Basque Soup...

There are a number of different Basque Resturants in Bakersfield, in which the traditional Basque Soup is always served as the first dish, along with beans, salsa and fresh French Bread. When looking for a recipe on line, I didn't have much luck, so I gave my best stab at it and it turned out REALLY good, pretty authentic (to my experience) of Basque Soup! It's fairly simple, nothing frilly, but it's packed full of veggies and the added beans bring the protein to the dish. This one goes out to my girl Sampley who married into the Basque culture- cook it up for the hubby, he'll think you're an authentic Basque Chica!

After it simmers for an hour it will look like this...

I love Trader Joe's new Tomato Sauce in a carton, I am trying to limit the amount of canned goods I use, and this is a tasty alternative!

The finished product! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 carrots, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

1 small head of green cabbage, chopped

1 potato, chopped

8 cups broth, veggie, chicken or beef or a combination of any

1 16 oz tomato sauce

1 TBSP fresh Parsley, chopped

1 tsp Thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cans pinto beans, drained

salsa, your favorite

** French Bread, optional but very traditional!

Directions:

Saute your onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and then add your chopped cabbage. Stir it around for a few minutes, add your broth, tomato sauce, and ALL seasonings (including the fresh parsley). Stir it all together and bring it to a boil, then reduce and let it simmer for 1 hour. That's it! I add my beans to the soup in the last 15 minutes although traditionally, they would serve them separately in a bowl along with the salsa in a different bowl and you would add them to your individual bowl of soup when it's served on the table.

17 Mixed Beans & Turkey Soup

Here's a little concoction that I came up with, super easy, very hardy, and very little to it! This is a different soup with chunks of ground turkey in it or try it with left over turkey chunks if you're feeling adventurous! The red wine in it gives it a really great flavor, making it taste different than most typical bean soups. **Warning, you need to soak your beans the night before, so this isn't a last minute guy!

Ingredients:

2 TBSP Grape Seed Oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large (or 2 medium) yellow onions, chopped

5 stalks celery, chopped

2-3 carrots, chopped

1 bag of mixed beans (I buy mine at TJ's)

1 package of ground turkey

1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

2 (32 oz) cartons of Vegetable Broth (also from TJ's)

3 handfuls spinach, rinsed

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp marjoram

1/8 cup red wine

Here's the bag of Beans & Barley I used...

Directions:

This recipe does require a little fore-thought, you need to soak your beans over night in a large bowl or pot of water. When you are ready to cook, use a slotted spoon and remove and floating ]extras and drain and rinse your beans. Then, in your biggest pot, add your oil and all your chopped veggies. Let those saute while you brown the ground turkey in a separate pan, adding some salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the turkey while it's cooking. When the turkey is browned and the veggies are sauteed, combine them and add your drained beans and veggie broth. Dump in your tomatoes and add your seasoning and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce and let simmer for 1 hour. Add spinach for the last 5 minutes and serve with french bread or solo- you choose.

Beans soaking over night...

Drain your beans and rinse in a collander...
All the ingredients before the broth...

Black Bean Soup

Okay so this soup actually turned out really great, so different and totally not what I was expecting. I found the recipe on someone's blog (sorry can't remember where!) it didn't have a picture so I didn't know what to expect, but I thought I would give it a whirl! And I am glad I did! It made lots (maybe because I always add more than what's called for) so I froze it and heated it up on a day when I didn't feel like cooking. If you do the same, serve half of it and pour the other half in a freezer bag, lay it flat to freeze, and once it's frozen, you can stand it up right and store lots of frozen entrees like little books in your freezer!

Ingredients

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

2 cans black beans

1 jar salsa

3 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup barley or cous cous

2 cups frozen corn

2 shredded carrots

2 tsp. cumin

4 tsp. fresh lime juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

In a large pot, drizzle your grape seed oil, saute your onion, green pepper, celery and garlic for about 5 minutes, turning every once in a while. While that is cooking, drain 1 can black beans and dump them in the pot and add 1 can of black beans to your blender and puree until smooth and dump that in as well. Next, add your salsa, veggie broth, barley (I used whole wheat cous cous cause that's what I had on hand), carrots, corn, cumin, and lime juice. Stir everything together, bring to a boil, and cover on low to simmer for 30 minutes.

Beef Chili with Baked Potatoes

Here's another recipe for chili, this one is different than the turkey chili that I also make- it's got a totally different thing goin' on here. This has a little more kick to it, it's the kinda chili you pour over a baked potato and enjoy on a cool day. And best of all, I made it in the crock pot, so, it pretty much made itself!

