It's Sunday!

It's Sunday and the perfect afternoon to cook up a great lunch and have plenty of leftovers for the rest of week! So what's on the menu today.... crazy soup and wild rice chicken salad!

Crazy Soup is actually a family recipe from when I was little and technically called Carrot Soup, but for a little kid with picky eating habits Crazy Soup just sounds more fun.

Crazy Soup:

½ onion chopped

3-4 strips bacon

2 celery stalks

¼ cup butter

1 large potato

2 carrots

Sauté onion, celery, bacon and butter until soft.

 Add potato, carrot and cover with water or chicken stock, boil until vegetables are soft. 

Before I would have to transfer the hot soup and put through blender and return to pot, this was such a pain and I would always somehow burn myself. Now I got to try out the new Immersion Blender, a glorious tool that everyone should invest in, they are pretty reasonable too. I got mine as a gift from my favorite store Sunset Ridge Home and Hardware. http://www.homeandhardwarestore.com/

A few short minutes later crazy soup is ready!

Add salt, pepper, ginger, season all, milk or cream to taste.

The Wild Rice and Chicken Salad recipe is from one of my new favorite cookbooks Stop and Smell the Rosemary:

Salad:

3/4 cup raw rice cooked in 2 1/4 cups chicken stock

4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached and cubed

1/2 cup minced celery

1/2 slivered almonds, sauteed lightly in butter

1/2 cup minced green onions

Dressing:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Prepare the dressing first by whisking the oil, vinegar, tarragon, salt, and pepper until blended and set aside.

For the rice... i cheated, best decision ever.

Our first attempt at poaching chicken! To poach we simmered the chicken in chicken stock with 2 ribs celery, some onion, and a bay leaf and cooked until tender (around 20 to 30 min). It was definitely a learning experience.

Slivered almonds sauteed in butter is one of my favorite things ever, I could eat them just plain. Really good on fish also.

Combine the wild rice, chicken, celery, almonds, and green onions. Pour half of the dressing over the mixture and put in the fridge over night so it all soaks in and the chicken is good and flavored. 

Right before serving add the other half of the dressing. We served the chicken salad like lettuce wraps.

 Served also with the soup and it was all sooo delicious!

 All great recipes for the Perfect Sunday!

With leftovers for the rest of the week!