Tag Archives: soup

Spinach, Pasta, and Pea Soup

I was a vegetarian for several years and used to make soups like this Spinach, Pasta, and Pea Soup often. Soup is one of those great meals that can easily be made vegetarian by swapping out meaty broths for vegetable or mushroom broth (I used vegetable broth). But sometimes, vegetarian soups can be boring and too soft. This one has chickpeas which hold up well in the cooking process giving you something to sink your teeth into. The lemon added a light freshness without being overbearing and the parmesan cheese gave a needed salty flavor. Consider substituting kale for the spinach or swapping out the chickpeas for cannellini beans. This soup was great for workday lunches and always left me feeling satisfied.

The ingredients:

Sauté garlic and green onions in olive oil until soft and fragrant.

Add broth and water and bring to a boil.

Stir in lemon rind, orzo, and chickpeas. Cover and cook until orzo is cooked, about 10 minutes.

Stir in oregano, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and spinach. Cook for a few minutes until spinach is wilted.

Top soup with parmesan cheese.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Vegetable broth for chicken broth
Dried oregano for fresh oregano

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Turkey and Potato Soup with Canadian Bacon

I hosted my first Thanksgiving ever last week and as a result ended up with plenty of leftovers in my fridge. My plan for this week is to take advantage of those leftovers and make some new meals with them. This first leftover recipe I made is Turkey and Potato Soup with Canadian Bacon. I just happened to have turkey Canadian bacon in my fridge after finding it in my local Whole Foods last week and it worked perfectly in this dish. The recipe calls for baking potatoes but I threw in the leftover prepared mashed potatoes I had which melted into this soup deliciously. This is a warm, creamy, hearty soup that somehow sucks me right back to my childhood. And that is a compliment.

Thanksgiving leftovers used: turkey, mashed potatoes, celery, carrots, onions, broth, sage

The ingredients:

In a saucepan, sauté onion, celery, carrot, and Canadian bacon in canola oil until soft.

Add in broth, mashed potatoes, turkey, and sage. Whisk together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Prepared mashed potatoes for baking potatoes

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Jerk Chicken Chili

November 14, 2011
Shannon
3 comments
chicken, chocolate, food, soup, tomatoes

Chili is usually a recipe that I make the first weekend that football starts, no matter what the temperature is outside. So, making chili in November is pretty late for me. But this recipe for Jerk Chicken Chili was worth the wait. This recipe came from Glamour Magazine – a surprising source of tasty recipes. This chili is different than your regular chili but still just as hearty and comforting. The spices in this chili – chili powder, thyme, allspice, cinnamon – are cooked with onion and yellow pepper early on which brings out their natural oils and intensifies their flavor. Chicken is added and coated with the spice mixture before being simmered with the liquids, beans, and jalapeño. Fresh cilantro and (surprise!) chocolate are added at the end to deepen the flavor of every bite. I left the garlic out of this recipe for one reason only: the editors at the magazine included it in the directions but didn’t include it in the ingredients! Ugh! Anyway, the flavor in this chili goes deep to create an intense, soothing chili that digs down and warms you to the core. If you’re bold enough to try a different kind of chili, you won’t be disappointed with this!