Slow Cooker Chili

I've been trying to incorporate more soups and stews into my regular diet.  It hasn't been working.  I'm slightly disappointed that this is my first real chili of the season, but at least I finally got around to making it!

And....it's here just in time for the Superbowl!  This year, the big game is being held in my backyard.  Sorta.  The Broncos and Seahawks are coming to play at MetLife Stadium this weekend, which is about a 20 minute train ride from me.  This should be awesome.  It's not.  First of all, my team, the Steelers (the best team, really), isn't playing.  However, more importantly, I live right next to the train station which will take people from Hoboken to NYC and also from Hoboken to the stadium.  This town is going to be a drunken mess and I'm going to have a front row seat.  I won't want to leave my apartment for the rest of the week.

Now that I have this chili, I really won't have to.  I can kick back and relax at home with a comforting bowl of food.  I can invite friends over to partake in this, or I can try to escape the crowds and take my chili on the road to a friend's place.  I'm not sure yet what's going to end up happening this Sunday, but I can assure you that I will be taking cover and avoiding all the Superbowl madness outside.  I will be nice and toasty and filled with chili no matter where I am.

Spicy Tomato & Blue Cheese Soup

Happy Merry Christmas Eve!

I know we're all in the middle of eating Christmas cookies, drinking egg nog (spiked, of course!), and singing carols.  But, contrary to popular belief, we cannot live on these things alone.  Hence, I'm bringing you some soup.  Who's in on this with me?

In case you're still hesitating, let me tell you that sriracha and blue cheese are involved in this situation.  Get you some soup bowls and sit down.  Now dig in.

Deconstructed Wonton Soup

You know that annoying thing I do where I change around a recipe so that it suits me better?  (NEVER because I'm being lazy.  Never.)  Well, I up and did it again.  This time I messed around with a wonton soup recipe.

This month, for the Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned Lea Ann's blog Cooking On The Ranch.  There were so many recipes I really wanted to make, such as the Lamb Sliders with Tomato Chutney, Halibut with Cilantro Topping, and Crock Pot Roast Beef.  If only I had more than one month in which to squeeze it all in!  I finally settled on the Classic Wonton Soup since I had many of the ingredients at home and I've wanted to make wonton soup for a while in any case.

But wait, what is this?  I need to make the wontons ... myself?  Normally I wouldn't have any issues with this but the day that I was making this soup I ended up also being swamped with things to do and I found myself pretty short on time.  (Though I somehow forgot to buy soy sauce during my grocery store trip, requiring me to run out again and pick some up right before I started cooking.)

I took a quick look at all my ingredients and settled on what I needed to do.  Here's what I came up with...

Creamy Basil Tomato Soup with Italian Sausage

The other day I had to take my car into the shop for a routine oil change.  It's bad enough that I usually leave with a host of other services that my car also allegedly needs (really?!).  But!  I usually take my car to the local Sears Auto, which just so happens to be attached to a mall.  This is not good for my wallet. In the past, I have wandered around outside to extricate myself from the vortex of mall shopping.  No good can come from that.

Unfortunately, there is a Target down the street...We ALL know the end of that story, right?

So on this particular day, I decided that I would save myself and my wallet by bringing my own cup of coffee and plastering my bum to the chair in the Sears Auto department so that I would not wander around and buy that sparkly green eyeshadow and my seventh infinity scarf of the season.  (Even though I neeeeeed those!) Somehow, I made it through a three-hour wait and was able to return home, empty-handed!  So I promptly rewarded myself with soup.  Not just any soup.  Creamy Basil Tomato Soup with Italian Sausage.

Spinach Tortellini Soup

Currently, I am staring outside my window at the beginnings of Winter Storm Nemo.  I've only seen light rain so far, but that's supposed to change pretty soon to rain showers/sleet/snow/whatever.  Can we please put an end to these apocalyptic storms?  I'm just getting over Sandy, so if Mother Nature could just give us a few more months to take a breath, that would be swell.

If you too are facing Nemo, or if you're just in need of a comforting, warm dish, let me introduce you to my new friend: this spinach tortellini soup.

Now brace yourself.  I'm about to tell you that this soup takes approximately 15 minutes to create, start-to-finish.

Whoa.

Did your mind just get blown?  That's for real.

This soup is more of an assemblage deal than anything else, but you wouldn't be able to tell from the taste of it.  I feel as if I've been into "assemblages" a lot lately.  There's no shame in easy cooking.  In fact, I welcome it with open arms.

Carrot Ginger Soup

I've been in a soup mood lately.  I think it has to do with this new health kick I've been on. It doesn't really matter why I want it though.  I just need to have soup when the urge hits.

Lucky for me, I had just the solution. Joy the Baker's Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup.  Yes.

