Chicken Broth Success

Don't freeze your broth in Mason Jars. They break. I know. I tried.

I am so happy with the success of the Chef John's Roasted Chicken Broth. Easy. Though, with my three days on the task you might not know it. But, believe me, that's just life with a high school schedule.

It is so very delicious. Rich, full of body and ready for carrots and onions, celery and the chicken breast remaining. Here's his recipe. We're having soup for lunch and saving the rest for later (in the freezer, of course).

When you make it (and you should), just give yourself the space on a Saturday. The flavor is much different than a standard homemade stock, which I love, but the richness and depth of flavor makes it just perfect as a simple soup base. And, it's not labor intensive, it just needs the stretch of 3 hours to cook.

I'm planning to add red pepper, tomato and sausage soup to one of these, too.

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

Chicken Broth

I just love what Chef John from Food Wishes did with Chicken Broth. And, with our impending cold snap in mind, its time to make some broth. (The 5 Day Forecast has us between 57 & 67 degrees.)

So I'm off to the market to buy a 3 1/2 pound chicken while you watch this.

There's a secret ingredient in his video, so I'm trying it now!

Enjoy.

Gluten Free Beef and Vegetable Soup

A few months ago, Truman (my son) was having stomach problems-- waking up in the middle of the night crying for hours about how his stomach hurt. As a mother, I felt so helpless. We tried a lot of things. Taking dairy out of his diet, going gluten free and so on. In a couple months, the episode was over and we still don't know what the problem was.

But I do still have a few gluten free foods leftover in the cupboard-- for instance, Qunioa Elbow Pasta. This pasta is amazing, because it tastes just like pasta should. It's perfect for soups, tomato based dishes and mac-n-cheese.

Gluten Free Beef and Vegetable Soup
1/2 lb. Lean Ground Beef
1/2 Medium Onion chopped fine
1 Can of Diced tomatoes-blended until smooth
6-8 Cups of gluten-free Chicken Stock (or make your own)
1 Cup frozen peas and carrots
1 clove chopped garlic
1 cup chopped broccoli
2 small potatoes chopped
1 box Quinoa elbow pasta


In your stock pot use 2 tablespoons of olive oil and saute ground beef and onion until no pink is visible. Add garlic and blended tomato then chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Salt to taste. Add vegetables. Bring back up to boil. Add Quinoa pasta cook about 6 minutes.

Salt and pepper to taste.

 This soup is quick to make. Warm and filling... serve it with some GF crackers. No one will ever know it was all made without flour! 

Organic Vegetarian Roasted Butternut Squash Soup.

I love making soups and stews, particularly in the winter. It must be the Irish in me. I have found though that my family will enjoy a delicious bowl of soup anytime of the year. Whatever vegetable is in season I will take advantage and make soup and freeze it. Of course living in Southern California, other than heirloom tomatoes which come and go, most other veggies are available all year round. Butternut squash is one of those and happens to be a family favorite of ours. Whether we just roast it, puree it or make into a soup, we all seem to love this particular fruit/squash/veggie.

I found this recipe in a Williams-Sonoma Soup for Supper cookbook years ago and I have enjoyed exploring and changing this recipe over the years and each time it seems to be better than the last. I like to make this soup on a Sunday, serve it with dinner on Sunday evening and then freeze the rest for later in the week or another time.

Prep Time: 30 minutes, plus 1 hour for baking squashes.

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Organic Ingredients:

2 medium to large butternut squashes (1/12-2 lb) each

2 celery stalks

2 carrots

2 yellow onions

8 fresh sage leaves, shredded

2 - 3 oz of hazelnuts

3 tablespoons of butter (sometimes I substitute olive oil)

Organic low sodium vegetable stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Roasting the squash makes it easier to peel and deepens the flavor of its flesh, making a richer, more flavorful soup. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Wash each of the squashes skin thoroughly before cooking. Using a sharp knife cut each squash lengthwise in half, scoop out the seeds (seeds can be saved and roasted later and enjoyed as a healthy snack). Place the squash cut side down in a glass pyrex or similar dish, add approx 2 cups of water to the dish so that it's just coming up the side of the squash but not covering it. The thing I love about this recipe is I can cook the squash the day before or hours in advance of actually making the soup, just pop it in the oven while you are busy around the house, it's actually better because then it's cool enough to handle. Cook the squashes for about an hour or until tender or soft. Remove from the oven, save the water in a bowl or pot and set aside (this will be used as stock in your soup). Once it's cooled down scoop the pulp into a bowl and set aside.

