Three Little Soups (Part 2)

The other day, I got ambitious and decided to make three very different, very unique soups.  You can check out my recipes for Vegetable Tortellini and Beef Pho here.  If you’re more into spicy, meaty, and hearty, keep reading.

A long time ago, I received a Cuisine at Home cookbook in the mail.  It was one of those trial offer type things I usually throw away, but when I read “Absolutely no ads!” on the cover, I thought I’d take a peek inside.  I was blown away by the various recipes I discovered in the pages.  Not only did the magazine include delicious looking recipes for Shrimp Risotto, Greek Chicken Roulades, and French Onion Salisbury Steak, it was brimming with information.  Everything from making your own pizza dough to the best way to crust chicken (for Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad) to tips and timesavers from the readers leapt from the pages.

As I was pouring over my cookbooks, magazines, and Pinterest boards, I stumbled on my Cuisine At Home cookbook.  I knew I liked most everything in the magazine and wondered if they had any yummy soups I could add to my cooking list.  There, on page 47, sat a delicious looking brothy soup staring back at me.  I read the ingredients list and saw it called for Mini Bacon Meatballs.  SCORE!  I scribbled the ingredients list down and bolted for the grocery store.  Mini Bacon Meatball soup was waiting!

Mini Bacon Meatballs
(from Cuisine at Home meatballs)

2 strips bacon, diced
1/4 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 pound ground sirloin
1/4 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400º.  Spray a broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.  Cook bacon in a saucepan over medium heat until slightly crisp; set aside on paper towels.  In the same pan with the bacon drippings, cook onion until softened.  Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).  Do not burn garlic.  Set aside to cook slightly

In a large bowl, combine meats, bacon & onion mixture, bread crumbs, spices, and egg.  Mix until combined.  Use a small scoop to form mixture into balls.  You want them to be about 1 inch in diameter (or bite sized).  Place on broiler rack and bake for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Remove meatballs from oven and let cool.  I made a double batch and intended to freeze half, but I kept nibbling on them throughout the day.  I even made a “cheeseburger”.  In other words, I heated a few meatballs, topped them with American cheese, and ate them with ketchup.  Oh my.  They were so delicious!  One of my favorite parts about these meatballs are the little bacon pieces sticking out.  Delish!

Now…on to the soup!  I had no idea what the title of the recipe meant, but I sure did think albondigas was fun to say!  Al-bon-dee-ghas!  Upon further googling, I discovered this word was Spanish for Mexican meatball soup.  Yum!

Albondigas Soup
(from Cuisine at Home magazine)

1 cup diced onion
2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, grated
2 tsp chili powder
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
2 corn tortillas, sliced in small strips
1 cup halved grape tomatoes, divided
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups sliced button mushrooms
1 recipe Mini Bacon Meatballs
2 tbsp torn fresh cilantro (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.  Saute onions until softened.  Add garlic and chili powder; cook 1 minute.  Add broth, water, corn tortillas, and 1/2 cup tomatoes.  Simmer for 5 minutes.

Puree soup with an immersion blender (or in a regular blender).  Strain soup through a mesh strainer and return to stock pot.  Add corn, mushrooms, and meatballs.  Simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.  Season with salt, pepper, and lime juice before serving.  Garnish with cilantro and sour cream if desired.

Three Little Soups (Part 1)

“Don’t worry about a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.” -Bob Marley

Don’t you just love Bob?  Marley that is.  I love him.  I especially love Three Little Birds.  Hence the play on words of the title.  Anyhow…the other day, I was off work and wanted to make some soups.  It’s getting colder here in the lovely state of Ohio and when it gets cold, I eat soup.  Gallons and gallons of it.

I was flipping through my various magazines when I came across three little soups I wanted to try:  Beef Pho, Vegetable Ravioli, and…wait for it…Albondigas!  Don’t you just love that word?  Albondigas!  (When I say it, I imagine I’m a little Mexican man with a sombrero and maracas!  Ha…just kidding.)

These soups were relatively easy and used ingredients that, for the most part, I already had on hand!  Try them and let me know what you think.

Beef Pho
(From the November 2012 issue of Food Network Magazine)

2 beef shanks with meat on them (about 2 1/4 pounds total)
3 large yellow onions, halved
1 6-inch piece of ginger, halved lengthwise
1 head garlic, halved crosswise
2 tbsp vegetable oil
kosher salt
2 cinnamon sticks
4 star anise pods
3 tbsp black peppercorns
3 quarts low sodium beef broth
1/3 cup fish sauce
1 pound flat rice noodles
Optional additions:  bean sprouts, Thai basil or mint, jalapenos thinly sliced, red onion thinly sliced, Hoisin sauce or Sriracha

Put the beef, onions, ginger, garlic and oil in a pan.  Sprinkle with salt and toss.  Bake at 450º for about 30 minutes, turning beef once.

Meanwhile, toast the cinnamon, anise, and peppercorns in a dry pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until fragrance.

After the beef is cooked, transfer the contents of the roasting pan to a large stock pot.  Cover with beef broth, two quarts of water, the spices, and the fish sauce.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer and cook for 1-1 1/2 hours, skimming any fat off the top.

Remove beef and shred.  Strain the rest of the broth through a strainer and then return to pan.  Add beef back to broth.  Cook the noodles according to package directions and add to broth.  Garnish with any of the above toppings.

Vegetable Tortellini
(From the September 2012 issue of Food Network Magazine)

1 tbsp EVOO
1 small onion, diced
3 medium carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 cups low sodium beef broth
1 9-ounce package cheese tortellini
a couple big handfuls baby spinach
salt & pepper
Parmesan cheese, optional
Whole Wheat baguette, optional

In a large pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil and cook the onion, carrots, celery, and thyme, stirring occasionally.  When the vegetables begin to soften add the broth and 3 cups water and increase heat to high.  Cover and bring to a boil, then add the tortellini.  Reduce heat and simmer until tortellini is cooked through (see package directions for time).  Add spinach to soup and cook until wilted.  Season with salt and pepper.  When serving, you can top with Parmesan cheese and bread if desired.

