Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder

1 1/2 c boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 c chopped onion
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T butter
2 chicken boullion cubes
1 c hot water
1 t taco seasoning
2 c half and half
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese
1 (16oz) can corn
1 (4oz) can diced green chilis
1 medium tomato, chopped
cilantro
tortilla chips

Cut up chicken into bite-size pieces. In a large skillet, brown chicken, onion, and garlic in butter. Dissolve boullion cubes in hot water. Add to pan, along with taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add cream, cheese, corn and chilis. Cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted and heated through. Remove from stove. Garnish with tomatoes and cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!

*I've made the chicken several different ways: the way it says, leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken from Costco, and canned chicken and it's ALL delicious. Make sure you don't cook the soup on too high of heat otherwise the cream will curdle a little bit. Keep the heat low and remove it immediately after cheese has been melted and incorporated.

*From the Grandma Angie Lyman Family Cookbook

Spiced Lentil Soup

The weather here lately has been pretty naff.  This soup was just the tonic for adding a bit of heat, the ginger and cumin worked well with the chilli flakes.  The end result was a thick, stick to your ribs kind of soup, just the way I like my soup!  The only downfall was that the recipe isn't quite as healthy as I had first hoped, who knew red lentils have so many WW points in them!

I will also agree that it isn't the prettiest looking bowl of soup either.  But they say not to judge a book by its cover and so I believe we should not judge a soup by its colour!

Spiced Lentil Soup

Oil, for frying

A small piece ginger, peeled and grated

1 tsp cumin

A pinch chilli flakes

1 onion, finely chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and grated

150g red lentils
1 litre veg stock
1 lime, juiced to taste
A small bunch coriander, leaves only

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan and fry the ginger and spices for a couple of mins. Add the vegetables and cook for 5 mins more then add the lentils and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 mins, stirring occasionally until the lentils are tender. Blend until smooth or leave chunky. Stir through a squeeze of lime juice and serve sprinkled with some coriander.

Serves 4

Olive, Aug 10

Taco Soup

This is the most perfect meal when you have nothing in the cupboards and no time:) The best part is that you don't sacrifice flavor here. It's the perfect medley of flavors and the ultimate comfort food. I like to serve it with a great recipe of cornbread and a bowl full of tortilla chips. In fact...have you had the Roasted Garlic and Black Bean Tortilla Chips from Tostitos? Buy them, eat them and realize all is well in the world. They're delicious. I like to eat this soup with those chips. Perfection. Enjoy!

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey (I won't lie...I've converted to ground turkey and I'm not turning back! In my opinion though, the only good ground turkey is Foster Farms. It's the moistest, most flavorful and almost melts in your mouth. If you're not a ground turkey fan, ground beef can definitely be substituted here.)
1/2 onion, diced small
1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1 (11 oz) can Mexicorn
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
1 taco packet
1 (1 oz) Ranch dressing packet
2 cups water
Shredded cheese and sour cream to serve

In a large skillet, brown ground turkey with onion. Add half of the taco seasoning packet to the meat. In the meantime, add the diced tomatoes, Mexicorn, black beans, diced green chilies, and kidney beans to a large pot NOT DRAINED. This adds a great flavor when all juices are added together. Add browned meat, the remaining taco seasoning, ranch packet and water. Stir to combine. At this point you're ready to eat if you like. Personally, I like the soup to simmer for a good 20-30 minutes so that it thickens and the flavors meld. Either way you won't be disappointed. Top with cheese and sour cream. Enjoy!

Chicken and Dumplings

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
water
chicken boullion
2¼ c. Bisquick
2/3 c. milk (approximately)
Salt & pepper to taste
1 cup milk
2 T flour

In a large pot, add enough water to boil chicken breasts (about 8-10 cups.) Add enough chicken boullion for the amount of water (usually 1 teaspoon or 1 cube per cup of water.) Boil chicken for about 30-45 minutes or until completely cooked. Remove chicken from pot and shred. Next, mix the Bisquick and milk until a manageable ball of dough is achieved. Roll the dough out until VERY thin then cut into ¾ inch wide strips. Gradually drop full strips of dough into boiling water that chicken was cooked in (now basically chicken broth.) Fold in shredded chicken. Add salt & pepper to taste. To thicken the sauce, mix 1 cup milk with 2 T flour and whisk into pot. Allow to simmer to thicken.

