Minestrone Soup

As mentioned in a previous blog, we recently had family over for my son's 4th birthday. He requested that we take everyone for lunch at his favorite Chinese restaurant, but since I knew we'd have family in from out of town, I wanted to make sure that I had a lighter dinner available, in case anyone was hungry later in the evening. I knew we'd be having a big lunch, so I thought that soup, salad and bread would surely be sufficient. I kept going back and forth between soup recipes, because my in-laws (and husband) are all very picky eaters, so I wanted to make sure that I had something that would appeal to everyone. My grandmother included her recipe for Minestrone soup in a cookbook that my Mom and sister put together for me as part of my bridal shower gift years ago and it's always been so well liked by anyone who tries it. A single recipe makes a decent amount, but I would highly suggest doubling it, as the leftovers are just as delicious--and perfect for any of you who take your lunches to work...or for those of you who are at home juggling kids and trying to squeeze in five minutes to grab a bite to eat!

Minestrone Soup

1/2 pound bulk Italian Sausage (I ordinarily increase it to a full pound!)
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic--finely chopped
8 cups water
(1) 28 oz can Italian style tomatoes, undrained and broken up
5 teaspoons beef bouillon (or 5 cubes)
4 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 medium carrots, pared and sliced
(1) 15 1/2 oz can garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained
(1) 9 oz package frozen cut green beans, thawed
1/2- 8 oz package spaghetti, broken
grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a large kettle or dutch oven, brown sausage, onion and garlic. Pour off fat. Add remaining ingredients, except green beans, spaghetti and cheese. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for one hour. Stir in beans and spaghetti--bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered ten additional minutes or until spaghetti and green beans are tender. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Source: Grandma Sylvia

Simple Turkey Chili

I must say...I am VERY proud of my husband and his recent eating habits! This past January, he and some of his co-workers launched their own "weight loss challenge" at work--they have goals that they have to reach every couple of weeks and so far, Marcus has done remarkably well! (Don't get me wrong...he's not "obese" by any stretch of the imagination..I don't want him to read this and think that I'm bashing him on here! He's just gained a "few extra pounds" since we got married!) I was a bit skeptical at first, because he very much enjoys his carbs, sweets, etc, but we've been working together to eat healthier as a family and I've been trying my hardest to experiment with healthier recipes. He has asked me a few times about trying ground turkey, so I went in search of recipes that I knew would appeal to him. He's always been a big fan of my chili, so I thought perhaps he would enjoy a "turkey chili". Some reviewers of this recipe suggested that you add an extra can of beans to make it less "soupy", so I did just that--I actually used two cans of mild chili beans, instead of kidney beans. To be completely honest with you, I have always had myself convinced that I did not like ground turkey--I literally felt sick just thinking about eating it. Don't ask me why, because I love turkey...it's just the idea of ground turkey that's always made me gag! This chili, however, was surprisingly good! When I tried it, I was expecting to tell a noticeable difference, but I really didn't! It definitely tasted different than the chili I ordinarily make, but only because of the differences in spices. The chili does have a bit of a "kick" to it, so if you prefer food less spicy, I would opt to reduce the amount of chili powder!

Simple Turkey Chili

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
2 cups water
1 (28 ounce) can canned crushed tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) can canned kidney beans - drained, rinsed, and mashed
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Place turkey in the pot, and cook until evenly brown. Stir in onion, and cook until tender.

Pour water into the pot. Mix in tomatoes, kidney beans, and garlic. Season chili powder, paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes.

Source: Allrecipes

Chicken Noodle Soup

Nothing says "comfort" more than a good bowl of chicken noodle soup! I've never actually followed a recipe while making chicken noodle soup in the past, but I happened to stumble across this recipe in one of my countless Taste of Home cookbooks and it looked really good! I made the soup during the afternoon and then my husband was so kind as to pick up sandwiches--there's nothing quite like a good sandwich and bowl of soup...especially on one of those "lazy nights" when you can't quite muster up the energy to cook :) This will most definitely be my new default chicken soup recipe!

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 stewing chicken (about 4 pounds), cut up
3 quarts water
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
5 celery ribs, coarsely chopped, divided
4 medium carrots, coarsely chopped, divided
2 medium onions, quartered, divided
2/3 cup coarsely chopped green pepper, divided
1 1/4 teaspoons pepper, divided
1 bay leaf
3 teaspoons salt
8 ounces uncooked medium egg noodles

Directions:

In a large kettle, combine the chicken, water, broth, half of the celery, carrots, onions and green pepper, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours or until the chicken is tender. Chop the remaining onion; set aside.

Remove chicken from broth. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and cut into bite-sized pieces. Discard bones and skin; set chicken aside. Strain broth and skim fat; return broth to kettle. Add salt, chopped onion and remaining celery, carrots, green pepper and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add noodles and chicken. Cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Source: Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2004

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

My husband loves soup...he could eat it almost every day and actually tends to do just that! Even more than his love for soup, is his love for anything "lemon"! This seemed to be the perfect recipe option to please everyone, especially myself, who was wanting to use up some leftover chicken that I had in the refrigerator. To my surprise, the soup was even a big hit with my 3 1/2 year old--his exact words were "Mommy, you made a great soup!" (Talk about melting your heart!) I very much enjoyed the soup, but did feel that the lemon was a tad bit overpowering, as was the amount of soup base that the recipe called for--it tasted a little "salty" to me. I would suggest cutting back a little on the lemon juice and perhaps only adding 4 tablespoons of soup base, instead of 6, but all in all, this was a nice, hearty soup...it would be excellent with a loaf of French bread!

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

8 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
6 tablespoons chicken soup base
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cooked white rice
1 cup diced, cooked chicken meat
16 slices lemon
8 egg yolks

Directions:

In a large pot, combine the chicken broth, lemon juice, carrots, onions, celery, soup base, and white pepper. Bring to a boil on high, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Blend the butter and the flour together. Then gradually add it to the soup mixture. Simmer for 10 minutes more, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks until light in color. Gradually add some of the hot soup to the egg yolks, stirring constantly. Return the egg mixture to the soup pot and heat through. Add the rice and chicken. Ladle hot soup into bowls and garnish with lemon slices.

Source: Allrecipes