Winter Minestrone

I had a taste for soup over the weekend since the temps were due to be dropping below 30 degrees this week and today was the day to give this bad boy a try. I bounced between two recipes (both links can be found below the instructions) and added my own twist. I was going to add a nice cup of (gag) cooking wine,you know the really dry stuff that a few friends and family of ours like, but we weren't going to be seeing them soon enough to finish off the rest of the bottle, so we opted to leave it out this round. Next time I will add it and use the rest of the bottle for drain cleaner. So without further ado, here is the deliciousness we had this evening! Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 3 oz. thinly sliced pancetta, coarsely chopoped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 cups total of vegetable broth and turkey broth
• 1 quart crushed tomatoes or tomato purée, or 1 (28-ounce) can
• 3 cups sliced kale (remove and discard tough stems from kale)
• 1-1/2 cups cooked white beans (cannellini, navy, pea), or 1 (15-ounce) can, rinsed and drained
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 cup small pasta (rings, ditalini, alphabets, bowties)
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery root, pancetta, carrot, and garlic, and sauté until the vegetables are slightly tender. Add the broth, tomatoes, cabbage, beans, rosemary, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

2. Return the soup to a boil. Add the pasta and boil gently until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Add parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Original recipe From http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/winter-minestrone-recipe.html and Recipes from the Root Cellar: 270 Fresh Ways to Enjoy Winter Vegetables by Andrea Chesman (Storey Publishing, 2010). Copyright © 2010 by Andrea Chesman. All rights reserved. Used with permission of the publisher.

Hot & Sour Soup

I wanted soup, Hubby wanted spicy. So hot & sour soup is what it was going to be...

Hot & Sour soup base

Mushrooms - fresh & sliced

Tofu - cubed/diced

1 Egg lightly beaten

Green onions for garnish

Add first two ingredients, bring to boil then drop to medium heat, once mushrooms have shrunk a bit (5 min), add tofu cook for 3 minutes, gently stir and SLOWLY begin drizzling in egg as soup spins from previous stirring (Do not stir and add egg at same time) Cook additional 3 minutes, scoop into individual bowls and garnish with green onions. :) Enjoy! Remember you can always add more spice (I added a few dashes of saracha before scooping into bowls) 

Dill Pickle Soup

Dill Pickle Soup...

Sounds gross, right? Its actually more of a potato soup with a hint of dill pickle! Anyways, I made it to share with Sarah & Melissa. It was quite tasty. Had a bit of a bite to it, but it was good. Its definitely a make again. They aren't fibbing when they said not all pickles are created equal... DEFINITELY spend the cash for the good crunchy Vlasic ones!

 Here is the original recipe:

Dill Pickle Soup

Recipe from: Created by Cathy Pollak for NoblePig.com | Serves: Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 5-1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1-3/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 cups chopped carrots (smaller dice)
• 1 cup chopped dill pickles (smaller dice ~ about 3 large whole dills)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups dill pickle juice*
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Garnish (optional)

• sliced dill pickles
• fresh dill
• black pepper

Directions

• In a large pot, combine broth, potatoes, carrots and butter. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender. Add pickles and continue to simmer.
• In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sour cream and water, making a paste. Vigorously whisk sour cream mixture (2 Tablespoons at a time) into soup. (This will also break up some of your potatoes which is okay. You might see some initial little balls of flour form but between the whisking and boiling all will disappear. Don't panic.)
• Add pickle juice, Old Bay, salt (*see below), pepper and cayenne. Cook 5 more minutes and remove from heat. Serve immediately.
• *All pickle juice is not created equal. Some is saltier than others. Taste your soup after adding the pickle juice and final seasonings. It's possible you will not need any salt or would prefer more or less.

Pickle Dip

I FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES!!!! I will make it again soon so pictures can be added!

Not all pickles are created equal! Get the best you can and if you like a bit of twang... use the vllasic

Pickle Dip

Ingredients:

§  2-8oz packages cream cheese

§  16 oz sour cream

§  32 oz jar Vlassic dill pickles finely chopped 

§  ¼ to ½ c pickle juice

§  Garlic salt to taste

Directions:

§  Cream sour cream and cream cheese together.

§  Add pickles that have been finely chopped to creamed mixture.

§  Mix in 1/4 to 1/2 c of the pickle juice from the pickles (amount depends on how “soupy” you want your dip).

§  Add garlic salt to taste.

§  Sit down and enjoy with potato chips or chips of your choice.   (good on crackers too!)

Original recipe by https://homemadebyharper.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/potato-chips/

Reuben Dip with Peppredge Farm Party Toasts

So after working an early morning shift, we were off to the annual NOVA Christmas Party that is two hours away. Usually we camp it but my work schedule was not going to allow for it this year. So I knew whatever we made to take, would need to travel well and have a way to be reheated/warmed once there since the oven would be cooking the main course for dinner! Since we would be there in time for appetizers, I signed up to make one of those. Now, I am not a reuben freak, but my Mother in Law makes an AMAZING reuben sandwich and no other reuben sandwich will stack up to it. This dip, comes in close second!
If there is extra (The recipe doubles well) I will use the party toasts and dab some dip on them and stick them under the broiler till melty the next day. AMAZING again! So much for losing weight with this dip around folks, its worth the extra though! I promise!

Reuben Dip

16oz JAR of Sauerkraut- rinsed, drained, squeezed, and run a knife through it
8oz Cream Cheese - Softened
2 cups Cooked Corned Beef - sliced thin and chopped
1/4 cup Thousand Island Dressing (Double this if you like TI dressing!)
2 cups Shredded Swiss Cheese

Directions:
The bagged kraut is bitter, so don't use it unless you REALLY like bitter.
I chopped the sauerkraut once more to make bite sized pieces instead of having stringy bites and had the deli counter shave the corned beef, then ran my knife through it to make smaller pieces again.
Add all ingredients to the crockpot, stir until combined. Cook on high for 45 minutes stirring occasionally the entire cooking time, low for longer if you aren't in a hurry to have it ready. You are looking for it to be bubbly and the cheese melted. Serve with cocktail or party toast or crackers.

I FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES!!!! I will make it again soon so pictures can be added!

Zuppa Toscana

My Mother In Laws birthday was this week and our tradition in our family is to not cook on your birthday. So every year on one of our parents birthdays, I cook whatever meal (within reason) they request. My MIL requested anything I wanted so long as no cheese or mushrooms were used in its making. So after trying to figure out what I could make (alot of the things I make use one if not BOTH of those ingredients) I decided to give this a go. Besides, if it didn't work out, there was always a big pot of chili my mom had made in the crock pot! Score... we had a back up plan! So here it is:

Zuppa Toscana (better than Olive Garden!)

1 lb. Italian sausages (use spicy to get that signature Olive Garden flavor)
4-6 russet potatoes, chopped (not to small)
1 onion, chopped
1/4 c. REAL bacon pieces (optional)
2 Tbsp minced garlic (about 3-4 cloves)
32 oz. chicken broth
2 c. kale or Swiss chard, chopped
1 c. heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp flour

1. Brown sausage links in a sauté pan.
2. Cut links in half lengthwise, then cut slices.
3. Place sausage, chicken broth, garlic, potatoes and onion in slow cooker. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables and meat. (I had to add 3 cups)
4. Cook on high 3-4 hours (low 5-6 hours) until potatoes are soft.

30 minutes before serving:
5. Mix flour into cream removing lumps.
6. Add cream, kale, and bacon to the crock pot, stir.
7. Cook on high 30 minutes or until broth thickens slightly.
8. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.