Lentil Soup

 This recipe comes from Recipe Tin Eats and it's amazing. I didn't make it exactly the same but close.

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (1 tsp minced garlic)
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 cups dried lentils, rinsed
• 14 oz can crushed tomatoes (I used fire roasted)
• 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth (I used 6 cups water and 2 Tbs vegetable Better than Bouillon)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander (I didn't have this so left it out)
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Sautee onion, carrot, and celery in oil for ten minutes, adding garlic for last minute

add remaining ingredients

simmer for 40 minutes

use immersion blender to blend part of the soup to thicken (I did this but it was pretty thick and probably would have been fine without this. I also used the whole bag of lentils which was a bit more than 2 cups).

We had it with Pepperidge Farm's whole grain dinner rolls (found in the freezer section) and some apple cider to drink. It was a perfect dinner for our first crisp fall day.

Emergency Dinner 6: Chicken Soup

 Even though chicken soup is made with mostly perishable foods, it still works for a two week plan because the chicken can be frozen or canned, and the carrots and celery can be used for other items to keep them fresh. Just make sure to always have plenty of carrots and celery on hand and plans to use them. Chicken soup is a staple in this house during the cooler months so they will get used.

• about 1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken (can substitute with a couple of large cans)
• 6 carrots, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• small onion, chopped (optional)
• 1/2 box orzo 
• chicken bouillon for 12 cups of water

Simmer chicken in 3 quarts of water and bouillon (or canned or boxed chicken broth) for about 1.5 hours

remove chicken and add vegetables and pasta and cook for at least 15 minutes until all are soft

meanwhile, chop chicken

add chicken back to pot when pasta and veggies are done

Garden Harvest Minestrone Soup

 This soup was so good, I am making it again tonight, but with turkey kielbasa instead of the sausage. It comes from the website Handmade Farmhouse. I'm posting it as I made it but she gives lots of alternative suggestions.

• 5 C broth (a combination of chicken and beef was yummy)
• 1 T Italian seasoning 
• 1 t minced garlic
• 1 t onion powder
• 1 pound ground turkey sausage or turkey kielbasa
• 1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, NOT drained
• 1 can corn, drained (or one cup frozen)
• 1 C chopped carrots
• 2 small zucchini, diced
• 2 small yellow squash, diced
• 1 handful kale leaves, chopped

1. Brown sausage in soup pot, if using.
2. Add all ingredients (the original recipe calls for adding the kale for a few minutes at the end, but I will add it with the rest of the ingredients)
3. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Tuscan Beef Stew

1 can condensed tomato soup
1 can condensed beef broth
1/2 C water
2 lbs stew meat
1 can Italian style chopped tomatoes
3 large carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 t Italian seasoning
1/2 t garlic powder
2 cans cannellini beans

put all ingredients except beans in crockpot
cook on low 8-9 hours (or high 4-5 hours)
stir in beans and heat
add cooked rice, pasta, or wheat berries

The Soup That My Husband Loves

chop:
onions
carrots
celery
garlic
saute in about 3 T oil
add
2 cans beans, rinsed and drained
1 can tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
1 quart water
1 bouillon cube
1-2 C wheat berries
bring to boil, simmer 1 hour

maybe add some Italian seasoning?

Friendship Soup

This is a recipe for a soup mix you can put in a jar and give as a gift. It makes four quarts so it is also a good one to give if you are bringing a family a meal double if you want a big pot's worth)

Layer in jar:

1/2 C dry split peas
1/2 C dry lentils
1/2 C uncooked long grain white rice
1/3 C beef bouillon granules (16 cubes if you are just making the soup)
1/4 C pearl barley
1/4 C dried minced onion
2 t italian seasoning
1/2 C alphabet pasta or other small pasta, put in baggie and place on top

to make soup

brown 1 pound ground beef, drain
add:
dry ingredients (except pasta)
3 quarts water
28 oz can diced tomatoes

bring to a boil, cover and simmer 45 minutes
add pasta, cover and simmer 15-20 minutes until pasta and beans are tender

Taco Soup - Sister Schetselaar's

48 oz can tomato juice
8 oz can tomato sauce
15 oz can corn

15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
taco seasoning

cook ground beef with taco seasoning, drain
add all other ingredients
simmer 1/2 hour
serve with:

chopped scallions
shredded cheese
sour cream
frito chips or tortilla chips

Christy's Ridiculously Easy Veggie Soup

For a large pot:

