Zuppa Toscana

Oh my gosh, this was so good. Way better, in my opinion, than the one Olive Garden serves. Yum yum yum. One batch made plenty for my family of 6 with a little left over.
Credit for this delicious recipe goes to That's Some Good Cookin'

1 pound spicy Italian sausage

1/2 pound bacon, chopped

7 cups chicken stock

2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean and cubed

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups chopped kale

1 cup heavy whipping cream

salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat, brown sausage, breaking into small pieces. Drain, set aside.
2. In the same Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat, brown bacon; remove and set aside to drain on paper towels. Leave two tablespoons of rendered bacon fat in the skillet.
3. Sauté the potatoes, onion and garlic in the rendered bacon fat over medium or medium low heat. Sauté until the onion begins to be translucent and the potatoes are still a little firm, but are beginning to soften.
4. Add the sausage, bacon, 7 cups water, and 3 chicken bouillon cubes to the pot. Simmer until the potatoes are tender.
5. Stir in kale and cream. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat until warm throughout.

Lasagna Soup

Credit goes to http://peggyunderpressure.com/2012/12/deconstructed-lasagna-soup-electric-pressure-cooker-recipe/ for this delicious dinner

This recipe is for a pressure cooker, but it would be super easy to make in a regular pot too.

• Lbs. Spicy Italian Sausage (You can also use lean ground beef or even ground turkey)
• 2 16oz. Cans of Chopped Tomatoes (Omit one can if you want less calories)
• 1 8oz. Can of Tomato Paste (Omit completely if you want less sodium and calories, which I did so I don’t have a photo of it)
• 1 Whole Yellow Onion, chopped
• 3 Cloves of Fresh Garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning 
• 4 Cups of Chicken Broth
• Package of Mafalda Pasta, which look like cute little pieces of lasagna (You can use broken pieces of lasagna as well, which is what I did. Or fusili pasta)

Cheese Balls:

• Shredded Mozzarella
• Low Fat Ricotta Cheese

In your handy dandy pressure cooker’s inner cooking pan/pot, put a bit of olive oil and heat up the browning feature if your model has it.  Otherwise you can do it on the stove in a saucepan.

Crumble the sausage or whatever meat you are using and brown the meat in the pot.  Add the Italian Seasoning and lightly saute everything together.  Turn off the browning feature.

Add in the minced garlic and chopped onions.  Also the cans of chopped tomato and tomato paste.  Give everything a good stir.

Now pour in the Chicken Broth or water.  I did a mix of broth and water until my pot was at the MAX line full capacity.  Make sure not to over fill pass this line or you’re going to have a mess.

DO NOT ADD THE PASTA YET!  We’ll do that later.

Close the lid and lock it.  Set the pressure valve to Airtight.  Program your pressure cooker to cook for 10-minutes.  Or if it has a pre-set SOUP function, go ahead and press that.

That’s it.  It’s all ready to go.

Now, I want to make sure everyone knows that when you’re making a large pot of soup that has a high liquid content, the pressure cooker will take longer to come to pressure because it has to take time to heat up the liquid inside it.  Once it is all heated and the pressure has been reached, the cook time will then begin and count down.

While the pressure cooker is doing its thing, you can make the cheese balls!  Lasagna is known for all its cheesy goodness.  And I know cheese is really not the way to go if you’re trying to watch your calorie count.  But it’s okay, you’re just using a little bit of cheese.  It’s nothing compared to the baked lasagna that’s loaded with gallons and gallons of thick fattening cheese in layers and layers.

To avoid making a mess, use a clean plate and put some shredded mozzarella cheese onto the plate.  Then scoop out about 2-3 tablespoons of ricotta cheese and mash it onto the plate and mix it with the mozzarella.  Mash and roll until both cheeses are incorporated and roll it into a nice tight ball.  You can choose to add some dry parsley and dry basil to the cheese balls too.  Make however many balls you want and cover with saran wrap.  Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve the soup.

