Soups – Page 3 – Fun Foodie Family

Chicken Sausage Stew

Chicken, One pot meal, Pantry Raid, Soups

A few more weeks of winter left. There has been a glimmering hint of spring down here…some warmer sun, birds chirping, blooming flowers… I am hoping March keeps bringing us some warmer temps and plenty of sun, but until then I am trying to find the plus side of all this cold weather. How about a big pot of stew and a couple glasses of red wine to warm your bones? This recipe is a this and that of ingredients thrown in to my dutch oven. Simple and scrumptious! I plan on taking it in to my school’s black history luncheon.

Chicken Sausage Stew

Ingredients
1 package of chicken sausage- (of course, you could use pork or turkey)
1 large can tomato sauce
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans rinsed drained
1 cup of rice
1 bag of frozen peas
1 onion chopped and diced (or 1 tablespoon of onion powder)
2-3 cloves of crushed and chopped garlic (or 1 tablespoon of garlic powder)
1 cup half and half
warmed Chicken stock as needed
chopped fresh or dried herbs- whatever you have on hand- I used thyme, rosemary, and oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Brown your sausage according to the package
Take it out of the pan and add in about a couple of tablespoons of butter or vegetable oil. Add your onion, garlic, and rice and saute them together for about 10 minutes on med. low heat.
Add in add your cans of tomato sauce, tomatoes, and beans. Slice up your sausage and put it in the pot. Stir every 5-10 minutes adding in your stock a little at a time until your rice is cooked through. At the end, add your frozen peas, fresh herbs, and half and half. Add more stock until your desired consistency. I like my stew thicker, so I did not add much stock.

French Onion Soup

Soups

It is a pretty cold and snowy day in Georgia. We don’t get snow every year, so when we do, we kinda freak out! Traffic sucks, school isn’t sure whether to close at the sign of cold or wait until it is too late and everyone is iced and snowed in. Lots is going on here, but everyone is cold and wants some comfort food. The girls ate some oatmeal with cinnamon sugar, honey, and milk. They gobbled it up! I had a taste and it was pretty yummy. Quick cooked plain oats plus a combo of cinnamon sugar that I had already made, a drizzle of honey, and a splash of milk. Easy!

I wanted something different. I spied 2 onions and half of a container of beef broth in the fridge. Eureka! French Onion Soup!!!

French Onion Soup- this serves about 4 small cups or 2 large bowls

Ingredients

2 onions plus a sprinkle of sugar and salt
1/2 container of beef broth (could use chicken or veggie broth)
1ish cup red wine (could use white wine with chicken/veggie broth)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
cut up and toasted bread of choice- I used French
sliced or shredded cheese of choice- I used Swiss

Directions

Thinly slice the onions. Cook in a combo of a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and butter for at least 45 minutes. The onions are what make this soup. Cook as long as you can to get them super soft and caramelized. I also add the sugar and salt to help the cooking process and bring out the onions natural sweet flavor.

Add the wine. Cook for about 8 minutes until the wine reduces. Then add your stock and Worcestershire Sauce . Stir and cook through about 10 more minutes.

Ladle your soup in a ramekin or oven safe dish. Add some toasted bread. Top with your cheese.
Broil on high until cheese is nice and brown and bubbly! (so sorry, I thought I took a picture of this part!!!)

Enjoy with your favorite glass of wine. HEAVEN on a cold winter’s night!

Seafood Stock

Seafood, Soups

I have been kind of obsessed with making my own stock lately. Mostly it has been chicken stock. Tons of chicken carcases have make their way into my stock pot with loads of fresh and almost goner veggies and herbs. I have also made lots of pork stock…bones from chops, butts, ribs, etc. I have also been squirreling away seafood shells; Lobster shells, clamshells, mussel shells, and shrimp shells, but have not made a seafood stock until tonight. I brought the clamshells home from dinner a while back; the waitress was somewhat mystified and intrigued why I needed a take out container for just leftover shells. When I explained it to her, she had this look on her face and almost did a facepalm like, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

I saw an episode of Top Chef the other night and got inspired to make my own seafood stock. I saw some salmon today at the store, so I decided I was going to poach it in some seafood stock, white while, and lemon juice with dill. Tonight I made the stock. Tomorrow I will make the salmon and report back.

Seafood Stock- Use whatever leftover seafood and shells that you have or can buy/get. I also used 2 onions, 3 stalks celery, 3 carrots, 1/2 head of garlic, leftover broccoli stalks, mushrooms, leftover parmesan cheese rind, 1 cup white wine, 2 bay leaves, and salt and pepper. Feel free to add whatever leftover veggies or herbs that you have in the fridge.

White Bean and Ham Soup

One pot meal, Soups

I am 16 again with itty bitty pink shorts, bare feet, and my purple tank top with little hearts and butterflies. I have recently declared myself to be a vegetarian. It doesn’t matter, she tells me, beans are vegetarian- even though she made it with a ham bone and there are lots of pieces of ham in it. I still eat it because she is my Nanny, and she would have her feelings hurt otherwise. She smiles at me, and her sparkling blue eyes set me in a trance. I hug her and tell her I love her. Then I wake up feeling a kiss on my cheek and smelling her lingering perfume.

Recently I have had this recurring dream when my Nanny makes this amazing white bean soup with ham. I had to try to make it in her honor. I do not have a recipe, but I tried to make it the way I think it should taste. I had almost forgotten this meal, because I have not eaten this in a VERY long time. Thanks to my dream, it is not going to be lost every again. Next time, I am going to make my Nanny’s Porcupine Meatballs- meatballs made with a different meats and rice. Delish!

White Beans and Ham Soup

Ingredients-
1 bag Great White Northern Beans
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of crushed and sliced garlic
1 container of low sodium chicken stock (or homemade stock)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
Ham Hock. Ham bone, or cut up pieces of ham
Pepper to taste

Directions-

1. Soak your beans overnight and rinse before cooking.
2. Using a nice size pan- I used my sturdy dutch oven- Cook your onion and garlic for about 10 minutes or so on med. heat.
3. Add your beans and mix together with the onion and garlic.
4. Add your chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce. This should cover your beans. If not, add some water.
5. Add your ham hock/bone. If you are adding cooked ham, wait 1 hour or so before adding it.
6. Pepper to taste. I didn’t add salt. Between the ham hock and chicken broth, I didn’t find that it needed any. I would wait to the end to add salt, if you choose to do so.
7. Cook at least 2-3 hours.

I served mine with cornbread and a mixed salad. I will have many great dreams about this meal!

Clean Out the Fridge Soup 12/18/13

Leftovers/ Freezer Meals, One pot meal, Soups, Vegetarian

So tonight I decided we needed to have a clean out the fridge night. Everyone ended up having leftover Chinese. I wanted soup. More specifically, I wanted a healthy veggie soup; well, I was in luck. I had 1/2 of an onion, 1/2 of a poblano pepper, 1/2 of a jalapeno, a container of mushrooms, 3 carrots, a bunch of spinach, and some leftover Chinese fried rice and broccoli in the fridge. In the pantry, I had a container of chicken stock (you can use veggie to make this vegetarian), a can of corn, and a can of chopped green chilies. I added salt, pepper, and a dash of red pepper flakes. I added a dash of hot sauce at the end for an added kick. I am glad I made enough for leftovers. You may not hear from me for a few meals. YUM!