Zuppa Petes

Contrary to what it may look like on my little blog, I make a lot of non-recipe meals. I like to call them everything-but-the-kitchen-sink dinners. Basically, I scour the fridge to see what we have available and try to concoct a meal. It's generally pretty basic and I don't keep track of what I add or how long I cook things.

But today, I was inspired to make an original recipe - actually have a little forethought or strategy (i.e. grocery run, not cupboard hunting). I wanted soup. (Which should come as no surprise since I crave it immensely in the winter.) So I picked up some of my favorite soup ingredients and hoped for the best. With chicken sausage, kale, carrots and a tomato-y broth, I figured it couldn't taste too bad. But I was pleasantly surprised how delicious and flavorful it turned out to be! In fact, I'm already excited for leftovers tomorrow. Yep, I'll be making this one again.

Zuppa Petes

Ingredients
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, diced (no need to get too small)
4 cloves of garlic
2-4 tbs olive oil
1 lb turkey or chicken sausage
1 - 32 oz box chicken broth
1 C water
1 can diced tomatoes, no salt added
1 can cannelleni beans (drained)
1/2 bunch of kale (about 3-4 stocks), chopped
Red pepper flakes (to taste, but about 1 tbs)
Ground pepper (to taste)

Directions
In a standard size pan, brown the turkey sausage. Meanwhile, in a larger pan or pot, add olive oil, garlic, onions and carrots and cook over medium-high. Cook until the onions are soft and see-through. Then add the can of diced tomatoes, juice and all. Break up the tomatoes if they are a little bigger than you'd like. Toss in some red pepper flakes and ground pepper. Add the chicken broth and water, bring to a boil. Cover. Let boil for about 5-7 minutes. Add kale and beans and turn down heat to medium. Then add turkey sausage from the other pan. Let simmer for another 5-10 - feel free to taste a carrot to see if it's cooked enough. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, if you please.

Erika's Famous Taco Soup

Sometimes you just gotta call it what it is: Famous. I can't even count how many people I've shared my taco soup recipe with - you might even call it the sisterhood of the traveling recipe. Friends, cousins, aunts, coworkers, nanny families (I'm looking at you, Autumn), random strangers (seriously, it was one of the email recipe chains) and more. It's certainly made the rounds and without fail, it satisfies.

This time of year, you'll find this on our dinner table about once a week. It's incredibly easy. It's quick, which is ideal after a long day of work. It's healthy. And most importantly, IT TASTES AMAZING. So the next time you find yourself looking for a crowd pleaser, this is the recipe for you. 

Ingredients
1 lb of ground turkey (or beef if you'd prefer)
1 can of corn
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of diced tomatoes (I usually get petite diced, sometimes with jalapenos)
1 packet of taco seasoning (I used reduced sodium)
Water (1/2-full can or so - just for what consistency you want)
Sour cream (I use fat free because it's mostly about the creaminess)
Cheese (picture doesn't show cheese because we didn't have any)
Tortilla chips
Corona

Directions
Brown meat in pan - add taco seasoning and a little water when it's almost all brown. Meanwhile*, in a large pot, combine all cans - corn, both beans and tomatoes - don't strain, add juices too (it contributes to the delicious flavor). Heat until boiling. Add cooked and seasoned turkey. Add water to taste - depends on how soupy you want it. I usually add 1/2 cup or so. Serve, topped with cheese and sour cream, plus tortilla chips for scooping soup and a Corona on the side.

Note: You can add onions, jalepenos, green peppers or other pepper-like ingredients if you'd like too.

*If you have a large pan or pot, you can just brown the meat, add seasoning and then add the cans of veggies/beans. That's what I normally do, but at one point, I didn't have a pan large enough for the volume of soup the recipe makes.

The Ribollita Cure

Someone was feeling a little under the weather yesterday, so the doctor ordered SOUP! I fished around for some delicious, healthy, vegetable-filled recipes and then remembered a recipe Katie had sent me years ago - Ribollita. She continues to taunt me every time she brings it in to work, so it was about time that I gave it a stab myself. (Carol, for the record, it's a Giada recipe!)

Surprisingly, I had a lot of the ingredients at home already, so I just had to pick up a few remaining items. I made several modifications (as noted below), but it turned out great! I like to think that it's the reason a certain someone feels better today. Have you heard of the Ribollita Cure?!

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped (I added another because why not?)
4 ounces pancetta, chopped (I used diced prosciutto)
2 cloves garlic, 1 minced and 1 whole
1 teaspoon salt (didn't add)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste (used 1.5 TB - I didn't want to waste it!)
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 pound frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (I forgot to thaw, so I threw it in frozen)
1 (15-ounce) can cannelloni beans, drained
1 tablespoon herbs de Provence (used Italian Spice blend instead)
3 cups chicken stock (closer to 4 cups made it soupier/allows for even more leftovers!)
1 bay leaf (didn't add)
1 (3-inch) piece Parmesan rind (didn't add)
Grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions
Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, pancetta, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until the onion is golden brown and the pancetta is crisp, about 7 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir until dissolved. Add tomatoes and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the brown bits. Add the spinach, beans, herbs, stock, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Spicy Black Bean Soup

Last Friday, I stayed home sick, but even worse, I had completely bare cupboards. You know your cupboards are bare when you think to yourself, 'I wonder what peanut butter would taste like on pasta?' - trying to make a meal out of the few things you actually do have. But instead of going down that path, I waited. Worked a little, rested a little, etc. Joe said he'd come over and help make dinner after work, so I was watching the clock like a hawk.

