16 Bean Soup

1 package of 16 beans (soak according to package instructions and discard seasoning packet)

1 whole chicken
Carrots
2-3 stalls of celery cut into thirds
1 onion, quartered
3 whole cloves of garlic
1 T salt
1/2 T pepper

1 pound bacon, diced
1 pound cooked, smoked sausage, sliced
2 onions, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c white wine
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
3 bay leaves
1 t dried thyme
1 t red pepper flakes

Cover chicken in a large stockpot with 3 quarts of water. Add next six ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer 3 hours. Remove chicken and shred meat. Strain liquid and discard the solids.

Cook bacon in a large dutch oven Remove bacon to plate and discard all but 2T of bacon grease. Cook onions and sausage over medium heat until onions are tender and sausage is lightly browned. Add garlic and cook for a minute more. Pour in wine and deglaze pan. Let wine reduce by one half.

Add soaked, drained and rinsed beans. Cover with the strained chicken stock. Add the tomatoes, herbs and seasonings. Return sausage, bacon and chicken to the pot. Add water if needed to allow one inch above beans. Bring to a boil and simmer for three hours.

Day 12: Gumbo

I have another Gumbo recipe on here somewhere, but tonight I made a recipe from The Square Table, a cookbook from the Yoknapatawpha (yeah, that's right) Arts Council in Oxford, Mississippi, if anything good can come out of there...I guess Stinky Rebels still gotta eat.

I was hoping that the boys would try it for dinner since they quickly remembered that Tiana made gumbo in The Princess and the Frog, but, alas, no luck.

1/3 c of butter
1/3 c of flour
1 1/2 c diced celery
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 16oz can tomato sauce
1 16oz can tomatoes, diced
1 T salt
1 t pepper
1 t dried thyme
3 bay leaves
1/2 c parsley
1 16oz pkg frozen okra
2 lbs peeled shrimp
1 t crushed red pepper
1 T Worcestershire

To make the roux, melt the butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven.  Add the flour.  Cook about 10 minutes or until it turns the color of a penny.  Add the celery, onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent.  Add the tomato sauce and the next 6 ingredients.  Simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.  Add the okra and cook about 15 minutes.  Add the shrimp, pepper and Worcestershire and cook for another 10 minutes.  Remove the bay leaves and serve with rice.

Day 7: Chicken Noodle Soup

There is no way that I'll be only making new recipes over the next year, so I'm going to have to repost some of my favorites. So today I am making Chicken Noodle Soup. Jeb is still sick and it just seems right to make chicken noodle soup even if he is too picky to eat a bite/sip. But usually I don't use homemade chicken stock, I'm a little lazy, but today I am because I don't have store-bought stock and I'm housebound due to my little patient. So I'm adapting Ina's recipe for chicken stock to what I have on hand.



All the yummy goodness before the chicken and water is added for the stock.



1 onion, peeled and quartered

2 stalks celery and leaves, cut in thirds

lots of baby carrots (I know regular carrots would be cheaper, but again, don't have those)--I'm getting rid of the end of the bag with all the odd-shaped carrots that my kids won't eat

3 whole cloves garlic

10 sprigs fresh parsley, from my garden

1 T dried thyme

1 T salt
1/2 T freshly ground pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts...normally I'd like something with a bone, but there's not any in my freezer
3-4 quarts of water

Put in all in the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove the chicken and continue simmering for up to 3 hours.  Drain the stock and it is ready for your soup.

Day 4: Chili

This recipe comes for Heart & Soul. Tonight I'm taking it to a friend's house to share dinner with them, and I also plan to take a batch to someone else who needs a dinner...it's super-easy to share...and freezes well too.

2 lbs ground chuck
1 c chopped onion
3/4 c chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 16oz can diced tomatoes
1 16oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 16oz can tomato sauce
1 10oz can Rotel
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 T chili powder
1 t dried oregano
2 t cumin
1/2 t dried basil
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Brown beef, onion, pepper and garlic in a large Dutch oven. Drain. Add undrained tomatoes, drained kidney beans, tomato sauce, undrained Rotel, jalapeno, and seasonings. Cook over medium 10 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 1 hour.

