So I have been entirely absent from this blog for nearly 3 months, and I have a very good excuse – in October, Brent and I had a baby boy, Max. Being the proud mama I am, I’ll use this space to show off a recent photo…

Max Loves Minneapolis
Obviously, Max’s arrival marks a change in our lives that impacts everything, including how we eat and what we cook. We’ve been out a few times for meals in restaurants with Max, but they feel like surgical strikes – can we order, eat and pay before he wakes up in his car seat and starts to fuss? I also find myself considering my order in terms of what I can eat if he does wake up and I need to hold or feed him. What can be eaten with one hand becomes more important than what I feel like eating. That all being said, we’ve enjoyed every opportunity to get Max out in the world, despite the cold weather.
As our restaurant dining has decreased, so too has my desire and ability to cook dinner every night, although it is slowly returning. We have been fortunate that we have not had to resort to pizza and Chinese delivery every night; my mother spent a few weekends this fall cooking casseroles and freezing dinner-for-2 sized portions for us. And several friends and family member came bearing meals when visiting over the last few weeks. Through this generosity, I have found several new favorite recipes, two of which I’ll share here.
In September, my mom and I looked through the The Big Book of Potluck by Maryana Vollstedt, and flagged about a dozen recipes that looked like they would prep easily and freeze well. The recipe that follows is actually one that she came over and made for us one night the first week we were home, but we ended up freezing some of the leftovers and they have proven to be great lunches for us over the last few weeks. My mom modified the recipe a bit after making it first for her and my dad. Her changes include more sauce and sauteing the asparagus first. Her modified recipe is here:
Chicken, Asparagus and Mushroom Casserole
Serving Size: 6
Ingredients:
1.25 lbs asparagus, ends snapped off, cut into 1″ pieces
4 tbsp olive oil
2.25 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp butter
5 tbsp all purpose flour
2 c chicken broth
1.5 c milk
4 tbsp white wine
1/2 c grated Swiss cheese
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1/2 c sliced almonds
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Using 1 tbsp. oil, saute asparagus to crisp tender in medium skillet, and place in a 9×13 baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray or oil.
Add 2 tbsp. olive oil to skillet and saute chicken until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Place on top of asparagus in the dish. To the skillet, add 2 tbsp. olive oil and saute mushrooms until tender, about 5 minutes. Put mushrooms on top of chicken in dish.
Melt 2 tbsp. butter in the skillet, add flour and stir until bubbly. Add broth and milk and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add wine, swiss cheese, salt and pepper to taste and stir until cheese is melted and flavors are blended, about 5 minutes.
Pour the hot sauce over all ingredients in the dish and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and almonds. Bake, covered, until bubbly and heated through, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake about 10 minutes longer to toast almonds.
Can be served with brown rice or good bread to soak up all the creamy sauce.
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The next recipe is from my friend Kris, who brought us 2 containers of her Tortilla Soup, one to eat right away and one to freeze. Being a huge fan of tortilla soup, I was excited to find out that Kris has the perfect recipe, and she even has figured out the shortcuts to make this super easy, super healthy soup a snap to put together. She skips the fried tortillas, and I agree with the choice – I’d rather put the calories into better toppings, like cheese and sour cream, and use some crumbled corn chips at the bottom of the bowl to put the “tortilla” in this soup.
Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 large garlic clove, smashed
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
48 ounces chicken broth
1 bag frozen corn
28 ounces crushed tomatoes in puree
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 bay leaf
2.5 tsp salt
1/4 c cilantro
1 whole roasted chicken, or 1 3/4 lb cooked cubed chicken
avocado
grated cheese
tortilla chips
Directions:
Saute onion and garlic in oil, adding spices, for 5 minutes, stirring. Add broth, tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, and cilantro. Bring to simmer, cook for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves.
In a blender, puree the soup in batches, and pour back in the pot. Add corn and chicken. Bring the soup back to a simmer and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Serve with avocado, grated cheese, and (optional) crushed tortilla chips in bottom of bowl.