Quick and Tasty Tomato Soup

We've had a very strange Spring in Virginia this year.  It was a dry winter until March, when we suddenly had more snow than we'd had in the past two years combined.  That set Spring back a bit, and even at the end of April we had days that were 40 degrees.  It's mid-June and I'm still picking sugar snap peas from my garden.  Today is not that cool, but it is raining, as it did two days ago and as it will again tomorrow.  For lunch I wanted something cozy and comforting, and fell to that old favorite, Tomato Soup.

This recipe is great because it's easy, delicious, and quick as a flash!  If you serve it with some homemade bread or garlicky croutons, all the better.

Quick and Tasty Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup milk (you can use water but it won't have a creamy taste)
3 large leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped (or 1/4 tsp dried basil)
1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped (or a dash dried parsley)
A dash of granulated garlic
1 tsp Parmesan cheese

In a small saucepan combine tomato paste, milk, basil, parsley, and garlic.  Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until warm and aromatic, about five minutes.  If desired, puree in blender (though I don't think it's necessary unless you don't like to see your herbs).  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and serve.

Makes one serving, but is easily multiplied to feed more.

Corn Chowder

I really wanted to call this post "Chunky Corn Chowder that Won't Make You Chunkier."  This is a great recipe submitted to another cooking blog I contribute to called "The Recipe Roundtable."  The first time I made it I made it as is, but this time around I thought I'd make a lighter version.  It was a huge success, and every bit as rich and delicious as the first one. 
This recipe is fantastic served with some crusty bread or homemade dinner rolls and a salad.  Perfect for those cold winter nights.

Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
2 T olive or canola oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 T garlic, minced
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 large russet potatoes, baked*, peeled, and cubed
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 16-oz package frozen corn, thawed OR 1 can (15 oz) canned corn, drained
4 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup light sour cream

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat; add oil.  Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper.  Gradually add milk and chicken broth while whisking.  Stir in bacon, potatoes, and corn.  Heat until thickened, about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.  Be sure not to turn the heat up or the bottom of the soup will burn.  Stir in cheese and sour cream and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Serves 8.

*You can easily bake the potatoes in a microwave.  Stab each potato with a fork a few times, then microwave them on high for 8-15 minutes.  Check after 8 minutes to see how cooked they are by squeezing gently while wearing an oven mitt.  If they give, they're ready.  If they're still quite hard, cook an additional 2 minutes and check again.  Repeat until cooked.  Let cool, then peel and cube.

White Chicken Chili

This recipe is another Our Best Bites.  I promise I'm going to make something of my own soon.  Even next post. :)  This one is good and easy, especially if you make it in the slow-cooker, which is the directions I'm going to give you.  Serve it with sliced avocados, crushed tortilla chips, grated cheddar cheese, and a dollop of sour cream.  Delicious!

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Recipe by Our Best Bites

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 lb boneless skinless chicken, cubed
1 T minced garlic
1 (3.5-oz) can green chilies
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp salt
Ground pepper, to taste
4 cups (32 oz) chicken broth
2 (15-oz) cans Great Northern beans
1 lime, juiced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion.  Cook for 2 minutes until onion becomes translucent.  Add chicken and garlic and cook until the chicken is no longer visibly pink, about 4-5 minutes.  Transfer onion/chicken mixture to the slow cooker.  Add green chilies, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, and chicken broth.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.  30 minutes before serving, add lime juice, cilantro, and beans. 
Serves 6.

Moroccan Chicken

This recipe belongs to my friend Gwen, who is not Moroccan but who is a great cook.  It's perfect because it has just the right amount of all the spices; it isn't heavy on the cinnamon like a lot of Moroccan dishes, but has just enough to blend with everything else into a delicious and healthy stew.  Serve it alone or with a side of couscous or rice.

Moroccan Chicken

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large pieces
3 carrots, cut into 1 1/2" chunks
3 onions, thinly sliced
1 can (14.5 oz) whole or diced tomatoes, drained
1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 zucchini, quartered and chopped

In a large stock pot, combine everything BUT the zucchini. Use a spoon to break up the tomatoes if they're whole. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add zucchini and cook an additional 15 minutes.
Serves 6.

Shredded Pork Big Bowl

I bought a recipe magazine produced by Better Homes and Gardens, and one section had shredded meat recipes that you then use to make several other things.  So you can cook the shredded meat on day one, and then make different dinners with it for the next three or four evenings.  I thought that sounded not only easy but delicious.  The first night (Sunday), I used the crockpot to cook the meat and we ate my own Pulled Pork Sandwiches.  Yesterday, with some of the leftover pulled pork, I made this recipe.  It was better than I thought it was going to be.  It was chock full of vegetables, and had a delicious flavor.  Two of my three kids loved it, and I'm sure the third one would have if I could have convinced him to try it!

Shredded Pork Big Bowl

Ingredients:
1 T minced garlic
1 T grated fresh ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or less to desired level of spiciness--this amount was a little spicy but not on fire)
1 T oil
1 14-oz cans chicken broth
1 14-oz can coconut milk (unsweetened)
2 cups shredded carrot
2 cups broccoli florets
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1" chunks
2 3-oz packages ramen noodles, coarsely broken
2 cups Pulled Pork (use recipe for Pulled Pork Sandwiches, but omit the BBQ sauce)
2 cups snow pea pods, cut in half
2 T soy sauce
1 T lime juice
1/2 cup sliced fresh basil
2 T chopped fresh cilantro

In a large cooking pot, saute garlic, ginger, cumin, and cayenne pepper in oil over medium heat for 30 seconds.  Stir in broth, coconut milk, carrot, broccoli, sweet pepper, and noodles (discard noodles' flavor packets).  Bring to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 3 minutes.  Stir in shredded pork, pea pods, soy sauce, and lime juice.  Heat through.  Stir in basil and cilantro.  Serve in soup bowls.
Serves 6.

Red Lentil Soup

When we lived in the Persian Gulf our church group put together a cookbook (thanks, Kristin!), and one of my favorite recipes from it is Red Lentil Soup, submitted by Michelle Jordan.  It's easy to make, only takes an hour to cook, and is delicious!  I especially love it on a snowy day, like we're having today.  We serve it with a dollop of plain yogurt on top (you could also use sour cream) and corn bread on the side. 

Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients:  
2 T olive oil  
15-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp coriander
6 cups broth (chicken, beef, or veggie)
1 T lemon juice
1 lb red lentils (about 2 1/4 cups)
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer for 50-60 minutes.  Serves 6.

Veggie Mini-Pies

Tonight I had no plans for dinner.  I have been trying to plan a whole week's worth of menus, but I really only tend to come up with about four for a whole week, and I was out of plans tonight.  I decided to see what fun thing I could come up with on the fly, and decided on making some individual-sized pot pies.  I was going to do chicken but all my chicken was frozen, so I went with just veggies.  You could, of course, use chicken (or any meat).  Just throw it in when the recipe says to put in the veggies.  The great thing about pies is you really could throw in or take out most of the solid ingredients and it would still taste great.  So tailor this to what you have in your kitchen, and enjoy a hot beautiful pie for dinner.  This is the recipe the way I made it.

Veggie Mini-Pies

Ingredients:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 cup peas, corn, or mixed vegetables (fresh, frozen, or canned)
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1 cup milk, divided
2 T flour
1/2 cup water
1 cup chicken broth
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 425F.  Remove puff pastry from freezer and lay out to thaw.

In a large saucepan heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add all vegetables, thyme and oregano and stir for 1 minute, then add 1/2 cup of milk.  Turn heat to medium and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until carrots are beginning to soften, stirring often.  Add the flour and stir in, then the water, broth, and rest of the milk.  Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a nice boil, then turn down to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, using your individual serving dishes as a guide, cut circles of the puff pastry that are about 1/8" larger than your dish. 

