soup

{Meatier} Turkey Chili

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

I don’t know what your summer’s looked like but here in southwest Ohio there’s been enough rain to make Florida seem like the dessert. The guy who cuts our lawn was telling me it’s the 4th wettest season in history! (Yes, Dad, that means our lawn mower is still broken….)

All of this rain made it perfectly acceptable to make chili in the middle of July.

I’ve never really cared for chili until I created my own recipe. My chili though is almost close to a soup because I don’t care for the meaty texture of popular chilies. Every time I make my chili I adjust it slightly and each time I’ve made it meatier by either forgetting the chicken stock completely, or adding more beans and/or turkey depending on how much I need to make.

So, I decided to branch out and try someone else’s recipe. … Kinda. I knew I didn’t need to make as much as Olivia made so I halved it – ish. I have to say, we absolutely loved this turkey chili! A dollop of sour cream and a generous sprinkling of scallion created (for me) the perfect bowl. Stuart added some shredded cheese, and we both scooped the occasional bite with tortilla chips. I’m partial to my original recipe, but this turkey chili is really threatening it’s crown. Maybe I’ll have to combine the two recipes!

I think it’s safe to say that I can no long claim “I don’t like chili”. Next up – experimenting with different meats!

Turkey Chili

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 vidalia onion
  • 1 yellow bell pepper
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 lb ground turkey (I used 85/15)
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can (15 oz) dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 C chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp dark brown sugar
  • 1 tsp hot sauce, or more to taste
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning

Steps:

  1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute onion and pepper in olive oil. When tender, add the garlic and cook another 60 seconds. Transfer to a large pot.
  2. In the same skillet cook the turkey, breaking it up. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked turkey to the pot.
  3. To the pot add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for at least 45 minutes. Note: If the chili becomes too thick, simply add some more chicken stock. 

*This recipe is modified from Olivia at http://www.oliviascuisine.com/best-turkey-chili-ever/*

{Meatier} Turkey Chili | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Zuppa Toscana

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

I used to not like soup. Really it’s the method of eating soup that I have a problem with. I have a condition. I do NOT like my lips touching my silverware. Just one of my many quirks (another is that I absolutely hate water on my face – I am constantly wiping the water droplets off my face in the shower – seriously, it’s a problem)!

It wasn’t until my discovery of Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup that I really gave soup a chance – but then again I ate it with practically an entire loaf of bread instead of a spoon. I’m much better with eating soups now and manage to eat them with a spoon, although I’ve found a way around my lips touching the utensil.

When we moved to Ohio I ended up making a lot of soups. Almost a soup a month! There’s just something about those cold, grey days. Soups are also a great way to introduce lots of flavor to my little man and so far he’s liked every soup he’s tried (for the record, that’s a grand total of two).

I decided to omit the heavy cream from the recipe and added in a little extra beef broth. Which is surprising. I typically put cream in everything if the option exists. My mom was visiting, though, and in an effort to lighten up the soup I kept an open mind and tasted the soup before adding the cream. We all decided it wasn’t necessary. In fact, I think it would’ve muddled the sausage, potatoes, and bacon.

Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients:

  • 5 slices of center cut bacon, diced
  • 5 links sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 5 C beef broth
  • 2 potatoes, chopped
  • 3 C fresh spinach
  • 1 C parmesan cheese, divided use

Steps:

  1. Cook bacon in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
  2. Cook sausage in the same dutch oven, breaking it up as it cooks. Remove to the same plate as the bacon. Drain all but 1 tbsp of the fat from the pot.
  3. Cook onion in the dutch oven until tender. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Return bacon and sausage to the pot. Add in the beef broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.
  4. Add the spinach to the soup and 3/4 C of the cheese. Cook an additional 5 minutes over medium heat until the spinach is completely wilted and incorporated into the soup. Serve with remaining paremsan cheese.

*This recipe is adapted from Aimee at http://www.foodfanatic.com/2014/05/zuppa-toscana-italian-soups-on/*

Zuppa Toscana | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Round up: Soups

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

All week I’ve been sharing soup recipes as a play on words for the Super bowl. Little did I know that thanks to Snow Storm Juno, this week would also be the perfect soup eating weather!

