I love the end of Winter as much as the beginning!

As excited as I get for the first snowfall, I'm equally excited about the "Spring" thaw. The days get warmer, the nights are still chilly and I can see the beginning of my daffodils pushing through! I also take this time as my last chance to cram in some good winter comfort food. I don't have a strong desire for creamy soups, chili or hearty casseroles in the heat of the summer. I decided to make my own version of a classic comfort item....Chicken Pot Pie, in soup form!

Start with the basics: a few carrots, a few stalks of celery (plus the leafy tops) and 1 small onion. Chop everything about the same size.

Throw into a large pot with a couple cloves of minced garlic and a few TBS of butter. I didn't really measure, just eyeball it :)

After the veggies had cooked for a few minutes, I added two large potatoes (peeled and cubed).

To the pot of veggies and potatoes, add about 6 cups of chicken stock or broth and bring to a simmer for about 25 minutes, or until veggies and potatoes are all fork tender.

I usually make my own stock by boiling a whole chicken. I found chickens a few weeks ago for $.39 a lb! I used just the white meat for this.

Add in the meat and then turn heat to Medium-High and stir in about 1 1/2 cups of Half and Half.

Let the soup thicken a bit and adjust with a cornstarch slurry. Mix a couple TBS of cornstarch with COLD water until smooth and gradually add until soup is thick enough. In the last few minutes of cooking, add a few handfuls of frozen peas and season well with Salt and Pepper. (I use LOTS of fresh cracked pepper!!!)

Serve with your favorite bread or biscuit. A hearty bowl of comfort to celebrate the end of Winter!

***If the soup isn't rich enough for your taste, you could also add a little Chicken Bouillon and use Heavy Cream in place of the Half and Half. ***

The search for a loveable Vegetable Beef Soup recipe!

I've made several Vegetable Beef Soups...sometimes using a recipe, sometimes just winging it as I go. I've done some with Barley, some with Tomatoes and some I was just plain disappointed in. Not any more!!! I found the most delicious Steak Soup Recipe...the one I will use from now on. So perfect!

I used a lean bottom round roast for mine and cut into small cubes. I love that this uses celery leaves...such an under utilized flavor!! I love them :)

Begin by browning your meat and onions in a mixture of vegetable oil and butter. I only used 1 TBS of each instead of the 2 called for in the recipe. That was plenty for me!

 

I mixed together my flour, salt, pepper and paprika. Unfortunately, I only had 1 tsp of paprika left in my spice jar, so that is all that was added. It was perfect for my taste. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the browned meat and cook just a moment before adding your liquids. I did this all in the same soup pot instead of using two pots like the recipe suggests. Who needs extra dishes?! I added the water, beef broth, celery leaves and marjoram...brought to a boil then lowered the temp and simmered with the lid on for about 45 minutes.

I chopped up my carrots and celery while I waited for my liquids to boil.

When you are home alone with your two-year old and she sees you taking pictures, she wants to get in on the action :) She took this lovely photo of me cooking.

After your meat is tender, add in your carrots, celery and potatoes. I used two large russet potatoes that I peeled and cubed. Check your broth for seasoning at this point. I always need more pepper! This is also the point where you add your tomato paste. I only used half the can (3 oz) which was plenty for me. Cook another 20 minutes or so with the lid off over medium heat. Stir frequently so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.

I also hate the idea of corn in any type of soup, and this needed some color, so I used frozen peas instead. Add in the last 5-10 minutes of cook time.

Isn't that a pretty bowl of soup?!! The flavor was wonderful, even better the second day. Hearty and packed with veggies. Perfectly yum- the search is over~

A soup I've always loved!

I have always loved French Onion Soup. When I was younger, I used to order it in restaurants. I've requested it for a birthday meal a time or two... as a grown up, I learned how easy it was to make!

I only made two servings of soup...because I'm the only one that will eat it at my house! I used Beef Broth, Sherry, Butter, Onions, Black Pepper, Garlic Salt and Thyme in the soup.

Add about 1 1/2 TBS of butter and two thinly sliced onions to a saucepan. Cook slow over low heat. Stir frequently.

Gather all the delicious cheese you wish to top your soup with. I used Provolone, Parmesan and Swiss. It's so much better if you use a good Swiss cheese- but this is what I had on hand.

Cook the onions about 30 minutes until they are very soft and carmelized.

Add in about 3 cups of Beef Broth and about 2 TBS of Sherry. Season with Garlic Salt, Pepper and Thyme. Bring to a simmer.

Toast a couple of slices of French Bread until crisp- about 5 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Ladle the soup into an oven-safe bowl. Top with crusty bread and lots of cheese! (I always bake mine on top of a cookie sheet to catch any drips)

Place under the broiler for a few minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Serve bowl on another plate...remember, the bowl is VERY hot!!

Liked it, but didn't Love it.

Sometimes, a recipe looks better than it tastes. Unfortunately, that was the case with one of my recent meals. I found the recipe for Smoky Southwest Chicken and Wild Rice Soup on Allrecipes. Good, not Great.

The recipe called for canned carrots, which was strange because it uses fresh celery and onion...so why not throw in fresh carrots? I did. I cooked my veggies in the olive oil for a few minutes before adding my chicken broth. It also called for cream of chicken soup...which I don't usually buy, so I used a little extra chicken broth and some corn starch.

I used homemade chicken broth (4 cups) and fresh shredded chicken. Heavy cream, canned chipotle in adobo instead of a pinch of chipotle powder, chili powder, cumin, pepperjack, cilantro, and 1 cup wild rice (minus the spice packet) .