If desired, serve with chopped onion, sour cream, grated cheese, and tortilla chips, corn chips, Saltines, or cornbread.

Day 1: Summer squash and onion soup

Today I tried this recipe. I made a few adjustments....I used some leftover red wine instead of sherry. I used yellow squash and zucchini. I used thyme. And I'm going to use some dilatini pasta instead of angel hair.

It's like a cross between onion soup and minestrone. And a great use of all that squash.

French onion soup

Well, I love French onion soup. I've tried different recipes but I've come to like my own combination of two...from the good-old fashioned Betty Crocker cookbook, and the Williams-Sonoma Paris cookbook. For Epiphany, we had French food...onion soup, croques monsieurs from Barefoot in Paris and galette des rois (see below).

2 T oil
4 onions, sliced
pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper
2 (10.5 oz) cans condensed beef broth
1 c red wine
1 c water
1 bay leaf
sliced French bread
1 c grated Swiss cheese or even better gruyere
1/4 c grated Parmesan

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high. Add onions, sugar and salt and pepper and coat with butter. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook 35-40 minutes or until onions are golden brown. Stir occasionally.

Add wine and reduce by half (about 8-10 minutes). Add soup, water and bay leaf. Simmer, covered 45 minutes.

Serve the soup in oven-proof bowls. Add a slice of bread on top of soup, sprinkle bread with cheeses. Broil 1-2 minutes or until the cheese melts and starts to brown.

Serves 4.

Chicken Noodle Soup

For Christmas I received two Ina Garten cookbooks: Barefoot Contessa Family Style and Barefoot Contessa at Home (yes, we've already opened some presents, long story). I'm very excited about trying out new recipes. So tonight I did. Our neighbors are sick and they have a new baby and it is the middle of finals, so I made Chicken Noodle Soup from the Family Style book. It really is delicious. Now, growing up I was never much of a fan for soups, but when your sick, nothing tastes good (so I don't know if my neighbors will enjoy it as much as I did), but this soup was great--Ina hasn't failed me yet! I was ill-prepared and did not have homemade chicken stock, so I bought canned broth, but it was still good without that homemade touch.

1 whole (2 split) chicken breast, bone in, skin on
olive oil
salt
pepper
2 qts chicken stock
1 c diced celery
1 c diced carrots
2 c wide egg noodles
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley (I used 4 t dried parsley b/c I didn't have fresh)

Preheat the oven to 350.

Place the chicken breast on a sheet pan and rub the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast 35-40 min, until cooked through (I doubled the recipe so I was roasting 4 split breast and it took 45 min). When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken meat.

Bring the stock to a boil in a stockpot, and add vegetables and noodles. Simmer, uncovered 7-10 minutes until noodles are cooked. Add the chicken and parsley and heat until warm.

**and Heather, if you read this before you eat yours, you'll realize that I forgot to add the parsley, so you may want to sprinkle some in before you eat it.

Kimber's Chicken Enchilada Soup

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup chicken base
3 cups diced yellow onions
1 can mild green chiles, diced
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups Masa Harina (corn flour)
4 quarts water
2 cups crushed tomatoes
1/2 pound Velveeta cheese (cubed)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 10 oz. can mild enchilada sauce
5 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or pulled apart

1. In a large pot (I use my large stockpot), place oil, chicken base, onion, chiles, and spices. Saute until onions are soft and clear, about 5 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, combine Masa Harina with 1 quart water. Stir until all lumps dissolve. Add this to sauteed onions; bring to a boil. Once mixture starts to bubble, continue cooking 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add remaining 3 quarts water to pot.
3. Add tomatoes and enchilada sauce; let mixture return to boiling, stirring constantly.
4. Add cheeses to soup, stirring occasionally until cheese melts. Add chicken and heat through.

Serve hot and garnish with any or all of:
sour cream
cilantro
corn tortillas, sliced thinly and baked until crisp at 400 degrees
green onions, chopped
diced roma tomatoes

She says this serves a lot!

Winter Squash Soup

Well, Ina hasn't failed me yet. Last year I served French onion soup for the first course, but it was such a mess with all that melted cheese. So this year I tried something new. This recipe comes from Barefoot in Paris. I made it in advance and froze it until the night before.

