Chicken Tortilla Soup

February 5, 2023February 5, 2023 FloraD

I don’t know about you, but when it’s cold and rainy (or snowy, depending on where you are), I want soup. Today I’m sharing with you one of my favorite soups, Chicken Tortilla Soup. There are a lot of recipes out there, but this is my latest favorite. It comes from a Pinch of Yum. My version is a little different, but feel free to go with the original.

First, cut up the chicken thighs into bite sized pieces, season it with salt and pepper, sear it in a pot with some heated olive oil, and set aside. The recipe doesn’t call for this, but I think it’s important. It ensures the chicken is cooked through plus that searing adds color and flavor. You can skip this and throw it in raw if you like. But let me warn you. The original recipes calls you to throw the thighs in whole, remove them, and then chop it up after cooked. Can I say what a mess this makes? My way is better. You’re welcome.

Next, saute your onions, jalapeno, and seasonings. I don’t have Mexican oregano so I used your standard oregano. Also, if you’re not into spicy foods, you’ll still be fine with this recipe. It passed the spicy test in my family and that’s a very low bar. Don’t be scared of that jalapeno. It’s really not as spicy as you think. Cumin and chili powder are mild too. They just add flavor instead of burning your tongue.

When you’re done, it should look like this:

Add the tomatoes, broth, and (cooked or not) chicken, and some salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer it for a bit, about 10-15 minutes. Add the beans and more broth if you like a soupier soup, like me. Once it’s hot, scoop it into bowls and top with all the goodies you’d usually would with tacos plus some tortilla chips. Ta-da! Dinner!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

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Servings 4

Ingredients

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion diced
4 cloves garlic diced or minced
1 jalapeno minced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
pinch Mexican or regular oregano
28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 can pinto beans drained and rinsed
tortilla chips for topping
cilantro, cotija, source cream for topping, optional

Instructions

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot. Sear chicken and then set aside.
In the same pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add onion, garlic, jalapeno, and seasonings. Saute for about 7 minutes or until very soft and fragrant.
Add crushed tomatoes, broth, cooked chicken, and salt. Bring to a oil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Add beans. Mix together and serve hot topped with tortilla chips. Add other toppings as needed.

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Tuscan Tortellini Soup

October 9, 2022October 9, 2022 FloraD

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Fall is here! In northern California, the trees are still covered in green leaves and the temperature is in the 80s, but officially it’s fall. Halloween is just around the corner. Pumpkin-spiced <fill in the blank> is everywhere. I’m loving the candy at the grocery store. It’s one of my favorite times of year. And it’s soup weather. Then again, it’s soup weather year round to me!

This recipe is REALLY easy to make, but it feels like you’ve been working on it for hours. It’s especially tasty to those who love tortellini, like my family. It comes from delish, but I’ve added a few changes.

Time to prep! Chop up an onion. Slice up some cooked chicken sausages. You can really use any type of sausage you want so feel free to experiment. Mince a couple garlic cloves. Open a few cans: crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, and white beans. Having canned beans instead of dried makes this soup cook quickly. Measure out the red pepper flakes. Open packages of tortellini and spinach (see, you’ll get your veggies too!).

In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat some olive oil and start cooking! First, the onions. Then the sausage.

Add your garlic next and don’t let it burn. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, and red pepper flakes. Throw in some salt and pepper to your heart’s content. Are you seeing how easy this is?

Boil it and then throw in the tortellini.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for about 5 minutes. The original recipe said 18-20 minutes, but that’s crazy. Your tortellini will be mush by then.

Add the beans and spinach and cook until the spinach is just wilted.

Scoop into bowls and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top. That’s it. Seriously.

I don’t think it can get any easier than that and it takes so much better than anything from a can. Serve with slices of warm bread and pretend you’ve worked all afternoon on dinner. The only downsize is that it doesn’t make very good leftovers so if you can’t finish it all (what?!), scoop out the tortellini and save in a separate container. Add it back in when you heat it up again. But never mind that. It’s so delicious you’ll not have any leftovers.

