Creamy Tortellini Soup

This weather.  Ug.  As I sit here typing this, there are snow flakes flying outside my window.  I am normally not opposed to snow...except for one thing:

IT'S MARCH 26TH!!!  What is happening?  What ever happened to global warming?  Who do I talk to about this?  Al Gore?  The groundhog?  Al Roker?  I want answers!  I'm having to drag my flower pots in the house every night and it's ruining everything!

Obviously, I have been very upset about this weather.  So to make myself feel better and to warm up, I had to make something hot.  So hot, in fact, that I burned my tongue on the first bite.  I was desperate to warm up I tell you.

This little dish here is super creamy and just a little bit spicy.  You can kick it down a notch by using regular Rotel, but why?  It's freezing outside!

Creamy Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth
1.25 lbs ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fennel seed
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1 can hot Rotel
1 package Buitoni three cheese tortellini
8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, room temp and cut into pieces
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat.

Once it's nice and hot, add your ground turkey.

Cook and crumble over medium heat...

Keep on cooking til it's browned.  Then stir in the fennel and garlic. 

Now add your chicken broth to the ground turkey pot.

Then add your Rotel, and salt and pepper to taste. 

And stir it all together, cover, and bring to a boil.

Now, add your pasta.

Allow to boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Pasta will swell like so:

Now it's time to add the spinach.  Do this by piling half of it on top, then stirring it in.  Then pile on the other half, and stir in.

It wilts down quickly.

Now!  Reduce heat to low and stir in the cream cheese pieces...

Cover and cook on low for 5-10 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

 After 10 minutes, remove the lid slowly...

Beautiful!  There you have it.  Creamy, yummy, and most importantly, piping hot.  Serve immediately, and top with shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired. It'll warm you right up. 

Enjoy! 





 

Ham, Potato, & Corn Chowder

I made this for dinner a couple weekends ago.  It was very cold and dark and kinda snowy so I didn't want to go out to the store.  I checked out the pantry.  There was most of a bag of Yukon gold potatoes.  I checked out the fridge.  Nothing.  Finally, I checked the freezer and rediscovered my leftover ham that I made a few weeks ago. 

And this is what happened.

Yummy! 

This soup has a really nice consistency.  Not too thick, not too thin, perfectly creamy.  With chunks of caramelized ham and topped with extra sharp cheddar, it was the perfect meal to warm me up on a cold January night.  Give it a try next time you need warmin' up!

Ham, Potato, & Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

3 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 - 3/4 cup diced ham
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cups chicken stock
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow corn kernels
Salt and pepper to taste
Cajun seasoning (optional)

Grab a large dutch oven or stock pot.  I'm using this awesome orange beauty:

Thank you, Aunt Kay.

Isn't cooking so much more fun when you use pretty pots?  I think so.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat.  Add ham.  Cook until caramelized (just beginning to brown and crisp up), about 8 minutes or so.  The ham is already cooked; you're just giving it some color here.  Remove ham from pan and set aside.

Now add the rest of the oil to the pan.  Add the onion, and saute 5 minutes, or until just softened.  Add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes.

Add the diced potatoes to the pan.  Stir the onions and potatoes together and cook about 5 minutes.

Next, add the chicken stock.  Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer.

Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, whisk together milk and flour.

Add this milk mixture to the pot.

Allow everything to cook together at a slow simmer for 5-10 more minutes, stirring often.  The flour-milk mixture will start to thicken things up.  

Now, carefully, ladle two to three cups of the soup into the bowl of your food processor.

 Give it a whirl for 10 seconds.  Now it's all smooth.

Now add the contents of the food processor back into the pot on the stove. 

Stir it all together.  Now add the corn.

Then the ham...

And salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning to taste.  Now it's ready to serve!  Top it with cheese, sour cream, and parsley.  Enjoy!

Hamburger Soup

This is a recipe that I got from my Mom.  It's one of the things she consistently made for us as long as I can remember.  I think the only thing I have changed here is the addition of the onion.  Mom left that out because my sister didn't like onion (still doesn't - she's crazy!), but I had to put some in there because I love the flavor it gives the ground beef.  Plus it just seemed wrong browning ground beef without it.  You can change up the veggies to suit your preference, but try using the seasonings as listed:  sugar, salt, and pepper.  I have tried adding different seasonings in the past, but it somehow takes away from the classic simplicity of the original taste.  Another tip:  don't junk it up with a bunch of fancy crackers.  If you must add some crunch, go for just a few plain saltines.  But I eat mine plain.  I guess I always have.

