Italian Wedding Soup

The weather outside is getting colder and The Other Williams and I start craving soups this time of year. Soups have so many benefits it makes it difficult to ignore them. The most important one for us is the comfort a warm bowl of soup can bring on a cold day.

This soup is truly a masterpiece in a bowl. It's delicate yet hardy. It has amazing textures and the flavor is outstanding. It reminds me of chicken noodle soup only better. Italian Wedding soup is traditionally a green vegetable, meat (meatballs or sausage) and a clear broth. I think the key to making this amazing is good homemade broth.

Canning: Turkey Veggie Soup

Turkeys are going on sale every where right now and not being one to miss a good deal we picked up one at the local supermarket last week. We don't normally cook turkey on Thanksgiving because we go over to my in-laws to eat but we like to grab at least one turkey during this time of year to throw in the freezer or to can.

We try to make several meals out of one turkey or chicken for the two of us. This recipe will make convenient grab and go lunches or a super fast dinner.

We paid around $8 for our turkey and here's what we did with it. The Other Williams cooked the turkey in the oven first. We got:

• 2 turkey breast to slice for several sandwiches
• 3 turkey and gravy dinners for 2. One we ate the other 2 went in the freezer
• 4 quarts of turkey veggie soup with turkey broth
• 2 quarts of yummy turkey broth (click here to see how we make chicken/turkey broth)

Tangy Tomato Garlic Soup

We're fortunate in that our neighbors rock! The people who live on either side of us are just awesome people and we all help each other out. One couple has two very fun dogs and we get to dog sit them when our neighbors go out of town.

Normally our neighbors will bring us a gift home from their trip as a thank you for watching the dogs, like playing with two awesome puppies isn't thanks enough! Recently they went to Athens, GA for a weekend and ate at a really cool restaurant called The Grit Restaurant! Like most of our friends, the neighbors knew a food related gift is always a safe bet with us so they purchased the restaurants cookbook and raved about the food there.

What's special about the cookbook and the restaurant is that it's vegetarian! All the food served and recipes in the cookbook are created for vegetarians by cooks Jessica Greene & Ted Hafer.

We did this tomato soup from the book recently and it was amazing. The apple cider vinegar really gives it a zing! Top with cheese, sour cream, or a buttery crouton and this recipe is golden!

Give this a try and if you're ever in Athens (we'll be taking a trip soon!), stop by The Grit and try their delicious vegetarian cuisine.

Kale, White Bean, & Potato Stew

Normally we reserve soups for fall and winter but recently we've been eating soups in the spring. Spring veggies are prefect for soups and they make for a light lunch.

Another thing that I love about soup is that you can make one big pot of it and portion it out into smaller containers for a week's worth of grab-and-go lunches. We do this often in the winter but it's great for Spring too!

This kale, white bean, and potato stew is a recipe from our cleanse and we've decided to keep it around because its also delicious! It's packed with nutritious kale and the beans and potatoes lend some great texture!

It's a broth based soup but when you mash or blend half the soup it creates this creaminess that's very lovely. This is one of those comforting soups and would be great for a cool fall or winter day!

Fall Pinic - Italian Sausage Soup

 We recently took a picnic to a local apple farm/pumpkin patch. It was a gorgeous day and just perfect for this delicious soup. We also brought a BBLT panini, but you'll have to wait for that recipe in a few days.

The soup was so simple to make that I, as in, the non-cook, made it the day before. The morning of our picnic I just took it out of the fridge and reheated it.

The farm was packed but we managed to find a shade tree off by ourselves. We brought out the blankets, pillows, and wine. We breathed in the fresh air, shared a delicious lunch, and just enjoyed each others company. I don't think it could have been more awesome. We watched families hunting for that perfect pumpkin and listened to Ole McDonald way too many times as the hayride passed us.

We made a full batch of this soup and ate it for lunches the following week. It's really so good. I can't wait to make it again! Try it, it's amazing!

Chilled Cucumber Soup with Shrimp & Mini BLT

It's been getting just ridiculously hot recently and we found the perfect recipe to cool down with! Normally I'm not a big chilled soup person but this chilled cucumber soup  really hit the spot for me.

I love a good fresh summer cucumber. There is just something so clean and fresh about the favor in this little vegetable. Pair that with lemon and dill and wow!

We added a little agave to the recipe to balance out the tartness of the greek yogurt. And you want to use a good Greek yogurt. The shrimp on top was like icing on the cake and went beautifully with the soup.

We paired this lunchtime soup with a mini BLT. We used a potato roll (any dinner roll would be fine), thick cut bacon, fresh garden tomatoes, and arugula. I also prepared some dill mayo by using some of the dill and lemon juice leftover from the soup and mixing it into store bought mayo. It made the sammie a little extra special.

 

 I hope you'll try this one with your garden cucumbers. It's a delicious light, healthy, and filling lunch.

Vegetarian Chili

 

This might be the best Vegetarian Chili recipe we've ever tried. In fact it might be better than our beef chili recipe. There was talk about replacing the beef recipe with this one and just add beef to it. Yea, it really is that good.

