Chipotle Chili

1 medium yellow onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 Tbsp chili powder (this makes the chili fairly mild, so up the chili powder if you want it to be spicier)
2 Tbsp paprika
1/2 Tbsp cumin (be careful not to add too much, it can dominate the flavor)
2 Tbsp dried oregano flakes
.5 lbs ground beef
1 15 ounces of diced tomatoes in puree (I used about half a can)
1 15 ounce can of white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 minced chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce. *ONE PEPPER, NOT ONE CAN!*

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large pot on medium
2. Saute onions until translucent
3. Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, and oregano and stir until mixed thoroughly.
4. Add the beef and cook until browned.
5. Add 1/2 a beer and simmer all the liquid off.
6. Add the beans and tomatoes.
7. Add the chipotle chili peppers.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and let simmer for 1 hour.
9. Adjust flavor with salt or tobasco if necessary.

Serves 2.

Yum. That's about all I can say. This is our 2011 Christmas dinner. We were planning on going out for Chinese food but were not feeling like leaving the house. The recipe was adapted from here. This goes especially well with these corn muffins.

Greens and Beans

2 cups stock (veggie or chicken)
1 14 oz can cannellini beans (or any white bean) - do not strain
3-4 cloves garlic - thinly sliced
2-3 shallots (or 1 small onion) - minced
1 bunch Greens (kale, spinach, chard, whatever you like) - washed and torn into pieces
1/4-1/3 cup white wine (optional)
1 lemon (optional)
parmesan cheese (optional - but is it really?)
olive oil
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Serves 2

Heat olive oil in a soup pot over med. Saute shallots (or onions) until translucent. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add a little white wine and cook down. Add greens and toss with red pepper flakes. Saute until greens are wilted. Add beans (with juice) and stock. Bring to a simmer and season with s&p and red pepper flakes to taste. Add a squeeze or two of lemon. Serve with bread. You won't be sorry.

Dave and I went to Buffalo for Thanksgiving and were lucky to have Dave's cousin, Lou, join us at his parent's house. Going to Buffalo is always about food, there is so much delicious food there! Our last night we went out for Italian at Michael's and Lou ordered Beans and Greens. I'd never heard of it before but it seems like a pretty common Italian dish. This is the soup version and it's the easiest soup I've made yet. Where have you been all my life? I forgot the lemon when I made this and it was just fine but I imagine it would only make the soup better.

Roasted Tomato Soup with Ground Beef, Sausage, and Basil

Roasted Tomato Soup with Ground Beef, Sausage, and Basil
(Makes 3-4 servings)

1 large onion, chopped in pieces 1/2 inch or less
1 T minced garlic
4 tsp. olive oil, divided
2 cups beef stock
1-2 cups water
1 14 oz can diced roasted tomatoes
1 T tomato paste
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground fennel
2 links hot turkey Italian sausage
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 can navy beans (drained and rinsed)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (at least!)
Parmesan reggiano cheese (opt - but is it really?)

Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a dutch oven or large soup pot, add onions and saute about 5 minutes, then add garlic and saute until fragrant.

Add ground beef and turkey sausage (removed from casings) and brown, using the back of a turner to break into small pieces.

Add stock, tomatoes with juice, oregano, fennel, rinsed navy beans and about a cup of water. Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes to an hour. Add water to thin if necessary as it cooks.

Right before serving, stir in fresh basil and simmer a few minutes more.

Ladle into bowls and grate a little Parmesan over the top.

For the record, I don't like black licorice. The flavor is very off-putting to me. So I've avoided fennel since it's described as having a licorice flavor. I do, however, LOVE sausage and have recently discovered that one of the ingredients in Italian sausage is fennel and I've enjoyed crunching down on a whole fennel seed when I come across one. So I was willing to give this recipe a go. I bought some fennel seeds, ground them up in my spice grinder and wow! I actually liked the smell. And the flavor was spot on! This soup is a really nice, full flavored soup. Enjoy!

Red pepper, tomato and chicken pilaf

1 2/3 cups brown rice
1/2 onion, chopped
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 7 oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1 T olive oil
1 t paprika
1/2 t dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 lb chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup green beans, washed and chopped

Preheat oven to 375.
In a dutch oven, combine all ingredients except the green beans. Stir, cover and bake for 40 minutes to an hour.
Stir in green beans and bake uncovered for 10 or 20 minutes more, until all broth is absorbed. Remove bay leaf and serve.

I adapted this recipe from The New American Plate Cookbook. I used regular brown rice instead of quick cooking, so I had to up the time a little. I threw in a few sun dried tomatoes, too. I used crushed tomatoes and the consistency was a little blah. I think it would have been better with diced (with the liquid). Otherwise, a hearty, really easy to make meal. Serve with salad and/or bread.

Black Beluga Lentil Soup

1 cup black beluga lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
2 cups of a big leafy green (chard, kale, etc), rinsed well, deveined, finely chopped
spices and vinegar to taste

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the lentils, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion and salt and saute until tender, a couple minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, lentils, and water and continue cooking for a few more minutes, letting the soup come back up to a simmer. Stir in the chopped greens, and wait another minute. Taste and adjust the seasoning if need be. Ladle into bowls, and serve. I topped it with fresh chopped tomatoes.

Serves 3 to 4.

This recipe comes from 101 cookbooks here. That recipe calls for a saffron infused yogurt which I really want to try but didn't have saffron on hand. Next time I'll try it and update this post. This recipe is sort of a base soup recipe. It needs to have spice added to it to jazz it up. I added paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and my favorite: smoked salt. I also added a dash or two of vinegar. This is great with bread or a small sandwich.

