Italian Wedding Soup

Based on The Barefoot Contessa's Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients
1.25 lb Ground turkey
2/3 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup Paremsan/romano blend
Olive oil
Carrots, coarsely chopped
Celery, coarsely chopped
Chicken stock
1 cup,small pasta
2-3 handfuls baby spinach chopped


Methods
First was the meatballs -- I mixed the turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, and cheese.  I formed a ton of mini meatballs -- they were still a little too large.  They baked in the oven for about 30 to 35 minutes at 350F. 

Meanwhile, I chopped the carrots and celery and sauteed them in the olive oil in the bottom of my stockpot.  once it was cleared up I added chicken stock and brought it to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook to al dente.  Add the meatballas and spinach.  Cook for 1-2 min to wilt the spinach and let the meat balls soak up some goodness.

Verdict
I made this a few weeks ago, so I think this was everything i put into it... but i'm not sure I left out onions/garlic since I was planning to share with david.. then I ate it all for myself.  ooops.  The meatballs were a bit large, and I would have liked more broth.  Otherwise it was repeatable for sure!!!! Yum!! 

Barefoot Contessa’s Lentil Sausage Soup

Adapted from Barefoot in Paris (Ina Garten)

Materials
½ lb lentils
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Several springs fresh thyme leaves
Ground cumin
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 lb baby carrots, chopped
1 quart chicken stock
¼ cup tomato paste
1 lb turkey kielbasa, cut in half and sliced

Methods
1. I rinsed and sorted the lentils, cleaning out any shriveled lentils or rocks. I placed them in a bowl and covered the lentils with boiling water, allowing them to sit for about 15 minutes

2. Meanwhile I heated the oil up in the bottom of a stockpot and added the onions, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and thyme. I sautéed them over medium heat until the onions were translucent. At that point I added the carrots and celery and stirred, allowing them to cook for about 10 minutes.

3. I added the lentils, chicken stock, and tomato paste, stirring and bringing to a boil. I covered and simmered for an hour to cook the lentils thoroughly. At that point I added the kielbasa and allowed it to simmer for a few more minutes until heated through.

Verdict
I have never made this particular soup, but I had it several years ago while visiting my cousin and her family in South Bend. Good memories of fun times with extended family and a realization that Barefoot Contessa‘s recipes were actually do-able for us mortal folk. Luckily, she warned me that it feeds quite the crowd, so this was my attempt at modifying and halving the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe to make a dinner for a cold rainy night and lunch for a snowy week at work. It was great - super hearty and filling and smelled amazing before eating this. I really do love soup at this time of year. Being in a land where winter is real is making my love for soup even deeper. I’m pretty sure it is not just a passing fancy since it seems to have spanned a few years now J

BTW…Barefoot Contessa recommends 1 tbl freshly chopped thyme leaves for double this amount of soup. I actually just put in a bunch of sprigs and remove the stems before serving. Also, she chops her veggies up pretty small to be closer in size to the lentils whereas I like to leave my veggies chunky, I enjoy the texture and juxtoposition of the large veggies and the little lentils.

Um yeah, I repeat. Great soup. Filling. Full of lentil fiber goodness. And flavor
BTW…I was trying to explain what lentils were to my mom, including what they taste like. Any suggestions as to how you would describe them besides merely fiber filled goodness?
　

Amber’s White Bean, Bacon, and Rosemary Soup

I spent the better part of 7 years in the south. While I try to lead a healthy lifestyle, I’ll admit, I have a penchant for bacon. There is just something about it -- I’ve always liked it, but it is amazing for infusing flavor. Oh lard, how wonderful you are. This soup uses the touch of bacon to go the extra mile. My friend Amber introduced me to it back in my Vicksburg days. This is my version of her version of the White Bean and Bacon soup that was originally published in Food and Wine.

Ingredients
½ lb bacon
Olive oil, as needed
1 celery heart, coarsely chopped
¾ bag of baby carrots, coarsely chopped
1 medium sweet onion, coarsely chopped
1 carton chicken stock
2 cans canellini beans, drained and rinsed
Rosemary
Thyme
Salt & Pepper to taste

Methods
In the bottom of your large stockpot or dutch oven cook the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and drain. Remove the majority of the grease, leaving a couple of teaspoons at the bottom of the pot.

While the bacon is cooking chop the vegetables -- the idea is to have somewhere around equal parts carrots, celery, and onions. After the bacon is done add olive oil as needed and cook the vegetables for a few minutes until soft.

Add the chicken stock, beans, rosemary, and thyme to the pot. I think that Amber’s recipe called for about 2 tbl of each -- I think these are some of the stars in the recipe, so I add as much as I feel like. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for 30 min (or longer). Salt and pepper to taste prior to serving. Garnish with chopped up bacon and enjoy!

