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Instant Pot Turkey Stock

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Make Instant Pot Turkey Stock from your fresh or frozen leftover turkey carcass in an hour + prep time.

Instant Pot Turkey Stock
Instant Pot Turkey Stock

Do I Stay or Do I Go

When we cook a turkey dinner, a couple times a year, I am always wondering do I keep the carcass to make broth, or do I compost it. It’s a dilemma faced by many of us, or so I’m told, as to whether the carcass stays or whether it goes?!

In the end for me it comes down to time and how much time I will have available in the coming weeks since making stock can take several hours on the stove. Or at least it use to.

While I am neither for or against keeping the bones, I swing both ways depending on my mood. Some days I keep the carcass, other times I freeze that bad boy with good intentions, and there are days I’ve let him go fly into the compost and be done with it. No guilt whatsoever. This battle has been going on for 30 years that I’ve been roasting turkey and making stock.

Instant Pot Turkey Stock
Instant Pot Turkey Stock

New Instant Pot Blasts Out Turkey Stock

Having received a new Instant Pot for Christmas, I was more than willing to keep the carcass, and freeze it, until I had time to try turkey stock in my new small appliance. When the opportunity presented itself, it was only a matter of pulling out some leftover herbs, carrots, celery, onion and the frozen carcass. I had a couple wings leftover from the dinner so I gave them a chop or two and tossed them into the pot.

Instant Pot Turkey Stock
Instant Pot Turkey Stock

Sixty minutes later plus some time for the pressure to release and I’d suddenly made the best turkey stock I have quite possibly ever produced. Using the same recipe I tend to use when making stock in a pot on the stove. After this pleasant experience I feel the future of my new Instant Pot holds many more stock making sessions.

Pro Tips

Tip: Chop up the carcass into smaller pieces. If freezing it will be much easier to fit into freezer bags. When stock making it will be easier to make stock in a pot on the stove or Instant Pot.

Tip: Do not add salt. You can salt all you like when you use the stock. It doesn’t need the salt until the stock is going to be used. Just like buying salt free stock in a box at the store!

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Instant Pot Turkey Stock
 
Ingredients
  • 1 turkey carcass cut into 4 pieces
  • ½ onion, rough chop
  • 1 celery stalk, rough chop
  • 1 carrot, rough chop
  • 2 sprigs parsley
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 4 sprigs thyme
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 5 fresh sage leaves
  • 2 cloves garlic, lightly smashe
  • ½ tsp peppercorns
  • 10 cups water or fill to line
Instructions
  1. Place carcass in Instant Pot.
  2. Add onion through peppercorns.
  3. Fill with water until the max line or approximately 10 cups.
  4. Put the lid on Instant Pot, make sure valve is set to sealing.
  5. Set to pressure cook for 60 minutes. The pot will take a few minutes to pressurize and it will be so eerily quiet you will wonder if it's working. As long as you have it plugged in and turned on it should be fine.
  6. Once the 60 minutes is up the pressure will start to release slowly. I didn't need to do a quick release and let it release on it's own for about 30-60 minutes as I had time. By then it was cool, pin had dropped and there was no pressure left.
  7. Prepare a large bowl with a strainer set over top. Remove the pot (with oven mitts if necessary) and poor the ingredients through the strainer into the bowl. The goods were still steaming a little so I set them aside to cool down before I composted.
  8. I let the broth cool down before pouring into freezable containers. If using right away mason jars are perfectly fine.
  9. This stock sets up nicely in the refrigerator thickening and forming a little jelly. Skim off fat before using.
  10. This recipe was made using a 6-quart Instant Pot.

 

Instant Pot Hamburger Soup

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I never jumped on the Instant Pot train. I didn’t feel I needed yet another small appliance to add to the already over stuffed pantry pouring over onto shelves full of small appliances. My mom started buying me small appliances and cookware when I was 19. Thirty years later I’ve accumulated a small collection.

This past year we have been trying to minimize and down size what we have and part with what we do not need. It’s not as easy as it sounds when you are a food blogger who styles their own photos and needs props to do this. This and other reasons are why I resisted until I could no longer resist.

Instant Pot Hamburger Soup
Hamburger Soup with pasta

Enter my Father-In-Law. He raves about his Instant Pot, so much so he gave us one for Christmas this year. He’s already given me many tips and tricks on using the pot and recipes he’s tried, so making this soup was pretty simple. We took our tried and true Slow Cooker Hamburger Soup recipe, changed it up a bit and turned it into an Instant Pot Hamburger Soup recipe.

Receiving an Instant Pot for Christmas had me intrigued and started my mind wandering about what I could actually make in one since I never paid much attention to the recipes even though I have an Instant Pot Pinterest Board. So I fired it up and started with a simple soup.

Instant Pot Hamburger Soup
Instant Pot Hamburger Soup

Our Instant Pot Hamburger Soup features ground beef, bacon, carrots, celery and shallots all coming together in a savoury tomato broth. I added bacon hoping the bacon flavour would infuse into the soup and it did a little but not as much as I had hoped plus the bacon didn’t crisp up. Next time I may cook the bacon in advance and crumble it on top.

Tip: I always cook my pasta separately and then ladle it into individual bowls. This method works best when you have leftover soup to ensure the noodles do not soak up the broth leaving you with no liquid when you are ready to eat the soup again. Cooking your pasta separate and adding it to each bowl, and storing separately keeps the soup loose and brothy the next day.

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Instant Pot Hamburger Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: lunch, dinner
 
Ingredients
  • 2 pieces of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 2 shallots, diced
  • 1 cup celery, diced
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp ground pepper
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 3 tsp beef OXO bullion
  • 1 leftover parmesan rind
  • 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup small pasta shells or macaroni
  • ½ cup grated parmigiano reggiano
  • ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
  1. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting, medium temperature.
  2. When the pot setting reads hot add the bacon and ground beef.
  3. Once the beef is no longer pink add the shallots, celery, carrots and turn the setting to high to get some brown happening on the beef. This will happen quickly.
  4. Stir in oregano, bay leaves, salt and pepper cooking another 5-10 minutes.
  5. In the meantime mix beef OXO with beef stock.
  6. Hit cancel, then pour in beef stock, parmesan rind, tomatoes and worcestershire sauce. If sticking occurs de-glaze with broth and stir breaking up any bits on bottom.
  7. Cover pot with lid, turn vent to sealing position. Select pressure cook for 7 minutes.
  8. Pot will take a few minutes to reach pressure, then count down and cook.
  9. When cooking is complete, allow an undisturbed 15 minute natural release.
  10. Start cooking your pasta. Drain and set aside.
  11. After 15 minutes carefully, in short bursts at first, release remaining steam in your Instant Pot manually by turning the steam release knob to the venting position. After a few bursts you can leave it release the remaining pressure.
  12. When pin drops remove lid.
  13. Fish out the parmesan rind and bay leaves.
  14. Stir and taste adjusting salt and pepper as needed.
  15. Spoon into bowls or mugs, top with fresh parsley and ground parmigiano reggiano.
  16. Serve.
Notes
Recipe can be made in either the 6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot.

 

 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

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Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup

January is soup month and a great reason for those of who live in colder climates like us (think Canada cold) to eat more soup. A healthy and hearty offering, this Chicken Tortilla Soup came together quickly on a Friday night, topped with delicious crisp tortilla strips that my kids could not stop eating out of the bowl, fresh avocado and grated old cheddar cheese. I may be a little bias but it was so delicious. Even my daughter filled her bowl twice.

Our goal this month is to re-make and/or recreate some of our soup recipes, while adding more to our stash of comfort foods. With so many amazing and healthy soups out there, it’s a good way to perhaps be a little healthier.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup

As you read through the recipe deciding whether or not you have the ingredients to make the soup, you will notice a spice called Epazote. Epazote is an herb used in Mexican cooking to flavour moles, soups, and other dishes. It is popular cooked with beans and said to help relieve some of the bean causing “symptoms” we all know so well. This herb is known to have a pungent, petroleum-like odor. Like cilantro you either like it or you don’t, there is no in-between. People describe the taste to be like a curious combination of turpentine, mint, citrus, pine, oregano, anise, and mustard greens.

We tasted the soup before we added in the Epazote and again after. There was no turpentine smell or taste but there was a slightly noticeable flavour enhancer we picked up on. We have been told not to use to much of this herb as it could over power the dish. A few light pinches in our soup equaling about 1/4 tsp is what we started with.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup

What’s great about this soup:

  • use a store bought rotisserie chicken
  • substitute regular dried oregano for Mexican oregano
  • no epazote, no problem
  • do not care for cilantro, use flat leaf parsley instead
  • like it spicy? add more of the chipotle in adobo, carefully
  • sub in leftover turkey, for the chicken
  • the crunchy tortillas added to the top of the soup, stay crunchy – no soggy bits unless kept in soup overnight
  • pressed for time, simmer away for 30 minutes and you will be good to go

We highly recommend you give this tasty soup a try. It got four thumbs up here.

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Chicken Tortilla Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: lunch, dinner
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 6 corn tortillas cut into thin slice
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • ½ tsp Mexican oregano
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • ¼ tsp chipotle in adobo
  • 1 14oz can diced tomatoes
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 5 springs cilantro + more for garnish
  • 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
  • ½ cup frozen corn
  • ½ cup black beans, drained + more for garnish
  • ¼ tsp epazote
  • Garnishes: ½ avocado diced, cilantro leaves, diced bell pepper, diced jalapeno pepper, grated cheddar cheese or monterey jack cheese, black beans, 1 lime cut into wedges
Instructions
  1. In a cast iron pan or heavy bottom pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add ¼ of the tortilla strips and cook, stirring, until pale golden, about 1-2 minutes. Stir once or twice with tongs or slotted spoon while cooking to avoid sticking. Remove and drain on paper towel lined plate or bowl. Repeat with the remaining tortilla strips.
  2. In a second large pot add some oil and cook onions over medium-high heat. Cook onions 5-8 minutes. Add garlic cooking another minute. Sprinkle in chili powder, cumin, paprika, coriander, oregano, sprinkle of salt and pepper. Let cook for 1-2 minutes. Move onions to side and add tomato paste and chipotle in adobo cooking another minute.
  3. Next in the pot is tomatoes, broth and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes; add cilantro sprigs and epazote cooking an additional 5 minutes.
  4. Remove the bay leaves. Using an immersion blender puree soup. Put back on heat, add corn, black beans and chicken. Bring to a simmer and let cook 1-2 minutes to heat everything through.
  5. To serve put your garnishes into individual bowls including the tortillas. Ladle the soup into bowls. Let everyone top their soup with their favourite garnishes and eat while steaming hot.

If you enjoyed this soup you might also like to try:

Sausage and Lentil Soup

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Almost annually we host International students and currently we have a student from Spain (small town near Madrid) living with us for the school year. It’s his first time leaving Spain and traveling so far from home. He’s done remarkably well during the holidays and missing his family all things considered.

Sausage & Lentil Soup
Sausage & Lentil Soup

He likes to cook and loves to eat even more. So he and I get along amazingly well since we both love to cook and of course eat. One of the dishes he says he misses the most is his Momma’s sausage and lentil stew. Made with small brown lentils. Did you know lentils are considered pulses and extremely good for you. Just 1 cup of lentils = 6.59 mg of iron. So if you are feeling like you are lacking in iron, lentils are a great way to add more iron, fiber and vitamin A to your diet.

Sausage & Lentil Soup
Sausage & Lentil Soup

He and I have talked about this stew many times. Because I ask a lot of questions. This week it was added it to our weekly menu and last night I attempted to recreate it. I wasn’t nervous at all, after all his mom makes it all the time. No pressure right? I patiently waited as he took his first bite. And his face lit up. He took another bite. And then he told me he couldn’t believe how similar it tasted to his mom’s. I was so excited I almost peed a little.

He tells me his version of this dish is a stew and thicker. They add potatoes into the stew while cooking it which would help thicken it. I opted to finish our soup with diced, cooked potatoes mixed with fresh parsley, lemon and olive oil. This mixture complimented the soup perfectly.

We simply adore this young man and have gotten to know his parents a little. You know sometimes you just click with people, well it was like that with this family. I hope we get to go to Spain one day and meet them. I’m sure the wine, food and interesting conversation would free flow non stop.

Sausage and Lentil Stew
Sausage and Lentil Stew

This soup is hearty and super flavourful. We’ve added Spolumbo’s Sausage which is a locally made, preservative and gluten free sausage. The cured sausage in this soup is also locally made, called shremska and available at The Italian Store. A very healthy meal indeed.

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Sausage and Lentil Soup
Author: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 5 mild fresh Italian sausages
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped leaves included
  • ½ cup cured sausage, chopped
  • 1 tsp fennel
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • ½ tsp each salt and pepper
  • 2 cups brown lentils
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 10 cups chicken stock
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
  • ------
  • ½ cup cooked potatoes
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • pinch of lemon zest
  • squeeze of lemon juice
  • Olive oil
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Cut casings of fresh sausages and squeeze sausage into hot pot. Break up the chunks using a potato masher. Cooke until nicely browned. Remove to a bowl using a slotted spoon.
  2. In pot add another drop of olive oil if needed, then onions, carrots and celery. Mix in cured sausage, fennel, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add lentils, bay leaves, chicken stock and smoked paprika. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium, add Italian sausage and simmer until lentils are tender, adding more broth as needed and cooking up to 45 minutes if needed to soften lentils.
  4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with potato parsley mix.
Notes
To make potato parsley mix, saute chopped potato in olive oil until crispy. Pour into bowl. Add parsley, lemon zest, juice and olive oil. Season with salt, mixing well.

 

Roast Turkey Pho

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Back in the 90’s Robson Street was Vancouver’s outdoor shopping mall with great restaurants and cafes as well as all kinds of high end stores to tickle your fancy in. It was a seen and be seen place to be. In fact it still is. Walking up and down Robson every time I go to Vancouver to visit brings back vivid memories of the time spent living there. At one point I lived in the West End so merely a hop skip and jump over to Robson Street to take it all in.

I was a part time Gapper back in those days, and my time working at The Gap on Robson was extremely adventurous, it was an experience. I ate out a lot (single in the city) and one of my favourite little stops was a little hole in the wall cafe on Robson Street. This eclectic little place served up the best soup I’d ever had and I would visit whenever a cold struck. This soup was Pho, pronounced Fuh. Pho is not the same as Ramen, which is darker and richer cooked entirely from pork bones, but rather traditionally made from beef and scented with star anise, cinnamon and ginger.

Roast Turkey Pho

Pho is an anytime soup but most comforting in the Fall and Winter on those days you need a bowl that hugs you back and some comfort food. The most important component to a Pho is the broth. Enjoyed in a restaurant, Pho broth is typically simmered for hours on end resulting in a delicious tasting broth with many levels of flavour. For this Roasted Turkey Pho Broth I can honestly say my turkey stock simmered for 4- 5 hours. Was left to sit for several hours while it cooled and then further cooled in the fridge with all it’s aromatics and turkey bones for up to two days. The result, the best tasting turkey stock I’ve ever made.

There was only one thing to do at this point, try to make a pho soup in stead of your basic turkey noodle soup to use up the last of the 15lb roast turkey. While shopping for ingredients for my turkey pho, I discovered Campbell’s offers a new product, Pho Broth. So I did what any virgin pho maker would do and bought a pack, you know just in case the turkey broth was lacking in flavour. After straining the turkey broth and getting 6 cups of intensely flavoured broth, I decided to add in the package of pho broth to make approximately 8 cups. I just knew it was going to be good.

This quick version of pho is layered with each ingredient giving you the full restaurant experience.

Create your Pho Bowl

Rost Trukey Pho w/ingredients

When you make this recipe you must get your soup bowl ready and start with the cooked noodles, gingerly placing on the bottom of the bowl. Ladle in your hot broth gently moving around the noodles with chopsticks to ensure they are not sticking together. The next layer is the turkey breast, add a good heaping spoonful. At this point you add whatever toppings you prefer that are available. We eat family style here so it makes sense for each person to customize their pho.

Looking for other ways to use up leftover turkey? This soup is very popular and quite tasty: Turkey, Bacon & Corn Chowder.

2.0 from 1 reviews
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Roast Turkey Pho
Author: 
Recipe type: dinner, lunch, soup
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 8 cups chicken stock, pho stock or home made turkey stock
  • 2 small cinnamon sticks
  • 1 piece of ginger, approximately 1 inch and peeled
  • 4 cloves
  • 2 star anise
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 package flat rice noodles
  • 2 cups cooked cold turkey sliced paper thin
  • 2 cups bean sprouts
  • ½ cup green onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 limes, 1 juiced - the other cut into wedges
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup fresh herbs: mint, basil, cilantro rolled and thinly chopped
  • sriracha sauce
Instructions
  1. In a large pot add all the stock, cinnamon sticks, ginger, cloves and star anise. To keep things easy to fish out I put my cloves and star anise in a tea pincher/infuser for easy removal later on. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 30 minutes. Remove spices from broth and stir in fish sauce, salt and sugar. Keep on low heat.
  2. Cook rice noodles according to instructions.
  3. Add prepared bean sprouts, turkey, green onion, lime wedges, jalapeno peppers and fresh herbs into individual bowls and place on table.
  4. Scoop about ½ - 1 cup of noodles into each bowl. Ladle 1⅓ cups of hot broth over noodles and gently swirl noodles with chopsticks or a skewer to ensure they are not sticking. Top with a heaping spoonful of turkey.
  5. Serve each person their bowl with chopsticks and a fork/spoon and let them add their favourite toppings.

 

 

 

 

 

Tomato Soup with Sausage

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Lately I’ve been craving soup. Specially french onion soup but I haven’t had the booze I needed to make the broth sing. Recently I took some out of town clients to Charbar for lunch, a fairly new Argentinian style restaurant I’ve admittedly been to several times. I ordered the lunch special (and they did to) of half a salad and the daily soup. I encouraged them to have the fugazza (pizza) with their soup. The soup was an Argentinian inspired tomato & sausage soup. Wow was it ever good. In fact all four of us at the table completely enjoyed the soup. I decided to try and make my own version of this soup at home.

Have you heard of Spolumbo’s sausage? They are local sausage maker and the sausage is preservative and chemical free. I use it in pasta sauces, soups and we especially love it grilled on the BBQ. You can use whatever uncooked sausage you love in this soup. I also added a small piece of leftover parmesan rind as I’ve seen chefs do this to add flavour and depth. It did something because the soup was the best tomato soup I’ve ever had.

It’s a simple soup that screams flavour.

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Tomato Soup with Sausage
Author: 
Recipe type: lunch, dinner
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups uncooked Italian sausage
  • 3 strips bacon
  • canola oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 - 28oz can whole tomatoes
  • fresh thyme, couple sprigs
  • parmesan rind, any size
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 bay leaves, dried is fine
  • salt and pepper
  • ¼ cup cream
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • parsley
Instructions
  1. Heat a sauce pan over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook until crisp, remove from pan, chop and set aside. Pour out all but approximately 1 tbsp of the bacon fat.
  2. Remove sausage from casing and add to pan breaking up into smaller pieces. Cook for 3 minutes and add the garlic and onions and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Drizzle in a little oil if needed.
  3. Add tomatoes, thyme, parmesan rind. chicken broth and bay leaves. Turn heat down to simmer. Season with salt and pepper and let cook for about 25 minutes. Add more chicken broth if soup cooks down.
  4. Discard the thyme, bay leaves and Parmesan rind. Puree the soup in a food processor or with an immersion blender until smooth and leave in pan. Stir in the cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with the bacon and parsley.

 

 

Roasted Cauliflower & Garlic Soup

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The first time I made this soup was sometime in 2013. It was a craving soup end of the week kind of day and I had very little vegetables left to play with. There it sat on the third shelf in the refrigerator staring back at me. There was no way around it – it was to be cauliflower soup or nothing. Admittedly I’ve never made cauliflower soup before but I sure love roasted and grilled cauliflower.I turned on the oven, hacked up the cauliflower, tossed in some garlic cloves for good luck, a little oil and off it went into the oven. What happened next was outstanding. I made Roasted Cauliflower soup, and I loved it.

You have to agree, roasting your garlic with the cauliflower is pretty clever, and imparts great flavour. I wanted the soup again, so I took it a step further this time, and tossed in a couple shallots to roast them up to. I do not add cream to this soup but blitz the cauliflower, garlic and shallots like crazy to keep it healthier.

The roasting party in my oven became soup on my stove. I like it when this happens. A few extra minutes to simmer on the stove with thyme and bay leaves, then it gets blitzed, strained and is ready to serve. Those who can not eat dairy will appreciate this soup is dairy free. If you are gluten free do not add croutons. I quickly made some cumin croutons for this soup, but you can use any croutons you have on hand. I made croutons so often I will need to share the recipe. Simple flavours make it delicious.

This should serve 4 pending how big your servings are.

Roasted Cauliflower & Garlic Soup
Roasted Cauliflower & Garlic Soup

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Roasted Cauliflower & Garlic Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup, lunch, dinner, side
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 6 cups cauliflower florets (approximately 1 head)
  • 1 head of garlic,separated and peeled
  • 2 shallots, peeled and cut in half
  • Olive oil
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¾ tsp pepper
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 5 cups stock (you can use vegetarian)
  • Croutons
  • Hot pepper flakes
Instructions
  1. Put cauliflower, garlic cloves and shallots on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.. Roast in 400 F oven, turning occasionally, until golden on all sides, about 25 minutes.
  2. Remove from oven and pour into a sauce pan over medium heat. Add thyme, bay leaf and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables are thoroughly cooked through.
  3. Remove the thyme bay leaf. Using a hand-held blender, or in a food processor, blitz the soup until smooth. I run it through a sieve, return to the pan and warm.
  4. Pour into serving bowls and top with croutons and a sprinkle of hot pepper flakes.

 

 

Butternut Squash Soup with Tamarind

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It was clean out my pantry day and I have had a butternut squash rolling around on the floor for about 2 months. My mom used to roast butternut squash and serve it simple with shaved parmesan, salt & cracked pepper. Oh and a maybe just a lil butter drizzle on top.

While roasting this bad boy, I started sorting through two shelves of canned items. Way at the back of one shelf I found a jar of Tamarind Chutney. I love tamarind and practically inhale it whenever we go for Indian food. Only thing is this jar had well expired. You know what, this did not deter me. I opened the jar and sampled. About three tablespoons of samples later I decided it was safe to eat. And a little spicy however on the taste buds.

To make this soup is easy. Rough chop your onion, carrots and garlic as it’s all going to get pureed anyways. Toss them in with some olive oil and cook until just lightly softened. You could add chopped uncooked squash in with the onions and carrots if you don’t feel like roasting your squash first. The roasting however did impart a great flavour.

Important to note while the tamarind chutney is spicy, well when you eat it right out of the jar, it is not overpowering in the soup but yet adds a subtle hint of heat and incredible depth of flavour. We have a 16 yr old German Student living with us right now who does not like spicy food. She gave me two thumbs up on and loved the soup indicating it was not very spicy at all. We added in some more tamarind chutney right into our soup bowls. Seriously could inhale that stuff and it’s my new favourite condiment. Watch for it in everything (ha ha just kidding).

A simple soup for busy nights or cold days.

How often do you clean out your pantry?

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Butternut Squash Soup with Tamarind
Author: 
Recipe type: dinner, soup, lunch, appetizer
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 carrots, peeled & chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cups stock
  • 4 cups cooked butternut squash
  • 2 tbsp tamarind chutney
  • Salt & pepper
  • ½ can coconut milk
  • Cilantro
Instructions
  1. Heat large pot over medium high heat.
  2. Add olive oil, onion and carrots. Saute for a few minutes and then add your garlic. Cook until vegetables start to soften.
  3. Add stock and bring to a boil.
  4. Drop to a simmer, add cooked squash, tamarind and a pinch of salt & pepper. Cook another 5 minutes.
  5. Stir in coconut milk and remove from heat.
  6. Puree soup in blender or with hand immersion blender. Reheat if needed.
  7. Sprinkle on some chopped cilantro and serve while hot.
Notes
Preheat oven to 375. Peel and cut up squash into 1 inch cubes. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread onto parchment lined baking sheet. Stir about half way and bake for 30-45 minutes or until squash is soft.

 

 

Lentil, Cabbage & Sausage Soup

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We recently had a couple of rainy, wet and grumpy kind of days in Calgary which is a good reason to have soup. More specifically Lentil & Sausage Soup. We don’t get these days very often in the Spring (seems more wind and hail the past couple of years) but when we do I’m mentally taken back to my Vancouver days where rainy, wet and grumpy days are the norm. When I lived in Vancouver I learned to live with the rain and secretly enjoy those days once in awhile. In fact Blue Rodeo’s “After The Rain’ was on my favourites play list for many years. Back in those Vancouver days.

With the cooler, damp weather comes the desire for warm comforting foods. Like soup. The typical rummaging through the refrigerator begins the search for soup ingredients. I knew I wanted either lentils or barley in the soup. So I found some green lentils and cooked the lentils in advance. I found some smoked sausage dying a slow death, so it to was in. And I always seem to have your basic vegetables on hand. I went on to pull out some cabbage for good measure. My soup was about to become a reality. My mom used to make a cabbage soup, the variations are endless.

Soup du Jour is this tasty Lentil & Sausage Soup with Cabbage. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

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Lentil, Cabbage & Sausage Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: soup, lunch, dinner
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup green lentils, cooked
  • ½ cup ham or kielbasa smoked sausage, diced
  • ½ onion, diced
  • ½ cup celery, chopped
  • ½ cup carrots, chopped
  • 1 cup green cabbage, chopped
  • salt & pepper
  • ½ tsp oregano
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • ¼ tsp fennel seed
  • 1 tbsp lemon
  • olive oil
Instructions
  1. In a large pot over medium high heat add about 1 tbsp of oil. Drop in your onions, carrots and celery. Turn heat down and cook for 5-10 minutes or until vegetables start to soften slightly.
  2. Add in oregano, fennel seed, sausage, and a pinch of salt & pepper. Stir and let cook another 5 minutes.
  3. Pour in stock, and cabbage bringing soup to a low boil. Drop down to a simmer and add your lentils.
  4. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Squeeze some fresh lemon on top before serving.

 

 

Turkey, Bacon & Corn Chowder

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When leftover turkey happens turn it into this Turkey, Bacon & Corn Chowder for a filling, hearty soup.

Leftover turkey or chicken means new meals to create or old stand by’s will be made. Either way we love leftovers and the potential of some good eats in the days to come.

Today’s soup was both inspired from a similar soup by Curtis Stone (I got his cookbook for Christmas) and the desire to make a turkey soup with bacon. If you do not have any leftover turkey substitute roast chicken leftovers for an equally delicious tasting soup. But don’t forget the bacon!

Turkey Bacon Corn Chowder
Turkey Bacon Corn Chowder

I didn’t grow up eating chowder. My mom never made it and I had never heard about chowder of any sort until I moved to Vancouver. Chowder was a thing and came in many varieties. Adding cream to a soup was also a new concept for me but one that I latched onto quickly.

The flavour of this soup was spectacular to begin with, but when we finished it off two days later it seemed to taste even better.  The addition of chilies adds a hint of heat….add more chilies if you want more spice in your soup. We enjoyed this soup and it has gone into rotation whenever there is leftover turkey in our house.

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Turkey, Bacon & Corn Chowder
Recipe type: Main, Dinner, Lunch, Soup
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup bacon (4-6 pieces), chopped
  • ½ cup onion, chopped
  • ½ cup celery + leaves
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems
  • 1 yellow potato, peeled and chopped
  • 4 cups turkey or chicken broth
  • 2 tbsp green chilies, canned
  • 1 cup cooked turkey, chopped
  • ½ cup cream
  • salt and pepper
  • 1-2 tbsp flour
Instructions
  1. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook your bacon. When done, drain off most of the fat from the pan and place bacon on paper towel to drain. Set aside.
  2. In same pan with leftover bacon fat add your onions and celery and cook until onions start looking translucent. Sprinkle in flour and cook another minute.
  3. Add corn, thyme, potato, broth, green chilies and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Drop in turkey, cream and lower to a simmer.
  4. Cook until potatoes are cooked through.
  5. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley, or as is.

 

Roasted Vegetable Soup with Chipotle

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How often do you find leftover vegetables in your fridge begging to be used before they grow legs?! In my soup adventures this week, I was tossed whether to make a soup with some of my frozen meatballs or leave it a plain vegetable soup. Once I decided to puree the soup, I went with a vegetarian style soup kicked up a notch with some chipotle in adobo sauce. The chipotle in adobo sauce gives the soup quite a kick (spicy), so you may want to start with 1/2 tsp of the chipotle first, taste, and keep going until it is hot enough. If you do not like spice, just omit entirely.

Change up whatever vegetables you want to add in, and make it completely vegetarian or vegan by using vegetable stock. If you do not like or have bok choy, leave it out. It really is an acquired taste, one I was introduced to in the 90’s by mom mom. She started making this Bok Choy Salad and to this day my entire family loves it. You’ll find bok choy errs on the bitter side and again it might be an acquired taste, but oh so good for you! It will add a little crunch and texture to the soup.

To roast veggies, toss two cups sliced veggies with a splash of sesame oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake in 350 oven for 20 minutes or until starting to brown and soft.

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Roasted Vegetable Soup with Chipotle
Author: 
Recipe type: soup, lunch, snack, dinner, entree, appetizer,
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups roasted vegetables, chopped (carrots, cauliflower, celery, onion)
  • 2 cups stock
  • 1 tbsp chipotle in adobo sauce
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ¼ cup bok choy, chopped
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Toss roasted vegetables into pot and place over medium heat on stove. Add in stock, cumin and bok choy. Bring soup to a boil and lower to simmer. Add in chipotles and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let simmer about 15 minutes to marry the flavours.
  2. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
  3. Using an immersion blender or food processor puree your soup. If using food processor puree in small batches. I added in a little extra stock to loosen it up a bit.
  4. Place back on stove to heat up to a light simmer.
  5. Pour into your bowl and serve with a sprinkle of bok choy salad, croutons, or even shaved Parmesan.
Notes
To make bok choy salad: Combine ½ cup sliced thin bok choy leaves, 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds, ½ tsp sesame oil, ½ tsp orange zest, 1 tsp orange juice, pinch of salt. Mix well and place a dollop on your soup.

 

Chicken & Sausage Soup

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Tis the Season. For colds and flu. Always amazes me how one can get sick and the other one can miss it entirely. It was a day where one of the minions was under the weather. When this happens I always make a big batch of chicken soup. Sometimes with noodles. Sometimes with rice. This soup had sausage.

The last time I was in the store I picked up a couple fresh links of Spolumbo’s Chicken & Apple Sausage. I had the intention of making a soup or stew with it one day and this was going to be the day. Just so happens we had leftover roasted chicken in the fridge and so the union was meant to be. Rummaged around for some chicken soup vegetables, grabbed some broth and a Chicken & Sausage Soup was born. I always use some form of broth in my soup since it adds so much flavour.

Everyone loved it and it didn’t take very long to make. It was so comforting to have a bowl of hot steaming soup on a cold Calgary day and a pimped up version of chicken soup. Here are the particulars.

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Chicken & Sausage Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup, Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Main,
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 2 (300kg) chicken sausage links
  • 1 cup roasted chicken, cut up
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 cup carrots, diced
  • 1 cup celery, diced
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 8 cups chicken stock
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
Instructions
  1. In a saucepan over medium heat add a small glugg of olive oil.
  2. Remove sausage from casing and drop in to hot pan. Use a potato masher to break up sausage into smaller pieces. Cook until pink is gone.
  3. Add onions, carrots and celery into pan with sausage. Drop heat to low and cook for 5-10 minutes or until vegetables start to soften slightly. Add in thyme.
  4. Pour in stock, add chicken and bring soup to a boil. Drop down to a simmer. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt and pepper and parsley.
  5. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes to ensure vegetables soft.
  6. Serve with fresh buns or crusty rolls.

 

Loose Moose Theatre: Jack & The Beanstalk | Smoky White Beans

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We’ve been patrons of the Loose Moose Theatre at the Crossroads Market for over six years (since my daughter was two). It’s always been an affordable, enjoyable and interactive afternoon outing for the entire family. If you decide to check out a performance, whatever you do, do not expect a quiet relaxing rest. While you may get to take a load off your feet, it will not be quiet to say the least. The audience gets involved in the show at times and of course, little kids can not sit still or keep quiet for long. Noise throughout the play is expected, accepted and sometimes even encouraged.

The Actors are clearly well versed in their craft. They re-create and re-tell classic children’s stories adding in humour specifically tailored for the adults as well. You can buy simple & light snacks at the concession or bring in your own snacks. I have seen many a birthday party group come in to enjoy the show. The tickets are remarkably cheap when you compare to some of the other Kids Theatre Shows around town. After all these years we are getting to know, and love some of the Actors who we’ve seen many times and the ones who continue to shine in each production they participate in. There’s a whole lot of love that goes into these productions and that is why we remain Season’s Ticket Holders. Plus our kids love it.

Other shows to catch at the Loose Moose Theatre beyond kids performances are an evening Improv show, Gorilla Theatre or the ever popular Chrismoose Carol during the Holiday Season. So much fun.

The recipe ingredient for this Adventure series post featuring Jack & The Beanstalk, was obvious; Beans. But trying to decide what kind of beans to use was the biggest challenge. I used green beans, canned beans and bulk beans in my recipe testing until I settled on this recipe. I decided on the canned white kidney beans I had in the pantry. I paired them with some cut up Pancetta and Mennonite Sausage I had purchased at the Farmer’s Market. It became a smoky and delicious bite that needed very little seasoning. The smoky sausage and pancetta were the flavour enhancers in this dish. I further had some fresh cut side pork strips in the fridge I wanted to incorporate into the dish. So I cut them into thin strips (this part of the animal, cut up is called Lardons), fried until crisp, mixed with some parsley and used it to garnish the dish. These strips were not smoked so I added some salt for flavour as I was cooking them.

Add in two more cups of broth and you have a magnificent tasting soup. Grating on some Asiago or Parmesan cheese would also be a delicious addition giving the soup some depth. Eat it as a main dish, light lunch, pair with a roast or use it as a side. Comfort food that hugs you.

Loose Moose Theatre
Loose Moose Theatre Programs over the years. Missing a few I reckon.

 

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Loose Moose: Jack & The Bean Stalk | Smoky White Beans
Author: 
Recipe type: Side dish, lunch, entree
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 3 pieces pancetta, diced
  • ⅓ cup smoked sausage, diced
  • ⅓ cup shallot, diced
  • 1 cup carrot, chopped
  • ½ cup celery, chopped
  • 1 540 ml (19 oz) can white kidney beans or
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • ¼ tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
  • ¼ tsp Herbes de Provence
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
  • ¼ cup bacon Lardons, crispy
  • 1 tbsp parsley, fresh & chopped
Instructions
  1. Pour some oil into a medium sized pot set over medium heat. Add your pancetta and let cook for a few minutes. Next add your sausage and shallots. Cook for a few more minutes.
  2. Stir in carrots, celery, rosemary and Herbes de Provence. Let cook another 10 minutes to soften vegetables.
  3. Add chicken broth, beans and a pinch each of salt and pepper.
  4. Lower heat to simmer and cook for about 30 minutes.
  5. On cutting board or in small bowl mix together Lardons and chopped parsley.
  6. To serve place cooked beans in a bowl and top with Lardon/Parsley mixture.

 

Carrot & Cumin Soup

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Some days you just feel like soup. Nothing else. Soup. Maybe a Sandwich because you need to feed the minions a little more than soup or you can’t guarantee they will like the soup you made. But mostly soup. I made this soup and it rocked our world. Well the grown ups. Easy Peasy as Jamie Oliver would say.

Make it entirely vegan by replacing the chicken stock with vegetable stock and omitting the butter.

Easy, quick and currently our favourite comfort soup.

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Carrot & Cumin Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup, lunch, entree, main
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup shallots, sliced
  • 2½ cups carrots, chopped
  • 1 cup baker (russet) potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • salt and pepper
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
  1. In a large pot over medium heat melt your butter and olive oil. Add carrots and potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes then add your shallots. Saute for another 10 minutes turning heat down as necessary.
  2. Stir in coriander, cumin, ginger, salt and pepper. Cook another couple of minutes.
  3. Add broth and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, stir and reduce heat to simmer. Cook 20 - 30 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
  4. Using an immersion blender or food processor puree your soup. If using food processor puree in small batches.
  5. Serve with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro or flat leaf parsley.

 

Roasted Tomato Soup

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I am excited to be participating in November 2013 challenge for the Canadian Food Project, The Canadian Harvest. The Canadian Food Project Experience was started on June 7, 2013 by Valerie Lugonja of A Canadian Foodie. It’s a compilation of Canadian Food Bloggers who are committed to sharing their time, unique regional Canadian food experiences, and recipes. We hope to bring clarity to our Canadian Culinary identity by sharing food that is important to us as Canadians.

With a short growing season, September and October bring us a cornucopia of tomatoes. My own little crop of tomatoes are grown in container plants on my deck. This year we harvested quite a number of lovely little tomato specimens and true to form in Calgary, we get early frost in September, so it becomes a race against time to get everything harvested. Since many were picked green, they had to be left on the counter to ripen. And ripen they did.

Growing up in the 1970’s, my parents garden was full of blooming edibles. The greenhouse was home to many varieties of tomatoes and cucumbers. I believe it was an art growing such delicacies and my mom had mastered it. Every Summer and Fall we would have an abundance of fresh produce to enjoy. Many of the tomatoes were canned and stored for the winter. A couple of my favourite things to eat was tomatoes picked fresh from the garden and my mom’s canned tomatoes that had been warmed in a pot, mixed in with cooked macaroni and finished with Parmesan and salt. One thing she never did get into was making tomato soup, until I was in my twenties and living in Vancouver. So for us, as children, tomato soup consisted of Old Fashioned Tomato, Basil and Rice Soup, from a can. Long live Campbell’s.

Tomatoes from Wanda's Garden
Tomatoes from Wanda’s Garden

Compelled and determined to bring my own rug rats up on home made soups, I’ve been trying different versions of tomato soups over the years. One memorable epic fail was squash and tomato…it did not work together. This year we had our own red and yellow garden tomatoes to use and a friend’s red tomatoes from her garden that she shared with us.

When I think of an Albertan or Prairie Harvest, I think beyond wheat, mustard, grains and canola oil…I think about all the love and care that goes into the Farms and the crops the farmers grow and protect from damaging weather and hail, only to harvest and bring to market. A true labour of love.

As we entered November I needed to use up what was left of our tomato harvest and so yet again, I made tomato soup. This time it worked.

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Roasted Tomato Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: soup, dinner, lunch,
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
  • 6 cups tomatoes, washed and stem removed, large ones quartered
  • ½ onion, thick slice
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled
  • olive oil
  • 6-8 fresh basil leaves
  • 3 whole sundried tomatoes packed in oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 2-3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • slices of provolone or mozzarella cheese
  • croutons, homemade or store bought
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. In a baking dish toss your tomatoes, onion and garlic with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place in oven and let roast for 30-45 minutes or until caramelized. Remove and set aside.
  3. In a pot over medium high heat add roasted tomatoes. Toss in basil and sundried tomatoes. Taste for seasoning and as salt as needed. Pour in stock, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove and set side aside.
  4. Using an immersion blender or food processer puree soup mixture in batches. Strain to remove any large bits.
  5. Pour into oven safe bowls, add croutons and cheese. Add to 400F oven and let cook until cheese has melted and/or lightly browned. Remove and serve.

 

 

 

Shredded Brussels Sprout & Sausage Soup

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As I was making this soup last night I was reminded of a pasta I used to make back in the early 1990’s. Back then I worked with a great group of people, in the hair industry, and we would have these fabulous potlucks or gatherings. Inspiration came from everywhere those days and really enhanced my food aspirations.

The 1990 pasta had a base of onions, garlic and sausage. The other ingredients I added were based on what I had available. Always finished with a sprinkling of freshly grated Asiago Cheese. My mom posted this pasta recipe in her community cookbook back in the 1990’s. I think it’s time to revive this pasta dish and share it since the smell of the onion, garlic and sausage brought me back to another time and place reminding me why it was so good.

Back to the soup. We love and adore a locally made sausage called Spolumbo’s Sausage. No binders and no fillers and very delicious. So much so we had it for our rehearsal dinner BBQ, the night before our wedding many moons ago. Spolumbo’s Sausage & Deli is a labour of love between brothers Tom Spoletini, former Lineman for the Calgary Stampeders, Tony Spoletini, former Fullback for the Calgary Stampeders, and Mike Palumbo, also a former CFL football player and Offensive Lineman. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Tony in the past during one of the many outdoor BBQ and community events Spolumbo’s has been involved in. They have a large variety of sausages to choose from, some that are made with 100% Alberta Pork and admittedly, we eat our fair share every month.

Some days recipes come from rummaging through the fridge, and last night’s soup was one of those experiments that became soup a la whatever I have in the fridge. I decided to toss in some thinly sliced brussels sprouts mid simmer. Then serve the soup topped with fresh chopped parsley tossed with more thinly sliced brussels sprouts. Parmesan cheese rounded it out.

To get the kids interested I added some precooked Alphabet pasta. It worked. They only picked out the bigger pieces of tomatoes. I was even able to sell the shredded brussels sprouts as celery..heh heh heh. They loved it.

A lovely Fall/Winter soup full of flavour. Use your favourite sausage, or seek out some Spolumbo’s and find out why we love it so much.

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Shredded Brussels Sprout & Sausage Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup, Lunch, Dinner
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup onion, chopped
  • 2 large uncooked sausages, casing removed
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 6 cups beef broth
  • 1 16oz can whole tomatoes
  • ½ cup fresh brussel sprouts, sliced thin
  • ¼ tsp thyme
  • 1 cup white kidney beans
  • salt and pepper
  • Parmesan6 cheese
  • olive oil
  • Alphabet Pasta, cooked
  • ¼ cup parsley, chopped
  • ½ cup brussel sprouts, sliced thin
Instructions
  1. In a skillet over medium heat, pour in a glug of olive oil and your onions. Cook onions until almost translucent.
  2. Add garlic and cook for another minute then add sausage breaking it up as you drop it into the pan. Use a potato masher to help get the bigger chunks broken up. Add carrots. Cook until sausage has a nice brown on it.
  3. Pour in beef broth and tomatoes, breaking up tomatoes as you go. Season with thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. Turn up heat and bring to a boil.
  4. Once boiling turn down to simmer, add beans and brussel sprouts. Test for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.
  5. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
  6. To serve spoon some pasta into a bowl and ladle some piping hot soup over top. Mix together parsley and ½ cup brussel sprouts and place a little on top of soup. Finish with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

 

Roasted Fennel and Broccoli Soup

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I love soups. Smelling up the house while they cook. I’m trying to get my kids to eat more soup. Wish me luck? They tend to enjoy raw vegetables over cooked. But one must not give up. I had someone come to the door while this soup was simmering on the stove and they were drooling over the smells wafting through the air.