2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans
1 turkey kielbasa, sliced
4 heaping cups frozen mixed veggies
4 heaping cups frozen chopped kale, spinach, or combo
generous amount of Italian seasoning
4 cups V-8 juice
4 cups veggie or chicken broth
cauliflower
zucchini

bring above to a boil, turn down and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes

add 1 small head cauliflower, chopped

simmer 10 minutes or until cauliflower is done (cooked but not mushy)
take off of heat
add about 3 cups shredded raw zucchini

Chunky Vegetable Soup

This recipe comes from the blog Simply Sissom and it is very, very, good and very, very, healthy. I look forward to checking out more recipes from this blog!

• 1 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 3 medium parsnips (or carrots) (I used carrots because that's what I had on hand)
• 1 bell pepper (I prefer red)
• 2 cups of sweet potato, peeled and chopped (I used butternut squash)
• 1 zucchini, chopped into half moons
• 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 4 cups of chicken broth (Vegan- use vegetable broth) (I used vegetable broth)
• 3/4 t paprika
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1/4 t onion powder
• 1/2 t basil
• 1/4 t thyme
• 1/8 t pepper
• 1/4 t sea salt
• 1/8 t white pepper
• additional Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Bay leaf
• 4 cups of baby spinach
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed (optional)
• 
  

Cook onion and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes, add all ingredients except beans and spinach. 

Simmer 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Add beans and spinach.

Soup Spice Blend

• 2 TBS of smoked paprika
• 1 TBS garlic powder
• 1 TBS dried oregano
• 1 TBS onion powder
• 1 TBS dried basil
• 2 tsp. thyme
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp fine-grain sea salt
• 1 tsp. white pepper

Turkey Vegetable Soup

I don't think this is the most appetizing photo - the colors are washed out - but this was really, really GOOD. And everyone liked it (although my youngest picked out the spinach until I made him try it). The recipe comes from RealSimple.com (their photo looks better). I doubled it and increased the veggies even more. Must have with rolls to fill out the dinner.

1 T olive oil

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 large white onion, chopped

4 carrots, sliced

4 celery stalks, chopped

12 C chicken broth

1 C pearl barley or rice

salt and pepper

6 C baby spinach

brown turkey in oil, remove from pot

saute onion, carrot, & celery 3-5 minutes

return turkey to pot, add broth and barley/rice

bring to boil and then simmer until starch is cooked (30-40 minutes)

salt and pepper to taste

stir in spinach

Creamy Chicken Soup

I make chicken soup a lot. As a matter of fact, it is probably my most used recipe (other than pasta with a jar of Ragu, ahem). But every once in awhile, I change it up and make this recipe. And every time I make it, I wonder why I don't make it more often! Everyone liked it, woot!

This comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Remedies For The "I Don't Cook" Syndrome by Janet Peterson. The only change I made was cutting back on the pepper and garlic powder. The amounts I list here are the amounts that I used.

Hearty Cream of Chicken Soup

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used thighs because that is what I had on hand)

3 celery stalks, chopped

4 carrots, sliced

1 small onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tsp marjoram

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp sage

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp salt

2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of chicken)

2 C cooked noodles (I used a whole 12 oz. package)

Place chicken, celery, carrots, onion, herbs, and seasonings in a large soup pot. 

Cover with about 2 quarts water, bring to a boil, then cook over medium-low heat until chicken is tender (1-2 hours). My chicken was frozen so it cooked for 2 hours. I cooked the chicken alone for the first hour, then added the other ingredients so the vegetables wouldn't be too mushy.

Remove chicken and dice, then add back to the pot.

Stir in cream soup, stir until smooth.

Add cooked noodles.

It says it serves 10-12, but it fed the five of us with no leftovers, so I would cut that number in half.

Hamburger Soup

Another recipe I cannot believe I haven't shared until now. This gets the Yummy designation, although I did notice the salt content AFTER I ate it (tasted great) in that I was downing water like crazy. So I will cut back on that. I am sorry I do not have a photo, will try to remember next time I make it.

I have decided that I will make soup at least once a week.