Whenever the pressure cooker has finished pressure cooking, adjust the pressure valve to Exhaust to release all the pressure.  For a big pot of soup, it may take almost 2-minutes for it all too release completely.  Once all the pressure is released, open the lid.  The unit should also have gone to the Keep Warm setting automatically.

Give everything a good stir.

Add about 1-2 cups of pasta to the soup.  Don’t add too much because the pasta have the tendency to soak up a lot of the liquid and get really bloated looking.  Add just enough for the amount of servings you want.  Season with salt but don’t go overboard.  I always leave salting my food towards the end or when I’m actually serving it.  Shut the lid to the pressure cooker again and program it to cook for just ONE more minute.

Once that has completed, go through the usual cycle to release the pressure and unlock the lid.

Ladle a nice portion into a serving bowl and drop a cheese ball into the center of the soup.  Serve while it’s nice and hot!  The cheese will melt and make the soup sort of creamy. 

Clam Chowder

3 (6.5 ounce) cans minced clams

1 cup minced onion

1 cup diced celery

2 cups cubed potatoes

1 cup diced carrots

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 C. milk

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Drain juice from clams into a large skillet over the onions, celery, potatoes and carrots. Add water Just to cover, and cook over medium heat until tender.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in flour and stir constantly until thick and smooth. Stir in vegetables and clam juice. Heat through, but do not boil.

Stir in clams just before serving. If they cook too much they get tough. When clams are heated through, stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

Gnocchi Soup

While wandering aimlessly through Wal-mart, wondering what to make for dinner I realized two things: 1-It was super snowy, which means Mother Nature is basically daring me not to make soup, and 2-My husband was going to be late at work and probably wouldn't eat dinner with us so he wouldn't be disappointed if I decided to have soup for dinner (he doesn't like soup. Wha?) Boo-yah! So my mind started turning and kept getting stuck thinking about that gnocchi soup at Olive Garden. This recipe certainly isn't exactly like that soup, but it's what I came up with based on the ingredients I thought to get and what I already had.

4 Tbsp. butter :)
1 onion chopped
2 stalks celery chopped (I didn't have this, but it would've been good)
2+ cloves garlic minced
4 Tbsp. flour
8 C. chicken stock (or whatever you have supplemented with water)
3 carrots peeled and sliced
1 head cauliflower chopped small
cooked chicken pieces (rotisserie chicken, canned chicken, etc.)
1 pkg. gnocchi
1/2 bag spinach chopped
2 C. whipping cream :)
salt
pepper
thyme, parsley, nutmeg, whatever


Melt the butter then saute onions, garlic and celery until cooked. Add flour to make a roux. Cook for about a minute. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Let it thicken up a bit, then add carrots and cauliflower. Cook about 15 min. until veggies are good and soft.

At this point I would've liked to use my immersion blender to blend it up all creamy (which maybe would've eliminated the need for the cream), but my  immersion blender melted in the dishwasher, so I just went ahead and added the gnocchi. Let the gnocchi cook 2-3 minutes, or until it floats to the top. Add chicken, spinach and cream. Heat through. Add whatever spices your heart desires.

Serve with this French bread, but only if you read the recipe before you started cooking because the bread needs to be made first. You can whip this soup up while the bread bakes. And if you bake your bread on your silpat mat that was last used to make cinnamon rolls and your bread has a very slight cinnamon taste, it's a good thing.

Mmmmm.

Maren's Chicken Enchilada Soup

Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 can black beans (rinsed & drained)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can corn

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup green bell pepper

1 can enchilada sauce

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 cup milk

2 chicken breasts

pepper jack cheese

In a slow cooker, combine beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, & peppers. Place 2 chicken breasts on top of mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce and soup, gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in cooker. Cover, cook on low heat for 6 - 8 hours, or on high 3 - 4 hours. Remove chicken cut or shred into bite size pieces Add chicken back into soup and top with the pepper jack cheese, and serve. Can also be topped with avocado, sour cream, or crushed tortilla chips.