Here's something that you probably don't know about me.  I love that carrot ginger dressing that gets slathered over salads at Asian restaurants.  I'm drooling just thinking about it.  I haven't gotten a chance to attempt my own version of that dressing yet, but I was quite excited to focus on a soup with the same flavors.

So simple.  So easy.  So orange.  Another fun fact about me is that I love orange food.  Why?  I don't know.  I can't even figure myself out sometimes.

Potato Leek Soup

Happy New Year!

The days are getting colder. (Although it actually warmed up for the new year here in New York. What??)  This means that it's time for some soup.  Let's break out the immersion blenders and the chicken broth and step up to our next challenge: Potato Leek Soup.

Now I love soup, potatoes, and leeks separately.  So of course it makes perfect sense to throw them all together into a beautiful dish.  This soup can be chunky or creamy, depending on how you like it.  Some people like to chew their food.  Some people like to slurp their food.  I personally like a little bit of both textures.  But any way you look at it, this soup has got you covered.

Creamy Corn Chowder

It's summer.  Yes.  It's still summer.  Never mind the (very) minor chill in the air in the mornings and evenings now.  I'm holding on to the dream of warm weather sticking around for the coming few months.  It's still summer.  I swear.

To help fuel my endless summer fantasy, I made a creamy corn chowder, courtesy of Rocco's Now Eat This Cookbook.  I wanted to take advantage of the fresh corn that is still in season right now and sweet, fresh corn always reminds me of summer. For some reason I was also craving a chowder of sorts, so Rocco's recipe really addressed both of my cravings.  Think of this as a gently compromise between summer and fall.

Creamy Corn Chowder

slightly adapted from Rocco's Now Eat This cookbook
makes ~8 servings

Print Recipe

• 2 small onions, diced
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Corn kernels from 6 ears fresh corn
• 3 cups cauliflower, diced
• 5 cups 2% milk (or any % desired)
• Habanero sauce, to taste
• 4.25 oz can green chiles, diced finely
• 14 oz Greek yogurt
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced thinly
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Tip: If you do harvest the corn kernels from ears of fresh corn, run the back of your knife down the empty ear of corn once you're done removing the kernels.  "Corn milk" will be produced and you can add this to the soup for extra flavor.

1) Add the olive oil to a large pot over medium heat.  When the oil is fragrant, add the onion and corn.


2) Saute the onion and corn until they start to soften.  Season with salt and pepper.

3) Add the habanero sauce, cauliflower and milk. (Add the "corn milk" at this time as well.)  Cover the pot and bring the chowder to a boil.


4) Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the chowder to gently simmer until the vegetables are tender, approximately 15 minutes.


5) Strain 2 cups of the chowder solids through a sieve or finely-slotted spoon and reserve for later.  Add half of the green chiles to the chowder solids.

6) Add the other half of the green chiles to the pot of chowder.

7) Using an immersion blender or regular blender, puree the chowder until smooth.  (If using a regular blender, be careful when filling the blender with the hot chowder! Return the chowder to the pot once pureed.)

8) Add the chowder solids back into the pot and bring the chowder to a boil.


9) Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the yogurt and scallions.


10) Season the chowder to taste with salt, pepper, and habanero sauce.

If you like, you can choose to roast the ears of corn prior to adding them to the pot.  That should infuse a smoky flavor into the chowder.  You can also choose to puree the entire chowder, but I personally like that the chowder has chunks of corn and chile submerged in the puree.  Every spoonful of the chowder is creamy from the puree, but then your mouth realizes that there are itty-bitty morsels in there to munch on.  The corn is sweet, the chiles are tangy, and the scallions are mild and crunchy.  The heat from the habanero sauce is subtle, but it adds a little kick to the dish that would sorely be missed otherwise.  This chowder turned out to be more filling than I had initially anticipated but each mouthful was taken down with pure joy.

Tomato Vodka Soup

'Tis the season for soup!

And the season for my immersion blender to finally shine. Did you notice that I also used it in my Chicken Tinga post?

In addition to trying to use my neglected kitchen tools, I was really in the mood for a warm, earthy soup. Especially in light of the fact that there are still several inches of snow covering the ground here in Hoboken, NJ.

I was really interested in making some sort of tomato soup. I don't know why. I get cravings. I just go with it. So tomato soup it was.

I wanted to add a twist and I thought of Penne a la Vodka. No, I wasn't going to make any penne, but it made me think of adding vodka to the soup. Of course, I believed that this was an ingenious, never-before-attempted idea...until I searched online and found several thousand other recipes.

"I'm unique. Just like everybody else."

I was still undeterred from making this soup. So I got to it and found two recipes I wanted to use. I ended up with a combination of a Creamy Tomato Vodka Soup from the Rachael Ray magazine and a Sherried Tomato Soup from the Pioneer Woman.

