Chili Relleno Soup

I have had a few requests lately to resurrect my cooking blog. I really appreciate the compliment that that request is! I hope my food blog serves as an inspiration to get cooking. Or if you do cook often, for some new ideas. I know I get stuck in a rut sometimes! Okay, a lot of times. I'd love to hear if you made one of my dishes or even used it as a jumping off spot for another dish. Sometimes just the inspiration is all that is needed.

Right now I'm doing a low-carb deal for the month of August. Just to jump start some weightloss. The thing is, I don't think food should be about counting calories or measuring this or that. So I am not counting carbs. I'm being mindful to not go grab a snack of sourdough with butter (oh my god, I want some toasted sour dough right now!) Or not eating a bowl full of pasta. I'm adding in a lot of veggies and even trying some new ones (daikon radish anyone?).

If it doesn't look appetizing I don't want to eat it. The other day I came across a green smoothie recipe that the author of the recipe swore tasted like the milk at the end of a bowl of Fruit Loops. Yeah, I know if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And actually the thing is, I probably wouldn't even like Fruit Loops these days since I've been eating a real food diet for so many years now. But I was intrigued and against my better judgement I slurried together ingredients like avocado, almond milk and flax seeds. I barely got a few sips down before I thought to myself WHY am I drinking this? It is disgusting. I love avocado in lots of different ways, sweet liquid avocado is not one of them. I love almonds, almond milk, not so much. Flax seeds, well whatever on those. I get my omega 3's through expensive fermented cod-liver oil, I shouldn't need to add them to a green sludge.

All this to say, we eat with our eyes first. It's a good instinct to develop. I think that is why I like taking photos of the food I cook. It makes me take a moment to appreciate the work that went into whatever I cooked that is about to be eaten. It is a way to share my art. And when I'm in a cooking mood, it is a creative art. There are times when sure, I just throw some food together for the family.... but other times that I really get into creating a new or favorite dish.

So here is the what I made today for lunch. I took inspiration from the flavors of a Chili Relleno. I love spicy soups and I make them for lunch a lot since the rest of the family is just bleh on soup and the girls are a NO to spicy. We eat dinners together but we usually all eat different lunches.

So without further ado... (keeping in mind that I don't actually ever measure, these are just guesses...)

Chili Relleno Soup:

1/4 yellow or whit onion

1-2 cloves garlic

1 pablano pepper and any other peppers you might want to add for spicyness/flavor
3 pieces of bacon
1/4 tsp of cumin

1/4 tsp of chili powder

1/4 of a package of full fat cream cheese

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 cups of chicken stock

1.5 cups of cheese blend of your choosing (sharp cheddar, monterey jack, colby, etc.)

Cut bacon into small pieces and fry in the bottom of a medium soup pot. When crispy remove. Dice and cook onion in the bacon grease, letting it get a bit brown around the edges. Add cut up chili peppers and minced garlic. When the chilis start to get soft, add the heavy cream and cream cheese. Whisk until the cream cheese melts completely. Add salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. Add chicken stock and bring to a bare simmer. Slowly, slowly add grated cheeses, whisking between each small handful, making sure it completely is incorporated before adding more cheese. Or your soup will separate and it will look gross. Cook at a low bowl for about 10 minutes. Serve adding bacon garnish back in.

Serves 2 big bowls or 4 small ones, keeping in mind that with all that cheese and cream it is quite filling soup! Also keep in mind that since there is no thickening agent this is a thin soup.

