Jennifer Lambert

A Sacred Balance

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Cockaleekie Soup

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A quick and easy meal for weeknights is cockaleekie or chicken and leek soup.

Leeks are typically a spring vegetable. They’re lighter and sweeter than onions.

They look like giant green onions or chives.

I love having leftover chicken in the freezer and chicken stock on hand for easy meals like this one.

I chop up celery and carrots. I clean and slice up the leeks.

Sauteed in butter or oil, they smell heavenly.

I add herbs, black pepper, chicken stock, and chopped cooked chicken.

It’s ready in fewer than 30 minutes!

With a salad and some 1-hour bread machine soda bread, it’s a hearty meal for a cold night.

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Cockaleekie Soup

Course Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 c sliced leeks
  • 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 1-2 T butter, oil, or bacon grease
  • 1-2 T white wine or sherry
  • 3 c chicken stock
  • 1 c cooked chicken
  • 1 T black pepper
  • 1 T thyme leaves
  • 1 c cooked brown rice

Instructions

  1. Saute vegetables in fat for about 5 minutes. Splash with wine.

  2. Add stock and chicken. Heat to boiling.

  3. Add seasoning and rice. Serve warm with soda bread.

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Cheesy Potato Soup

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Potato soup is a family favorite.

We typically have two kinds of potato soup: creamy or chunky cheesy.

Sautéing up a mirepoix, making a roux, and adding parcooked potatoes is super easy.

I often use leftover potatoes. If not, I boil them separately while I saute up the veggies and make the roux, then the cheese sauce.

I add in the potatoes and make some yummy toppings and it’s like a loaded baked potato in a bowl.

Look at gorgeous this creamy cheesy soup looks!

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Cheesy Potato Soup

Course Soup

Ingredients

  • 5 medium potatoes, peeled and parcooked
  • 1-2 stalks celery, minced
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1/4 c butter
  • 1/4 c AP flour
  • 3 c half and half
  • 3 c chicken stock
  • 16 oz Velveeta, cubed
  • 1-2 t garlic powder
  • salt and white pepper
  • 4 strips bacon, chopped and fried crisp for topping
  • 1 c shredded Colby Jack or Cheddar for topping
  • 1/4 c chopped parsley for topping
  • 1/4 c chopped chives and/or green onions for topping

Instructions

  1. Boil peeled and chopped potatoes if not already cooked.

  2. Saute celery and onion in butter for a few minutes.

  3. Sprinkle with flour and add the chicken stock and bring to boil. Add half and half and turn down heat to make a thick sauce. Do not boil.

  4. Add potatoes to soup.

  5. Add cubed Velveeta until melted and creamy. Do not boil.

  6. Season with garlic, salt, and pepper.

  7. Ladle into bowls and toppings. Enjoy!

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Zuppa Toscana

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I often make variations of Zuppa Toscana based on what I have on hand.

It’s one of the quickest and easiest soups to make.

I always have the three main ingredients on hand:

  • Potatoes
  • Greens
  • Sausage

I often saute breakfast sausage and/or bacon with chopped onions.

I add potatoes, either chopped and parboiled, or leftovers.

Chicken stock is almost always in my freezer.

I quarter the potatoes for pretty.

Last, I toss in some chopped greens to wilt and salt and pepper for the finishing touch.

Bon appetit!

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Zuppa Toscana

Course Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 package sausage Italian or breakfast
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 5 new potatoes, cooked
  • 3 c chicken stock
  • 1-3 T minced garlic
  • 2-3 c chopped kale or other greens
  • 1 t red pepper flakes optional
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 c cream or half and half optional
  • 1-2 T Parmesan cheese, grated for topping

Instructions

  1. Boil potatoes in water in a separate pot if not already cooked.

  2. Brown sausage and onion with a bit of olive oil or bacon grease to keep it from sticking.

  3. Add garlic and saute.

  4. Deglaze pan with chicken stock and bring to a boil. Adjust seasoning.

  5. Drain and quarter potatoes. Add to the soup.

  6. Add greens until just wilted.

  7. Add cream if using. Do not allow to boil.

  8. Grate Parmesan cheese on top of soup to serve.

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Chicken Noodle Soup

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I almost always have chicken stock in my freezer.