Soup-er Bowl

Grab a spoon and dig in to some soup while you watch the big game:

Award Winning Cool Chili

Bacon Cheesy Cauliflower Chowder

Black Bean Soup

Busia’s Cheese Soup

Celery Root Bisque

Creamy Tomato Soup

French Onion Soup

Mexican Noodle Soup

Philly Cheese Steak Soup

Russian Mushroom and Potato Soup

Spicy Taco Cheese Soup

Celery Root Bisque

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

I bookend this Super Bowl week with another recipe from The Wimpy Vegetarian. If you recall, The Wimpy Vegetarian was my assigned blog for Monday’s Secret Recipe Club post. I promised that I’d be sharing one of her soups during the Soup-er bowl and here it is!

Never having cooked with celery root before I was intrigued by her Celery Root Bisque. Stuart always wants to buy the bizarre ingredients in the produce section so I decided to go for it! (The celery root can be found in the produce section near the ginger root. And the rutabaga – which might be the next strange ingredient used in my kitchen.)

Cutting the celery root was a test for my new knives. For Christmas Stuart got me a set of chef-worthy knives. These knives make cutting onions quick, slicing lemons smooth, and potatoes easy. I was able to “peel” the skin off the celery root with ease and cube it up with minimal effort.

Okay, enough of the unpaid and un-asked-for sponsorship.

Back to the bisque.

I didn’t think there could possibly be a better soup than yesterday’s creamy tomato but there is! I enjoyed a cup of celery root bisque for lunch for an entire week.

This soup has that hearty, creamy texture you’d expect from a bisque and has the flavor of celery with a kick. There is definitely heat to this soup. If you want a milder soup remove the seeds from the serrano pepper, use only half the pepper, and/or omit the cayenne. However, it’s that zip from the serrano that has you going back for another bite.

This bisque is perfect for lunch or as a side dish. Susan served hers with lobster! Some homemade bread is a perfect accompaniment for dunking and toning down the spice.

Celery Root Bisque

Celery Root Bisque

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1/2 russet potato, diced
  • 1/2 shallot, diced
  • up to 1 serrano pepper, diced (for milder soup remove seed)
  • 1/4 C white wine (use 1/4 C stock if you want to omit the wine)
  • 1 celery root, peeled and cubed
  • 5 C vegetable stock
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp ground mustard
  • 2/3 C heavy cream
  • 1/3 C milk
  • fresh parsley, for garnish

Steps:

  1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt butter and olive oil. Saute the onion, potato, shallot, and serrano until tender.
  2. Deglaze the pot with the white wine. Simmer until all the wine is absorbed.
  3. Add the celery root, salt, cayenne, garlic powder, ground mustard, and stock. Bring soup to a simmer and cook 35-40 minutes, until celery root is fork tender.
  4. Remove from heat and blend using an immersion blender. (If you don’t have an immersion blender carefully pour soup in small batches into a standard blender.)
  5. Return to low heat. Add the cream and milk and warm soup through before serving.
  6. Garnish with fresh parsley.

*This recipe is adapted from Susan at http://thewimpyvegetarian.com/2014/03/celery-root-bisque-with-lobster-sundaysupper-fat-sunday/*

Celery Root Bisque | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Creamy Tomato Soup

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

I feel like I am writing a “before and after” puzzle for Wheel of Fortune with these three latest blog posts. Mexican NOODLE soup – CREAMY chicken NOODLE soup – CREAMY tomato soup. But I couldn’t possibly have a week of soups without the classic combination of Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese!

I do not say this lightly. This is the BEST tomato soup I’ve ever had. What takes this soup above and beyond other tomato soups is the use of basil and Parmesan cheese.

In fact, this soup has already been made twice. The first time I halved the recipe and made it on the stove top (see the original for a slow cooker version).

IMG_1798The second snow of the season, first of the year, occured on January 6th. Schools and the base were closed. That shovel I bought back in the fall was about to get it’s first use because we still had to take my son to his 6 month doctor’s appointment. Just as Stuart bundled up to go shovel the driveway we saw our wonderful neighbor using his snow blower on not just our driveway, but the sidewalks, and a couple other neighbors’ driveways, too! As a thank you I made them this soup. I doubled my first version so we could have some again as well.

