Really Good for you Chicken Soup

Fall is in the air so I made soup!  I had seen this recipe called "The Best Chicken Soup You'll Ever Eat" and I had to try it for myself.  The verdict, I loved this soup but I can't really say it was the best I've ever eaten.  What I will say is this soup is super flavorful and packed with healthy ingredients.  It will be my go-to soup when I'm feeling under the weather. With these anti-inflammatory, cold-fighting ingredients, ginger, turmeric, and garlic.  It also calls for fresh thyme and fresh rosemary, which I still have growing in my herb garden.  I love to use my fresh herbs when I can because I know soon the cooler weather will be here and they'll be done for.  I love soup season!

Ingredients:  avocado oil, garlic, onion, carrots, celery, ginger, turmeric, chicken broth, rotisserie chicken (not shown), rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, pearl couscous and peas
I did make a couple changes from the original recipe.  I used rotisserie chicken instead of chicken breast and cut down on the amount of couscous.  You can find the original recipe here, Ambitious Kitchen.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, diced
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup thinly sliced celery
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
6 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon freshly chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme, stems removed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup pearl couscous (make sure it's pearl couscous, it's like tiny pasta)
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (I used about 1lb and saved the remainder for chicken salad)
2/3 cup frozen peas

Instructions
1. Place a large dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat and add in oil. Once the oil is hot, add in onion, carrots, and celery; cook for 5 minutes until onion becomes translucent.
2. Next, add in the minced garlic, grated ginger and stir for a minute.  Stir in the ground turmeric and saute for 30 seconds to let the spice cook a bit, then add in chicken broth, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper.
3. Bring soup to a boil, then stir in couscous.  Reduce heat to medium and on a slow boil cook uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until carrots are tender.  Add shredded chicken and frozen peas.  Heat for a few minutes to cook peas.  Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.  Enjoy!

                                                     

Basic Creamy Tomato Soup with Parmesan Crisp

I LOVE tomato soup and have been looking for a basic recipe.  Well, I found one from Chrissy Teigen's newest cookbook, "Cravings, Hungry For More".  The recipe is so basic that I usually have all the ingredients on hand so this recipe will be my go-to tomato soup.  In the summer I can see adding fresh basil when I can pick it fresh from my herb garden but now in the winter, it's perfect as is.  I usually make a grilled cheese sandwich to go along with tomato soup but these parmesan crisps are a perfect pairing.  They are delicate, crispy and so flavorful that I didn't even miss my usual grilled cheese sandwich!
Thanks, Chrissy!  Every recipe that I've made from your cookbooks have been delicious!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (28 oz) can of whole peeled tomatoes in juice, roughly chopped (use kitchen shears to cut the tomatoes right in the can)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. If making Parmesan Crisp preheat the oven 375.  In a large saucepan or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring, about 10 minutes until translucent and slightly golden.  Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.
   
   
2. Add the tomatoes, including the juice, along with the broth, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently until liquid reduces slightly about 15 minutes.  Remove from stove and using an emulsion blender, blend until smooth.  Add the cream and blend a few seconds more.  Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
   
   
3. ***If using a blender or food processor, let soup cool slightly before pouring soup mixture into a blender (or food processor) and puree for 1-2 minutes until smooth.  ***Make sure to start out SLOW and leave a little vent so steam can escape from the blender.  Add the cream and blend for 10 seconds more.  Taste and see if it needs more salt or pepper.
4. Divide the soup among bowls and serve with the Parmesan crisps.

*Adapted slightly from Chrissy Teigen's Cookbook,  "Cravings, Hungry for More".  

Parmesan Crisp

Ingredient:  Finely Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (use the real cheese not can) 

1 heaping tablespoon for every crisp.

*I could eat a whole pan of these but I'd say two per person is probably good.

Prepare the parmesan crisps while soup is cooking.  Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Take a heaping tablespoon of grated Parmesan and place on the parchment paper, patting it down slightly to about a 3-4" circle.  

Bake in the oven for about 10-13 minutes, until melted and slightly turning brown (they will crisp up upon cooling).  Remove from the oven and let sit for 3-4 minutes, until crisp and easily removed from the sheet.  

