Thursday, February 16, 2012

delight your sick valentine with this yummy dinner

yes, i know - i'm late in posting -- again.  but here i am.. with my sick hubby valentine dinner i made for soulman.  i guess we've been blessed all these past years, because all i can remember eating on valentines day has been big fat rib eye steaks ! my all time fave . weather it be at home on the grill , or out in a nice restaurant,  that's one thing i can always count on for our valentines dinner.  until this one.  hubby had some kind of somethin goin on, and was sick sick sick.  not only for valentines day -- but for many days.  so, on  valentines  day i was left wondering ' what does one do with a sick valentine' ?  well - chicken soup for the soul , right? hmmm.. ok - but not just any soup will do for valentine's day.  so, i went on the hunt -- and found the perfect soup for my sick valentine...  tortellini chicken soup ! and for dessert? well, i winged it ..  we had some 'stuff .. and i ended up turning it in to - a 'sweet valentine treat for a sick man tummy'.  all went over well, and it was actually good, and not bland sick food. it was fresh, pretty, and very tasty.
want to see it?


here we have the chicken tortellini soup- with fresh veggies

here is vanilla bean ice cream, strawberry slices, a rice crispy treat, covered in melted chocolate

it was much appreciated -- and beat the hell out of caned chicken noodle!

i used this recipe --- 

 
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/california-chicken-soup/detail.aspx

California Chicken Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 (48 fluid ounce) can chicken broth
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - diced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
  • 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 dash garlic salt
  • 2 cups fresh broccoli florets
  • 1 (9 ounce) package frozen cheese tortellini
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Bring the broth and water to a boil in a large pot, and mix in chicken, onion, and carrots. Season with lemon pepper, oregano, and garlic salt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 25 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear.
  2. Stir the broccoli into the pot, and cook 10 minutes. Stir in the tortellini, and continue cooking 10 minutes, or until tortellini is al dente. Mix in the Paremsan cheese just before serving.
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but of course i tweaked the seasoning - and used a lot more. -- it was a lot better than some of the reviews show on the original recipe. - most saying it was bland.. i used
 'refrigerated 3 cheese tortellini' - nevre al dente - that is raw to me -- i cook my pasta , also i used 'powdered chicken bouillon', used a bit more spice than called for, added lemon juice,and  rather than dried oregano i used fresh basil.

it was a hit !!!  and i must say -- i had some for lunch today -- and it's even better the second time around!!!

so -- a sick valentine - doesn't mean no valentine