Spicy Sausage, Spaghetti Squash, and Kale Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds spicy sausage
• 1 small spaghetti squash, cooked and shredded
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 bunch kale, stems removed and torn
• 1 cup white wine
• 10 cups chicken broth
• 1 Tablespoon dried thyme
• Red pepper flakes, to taste

In a stock pot, brown the sausage. Drain grease.

Add onion, cook until soft.

Add spaghetti squash, wine, chicken broth, and spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Stir in kale and cook until wilted, remove from heat.

Butternut Squash Soup

A tasty, hearty fall soup!

Ingredients:

• 4 pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled and cubed
• 12 slices bacon, cut into ½ inch peices
• 4 cups chicken broth
• sage (1 ½ Tablespoons fresh or 1 ½ teaspoons dried)
• salt & pepper

In a stock pot, cook the bacon. Remove with a slotted spoon, onto a plate with a paper towel.

In the bacon grease, cook the butternut squash for about 5 minutes.

Add apple, sage, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until squash and apple are both very tender.

Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add the bacon back in. Use a stick blender until soup reaches desired texture.

Cooking: Chicken Enchilada Soup

I wasn't quite sold on any of the chicken enchilada soups I found recipes for, so I made my own recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 package boneless chicken thighs
• 1 package boneless chicken breasts
• 1 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 can diced green chiles
• 1 onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 poblano pepper
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 cups shredded cheese (cheddar and pepper jack)
• 2 cups enchilada sauce
• ½ stick butter
• 2-3 tablespoons flour
• chipotle chile powder
• ancho chile powder
• garlic powder
• salt
• pepper

Part 1: Chick N Veg

Chicken (I used a mix of thighs and breasts), onion,
can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes, can of diced green chiles,
red bell pepper, poblano pepper, jalapeno pepper, salt & pepper.

Chop the onion and fresh peppers. Put all ingredients into the crock pot for 3-4 hrs on high (or 6-8 hours on low).

Into the crock pot

After cooking for allotted time

Remove the chicken and use 2 forks to shred it

Part 2: Let's get cheesy!

Heavy cream (2 cups), butter (1/2 stick),  flour (2-3 T),
shredded cheddar & pepper jack (4 cups),
enchilada sauce (2 cups, not pictured)

Melt better in a pot over medium heat. Then stir in flour.

Slowly whisk in cream. Keep whisking until all cream has been added and the mixture has thickened.

Add cheese, melting it in as you go. It will be very thick at this point.

Add the the enchilada sauce, vegetables (including liquid) from the crock pot, and the shredded chicken. If the soup is still too thick, add a little bit of chicken stock until it's the desired consistency.

Part 3: Spice it up!

I used 2 different chile powders (ancho & chipotle) to add depth.
I also added garlic and pepper. Add spices to your taste.

I froze this soup to take to Day-After-Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house. It froze and thawed very well!

Ready to freeze

Reheated and ready to eat!

Things to do different next time:

• Add a can of black beans. (I actually meant to do this, but forgot!)
• Add another jalapeno and some cayenne pepper (I was making this mild because some of my family members don't do spicy food.)

Cooking: Cream of Celery Soup

Another "cream of" soup: Cream of Celery

Campbell's Cream of Celery Soup ingredients: Water, Celery, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Cottonseed, Canola and/or Soybean), Modified Food Starch, Wheat Flour, Cream (Milk), Contains Less than 2% of: Salt, Dried Whey (Milk), Margarine (Corn, Cottonseed, Canola and/or Soybean Oil, Water, Beta Carotene for Color), Monosodium Glutamate (aka: MSG), Soy Protein Concentrate, Yeast Extract, Flavoring.

My recipe:
6-8 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups heavy cream
1 stick butter
3 T flour
3-4 cloves garlic
salt & pepper, to taste
parsley, to taste

(not pictured: butter, parsley)

Saute celery, onion, and garlic in 2 T butter.

Remove the pan contents into a bowl.

Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Add flour and combine. Slowly add cream, 1/4 cup at a time, whisking to incorporate each time.

Cook for 5-10 minutes until thick and bubbly. Add back in the celery and onion mixture.

 Season with parsley, salt, and pepper.

Use (or freeze) as-is as a substitute for condensed cream of celery soup, or add some milk and heat to eat is as a stand-alone soup.

This recipe makes the equivalent of about 2 cans of cream of celery soup.

Cooking: Cream of Mushroom Soup

Cream of Mushroom Soup: A popular ingredient in many recipes.

Now for the scary stuff, the ingredient list!

Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup: water, mushrooms, vegetable oil (corn, cottonseed, canola, and/or soybean), modified food starch, wheat flour, salt, cream (milk), dried whey (milk), monosodium glutamate (aka: MSG), soy protein concentrate, yeast extract, spice extract, dehydrated garlic

Okay, so it's not the worst ingredient list I've seen, but not the best either. Especially since I personally try to avoid soy whenever possible, as well as MSG.