Unfortunately, it seems that I haven't learned anything from my first few blog posts. You know, those ones where I couldn't read recipes very well. It appears that Rachael's blog post requires a 5-hour slow cooker treatment. Yeah right, like I have 5 hours to wait for some soup. I want it now! Some improvisations had to be made.

And I ended up with this:

Tomato-Vodka Soup
adapted from Rachael Ray's Creamy Tomato Vodka Soup & the Pioneer Woman's Sherried Tomato Soup
makes 8-10 servings

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 to 3 small cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• One 32-ounce container (4 cups) vegetable broth
• Two 28-ounce cans Italian plum tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
  
• 1 14-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup citrus vodka (or regular vodka)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• several sprigs oregano leaves
  
• 2 cups half-and-half
• Salt & pepper to taste
  

1) Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions.

2) Saute the onions for ~15 minutes. You only want the onions to begin caramelizing. You don't want them to caramelize all the way.

3) Add the garlic and stir to prevent burning, about 2 minutes.

4) Add the broth, chopped tomatoes (along with the tomato broth in the can), tomato sauce, vodka, salt, and sugar to the pot. Stir to combine.

5) Cover and simmer the soup over medium/high heat for ~1 hour. Stir periodically.

6) Chop the basil and oregano leaves. Add the herbs to the pot.

7) Use an immersion blender (or a regular blender) to puree the soup. You can choose to make it as smooth or as chunky as you like.

8) Let the soup simmer, uncovered, for another 45 minutes. You may need to simmer the soup for more or less time so that you get the consistency you like.

9) Stir in the half-and-half.

10) Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.


Notes on the use of citrus vodka in this recipe. Someone thought that since my roommate and I had recently had a holiday party, we would probably have some vodka left over in the booze stash. We usually have vodka on hand and since we don't go through it very quickly and I only needed 1/4 cup, I knew I could safely pass on a trip to the liquor store. And who would that someone be? You guessed it. It was me. And what happened when I gathered the ingredients to make this soup? Again, you're right. There was no vodka in the stash. But what we did have was citrus vodka. After a few moments of thought (in which time I could have walked to the nearby liquor store and returned), I decided to just go with the citrus vodka. After all, it was freezing outside.

Once the soup was done, I could actually taste little tangy citrus notes from the vodka. I'm not sure whether or not I liked it, but I didn't dislike it. If you're a huge fan of citrus, maybe you can test this out as well and let me know your thoughts. Overall, the soup was great though! Each spoonful was a mixture of rich, creamy tomato broth and thick, chunky tomato pieces. The addition of the herbs made the soup even more aromatic. I'll take this soup any day over those canned versions. Can I have another bowl, please?

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

I love ramen. Yep, I said it. I love ramen. I know it's "uncool" and it only costs about 35 cents per package, but there's something about those noodles that is so comforting. I hardly ever make pre-packaged ramen anymore and I think it's this blog's fault. I'm too busy making other dishes!. Well, now I'm bringing ramen back...

I actually had a few leftover ramen packages in the cupboard and I wanted to make sure I used them up. Those expiration dates really creep up on you quickly. I also wanted to get my chicken fix for that half marathon that I'm not training for anymore, thanks potential stress fractures in my left leg. Thanks, thanks a lot.

One recipe that I had bookmarked to try was Joelen's Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup. Since the days and nights are getting colder, chicken noodle soup would be the perfect thing to warm me up.

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup
slightly adapted from Joelen's Culinary Adventures

• 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp habanero sauce
• 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
  
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3-1/2 (3 ounce) packages of dried ramen noodles
• 3 scallions, sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced

1) Combine the broth, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, and habanero sauce together in a large pot. Bring the broth mixture to a boil.

2) Add the chicken to the pot and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat until the chicken is cooked all the way through. This will take only a few minutes so don't walk away!

3) Discard the ramen noodles' seasoning packets. Place the ramen noodles in the broth and stir . The noodles will be done in a minute or two.

4) Stir in the scallions and cilantro before serving in bowls.


This was one of the easiest recipes I've ever thrown together. I'm pretty sure it took me less than 30 minutes from start to finish. AND I was taking pictures along the way. To me, this soup actually tasted like it was straight from one of those ramen noodle containers. Now I don't know if you consider this to be a good thing or a bad thing, but I'm a fan. Judge all you want.

One problem I ran into was that I didn't have enough broth. Next time I think I'll have to either use another cup or two of broth and then adjust the seasonings accordingly, or decrease the amount of ramen noodles and chicken that I'm using. The original recipe doesn't call for the amount of noodles and chicken that I used in the recipe above, but I didn't want to have an extra chicken breast and a half bag of ramen noodles left over. I'll have to update this post with my changes when I make it again. It may be a while though. This cold weather has me itching to make more soups and I've already got a few new recipes in sight.