Chicken, Rice, Mushrooms and Greens - Casserole or Soup

This began as an interesting idea for soup but instead turned into more of a casserole.

With the addition of some sauteed celery, a can of diced tomatoes and some chicken bone broth, that might still happen in a couple days. . .but for now, it's really delicious the way it is.

12oz. white mushrooms - sliced

1/3 yellow onion - finely chopped

2T toasted sesame oil

2T ghee or butter

Stir and saute the mushrooms and onion together until lightly browned, then add:

1/4c Marsala cooking wine
chopped stems from a bunch of beet greens
the other 2/3 of the onion - rough chopped

Stir and saute everything a few minutes whisk together the first 3 ingredients, then add:

4oz. Lemon Artichoke Pesto (Walmart)
another 1/4c Marsala cooking wine
1/2c water

1 bunch sliced beet greens
1 pkg. Lemon & Herb Rice (Aldi)
8oz. chopped rotisserie chicken

Season with garlic salt, black and cayenne pepper. Cover and simmer on low heat until the greens are wilted. . .Lin

Potato-Corn (+ Lots of Vegetables) Chowder

I always love making soup. All kinds of soups. . .
However, Chowders and Bisques are especially interesting to me ever since my first Crawfish Bisque. I bought some crawfish recently, so another big pot of that'll be happening again soon. . .

This was a good combination of ingredients, but of course, if I make it again, I'll add and subtract various things - usually depending on what's in my 'fridge. 

 

Today I started by sauteing 4# of scrubbed, rough-chopped potatoes in some of the rendered bacon fat, but there wasn't much. Then adding the chopped carrots and celery and a big spoonful of ghee. 

Later I also poured in about 1/3c of cooking Sherry.

It was soon clear to me that this wasn't all going to fit in one pot, so after the chopped onion, garlic and mini peppers were added, I divided it between 2 big pots. Then to each pot I added half of the total: corn with the liquid, cream of mushroom soup, coconut milk.

Simmer about 15 minutes before checking the flavors. I added garlic salt, smoky paprika and my mix of cayenne + black pepper, then finished with a big spoonful of chicken Better Than Bouillon. Top with a little crumbled bacon for texture and great flavor.

This turned out really well. . .Lin

Lamb Chop Vegetable Soup

I ate 2 of these 8 gorgeous lamb chops with steamed vegetables the night before, so I used 6 chops for this recipe. Season and roast at 375° until they're browned and sizzling. After they cool, cut away the fat (I chopped a little bit of that, well -shown in the glass custard cup- and mixed it with my dogs dry food). Drain the fat into a 5 quart pot. Add the chops and pour 4c warm water over everything. Let that stand 10 minutes or so.

Remove and chop the meat for the soup, put all the bones and majority of the fat back into the pot. This will become some lovely bone broth.

Add some bay leaves, peppercorns, 1/4 - 1/3c red wine vinegar, then bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to just a small occasional bubble. Simmer this way for 2-5 hours. Remove all the solids from the water, strain several times then chill in the 'fridge or freezer until the fat can be scraped off the top.

Later that day or the next morning. . .scrub and prep the vegetables, cutting everything into nice sized chunks or slices. I used the following, adding them in the order listed to a different pot with 3T single source EVOO. Simmer 15 minutes after each addition.

3 med. carrots
3 stalks of celery (save the greens for later)
a little bit of a lg. purple onion

6-8 tiny red / Yukon gold potatoes

10oz. baby Bela mushrooms
3-4 big cloves of smashed-sliced garlic
the rest of the purple onion
finely chopped celery greens

Add the strained bone broth and lamb, simmering another 5 minutes before serving.

It's Soup Time! . .Lin

Curried Vegetable Soup

2 med. carrots

6 celery stalks

1 sm. onion

3T EVOO

1/2 - 1t black pepper

Chop, sauté and stir the carrot, celery and onion in the olive oil over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

Fill a measuring container with 6c of fresh cold water. Sizzle the vegetables until they're beginning to brown then add 1-2c water. 

Next add the ingredients on the white cutting board. . .

The diced / chopped:

~red bell pepper
~big baking potato
~white parts of 1 bunch of green onion
~1-3T curry powder
~1T± Better Than Bouillon - chicken
This is very mild curry powder, so I used 3 tablespoons. Stir and continue to simmer, adding a cup or so of the water, as needed to simmer-steam everything.

Continue to simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for another 15 minutes before adding:
~finely chopped tops of the green onions
~5-10oz. of chopped frozen or fresh spinach
~ I used half of the frozen 10oz. block of spinach shown.
When all the ingredients have simmered together another 10 minutes, use a potato masher to break everything down a little, then stir in the cream soup and bring the pot back to a low-bubble simmer. 

