Brunswick Stew

Growing up in the South I have always had a love for Brunswick Stew. The mix of barbecued chicken, pork, & beef mixed with corn, tomatoes, and lima beans just can't be beat. If you've never had Brunswick Stew from a deep south BBQ joint you are truly missing out. This recipe is my attempt to match come as close as possible to the Brunswick Stew at your favorite BBQ joint. It's easy and delicious!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 4 - 6 hours
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
1 can BBQ pork
1 can BBQ beef
2 (16 oz) packages of Lloyds BBQ (pork, chicken, or beef; use any combination you please).
1 can creamed corn
1 can white shoepeg corn
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 cups lima beans
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Turn the heat to low and cook for 4-6 hours, stirring occasionally. (Yes that is all the instructions... incredibly easy right?!?) 

Serve with corn bread and a large glass of sweet tea! And there you have it, a true southern classic!

'Til next time,
Caroline  

Kid-Friendly Tomato Soup

A step up from canned soup, this easy tomato soup is easy and yes, m'm! m'm! good!  Throw in some goldfish, a fun decoration with sour cream and you're in the lead for best parent award. I found this recipe in the Taste of Home Soup Magazine.

Prep time & Cooking time: 25 minutes 

Servings: 8-10 

Ingredients:

2 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes

1 14.5 can of chicken broth

2 teaspoons of dried oregano

2 teaspoons of dried basil

1-2 Tablespoons of sugar

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup of sour cream for garnish

In a blender, process tomatoes, one can at a time, until smooth. Transfer to a large saucepan. Stir in the broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the oregano, basil and sugar. Add a small amount of hot tomato mixture to whipping cream; return all to the saucepan. Cook until slightly thickened (do not boil). 

Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; fill with sour cream. Pipe a decoration on each bowl of soup. 

'Till next time, 

Natalie

Chipotle Chicken Soup

Photo Credit: Katrina Runs for Food

When it's cold outside all I want to do is wrap myself in a big cozy blanket, sit next to the fireplace, and eat a hearty bowl of soup. A bowl of soup that warms you from the inside out. You know the kind I am talking about! It has the right amount of heat, is hearty, and makes you want to take a nap after you finish eating. 

Searching for the perfect recipe was quite a challenge. You can't just type in "soup to eat by a fireplace that makes you want to nap" in Google and expect to get a good result. So I headed to my favorite websites when searching for recipes: FoodGawker, Tastespotting, Pinterest, and Foodnetwork. 

I am an extremely visual person when it comes to finding recipes. Food has so many visual components to it and you usually eat with your eyes first. I'll admit that if a recipe doesn't have a picture with it I am usually very hesitant to try it. While on FoodGawker, I found this recipe for Chipotle Chicken Soup. It has the perfect combination of chicken, vegetables, and heat from the chipotle peppers. Check out this fabulous recipe on the blog Katrina Runs for Food. Oh and did I mention it is gluten free! Definitely a plus! 

'Till next time,

Caroline 

Manhattan Style Clam Chowder

Whenever I think about clam chowder, the first thing that always comes to my mind is the traditional New England Clam Chowder. New England Clam Chowder is a thick, cream-based, white clam chowder. This Manhattan Clam Chowder is a completely different beast. It has a tomato base with tender baby clams, bacon, and vegetables. It is a really nice and lighter alternative to the traditional clam chowder. And if I must say, downright delicious!

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 1 & 1/2 hours

Servings: 8

Ingredients:
6 strips thick sliced bacon
2 - 3 russet potatoes
1 onion
3 celery stalks
1 red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped carrots
4 cloves of garlic
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (32 oz) can chicken broth
2 (10 oz) cans whole baby clams
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Wash and peel 2 to 3 russet potatoes. Cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes and set aside.

Cut 6 strips of bacon into bite sized pieces and set aside.

Chop celery, carrots, red bell pepper, onion, and garlic into a small dice and set aside. 

In a large stock pot over medium heat, cook down the bacon until brown. 

Once the bacon has browned, add the celery, carrots, onion, bell pepper and garlic into the stock pot. Cook the vegetables and bacon for about 6 more minutes or until tender. 

Once the vegetables are tender, stir in crushed tomatoes and thyme and bring to a slight simmer. 

Once the tomatoes have simmered for about 2 minutes, stir in chicken broth, paprika, and worcheshire sauce.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.