Hamburger Soup

 My Dad is known to make the best soup.  I wish I could get his recipes but he doesn't use any, he just adds a little this and a little that and it always turns out so good.  I, on the other hand, need a recipe.  I also need to measure everything, otherwise, recipes just don't turn out for me.  I've made this soup a few times and haven't changed a thing.   It's not my Dads soup but it's delicious.  It's packed full of veggies and it's flavorful.  

It takes a while to prep everything but once the meat is browned it all goes into the pot to cook.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground beef (chuck)

1 cup chopped onion (1 medium)

1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)

1 cup sliced carrots (2 medium)

1 cup sliced zucchini (1 small)

1 cup chopped cabbage 

2 small potatoes, diced (peel if desired) (I like to use Yukon gold or new red potatoes)

1 15-oz. can petite diced tomatoes

6 cups beef broth (Have extra broth on hand to thin out soup if needed) 

1/3 cup pearl barley

1/4 tsp. garlic powder 

1 1/2 tsp. salt, to taste

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1/4 tsp. rubbed sage

1 1/2 tsp. Penzey's Old World Seasoning (optional)

Directions:

In a large stockpot, brown the ground chuck, stirring frequently to break it up, about 10 minutes. Drain well. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour or until the vegetables have softened.

*The leftovers will need some extra broth as it's gets soaked up by the barley.

Serves: 12
Soup can be easily halved if you only need 6 servings.

*Recipe adapted from Penzeys Spices by cook Gloria Krysiak

Mushroom Soup

Here's another recipe that comes from Chrissy Teigen's Cookbook, Cravings:  Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat.  As you can probably tell, I loved her cookbook!  She had me laughing with each page, she's hilarious and I was drooling over every one of her recipes.  I've made a few of her recipes, Chicken Lettuce Wraps , Prosciutto-Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breasts, and Perfect Seared Scallops with Warm Corn Salad.  We've loved it all!   

Now, about this Mushroom Soup, I have to start out by saying this soup is UGLY.  You know the saying, "you eat with your eyes" and if that's the case you might not try this soup.  But, look past the ugliness and take a bite.  It's really good!  It's also healthy, there's no cream added.  The texture is creamy and chunky at the same time.  In the photo that's a pat of butter on top of the soup. At first, I didn't think it needed it but Chrissy says to add it so I did and it did add that perfect something.  I'm just saying, that girl knows what she's doing in the kitchen.  If you like mushrooms, you'll love this soup!

*I should mention that you really need a food processor to chop the mushrooms as 3lbs is A LOT of mushrooms!

Ingredients:

3 lbs of assorted mushrooms (roughly chopped)*see note

4 tbsp unsalted butter (plus 6 pats for serving)

1 small onion (chopped)

6 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 tbsp fresh thyme (plus more for garnish)

2 cups chicken broth (I used beef broth)*see note

salt and pepper to taste (I used 1 tsp salt and 1/4 freshly ground pepper)

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot (starts out big and once the mushrooms cook it will shrink down) melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 8 minutes.  Add the garlic and stir one more minute.
2. Add your mushrooms, thyme, a teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, stir until the mushrooms shrink down to about half of what you started with about 10 minutes.
3. Add broth, and bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 15-20 minutes. The mushrooms should be tender and the soup thickened slightly.
4. Use a blender or an immersion blender to puree about half the soup. Once smooth stir it back into the pot.  
5. If needed, add additional broth and salt and pepper to taste and stir.
6. Serve in bowls and top each with a pat of butter and some thyme.

*Notes:

• If you have a food processor, use it to chop your mushrooms in batches.  Make sure you pulse so not to puree. You can chop by hand but there are a LOT of mushrooms!
• I used white button, (baby bella) crimini and shiitake mushrooms.
• I used beef broth instead of chicken broth, only because I forgot to get chicken broth at the store.  I'm not sure I'll make it with the chicken broth as the beef broth was so good.

Adapted from Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat

Tomato Tortellini Soup

Tomato Tortellini Soup

Tomato tortellini soup is healthy, wholesome and delicious. Soups are the ultimate comfort food-light with delightful fresh flavors and can be served as lazy Sunday night dinner or as first course for a casual gatherings. Pair it along with bread or sandwich and it is perfect for entertaining.So this means you can make soup any time of the year with seasonal vegetables or meat.

