Category: Soups and Stews

Root Vegetable Chili

I was in the mood for chili this week, and spotted this recipe for Root Vegetable Chili. I am always ready to throw different vegetables in my chili, and this version uses winter produce. Plus, consistent with my cooking club theme of ‘spices’, this chili uses quite a few. I even used my new chili powder from Penzeys!

I really liked the butternut squash and parsnips in the chili, but the chickpeas seemed out of place. Black beans or kidney beans would have been much better. Still, this is a good chili recipe to get you through the winter season if you’re trying to eat locally. That early spring produce should be just around the corner!

Red Wine Minestrone

Minestrone is actually one of my very favorite soups, with vegetables, beans, and pasta all in one bowl. I’ve posted a Fall Minestrone which includes butternut squash, and a White Bean and Escarole soup which reminds me of minestrone.

But this soup is the real deal with onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, tomatoes, kidney beans, lima beans, cabbage, small elbows, and yes, red wine. It’s also a crockpot recipe, so you can get your soup going and go on with your day. When your homework/errands/house chores are done, you can pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy a great bowl of soup. This is another recipe that makes many servings, and 3 containers went immediately to my freezer. I loved this soup though, and know that I’ll be happy to defrost them in the coming weeks.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

Last week was quite an experience, getting to know new professors, new classmates, and a new internship. Not to mention administrative details, paperwork, and trekking to and from the city in awful weather. But one thing is certain, the fact that I packed most of my meals this week kept me fueled with healthy foods. I could have used a few more snacks, but otherwise I think I did pretty well. Besides a couple of trips to Starbucks for hot tea, and one Odwalla bar, I had all my meals covered. Finding a relaxing place to eat these meals was a challenge, but that’s a different post.

So in getting ready for Week 2, I knew I needed a soup packed with vegetables and protein. I still had yellow split peas left over from my dal experiment, and I decided to use them in this soup. I substituted canola oil for grapeseed and Swiss chard for kale, but kept in all the spices, including my new favorite smoked paprika. I certainly did not need to put the cooked split peas in a food processor, they were perfectly pureed after an hour on the stove. The soup came together easily, and with a dash more salt, pepper, and smoked paprika, it was seasoned well. This is not your typical split pea soup; the peas simply add more body to the stock. The mushrooms and Swiss chard are what you remember from this soup, and that’s fine by me.

Broccoli Cheese Chowder

I wanted to make a basic soup for lunches this week, and decided to try this Broccoli Cheese Chowder from Eating Well. But of course, I read the recipe and ran straight to the kitchen to do my own thing. And you know by now that I don’t generally care if soups are perfectly pureed, the lumps are just fine! With just a dash of cayenne and a little mustard, this soup had more tang than I expected, but I liked that. I don’t know if this particular recipe will make it into my regular rotation, but I will enjoy it for lunch this week.

1 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 potato, peeled and diced
1 t minced garlic
Dash cayenne pepper
4 c. vegetable broth
3 c. chopped broccoli
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. fat free sour cream
1 T mustard

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add onion, celery, and carrots, and saute for 5-10 minutes. Add potato, garlic, and cayenne pepper, saute for 5 minutes more. Add broth and broccoli. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Using a potato masher, mash the soup against the side of the pot until it reaches the desired consistency. Add cheese, sour cream, and mustard, and heat through. Season with salt and pepper just prior to serving.

Chard and White Bean Stew

The moment I saw this recipe for chard and white bean stew, I tweeted about it, and emailed my Mom and sister to make sure they had seen it. Chard, white beans, and wine, all in a pot – yes, please. A friend of mine was coming over for dinner Sunday night, and I figured we’d be opening a bottle of wine anyway, so I may as well make this stew. Do you like my logic?

The recipe was amazing, but of course I did make a few changes. First, I couldn’t discard the chard stems, so I sauteed them right with the carrots. I used onions from the market instead of shallots, and seasoned the stew with only dried thyme, salt, and pepper. The stew was just as good as I expected, and we both went back for a second bowl. I didn’t serve it with an egg on top, but I did offer a slice of freshly baked whole wheat bread and real butter, so I’d say we’re even. More on the bread tomorrow….

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

I recently received a gift card to Penzey’s. If you haven’t heard of this place, it’s an amazing spice store. If there is a retail location near you, I highly recommend you check it out. My parents and I spent almost 45 minutes in the store, sniffing jar after jar. It was so much fun to explore new spices, and to compare the 7 different types of cinnamon!

One of my purchases was Spanish paprika. The smoky scent is amazing, and I couldn’t wait to use it. So I made a batch of Roasted Cauliflower Soup, and added a whole teaspoon of the spice to the soup instead of sprinkling it on top. This soup was incredible, and made the perfect lunch. I added some Greek yogurt and an apple to round out the meal. I’ll make this soup again, but first I’ve got to try out all the new spices I bought. Stay tuned….

Turkey Tortilla Soup

If you still have turkey leftover from Thanksgiving, please throw it away! It’s really not safe to eat after all this time. But keep this recipe around for the next time you are faced with leftover turkey or chicken. When you combine the meat with some standard pantry items, you can create an entirely new meal.

This easy crockpot recipe (the second one on the page) aims to replicate a similar soup at Panera. I’ve never had the Panera version, but I did really like this soup. With black beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, enchilada sauce, and spices, it has some kick, even though we left out the chilies. A nice warm bowl of soup beats out a turkey sandwich any day in my book!
But wait – where are those tortillas you ask? It is turkey tortilla soup after all. Well, I totally forgot about them until I was typing up this post. Oh well, next time!

Sweet Potato Chili

I got back to my Sunday routine of throwing something together in the crockpot, to be used for dinner that night and then lunches for the week. This time I made Sweet Potato Chili from my very favorite slow cooker blog. It took less than 15 minutes from the time I started chopping until the time I walked away from the kitchen to do more productive things. (Things like homework, and catching up on Gossip Girl, don’t judge!)

I pretty much followed the recipe, except that I used an extra can of diced tomatoes, and a small can of drained mushrooms. A few words about the orange juice: I don’t usually have any juice in the house, and generally prefer to eat whole fruit. However, I purchased a small carton of OJ for this recipe and it was totally worth it! The chili was spicy from the chili powder and paprika, and the sweetness of the orange juice offset this perfectly. Don’t all the pretty colors remind you of fall foliage? This was a great dish, and I am sure I will come back to this recipe on another Sunday soon.

Split Pea Soup (Vegetarian)

There is nothing like throwing a bunch of ingredients in the crockpot, noticing a very nice smell a few hours later, and realizing it’s your dinner. I’ve made a meaty split pea soup before, but this time I used a recipe from Real Food Has Curves, and left out the ham to make it vegetarian.

There are a few ingredients that really make this soup great, like the freshly chopped sage. Sage always reminds me of my grandmother’s turkey stuffing, and I assure you that’s a very good thing. For the broth, I used Knorr Vegetable Bouillon and white wine, a winning combination.

The split peas retained more of their texture in the original version of this soup, but I let mine cook just a little too long, and the peas fell apart. It didn’t really matter to me though, I loved this meal. The vegetables were not overshadowed by a sometimes salty ham bone, and the fresh herbs supplied plenty of flavor. Go ahead, throw this in your crockpot this weekend and you won’t be disappointed.

Pantry Pumpkin Chili

If you can operate a can opener, you can make this chili. And if you’re lucky, you’ll have all the ingredients right in your pantry. Last year, there was a pumpkin shortage but cans of pumpkin are back in stores now, so consider this a reason to stock up! Here’s what you need:

Just mix the pumpkin, diced tomatoes in juice, tomato sauce, beans (rinsed and drained), and the corn in a big pot. Add about a tablespoon of chili powder and simmer until heated through. That’s it!

The pumpkin flavor is subtle here, similar to this pumpkin chili made with ground turkey. And it’s definitely very thick! But served with some shredded cheese, it is a perfectly quick and healthy meal.