Chicken Parmesan Soup

A couple of nights ago, I went to a friend's Pampered Chef parties. I was flipping through the recipe books and saw one entitled "Chicken Parmesan Soup." I didn't have time to look at the recipe closely and I ended up not buying the cookbook, but the title of that dish stuck with me and so I made my own creation of Chicken Parmesan Soup! One of my daughters asked for seconds so that is always a good sign!
-Amanda

Chicken Parmesan Soup

1 chicken breast
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 can tomato paste
3 tbs butter
lots of garlic, dried basil and oregano
2-3 cups of chicken stock
1 baguette of bread
Olive oil
Mozzarella
Parmesan cheese (have about a cup of loosely packed, fresh grated)
fresh basil (optional, for garnish)

In a skillet (or I just used my soup pot and then rinsed it out) put at least 1/4 cup of olive oil and heat it up. Quickly cube up the baguette (reserve enough to make 1/2 cup of bread crumbs) and add it to the hot oil. Stir it around letting it toast. Add some of the parmesan cheese and some salt and pepper. Remove to a bowl once it is toasted.

Slice chicken into thin pieces, like in a chinese stir fry. In a cleaned out soup pot add more olive oil and start browning chicken. Before it is cooked through, add the tomato paste, seasonings (salt, pepper, dried basil, oregano and garlic) Then add the can of tomatoes and the chicken stock. Bring to a very gentle simmer DO NOT BOIL or your chicken will be rubber. Add 1/2 cup homemade breadcrumbs. (This thickens the soup a bit.) Add the butter cubed up to the soup. The butter is a trick I learned from Food Network, it mellows out the tangy tomato flavor and adds an awesome depth of flavor to any tomato soup or marinara sauce. Last, add more parmesan to the soup and stir to melt it in.

Serve in a bowl with cubed up mozzerella (this starts to melt and gives you strings of cheese as you eat. YUM!) And a few pieces of the toasted baquette. Enjoy!

Zuppa Tuscano

Who doesn't love the salad at Olive Garden? It's one of the best first course restaurant salads out there. But you have to choose between salad OR soup when you go. And if you've ever had their Zuppa Tuscano soup, it's pretty darn great. Which makes you think, should I get it or the salad? So now I can have it whenever I want. This isn't an official copycat recipe. It's been months since I've been to Olive Garden. I did not look up a recipe for this, I just made it from memory and it tastes pretty spot on from my memory. Except better, because I know there is no MSG, or bullion cubes or other ingredients that chain restaurants may or may not use.
-Amanda

Zuppa Tuscano Soup

2 slices of bacon
2 stalks of celery
12-16 oz of mild italian sausage (no msg or nitrates!)
1 large or 2 small potatoes
1 tsp dill
2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper
4-5 stalks of kale
1 cup cream
5-6 cups homemade chicken stock

Cut up bacon and add it to a soup pot. Cook until bacon is almost crispy. Next put the sausage in the pot. If your sausage is in casings, cut the casings open and squeeze the sausage out. With the edge of your spoon, break up the meat into crumbles as it browns. Add the celery and continue sauteing. Add seasonings (dill, basil, salt and pepper.) Very thinly slice your potatoes. You can leave the peels on as I did, or peel them. Add stock and cream. Pull the kale leaves off of the hard stalk and chop into bite size pieces. Stir everything together and last add the kale.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

 

I found a soup that was a winner with the entire family! This Cream of Aspargus soup was easy to make but it had a lot of steps and ended up dirtying up way too many pots and pans. I'm not sure how I would condense it down to less pot and pans and have it taste as good though. I was so happy when I saw the kids eating this green soup without so much as a complaint! Since my four year olds are baulking at the mention of vegetables lately, I'm getting creative! Halfway through Izzie mentioned that her dinner didn't have "any" vegetables in it. I told her that it was green because I pureed the asparagus. She just shrugged and said, "I like asparagus this way!" 

-Amanda

 Cream of Asparagus Soup with Grilled Chicken

Equipment:

1 soup pot

1 saute pan with high edges

1 grill pan

1 cookie sheet

immersion blender (or regular blender)

Ingredients:

1 pint of mushrooms

1 pint of heavy cream

bacon grease

salt & pepper

parmesan cheese

handful of pine nuts

2 chicken breasts

1 bushel of asparagus

2 tbsp of butter

1 tsp of tarragon

1 tsp of thyme

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 quart of chicken stock

Mince your mushrooms up finely. Set aside. Put asparagus on cookie sheet and roast them at 425 for about 12 minutes. (You could skip this step, but I think it brings out the flavor of the asparagus.) Chop onion and garlic and put in them in the soup pot with the butter. Cook on medium stirring often to soften onions. Add seasonings (tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper.)

Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in a dry saute pan. Remove to a bowl and set aside. (At this point you could cook your chicken in the saute pan to save dirtying your grill pan, but I like the grill pan.) If you are not cooking your chicken in the saute pan, put the bacon grease and mushrooms in. Stir until mushrooms are caramelized. Add heavy cream, salt and pepper. Stir on medium-high until cream thickens. Set aside.

Take your now cooked asparagus and put them in your soup pot. Add chicken broth. With an immersion blender, blend until asparagus breaks down completely. It's pretty fibrous, so it takes awhile. When it is done, pour the cream of mushroom soup that you made into the soup pot. Stir to incorporate. Add parmesan cheese to taste. Serve with the grilled chicken and pine nuts.

Squash & Leek Soup with Feta & Bacon

Now that cooler weather is here, I was really wanting a hearty soup to make. I love roasted butternut squash with feta so I thought sprinkling it on top of the soup would be tasty and I was right. I love creamy soups but only if I can sprinkle in enough toppings to give texture to the soup. So I went a little crazy adding bacon, pine nuts and feta cheese!
-Amanda

Butternut Squash & Leek Soup with Feta & Bacon

1 large butternut squash
olive oil
2 leeks
3 cloves garlic
1 lb bacon
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 tsp cumin
feta
pine nuts

Peel the butternut squash and cube it into large pieces. Rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast at 425 for 15 minutes, flip the pieces and continue roasting for another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cut up bacon into small pieces and cook in the bottom of a large soup pot. Remove bacon but leave the bacon grease in the pot when it is crispy.

Wash leeks really well and cut into small pieces. Cook them in the bacon grease along with the minced up garlic. Add nutmeg and cumin. Put the squash cubes in the pan and add your chicken stock. Using either an immersion blender or by pouring the soup in batches in a stand blender, puree until smooth. Add cream until the consistency you like. You can also add milk/water or more chicken stock if you like. Serve with toasted pine nuts, feta crumbles and reserved bacon.

A Seafood Chowder

Yesterday the temperature dipped into the 40s and it was pretty darn chilly for May in Texas. With the added rain, I was really craving some sort of warm chowder for dinner. But I didn't really have all the ingredients to make a chowder and I sure wasn't going to the grocery store in the downpour we were experiencing. This morning the girls and I made it to the store and I decided to make this chowder up for dinner, even though today the weather was already back in the high 60s and it was bright and sunny outside. A couple of weeks ago I bought a package of clams in their shells in the freezer section. I figured it'd be a good beginner way for me to learn to cook with clams, since I love them but have never cooked them. I also figured a soup would be a foolproof way to start. I'm not going to list a specific recipe here, since I just added a bit of this and that. I will list the ingredients in the order that I threw them in the pot and the method for an idea of what I did. Oh! And I also have to add, the green English peas? They came from my garden! (I'm so proud!)
-Amanda

Seafood Chowder

bacon
onion
celery
garlic
carrot
potato
curry powder
thyme
salt & pepper
butter & olive oil
flour
cream
milk
chicken stock
shrimp (frozen)
clams (frozen)
cod (fresh)
peas
parsley

I basically, cut up the bacon and fried it. Added minced vegetables and sauteed until soft. Threw in some curry and thyme. Then I added a bit of butter and olive oil and flour. Cooked that for a minute and then added my liquids. Tasted what I had to make sure the base was good. Then I added my seafood, peas and parsley. Served with another drizzle of olive oil and it was terrific!

I posted this on Kelley the Kitchen Kops Real Food Wednesday! 

10 minute Creamy Chicken Soup

This was a fast soup to throw together. I did already have a grilled chicken breast in the refridgerator so that is what made it so fast. When I make homemade stock, I like to store a lot of it in ice cube trays (after they freeze I tranfer to a freezer safe bag.) This way I have small portions of stock to add to sauces and gravies easily! I only made one portion of this soup, but feel free to double as necessary!
-Amanda

10 minute Creamy Chicken Soup

1-2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp butter
4-5 button or cremini mushrooms
handful of frozen peas
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup (or a few ice cubes) of homemade chicken stock
1/2 chicken breast, cooked and diced
freshly grated parmesan
1 tbsp fresh parsley
salt and lots of pepper (I actually added more pepper after the photo was taken, I liked the kick it gave the broth.)

Quickly mince some garlic and throw it in a small pot with the butter on medium heat, you don't want to burn the garlic. Chop mushrooms and add to the garlic. Turn up heat a bit and saute until mushrooms are nice and brown on the edges. Add handful of peas. Pour in your cream and chicken stock. If you are using stock in ice cube format, go ahead and throw them in frozen and just cook until they blend. Add cooked chicken and continue to cook until chicken is warmed through. Salt & Pepper and garnish with parmesan and parsley.

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

I bought a PDF book called Simple Food {For Winter} from Nourishing Days blog a few days ago. One of the recipes in the very informative book was Cheeseburger Soup. For those that know me, know I can't follow a recipe. So this is my spin on her lovely dish.
-Amanda

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

1 large onion
1 lb bacon (nitrate free)
1 lb hamburger meat
1 potato
3 carrots
3 cups of homemade bone beef stock
2-3 cups water
1 cup plus 1 cup of raw white cheddar
1/4 cup ketchup (either homemade, or a natural brand with no fake sugars)
1/8 cup mustard
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce (or diced tomatoes)
fermented pickles to garnish (Bubbies brand is recommended!)

Cut up bacon into small pieces and render in a big soup pot. When bacon crisps up, remove from pot, leaving bacon grease behind. Slice the large onion by first halving it and then making very thin half moon slices. Add onion to the pot, set to low and cover. Every 10-15 minutes stir, but otherwise let cook low and slow for 30-40 minutes. You want the onion to caramelize and this takes patience. Once onion is caramelized, remove it from the pot. Add ground beef. Season with salt and pepper and stir until broken up and browned. Add diced potato and diced carrots. Add beef broth and water. Stir in ketchup, mustard and spaghetti sauce. Add in 1 cup of freshley shredded cheddar. Put the onions back into the soup and simmer until potatoes are cooked through. Garnish with fermented pickles, bacon and more cheese.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Another day, another soup it seems. I just love the warm comfort of a bowl of soup. Broccoli Cheese Soup is one of my husbands favorites (besides Campells Creamy Parmesan Tomato Bisque, much to my chagrin.) I can't make Campbells from scratch, since I don't use the preservatives that are in a canned soup. Although, to his credit he did say he'd try my tomato soup again, if I could just make it smoother and less chunky. But I digress... I made this soup for him because he wasn't feeling well yesterday and with the drizzly rain outside of course it was just calling to be a soup day!

-Amanda

Broccoli Cheese Soup

4 pieces of bacon, cut into bits
1 small onion, diced
3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
1 pint of heavy cream
4 cups of chicken stock (homemade is best!)
8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
2 head of broccoli, chopped into small bits. The stem works well in this recipe too!
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp thyme
pinch of hot pepper flakes
1/2 tsp turmeric (adds color, naturally)

In your favorite soup pot, brown the bacon. When bacon is almost crispy add onions. Saute until onions are translucent. Add butter and melt. Add seasonings: salt, pepper, tumeric, thyme & hot pepper flakes. Sprinkle flour across bacon, onions & butter; stirring quickly to wet it with the butter. Stir the flour for a few minutes to let it cook for a bit. Pour in heavy cream and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Melt in grated cheese. Add broccoli and let simmer until broccoli is tender.

Coconut Curry Beef and Pork Stew

With the dip in temperature (finally!) stew seemed just the thing for today's menu. While I was at Sprouts, my local health food store, I picked up some pork and beef stew meat this morning. I threw this stew together in perhaps 15-20 minutes this morning and let it simmer all day long on the stove. The house smelled great!

-Amanda

Coconut Curry Beef and Pork Stew

1 lb beef stew meat
1 lb pork stew meat
3-4 tbsp coconut oil
1-2 potatoes
2-3 carrots
2-3 celery stalks
3 gloves garlic
1/3 cup flour (I used whole wheat, as it is what I have in my pantry)
2-3 tbsp curry powder
1 can of coconut milk
1/2 cup red wine
2-3 cups of broth (chicken or beef, I used 2 cups chicken and 1 cup of water)
salt to taste

Mix flour, some salt and curry in a shallow dish. Dredge meat in flour and shake off excess. In a large stock pot, melt coconut oil. Place meat in and brown for a few minutes, turning as needed. Remove meat to a bowl. Add, chopped carrots, celery and potatoes to the stock pot. Let cook for a few minutes, stirring the vegetables to bring up the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add garlic and deglaze the pot with red wine. Add meat back in, and broth. Add coconut milk and stir. Simmer on low for as long as possible, at least 3 hours until meat is fall apart tender.

Tomato Parmesan Soup

I think I could live off soup. I love how I can make a big pot of it and it lasts for a couple of meals. It's always easy to reheat, filling and warms my tummy. I once heard some philosophy that people are either "cold" food eaters or "hot" food eaters. I'm a hot food eater. I love a piping hot plate of food over a cold salad or sandwich any day. But it isn't always easy to make a hot plate lunch with a busy schedule. I think that is where soup comes in for me. Once I started making soups from scratch years ago, I could never go back to canned soup. Now that I know canned soup (and canned/boxed broths) are loaded with preservatives and MSG, my homemade soups are that more delicious! Now if only I could find a source of tomatoes that doesn't use BPA lined cans. I'm still working on that one! I do use fresh tomatoes quite often, but I am still relying on canned tomatoes frequently, it's one of the last canned items in my pantry. This tomato soup I cooked up in about 15 minutes.
-Amanda

Tomato Parmesan Soup

2 tbsp bacon grease
1/4 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 large can of diced tomatoes
2 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp chili flakes
sea salt and fresh pepper
1/4 cup loosely packed freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 handful of toasted pinenuts per bowl
1 dollop of butter per bowl

Place bacon grease, onion and garlic in a small pot. Cook on medium high until the onion is translucent. Add spices (basil, oregano, chili-flakes.) Adding the spices at this time gives them a chance to cook a bit in the bacon grease. Add can of tomatoes and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. With a stick blender, blend the soup into a creamy consistency. Alternately you could use a regular blender. Add cheese and heavy cream. Remove from heat and stir. Serve with toasted pine nuts and a dollop of butter. Makes 3-4 servings.

Oh, I just had a wonderful thought.... I wonder if I took the idea of the roasted garlic from THIS soup recipe and incorporated it into this tomato soup recipe if I'd have an incredible soup? I'll have to play around with it and let you know!

Cream of Roasted Garlic Soup

I'll be the first to admit that this soup needs a bit of help in the appearance department. The color didn't come out that pretty and I accidentally let my eggs curdle in it, which didn't help the situation. Otherwise the soup tasted awesome. Seriously awesome. I ended up using 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour to thicken the soup, I need to find a better way to thicken. Either more cauliflower to add more bulk or perhaps more egg yolks. I, personally do not like plain "cream of" soups, I like to have "chunks" in my soup, so I added some sauted mushrooms, bacon and diced chicken to give the soup bite.
-Amanda

