Spicy Turkey Soup

August 30th, 2013
by: Sue

While on the Cleanse Diet, I created this recipe to help my craving for Southwest cooking. We love it! I’m making it for the second time tonight and recording it while I can remember ;o).

Get out your big soup pot. Add:

2 T virgin organic olive oil

Heat at medium high until the oil is shimmering and add:

1 pound approximately ground organic turkey

Break up the turkey, and stir often, cooking until the turkey browns and creates a good fond at the bottom of the pan.

Add: 1 onion, chopped
2 cloves elephant garlic, chopped
salt & pepper

Cook until the onion is throughly cooked and adding to the fond in the bottom of the pan.

Add: 1/2 cup white wine

Let wine dissolve the fond and cook down then add:

6-7 cups organic chicken broth , more or less
3 roasted green chiles, peeled and chopped
2 Tablespoons Fiesta Light Chile powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup frozen green lima beans
1 can white cannelloni beans or other beans of your choice
1/2 head organic cabbage, chopped

Cover the pot, lower the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Enjoy!

Garden Vegetable Soup

October 14th, 2010
by: Grue

I want to learn to make a vegetable soup like Sue’s. So one day I was researching vegetable soups (not the correct approach, but I am what I am), and I ran across an Alton Brown recipe from 2004. This soup is not like Sue’s, but it is simply outstanding. I could not believe there was no meat or fat (beyond the olive oil) in the soup – it tasted so rich and flavorful, it didn’t seem like it was possible that it was made from 100% vegetables – but it is. This recipe is going on my very short list of favorites.

My changes to Alton Brown’s recipe: I used turnips instead of potatoes because they’re more flavorful and they stand up to liquid better; I added zucchini to the recipe because I like it in soup; and I changed parsley to cilantro just because I roll that way. Oh, and I bumped the garlic by 50% just on general principle. I used organic vegetable broth (the recipe calls for chicken or veggie) because I liked the idea of it being 100% vegetables. HEB Central Market makes an outstanding organic vegetable broth.

Garden Vegetable Soup
Based on a recipe from Alton Brown, 2004
Prep Time: 40 min
Cook Time: 45 min
Serves: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped leeks, white part only (from approximately 3 medium leeks)
3 tablespoons finely minced garlic
Kosher salt
2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds (approximately 2 medium)
2 cups peeled and diced turnips (3/4″ cubes)
2 cups fresh green beans, broken or cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 cups zucchini, chopped into quarter rounds (approximately 2 medium)
2 quarts organic vegetable broth
4 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
2 ears corn, kernels removed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup packed, chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

  1. Heat the olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat.
  2. Once hot, add the leeks, garlic, and a pinch of salt and sweat until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 8 minutes.
  3. Add the carrots, turnips, and green beans and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add the stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a simmer.
  5. Once simmering, add the tomatoes, corn kernels, zucchini, and pepper.
  6. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.
  7. Remove from heat and add the cilantro and lemon juice.
  8. Season, to taste, with kosher salt.
  9. Serve immediately.

Posole

August 6th, 2010
by: Blue

I made this for Mitchell while he was home last week – he loved it and asked for me to post the recipe.  So here it is :-D   Posole is SO cussing delicious.  And it’s very forgiving.  Feel free to make substitutions or throw some other things in (black beans or some sweet corn would be yummy).

Red chile sauce:
1 1/2 cups boiling-hot water
1/4 large white onion
about 5 ounces (around 8 dried chiles), ancho, or guajillo, or new mexico red chiles
2 cloves garlic (from whole head; the rest will go into the posole)

Posole:
1 large head garlic
2 quarts chicken broth, beef broth, or water
3-4 pounds pork shoulder or butt roast, fat trimmed, and cut into chunks
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
Prepared Red chile sauce, or substitute 2-3 cans of red enchilada sauce
2 can green chiles (optional); or substitute Hatch chiles or roasted anaheim chiles)
3 teaspoons salt
2 30-ounce cans hominy, drained, or dried hominy that has been soaked overnight
1 can Rotel tomatoes (optional)

Soak dried hominy, unless you are using canned hominy (dried is better though!):
The day/night before you plan on making posole, start soaking the dried hominy in water.  You will need to use ALOT of water as the posole will soak it up and swell up big.  That’s what she said.  Generally I add enough water to the container with the posole in it so that the posole takes up 1/3 and water 2/3 of the total level…

Red chile sauce instructions:
Tear the chiles apart by hand; remove and discard the seeds and and stems.  Place the chiles in a bowl and cover completely with boiling-hot water. Soak chiles, turning them occasionally, for 30 minutes. Cut onion into large pieces and in a blender purée with chiles and soaking liquid (do not drain the chiles before pureeing), 2 cloves of garlic, and 2 teaspoons salt until smooth. For a shortcut on the red chile – simply substitute 2-3 cans of red enchilada sauce.

