Tuesday Night Dinner: Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I didn't know what to make for Tuesday night dinner this week so Rory suggested a broccoli cheddar soup. I love soup, so I immediately went to FoodGawker (I know, I'm so predictable) and found a recipe from Annie's Eats. Perfect! I am really loving her blog. I doubled Annie's Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe for the Tuesday night crew, and I think it came out pretty terrific. Could possibly have been a tad bit thicker (but that's my fault, as I thought I needed more broth and then didn't account for the additional broth in the roux. But the flavor was excellent. I also forgot to buy carrots, so there are no carrots in my soup. It's fine without carrots. It's definitely a keeper. I also served baked chicken with a Dijon and lime sauce and kale chips.

ICBC: Cooking Stock

When I saw that chicken/vegetable/beef stock was the secret ingredient some weeks ago, I got very excited, because I have so been looking to make soup. I chose to combine the secret ingredient with a Tuesday night dinner meal, and served some minestrone soup for dinner a couple weeks ago. Minestrone is probably one of my favorite soups. What I particularly like about this soup is that it has a nice variety of stuff in it, and it feels like a good healthy soup. Of course I've never made minestrone, so I went to my favorite site FoodGawker, and browsed through minestrone recipes until I hit upon one that I liked the looks of.

Here's the link to the minestrone soup recipe I based my dinner off of, from Disgustingly Good.

I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, except I think I quadrupled it. It was a good soup, well-liked by all my dinner attendees, and it was really nice and fresh. I think to make it healthier and heartier, I would try a more veggie-filled minestrone next time, perhaps something with kale or spinach too. Either way, a delicious soup recipe for the coming winter (as though Tucson gets that cold).

Becky: ICBC Black Beans

Swanson Turkey, Black Bean and Corn Chili

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 3/4 cups Swanson® Chicken Broth (Regular, Natural Goodness™ or Certified Organic)
1 cup Pace® Thick & Chunky Salsa
1 tablespoon sugar
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

Directions
Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepot over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, onion, chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper and garlic powder. Cook until the turkey is well browned, stirring often.
Stir the broth, salsa, sugar, beans and corn in the saucepot and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

This was a recipe that I came across online on allrecipes.com. Ironically though, even though this was a Swanson chicken broth recipe, I did not use Swanson chicken broth. Instead, I used some chicken bouillon granules that I had on hand and dissolved them in water to make my own broth, since I'm cheap and didn't want to spend extra money lol. I also used this hot habanero salsa I had in my fridge instead of the Pace kind. Also, since I've been trying to lose some excess weight, I used Stevia instead of the sugar, which is an artificial sweetener that is supposed to actually be good for you, unlike aspartame or any of the other unhealthy artificial sweeteners found in diet sodas.

This recipe turned out to be really good! Even my husband liked it, which really surprised me since he typically doesn't like turkey. The only thing was that I could tell that it had artificial sugar in it. Stevia is really sweet, and I could definitely taste the sweetness in the chili. Regular sugar you probably wouldn't notice as much, so unless you're watching your diet, I say use regular sugar instead. I also liked the hot habanero salsa because it gave the chili a nice kick :) Plus, this was really easy to make, and quick too!

Sarah: ICBC Garlic

Julia Child's French Onion Soup

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup olive oil

3 lbs onions, halved and sliced thin

2 cloves garlic, minced very fine

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

2 cups dry white wine

6 cups beef stock or chicken stock (the beef will make a darker, more robust soup)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 ovenproof soup bowls

12 toasted slices of French baguettes, 1/2 inch thick

2 cups Swiss cheese, grated

3 teaspoons Parmesan cheese, grated

In a large saucepan over medium heat melt the butter and oil together.

Add the onions, garlic, and sugar. Saute until slightly colored, stirring occasionally (don't stir too much - you want them to brown), for 7 minutes.

Add the white wine, raise temperature to medium high, and bring to a boil.

Lower temperature back down to medium and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the stock, raise temperature to medium high and bring to a simmer.

Lower temperature to low and simmer *uncovered* for 1 1/2 hours (90 minutes).

At this point you can freeze the soup for reheating later (after thawing).

To serve at this point, continue with steps: first, preheat your broiler.

Ladle the soup into the ovenproof soup bowls (6 of them).

Place two slices of toasted baguette onto the top of each soup bowl.

Sprinkle each serving with 1/3 cup of Swiss cheese, then 1/2 teaspoon of Parmesan cheese.

Place soup bowls onto a baking sheet and place in oven under preheated broiler.

Broil until the cheese melts (watch them carefully - depending on your broiler and how far the rack is from the heat, it can take anywhere to 45 to 90 seconds or so).

