Tomato Basil Soup & Grilled Turkey and Ham Sandwiches

I've always wanted to make my own tomato soup to see how it measures up against the condensed kind so once I saw this recipe pop up on my Google Reader, I knew I would someday be making it! I finally got the chance to do that this past week. This tomato soup is really good, although I cannot find fresh basil anywhere so I had to use dried. I really think the fresh would flavor the soup MUCH better. However, I still thought it was pretty good and Jon ate two bowls so I'm assuming he liked it too! He added some shredded cheese and croutons to his second bowl to flavor it up even more. As for this sandwiches - I LOVED them. I used Miracle Whip Light and I just think it added that little extra zip!

Tomato Basil Soup
Source: Savory Spicy Sweet, who adapted it from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
14 ounces chicken or vegetable broth
18 fresh basil leaves, minced (I used minced but strongly recommend fresh if you can find it!)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup whole milk, half and half, or whipping cream (I used half & half)
3 to 8 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper, to taste
grated or shredded Parmesan, for garnish

Directions:
In a large saucepan, bring the tomatoes and broth to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add basil and sugar. Reduce heat to low; stir in cream (or milk) and butter. Cook until butter is melted.

Grilled Turkey & Ham Sandwiches
Source: Cooking Light - go to website to get recipe! :)Pin It

Black Bean & Pumpkin Chili

Last night was the perfect night to make some chili due to the extreme cold front that we had pass through Ohio. It's still passing through might I add! I have always wanted to try the black bean and pumpkin combination, but never got the chance during the fall when I usually use pumpkin flavors. Both Jon and I liked this chili, but he admitted that there needed to be meat in it. I made it vegetarian (the recipe calls for turkey) and I think it could have used some ground turkey or beef. I was afraid that it would taste too "pumpkiny" after tasting it when I put all of the ingredients in, but the pumpkin then melded very well with the rest of the flavors after it simmered for awhile.

Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili
Adapted from Taste of Home (Oct/Nov 2008 issue)

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped (I used half an onion that I had leftover from a previous night's dinner)
1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped (Omitted because I refuse to pay almost $2 just for one pepper)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chicken broth (I used about 3.5 cups because the soup was a little too thick)
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
2-1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey (Omitted)
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a large skillet, saute the onion, yellow pepper and garlic in oil until tender. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker; stir in the remaining ingredients. (I sauteed the onion & garlic in a soup pot and then added the rest of the ingredients to the pot.)
Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. (I simmered the soup in the soup pot for about half an hour)Pin It

White Chicken Chili

I've always wanted to make white chicken chili so I finally put it on the menu. I was going to make green onion biscuits with it, but I completely forgot. I decided to make them on Wednesday instead! I did modify this recipe a little bit. Instead of using the crock pot I made it on the stove top so I put the chicken, onions, peppers and garlic in a soup pot and cooked until the chicken was cooked through and the vegetables were tender. I then added the beans, chicken broth and spices and simmered for 30-45 minutes. This recipe also did not make the chili "white" so I added some sour cream and half and half. Since I ate on my own tonight, Jon will be eating when he gets home from work, and I will take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow I added in a little bit of sour cream and half and half to my individual bowl of chili instead of adding it to the whole pot.

White Chicken Chili
Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens cookbook

Ingredients:
3 15- to 15-1/2 ounce cans Great Northern, pinto, or cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained (I used 1 large can of pinto beans and 1 can of Great Northern)
2 -1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken (Since I'm cutting down on meat in dishes to save money, I used one large chicken breast from the bag and it was plenty)
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
1-1/2 cups chopped red, green, and/or yellow sweet pepper (2 medium)
2 fresh jalapeño chile peppers, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
3-1/2 cups chicken broth (I used 4 cups and I think it needed it)
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)
Broken tortilla chips (optional)
Half and half (added into individual bowl)
Light sour cream (added into individual bowl)

Directions:

In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker stir together the drained beans, chicken, onion, sweet pepper, jalapeño pepper, garlic, cumin, salt, and oregano. Stir in chicken broth.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. If desired, top each serving with shredded cheese and broken tortilla chips. Makes 6 servings.

Pin It

Easy Ham & Bean Soup

Time to start food blogging again! I took a hiatus during the holiday season since so much was going on, and I even made a ton of foods that I could have blogged about. Oh well. My parents gave us a huge chunk of ham to take home after Christmas. I decided to make ham and bean soup, cut off a few slices for sandwiches for lunch and freeze the rest for future use. I got a Better Homes & Garden cookbook for Christmas so I decided to put it to good use. I picked out this recipe and a few others for dinners this week. Oh, and I got a new camera for Christmas so I hope that my pictures comes out better!

Easy Ham & Bean Soup
Adapted from Better Homes & Garden cookbook

Ingredients:
2 cans navy beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cubed cooked ham
4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1.5 cups sliced celery (3 stalks)
1.5 cups chopped onion (3 medium) I used 2 medium and it was still too many onions...next time I will cut it down to 1 onion
3.4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1.4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf

Directions:
Cook celery and onion in hot butter. Add 4 cups chicken brother, 1 cup cubed cooked ham, and two 15-ounce cans navy beans, rinsed and drained, along with thyme, black pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.