I make a fresh slow cooker full every time we have chicken bones.

Easy slow cooker chicken stock:

  • chicken bones (or turkey)
  • 1 T apple cider vinegar
  • 1 small tomato or 3-5 grape tomatoes (optional)
  • 1-2 carrots ( I don’t even peel them)
  • 1-2 celery stalks
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 5 whole peppercorns
  • 2 Bay leaves

Fill with water and set slow cooker on low for 12 hours.

*I don’t add onion or garlic to stock because it makes it bitter.

Strain and use immediately in recipes or freeze in labeled quart bags.

I sometimes can get a second slow cooker pot of slightly weaker stock if there are a lot of bones.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Sautéing up a mirepoix, making a roux, and adding fresh boiled noodles or leftover rice with cooked chicken and veggies is super easy and quick.

This is a great soup when someone is feeling sick in my house. I can usually whip it up quick with leftovers or freezer items I keep on hand. I can update this soup with various veggies and herbs for brighter flavor.

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Chicken Noodle Soup

Course Soup

Ingredients

  • 1-2 stalks celery, minced
  • 1-2 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1/4 c butter
  • 6 c chicken stock
  • 1-2 lbs chopped cooked chicken
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 1 t thyme leaves
  • 1 T parsley
  • 1 T lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 package good quality egg noodles boiled to al dente

Instructions

  1. Boil noodles according to package instructions.

  2. Saute veggies in butter for a few minutes.

  3. Add chicken stock.

  4. Add chicken and seasonings. Simmer for 30 minutes until flavors meld.

  5. I sometimes like to add dill, sage, or rosemary for extra flavor.

  6. Remove bay leaves and serve warm with noodles.

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Plank Grilled Salmon

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We are super impressed with the quality – flavor, smell, and texture – of Sitka Salmon Shares.

It’s better than any storebought salmon we’ve ever had.

We all were delighted by the ocean smell of this flash frozen fresh sustainably caught wild coho salmon!

The color is bright and flesh is firm.

Soak a cedar plank in cold water for at least an hour. I cover the plank with water in the sink and place a heavy bowl on top to keep it covered. Otherwise, it will burn on the grill!

Season and marinate the salmon.

Heat up the charcoal or gas grill. Grill indirectly for about 20 minutes or until 145*.

You can also bake the plank on a cookie sheet in the oven at 325* for about 30-40 minutes.

It’s gorgeous!

We like to serve our salmon with rice pilaf and stir fried veggies.

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Plank Grilled Salmon

Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 T honey
  • 2 T soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 tsp lemon peel
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 T olive oil

Instructions

  1. Combine seasoning and spread on fish.

    Grill with indirect heat on top on plank, skin side down for about 20 minutes or until temperature to 145*

Sitka Salmon Shares delivers premium, sustainable, wild Alaskan seafood from the fishermen directly to members’ doorsteps! Shop Sitka Salmon Shares.

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Easy Fried Rice

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Fried rice is a super easy frugal dish to use up leftovers.

My family loves it and it only takes minutes.

The base is onion, carrot, and peas.

I like to use radishes too.

Leftover meat chopped finely and any other veggies are great.

Saute onions and carrots and add the meat to warm it up.

Crumble in the cold dry rice.

If I don’t have leftover rice, popping it in the freezer gets it cool and dry quickly.

Add sauces and Chinese Five Spice. Also extra garlic and ginger is great.

The rice steams and the whole house smells delicious.

Toss the frozen peas in and top with sesame oil.

My kids don’t really like the scrambled eggs on top and we were out of green onions this time.