I haven’t made many pureed soups and honestly the family was not too sure about the texture of this soup. But I loved it and I am going to start making more pureed soups to put into rotation. So easy and so healthy.

More often then not my inspiration these days comes from something I’ve heard, seen, or what’s in my pantry/fridge. I’ve had a fennel bulb taking up space for two weeks with the intention of making a salad. Decided today was the day of the fennel bulb. And it wasn’t going to be salad. Looked in the fridge again and broccoli pops out. Thinking a fennel and broccoli soup might work. I used to Google my ideas to see if they’d been done before and I finally clued in to the fact that was a bad idea. Who cares if it’s been done before, at this moment in time it’s my idea inspired by the vegetables staring back at me from the fridge. You can totally make this vegetarian by using vegetable stock or water instead of chicken stock. And you can omit the evaporated milk for a Vegan soup. I just so happen to have some leftover from pumpkin pies so it tossed it in.

Substitute almond or coconut milk (unsweetened) if you are making this while doing the Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox.

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Roasted Fennel and Broccoli Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup, Lunch, Dinner,
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • ½ onion, chopped
  • 1 bulb fennel, cut of top part and chop bottom
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 cups broccoli, including stems, chopped
  • ¼ tsp dried basil
  • ¼ tsp dried thyme
  • ¼ tsp coriander
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • ⅓ cup evaporated milk
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 1 tsp lemon or lime juice, fresh squeezed
  • olive oil
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. In a bowl toss in chopped fennel, a splash of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Lay out fennel onto parchment lined baking sheet. Roast in oven for 10 minutes, stir and roast another 10 minutes. Remove from oven, set aside.
  3. While fennel is roasting, get a medium sized pot heating on the stove. Add a swish of olive oil and toss in your onions. Cook until they start to soften. Add in garlic and roasted fennel. Stir and let cook on medium low for a few minutes. Toss in broccoli, basil, thyme, coriander and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and cook a few more minutes.
  4. Pour in your chicken stock and nutmeg. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until all vegetables are soft. Pour in evaporated milk and bring to a light boil. Remove pot from heat. Add your lemon or lime juice and taste for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
  5. Using an immersion blender puree soup until no longer chunky. If you do not have an immersion blender, puree in a blender in small batches.
  6. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and drizzle of olive oil.

 

Beef Noodle Soup

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Kids activity nights require quick meals.  I had some leftover roast beef (sliced thin) from a recent roast dinner and had been wanting to do a Vietnamese Beef style Pho (or my rendition of it) for awhile.   Of course I decided to make the soup on an activity night and did not have the time or ingredients to make it the way a Pho should be made.  So I went with what I had and came up with this delicious tasting Beef Noodle Soup.

You can use any leftover roast (cut thin), or steak.  The vermicelli noodles can be the rice kind or regular pasta version.  Precooked noodles makes it easy to assemble this dish quickly.   Play around with seasonings if you wish until you find a flavour combination you like.  A squeeze of lime and some bean sprouts would have been equally delicious to add before serving.

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Beef Noodle Soup
Recipe type: Entree, Lunch, Main, Dinner, Soup
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 tetra packs beef stock (7 cups approx.)
  • 1-2 cups cooked leftover roast beef, chopped
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
  • 1 celery stalk, diced
  • ½ onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1-2 tsp fish sauce
  • couple drops sriracha sauce
  • 1-2 green onions, chopped
  • ¼ cup parsley, chopped
  • Vermicelli noodles (precooked)
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • olive oil
Instructions
  1. Pour a glug of olive oil in a hot pan. Add your chopped onion, carrots and celery. Cook until they soften. Add garlic, cook for an extra 1-2 minutes.
  2. Pour in your beef stock and bring to a boil. Add worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, couple drops sriracha sauce, fish sauce and a pinch of salt & pepper. Turn down and let simmer about 20 minutes.
  3. Place cooked noodles in a bowl. With a ladle pour in some soup and top with green onions & parsley.

 

 

 

 

Gazpacho Soup

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Hard to believe I’ve gone over a decade without making a gazpacho.  It’s a cold summer soup with a delicious blend of flavours.  I also find it sort of a palate cleanser.  It was a last minute addition to my dinner Saturday night and as such I served it as a gazpacho shooter.  It was divine.

Note salt is important in this soup to bring out the flavours. So do not skimp on the salt!

This makes at least 4-6 servings if you are not serving it in a shooter glass.  If you are going with the shooter theme it makes at least 8 cups or too many soup shooters to count.

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Gazpacho Soup
Recipe type: Appetizers, Dinner, Lunch, Slurpin Soups, Vegetarian
 
Ingredients
  • 6 large red, ripe tomatoes
  • 1 cup peeled, seeded cucumber, chopped
  • ½ cup red onion
  • 1 yellow pepper, seeded & chopped
  • 1 clove garlic
  • ⅓-1/2 cup white wine, dry
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • ½ – 1 tsp salt
Instructions
  1. Halve tomatoes crosswise and squeeze out juice/seeds into strainer set over bowl (you want to keep the juice, not the seeds). Reserve juice. Dice tomato and put into bowl with juice.
  2. In bowl add cucumber through salt. Give a quick mix and then pour into a blender. Pulse and blend until smooth. You made need to do this in 2 batches. Pour into a covered bowl or tupperware type container and refrigerate for a minimum 4 hours.
  3. Dice some cucumber, tomato and red onion. Place in a bowl and set aside as a garnish.
  4. Take soup out, stir and when ready to serve pour into a bowl or in my case shot glasses (I love serving soup this way). Sprinkle some of the garnish on top and serve with a small spoon. This soup is a little thicker and as such a small spoon may be required.
  5. Besides the added salt this is a very healthy soup.

 

Slow Cooker Beef Minestrone Soup

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Delicious beef soup on a cold, fall/winter day comes in the form of our Beef Minestrone Soup in the Crockpot.  Many variations of Minestrone soup are available, this is one version we enjoy.  We prefer to cook our pasta and add it separately since when  it sits in the soup over night (leftovers) it tends to soak up all the soup broth.

In the photo I did not have cabbage for this some so I shredded extra zucchini and added in some chopped carrots & celery.  Really anything goes.

Our preferred noodles for this soup are Ditali noodles but you could use macaroni or any smaller type noodle.

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Slow Cooker Beef Minestrone Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Dinner, Lunch, Soup
 
Ingredients
  • 1 lb beef stew meat
  • 6 cups beef broth
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced (dried works too if you do not have fresh)
  • Splash (tbsp) worcestershire sauce
  • Splash hot sauce
  • 1 (16oz) can diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups napa cabbage, chopped
  • 1 (15oz) can cannellini or white navy beans, drained & rinsed
  • ½ cup zucchini, grated
  • 1½ cup cooked macaroni
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese
  • salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a skillet over medium high heat, add a little oil and quickly sear your stew beef in small batches. Transfer to crock pot.
  2. Next add in your broth, onions, thyme, bay leaves, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, tomatoes, cabbage and salt/pepper to taste.
  3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. At about 6-8 hours add in your beans, zucchini and parsley. Allow to cook another 30 minutes or so.
  4. Meanwhile cook your pasta, drain, mix in some butter and set aside.
  5. When serving ladle some soup into a bowl, add some macaroni and top with a good heaping of parmesan. Yum.

Turkey Meatball Soup

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As the rain commeth down, and Fall under our toes, I am feeling more like soup these days. I did not grow up eating home made soups, or a lot of soup in general, but I want my kids to have home made soups in their lives, and so I continue to try out different soups to tempt their little palates. It’s a comfort thing.

This is a tried and true one that is quick, easy, tasty and the kids can help roll the meat balls. I like to make the meatballs very small as small (little bites) seems to be more appealing at times for my kids. You change change up the meat to chicken if you don’t have turkey, same with the stock. It’s all good.

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Turkey Meatball Soup
Author: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 1-2 tbsp oil
  • ½ small onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, peeled and grated
  • 1-2 stalk celery, chopped & minced
  • 4-8 cups chicken and/or turkey stock
  • 1 lb ground turkey or chicken
  • 5 tbsp parmesan
  • 5 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tbsp poultry spices (thyme, sage, oregano)
  • 1 egg
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp parsley, chopped if fresh
  • ½ cup orzo
  • salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Put your oil in a pan on stove. Saute onions, carrots and celery for 5-10 minutes until softened slightly. Add your stock and bring to a boil. Drop heat a little and let simmer while you start rolling your meatballs.
  2. In a bowl mix the ground bird with the cheese, bread crumbs, poultry spices, egg, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Roll into 1 inch balls (or smaller) and place on a plate.
  3. Once all meatballs prepared you can then start dropping them directly into the soup.
  4. Meanwhile boil your water for your orzo. Once boiling salt it like the sea and drop in your orzo. Cook until Al dente. Drain, put back in pot and add a little butter or olive oil to prevent sticking.
  5. Dish your soup into your bowl and add as much orzo as you enjoy.
  6. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese if you wish and serve immediately.

Black Bean Soup with Bacon, Crockpot

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I’m all about my crockpot and really into soups these days (I try to do one a week). I guess I want our kids to be exposed to more than I was as a child (no offense campbell’s) and learn difference flavours and textures (even if they are fussy right now I’m not giving up).   That’s where our latest soup recipe Black Bean Soup with Bacon, Crockpot comes in.  I love having a big pot of soup for supper in the colder months and some yummy crusty bread/rolls to accompany it.

This month so far we’ve had success with our Pizza Soup, Hamburger Soup and a Minestrone Soup (with napa cabbage). It’s also nice the kids I look after are great eaters and so I can happily experiment more regardless of how our kids eat!

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Black Bean Soup with Bacon, Crockpot
Recipe type: Soup, Main, Entree, Lunch,
 
Ingredients
  • 6 slices bacon, chopped
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp thyme, dried
  • 2 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp oregano, dried
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 6 cups chicken stock (or approx. 2 tetra packs for a little more)
  • 2-3 cans - black beans, rinsed & drained (I use canned and put some aside to add whole into the soup)
  • ⅓ cup lime juice, fresh
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • Cayenne Pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Cook your bacon until crisp. Remove from pan to drain and set aside.
  2. Drain most of bacon fat leaving a little behind. Add your onions, celery, carrots and cook until soft.
  3. Drop in garlic, thyme, cumin & cumin seeds, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne if using. Stir for 1 minute. Next add tomato paste, stirring to combine.
  4. Transfer mixture to crock pot and add bacon, stock and beans. Mix well.
  5. Cover and cook on Low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
  6. Before serving stir in lime juice and puree soup in batches. Pour into bowls and add optional garnishes.
Notes
What I love about crockpot recipes is they can be mostly prepared the night before and stored (in crockpot stoneware) in the fridge overnight. The next morning you take out stoneware, put in crockpot base and turn on. Optional Garnishes can be anything: chopped cilantro, sour cream, salsa, chopped bell peppers or tomatoes, chopped spanish onion or corn, extra black beans. Try different flavour combinations to determine what you enjoy.

Slow Cooker Hamburger Soup

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Here’s another delicious soup for a cold day. Slow Cooker Hamburger Soup has been done many times before so this is a slight variation of an original recipe using onion soup mix. Cooked in the Slow Cooker it makes for a lovely smelling meal to come home to.

We enjoy this soup and admittedly have it a couple of times a month during the colder Fall and Winter months. Top it with a good helping of freshly grated  Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano (a more salty cheese) & some crouton crumbles.

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Hamburger Soup
Author: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 1lb lean ground beef
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 cup celery, chopped
  • 1 cup carrots, sliced
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp dried basil
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 package dry onion soup mix
  • 3 cups boiling water
  • 1½ cans tomato sauce (8 oz)
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1-2 cup macaroni (or any small pasta), cooked & drained
  • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (or more)
  • croutons
Instructions
  1. Over medium high heat brown beef and chopped onion. Cooked until beef is nicely browned. Toss into crockpot and add remaining ingredients except pasta, cheese & croutons. Cook on low for up to 8 hours or on high for 3-5 hours.
  2. To serve add cooked pasta to soup bowls and ladle hot soup over top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and croutons.

Pizza Soup

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We’ve had a cold snap here in Calgary and Pizza Soup has been requested. Growing up soups consisted of whatever Campbell’s soup was in the pantry. At this stage of my life I really enjoy a bowl of hot steaming soup on a cold day. I started experimenting more with soups in the 90’s, my bachelorette years, and this pizza soup came about after I met my husband. The kids love it and request it regularly.

One great thing about this soup is you can play with your ingredients. Try turkey pepperoni or if you like spicy, add in a spicy pepperoni. Change up  your mushrooms…use a meatier portabello if you like the texture of this mushroom. With this soup I sometimes leave the peppers out due to my husbands dislike for them. Instead I chiffonade 1/2 cup of fresh spinach and add it in. You could further replace pepperoni with ham or salami. Don’t be afraid to play and change things up!

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Pizza Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Dinner, Lunch, Entree
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 cup mushrooms, sliced (or more)
  • ½ cup pepper (red, green, any), chopped
  • 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 1 cup thinly sliced pepperoni (I use sticks)
  • ½ tsp basil
  • ½ -1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
  • salt & pepper
Instructions
  1. In a large pot heat your oil. Add onions, mushrooms and pepper. Stir and cook until soft.
  2. Pour in tomatoes breaking up with a spoon or your fingers. Add stock and bring to a boil.
  3. Turn heat down to a simmer and add pepperoni, basil and a pinch of salt & pepper. Mix and cook for 30 minutes.
  4. Ladle hot soup into bowls. Top with shredded cheese and enjoy.