Monday, December 26, 2011

Boxing Day.

Today, in Canada, is Boxing Day. Same in the UK. Not in the US though, I am not sure why the Americans have never started having Boxing Day. They do, however, have sales today, they say this is one of the biggest sale days of the year, if not THE biggest. Not for me mama, I like to save money, but not at the risk of life and limb nor all the lining up and scrambling that will be taking place in stores today.

As for yesterday, we ended up cooking a turkey breast as I was just not up to going out. I am still in screaming agony for part of the day and the thought of wandering around a buffet just didn’t work for me. Pity, the food is excellent. However, so was our turkey breast. Otherwise we just spent a quiet day having ham and champagne for brunch and relaxing for most of the afternoon.

Here’s something fairly simple after all the cooking we have been doing lately.

 

Quick French Onion Soup

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Picture of Quick French Onion Soup

French onion soup is a favorite but it usually isn’t substantial enough to make a complete meal. We’ve solved this problem by adding fiber-rich chickpeas to a broth flavored with sherry and three kinds of onions. Of course, we didn’t forget the gooey topping, we’ve just made it a little lighter and a lot easier to prepare at home—simply top toasted whole-wheat bread with cheese and pour the soup on to melt it.

Servings: 6

Yield: 6 servings, 1 1/2 cups each

Total Time: 45 minutes

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Recipe Ingredients:
  1. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  2. 2 large sweet onions, sliced
  3. 2 cups chopped spring onions or leeks, whites and light green parts only
  4. 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
  5. 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
  6. 1/4 cup dry sherry (see Ingredient Note)
  7. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  8. 3 14-ounce cans reduced-sodium beef broth
  9. 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
  10. 1/4 cup minced fresh chives or scallions
  11. 6 slices whole-wheat country bread
  12. 1 cup shredded Gruyère or fontina cheese
Recipe Steps:
  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sweet onions and stir to coat. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until softened and starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add spring onions (or leeks), garlic and thyme and cook, uncovered, stirring often, until starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes.
  2. Stir in sherry and pepper; increase heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in broth and chickpeas and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in chives (or scallions).
  3. Meanwhile, toast bread and divide it among 6 bowls; top with cheese. Ladle the soup over the bread and cheese and serve immediately.
Recipe Tips & Notes:
  1. Ingredient note: Sherry is a type of fortified wine originally from southern Spain. Don’t use the "cooking sherry" sold in many supermarkets—it can be surprisingly high in sodium. Instead, purchase dry sherry that’s sold with other fortified wines in your wine or liquor store.
Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 374 calories; 10 g fat (4 g saturated fat, 4 g mono unsaturated fat); 20 mg cholesterol; 48 g carbohydrates; 18 g protein; 6 g fiber; 591 mg sodium; 555 mg potassium

Have a great Boxing Day

Jo_thumb[2]

4 comments:

  1. I am so so sorry about your pain. Every morning I look to see how you are. I do hope you will feel better soon! Do you go back to that clinic? Lulu

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  2. Friends of mine used to make a really rich onion soup and put it in a cleared out bread bowl with shredded cheese. Oh moan that was good.

    Since I don't have servants, boxing day doesn't happen, lol! I think the closest I ever came to it was taking left over foods to the local shelter--turkey, ham, and mashed potatoes with gravy. We deliberately cooked extra to do that. I don't do it where I am now, though.

    Hope you're feeling better soon, Jo. At least find a doctor who can give you cortisone shots. The shots almost hurt as much as the pain but lasts only a bit and the shoulder pain goes away--so long as you don't overuse those arms. It masks the pain and you can do so much more damage if you don't take it easy. No bowling, my dear.

    Hugs,

    ~Sia~

    Sia McKye OVER COFFEE

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  3. I'm almost tempted to make that onion soup - it sounds delicious! It takes a really mouth-watering recipe to make me think about getting out the scales and pans. If it can't be prepared with a knife, a chopiing board and a microwave oven I don't make it.:-)

    Jo, I do hope that wretched shoulder gets better soon. It sounds as bad as the soup sounds good.

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  4. Thanks to all of you. I have another appointment to go to Let It Heal on Friday, but a doc's appointment on Tuesday. Fingers crossed please.

    Sia, I think its a long time since anyone really did anything like that on Boxing Day.

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