Pasta E Fagioli

Bacon alert!

I know, I know, I make a whole lotta soup over here. But I'm so cold and soup feels so good when you're freezing all the time. This soup was so good. The flavor was amazing. Actually, I wouldn't call it a soup, it's more stew-like. If you want it more soupy then add more broth, I suppose.

Pasta E Fagioli
The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

•4 slices bacon, chopped medium
•1 onion, chopped fine
•4 garlic cloves, minced
•2 zucchini, diced
•1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried
•1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
•1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
•2 15.5-ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed
•3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
•2 1/2 cups water
•Salt
•1 3/4 cups orzo
•1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
•Pepper
•1 cup Parmesean cheese, grated
•Extra virgin olive oil (for serving)

Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the onion, zucchini, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the onion and zucchini are softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, beans, broth, water, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Stir in the pasta and cook until just slightly underdone.

Off the heat, stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle individual bowls with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Chicken Asparagus Soup

I give up. I don't even remember what I've made the past two weeks. I was hoping to be able to jot down these recipes and experiences for my children someday, but it's just not happening. And I'm not going to take any more photos until my new lens arrives because taking pictures in my house of bad lighting is worthless. I'm such a bad blogger. At least I'm making dinner every night! Anyway, I know this is another soup recipe with asparagus, but this one is a million, zillion times better. Plus asparagus is really cheap right now.

Chicken Asparagus Soup
courtesy of Taste of Home

2 lbs thin fresh asparagus
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper, divided
1 bay leaf
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 cups half-and-half cream
shaved Parmesan cheese, optional

Cut tips from asparagus spears; set aside. Place stalks in a large skillet; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Strain, reserving 4 cups cooking liquid. Discard stalks.
In a Dutch oven, saute the potatoes, onion, celery, carrot, parsley and garlic in oil until vegetables are tender. Stir in the broth, salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, bay leaf and reserved cooking liquid. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Cool slightly.
In a blender, cover and puree soup in batches until smooth (I just use an immersion blender). Return to the pan. Add the chicken, cream, remaining pepper and reserved asparagus tips. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired. 10 servings.

Green Chile Stew

So I had a request for Green Chile Stew, and since I wasn't particularly thrilled with any of the recipes I found, I made up my own recipe!  I liked it, I liked it a lot!!



Green Chile Stew
Recipe by Kathee


Ingredients:

3 lb. pork roast
2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chiles
5 cups chicken broth
2 (10 3/4 oz.) cans cream of chicken soup
1 (14.5 oz.) can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place pork roast in slow cooker with 1 cup of chicken broth and cook on medium high for 6 hours.  After 6 hours shred roast and add remaining ingredients to slow cooker.  Cook for two more hours in slow cooker.  If necessary, make a roux with some of the liquid and some flour to thicken the stew.

I loved this.  I made rice and black beans to serve with it, and put the rice and beans in the bottom of my bowl, then ladled on the stew.  I think next time I will add potatoes and carrots.  So good!!!

Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder

I love the flavor of this soup, it's spicy, smokey and cheesy - a perfect combination!!!



Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder


Ingredients:
5 bacon slices, chopped
2 tbsp. butter
1 med. onion, chopped (of course I omitted this)
2-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 cup chopped red or orange bell peppers
3-4 tbsp. flour
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 1/2 cups russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme (or 2 tsp. dried)
1 16oz. bag frozen corn
2 cups half and half or cream
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (plus more for garnish)
1 or 2 4 oz. cans chopped green chile's
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1/2 cup green onions (do I even need to say I skipped this?)(plus more for garnish)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (plus more for garnish)(obviously I didn't garnish the soup in the picture, I was too hungry to waste time on prettying it up)

Directions:

Cook bacon in a large pot over medium high heat until crisp.  Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain and cool; crumble and reserve for garnish.  Pour off all but 1/4 cup drippings from the pot. (Save those drippings for your refried or black beans for another day!!!!)  Add butter to pot and melt over medium high heat.  Add onions, garlic, chicken and bell peppers; saute until onions are soft and chicken is golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Add flour; stir and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.
Whisk in broth, then add potatoes, cumin, and thyme; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered until potatoes are somewhat tender, about 8 minutes.
Add corn, half and half, cheese, green chile's, and Tabasco; simmer until corn is tender, about 8 minutes more.  Add green onions and cilantro; simmer for 5 more minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.
Garnish with bacon, cheese, green onions and cilantro.