2 T unsalted butter
1 T olive oil
2 c chopped yellow onions
1 (15 oz) can pumkin puree
1 1/2 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cut in chunks
3 c chicken broth
2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 c half-and-half
grated swiss cheese, for garnish

Heat butter and oil in stockpot, add onions and cook over med-low heat for 10 min. Add pumpkin puree, squash, broth, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer over med-low heat 20 min, until squash is very tender. Process mixture in food processor or blender. Return to pot, add half-and-half, and heat slowly. Serve hot with cheese, sprinkled on top.

Serves 4.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Here's one of my favorite recipes from Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris. I've shared it before. It can be made fairly quickly and definitely tastes gourmet.

Boeuf Bourguignon (that is, Burgundy Beef Stew)

1 T olive oil
8 oz diced bacon
2 1/2 lbs stew meat, cubed
salt & pepper
1 lb carrots, cut into 1 inch cube
s2 onions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 c brandy or cognac (optional)
1 bottle (750 ml) of red wine--or less and replace with beef broth
1 can of beef broth--or more to replace red wine
1 t fresh thyme or 1/4 t dried thyme
1 T tomato paste
4 T butter, divided
3 T flour1 lb frozen pearl onions
1 lb sliced mushrooms

Preheat oven to 250.

Cook the bacon in the oil over medium heat in a dutch oven until lightly browned. Remove to a plate.

Salt and pepper meat. Then, sear the meat in remaining oils. Remove to plate with bacon.

Saute 1 T salt, 2 t pepper, carrots and onion for 10 min over med heat in remaining oils. Add garlic and saute one more min.

Now here's the part I change. She says to put 1/2 c brandy in and stand back and light a match to burn off the alcohol. Instead, I use 1/4 c and I turn up the heat to high for a few minutes, stirring often.

Return the bacon and meat to the pot. Add the wine, broth, thyme, and tomato paste (the liquids should nearly cover the meat.)

Cover and put in oven for 1 1/4 hours.

Remove from oven. Mash 2 T butter with flour and add to stew. Add pearl onions. Simmer over low heat. Meanwhile, saute mushrooms in remaining 2 T of butter for about 10 min. Then add to stew. Heat to desired warmth.

Serve with French bread...of course!

Now here's the trick to making it quickly...Dice your bacon (or buy it that way). While it cooks, salt & pepper your meat and prepare your vegetables. Then by the time your veggies are chopped it is about time to put them in. While the veggies cook, measure your wine, broth, etc., and add. The whole process should take no longer than 30 min. During the last 15 minutes of bake time, prepare your flour mixture and mushrooms. Add them and the onions and just heat for a few minutes and you're ready to serve. Hands on time: total 45 minutes--not bad, for how good this really is!

A recipe to get things going

I'm in a supper swap with two neighbors. We each have a day of the week and cook for the other families on our day. Last night I made gumbo for everyone. It was a perfect night for a hot soup...the temperature never broke 20 degrees yesterday. I got this recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks Heart & Soul: Stirring Recipes from Memphis. I adapted it because I was cheap and lazy, but next time I make it, I think I'll add shrimp.

The original recipe was called "Sausage and Duck Gumbo" but mine was just "Sausage Gumbo"

2 lbs smoked sausage, chopped into bite size pieces
1/3 c cooking oil
2/3 c flour
1 1/2 c chopped onion
1 1/2 c chopped celery
1 1/2 c chopped green pepper
1 16 oz package frozen cut okra, thawed
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 t pepper
1/2 t dried thyme
6 c chicken broth
ground red pepper, to taste
hot pepper sauce, to taste
hot cooked rice, if desired

Cook sausage in a skillet until lightly browned on all sides, set aside.

For roux, heat oil over med heat ina stockpot. Stir in flour. Cook and stir about 15 min or until roux is dark reddish brown. Slowly stir in onion, celery, green pepper, okra, Worcestershire, pepper and thyme. Cook and stir until vegetables are tender.

Add broth and sausage. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered 3 hours. Season to taste and serve over rice, if desired. Serves 8-10.