* Don't worry about cutting the dough into small pieces, just drop the full length strips into the boiling water and then stir. They will just divide up themselves. You can also use straight up chicken broth instead of boullion and water if you want...just whatever you have. This is SO easy and SOOOO cheap!!

*From Jami's Recipies

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

To me this is the ultimate comfort food! Oh so good! This just hits the spot and isn't too involved to make. Definite keeper!

1/2 pound bacon
3 T flour
1/2 onion, finely diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
6 whole large baked potatoes
2 cups milk
3 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instant potato flakes, if needed for consistency
salt and pepper to taste
green onions
sour cream
extra shredded cheese

If you have baked potatoes already done, you're ahead of the game! If not, wash and pierce with a fork and place in the microwave in 5 minute increments until they all are fork-tender. This took about 12-15 minutes for me...with 6 large potatoes. Remove from microwave and allow to cool till they are cool enough to handle.

Fry up bacon in a large, oversized skillet. Remove to a papertowel lined plate to drain.

Drain all but 2 T of the bacon grease. Over medium heat saute onions and garlic until translucent. While those are sweating, remove the skins from the potatoes and cut into quarters (the skins should be pretty much falling off of the potatoes if they are done.) Use a potato masher to break up the potato pulp. It shouldn't be mashed smooth, but broken up pretty good with some good size chunks still.

Sprinkle flour over onions and cook about a minute. Whisk in milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently until thickened or until it coats the back of a spoon.

Whisk in chicken stock and spoon in potato pulp. With pot over medium heat, heat soup through without bringing to a rolling boil. Check consistency. If you desire a thicker soup, add instant potato flakes until desired consistency is reached. I added about 2 T.

Stir in shredded cheese and bacon.

Top with more shredded cheese, bacon, green onions and sour cream. Now just sit back with a nice fluffy blanket and indulge!!

*Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Minestrone Soup

3 T butter
4 minced garlic cloves
½ c sliced onion
½ c diced celery
½ c diced green bell pepper
½ c diced carrots
½ diced zucchini
1 can drained and washed kidney beans

Heat butter in large pan. Add above ingredients and sauté about 10 minutes.
Add 1 can Italian style diced tomatoes and sauté another 5 min.

3 c chicken broth
3 c beef broth
2 c cooked, diced chicken

2 t Worcestershire
2 t Italian seasoning
1 t salt
2 c cooked pasta
1 c cooked barley

Add all ingredients together (except pasta and barley) and simmer in low heat for several hours until vegetables are tender. Right before serving, add pasta and barley. Top with fresh parmesan cheese and/or asiago cheese.

Things to do with Butternut Squash

I'm still alive! So much has been happening in our world lately though, most recently Hubby's Mum has been taken into hospital so we have a little visitor staying with us for the next couple of weeks.

This is Mack. Don't be fooled by his cute little face - he can be a proper wee beastie when he puts his mind to it! Thankfully he has been on his best behaviour since he came to visit. My favourite Mack story was when Hubby and I took him for a walk not long after he had been bathed by Hubby's Dad. Mack caught sight of a bog that he had been warned away from several times before but the devil got the better of him this occasion and he paused at the edge just long enough to give us a mischievous glance over his shoulder before diving in, splayed leg and happy as a pig in mud (or a dog in a bog in this case)! We love him really ;0)

Its been a while since I've posted anything not sugar or chocolate related so tonight I thought I'd bring the world up to speed with my latest addiction ... Butternut Squash. Can't believe its taken me until now to truly appreciate this vegetable. And the best news of all is that its one of those items I can eat as much of as I like on WW cause it has no points in it - course the butter its drowned in is another story!

I'm thanking Saint Nigel (Slater) for introducing this wondrous veg into my life. I was watching one of his recent shows when I saw him making the Stuffed Squash below and thought I would give it a try myself. Yum!

Nigel's Stuffed Squash

For the Squash

2 butternut squash

A few thick slices of butter (If I'm being particularly virtuous I just roast it without the butter)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Stuffing

2 slices butter (Angelic me would use frylite in place of butter)

2-3 large onions, peeled and sliced

Finger length piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated (or cut into matchsticks if you prefer)

2-3 pinches ground cinnamon

2-3 pinches cumin seeds

Pinch or so paprika

Handful sultanas

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Cut the squash in half, spoon out the seeds and discard. using a sharp knife, score the flesh of the squash in a criss cross pattern, so that the heat can get to the interior. Place the squash halves, cut side facing upwards into an ovenproof dish, dot with the butter and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast in the oven for one hour.

In the meantime, make the stuffing. Heat the butter in a large shallow pan until foaming, add the onions. Cover and cook gently until softened, about 15 mins. Add the ginger, cinnamon, cumin seeds, paprika and sultanas and continue to cook until the onions are starting to caramelise.

Place equal amounts of the stuffing mixture on top of the roasted squash, then return tot he oven for 10-15 mins to allow the juices to trickle through the squash. Serve immediately with some of the pan juices spooned over.

Serves 4

BBC Food Website

I've not ventured off the beaten track with the recipe yet but I'm thinking its quite versatile and that the herbs and spices can be interchanged with what is to hand. Adding Pine Nuts to the mix also works well.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Piri Piri Style

1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into smallish cubes

2 onions, cut into quarters

2 pints veg or chicken stock (made from a cube is fine)

1 tsp piri piri spice (think I may need to reduce this just a touch!)

Preheat oven to 200C.

Place the butternut squash and onions in a roasting tin along with some seasoning and cook for 1 hour or until the squash is soft. Don't worry about any parts that start to go brown, this adds to the flavour of the finished soup.

When soft add the veg to a large saucepan, add the stock and piri piri spice. Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 mins. Puree into a smooth soup.

Serves 4

Adapted from a WW recipe

I added a dollop of low fat fromage frais to my soup to help cut through the spiciness of the piri piri mix. Hubby is a true heat freak though and preferred his without. This is a great soup for a cold and bleak winter's night.

Kumara and Coriander Soup

Firstly, I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who sent me lovely comments following my last post.  Its strange to think that people I have never met before were able to put a smile back on my face ... and you are all so right, bigger and better things are planned for my future.  I just wish the future would hurry up and get here lol.

So, by way of a thank you, I thought I'd share with you one of my favourite comfort foods.  Kumara (or sweet potato depending on the neck of the woods you went to school in!) and Coriander Soup is like a hug in a bowl, soothing, comforting and such a cherry colour too.  Its a cinch to whip up too, making it great for week night meals, especially when its all dark and cold outside.

Kumara and Sweet Potato Soup
1 tsp peanut oil (I use fry lite)
2 large onions (or you could use 700g leeks), chopped coarsely
3 cloves garlic, quartered
2 medium kumara (800g), chopped coarsely
4 cups chicken or veg stock
160ml light evaporated milk
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh coriander

Heat oil in a large saucepan; cook onion (or leek) and garlic, stirring, until onion softens.  Add kumara and stock; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, covered, for about 15 mins or until kumara softens.

Blend soup in batches until smooth, return soup to same cleaned pan.  Simmer, uncovered, until soup thickens slightly.  Stir in evaporated milk and coriander, stir over heat without boiling, until heated through.  Top with fresh coriander leaves if desired.

Serves 4
I can't remember where i got this recipe from originally, its been with me for quite some time now, but it is defo an Aussie recipe which is something to keep in mind with the measurements.

Enjoy ;0)

Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup

This blog little blog of mine started life due to my baking adventures, a place to inspire me, encourage me and show me how much I have developed. It also started life as a single place for me to keep all my recipes to hand, no more scraps of paper or magazine clippings or the copious amount of notebooks that are scattered throughout our home and drive my Husband bonkers. I enjoy the baking part more than I enjoy the 'gown-up' or 'have to eat to survive' type of cooking. I like my food, no secret there, so I try new recipes for dinner time each week but if I could survive on cake and ice cream and brownies alone then I would eat them morning, noon and night ... and I'd be a size 8 model with it!

To cut to the chase, I've been hording my 'dinner time' recipes (those would be the boring grown up, eating to survive type recipes I mentioned before!) in favour of posting the fun stuff and now I have a backlog! I guess I'm asking for your perseverance over the next few posts ;0)

Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup

1 egg white

1 tsp sesame oil

1.2 litres (2 pints) chicken stock

275g canned or frozen sweetcorn

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp fresh root ginger, grated

1 tsp cornflour, mixed with 2 tsp water

225g cooked chicken, shredded

4 spring onions, chopped - optional

Freshly ground black pepper

Beat the egg white and sesame oil together and leave to one side.