I doubled this to make enough for the six of us:

3/4 C soup mix (dried bean soup mix)
1.5 lbs ground beef, browned and drained
2 potatoes cubed
3 carrots diced
3/4 C celery, diced
2 T fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 T sugar
1 tsp salt (originally was 2)
2 C V-8 juice
6 C water

Mix all together and simmer 2 hours

Clean Out the Freezer Recipes

This may be something I will never want to refer back to, ha ha, but if nothing else, maybe it will fuel some future inspiration. We went camping with a bunch of teenagers (most of them boys) and spent a lot of money on food. This week all of my sons are away, which leaves just me, my husband, and my daughter. So, the only thing I will buy this week for groceries will be some fruit, veggies, milk, and ice cream (the staples, lol). The dinner meals will be a collection of concoctions made from stuff around the house. Hoping I might find a gem in the midst.

Day 1: pasta with breakfast sausage and kale. Sound horrible, I know, but once I made it with frozen chopped spinach and it was good enough for me to write down on an index card (my system before this blog came into fruition). I don't have any spinach, fresh or frozen, but I do have a bag of chopped kale. My husband will be on board, he eats a salad with kale every day for lunch. I will be the one that has to choke it down, but hopefully that won't be the case. We have tons of breakfast sausage left over from camping, so we haven't seen the last of it! BTW, my daughter will fend for herself with some other goodies we have in the pantry and freezer.

Day 2: Daughter is having a sleepover birthday party, so we will buy pizza for her and her guests, but my husband and I will be having soup made with sausage, kale, beans, carrots, and celery. And some biscuits. This soup turned out really good, but I forgot about the beans! I added instant mashed potatoes to thicken the broth. I could have thickened it with the beans if I was thinking.

Day 3: We have some collard greens in the freezer too, bacon, and possibly some canned black eyed peas - oh, the possibilities!)

Day 4: By now my daughter may have run away... we have tons of canned soup in our storage pantry, leftover from hurricanes and other storms that took away our electricity. It's probably time to use some of them up, so I will start with those, then throw in some chicken from the freezer.

Day 5: Will have to see what is left, oh, never mind, it is my daughter's birthday, can't do that to her on her birthday. We will see what she wants. I am guessing it will be lasagna.

Pantry Taco Soup

As in eating right, not hurrying, although I do a lot more of the latter.  These days I am lucky if I get dinner on the table. My slow cooker has become my best friend. As a matter of fact, I bought a second, slightly smaller one. So far I have used it to cook potatoes for a side dish and it has worked great.  Here is a recipe that is quick and easy, albeit EVERY INGREDIENT IS A PROCESSED FOOD. So I think I will save this recipe for tax season. Or for the next natural disaster to come our way that causes a power outage. It is modified from Fix It and Forget It. 

Pantry Taco Soup

2 28 oz cans tomatoes (I used crushed tomatoes)

2 15 ox cans corn, undrained

4 cans beans, rinsed and drained (the recipe called for black beans, but I only had one can left so I used a can of black, garbanzo, kidney, and cannellini or white kidney beans)

1 packet taco seasoning mix

1 packet ranch dressing mix

shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips

mix first 5 ingredients in a slow cooker heat for 4 hours on low (or put it on your stove and heat through)

serve with above fixings

Four hours is too short a cooking time while I am at work, but since today was errand day, and I have to drive people around tonight during the time I should be making dinner, four hours in the slow cooker is perfect timing. If we didn't have power I could easily heat this on the side burner of my gas grill.

Vegetarian Bean Soup

The name of this soup, love this, is

Oh! Good! Soup!

(This is not the soup I made, but it looks a lot like it. Photo courtesy of Betty Crocker.)

and comes from the book Fix It and Forget It Lightly on page 194.  I did change it a little, and would like to change it more the next time I make it, and there will be a next time!

This is a healthy soup, and does not call for a lot of seasonings, nor does it have any meat or bouillon, so at first taste I thought it was a little bland, but after a few bites the natural flavors of the ingredients come out, and your tongue begins to appreciate the taste. Having said that, the original recipe calls for hot sauce, but next time I will replace the hot sauce with some salsa. Other than that, and the fact that I did not choose low sodium canned tomatoes, I wouldn't change a thing, unless I do, like maybe adding some thyme.

