This was an experiment that went rather well. I posted my idea for this soup on Facebook a few days ago and received so much awesome feedback and so many great suggestions. It’s always so fun to hear from you guys…your input helps greatly! The result? This soup right here. So good. So light. So fresh. So savory. So sweet. So many textures. So smooth. So comforting. Sign me up for 3 meals a day 7 days a week with this one..this is the epitome of my kind of food. Continue reading
It’s amazing. We’ve been eating this pulled pork for days but our tastebuds would never know. We’ve had it in these awesome sandwiches I told you about the other day. We’ve had it hash style with sweet potatoes. We’ve had it in risotto. We’ve had it in quesadillas with this simple, delicious guacamole… Continue reading
This weather. Oh this weather. It’s the kind of weather I can’t wait for in the middle of summer. Cozy, football-like weather that pairs so well with a warm bowl of soup. Give it to me in late August and I’m jumping for joy. Give it to me in mid-May and I pout like a 2 year old. Speaking of two year olds, Georgia asks daily, on the way home from our morning outings, if we can drive by the park to stop and look. Talk about heartbreaking. So we do, every single day. We drive up to the park and I stop in front of it and we look. “Oooooh, look mama, monkey bars! Maybe next time we can go on that slide!”. And then we pull away and drive to the house, “see you next time, park”, she says. I’m beginning to think she has forgotten the joy of actually playing at the park and has learned to love looking at the park just as much. The mind of a 2 year old.
This soup recipe is great for these kind of days. Days where you are looking for warmth and comfort food but don’t want the heaviness of a stew or a chili. It’s packed with nutrition and flavor and its an absolute cinch to throw together. Who needs 75 and sunny, anyway? ME!!!!! Not me.
Chicken Meatball Soup
Notes: Any fresh bread will do to make the breadcrumbs…just throw a few slices in your food processor and pulse it until it forms tiny crumbs. I prefer to use whole grain Ezekiel bread for this recipe….so nutritious and it tastes awesome in here.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
1 Pound Ground Chicken
1 Cup Fresh Breadcrumbs
2/3 Cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
4 Garlic Cloves, grated or pressed
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
For the Soup:
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion, diced
5 Cups Chicken Stock
2 (15 Ounce) Cans Great Northern or Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 Cups Sliced Carrots
2 Cups Packed Spinach Leaves
Directions
In a medium bowl mix the chicken, breadcrumbs, parmesan, garlic, eggs, salt and pepper with your hands until just combined; do not over mix. Roll the mixture into tablespoon-sized meatballs.
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides (they do not need to be cooked through); remove the meatballs from the pot and set aside. Add the onion to the pot and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the stock, beans and carrots and bring the soup to a simmer. Add the meatballs back to the pot and simmer over medium low heat until meatballs are cooked through and the carrots soften, 5-10 minutes. Stir in the spinach and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.
Lets do a little mathematics, my dear friends:
Ham hock + beans + simmering all day = my heart runneth over.
The same taste as the previous equation + minimal work + no time at all = my heart runneth over.
Same results? I choose the latter.
The first time I made this I was looking for a way to use up leftover baked ham and it has become a staple in our meal rotation ever since. You will be shocked at how something so quick and simple can yield such flavor. And by the way, stop picking on me and making me do your math homework for you…next thing you know you’ll be stealing my lunch and shoving me into lockers. Not okay.
Quick Ham and Bean Soup
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Small White Onion, chopped
2 Carrots, chopped
6 Cloves Garlic, chopped
2 Teaspoons Dried Thyme or 2 Tablespoons Fresh Chopped Thyme
3/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 (15 Ounce) Can Petite Diced Tomatoes
2 (15 Ounce) Cans Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed
3 Cups Chicken Stock
2 Cups Diced Ham
2 Teaspoons Stone Ground Mustard
1/2 Cup Cream
Fresh Parsley, for garnish *optional
Salt to taste
Directions
Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onion and carrot and sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and pepper and sauté 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, chicken stock and ham and bring to a boil; turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the mustard and cream, simmer for 5 additional minutes and season with salt, if needed. Serves 4
I’ve missed you my dear friends. How goes it? It’s been both exhausting and great around here as I learn to manage life with two littles. You see, I’ve been feeling pulled in so many different directions. My two year old has officially learned the phrase “I want my mommy” and it seems as though her new little brother has caused her to use this phrase until she is blue in the face these days, bless her heart. And her little brother? That precious little punkin that has officially been named “moose” in our household (we mean it as endearing, I swear)? Well, he finds it necessary to eat like its nobodies business. This kid could drink any of you fools under the table. His cheeks will prove it (and those cheeks taste as delicious as any dish I have EVER prepared). It’s amazing how these two things alone can take up the majority of the day. And while I have continued to cook on a regular basis..and take photos here and there…I have not had too much of an opportunity to write. Until now.
