Curried Lentil Soup with Yogurt

This soup is darn right good..now I am not a creamy kinda girl but with this challenge comes new tate treats....The spicy is really not bad it is there but it does not linger in your mouth....

Guide to Good Eating.....2003

 

Curried Lentil Soup with Yogurt

A spicy treat. You may add more curry powder or cayenne pepper to increase the heat, or even a chopped chili. The yogurt is a cooling contrast to the spicy.

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup dried lentils, washed and picked over
3 cups low-fat, low salt chicken stock or water
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
Thinly sliced scallions , for garnish

In a soup pot over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onion,carrot,celery and garlic. Cook until soft but not brown, about 5 to 20 minutes,stirring often.

 

Add the curry powder and cook another 2 minutes to release the flavor of the spices.

 Add the cayenne pepper,bay leaf,lentils, and stock or water.

 

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for about 45 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot. You may need to add more stock or water. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle into warmed bowls and garnish with yogurt and scallions. I forgot to show a picture when I popped some yogurt on. The soup was delicious. I am a bean eater and soup sipper so this is right up my ally.

Chicken with Stuff Soup

Well Soup is a must during those cold winter or rainy day's. Although soup for me is an any weather day thing. You will notice the more you cook that there is always something in the pantry to make soup with.

Just a Chicken Soup

2 tbs olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1 red/yellow bell pepper chopped (half of each)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili power
1 box organic chicken broth
1 can organic/fresh tomatoes
2 whole boneless chicken breasts chopped into squares
2 ears of corn fresh is best
1 cup cooked/canned cannellini beans
Pasta what ever kind you like you only need a hand full
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in your soup pot and add the onions, peppers and the garlic to the pot and saute. Add the chicken and let this cook together until your chicken is cooked thu out.







Garlic tip I did learn this on Food TV they put kosher salt on the garlic cloves before they smashes it to bring out the flavor I do say it works. Peel the garlic and put it on the cutting board then sprinkle some kosher salt. NOT TABLE SALT. Take the flat side of your knife and smash down now pick up the garlic and pop it in the soup. I rarely chop because I love the flavor of the garlic, at the end I fish the garlic out prior to serving if I remember….;-)



Cooking your pasta can be done while you are cooking the other stuff. Now I can say that you can cook the pasta half way because it will cook more in the soup. Also adding pasta to your sou is optional.




Add you chicken and spices to the pot


Now add your tomatoes






Add the corn is next












Look at the nice trick  for cutting fresh corn and keeping it in one spot using a bundt pan. . I use to have such a time with that I only wish I knew this trick sooner. My bundt pan the hole is a little wide but I go the gist of the trick.









Alright now add the chicken stock and mix everything up and add the  beans.






Let everything simmer for a good 30 minutes to one hour. I add the pasta the last 10 minutes as to not let it get soft or mushy.

When you serve the soup top each bowl off with cheese I use shredded mozzarella

Enjoy your soup !

Cauliflower Potato Soup

Cauliflower Potato Soup well any soup at this time of year is great. The vegetables combined with the natural thickener potato is so delicious.

My family is a soup family. We love to get a warm soup and some homemade bread during the colder month's.

Soup just makes you feel comfortable and safe.




Ingredients 

1 whole cauliflower
2 carrots
1 half yellow onion
2 tablespoons Italian parsley
2 quarts chicken broth
One stick of butter
5 tablespoon flour
2 cups of milk
1 cup half and half
Pepper to taste
4 medium potatoes

 

In a large soup pot melt half your stick of butter.

 

 
Add the onion cook until it starts to turn brown




Add the carrots cook an additional couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine. Turn the burner down to low cover it and let it simmer for say 10 minutes or so.

After it has simmered pour in chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.

Make sure you skim all the stuff off the sides of the pot waste nothing





I let all this simmer for about a half hour before I go to the next step. Keep an eye on the soup and stir when needed.

In a medium saucepan melt the other half cube of butter

Mix the flour and milk then whisk to combine in a separate bowl

Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter whisking constantly




Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half-and-half

Add mixture to the simmering soup







Add the potatoes. Allow the soup to  simmer for 1 hour or until you potatoes are soft not mushy. Fork tender. Stir every 10 to 15 minutes.


After the hour your soup should be ready to eat!




Notes to self

I use Italian Parsley because it just has a better not so tart taste like regular parsley
I use a food processor to chop the carrot and half of the cauliflower See the picture
I do not salt my food when cooking I think it should be left to the eater.