Tuscan Tortellini Soup

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Servings 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion chopped
12 ounces cooked chicken sausage links sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
2 cloves garlic minced
28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
9 ounce refrigerated cheese tortellini
15 ounce canned white beans drained
5 ounces baby spinach
freshly shredded Parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions

In a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken sausage and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more. Stir in crushed tomatoes, broth, and red pepper flakes, and season generously with salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil and add tortellini. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tortellini is cooked, about 5 minutes.
Stir in white beans and spinach and cook until spinach has wilted, 2 minutes more.
Serve with Parmesan cheese.

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Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup

October 24, 2021November 13, 2021 FloraD

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The rain is really coming down today, which in many ways is good for drought-ridden Northern California. The trees are whipping, water is pounding on the windows, and the sky is dark. The house is shaking a bit, which I’m not a big fan of. I really hope we don’t lose power because we’ll all go out of our minds. I know this is nothing compared to the snow storms of the East, but when it rains here, people freak out like it’s the apocalypse or something. What’s that wet stuff falling from the sky?! Everyone, run for your lives!

My point? It’s definitely soup weather.

Today’s recipe is from Delish, Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup. It’s so amazing that you definitely need to make this now. It’s even easier than last week’s Beef and Cannellini Bean Minestrone. I made a few changes according to my preferences, but otherwise, it’s pretty much perfect.

Prep your ingredients. Cube chicken thighs into bite sized pieces. Juice and zest a lemon. Mince up a garlic clove. Chop up an onion. Slice a few carrots and celery stalks. Grab the chicken stock from the pantry. And please, when a recipe says stock, use stock, not broth. Broth and stock are not the same. You need the stock to provide that intense flavor as if you’ve been simmering this soup for hours. Don’t forget to cook a cup of rice and slice up a few green onions.

Heat some olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven and throw you chicken in. Be sure to season it with salt and pepper, and throw in the lemon zest. The recipe calls for half the zest now and then use the rest for a garnish, but I think it’s better to use it all now for that distinct lemony flavor. I don’t want some half-ass lemon flavored soup. Pardon my French.

Cook the chicken until it’s no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Taste it to make sure it has enough salt and pepper, and add more if necessary. Next, add your garlic and veggies. I went for sliced veggies instead of diced because I like my veggies to be in larger pieces. It’s really up to you.

Cook all that until the veggies are slightly soft, about 7 minutes. Next, throw in your stock, lemon juice, cooked rice, and some of the green onions. Save the rest for garnish. The recipe calls for 1 cup of cooked rice, but I added 2 cups. It makes for a more substantial soup.

Bring it to a boil and then let this simmer away for about 5 minutes. You won’t have time to do much else so don’t wander off. When it’s ready, ladle it into some bowls and garnish with the rest of the green onions.

And that’s it. I told you it was easy. There’s hardly any clean up because it was all made in a single pot. It’s lemony goodness with a touch of garlic. The soup is full of delicious chunks of chicken and veggies, and just the right amount of rice so you won’t go hungry an hour later. Comfort food at its best. Next time, I’m going to experiment with dill, which would complement the lemon nicely. Enjoy!

Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup

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Servings 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon zested and juiced
1 clove garlic minced
1 yellow onion diced
2 carrots sliced
2 celery stalks sliced
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups cooked white rice
4 green onions sliced

Instructions

In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add chicken to pot. Season with salt, pepper, and add the lemon zest. Cook chicken on all sides, 5 minutes. Add garlic, onion, carrots, celery. Season with salt. Cook until softened, about 7 minutes.
Add chicken stock, lemon juice, cooked rice, and half of the green onions, reserving the rest for garnish. Bring to a boil and then simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Garnish with the rest of the green onions and serve.

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Beef and Cannellini Bean Minestrone

October 17, 2021October 17, 2021 FloraD

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It’s finally soup season! Making homemade soup instead of cracking open a can is a cooking investment worth your time. One of my favorite soups is minestrone. I love the simplicity of it. It’s basically a tomato-based broth with a few veggies, some pasta, and maybe some ground meat. So, when I came across this recipe by Giada De Laurentiis from The Food Network, I had to try it. She makes awesome Italian dishes so I knew this one would not fail me. I was intrigued that instead of pasta she uses canned white cannellini beans. No pasta?! Most of the time you want to use dried beans for the most flavor so I was a little skeptical whether this soup would be tasty enough, but this soup recipe did not disappoint. Because the beans are canned, making this soup was super fast for a comforting homemade weeknight soup. No need to soak your beans over night.

