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.



 

Saucy Stuffed Steak Rolls (Braciole)

This dish sounded so appetizing to me that I had to try it. Traditional Braciole (pronounced bra- jol) is an italian dish of stuffed tenderized beef, browned and then braised in tomato sauce. I decided to try to make a gluten free version with a veggie stuffing. Seems like a long list of ingredients, but it is only really about 3 steps.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bottom or top round steak (you can use chicken breast or boneless pork instead)
• 2 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 carrot
• 1 package chopped spinach, thawed
• 1/4 c. raisins or currents
• 3 tbsp shredded or grated parmesan
• teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dry oregano
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch Splenda or Sugar
• tbsp canola oil
• optional: one package thicker rice noodles (like spaghetti or linguini style), to serve as a pasta in the sauce

Prep:

1. In a small bowl, mix garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, nutmeg and oregano. Set aside.
2. Prep onion, carrot, celery, spinach. Thaw and squeeze out the moisture from spinach. Grate carrot. Dice small 1/2 of onion and celery to go in the filling. Chop the remaining onion and celery larger for the chunky tomato sauce. Set aside.
3. Place meat between two sheets of plastic wrap. Pound the meat thin. If the piece of meat will be too large once stuffed, you might want to cut into 2 portions at this point, then prep two rolls.

Cook:

1. Heat up dutch oven and add 1 tbsp oil. Saute small diced veggies, spinach and half of each the raisins and grated carrot til tender but veggies are still intact. Add 1/2 the garlic and large pinch of dry seasoning mix, saute 1 minute more. Do not burn garlic. Turn off heat, remove veggies into a bowl.
2. Add all the parmesan to veggies. Mix together.
3. Lay out the pounded meat flat. Put filling onto half of the meat (towards yourself). Do not worry if you have extra filling, it can be added to the sauce later.
4. Slowly roll up the meat tightly, rolling in the ends a little to keep the filling in. Use butcher string to tie up the roll or use toothpicks to hold together. Season the outside of the roll with another large pinch of dry seasoning mix.
5. Heat up pan, add a little more oil if necessary. Brown beef rolls on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside.
6. Add remaining cut veggies, grated carrot and raisins to pan and saute for a few minutes. Add tomatoes, crushing with your hands the whole tomatoes, leaving them chunky. Add all the liquid too. Also add in any remaining seasonings, splenda/sugar and any leftover stuffing mixture at this time.
7. Put beef rolls into the sauce, push them into the sauce so they are covered. Cover the dutch oven and slow simmer for 30 minutes.
8. At this time, prep noodles til al dente.
9. When sauce is done, turn off heat and remove beef rolls. Let sit for 5 minutes, then slice rolls to about one inch thick.
10. Add pasta to sauce and mix to coat. Let sit a couple minutes for sauce to absorb a bit into noodles.
11. Serve pasta topped with sliced beef roll. Add a little sauce and perhaps a little more parmesan cheese.

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.

Easy Crock Pot Veggie Soup

Was not feeling great this weekend, decided to make something seriously easy that might make me feel better. After sending my poor husband to get a few things at the grocery store, decided to make this. I have made this many times and I change out the ingredients to make it a little different each time, so feel free to omit veggies you do not like, or add whatever you may have on hand.


As you can tell, most ingredients are prepped, minimizing the work. There are suggestions on optional ingredients at the end.

*Note: This can be made in your crock pot or stove top. Equally as easy either way.

Ingredients:

Carrots, 1/2 small bag of petite prepped or 3 carrots sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1/2 bag fresh cole slaw (thinly sliced cabbage-from the prepped salad section of your store)
1 can diced tomatoes (about 14 oz)
1/2 cup rice (regular, not instant)
scallions, sliced
2 tbsp garlic
1 can tomato paste (6-8 oz)
2 large containers chicken stock or water (about 6 cups)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano, or italien seasoning
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp Bells no salt seasoning

Directions:
Clean and prep veggies, place in crockpot. Add rice on top.
In a separate bowl, mix broth, tomato paste and seasonings. Wisk to blend. Pour over veggies.
Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6-7 hours. I would maybe give it a stir half way through.

Options:

Any and all veggies can be changed out. In the past I have used a handful of frozen green beans, corn, peas, minced onion, spinach (already chopped in the frozen form), zucchini or summer squash. I would suggest choosing your favorites and to keep in mind not to overload it so it remains a soup rather than a stew.

Make it Mexican!
Add a handful of frozen corn and some red kidney beans (canned, rinsed). Replace the oregano and Bells with 1/2 packet of taco seasoning mix (or your own blend).

Make it Greek!
Use frozen chopped spinach instead of the cabbage, replace oregano and Bells with 1/2 tsp clove and 1 tsp cumin.

Make it Indian!
Instead of oregano and Bells, use curry or garam masala (maybe 2 tsp, depending the intensity you want). Top with a dollop of plain yogurt when serving.

Make it Asian!
Adding 1/4 cup rice vinegar,  2 or 3 tablespoons soy sauce, and a few dashes of hot sauce makes this taste like hot & sour soup. I would taste it to see if you have the right amount of hot sauce and vinegar, to get the intensity you prefer. Some people like it intense, some - not so much.

Curry Soup

Soon I will be posting more summer recipes, but here I am with another soup. As you may have already figured out, I am a soup nut! Also, my latest endeavors include Indian spices, especially curry and garam masala. For the moment, just about every time we go to a restaurant I order something with curry if it is available.

This soup is delectable. It is not HOT, as in spicy hot. I will have a few suggestions below the ingredients if you would prefer it that way.

In this version I used ground beef. Traditional Indian cuisine is vegetarian, so that would not include meat,  This certainly can be made without meat or with chicken. (mmm, curry chicken comes to mind.)


This recipe makes a large pot, about 12 servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 containers chicken stock (about 6 cups)
• 1 cup white wine (can be replaced with 1 cup water)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 stick butter (Promise)
• 6 carrots sliced (1/4-1/2 inch slice)
• 1 package, frozen chopped broccoli or cauliflower
• 3 stalks celery chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 red or yellow pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (sometimes called coriander)
• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• 2 heaping teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons each onion powder and garlic powder
• optional: cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper or dashes of hot sauce to taste, for *heat*

Directions:

1. In a 2 qt or larger pan, boil carrots in one container of chicken stock and wine until tender.
2. In a soup pot, brown ground beef, with the black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder until no longer pink. Remove meat and set aside, reserving about a tablespoon of fat in the pan.
3. Saute onions, celery and pepper in the reserved fat of the soup pot until tender. Add the 1/2 stick butter when the fat is absorbed and continue cooking.
4. Add the cornstarch and let cook through, about 1 or 2 minutes.
5. At this time, add the curry, stir, then add the remaining stock.
6. Let this come to a boil, it will thicken a little.
7. Add the broccoli or cauliflower, let it come back to a boil.
8. Turn off heat.
9. Add the carrots (with the liquid they were boiled in) into the soup pot.
10. Blend in. Taste.
11. Add more curry if you want at this point. Also, any *heat* you have chosen to add.
12. Once you have the flavor correct add the cooked ground beef and chopped cilantro.

Serve with a few whole cilantro leaves on top, or a small dollop of sour cream.

Note: If you refrigerate leftovers this soup will thicken. Add a little water when reheating for a more soup-like consistency.

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.