Ingredients

2 lbs. ground beef

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

28 oz. diced tomatoes

1 cup water

1 can pinto beans, drained & rinsed

1 can kidney beans, drained & rinsed

8 oz. can tomato paste

2 TSBP chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Break up your beef into chunks, dump it in along with everything else. Stir it all up. Cook on low heat for 8 hours (if I am home, I stir it a few more times during the day). Serve as a soup with french bread or even better, over a warm Baked Potato!!!

Taco Soup

Here's an easy one- you can serve it as soup or use a slotted spoon and serve it over chips as nachos.

Ingredients:

1- 1.5 lbs. ground turkey/beef

1 can pinto beans

1 can black beans

1 can corn * optional

1 can diced tomatoes

2 cups beef broth (reduce to 1 cup if you are making this for nachos)

taco seasoning- make your own (directions below) or use a packet

Toppings:

sour cream

shredded cheese

olives

avocado

tortilla chips

Homemade Taco Seasoning: make this in a separate jar, it will make more than you need, so you will have leftovers for next time. Use about 3 tsp. and add more if desired after tasting.

6 teaspoons chili powder

5 teaspoons paprika

4 1/2 teaspoons cumin

3 teaspoons onion powder

2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

This is a change to the original recipe- I originally made this recipe in a crock pot, but the second time around, when I tried it in the crock pot again, it turned out with a really unusual texture. So, here's a change to the directions, brown your meat first in a big pot, then add your seasoning to the meat, and then pour in the rest of the ingredients. Let it simmer for 20 minutes in the stove and serve it with all the listed toppings.

Something GREEEN! St.Patrick's Day Soup!

Hey, this isn't the official St. Patrick's Day dish, but it is yummy, delicious and SUPER EASY... and GREEN- what could be better this Tuesday night for St. Patrick's Day dinner???? SPLIT PEA SOUP! I have had many a'bowl of split pea, and this recipe is the best, thanks to my mom, Debbie Doo- and it's so easy, almost nothing to it!

Ingredients:

1 yellow onion

2-3 chopped carrots

3-4 chopped stalks of celery

1 large potato, or 2-3 small ones

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups dried green peas

6 cups chicken broth (or water if you want)

1 hamhock or pork bone

**1 cup diced ham cubes (if there is no meat on your ham bone)

Directions:

Get out a big ol' pot cuz you are going to make yourself some serious soup! Chop your onion, carrots, celery, potato, and press your garlic right into the pot. Wash and drain 2 cups of dried peas and add them. Next, put your hamhock in (ask your butcher for one if you don't see one out) then pour in your chicken broth until all the ingredients are covered with liquid. Bring your soup to a boil, once it boils, reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for one hour. Take the bone out, and if it has meat on it, cut the meat off and add it back into the soup and discard the bone. If you have no meat on your bone, throw it away and add your cubed meat. Wha-la! You are done.. told you it was easy... easy as peas, split peas!

Serve with: warm french bread or a la carte- it's that hardy and that good!

NOTE: I think the best way to make this is when you have a left over ham bone with some meat on it (aka after a big feast or holiday dinner) but if that is not the case, just get a regular pork soup bone at the market, and buy a hunk of ham in the breakfast section of the meats and cut it up into cubes. Then add it towards the end since it's precooked.

REHEATING: If you are serving this as leftovers, it's wonderful, you might just need to add some liquid, be it chicken broth or water, because it tends to thicken as it sits.

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Crock Pot)

The little saying, "Crock pots: Cooks all day while the cooks away" is enough to put a smile on anyone's tired face. How wonderful is it to come home to a yummy meal that YOU did not spend time preparing- instead- you dumped things in a pot, turned it on, and magically, when you came home, it was calling your name.... check out this simple recipe....

Ingredients:

4 large chicken breasts, no skin, no bones

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin

* 2 serrano chilies, minced (optional)

1 49 oz. carton chicken broth

1/4 cup lime juice

Options for toppings:

tortilla chips

shredded cheese

avocado

cilantro

Directions:

Real simple: put the washed chicken breasts in the crock pot with the diced tomatoes (don't drain them, use the juice), onion, garlic, cumin, chilies, and broth. Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours. Remove the chicken, shred it, add it back to the crock pot, add your lime juice- let it sit for a few minutes. Then place your tortilla chips (if desired) in the bottom of your bowls, ladle soup on top, add any other toppings you desire!

