Chicken Chili with Pumpkin

Chicken Chili with Pumpkin
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/soups/chicken-chili-with-pumpkin/


12 ounces, weight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
3 cups Fat Free Chicken Broth
1 whole Onion, Diced
1 whole Yellow Bell Pepper, Diced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 cans (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans
1 can (15 Oz. Can) Libby Pumpkin
1 can (10 Oz. Can) Rotel Diced Tomatoes With Chiles
2 teaspoons Dried Parsley Flakes
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
1-½ teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 teaspoon Salt To Taste

Preparation Instructions
Place thawed (or frozen) chicken breast in the bottom of a crock pot. Cover with remaining ingredients. Stir to break up the pumpkin and blend the spices.
Cook on low 6-8 hours until chicken breasts are tender enough to shred with two forks.
Serve chili topped with shredded cheddar cheese, scallions, and a dollop of sour cream.

We really liked this soup! Nice and hearty for a cool evening. We do think quinoa or wild rice would have been a great addition. We didn't do the garnishes (I kinda stole that picture instead of taking my own), just had corn bread with it. An amazing 5 stars from each kid. Well, Collin tried to be difficult and say something like 4.76 but for him that is as good as a 5!

Kid Ratings:

Christopher Robin
Collin
Isaac
Annette

Bean, Bacon, and Pepper Soup

Bean, Bacon, and Pepper Soup
AllRecipes.com

5 slices bacon
3 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 cups chicken broth
2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans, with liquid
1/2 cup chopped parsley

In a large pot over medium high heat, saute the bacon until crisp. Drain the fat, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pot. Crumble the bacon, reserving for later for garnish. Add the onions, carrots, red bell pepper, celery and garlic to the pot and saute in the bacon fat for 10 minutes.

Stir in the sugar, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, bay leaf, thyme and Worcestershire sauce. Now pour in just a small amount of chicken stock to deglaze the pan. (Note: This removes all of the caramelized particles from the bottom of the pan.)

Add the beans and the rest of the stock and continue to cook over medium high heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.

In a food processor or blender, puree 3 cups of soup at a time, adjusting seasoning if necessary. Return all pureed soup to the pot, stir in the parsley and crumbled bacon and simmer for 10 more minutes.

I made some minor changes (Surprised?). Slightly more or less of the different veggies based on what we had (Robin sometimes uses items in the fridge that he didn't ask to be put on the grocery list.) and what I felt was a good balance for our tastes. We never guy garlic or onion powder so I left those out. We were almost out of Rooster Worcestershire sauce so there wasn't as much as it called for. I only pureed some of it with an immersion blender because we don't care too much for completely pureed soup. We all really liked this soup. It was sweet and spicy and nicely balanced. I loved hearing Collin say; "BEAN!!" then happily pop it into his mouth. Oh that reminds me, I accidentally put in one can of cannellini beans and one of mayocoba beans - don't think it really made a difference.

Kid Ratings:

Christopher Robin
Collin
Isaac
Annette

Potato & Cabbage soup...with ham

Potato & Cabbage Soup
Tasty Kitchen

1 pound Cabbage, Sliced
3 whole Russet Potatoes, Peeled And Cut Into Chunks
1 cup Ham, Diced
6 cups Chicken Stock
1 cup Half-and-half

Combine all ingredients except half-and-half in slow cooker. Cover. Cook on high for 6 hours. Remove 2 cups of the ‘solids’ and 1 cup of ‘liquid’ from the cooker and puree in blender. Return to cooker. Stir in half-and-half and cook on low for 20 minutes more.

 

Of course this recipe needed help. I liked the idea of it, but hello a veggie soup without onion and garlic, let alone salt and pepper?! So I added one chopped onion, three minced garlic cloves, salt, and pepper to taste. At the end it still needed something so I added dried savory because the label on the jar said it was good for the cabbage family. I wanted a happy cabbage family.




Kid Ratings:

Christopher Robin
Collin
Isaac
Annette

Oh that is Spicy!

Corn Chowder with Chilies
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/10/corn-chowder-with-chilies/

(This came from The Pioneer Woman's Blog . She is a much better blogger/more interesting person than I am so if you want a more interesting recipe to read, go see her.)

* 2 slices Bacon, Cut Into 1/2-inch Pieces (or Smaller)
* 2 Tablespoons Butter
* 1-½ whole Yellow Onion, Diced
* 5 ears Corn, Shucked (about 4 Cups)
* 2 whole Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce, Finely Diced
* 1 whole 4-ounce Can Diced Green Chilies
* 32 ounces, fluid Low Sodium Chicken Broth
* 1-½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
* ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt (more To Taste)
* 3 Tablespoons Corn Meal OR Masa
* ¼ cups Water

Preparation Instructions

(Carefully) slice the corn kernels off the cob. Set aside.

Add bacon pieces to a pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Cook for a couple of minutes. Throw in diced onion and stir, cooking the onion for 3 to 4 minutes. Add butter and melt. Add corn. Stir and cook for one minute. Add both kinds of chilies and stir.

Pour in chicken broth and cream. Add salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.

Combine cornmeal (or masa) with water. Stir to combine, then pour into the chowder. Cover and cook for 15 minutes over low heat. If chowder needs more thickening, add another tablespoon of cornmeal mixed with water. Cook for another ten minutes.

Serve with crusty sourdough bread or in a bread bowl.

This was good, but spicy. I did have a little over two chipotle peppers because that was what was in the little bag in the freezer - maybe just one pepper would have been enough. I wonder if the freezer makes the peppers spicier? Will have to investigate that... Most of the time we can't use a whole can of these chipotle peppers at once so we portion up the leftovers and keep them in the freezer. I did use frozen corn because I needed this to be an easier meal. Oh and I didn't put in the green chilies because Robin forgot to buy them. So anyway, very yummy, but if you don't like spicy then scale back on the peppers. The kids all reduced their rating because of the spice factor. Notice a theme about this soup?

No picture because the camera and I are not getting along tonight. Once the camera starts behaving I'll add the picture.

Kid Ratings:

Christopher Robin
Collin
Isaac
Annette

Potato bacon bacon potato potato bacon bacon bacon

Everyone's Favorite Potato Soup with Bacon

Reprinted without permission from Dollars To Donuts: Comfort Food and Kitchen Wisdom from Route 66's Landmark Rock Café by Dawn Welch (Rodale, Inc., 2009). Copyright © 2009 by Channeling Media LLC.


4 thick-cut bacon slices
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
2 teaspoons salt
9 (about 3 pounds) russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cups whole or low-fat milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Finely chopped chives, for serving (optional)

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the bacon in the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until browned and crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the onion, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon of salt to the pan and cook until the onion is soft and the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Crumble the bacon back into the skillet, turn off the heat, and set aside.


2. Bring the potatoes to a boil in a large pot with 4 cups of water and 1-½ teaspoons of salt. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until they're tender and just starting to break apart, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat. Using a potato masher or wooden spoon, smash the potatoes in the pot with the water until they're mostly broken up (you want to keep some chunky potato bits).


3. Heat the milk in a small saucepan or the microwave until hot, and then add to the potatoes. Stir in the bacon and onion mixture, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Return to the stove, and continue to simmer until the soup is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chives, if using, and serve hot.

I got this one from The Splendid Table's Weeknight Kitchen newsletter. It's a good source of recipes.

It was pretty good...I can't leave well enough alone, so I 'fiddled' with it a bit, adding some dill, cayenne pepper, a splash of cream and topped it with cheddar cheese.

Kid Ratings:

Christopher Robin
Collin
Isaac
Annette	X Forty

To Good To Name Soup

To Good To Name

This is based on a couple recipes one of which I couldn't find again so I just threw stuff in that sounded right.

3ish boneless skinless chicken breasts
a few chopped carrots
a few chopped celery
a chopped onion
Cover with chicken broth and cook that until done/soft
Add a box of creamy tomato soup
Season to taste with salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, thyme - whatever floats your soup.
Let those flavors simmer a bit. Take out the chicken and chop it up. Bring it up to a little boil and toss in as much orzo as you feel like. Cook until orzo is soft and add some more broth if it needs it.

Isaac didn't like that the soup had no name, so I told him he was in charge of naming it. He said it was too good to name. It wasn't very soupy, but very comforting on a cold night.

Kid Ratings:

Christopher Robin
Collin
Isaac
Annette	X Fourteen

Orange You Glad it is Fall?

Pumpkin Carrot Ginger Soup
Tasty Kitchen

1 whole Small Pumpkin Or Butternut Squash
5 whole Carrots
1 clove Garlic
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
10 slices Of Fresh Ginger
2 pints Of Chicken Or Vegetable Stock
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 pinch(es) Nutmeg
4 Tablespoons Cream

First, wash and chop the pumpkin or squash and carrots. Chop into small bite-sized chunks. You can place them in a baking tin with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and roast them for 20 minutes if you have time (to bring out the flavor), but they do just fine without the roasting.

Mince the garlic and fry gently in some olive oil in a soup pot. Then add the root vegetables and stir-fry them gently for 5 minutes. Add the ginger slices and put a lid on the pot and leave them to cook gently on medium heat for 15 minutes.

Add the cinnamon and stock, cover and leave to simmer on low for 35 minutes.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Blend using a stick or hand blender until the soup is smooth and creamy. If you don’t have time, then just skip to the blending, but watch out for those hot splashes!

Taste and add salt as necessary. Serve up with a pinch of nutmeg and a tablespoon of cream drizzled in each bowl.

This soup can easily be made with leftovers if you have an overabundance of root vegetables from last night’s turkey or beef roast. If that is the case, skip step #1.

Yes, more pumpkin. I added more cream than just a garnish bit. Also added a bit more of the spices. Then I left the kitchen and came back to Robin adding stuff - I have no idea what he did. I liked it but it seemed to still need something a little more.


Kid Ratings:

Christopher Robin
Collin
Isaac
Annette	X 10