Baked Potato Soup

I had to make a quick and easy dinner yesterday because MY OLDEST HAD TO GO TO HIGH SCHOOL ORIENTATION.  What?  Really?  It doesn't seem possible.  One minute he was the tiny 3 pound baby we brought home and were clueless how to take care of (as evidenced by the not one, but TWO times he rolled off the couch when he was only a few months old, yikes!!) and the next minute he is literally 5 inches taller than me!  5 inches!!  Anyway, since my mind was busy being blown away due to the whole high school thing, I made my easiest, yummiest, go to meal that I reserve for hectic days (in other words, I'm pretty sure I made this soup 15 times in December.  Crazy month, that December was).



Baked Potato Soup


2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
4 large potatoes; baked, cooled, peeled and cubed
4 green onions, sliced
12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 1 /4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper


In a large kettle, melt butter.  Stir in flour.  Stir until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Gradually add milk, stirring constantly.  Add the potatoes and onions.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients.  You're done!!  Yes, it was that fast and easy!!

Chicken Noodle Soup

I've had a really, really, really, really, really rough 2 weeks. I am comfortable enough to now label my four-month-old as colicky. Any baby who cries for hours on end for no logical reason I guess can be labeled as colicky. I've never had a colicky baby before. It's hard. Really hard. I was up with him from 12:30-5:30am and then my husband took over until he had to go to work. I was really tired all day and the crying all day long can really make you go bonkers after awhile. All I wanted was some chicken noodle soup for dinner and it somehow made things a little bit better.

Chicken Noodle Soup

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 quarts chicken stock
8 ounces dried wide egg noodles (the egg noodles from Costco are the best)
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (use rotisserie chicken)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes until tender. Fold in the chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Creamy Potato and Asparagus Soup

I like these two quotes I heard about this soup.


My 6-year-old son: "Mom! This soup looks like swamp soup! Cool! Mmmmm, this is really good for swamp soup."


My husband: "Honey, I'll be honest with you. When I saw this soup I was really scared, but it was actually quite good.

Creamy Potato and Asparagus Soup
From Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

1 large bunch asparagus (1 1/4 lb), trimmed
1 1/4 lb. potatoes, peeled and chopped (1/2 -inch pieces or smaller)
1 12-oz can evaporated milk
6 slices of bacon
1 Tbsp. honey
Shredded lemon peel, flat-leaf parsley, coarse salt and/or freshly ground pepper (optional)

Reserve about 1/3 of the asparagus. Combine remaining asparagus, the potatoes, evaporated milk, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1 1/4 cups water in saucepan. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Cool slightly. In blender or food processor, blend or process soup, half at a time, until smooth (or just use an immersion blender, like me).

Meanwhile, in skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels; set aside. Reserve 1 Tbsp bacon drippings in skillet. Add reserved asparagus. Cook 5-6 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

Coarsely chopped bacon and place in microwave-safe pie plate. Drizzle with honey; cover with vented plastic-wrap. Just before serving, microcook on 100% power (high) 30 seconds. To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with asparagus, bacon, and desired toppings.

Tomato Spinach Soup

Yesterday we were all feeling a wee bit icky. It was a tomato soup and grilled cheese day. My kids love this soup (my two-year-old devoured two bowls!).