Minestrone Soup...

This is right up there in the top favorites of mine!! It has a truck load of yummy vegetables, great flavor, and is perfect for a cold winters day. Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you, this soup is well worth it!  Thanks to Jennifer Stewart for sharing it with me!

Ingredients:

2 TBSP olive oil

3/4 cup onion

1/2 cup leeks

1 cup carrots

1/3 head green cabbage

1 cup celery

2 cloves garlic

2 qts. chicken broth

1 small jar spagetti sauce

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2 cups potatoes (diced)

3/4 cup peas

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can kidney beans

1 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped

1/3 cup small pasta

1 cup parmesan cheese

Directions...

OK, here we go. First you are going to saute over low-med. heat your "purple highlighted ingredients"- your olive oil, onion, leak, carrots, cabbage, celery, and garlic (assuming they have all been washed and chopped!).  Saute those for 5-7 minutes or so. Next add your chicken broth and spaghetti sauce. Bring that to a boil for 10 minutes. Add your salt, pepper, and potatoes next and cook for 10 minutes. Then you will add the "pink highlighted ingredients" from above- your peas, tomatoes, beans, parsley, pasta, and parmesan. Cook that until it's tender on medium heat. *Let your noodles be your guide, when they are ready, your soup is ready! ** One more side note, I used a can of white & a can of red kidney beans to beef it up even more, de-licious!

Serve with: warm french bread, crackers, or nothing at all!

Harvest Potato Soup...

It rained today AND I got a special request from my sweet friend Holly for a yummy soup or stew, here's one that's top on my list...

Ingredients:

1 TBSP butter

1 onion, chopped

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups potatoes, diced (any kind, red, yellow, finger, etc)

4 carrots, thinly sliced

2 cups zucchini, sliced

4 cups spinage, torn

s&p to taste

** optional: shreaded chicken (2 breasts in the crock pot; precooked) 

Directions:

In your big pot, melt your butter and then add both of your onions. Cook those over low heat for 5 minutes, covered. Then add your broth, carrots, and potatoes. Simmer those guys for 15 minutes, covered. Next add your zucchini and simmer for 5 more. Then add your spinach and s&P to taste. Let that simmer thoroughly. If you want to add the chicken (all ready cooked), throw that in right at the end with your spinach and let it soak up the flavors. **If you DO add the shredded chicken, you can cook it easily in the crock pot the morning of. I usually just throw 2 breasts in the crock pot, 1/2 cup water and let it cook on high for 4 hours. Then I shred it and throw it into the soup. I also recommend adding more broth to the soup if you use the chicken because the chicken soaks a lot of it up. Also, for the record, I don't measure all the vegetables out, I just eyeball it and it is yummy every time!

Serve with: warm FRENCH BREAD!! This is a great meal in it's self because it has all those hardy veggies, yummy broth, and the chicken for extra protein if you choose to throw it in. 

Turkey Chili....

This is a fabulous and hardy meal for a cool, fall day. Compliments of my momma... Debs!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 28 oz. can undrained tomatoes (diced or whole)

2 cups tomato juice

1 TBSP mustard

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 16 oz. can kidney beans, drained

* 1 16 oz. can white kidney beans, drained (optional, to make it a little hardier)

Instructions:

*Pull out your big pot for this guy, you can saute and cook all in one pan. *First, chop your onion and bell pepper and throw it in a hot pan with a drizzle of olive oil and your garlic (I use the frozen cubes from Trader Joe's, they are great to keep on hand!) and let saute for a few minutes. Then add in your ground turkey and cook until browned. (Here's a helpful hint, when you first put your turkey in, break it up with a spoon or spatula, and then leave it to brown on one side, don't go turning it over and over, it won't ever get that good brown color that way. Once one side it browned completely, then turn it over for the next side to do it's thing). Next add your tomatoes and tomato juice, seasonings, and mustard. Give it a good mix-a -roo. Bring that to a boil, cover it up, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 1 hour. Last, stir in the beans (drained of course) and let it simmer for 15 more minutes. After that, it is ready to serve and your whole house is full of the delicious smell of homemade chili!

Serve with: I would like to recommend my favorite corn bread that is NOT homemade, heck, you just made the chili homemade, so give yourself a break already! It's from Trader Joe's and it comes in a box, you add an egg, oil, and water, and wha-la! it's done! It does take 35 minutes or so, so don't wait until the last minute! If you are feeling green, you could add a salad or some asparagus to go with it!