Vegetable Stew

The Polar Vortex wages on, and soup continues to appear on the menu.  To make soups a more filling dinnertime option, especially soups without meat or pasta, consider serving it in a bread bowl like we do with our Cheesy Tomato Soup.  With that being said, this soup is packed with both vegetables and protein, thickened up with a little evaporated milk and pasta, so no need for bread bowls this time around.  If you're cooking with lean meat, it's unlikely you'll have a lot of excess fat to drain from the pot, but it's good to scoop out whatever excess fat you can.  I had celery, baby carrots, and onion on hand, so that's what I chose to throw into the pot.  I called this a vegetable "stew" instead of "soup" because I thought it seemed particularly hearty.  In all honesty, I don't actually know the difference between "soup" and "stew," do you??

Vegetable Stew
Time: 45 minutes
Servers: 4-6

Ingredients

1 lb. ground turkey
2 tsp olive oil

3 cups diced vegetables (carrots, onion, red pepper, celery)
2 cloves garlic, minced
28-oz. can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
½ Tbsp dried basil
½ Tbsp dried oregano

½ Tbsp dried thyme

½ Tbsp dried sage

½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup small pasta, such as stelline, orzo or elbow macaroni
½ cup evaporated milk

Directions 

1. In a Dutch oven or large stockpot, brown turkey, stirring frequently until no longer pink.  Season with salt and pepper.  Drain excess fat and set aside turkey.

2. Using the same Dutch oven, combine olive oil and diced vegetables.  Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until soft.  Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 3o seconds.

3. Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, and spices to the pot.  Bring mixture to a simmer.  Add pasta, and continue heating on medium until pasta is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes.  Finally, add evaporated milk, and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add turkey back to the Dutch oven, and heat until warmed through.  If necessary, season with additional salt and pepper.

Crockpot Lasagna Soup

Crockpot Lasagna Soup

Adapted from Fresh Family Meals

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey
3 cups chicken broth
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 small onion chopped onion
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
6 oz can of tomato paste
8 oz can tomato sauce
Italian seasoning, to taste
2 cups uncooked shell pasta
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1 cup pater
Shredded Mozzarella cheese, for topping

Directions
1. Add all ingredients to the corckpot. Note, you do not need to pre-cook the turkey.

2. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours , or on high for 4-5 hours.

Sriracha Corn Chowder

This soup originally called for fire roasted corn, but it isn't exactly corn season, so we stuck with frozen corn instead.  With a little Google research, I opted for pan roasting the kernels instead and that did the trick.  The makers of Sriracha sauce have been in the news recently, but that hasn't stopped KK and I from using it.  We opened a new bottle for this recipe, but I think it’s safe to say that it’ll last until the so-called Sriracha shortage ends.  My recipes frequently call for small quantities (teaspoons here and there) of Sriracha sauce, but this is the first time that it’s been one of the major ingredients in a meal.  Since we usually like spicy food, I wasn't overly concerned about the level of spiciness.  In fact, the contrast between the spicy Sriracha sauce and the sweet corn in the soup was pleasantly surprising.  With that being said – be warned – if you can’t handle spiciness, then this soup isn’t for you.  We both enjoyed this soup (I even had it for lunch the next day), but neither one of us topped our bowls with extra sauce, a testament to how spicy it really was!

Sriracha Corn Chowder

Adapted from The Sriracha Cookbook

Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

4 tsp olive oil, divided

2 lb. frozen corn, thawed and divided

2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced

2 medium yellow onions, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups vegetable stock

½ cup Sriracha sauce

½ tsp dried thyme

2 bay leaves

1 cup light cream

Salt and black pepper

Smoked paprika, for garnish

Directions

1. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Cook 1 cup of corn in the skillet, stirring occasionally until kernels begin to blacken, about 20 minutes.  Plate and set aside.

2. Heat remaining oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven or stock pot.  Add peppers and onions, cooking 5-7 minutes until slightly softened.  Add remaining 1 cup thawed corn and garlic, cook an additional 1-2 minutes until garlic is fragrant.  Add vegetable stock, Sriracha sauce, thyme, and bay leaves.  Increase heat to high and boil mixture, then reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 45 minutes.

3.  After the soup cooks for 40 minutes: pour cream into the same skillet used for the corn, and heat over low for 5 minutes; cream should be just below a simmer.

4. Remove bay leaves and puree the soup with an immersion blender.  A food processor or blender can be used as well, but take caution when transferring the hot liquids to and from the Dutch oven.

5. Mix in warm cream and reserved roasted corn.  Cook an additional 5 minutes, until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper; sever immediately, garnished with smoked paprika and additional Sriracha if you can handle the heat!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

I think it's quite obvious that, by the increased volume of soup posts I’ve shared over the past few months… I love soup! It’s great for a hearty dinner, and also turns into wonderful leftovers that I can have for lunch at work.  I’m a huge fan of Ziploc Twist 'n Lock containers because I worry less about spillage when I carry leftovers, especially soups, in my purse.  This recipe caught my eye because I really like stuffed peppers (evidenced here and here).  I figured a soup version of stuffed peppers would be a big hit with both of us, and I was right! Better yet, it was really easy to make: cook the meat, combine the remaining ingredients, simmer, and enjoy! It was a little under-seasoned, so I added extra Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes, indicated below, and a lot of black pepper. In lieu of rice, this soup would also work with quinoa or small pasta such as stellini.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Adapted from Skinny Taste

Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

2 ½ cups cooked rice

1 lb. lean ground turkey

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

28-oz. can diced tomatoes

15-oz. can tomato sauce

2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp Italian seasoning

½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

1. If rice is not cooked yet, prepare rice according to package directions.

2. Season ground turkey with salt and pepper; brown meat in a Dutch oven on high heat, about 5-10 minutes.  Once no longer pink, drain excess fat, reduce heat to medium-low and add peppers, onions and garlic; cook until onion begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

3. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cover, and simmer on low for 30 minutes.  Stir in rice, and serve immediately. 

Creamy Creamless Tomato Soup

Boohoo! The weekend’s warm weather has turned cold and snowy again, and I’ve come down with an awful cold! Feeling under the weather, I left work early yesterday, and I plan to work from home the rest of the week to keep my germs quarantined (I’ll look for my coworkers to thank me later J).  Luckily KK asked me to make soup over the weekend, so the leftovers came in handy today as a comforting lunch for me!

Creamy yet creamless.  You're probably wondering how that works! The health benefits of no cream are somewhat offset by the bread that's used to thicken the soup, but it's definitely a healthier alternative to heavy cream.  The original recipe called for thick sandwich bread, but we had a bag of unopened croutons that we were itching to get rid of.  I can wholeheartedly (after just finishing the leftovers!) confirm that using croutons was a great substitute.  Ours were seasoned with garlic and Italian spices, so they added nice flavoring to the soup.  After much stirring, I was unable to find the bay leaf, so I gave up and blended the soup with my immersion blender.  The bay leaf must've been emulsified, because we never found it! If you don't have an immersion blender, carefully transfer the soup to a standard blender in batches and blend until smooth.  As you can see from my picture, I copied Tracey, and served the soup with mini grilled cheese croutons.  To make them - I toasted up two pieces of bread, coated both sides with a little butter spread, microwaved for 15 seconds with the cheese (this is a KK-mandated step in grilled cheese making as he swears it leads to perfectly melted cheese), then grilled the sandwich on a heated skillet.  I cut the sandwich into 10-15 little pieces, and they were the perfect addition to this soup. Enjoy!

Creamy Creamless Tomato Soup
Adapted from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients
¼ cup olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
2 (28-oz.) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice
1 Tbsp brown sugar
3 cups small croutons
2 cups chicken broth

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add onion, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and bay leaf to the pot.  Stirring frequently, sauté until onions are translucent and soft, 3-5 minutes.  Pour in the canned tomatoes and their juices.  Using a wooden spoon or potato masher, break tomatoes into smaller pieces.

2. Stir in brown sugar and croutons; bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium.  Stirring occasionally, cook until croutons are soft and begin to break down, 5-8 minutes.  Remove bay leaf.

3. Remove soup from heat, stir in remaining olive oil, and carefully use an immersion blender to puree the soup.  Return soup to the heat; cooking on medium high, stir in chicken broth, and bring to a boil to heat through.  Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

Macaroni and Cheese Soup

Macaroni and cheese, especially Velveeta, reminds me of my childhood.  I have strange memories of squeezing the foil pack of Velveeta cheese into the pot of cooked pasta as my dad stirred the mixture.  I also ate a lot of Easy Mac in college, but now I can’t stand it.  Nevertheless, If KK weren’t around or if calories ceased to exist, I might eat mac and cheese 2-3 times/week.  Although my picture doesn’t do it justice, this soup was remarkably creamy, and the store-bought breadcrumbs added an unexpectedly pleasing crunch to the soup.  The original recipe recommended using whole milk, but we drink skim or 1%.  In using skim instead of whole milk, the soup didn’t come to its creamy state of perfection until I used the immersion blender to smooth it up.  If you’re making this for kids, the immersion blender also helps break up the diced vegetables, hiding the added nutritional value from potential picky eaters.  Before adding the pasta, it will look like you have a lot of liquid for the soup, but the pasta absorbs some of the liquid, and it forms the perfect ratio of soup to noodles.  I’m looking forward to the leftovers, although I imagine more of the soup will be absorbed by the noodles… but I’m OK with that because it just means the leftovers will be more like mac & cheese than soup.

Macaroni and Cheese Soup

Adapted from Famed Cooks

Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

8 ounces dry elbow macaroni

½ cup diced onion

½ cup diced celery

2 Tbsp butter

⅓ cup flour

⅔ cup sherry or white wine

3 cups chicken broth

½ tsp cayenne pepper

3 cups milk

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Breadcrumbs for topping, optional

Directions

1. Cook macaroni according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, sauté onions and celery with butter in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat.  Cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add flour to pan and stir for 1 minute.

3. Next, add liquids to the pan.  Start by adding the wine, bringing the mixture to a simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Then add chicken broth and cayenne pepper, and continue to simmer for 5 minutes as mixture begins to thicken.  Finally, whisk in milk and simmer for another 3-5 minutes until hot.  Keep pan at a simmer; do not bring to a boil.

4. Add cheese in 1-cup increments, stirring after each pour until the cheese melts.  If soup looks clumpy, use an immersion blender to smooth out the liquid.

5. Pour in cooked macaroni, stirring until the pasta is warmed through.  Serve immediately, topping with breadcrumbs if desired.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Happy New Year!! Most of the blogs I read posted their Most Viewed/Top posts of 2013, but I’ll save that for the end of January to celebrate my first blogiversary! So – how did everyone ring in the New Year? Instead of waiting hours to see the Times Square ball drop, without food/warmth/bathrooms, KK and I hosted a party at our place.  We ordered dinner from Grimaldis, and munched on homemade goodies like buffalo chicken dip, spice cupcakes, pumpkin bread, and brownie batter dip.  Since my friends were all eager to bake, I just provided the basics – wine, cheese and crackers, hummus, a veggie platter, and Archer Farms Butter Toffee Caramel Clusters courtesy of Target (YUM!).  We were having too much fun catching up that we weren’t prepared with our champagne toast and noisemakers when the ball dropped.  Whoops! Thankfully, KK rewound the DVR so we could properly ring in the New Year (just a few minutes late!).  Sadly, I had to return to work today, but it’s already Thursday so the weekend is just around the corner!!

This cheesy soup was simply divine, and we even had all the ingredients already on hand! Usually, soups take awhile to simmer and come together, but this only takes ~20 minutes.  I recommend nuking the cream cheese in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften it up before blending together the sauce mixture.  This will help create the soup’s smooth consistency.  The original recipe lacked a bit of flavor, but that was quickly solved by added heaping teaspoons of cumin and chili powder.  Instead of seasoning the soup with salt while cooking, the chips added the right amount of saltiness at the end.  In fact, I continuously added crumbled tortilla chips to my bowl, making the crunchiness last throughout the entire meal!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Adapted from Some the Wiser

Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 tsp canola oil

1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

10 oz. can enchilada sauce

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 ½ cups frozen corn, thawed

10 oz. can diced tomatoes

¾ cup milk

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

Tortilla chips, for serving

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Cook chicken and onions 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked through.  Add garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.

2. Use a hand mixer or immersion blender to blend cream cheese and enchilada sauce together in a small bowl.  Mixture should be smooth.  Once chicken is cooked, pour cheese sauce mixture into the skillet.  Stir in beans, corn, diced tomatoes, milk, cumin, and chili powder.  Simmer over medium-low heat until heated through, about 7 minutes.  Serve warm, topped with crushed tortilla chips.

Tuscan Sausage Soup

KK and I made it safely back to Hoboken on Friday.  I won't go into detail about the painfully slow 6-hour drive which was supposed to take only 4, but you get the picture! We spent most of yesterday putting away our Christmas loot, finishing up some organizational/cleaning-related projects, and got some errands out of the way.  Back in November, my optometrist mentioned that my Vision Plan included an allowance for frames that could be converted to tinted lenses... meaning massively discounted designer sunglasses! I'd forgotten about this great deal, but luckily remembered while we were in Virginia, so I made a beeline to Eyeshapes yesterday and picked out a fun pair which will be in my possession in 7-10 days!  Now, I feel like we're ready for New Year's Eve (we're hosting a few friends), and that I just need to make sure to fend off any lingering germs I may've picked up while visiting my dad!

This is another one of the soups I made while KK and I were at my dad's house for Christmas.  Feast on the Cheap's picture looked so creamy and delicious when I saw this on Pinterest, we just had to try it! To my surprise, there actually isn't any cream in the recipe! It's chock full of vegetables and chicken broth - just what my sick dad needed. The original recipe made enough soup for 12 (so really 8 if it's being served to my dad and KK), so we halved the recipe and it made 4 hearty servings.  As the sausage cooks, break it into bite-sized pieces.  Once you start adding vegetables to the pot, it'll be harder to find and break up the sausage bits.  Next, you'll add the carrots and onions because they take the longest to cook.  After this step, the carrots will be slightly tender on the outside, but still crunchy on the inside; the onions will be golden brown.  My pasta took longer than I thought to cook, so I've increased the length of the last step to reflect the required cook time.  By adding some crushed red pepper to each serving, you'll not only spice up the soup, but you'll also help open up the sinuses of anyone eating it! Enjoy!

Tuscan Sausage Soup

Adapted from Feast on the Cheap
Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients
2 tsp canola oil
1 lb. Italian sausage
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1½ quarts chicken broth
14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
15-oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
8 oz. medium pasta shells
½ Tbsp dried basil
6 oz. spinach leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping, optional

Directions
1. Heat canola oil over medium high heat in a large stockpot.  Remove sausage casings and cook in the stockpot until browned and crumbled. 

2. Add carrots, onion and garlic; saute until tender and starting to turn, about 5-7 minutes.

3. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, beans, pasta and basil.  Increase heat to high and bring mixture to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to simmer, and cook until pasta just becomes tender, about 7 minutes.

4. Stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 8-10 minutes; pasta will finish cooking.  Season with salt and pepper, top with grated Parmesan, and serve warm.

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken Stew

After Saturday's early Easter festivities, KK and I had Easter brunch with some friends at O'Nieals.  The brunch menu had a good range of breakfast and lunch options, as well as an extensive variety of Bloody Mary choices, including a "build your own" option.  I'm more of a mimosa girl myself, but several people around the restaurant were enjoying Bloody Marys.

We opted for a non-traditional Easter dinner - Tex-Mex stew! With the temperatures in the mid-50s, I'm not really sure what prompted KK to pick stew for dinner, but it was delicious.  I think KK was swayed by his love of shredded chicken! I started the slow cooker before we left for brunch, and the apartment smelled heavenly by the time we got home.  Without Tapioca on hand, KK's research indicated that we should use flour to help the stew thicken.  My original instinct was to use cornstarch, but thankfully KK learned that cornstarch tends to break down in the crockpot.  Good to know! I carefully removed most of the jalapeno ribs/seeds, but KK and I didn't think the stew was hot enough.  Remember - we like things spicy! A little Frank's RedHot did the trick, but next time I'll probably leave some of the jalapeno seeds or add more chili powder.

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken Stew
Adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures
Time: 5 hrs 35 minutes
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients
2 onions, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup instant tapioca
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
3 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
2 cups frozen corn
1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
Shredded Mexican cheese (optional), for topping

Directions
1. Combine the onions, jalapenos, garlic, tomato paste, oil, and chili powder in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 5 minutes, stirring half-way though, until the onions have softened. Transfer mixture to the slow cooker.

2. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, tapioca, and brown sugar to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then add it to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.

3. Move chicken from slow cooker to mixing bowl; shred it using two forks.  Allow the stew to sit uncovered and untouched for 5 minutes; use a spoon to skim any fat from the surface. 

4. Add the corn and black beans, cover slow cooker and cook on high for 10 minutes.  Add the shredded chicken and chipotle chile, and cook for another 5 minutes.  Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve and top with shredded cheese, if desired.

Easy Tomato Florentine Soup

I finally made use of my last unopened bridal shower gift – the Dutch oven! According to Wikipedia, Dutch ovens are well suited for long, slow cooking, such as in making roasts, stews, and casseroles.  I went the more commercial route for my first Dutch oven, opting for a Calphalon non-stick aluminum one instead of cast iron.  I figured it would be easier to use, but I already have my eyes on a spare Le Creuset enameled cast iron Dutch oven that’s lying around my Dad’s house… and it’s red! It just may find its way into my car next time I’m visiting him! Although the Dutch oven was high on my registry list, I left it in the box (and stored in the guest bedroom closet) for several months before using it.  What was I thinking!?!? The 5-quart dish made cooking soup much easier than the other 3-4 quart saucepans that I’d been using.  Now I have a project for this week – organizing pots and pans to make room for the Dutch oven in the kitchen cabinets.

I echo Good Life Eats enthusiasm for having a stocked kitchen.  KK and I already had all of the soup ingredients in stock, so I’ll keep this recipe in mind for the rare evening when we need a last-minute dinner plan! The original recipe called for 3-5 cups of vegetable/chicken broth, so I made the executive decision to use 4 cups.  Things looked rather liquidy while simmering, but most of the broth was absorbed when I added the pasta.  Dinner ended up being more like a watery pasta instead of soup.  I've updated the directions below, recommending that you use 5 cups of broth to get the perfect soup-to-pasta ratio.

Easy Tomato Florentine Soup
Adapted from Good Life Eats
Serves: 4
Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
8 oz. small pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
3 - 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes, drained and juice reserved
1 tablespoon minced garlic, about 3 cloves
2 tablespoons flour
2 bay leaves
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained
salt & pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions
1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, heat the butter and olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute for 3 minutes. Add the brown sugar, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes (reserve juices for a later use). Cook until the tomatoes begin to dry, about 13 minutes.

3. Add the garlic to the dutch oven, stir, and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the flour and continue to cook for another minute.

4. Stir in the reserved tomato juice and bay leaves. Pour broth slowly into the Dutch oven.  Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes.

5. Remove bay leaves; stir in pasta, spinach and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, serve with baguette and grated Parmesan.

Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup

The winter weather just won't let up! I was hoping for nice weather weekend, but Saturday was both cold and windy.  We picked up a dresser from Craigslist on in Jersey City, and the drawers nearly blew other while we were loading the car! Since it's not feeling like spring yet, KK decided to sneak in this hearty soup into the rotation.  Monday's forecast is also calling for snow, so maybe we'll add a few more soups to the menu plan before spring finally arrives!

I only defrosted 0.8lbs of chicken so KK and I were a bit nervous the soup wouldn't be filling enough.  To accompany the soup, I cooked up a side of Chicken Fajita Rice a Roni.  The rice and soup seasonings were a prefect pair.  Once I finished cooking the chicken, I placed it in a mixing bowl and used my hand-mixer to shred it.  Going the hand-mixer route was much easier than shredding the chicken with a fork! I almost skipped the tortilla chips, but KK insisted and I'm glad he did - they were a nice, crispy topping for each bowl!

Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup
Adapted from Eat Yourself Skinny
Serves: 2-4
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 tsp. chipotle chile powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 (14 oz) can fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges
2 (6-inch) tortillas, cut into strips
Cooking spray 

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add minced garlic and shredded chicken; saute for about 2 minutes.  Add chipotle chile powder and cumin; stir well.  Add water, salt, chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Place tortilla strips on a baking sheet.  Spray strips with cooking spray and sprinkle with a touch of chipotle chile powder.  Bake at 350 for about 8 to 10 minutes.  Top soup with baked tortilla strips.

Spicy Tomato & Turkey Soup with Stelline

With a mid-March snow storm forecasted for Wednesday/Thursday in the mid-east, soup seemed like the perfect dinner choice.  

I used Target store brand marinara sauce for the soup and, although I'd never tried it before, it worked just fine.  For the pasta, I used Stelline.  You can hardly see the tiny star-shaped pasta in my picture, but I swear there's pasta in there! We had half a box in the pantry (not sure where it came from though!), but even with doubling the pasta quantity, we're still left with about a cup left.  Luckily this soup was so good, it'll likely make it's way into the dinner rotation again soon.

Spicy Tomato & Turkey Soup with Stelline
Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats
Serves 4-6
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
10 baby carrots, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1lb ground turkey breast
salt & pepper
1 jar marinara sauce (23-28oz)
5 cups chicken broth
1 can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
1 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup Stelline, or other small pasta

Directions
1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add in carrots, onion, garlic and turkey breast, and season with salt & pepper. Cook until turkey is no longer pink, breaking it up as it cooks.

2. Pour in marinara sauce, chicken broth, beans, red chili pepper flakes and Italian seasoning. Cover and bring to a boil.

3. Once broth is boiling, add in pasta and simmer soup for 10 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Add more salt & pepper if necessary, and ladle into bowls to serve.

Cheesy Tomato Soup

Pinterest success.  It would be next to impossible to go wrong with anything described as "pizza you can slurp."  KK and I made a trip to Hoboken's Antique Bakery for some sourdough rolls.  Unfortunately, they only had tiny sourdough rolls and loafs, so we opted for white bread rolls instead.  The bread bowls were very easy to make - just be sure to leave enough extra bread on the edges so you don't have to worry about leaks when you inevitably refill your bowl! I tried toasting the bread bowls in the toaster oven, but quickly reverted to the standard oven's broiler because things started to get a bit smokey.  If you have a broiler, stick with it, just keep an eye on things to avoid burning.

Cheesy Tomato Soup
Adapted from Pepper.ph
Serves 2
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
2 large rolls for bread bowls
olive oil, for brushing
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons fresh basil, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 cup Italian cheese blend, shredded
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated
salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, and sage to taste

Directions
1. Cut top part off each bread bowl and scoop out inside bread to make a bowl. Brush with olive oil and toast in your oven's broiler for 3 minutes. Cool and set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in pot over medium heat. Saute garlic and onions for 2-3 minutes until cooked, but not browned.

3. Add crushed tomatoes, chicken broth and bouillon cube. Stir in sugar, season with salt and pepper.  Increase heat to high, bring to a boil, and cook for 3 minutes.  Add desired seasonings to taste.

4. Add in basil and mozzarella cheese, stir for 1 minute and turn off burner.

5. Scoop soup into bread bowl.  Sprinkle top with Parmesan and cheddar cheese.  Stir remaining cheese into the pot (you will be refilling your bread bowl!).

6. Broil bread bowls in the oven until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Panera's Cream Cheese Potato Soup

For some reason, It took me years to discover the discount produce section at A&P.  Are you all aware of it? It quickly became my favorite section of the grocery store, even though it's hidden in the back corner of the produce section.  It would make more sense to put it in the front of the section, before customers have already selected their fresh produce, but that's just my opinion! Now I always swing  by the discount produce to see what hit-or-miss surprises I may find.  It's been a bit bleak in terms of selection for the past few months, but we hit the jackpot last week - a pack of baked potatoes that looked to be just the right amount needed for this Panera knock off soup.  How could I forget to mention this... the pack of potatoes was just $1!

This soup is the perfect comfort food for lunch on a chilly Sunday afternoon!

Panera's Cream Cheese Potato Soup
Adapted from Food.com
Time: 1 hour
Serves 4

Ingredients
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

Directions
1. Combine broth, potatoes, onion, and spices in a pot.  Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender.

2. Smash a few of the potatoes to release their starch for thickening.

3. Reduce to low heat.

4.  Cut cream cheese into chunks, and add to the pot. Continue heating, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.