrots, one part celery to two parts onions.  Whatever.  Sometimes you can buy bags of frozen mirepoix, and sometimes they even have peppers in them.  Also, add garlic, a bay leaf, a little salt and pepper and let it rip, until the chicken is done.  Usually you can tell because the chicken really starts spreading it's legs.  Wink.

Remove the chicken, let cool, debone and de-skin.  Set aside. I think it's okay to put one whole chicken leg in our mouth and just eat the whole thing.  Well, not the skin. Don't let anyone see you do this, especially not the dog.


Now you want to add in your veggies:

Chard!  I like the bags of chard, fresh or frozen, rainbow or not.  Rainbow is great anytime, not just during Pride Week

Butternut squash.  Make life easy and buy it precut or a bag of frozen butternut. Big old heaping cupful

Any other squash

Maybe some tomatoes?  Maybe not

Fresh cabbage but coordinate with the chard


Add veggies, cook until their done.  Add your chicken back in.

Enjoy.  Shake your tail feather. Nothing to feel guilty about in this soup

Seven Dollar A Bowl Chili

This chili looks much darker once it is all done cooking, and boy is it delicious and kind of $$

2.5 pounds of grass fed beef.  That will set you back,

About a pound of good beef sausage. I found one with jalapenos and cheddar in it. OH MY!

Onions--chopped

A beer (drink half of it, even if it is before 10 AM) or if really early, a cup of black coffee

Stock--good chicken stock

Fire roasted tomatoes, a couple of cans, and I like the organic

Huge handful of chili powder. I also like to add a big spoonful of the green chili powder  or shake shake shake shake, seven times

SECRET INGREDIENT** A frozen container of the hot green chili. I like the Mark Schlereth brand

Beans--I had my own homemade pintos with lots of ham, onions and peppers....mmmm mmmmm

There might be some black beans there...I assume a can

Braise the beef in good olive oil, along with your minced garlic, set aside, braise the sausage, (cut it up in pretty little disks)...deglaze the pan with the half drunk beer...or a cup of black coffee...add all ingredients in the big pot, including the deglazed  liquid, all ingredients BUT NOT BEANS and let simmer about an hour and a half then add beans and go another half hour on simmer .

This is good with anything or anyone.

Pasta e Fagioli, which means Pasta and Beans, but we are not putting Pasta or Bean in Ours, Because Paleo

Fellow Cavemen and Cavewomen--A Paleo friendly soup for you--whether you are great at guarding the cave, chasing the woolly mammoth, or both, or neither.  I cannot even build a fire without a match, honestly

2 cups stock, you can use beef or chicken, homemade or store bought--please do not get crazy with your bone broth stories.  Later.  I heard them all, though, I think.  Yawns

A few cups of either homemade marinara or a jarred marinara that contains no sugars of any kind--there are some good jarred brands out there, and they work great for this soup

Handful of basil.  Maybe a little child's handful.

Veggies: I like carrots, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, yellow squash for this one

I like the mushrooms sauteed a bit
I like the zucchini chopped up and added early on, or grilled, same with the yellows

Onions and garlic, sautee together

Add your veggies, not shrooms, to the liquids and let them cook until firm, but done.  Then add shrooms.

If you want to add meat to this soup, ground grass feed beef, browned with various Italian spices, including fennel is primo.  Salt and pepper to taste.  I also add a big glug glug glug of hot sauce--not Tabasco, but you can use Tabasco if you want. I like the not so vinegary ones better

This soup goes great with a salad, and if you are not really worried about Paleo stuff, bread sticks, cheesy garlic bread.

My husband says that women who are married to Italians, but are not Italian women, are called Aunt Marys.  We may call this soup Aunt Mary soup later, even though the Mary makes no sense to me, since I am not a Catholic either.  :)

Chowdah. Pffft

Cheese and Veggie Chowdah

About 2 cups stock.  If you have any homemade stock from a chicken or a rotisserie chicken, or you can use stock from the store

Beer--just one, and you can take like three sips of it before hand

Veggies: I like carrots, peas, corn, onions, garlic and maybe okra in this one.  You can use a frozen bag of "veg all", and a sauteed onion and garlic

Potatoes--5 or 6 of the little guys, chopped up, skin off or on, up to you

Cream--heavy cream, I would go for about half a cup

Cheese, lots of cheese (2 cupsish, any kind you like that will melt prettily)

Meat, or not.  Cubed ham, sliced sausage, etc

Spice to taste. I like the Nature's Seasoning with extra white pepper for this soup

Put all of your veggies, including the onion that you already sauteed with garlic, in the slow cooker or on the stove, with the liquids, and let simmer or slow cook until veggies are tender.  Give them a little smoosh with your smoosher, and then add in the cheese, cream and meat and let the cheese melt

You can garnish this bad boy with corn bread, croutons, some pretty jalapenos, whatever you like.

Enjoy.  Take a Lactaid if you need to. You know who you are.