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Fried Rice

Course Main Course
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 T butter or oil for frying
  • 3 cups cold dry rice
  • 1/2 cup chopped cooked meat
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup peeled chopped carrot
  • 1/4 cup chopped radish or daikon
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 1-2 T Chinese Five Spice Powder
  • 4 T soy sauce
  • 3-4 T dry sherry
  • 1-2 T Mirin
  • 1 T sesame oil at the end
  • 1-2 scrambled eggs for topping
  • 2-3 chopped green onions for topping

Instructions

  1. Melt butter or heat up oil in large frying pan or wok.

  2. Add chopped onion, carrots, radish and saute until onion is translucent. Add chopped meat.

  3. Crumble cold rice on top. Add soy, sherry, and mirin to steam the rice. Sprinkle with 5 Spice. Mix well.

  4. Add scrambled egg if using. Drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle chopped green.

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Tritip Steak

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One of our favorite family meals is tritip steak.

It’s a simple and frugal cut of beef. Everyone likes it. It doesn’t take very long on the gas grill. We seldom have leftovers.

I rub spices and olive oil into the meat and let it marinate for at least an hour.

It takes about 20-30 minutes on the grill for medium rare.

Gorgeous thin slices against the grain for tenderness.

We serve tritip with rice or potatoes, salad, fried broccoli or grilled asparagus.

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Tritip Steak

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp coarse black pepper
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp sea or kosher salt
  • 1 tsp ground coffee
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp raw sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

  1. Mix rub ingredients together in a bowl or jar.

  2. Massage rub into tritip steak on all sides.

  3. Pour olive oil over steak, turning to coat. Let sit for at least an hour in the fridge.

  4. Grill steak over medium heat on gas grill for about 20-30 minutes, or until thermometer reads about 120*

  5. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Slice thinly against the grain and serve with reserved juices.

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Creative Leftovers

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As the kids get bigger and older, we don’t often have as many leftovers as we used to have, but occasionally, there is a serving or two left that gets shoved to the back of the fridge shelf.

I try to do a fridge cleanout a couple times a week for lunches and maybe a dinner if there’s a lot.

Using up leftovers is a necessity for a frugal waste-free lifestyle.

Having a good pantry and freezer system is key to using up leftovers. I have to plan to have certain items to make this successful and tasty.

I keep chicken and beef stock in the freezer and have some boxes of storebought organic stock in the pantry.

I have a huge assortment of spices and sauces.

I stock up on canned beans when they’re on sale. I just don’t have the freezer room to batch them from dried. Bags of frozen veggies when they go on sale for $1 or less.

We can our own marinara sauce.

I occasionally buy rotisserie chickens if I have a coupon or they’re on a really great sale. They’re awesome to use in many different recipes and I make stock from the bones.

I try to keep potatoes and onions on hand at all times. Also fresh carrots and celery.

These are our favorite ways to use up leftovers creatively:

Soup

I love making soups with various leftovers. This is a great way to clean out the fridge after a busy week!

Creamed vegetable is a favorite at our house to use up old veggies in the drawer.

I can always make soup with leftover chicken like this lovely lemony dill chicken soup.

Vegetable soup is my go-to to throw everything together, especially with leftover beef. I like to add beans and noodles to make it like minestrone.

Beans, lentils, or split peas are great in soup with a ham bone or smoked turkey.

Leftover ham is great for soup like ham and bean soup.

We like to make stock from turkey, chicken, and beef bones. Nothing goes to waste!

Split pea soup with leftover ham and poultry stock is a winner.

Casseroles

Noodles and rice with a cheesy sauce and leftover meat with some veggies makes a great casserole.

Turkey Divan is a great way to use up poultry leftovers.

Pot pie is another favorite with gravy, meat, and vegetables. Refrigerated or frozen dough, or drop herb biscuits on top make it quick and easy!

Salad

Leftover grilled meats and all sorts of veggies can be served cold over lettuce greens. I sometimes sneak a bit of bacon to save for later in a salad. This is a great lunch idea.

See our favorite salads.

Remix

I love making fried rice for my family. It’s a simple, frugal, easy way to use up leftovers. I often make extra rice just to have leftover for this meal.

My girls like ramen, and I love making it healthier with an egg, leftover meats and veggies, and homemade teriyaki sauce.

Stuffing canned biscuits or crescent rolls with cheese and chopped meats is a fun instant snack or lunch.

What’s your favorite way to use up leftovers?