Throw in everything but the cream, wild rice, cilantro and pepperjack - cook until the vegetables are soft. I checked for seasoning at this point and added black pepper, salt and some jalapeno powder. I mixed 1 TBS of corn starch with a little chicken broth and added that to the pot along with the wild rice. Stir in the heavy cream and pepperjack. Heat until thickened. Last- stir in the chopped cilantro.

 I topped mine with a little more shredded cheese and a couple cilantro leaves. I guess I didn't get much smoky flavor from this, and I would have liked a LOT more spice. As far as Chicken and Wild Rice Soup goes, that is about what it tasted like, plain Chicken and Wild Rice. I'll keep searching for new ways to actually make mine Smoky with Southwestern flavors :)

My husband loves anything with tortellini!

I cooked and shredded loads of chicken over the weekend, and it was raining...soup seemed like the perfect solution! I decided to venture away from our traditional favorites- Chicken Wild Rice, Chicken and Dumpling or Chicken Tortilla. I created my own version of Italian Wedding soup, with chicken :)

For this recipe you will need:

1 can of Petit Diced Tomatoes with Garlic and Olive Oil

1 Bag of Baby Spinach

1 pkg of Frozen Tortellini

8 cups of Chicken Broth/Stock

1 1/2 cups of Shredded Chicken

Red Pepper Flakes, Salt and Black Pepper, Italian Seasoning

Start by heating the canned tomatoes and roughly chopped spinach until the spinach begins to wilt (I also added 1 1/2 tsp of Red Pepper Flakes).

Add in chicken broth and chicken. Add about 1 tsp of Italian Seasoning. Bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add tortellini. Cook about 6 minutes, or until tortellini float. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. I use LOTS of black pepper :)

Serve topped with a little fresh grated Parmesan Cheese. Yum!

My Big Fat Italian Wedding Soup= True Love

Tis the season for soup! On the menu- my Italian Wedding Soup. This is a recipe I created for my hubby- there are many substitutions available, but this is how I make it. 

I use frozen tortellini, but you could use any dry pasta. I also prefer fresh spinach, but you can easily use frozen chopped spinach that has been thawed and drained. Finally- I like to use ground beef for my meatballs, but ground turkey or chicken would work as well.

In a large bowl- mix ground Beef, 1 Egg, 1/2 cup Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese, 1/4 cup Bread Crumbs and 1 tsp each of Garlic Powder, Italian Seasoning and Black Pepper. If you use seasoned bread crumbs, cut the Italian Seasoning back to 1/2 tsp.

Roll the beef mixture into meatballs- about 1 tsp of meat per ball. Let your stock heat up while you roll these.

Drop the meatballs into the hot stock and cook over Medium Heat for about 20 minutes.

You may need to skim the surface. When the meatballs are cooked through, they will float.

Add in 1 bag of frozen tortellini. Cook for 5 minutes over Medium Heat.

Add one bag of fresh spinach (stems removed and roughly chopped). I also love using the rind from my Parmesan Cheese. Just let it sit in the broth and it adds amazing flavor! I store the rinds in the freezer whenever I finish a hunk of cheese and save them for soups. Cook for another 10 minutes over Low Heat.

Fish the Parmesan Rind back out before serving the soup- it will be melted and gooey!

We serve ours topped with a little extra shredded Parmesan! YUM!!

I love trying new things!

It's time for Hatch Chilies! Don't know what a Hatch Chile is....it's a unique pepper grown in New Mexico and it is just starting to be available around here. I noticed about a month ago that my local Hy-Vee was celebrating the Hatch Chile Festival. I decided to buy and roast a few pounds of these special chilies to see what all the fuss was about! Of course, I thought it would be a good idea to add them to my Chicken Tortilla Soup :)

In some areas of the country- you can buy fresh roasted hatch chilies at the grocery store. I roasted my own. I simply placed the rack in my oven on the highest level, threw the chilies on a cookie sheet and turned on the broiler.

Turn them a couple of times until they are black on all sides.

Toss them into a ziploc bag or a glass bowl with plastic wrap on top and let them steam until cool enough to handle. This makes the skins easier to remove.

After my last mishap with peppers, I decided not to take any chances and I wore gloves. The skins peel right off!

And- knowing now what I didn't know then...these peppers are HOT! I would cut off the stems and remove the seeds before roasting next time. Not to mention how irritating those little seeds are to remove after the pepper is soft :)

For my Chicken Tortilla Soup....you need 6 cups of chicken broth, one onion, 4 cloves of garlic, one can of diced tomatoes, one can of black beans, chili powder, garlic salt, cumin and CHICKEN!

Begin by tossing an onion and some finely minced garlic into the stock pot. I don't use oil, just 1/4 cup of the chicken broth to soften these.

And the chilies....normally I used 2- 4 oz cans of diced green chilies. I only needed 2 TBS of the Hatch Chilies and it was spicy enough!

Rinse the black beans and dump into the pot. Add the tomatoes and the rest of your chicken broth. I season mine to taste with cumin, chili powder and garlic salt. Sorry- I never measure. My chicken is usually shredded and frozen, so I add it once the broth is hot. Cook about 20 minutes over medium heat.

We like to eat ours with shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips on top. This is a GREAT use for those crumbs at the bottom of the bag. I save them in ziplocs all winter to top all our favorite soups. 

***I froze the rest of the roasted chilies for use in various dishes over the Fall/Winter***