Showing posts with label Soups. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soups. Show all posts
Sunday, January 18, 2015

Chili. Chicken Chili.

1:55 PM | Posted by Stephanie | Edit Post


It got cold here in DC, and that means its chili season.  In fact, I can’t believe I haven’t already made it this winter.  Beef stew made it into the line up once, but no chili…  I decided to follow the masses and make a chicken chili, which seems to be the cool thing to do these days.  I think I’ll always be partial to the ground beef variety that I grew up with, but if I’m going to stray from that, this is a good direction to go!

I first had this chili at a chili-tasting, of sorts, that my office held a while back.  Three people hauled in their crock-pots, each with a different kind.  I loved this from first bite.  I did make a couple changes to the recipe, but only slight ones, and it was mostly due to my grocery store not having the proper ingredients.  Here’s how it’s done:

Recipe adapted from: Chicken Chili

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or store-bought rotisserie chicken)
1 14.5oz can white beans, partially mashed
1 Tbsp canola or olive oil
1 medium jalapeno pepper, minced (I used 1 red jalapeno and 1 serrano chili)
2 medium poblano peppers, diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt & Pepper
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ancho chili powder (I used ¼ tsp chipotle chili powder and ¾ tsp regular chili powder)
1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes (my addition - chili isn't chili without some tomatoes)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 limes, juiced (plus additional wedges for serving)
¼ cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Instructions
  1. Trim the chicken breast of any excess fat and poach them in chicken broth (and a couple shakes of McCormick Montreal Chicken Seasoning if you have it) until just cooked through.
  2. Drain the cooking liquid and let the chicken cool.  When cooled, shred the chicken with 2 forks.
  3. While the chicken is cooking, chop the onions, peppers and garlic and sauté until slightly soft.
  4. Add spices, stir to mix evenly and cook another minute or two longer.  Add canned tomatoes at this time, if using.
  5. Add chicken broth and lime juice and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
  6. Add beans and continue to let simmer for another 10 minutes or so.
  7. Add the shredded chicken and chopped cilantro and stir to combine.
  8. Let simmer about 5 minutes longer.  Serve and enjoy!
  9. Optional toppings:  sour cream, tortilla chips, shredded cheese, lime wedges, additional cilantro



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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Vegetable Soup

10:55 PM | Posted by Stephanie | Edit Post


The red pepper in the fridge is starting to wrinkle.  The celery is starting to wilt.  You have one lone potato left on the counter.  What do you do when it’s cold outside so you don’t want a salad, and these sad vegetables aren’t even worthy of one anyway?  It’s soup time!

That is exactly how this concoction came about, and it turned out really well.  There’s no real recipe for this, I literally threw everything soup-worthy from my fridge, freezer, counter and cabinets into a giant pot and let it simmer on low for an hour.  Here’s what I ended up with:

Ingredients

1 russet potato, peeled and diced in ½” cubes
1 red pepper, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
3-4 stalks celery, sliced
3 large carrots, sliced
½ - 1 cup frozen sweet corn
1 package frozen chopped spinach (break up as it defrosts into the soup)
1 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes with juice, crushed with spoon when added to pot
1 32oz container of Low-Sodium Chicken Broth (or Vegetable Broth)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp dried parsley
Garlic powder
Salt & Pepper
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Olive Oil

Instructions

Sauté onion, carrots, celery and potato with some olive oil, salt & pepper for a few minutes, just to soften slightly.  Add red pepper and tomatoes.  Cook for a few minutes more.  Add all remaining ingredients, stir to combine then let simmer for about 15 minutes.  Taste soup and adjust seasonings as necessary.  Continue to let simmer for another 30-45 minutes, stirring on occasion.

Dole out a big bowl, top with a little grated parmesan (optional but tasty), then let it soothe your soul…..and don’t forget the wine.

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

French Onion Soup

6:17 PM | Posted by Stephanie | Edit Post




It’s officially time to pull the Dutch oven off the shelf where it quietly rested all summer – we’ve got some work to do. 

Onions are one of those things that have grown on me as my palate has become more refined - aka older and less picky – particularly caramelized onions.  A little butter, a little olive oil, a pinch of sugar, couple pinches of salt, some patience (cue GNR’s whistling) and wow, serious flavor.  I could eat them just like that and sometimes do, but what’s the point when you can add delicious broth and a gooey cheese topper?  Sometimes you just crave gooey cheese.  


A friend and I were talking about French Onion soup the other day.  **Side note: I’ve recently had it at Central twice now and theirs is quite good, but I have yet to find any in the city better than Bistro Bis’.  Its amazing.**  The funny thing about our conversation was that my friend is a vegetarian and had no idea that the base of this soup is beef broth.  She was going on about how delicious it is and we agreed that it was the perfect thing on a cold day and WAM – I broke the news to her.  We had a good laugh considering she also eats bacon when I make it and my homemade chicken nuggets (will have to post about those soon – way healthier and tastier than anything you could ever buy).  So yeah, moral of the story is, CMcD = vegetarian schmegitarian.  Love ya!  J


I don’t follow a recipe for this, so below is basically just a listing of what ends up getting thrown in the pot.  You may like beef broth only, or chicken only, or less broth more onion – that’s the beauty of cooking yourself, you make it how you like it….but I do think my version is quite good.  So put on your comfy pants and your favorite plaid flannel shirt (fitted and buttoned all the way please), grab a bowl and enjoy!  

Ingredients
Serves 4-6

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 large yellow onions, cut in half then into slices about 1/8” thick
Few pinches kosher salt
Couple pinches sugar
4 cups beef broth
1 ½ - 2 cups chicken broth
¼ - ½ tsp dried thyme
Few shakes garlic powder
1 beef bouillon cube

Instructions

In a large dutch oven or heavy pot, melt the butter into the olive oil.  Add the onions and let them cook slowly on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally.  After about 3-4 minutes, add the salt and sugar and continue cooking and stirring until the onions become a golden brown color.  This will take about an hour or so.  Low and slow is the key, you don’t want them to get crispy at all.

When they’re golden brown, add the broth, thyme and garlic powder.  When warmed through, taste and determine if the bouillon is necessary.  I mix chicken and beef broth because I think the combination gives the soup a deeper, richer flavor, however I also like that punch of beef flavor, hence the one cube.  Be careful with added salt.  I try to buy low sodium broth so I can control the amount of salt myself.  The bouillon will add more though.  After the initial few pinches when cooking the onions, I didn’t need to add anymore.

Still early

Getting there
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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Tortilla Soup and Popovers

9:56 PM | Posted by Stephanie | Edit Post



What happened to spring?  It seemed to be here a couple weeks ago, but then I woke up to snow on the ground on Sunday….WTF?  Thankfully it looks like it may be reappearing this coming weekend.  The cold weather did allow me to get in one more batch of soup for the year. 

I’ve wanted to make popovers for a while now.  I got a King Arthur Flour gift card for Christmas and bought a popover pan – Step 1 complete!  It only took a couple months to get to Step 2, finding a recipe and actually making them – not bad for me.  I don’t know if you’ve ever been to BLT Steak, but they serve delicious popovers that have cheese melted on them.  So good.  I knew I wanted to do that for my first attempt and when I decided on Asiago cheese, it was also decided that the soup should have a Mexican theme, hence Tortilla Soup!

As I’ve never made Tortilla Soup before I decided to turn to old trusty, America’s Test Kitchen, and they did not disappoint.  This is actually a pretty easy dish to put together.  You puree what is essentially salsa and that becomes the soup base.  At the same time you boil some chicken in what will become your soup broth.  You separate, deconstruct, shred and recombine the ingredients and voilá – soup! 


The popovers are just as easy with only 4 ingredients (5 with my cheese addition), but way more impressive.  I felt like a little kid watching for Santa (I’m not the only one who has done that right??) as I peeked into the oven every few minutes and called to people to “Look look, they’re getting so big!”.  Ahhh, good times.  And wow, they were as good as I'd hoped.  Looks delish, huh?  For the popover recipe, check out this link:   ­http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/popovers-recipe



Now the details on the soup….

Ingredients:

2 bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts (about 1 ½ lbs)
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 large white onion, peeled and quartered
4 medium cloves garlic, peeled
2 sprigs fresh epazote or 8-10 sprigs fresh cilantro + 1 sprig fresh oregano (I used 2tsp dried cilantro and a ½ tsp dried oregano)
2 medium tomatoes, cored and quartered (I used 3)
½ medium jalapeño chile
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce + up to 1 Tbsp adobo sauce
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Garnishes:

Lime wedges
Avocado, diced into chunks
Cotija cheese, crumbled or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Fresh cilantro leaves
Crema Mexicana or sour cream (I used non-fat plain Greek yogurt)

Instructions:

Put chicken, ½ of the onion, 2 cloves garlic, herbs and broth in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.  Transfer cooked chicken to a large plate to cool.  Strain broth to remove all solids.  Discard solids and set broth aside.

Puree tomatoes, remaining onion and garlic, the jalapeño and chipotle with adobo in a food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Heat oil in dutch oven over high heat until shimmering.  Add puree and about ¼ tsp salt and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Stir strained broth into tomato mixture, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend.  Taste and add seasonings as appropriate (salt, additional adobo, etc.)

When the chicken has cooled, remove skin and bones and shred (use two forks to pull it apart).  Add the shredded chicken to the soup and simmer until heated through.  Serve in bowls over tortilla strips and topped with the garnishes of your choice.

*This recipe calls for making your own tortilla strips, which I did, however I think my corn tortillas were too thick as they remained a bit chewy even after baking them longer than recommended.  I would say, take a shortcut and buy some good quality corn tortilla chips instead of making your own.  But if you want to….. cut 8 corn tortillas into strips, toss with 1 Tbsp vegetable oil and bake at 425 degrees for about 14 minutes, tossing once during baking. 
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Monday, January 31, 2011

Creamy Corn Chowder

9:45 PM | Posted by Stephanie | Edit Post

[Photo coming shortly!!]

Creamed corn?  From a can?  Uhhh, no thanks!  Well, until I had this soup….seriously, it’s delicious.  I had it a couple weeks ago when I was up on the Cape visiting my parents.  My mom made it for us.  It was a bitterly cold day and this really warmed me to the bone.  (I promise, I’ll get off the soup kick once it starts getting a little warmer!)  The great thing is, it doesn’t use any heavy cream and you can even use fat free evaporated milk without sacrificing any of the flavor or richness.  When I make this myself I’m planning to play around a bit with frozen corn and see if it turns out ok.  Even though this tasted delicious as is, I still have a huge bias against the canned stuff…     

Ingredients:
3 slices bacon, diced
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced, need about 2 cups
¾ cup water
1 can cream-style corn
1 ½ cups evaporated milk
2 Tbsp butter
½ tsp sugar
1 ¼ tsp salt
⅛ tsp pepper

Instructions:
In medium saucepan, sauté bacon until crisp.  Remove from pan, drain and reserve.  In bacon drippings sauté onions until golden.  Add potatoes and water.  Bring to a boil and cook about 10 min, until potatoes are tender but not mushy.

Add remainder of ingredients and simmer, covered, until heated through.  Serve in soup bowls and top with crisped bacon.

*The source of this recipe is unknown, but it’s very likely from an old Washington Post.
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Sunday, January 9, 2011

Chicken & Brown Rice Soup

7:47 PM | Posted by Stephanie | Edit Post
Isn't it pretty?!?

The holiday binge is over and eating habits are getting back to normal….thank goodness!  I got a fabulous present this year – a gorgeous Le Creuset Dutch Oven that I have been wanting for years (thanks again!!), so of course I keep trying to come up with things to make in it.  So far, it’s just been soup (butternut squash was first), but my next endeavor will be the whole wheat bread mentioned in my last post – can’t wait to see how that turns out!

