This recipe was found in "Big Book of Heartwarming Soups" by Taste of Home. It's a 2 in 1 book; I got my moneys worth in this discounted buy!! It's a book filled with user submitted recipes and recipes from the Taste of Home Kitchen. Diane, my assistant, introduced me to Taste of Home and I think it's ab fab!
Recipe:
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 C chopped celery
1/2 C chopped onion
2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14.5 oz each) reduced sodium beef broth
2 1/2 C reduced sodium tomato juice
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1 C sliced fresh mushrooms
3/4 C frozen French style green beans
1/2 C sliced carrots
1-1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t dried parsley flakes
1 t dried thyme
1/2 t sugar
1/2 t dried basil
1/4 t pepper
1 bay leaf
1) In a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray, saute the turkey, celery and onion until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain.
2) Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaf. Soup may be frozen for up to 3 months.
Yield: 4 servings.
So, um, where do I start? I think this is one of those "looks good on paper" type of deals. Like, right now, I've gone on a few dates with 'guy' and on paper--he's a catch. In real life, I think I'm throwing him back. I've got my reasons, both real and superficial (which I am not going to write down but if you call me I'd be happy to talk). Let's just say that on the first few dates/talks on the phone you should be charming and putting your best foot forward.....
Okay, soup.
Remember that facebook status about thyme and bay leaves being old people seasonings? Well, it originated from this soup permeating my house. I probably should have cut back on the amount of thyme I threw in there and I could have lived with the soup. Live 'n learn.
So I was on a ground turkey kick for awhile and bought a bunch of it (go figure, it was a good deal and I was ALL over it!). I had 1 more frozen pack of turkey in the freezer and thought I'd use it on this soup.
So anyway, cooked it up and added everything it required except for the mushrooms (ick!).
I've got to be honest; I did not enjoy this at all. It was much more enjoyable when I added a handful of goldfish crackers.
However, I ladled some up for my parents and brought it over for them. I didn't disclose any ingredients to them and they enjoyed it! My mom thought it was made with Italian stewed tomatoes, and I told her it was the thyme.
If you make this, I would suggest you cut down on the thyme. Unless you're a fan of thyme. I am not.
Don't pass me the pepper on this one, I'm headed elsewhere!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Makeover Chicken Rice Soup
Okay, so they say the way to a person's heart is through their stomach... Well this soup is definitely the way to my heart; it's so yummy! I was very, pleasantly surprised with the results of this soup. It's from "Healthy Cooking"; who would think anything labeled healthy would taste good?! Meanwhile, my "side-dish" for you (like that pun--yeah I do, too).... So I made my wonderfully perfect chocolate chip cookies the other week and brought some to the guy I was going out on a date with. You would think with how awesome my cookies are, I would get a text the next day with a thanks.. Nope!! Everyone loves my cookies.. My cookies bring all the boys to the yard and they're like it's better than yours, damn right it's better than yours... Sorry, it popped in my head. The next time I talked to him he did mention they were great, but HELLO, they are so yummy, they deserve a next day text. Whatev, on to the soup!!
Okay, the real title of the soup is "Makeover Curried Chicken Rice Soup"; however I didn't put the curry in. I put in lemon pepper. Thus, my title is "Makeover Lemon Pepper Chicken Rice Soup"
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Yield: 11 servings (2 3/4 qt)
1/4 C butter, cubed
2 large carrots, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
3/4 C plus 2 T all purpose flour
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp curry powder (THIS IS WHERE I SUB-ED IN LEMON PEPPER; SAME AMOUNT)
2 cans (12 oz each) fat-free evaporated milk
1 C half-n-half cream
4 1/2 C reduced sodium chicken broth
3 C cubed cooked chicken breast
2 C cooked brown rice
1) In Dutch oven, melt butter. Add carrots, celery and onion; saute for 2 minutes. Sprinkled with flour, stir until blended. Stir in seasoned salt and curry (lemon pepper, in my case). Gradually add milk and cream. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
2) Gradually add broth. Stir in chicken and rice; return to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Okay, the only change I made to the recipe was the lemon pepper. I have no desire to curry anything; ef that! So I'm assuming you can use whatever leftover chicken you have for this soup. However, I cooked a couple chicken breasts specifically for this soup and I lemon peppered 'em up before I threw 'em in the oven. I also did this the day before I planned on making the soup to make life a little easier. Obviously the magazines cooking time is a gross underestimate if you are specifically making the chicken for the soup (and rice, too).