Verdict
OK, a little commentary. This recipe is absolutely nothing new to me. However, it is probably one of my favorite foods at this time of year. I love the beans, the bacon, the rosemary, and the thyme. I am a soup girl and this is one of my soups. The one thing I’ve toyed with is actually adding the rosemary and thyme to the olive oil and bacon renderings mixture prior to adding the veggies. I think this could really make this soup even more amazing, which I previously thought was impossible. If you try just one soup this winter, I might heartily recommend this one. I’m not sure if this was better than previously, if it always this good, or perhaps being in real wintery weather made it even more comforting and delicious.

Orange Cranberry Sauced Pork Chops

Have you been wondering if this blog would even show up in your RSS feed/google reader again? I sure was. Too much travel and busy time leads to not cooking enough. I’ve done some cooking during my down time, but nothing new, nothing special at all, and I’m still awaiting camera surgery. However, in time for Turkey Day Eve I got back to the business. You know I brought out ‘old trusty’ aka the crock pot.


Orange Cranberry Sauced Pork Chops
Materials:

½ bag baby carrots
3-4 pork chops
½ can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 tbl orange marmalade
1 tbl quick cooking tapioca
¼ tsp cardamon

Methods:
Place the baby carrots in the bottom of the slow cooker. Place pork chops atop the carrots. Mix the remaining ingredients and place sauce on top of pork chops. Cook on low for 9-10 hours while at work.
Verdict:
Eh. This smelled amazing when I came home from work. I could hardly wait until going over to David’s to eat dinner. Alas, there was a lot of hype for nothing. The original recipe from a Crock Pot magazine called for orange cranberry sauce, which I couldn’t find -- so I added orange marmalade to my cranberry sauce as a substitute. I couldn’t really taste the orange. More importantly, the pork was somehow exceedingly dry, despite the fact that there was plenty of juices/water in the bottom of the crockpot. I thought it was impossible to cook dried out food in the crockpot. Unfortunately, I’m able to do that. I also didn’t really think the tapioca did anything -- I know its supposed to make the sauce creamy, but I wound up with glazed pork chops (the glaze was good despite the lack of orange taste) and a thin, watery cranberry-y sauce that the carrots were sitting in. I had high hopes… maybe will use the cranberry sauce and marmalade combo for glazed chops on the stove in the future.

I would like to note that I think pork pairs really well with fruit -- david had never had pork cooked with fruit. When I think of pork chops I think of cherries, apples, pears, and peaches -- I swear it’s a natural pairing.

025 -- Peanut Thai Noodle Salad

My friend Lulu had a few of us over for dinner a few weeks ago. She had recently introduced me to this awesome food blog, Our Best Bites, which always has yummy looking recipes. To intensify my love for OBB, Lulu made their Thai Peanut Noodle Salad. I have seriously had dreams, ok well really daydreams, about that salad. It was way too yummy for its own good. Obviously (a) I have major issues, and (b) I had to give it a try of my own.

Plus, this gave me an opportunity to use my *new* blender. My parents gave me a blender/food processor combo about 3.5 years ago (I think) for Christmas. They share a base, but have different tops. Since then I have used the food processor tons of times, my general favorite thing to make being hummus. However, I had never actually pulled the blender portion out. Now I feel a lot better about it. I swear I usually don't wait that long to use gifts... the week the infamous pasta roller shows up I plan to make something special :)

In other conversational news... this was the first time I actually used raw ginger in a recipe. I usually sub ground ginger, skip it, or just skip the recipe in the first place. I think am closing in towards having cooked with most of the veggies at our little Kroger save the greens.

Materials
Dressing
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 lime
2 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbl rice vinegar
2 tbl soy sauce
3 tbl honey
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbl minced ginger
1/4-1/2 cup copped cilantro
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
1-3 tsp siracha chili sauce
2-4 tbl water (as needed to make dressing-y)

Salad
6 cups chopped Nappa Cabbage/Savoy Cabbage, or some other greens
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, sliced or chopped
Handful of baby carrots, julienned
1 box whole wheat linguine

Method
Combine all dressing ingredients in blender and mix. Set to side and chill


Cook linguine until al dente. Rinse in col water. While linguine is cooking chop vegetables.

Toss dressing, pasta, and veggies and serve!

Verdict
Awesome! It doesn't taste like I remember Lulu's tasting, but i could still have dreams about this. I'm sold on OBB! About the only problem i see is that it feeds a bunch! I knew it would be more than a meal or two when I looked at it, but I was dumb enough to think I didn't need to halve (or quarter) it. Really, since the dressing is the super star of this meal, you could make a pretty good meal out of just the veggies and the dressing without the noodles, but what fun would that be? So, anyone want to come over for dinner tomorrow or Tuesday? You can see the super awesome yellow kitchen in person!!

