Split Pea Soup

Jay HATES to eat/drink hot liquids but he LOVES Split Pea Soup...BLEH!!  I am not a pea person but he swears they dont taste like "regular" peas in soup.  Hmmmmm, I dont know....  I saved the Ham Bone from Christmas Dinner in the freezer thinking I would make a soup with it, so when it cold I knew just what would rock his world!  Ive never tried it and certainly never made it but how hard could it be?  Turns out it was EASY PEASY.....and I tried it......and...wait for it.....I AM A HUUUGE FAN!!! Who knew???

Adapted from here.

 

1 whole onion

1 full size carrots

8 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

1 ham bone or smoked ham chunks

3 tbsp Complete Seasoning (Garlic, Oregano, etc.)

2 bags of rinsed peas

 

Saute onions, celery and carrots til soft.  Add chicken/veggie broth, ham bone (with chunks of ham still on, they will fall), 3 tbsp of Complete All seasoning, & 2 bags of rinsed peas.

Simmer for a few hours until the peas break down and remove bone after ham falls off....(4-5 hours)



Enjoy!
Dani-

Spicy Sausage & Chickpea Soup

Every week our local paper prints a few recipes that people write in and request.  Imagine my surprise when JAY!, for the first time, went through it and INSISTED I make him this soup.  He went to the store and got all the crap delicious ingredients and I went to work.  HOLY MOLY AMAZING SOUP!!!  It was soooooo good!!  It is definitely going on my regular rotation :)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 pound spicy Italian sausage (You can use chicken or turkey too)
salt and ground pepper, to taste
3 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons minced rosemary
1 (2- to 3-inch piece) Parmesan rind (I used grated, NO IDEA what this is- LOLLL)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

In a large, heavy pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. With a spatula, push onions into a pile onto one side of the pot. (My pot wasnt big enough so I removed them to a bowl for this step, then re-added)

Remove the sausage from its casing, and add to the pot, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it browns. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes, then stir together with the onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, drain and rinse two cans of the chickpeas, and coarsely puree the 3rd can. Add the whole and pureed chickpeas to the soup pot, along with the diced tomatoes, chicken broth, rosemary and Parmesan rind (I didnt have this so I used 1 cup of grated parm cheese). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, until slightly thickened.

Remove Parmesan rind(or not, LOL). 
Season with plenty of salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and minced rosemary, if desired, and serve hot. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Pizza in a Pot

A friend of mine mentioned her MOST FAVORITE recipe for Pepperoni Soup a while ago and I made a mental note. Fast fwd to todays 40 degree temps and I was on the hunt for an AWESOME soup recipe! Now...all I gotta remember is which friend told me about her recipe. Hmph! You'd think that would be a tad easier but after a few inquiries I gave up! It's pepperoni/pizza soup! Ive eaten pizza a gillion times, how hard could it be? So I threw a bunch of stuff in the pot and came up with THIS!! DEEEELISH!! Jay loved it and he's a HUGE pepperoni fan!

5 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of water
10-12 meatballs (or more)
Slices of pepperoni (to taste- I used about 20 mini slices)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, diced
3 tbsp parsley (or fresh bunch)
3 tbsp basil (or fresh bunch)
3 tbsp house seasoning (I went heavy on all the spices)
3 tbsp grated parm cheese
1/2 box of spaghetti noodles (broken in 3rds)

Simmer your water and chicken stock together...Slowly add the remainder of the ingredients to marinate in the pot together. Do NOT add the spaghetti until about 10 minutes before serving time.
I simmered mine all day on low (about 6 hours) but you can definitely cook this on med high for 20min or so.

Enjoy!! Dani :)

French Onion Soup

I've ALWAYS been a fan of french onion soup!  I order it at restaurants and swoon in that beefy, onion broth rolling in silky cheese.....(You want it now dont you! HA!)  Well sometimes I use the weekends for those big recipes I save that are more "involved" than a weeknite meal, etc.  So I dug out my trusty, I mean the book I stole from Aunt Linda, Hello! Paula Deen's FAMOUS FRENCH ONION SOUP!!!  It was soooo yummy and WAY easier to make then I thought it would be. It could easily be on your weeknite meal rotation! Even easier because I cooked in right in old faithful, i.e. my Crockpot!!

Ingredients:
olive oil
4 Lg vidalia onions, sliced thin
2 tsp sugar
2lbs stew meat
1/2 stick margarine, melted
4 cup beef stock
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
1 loaf French bread
2 cup grated Gruyere cheese (or any cheese you like, I used Mozz.)

Combine your onions, butter and sugar in the crockpot until well coated.  Cook on high for 90 min until soft. 
Saute your stew meat in pan 5-7 min until completely seared and add to your onion mixture.  Deglaze your pan with the wine, scraping all the bits off the bottom and add that to onions as well. Add remaining ingredients (s&p, thyme, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce).   Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 hrs or low for 4-5 hrs.  Turn to low and cook 1 hour uncovered until soup thickens.

Meanwhile, slice French bread into 3/4 slices and butter both sides. Toast slices on griddle until golden brown. Ladle soup into an ovenproof bowl, add toasted bread and cover with cheese. Place ovenproof bowl on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Bake at 350 degrees or 5 minutes under a hot broiler.

Enjoy! :)
Dani

Cheeseburger Chowder

I know, I know... sounds gross!  But it's REALLY good, and the leftovers are even better!  I like brothy soup, so I didn't make it as thick. I also added carrot but left the bell pepper out, AND used beef broth instead of the water and bullion.

Ingredients:
1 lb very lean ground beef OR turkey ; )
2 red skinned potatoes, scrubbed well and cubed
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup corn
1 beef bullion cube
3 cups water
1 t kosher salt
1 cup milk
2 T all-purpose flour
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

In a soup pot brown the ground beef, drain off any fat. Stir in the potatoes, celery, onion, bell pepper, corn, bullion cube, water and salt. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
Whisk together the flour and milk. Slowly add to the meat mixture and cook until thickened and bubbly. Add the cheese and heat, stirring, until it melts.  (If you want it thicker, add a little less water, and more flour.)

Enjoy!
Brittney

Brazilian Shrimp Soup

I made this AMAZING Brazilian Shrimp Soup that I saw here..  I was soo pleased and Jason LOOVED it!! It's called a 'soup' but its more like a gumbo consistency, it's definitely thicker.   I even took a little out before I added the Shrimp so the NON SEAFOOD eaters could still have some and I added chicken to theirs.  It was EQUALLY delicious!   Awesome for a cool afternoon or even like a Luau or Island Party!  Enjoy!!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup long-grain rice
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
1 ¾ tsp. salt
1 ¾ cups canned crushed tomatoes
5 cups water
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
1 ½ lbs. medium shrimp, peeled and cut in half horizontally
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup cilantro, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Add the rice, red pepper flakes, salt, crushed tomatoes, and water to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 10 minutes or until the rice is almost tender. Stir in the coconut milk. Return the mixture to a simmer, then stir in the shrimp. Simmer just until the shrimp cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the pepper, lemon juice and cilantro. Serve immediately.

Enjoy, Dani