While the squashes are cooling, in a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, celery and carrots, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and translucent, 8-10 mins. Add the sage leaves (I always have organic sage growing in my herb pot). Add the squash pulp to the pot, as well as the water/stock you set aside from roasting, then add enough vegetable stock to cover the ingredients in the pot. Bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally to avoid burning the veggies and reduce heat to a nice simmer, continuing to stir occasionally, I like to cook it slow (although the recipe says 20 mins of cooking time) I tend to let it simmer longer and slower I think this adds to the flavor of the soup. While the soup is cooking I put the hazelnuts in a food processor and grind them well till there are no hard pieces of nuts, so just before a powder consistency. Once the soup is cooked, working in batches, puree the soup in a blender and with each batch being pureed add some of the hazelnut so that it all gets blended together. The blended soup has a rich and creamy consistency. Return to a clean saucepan over low heat and serve in warmed bowls.

We usually have a delicious salad and some warmed bread. I don't add salt or pepper in the cooking process of this soup and in fact I don't add seasoning at all to mine when I eat it, I personally don't think it needs it, let me know what you think.

If I'm going to freeze some of the soup which I usually do I will fill 16 oz paper containers like the one in the picture which I have found at either Surfas in Culver City (they don't always carry them though) or at Smart and Final stores, don't forget to buy the lids to fit. I write the name of soup, making a note that it has nuts (in case I am serving someone who is allergic to nuts) and the date on the lid and put it in the freezer for a future lunch or dinner. When you take it out of the freezer, with a sharp knife cut a line down the side of the container at the seam and you will be amazed at how easy it is to peel the paper right off the frozen soup and pop the soup in a pot over low heat so it doesn't burn, it takes about 10 mins. to warm the frozen soup and voila.

Recycle the paper container and lid.

Happy family food, happy family and friends - Lasagna Soup

There is nothing better than walking in the door from a busy day to find the aroma of a delicious home cooked meal lingering in the air. This meal is one of those miracle meals that is savory enough for the adult palate, yet pleasingly simple to tantalize the mouths of babes.

The added plus to this meal which ties in nicely with Kerry's meal planning post from yesterday, is to double it for a planned meal at a later date. When preparing the recipe, make a double batch, freeze one to put in on your two week planner for 2 to 4 weeks from now. Keep accumulating meals this way and you end up with little fuss and lots of peace of mind for meals to come all year long.

Tonight I will serve one batch to my daughter's Girl scout troop and then in two weeks to my family at home.

The Recipe;

Lasagna Soup ( though it's thick like stew)

compliments of Family Fun Magazine's Meredith Deeds recipe 2/09

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage (bulk or casing removed)

2 onions, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes

6 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves

8 oz fusilli pasta (uncooked)

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil

8 oz ricotta cheese

1/2 grated Parmesan

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pinch of pepper

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil, add sausage and saute, breaking it up into small pieces. until sausage is no longer pink.

2. Add onions and saute until softened.

3. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and saute.

4. Add tomato paste and saute until rusty brown.

5. Add tomatoes with their juice, the broth, the bay leaves and bring to a boil.

6. Reduce and heat for 3o minutes.

7. Add the uncooked pasta, then increase heat to medium and boil until pasta is tender to the bite.

8. Discard bay leaves, stir in basil, season with salt and pepper to taste.

9. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan, the 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pinch of pepper.

10. To serve, place 1 1/2 tablespoons of ricotta mixture in each bowl, sprinkle with mozzarella and ladle the soup over the top. Makes about 13 cups.

Enjoy!