Tomato Soup to go

Creamy Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp butter, divided use
  • 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
  • 2/3 C tomato sauce
  • 2 C chicken broth
  • 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
  • 1 1/2 tbsp flour
  • 1/2 C heavy cream
  • 1 C shredded Parmesan cheese

Steps:

  1. Melt 1/2 tbsp butter in a pot over medium-high heat. Saute onion until tender, season with S+P. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  2. Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and basil. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 1 hour. Stirring occasionally.
  3. Remove from heat and blend using an immersion blender. (If you don’t have an immersion blender carefully pour soup in small batches into a standard blender.) Return to low heat.
  4. In a small saucepan melt remaining 1 1/2 tbsp butter over medium-high heat. Create a roux by whisking in 1 1/2 tbps flour. Cook about 1 minute, until roux is lightly golden. Whisking constantly, slowly add in the cream. Whisk until there are no lumps.
  5. Add cream mixture to the blended tomato soup. Melt in the Parmesan cheese. Simmer soup for another 20 minutes, uncovered.
  6. Serve with your favorite grilled cheese!

*This recipe is modified from Tiffany at http://lecremedelacrumb.com/2014/09/slow-cooker-tomato-basil-parmesan-soup.html*

Creamy Tomato Soup | Sew You Think You Can Cook

 

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

I have a confession to make.

I am not a fan of the everyone’s-favorite chicken noodle soup.

My soup preference is that of creamy, cheesy, thicker soups – like bisques and Panara’s Broccoli Cheese. So when Stuart requested some soup when the first cold hit in the fall I figured I’d try this new take on the classic. This creamy chicken noodle soup wasn’t a thicker version of the soup like I was anticipating, but did have a silkier quality to it.

This soup hit the spot!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 carrots, chopped
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cans (15 oz) chicken broth
  • 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken
  • 2 C uncooked egg noodles
  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 1/4 C flour
  • 2 1/2 C milk
  • 1/3 C heavy cream

Steps:

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (for the egg noodles).
  2. Meanwhile, in a large pot heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute onions, carrots, and celery until tender. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the broth, parsley, and bay leaves. Season to taste with S+P.
  3. Add chicken to the soup, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until chicken is cooked through. About 10 – 15 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside. Cut into bite size pieces.
  4. Cook egg noodles in boiling salted water according to package directions.
  5. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat melt butter. Make a roux by stirring in the flour. Cook about 1 minute, until roux is lightly golden. Whisking constantly, slowly add in the milk. Whisk until there are no lumps. Stirring constantly, add the cream and bring to a boil. Add the cream mixture to the soup. Return the chicken to the soup along with the cooked egg noodles.

*This recipe is adapted from Jaclyn at http://www.cookingclassy.com/2014/08/creamy-chicken-noodle-soup/*

Houston, we have a problem!! I don’t have a photo of this soup! (Click on the link above for a visual of this soup.) I don’t know how this is possible. I made this soup back in October. As I search my camera for photos of this creamy noodle soup and coming up empty handed I have a vague memory of saying, “I’ll take pictures of the leftovers tomorrow when there’s light.” Evidently that didn’t happen! Maybe there wasn’t light. Maybe I simply forgot. Or maybe I was busy cooking other things. It’s also quite possible I never ate lunch the next day – that tends to happen with a newborn in the house.

I don’t pull food photos off my camera until I write the blog post so that way I don’t forget about recipes while they sit in folders on my computer. This means that there are photos on my camera that are almost a year old! But I have a gap from Father’s Day to Halloween. And somewhere in there should have been this soup! I highly appologize. I know it’s a big faux paux of food blogging to post without photography, but what can I do?! (Please don’t leave me!) It’s not like I still have some soup to snap a photo of today to post for tomorrow (yep, I’m writing this the day before it goes “live”.) It would probably be better if I wrote the blog post the day or day after I cooked and just scheduled that post for whenever I wanted, but I can’t keep up with that kind of schedule. This is real life people.

