Chicken Satay Soup

I was looking for a way to use up leftover crudite from a party and thought I would try something new. I found recipes online for peanut butter soup and I thought why not take it to a next level and make a satay inspired soup. I tossed in leftover chicken from the night before and leftover white rice from chinese takeout. Why not use up leftovers, right? This experiment turned out great. I hope you give it a try.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked chicken, in bite size pieces
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons minched garlic
• 1 large potato, diced into bite size pieces
• 3-5 cups cut up veggies of your choice (in the soup I made I used red & green peppers, celery, baby carrots and zucchini)
• 4-6 cups chicken stock or water and bouillon, enough to cover veggies and extra to make it soup consistency
• 3 tablespoons butter or margerine
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed to release their flavor
• 1 lemon, skin grated and the juice
• 1/4 cup peanut butter

Directions:

1. In a soup pot, melt butter/margerine and saute onion, garlic until onion is translucent.
2. Add in remaining ingredients except for peanut butter and red pepper flakes. Let boil until potatoes and all the veggies are tender. (maybe 30 minutes)
3. Add in peanut butter and blend until melted in.
4. Rub red pepper flakes between your hands to release their flavor and stir in.

Soup is on!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

I was in the mood for stuffed peppers today, but decided this was easier to get the same flavors in a soup. Also, I was able to include extra veggies, always a good thing. This came out absolutely yummy, I hope you will enjoy it.

 Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 3 red peppers, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, sliced
• 3-4 cups chicken stock (or one large container)
• 1 large can crushed tomato
• 1 large can diced tomato
• 3/4 cup white long grain rice (or whatever rice you prefer)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:
In large soup pot, brown ground beef/turkey.
Drain, set aside the meat, reserve a little fat in the pot.
Add onions, celery and red peppers and saute until onions are translucent. (if you are using ground turkey, you may need to add a tablespoon of oil.)
Add chicken stock, crushed tomatoes and undrained diced tomatoes, browned meat, carrots and seasonings.
Cover and cook on medium until carrots are tender.
Add rice and cook for 10 minutes more.
Turn off heat but let the soup sit until the rice has cooked through, maybe 15 minutes.
Ready to serve.

This makes a large pot and will keep for 3 or 4 days in the fridge. I also like to freeze leftovers in individual serving containers to have for lunches.



 

Crock Pot Harvest Veggie Stew (Ratatouille)

A stop at a local farm stand inspired me this weekend. I walked away with some fresh veggies, not sure of what I was going to do with it all. I could not walk away from the fresh purple basil, it smelled so amazing! So I have decided on a veggie stew. This works well in the crock pot, but comes out equally yummy from the oven in less time.

I have listed ingredients below that I happened to get fresh today, but if there is a particular one you do not like, by all means just skip it. (I know a few people that do not like eggplant. Fortunately they won't have to suffer this particular dinner. :-)

Ingredients:

• 1 small eggplant
• 1 zucchini
• 1 summer squash
• 1 large tomato
• 1 large onion
• 1 red pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• small bunch fresh basil
• 6 oz tomato paste (1 small can)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• chives or scallions (optional)
• 1 tsp Bells No Salt Seasoning (optional)

Directions:

1. Wash and prep veggies. I prefer to slice all the veggies thinly, but you can cut them into chunks if you find that easier. The thing to remember is to try to maintain them about the same size, so they will cook evenly.
2. Use only the leaves of the basil, rip them into half or quarters.
3. Once veggies are prepped, layer into crock pot adding a layer of basil half way through, and then topping with another layer of basil.
4. In a bowl, blend together olive oil, tomato paste, garlic and ground black pepper. This mixture needs to be thick, but pourable, so if you need to loosen it up, add a small amount of water.
5. Pour tomato paste/olive oil mixture over veggies.
6. Set crock pot on low for 5 hours. (for heartier vegetables, such as carrots and turnip, cook on low for 6 hours, or until everything is tender)
7. Ready to serve.

Oven method:
Prep as described above, use an oven safe casserole with a lid. Cook @ 350 for about one and a half hours. (uncover the last 15 minutes for browning)

This makes a large amount, about 4-6 servings. Use more veggies for a greater amount of servings.

Salmon Veggie Chowder

I am such a fan of soups, I am always looking for new combinations to try. This inspiration came from my husband, who's got a shellfish allergy and cannot handle clams. 

It came out delicious - and includes a healthy dose of veggies and omega-3 fats from the salmon. I hope you enjoy it. 