Stir in 2 bay leaves and cans of baby clams with juice. Simmer chowder for 30-45 minutes.

While chowder is simmering, bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the potatoes until tender, about 7-10 minutes. Strain and set aside. 

Once the clam chowder has simmered for 30 minutes and the potatoes are tender, stir the potatoes into the pot and cook for about 5-10 more minutes.  

Remove the stock pot from heat and serve. Garnish with extra bacon and parsley.

Enjoy!

'Till next time,
Caroline

New Year's Day Good Luck Soup

Happy New Year!

What’s a new year without a resolution right?  I’ve been thinking the past few days about mine: the 876th diet attempt, being nicer, laughing more, yada yada yada. Last night as I was preparing my New Year’s Eve soups (see prior post) it was made abundantly clear as to what my new year’s resolution will be: simplicity. I need to stop trying to do it all. You know the ol’ "less is more," "quality over quantity," etc.  

I was preparing three soups: taco soup, broccoli cheese and New Year’s Day good luck soup.  In my mind this was going to be an uber-relaxing day full of great music, cooking, photographing and blogging my soups until my guests arrived. I was wrong. I got a way late start because I was trying to do too much like clean out a closet and reorganize my kitchen cabinets. I even made a run to the mall for hand soap and wash cloths because I couldn’t find any. I forgot that I wanted to make guacamole and I still needed to chop all of my veggies for my hummus. Needless to say, documenting these soups didn’t quite happen as I had hoped for as I was just starting cooking when my friend’s arrived.

Let me tell you why simplicity is my new resolution.  Here’s what went wrong:

I bought fancy-smanshy bread and put it in the oven to cook.  An hour and a half later I found it…charred unrecognizably. 2013: I’m buying crackers only.

I put my three soups in my brand-spanking-new 3 pot crockpot to cook and keep warm as we ate throughout the night.  Forgot to plug it in. Didn’t notice until a couple of hours later. 2013: I’m preparing one soup. The other two will be frozen or canned.

Forgot to put in two main ingredients that thickens the broccoli cheese soup until it was too late. 2013: Eat it anyway.

2013: forget the organizing, cleaning, buying hand-soap and making appetizers.

Here is the recipe and pictures for New Year’s Day Good Luck Soup. Even though I probably didn’t do this recipe justice in pictures, it still turned out pretty good.

Ingredients:
1 package of carving board ham
2 celery ribs
1 medium onion
2 carrots
2 garlic cloves
2 (15-ounce) cans black-eyed peas
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans no-salt-added stewed tomatoes
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 cups chopped fresh kale
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (Tbsp of dried parsley)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Chop your onions, garlic and carrots in a food processor.

Dice your celery and sauté in a stockpot along with your onions, carrots and garlic. 

Add your broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, black beans, kale and ham and simmer about 30 minutes.  I chopped up the kale and used frozen black beans. I bought the pre-cooked carving board ham for convenience. I would recommend that you use canned black-eyed peas if you are in a hurry because the frozen took a while to become tender. You can substitute spinach for kale if you like. 

At first I didn’t think I was going to like this soup but after it cooked in the crockpot for a while, the flavors married nicely and the kale and black-eyes peas cooked well. I enjoyed this healthy soup and I think it will be my new New Year's tradition!

I added a little Parmesan cheese and pita chips. Yummy.

Cheers to a simplified 2013!

‘Till next time,
Natalie

Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder

Photo credit: Better Homes & Gardens.

Recently, I've been searching for an interesting crock pot recipe. There is nothing better than throwing ingredients into a slow cooker and having delicious soup ready when you come home from work. I stumbled upon this Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder soup from Better Homes & Gardens. It seems so simple: chicken, corn, tomatoes and cheese soup.  Almost as easy as Honey Boo Boo's sketti.

Ingredients:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 14 1/2 ounce cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes  
1 10 3/4 ounce can condensed nacho cheese soup
1 10 ounce package frozen whole kernel corn (2 cups)  

Shredded Mexican-style or cheddar cheese for garnish

In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker, stir together chicken, undrained tomatoes, soup, and corn.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Sprinkle each serving with cheese. Makes 6 servings.

Some of the reviewers stated that the soup did not have enough kick.  I would recommend some hot sauce (and seriously - everything is better with hot sauce) or maybe even a little bit of hot Rotel.