So in my shift to eating a more natural diet, I made my own "Cream of Mushroom Soup".

Ingredients: Mushrooms, heavy cream, butter, onion,
garlic, flour, heavy cream, salt & pepper.

Start by chopping the onion and sauteing in 2 T of butter.

Add sliced mushrooms and 3-4 cloves of minced garlic.

Once the mushrooms have cooked down a bit, move the pan contents to a bowl and set aside.

To the pan, add remaining butter and 3 T flour. Whisk together.

Add 2 cups of heavy cream, about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking constantly until it is fully incorporated before adding more. Bring to a thick bubbly consistency. Cook 5-10 minutes until thick and bubbly.

Add back in the onion, mushroom, garlic mixture that was set aside earlier. Add salt & pepper to-taste.

And the finished product: Cream of mushroom soup both tastier and healthier than Campbell's!

Use (or freeze) as-is as a substitute for condensed cream of mushroom soup, or add some milk and heat to eat is as a stand-alone soup.

This recipe makes about the equivalent of 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup.

Cooking: Chicken and Fennel Stew

I know I've been posting a lot of stews lately, but it's winter! Perfect soup/stew weather!

This is a recipe I've never made before, Chicken and Fennel Stew, from the cookbook The Primal Blueprint Cookbook.

The beer almost has my name!

Break down chicken. Salt & pepper (recipe didn't call for this, but I typically season my chicken before browning). Brown for about 5 minutes in a pot.

This is how NOT to do the chicken.
I got inpatient and pulled out the chicken
too early. They should be browned more.

Remove chicken and add chopped onion, fennel bulb, and mushrooms (I used a mixture of baby portabella and shitaki). Saute until softened.

Ground fennel seed. I used a mortar & pestle, you could also use a coffee grinder or finely chop with a knife if you don't have a mortar & pestle.
Smash saffron threads with a little bit of Belgian-style beer until they dye the beer.

Yes, my mortar & pestle is pink!

Add 1 1/2 bottles of Belgian-style beer to the pot. (Drink the leftover half a bottle!) Add the ground fennel seed and the saffron mixture. Add fresh minced garlic. Bring to a boil and add the chicken.

Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut milk. Add chopped kale and stir in until wilted.

Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Yum!

Things I'll do different next time:

• De-bone and cube chicken instead of cooking whole bone-in pieces.
• Needs more salt. There was no salt called for in the recipe at all. (The recipe said to use either the beer or chicken stock, I obviously chose the beer; perhaps using chicken stock would have been enough salt.)

Cooking: Paleo Posole

Posole is a traditional Mexican stew. Traditionally made with hominy, this "paleo" version uses winter squash instead. Recipe from The Paleo Diet Cookbook, a Christmas present from my sister this year (she sent it a little early, so I opened it!). :-)

I've started restocking my spices from the farmers' market,
that's why the cumin is in a jar instead of a plastic bottle.

Simmer pork roast, onion, garlic, oregano, red pepper, cumin, and some water for 1 hour.

Remove pork roast. Pour liquid into bowl. Add olive oil and acorn squash to the pot and cook for 5-10 minutes.

Return everything to the pot. Add a chopped jalapeno pepper. Simmer for 90 minutes.

For any World of Warcraft players out there,
my fiance said this looks like Un'Goro Crater.

Stir in a handful of fresh cilantro. Simmer until meat falls off the bone.  (I removed the roast and chopped up the meat.)

Overall review: A little on the bland side, needs more spices next time, either additional quantity or perhaps a few different spices added.




And as an added bonus, since I couldn't let those acorn squash seeds go to waste....

Toss with olive oil, sea salt, and chipotle powder, bake for 10 minutes at 400°. Yum!

Cooking: Lamb, Cabbage, and Jalapeno Stew

This is a Turkish recipe I came across while looking for lamb stew recipes. (Adapted from Classical Turkish Cooking: Traditional Turkish Food for the American Kitchen.)

I decided to give it a try, it was good. It's on my "repeat" list! One word of caution: it is spicy, so if you like food on the milder side, cut back on the crushed red pepper and jalapenos.

Ingredients

• 1 lb lamb stew meat
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 onions, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cups beef stock or broth
• 1 cabbage, shredded
• 4 jalapenos, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute lamb in butter for 10 minutes.

2. Add onions, cook 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, paprika, and crushed red pepper. Cook for another couple minutes.
4. Add 1 cup beef stock, salt & pepper to taste. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

5. Add cabbage and jalapenos. Cover and cook for 5 minutes to wilt the cabbage a bit.
6. Add remaining 1 cup beef stock, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Not the prettiest dish in the world, but it was yummy!