Cream of Roasted Garlic Soup

4 strips of bacon
8-10 button mushrooms
2 tbsp oil (I used coconut oil, but butter or olive oil would be fine.)
2 HEADS of garlic. Not cloves, but the entire head of garlic. You want a about a cup-cup and half of whole, peeled garlic cloves
1/2 an onion
2 stalks of celery
Enough oil (I used ghee & olive oil) to halfway cover the garlic
1.5 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp chili flakes
32 oz chicken stock (I used homemade)
16 oz water
1 package of frozen cauliflower, you can use fresh too. Make sure the frozen package lists only cauliflower as an ingredient.
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup of flour
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 chicken breast previously cooked, and diced

Peel garlic and set aside. This took me about 15 minutes to do. Cut the bacon stips into pieces and saute in a soup pot until crispy. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon and put it in a small bowl leaving all of the bacon grease in the pot. Add chopped mushrooms. Saute until cooked through. I had to add 2 tbsp of coconut oil (or butter/ghee/olive oil) when the mushrooms got dry and started to stick. Add mushrooms to the bowl of bacon.

Place all the garlic, chopped onion and celery in the pot. Add enough oil to about halfway cover the garlic. Simmer on low heat for at least 30 minutes stirring frequently. You cannot rush this step. This is the pan roasting of the garlic. If you go to high of heat, the garlic will burn. You almost can't go too slow. When the garlic starts to turn a golden brown it is okay to continue, but the longer and slower you cook the more sweet and developed the flavor will be. Add the thyme, salt, pepper and chili flakes.

Add chicken stock, water and cauliflower to the pot and bring to a boil. When cauliflower has softened use a stick blender to puree the soup. If you don't have a stick blender you can use a regular blender being careful of the heat. In a medium bowl beat egg yolks. Add a bit of the soup to temper the eggs. Keep adding a little soup at a time until eggs are as hot as the soup. Pour the egg and soup mixture back into the pot. Put 1/4 cup of wheat flour in the now empty egg bowl. Add some soup to it and whisk until there is no lumps. Add the flour mixture back into the soup. Bring to a rolling boil.

Remove from heat, stir in heavy cream, chicken, mushrooms and bacon. Serve!

Chicken Pot Pie Stew

I forgot to take a picture of this before I ate it, so this is a picture of the leftovers! This soup is so warm and cozy. The broth is drinkable, rich and delicious. What gave me the idea for this soup was a chicken pot pie. I'm eating low carb right now so I didn't want to make a real chicken pot pie, but I was wanting those flavors. As I was making the "pot pie insides" I spontaneously decided to make it a soup, by adding a lot more liquid. I'm so glad I did, this was terrific! I used a lot of seasonings, but use any combination of the ones I list according to your preferences. I was going to add fresh parsley at the end, but I forgot to add it! I'll add some in for the leftovers, parsley is full of great vitamins!
-Amanda

Chicken Pot Pie Stew

2 chicken breasts, previously cooked
4 tbsp butter or ghee, split
1.5 cups of chopped mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups chicken stock (I use homemade)
salt, pepper
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
pinch of tarragon (this is a strong spice)
pinch of dill

In a large soup pot, melt two tablespoons of ghee or butter. Add diced carrot, onion and celery. Cook on a low heat until carrots begin to get soft. Add in garlic and mushrooms. Continue to cook on med-low until mushrooms are cooked through. Add all the spices. Add two more tablespoons of butter or ghee and stir until melted. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir until the flour is wet from the butter and coats the vegetables. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the heavy cream. Right before serving, add the chicken and peas, cooking long enough to defrost the peas. Enjoy!