Resources:

  • The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes
  • The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet by Nina Teicholz
  • The Great Cholesterol Myth, Revised and Expanded: Why Lowering Your Cholesterol Won’t Prevent Heart Disease–and the Statin-Free Plan that Will by Jonny Bowden and Stephen T. Sinatra
  • Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
  • Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipes by Mark Bittman
  • VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good by Mark Bittman
  • In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
  • The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom by Melissa Hartwig Urban and Dallas Hartwig
  • 100 Days of Real Food: Fast & Fabulous: The Easy and Delicious Way to Cut Out Processed Food by Lisa Leake

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Organizing Recipes

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We have a lot of cookbooks.

I have a bin full of handwritten recipes from my husband’s two grandmothers. I plan to scan those in to my computer so they’re never lost. I’m working to organize them in page protectors or even a printed scrapbook cookbook.

All recipes tell a story.

I have two BHG cookbooks. My mom’s with handwritten notes and a newer one. I prefer my mom’s where she jotted down when I made wheat bread for a colonial class project. She also added the years she made which Christmas cookies or cakes.

We also collect a lot of recipes – from magazines and online sites.

How to Organize Recipes

Recipe Binders

Super easy to make a recipe binder and fun for gifts for the cook or foodie.

I have started compiling recipe binders for my kids as keepsakes of our favorite family recipes for them.

What you need for a recipe binder:

  • Big 3 ring binder or several small binders for various cooking styles (desserts, main dishes, grilling, baking)
  • Pretty cover for binder
  • Dividers
  • Clear page protectors
  • Clear small pockets for small recipe cards and/or recipes clipped from magazines

Cooking Journals

I have a couple recipe journals to make notes when I try new recipes.

I seldom follow a recipe exactly, and it’s a huge joke with my kids that no recipe is perfect for me. I always want more of something, add a little of this or that, or don’t measure.

My grandmother never measured anything.

We measure garlic with our hearts.

My husband is often irritated that I don’t make the same dish twice because I often don’t measure or follow the recipe the same way or I don’t remember how I tweaked it last time and everyone loved it. I’m trying to remember to make notes in the journal!

Computer and/or Software

Apps

Many cooks prefer to declutter and have recipes digitized.

This makes recipes searchable by several criteria, saving time and space. You can easily pull up a recipe on a tablet or laptop on the counter or table while you cook.

Pinterest

I have pin boards for lots of our family interests, and several for various cooking genres.

This helps me to find the recipes easily again and also share my faves with you!

Organizing recipes is a huge task to undertake, but I may digitize most of our recipes this summer to clear up space and get them all in one place.

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Vegetable Beef Soup

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Aaron’s mom had this famous busy day soup.

I first had it the weekend I met his parents.

Our kids beg for it – even in summer!

Sometimes, I deviate from the original recipe, but it’s really perfect the way it is.

Directions:

Sometimes, I saute fresh veggies like mirepoix or mushrooms in butter and make my own cream sauces as a base.

Check out our veggie-packed cream soup recipe.

But I’ve found great canned cream soups that are healthier and organic so I just buy those now.

I usually use ground beef, the cheapest I can find.

Then I literally dump everything in and simmer for about 30 minutes. You could use a slow cooker too.

This soup is just perfect for a busy day. You can fix it and forget it and throw it together last minute.

I really like Lima beans, so I usually add those also. You can do just peas and carrots or the medley. It’s up to you!

I sometimes use barley, but I don’t really like it.

I’ve done little noodles before too, but you don’t want those left in the broth or they get soggy for leftovers.

We like to serve it with toast.

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Vegetable Soup

Course Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground meat
  • 1 pack dry onion soup mix
  • 48 oz V8
  • 1 can cream of celery
  • 1 can cream of mushroom
  • 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
  • 1 cup cooked barley
  • 2 peeled and diced potatoes
  • 1 can kidney beans
  • salt, pepper, garlic to taste

Instructions

  1. Brown the meat and drain the fat.

  2. Boil and drain the barley.

  3. Peel and dice the potatoes.

  4. Combine all ingredients and simmer for about 30 minutes.

  5. Serve with toast!

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