In the meantime, let me tell you about this soup.  Since I’m trying to get back to my normal (relatively) healthy diet I wanted to make something simple and low-cal but still tasty.  I remembered this recipe from an old Women’s Health magazine (Jan/Feb 2010) and thought it would be perfect for this weekend.  It has to simmer for quite a while and I knew I’d be inside most of today taking down Christmas decorations, hauling the tree to the curb (sad!) and getting my apartment back in order.  Everything is done and my dinner was delicious!  Here’s how it’s done:

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil
1 pound chicken breast, cut in bite-sized pieces (I doubled this recipe and used 3 boneless skinless breasts)
1 large carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
¼ leek or 3 scallions thinly sliced (I used scallions)
⅓ cup brown rice
2 tsp dried thyme
1 can (14.5oz) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, including juice
6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper (my addition, optional)
Pinch of garlic powder (my addition, optional)

Instructions

Heat olive oil in saucepan.  Add chicken and sauté until just cooked.  Transfer to a dish and set aside.  Add carrots, celery and leeks/scallions and sauté about 3 minutes.  Add rice and thyme and sauté another 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.  Add the chicken back to the pot.  Add tomatoes and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer 30-45 minutes until rice is cooked.  I continued to let it simmer for another half hour or so to let all the flavors meld.

As mentioned, I added a little cayenne and garlic.  I think it needs the garlic to mellow out the thyme, and as for the cayenne – well I seem to like everything with a little kick these days.  The result?  Very good.  Hearty and comforting yet still light….just what I needed today.  Enjoy!



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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Butternut Squash Extravaganza!!!!

7:55 PM | Posted by Stephanie | Edit Post

I love fall.  It is my absolute favorite season.  I love the crisp, fresh air with that chill that makes you want to bundle up in a cozy sweater....or more likely for me, a turtleneck (and despite what people may say, it IS possible to make a turtleneck look sexy!). 

So what else would be on the menu, but soup!  Butternut squash soup is one of my go-to fall meals.  I don't care for the sweetened up version with apple juice or cider, I like the kind with a kick - bring on the cayenne, that'll really warm you up.  Here's the squash I used to make it, fresh from Homestead Farms out in MD - a true "butt"ernut if I do say so myself!


Ingredients

1  2-2 ½ pound butternut squash – halved lengthwise and seeded
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 cup nonfat milk
1 small onion – chopped
Pinch of grated nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne pepper – to taste
Salt and pepper – to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°.  Coat 13”x9” glass baking dish with cooking spray.  Place squash cut side down in dish.  Pierce each half several times with knife or skewer.  Bake until tender, about 45-50 minutes.

While squash is baking, sauté onions with 1-1 ½ tablespoons of butter on medium heat and stir frequently until caramelized.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

When squash is finished baking and slightly cooled, scoop it into a food processor, one half at a time.  Divide other ingredients – onions, nutmeg, broth and milk – between the two batches.  Puree until smooth.  Pour the soup into a medium sized saucepan.  Heat thoroughly adding salt, pepper and cayenne to taste.  

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If you're not that into soup or just feel like something else, another way to have butternut is cut up and roasted as a side dish.  Here's what I do:

Preheat the oven to about 425°.  Peel the squash, slice it in half lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds and goop.  Cut it into chunks about 1" in size.  Spread the chunks on a jelly roll pan in a single layer.  Pour some olive oil and canola oil over them (olive for flavor, canola because it has a higher smoke point), then sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, pepper and little nutmeg.  Mix everything up with your hands and make sure all pieces are well coated.  Roast in the oven for about 20-30 minutes or so.  I usually check on them every 10 minutes, give them a turn and poke them with a fork.  Bake until your desired doneness.  *Note, when they start to caramelize a little on the edges they are AMAZING!

I wonder what else I can do with butternut squash.....I'm thinking scones are next, or maybe rolls.  What do you think??
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