I just love each process of cooking.  I do not jump from step to step. I stop long enough to think does this need a little extra time to get its flavors together on there own prior to adding the rest of the stuff this holds true for most things I cook.

Potato and Leek Soup

I love soup and when Winter gets close I am a Pressure Canning Fool. This soup is special as you know we can not Pressure Can Soup with any dairy so I took it out but added some flavor by replacing it with bacon and garlic. This is Heavenly !

This recipe will make approximately 6 half pints. I do make larger quantities to be able to Pressure Can and have through out the season. Here is a link to my Canning Site.
 
 Potato Leek Soup

5 strips of bacon chopped

4 whole garlic cloves chopped

12 large russet potatoes

6 large leeks sliced into thin rings

12 cups of chicken stock

Chop you bacon into small bite size pieces and fry them in the stock pot. This is going to give you a nice caramel-y greasy coat on the bottom of your pot.









When the bacon is half cooked add you chopped garlic and turn it down to low. You want to just brown the garlic and crispy the bacon.







 

While this is cooking cleaning your leeks they hide a lot of dirt in the crevices. Peel back the first and second layer of skin you will see it.




Now chop the leeks into rings.

Now add the sliced leeks to the bacon bit and brown everything up slightly.
Doing this makes my soups have a hearty and roasted taste with out added seasoning's.

Now let us talk potato you can peel or no peel. I peeled this lot of potatoes because I made Potato skin chips for a New Year's eve party. When you are peeling and chopping the potatoes keep them in a bowl of cool water this will prevent them from turning brown.

Pour your chicken stock into-the pot and add the chopped potatoes. Let everything simmer on medium for about an hour. Check on the pot about every 15 minutes stir things up.








Once the hour is up take a tool and mush your potatoes. I always leave a few chunks in my soup I love the feel of food.
.

This Potato and Leek Soup is so delicious and with no dairy it can be pressure canned.

 

Potato and Kielbasa Soup

Potato with Kielbasa Soup is heaven in a bowl. Just the topic of rain in the forecast makes me think soup. Potato and kielbasa soup !

Last night at 4:30 am I shot out of bed ran to the freezer and took out all the chicken bones and fix-in's to make chicken stock today.







 Pondering the way to get back to sleep I ran back to the freezer and grabbed the already frozen chicken broth and a kielbasa sausage out of the other freezer.


I truly love all potato based soup's but as you know I am always looking for something new.
In my mind I thought oh what a great idea I have left over baby potatoes and the kielbasa so why not potato and kielbasa soup. As if it was never done. Really Lani? Better yet roasted!
I love to roasted veggies prior to adding it to the soup this too has been done forever and it just adds that old time taste like grams made. Helps makes the taste go one step further.

Let us get started

Ingredients

• 10 baby potatoes chopped
  1 russet potato peeled and chopped
  2  tablespoons of flour if needed to thicken
  1  -  14oz kielbasa sausage chopped
  2 quarts chicken broth
  1 -2 garlic cloves finely chopped
  1 onion chopped
• 2 tablespoons of canola oil

Prep

Pour your chicken stock into a large stock pot and add the potatoes (reserve two cups of them chopped bite size) and let it simmer for a least one hour.

You want to be able to mash the potatoes to thicken the soup.

*If everything else is in the pot it becomes a chore to try to avoid mushing the onions and sausage. 

While this is cooking make the rest of the ingredients.





In a skillet but a tablespoon of canola oil and fry up your chopped onions about 3 minutes prior to them being ready pop in the chopped garlic.




The reason for this is the garlic cooks so quickly and you do not want to burn it.







Once this is roasted toss the onions and garlic into your stock pot.  Making sure the potatoes are done and mushed.




In the same pan you used for the onions now put the chopped kielbasa and brown it well.

Remember you are looking for the roasted taste in your soup. Once the kielbasa is done toss this into the stock pot.

Add the 2 cups of reserved chopped potato's. Let this all simmer on low for another hour.






I simmer all my soup to get all the flavor gather together. Many soup take under an hour mine a lot longer so all the ingredients can get acquainted. There is many a time when I will let my soup sit overnight then warm it up the next morning to get a taste.

Well almost everything is better then next day!

Love this season so soupy.

Don't for get to try making some homemade bread here is a link.  See mine next to the soup.