The variety of beans with the addition of the couscous really makes this dish awesome. Originally this was a slow cooker recipe but The Other Williams cooked it on the stove top for about an hour. Because you are using canned beans it's too simple not to just cook it on the stove top, but if you're short on time the crockpot is the way to go.

Serve with Sour Cream on top!

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

* 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
* 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
* 1 (15-ounce) can white (cannellini) beans, rinsed and drained
* 1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
* 1 cup frozen baby lima beans or regular lima beans
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon minced pickled jalapeno (from can or jar)
* 1 tablespoons chili powder
* 2 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano or regular oregano
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 to 2 teaspoons hot sauce
* 1/3 cup couscous
* 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients but the couscous, shredded cheese, cilantro and salt and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.

Five to 10 minutes before serving (depending on temperature of slow cooker) add couscous, cover and cook, until couscous is tender. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper.

Just before serving, top each serving with shredded cheese and cilantro.

Freezer Stuffing - Mama's Beef Vegetable

This past weekend we did some major stuffing of our freezer. We made both lunches and dinners for future grab-n-go use and stocked our stand up freezer heavily with the goodies. We did the Adult Beanie-weanies, Minestrone & Beef Vegetable Soups (see recipe below), and Chili. I also made some trail mix that is super yummy for some healthy snacking! These were low cost meals that were easy to make in big batches and freeze well.

Having homemade grab-n-go lunches and dinners will allow us to eat more at home even when we're too busy to cook.

I've been eating this Beef Vegetable soup recipe all my life. My mother got the recipe from my Nannie and although it uses a lot of canned vegetables instead of fresh, for me you can't substitute the canned. It just doesn't have the flavor. My mom and grandmother would cook this soup for a minimum of 3 hours but I've had success condensing it down to 1.5 hours before. I would go any less than that.

This is also fabulous reheated. I remember coming home from school, pulling out the big pot with leftovers in it and heating up a small bowl in the microwave for a snack. This is great for lunches the next day or week.

This soup is very forgiving. You can't mess it up and you can use just about anything in it but I stick to my tried and true ingredients. I've also added my own touches to the soup, just as my mother did when she got the recipe from my Nannie. With each generation it gets better.

This is the kind of soup you want to take your time with. Open the windows on a fall afternoon, sit down with a good book, and pour all your love into the pot while the wonderful aromas fill your house. Patience is important for this one, it's not a quick fix. This soup will fill your tummy with warmth and love.

If I'm making a double batch I'll make it in two pots so as not to mess with the flavor too much. Great for freezing or on a cold day with some warm cornbread-everyone will love this one.


Mama's Beef Vegetable Soup

Servings: 6-8

1 lb Ground Beef
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 large cans of Stewed Tomatoes (Or 2 Quarts of home-canned tomatoes)
1 can Succotash (between canned veggies and tomatoes at the store)
1 tbsp Tomato Paste
1 can Veg-all (don't get the low or no sodium)
1 small can of whole corn kernels
1 potato, peeled and diced
1 cup Elbow Mac noodles
Kosher Salt, to taste

Add beef & seasonings to a large soup pot and cook until browned. Drain grease.
Add tomatoes, succotash, and tomato paste. Then fill tomato can twice with water and add. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes to and hour.
Add Veg-all and simmer 30 minutes to an hour. Add water if needed.
Add potato and corn and simmer 30 more minutes
Taste broth and season with salt, pepper, or other seasonings as you see fit.
Add Mac and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Serve hot with cornbread or cool and freeze.

Enjoy this tummy warming meal made with love.

Note: We have tried canning this soup and the noodles didn't hold up to well. If you want to can this soup leave out the noodles and follow canning instruction for tomato based soups.

Pumpkin Soup with Blue Cheese and Bacon

We had this soup for our Solstice feast and wowza. I will never eat another pumpkin soup ever again. I don't normally go for the squash soups but the blue cheese and bacon MADE this dish. Kids will even love this one!

• 2 (15 ounce) cans pumpkin
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
  

1. Stir together the pumpkin, chicken stock, half-and-half, shallot, molasses, butter, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and cayenne pepper in a large stockpot over low heat; simmer 10 minutes.
   
   
2. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook until crispy; remove to paper towels to drain, then cool and crumble.
   
   
3. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with bacon and blue cheese.

allrecipes

Rachel’s Fall Drive Soup

I came up with this recipe really quickly on the Friday before our annual Fall foliage drive. It was super yummy and easy to make and totally delicious!

1lb Italian Chicken or Pork Sausage
½ Onion, chopped
3 Garlic, minced
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1 cup yummy white wine
3 cups broth
2 Sweet potatoes, diced
2 Carrots, diced
2 can green beans
2 cup Cabbage, chopped
1 large can of Tomatoes
1 tbsp Tomato Paste
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Italian Seasoning, to taste

1. Brown Sausages and remove.

2. Deglaze pot with 1 cup of good white wine. Add onion, garlic, and celery until soft. Simmer 5 minutes and scrape pan.

3. Add broth, sweet potatoes, and carrots, cooked sausage, green beans, cabbage, tomatoes, tomato paste and seasoning.

4. Simmer another 30-45 minutes. Adding water as needed.

5. Adjust seasonings as needed.

White Bean Chicken Chili

This was last night dinner and boy was it good. This White Bean Chicken Chili has a southwestern taste and it's just wonderfully fresh and filling! We added extra lime in our bowls and The Other Williams fried up some flour tortillas we had hanging around to serve with it. Also we couldn't find canned tomatillos so we just used fresh and we thing it probably taste better this way. You can also try using salsa verde instead of the canned tomatillos.


INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound diced, cooked chicken meat
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 (18.75 ounce) can tomatillos, drained and chopped
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (7 ounce) can diced green chiles
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15 ounce) can white beans
2 ears fresh corn
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 lime, sliced

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil, and cook onion and garlic until soft.
Stir in broth, tomatillos, tomatoes, chilies, and spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
Add corn, chicken, and beans; simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with these toppings for people to choose from: limes, cilantro, cheese, avocado, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

allrecipes.com

Cannellini Bean and Shrimp Stew

This is one of my FAVORITE stews of all time! A MUST try! I love the way all the flavors and textures mingle together. It's got a bright broth that's just terrific!

Ingredients
1 pound unpeeled large shrimp
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups water
1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice
1 bay leaf
3 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
4 cups cooked cannellini beans
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation
Peel and devein shrimp, reserving shells. Cover and chill shrimp.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add reserved shrimp shells to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until shells turn pink. Stir in wine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in 2 cups water, clam juice, and bay leaf; simmer 12 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Set shrimp stock aside.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 8 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in thyme, salt, pepper, and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Strain shrimp stock through a colander over Dutch oven; discard solids. Add beans to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes; remove from heat. Stir in shrimp; cover and let stand 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Stir in parsley.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 318(15% from fat); FAT 5.3g (sat 0.7g,mono 2.4g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 24.9g; CHOLESTEROL 116mg; CALCIUM 340mg; SODIUM 486mg; FIBER 2.6g; IRON 5.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 43.7g

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2007

White Bean Soup with Rosemary

This was a really yummy recipe we made a few weeks ago! It’s great for cold evenings and the leftovers make a great lunch. We did half the recipe for our meal and used the soup as a side dish. It would make a great dinner with some rustic crusty bread also. We did make two substitutions in ours. We used dried navy beans instead of the canned cannelloni. We prefer dried beans over canned because they are hardier and the texture is meatier instead of mushy. This does require you to soak the beans overnight though. We also used arugula instead of spinach. Arugula has a hardier texture and the leaf is a little thicker than spinach. Over all this was a super yummy meal and one we plan to repeat! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled, diced
2 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled, minced
1/3 cup white wine
3 (1-pound) cans white cannelloni beans, drained, rinsed
2 medium Yukon Gold or white potatoes, peeled and diced
5 to 6 cups organic chicken or vegetable broth
2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 cup baby spinach leaves or escarole, washed
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Garnish
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or good Parmesan.

Instructions:
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot, add onion and celery, then stir and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onion is softened. Add the garlic and stir briefly (keep the garlic from browning.) Add the wine and 1 ½ cans of the white beans, and mash lightly with a potato masher. Add the remaining white beans, the diced potatoes, and the broth. Add the rosemary sea salt, and pepper to taste, then stir and bring to a simmer, cooking the soup for about 10 minutes.

Add the spinach and lemon juice, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Uncover and add the parsly right before serving. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Ladle into bowls. For garnish, drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top and pass around the freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Servings:
4 as main course
6 as appetizer or side

Recipe from Cooking by Moonlight by Karri Ann Allrich

Brunswick Stew

We went camping this weekend and this was our dinner after a long day of hiking, boy did it hit the SPOT! This hearty stew is a combination of three different meats plus some veggies. This recipe can be adapted to just about any meat/veggie you have on hand. It's a super yum, filling, low cal, hardy, and favorful stew! The Other Williams actually made this ahead of time and froze it in a ziplock bag so when we got to the campsite she just had to heat it up to thaw and warm it.

2 bacon slices, chopped
1/2 pound boneless pork loin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 cups beef broth
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups mashed cooked peeled baking potato (about 3/4 pound)
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup (1-inch) sliced green beans
3/4 cup fresh corn kernels
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (10-ounce) package frozen baby lima beans, thawed (The Other Williams hates lima beans so she used carrots instead.)
1 tbsp Rosemary
Other seasonings as preferred.

Preparation
Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Add pork; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add chicken; sauté 2 minutes. Add broths and 1 cup water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 50 minutes or until pork is tender.

Remove chicken from pan; shred with 2 forks. Return chicken to pan; add mashed potato, onion, green beans, and remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer; simmer, uncovered, 45 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

Yield
8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 290(21% from fat); FAT 6.9g (sat 2.1g,mono 2.7g,poly 1.2g); PROTEIN 30.6g; CHOLESTEROL 81mg; CALCIUM 49mg; SODIUM 597mg; FIBER 4.2g; IRON 2.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 35.9g