Hamburger Soup

1.25(ish) lbs lean ground beef or ground sirloin
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 29 oz can tomato sauce
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup water
1 small can peas, drained
1.5 cups frozen sweet corn (or use canned, drained)
1/2 cup diced carrots (or use canned, drained)
1 potato
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef with diced onion.

Once browned, reduce heat, and add carrots.  Cook until carrots have softened (5-10 min).

In a large stock pot, combine tomato sauce, tomatoes, water, peas, and corn.  Heat on medium, stirring often.

In the meantime, poke some holes in your potato with fork.  Microwave for about 5 minutes, or until it's cooked through.  Once cooled enough to handle, cut into bite size chunks.  The peel on my potato started coming off, so I went ahead and peeled the whole thing to avoid pieces of peel floating around the soup.

Next, add your ground beef to the tomato mixture.  I did not have to drain mine since it was lean, but if you use ground chuck, you will want to drain the fat off.  Stir in potatoes.

Cook for another 10 minutes or so, until soup is very hot, but not quite boiling.  Serve immediately.  Enjoy!

Chicken Taco Soup

Hello there!  I hope you are enjoying this wonderful fall weather as much as I am.  Sunday in Nashville the high was only around 70, and there was not a cloud in the sky.  It was a beautiful second day of Fall.  To celebrate the season, I made some Chicken Taco Soup with the help of my trusty Crock Pot.  This one requires very little prep-time and minimal chopping and dicing.  This recipe makes a TON, but this soup is so healthy and delicious,  I don't think you'll mind having leftovers for a few days!

Chicken Taco Soup

1 sweet onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced (optional)
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 15 oz can black beans
1 15 oz can chili beans
2 cans rotel
1 15 oz can corn, drained ( I used half white shoepeg, half yellow)
1 12-oz beer (or sub chicken broth)
1.5-2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
2-3 Tbsp taco seasoning, to taste
Garnish:  Tortilla chips, light shredded cheddar, light sour cream, hot sauce

Combine all ingredients except chicken in Crock Pot.  Then add the chicken breasts last, and make sure they are covered.

Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Remove chicken and, using two forks, shred.

Add shredded chicken back into soup, and stir to combine.

At this point, you will want to check the seasonings.  I added an additional Tbsp of taco seasoning here.  Cook on low 1-2 more hours.  Garnish with chips, cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce.

Makes 8-10 servings.  Enjoy!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Hello from Nashville!  Today a rain-soaked morning turned into one of those perfect early fall days that I've been waiting for all summer.  A high of only 75?  I'll take it!  It's been a great day to watch the Vols win and eat some Loaded Baked Potato Soup from the crock pot!  This is a lightened-up version of a traditional potato soup.  I know, it doesn't look light, does it?  But check me out...

Traditional Potato Soup:  Creamy consistency and flavor from cream, butter, and/or evaporated milk.  Piled high with cheddar, bacon, and sour cream.  High fat, high calorie, you get the idea.

My Version:  Flavor from onion, garlic, and replacing water with low cal but flavorful chicken broth.  Creamy consistency from using Yukon gold potatoes rather than russet, from mashing potatoes using a hand masher, and from using fat free half and half.  Garnished with center cut lean bacon, a sprinkle of low fat cheddar, low fat sour cream, and chives.

Try it!  You'll never believe it's figure-friendly!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

4 lbs potatoes (I used Yukon gold)

1 large onion 

3 cloves garlic

28 oz chicken broth

2 cups half and half (I used fat free)

salt and pepper, to taste

Peel and dice potatoes and add to slow cooker.  Top with diced onion and garlic.  

Add chicken broth.  The broth will not quite cover the potatoes.  Add salt and pepper.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4 hours.  

Mash potatoes with hand masher (not completely - you still want some potato chunks in there).

Then add half and half.

Cook another 20 minutes or until heated through.  Serve, topped with crumbled bacon, chives, shredded cheddar, and sour cream.  I served with Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Muffins.  Enjoy!

This recipe is adapted from thecountrycook.com.  Serves 8.