Simple Chicken Noodle Soup

It's that time of year when the weather starts cooling down, fans and air conditioners are being put away, and sweaters and blankets are being pulled out. Probably one of my favourite things about fall is the return to soups, stews, roasts and all the other warming meals. One of the easiest, and most helpful meals, at this time of year, Chicken Noodle Soup has the triple benefit of being super easy to make, really delicious, and a great way to make anyone feel better when the inevitable fall cold hits.

Turkey Dinner Leftovers - Soup

Turkey soup is fantastic, and is really a must-do after Thanksgiving, in order to get the most out of the turkey you cooked. Making the stock is easy, and should be done the next day. Because it does take a bit of time (between simmering the stock for hours and then letting it rest in the fridge for several more hours) - I recommend making the soup a couple of days after Thanksgiving. Remember to hide a couple of cups of cooked turkey in the fridge somewhere or it will end up being eaten before you have time to make the soup!

There are so many variations to turkey soup. I love it with rice or barley, but decided to do an old-fashioned turkey noodle soup this time. I'd say it was a hit, and there was even enough to freeze a couple of portions.

Ready for tomorrow's lunch!

Post Easter Split Pea Soup

One of the things I miss about living at my parents house is soup after holiday dinners. At Christmas I'm usually home long enough to get in on the turkey soup, however I haven't had my mom's split pea soup in years. This year I decided to try and make my own. As I sometimes do I looked through a few different cookbooks and online recipes and came away with the basic idea, and went from there. The key for me was having saved the bone from the ham I roasted for Easter dinner, and using that to make the stock.

Vegetable Beef Noodle Soup

I love making a menu plan for the upcoming week, and find that the pros definitely outweigh the cons with this task. I make a grocery list and know each day what needs to be prepped, as well as being confident that I usually have everything I need for the recipe. The main con is not knowing in advance what you might feel like on a specific night, or whether your dish is going to match other circumstances. In particular, it was a beautiful sunny day today, not necessarily a day I would be looking at having a hot bowl of hearty soup. But still, the soup was fantastic, and regardless of the weather outside was thoroughly enjoyed. Because this soup has noodles, if you are going to reheat it you may need to add some more water. Also, I found after the soup had simmered for 2 hours it had lost quite a bit of liquid. I ended up adding 2 cups of water at the end, and it really didn't lose any of the flavour. 

Vegetable Beef Noodle Soup

- 450 g stewing beef cubes

- 1/2 tsp pepper

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1 tbsp vegetable oil

- 3 carrots, chopped

- 2 ribs celery, chopped

- 1 onion, chopped

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 pkg (1 L) low-sodium or homemade beef broth

- 2 tbsp tomato paste

- 1 tsp herbes de Provence

- 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar

- 1 cup large curly egg noodles

- 1/2 cup frozen peas

- 3 cups baby spinach

Sprinkle beef with pepper and salt. In Dutch oven heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook beef, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 6 minutes. Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, another 6 minutes. 

Stir in broth, 3 cups of water, tomato paste, herbes de Provence and vinegar. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, partially cover and simmer until beef is tender, about 2 hours. Stir maybe every 20-30 minutes. 

Stir in noodles and peas; cook over medium heat until noodles are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach. 

Sausage, Potato and Swiss Chard Soup

This soup was super quick to make, which was a good thing because I lost track of time and before I knew it, it was almost dinner time. From start to finish, including all chopping, took about 30 minutes. I was a little hesitant while I was cooking it, not sure how it was going to work out. It came together really nicely, and I will make it again sometime. You could use other kinds of sausage, I opted for hot Italian, and it was pretty spicy.

Vegetable Quinoa Soup

This soup is packed with healthy food - quinoa, sweet potatoes, kale. And it was really quick to prepare and tasty to boot. Next time I might use yams, just to add a pop of colour.

Thai-Style Lentil and Coconut Soup

Brent got me this great cookbook a few years ago: The Complete Book of 400 Soups . Now, it would be great if June meant that soup season was over, however for those of us on the Wet Coast, summer seems a far off dream right now. So yesterday I opened up this book to try and find a soup that was a little different from anything I've made before. This soup is from the Hot and Spicy section, and I made a few modifications. Overall, a great lunch time soup for this dreary Juneuary.

Thai-Style Lentil and Coconut Soup
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 red onions, finely chopped
- 1 chilli, seeded and finely sliced (the recipe called for a 'bird's eye' chilli, I just grabbed a random one, may have been a jalapeno?)
- 1 inch piece fresh lemon grass, outer layers removed and inside finely sliced
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger, chopped
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
- 1 tsp freshly ground coriander
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 3 3/4 cups liquid (I used half vegetable broth, half water, recipe just called for water)
- juice of 1 lime
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in dutch oven and add onions, chilli, garlic, lemon grass and ginger. Cook for 5 minutes or until onions have softened but not browned, stirring occasionally.

Add lentils and spices. Pour in coconut milk and liquid, and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 40-45 minutes, until lentils are soft.

Pour in lime juice and add scallions and coriander, reserving a little of each for the garnish. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

The original recipe did not call for ginger, but it just seemed like a natural addition to the flavours. I was also out of paprika, but don't think it missed the 1 tsp, although feel free to add it.

The soup is great, now if I could just find something to do with that second stalk of lemongrass I have!

Hearty Vegetable Soup

This soup is a little different than your regular vegetable soup. The addition of a cinnamon stick during the simmering really adds a nice flavour that you don't usually find in this type of soup. This is another great one to make on Sunday for the week ahead, as it does not take very long.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

- 1 tbsp vegetable oil

- 1 onion, diced

- 1 cup each chopped carrot and sliced celery

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1/2 tsp dried oregano

- 1/4 tsp ground cumin and hot pepper flakes

- 1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped

- 1 sweet green pepper, chopped

- 1/2 cup passata (strained tomatoes)

- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

- 1 each bay leaf and cinnamon stick

- salt and pepper to taste

In Dutch oven or large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, carrot, celery, garlic, oregano, salt, cumin and hot pepper flakes, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes.

Add sweet potato and green pepper; cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Stir in passata, 4 cups water, chickpeas, bay leaf and cinnamon stick and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, around 20 - 25 minutes. Discard bay leaf and cinnamon stick

Vegetable Stock

Even before deciding to cook/eat Vegetarian for the month of February, I've always used a lot of vegetable stock. It used to be more difficult to find stock that was more natural, but there are many more options now. However, I still find the packaged stocks too salty, and sometimes it's hard to get to a Stock Market or Soup Meister. Making your own vegetable stock, however, is super easy and quick. The stock will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. This recipe is from Mark Bittman's 'How to Cook Everything'.

Vegetable Stock

- 4 large carrots, sliced

- 2 large onions, chopped (no need to peel)

- 3 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped

- 2 celery stalks, chopped

- 2 - 5 cloves garlic (no need to peel)

- 10-20 medium button mushrooms, trimmed and halved

- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped

- 10 - 20 fresh parsley stems and leaves

- freshly ground black pepper

In saucepan, heat a little oil and brown vegetables for a few minutes. Add 14 cups cold water and some pepper. Bring to a boil and adjust the heat to simmer steadily but gently for 30 minutes to an hour.

Let cool, then strain, pressing on the vegetables to extract as much juice as possible. I strained into a cheesecloth lined sieve, squeezing the cheesecloth each time. Divide into containers, marking how many cups in each container, then use or freeze for later.

Vegetarian for a month (or what remains...)

Brent and I have decided (well I suggested and he agreed) to try and cook and eat vegetarian for the rest of February. Now we're not going to just stop eating meat, we are going to challenge ourselves to cook more creatively without using meat, and using minimal dairy. I was making soup for our lunches for the week, and using all the fresh produce really got me thinking about the many different dishes we can make that are vegetarian. So we started brainstorming, and so far our list includes everything from tofu, bean dishes, risotto, steamed dumplings, rice and bean burritos, to vegetable curries and coconut milk pancakes. I'm really excited about this, and feel that having a challenge like this will help me to create some great new dishes.

This soup is my inspiration to eat/cook vegetarian for a month. It is possibly the simplest soup I have ever made, but it is seriously so good. Brent's exact words were 'Hot damn, that's like restaurant soup'. This is from the March issue of Canadian Living, and is supposed to be Alphabet Soup, but after searching a couple of grocery stores unable to find the tiny alphabet pasta we settled on some mini shells.

Alphabet Soup (minus the alphabet)

- 1 tsp olive oil

- 1 leek (white and light green parts only), diced

- 1 carrot, diced

- 1 rib celery, diced

- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 small zucchini, diced

- 4 cups vegetable broth

- 1/2 cup bottled strained tomatoes (Passata)
- 1/4 tsp pepper

- 1/2 cup alphabet pasta (or mini shells)

- 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels

- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

- 1 cup packed fresh spinach, thinly sliced

In large saucepan or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Cook leek, carrot, celery and garlic, stirring occasionally until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add zucchini and cook until softened, another 5 minutes. Add vegetable broth, 1 cup water, tomatoes and pepper; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add pasta; cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in corn and chickpeas; cook until hot, about 5 minutes. Check the pasta for doneness at this point. If it needs to be simmered for another 5 minutes, now is the time. Once pasta is cooked, stir in spinach; cook until wilted, about 1 minute.

This soup is another excellent argument against canned soups, because it is such a simple recipe, but the flavours are so reminiscent of the alphabet soup we've all had as kids. Crush up some crackers and you are good to go!

Sunday Night Dinner - Roasted Squash Soup with Apple and Brie

I made this soup to serve as a first course for dinner on Saturday night. While it takes a couple of hours from start to finish to make, it is a great soup and we had enough left for Sunday Night Dinner as well as lunches for work this week. The original recipe from Best of Bridge calls for chicken stock. I used vegetable stock I'd made and frozen a couple of weeks ago. Chicken stock is definitely saltier, and any stock you buy at the grocery store has more salt than homemade. I found I definitely had to season with more salt than I expected, but still great flavours!

Roasted Squash Soup with Apple and Brie

- 1 large butternut squash

- 1 carrot

- 1 medium onion

- 1 leek, white portion only

- 2 tbsp butter

- 8 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)

- 1 apple, peeled & chopped

- 1 bay leaf

- 1 tsp sugar

- salt and pepper to taste

- 8 oz. brie cheese

- snipped chives

Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Place cut-side down on pan and bake at 350 F until tender, about 45 minutes.

Chop carrot, onion and leek into 1" pieces and place in large pot. Gently saute with butter, being careful not to brown. Add cooked squash to vegetables. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add apple, bay leaf and sugar. Simmer, uncovered for 40 minutes.

Remove bay leaf and puree soup in batches. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve slice off rind of brie and cut brie into 1/2" pieces. Place cheese in bottom of bowl and fill with hot soup. Garnish with chives.

Mushroom Chowder

Well, yesterday marked the official last day of summer, but you know what, I think I'm okay with that. I like the fall, wearing sweaters, drinking tea and cooking all of those great wintery comfort foods.

I had all these mushrooms in my fridge, in plastic, and no brown bags in site. Knowing that they wouldn't last, I decided to make a mushroom soup for dinner. I adapted this recipe to use what I had on hand, and it was great, that night, and for lunch for a couple of days too.

Mushroom Chowder (adapted from The Best of Bridge)

- 2 tbsp vegetable oil

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1/2 cup sliced onions

- 1/2 cup diced carrots

- 3 cups chopped mushrooms (I used portobello's, crimini and white mushrooms)

- 3 cups vegetable broth

- 2 cups light cream

- 1/2 cup diced potatoes

- 1/4 cup frozen corn niblets

- 1/2 apple, peeled & diced

- 2 bay leaves

- 3 tbsp red wine

- 2 tbsp chopped parsley

It looks like a lot of ingredients, but it is surprisingly quick and easy to make, just prep all the ingredients before hand and it's a breeze.

In large saucepan or dutch oven, heat oil and saute garlic, onions, carrots and mushrooms for about 5-8 minutes, being careful not to brown.

Add broth and cream to vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add potatoes, corn, apple, bay leaves, wine and parsley to soup. Simmer about 1/2 hour. Remove bay leaves, season and serve.

Broccoli and Asparagus Soup

I saved the stalks from the broccoli I used for last night's casserole so I could make some soup for dinner tonight. On the way home I picked up some asparagus and had enough stuff at home to put something together quickly. There's really not a lot to the soup, so it's easy enough to make after work.

Broccoli and Asparagus Soup

- 4 cups broccoli florets and stems, chopped

- 4 cups of chopped asparagus spears

- 1 onion, chopped

- 4-5 cups of liquid (I used part veggie stock, part

water)

- 1 1/2 - 2 cups of milk

In medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt 2 tbsp butter and a tbsp of olive oil, saute onion for 5 minutes, until softened. Lower heat if needed. Add broccoli and asparagus, season with a bit of sea salt and pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add veggie stock and water. Simmer, uncovered for 20 - 25 minutes.

Transfer soup to a large bowl. Blend soup in batches, returning to saucepan. Over medium-low heat, stir in milk, simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste.

Of course, this soup begs to be enjoyed with a grilled cheese sandwich. Pick up some fresh bread for the sandwiches, it makes a huge difference!

Cauliflower Soup

Another great winter night soup, and apparently in Vancouver we are not being spared the brunt of winter...snow keeps coming! This recipe also uses up leftover hard cheese rinds (reggiano, gruyere etc.) that I throw in the freezer.

Cauliflower Soup (adapted from Canadian Living recipes)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- salt and pepper
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 head cauliflower florets, chopped
- 6 baby potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 3.5 cups vegetable stock
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2-3 leftover cheese rinds

In large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Fry onion, carrots, garlic, salt, nutmeg and cayenne, stirring often until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in cauliflower, potato, stock, milk and cheese rinds. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.


Remove cheese rinds with tongs, scraping cheese off. Puree soup in batches in blender, or with immersion blender until smooth. If you'd like a smoother soup, pour through sieve.

French Onion Soup

There is something about a really good bowl of onion soup. I used to work at a pizzeria in Montreal, and we had the best French Onion Soup. A bowl of it was a meal in itself, and was always a nice reward after a long night of serving tables. I wanted to recreate that feeling at home, so I did what I usually do when trying to make something new. I check some of my favourite recipe sites and look at a dozen or so recipes, and then create my own. Below is one that worked really well.

I would recommend however, if you have a small apartment like me, to be warned of the smell. Onion soup is great, but very overpowering in a small space when you are cooking the onions. A great way to rid your kitchen and apartment of strong cooking smells is to boil a little bit of water in a small saucepan, with one or two cinnamon sticks in it. When the water has come to a nice boil, simmer. I usually take the saucepan and walk it around the apartment as well. Works every time!

Reebs' French Onion Soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 onions (any kind) thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 4 leeks, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 cups broth (preferably beef, but vegetable works too)
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- Crusty bread
- Gruyere cheese, shredded

In large saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the oil. Add the onions and saute, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Add sugar and leeks and cook, stirring frequently until richly coloured and caramelized, 30-45 minutes. Increase heat at end for added colour.



Add garlic, saute 1 minute. Add stock, wine, bay leaf and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until flavours are well blended, 30 minutes. Season. Discard bay leaf.

Ladle into oven and broiler proof bowls. Add 2-3 slices of bread on top of each bowl and sprinkle with cheese. Using a kitchen torch or the broiler setting on your stove, broil until bubbly and lightly browned, 3-4 minutes, watching carefully!

Serve with a light salad.

Fall Comfort Food

With fall comes colder weather and rainy days (at least in Vancouver). I love sweater weather, and pulling out scarves and mittens again, and spending evenings sipping tea and catching up on the reading you never got around to in the summer. I also love switching into fall/winter cooking mode: soups, stews and casseroles that keep you warm all day long. There's nothing like a big pot of soup to get you through a busy week. Add a sandwich or a salad and you've got a great meal. Some soups are even meals in themselves, much like this one.

Hearty Fall Soup

• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 1/2 cups cubed pancetta
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 3 cups chopped kale or spinach
  
• Salt and Pepper to taste

In large saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add red pepper, chickpeas, sweet potato, pancetta, stock and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Add kale and simmer for 5 minutes.

This soup is very hearty. It also keeps well in the fridge for a few days, and is great for lunch.

Soup and Sandwiches

Soup and Sandwiches

Soup is a versatile and easy way to begin or round out a meal. Making soup does not take long, and once you start making homemade soup you’ll have a hard time eating it out of a can. Served with a salad or sandwhich, soup becomes the base of a great meal. One of my favourite combinations is tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Here is an updated version.

Vegetable Soup

~onion (any kind, today I used half a red onion I had on hand)

~carrots

~celery

~red pepper

~potatoes

~stock (I use veggie, chicken would be great too)

~salt and pepper

~bay leaf

Chop onion, carrots, celery and red pepper. Peel and cube potatoes. In soup or large pot sauté vegetables (minus the potatoes) in a little bit of oil, until they soften, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and some salt and pepper. Add 5 cups of stock and 1 cup water. (Amount of liquid is more important than ratio of stock to water, less stock just means you need to season the soup a bit more).

Add a bay leaf.

Bring to boil, then cover & simmer on low for 25 minutes or until potatoes are soft. In batches or with an immersion blender, blend soup until desired consistency is reached.

Asparagus & Brie Panini

~asparagus spears
~brie or camembert cheese
~ciabatta buns

Blanche asparagus spears in boiling water for 2 – 4 minutes. Transfer to cold water bath to stop the cooking. Slice brie to fit on buns. Place asparagus, cut in half, on bottom half of the bun. Place brie on top. Grill in Panini Press (or waffle iron) until cheese is melted.