Zuppa Toscana

This is a soup someone brought me after Shea was born. It mimics the Olive Garden soup, but in my opinion it is better. It is not the least bit healthy, but it is delicious.

Zuppa Toscana

1 lb. Spicy Italian sausage
6 slices bacon, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 qt. water
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 TBSP. chicken base
2 medium potatoes, cubed
2 cups Kale leaves, cut in halves, then sliced
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Cook sausage in pan, breaking up into chunks. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large pot. Remove bacon. Add onions and garlic to bacon drippings. Cook for one minute. Add water, chicken base, and potatoes. Simmer until tender, about 15 min. Add sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer until soup is hot, about 4 min. Stir in bacon. Top with Parmesan cheese.

This is really good served with beer bread (recipe is posted on this blog). I'm sure many other breads would go nicely as well.

Tortellini Soup

Love this soup!


TORTELLINI SOUP

1 lb Ground Italian Sausage
1/2 C Onion
3 Cloves crushed Garlic
1 Zucchini - chopped (I do semicircles)
1/2 C mushrooms - chopped
2 yellow squash - chopped (semicircles again)
2 cans Chicken broth
2 cans Italian stewed tomatoes
1 C Water (I just kind of eyeball the amount of water that the soup seems to need)
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
8 oz. cheese tortellini

Brown sausage, drain and set aside. In a pot add garlic, onion, and veggies with oil. Saute it for 5 minutes then add rest of ingredients except sausage and tortellini. Bring to boil, add sausage, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add tortellini, simmer uncovered 20 minutes or until tortellini are done. Serve
topped with Parmesan cheese.

This recipe can be healthified by using turkey sausage and whole grain tortellini. I usually just buy the refrigerated tortellini and they have those in whole grain as well.

Amy Koch's Chicken and Rice Soup

This is my best soup for sick kids. Amy Koch gave me the recipe after she brought it to a Koch family function. It is healthy and my picky kids eat it when they are feeling well or sick!

CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP

10 cups chicken broth
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
½ cup sliced celery
1 ½ cup sliced carrots
¼ cup snipped fresh parsley
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
1 bay leaf
2 cups cooked chicken
3 cups cooked rice
2 Tablespoons lime juice
Optional: lime slices for garnish

Combine vegetables and seasonings (except parsley) with olive oil in a pot over the stove. Simmer and slowly add broth until vegetables are tender. Boil over high heat, stirring regularly. Reduce heat and add chicken, rice, parsley, and lime juice. Discard bay leaf and enjoy!

By the way, in recipes that call for cooked chicken, I have found that I prefer to stick frozen chicken in the crock pot in the morning. It cooks with a delicious flavor and is still moist and shreds or chops easily. Plus it is no trouble at all. This recipe is good with chicken breasts or dark meat or a mix.

Andy Husbands Hot Blackberries and Cream

I LOVE this recipe.  Found it on Food.com.  You can make it as specified for a delicious dessert, or I actually made it with a lot less sugar and topped German pancakes with it for breakfast.  One of the best breakfasts of my life. :)

Ingredients

o 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature (I used light sour cream and it was delicious)
o 1 finely grated limes, zest of
o 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
o 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
o 1 pint fresh blackberries, washed and well drained
o 1/2 cup brown sugar (I have used less than this both times I've made it, one of the times much less and it was still great!)

Directions

1. Move broiler rack to lowest possible position, at least 6 inches from the top element, and turn on oven broiler.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, lime zest, sugar, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blackberries, and transfer to small gratin dish. Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Broil until the brown sugar melts and darkens, 1 to 3 minutes, rotating the dish halfway through so it browns evenly but does not burn. Serve hot.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Got this recipe from my friend Britt, it is spicy and yummy. Especially good with fresh bread or rolls.

3 lbs. vine-ripened tomatoes, cut in half and insides removed

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
6 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 pinches dried thyme
4 cups chicken stock

1. preheat oven to 400F. toss tomatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet covered in foil and roast in the oven for 45 minutes
2. in a large stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes until the onions start to brown. add the canned tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, basil, thyme, and chicken stock. bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.

3. use an immersion blender (or food processor) to puree the soup. serve with garlic knots below.

Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry-in-a-Hurry

Thanks Rachael Ray.

Ingredients:
1 cup white or brown rice
2 tbs. evoo
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then thinly sliced into half-moons
salt and pepper
1 rounded tablespoon mild curry paste or 2 tablespoons curry powder (I usually use the paste plus a tsp. curry powder.
2 pounds chicken tenders, bite-size chunks
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream (I have always used whole milk, because I have it on hand)
1/4 cup prepared mango chutney
1 10 ounce box frozen peas (I use a little less)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1. Cook Rice
2. Preheat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat with olive oil. Add the sweet potatoes to the skillet, season with salt, pepper, and curry paste or powder, and cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes, or until lightly browned.
3. Scoot the potatoes over to one side of the pan and add the chunks of chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook, browning slightly, for 3 minutes.
4. Add the onions and bell peppers and toss to combine. Add the flour and continue to cook for 1 minute
5. Add the chicken stock, cream, and mango chutney, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the chicken and potatoes are cooked through and the sauce has thickened.
6. Add the peas and cilantro and simmer for 1 minute to heat the peas through.
7. Serve over rice

Steamed Artichoke with Roasted Garlic Dipping Sauce

Artichokes were on sale a while back, so I decided to finally try making one myself as I knew I loved eating them!  Artichokes can seem intimidating to make for the first time (at least for me), so I found this recipe on Food.com and it was great at explaining what to do, step by step, and it was delicious!

2 artichokes
1 lemon
1 head garlic ( whole bulb)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I used low fat)
2 tablespoons sour cream (I used low fat)
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Cut off the bottom stems of the artichokes with a serrated knife and rub the artichoke bottoms with the lemon. Cut about 2 inches off the top of the artichoke, drizzle some lemon juice over the top as well.

Optional: Using kitchen scissors, snip off prickly ends of each leaf for easier enjoyment later.

Place the artichokes in a steamer and steam 40 to 55 minutes, or until the bottoms are tender when pierced and the leaves pulls out easily. When it's done, quickly plunge into a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking and drain.

While steaming the artichokes, prepare the garlic for the sauce: Cut off top of garlic bulb (enough to expose tops of most garlic cloves). Drizzle enough olive oil over the cut cloves to drench the top and sides, sprinkle a pinch of salt as well. Wrap foil around the garlic bulb and seal at the top. Roast in 400 degree oven (I use my little toaster oven) for about 30-40 minutes until soft and roasted, browned around the tops and edges is a good indicator. Let it cool for about 10 minutes.

When cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic cloves from their bulbs by pressing with your hands from the bottom of the bulbs to the top (cut side) into a small bowl. Add the mayonnaise and sour cream, and stir with fork to blend well. Add salt if needed and black pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

To eat the artichoke, pull the leaves and dip the bottom tender part into the sauce, pull the tender "meat" with your teeth on the bottom part of the leaves, don't eat (discard) the rough tops. Towards the inside you can bite off more of the tender bottoms of the leaves. Towards the heart of the artichoke, you will see pins and needle-like fuzzy stuff which you can scrape off with a spoon, then you can eat the best part of all, the center or "heart" of the artichoke.
 
Sidenote: I didn't have a head of garlic, so just seasoned the mayo and sour cream with salt, garlic powder, garlic salt, and pepper, and it was still delicious!