Recipe17: WW Veggie Soup

I was wanting something veggie filled and light last weekend. I was DESPERATE to lose at least half a pound, so I thought I would try the 'staple' WW veggie soup (because apparently I don't eat enough soup?). Although, soup is one of the things I find easiest to make in a veggie form that keeps me filled up.

Materials
4 garlic cloves
medium onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 sweet pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
2 cups cabbage, shredded
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups cauliflower florets
dried thyme
6 cups vegetable/chicken broth
2 tbl parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lemon

Methods
Combine vegetables, broth, thyme, and garlic in large stockpot. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add parsley, salt, pepper, and the juice of a lemon.

Verdict
This was pretty ok and fairly filling considering that it is essentially calorically non-existent. I can see why its a 'staple' of weight loss in weight watchers. The recipe called for swiss chard, but alas our kroger was without so i bumped up the rest of the veggies accordingly to account for the missing chard. I also used a green pepper instead of red -- red would have made it even more visually appealing. WW claims that this makes 12-1 cup servings. Personally, if this is the main portion of the meal I, needed 2 cups and a fresh multi grain roll with some sort of fat product on it. I've got some of it stored up in the freezer for a soupy day :)

Recipe 11: Faux-strone

I wanted soemthing hearty and soupy for supper tonight since I've been down with a sore throat, presumably due to the weather. Since I'm vegetarian for Lent (except when out and allowed to use meat based stocks due to Vicksburg being Vicksburg) and I didn't want to spend very long in front of the stove, my options were fairly limited. I threw together this faux-minestrone to satisfy my craving.

Materials
~ 1 1/3 cup whole wheat penne (uncooked)
~ 2 cups chicken stock
~ 1 can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic
~ 2 cups frozen tuscan vegetables (zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, lima beans, red peppers, italian green beans
~ 1 tsp basil
~ parmesan cheese

Methods
Cook the penne until al dente according to package. Meanwhile, combine chicken stock, roasted tomatoes (including juices), vegetables, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium sized pan. Add cooked penne. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Makes 3 servings. Top each serving with paremsan cheese.

Verdict
Yummy!! A great, fairly hearty soup that hit the spot. I heart soup. It is one of my favorite things about winter. So much of a favorite that I even make it during the summer! The fire-roasted canned tomatoes really helped to give this soup a good flavor. This is definitely a keeper in terms of a quick soup with 'in the pantry' type goods. I would consider adding some red kidney beans or increasing the pasta to 2 cups next time I make this to make it a little more hearty, but that really isn't necessary.

Recipe 5: Beef Barley Soup

Materials

~0.75-1 lb bottom round steak

~ 1 medium onion

~ 4 cups beef broth

~ 4 cups water

~ 1/2 cup pearl barley

~ 1 bay leaf

~ 3/4 tsp salt

~ 1/4 tsp pepper

~ 2 medium potatoes

~ 3 medium carrots

~ 3 medium stalks celery

~ 2 tsp thyme

~ 1/2 tsp salt

Methods

1/ Remove all visible fat from meat and cut into bite sized pieces. Heat dutch oven over medium heat. Spray with vegetable oil. Cook meat until brown.

2/ Add onions and cook to soften.

3/ Add beef broth, water, bay leaf, 3/4 tsp salt, pepper, and barley. Bring to a boil and cover. Simmer for approx 1 hr until beef is tender.

4/ Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Simmer, partially covered for 20-25 minutes until vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf prior to serving.

Verdict

Great! I definitely enjoyed this soup! At the kroger they didn't have a full lb of beef, so it might be a little better with a bit more beef. The thyme really came out and gave this the kick it needed (it was pretty blah and bland when i tasted before adding the veggies). However, it was still good. And, with all of the veggies and barley and potatoes it was pretty filling. The recipe said it made 6 servings -- and they are pretty good sized to say the least!

In case you didn't notice, I have a thing for soups. They are yummy and can be filling yet healthy if done properly. They are nice and easy to reheat as leftovers when I get home late or have post-work plans :) Plus they just make me feel all warm and fuzzy and happy inside.

Recipe 4: White Bean and Chicken Sausage Soup

Prior to my trip I put together this soup.

Materials

~ Celery

~ Carrots

~ Yellow Onion

~ Garlic

~ White Beans

~ Chicken Sausage

~ Chicken Stock

~ Water
~ Brown Rice

Methods

~ I chopped and sauteed the celery, carrots, onions, and garlic in a bit of olive oil. The veggie mixture got added to the white beans in the bottom of my large oval crockpot. I sliced up the chicken and added it to the pot. I added chicken stock and water to cover the mixture. I cooked this up on low while at work. Once I got home I cooked up the brown rice and added it to the soup.

Verdict

Eh.. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. I salted and peppered as desired, however it definitely needed more herbage. I had throught my chicken and apple sausage would provide plenty of flavor, however I was disappointed. So not great, but not so bad I wouldn't eat it again, it just needed some help.