Manhattan Fish Chowder

This had to be one of the best Red Manhattan Chowder I have done in quite a while. Ok ok I never did it before. SO there. I found a few sites with recipes and gathered from them all. But the best site I found and simple because I love simple (Of course because it is by a fisherman) it came from their website Regular Guy Charters. It went so well with the Fresh Baked Bread.

 

 

 

Ingredients

3 strips of bacon fried keep the dripping
1 white onion chopped
3 chopped carrot
3 garlic cloves  finely chopped
¼ cup tomato paste
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
4 to 6 small red potatoes chopped
1 cups of water
3 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp fresh parsley

Any ingredient you do not have fresh use canned, dried or what ever is available. I use fresh because in the last year I have learned to make my own and store it for later. You can do it !

1 tsp salt
½ tsp grnd pepper
1 tbs Old Bay Seasoning  -optional
1 bay leaf
2 fresh chopped Roma tomatoes
2 lbs firm white fish. I used Cod
A dozen or so fresh large shrimp peeled and cleaned
Garnish ideas for the side
Parmesan cheese
Tabasco sauce
Red crushed pepper
Parsley


Fry your bacon in the stock pot you will be making your soup in. Once the bacon is done remove the bacon let it cool and chop it up and return it to the stock pot . Add your onions and carrot and saute for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic for the last 2 minutes you do not want it to brown or burn. Euu.




Add the tomato paste, Roma tomato's, lemon stir until it is mixed well then add your water and broth.






Stir until everything is mixed and simmering then add your potatoes. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until the potato is fork tender. If you need more liquid then go ahead and add more. Now add your white fish and shrimp and cook for about 10 minutes until the fish is flaky. Add your seasoning to taste.

Take out the bay leaf prior to serving.

Shrimp has the habit of getting rubbery when it is cooked to long. Personally I do not like it BUT my mama and pa said keep it in because it adds to the taste of the soup. So make that yet another personal choice.

Meatball Soup

Meatball soup it is such a comfort food.
 Well this is a soup I have wanted to cook for a long time. Every time I go to our local restaurant I get the Albondigas soup. I had some leftover wild rice and tomato paste in the freezer. I made beef stock the day prior to the actual soup. Pa said it was the best soup I ever made. Doesn't that just seems to always happen. The things we do not plan and just throw together seem to be the best.

 

Most of my soups come from standing in front of the refrigerator and or freezer looking in blindly for leftovers to add to beef or chicken stock. And I always have some sort of stock Pressure canned waiting to be opened to create yet another delicious meal.

Ingredients

8 to 10 cups of beef broth
1 bay leaf
1 bag of frozen spinach or fresh 2 cups chopped or not
1 small can of tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion chopped
1/2 cup of any tiny pasta
1/4 cup parsley chopped

Meatball ingredients and info below  -

Parmesan cheese to top it when you serve it

 

Ok let us get our stock started actually you should start this first. Take your beef broth and add one small can of tomato paste, 1 chopped onion , 1 bay leaf and your bag of frozen spinach. Let this simmer for at least one hour. 

 

Mine sits on the stove all day. I start it in the morning and it gets tested at lunch and served for dinner. Once all these ingredients are together the tomato paste is broken down and the onions are beginning to soften add your little meatballs. Let this all simmer for enough time that it taste the way you want it.

Meatballs

2 cups of wild rice cooled
1 pound of ground beef
1 pound of ground turkey
1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs
1 egg
some of that parsley , salt and pepper




I like to prep stuff prior to cooking. The more you can have ready the easier it is to cook. And god knows we all want to enjoy the kitchen. I made my meatball's with some of the ground beef I had left from grinding my own. I added some ground turkey.




 I also put in the mix one egg, 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs, 2 cups of wild rice (cooked) , some  parsley and a little salt and pepper to taste. I combined all the ingredients together and made little meatballs they are about 1" round.




I like to bake them in the oven. I come out with about 25 little balls and I use half for my soup and freeze the others for another experiment day. Bake the little balls in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes they will be tender delicious.








The little trick I learned from my Grama is that if you put rice in your meatball's for soup the rice will soak up the flavor of the broth and make the meatballs juicy delicious. Cool Grammz
 





 There you go now top with Parmesan Cheese and dig in it is a meal in it's self. xoxo

Now I added the baby pasta to my soup about 20 minutes prior to serving it. See the little o'z.

Note to self if you plan on freezing the soup make the pasta separate or add it when you plan on eating it all. Pasta is a bitch to freeze it comes out mushy and make the soup to thick.