Now the question was, what should we have? What tastes best when you're under the weather and the snow won't stop falling outside? Soup. It's a no-brainer. With that in mind, I scoured Martha for a tasty-looking soup and landed on the Spicy Black Bean Soup. I've had bland black bean soups before, so I knew we'd have to keep in the zing (spicy, but not overwhelming) and add some flavor - like avocados, ham, sour cream and cilantro - all of which, make me want to file away this recipe for another wintery day. Yum!

Want more soup recipes?

(Note: The online recipe is very different than the cookbook, so I updated based on how we made it. Use the cookbook, if you have it.)

Spicy Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

3 cans of black beans, drained
3 cups of water (more to taste, consistency preference)
1 medium red onion, diced small
1-2 jalapenos, minced (keep in the seeds! gives a good zing)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (or vegetable oil)
4 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (I didn't add this, but I would imagine it would be good?)
Diced avocado, cilantro, low-fat sour cream, ham, and tortilla chips, for serving (optional, but required if you want it to taste the best it can be!)

Directions

In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add garlic and onions; season with salt and pepper (or just pepper) Cook, stirring often, until onions are soft and golden brown. Stir in jalapenos, cumin, and stir for a few more minutes. Add beans and water. Season with salt and pepper (or just pepper). Bring to a simmer and cook until beans are soft, like 10 minutes or so.

Transfer 2 cups soup at a time into a blender and puree until smooth (keep the hole on your blender open, covering with only a dish towel - the heat can create a mess if air can't be released). Place in large bowl. Continue to blend the remainder of the soup based on your preference in consistency. (We liked it all pureed.) To serve, top with avocado, cilantro, low-fat sour cream, ham (slightly browned on each side) and tortilla chips, if desired.

Soup it up.

It's definitely soup season again. The moment I step outside into a dark and dreary evening, I immediately crave soup. Chicken noodle soup, taco soup, curried soup, you name it! I'll eat it. So I've been scouring my cookbooks for a healthy, but hearty soup to make on these increasingly gray days. I found a winner with the Italian White Bean, Pancetta, and Tortellini Soup from Giada's Everyday Pasta cookbook. Soooo, so good. And actually quite easy! Give it a try, people. As Nike would say, just do it.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 lb. pancetta, chopped

3 shallots, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped (we added two!)

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 bunch of Swiss chard, chopped

8 c. chicken broth

4 c. water

1/2 lb. fresh or frozen cheese tortellini

Salt and pepper
(Erika's addition: Red pepper flakes! I add them to almost everything for a nice kick.)

Directions

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta, shallots, and carrot and cook until the vegetables are soft and the pancetta is crisp, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, beans, chicken broth and water and bring up to a boil over high heat. Toss in the Swiss chard and let it wilt, about 3 minutes. (It will look like A LOT of chard, but don't worry, it shrinks.)

Add the tortellini and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the tortellini are tender (about 4 minutes for fresh, 8 minutes for frozen). Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

Zuppa Toscana

I've never been a huge fan of Olive Garden, but there is one item on their menu that brings me back time and time again: Zuppa Toscana. (Well, to be honest, I don't think I've gone since Josh worked there in college, maybe?) The name translates to Tuscan Soup. Tuscany is a region in Italy that has incredible food and wine. Even better than Lazio, where I studied abroad in Italy.

But I digress. The soup is delish. And the recipe can feed an army, but I guess that makes it more authentic, right? The full "all-you-can-eat" soup, salad and breadsticks Olive Garden experience. I ate all I could eat last night and then again for lunch. And to be honest, probably again for dinner tonight. Yum, life is good.

Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients

1 lb. Turkey sausage (or regular if you want the authentic Olive Garden version)

1 large onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup white wine to deglaze the pan

½ tsp. red pepper flakes

2 russett potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks

2 cups fresh kale, chopped (We used more because I didn't know when I'd actually cook the rest of it and I hate letting things go bad!)

3 cups chicken broth

2.5 cups water

1 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Directions

Place a large stockpot or Dutch oven on the stove over medium heat. Crumble the sausage into the pan and cook until well browned. Remove the cooked sausage from the pot with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl; set aside. Add the chopped onion to the pan and sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan and cook for a minute more, just until fragrant. Add the wine to the pot and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits. Add the potatoes, kale, chicken broth and water to the pot. Return the sausage to the pot. Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer on medium-low. Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender and cooked through. Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

recipe from Annie's Eats

Soup it up.

Since Danielle put homemade soups on her happy list yesterday, I remembered that I have made SEVERAL homemade soups over the last month or so. Primarily because my man is very, very sick. It's gotten to the point that he can only have liquid soup because his throat is so swollen. Do me a favor? Send some healing vibes his way? I'm sure he'd appreciate it. Thanks.

At any rate, the soups I've made recently - all from the famous Martha Cookbook, Everyday Food: Great Food Fast.

• Curried Carrot Soup, pictured above and my fave of all of them so far. It's divine. Not too curry-heavy and smooth as a baby's butt. (I just compared soup to a baby's butt. I hope that doesn't prevent you from trying this recipe.)
• Asian Chicken Soup, also pictured above. It's good, not mind-blowing, but I'd definitely make it again because it was a cinch.
• Creamy Parsnip Soup, this was my second fave. I'd never cooked with parsnips (basically white carrots that have a radish-like flavor), but I really liked them.
• Creamy Corn Soup, the night of, this soup tasted like liquid buttery corn. Well, because that's basically all that's in it. So it was very tasty. However, the leftovers looked so much like baby food that it almost spoiled my appetite.
• Chicken and wild rice soup, I substituted chicken breast for the chicken thighs (a bit more healthy), but I think it may have taken away from the flavor a bit. Next time, I'll follow the recipe. I did like the abundance of carrots and celery. They were very flavorful! (Note: I can't find the recipe on Martha's site, but I found it on someone's blog!)

So now that the weather is officially changing (snow in the forecast!), it's time to bust out the soup recipes and stay warm!