As a consolation prize, I’ll provide you with a photo of the cutest little baby boy ever! (If I do say so myself.)

IMG_1477

Mexican Noodle Soup

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Are you ready for some football?? Or maybe just some good commercials?

The Super Bowl is Sunday and as such I have adopted a theme this week on Sew You Think You Can Cook. Soups!

Get it? Super Bowl….SOUP-er bowl… I just couldn’t help it.

I wanted to do this week of soups last year but lack of preparation meant I didn’t have five soups to share. So I did a week of popcorn instead. Honestly, that was probably more fun. But that’s because I’m a junk food junkie and popcorn is my kryptonite. This year, now that we live in Ohio, where it’s actually cold and grey, like all the time, soup makes sense. We’ve enjoyed this collection of soups I’m about to share over the past couple of months.

To kick off the week is a Mexican Monday applicable soup. But wait, it’s not Monday! Yesterday was my Secret Recipe Club reveal day (I will be sharing a soup from Susan’s blog on Friday too!). So let’s just pretend. But don’t pretend too hard, unless you really like Mondays.

I have a funny story to share about this Mexican Noodle Soup. I decided to make this soup during the day, so as to take advantage of some natural lighting. The beauty with soups is that they can be made in advance and instead of tasting like leftovers, they taste better! That was my thought at least. I left the soup on the stove covered over a low heat for a couple of hours, waiting for Stuart to get back from the gym. By the time he finally got home we had a pot of overcooked noodles in a chipotle sauce. These overcooked noodles were delicious! The chipotle tomato soup-turned-sauce was full of zip. A dollop of sour cream helps to mellow the spice from the chipotle. I think we will make this soup again and eat it as a soup, but if you’re wanting a Mexican pasta sauce, simply reduce it – a lot – and serve over properly cooked pasta.

Mexican Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

  • 2 large tomatoes, peeled and seeded
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 – 2 chipotles in adobo, seeded (amount depends on your heat preference)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, divided use
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes
  • 3 3/4 C chicken stock
  • 8 oz angel hair pasta
  • sour cream, for serving (optional)
  • avocado, for serving (optional)

Steps:

  1. Put tomatoes, onion, and chipotles in a blender. Puree until smooth. (I suggest starting with one chipotle pepper and tasting the puree before adding the second.)
  2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken 3 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove and set aside.
  3. Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Toast the noodles until lightly golden.
  4. Add in the tomato puree, chicken stock, and cooked chicken. Return heat to medium-high and cook 10 minutes or until pasta is al dente.
  5. Serve with sour cream and avocado.

*This recipe is adapted from The Illustrated Kitchen Bible*

Mexican Noodle Soup | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

Eating the Bible: Iron Men

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

Tonight’s recipe and accompanying bible verse come from The Book of Deuteronomy.

It is a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity – where you will not lack for anything; a land whose stones are iron, and from whose mountains you will quarry copper. Deuteronomy 8:9

Rena references the Babylonian Talmud during her bible study. It suggests that the reference to “stones of iron” is a metaphor for those who will build the land. According to the Talmud “any scholar who is not as tough as iron is not a scholar.” Those building Israel are its scholars – requiring a strong will and a strong faith.

It is important to remember during the journey of Lent to be “tough as iron” in keeping your Lenten promise, in resisting temptation, and in enriching your belief.

To accompany a verse on iron, Rena created a black bean soup as black beans are rich in iron. I halved her recipe as I only need to feed two of us. If you want to make this a completely vegetarian one-pot dinner simply substitute vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock. Rena suggests pureeing the soup to a desired consistency, I omitted this step.

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tbsp cumin
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans, undrained
  • 1 can (15 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 1/4 C chicken broth

Steps:

  1. In a pot saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin. Cook until onion is tender. Add beans, tomatoes, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.
  2. Serve with crusty bread. And provide shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream for topping, if desired.

*This recipe is adapted from Eating the Bible by Rena Rossner*

Black Bean Soup

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

Spicy Taco Cheese Soup

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Over the past year or so my husband has gotten into adventure racing. Last year the obsession was Tough Mudder, and he even got me to join in one. (To watch the epic youtube video click here!) He completed his first (another video) with friends from work Nov 2011 and proceeded to do 3 more solo runs in addition to the one I did with him!

