Whole 30 - Langostino Bisque

This was a fun recipe to create! 😃

The end result was a little too thin - too much bone broth - as well as a bit too lemony. Nevertheless, it's really a great bisque, but I think my favorite of all has been each of my Crawfish Bisques.

Saute the chopped carrots, potatoes, green pepper 2 of the garlic cloves-minced, and celery into a couple tablespoons of butter or ghee, in a 4 quart soup pot.

Sprinkle this with Himalayan pink salt, black + cayenne pepper and Old Bay seasoning, then saute and let it sizzle together a few minutes. Add some bone broth, cover and simmer 7-8 minutes.

Next add 2-3T of lobster Better Than Bouillon, 2-3T pure tomato paste, the kale, celery tops, 5-6 chopped green onions and the other 3 crushed-minced garlic cloves and 5 oz. of the langostino to the pot. (If you're not restricting alcohol, 1/2c or so of a good cooking Sherry could be added now.) Stir, cover and simmer, on low heat, another 7-8 minutes. Then remove from the burner to cool just a little.

Cut the remaining 7oz. of whole langostino into smaller pieces, drizzle with a little pure lemon juice, and set aside until after the bisque has been blended.

Once everything except the lemon-marinated langostino has been added to the pot and simmered, then cooled slightly, pour in the can of coconut milk, then use your immersion blender to blend everything - a little bit, or smooth, your choice.

At the very end, stir in the langostino and the lemon juice they were marinating in. 

Reheat, just until barely bubbling, stir and ladle into bowls. Garnish and serve accompanied by whatever crunchy things you like. This would pair nicely with a Chef's Salad or just a big bowl of chopped mixed greens (and crusty bread if you're not restricting grains.) . . . Lin

Spicy-Healthy Vegetable Soup (gluten & dairy free)

Recently it was Chicken Bone Broth Day for me 😁

Chilled out on my deck overnight, fat scraped off the top, it was begging to be made into something healthy. Made with only skin, bones, bay leaves, 1/3c white vinegar and water, so it would be dog safe for my Oliver as well. This morning I got a call from someone close to me, who is sicker than sick! Alrighty-Then! Healthy soup it is. Sorry Oliver...next time 😉 

The chicken was used in a previous soup, and a 3-meat pasta creation a couple days ago. I didn't have any other meat thawed, so other than the chicken bone broth, this ended up vegetable only. Lighter for someone really sick, so it's actually better this way.

I started by sautéing  chopped carrot and celery in several tablespoons of avocado oil. Then added the rest shown, sliced or chopped, after about 7 minutes. About 1/3 of a medium head of green cabbage, 1/3 of a red pepper, 5 smashed-minced garlic cloves, 1/2 a big purple shallot. Sauté all the vegetables over low-medium heat in the covered pot, stirring often, for another 10 minutes. Measure  3c fresh cold water and add a little of this if needed to keep the vegetables from sticking to the pot. Take the stems off 12oz. fresh baby spinach. Gather this up into a clump and slice very thin. Add this to the pot for the final 5 minutes of simmering. 

Sprinkle the vegetables with seasonings, to taste. I used about 1t ground turmeric, a good shake of ground cayenne pepper, 1-2t of a salt and pepper based garlic and herb seasoning.

Stir, then pour in the rest of the water and 3T± reduced sodium Chicken Better Than Bouillon soup base. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook another 5 minutes or so. 

Heat the big pot, containing 2-3 quarts of bone broth, to a low boil. Stir in 5oz. thin rice noodles and simmer a few minutes. Add the pot of vegetables to the noodles and broth, stir gently to combine, simmer another minute or two and serve. Mmmm, this made about 6 quarts total, for me, and lots to share. . .

Stay Healthy Everyone! . .Lin

Crawfish and Shrimp Bisque

I love making crawfish bisque!

And. . .as with most of my original recipes, each is quite different from the previous one. For instance, this is the first time I've added shrimp. 

Start by sautéing the chopped vegetables in butter, until they're all snapping and becoming lightly browned.

6T butter

1 big carrot

2 stalks of celery

5 lg. cloves garlic

1/3 red bell pepper

1/2 lg. purple onion

5 sm. Yukon Gold potatoes

Add 4c chicken bone broth, Cajun seasoning, black pepper and chicken Better Than Bouillon to taste.

Blend this with an immersion leaving it a little textured, or smooth if you'd rather.

Simmer this, covered 10-15 minutes on low heat.

Add 2 cans of corn, one drained and one undrained. Check the flavors and make any needed adjustments.

12oz. crawfish
8oz. shrimp—cut into small pieces
chopped celery tops

Add the crawfish, shrimp, celery tops, and simmer another few minutes. If you'd like this thicker, which I decided would be good, this would be the time to add a few tablespoons of browned roux. Bring this to a low simmer so the roux can thicken the bisque. Take this off the heat and let it cool 10 minutes. 

Just before serving, stir in:

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
2c half and half

Serve topped with crunchy garlic-parmesan croutons. . .Lin

Quick Lentil, Beef, Vegetable Soup

I pre-made that beef roast the other day for a family dinner. Yesterday, plans changed, so it was still chillin' in my 'fridge this morning. I often eat things like roast and vegetables for breakfast, but today is cool, damp and chilly. Soup or something beefy and beany sounded really good. I was thinking black beans but saw this 18.6oz can of ready to serve Lentil Soup.

This goes together quick! Sauté the minced-chopped-sliced vegetables in a couple tablespoons of EVOO for about 7 minutes, before adding the beef and soup.

1 sm. yellow onion

1 or 2 garlic scapes

1/3 green pepper

3 stalks dark green celery

1 very big crushed garlic clove

5-6oz. roast cut in small cubes

garlic salt, black pepper, smoked Spanish paprika

Simmer 5 minutes, covered. Turn off the heat and leave it on the burner another 5 minutes before serving. Later I'm going to make muffins or cornbread to go with the this. It will all really hit the spot on this chilly-damp, grey day. . .Lin