‘Till next time,

Matthew

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

Hamburger Soup

This hamburger soup is quickly becoming one of my favorites. It is hearty, filling, and has a great flavor! Don't be thrown off by the name though. This hamburger soup contains no mustard, ketchup, or any other bizarre combination of condiments. 

Ingredients:

(serves 4-6)

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 cup diced onion

3/4 cup diced carrots 

3/4 cup diced red bell pepper

4 - 5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup sliced okra

4 cups chicken broth

1 (15oz) can diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

2 Tablespoons worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. fresh cracked pepper

Optional: 1 cup chopped cabbage, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, and/or 3/4 cup green beans.

The best way to begin this recipe is to get all the prep work out of the way. Believe me this will make it smooth sailing when you start cooking. Dice your onion, carrots, red bell pepper, and garlic. Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. Combine diced vegetables, ground beef, garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper, oregano, and worcestershire sauce in the stock pot. 

Cook the beef until it is browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. 

Once the meat is browned and the vegetables are sautéed, about 5 - 7 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients to the stock pot (2 bay leaves, chicken broth, 15 oz can of tomatoes, and 1 cup sliced okra).

Stir ingredients in stock pot together and bring to a simmer. Turn heat down to low, cover with lid, and simmer soup for 1 to 2 hours (stirring occasionally). Once soup has cooked down is combined, remove pot from heat and serve. Enjoy!

'Till next time,

Caroline

Vegetable Soup

Over the years, many have inquired about my vegetable soup recipe. The only problem is I don't actually have a recipe. The good news is you can't hardly mess up this soup.

I love vegetable soup. It's probably up there in my top five and here is why: it's incredibly healthy, it's rich in color and taste and it reminds me of home and family. I think there is a nostalgia to vegetable soup. It's timeless and suitable for almost any occasion.

The best thing about vegetable soup: it's an organic process. Ever-evolving. If you don't like a vegetable or it's out of season just eliminate it and try something else. 

Ingredients:
Obviously, fresh is always best, then frozen, then canned. I'm going to write this recipe for exactly what I used this Souper Sunday.

Carrots (1 bag of mini-carrots)
Green pepper (1)
Yellow onion (1)
Potatoes (3 baking size Idaho potatoes)
Garlic (4 cloves)
Celery (5-6 stalks)
Okra (1 package frozen)
Green beans (1 package frozen)
Lima beans (1 package frozen)
Black eyed peas (1 package frozen)
Corn (4 stalks of fresh corn and 1/2 package of frozen corn)
Diced tomatoes (1 can)
1 can of chicken broth
1 can of beef broth
2 bottles of V8 juice ( I bought a bottle of low-sodium and 1 bottle of spicy) You will find the container of V8 in the juice section.



Warning: This makes ALOT of soup so depending on the size of your pot, you may want to put the ingredients in evenly in case you can't use everything or you could always do two pots. This freezes very well so I always make up a ton or eat off of it all week.

Chop up your carrots, celery and potatoes. I chopped my garlic, onions and bellpepper in my food processor. 

Remove your corn from the cob. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add in chicken broth and the bottle of V8-low sodium. Bring to a boil and add your potatoes, celery, carrots and corn. Slow boil for about 15 minutes. You can then add in everything else except the okra.  If the okra cooks too long it falls apart. At this point, you can add in the V8-spicy (3/4 a bottle), your beef broth and water depending on how thick you like your soup.

Let your soup simmer (not boil). Stir occasionally and add okra about 30 minutes before you are ready to eat it. I usually add salt at this time too. I do not put a lot. If you usually salt everything then I would suggest that you not add it at all and just add it to your individual serving. Also, add pepper the last 10 minutes or so. I LOVE pepper so I add even more pepper in my serving but pepper really makes this soup come together if you ask me. I also add a pinch of sugar. This is my secret weapon for almost every soup.

A nice glass of sweet tea felt the most suitable for this Sunday afternoon. Oh and by the way, a shout-out to my alma mater is a must. ROLL TIDE! 

This soup is good enough to eat completely by itself but I also like it with saltines or cornbread. It's a very healthy soup as you can see and I love using V8 juice because you are getting so many more nutrients beyond what is in the ingredient list. I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

'Till next time,
Natalie