Prep your ingredients. Dice up an onion, carrot, and celery. I like my celery and carrots in heartier pieces, so I sliced mine. If you want more veggies, feel free to add more. This is a very flexible soup. Next, mince some garlic. Measure out some tomato paste. Gather your canned ingredients. Have some grated Parmesan nearby.

Take a large saucepan or Dutch oven and saute your veggies. Be sure to add salt and pepper.

After the veggies are soft, throw in your ground beef and cook until there’s no more pink. The ground beef below needs more cooking time.

Add your tomato paste and then the rest of your ingredients.

It’s starting to look like soup! And it really smells good too. Here it is bubbling away.

Let it simmer for about 30 minutes while you go do something fun. Not that cooking isn’t fun, but maybe there’s an episode of House Hunters you’ve been meaning to watch. So I hear.

When it’s ready, ladle it into soup bowls and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top.

And that’s it. Super simple, and economical too. It makes great leftovers plus it freezes well. It’s so much better than what you’d find in a can and is worth the slight amount of effort that goes into it. It tasted like I spent hours on it. It’s a win-win!

Beef and Cannellini Bean Minestrone

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Servings 6

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion finely diced
1 large carrot peeled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 celery rib trimmed and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces lean ground beef
3 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 cups beef broth
28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
15 ounces canned cannellini beans rinsed and drained
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, add the oil and heat over medium heat. Stir in the onion, carrot and celery and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
Increase the heat to high and add the ground beef and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the beef is browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste and mix to combine. Add the broth, tomatoes, beans, and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the liquid has reduced by half, about 30 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf and discard. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

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Ham and Bean Soup

January 3, 2021January 3, 2021 FloraD

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I made an 8-pound ham for the three of us for Christmas dinner. Needless to say, I have more ham than I know what to do with. After eating plates and plates of sliced ham and leftover sides, I decided we needed to change it up a bit. I tried a ham and peas tortellini dish that needs a lot of improvement so I’ll share that once I’ve worked out the kinks. For now, we’re going straight to comfort food: Soup.

I got all ambitious and made my own ham broth, but that’s completely not necessary. I only did this because I had a ham bone and making broth is super simple to make in the Instant Pot. Here’s what you do. Take the meat bones (ham, chicken, turkey, anything really) and stick it in an Instant Pot along with chopped carrots, celery, and onions. Throw in some peppercorns if you have them and a bay leaf. Cover with water. Cook on high for 60 minutes and natural release. Done. Let it cool, strain all the stuff out, bag it in 2 cup servings, and freeze flat.

Now back to the soup. The base of the soup is from a recipe on the back of a bean package, but I made it better by adding ham and using broth instead of water. Always use broth or stock when you are making soups. Water just isn’t going to cut it if you want the depth of flavor. I don’t cook soup all day so using broth really makes the difference.

The hardest part is remembering to soak your beans overnight. I completely forgot so I soaked them all day instead. It was all good, but I was a little nervous there for a moment. I used cannellini beans because that’s what I had, but you can use any (pandemic) beans you happen to have.

Gather your ingredients. Rinse your beans in cold water and drain. Chop up everything that needs chopping.

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat up some olive oil and saute your chopped veggies. Throw in some garlic powder (because you completely forgot to mince up some garlic…hey I’m not perfect, but try to use minced garlic instead) and a little black pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes so the onion is softened.

Add chopped ham and mix it around a bit, cooking for a few minutes.

Then, add beans and 5 cups of broth. You can use more or less broth. Start with 5 cups and if you want your soup to be thinner, add more broth at the end.

Bring the whole thing to a boil and then reduce the heat until it’s simmering, which on my stove is the lowest setting. Cover and cook for a couple of hours. The longer you cook it, the creamier it’ll get. I was too impatient for that so cooked the soup until the beans were tender. Before serving, add more broth if you want. Taste it. Add salt and pepper if it needs it. Usually, I salt sooner, but the ham is already salty so you want to be careful not to over salt it. Serve in bowls and sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese on top because like bacon, everything’s better with cheese.

I really like how this recipe is simple, healthy, and comforting. Nothing beats a hot bowl of homemade soup on a cold winter day. Sorry canned soups. This is much better.

Ham and Bean Soup

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Servings 4

Ingredients

1 cup cannellini beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion chopped
1 carrot sliced
2 stalks celery chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 minced garlic cloves
ground pepper to taste
4 cups ham broth or other type of broth such as chicken or vegetable
1/2 pound chopped ham
salt to taste
grated Parmesan

Instructions

Soak beans overnight in a bowl with at least 3 cups of water. Rinse beans with cold water and drain.
In a dutch oven or soup pot, heat olive oil. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic powder, and pepper. Saute for 10 minutes until onions are softened.
Add ham and saute for another 5 minutes or until ham starts to cook a bit.
Add drained beans and broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook for 90 minutes or longer, until the beans are soft and the soup is as creamy as you want it. The longer you cook the soup, the creamier it will be. If the soup is too thick, add more broth.
Season soup with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and serve with a little grated Parmesan on top.

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Mini Meatball Soup

October 18, 2020October 18, 2020 FloraD

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Hi everyone! Fall is here and that means it’s soup time. Growing up, we always ate canned soup instead of making our own. I don’t know about you, but when I eat canned soup, I’m still hungry afterwards. I need something more substantial. The best way to solve this problem is to just make you’re own soup, which it’s so much easier than you think. For example, to make homemade chicken soup, you just need some low-sodium chicken broth, chopped up veggies, pre-cooked chicken pieces, and some egg noodles. Boil everything together and you’ve got soup. It’ll also impress your family.

Rachel Ray’s Mini Meatball Soup requires a little more work than that, but is still easy and super delicious. It’s a good week night meal with leftovers if you’re a small family like us. I decided to split it, which made two HUGE servings so we still had leftovers. The recipe below is the full recipe with a few tweaks.

Make your meatballs first. The recipe calls for making them while you’re sauteing your veggies, but there’s no way I can make meatballs in 5 minutes. I’m just not that talented.

Mix up ground beef, egg, minced garlic (mincing the garlic would take me 5 minutes alone), grated cheese (see, now I’m grating cheese!), bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste, and nutmeg (secret ingredient?).

The original recipe called for a blend of beef/pork/veal, but I’m lazy. I’m sure the combination is better, but this is supposed to be easy and I didn’t want to buy three types of meat. Set this mixture aside.

Chop up carrots, celery, and onions. Grab a bay leaf.

Heat up a tablespoon of olive oil in a deep-pot or dutch oven for about 2 minutes. Place your veggies and bay leaf in the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes. Don’t forget to stir it so the veggies don’t stick.

After 5 minutes, added a ton of broth (10 cups!), more than the recipe called for. I also used 100% broth instead of broth and water. I think adding all broth makes for a more flavorful soup. Bring the broth to a boil. Reduce the heat and start adding meatballs. Roll the meat into small balls and drop them in. The beauty is that the balls don’t need to be perfectly round. Just make sure they are consistently sized, about an inch across. When you’re done, add the pasta and stir. Cook for 10 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through and the pasta is tender. Throw in some spinach.

When it’s wilted, you’re done. That’s it. See how simple that was?

You end up with something that is very reminiscent of Italian wedding soup. It’s hearty, comforting, and perfect for a crisp fall night. And it took you about 30 minutes. Perfect.

You can also serve it deconstructed with the veggies push to the side. Sigh…

Mini Meatball Soup

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Servings 4

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 egg beaten
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 carrots peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks chopped
1 medium red onion chopped
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
10 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups ditalini pasta
1 pound fresh baby spinach leaves

Instructions

Make the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine meat, egg, garlic, grated cheese, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a deep pot or dutch oven, heat add oil over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add carrots, celery, onions, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Cover pot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Uncover your soup pot and add broth. Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil. When soup boils, reduce heat. Roll meat mixture into small 1-inch balls and drop them straight into the pot. When you are done adding meatballs, add pasta to the soup and stir.
Cover and simmer soup 10 minutes. When the meatballs are cooked and the pasta is tender, stir in baby spinach. When spinach has wilted, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

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Ramen Chicken Noodle

September 13, 2020September 13, 2020 FloraD

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Fall is coming up and I want to prepare you with this spin on a chicken noodle soup. I don’t know about you, but I pretty much don’t like canned chicken noodle soup. I know it’s the beloved classic of Americans, but when it’s from a can, the noodles and veggies are mushy. And the chicken? You need a magnifying glass to find any.

I know I just criticized your nostalgic soup so I must be crazy to to tell you to go make some Top Ramen, the crunchy dehydrated nest of god knows what’s in them noodles that you find in every college kitchen. But there’s something sentimental about combining chicken noodle soup with Top Ramen. Reminds me of growing up and then being an “adult” in my first apartment, trying to make ends meet. It’s hot, comforting, and full of noodle goodness.

This recipe comes from Delish, and I’ve thrown in some new twists. Feel free to customize this to your preference with your favorite veggies, or use turkey instead of chicken.

Prep your ingredients. Chop up a couple red peppers and carrots. If you don’t like those, try using celery, broccoli, or bok choy. If you’re a veggie hater, skip it all. Next, thinly slice green onion and mince a few cloves of garlic. Season a couple chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Grab a 4-cup box of low-sodium chicken broth, a couple packages of ramen noodles (throw away the seasoning packets!). Chop some cilantro, cut a lime into wedges, and half another lime to have handy.

Next, heat up some olive oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot, and saute the chicken breasts until cooked through. Remove when cooked and chop into cubes to the size you prefer. You can skip this step by shredding a rotisserie chicken, but I didn’t have one and I wasn’t about to get into my car to buy one. A word of advice. Always have ground beef, chicken breasts or thighs, and bacon hanging out in your freezer for “emergencies.” Yes, I do have bacon emergencies, but that’s a story for another time.

In the same pot, heat up a little more oil, and toss in your veggies and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until they are softened, but not squishy. Remember, this is not canned soup.

Add chicken broth and simmer. Add your ramen and cook according to the package, about a couple of minutes. Add the cooked chicken and cilantro. Squeeze a lime over it.

Mix it up.

And that’s it. Serve in a bowl with lime wedges (or not).

Sit back and enjoy the perfectly cooked veggies with pieces of chicken you can actually see. Slurp up the noodles that your mom scolded you about when you made those sucking noises. Be amazed at how the lime juice improves the taste of the broth, which adds acidity and a little flavor. This soup brings on happiness.

Ramen Chicken Noodle

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Servings 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil divided
2 chicken breasts
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 red bell peppers chopped
2 large carrots peeled and chopped
1/2 cup green onions thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic minced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 packages ramen noodles discard seasoning packets
1/4 cup cillantro chopped
juice of 1 lime
lime wedges optional, for serving

Instructions

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute chicken until cooked through. Remove from pot, chop into cubes, and set aside.
In the same pot, heat another tablespoon of olive oil. Add peppers, carrots, green onions, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft for about 6-8 minutes.
Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer. Add ramen noodles and cook according to package, until tender, for about 2-3 minutes. Stir in cooked chicken, cilantro, and lime juice. Simmer until heated through. Serve in a bowl with lime wedges.

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Taco Soup

February 10, 2020February 14, 2020 FloraD1 Comment

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You know I love a good taco (mmmm…carnitas), but I also love a good soup, especially when it’s cold outside. So what happens when you can’t decide between two radically different meals? You combine them, of course! Meet taco soup!

The beauty of this recipe is that you just dump a bunch of cans into a slow cooker, let it do its thing all day, and then you eat loads of taco goodness. If you don’t have 6-8 hours to slow cook this soup, you can also simmer it in a pot on the stove for about an hour.

The original recipe comes from Paula Deen. I’ve made it so many times, but I’ve made a couple substitutions and clarifications. I’ll explain along the way.

First, in the slow cooker (if you have a saute setting) or in a pan, brown some ground turkey and chopped onions with some salt and pepper. The original recipe did not call for the salt and pepper, but I think it’s important to season your meat or it could taste bland. This recipe also calls for beef, but turkey is so much better. The beef overpowered the other ingredients and made it too meaty, if that’s possible. But this is just my opinion. Feel free to use any type of ground meat.

Next you’ll be doing some labor intensive can opening. About 9 cans worth. I’m not kidding. This recipe has a ton of ingredients, but isn’t that better than chopping 9 different ingredients? Seriously, the can is your friend.

After opening all these cans, add the browned meat to a large slow cooker and then start dumping each can in. Be sure to drain the olives and corn, but not the beans. You’ll need that for the liquid, which is something the original recipe doesn’t mention. Learn from my mistakes. This is soup, not some sort of defiant bean chili that would make every Texan cry. You’ll also add packets of ranch dressing mix and taco seasoning. Ranch?! Yes! Trust me. As with bacon, everything is better with ranch. This soup is no exception.

This is a pretty mild soup so if you need something with more kick, don’t use mild canned tomatoes with chiles. Buy the hot stuff. If that’s not spicy enough, add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce, a couple pinches of red pepper flakes, or a couple chopped up jalapenos. Sliced pickled jalapenos would be good too.

Mix it all together and slow cook on low for at least 6 hours (or simmer for an hour). When it’s ready, mix it up again and ladle it into soup bowls. Garnish with your favorite taco toppings or even top with some corn or tortilla chips.

This soup is so satisfying on a cold winter evening or even in the middle of summer when you want a taco but you’ve run out of tortillas (but you happen to have 9 cans of stuff…okay, a stretch of the imagination, but work with me here!). It’s so delicious that you’ll even forget to take pictures of it served. Like I did.

This recipe makes a lot of soup. Freeze leftovers or refrigerate to enjoy throughout the week.

Taco Soup

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Servings 16

Ingredients

2 pounds turkey
2 cups onions diced
salt and pepper
2 15.5 ounce canned pinto beans undrained
15.5 ounces canned kidney beans undrained
15.25 ounces whole canned corn drained
14.5 ounces canned Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes
14.5 ounces canned tomatoes with chiles hot or mild
9 ounces canned diced green chiles
6.5 ounces canned black olives sliced and drained
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 package ranch salad dressing mix
taco toppings see recipe

Instructions

Brown the ground turkey and onions on the saute setting of a slow cooker or in a skillet. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
If needed, transfer the browned turkey and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot.
Drain the corn and olives. Do not drain the rest of the cans. Add the beans, corn (drained), tomatoes, green chiles, olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix.
Cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Top with corn or tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, green onions and/or jalapenos.

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Chicken Noodle Soup

January 11, 2020January 11, 2020 FloraD

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The days are chilly and crisp, yet often bright. Everyone and everything just wants to be cozy. We’re in the midst of soup season. I’ve made this chicken noodle soup recipe a few times before (thank you Food Network!) and now I’m spoiled. No more canned chicken noodle soup for me. No more mushy noodles and veggies, if I can even find any goodies. A bit of carrot? A scrap of chicken?

This recipe calls for parsnips, which I rarely use and barely familiar with. I also get them mixed up with turnips. And how does the rutabaga fit in, other than it’s a funny word to say? Let’s educate ourselves, shall we?

The parsnip is a long, tuberous root vegetable, has cream-colored skin and flesh root, and is related to carrots and parsley.

Turnips look completely different. They are round and mostly white, with some purple, red, or green, depending on the variety. So what’s a rutabaga? Some say it’s the same as a turnip, but others disagree. The rutabaga is larger and sweeter, is a cross between a cabbage and turnip, and has a yellow flesh.

The secret soup ingredient is fresh dill. Don’t skip it. I’ve made this soup with and without, and there’s something about that sweet, slightly licorice flavor that enhances the chicken and veggies. It sounds weird, but it works.

My only issue with this recipes is that there’s way too little broth, but I ended up using that in my favor. If you are eating the soup in one sitting, use 1 1/2 to 2 times the amount of broth the recipe calls for, about 9-12 cups. For our family of three, I split the original recipe and used 4 cups of broth instead of 3. The original recipe makes 4 large portions, but these people must be giants. We were able to get 8 servings from the full recipe. On the first day, I will serve the soup with most of the broth. This prevents your noodles from soaking in the broth and becoming mushy for when you have it for leftovers. When you do heat it up again, add another 4 cups of broth so it’s more like soup instead of a plate of pasta.

I like to prep everything first. First chop your veggies.

Then dice your chicken. If you do it the other way around, you’ll need to use two cutting boards instead of one to avoid cross-contamination.

First add your carrots. Wait a minute or so. Then add your parsnips and wait another minute or two. The recipe assumes you are chopping as you go along so if you prep like me, don’t add the veggies all at once. Space it out. Add the onions next. Another couple minutes later, add your celery. Adding your veggies in this order ensures that the carrots are cooked the longest and the celery is not over cooked.

Season and add a couple bay leaves. Add your preferred amount of broth, boil, add chicken, and boil again. Turn it down to simmer, cook the chicken for a couple of minutes, and then add the noodles.

When the noodles are tender, your soup is about ready. You just need to add fresh parsley and dill (don’t use dried!), remove bay leaves, and serve. Yum. Now you are all cozy.

Chicken Noodle Soup

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots peeled and chopped
1 parsnip peeled and chopped
1 medium onion chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
9-12 cups chicken broth
1 pound chicken breasts diced
1 1/2 cups egg noodles
handful fresh parsley chopped
handful fresh dill chopped

Instructions

Heat extra-virgin olive oil in a very large pot over moderate heat. Prep the vegetables by chopping/or peeling them. Keep them in separate piles.
Add each vegetable to the pot in the order they are listed, waiting a couple minutes between each vegetable before adding the next.
Add bay leaves and season vegetables with salt and pepper, to taste. Depending on how thick you want your soup, add broth to the pot until it's the amount you prefer. Bring it to a boil.
Add diced chicken, return soup to a boil, and reduce heat back to moderate. Cook the chicken for 2 minutes and then add the noodles. Cook the soup for 6 minutes or until noodles are tender. Remove soup from the heat.
Stir in parsley and dill, remove bay leaves, and serve.

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Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

December 8, 2019January 7, 2020 FloraD

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After reading an article about wild rice, my husband asked me if I could cook some wild rice for dinner. I completely jumped on the opportunity. You see, as much as I adore my husband, he’s not a foodie. He likes his steak. He likes tasty food. But he would be just as satisfied if he could skip the whole eating process. It takes away from his (gaming) hobbies whereas eating and making food is my hobby. So when he asked for wild rice, I was pretty excited.

I searched high and low for a tasty wild rice recipe. I was inspired by the weather. It’s been rainy and cold so therefore, soup weather. I decided on a soup recipe from Food and Wine. I stuck to the recipe, but if I had to do it over again, I’d leave out the cream. Don’t get me wrong, the cream makes it…creamy (duh). But apparently some of us do not like creamy soups except for clam chowder. And maybe potato and leek. Whatever. Let’s just leave it at that.

First, let’s talk about wild rice. What the heck is it exactly? Wild rice is a grain and distant cousin to white and brown rice. Like other rices, wild rice is the seed from a type of grass grown in Asian and the US, but not the same grass of other rices. It’s more common in the US and pretty healthy for you. High in fiber and protein. Full of antioxidants. That sort of thing. It’s nutty and chewy so seriously, it does feel like you’re eating a superfood.

To make this recipe, I needed 4 cups of cooked chicken. You can use a rotisserie chicken or any leftover chicken, but I didn’t have any so I cubed two large chicken breasts, seasoned them with salt and pepper, and cooked them until they were no longer opaque. I didn’t want to cook it beyond that because I knew they’d continue to cook in the soup and my family is adverse to dried out chicken. So picky.

While the chicken is cooking, I chopped my veggies. It’s important that your carrots and celery are the same thickness, about a 1/2 inch.

In a dutch oven, I melted butter and then added the veggies and seasonings.

Stir it until everything’s starting to soften, but not too much. You want the carrots to be barely tender or they’ll end up mushy at the end. Note that you will be cooking this soup for another 45 minutes. Add flour and cook for another 3 minutes. Add rice and stock. After boiling, bring it down to a simmer and let it do its thing for 30 minutes.

Your veggies will continue to soften and your rice will begin to cook. Add chicken and let it simmer for 15 minutes until the wild rice is tender. If you’ve never had wild rice before, here’s a tip. It won’t be as tender as other rice, but chewy and you can bite through it. At the very end (or not), stir in the cream. Add some salt and pepper, and then serve. This is a really hearty soup that will fill you up and not leave you hungry.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

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Servings 8

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
3 celery stalks cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme finely chopped
salt and pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 ounces wild rice about 1 cup
2 quarts chicken stock
2 cups water
4 cups cooked chicken cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup heavy cream optional

Instructions

In a dutch oven (or large saucepan), melt the butter. Add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, thyme and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables just start to soften, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring, until evenly coated and lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Add the wild rice to the saucepan and gradually stir in the stock and water. Bring to a boil, and then simmer over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
Add the chicken and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the wild rice is tender, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Stir in the cream (optional – if you want a creamy soup) and season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.