Ingredients

• 1 pound salmon (frozen & thawed is OK here)
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 small slices canadian bacon, diced (this is very lean, but bacon or ham diced small will work here) 
• 3 celery stalks, diced small
• 1 shredded carrot
• 1 shredded summer squash
• 1 shredded zucchini
• 1/2 stick butter (Promise sticks)
• 1/2 cup parmesan
• 1 tablespoon oil (unflavored, like canola)
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups potato, diced to bite size
• 3 heaping tbsp corn starch
• 16 oz milk or cream (I used fat free coffee creamer, lactose & gluten free) 
• Splash of white wine
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 2 heaping tablespoons Bell salt-free seasoning (this has many herbs, but you can make your own combination of what you like) 

 

Directions

• In one pan cook diced potatoes in chicken stock. Add 1/2 the pepper and 1/2 the seasoning mix. Cook til tender, do not drain.
• In same pan as potatoes, poach salmon until no longer pink. Remove salmon and set aside. (leave potatoes and broth in pan). Once cooled a little, flake the salmon with a fork.
• In a separate soup pot, add butter (Promise) and oil. Add onions, celery, canadian bacon and shredded veggies, Saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Add remaining seasoning and stir in. Add cornstarch and continue to saute til well blended and cornstarch disappears and is cooked through.  
• Add a splash of wine, the broth, and potatoes. Scrape the bottom of your pan to get the flavor off the bottom. Bring to a boil. Keep stirring and the mixture will thicken. Turn off heat. Add flaked salmon, milk, parmesan and stir until blended in. 
• Ready to serve!
• Makes a large pot. About 8-10 servings.

Seafood Pot Pie - with potato crust

Rich with Omega-3s (that is the good fat), gluten free and low sodium, this healthy recipe will make your family happy.

The original recipe for this also contained shrimp and lobster, but we have some shellfish allergies in the family, so I replaced those items with scallops and salmon. (For some reason the shellfish allergy does not kick in with scallops.)

I wrote the recipe the way I made it, but you can certainly use the seafood of your liking. I would choose items that will stay relatively intact in a sauce.

This will make a large family sized casserole.

**tip - use the wrapper from your butter/Promise to butter your casserole
**note - fennil sometimes is called anise at the market.

Ingredients:

• 12 - 16 oz Scallops
• 12 - 16 oz Salmon
• 12 - 16 oz Halibut
• 1 stick butter (Promise)
• fresh fennil fronds (use the main part of the fennil to make salad as a side)
• 1 large or 2 small shallot, minced
• 2 c. chicken stock 
• 2 heaping tbsp corn starch
• 2 carrots, sliced about 1/2 inch
• 1 celery stalk, slice about 1/2 inch
• 1 small package frozon petite peas
• 2-3 potatoes, sliced thinly, then halved (very thin, like on a mandolin)
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 1/2 tsp celery seed/coriander

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cut fish into bite size chunks, set aside
3. Make sure scallops are dry by dabbing with paper towel
4. On stovetop, heat up a frying pan. Add oil, then 1 tbsp Promise.
5. Sear scallops. Pan needs to be very hot before the scallops go in. Do not crowd them, this will steam them instead of sear. Cook in batches if necessary. Place them in frypan and let them cook, do not move them around. At first they will seem to stick, but they will loosen up once they are seared. Turn them over at this point and cook the other side. These are quick cooking, you will need to remove once cooked through or you risk overcooking them. Set aside when done.
6. In a sauce pot, bring to a simmer chicken stock and one tsp each of dry seasonings. Poach fish in the chicken stock. This also should not take a long time. This will not only cook the fish, but flavor the stock. Remove fish with a slotted spoon and set aside. Retain the stock.
7. In the stock, add carrots and peas. Bring to low boil and let cook until carrots are tender. Turn down heat to a slow simmer.
8. In frypan, melt half remaining butter. Add celery and shallots, cook til translucent.
9. Add cornstarch to frypan, stir and let it cook through. About 5 minutes.
10. Add cornstarch mixture to chicken stock. Bring up heat on the chicken stock, stirring occasionally until it comes to a boil. At this point, it should begin to thicken. Once thickened, turn off heat.
11. Halve scallops, then add them and the fish into the sauce pot.
12. Stir gently to mix, try not break up fish or scallop. Add fennil fronds.
13. Pour contents of saucepot into your buttered casserole dish.
14. Arrange sliced potatoes on top. In the picture above I left the thin slices whole, but it was a little difficult to cut into. I would cut these slices in half or thirds before placing them on top of the casserole, to make it easier to serve later.
15. Melt remaining butter in microwave. Add remaining dry seasoning and mix in. Brush top of potatoes with butter mixture.
16. Cook in oven. Inside the pot pie is already cooked, so you only need to cook the potatoes. Keep an eye on the casserole, the potatoes are very thin so about 20 - 30 minutes should do it.

Ready to serve. Makes about 8 large servings. Goes well with a salad or corn on the cob as a side.