Guess what is happening this very moment? My house is quiet. The laundry is folded. The toys are picked up. The play dough is scraped off the kitchen floor. The dishwasher is emptied. Jude’s tummy is full. Georgia had 45 minutes of “Georgia and mommy time” with not a single interruption. Dinner is made and sitting on the stove. And both kids are sleeping. And to top it all off..I didn’t even drink an extra-shot latte today. As Matthew Wilder would say, can’t nobody break my stride….feeling good, folks, feeling pretty darn good.
And now I need to make the rest of this post the absolute fastest written content of all times…because Im pretty sure this quiet, still moment will only last for approximately 37 more seconds. I can assure you this will most likely be the best tomato soup you’ve ever eaten….no joke. You simply must try it. And I kid you not…I now hear a crying baby…
Winter Tomato Soup
Ingredients
2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Large Carrots, chopped
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
6 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1/4 Cup Dry Red Wine
2 15 Ounce Cans Diced Tomatoes
2 Cups Chicken Stock
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 Cup Half and Half
2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Basil
Directions
Heat olive oil in soup pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add carrots, onion, salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper and sauté for 5 minutes or until veggies begin to soften. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add red wine and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Once at a boil cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove from heat, place the soup into a blender or food processor and puree until the mixture is a very smooth consistency (make sure blender or processor is covered…mixture will be very hot). Transfer soup back into the pot and turn heat to medium low. Stir in honey, balsamic and half and half and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serves 2-4
It is freeeeeeeeezing outside. Like the -17 wind chill kind of freezing. So cold that I nearly grew frost on my eyebrows this morning just going from my car into the grocery store. It makes me want to do a whole lot of absolutely nothing except for stay in my cozy house and whip up a pot of cozy, warm, comforting soup; this chicken wild rice wonder is perfect for just that, so rich and just plain delicious. It’s considered a Minnesota staple and I tell you what…it’s one of the only things that makes this states winter weather bearable for me. Warming at its best!
Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Adapted from Lunds and Byerlys
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Cup Diced Onion
1 Cup Diced Carrot
1/2 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
2 Cups Cooked Wild Rice
2 Cups Cooked Shredded Chicken (rotisserie chicken is fast and a great time saver for this recipe)
1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
3-4 Cups Chicken Stock
1 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
1/4 Cup Sliced or Slivered Almonds
Directions
Melt butter and olive oil over medium heat in a heavy soup pot or dutch oven. Add onion, carrot and thyme and sauté until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the rice, chicken, salt and pepper and enough chicken stock to cover the ingredients by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cream, vinegar and almonds, return to a simmer and let cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4-6.
This is one of the most simple, fast, flavorful recipes on the planet. It’s perfect for a rainy, warm day because it’s light and comforting all at the same time. I don’t know about you but I often get sick of the typical roasted or grilled salmon and this is a wonderful, think-outside-the-box way to prepare the omega rich food. Salmon and vegetables in a lemony, creamy broth…that only takes about a half hour? Sold.
Note: If you are using frozen salmon I would suggest keeping it slightly frozen while you cut it as it will make slicing much easier.
Salmon and Corn Chowder
Adapted from this recipe
Ingredients
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Carrots, finely chopped
1 Onion, finely chopped
4 Medium Sized Red Potatoes, cut into one inch pieces
2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 Cups Corn, fresh or frozen
2 1/4 Cup Chicken Stock
1 Cup Half and Half
1 1/2 Pounds Salmon Fillets, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, optional
Directions
Heat olive oil in a soup pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add carrots and onion and sauté until onions soften, 4-5 minutes. Add potatoes, thyme, salt and pepper and sauté 2 minutes. Stir in corn, add chicken stock and simmer 15 minutes or until potatoes are just cooked through. Stir in half and half and lemon and bring to a simmer. Add salmon and cook, stirring occasionally, 4-5 minutes or until salmon is cooked through. Discard thyme stems and serve with crushed red pepper flakes on top. Yeilds 4 Servings
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