A little tip for you; rice freezes well. I've been eating brown rice regularly, but it takes a long time to cook. So I've taken to freezing rice. I make more than a recipe calls for and take the extra (usually a cup or 2) and then freeze it in a baggy for later.
Also, I have no idea if half-n-half cream is the same as half-n-half you find in the dairy section; but in my world it is. I've never heard half-n-half referred to has cream before, but who am I to know such things? Maybe if I went to the healthy food store they might have this elusive cream.
Finally, things were a little difficult in the "adding the flour" section. I felt like there wasn't enough liquid to handle all the flour being blended in to the mix. Be careful and adjust your amounts accordingly.
And, of course, add some more pepper to your serving and enjoy!
Okay, the real title of the soup is "Makeover Curried Chicken Rice Soup"; however I didn't put the curry in. I put in lemon pepper. Thus, my title is "Makeover Lemon Pepper Chicken Rice Soup"
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Yield: 11 servings (2 3/4 qt)
1/4 C butter, cubed
2 large carrots, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
3/4 C plus 2 T all purpose flour
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp curry powder (THIS IS WHERE I SUB-ED IN LEMON PEPPER; SAME AMOUNT)
2 cans (12 oz each) fat-free evaporated milk
1 C half-n-half cream
4 1/2 C reduced sodium chicken broth
3 C cubed cooked chicken breast
2 C cooked brown rice
1) In Dutch oven, melt butter. Add carrots, celery and onion; saute for 2 minutes. Sprinkled with flour, stir until blended. Stir in seasoned salt and curry (lemon pepper, in my case). Gradually add milk and cream. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
2) Gradually add broth. Stir in chicken and rice; return to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Okay, the only change I made to the recipe was the lemon pepper. I have no desire to curry anything; ef that! So I'm assuming you can use whatever leftover chicken you have for this soup. However, I cooked a couple chicken breasts specifically for this soup and I lemon peppered 'em up before I threw 'em in the oven. I also did this the day before I planned on making the soup to make life a little easier. Obviously the magazines cooking time is a gross underestimate if you are specifically making the chicken for the soup (and rice, too).
A little tip for you; rice freezes well. I've been eating brown rice regularly, but it takes a long time to cook. So I've taken to freezing rice. I make more than a recipe calls for and take the extra (usually a cup or 2) and then freeze it in a baggy for later.
Also, I have no idea if half-n-half cream is the same as half-n-half you find in the dairy section; but in my world it is. I've never heard half-n-half referred to has cream before, but who am I to know such things? Maybe if I went to the healthy food store they might have this elusive cream.
Finally, things were a little difficult in the "adding the flour" section. I felt like there wasn't enough liquid to handle all the flour being blended in to the mix. Be careful and adjust your amounts accordingly.
And, of course, add some more pepper to your serving and enjoy!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Italian Soup
You might think it could have been difficult for me to pick the first recipe I wanted to share..... Well, it wasn't. This recipe cannot be found in a can, you can't select it at The Olive Garden, & I've never actually had this made for me at any friend's house or restaurant. It's one of a kind :)
Okay, so circa 1990s, in the Zion church cookbook "The Italian Soup" recipe was submitted for my eating pleasure. Here it is for you in it's original form.
1 lb mild Italian sausage
1 chopped onion
1 medium chopped green pepper
4 C tomatoes, cut up
3 C tomato sauce
2 QT water
3 cubes chicken bouillon or 1 T granulated version
3/4 t garlic salt3/4 C shell macaroni
Brown sausage, green pepper and onion. Drain. Stir in remaining ingredients except macaroni. Cover and simmer 15 minutes, stir in macaroni. Cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or until macaroni is tender. Top with cheese.
Okay here's my spin....
1 buy canned tomatoes because I'm lazy.
1 use garlic powder instead of garlic salt.
I add at least a cup of shell macaroni.
I add at least a cup of shell macaroni.
I also add a cup of mozzarella to the actual soup and let it melt in. I also top individual servings with mozzarella, too.
I suppose you could use provolone cheese, too. For some reason I've decided to hate provolone as of lately. It's got too smokey of a taste for me.
I suppose you could use provolone cheese, too. For some reason I've decided to hate provolone as of lately. It's got too smokey of a taste for me.
Why is this soup great!? Because it's super fast to make and it's beyond delicious. If you want to freeze it, don't add the noodles and then freeze it up. Later on, thaw it out and warm it up and add the noodles to it. Or if you like the taste of frozen noodles, freeze 'em. Personally, I can't stand when noodles are frozen. I've got an experiment going with egg noodles right now because I heard they freeze better than "regular" noodles. We'll see.
So I made this recipe 2 weeks or so ago... Yeah... Um.... I'm pretty sure that I accidentally labeled frozen breakfast sausage as Italian sausage (I like to buy meat when it's on sale and then separate it by the pound in baggies and label it. Mistakes happen!). The taste was off, but the tomato base was so good, I kept eating it! LOL. I'm such a weirdo. Nothing a little more mozzarella can't fix!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
No Soup For You!
To say that I enjoy soup is probably a huge understatement! Everyday at work I eat soup; Monday thru Friday--soup, soup, soup. I don't get sick of soup and I absolutely love it! There are so many varieties and types, you can't go wrong! I think the soup fascination started from sheer laziness. I was tired of making myself lunch (yes, it's true), so I just started bringing cans of soup to work. I ended up bringing bowls and spoons to keep at work and I carted in two week's worth of soup every other Monday. It made my life easier; who doesn't enjoy easy?!?
My coworkers quickly caught on to my soup obsession. Lovely little comments flew by my way every time I microwaved my lunch. I love Campbell's Select Harvest and Progresso Light :) I have standards, no condensed soups! I love chicken soups and different types of tomato soup. Canned beef soups seem so boring to me and canned vegetable soups do not appeal to me.
Christmas rolled around and I received a soup cookbook. I was puzzled. I had a system and it worked. Me, cooking soup? Really? That's not to say that I've never made soup before; I do have a few recipes that I enjoy. But to cook soup on a more regular basis; how odd!
Well, as my friend suspected, I'm enjoying cooking my own soup. So much so, that I'm constantly whipping up a batch to eat and freeze and share with others. It was suggested I write a blog about my soup making skills... So here I am...... Welcome to my crazy world of soup and any other cooking creations I feel like sharing.
I'm by no means an expert, so don't think of me as your go-to soup gal. I consider myself a novice in soup making and all cooking endeavors. I don't feel like a "real" cook because I just cook for myself. I live alone, but I learned to cook for a family. So when I do cook, it's in big quantities....Therefore, I have a lot to eat before I make another meal (yes, I am aware of the invention of the freezer, but my freezer is constantly filled with other frozen stuff). So join me as I write about my fun in the kitchen; it's always an adventure. I'm sure you'll find a recipe that you'll enjoy and my commentary skills are Vh1 worthy, so you'll get a little entertainment on the side, too.
So pass the pepper and grab a spoon! Enjoy!
My coworkers quickly caught on to my soup obsession. Lovely little comments flew by my way every time I microwaved my lunch. I love Campbell's Select Harvest and Progresso Light :) I have standards, no condensed soups! I love chicken soups and different types of tomato soup. Canned beef soups seem so boring to me and canned vegetable soups do not appeal to me.
Christmas rolled around and I received a soup cookbook. I was puzzled. I had a system and it worked. Me, cooking soup? Really? That's not to say that I've never made soup before; I do have a few recipes that I enjoy. But to cook soup on a more regular basis; how odd!
Well, as my friend suspected, I'm enjoying cooking my own soup. So much so, that I'm constantly whipping up a batch to eat and freeze and share with others. It was suggested I write a blog about my soup making skills... So here I am...... Welcome to my crazy world of soup and any other cooking creations I feel like sharing.
I'm by no means an expert, so don't think of me as your go-to soup gal. I consider myself a novice in soup making and all cooking endeavors. I don't feel like a "real" cook because I just cook for myself. I live alone, but I learned to cook for a family. So when I do cook, it's in big quantities....Therefore, I have a lot to eat before I make another meal (yes, I am aware of the invention of the freezer, but my freezer is constantly filled with other frozen stuff). So join me as I write about my fun in the kitchen; it's always an adventure. I'm sure you'll find a recipe that you'll enjoy and my commentary skills are Vh1 worthy, so you'll get a little entertainment on the side, too.
So pass the pepper and grab a spoon! Enjoy!
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