Taco Soup

We love tacos in this house. I was looking for something with the same depth of flavor, just as soul warming for this cold Winter's night, but something a bit healthier. I wondered how we could incorporate the taco into a soup... I did and it worked out perfectly. The best part is this is super easy to make and the majority of the ingredients are already in your pantry!

In advance, apologies for the icky photo which doesn't do this soup any justice!

Ingredients:

1 large jar of mild salsa

2 containers of chicken broth -- Low sodium and organic are good choices

1 lb of 93% lean ground beef (this actually has less fat and more flavor than ground turkey or chicken)

2 cups of cooked rice (equivalent of 4 cooked servings)

Old El Paso Taco Seasoning (This can now be purchased in a larger size for multiple meals)
Grated Mexican or cheddar cheese

In a small sauce pan cook rice. When cooked set asside.

In a saute pan brown meat, drain if necessary, and add taco seasoning and water per the directions on the Old El Paso container.

Add Salsa (Organic)
Add broth (Brown rice would work well too)
Add rice
Simmer on low until ready to serve
Top with grated cheese
If desired serve with organic nacho chips

Jambalaya: Hot Stuff for a Cold Day!

Trying to feed my family warm comfort food that is not loaded with unnecessary fat and calories can be hard to do. We all love soup, but we all love different soups. I thought the jambalaya would be a big hit because we all love all the ingredients. I loosely followed Emeril's Mardi Gras Jambalaya -- well, we'll just say (as Randy Jackson would) that I took his and made it my own!

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 yellow pepper, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
1 medium to large onion, finely diced
4 Tbs Olive oil
1 lb chicken breast, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces
1lb chicken sausage
1 1/2 cups of excellent quality jarred salsa
2 cartons organic chicken broth

1 1/2 cups of rice
2 bay leaves
Emeril's Essence (Recipe follows)

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Yield: 2/3 cup
This creole seasoning is fabulous and should be a staple in your pantry!

Traditional jambalaya does not use salsa but chopped or canned tomatoes. I like the ease of the salsa and the additional flavors it brings to this dish. I also use salsa in my Tortilla Soup.

Directions:

In a large pan saute sausage. (I remove  bite-sized bits from the casing and toss them into the pan) When sausage is nicely browned -- the darker the better -- place into a paper towel lined bowl. Add 2 tbs of olive oil to the pan and toss in vegetables. Cook until nicely browned. Add 1 tsp of Emeril's Essence. When done, add the vegetables to the bowl the sausages are in. Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and add the cubed chicken. Season with another teaspoon or so of Emeril's Essence. Cook until well browned. Add to bowl.

In a large sauce pan cook the rice per directions on the box. When the rice is done add the broth, salsa, bay leaves, meat and veggies. Simmer until ready to serve.

We sliced up and toasted a Parmesan baguette and used it to sop up the broth. Fabulous!

Turkey Meatballs+ Spinach + Bowtie Pasta + Chicken Stock = 1 Perfect Fall Supper!

Whether you choose to make your meatballs from scratch or buy them already made, is really up to you and the time that you have. I made mine, recipe follows, and then tossed some of them into some organic chicken broth with a bag of frozen spinach and some cooked pasta (about 1/2 lb). That's it! What resulted was an incredibly easy, fast and delicious soup!

Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground turkey (or chicken or chuck)
2 Tbs of Italian Seasonings
2 Tbs garlic powder
1 1/2 cups of seasoned breadcrumbs
2 eggs
2 Tbs water
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil to coat lightly the bottom of the pan

In a large mixing bowl place all your ingredients, mix very well all until all ingredients are well blended.

Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a pan, form meatballs about 1 - 2 inches in diameter and place them in the pan leaving enough space to be able to rotate them well. Brown all sides.

When meatballs are sufficiently browned (may take about 5 minutes) remove the meat from the pan and place on to a paper towel lined plate.

Repeat step above as needed.

Meat balls can be kept in the fridge for a few days or placed immediately in the freezer.

I froze half the batch and placed the other in a medium stock pot with the warming chicken broth.

As the broth warms with the meatballs add the spinach, directly from the freezer.

Cook pasta in a separate pan so that the soup does not get too thick and starchy.

Green Goddess Gazpacho

Years ago I had a great gazpacho from Hay Day Markets in Greenwich, Connecticut. I loved Hay Day. I loved everything about it -- the fresh fruits and vegetables, the meats, breads and baked goods... I love their prepared foods. I used to stock up when my pay check would permit. I have always been a gazpacho lover and they had a yellow gazpacho. It was simply divine. Sadly Hay Day no longer exists. In many locations it was purchased by Balducci's. I will forever remember Hay Day and now I do believe I have created a gazpacho that is as good as theirs was!

This wonderful, flavorful soup uses just a handful of ingredients and packs a ton of flavor. This is South Beach Diet friendly, and yet a dish I will continue to make and serve for years to come!

Ingredients:

2 cucumbers, skin on, cut into chunks
1 large Vidalia onion -- I like Vidalia for their mild, sweet flavor
1/2 green pepper, cut into chunks
2 yellow peppers, cut into chunks
1 Tbs. capers
2 Tbs. sliced or diced pepperoncini
1/3 Cup of cider vinegar
2 Tbs. olive oil
a dash of cayenne pepper and garlic powder
sea salt to taste

For each cup:
2 Tbs. low-fat or non-fat Greek Yogurt
a sprig of cilantro or parsley

Puree all vegetables in food processor, pour into a cup or bowl and top with a dollop of Greek yogurt. (I used fat free and it was still rich and decadent) Place a sprig of cilantro or parsley in the yogurt to finish the look.

Serves 6 in bowls
8 - 10 in cups

Garden Fresh Gazpacho

I adore gazpacho. We eat it all the time when the weather is warm. I've been making it for years and sometimes I change the recipe a bit to suit my mood. My boys won't eat gazpacho. They tell me it's gross. Christopher can't stand tomatoes. But he loves salsa. (Not sure if he's made the tomato connection there or not, but I am not going to be the one to fill him in!) Christopher did try some and told me that it tasted just like salsa. So Daddy and I ate our soup with a batch of fresh-from-the-baker sour dough and some spiced butter. It was divine. And the boys ate theirs with some baked tortilla chips. It was quite good that way too. I had to try it for myself!

For this batch I used:

4 large tomatoes (good ones please! and cut into quarters)

1 large onion that I minced in the food processor

1 large red pepper, cut into medium sized chunks

1 large cucumber cut into medium sized chunks (I left the skin on)
2 cups of Mister T's Bloody Mary Mix (this adds great flavor! V-8 can be used instead.)
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. cider vinegar
1 hefty dash of garlic powder

Place all your veggies in the food processor and blend until you get your desired consistency.

Can be served immediately or chilled and served at a later time. The water will separate from the vegetables and this is normal. One good stir will fix things.

Serving suggestion, a nice dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche and some fresh cilantro or dill as a garnish.

Hmm... wonder what would happen if I puree it complete and add a touch of vodka to it?!

To make the Spiced Butter:

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
a dash of cayenne pepper or paprika

Place all the ingredients in a mini food processor and pulse until well blended. Serve in ramekins with fresh bread.

Tortilla Soup

Firstly, I must apologize for not having a photograph of this lovely meal. I was not expecting it to be half as good as it was, thus no picture. This soup was nothing short of outstanding.

This could not be a simpler, more delicious, satisfying and healthy meal!

You'll need a large saucepan and these following ingredients:

2 containers of chicken broth (low sodium if desired)

1 large bottle of mild chunky salsa

1 can of black beans, drained

1 box of yellow rice

White meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, cut into small bite-sized pieces

In saucepan add the broth, salsa and beans and cook over high heat. As soon as soup starts to simmer turn it to low or medium heat. Meanwhile, cut chicken in to small pieces to toss into the soup and cook the rice per the directions on the box (in another pan.) When rice is cooked add to the soup and voila! A fabulous soup in no time!

Garnish with tortilla strips and serve immediately.

(Great as a leftover if there is any left over!) This served a family of 5 as a meal with a little bit leftover

Grilled Vegetable Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a cold, tomato-based soup that was popularized in the Andalusian area of Spain. It is now synonymous with Spanish cuisine. I love gazpacho and we gobble tons of it up in the summer months. I decided to try my hand at a grilled veggie version and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. Grilling the vegetables adds a certain sweetness (from the caramelization) to the soup. It has a more delicate bouquet.

1 medium onion sliced -- not too thinly!

1 red pepper, sliced

1 orange pepper, sliced

1 yellow pepper, sliced

4 tomatoes, *blanched, peeled and quartered

1 English cucumber (or 2 regular cucumbers) peeled and cut into chunks

Juice of 1 lemon

2 cloves of garlic, minced

sea salt, to taste

crushed red pepper, a couple shakes!

* Place onions on grill (this also works well on a good nonstick fry pan with a little non-stick cooking spray) and cook until lightly browned. When sufficiently browned set aside in a bowl.

* Repeat above with all the peppers.

* Meanwhile, make a small X in the bottom of each tomato and place in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, remove and peel skin. (You will see the skin start to pull away where you have made your X. This process of quickly steeping the tomatoes in boiling water is called blanching.) Cut the tomatoes in to large cubes or quarters, and place in food processor

* Place cucumber, minced garlic, lemon juice, salt and red pepper in food processor.

* As grilled veggies start to cool down place in food processor. Once all the ingredients have been placed in the food processor start to blend until you reach your desired consistency.

Chill for at least an hour before serving. Water will separate and this is totally normal. Just carefully stir the soup. Garnish with sour cream and a cilantro leave or fresh croutons. This is a great soup to have if you are minding your mid section!

(Forgive me for not posting a photo of the soup but I had accidentally deleted the two I took with the camera and unfortunately did this the day after we made the soup and there was nary a drop left to be found anywhere!)

Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul

My friend Sarah (her husband Jim, really, as he is the family chef) turned me on to this great stuff called Better than Bouillon. And it really is. It is a paste, a concentrate of chicken broth, if you will. And it makes the best base for a soup. (It comes in a wide variety of flavors and styles, like beef, mushroom and vegan for my Veggie Friends. There are USDA Organic versions as well.) I really think that I have found my liquid gold.

Here is what I did to make my soup:

Follow the directions on the jar -- dissolve 6 tablespoons of the bouillon into 2 1/2 quarts of water. If this is too salty, as it was for me, keep adding water.

While soup base is simmering peel and dice 3-4 carrots and toss into the base, then dice up 1 chicken breast (already cooked -- I set asside some of the chicken I used to make the chicken salad last night) and toss that in as well. I love celery in my soup, but my kids do not. If I could I would add 2 celery stalks, peeled and diced. Simmer for about 20 minutes. While the soup is simmering add some pasta in another pot (about 1/2 of a 1lb box. I used the enriched Barilla macaroni). Once the noodles have been cooked, drain and add to the soup. At the last minute I decided to add in a handful of frozen peas to add some color.

This one was a hit!

(My friend Sarah just told me that Jim cooks his pasta right in with the soup so as to use and clean one less pot!)

Butternut Squash Soup

You all, by now, are aware of my ongoing love affair with all things Williams-Sonoma. I was asked by a friend to locate a recipe for Butternut Squash Soup and immediately I went to a page flagged in this book, Soup fo Supper, I got shortly after I was married. I love so many of the recipies in this book so much so that I urge you soup lovers to go on out and get a copy for youselves. I have adapted Mr. Williams recipe because I do not want to be sued!

Prep time 30 minutes plus 1 1/4 hours for baking squashes
Cooking time 20 minutes

Ingredients:
2 large butternut squashes, 1 1/2 - 2 lbs each
6 tbs. butter
2 onions, chopped
8 fresh sage leaves (if usig dried sage, use half)
6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock (I liked the boxed organic varieties, but not the low sodium ones)
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of dark brown sugar to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Bake squashes on a baking sheet and roast until they are soft to the touch. Much like a baked potato, these big veggies can explode, so poke with a fork a few times. After an hour the squash should be cooked enough so the skein peeles away easily. Scrape off seeds and fibers, and place the pulp in a bowl and set asside.

In a saucepam over low heat melt the butter, add onions and half of the sage. Cook until the onions are translucent -- about 10 minutes. Add the squash and the stock, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes.

If you have an immersion blender you may puree the soup right in the pan. If not remove the soup in smaller batches and place in food processor until wll pureed. NOTE: If the soup is too hot the soup will escape through food processor so be sure to let it cool somewhat! After all has been blended reheat over med-low heat. Season with salt and pepper. If a sweeter flavor is desired, add a touch of brown sugar. A drizzle of Marsala Wine or Sherry will add another dimension to the soup.

Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.