2 cups mixed, dried beans

2 1/2 quarts water

1 large onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

28 oz can diced tomatoes

red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

several drops hot sauce @ 1 C salsa

1 cup brown rice, uncooked

1 cup assorted small pasta, cooked (I did not have room for this, and don't think it is necessary, perhaps because my bean mix had some barley in it)

Soak beans 2-6 hours overnight, drain

place beans in slow cooker

cover with 2 1/2 quarts water

cover and cook on high 2 hours

add all remaining ingredients (except pasta, if you are using it)

add water to cover if needed

cook on high 4-6 hours, low 8-10

Instead of having just bread and butter with this, I made a cheese quesadilla. All of the cheese kind of counteracts the healthy aspect of the soup though.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

(photo courtesy of Real Simple magazine)

Beef stew is a life necessity in my mind. My parents used to make it on the stove - Mom would do all the work, then Dad would come in and doctor up the broth. And it was very good.

I made it that way once. On the stove, flouring and browning the meat first, doctoring up the broth. And it was really good.

But I don't have time for that now, because not only does it take time to brown the meat, it also takes time to clean up the stove afterwards.

Don't think I am a whiner, I really don't have time most nights.

So, I am on a quest for the best crock pot recipe for beef stew. Last night I tried one from Real Simple magazine. You can find the original recipe here. I will give it to you here and tell you what I did differently and how I will change it further in the future.

Slow Cooker Classic Beef Stew

4 pounds bottom round, well trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces (I cut mine to 1/2 - 1 inch size. I wanted it to fit in my mouth.)

1 cup flour
1/3 cup olive oil (This is to coat and brown the meat first. I skipped this step entirely and have no regrets.)

2 large onions, diced (I sliced mine into half rings so that the picky ones could easily avoid them - or better yet - give them to me! I also wound up using maybe 1 1/2 onions - it just seemed like too much onion.)

1 6 ounce can tomato paste

1 cup red wine (I used the cooking wine, but I think I will just substitute it for beef broth next time.)

1 pound potatoes, cut into 2 inch pieces (I cut them to about 1 inch, maybe 1 1/2 inches most.)

1/2 pound baby carrots (about 2 cups)

2 cups beef broth

1 T kosher salt (too much salt for me, especially with the beef broth, I used about half of that)

1 tsp dried thyme leaves (oh yes, I love thyme!)

1 bay leaf

1 cup frozen peas, thawed (oops, forgot these, but why bother thawing them anyway? just add them sooner to the pot)

Coat the beef pieces and brown in oil if you must, otherwise just skip all of that and save yourself the mess (and the added fat and starch), put meat in slow cooker

Then you are supposed to add the onions to the skillet, saute a little and stir in the tomato paste. I just threw the raw onions in the slow cooker and mixed the paste into the rest of the liquids and seasonings.

Add the potatoes and carrots to the slow cooker, and then mix the rest of the ingredients (including the tomato paste) and pour over beef and vegetables.

Mix well, cover and cook on low 7 1/2 hours or on high 4 hours (I started mine late so I took the high road, lol).

If you happen to remember the peas, add them once everything is ready and cook a little while more till the peas are heated.

This was a hit, even with all of the omissions. My husband purposefully went on and on about how much he liked it. (Because I am much pickier than him, and if I don't like a recipe, I won't make it again, and apparently, he wants it again!)

What I will do differently next time:  substitute red wine for beef broth (or some of it, anyway), and use less meat and more vegetables. It really is a meat heavy recipe, but delicious!

The Best Comfort Food: Chili

Will I ever remember to take a picture? Oh well, here is a photo that makes me think of chili, and NO, this recipe is not hot, but it makes me think of warm comfort food.

It is officially called Tammy's chili in my house, because way back in the day, when our first son was little, our friends Dave and Tammy came over. She had been in the middle of cooking this chili when we called, so when it was done she brought it over and we had dinner together. It was one of those impromptu gatherings that worked out well. And the chili was delicious, and she is one of those kind souls who is willing to share her recipes, and some 18 years later, it is still my favorite chili recipe.  We haven't seen David and Tammy in years, but we did find Tammy on Facebook, and I believe the last time I made her chili I posted it on FB to let her know it is still loved.

