Hearty Tomato Basil Soup

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I absolutely LOVE tomato soup! I'm not even talking about gourmet versions or anything, straight up Campbells Tomato Soup!! Well, I've been making soups on the weekend that I can take in to work and have a cup of with my salads. I made this one last weekend and it is SO DELICIOUS!! It's really ridiculous how good this soup is!! Here's the recipe!

Hearty Tomato Basil Soup
10 min. prep, 50 minute cook time                10 Bowls, more cups           About $10

Ingredients:
6 tbls. butter
1 yellow onion, diced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
3-5 cloves garlic, minced (You decide, I used 5!!)
36 oz. tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tbls. fresh basil, chopped
1 tbls. fresh oregano, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups milk or heavy whipping cream (I use milk)

In a large stock pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook until very tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce, chicken broth, basil and oregano. Bring to boil and then turn down.

Here is where it could get complicated. Do you have an immersion blender? If so you'll want to use it here. If you just have a blender that's fine, this just could get messy. You need to blend all the ingredients so that no chunks remain. Everything should be one consistency.

Once everything is blended, add in the can of tomatoes and the milk. Simmer another 10 minutes and serve.

Bloody Mary Meatloaf

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Matt isn't a fan of Meatloaf. Or so he says. Last night this was requested by him, so I'm thinking I may have converted him!! I personally love it! This is a good recipe for sure. Tasty and comforting.

Bloody Mary Meat Loaf
10 minutes prep, 1 hour cook time              Serves 6                            Under $10

Ingredients
Meatloaf:
1+ lbs. of ground beef 93% fat free (or turkey if you prefer)
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs (I use the Italian kind)
2 tbls. ketchup
1 tbls. worcestershire sauce
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1-2 tsp. prepared horseradish
salt and pepper

Sauce to top:
4 tbls. ketchup
1 tbls. lemon juice
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. horseradish
1 tsp. tabasco sauce
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the Meatloaf:
Combine all of the ingredients for the meatloaf. Make sure that it is well mixed. Put in loaf pan and form loaf.

Combine all of the ingredients for the sauce. Should be a loose consistency but not too loose. If too thick add a tad more lemon juice, if too loose add more ketchup. Pour over the top of the meatloaf and spread out evenly.

Place in oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

California Collard Greens

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I am always looking for different things to cook. My husband loves my Fried Chicken and I was looking for something Southern to go with it that wasn't 5,000 calories per bite. I decided I would try to make Collard Greens. I know this recipe will be scoffed at by anyone from the South because they aren't cooked all day and it's not a real Southern Recipe. But what can I say, I'm a Cali Girl born and raised so I do what I can to expand my horizons. Everyone that has eaten these has loved them, even Matt, and I have heard horror stories about real collard greens and how they smell horrid when cooking. This recipe starts with bacon and onions and the whole house smells delicious not gross so I figure I'm on to something here!!

California Collard Greens
1 Hour or more                         8 Servings

6 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken stock
4 bundles collard greens (that's how they come at my grocery store)
Salt and pepper to season

First off, you need to wash your collard greens very well. They will have some soil left over. Once they are cleaned to your satisfaction, your going to layer them on top of each other on your cutting board. Try to roll them length wise the best you can and cut into one inch pieces. You're going to want to cut off the ends like you would a head of romaine lettuce. You don't want the stems.

Take the chunks of bacon and cook them in a larger pot that has a lid.

 When the bacon is just done, remove excess oil. You are only going to want a nice tablespoons worth, then add in the onion, cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.

Add collard greens and saute them until they start to wilt. I try to fold them over each other. Don't worry if you think you have too many greens, once some wilt and shrink you can add more and keep tossing them until they all fit and you can get the lid on.

 After all the collard greens fit into the pot and have wilted, add in the chicken stock. You can add red chili flakes to give it a kick if you want. Reduce heat to low and cover. You are going to want to cook this for at least an hour. I leave it on low until the rest of my meal is ready. The only real way to mess this recipe up is buying under ripe/over ripe greens and not cooking them long enough. This is a sturdy leafy green. It will not, I repeat, not become "mushy". In the South these are cooked all damn day!! You can't overcook them!!

When serving them make sure you drain the liquid out. Otherwise it's just collard green soup!!

NOLA Style BBQ Shrimp

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Matt and I went to New Orleans with a group of friends a few years back and went to a restaurant that was my mothers favorite, Pascal Manale's. They are famous for their Oyster Bar and BBQ Shrimp. Now BBQ Shrimp actually has nothing to do with actual BBQ but that's what it has been called for eternity there. This is a great recipe that I found in my Williams-Sonoma New Orleans Edition. I made this last week and it was SO GOOD!!! Finger licking good because it is really messy to eat! I recommend that you make a nice salad, grab a warm loaf of bread and get to peeling. Yes, it is a peel and eat recipe. I couldn't get the heads on shrimp when I went to the store but it still turned out amazing!

NOLA Style BBQ Shrimp

45 minutes                          Serves about 4

2 lbs. extra large shrimp (prawns), heads on if you can get them

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 cup of olive oil

1 yellow onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, finely diced

2 tbls. dried rosemary

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 cup fresh italian parsley, chopped

Cheyenne pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a medium skillet melt the butter and add the olive oil. When melted add in the onion and cook for about 8 minutes. Add garlic, rosemary and oregano. Saute about 2 more minutes. 

