Soup and poultry!

I had the pleasure of being able to cook dinner the other day with a friend. We made a soup, roasted cornish hen, roasted potatoes, and a quick salad. Didn't take much effort and was very cheap. I think the dinner for two wound up being $10 total (I did have some veggies and stuff in the pantry, but still). Anyways, I figure I should quickly put the recipes down. It's unbelievably easy. I don't really measure much, but I'll guesstimate:

Chicken Noodle Soup (though we skipped the chicken)

2 cans chicken broth (low-sodium recommended, can always add salt)

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1/4 lb cooked chicken

1 tbsp olive oil or butter

oregano

basil

salt and pepper

In a pot over medium heat, saute onions and celery in oil/butter until tender (about 5 min). Add chicken, carrots, herbs, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then simmer for at least 20 minutes. Done! If you're adventurous, make your own chicken broth!

Herb Roasted Cornish Hen

I wanted roasted chicken, but didn't really need all that meat from a 4-5 pounder. So I went and got a 2lb cornish hen. Perfect size!

1 cornish hen, about 2lb

1/3 lemon

dried rosemary

dried thyme

dried parsley

kosher salt and pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

Cut cornish hen in half and remove backbone (you can try to make some stock/broth with the bone and the giblets, but I doubt the small amount would produce a good enough stock. Maybe freeze it with other carcass bits until you have enough?). Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil over chicken. Add herbs, pepper, and lemon juice. No salt yet, don't want to draw out the moisture from the meat. Let sit for an hour (Do this before you prep the rest of your meal so you're not just standing there doing nothing). Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat a skillet/nice frying pan to high. Add the other tbsp olive oil. Salt both sides of the cornish hen halves. Add to pan and sear till brown. Throw the whole thing into the preheated oven (don't have a pan that can go into the oven? Go here or here! Or you can transfer the halves into something oven safe) for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven (use mitt!) and let sit at least 5 minutes for juices to settle back into meat. Serve!

Herb Roasted Potatoes

I got this recipe from my coworker. When I asked her what she added to her potatoes, her answer was "whatever I got." I use this answer now when people ask me about my potatoes.

Potatoes, cleaned and cut into pieces (as much as you want. I prefer new potatoes, but will settle for red potatoes)

kosher salt

pepper

olive oil

whatever else you want

Drizzle oil over potatoes and add the "whatever I got" ingredients into potatoes. I like to add basil, Italian herbs, dill, a bit of Cajun mix, and onion powder). Don't be shy about the salt. You'll need more than you think. Arrange in shallow pan or casserole dish in an even layer. I would oil the pan, but I normally season the potatoes in whatever I plan on roasting them in, so it's usually coated. Throw in a preheated oven (450 degrees). Half hour should do it. I would mix the potatoes a couple times while they roast to get the entire surface area exposed.