Recipes Discovered

Tomato Soup Recipe

I found this really easy recipe for tomato soup the other day that I thought I would share. Simply saute onions and garlic in a little olive oil until they are soft and then add canned tomatoes and chicken broth. Once everything has simmered together, transfer the mixture to the blender and blend until smooth. In the same saucepan, melt some butter and then add flour. Cook the flour for a minute before whisking the tomato mixture back into the saucepan. Simmer for a couple minutes to let the soup thicken up and then season with salt and maybe some sugar. I like to garnish my tomato soup with a little basil as well. The soup is really simple, but sometimes, definitely in this case, simple is best.

Chicken Provencal Stoup Recipe

Spices are generally fairly expensive, especially unique herbs like herbes de Provence. Herbes de Provence is a mixture of rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf, thyme, and lavender. It was invented in Provence, a region of southeast France, in the 1970′s, and is used primarily to flavor grilled meats and vegetable stews. It’s not very common in th spice aisle, but I found a bag of it at the Bloomsburg Fair for only a dollar. After finding the spice, I found a Rachael Ray recipe that used it in a stoup, which is defined by Rachael Ray as “thicker than a soup but thinner than a stew”.
This is a pot soup, which makes it really simple. I began by heating olive oil over medium heat and then adding chopped carrots, garlic, zucchini, red pepper, and onions. After sauteing the vegetables for 5 minutes, I seasoned them with salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence, and then added sliced potatoes. I didn’t have wine to add, so I added 6 cups of chicken broth instead of 5 along with a can of diced tomatoes. After bringing the broth to a boil, I added the diced chicken, and then covered the pot and let it simmer for 10 minutes. I served the soup as it was, without adding the tapenade.
I really enjoyed the taste of this soup. The herbes de Provence had a very unique flavor, and the lavender really stood out. Pouching the chicken in the broth also added a lot of flavor to the soup, and the fresh vegetables were perfectly cooked without being over cooked. The soup is obviously very different from traditional vegetable soup, but it’s fresh and delicious, and makes a great summer vegetable soup.

Zucchini Kielbasa Soup Recipe

My family enjoyed vegetable soup, but traditional vegetable soup is usually a winter dish that takes all day to cook, as you can read here. My uncle came up with this light, fresh soup that takes advantage of garden vegetables and the unique flavor of kielbasa. Kielbasa is polish sausage that is traditionally made from mixing pork with small amounts of beef or veal, seasoned with fresh herbs, and then smoked. Together, the kielbasa and vegetables make a wonderful, easy soup.
This is a low maintenance soup that requires very little attention. I started with a large soup pot and added chopped onions, celery, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, and kielbasa. Once everything was in the pot, I added two cans (14.5 ounces each) of low sodium chicken broth, plus about two cups of water. I turned the heat to low and let everything cook for one hour, stirring it occasionally. The soup is really that simple.
The soup is really great. It’s light, fresh and has all the flavors of summer. The kielbasa gives it a spicy taste, but not hot. My Uncle sometimes adds fried bacon to the soup, which makes it a little smokey, but I really enjoy the flavor of the kielbasa on it’s own. Either way, it’s a delicious soup that is simple and light – perfect for summer.

Watermelon Gazpacho Soup Recipe

Since gazpacho is becoming fairly popular (I see it in a lot of restaurants now), and I like the traditional version, I thought I would try an alternative. I found a recipe for watermelon gazpacho that called for watermelon, tomatoes, and cucumbers as the base. Along with those ingredients, I added vinegar, scallions, parsley (instead of cilantro), jalapeno, lime juice, and a bit of salt and pepper. I omitted the oil from the recipe, which may have been my mistake, I don’t know. I blended everything in the blender until pureed and refrigerated it for about 2 hours to chill and let the flavors meld. Upon tasting it, I discovered it was possibly the worst thing I have ever tasted. I don’t know if I missed something, if the oil was a big contributor to the taste, or if it’s just a bad recipe, but the soup was horrible. I think I’ll stick to traditional gazpacho or leave it to the professionals from now on.

Spaghetti Squash Cacciatore Soup Recipe

I was trying to use up some leftover vegetables last night, mostly mushrooms and spaghetti squash, and ended up concocting a new recipe. At first, I thought I could make something like cacciatore, with mushrooms, peppers, and onions and spaghetti squash as a replace for the pasta. I sauteed the onions and peppers until they were soft and then added the mushrooms. After adding the spaghetti squash, I thought it needed a little something more so I added some fresh tomatoes that had been cooked. To add some protein, I tossed in some leftover chicken breast. After seasoning it with salt and parsley, I served it in bowls, since it turned out to be a cross between cacciatore and soup. It tasted great though, very fresh, and used up a lot of veggies, which was the point!