Posole instructions:

Thinly slice remaining garlic. In a heavy skillet over high heat, preheat a couple of tablespoons of oil and brown the chunks of pork with sliced garlic. High heat results in nice crusty brown bits on the pork.  This is what you want. Remove from heat.

In a big soup pot – add chicken broth, pork, oregano, cumin, red chili sauce, green chilis (optional), salt, homony, and Rotel tomatoes (optional). Gently simmer the posole, uncovered, until tender, at least 1 1/2 hours.  Your cooking time will be longer if you started with dried hominy – taking at least an additional hour.  But this is not rocket science – simmer it until the hominy is tender and the house is fragrant with the wonderful spicy smell….and adjust seasonings to your own tastes.

Optional Accompaniments:
diced avocado
chopped white onion
cheese
sour cream
tortilla chips or strips

Tomato Basil Soup

November 16th, 2009
by: Blue

Tia Loca sent this recipe – it sounds heavenly, as well as delightfully quick and easy.  I will be making this soon – you should too.

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh tomatoes, blanched, skinned, chopped (Or two large cans of whole, diced or stewed)
4 cups tomato sauce
12-14 basil leaves, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
¼ cup minced onion
1 small container fresh parmesan
1 pint of Half and Half
¼ lb. butter

Directions:

Saute garlic and onion in olive oil. Add tomatoes and sauce, simmer for 30 minutes. With a hand held mixer or in food processor, puree tomato mixture and chopped basil. Add butter, cream and Parmesan and puree. Season with fresh ground sea salt and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Top with croutons and extra Parmesan.

For croutons, take day-old french bread, brush with olive oil, and toast in the oven @ 400 for 10 – 15 minutes until brown.

Vegetable Soup

September 29th, 2009
by: Sue

This soup is full of goodness, with the vegetables you must eat to be healthy and have some trouble getting into your menu. We eat this at any time of the day or night when we are hungry and want to limit calories while eating healthy. May be topped with a dollop of plain yogurt or reduced fat sour cream & no fat cheese. Warning: you may want to take some Gas Ex before eating it unless you feel like living dangerously.

1 head cabbage, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 medium onions, diced
2 bell peppers, diced
6 large carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4″ thick
6 spines celery, split down the middle and sliced 1/4″ thick
2 cups green beans, fresh or frozen
3 – 4 medium potatoes (Yukon gold preferably) peeled, quartered, and sliced 1/4″ thick
(or subsitute turnips if you are trying to eat low carb)
2 jalapenos (optional)
1 box of Pacific chicken broth
1 cup red wine (or more if you like)
2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
1 large can V-8 juice
crushed red pepper to laste
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
Optional:
okra, sliced
squash (add at the last 20 minutes)

Chop the vegetables, place all the ingredients in a large soup pot and cook on medium low for 2 – 3 hours. Try not to boil. This soup may be kept refrigerated in a tightly sealed container for several days. Good cold or hot, you may add any leftovers you have to it including meat.

Old Fashioned Potato Soup

September 27th, 2009
by: Sue

Aunt Teenie’s version of potato soup, this is one of those comfort food dishes great when the winter wind is howling outside and you need to warm yourself from the inside out.

8 slices bacon, cooked and diced
4 medium potatoes, diced
1 large onion, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 Tablespoons minced parsley
1 1/4 cup water
3 cups milk
1 Tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine diced vegetables and water. Cover and simmer 45 minutes or until done. Rice vegetables or put through a coarse sieve, and return to the water in which they were cooked. Add milk, salt and pepper, and reheat. Cook bacon until crisp. Just before serving, float parsley and crisp bacon on soup. Serves 6.

Lord Charley’s Corn Chowder

September 27th, 2009
by: Sue

This recipe is a Barron family favorite. Cousin David Corey brought it to the family and his Aunt Marguerite (our Mema) would serve it to us often. While it’s not a diet food, it definitely is a comfort food!

Brown in pan with 2 Tablespoons oil:

1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/3 cup chopped bacon

Add:
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme

Peel, Dice, and Add

1 pound potatoes (4 cups)
15 ounces Frozen Cut corn

Simmer 1/2 hour.

In a separate pan, melt butter and mix:

4 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour,

add

1 quart half and half

Whip smooth.

Add to soup, cook 10 minutes to blend. Do not boil.

Venie’s Dumplings and Chicken

April 8th, 2009
by: Blue

This rolled dumpling recipe is from my sons’ incredibly graceful, wordly, and fabulous great-grandmother, Venie. She is among the best examples of women I know whose love for family shows in everything she cooks. She gave me this recipe almost 20 years ago, and I still use it to this day. We love you Venie!  Some dumpling recipes can be a challenge when the stars are not properly aligned.  This one is special - I have truly found this to be the most foolproof dumpling recipe of all. Except for the one time that they failed,  but once in 20 years is not so bad.

Ingredients:
Deboned Chicken
Chicken Broth
4-5 Carrots
5-6 stalks celery
Venie’s Dumplings (recipe below)

On chicken and chicken broth:
There are several options for this part of the dish. If you are purchasing chicken broth there are several brands that are far better than others: Pacific and Kitchen Basics. Swansons Certified Organic Chicken broth is also acceptable, but not preferred.

Option 1: If you are cooking on a lazy Saturday, stew a whole chicken in the traditional method until it is done. Strain the broth, debone the chicken.  This method will provide you with both the deboned chicken and the chicken broth.

Option 2: If you need a medium-quick approach, buy a roasted chicken from the deli (Costco and Sam’s chickens are fabulous). Debone the chicken, set the chicken meat aside. Put the bones and skin in a soup pot and add 3-4 quarts of good quality chicken broth. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for about an hour. Strain the broth. Doing the broth with the bones adds a wonderful depth to the broth and it is well worth the time!

Option 3: If you need a super-quick approach, buy the deli roasted chicken and debone (throw away bones and skin), and have 3-4 quarts of good quality chicken broth onhand.  I use this approach when I have a craving for chicken and dumplings on a work night.  Yes, chicken and dumplings on a work night.  How wonderful is that?

At this point, no matter which approach you have used, you have deboned chicken and chicken broth. It is time to make the dumplings.

Venie’s Dumplings:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/2-1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper or white pepper or combination of both.

Note:  there is no leavening in this recipe, this is not a mistake.  Think of these dumplings as a close relative of a pie crust.  Add salt and pepper to flour and mix. Cut butter into flour mixture with a fork until butter is fully incorporated. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved chicken broth to the flour mixture,  and mix. You will want a relatively sticky dumpling dough, and additional flour or broth can be added if you need to alter the texture to stiffer or softer. Take the dumpling dough and press out onto floured surface with your hands (or roll out) to about 1/4″ thick. Add flour as needed to your hands or the dough to keep it from sticking. Once it is pressed/rolled out let it sit until you are ready to drop them in the broth.  I think the dumplings do well if they have a little “resting” time, after all, they have worked hard so far.  Also note that if I am cooking for 4 or more people I always double the dumpling portion of this recipe.  I *want* leftover chicken and dumplings.

Putting it all together:

This is where all the magic happens. Pour the broth into a large stock pot over high heat to bring to a boil. Peel and slice 4-5 large carrots, and slice 5-6 stalks of celery – add to broth and wait for it to come to a boil. Cut the dumpling dough into 2″x2″ squares (or whatever size you want, this is not rocket science). Once the broth is boiling start adding the dumplings, one or two at a time, until they are all in the pot. The pot can be left uncovered. Lower heat a bit, and simmer for about 30 minutes. The cook time is approximate – this dumpling recipe is not about exact time and “don’t lift the lid!!” – it is about easy, heart warming deliciousness. Season to taste with salt, white and black pepper.  I usually add the deboned chicken to each serving once the dumplings are dished up, but you can also add it while the dumplings are cooking.