Add the stock, soy sauce and ginger in a medium sized saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the sweetcorn and simmer for 5 mins. Add the cornflour paste.

Lower to a simmer and add the chicken.

Slowly pour the egg white and sesame oil mixture, stirring constantly.

Sprinkle the spring onions over the top if using.

Serves 4

Adapted from WW Deeply Delicious

Hubby and I enjoy this soup quite often. Its one of our favourites as it doesn't take long to whip up and the ingredients are generally always to hand.

Bread Bowls with Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Wow is it early in the morning! Hubby has an early start at work so I thought I would take the opportunity to get my blog reading up to date and post this months Fresh From The Oven challenge. I logged into my laptop to find that my reader has wiped all the posts I had saved for reading ;0( Not happy! I'm sorry if you haven't heard from me in a while, but promise that normal service will resume shortly (I hope!)

Anyhoo, back to the Fresh from the Oven challenge which was Bread Bowls. I'll be honest, this month I felt like I was back in grade 8 and avoiding my science homework all over again ... who am I kidding? I avoided all my homework! The thought of making bread bowls just seemed way harder than I had the time for so I left it right to the death knock to get these made. And, just like my homework, I discovered that making them is actually no hassle at all. I need to work a little bit on the presentation (again, flashbacks to homework!) but I was chuffed to bits with them. Would I make them again? Maybe. For a special dinner or something like that but I won't be making them every week.

This dough is different again from the kind of bread dough I am used to working with and I found that I needed quite a bit more flour when I was at kneading stage. I think I've said before that I can't quite decide if using my kitchenaid for the kneading stage is cheating or not and I always have limited success when I have tried it this way so I plumped for kneading by hand for 12 mins - very therapeutic ;0)

Edible Bread Bowls

500g strong bread flour

20g coarse semolina (I used polenta)

15g fresh yeast or 1 sachet dried

10g salt

50g good quality fruity olive oil

320g water

Chilli or spice, optional for added flavour

Preheat the oven to 250C. Mix together the flour and semolina and rub in the yeast as if you were making a crumble. If using a mixer, switch it on to the slowest speed, add salt, olive oil and water and mix for 2 mins, then turn the speed up to the next lowest speed and mix for 6 to 7 mins until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

If you are kneading by hand, knead for approx 10 to 12 mins or until you have a nice smooth elastic ball of dough.

Place the dough into a bowl that has been floured, cover with a tea towel and leave in a draught free place for approx 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Lightly oil or spray with non stick spray the outside of 6 ovenproof bowls. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into 6-8 pieces depending on the size of your baking bowls. Taking one piece of dough at a time and using a rolling pin, roll each piece into a circle (similar to making pizza). Shake off the excess flour and shape each piece over an upturned bowl, patting into shape and pressing gently to remove air bubbles from between the dough and the bowl. Rest the dough for 10 mins.

Place upturned bowls, 2 at a time, on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, then into the preheated oven. Turn the oven down to 200C and bake for 20-25 mins. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few mins. Using a fine bladed knife, gently loosen the bread from the bowls and ease off. Cool on a wire rack.

Serve the bowls on a plate as they do become soggy after a while and the soup may leak through.

Makes 6-8

I was a bit worried about the glass bowls bowls in the oven so I went out and bought some Pyrex bowls (any excuse lol) and they worked fine, they are on the large size for soup bowls though but that works out fine for us because we love our soup! We filled our bowls with our favourite soup for this time of year, Cauliflower Cheese Soup.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Knob of butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 large cauliflower (about 900g), leaves trimmed and cut into florets

1 potato, peeled and cut into chunks

700ml veg stock (from a cube is fine)

400ml milk

100g mature cheddar, diced

Heat the butter in a large saucepan. Tip in the onion and cook until softened, about 5 mins, stirring often.

Add the cauliflower, potato, stock milk and seasoning. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and leave to simmer for about 30 mins until the cauliflower is soft and the potato almost collapsing.

Whiz in a food processor or crush with a potato masher until you get a creamy, thick soup. Top up with more milk to thin a little if serving in mugs. When ready to serve, warm through, ladle into mugs or bowls, top with the cheese pieces, then stir through before eating.

Serves 6

Good Food Magazine - Nov ????