Serve immediately.

---REVIEW---

So... let's get real for a minute here. We're all friends. You can take it.

I've never loved anything more than I love french onion soup. Ever. In my life.

This soup... was not my favorite french onion soup. I am not saying that this is the fault of Mrs. Julia Child, it is the fault of whoever decided that beef broth should come in 4 cup containers instead of 6, and didn't think the mention it on the container.

The soup was OK with 4 cups, but not as rich and full bodied as I would have hoped. Also, maybe this had something to do with the fact that I bought the cheapest bottle of white wine I could find... at Target.

Don't judge me.

Also, I thought you all needed to know EXACTLY HOW MUCH 3LBS OF ONIONS REALLY IS. A lot. A lot a lot.

Restaurant Find: Cedar Door Bar & Grill

I was on a business trip last week, Tuesday through Friday, in Austin, Texas. Austin is one of those cities I've always wanted to visit. Unfortunately, the weather was dreadful and it being a working trip didn't make it a terribly exciting trip. But, you always have to eat, and I always enjoy a good meal. I had dinner by myself on my first night in Austin, where I had this delicious bowl of spicy tortilla soup and then a couple delicious chicken tacos.

I've become a big fan of soups, and maybe one day I'll remember to introduce you to my favorite tortilla soup in Tucson, but for now, this is a good one in Austin at the Cedar Door Bar & Grill. I really liked the spiciness that the poblano peppers added, and the chicken was so so tender. Tortilla soups are interesting because you can find them made a number of different ways. Sometimes they're real brothy, with just a few avocado slices, tortilla strips, and cheese. But in my opinion, the best soups have some substance to them. Veggies, shredded chicken, fresh avocado slices. This was definitely one of substance.



I love tacos. I mean, really, is there a more fun food than tacos? And they're so varied. These chicken tacos were delicious. They were stuffed with a marinated grilled chicken, caramelized onions that added a touch of sweetness, roasted poblano peppers for a kick, and a tomatillo salsa. I also squeezed a little lime juice over them. It was the most amazing mix of flavors, and so balanced with the onions and the peppers, the lime juice and the salsa.

Sherried Tomato Soup

1 medium white or yellow onion

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter

Two 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes

One 46 oz. bottle or can tomato juice

3 to 6 tablespoons sugar

1 or 2 tablespoons chicken base, or 3 chicken bouillon cubes

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup sherry

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup chopped basil

1. Dice onion. Melt butter in large pot and cook onion till translucent.

2. Add diced tomatoes and tomato juice.

3. Add 3-6 tablespoons of sugar to combat tomato's acidity (I used 6 because I love love sweet tomato soup).

4. Add chicken base.

5. Add LOTS of ground black pepper. Heat soup till almost boiling and then turn heat off.

6. Add sherry and heavy cream. Stir.

7. Add the herbs. Add more pepper.

---Review---

At first I thought that the sherry was a little too overpowering, and considered suggesting that it be cut down to 1/2 cup in the future. But after letting the soup sit overnight I realized that the sherry is amazing. This soup is amazing. And it is my new favorite.

Being a vegetarian (or at least a recent vegetarian), I don't have any chicken base, so I left that out. Soup came out fine. Also, I sprung for some fresh herbs, which is totally not my style, and I think that it was totally worth it.

My new favorite tomato soup. Even better than Tucson's own Beyond Bread Tomato Basil Soup.

Wednesday Night Dinner: Turkey Chili

This week, we had guacamole and chips, salad, and turkey chili. My picture would look prettier if I had remembered to take a picture before I dug into my first bowl, but I didn't. So this picture is actually my second bowl. I combined a recipe I found online and one I borrowed from a friend and this is what I came up with. It wasn't quite thick enough, actually, but I thought it tasted alright. I should hope I thought it tasted alright, I have enough leftover for at least two meals. Here's the recipe.

Recipe:
1 large diced yellow onion
ground turkey
garlic (I used two cloves)
four cans of beans (I went with two black, one pinto, one kidney)
3 cans of diced tomatoes (my friend's recipe only called for two, and the recipe I found online may have only called for one, but Whitney and I decided we needed more tomatoes)
ground black pepper
chili powder
cumin
salt (optional)

Saute onion and garlic for a few minutes, then add ground turkey. Season with chili powder, cumin, and black pepper. After turkey browns, add beans and tomatoes. Cook until boils, then simmer. Taste and season as necessary during cooking process. I think after it boiled, I tasted it and seasoned it and then let it simmer and may have added a little salt during the simmering process. We let it simmer for about 30 minutes.
Garnish with sour cream and chopped green onions.