Classic Avgolemono Soup (Greek lemon, rice and chicken soup)

Avgolemono (pronounced avo-lem-on-o) is a class Greek soup recipe. The word avgolemono means egg-lemon. It doesn’t have a lot of ingredients, in fact, the recipe my yiayia gave me has just 5 ingredients. But don’t let that fool you because the soup is anything but basic.

It is rich and silky smooth and probably unlike anything you’ve ever tasted. It’s the perfect soup when you’re feeling under the weather. The lemon juice soothes sore throats, and the rice can help calm stomach troubles.

The soup appears to be creamy, but the thick consistency actually comes from eggs. Eggs act as a thickening agent in many recipes. But as you already know, raw eggs become scrambled eggs when you heat them, and we don’t want that in this soup (egg drop soup is a different story).

So we must use a special technique called tempering.

Tempering eggs is the process of slowly raising the heat of the eggs to avoid scrambling them. You do this by adding a small amount of hot broth into the egg mixture while vigorously whisking. The process is repeated several times before dumping all of it into the broth.

Staying on the topic of eggs, there seems to be a lot of variance between whether to use only egg yolks or the entire egg.

After much experimentation, I’ve determined this to be the best method:

1. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites while the eggs are still cold and before you do anything else! It’s easier to separate yolks from whites while eggs are cold, BUT you want the eggs to warm to room temperature before tempering them. That’s why you should do it first!

2. Whisk the egg whites vigorously before adding the yolks and lemon juice. You want the egg whites almost at soft peak stage. This will help you produce the volume you need to thicken the soup and prevent the egg whites from separating. Once you add the yolks and lemon juice, stir to combine but don't overmix.

Avgolemono soup (Greek lemon and rice soup)
Yield: Serves 8 people
Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Parsley for garnish, if desired

Directions

1. Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Make sure the egg whites are in a large bowl. The egg yolks can be in a smaller bowl.
2. Add the lemon juice to the egg yolks but don't mix. Set aside.
3. Drizzle olive oil in bottom of pot at least 3 quarts in size and warm to medium heat.
4. Brown chicken in pot, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate and shred. It should be cooked at this point. If it's a tiny bit pink don’t worry because it will finish cooking in the stock with the rice.
5. Add onion to pot and cook until tender about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
6. Deglaze pot with a couple of tablespoons of stock. Add the rest of the stock, rice, salt, pepper, and shredded chicken. 
7. Bring stock to boil and let simmer for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until the rice is tender.
8. Once rice is cooked, turn heat to low.
9. Going back to your eggs, vigorously whisk egg whites until they’re thick and frothy, about 2 minutes. 
10. Add the yolks and lemon juice to the egg whites and whisk slowly until just combined. Don’t whisk too much or you’ll lose the frothiness!
11. While whisking, slowly add 1 cup of hot soup from pot to bowl with eggs and lemon juice. Repeat with several cups of soup, all while still whisking. 
12. Once you’ve finished tempering the soup, add it back to the pot, remove from heat, and stir.
13. Serve with fresh parsley!

Using food pantry staples to make filling meals

Food is a big part of my life. For me, it’s almost like art. I love looking at it, learning about it, and of course consuming it. I follow a lot of food blogs and restaurants because I love looking at everyone’s creations.

That being said, it can be so easy for me to forget that food is a painful topic for some people because it’s not always available and they have to worry about when they’ll get their next meal.

The amount of people that suffer from food insecurity in Indiana alone is heartbreaking. According to Midwest and Gleaners Food Banks, more than 1 million people in Indiana suffer from food insecurity, and one out of every six Hoosiers don’t know where their next meal will come from.

When I was in elementary school, my mom would pack me big lunches everyday. I remember in the fifth grade, one of my classmates would ask me for my leftovers. I never thought anything of it, and I gave them to her. One day when we were at computer class, she left to “go to the bathroom.” But in actuality she went back to the classroom to get in my lunchbox, and my teacher caught her eating my food.

We had a private meeting with the teacher about it. Our teacher asked her why she stole my food. She said she stole it because she was hungry. It made me so so sad for her. 

That’s why the recipes in this blog post are a little different. This week FOX59 teamed up with Midwest and Gleaners Food Banks to raise money to fight hunger. They asked me to create a few recipes using items at the food pantry to give patrons an idea of what they can make. So I visited Old Bethel & Partners Food Pantry, and these are the recipes I came up with! I really wanted to focus on filling recipes that can be stretched out to feed a lot of people.

When I visited the food pantry, I learned that yogurt and frozen fruit are most always available for patrons. There's also usually a fresh fruit option and granola. That's what inspired me to makes these yogurt parfaits. Use any frozen or fresh fruit you want, and if granola isn't available, use dry cereal!

Fruit & Yogurt Parfaits

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup granola, plus 1 Tablespoon for sprinkling on top*
• 1/4 cup frozen blueberries, plus 1 Tablespoon for sprinkling on top*
• 1 cup yogurt, any flavor
• 1 strawberry*

Directions

1. Add 1/4 cup granola to bowl or mason jar. Layer 1/4 cup frozen blueberries and yogurt on top.
2. Finish off by adding another Tablespoon of granola and frozen blueberries. Finish with a strawberry on top.
3. Can be made up to three days in advance.