Taste the vegetable mixture and season with salt and pepper as desired.  Divide the vegetable mixture between your serving dishes (mine filled 4 8-oz souffle dishes).  Using the beaten egg, lightly coat the top rim of the serving dishes.  Place a round of puff pastry over each dish, pressing down the overhang, then use a fork to press the edges to the rim.  The overhang and the pressing insure the pastry won't shrink off the edges during baking. 

Brush more of the egg wash over the top of each pie, then place all dishes on a baking sheet.  Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, or until beautifully brown and crispy.  Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of my mom's favorite recipes.  She gave me a copy of it a couple of years ago, and I saw that it had the name "Emeril" on it.  So I guess it's actually his recipe!  It's a great one, with such a fun combination of flavors.  And it's super quick--it takes longer to chop up the ingredients than it does to cook it!  I apologize for the lack of photo; we were having friends for dinner and I forgot to snap some photos!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
by Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 T olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green or red bell pepper, diced
1 T minced garlic
1/2 small jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped (about 2 t) OR 1/4 t cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground coriander
3 T lime juice
1 t chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish if desired
1 cup chopped tomatoes
crushed tortilla chips
1 ripe avocado, peeled and diced
Sour cream (optional)
Cheddar cheese, grated (optional)

Season chicken with salt and pepper and set aside.  Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring 2-3 minutes, or until vegetables are softened.  Add garlic and jalapeno and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add chicken and cook for about 3 minutes. The chicken will brown slightly.  Stir in chicken broth, cumin, coriander, and lime juice.  Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Stir in cilantro and tomatoes and simmer an additional 5 minutes.

To serve, place about 1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips in a serving bowl.  Ladle the hot soup over the chips and garnish with a little cilantro, diced avocado, sour cream, and grated cheese as desired.
Serves 5-6.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

Tonight I looked in my fridge and decided that I had all the right ingredients for homemade vegetable soup.  I just threw it together based on what I had, so you could alter the recipe to fit what's in your fridge, pantry, or freezer.  The kids ate it and liked it.

We served the soup with cornbread.  Have I ever told you about E's love of cornbread?  It's his standard of goodness.  For example, he'll say something like, "Mom, that looks pretty yummy, but is it as good as cornbread?"  I think the soup tonight was as good as cornbread.  And went well with it, too!

Here's the recipe:

Homemade Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:
3-4 medium potatoes (I left mine unpeeled because I'm lazy like that, but you could peel them if you wanted to)
2 parsnips (leftover from the mashed root vegetables the other night)
4 stalks celery
Carrots (I used what was left in my bag of baby carrots, but I would recommend 2-3 big ones)
1 medium onion
1-2 T minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes, and the juices
1 cup frozen peas
1-2 15-oz cans chicken stock (I used 1 1/2, because I had half of one in the fridge)
Basil
Thyme
Bay Leaf
Parsley
Black pepper
Chili powder
Olive oil

Directions:
Chop all vegetables into 1/2-inch cubes.  If using parsnips, be sure to remove and discard the center core of the vegetable.  Pour a couple tablespoons olive oil into a big cooking pot and heat over medium-high heat.  Toss in garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes, until the onions begin to soften.  Turn down the heat if necessary so the garlic doesn't burn.  Add the chicken stock, then all the other vegetables (including the tomatoes) except the peas.  Season with spices.  (I didn't measure, just dashed a bit of each of them in.  You can always add more at the end if you don't think you added enough.)
Add enough water to cover all the vegetables, then turn to high and bring to a boil.  Once it boils, cover with tight-fitting lid and turn to low.  Let simmer until the carrots and potatoes are soft, 1-2 hours.
Just before serving, add the peas and stir in.  Taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary.

Makes about 8 main-dish servings.  Or maybe 6 if they're all grown-ups. :)