Posted on

Garland’s Wild Rice Soup

Courtesy of the West household, this recipe is for soup lovers who think wild rice counts as rugged, outdoorsy food and believe anything simmered long enough is basically therapy for the senses.

It’s cozy, comforting, and just fancy enough to feel intentional, even if you mostly dumped things into a pot and hoped for the best. Wild rice does the heavy lifting here — nutty, hearty, and pretending it’s not absolutely soaking up butter, cream, or broth like a sponge with a college degree.

You can keep it wholesome and virtuous or go full “cold weather survival mode” with extra richness and zero regrets. Let it bubble, stir occasionally like you know what you’re doing, and call it homemade magic…because everyone deserves a soup that feels far more impressive than the effort required.

Quick Wild Rice Soup

The ingredients:

  • 2 cups wild rice, cooked
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 1 stick of butter (add more if you are Southern)
  • 1/2 cup minced white onion
  • 1/2 cup or grated carrots
  • 1/2 cup diced ham (triple amount if Garland is coming over)
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 cup half-n-half
  • Slivered almonds to taste, parsley
  • 2 ounces dry sherry (have bottle ready for “garnish”)

The magic:

  1. Sample the sherry for quality assurance. Still good? Let’s move on…
  2. Melt butter and onion; blend in flour and broth
  3. Bring roux to boil, then turn down; keep stirring while taking another sip of sherry
  4. Add rice, carrots, ham and salt; simmer for about 5 minutes
  5. Blend in half-n-half and whatever is left of the sherry
  6. Reduce heat; simmer to desired temperature (a small glass of sherry is usually enough time)
  7. Add salt and pepper to taste; garnish with parsley
  8. Serve with fresh baked, crusty bread
  9. Extra credit for the overachievers in the audience: While enjoying, cleanse palate periodically with sherry
Posted on

The Age-Defying Dinner: Mango Chicken & Greens

Accompanying the tangy, sweet protein-packed chicken thighs, roasted butternut squash with caramelized onions and cranberries add comforting sweetness while delivering fiber and essential minerals for steady energy.

On the side, a crunchy salad of broccoli microgreens, apples, and walnuts packs a powerful punch of phytonutrients and omega-3s to support your gut, brain, and immune system.

Best of all, each component comes together with simple prep and oven-friendly cooking—making this a weekday-friendly meal that feels like a total wellness upgrade.

Scroll down for instructions and enjoy 🙂

Want to dig deeper into this recipe to learn how foods like these are a part of our bigger food system? We’ve got something for everyone!

Baked Chicken Thighs with Mango Salsa

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 4–6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder

Mango salsa

  • 1 ripe mango, diced
  • ¼ red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 jalapeño (optional), seeded and minced
  • 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  • Prep chicken: Preheat oven to 350°F. Pat chicken dry. Rub with olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.
  • Bake: Place on a sheet pan skin-side up. Roast 30–35 minutes, or until internal temp reaches 165°F.
  • Make salsa: While chicken cooks, mix mango, red onion, jalapeño, lime juice, cilantro, and salt in a bowl.
  • Serve: Spoon salsa over chicken just before serving.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cranberries 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
  • 1 red onion + 1 sweet yellow onion, sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Toss squash, onions, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large baking sheet.
  • Roast at 350°F for 25–30 minutes, flipping halfway; these can go in the oven while the thighs are baking.
  • Add cranberries during the final 5 minutes to warm and soften.

Walnut & Apple Salad with Vinaigrette

Ingredients

  • 2 cups arugula, or other bitter greens of your choice
  • 1 apple, diced (Honeycrisp or Gala works great)
  • ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Simple Vinaigrette

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
  • 1 tsp honey or Dijon mustard
  • Pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Whisk vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl.
  • Combine greens, apples, and walnuts in a serving bowl.
  • Toss with vinaigrette right before serving to keep the greens crisp.

Hungry for more knowledge?

Click on the posts below to sate your curiosity about where our food comes from. And click here for more of our tried-and-true recipes. Bon appetit!

Posted on

Garland’s Lemon Pepper Salmon

This recipe is for salmon lovers who believe butter is a food group and garlic is a personality trait.

It’s equal parts culinary confidence and “hmm…good enough,” with lemon juice thrown in mostly so we can pretend it’s healthy. Salmon makes it real classy and good for you, but you can also sub in any protein choice, as long as it doesn’t eat you first.

Whether you go full-Garland with five garlic cloves or stay timidly in the Nancy Zone, just be prepared for consequences — romantic or olfactory.

Pop it in the oven, pour yourself something strong, and call it gourmet…because no one needs to know how easy it was.

Lemon Pepper Salmon à la Garland

Ingredients

  • Butter: salted but unsalted acceptable (for wusses). Throw in a coupla sticks
  • Minced garlic: fresh if you have it. No more than one clove for Nancy, up to five for Garland (this is the “couch sleeping” version of the recipe)
  • Lemon juice: just to give it some tang and volume; 4-5 ounces max
  • Coarse black pepper: to taste (heavy Garland, light Nancy)
  • Sprinkling of dill & rosemary: hey, you bought it, so use it
  • Drizzle of olive oil, if desired (or too lazy to baste)

Instructions

  • Melt butter; add garlic and saute for coupla minutes
  • Add lemon juice and lotsa black pepper; simmer for a few minutes
  • Spoon over salmon. You can marinate it for a half hour if you have time, but what the heck — just throw it in the oven already
  • Baste your brains out
  • Make it fancy and add lemon slices over salmon as it cooks, if you like
  • Bake at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes, or to desired tenderness
  • Ladel sauce over salmon at presentation
  • Argue over who cleans up; Garland invariably loses
Posted on

Perfectly Roasted Beef Tenderloin

Beef tenderloin is a luxurious cut of meat that requires just a few key ingredients for a perfect roast: a whole beef tenderloin (aim for the chateaubriand – a fancy name for the fatter end of the loin), salt, freshly ground black pepper, avocado oil for searing, and unsalted butter mixed with garlic and herbs for added flavor.

To prepare, it’s best to let the tenderloin come to room temperature. When roasting, keep an eye on the temperature until it reaches your desired doneness, and then let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing to ensure juicy perfection!

Want to dig deeper into this recipe to learn how foods like these are a part of our bigger food system? We’ve got something for everyone!

Beef Tenderloin

Yields 8-10 servings

Click here for printable version

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 pounds whole beef tenderloin, trimmed and tied
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Coarse salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • A few springs of rosemary, thyme (optional)

Instructions:

  • Let the loin rest on the counter for 1-2 hours, uncovered.
  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  • Rub the meat all over with olive oil and then generously with salt and pepper, to taste.
  • Spread herb sprigs in center of roasting pan or baking sheet and place loin directly on top.
  • Roast the loin for 15 minutes, then — without opening the oven door — turn the heat down to 325 degrees.
  • Wait 20 minutes and then check temperature. Check for desired doneness every 5-10 minutes.
  • Once at desired temperature, let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Hungry for more knowledge?

Click on the posts below to sate your curiosity about where our food comes from. Bon appetit!

Posted on

Classic Cheesecloth Turkey

Lisa follows this beautiful bird up with her extraordinary pumpkin pie cheesecake. Scroll down for instructions and enjoy 🙂

Want to dig deeper into this recipe to learn how foods like these are a part of our bigger food system? We’ve got something for everyone!

Lisa’s Classic Cheesecloth Turkey

Ingredients

  • 1 turkey (14 to 16 pounds)
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh sage
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 celery ribs, quartered
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, quartered
  • 1 cup butter, cubed
  • 2 cups white wine

Gravy

  • 2 to 3 cups chicken broth
  • 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325°. Remove giblets from turkey; cover and refrigerate for gravy. Pat turkey dry; place breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan. In a small bowl, combine softened butter, thyme and sage. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from turkey breast; rub butter mixture under skin. Sprinkle salt and pepper over turkey and inside cavity; fill cavity with celery, onion and carrot.
  • In a large saucepan, melt cubed butter; stir in wine. Saturate a four-layered 17-in. square of cheesecloth in butter mixture; drape over turkey. Bake turkey, uncovered, 3 hours; baste with wine mixture every 30 minutes, keeping cheesecloth moist at all times.
  • Remove and discard cheesecloth. Bake turkey until a thermometer inserted in the thigh reads 170°-175°, basting occasionally with pan drippings, 45 minutes to 1-1/4 hours longer. (Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly.)
  • Remove turkey to a serving platter; cover and let stand 20 minutes before carving. Discard vegetables from cavity. Pour drippings and loosened brown bits into a measuring cup. Skim fat, reserving 1/3 cup. Add enough broth to remaining drippings to measure 4 cups.
  • In a saucepan, melt a few tablespoons butter and add flour to make a roux. Cook for one minute and add broth all at once whisking until incorporated. Simmer for five minutes stirring constantly until thickened. Use this as your gravy.

Hungry for more knowledge? Click on the posts below to sate your curiosity about where our food comes from. And click here for more of our tried-and-true recipes. Bon appetit!

Posted on

Healthy Proteins for the Grill

5. Pork Loin 

Bet you never thought we’d say this one, right? Pork is notorious for being unhealthy, mostly because it’s used to make processed meats, such as bacon and breakfast sausage. However, leans proteins like pork tenderloins and pork chops are actually some of the healthier cuts of meat.

A serving of pork tenderloin has under 150 calories. For a 3.5 ounce serving, it also contains only 3.5 grams of fat, but around 25 grams of protein, making it an easy and healthy way to get your protein intake. Similar to other lean meats, pork loin contains many B vitamins, as well as selenium and zinc.

Grilling a nice piece of pork loin will save you on fat and calories. We recommend preparing it with a fruit marinade, either peaches or citrus fruits. Just make sure you always practice proper grilling safety steps to make sure your food is safe to eat!

4. Black Bean Veggie Burgers

Ok, yes, we’re getting very specific with this one. Many of us have different dietary needs – lactose intolerance, vegetarian, etc. – however, one thing that we all have in common is that we need to get our fiber, our protein, and our veggie intake. Luckily, this “burger” has all 3!

Black bean veggie burgers, especially when homemade, is a superfood, full of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. One of these burgers usually contains around 198 calories, 3 grams of fat, and around 11 grams of protein.

Black beans were named one of the healthiest beans and legumes in 2017. Each serving contains 15 grams of fiber, and they are a great source of folate, manganese, and iron. Black beans have also been shown to help regulate blood sugar, improve digestion by acting as a prebiotic, and even help fight weight loss and chronic diseases because of their high fiber content.

Now, we are not saying to replace all red meat with vegetable substitutes in your diet. However, if you’re looking for something new to shake things up, black bean veggie burgers are a tasty and healthy option. And here is one of our favorite recipes.

3. Lean Beef

Coincidentally, our next healthiest protein to grill is lean beef. Like we said above, we do not recommend replacing all red meat with non-meat substitutes, simply because red meat contains a lot of vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional components that cannot be found naturally in alternative proteins.

Lean beef can come in a variety of options, including sirloin and tenderloin steaks, flank steak, and the leaner brisket, and, of course, burgers. 95% lean ground beef is the healthiest option when it comes to burgers. A 3.5 ounce patty has around 170 calories, 6.5 grams of fat, and 26 grams of protein. Beef burgers are also a natural source of iron, vitamin B12, and zinc.

Americans have been said to eat too much red meat, however, substituting non-meat foods may not be the healthiest solution. One reason is because foods like Beyond and Impossible burgers have A LOT of added ingredients to make it taste and have the consistency of real meat. These ingredients include potato protein, soy protein concentrate, and pea protein isolate.

However, beef doesn’t just have to be consumed as burgers. Steaks on the grill are delicious, and you can also use steaks in foods like kabobs. This will ensure you’re also getting your veggie intake! It’s good to note that when it comes to beef, both grain-fed and grass-fed will deliver the same nutrients to your body. And here’s a trick for you to remember: to tell if your beef is lean, just look for the words “loin” and “round” on the label.

2. Chicken

You knew it was coming. White-meat chicken is one of the leanest meats you can eat, and on the grill, it just gets even better.

Chicken is known for being a great source of lean protein. Just 3 ounces of chicken contains anywhere from 17-24 grams of protein with only about 3.5 grams of fat – just make sure you’re eating skinless chicken. Chicken with the skin still on is around 40 more calories than skinless and has 8 grams of fat.

Chicken also has many vitamins and minerals, especially B vitamins. One B vitamin – choline – accelerates the body’s creation of acetylcholine, which is important for brain cell functioning. Eating chicken can also help with memory, muscle control, and other brain and nervous system functions.

But chicken doesn’t have to be plain and boring on the grill! You can mix it up any way you want. One of our favorite ways is an Endicott, NY classic called Chicken Spiedies, which are small marinated chicken pieces that you eat on a slice of bread (usually Italian). See more about them here.

1. Fish

Fish is not only great cooked on the grill, but it’s also extremely good for us! Whether it’s a white fish like tilapia and cod, or salmon, you’ll know you’re getting a ton of vitamins and minerals from these foods.

Similarly to chicken, 3 ounces of fish has around 20-25 grams of protein. However, they differ in their fat contents. White fish has a lower fat content, whereas fish like salmon is full of healthy, omega-3 fatty acids, which are super important for our bodies.

We need omega-3s to decrease inflammation and increase blood circulation. And, since 60% of the brain is fat, we need omega-3s to help build brain and nerve cells.

Posted on

Greek Turkey Meatballs

Looking for something YUM for dinner, a side dish to elevate your entrée, or healthfully satisfy your sweet tooth? Check out our list of tried and true recipes  – you won’t be disappointed!

Want some free D2D stuff? Post a photo of your creation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!

Pair this recipe with a glass of Pinot Noir or Chardonnay.

Inspired by Let’s Dish Recipes.