Tomato Spinach Soup

1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup onion, diced small
2 tbsp olive oil
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
14 oz. can chicken or vegetable broth
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
5 oz (half a bag) of cleaned spinach
parm cheese

Saute shallot, onion and garlic in olive oil about 5 minutes. Drain diced tomatoes add to pan with crushed tomatoes, broth, spices and salt and pepper to taste. Shred spinach with a knife and add in handfuls to wilt in soup. Add sugar by the spoonful if soup tastes bitter, about 2 tsp should do it. Let it simmer 10 minutes and serve with a sprinkling of parm cheese. This makes 4 hearty servings.

Cheeseburger Soup

I love this soup, it is SO GOOD.  I could seriously eat it by the vat.  And if you could see how big that bowl in the picture actually is, you would say, "Yes, Kathee, I believe you, because that bowl looks suspiciously like a vat to me."  Listen, you, don't judge me!!!!
My laugh out loud moment at the dinner table tonight was when my 10 year old asked my 12 year old to go outside after dinner to shoot hoops with him.  "Kid..."  he said, "I just can't.  I've been at work all day and I'm just plain tired."  He went with his dad to work today to help out and ended up doing such a good job he stayed all day, the poor kiddo was tuckered out.  The way he said it was priceless though, like he was so much older and mature than his brother.
Since my sweetie husband is sending me to Arizona tomorrow for a visit with my parents, I won't be cooking the rest of the week!!  Whoo hoo!!  See you next week!!


Cheeseburger Soup


1/2 lb. ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion (of course I omit this because I'm anti onion)
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery (I almost always forget to buy this, not an essential ingredient!)
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley
4 tbsp. butter or margarine
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups diced potatoes
1/4 cup flour
8 oz. processed cheese (Velveeta)
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions:

Brown beef; drain and set aside.  In same saucepan saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 tbsp. butter until tender (about 10 minutes).  Add broth, potatoes and beef; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the potatoes are tender.  Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt remaining butter.  Add flour; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes until bubbly.  Add to soup; bring to a boil.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes.  Reduce heat to low. Add cheese,  milk, salt and pepper.  Cook and stir until the cheese melts.  Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.  Done!!  Get out your vat!!!

Seven Onion Soup with Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

Last night it snowed! It was the perfect night for Seven Onion Soup (our favorite) and homemade bread (also our favorite). Now let me tell you about this bread recipe. I searched high and low for the perfect one and I finally found it. I love this recipe because I can easily make it with my Kitchen Aid mixer and it stays soft and oh, so yummy. Plus, it doesn't take an entire day to make.


Seven Onion Soup

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 1/2 cups sliced yellow onions
1 1/2 cups sliced red onions
1 1/2 cups sliced white onions
1 cup sliced shallots
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup sliced leeks, bottoms only, well rinsed in several changes of water
1 cup sliced scallions (white parts only)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 quarts chicken stock
1 cup cream
Salt and pepper
3 teaspoons snipped chives, for garnish
Shaved Parmesan, for garnish

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp, about 7 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels, and set aside for garnish.
To the fat remaining in the pan, add the yellow, red, and white onions, shallots, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and thyme and cook, stirring, until very soft and starting to caramelize, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the leeks and scallions and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Dust flour over, and stir and cook until flour turns light golden. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cream, stir well to incorporate, and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and pulse soup with an immersion blender. Return to the pot, stir to combine, and heat gently.

Divide the soup into bowls and garnish each serving with bacon, chives, and a little shaved Parmesan. 6-8 servings.

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/3 cup honey
5 cups bread flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon salt
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted

1.In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
2.Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
3.Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.
4.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely
Yield: 3 loaves of bread.

Carrie’s Notes: I always add 3-4 tablespoons of powdered gluten for a chewier bread. Sometimes I’ll add a ½ cup of 10-Grain mix and a couple tablespoons of whole flax seed. Also, as soon as the bread is done, remove from the pan immediately and let it cool on a wire rack. If you don’t do this it will make the bread soggy.