Showing posts with label sour cream. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sour cream. Show all posts

Friday, July 25, 2014

Simply Fresh Pea Soup



I love peas. I think part of my obsession with peas is their color. Green is my favorite color! These tiny emeralds are just simply delicious. They have a wonderful sweetness and a pop texture which is quintessential pea. I normally use frozen peas when cooking, it's the only way to have delicious peas all year long. Frozen vegetables get a bad rap, but if you want a vegetable out of season and at the peak of its perfection, frozen veggies are the way to go. These veggies are picked at their best then frozen providing perfect veggies all year round.

Even though I use frozen veggies for cooking, I look for fresh veggies when in season, so when I saw this wonderful pile of fresh peas, I needed to get some! I wanted to use these peas in a dish that was going to celebrate their delicate sweetness and bright green color. I wanted peas to be the star! Pea soup was the best choice.

This soup is not only yummy but so simple! You only need 5 ingredients. The peas, onion, broth, sour cream, butter. You could have this meal done in about 15-20 minutes. It's a great quick weekday meal.

I know it's summer and it's hot and the last thing anyone wants to eat is something hot, but the beauty of this soup is that it can be enjoyed chilled. Whether cold or hot, this soup honors the simple pea showing off it's delicate sweetness and nature's rich green hues.

Buen Provecho!

Main Players

Melt butter. Add onions. Cook 4-5 minutes There is flavor in the brown!

Add chicken broth, bring to a boil.

Add peas to boiling broth. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Peas will rise to the top and they will be bright green. Take off heat immediately.

Blend soup in blender until smooth, return to pot and add sour cream. Look how beautiful it looks!

My favorite way to eat soup, edible bowl!!!

Look at that wonderful green!!!

Optional garnish with heavy cream. Yum!

Fresh Pea Soup- 4 small appetizers or 2 entrees

Ingredients:

2 cups shelled peas or thawed frozen peas
1/2 onion, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp Butter
Salt n Pepper, to taste
Heavy Whipping Cream (optional garnish)

Road Map:

1.  Place a heavy bottom stock pot on medium heat, add butter. Once butter melts down add minced onions, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until onions are a bit caramelized.

2. Once onions have softened and brown add chicken broth. Bring broth to a boil.  Add peas to boiling broth. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until peas are bright green and tender. Remove immediately from heat.

3. Using a blender, puree soup until completely smooth. Work in batches if necessary. Once blended smooth return to pot and stir in sour cream. Taste and add salt n pepper if necessary.

4. If serving warm, heat soup to simmer and turn off heat. If serving chilled, place soup in a container and refrigerate for an hour. If you want to glide the lily, garnish soup with a drizzle of whipping cream.

5. Enjoy!

Side Note: If you want more of a silky texture pour soup through a sieve. I enjoy the different texture in the soup so I skip the sieve. If you want to make this completely vegetarian use vegetable broth instead of chicken both.  Make it your own. :)

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Fried Loaded Potato Bites - Leftover Rollover




I have quite of bit of mash potato leftover from a family dinner and I was trying to figure out what to do with it. I thought croquettes would be good and then I thought what if I added everything you'd find in a loaded potato, rolled it up into a ball and fried it. Delicious!

What's not to love about loaded potatoes! The bacon, cheese, sour cream, chives and bacon, oh did I say that already, well double bacon is never wrong! 

These bites are really simple to make. I took the method of a croquette and just added the extra toppings and shaped them into a ball and fried them up. The oil you use is important. You need one with a high temperature point so that when you fry it doesn't burn. I'm using coconut oil, which is said to be a very healthy oil. I figure that if I fry in health oil it can't be bad for me, right? Oh, the straws we grasp just to feel healthy. Peanut or vegetable oil are also good choices for frying. 

These bites are great as an appetizers, side dish or simply as a snack. I like to serve them with ranch dressing. I hope you give these golden bites a try! 

Buen Provecho!





The ensemble.

Mix together potato, cheese, sour cream, bacon & chives.

Make 1 inch balls. 

Prepare breading station. Corn starch, egg, panko.

Roll bites first in corn starch, tap off excess starch.

2nd roll in egg.

Final stage roll in panko.

Place breaded bites in the fridge to set up. 15-20 minutes.

Carefully place in oil. Cook into golden brown.

Golden bites of heaven!

Delicious bites!

Served up with a bit of ranch dressing.

Fried Loaded Potato Bites - Leftover Rollover

2 cups mash potato
2 slices of bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup cheddar, shredded
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp chives
Salt n Pepper to taste
Oil for frying

Breading
1 egg
1- 1/2 cup corn starch
1/2-1 cup panko, Japanese bread crumbs 


Road Map:

1. Mix bacon, cheddar, sour cream and chives to potatoes. Mix well, check for seasoning.

2. Prepare breading station. Place corn starch, egg, and panko in separate dishes/bowls.

3. Form mixture into 1 inch balls and place on a plate. Dredge each bite first in corn starch, then egg and final in panko. Once all balls are formed place in the refrigerator for 15 - 20 minutes, just enough time to set. 

4. Preheat oil in a pot with tall walls. Place breaded bite into a kitchen spoon/spider and gently lower into the oil. Once bite is golden brown, remove from oil and place on paper towel to drain. Sprinkle salt on bites.

5. Enjoy!

vmeats.blogpot.com

Monday, July 7, 2014

Fluffy Banana Pancakes

It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, which you can eat anytime of the day. I may have added that last point, but it is no less true. Breakfast has so many delicious choices, waffles, bacon, sausage, hash brown, eggs benedict, crepes, omelet and pancakes! Breakfast always leaves me so happy and content.

One of my favorite snacks as a kid was chopped banana with sour cream and a drizzle of honey. The combination of sweet banana, tart sour cream and flowery honey was a delicate balance of deliciousness. So simple yet so satisfying. I decided to upgrade that snack into a breakfast. Pancakes seems to be the perfect fit.

I mash some bananas in the batter and then placed whole pieces in the batter as it cooks, giving it a lovely texture. This way you get the creaminess of the banana and caramelized goodness of the whole pieces. 

Start your day, afternoon, evening right and have a stack of these delicious fluffy banana pancakes!

Buen Provecho!





Add wet ingredients.

Mix wet & dry ingredients. Careful not to over mix.



I pour my thick batter with a 1/3 measuring cup.


Look at those beauties.

Bubbles forming, ready to flip

Caramelized goodness!

Stack Attack!

Ready, Set, Eat!

Fluffy Banana Pancakes - Yields 10 medium pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Lrg Egg
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Milk
3 Tbsp Unsalted butter melted, plus for pan
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2-3 Bananas
Salt, pinch 



Road Map:

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and baking soda in a bowl.

2. Mash 1 1/2 bananas into a 2nd bowl. Add egg, sour cream, milk and butter to the mashed bananas.

3. Combine the wet into the dry ingredients and mix completely.

4. Slice the remaining banana.

5. Preheat griddle or non stick pan to medium heat. Add some butter to grease. Pour batter to form a
    medium sized pancake. Put banana slices on each pancake while it cooks. Cook until bubbles
    appear, flip and continue to cook until golden.

6. Serve warm, with butter & honey or maple syrup.

vmeats.blogspot.com