While sauteing the above, rinse the shrimp and layer them in a 4 quart dish. When the mixture above is done remove from heat and stir in the parsley and cheyenne pepper, as much cheyenne as you want, I used about 2 tsp. cause I like it a bit spicier.  

Pour the mixture over the shrimp and put them in the oven. With tongs toss the shrimp every 10 minutes for a half hour to get them well coated. Divide the shrimp into the bowls and then divide the sauce as well. Grab a lot of napkins and enjoy!!

Minestrone Soup for the Soul

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I love, love, love soup!! I could eat it every single day, even in the summer time. Minestrone is one of my all time favorites and this recipe is really excellent!! With all of the fresh herbs and vegetables it just makes me all warm and happy inside!!

Minestrone Soup for the Soul

About an hour                         Serves about 8 bowls

Ingredients

3 tbls. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onions, chopped

2 cups chopped celery 

3 carrots, sliced

3 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

4 cups tomato sauce

1 can kidney beans, drained

1 bag fresh green beans

1 bag baby spinach, rinsed

2 zucchinis, halved and sliced

1 tbls. chopped fresh oregano

2 tbls. chopped fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 box Ditalini pasta

2 tbls. grated Parmesan cheese for topping 

1 tbls. olive oil

In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots, saute for 1 to 2 minutes. 

Add chicken stock, water and tomato sauce, bring to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans,  spinach leaves, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, the longer the better. 

Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender. Drain water, drizzle with Olive Oil and set aside. Stir the pasta every 10-15 minutes so the pasta doesn't stick together. 

Once the pasta is cooked and the soup is heated through, place a few spoon fulls of pasta into individual serving bowls. Ladle the soup on top of the pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and serve. 

Once the pasta and the soup have cooled you can add the pasta to the soup and refrigerate immediately  This should stop the pasta from soaking up too much of the liquid when added to the soup. 

Guest Blog - Chianti Chicken by Brian Sparks

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Guest Blog by Brian Sparks aka "Sparky"
Brian has been a dear family friend for longer than I wish to say! (Don't want to age myself too much!) I hope you enjoy this recipe that he was so gracious to share. Sounds like a winner to me and I can't wait to cook it up! Enjoy! And make sure you do as he says and "finish that bottle"!!!

Chianti Chicken – A great dish to make as an excuse to drink.
When Erin sent out the call for recipes to include on her blog, I immediately asked my wife, "What's the best dis you think I make?" I wasn't surprised when her answer was indeed what I was already thinking..."Chicken Chianti!"

Now, I love making this dish, because not only is it easy to make, it’s a great excuse to drink a bottle of Chianti while you make the dish….and then open up another bottle of whatever you want to drink during dinner. Any dish that requires wine as one of its ingredients is a dish that’s begging to be made.

Ingredients:
Olive oil
2 garlic cloves (crushed or chopped)
A few sprigs of thyme (chopped)
2 large or 4 medium size chicken breast halves (use bone-in for best flavor)
1 medium/large red onion (depends on how much onion you like)
3 tablespoons of tomato pesto (if you can’t find this, just get regular pesto and combine together(1 to 1) with some sun dried tomato paste
1 ¼ cups of Chianti (leave the remaining chianti for you to drink)
1 ¼ cups of water
1 bunch of seedless red grapes (with ¾ of them cut in half)
Salt and ground pepper to taste
Arugula leaves (if desired)

Directions:        

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil into a large pan and add the chicken breast, garlic, and thyme.

 Sauté over over medium heat for 5 minutes until each side is golden brown.

Remove the chicken and place on a separate plate for now. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil into the same pan. Cut the onion in half and create thin wedges. Add the onion wedges and pesto into the pan.

Cook gently and stir constantly for about 3 minutes until onion is soft but not browned.

 

Add the Chianti and water to the pan and bring to a boil.

Place the chicken back into the pan, reduce the heat, add salt and pepper to taste, and cover the pan. Simmer for about 20 minutes while stirring occasionally until chicken is tender and cooked through.

Add the grapes to the pan and cook over low heat until heated through. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve hot. If you wish to balance the “sweetness” of the dish, you can always garnish with some arugula leaves to add some bitterness.

That’s It! Enjoy…and make sure you finish that bottle.

Lemon Bars

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This is a favorite!! I have a side job and the owner loves lemon anything so I decided to make these for him last Christmas. He loved them!! I have two lemon trees. When they get too full I make lemon bars. It is not required but fresh lemon juice is always the best to use. And if you have home grown lemons, even better!!

Lemon Bars
Crust:
2 Stick butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar, (I use bakers sugar when baking, it is finer and dissolves quicker)
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream the butter and sugar together. Combine the flour and salt and add slowly to the butter/sugar mixture until well combined. Dough should be crumbly. Pour the loose crust dough into a 9x13 baking pan. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into the pan, building up a 1/2 inch(I tend to make it as high as 3/4 inch, otherwise the filling will get inbetween the pan and the crust and burn) edge on all sides. Bake crust for 15 - 20 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool on wire rack. Leave the oven on.

Filling:
6 extra large eggs at room temperature, yes, they must be extra large eggs!
3 cups sugar
2 tbls. grated lemon zest
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 6-8 lemons)
1 cup flour

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and slowly add the flour or it will clump. Pour over the crust and bake 30 - 35 minutes until the filling is set. Let cool, this is the hardest part. I put it in the fridge for two hours and it was still warm. It will make it a mess to cut, so just be patient. Cut into desired size and dust with powdered sugar. I like to cut them to fit into cupcake wrappers.