Kale and Kielbasa Soup

The broth and flavor of this soup never gets old. It is great leftover and perfect for any cold night. It is quick and easy to make with only a few ingredients to purchase (which is always a plus in my book). The base of this soup is similar to the Tuscan Ribollita soup that I made earlier. 


Servings: 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes 
Cook Time: 50 minutes


Ingredients:
1 lb. kielbasa sausage
2 large carrots
2 yellow onions (or 1 large yellow onion)
4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 cups chopped kale
1 bay leaf
2 (14 oz) cans cannellini beans
7 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper


Chop 2 whole carrots into small pieces and set aside. 

Chop 1 large or 2 small yellow onions and set aside.

Mince 4 cloves of garlic and set aside. 

Slice kielbasa into 1/4 inch rounds.

In a large stock pot over medium high heat, cook kielbasa slices until slightly brown, about 5 minutes.

Remove kielbasa and set aside.

Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil into the stock pot with the kielbasa drippings over medium heat. Stir in onions and carrots and cook until tender for about 5-8 minutes. 

Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 1 additional minute. 

Remove stems of kale and chop into thin strips.

Stir the kale into the stock pot and cover with a lid and steam the kale for 4 minutes.

Season sautéed vegetables with salt and pepper.

Drain cannellini beans in a colander over the sink.

Stir in cannellini beans, bay leaf, and kielbasa. 

Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. 

Serve with some crusty bread and enjoy!

'Til next time,

Caroline

Irish Stew

 

Since I am the red-headed, fair skinned of the group, I felt it was my obligation to cook and write about one of my favorites: Irish Stew.

 

This stew originated as a hearty, flavorful peasant dish made with the cheapest and often, most left-over ingredients. This recipe belongs to my aunt Cathy and it has become a favorite over the years. She cooks hers in a crockpot and I cook mine on the stove top but it is just as yummy either way!

 

Ingredients:

 5 potatoes

1 onion

1-2 cups of frozen corn

1 bell pepper

3 carrots

1 stick of butter

1 can of roast beef

16 oz can of chopped tomatos

16 oz can of tomato sauce

1.5 cups of water

 

Serves: 4

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 45 minutes stove top or 7-8 hours in crockpot

 

Finely dice your onions.

Chop your potatoes in 1 inch cubes.

 

Add potatoes and corn to water.

Add carrots, bell pepper, onion and butter. Boil until tender.

 

Add roast beef, canned tomatoes, canned sauce and let simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

 

Serve with pita chips or corn bread. Enjoy!

 

'Till next time,

Natalie



 

Tuscan Ribollita

This recipe for Tuscan Ribollita is as authentic as they come. While traveling around the world, my brother's girlfriend, Reva, spent some time in Italy. While in Tuscany, she learned quite a few recipes, one of them being this recipe for Tuscan Ribollita. There are quite a few variations on this hearty soup but the main ingredients always include leftover bread, cannellini beans, and inexpensive vegetables. 

Ingredients:

2 carrots

1 small onion

2 garlic cloves

olive oil to taste

1 bunch of kale, shredded

7 cups vegetable broth

3 (15.5 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 

In a food processor, pulse carrots, onions, garlic, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a small to medium dice. In a large stock pot, heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Sauté vegetables in oil for about 5 minutes. Next stir in the shredded kale to the stock pot and cook for about 10 minutes. In Italy, they use cavolo nero kale or also known as black leaf kale. If you can find it, use it. If not, your traditional grocery store kale will work just as well.   

Once your kale has cooked for about 10 minutes, or looks like the picture above, stir in 2 cups of vegetable broth. Bring the soup to a simmer and simmer for about 5 minutes. While simmering, put 1 & 1/2 cans of the cannellini beans into a food processor with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Puree the beans and olive oil until smooth. Stir the pureed beans into the soup.

Add the remainder of the broth, whole beans, and seasonings into the soup. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes. Just before serving, tear bread into bite sized pieces and let soften in soup. Drizzle with olive oil and enjoy. 

