40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken Soup

This recipe is inspired by the classic 40 cloves of garlic roasted chicken recipe, translated into a comforting bowl of soup.  2/3 of the garlic is roasted, while the other 1/3 is simmered with the broth at the end.  I would suggest roasting and peeling the garlic ahead of time as it can be a little tedious to peel 25 cloves of roasted garlic.  As you can see from the ingredients below - it is not a complex recipe.

40 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts - trimmed
1 large onion, chopped
4 c. chicken stock
1/2 c. cream
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place 25 cloves of garlic in an oven-safe pan, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast for 45 minutes - remove and allow to cool, then peel and set aside.

In a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat, place the chicken stock, roasted garlic, remaining 15 heads of garlic and onion.  Using a kitchen shears, cut the chicken breast in half lengthwise and place into pot with remaining ingredients.  Bring to simmer, cover and allow to cook for 20 minutes.

Remove chicken breasts and shred using whichever method you prefer.  In batches, place the remaining mixture into a blender and blend until smooth, pouring back into the pot when it is all processed.  Add cream and Parmesan cheese - turn heat back up to medium and whisk until cheese is combined into the soup - you will notice that the majority of the cheese that clumps onto the whisk has melted into the soup.  Add the chicken and serve.  Enjoy!

Healthy Chili

3 lbs. ground beef (93% lean)
2 medium onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
1 cup water
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 16 oz. cans red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 32 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 16 oz. can tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste

Combine ground beef, onions and peppers in a large dutch oven and cook until ground beef is cooked through and crumbled.  Drain thoroughly to remove grease.

Return mixture to pot and place on stove.  Add water, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste.  Bring to a simmer in pot, cover and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Serve in pot family style or divide into ten individualized portions.

Sausage & Tortelloni Soup

Inspired by the flavors of Italy and my desire for comfort food.  This recipe requires very little work, it's more an assembly concoction.  With this in mind, try to use the highest quality ingredients you can afford.

2 lbs. mild Italian sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups beef broth
2 cups red wine
2 - 28 oz. cans chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp. dried basil
1 tbsp. dried oregano
2 cups carrots, chopped
1 - 9 oz. package stuffed tortelloni (I use Buitoni Chicken & Proscuitto)
1 lb. zucchini, chopped

In a large dutch oven over medium heat, saute Italian sausage until pink.  Remove with a slotted spoon and then saute onion and garlic in drippings until translucent, around 4-5 minutes.

Add sausage back to pot along with beef broth, wine, tomatoes, basil, oregano and carrots.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

Add tortelloni and zucchini, then cover and cook for ten minutes.  Remove cover and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.  Serve.

Italian Chicken Soup

I believe some things should never be complicated, like chicken soup - it's a simple pleasure, so the recipe should not stress you out.  Here the humble chicken is paired with basil, lemon and Parmesan to create an elixir to nurse you back to health or feed the souls of your loved ones.  Either way, you will maybe want to double this since this recipe alone leaves me with an empty soup pot every time.

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts seasoned with salt & pepper

4 tbsp. Olive oil for sauteeing

1 onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, sliced

2 tbsp chopped basil

zest of half a lemon

4 eggs, beat with salt & pepper

8 cups chicken broth (canned or home made)

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

In a soup pot over medium heat, place olive oil and add seasoned chicken breasts after pot has heated up for a minute or so.  Cook chicken for roughly two minutes per side to sear the seasonings onto the pieces, then remove and set aside.  Place onion and garlic into pot and saute for about 5 minutes.  Add broth, chicken, basil and lemon, bringing contents to a simmer - after five minutes remove chicken breasts and shred with a fork - then return then to the pot.  Slowly pour beaten eggs into pot stirring with the mixture slowing with a spoon in the other hand to distribute the eggs.  Add Parmesan cheese - then stir to combine and serve!

Black & White Bean Chicken Chili

This chili is not only easy to make but it is full of flavor, but it is really great for you too. I would consider this one an 'assembly recipe.' What I mean by that is that it is more about mixing ingredients together rather than complicated cooking.

1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 onion, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 large can chicken stock

2 cups corn (fresh or frozen)

1 - 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 - 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 - 8 oz. can chopped green chiles, drained

In a stock pot or slow cooker, pour the stock into the pot and add the chicken breasts. Bring to simmer and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Remove breasts from stock and shred chicken - then place back into stock pot or slow cooker. Add drained beans, chiles, onion, garlic, cumin and oregano. If cooking in a stock pot, bring mixture to simmer and cook for 30 minutes - if cooking in slow cooker, heat on high for two hours.

Pressure Cooker Turkey Stock

The thought of making homemade stock sends most people into orbit. The hours of simmering meat and vegetables, chilling it to remove the solids and then straining it seems like an unending, thankless chore. I have news for all you nay sayers - I have your solution...

The Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker yet again comes to the rescue by making this task effortless. This past weekend was Thankgiving so I divided my turkey into three managable amounts, added them to the pot with the vegetables and herbs I stuffed the turkey with - filled it to the top level indicator with water, closed it, set it for an hour and walked away. After an hour I had beautiful, rich stock that I would have had to slave over my stove for hours with.

Yes, I did have to do this three times due to the size of my turkey - but, it is well worth it. No sodium added and home-made. The added benefit was the aroma it left in the house all day long. If I am not going to use all the stock to make soup, then I preportion it out by freezing it in mammoth muffin tins as they are roughly 1 cup portions - pop them out and keep them in a large, ziploc bag in my freezer for when I need it.

I drained each batch with a colander, let it cool until I could handle it and then removed all the meat from the bones. This is kon-tent anyone can incorporate into their lives. This pressure cooker is a great value at $99, and as you know - anything by Cuisinart is made to last. As added benefits to the pressure cooker - can you say potatoes done in 6 minutes.

When your life is under pressure, pull out your Cuisinart Pressure Cooker to relieve yours...

Parsley Cream Soup

Here is a recipe my grandmother would make during the winter months, parsley cream soup. This soup is meant to be easy time as well as ingredients-wise. If you want to limit your level of dairy, you can omit the cream and obtain a thinner cream consistency.

1 stick of butter

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

3 cups chopped parsley

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 cups cream

salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a pan and add parsley and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes. Add stock, cream and potatoes, bring to boil - then cover and reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes.

Ladle in batches into a blender and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then serve.

Garden Patch Soup

Ingredients:

2 pounds lean ground beef or stew meat
2 quarts beef stock
1 onion, chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons Au jus seasoning mix
2 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
2 1/4 teaspoons chili powder
14 ounce can of tomatoes, chopped
7 ounce can tomato sauce
8 ounces whole kernel corn or 8 ounce can with liquid
8 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (or left-over chili)
3 cups of veggies (green beans, zucchini, peppers, celery or whatever you like and have available)

Instructions:

In a soup pot, heat the stock to boiling
While the water is heating, brown the ground beef and chopped onion in a skillet
When water comes to a boil, add all the seasonings, tomato, tomato sauce, corn with liquid, beans and your vegetable choices
Drain meat mixture and add the meat to the soup pot
Bring back to a boil
Simmer until vegetables are crisp tender
Correct the seasoning to taste
Stir well and ladle into bowls

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Preheat oven 425 and put the following into a 9x13 pan

6-8 Toms cut in half(cut side down in pan)
4-6 peeled garlic cloves
4-6 carrots peeled and sliced
2 leeks cleaned and sliced(white to light green part only)

Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 1hr, remove from oven. With tongs remove tomato skin. Put veg. into pot with 4 cups chic. stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer for 30 mins.

In batches, ladle soup into blender and puree. Add basil to one of the batches if desired.

French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup seems to be intimidating for a lot of people. I know some individuals that go out to a restaurant to specifically eat this classic concoction due to the fact that they do not know how easy it is to prepare at home. Warm and cozy, perfect for this time of year - especially if you are living in the frozen tundra like myself. If you have some extra time to spare, I make this while I am making breakfast or lunch and then let it sit until the next meal since you need to let the onions saute slowly for 45 minutes (yes, that is almost an hour) - but that is the secret to this soup. I cut up the bread into smaller pieces so it is easier to eat. Here is how I make it.


4 lb medium onions, halved and sliced as desired
3 sprigs fresh thyme (dried thyme will work, but you will not be able to remove it)
4 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
4 cups beef broth (32 fl oz)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal sliced or cubed of baguette
1 (1/2-lb) piece Gruyère, Comte, or Emmental
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Melt butter in a 4-5 qt. pot. Add onions, thyme, bay leaves and salt in butter over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring frequently, until onions are very soft and deep golden brown, about 45 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in wine, broth, water, and pepper and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.

While soup simmers, put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Arrange bread in 1 layer on a large baking sheet and toast, turning over once, until completely dry, about 15 minutes. Alternatively, you could use bread you have predried in your pantry.
Remove bread from oven. Turn oven on to broil.

Put crocks in a shallow baking pan and preheat broiler.
Discard bay leaves and thyme from soup and divide soup among crocks, then float a slice of bread or cubes in each. Slice enough Gruyère (about 6 ounces total) with cheese plane to cover tops of crocks, then sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until cheese is melted and bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes.