recipes

Soup, Soup, and More Soup

January 19, 2021 by Gindi Leave a Comment

Oh how I love soup.

My kids wish I didn’t love soup so much. Because I could serve it for supper for days on end.

I have some favorite soups in my quiver already. I highly recommend almost all of Pioneer Woman’s soups, but most particularly I love her Veggie Chili (to which I add more veggies, you’ll see this as a theme), Hamburger Soup (which I sub out ground turkey, another theme), and also Half Baked Harvest soups (search for flavors or ingredients you love, and she’ll have a soup recipe, but avoid the tortellini ones).

I’ve also made a bunch of different butternut squash soups but I’d have to give you a bunch of recipes, as well as slow cooker tortilla soup and white bean chicken chili. I’m always open to try something new.

Thanks to social media, when I put out a call for soup recipes, I received A LOT. I have tried six. I’ll provide those for you below, along with the ones still on my radar to make this month.

Sadly, none of them blew me away. I don’t have one five star recipe to share. As a result, I need more! If you’ve got an award winning soup for me, bring it on!!!

The order of soup recipes below is the order in which I tried making it over the course of a two day weekend. I did freeze some in these cool souper cubes that my friend recommended and my stepmom promptly shipped me (mine are one cup). So we still have some chicken chili and carrot ginger soup for future chilly evenings.

With regard to some of my substitutions, I haven’t had beef or pork in over 25 years. So I always sub out beef with chicken or turkey. I will sometimes include a little bacon for flavor but that’s about it. No pork sausage or ground beef unless I’m cooking something for my family that I don’t intend to eat myself. I also always add more spice, including garlic, and veggies than the recipe calls for because it just makes it better!

Soup #1 – Cheeseburger Soup from the Recipe Critic, Three Stars

A couple friends recommended this as a big hit soup with the kids. I was hesitant because I tend not to like creamy based soup, unless it’s potato. Also, I love to be able to throw a bunch of veggies in mine and this wasn’t high on veggies. But I decided I’d give it a whirl. Pluses were the kids did love it, and ate seconds (rare for soup), and I love the idea of shredded carrots in soup. I hadn’t done that before. Otherwise, it was too heavy for me.

Soup #2 – Ina Garten’s Italian Wedding Soup, Three Stars

Ina! I’m so disappointed. This came highly recommended and I love Ina. Here were the problems. The soup didn’t have nearly enough flavor even though I added more spices than it called for. I did not care for the meatballs. The pasta soaked up all the broth.

I would make this again but I would do this differently. First, I would make Half Baked Harvest zucchini parmesan chicken meatballs, which if you follow me on the socials you know I’m totally obsessed with this recipe of hers. I would only pour the soup over the pasta instead of including the pasta in the soup itself to keep more juice. I would add even more spices to give it some depth of flavor. Maybe those better meatballs would fix that problem.

Soup #3 – Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili from The Real Food DRDs, Three and a Half Stars

This recipe was fine. I liked it fine (you can tell just fine because I basically forgot to take pictures until I was freezing it!). It’s just I’ve had a lot of chicken chili and I need more kick than this had. The coconut milk, which I hadn’t used before, didn’t bother us at all. It’s just that it was just okay. You would think with all of those spices it would have been great – I think it just needed more of all the spices and jalapeños. I like a little spice, especially in chili!

Soup #4 – Carrot Ginger Soup from Saveur, Four Stars

Okay, I loved the flavor in this soup. I love carrot, squash, sweet potato soups. But here’s the problem. It’s just not very filling. This makes an insane amount and it really needs to be served as a starter for a meal. It doesn’t make a meal. It was also a little thinner than I had hoped it would be. I followed the recipe very nearly exactly, which is rare for me. It is quite spicy because I did find Thai peppers and they have a heck of a kick. I do not understand the smoked sausage, it didn’t really add anything…

If you don’t like carrots or spice, this one isn’t for you. If you do, then you really need to serve it with a substantive salad or sandwich to make a meal. (And I love a soup that serves as the main course.)

Soup #5 – Sweet Potato Chicken Noodle from Damn Delicious, Four Stars plus a smidge

This was my favorite of all the soups I tried. The flavors were rich. We’ve been on a bit of a sweet potato kick (I just made another batch of Half Baked Harvest’s chipotle chicken sweet potatoes last night, YUM!). I added a little less spinach, because my kids. Other than that, the only edits I made were more of all the fresh spices, plus I subbed out chicken breasts, used two medium sweet potatoes, and added a bit more lemon juice and stock. This was super yummy and all five of us loved it and had seconds. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars is because it’s just not a Pioneer Woman veggie chili yet…

Soup #6 – Taco Soup from Pinterest, Four Stars

This soup is good. The only reason I’m not going nuts over it is because it is basically my Pioneer Woman veggie chili without the veggies. And I do love veggies in a pot. The revisions I made to the soup were using ground turkey instead of beef, using two cans of Rotel and one can of tomatoes instead of vice versa, and sautéing the turkey with onions and peppers. I need some veggies!

Also, I don’t use powdered spice mixes anymore because of the sodium. Since taco spices are just cumin, chili powder, paprika, and oregano with some salt, I added that in – I probably use cumin and chili powder more than any other spice. I do have some ranch seasoning in a shaker that I used a bit off because I like that buttermilk kick the powder gives. And I needed way more broth, mine was chicken, so it was probably close to three cups instead. I topped it with fresh cheddar and sour cream and everyone loved it. But next time, use veggies!

What’s On The Menu?

Here are the soups that are in the hopper for the month. I actually started my social media post because I was craving a GREAT potato soup. This is my ultimate comfort soup. I received this recommendation for a potato soup from The Whole Cook and I want to try it out. Also recommended was Healthy Zuppa Toscano, which I’m willing to try by subbing out the pork sausage for turkey, but I’m somewhat skeptical it is “bursting with flavor” unless I add a lot of my own spices which I don’t see appearing in their recipe.

Another option for potato is Damn Delicious’ chicken and potato chowder which looks promising but I think I’d need to add corn too. And then there was a recipe for pumpkin black bean soup which sounds so crazy but looks really good. There wasn’t a website link but the recipe calls for canned pumpkin, black beans, diced tomatoes, garlic, balsamic, red onion, garlic, and chicken broth. I know it sounds a little nutty but it’s really appealing to me. I’ll post on the socials if it works out.

Okay, that’s it from my little corner. Sound off on what soup you have to have and what I should add to this month’s list! And let me know if you make one of these and find a way to make it a part of the permanent soup rotation!

On My New Obsession with The Pioneer Woman

August 3, 2015 by Gindi Leave a Comment

I totally realize I am late to this game.

I’m sure she’s been around and everyone has been on to her for years.

HOWEVER… I’ve only recently uncovered the goodness of The Pioneer Woman.

It started earlier this year when I was looking for an alternative to the frozen vegetable hamburger/cowboy stew. I even blogged about her yummy goodness.

Then I went on my merry way.

Until recently. When everything I have made of hers has turned to gold.

First up, take my hubby’s birthday Tres Leches cake. Mercy me. He loves this cake and is in the restaurant business, so he can be a fairly particular audience.

He thought my rendition was delicious!

The great thing is, if I don’t have time to do her full blown rendition, which on the more sophisticated recipes I often don’t, I can sub out a base and still use the remainder of the recipe. For example, on the Tres Leches, while I’m sure her homemade base cake was far better, my store bought yellow cake mix worked just fine as a base. But her glaze to pour over the cake and simple icing was absolutely spectacular (I left only about a half a cup of the three milks because we like our version juicy).

Just this weekend I was in a pinch for a recipe I could make for both my friend who had a baby and my own family for dinner. I needed something easy to transport and to make double portions.

Her green chili enchiladas were perfection. I didn’t even have to double it. I just added a chicken breast, a little more onion, and a little more sauce (which I didn’t have to do because I had leftovers). I have a delicious chicken enchilada recipe but it is incredibly complicated and pretty high in calories, but this version was easy to execute and healthier because it is simply chicken, caramelized onions, verde sauce and corn tortillas.

Sunday night dinner was incredible. My husband had seconds (which he almost never does because he has more self control than I do) and the kids scarfed the whole thing down. I would never have guessed that such a simple recipe would be perfection.

I have never found a more helpful recipe website. She goes step by step by step, with photographs, so there’s no confusion. You may be a dab of this and splash of this cooker, but I far prefer recipes. So not only do her recipes TURN OUT (something that doesn’t always happen), they are easy to follow.

What am I cooking next? Well, I’m going to work through most of her “easy” dinner recipes. Including her best lasagna ever recipe (because while I’m sure her turkey tetrazzini is awesome, I already have a go to recipe for that, but I don’t have a lasagna that I love). After I cook those, while I’m dieting, I’m going to serve up a tastier version of my high school potato skin addiction to my kids.

Do you have a favorite chef? What’s your favorite recipe these days?

Photos Credit: The Pioneer Woman.

What I’m Cooking

November 6, 2014 by Gindi 7 Comments

Y’all, do you ever just get SO tired of cooking?

This weekend I thought, how are we needing to eat lunch, we just ate breakfast? And then, I swear, as soon as lunch was cleaned up, it was time to cook dinner! I’m walking through the grocery meat aisle thinking, there is nothing else that can be done to a piece of chicken! (I don’t eat pork or red meat, but I will periodically cook it for my family and just hope it tastes okay…)

So I thought I’d share a few of my recent dishes that weren’t complicated and that tasted yummy enough for two adults and three five year olds to eat (for two days, because y’all, if I’m going to cook, there’d better be some leftovers).

Let me preface my recipes with this: I am a total foodie when I travel and get to eat out, however at home I’m pretty easy. I don’t use fancy ingredients and the only thing I buy organic is milk, chicken, and eggs. These were all cooked after work for dinner except for the roast chicken which is more of a Sunday dish.

1. Hamburger Stew.

If I could fill this whole page with soup and stew recipes I would. But my kids would kill me. At least with the cooling temperatures I can sneak one in every Monday. Most of my soups are crockpot based, but this one was easy enough to do on the fly and we ate it for dinner on Monday and Wednesday (I try to serve an intervening dish).

This recipe is based on Ree Drummond’s hamburger soup with alterations that make it fit our needs:

— Swap the ground beef with ground turkey (I’ll feed them beef, but not in soup because if I make soup I WANT TO EAT IT!). Swap the beef broth out for vegetable broth.

— I used a bigger can of tomatoes, I think it was about double the size of what she recommends. And I probably added a bit of water – I need this a little soupier.

— I dropped the yellow bell pepper. Two were plenty.

— I didn’t use the chili powder (my kids don’t love spicy), but I did use some fresh herbs that I already had handy. I honestly don’t remember what they were but I think it was thyme and sage.

— I added a can of corn and a couple zucchini and dropped one of the potatoes.

It was so yummy and only took about 30 minutes to make after the prep (cut the veggies in advance if you can).

2. Roast Chicken.

I generally have chicken breasts on hand, but sometimes a whole chicken is just what the doctor ordered. My very favorite cookbook, and I love cookbooks, is one I’ve had a ton of years (The Ultimate Southern Living) that has a simple crisped herb chicken with roasted garlic recipe. I make it on Sundays for dinner because of the cook time and serve it with veggies – I think I boiled carrots (a little butter and brown sugar for the kids) and roasted some broccoli. Easy peasy.

The recipe calls for 1/3 cup each of onion, diced carrot, and celery, but I probably use more b/c I stuff that chicken to the brim.
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp. dry white wine
3+ lb broiler-fryer
1/4 cup butter, melted (um, I’m probably a little closer to 1/2 cup)
2 tsp chopped basil, oregano, thyme
1/2 tsp salt and pepper (but does anyone measure salt & pepper, not me, I just throw it on)

Combine the celery, carrots, onion, parsley and wine and toss (wine is optional, I don’t always include it). Clean and rise the chicken, pat dry. Stuff the body with the vegetable mixture. Can tie the legs together if you wish, and tuck the wingtips under the chicken. Place the chicken, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Combine butter and the herbs/spices. Brush the chicken with the butter mixture (generously). Cut a couple of heads of garlic in half and drizzle with olive oil placing them around the chicken. Roast at 375 for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer registers 180 degrees (for me it always takes longer than an hour, allow for that). If you like bread, serve with good bread to spread that yummy garlic on. The house will smell SO GOOD!

3. Easy Cornbread.

So I am a complete proponent of starting from box mix and adding a dash and smidge to make it special. I do that with Jiffy cornbread.

For my family, I start with two boxes, but if we’re with Bray’s parents I add another box. Follow directions on box and add in one can of cream corn, shredded cheese to your taste (for me it’s a cup-ish), and diced jalapenos (again to taste, we don’t use a ton because of the kids). Bake in a prepared cast iron skillet and serve right from it. When cooking at 350, it takes at least 45 minutes because it’s goopier than most cornbread but everyone inhales it.

4. Twice Baked Potatoes.

I roughly use the basics from the recipe on Taste of Home with a few tweaks.

First, my potatoes never bake in an hour and I am anti-microwave baked potatoes, so allow an hour and 15 minutes. Also, when you cook the broccoli, only cook it for about five or six minutes. It should still be bright and firm. Immediately drain the hot water and fill pot with ice water to keep broccoli bright. Make sure you cut the florets small so they mix well with the potatoes. I also use a bit more sour cream and cheese because these are potatoes, and you should use the snot out of sour cream and cheese when it comes to potatoes. I also blend in garlic salt and pepper to the filling. The tops of the potatoes that I have cut off, I dice and use the next morning for a breakfast skillet.

Y’all these are more than enough as an entrée and my kids adore them even though they’re not huge potato eaters.

What are you cooking? Help – I need some fresh ideas.

Soup photo courtesy of The Pioneer Woman and Potato photo courtesy of Taste of Home.