*You can substitute dry cereal for granola, and you can use any frozen or fresh fruit.

Eggs are obviously a good breakfast choice and a good source of protein, and they're available at the food pantry. However, patrons are generally limited to only taking one dozen. On the other hand, they had an abundance of English muffins, in fact, you could take as many as you needed. That's why I decided to make Egg "McMuffin" Style Sandwiches. It's more filling than just one egg, and you can make your egg supply last longer.

Egg Breakfast Sandwich
Ingredients

• 1 English muffin
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tablespoon cheese, if available

Directions

1. Split your English muffin with a fork and toast it by laying both sides face down on a skillet for about 1.5 minutes. Add cheese to 1 muffin half and set aside.
2. Lay the ring of a mason jar lid onto the skillet crack an egg, and pour it into the ring. Use a fork to break the yolk so it flows into the white but it's not completely scrambled. Cook the egg for about 2.5 minutes or until the white firms up.
3. Remove the mason jar ring and carefully flip the egg. Cook for an additional minute and remove from skillet. Place egg on the muffin half with the cheese.
4. Eat immediately or make ahead up to 3 days in advance.

The pantry always has a meat option available. Sometimes it's canned chicken, sometimes it's beef. But lately the pantry has been getting in whole frozen chickens. Some patrons may be overwhelmed by a whole chicken, but they're very easy to cook. 

Also, canned vegetables and rice are generally available, and this is a good way to use them up! I even added eggs for added protein to make it more filling. 

And they most always have lettuce which can be used with the chicken fried rice to make chicken lettuce wraps. This is great for leftovers. It's also a good idea because anytime you add a leafy vegetable it's going to be more filling.

Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 eggs
• 4 cups rice
• 1 pound chicken, cooked
• 1 can mixed vegetables
• 5 Tablespoons soy sauce

Directions

1. Prepare rice according to package instructions and cook chicken ahead of time.*
2. Heat oil in large skillet on low and add green onions and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring intermittently.
3. Push onion and garlic to one side of pan with spatula, and add eggs to empty side. Scramble eggs and cook until no longer runny. Stir everything back together so it's evenly distributed throughout pan.
4. Add rice, chicken, and mixed vegetables, and drizzle soy sauce evenly on top. Stir until everything is combined and heated through, about 2 minutes.
5. Serve immediately or keep in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
6. *If using a whole, frozen chicken let thaw before cooking and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 1.5 to 2 hours. Remove chicken meat from bones and dice into bite-size pieces.

COPYCAT JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE HIBACHI WITH FRIED RICE

I love going to hibachi restaurants. I love all the flipping knives and the flames. And most importantly I love the food! It’s fresh and extremely flavorful. Unfortunately, going to a hibachi restaurant can get pretty pricey. And that’s exactly why I wanted to replicate the meal at home.

This recipe is a full hibachi meal: meat, vegetables, and fried rice. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include instructions for all of the knife twirling, but I’m still working on that!

COPYCAT JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE HIBACHI WITH FRIED RICE

Yield: 2 servings

Calories per serving: 685 calories

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

·      1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast

o   You can substitute steak, shrimp, tofu, etc.

·      1 head of broccoli

·      1 large zucchini

·      1/2 large white onion

·      3 squares Land O Lakes Sauté Express Teriyaki

o   You can substitute 3 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons soy sauce

·      4 tablespoons soy sauce

·      1 and 1/3 cups frozen vegetable medley mix

·      2 eggs

·      1 and 1/2 cups rice (white or brown)

DIRECTIONS

1.     Prepare your meat and vegetables ahead of time:

a.     Cut up the chicken into 1-inch pieces

b.     Cut off the broccoli florets

c.      Cut up the zucchini into coins

d.     Chop up the white onion

2.     Heat 1 square of Land O Lakes Sauté Express in a wok or very large pan on medium high heat

3.     Add the chicken to the wok along with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce

4.     Sauté the chicken for 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink.

5.     Remove the chicken from the wok

6.     Without cleaning the wok, add another square of Land O Lakes Sauté Express

7.     Add the broccoli and the zucchini to the wok along with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce

8.     Sauté the broccoli and the zucchini for 6-8 minutes until tender

9.     Remove the veggies from the wok

10. Without cleaning the wok, add another square of Land O Lakes Sauté Express

11. Add the onion and the frozen vegetable medley mix along with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce

12. Sauté for about 3 minutes until onions are translucent

13.  Add the eggs and lightly scramble as you add them to the wok.

14. Once scrambled add the rice to the wok.

15. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

16. Add the soy sauce to the wok and cook an additional minute.

Prepare and chop your ingredients ahead of time

Sauté your chicken until no longer pink

Cook your vegetables until tender

All the flavors in the wok combine together with the grand finale - fried rice

Make the meal with chicken, steak, shrimp, or tofu!