Tortellini & Spinach Soup

My mom makes this soup all the time and my parents love it. I didn’t know until today that this recipe came out of a newspaper. I thought she made it up! Recipe below.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

3 gloves chopped garlic

1/2 cup white wine or dry vermouth

1 quart low-sodium chicken broth

1 package (9 ounces) fresh tortellini

1 bunch baby spinach

Ground pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 sprigs fresh oregano or basil

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the garlic; cook until golden, 1-2 minutes.
3. Pour in wine; heat to a boil. Cook until wine is slightly syrupy, about 6 minutes.
4. Stir in chicken broth, heat to a boil.
5. Add tortellini; cook according to package.
6. 2 minutes before the pasta is done, stir in the spinach; cook until the spinach wilts slightly.
7. Season with pepper.
8. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and garnish with oregano or basil.

 

Enjoy!!

Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup

We first tried this soup at Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival and loved it! Of course I waited till an 85 degree day to make it. This one comes out of the Food and Wine Festival cookbook. Recipe below!

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

3 celery ribs, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups chicken stock

4 cups milk

1 pound grated white cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce

1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce 

Coarse salt, freshly ground pepper to taste 

1/2 cup warm beer

Chopped scallions or chives, for garnish

Directions:

1. Cook bacon over medium heat in a Dutch oven for about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned, stirring often.

2. Add onion, celery, and butter; sauté until onion softens, about 5 minutes.

3. Add flour and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes over medium heat. Whisk in chicken stock and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add milk and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Do not boil after adding milk.

5. Remove from heat and stir in cheese, Tabasco, Worchestershire sauce, salt and pepper until cheese is melted and soup is smooth. Stir in warm beer. If soup is too thick, thin with warm milk.

6. Serve hot, garnished with chopped scallions or chives.

My soup had a little kick to it, but everyone seemed to like it. I was nervous that it was too spicy, but dad liked it! It doesn’t take too much time to make this soup so even if you are tight on time you can still make it.
Enjoy!!

Dairy Free Potato Soup

It is a cold one in Florida today, rainy and 65 degrees. Yes that is cold to us Floridians. It is a great day for soup. I LOVE potato soup and was happy to find a dairy free recipe for it. The last time I made something dairy free it didn’t go well so I was a bit nervous for this. It actually tasted great and it is an easy recipe. Dad loved it and he had no idea it was dairy free, well now he does! Recipe below!

Ingredients

• 8 russet potatoes, diced into cubes
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup coconut milk
• ¼ cup coconut cream
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Instructions

In a large pot, add in the potatoes, chicken stock, coconut milk, coconut cream, and 4 slices of the bacon crumbled. Cook on medium-heat with a lid for about an hour, or until the potatoes are tender. Add in salt and pepper, to taste.

If you want to put a little dairy in and sprinkle some cheese on top you can.

It does have a coconut taste to it, but not in an overpowering way. I don’t like coconut and I thought this was perfect. I didn’t use chicken stock, I used chicken broth, so either way it works. It is really good, you will definitely enjoy it. It is perfect for those cold days and it only takes about an hour to make.

Enjoy!!

Double Feature: Ham and Bean Soup and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy First Day of June!!

Today I give you 2 recipes. Both of which came out good enough to eat, but not amazing. You all may have better luck, so let’s get on with it.

First up, Ham and Bean Soup. This one was kind of winged while at the grocery store, so not a lot of preparation went into it. It was also really easy to put throw together. I used a crock pot, so I dumped everything into it and let it do the work.

Ingredients:

16 ounces of beans

8 cups of water

Bone of ham (I used the leftover bone from the ham from Easter)

1/2 tsp of salt

1 cup chopped carrots

1/2 stalk of celery (chopped)

1 cup chopped onions

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp white ground pepper

2 bay leaves

Directions:

1. Pour water in crockpot.

2. Rinse beans before putting them in crockpot.

3. Add rest of ingredients.

4. I let it cook for a few hours and then cut off the rest of the ham off the bone and served without the bone.

It was good! I would definitely give it a try.

 

Last but not least of the double feature, Chocolate Chip Cookies. I have been kind of craving some chocolate chip cookies lately, so I decided I should just make my own. Note to self: make sure you know how much flour you have BEFORE you are knee dip in blending everything together.

Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 sticks of butter,softened
2. 1 cup of brown sugar, packed
3. 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
4. 2 large eggs
5. 1 tbsp vanilla
6. 1 tsp baking soda
7. 1/2 tsp salt
8. 2 cups of all purpose flour
9. 2 cups of chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Combine your butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a medium sized bowl. Next blend with a mixer, your eggs and vanilla until thoroughly blended. Then add in your baking soda and salt. Slowly add in your flour until its all blended thoroughly. Last fold in your chocolate chips. Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls onto a lined with parchment paper baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 11-12 minutes.

Ok, so this is a major fail on my part because I ran out of flour. Since I didn’t have all 2 cups of flour, it was too soft to roll into balls. I had to just use a spoon and drop them on the pan. They are pretty flat and I had to pay attention to the timing because they would burn if I cooked them the whole time.

They still taste good, they are a bit chewy, but definitely edible and enjoyable. Always check your ingredients before you start cooking!

 

Enjoy!