Tortellini Sausage Soup

Another win from OurBestBites.com. 

3 links Italian sausage
4 cloves pressed garlic
1 onion, diced
½ c. water
2 15-oz. cans chicken broth
½ c. apple cider (don’t leave this out! I did once and it wasn’t the same…)
1 16-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 c. sliced carrots
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 medium zucchini, grated (great way to use your food processor if you have one)
2 tablespoons dried parsley

8-10 oz. package cheese tortellini  Barilla makes a great dry cheese tortellini, but if you use this, you'll need more liquid or you end up with a casserole more than a soup.

If you’re using link sausage, remove the casings and crumble into a large soup pot. To remove the casings, you can use a sharp knife to cut a slit down one side of the sausage and then peel back the casing.

Chop onion and add to pot with garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. Continue cooking until onions are translucent and your sausage is cooked. Your house will smell heavenly.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, juice, water, chicken broth, carrots, oregano, and basil. Cover and simmer for 1/2 hour. Add parsley and zucchini and simmer for another 15 minutes or so. Add the tortellini and cook until tender, and then serve with bread and freshly-grated Parmesan.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili

Are we all clear that everything from OurBestBites.com is delicious? Yes, it's true, except for the homemade pretzels which were a disgusting disaster, but let's not dwell on that. I loved this chili. I loved that it was different. I loved that it was healthy. I loved that it made two nights' worth of meal. I loved that my kids loved it. I loved the way my house smelled all day. I loved the great depth of flavors coming out. It's a winner!

Also, be ready for it to take 40 minutes or so to throw it all together. :)Recipe by Our Best Bites

Note: This recipe makes a very large batch of chili (about 4 quarts).  It freezes beautifully, so I like to make the recipe and then freeze half for another night.  You can certainly halve the recipe as well, which I recommend if you have a small slow cooker.

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, diced (any color)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 bell pepper, diced
1-2 jalapenos, minced
20 ounces ground turkey breast
8 ounces mushrooms, minced (about 2 heaping cups)
2 teaspoons cumin
2  teaspoons kosher salt
½  teaspoons pepper
1  teaspoon oregano
1  teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2  teaspoons smoked paprika
1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes*
1 28 ounce can tomatoes (not drained)
2 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
32 ounces beef broth (one box/carton)
1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree (make sure you’re not using pumpkin pie filling :)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

optional: sour cream, sliced avocado, chopped cilantro or green onion, and fresh lime juice for serving

Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat.  Add 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil and add onion, garlic, bell pepper, and jalapenos.  Saute for about 5 minutes, until veggies are tender and fragrant.  Add to slow cooker.

In same skillet, heat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil.  Add turkey and mushrooms and stir to combine.  Sprinkle in cumin, salt, pepper, oregano, chili powder and smoked paprika.  (note: the meat will taste very seasoned when done.  Keep in mind these seasonings are not to flavor just the meat, they will season the entire pot of chili, so they are intentionally strong!)  Add turkey mixture to slow cooker.

Add sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beans, broth, pumpkin, cinnamon, and cocoa powder to slow cooker and stir til combine.  Place lid on pot and cook for  4-6 hours on high, or 8-10 on low.   Slow-cookers vary greatly in temperature and cooking times, but really, the important thing to note is if the sweet potatoes are tender.

When done, turn off heat and let chili sit with lid off for 10-15 minutes to thicken.  Season with additional salt to taste before serving.  If desired, serve with sour cream, sliced avocados, and a small squirt of fresh lime juice, and any other toppings desired.

Yields: About 4 quarts (16 cups)

Nutritional Information (per 1 cup plain chili): calories: 160, protein: 14 grams, carb: 25 grams, fat 1.5 grams.  Add 2 tablespoons light sour cream and 2 slices avocado for an additional 80 calories.

White Chicken Chili

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into small pieces (or 1 jar of canned chicken)
1 Tbsp. oil
small onion, diced
about 6 garlic cloves, minced

Cook those together in a pot on your stove top. Then add:

1 can diced green chilis
2 15 oz. cans white beans, undrained (pinto, navy, etc.)
4 C. chicken broth (I used less b/c I like thicker soups)
1 tsp. chicken bouillon
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Simmer those together for about 1/2 hour. When you're ready to eat, add:

1 C. sour cream
3 C. monterey jack cheese, shredded

Heat through and serve.

Top with:
dallop of sour cream
fresh cilantro
chopped tomatoes
crushed tortilla chips

Black Bean Soup

Black Bean Soup
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 T olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3/4 C diced carrots (about 2 med carrots)
3/4 C diced celery (about 2 ribs)
1 C diced onion (about 1 sm-med onion)
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 3.5oz can green chilies
2 cans low-sodium beef broth
1 t kosher salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 t chili powder
1/4 t cumin
1/2 t dry oregano leaves
1 bay leaf
Optional Toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, chopped cilantro, etc.

Place a large stock pot on the stove-top and set to medium-high heat. When pan is warm, add olive oil. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes.

Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.

Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf from soup.

Place soup in a blender. (You could use an immersion blender in place of this step) Place lid on blender, but remove the stopper in the lid to let heat escape. Place a paper towel over the hole to avoid splatters.

Puree soup until completely smooth. Optionally you could pulse until a semi-chunky soup is achieved. Squeeze in the juice from one lime and pulse to combine.

Ladle into bowls and top with desired toppings. Serve with extra lime wedges. Makes about 8 C soup.

Nutritional Information (1 C soup, w/o toppings):
125 calories, 2g fat, 8g fiber
2 Weight Watchers points
South Beach Diet Phase 2 (eat carrots sparingly)

Dal Makhani Recipe for Dummies

I ate the Trader Joe's version of this and loved it. I haven't tried this recipe, but it looks good and simple, and I didn't want to forget what it was called, so here you go.


THE DAL
- Black Urad Dal (Black Lentils)
- Rajma (Kidney Beans)

II - THE MAKHANI
- Yoghurt
- Double Cream/Fresh White Butter

III - THE SPICES
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Green Chillies
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Red Chilli Powder
- Cumin Seeds



Cooking the Dal
The idea here is to just simplify the steps. You can check out the various recipes below to get the specific amount and time.

The Soak
You've got to soak the Kidney Beans (Rajma) and the Dal for atleast 6-8 hours. Best done overnight.

The Cook
The cooking is generally done with a pressure cooker. Add a little salt and water,mix both the beans and the dal and pressure cook for about 20 minutes, till the dal is soft.

You can also add the yoghurt and some cream while cooking the dal.

Your DaL is ready

Preparing the Makhani Gravy
Well anyone familiar with Indian cooking will not find this too difficult.

- Start with heating the oil and add cumin and garlic - till this gets a bit brown
- Add the onions and fry till golden brown
- Add the other spices - chillies, garam masala, other spices, tomatoes, salt
- Lastly add the dal to this gravy
- You can add water as needed based on how thick you want the gravy
- Garnish with Cream and Coriander
- Add Butter to this delicious dish

Your Yummy Delicious Dal Makhani is ready to serve

Sausage, Butternut Squash and Wild Rice Soup

This is adapted from a Food Network recipe. The original called for 12 C. chicken broth. I like thicker soups so I only used about 8 C. total.

2 medium butternut squash, about 3 to 4 pounds, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 cup wild rice
1 lb. sausage (or you can use cut up kielbasa type sausage)
2 cups fresh corn kernels (optional)
1 can coconut milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves


Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Season the squash with 1 tablespoon of the oil, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender. Remove from the oven and cool completely. In a blender or food processor, puree the squash with 2 cups of the chicken stock. Puree until smooth and set aside.

