Creamy Veggie Noodle Soup

This winter has called for comfort food. It's cold. We're eagerly anticipating some warm sunshine in our lives. While we await that opportunity, we turn to warm food. I am trying to keep an eye on our weekly balance to make room for some indulgences while still striving to fit in the warm weather clothing when it's removed from the frozen attic. There is hope emerging from the slight increase in daylight after work these days.

This soup is a wonderful treat for a chilly day. Using my perfect rationale, the vegetables make this cream good for you. The chicken broth balance keeps the dish from climbing too high in calories. I found this recipe on Stephanie Cooks back in the fall. We've enjoyed it many times since.

You will need:
*1 cup medium-sized pasta (we used shells), cooked and set aside
*4 tablespoons butter
*1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
*2 ribs celery, finely diced
*2 carrots, peeled and diced
*2 garlic cloves, minced
*4 tablespoons flour
*1 cup heavy cream
*1 cup nonfat milk
*3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

*1 teaspoon salt

*1/2 teaspoon pepper

*1 teaspoon garlic powder
*1 cup baby spinach, torn or roughly chopped
*1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1. In a Dutch Oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to the pan and saute until the onion is translucent. Next, stir in the flour for about a minute. Add the cream and milk. Bring to a simmer.

2. Once the simmering mixture thickens, add the chicken broth. Although time to heat and thicken again. Then add the cooked pasta, spinach, and seasonings; simmer until soup is heated through.

 

3. Serve and enjoy!

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

This simple weeknight meal tasted like fall. On a cold rainy night, we enjoyed this soup with some Trader Joe's grain bread with pumpkin seeds. I am not feeling much motivation for cooking after work lately, so we are enjoying many recipes that are quick and complete with leftovers that reheat well. This recipe comes from Sweet Pea's Kitchen. I omitted the toppings on the original recipe simply because they were not ingredients I had on hand. I'm thinking we may repeat this dinner on Halloween while we wait for trick-or-treaters.

You will need:
*2 tablespoons unsalted butter
*1 medium onion, minced
*2 medium garlic cloves, minced
*1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
*1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
*1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
*3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (extra on hand if needed)
*2 cups water
*15 oz. can pure pumpkin purée
*1/4 cup maple syrup
*1/2 cup half-and-half
*salt and ground black pepper to taste
Topping suggestions: Bleu cheese crumbles, toasted walnuts, pumpkin seeds

1. Melt the better in a large Dutch oven over medium-heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander, and nutmeg and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
 Stir in the broth, water, pumpkin, and maple syrup; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until the flavors have melded.


2. Remove pot from heat and allow to cool slightly before pureeing the soup with an immersion blender, or carefully placing in the blender in two different batches. Stir in the half-and-half and additional broth if necessary.

3. Reheat the soup mixture gently over low heat until hot (do not boil). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add toppings if desired.

Beef and Stout Stew/Pie

This is a classic winter dinner that we enjoyed on New Year's Day. It is a time consuming recipe, but I was surprised by how simple it was. The Guinness added wonderful flavor, and we liked the stew consistency. I named it a stew/pie because I think you could even skip adding the crust and enjoy it on its own. The leftovers provided us another dinner and a few lunches. As we are about to enter a major snowstorm, I am wishing I had the ingredients to make this again. It will certainly be making another appearance on our winter menu plans. I found this version of the recipe on My Adventures in Food and it is originally from Williams Sonoma.

You will need:
*about 6 Tbs. olive oil
*1 lb. white button mushrooms, quartered
*2 cups frozen pearl onions, thawed
*salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
*3 1/2 lb. beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used 3lbs)
*1 cup all-purpose flour
*3 garlic cloves, minced
*2 tablespoons tomato paste
*2 1/2 cups Irish stout (Guinness)
*1 cup beef broth
*1 lb. carrots, cut into chunks
*1 lb. red potatoes, cut into chunks
*1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh thyme
*One 16-inch round Stilton pastry (recipe below)
*1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp. water

1. In a 5 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the mushrooms, onions, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

2. Season the cubed beef with salt and pepper. Dredge the beef in the flour, shaking off the excess.

3. In the Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add about 1/3 of the beef and brown on all sides, about 7 minutes total. Transfer to a separate bowl. Add 1/2 cup water to the pot, stirring to scrape up the browned bits. Pour the liquid into a separate bowl. Repeat the process 2 more times, using 2 tablespoons oil to brown each batch of beef and deglazing the pot with 1/2 cup water after each batch.

4. Return the pot to medium-high heat. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add the beef, stout, broth and reserved liquid, stirring to scrape the bottom of the pan. Then add the mushrooms, onions, carrots, potatoes and thyme and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beef and vegetables are tender, about 3 hours.

5. Preheat an oven to 400°F.

6. Brush the rim of the pot with water. Lay the pastry strips on top (from recipe below), allowing it to droop onto the filling. Trim the dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang, and crimp to seal. Brush the pastry with the egg mixture. Bake for 30 minutes. Let the potpie rest for 15 minutes before serving.

For the Stilton pastry topping, you will need:
*1 pre-made pie crust
*4 oz. stilton or other pungent cheese, crumbled (gorgonzola)

1. Unroll pie crust on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle the cheese over half of the dough, then fold the other half over the cheese. Roll out the dough to a 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 1” strips.

EASY Tortellini Soup

This is one of those weeknight meals that is so quick and easy that you almost feel like it cooks itself. It was perfect for a busy Monday night. We had one of those nights where I didn't want to get take out, but it was already 7:30 and we just needed something to eat! This is another Rachael Ray recipe that I found online. The soup was warming on this cold evening, and the leftovers were great for lunch the next day. I needed to use leftover chicken stock, so I did not have quite the full quart. Try this some night when you are busy and just need something warm. It is only five ingredients, many of which we usually have on hand. The recipe says it makes 2 servings, but for us it made about 3.

You will need:
* 1 quart chicken stock
* 1 16-ounce bag tortellini, dried or fresh
(I used a bag of frozen tortellini that was about 13oz.)
* 1 bunch spinach
* zest of 1 lemon
* Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (I used shredded parmesan)

1. Place a medium pot over medium-high heat and bring the stock to a boil.
2. Drop the tortellini into the pot and cook according to package directions.
3. During the last 30 seconds of cooking, add the spinach and lemon zest into the pot. Season with salt and pepper, and garnish each serving with some freshly grated cheese.
4. Serve with bread.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

How does one photograph soup to make it look appetizing? This meal is really just putting canned goods into the crock pot. It was filling, and we ate a few lunches out of it too. I made this last weekend, when I was dreading returning to work after two blissful weeks off. I used frozen chicken that I had on hand, so I added a bit more than the recipe called for which overpowered the broth. Next time, I will be sure to not use quite as much! I found this recipe on Lemons&Love (who got it from All Recipes). As suggested on that blog, I also added some other seasonings-red pepper flakes, cumin, garlic powder, and oregano. I incorporated these seasonings right after I shredded the chicken. I made a few other changes that I noted in the recipe below.

You will need:
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans (red beans)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 ounce) can or bottle beer
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (I used 1 -14.5oz can)
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning (I used low sodium)
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

1) Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

2) Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup (this is where I added some other seasonings), and continue cooking for 2 hours (I did just over 1 hour and it was fine). You can serve this topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips.