Sunday Soup Ritual

[Cloudee1]

So for the last few Sundays I have got into the habit of making some home-made soup. I take the daughter to CCD (sunday school) and during the hour I spend in town waiting for her class to finish, I run to the grocery store and pick up whatever supplies that I need. When we get home I start cooking. I usually make a double batch of whatever soup it is that I am making. I have a vacuum sealer so I usually split up the leftovers, seal them up and toss them in the freezer. So far I have been pretty impressed with the soups that I have made and I thought I would start sharing the recipes that I have been using. The recipes usually claim to be 6-8 servings but apparently my serving size is larger than usual because I never seem to get quite that much out of a recipe. If you plan to follow my lead, you'll need to increase the amounts if you want to have enough to freeze some up too.

Anyway, this first recipe is a clone of Olive garden's Zuppa Toscana. Way back in the day, close to 20 years ago now, I used to work at the Olive Garden and I would eat this soup daily. I have always loved the soup and I still order it instead of a salad when I eat at the Olive Garden. I am very pleased with how the soup turned out, tasted exactly like it should.

Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground italian sausage. (I used mild, but hot would be good too if you want a little kick.)
• 1 1/2 tsp crushed red peppers
• 1 large diced white onion
• 1/2 a package cooked crisp and chopped up
• 2 tsp garlic puree (I used the  minced garlic that comes in a jar)
• 10 cups water
• 5 cubes chicken bouillon
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 lb sliced russet potatoes (about 3 large potatoes). slices about 1/2 to 3/4 inch, you do not need to peel, just wash, cut in half long ways, and slice
• 1/2 of a bunch of kale, with the cores removed and cut into inches sized pieces

Instructions:

• saute italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a skillet and drain excess fat if any. When I cooked mine, there wasn't really any fat to speak of so I didn't bother trying to drain what there was.
• In a large soup pot, saute the bacon, garlic and onions over low to medium heat. Cook until the onions are soft.
• Add the chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
• Add the sliced potatoes and cook until they are soft and start to break up.
• Add the heavy cream and the cooked sausage and cook until begins to simmer again.
• Stir in the kale and let simmer for another 10 minutes.

Serve and enjoy.

[Cloudee1]

Since I made a soup that I love, my next attempt was to make something that the wife loved. Without a doubt, one of her favorite soups is Chicken Tortilla soup from McAlister's Deli. With a quick search of the internet I found three or four recipes that all claimed to be it. For the most part all of them were pretty much identical with the exception of one ingredient that none of them could agree upon. Regardless, I took a stab at it and as far as I can tell it came out pretty much just as it should have. This is the recipe that I used.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (28-ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
• 4 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese ... I used mild, but  I think next time I'll see how sharp cheddar turns out
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced
• tortilla chips

Instructions:

• Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a skillet large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer. Add chicken, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until chicken is done, about 15 minutes. Drain chicken; cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
• In a medium stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; saute until soft.
• Stir in chili powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, tomatoes and their liquid, chicken broth and 1/2 cup water.
• Stir together cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup water; stir into stockpot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until broth is slightly thickened.
• Stir in chiles, cheese, cilantro, green onions and cooked chicken. Stir until cheese melts, then let simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve the tortilla chips on the side for dipping in soup, or crumble a few chips in the bowl and enjoy

[Cloudee1]

Well with both mine and the wife's favorite soups made, it was time to look for something else. I figured with St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, may as well go for a bit of Irish flair. I'm gonna tell you now, the actual cooking of this stew was kind of a pain in the arse, I doubt that it is one that I will make very often. It came out tasting good but not sure that it was worth all of the trouble.

Beef and Guinness Stew

Ingredients:

• 3 tbs Canola oil, really for what you use it for any oil will do
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tsp salt
• 5 cups chopped onion (about 3 onions)
• 1 tbs  tomato paste
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 11.2 oz bottle of Guinness Stout
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal slices carrot (about 8 ounces)
• 1 1/2 cups (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal slices parsnip (about 8 ounces)
• 1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed peeled turnip (about 8 ounces)

Instructions:

• Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in your soup pot over medium-high heat.
• Place flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt; dredge beef in flour.
• Add half of beef to the oil and cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides
• Remove beef from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and beef, removing beef from pan when complete.
• Add onion to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
• Stir in broth and beer, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.
• Return meat to pan.
• Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt,  caraway seeds, and pepper; bring to a boil.
• Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Uncover and bring to a boil. Cook 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add carrot, parsnip, and turnip. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Uncover and bring to a boil; cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender

This is a very hearty stew, with the long cooking times, covering and uncovering, by the time it's complete, it's very thick. But also pretty good, it's just not my style to spend 3 hours cooking a single item. It was pretty interesting trying to find parsnips at the grocery store, I didn't even know what it looked like at the time. I would describe it as an albino carrot, but luckily they were sitting right next to the turnips.

[Roycole]

Wow those are good recipes.. I only know how to make hot and sour but i will try these soon.