I found this recipe in my vegetarian phase and I know that it was a James Martin recipe taken from one of my November issues of Good Food but I can't remember what year it was. He made it as part of a bonfire night supper - hence the reference to the mugs in the recipe. We usually put the cheese in the bottom of the bowl, then its like hitting little nuggets of melting, oozy gold while your eating the soup .... oh its making my stomach grumble just writing about it! It doesn't look very pretty but it honestly is one of the best soups ever!

Check out everyone elses creations over at Fresh From The Oven.

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

This soup is a no fuss, full on flavour meal that hits the spot on a cold and grey day!

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

600g pumpkin flesh, roughly chopped

2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped

1 tsp each ground cumin and coriander

800ml veg stock

200ml coconut milk (I used lite coconut milk)

1 tbsp pumpkin seeds (optional)

Put the pumpkin flesh into a food processor and whiz for 30 secs until almost smooth.  Add the celery, garlic and spices and whiz again for 30 secs.  Empty in to a large pan.

Pour over stock and coconut milk, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 15 mins.

Remove from the heat and blend until smooth - do this in batches, if necessary.  Check the seasoning and ladle into warmed soup bowls.  Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and freshly ground black pepper.  Serve with crusty bread.

Serves 4

Good Housekeeping Mag, Oct 10 (just to set the record straight, I didn't buy this magazine, it was in the hotel room we had when we went to a friend's wedding in Aberdeen recently.  I got a couple of good recipes from it though!)

I served the soup with a healthy dollop of half fat creme fraiche instead of the pumpkin seeds ... Hubby seems to think the later is more akin to commune living than his diet can take!  I really enjoyed it and would eat it again and again, Hubby on the other hand felt it was a bit watery but I'm wondering if that is because I used Butternut Squash rather than a full on pumpkin?

Dead Good Chicken Noodle Soup

Wow - so long since my last post!!! There has been lots going on which I would love to blame my absence on but in reality I've had my nose stuck in books all week. I resisted 'The Twilight Saga' for as long as I possibly good but last night after I finished New Moon I promised to tear myself away from Bella, Jake and Edward for long enough to write up a post and catch up on the unread posts sitting in my reader.

As you can imagine the book reading has 'slightly' restricted my time in the kitchen! That being the case one still has to put a meal on the table each night and this Chicken Noodle Soup is one of our all time favourites, it also has the added bonus of being quite healthy too ;0)

Chicken Noddle Soup

Heat 1.75 litres (3 pints) chicken stock in a pan with 1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed, 1 1/2 tsp ginger, grated and 2 tbsp soy sauce. When simmering, add 3 chicken breasts, halved lengthwise and cook for 10 mins, adding 100g sugar snaps, halved, for the final minute. Remove the chicken and vegetables and set aside. Soak a pack of thin rice noddles in the stock for 5 mins. Transfer to bowls using tongs. Slice the chicken and add to the bowls with the sugar snaps, 8 spring onions, sliced and 25g fresh coriander, torn, and some sliced red chilli. Pour over the stock, season and serve with lime wedges.

Serves 4

I think I got this from a Sainsbury's Magazine many moons ago

This is the best Chicken Noodle Soup ever - in my opinion! And its quicker to make than waiting for the delivery from the Chinese Take Away. The original recipe suggests adding 125g beansprouts too but for some reason I always leave them out.

Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup

We had this soup for dinner a few weeks ago - I completely forgot to post it! [Hanging head in shame]

Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup
1 large onion, roughly chopped
Olive oil
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1 litre veg stock
1 head broccoli, about 300g, roughly chopped
100g blue cheese, such as Stilton or Roquefort, crumbled

Cook the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan until soft (about 5 mins). Add the potato and stock and simmer until the potato is tender (about 10 mins). Add the broccoli and cook for 3-4 mins until just tender but still bright green.

Add half the cheese and whizz to a smooth soup in a blender. Season then serve with the rest of the cheese crumbled over.

Serves 4
Olive, Aug 10

Blue Cheese and I are still developing our relationship so I opted not to crumble some more over the top.  The soup wasn't at all 'boy's sock' tasting (sometimes I find blue cheese can smell a bit like its been stuck in a teenage boys sneaker for a few months - hence the boy's sock description), it was fresh and flavoursome with a subtle hint of blue cheese.  I think we might be having this one for a starter on Christmas Day, the addition of the cheese makes it a special occasion kind of soup in my very humble opinon ;0)