Pin It

Pasta e Fagioli

I don't know why I didn't make this sooner! I think I may have been a little intimidated by the name of the dish and never even looked at the ingredients or what it actually is. Sounds kinda stupid now that I think about it. Anyways, I made it and it's really good. The girl I got the recipe from said that it made a lot and she is RIGHT! This made so much that I decided not to make dinner tonight to make sure that we don't waste any leftovers. If you want to make this and freeze it, don't add the pasta to the soup itself. Make it on its own and add it each time you want to eat it. I realized that after I made all of it, but that's ok...we can deal with some leftovers!

Pasta e Fagioli (copy cat Olive Garden)
Adapted from ...and a cookie for dessert

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, diced (I omitted because I didn't realize my onions had gone bad!)
1/2 of a small 1 lb. bag of baby carrots, chopped
5 stalks of celery, diced (I omitted)
2 (14.5 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (32 oz.) carton + 1 (14.5 oz.) can of beef broth
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/4 tsp pepper
2 1/2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped (I used dry)
3/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 jar (1 lb. 10 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup dry small pasta (such as ditalini or elbow macaroni) (I used rotini because I had about this much left over)
salt to taste

Directions:
Brown ground beef in oil. Drain if necessary.
Add onion, carrot, celery and diced tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes.
Add beans, beef broth, oregano, pepper, parsley, Tabasco sauce and spaghetti sauce.
Simmer soup on low for about 30-45 minutes until carrots are almost tender.
Add pasta to pot and simmer on low for about 15-30 minutes until pasta is just shy of al dente. As the soup cools, the pasta will absorb the broth. You can cook the pasta separate and add it to the soup after the soup has cooled.Pin It

Creamy Potato Soup

I LOVE potato soup. It definitely is a comfort food for me. I've also never made it by pureeing it first...I usually just have potato chunks in mine. I'm actually not sure which kind I prefer now - I loved the creaminess of this recipe though.

Creamy Potato Soup with Chives
Adapted from Loves to Eat (from Cook's Illustrated)


Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, or the same amount of vegetable or olive oil
1 medium onion, 3 medium shallots, or 1 medium leek (white and light green parts only), chopped
2 tablespoons dry sherry or white wine
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or low-fat vegetable broth
1 teaspoon table salt
ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups milk
2 teaspoons minced fresh chives (I omitted because I didn't have any)

Directions:
Heat butter or oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add sherry and potato; stir-cook until sherry evaporates, about 30 seconds.
Add stock, salt and pepper to taste to saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Ladle potato mixture into blender. Add 1 cup milk; blend until very smooth. Return soup to saucepan; cook over low heat until warmed through. If soup is too thick, stir in additional milk to thin consistency. Adjust seasonings. (Soup can be refrigerated for 3 days and reheated just before serving.)
Ladle soup into individual bowls. Garnish with minced chives and serve immediately.Pin It

Chili!

So even though it's been in the 70s here this week, I still really wanted chili. Plus it's quick & easy and I love how Jon makes it. So technically, this recipe is his but is going in my blog. Oh, and we don't really measure things so I'll just list what he put it in and you can adjust according to your taste!

Jon's Chili



Ingredients:
1 pound of ground turkey, browned
1 can of diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of black beans
1/3 carton of chicken broth (you can use more if you like your chili less chunky)
Brown sugar
Cayenne pepper
Chili powder
Crushed red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients in dutch oven and simmer on stove.



Pin It

Chicken Tortilla Soup

It's a crock pot recipe! It's been a week since I used my crock pot so it definitely needed to be used again...because, well, I love my crock pot! When I made my menu on Sunday, I fully intended to go to class tonight & not have my car in the shop. A crock pot seemed the way to go. However, life happens & I'm home early tonight but my soup was already done so I got to enjoy it 3 hours early! I have made similar tasting meals over pasta & rice, but these flavors tasted great as a soup too. And since the cold front is still hanging on in Ohio, it was a perfect night for soup.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Adapted from Just 2 Good

Ingredients:
2 skinless chicken breasts, thawed or frozen
1 10 oz package frozen corn
1 large onion, chopped (I didn't have an onion on hand so I just threw in some dried chopped onion)
2 garlic cloves, pressed
24 oz chicken broth (I used two 14.5 oz cans)
10 oz tomato sauce (I used an 8 oz can)
10 oz diced tomatoes with green chiles (I used 1 can diced tomatoes and 1 can green chilies)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 bay leaf
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken before serving.

Pin It

Perfect day for soup

I once again used my trusty crock pot and recipe book for dinner tonight. This is another recipe that I've never made before, but thought it sounded pretty good. It did turn out great - hearty and a perfect mix of flavors. I also made some Harry & David cornbread muffins to go with it. A perfect meal for a rainy day!

Fall Harvest Chowder
Adapted from 101 More Things to do with a Slow Cooker by Stephanie Ashcraft


Ingredients:
1/2 pound ground beef, browned and drained (I used ground turkey)
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used a little under 1/4 cup minced)
4 cups water
1 cup diced carrots (I eyeballed it)
1 cup diced celery (I eyeballed it)
1 cup potatoes, peeled and cubed (I eyeballed it)
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes (I used 1 smaller can because that's all I had - and it had plenty of tomatoes)
1 can (8 ounces) tomato puree
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Combine all ingredients in greased 4 1/2- 6 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours or on high heat 3-4 hours.





Pin It