In a saucepan, over medium heat, bring 4 cups of the stock and 1/2 cup of the chopped onions to a simmer. Stir in the rice and cook until the rice is tender, about 1 hour, stirring occasionally with a fork. Remove the rice from the pan and cool.

In a large saucepan, cook sausage and remaining onion. Add corn, if you're using it. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for 3 minutes. Add the remaining chicken stock and squash puree. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Skim off any fat that rises to the surface. Stir in the rice and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the coconut milk and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 (32 fluid ounce) container chicken stock
1-2 C. cream (optional but yummy)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


Directions
1.Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. (It smells soooo good at this point!)Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.

2.Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Add cream, if desired.

Creamy Chicken Artichoke Crimini Mushroom Soup with Gnocchi

1 rotisserie chicken cut up OR 2 cans of canned chicken
1 jar/can artichoke hearts, finely chopped (not the Costco size jar)
1 pound crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 onion
3-4 C. chicken broth
pepper
butter/olive oil

1 package of gnocchi

handful or two of kale, chopped

1-2 C. cream
1-2 C. parmesan cheese


Saute onion in butter or olive oil until cooked through. Add chicken and artichokes and cook together until heated through. In separate pan, cook mushrooms in butter/oil and saute until brown and delicious looking. Add mushrooms to chicken mixture along with a few cups of chicken broth, enough to make a soup-like consistency. Add pepper to taste and bring to boil. 

Once it's boiling, add the gnocchi and the kale. This only needs a minute or two to cook. Then add cream and parmesan cheese. Adjust liquids according to your taste.

Wisconsin Cheese Soup

½ c finely chopped onion
4 t butter
4 t flour
1 ½ t cornstarch
4 c chicken stock
4 c milk
1 c cooked carrots
1 c cooked celery
1/8 t paprika
1/2 pound shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 pound velveeta cheese


Saute onions, carrots and celery in butter until tender. Add flour and cornstarch blending well. Add chicken stock and milk gradually, stirring constantly. When boiling add paprika and cheeses. Cook over low heat until cheese is melted. Add extra rue and salt if necessary.

Creamy Chicken Soup

Here's one I want to try but haven't yet.

Cook and shred 4-6 chicken breasts (or one whole chicken)
Add 8 cups of water to the chicken and simmer with:
2 cans chicken broth (optional-- but add a few extra cups of water if you don't use it)
6 carrots, sliced
6 stalks of celery, sliced
1 chopped onion
1/2 t. black pepper
Add chicken bouillon to taste (5-6 cubes or 6 tsps.)

Simmer until veggies are tender yet still crisp. Then add:

2 large cans cream of chicken soup (less if you wish)
2 C. sour cream (one 16 oz. container-- or less if you wish)
1 pound extra wide egg noodles-- cooked al dente

Serves about 12.

Hints: I cook the chicken with a few tsp. minced garlic and a bit of seasoning salt.
This recipe can easily be modified to make more or less, or to be less creamy.
When I make this, I taste it often so it doesn't get too salty. Add the bouillon gradually,
and at the very end.

Creamy tortilla soup

1/3 C. butter/margarine
1/3 C. flour
1 small onion chopped
2 large carrots sliced
1 can chicken or a bunch of chicken pieces
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 can chicken broth
About 1 C. milk
salt and pepper to taste
Tortilla chips
Cheese
Cilantro

This is a creation of my own brain that is still in the works. I don't measure, so I'm not sure how much liquid you actually add, but just play it by ear and see what looks right.

Place flour, butter and onion in medium-sized saucepan. Heat until butter is melted and it makes a bubbly mixture. Add chicken broth and milk and heat while stirring with wisk, allowing the mixture to thicken up. Add carrots, chicken and taco seasoning. Heat and cook until carrots are tender. You can add salt, pepper, or more spice as desired.

Serve with chips, cheese, cilantro or whatever else you want on top.