Chicken Andouille Sausage Jambalaya

1/2 lb andouille sausage
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup of rice
1 tomato diced
1 onion small diced
1 celery stalk medium diced
1 green pepper medium diced
2 jalapenos finely diced
3 cloves of garlic finely diced
3 bay leaves
Herbs de Provence
Cayenne pepper to taste
Kosher salt and pepper
High temperature oil

Cook andouille sausage over medium heat in a medium sized pot (a dutch oven works best). There is no need for oil as the sausage has plenty. Add onion, celery and bell pepper and saute for a few minutes until softened. Add garlic and saute for another minute or so. Add the rest, bring to boil and simmer until the rice is cooked.

I found this recipe over at culinary disaster and modified it. I love chicken andouille sausage but had made lentil soup a few times and was looking for something new. That and I was trying to use up ingredients I had on hand. I had no green bell pepper so I used carrot instead since I have so many on hand from the vegetable delivery. I also used the Salish smoked salt I have on hand. It really adds a lot to these dishes. For the record, I know this probably isn't real jambalaya because it doesn't have shrimp but I'm not a shrimp fan and it's delicious anyway!

Lentil and Sausage Soup

1 cup dried lentils
6 cups chicken broth (or half broth / half water)
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup finely chopped celery
4 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf

8 oz smoked sausage
salt and pepper to taste
hot pepper sauce (optional)

Put everything but the sausage in a large pot or dutch oven. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes.
While that is simmering, slice in half lengthwise and chop into 1/2 inch pieces if sausage is pre-cooked. If sausage in uncooked, fry in separate pan over medium, breaking into small chunks while you cook.
After 45 minutes, add to soup and simmer another 10 minutes.


I can't believe it's March and still snowing in Seattle! This soup more than hit the spot. In fact, I think I've found a new favorite! I used chicken andouille sausage and crumbled it up while I cooked it so I'd get little morsels in every bite! At the end I used a tsp of smoked salt that I picked up a while back and that gave it just the right amount of smokey flavor. The sausage was spicy enough that I didn't have to add any hot sauce. The original recipe called for more water and to simmer uncovered but its already humid here so I covered it up and used less water/stock. Wow. This one's a keeper!

Adopted from "The Dutch Oven Cookbook" by Sharon Kramis and Julie Kramis Hearne

Sweet Potato Chili

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 bell peppers (green, red, orange, whatever color you like), chopped
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 - 2 lbs orange fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks (4 cups)
1.5 cups unsalted roasted peanuts (or any other nuts)
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes in juice
1 6 oz can tomato paste
2 4 oz cans diced mild green chilies with liquid
4-6 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste

In a large heavy pot, heat oil over med. Saute onion, carrots and bell peppers around 8 minutes. add garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds. Stir in potatoes, nuts, tomatoes and juice, tomato paste, chilies and liquid, and spices.

Bring to boil, reduce heat to low immediately and simmer 15-25 minutes, stirring occasionally until potatoes are tender.

This is a very satisfying vegan chili. I've always made it with peanuts in the past but now that they're on the no-no list, I'll probably try almonds or walnuts. They give it a nice crunch. This recipe makes a lot, I often halve it.

Split Pea Soup

3 cups green split peas
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 large chopped onion
2 large chopped carrots
1 leek - rinsed well and chopped
1 small lemon
1 bay leaf
4 cloves garlic - minced
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups water
2 cups Vegetable Stock

Rinse peas and sort out irregulars and stones. Cover with water to 2 inches above peas and set aside. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large pot. Saute garlic to release aroma. Add onion, carrot, leek, paprika and bay leaf; saute 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add water, stock, juice from lemon, salt and pepper to pan. Drain peas and add peas and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer at least 1 hour, stirring often. Discard bay leaf. Place half of soup in blender or food processor; process until smooth. Return to pot and stir.

Ladle into bowls and enjoy with crispy bread or cheese and crackers!

I lied earlier when I said the Tom Yum soup was the first I perfected. I forgot that this is actually the first soup I ever made and I made it before ever having tried split pea soup before. That's how I roll. When I made this last night, I added Alder-Smoked salt that I got at the market (the Greenwood Market). It is very strong smelling and adds a great smokey flavor to this soup in place of using ham hocks. This soup freezes really well so I make a lot and enjoy it for months (if it lasts that long).

Tom Yum Hot and Sour Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles

2 cups water (for soup)
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 stalks lemon grass
1 small onion - diced
2-3 garlic cloves - minced
2 tsp vegetable oil
3-4 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp roasted red chili paste
1 tbsp unrefined cane sugar
1/2 lb chicken tenders already cooked (or quorn brand meat substitute)
Red pepper flakes to taste
4-6 cups water (to cook noodles)
1/2 package rice noodles - thin, not wide

Pull off and discard course outer layers from lemon grass and trim off and discard stem ends. Cut each stalk into about 3-inch lengths. Lightly crush with the flat side of a knife. (I often skip this step and use a few pinches of dried lemon grass sealed in a teabag.)

In small saucepan, heat oil and saute garlic and onion. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

While soup is simmering, bring large pot of water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and add the noodles. Let sit for 8 minutes (or according to package directions). Drain water and scoop noodles into serving bowls. A slotted spaghetti server works best.

Remove lemongrass from soup and discard (compost!). Ladle the soup over the noodles and enjoy.

I love to make this Thai version of chicken noodle soup. This is one of the first recipes I perfected. It's ideal for a cold day and/or when you're feeling not-so-hot during the cold/flu season.