Remove from the heat and stir in:

2t sugar

2T white Balsamic fig vinegar

6oz. of sour cream

- or - full fat Greek Yogurt

more black pepper if needed

Serve in a hollowed out bread bowl or with breadsticks, seedy crackers, biscuits, or French bread. . .Lin

Gazpacho-Type "Salad Soup"

I made a huge lettuce mix for salads the other day.

Just looking at the pictures makes my salad-loving heart happy 😊

However, now, as sometimes happens, after a couple salads, my craving for them has been replaced with yet more soup type foods. I need to listen to my body in this, since I, like many others have the type of digestive issues that can be triggered by raw vegetables. I was going to bag this, and give it to my neighbor, then had another idea. Salad Soup!?!

I love Gazpacho, which is a cold, uncooked vegetable soup that has its origins in Spain and Portugal. That can also irritate sensitive guts as well though, so I'm going to make a new version of this using cooked kale, steamed salad vegetables and a big can of stewed tomatoes, all warmed together on very low heat, then blended - either rough or smooth.

I'm going to my Granddaughter's later to spend time with her, and her youngest son and their pups. Later her husband and oldest boy will join us. My granddaughter and I will cook a roast-stew dinner for them tonight, and give them leftovers for a couple days. I'll also bring them some of this.

My favorite kind of day! Pups, Family, and Cooking with someone I love 🥰 

kale - stemmed, chopped, washed and simmered for 12 minutes

a big amount of prepped salad vegetables

28oz. good quality Stewed Tomatoes

some fresh garlic, peeled, crushed and chopped

When this is combined, steamed long enough for the carrots to be a bit soft. Then add the usual Gazpacho ingredients:

1/3 - 1/2c single source EVOO

1/4c fruity white Balsamic vinegar -or-

- an aged dark Balsamic vinegar for a heavier flavor

seasonings: usually Italian, basil, oregano, etc.

- I wanted it less herby for the children, so I just used a little finely ground black pepper, a pinch of cayenne, 1t turmeric, 1t rosemary, 1/2t sugar, and some parsley-garlic salt. After this group is added to the pot, warm it ONLY to a first simmer-bubble. Cover then remove from the heat for a half hour. Cooking and overheating destroys water soluble vitamins, C and B's. Blend now to either the rough or smooth consistency, however you'd like it.

If you only warm this, not heat it like you would with any other soup, at each serving, those vitamins will be preserved. Or, just eat the leftovers cold, since it's all already been cooked.

Serve garnished with some sour cream, plain full-fat Greek yogurt, and some chopped nuts, pumpkin or sunflower seeds.

Happy Souping - In all its many forms! . .Lin

Lamb and Barley Soup (Scotch Broth)

Those of you who follow my blog have probably noticed I put in a recipe for Scotch Broth every so often. It's one of my favorite soups ever. While all the recipes are similar, there are probably a few little variations each time. So, for those of you, like me, who love lamb - and soup - here it is again.

5# boneless leg of lamb
any seasonings you love
I used Arizona Smoked Garlic Chipotle and Roasted Garlic and Herb seasoning.

Cut off some of the extra fat. Generously season the exterior of the roast. Cook in a preheated 400° oven for 45-60 minutes. At this point, I only wanted to make soup and some really good lamb broth. I chilled the roast and the drippings overnight. I cut 8-10oz. of meat off the edges of the roast for the soup. (I ziplock bagged and froze the rest for another time, when I'll add it to a roasting pan full of partially cooked vegetables for a dinner of lamb and roasted vegetables.)

8-10oz. lamb

3 big carrots

1 med. onion

4oz. sliced mushrooms

1/3 of a bunch of chopped celery

salt and pepper

Remove the fat from the top of the broth. Put the fat and 4T butter in a different pot. Strain the broth and set it aside. Sauté the sliced-chopped vegetables in the fat and butter for 10-15 minutes. Add the chopped lamb, 2/3c long-cooking pearl barley, the lamb broth and 4-6c cold fresh water.

Simmer on low-medium heat for 45-60 minutes. Check the flavor of the broth. At this point, I added 2t Better Than Bouillon beef flavor and a little more pepper.

Serve now or chill and reheat for later in the day. This soup tastes wonderful reheated! Serve with a fresh green salad and some crusty garlic bread. . .Lin

Corn-Potato-Vegetable Chowder

Simmer 5 ears of corn 10 minutes. Remove from the pot, strain and save the cooking water. Cut the kernels off the cob and set them aside. If you want, to make this a more traditional 'chowder' you can simmer the potatoes* now in the corn water, mash and add them and the water later.