Pizza Soup

The flavor of pizza without the carbs. This soup was surprisingly really good! And after I took my first bite, I did exclaim, "This DOES taste like pizza!" That was followed by... "hum... although since I can't remember the last time I ate a pizza I could be off, but who cares, it tastes great!" It's basically a parmesan cream tomato soup with pizza toppings stirred in. It was a hit with the husband and both toddlers.
-Amanda

Pizza Soup

• 2 tbsp butter or left over bacon drippings
• 1 onion, diced small
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 tsp dried italian seasonings
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• sea salt to taste
• 1/2 - 1 lb hamburger meat
• 2, 28 oz cans of tomatoes
• 2 (more) cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp (more) of dried italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 green bell peper
• whole milk mozzarella cheese
• kalmata olives, sliced
• pepperchini sliced

In a large pot, melt butter or bacon drippings. Sauted a diced onion and 3 cloves of garlid chopped fine. Add one sliced bell pepper. When onions are soft, add ground hamburger meat. As meat is cooking add salt, 2 tsp italian seasonings, 1 tsp oregano and fennel seeds. When meat is cooked through, remove it to a bowl and set aside.

Put two cans of tomatoes in the pot. Add roughly chopped garlic, more of the italian seasonings and butter. Bring to a boil. With an immersion blender, puree the tomatoes until they are very smooth. Add heavy cream and blend it in. Pour meat mixture back into the pot and stir in with the tomatoes. Dice the green bell pepper and add it to the soup. Let simmer for at least 20 minutes. Serve with grated mozzarella cheese, kalmata olives and pepperchini on top.

Chicken Corn Chowder

I was seriously uninspired as for what was for dinner tonight. As a matter of fact, it got to be the girls' dinner time and I hadn't even started thinking of what to make. I ended up pulling some poached chicken that I had made previously out of the refridgerator and I diced that up for the girls along with some steamed veggies and applesauce. Thinking I was just going to have a bowl of cereal for myself (John had leftovers,) I was browsing through the internet and stumbled upon a quick chicken corn chowder soup. It really sounded like a good idea, and even though I didn't follow their recipe, this was easy to throw together and really hit the spot. (By the way, we do sit down as a family for most dinners, but occasionally we have a night when everyone eats at different times and it just works out that way.)
-Amanda

Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder

1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
4 green onions, chopped
2 cups diced, cooked chicken
1 bag of frozen corn (10 oz), split
1 cup chicken stock
2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated cheddar
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a pan. Add green onions and flour. Stir until all the flour is wet and cook for a few minutes. Add chicken and stock. Stir to incorporate the flour. Add half a bag of corn. In a blender (or magic bullet!) puree the milk and the other half of bag of corn. Add to the soup. Bring to a simmer and add cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 3-4 small servings.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

Last Thursday, I had a playdate at my friend Angela's house. She served some delicious vegetable soup for lunch. I've been wanting more ever since I left her house! I somehow forgot to get the recipe from her, but I did remember she said two things. One: the soup was made with homemade chicken stock from the Nourishing Traditions Cookbook. And Two: the only seasonings were salt and pepper. So I recreated my version or her soup. But as it sometimes goes, mine wasn't as good as hers, because sometimes being served a warm bowl of soup made with love tastes better than what can come out of your own kitchen! Nevertheless, it was still yummy and I'm glad I made an entire pot of it!
-Amanda

Vegetable Soup

1 potato, skin on, scrubbed clean
2 large carrots
small head of broccoli
1 small onion, I used a yellow one
2 tbsp olive oil
Greens- I used about 1.5 cups frozen turnip greens, I'm pretty sure Angela's soup had kale. If you use fresh, you need a lot more since it will cook down. spinach, collard greens or chard are all good choices for this type of soup.
5 cups of homemade chicken stock

Dice onion into small pieces.Put olive oil in a medium size pot and heat medium-high. Add onion. Scrub potato and dice it into small cubes, add to pot. Scrub the carrots, I rarely peel them either. Cut lengthwise and cut into small semi-circles. Add them to the pot. Stir occasionally so potatoes don't stick. Add broccoli, greens and broth. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Garnish with a bit of grated Parmesan and serve with bread & butter.

