Fully Loaded Potato Soup

Fall has arrived, as well as pumpkin-spiced everything, and with it comes cooler weather and earlier sunsets. It didn’t take more than a week to start to feel the change in a big way here in the Washington, DC area. Thankfully, we were mentally prepared to make a hearty soup that would warm our bellies. Ever since the paleo/primal community has relaxed on white potatoes, as well as sweet potatoes, we’ve had to remind ourselves to add them back to our menu.

Fully loaded potatoes are an indulgent side I occasionally had growing up when we went out to eat. Making a fully loaded potato soup was a fun challenge, and it came out great. By adding cauliflower to the recipe, it gave us a lightness that didn’t leave us ready for a nap after a bowl. We also cooked with Daiya cheese for the first time. These cheese shreds are dairy-, lactose-, and casein- free, as well as gluten- and soy-free. If you can’t find or don’t tolerate high-quality dairy, these shreds kicked up the flavor of the soup, and were a great addition—we recommend it. Imagine what you could do with a pizza or nachos inspired recipe (stay tuned). Now, on to the soup…

Chicken Posole Soup

Posole, or pozole, is a traditional Mexican stew that is made with hominy. Hominy, if you weren’t aware (we weren’t), is dried maize kernels—think corn puffs pre-puff. While we aren’t big corn consumers, everything else about the soup/stew seemed amazing: chicken (or pork), radishes, salsa, chili pepper, and even avocado.

While we took some liberties, including substituting hominy with chopped cauliflower, this soup is out of this world. It was surprisingly filling and delicious, while not requiring a lot of preparation or work. We shredded some remaining chicken from a roasted whole chicken and within a half-hour we had dinner on the table. If you decide to roast a chicken early in the week, you’ll be able to make stock and this soup in easy progression. We hope you’ll give this recipe a try, and let us know in the comments how you like it!

Instant Pot Chicken Green Curry

It’s summer in D.C. It’s hot. It’s humid. So, why on earth would I want to make a batch of steaming hot curry? Honestly, Brent and I have been starting to feel a little under the weather the past few days. A general exhaustion settled over us this weekend, along with sore throats, chapped lips, and a unsettling feeling that we were fighting a losing battle against colds or, worse, sinus infections that were just beginning to wreak their havoc on our lives.

Summer colds are miserable, but a large bowl of flavorful liquid and chicken meat seems to make it a little more tolerable. Sure, we could have made our Chicken Zoodle Soup (I’ll probably make that tomorrow); but I had a craving for Thai food on Saturday.

Besides, there’s not really a bad time for curries. They are so diverse and delicious, even when served cold! So, on Sunday, I whipped up this chicken green curry in our Instant Pot. We hope you will enjoy it as much as we are, whether you’re curled up on your couch fighting a cold or not.

Chicken Tawa Masala

Indian food is something that both Heather and I found somewhat later in life as a regular fare, and we’re still making up for lost time! Chicken Tawa Masala is definitely more of an upscale meal, especially in this preparation, mostly due to the process involved to make it. The star of the show is garam masala, which we’ve used before in several dishes, and even used it to spice up brussels sprouts.

You’ll really enjoy this savory chicken dish. It’s filling and has a nice mixture of heat and flavor. Let us know your favorite Indian dish in the comments!

Braised Ethiopian Chicken Thighs

Once upon a time, in seventh grade, I had a friend from Ethiopia. Dinners at her house were the most flavorful and spicy I had ever experienced. She recently found me on Facebook and I have daydreamed a few times about the delicious meals we had together as children.

This recipe was inspired by that experience. It also came about because I was in the mood for chicken and stew a few weekends ago, but didn’t want to wait hours on end for a chicken stew to cook. We had experienced chilly, rainy weather for a few days straight and I needed comfort food.

Braising allowed me to get some aspects of a hot, rich stew without all the wait-time. I hope you’ll find this Ethiopian-inspired meal as comforting and enjoyable as I did!