Because this post is so long and because the final soup is two recipes in itself and because (let’s be honest) I’ll be late for work if I don’t quit typing now, I am going to save the last recipe for the next blog post.  Check back soon!  You won’t be sorry.

Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings

OK, so I’m a little over a week into my Pinterest challenge that was supposed to last for the entire month of March.  Well…I’ve cooked 4 out of the 5 recipes I picked already!  I made all the main dishes and by far my favorite of the four was the slow cooker chicken and dumplings.  Turns out two of my loved ones had already made the recipe!  Here’s what they said:

Mom:  You may not be able to wait until it’s finished slow cooking in the crock pot.  It smells so delicious.  I cooked my dumplings a little longer to make sure they were done all the way through.

Carolyn:  I thought it was quick and easy!  I made it on the stove top so it was ready faster.  I added frozen peas and carrots and it turned out great.  Very satisfying and tasty!

After I got that feedback, I knew I had to try it.  I made it for dinner on Friday night and prayed Jeff would like it.  I didn’t make anything else after all.  The verdict?  He cleaned his bowl!  I wondered if it would be filling enough for him since we usually have a relatively large meal for dinner, but it seemed just right.  A bowl of soup + a bowl of ice cream is the perfect amount I guess!

Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings
(adapted from polishthestars.com)

1 onion, diced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
salt & pepper and any other seasonings you’d like
2 tbsp butter, diced
2 cans 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 14 oz can chicken broth
1 container Grands Homestyle biscuits*, each cut into 9 pieces

Line your crock pot with a Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner (best invention ever!).  Place your diced onion in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Add your chicken to the pot and sprinkle with whatever seasonings you’d like.  I used my go to seasoning:  Dorothy Lane Market grill rub.  I seriously use it for EVERYTHING!  Over the chicken, add your butter, the two cans of cream of chicken soup, and the chicken broth.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8 hours.

After your soup is cooked, remove the chicken and add your biscuits.  Stir the biscuits so that they are all coated with the soup.  Cook on high for 1 hour or until the biscuits are cooked through.  Meanwhile, shred or chop your chicken into small bits.  After the biscuits are cooked, add the chicken back to the soup and stir to combine.  Serve piping hot!

*The original recipe called for just 4 of the 8 biscuits in the can, but I love dumplings so I added all 8.  My nutritional information is based on 8 biscuits.

Pasta E Fagioli Revisited

Pictures make a blog come alive, right?  Well, when I first started my blog, I didn’t add pictures.  I’ve learned my lesson.  During my marathon cooking session this week, one of the recipes I decided to make was Giada’s Pasta E Fagioli.  Like a good little blogger, I took lots of pictures throughout the cooking process but when I went to create a blog about them, I had this nagging feeling I’d already put it on the blog.  Turns out I was right!

GDL’s Pasta E Fagioli

Back in January of 2010, I wrote “I saw this recipe in Giada de Laurentiis’ Giada’s Family Dinners cookbook and thought it sounded like a yummy filling soup on a cold day.  I was right.  It was a-mazing.  I loved it.  I couldn’t get enough!”  It’s still as fabulous today as I originally thought!  I’m demanding you make this soup.  It’s seriously one of my favorite soups I’ve made!  I only wish I had made a double batch yesterday!

Butternut Squash Soup

Last year, a bunch of my friends and I went to Cincinnati to see Rent.  We decided we would go to one of the yummy restaurants found downtown before the show for a great meal.  My friend, Becky, who works downtown, suggested Nada.

Nada is like a new age Mexican restaurant.  Almost all of us ordered some form of tacos, but Carolyn got Butternut Squash soup in addition to her meal.  I had never tried Butternut Squash soup, so I asked for a taste.

It was amazing.  I had never tasted anything quite like it!  It was sweet and thick, with a great depth of flavor.  I asked the waiter for the recipe, so he brought out one of the chefs from the kitchen.  Of course, they didn’t give me the FULL recipe, word for word, measurement by measurement, but they did give me some idea of what was in it.

The other day, I was looking on the Fresh Market website and stumbled across this recipe.  It sounded pretty good, so I thought I’d give it a whirl.

It was pretty spectacular.  The whole time it was cooking I kept smelling it and thinking, “I can’t wait for this to be done cooking!” It reminded me of a cross between potato soup…and something.  I can’t quite figure out what.  Regardless, if you are looking for a good Butternut Squash soup, try this one.  It’s pretty darn tasty!

Butternut Squash & Cheddar Cheese Soup
(from “The Fresh Market” website)

4 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced
Optional:  1 carrot, peeled and diced
4 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1.5 quarts chicken broth
1 cup half & half
1 cup shredded cheddar

Start by preparing your butternut squash.  Then heat your butter in a large soup pot over medium heat.  Toss in the squash, onion, and celery.  I had some grated carrot I had picked up from Dorothy Lane’s salad bar, so I tossed them in for a little extra sweetness. Let them cook for about 10 minutes until the squash starts to get soft.

Add the flour and nutmeg to the vegetables.  Toss to combine.  You are looking to make a roux here so your soup will get nice and thick.  Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and cook for at least 5 minutes.  I let mine simmer for a bit longer to ensure the doneness of the squash.

Add the half & half and the cheese…

…and puree until smooth.

I used an emulsion blender, but you could use a regular blender as well.  I suggest letting it cool a bit before handling it if you choose to go that way though.

Serve warm.