Thai Inspired Chicken Curry Soup

So I bought this new cookbook last time I was at Half Price Books. I couldn't help it, it had a photo with EVERY single recipe. (I only buy cookbooks with lots and lots of photos!) Which would lead one to think that the recipes had been tested. Apparently I was mistaken. There was a Thai Curry soup listed that looked tasty so I thought I'd try it out. When I looked closer and saw it wanted FOUR bell peppers, I got suspicious. That is a lot of bell pepper. Then for this 5 quart soup it called for one itty bitty tsp of brown sugar. Might as well leave it out! So I took the recipe and photo as an inspiration and turned out a pretty decent soup!
-Amanda

Thai inspired Chicken Curry Soup

1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp oil
2-3 tbsp curry powder
salt/ soy sauce
3-4 carrots
2 cups shredded cabbage
zest of lime
1 cup shredded pre-cooked chicken
2 cups chicken stock (I used homemade!)
1 cup water
1 can coconut milk
juice of two limes
1 tbsp fish sauce <- I'm not too familiar with this ingredient, so I could have probably used more>
1 (um, heaping...) tbsp brown sugar
cilantro leaves would have been great, but I didn't have any
cooked rice to serve over (I used brown)

Saute diced onion and garlic and lime zest in oil, keeping onion translucent. Cut bell pepper into thin strips. Cut carrot into thin strips. Add curry powder and salt to oil and onions. Then add the carrot and bell pepper. Stir in can of coconut milk, chicken broth and water. In a small bowl mix the lime juice, fish sauce and brown sugar, stir to dissolve the sugar. Add to soup. Add cooked chicken and cabbage and simmer until cabbage is done. Serve over rice.

Easy Taco Soup

I turned my taco meat leftovers into an easy taco soup. It was a bit hearty for July in Texas but it was still good. -Amanda

Leftovers Taco Soup

2 cups left over beef taco meat filling (mine had corn, cherry tomatoes and beans mixed in.)
2 cups chicken broth
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 onion (I didn't have any in the taco meat, so I added it to the soup.)
cheese for garnish
tortilla chips garnish

Chop and saute onion. Add tomato paste. Cook until you think it just about to burn, to develop the flavor of the tomato paste. Add taco meat leftovers and quickly add the chicken broth. Simmer until thick and heated through. Top with cheese and chips.

Carrot & Barley Stew

This isn't exactly a summer dish, but I had all the right ingredients for it and as you might have noticed (due to the lack of posts) I haven't been inspired to cook as much lately. Ever since returning from our vacation at the beginning of the month, I just  haven't been in the mood to cook. I'm trying to change that. This stew turned out very delicious. My husband even went back for seconds which is unheard of when it comes to soups and stews.
-Amanda

Carrot and Barley Stew

4 carrots, peeled and cut in chunks
1 pint of mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, diced
1 cup of barley
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
4 cups beef broth*
2 stalks of celery
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium soup pan, saute onion and mushrooms in olive oil and butter. Add the barley and toast it in the oil. When it starts to brown, quickly add the carrots, celery, ginger and beef broth. Season to taste. Let simmer for an hour and half.

*use vegetable broth for a vegetarian meal. Omit butter for a vegan meal.

White Bean Chicken Chili

This recipe was posted on a message board I'm on by Amberly. She got it from Ame. I think everyone in my mom's group is trying out their variation of it! It is really good! I made the white beans from scratch a couple of weeks ago and froze them. So tonight I just pulled those out of the freezer and mixed them with the rest of the ingredients instead of using canned beans. (My beans had carrots, celery and a bit of bacon so it added a depth of flavor that is a bit different than canned.) But either would work fine. My twins ate this up and Izzie even asked for more!
-Amanda

White Bean Chicken Chili

about 32 oz chicken stock
3 cans white beans undrained (I use homemade dried beans that had been previously cooked)
5 cups cooked chicken
1 - 16oz jar salsa or homemade salsa
1 - 8oz block pepper jack (I used colby jack because it was what I had)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup tortilla chips (crushed), optional... makes chili thicker
 avacado to garnish

Place all ingredients in large pot over medium-high heat until cheese is melted. When chili is ready, add crushed chips, if using, and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken.