Tuscan Soup

I love Olive Garden's all you can eat soup and salad lunch.  It is so yummerific.  Oh yeah, that's a word.  Look it up!  Okay, maybe not.  But it should be.  Anyhooser, I am too cheap to pay their prices.  So, I decided to make my own version of their Zuppa Toscana.  Plus, I like my soup a little less greasy, a little creamier, and a little more somethin' somethin'.  So, here is my version.

Tuscan Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb. Italian sausage
1/2 lb. bacon, chopped
3 cups water
2 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth
2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed and cubed into bite size pieces
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chopped kale
2 cups heavy whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In large skillet or dutch oven, brown sausage, breaking into small pieces while it cooks.  Drain and set aside.  In same skillet, brown bacon, drain.  Combine sausage and bacon in a large colander, rinse, and drain once more.  Set both aside.

2. Put potatoes, onions, and garlic in stock pot.  Cover with water and chicken broth.  Bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are at tender-crisp stage.  Add meats and simmer for another 10-20 minutes.

3. Add kale and whipping cream.  Heat through.  Add salt and pepper.  Serves 6.

Vegetable Stock

We love to make our turkey with a brine.  The only thing is, making a brine can get EXPENSIVE!  The base we use is vegetable stock, and if you've ever bought it at the store (and I mean TRUE vegetable stock, not broth), you know what I mean about expensive.  So this year, we decided to make our own vegetable stock.  It's easy to make, cheap, and it's kind of nice knowing everything that's going into it.  This recipe makes 1 gallon of vegetable stock, enough for our brine.

Vegetable Stock

Ingredients:
1 gallon water (16 cups)
8 large onions, peeled
8 large carrots, scrubbed but not peeled
12 celery stalks, leaves removed
1 whole bulb garlic
4 Tbs. peppercorns
8 bay leaves

Directions:
1. Chop vegetables into large pieces, except garlic.  Peel garlic and leave individual cloves whole.  Place vegetables in a large stockpot and cover with water.  Add peppercorns and bay leaves.
2. Bring stock to a boil over high temperature.  Immediately turn down to low and allow to simmer for 1 hour. 
3. Immediately strain stock through a colander fine enough to catch the vegetables pieces.  Allow to cool.  Store in freezer bags for use later.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I tried this recipe for the first time today. Our church block runs from 1-4, so I'm always looking for meals I can prepare in the crock pot so that I don't have to cook when I get home. Why is it that no matter what time church is or how much you eat before you go, you're always STARVING when you get home? Gets me every time. Anyway, this was great, and very simple. I prepared the chicken last night and just put it in the fridge for this morning. Jocey was able to help me add all the other ingredients, and had so much fun making her first soup. When you taste this right out of the crock pot, it may seem a little spicy, but the sour cream and cheese are added it really cools it down. SO YUMMY!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can chopped green chilies
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
2 cans chicken broth
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 package frozen corn
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro
For Garnish:
Tortilla Strips
Grated Cheese
Sour Cream

Directions:
1. In crock pot, combine shredded chicken, whole tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chilies and garlic. Add water, chicken broth, cumin, chili powder, salt, black pepper and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro.
2. Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH 3 to 4 hours.
3. Remove and discard bay leaf.
4. Sprinkle tortilla strips, cheese, and sour cream over soup. Serve immediately.

Crab Chowder

We are huge fans of crab meat. And as always, I get bored with eating it the same way over and over again - steamed. Don't get me wrong, I love a good old crab feast. But I also love a good chowder, and this is a GOOD chowder.

Crab Chowder

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
3 white potatoes, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1 pt. half and half
1 can whole kernel corn
1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper
8 oz. crab meat (leg meat is best)
salt

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan combine the diced potatoes, onion, garlic, and chicken broth. Over medium high heat, until just starting to soften (about 10 minutes).
2. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add flour and Old Bay seasoning to make a roux. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually add half and half, stirring constantly until lumps are gone.
3. Add chicken broth/vegetable mixture. Let barely come to a boil. Add corn, black pepper, and crab meat. Do not allow chowder to come to a boil, just allow the corn and crab meat to warm through.
4. Add salt to taste.

Slow Cooker Chili

This chili was WONDERFUL! I made my own alterations to the original recipe, largely because I like lots of different flavors and colors in my chili. I think it worked out perfectly though, and I really liked that it used ground turkey rather than ground beef.

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 lb. ground turkey
1 can tomato soup
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 can corn
1 can diced green chiles
2 cans kidney beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 Tbs. garlic powder
1/2 Tbs. ground cumin
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch ground allspice
salt to taste

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion for a few minutes, then place turkey in the skillet, and cook until evenly brown.
2. Coat the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray, and mix in turkey, tomato soup, chiles, corn, kidney beans, black beans and onion. Season with chili powder, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, allspice and salt.
3. Cover, and cook 8 hours on Low or 4 hours on High.

Clam Chowder

This is a favorite of mine - it came from my Grandma Cook, who used to make it for me whenever we went to her house, especially on my birthday. It's great with sourdough bread.

Clam Chowder

Ingredients:

2 cans minced clams
1 cup diced onions
1 cup celery, diced
2 cups diced potatoes, uncooked
¾ cup butter, melted
¾ cup flour
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. sugar
Dash of pepper
1 pt. half and half
1 pt. milk

Directions:

1. Put vegetables in a medium saucepan and add enough clam juice and water to cover. Simmer until tender.
2. Combine butter, flour, salt, sugar, and pepper in a large saucepan to make the white sauce. Once combined, gradually add half and half and milk, whisking constantly. Continue whisking until all lumps are gone.
3. Add vegetables and liquid to hot white sauce. Let barely come to a boil.
4. Add clams and DO NOT LET BOIL or clams will become rubbery. Season to taste.

Taco Soup

I received a recipe book a long time ago from a friend of mine that had this recipe in it. It is easy, filling, and fun to eat! It's a nice twist on Mexican food. I like making it with 1 can regular diced tomatoes, and 1 can chili ready diced tomatoes. Then you get your seasoning all in one step. Serve it with tortilla chips (instead of eating it with a spoon), sour cream, and shredded cheese.

Taco Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. hamburger
1 can tomato soup
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can corn

Directions:
1. DO NOT drain tomatoes or beans.
2. Brown hamburger and drain excess fat.
3. Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes.

Updated Gumbo Recipe

This past weekend I made Gumbo for the missionaries. I didn't have much time, so I altered the recipe, and I loved it even more than my first recipe! So here is my altered, simpler version of good ol' Mississippi Gumbo! When I made it this way, it only took me 1 hour before we actually ate (compared to 2 or 3 before). Again, I prefer to use my kitchen-aid food processor for the vegetables so that they are finely chopped, plus that way I don't have to worry about onion tears! And, I found a cheaper version of andouille sausage at Wal-Mart: Farmer John's Hot Louisiana Sausage. I also found that preparing the meats and vegetables in the morning and refrigerating them until I'm ready to add to the gumbo cuts out alot of hassle during the actual process of making the gumbo. This is great served with cornbread, and it serves A LOT of people (we had 4 missionaries over, and each of us had two bowls with leftovers!).

Mississippi Gulf Coast Gumbo

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
2 tsp. chile powder
1 Tbs. poultry seasoning
2 tsp. onion powder
10 oz. bag frozen medium shrimp (already cooked/pink)
1 package andouille sausage
3 Tbs. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion
2 green peppers
2 celery stalks
2 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. parsley
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cans chicken broth
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
14 oz. can chile ready diced tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
1 Tbs. hot sauce
1 tsp. file powder
Rice

Directions:
1. The night before you make the gumbo, cook the whole chicken in the crock pot: Make 5 balls out of aluminum foil and place in crock pot. Place chicken on top of the balls and sprinkle top with chile powder, poultry seasoning, and onion powder. Cook on low for 10 hours. When the chicken is done in the morning, allow to cool and then remove meat from bones and place in a large bowl or ziploc bag.
2. Slice sausage links in half, and then into 1/2 inch pieces. In large skillet, cook sausage until browned. Combine with chicken. Thaw shrimp and remove tails. Combine with sausage and chicken. Refrigerate until ready to add to gumbo.
3. Dice onion, peppers, and celery. Melt 3 Tbs. butter in a large skillet and saute vegetables, garlic, thyme, and parsley until vegetables are tender. Place in medium bowl or ziploc bag and refrigerate until ready to add to gumbo.
4. About 1 hour before you are ready to eat, begin to make gumbo. Make a roux with butter and flour. Whisking constantly, cook 10 minutes or until roux turns brown. DO NOT BURN! It should have a nutty flavor and scent. Add chicken broth. Whisk and simmer 15 minutes.
5. Add vegetables to broth mixture. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer for 3o minutes. Add meats, hot sauce, file, salt & pepper. Simmer 5 minutes and adjust seasoning. Serve over rice.

Gumbo

One of the classic dishes of the south is Gumbo. If you are ever searching for a great, hearty, authenticly southern-grown dish, this is it! It's best spicy, but can be adjusted to whatever warmth you want. Gumbo is one of the greatest additions of the deep south to American cuisine. When the first African slaves came to Louisiana, they brought their love for a thin seasoned fish stew with okra. A variant of this soup, with the same origin as gumbo, is still served in Nigeria and Ghana, consisting of fish, okra, plantains and tomatoes. After about a century, with the Spanish, French, and Natives of the region offering their contributions of food, the stew was no longer recognizable as the thin African soup and became gumbo.

The wonderful thing about this dish is that it is really a easy to alter mix of tastes and ingredients. If you don't like certain aspects of the stew, you can alter it to your tastes. But the main aspects of this dish are a good andouille sausage, shrimp, vegetables, and a well done roux. Before preparing this dish, make sure you have a good file powder, whose base is the herb sassafras. It's taken me a while to find a good andouille sausage too, but if you have a local whole foods mart, you can most likely find it there.

Gumbo

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
6 Cups Chicken Broth
3 Tbsp Butter
2 Cloves Minced Garlic
1/2 Med Onion
1 Green Pepper
1 Stalk of Celery
1 Bay Leaf
2 Tsp Thyme Parsley
14 oz. Can Whole Tomatoes
1 tsp Salt
Dash of Pepper
Cocktail or Jumbo Shrimp, cooked until pink
Crab
Andouille Sausage
Chicken
1 Tbsp Hot Sauce
1 tsp File Powder
Rice

Directions:

1. Cut up chicken into small cubes and slice andouille sausage into 1/2 inch pieces. Saute chicken and sausage in skillet with 1 Tbs. butter. Remove from heat and add shrimp and crab to skillet. Set aside.
2. Make a roux with butter and flour. Cook 10 minutes, or until roux turns brown. DO NOT BURN! It should have a nutty flavor and scent.
3. Add chicken broth. Whisk and simmer 15 minutes. Saute vegetables and spices together in 3 tablespoons of butter until tender. Add to broth mixture. Add tomatoes and simmer ½ hour. Add meats, hot sauce, file, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil, simmer 5 minutes and adjust seasoning. Serve over rice. Enjoy!