Now there are as many opinions about chili as there are people. This is very mild, but there is something about ground beef and rice that just belongs together, and this is the perfect way to make that happen. And every time I eat this, I ask myself why I don't make it more often. It is very easy, it just takes an hour to cook.  So here it is.

Tammy's Chili

1 pound ground beef

1 chopped onion

1 chopped green pepper

1 large can peeled whole tomatoes, broken into pieces (use juice too)

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

3 cans beans (Tammy and I use a combo of red kidney and cannellini beans), rinsed and drained

2 T chili powder

3/4 t paprika

Brown the ground beef, drain grease

You can brown the onion and peppers with the beef or add it with the rest, whatever you prefer

Add the rest of the ingredients

Bring to boil, simmer for 1 hour

Serve however you like.

I put it on top of rice and top it all off with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.

For a family of six I double the recipe.  We did have some leftover to freeze.

Leftovers...Mashed Potatoes

My favorite way to eat up leftover mashed potatoes has become

(photo courtesy of google images)

To stir them into soup

(photo courtesy of google images)

It thickens the broth and gives it a nice but subtle potato flavor.

Just passing it along.

Bean Soup That Smells Delicious While It Cooks

One pound dried beans, pre-soaked (used small white this time)

Ham bone or leftover ham

2 quarts water

One large onion, chopped

1 C chopped celery, more or less

1 tsp salt

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp rosemary

Simmer on stove about 2 hours or in crock pot on low for 8 hours

Four Out of Five Ain't Bad

(Photo courtesy of Google)

Last night I made chicken soup by winging it. I don't wing it too often. Now, this blog is not supposed to show off what a great cook/homemaker I am, it is to share what I've learned, and to help me remember what I've done that works and what doesn't. So, I'm going to tell you the good and the bad. Here is how to make it in three levels of detail:

Christy's Easy 4 Out of 5 Chicken Soup

Chicken Chicken broth Carrots Celery Onion Rice

Simmer the chicken in chicken broth until done...you can use frozen chicken, just simmer longer. Skim frothy junk off top. Take out chicken. Strain broth and put back in pot. Chop carrots, celery, and onion fine, or better yet, use an electric chopper to make your life easier. Throw the super chopped vegetables into the chicken broth. Add uncooked rice. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, chop up chicken into small pieces (use that electric chopper already!) When timer goes off after 15 minutes, add chicken to pot, heat through and voila, you are done. Now, I like chunky soup, but on a whim I chopped everything up fine to appeal to my picky eaters and it worked. Something about everything being small made it easier to handle eating stuff-all-put-together-and-not-separated-or-even-touching. Okay, here are the specifics, if you are like me and have to know EXACTLY what I did: First, I buy large packages of Purdue boneless, skinless chicken at my wholesale club (I go to BJ'S). This chicken comes in individual 1/2 (or thereabout) pound packages. I love them because I throw them all in the freezer and then easily take out as much as I want. They are sealed in a heavy plastic which makes it very easy to get the chicken out of the packaging while still frozen. Just run it under hot water for 5 seconds, cut off the end and slide out. I had both boneless thighs and tenderloins so I took out some of each. I used three packages. Now this is where it gets costly. I buy the cartons of chicken broth (much better than canned IMO). You could use water and bouillon cubes but I've done this before and it is more oily, blah. You could also start with a whole chicken, make your own broth, etc, but then you can forget about the quick and easy part. Pour in enough broth to cover chicken. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer (near low) for 30 minutes (because they were frozen solid). Another advantage to chopping the chicken up fine is if you overcooked it no one will notice if it's tough. Or, if you undercooked it it will easily finish cooking when you put it back in the soup. I used 4 medium carrots, about 5 small celery stalks, and a medium onion. The advantage to chopping the onion really small is that picky eaters may not see it. I used 2 cups of rice (I had about 8 cups of broth). This was too much. We wound up with chicken and rice. No soup. It was still good though. You could cook the rice separate but then it wouldn't get the advantage of the chicken broth and it would make more work. My youngest reminded me AFTER I put in the rice that I promised I would use the pasta stars I have in the pantry the next time I made soup. So, you could use small pasta too. I have no idea how much you would want to put in. When I do make it I'll probably cook it separately, or follow a recipe. This made tons of food. And four out of 5 in my family not only ATE it, but actually LIKED it.