Sauté the longer cooking, sliced-chopped vegetables in 2T EVOO:

2 big carrots

4 stalks celery

3/4 lg. onion

3 lg. cloves garlic

Simmer these covered, for 10-15 minutes adding a little of the corn water when needed. Meanwhile, slice-chop the vegetables that require less cooking time, then add them to the pot:

1/3 lg. head of green cabbage

6 small Yukon gold potatoes*

celery tops

1/4 lg. onion

2 lg. cloves garlic

2 mini peppers

3 bay leaves

corn cut off the cobs

1t fresh ground black pepper

1T Better Than Bouillon - vegetable

1t Arizona Smoked Garlic Chipotle seasoning

Simmer this together with the corn water for 20 minutes, adding more water or vegetable broth if needed.

As is, this is a great, healthy, clear broth, vegetable soup. However, you could add a can of a cream-based soup now, if you prefer your chowder that way. . .Lin

Christmas Turkey Bone Broth and Soups

So many people are not fans of leftovers, of any kind. They would probably throw the skin and bones from the turkey away, after picking off most of the meat.

Big Mistake!

You can use it to make wonderful, healthy bone broth to use as a base for future soups.

Today, my bone-picking resulted in the following, from left to right, top row: scraps to mix with the dogs dry food, in the toasting pan: 1/2c white vinegar, bones, cartilage, skin and 3-4 quarts of fresh cold water. Left to right, bottom row: 8oz. of little pieces of meat for soup, dressing, gravy, 9oz. white and dark meat for future turkey salad or turkey tetrazzini.

Put the skin, bones, water and vinegar, in the roasting pan, over low-medium heat. This should just barely bubble the entire time, not vigorously simmer. I keep this very plain -no seasonings, onion or garlic. Those are bad for dogs and cats. I often add a little bone broth to their dry food. Today I added carrot peelings, some outer cabbage leaves, chopped up, and a little bit of celery, all animal-friendly vegetables 😉 Gently stir everything around the pan and slow cook it, covered, for 3 hours.

While this is slowly cooking, prep your vegetables for a big pot of soup. Today I used the vegetables shown, chopped, sliced or minced them and simmered them on low heat for about 45 minutes before chilling them overnight, until the bone broth is ready. Today I simmered the vegetables with the following seasonings and NO starches (pasta, rice or potatoes) for someone who is on a low-carb diet:

4T butter

1t fresh ground black pepper

1/2T poultry seasoning

1/2T roasted garlic & herb seasoning

1T dried parsley

1T Better Than Bouillon - chicken

After 3 hours, remove the roasting pan from the heat and it let come to room temperature. Scoop out all the solids then strain through a colander, large strainer, then a smaller mesh strainer. Finally pour it through a clean four sack type dishtowel lining a colander.

Chill the liquid overnight.

After it's thoroughly chilled, scrape off all fat. This can be used like you would use butter, to brown vegetables or meat. You can also melt it and add a little to your dog or cat's dry food. The more 'jelled' the broth is, the more collagen it contains. Collagen is excellent for healthy skin, hair and connective tissue. The addition of the vinegar in the simmering process is what draws the collagen from the skin, bones and cartilage.

This bone broth turned out very well gelled, so I wanted to make as much soup from this batch as possible. For each of these pots of soup, I used half bone broth and half water with seasonings to make a strong or milder flavored broth. One pot with herbs and poultry seasoning, the other more plain.

Soup is a year-round thing! Have fun with it! . .Lin

Chicken Rice Soup with Kale and Beans

1c golden rose brown rice
8oz. chicken thigh meat

Put rice in a strainer, rinse then stir it a little and put it on some wadded up paper towel to absorb the water. When that's drying, cut any fat off the chicken and chop the meat into bite size pieces. Put chicken and rice in a 6 quart pot with:

2-3T single source EVOO

3/4c chopped purple onion

fresh ground black pepper

Sauté over medium heat, stirring to prevent sticking and burning. When the rice and meat are browning, chop, slice or dice, then add the vegetables shown:

4 stalks celery

2-3 carrots

1 med. onion

1/2 green pepper

half bunch of dark green kale leaves

2 huge elephant garlic cloves

3 bay leaves
3T± chicken Better Than Bouillon

Sauté and stir everything, measure out 6c of water, adding about a cup now, along with the bay leaves and soup base. Cover and simmer on low, for a half hour, stirring occasionally and adding the water, a little at a time.

10oz. frozen -or- 1 can black eyed peas

1 can black beans - drained-rinsed

28oz. can diced tomatoes and juice

Add the peas, beans and tomatoes, bring back to a simmer for another 10 minutes before serving. 

This paired nicely with the Sweet Potato Biscuits. . .Lin

Turkey Rice Vegetable Soup

It's another soup day here. . .

Yesterday I bought an almost 4# roasted turkey breast. This morning, I cut off a pound and waited for soup inspiration to happen. I started in the usual way by lightly browning the following aromatics and rice. This time in some ghee. I've made my own ghee a couple times, but haven't made our bought any recently. Then I bought a big tub of it yesterday.

4 stalks celery

1 giant carrot

1 sm. onion

1 lg. garlic clove

1 lg. purple shallot

2T ghee, butter or EVOO

3/4c golden rose brown rice

Sauté these together, stirring occasionally while prepping the vegetables listed below. After the first group has sautéed enough to need a cup or two of water, add the remaining ingredients below.

1 sm.-med. green cabbage 

1/2 lg. long-skinny red bell pepper

4 roma tomatoes - peeled* +

2-3T turkey Better Than Bouillon

1 bunch of beet greens sliced-chopped 

5-7c cold fresh water in total

Simmer gently, stir occasionally for another 20 minutes or until the rice is done the way you like it. . .Lin

*tomato skins contain flavonoids, which impart a bitter flavor. they don't break down in cooking so, to me, they add a sort of nasty plastic bag texture. additionally the skins are high in lectin, an undesirable protein that can create digestive issues and inflammation. it's so worth all this 'trouble' though, since the cooking process develops the lycopene in tomatoes. lycopene is a very beneficial antioxidant, similar to betacarotene, that can protect our cells from damage.

+Martha Stewart has the simplest video showing this process. If your tomatoes aren't ripe, you'll need to leave them in the rapidly boiling water just a little longer, maybe 20 seconds total.

!! SPECIAL !! Lemon Rice Chicken Soup

YES. . .SOOO SPECIAL!

My Sweet #1 Granddaughter is at the hospital as I type this, working on the birth of her second baby boy! At her baby shower, we all had to 'guess the date.' Today at 2:45 was my guess, so we'll see how close I get to the actual event.

I had to start a big pot of soup to bring over to them as soon as she texted she was in labor. She's always loved my Lemon Rice Chicken Soups in the past, so this was a logical choice.

2-3T EVOO
8oz chicken tenderloin
1/3c finely sliced onion
3/4c chopped celery
1t Lemon Pepper seasoning
1t Bell Pepper and Garlic seasoning

Sauté this over medium heat in a 5-6 quart pot.  When the onion scent permeates your kitchen, and the chicken is lightly brown, add the following:

1c fresh cold water

1-1/4c sliced celery

3c sliced carrots

Simmer the vegetables 20 minutes, covered, on low heat then add:

zest of 1/2 a lemon

juice of 1/2 a lemon

some chopped celery greens

3T Better Than Bouillon-chicken

1 fresh garlic clove - sliced

5c fresh cold water

3/4c white rice

34c frozen peas

Cover and simmer another 30 minutes or until the rice is done. This is such a fresh, clean, yet comforting soup. Great for someone who has a cold or flu, or just had a baby! . .Lin (Great Grandma 'Bubbie') 😊

Beefy Onion-Mushroom Soup

1# Black Angus beef top round steak

fresh ground black pepper

2T aged dark Balsamic vinegar

2T EVOO

Cut the beef, across the grain in 1/2" thick slices.  Cut the strips into 1/2"-1" pieces.  Pepper them, add vinegar and oil, toss in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate a couple hours or overnight.

2-4T butter

2 stalks celery

1/3 lg. bell pepper

1c well cooked crispy bacon crumbles

7-8c cold fresh water - a little at a time

2-1/2# white and baby portabella mushrooms

1-3/4# Vidalia, purple and yellow onions

2T aged dark Balsamic vinegar

2T beef Better Than Bouillon

3/4c sour cream - optional

3T flour + 1/2c± cold water to make a roux

Sauté-stir-fry the beef in a little EVOO and butter, in a 5-6 quart pot. Add a little water to the pan, stirring to loosen all the browned bits, brown again and repeat the deglazing until the meat is nicely browned.

Cut the mushroom stems, flush with the bottom of the cap. Finely chop these, celery and peppers then add with the bacon. This gives the soup more texture and flavor. Sauté this 15 minutes, then add the sliced and onions and mushrooms - separately cooked, vinegar and soup base. I sautéed the mushrooms last and used a baster to pull out 1c of nice dark mushroom broth to add to the big pot before letting the rest evaporate until the mushrooms were cooked. 

Stir all this together, and stay with it during the browning stage. Simmer on low-medium heat until everything is nicely browned, adding a little water or more butter if needed. At the very end you could add a little red wine or Vodka if you'd like, for another dimension of flavor. Simmer and stir another couple minutes. Add the rest of the water and stir gently, cover and simmer for at least an hour on very low heat.

At the end, add the roux and bring back to a low bubble for 5 minutes, to thicken the soup, stirring the entire time.  Serve now, or uncover and cool a half hour before stiring in the sour cream. Heat it back up to serving temperature.

Plate with warm, crusty garlic bread or cornbread and a side of fruit or a mixed green salad. . .Lin