5 posts tagged “soup”
Would you agree that by the time January rolls around you are spent...in all areas? Our pocketbooks are empty. Our stomachs are filled to the brim. Please, not one more secret Santa gift. The car needs an oil change. Easter seems soon enough to see family again. And if that's not enough, Christmas decorations need to be taken down. I just put them up! Aah!
In terms of our expanding waistlines, It's time for a DETOX diet! For husband an me, brothy soups are what we crave when we just can't eat anymore. Luckily, this lasts only a few days and we're back on the eating wagon again.
One of our favorite detox soups is Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup (adapted from Gourmet Everyday Cookbook). It's just like your grandma's homey version, but with a kick of soy sauce and ramen noodles. Makes about 8 cups.
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1/2 c. finely chopped red bell pepper
4 scallions, white and green parts chopped and divided
1 t. ground ginger
2 cans chicken broth (low-sodium)
2 c. water
2 carrots, grated
1 boneless skinless chicken breast (I used 5 chicken breast tenders), cut into strips
1 package ramen noodles, broken into pieces (discard seasoning pack)
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. rice vinegar
In a stock pot, saute onions and pepper in 1 t. oil until barely tender. Add white parts of scallions and ginger. Cook and stir 1 minute until ginger is fragrant. Add broth and water and simmer covered 10 minutes. Add carrots and simmer 2 minutes. Add chicken and noodles and simmer until chicken is cooked and noodles are tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in soy sauce, vinegar and green parts of scallions and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
We also tried Quick Fall Minestrone from Cooking Light. I mostly followed the recipe. I did, however, substitute one sweet potato for the squash and potato. It was delicious! I would reccommend making just enough for your dinner. I did not enjoy the leftovers as much. Poor husband took the brunt of this. I was gone for a few days and didn't have to eat it! What a good husband.
I haven't made it in a while, so I don't have a photo to post, but we also love Mushroom and Leek Soup.
I brought home leftover ham from Thanksgiving. I was determined to spring some life into it. It wouldn't be a piece of ham on the plate tonight. What's the name of that foodnetwork show? Oh, Ham on the Street. I don't like traditional ham and beans, but when I saw this recipe I thought it looked pretty good. It essentially is a "light" soup with bacon! Can't be that bad. Space cadet me, however, forgot to bring home the bacon from the store, so this was an even lighter soup...and quite good. Finally, a delicious ham and beans. Imagine what it would taste like with bacon? Where was this on those school lunch menus? Bacon, Ham and Lentil Soup came from Cookinglight.com. I, as well as other reviewers, left out the fennel and reduced the amount of lentils. Also, halved the recipe.
What goes with ham and beans? Cornbread, of course. For my birthday I received a cookbook from 1954. It was a ladies church cookbook that they probably used for a fundraiser at the time. My grandma had a recipe for pecan pie in the book. It's probably the same recipe she uses today. I'll have to ask her. Anyway, I found a sour cream cornbread recipe in this book and thought I should give it a try. It was great. There was a bit of an ordeal at the store. They were out of yellow cornmeal, so I fought my temptation to buy an easy fix - Jiffy mix cornbread - and I tried the white cornmeal. It didn't seem to make much difference in this recipe. I think I'll make this again. Below is the original recipe. I halved it for just the two of us.
Sour Cream Cornbread
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. soda
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1 T. shortening, melted
Sift dry ingredients, add beaten egg. Add cream, then melted shortening. Pour in 8x8 pan and bake at 345 degrees until golden brown.
I usually decide what's for dinner and then make sure I have the ingredients. (I go to the store a lot, even if it's just to pick up one or two items). Every now and then, I'm left with a hodge-podge of leftover ingredients. When I can come up with a menu using just these ingredients, I always declare, "This was a free meal." I know this is idiot mentallity, as we paid for these grocerys at some point. (We are not in the habit of stealing food). Using just what happens to be in the pantry makes me feel like I've made something from nothing.
Edamame and Sauteed Vegetable Soup is not the prettiest, but was a healthful and delicious soup. Husband said it had a rich deep flavor!
Follow the link above for the original recipe from Epicurious, or try my version below.
Edamame and Sauteed Vegetable Soup
1 T olive oil
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 c. frozen corn kernals
garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth *
3/4 t. dried thyme
1/3 c. orzo
2 c. shelled cooked edamame beans
Heat oil in large pot. Add next 5 ingredients. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Saute until veggies are deep golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove and reserve 1 cup of chopped vegetables. Add tomatoes, broth and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables in pot are very tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, puree soup. Return reserved vegetables to soup. Bring soup back to boil and add pasta. Cook until pasta in tender, about 10 minutes. Add edamame and simmer until edamame is tender. Serve.
*I used a carton of chicken broth (4 cups), plus 2 cups water and 1 t. bouillion powder.
Soup season is here! In addition to the Celery Soup we made a couple of weekends ago, we've had Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup and a Venezuelan Pork and Potato Stew. The pork stew came from a Latin soup cookbook I got for my birthday. I have a feeling you'll be seeing some of these soups on the blog this fall/winter.
The soup above, however, I chose because of my love for sweet potatoes, and not the sugary-cinnamony sweet potatoes you're used to on Thanksgiving. Uck! I like my sweet potatoes savory. The above soup did the trick. It really was delicious. Please try it.
Curried Sweet Potato Soup (adapted from Cuisine at Home Magazine, Oct. 2006)
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. diced carrot
1/4 c. diced celery
1 bay leaf
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 1/2 T of olive oil
1 1/2 - 2 c. peeled and cubed sweet potato
1 t. curry powder
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 c. apple cider
4 c. chicken broth (vegetable broth if vegetarian)
1/2 c. canned diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 c. brown lentils (I rinsed these according to package instructions first)
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
Plain yogurt
Saute onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes in oil over medium-high until soft about 8-10 minutes. Season. Add sweet potatoes, curry powder and ginger; saute 1 minutes.
Deglaze with cider; simmer until almost evaporated, then stir in broth, tomatoes, and lentils. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils and sweet potatoes are tender, 25-30 minutes.
Off heat, stir in 2 T. cilantro, lemon juice, and salt. Garnish each serving of soup with a dollop of yogurt and some remaining cilantro.
Husband invited his parents for lunch on Sunday. We cooked, ate, and had a good time.
It took us a long time to decide on a menu, as usual. Husband and I always start out with a more ambitious menu than we eventually make. In the beginning, we contemplated a chicken crepe dish. It sounded delicous. You make the crepes, stuff them and bake them with a cheesy sauce. It seemed like a good plan as we would be able to make the crepes the night before, so the prep work the next day wouldn't be too much. It got to be 9pm on Saturday and crepe making didn't sound so fun anymore. We came up with plan B and headed to the grocery store for some last minute ingredients.
Have you been to the grocery store at 9:30 on a Saturday night? It's a ghost town.
Plan B:
Celery Soup
Ham and Cheese Turnovers
Green Salad
It was an easy, but tasty lunch. The turnovers were delicious. Ham and cheese inside puff pastry! Mmm.
Can't forget dessert. Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce.