I have to admit that I was not a great fan of soups. The only soup I liked as a kid was sweet chicken corn soup from the Chinese restaurants. But my son loves soups and we often make it for dinner. Here the weather  still cold and it is perfect time to make soups. It is tummy warming on cold winter days.

Tomato soup is very basic soup recipe but adding tortellini makes it a filling meal. Tortellini is ring shapes pasta pouches filled with cheese or meat .This soup does not need to simmer for hours. It is quick and easy to make with pureed tomatoes or canned tomatoes, onions,cream and frozen tortellini pasta.For this recipe the thickening agent is flour and milk.You can make the creamy version of tomato soup or  make it low calorie. It will still taste good and your family will love this time and again.

Ingredients
Tomatoes-6
Onion- 1
Tomato paste- 2 tsp (optional)
Vegetable stock or chicken stock- 3 cups
Cheese tortellini-  8 oz
Butter- 2 tbs
Olive oil- 1 tbs
Garlic- 2 cloves
Cayenne pepper- 1/4 tsp

Flour- 2 tsp
Milk- 1 cup
oregano- a pinch
Grated Parmesan cheese- 2 tbs
Dried basil- a pinch
Chopped basil- 1/2 tsp
Salt and pepper to taste

Add tomatoes to a pot of boiling water and simmer for one minute, remove from the water and transfer into a bowl of cold water. Rest it for two minutes and remove the skin.Make a fine puree and set aside.
Heat olive oil and butter in a heavy bottom pan and add finely chopped onion and garlic. Saute till translucent. Add two tsp of flour and saute for two minutes or till the raw flavor disappears. Now add tomato puree (or canned tomatoes), tomato paste, vegetable stock and all the seasoning. Simmer in medium flame for about 10 minutes. Add the frozen tortellini and milk and simmer for another 5-8 minutes. Check salt and pepper and finally garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh basil leaves.

Try it,
Hope you will all enjoy!

Spicy Asian Chicken Ramen Soup

This Asian Chicken Noodle Soup reminds me a little of Pho.  We love Pho! Our favorite place to get Pho in Madison is Saigon Noodles.  If you don't know, Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth, rice noodles a few herbs, and either beef or chicken.  When I'm in the mood for Pho and can't get to Saigon Noodles, I'll be making this soup.  The broth has similar flavors, garlic, and ginger.  It's a bit spicy with the chili-garlic sauce added but very flavorful.  I really like that it only makes 4 servings but it would be very easy to double.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons mirin

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 

1 tablespoon Asian chili-garlic sauce

12 ounces-(up to 1lb) boneless, skinless chicken breast *see note below

4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1-5oz or 6oz bag baby spinach

2 scallions sliced thin

2- 3oz pkg of ramen noodles (season packets discarded) *see note below if only making 2 servings now and 2 servings later

garnish with cilantro (if you like) 

Directions:

1.  Bring broth, soy sauce, mirin, ginger, and chili-garlic sauce to boil in Dutch oven.  Add chicken and turn down to medium-low heat, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through about 10 minutes.  Transfer chicken to plate.  When cool enough to handle, shred chicken into bite-sized pieces and toss with sesame oil.  Add back to broth along with noodles, spinach, and scallions.  Simmer until spinach is wilted and noodles are tender about 4 minutes.

Above is my favorite chili-garlic sauce and I use Kikkoman Mirin.

Use any flavor Ramen because you discard flavor pkg and only use noodles.

*I like to purchase a rotisserie for this soup.  You can skip the cooking and just add the cooked chicken along with the spinach and noodles.  If using more than 12 oz chicken, add more broth.

*If only making 2 servings at a time just cook up one pkg. of the ramen noodles in a separate pan of boiling water for 3 minutes.  Divide noodles into two bowls and pour 2 servings of soup over noodles.  Repeat with the next 2 servings a day or two later.  This way the noodles don't get overcooked when you warm up the soup.

Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

 I love this time of year and soup always delivers the warmth and comfort I'm looking for.  Here is an easy soup that tastes like stuffed peppers.  The soup is stuffed with ground beef, bell peppers, onions, rice and a rich tomato beef broth.  A full meal in one bowl, great with some warm bread.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

2  cups green or red bell pepper, chopped (I used both)

6 cups beef broth (48 oz)

1 (14.5) can tomato sauce

1 (14.5) can petite diced diced tomatoes (undrained)

2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar

1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice 

1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large pot brown beef and onions over medium high heat. Drain off any fat.

2. Add the peppers to the browned meat and saute for 3 minutes.

3. Stir in the beef broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes with juice, brown sugar, rice, salt and pepper.   Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 50 minutes.  

Serves:  8-10

Chuck Roast Chili

I found this recipe in the "Morton's The Cookbook".   I like that this recipe has tender chunks of beef instead of ground beef.  The texture and beefy flavor make this a keeper!

This recipe calls for 2 cups of chopped onions so I love to use my onion chopper.  The onions are chopped in a snap!

 My other shortcut is chopping the 9 cloves of garlic, I use my mini food processor.

Cutting the chuck roast takes time but it's worth it.

Serves 10 (Makes a ton, but recipe can easily be halved)

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups chopped yellow onions

3 Tablespoon minced garlic (about 9 cloves)

3 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed some of the fat and silver skin, cut into bite-size pieces (this takes time but so worth it!  Don't worry about some fat just cut off large pieces of fat) (get a large enough roast so that when it's trimmed of it's fat you'll still have around 3 lbs)

2 Tablespoons chili powder

1 Tablespoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 

2 -14 1/2 ounce cans diced tomatoes with juice (I used petite diced)

2 - 16-ounce cans spicy chili beans if you don't want it too spicy use mild or medium chili beans)

1 cups water
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce

1 Tablespoons beef base (bases are available in supermarkets in the soup aisle)

1 bay leaves 

Salt (1/2 tsp)
Garnish:
shredded cheese
chopped onion
sour Cream

1.  In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to soften.
2.  Add the beef, raise the heat to medium-high, and stir for about 5 minutes as it begins to lose its pink color.  Add the chili powder, cumin, and pepper and cook for 1 to 2 minutes to let the flavors develop.
3.  Add the tomatoes and their juice, beans and their juice, water, tomato sauce, and beef base.  Stir to mix well and then add the bay leaves.  Stir gently.
4.  Reduce the heat to low and let the chili simmer gently for about 2-3 hours, or until the meat is tender.  Stir frequently so the chili does not stick to the bottom of the pot.  Adjust the heat up or down to maintain a slow simmer.
5.  Thin the chili with water, if necessary, and add salt to taste.   Remove the bay leaves and serve.  Serve with shredded cheese, chopped onion,  and sour cream.
6.  The chili can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days and frozen for up to 1 month.  Reheat it gently, stirring frequently.

 With the leftovers, we added some extra cheese on top and had chili nachos (sour cream and guacamole on the side).  Let's just say, not one spoonful went to waste, it's that good.

Fiesta Chowder

I love Fall!  The cooler weather makes me want to spend time in my kitchen and what better to make than my favorite soup.   All the Mexican flavors I love in a bowl.  The recipe comes from the "Southern Living,  Our Readers Top Rated Recipes" cookbook.  The list of ingredients is long, but it comes together very quickly.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 package (1.4 ounce) fajita seasoning mix, divided
3-4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 can (15 1/4 ounce) whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained
1 can (15 ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 ounce) Mexican-style diced tomatoes
1 can (4.5 ounce) chopped green chiles
3 cups water  (I used chicken broth for more flavor)
1 cup uncooked instant brown rice (I only use 1/2 cup)
1 (2 1/4 ounce) can sliced black olives (optional) (I added)
1 can (10 3/4 ounce) condensed nacho cheese soup
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (I used 1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

In a large Dutch oven sauté onion 5 minutes until soft, add garlic and sauté 1 minute more.  Add chicken and cook, stirring often, 4 minutes or until browned. Stir in flour and fajita seasoning and cook 2 minutes.  Add corn, beans, tomatoes, chiles, broth, rice, and black olives.

Bring mixture to a boil; then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove lid, and stir in nacho cheese soup, chopped cilantro, and lime juice.  Use chicken broth or water if chowder becomes too thick.   Serves 8