No adaptation necessary

I haven't adapted any more baked goods this week – including the chocolate cupcakes that I had planned on making for my husband's birthday. However, I do have more breads to review (upcoming) and 2 recipes to share that don't need any adapting at all, which is very exciting.


The first "recipe" is for spicy peanut chicken soup. You'll notice that I used "recipe" as it isn't really a recipe – I adapted the recipe from another lady, who adapted her recipe from Emeril. The way I see it, most recipes are fairly easy to adapt. The recipe I found called for 2 bell peppers, but I had a plethora of them in my fridge, so I used 4. You'll also notice that I nearly always just say "minced garlic" and don't give exact measurements. I absolutely hate dealing with fresh garlic. However, I absolutely love the taste of garlic. So I buy huge jars of it, already minced, and use that. Because it isn't quite as potent as fresh (and because I love garlic), I use quite a bit more than the recipes call for. I also don't really measure – I just use a big soup spoon. I feel the same way about onions, so I normally buy them already chopped and frozen. Yes, I know it's a bit more expensive and they aren't as good as fresh, but it's a price I'm willing to pay for convenience.

I'm also going to share a recipe for hummus. Neither hummus nor spicy peanut chicken soup traditionally contain glutenous ingredients, but I like the recipes (plus they're easy and healthy). This hummus is so much better than store-bought, and it's very easily customizable.

Recipe 1, spicy peanut chicken soup
4 bell peppers, diced (I used 2 red, 2 yellow) - can use more or less
2 large onions, diced
1 huge scoop of minced garlic (I use it from a jar;  1 Tbsp fresh minced)
2 medium sweet potatoes, roasted and cubed
1 can diced/crushed tomatoes
1 container chicken stock (32 oz?)
1 can coconut milk ( I used evaporated milk)
Chicken (breast, tenders, or boneless thighs – your choice), 2-3 lbs, cut into small, bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy (I mixed them. You can also use more/less, depending on how peanutty you want it)
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, more or less depending on how spicy you want it
Salt and pepper
Cilantro

Combine bell pepper, onion, and garlic in large pot. Sauté until slightly softened. Add can of tomatoes and sweet potatoes. Puree with immersion blender or regular blender. To the mixture in the pot, add chicken stock and coconut milk, peanut butter, chicken, curry powder, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper. Bring to a low simmer for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Top with cilantro.

It makes quite a bit pot - my normal big pot (5 quarts?) was almost full. I plan on freezing several servings. It also gets spicier after you let it sit over night.I heated it up with some  rice noodles and it was pretty good. The rice noodles absorbed almost all of the liquid, so it was more like noodles with sauce and chicken than it was soup.


                                         Recipe 2, hummus
2 16-oz cans of chickpeas/garbanzo beans
2-3 Tbsp minced garlic, roasted (or 4 cloves of fresh)
1/3 cup roasted tahini
2 lemons, juiced
1/2-1 tsp salt
1/2-1 tsp ground cumin
olive oil

Combine all ingredients (except olive oil) in food processor and pulse a few times. Then stream in olive oil until the hummus is the consistency you desire. Makes 3-4 cups.

You can add any additional spices you desire, more or less garlic, roasted red peppers, etc. I love to use this as a dip for vegetables. Other people eat it with crackers, and it can even be used as a sandwich spread.