This year the thing is adventure racing. He does these events with the same friends who did the first Tough Mudder. There’s even a blog, Team Disoriented, that narrates their training, racing, and other related activities – you should check it out!

Last weekend they did a big training day biking for 32 miles after working on their canoeing skills for an hour. I offered to have dinner for them when they returned. I’ve been given a lot of slack for not attending their races as a spectator – especially when one team at their last event had a group of supporters who made them grilled chicken!

I knew that they’d be exhausted, sore, and cold by the time they finished so I decided to serve them something warm and filling. Additionally, I was working on a baby quilt so decided to take advantage of my trusty slow cooker. I have a CrockPot® cookbook and decided to take a look through that. I found a recipe by Kimberly Taflinger that sounded good. I changed some things and made it my own – the result was a thick, warm, spicy soup. I was drawn to this recipe because it closely resembled my Award Winning Chili. The leftovers were just as good in my lunch too. I recommend adding Fritos as a complimentary crunch factor to this soup, although Tostidos work perfectly well too.

An Original Recipe

 Spicy Taco Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lb ground beef, cooked and drained
  • 1 lb processed cheese, cubed
  • 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies
  • 1 can (14.5 oz) sliced stewed tomatoes
  • 1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
  • 1 can (15 oz) dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 1/2 C chicken broth
  • 1 jalapeno
  • 1/4 C taco seasoning (or 1 pkt)

Steps:

  1. Place all ingredients, cut slits in the jalapeno and leave whole, in the slow cooker.
  2. Cover and cook on LOW 4-5 hours.

Taco Cheese Soup

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

Award Winning Cool Chili

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Every year at work we have a fundraising chili cook-off. Last year there were three categories: Original, Whoa, and Cool. For the purposes of the cook-off I used a little less heat than normal so that I wouldn’t cross the edge into “Whoa” where I knew my recipe had no chance. As you can probably infer from the title of this blog post, my original recipe won Best “Cool” Chili!

I developed this recipe my senior year of college when our Silver Wings chapter provided a chili dinner for the Air Force ROTC. It’s a tomato based turkey chili with corn. I don’t really like super meaty chili, so this recipe could almost border on a chunky soup level. It was such a huge complement when I saw that my pot of chili was gone first!

Award Winning Chili 1

My chili is the first recipe I ever created, and it’s exciting to know it’s a hit! I make it every year for Thanksgiving, so that if people get hungry before turkey time there’s something ready and waiting in a slow cooker. They can help themselves without getting in the way of dinner prep. It’s perfect for tailgates, potlucks, and quick dinners and easy lunches.

I decided that the Super Bowl was the perfect time to debut my chili on the blog!

An Original Recipe

Award Winning Cool Chili

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped (any color you prefer)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 2 cans (28 oz each) crushed tomatoes
  • 1 can (15 oz) dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can (15 oz) light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 cans (15 oz each) corn, drained
  • 1 1/2 C chicken stock
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano*
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme*
  • 1/2 tsp dried marjoram*
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary*
  • 1/2 tsp dried parsley*
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tbsp ancho chili powder
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried mustard
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tsp hot sauce, or to taste
  • salt, to taste

*If you have a spice blend, such as Mrs. Dash, feel free to use 2 tsp of that instead

Steps:

  1. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, saute onion and bell pepper until onion is translucent, season with a pinch of S+P if desired. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add ground turkey to the skillet and cook 10 minutes, or until cooked through, breaking up with a wooden spoon.
  2. In a large pot, or a slow cooker, add all remaining ingredients. When turkey is cooked drain any fat and add it to the chili.
  3. Bring chili to a simmer and cook on low heat at least 1 hour. If using a slow cooker, cook on LOW for 3-4 hours or HIGH 1-2 hours until hot. Remember, the longer you let it stew the stronger the flavors will be.
  4. Serve with your favorite chili toppings (i.e. shredded cheese, tortilla chips, oyster crackers, sour cream, yellow mustard) My personal favorite and my recommendation is to serve with Fritos corn chips.

Award Winning Chili 2