'Till next time,

Caroline 

Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Mmmm. Olive Garden does a lot of things right but I have to say that their chicken gnocchi soup paired with salad and breadsticks is AWESOME! Thankfully, my family consists of a bunch of Italian wannabe's, so we frequent our local Olive Garden often. This is what I order almost every time. There are many recipes that try to copycat this decadent soup and if I must say so myself, this one here came pretty darn close.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, boiled
4 Tbsp of butter
16 oz. of evaporated milk
4 Tbsp of olive oil
18 oz of chicken broth
1/2 cup of chopped celery
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
3 garlic cloves minced
1 medium onion, chopped fine
Carrots (.5 cup if chopped in food processor, 1 cup if shredded)
2 cups of fresh baby spinach chopped
16 oz package of gnocchi
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Let's get started.

Chop your celery.

And now your garlic.

I put my carrots and onion in the food processor to get them very fine.



 

Coarsely chop your spinach.

Take your butter and olive oil to saute your onions and garlic. Once transparent, add your flour and stir for about one minute creating your roux.

Now add your evaporated milk, chicken broth, carrots and celery. Stir occasionally.

I took my kitchen sheers to my boiled chicken to get the right pieces. Not too shredded and not too chunky. I also added salt and pepper before adding to the soup.

Now add your chicken and spinach.

Cook your gnocchi according to package directions, drain and add to your soup base. I bought wheat gnocchi because I was feeling healthy. Olive Garden uses the white and I will probably try that next time.

This soup turned out great. My version was a little thicker than Olive Garden's but I liked that better. If you like a runnier consistency then I would recommend adding more chicken broth or even water. I added a good bit of salt and pepper based on our preferences. I sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and it was the perfect blend! I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

'Till next time,

Natalie 

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup. It doesn't get any more basic or traditional than that.

I was searching for a new chicken noodle soup recipe and found one with five stars and great reviews.  This soup also included a recipe to make your own broth. Awesome right? Wrong. This chicken broth was quite possibly the worst broth I ever tasted. No lie. It wasn't too watery, or lacking in flavor - the flavor was just off.

Looking back on it, the soup would have been great with some store bought chicken broth or a different broth recipe. The chicken, vegetables and noodles were all amazing. It was the broth that ruined it all.

I've revised the recipe to solve the broth problem. I recommend using canned chicken broth and a rotisserie chicken. Stay tuned for a future post all about broths: chicken, beef and vegetable.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 medium carrots, sliced into 1/2 inch. pieces

2 celery stalks, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch. slices

4 fresh thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

2 quarts of canned chicken broth

8 oz. dried wide egg noodles

1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I recommend rotisserie chicken)

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1 handfull fresh parsley, finely chopped

In a medium stock pot heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook the vegetables for about 6 minutes until they are softened.

Once softened, pour the chicken broth into the stock pot and bring it to a boil. Add the egg noodles to the stock pot and cook according to the package, about 5 minutes.

After about 5 minutes, stir in shredded chicken and continue to simmer for a few more minutes to heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cilantro before serving. 

'Till next time,

Caroline 

Tomato Soup



Tomato soup is one of life's finer pleasures if you ask me. The Souper Sunday dream team decided to make a tomato soup all together. That's right. Three know-it-alls in one space trying to come to a consensus. Agreeing on a recipe was hard enough but talk about too many cooks in the kitchen!

We started the evening with Caroline leading us in a camera demostration.  Matt and I both own fancy cameras but we sure don't know how to use them.  

Here we are looking dazed and confused.

Now for the cooking.

Ingredients:

1-28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 stalks of celery
4 small carrots
1 large onion
8 cloves of garlic
4 cups of chicken broth
4 bay leaves
3 teaspoons of dried basil
1/2 cup of cream or milk
Salt & ground pepper to taste

Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees F.

Chop up your celery, onion and garlic in a food processor.

Now, do the same to your carrots.

Strain your canned tomatoes, reserve the juices and spread on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  Roast your tomatoes until caramelized which should take 15-20 minutes.

Add your celery, carrots, onion and garlic to a saucepan and cook on medium-low heat. Cook about 10 minutes until softened.

Add the roasted tomatoes, juices, chicken broth, bay leaves, basil and milk. Simmer about 15-20 minutes.

Remove bay leaves and puree in blender.

You can't beat tomato soup with a good grilled cheese sandwich!

Enjoy!

'Till next time,

Natalie