Tag Archives: stew

grandma’s tortilla soup

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As I’ve mentioned on here before, one reason I love living with my grandma is getting to spend time with her in the kitchen — she is teaching me so many wonderful recipes! {such as: curried butternut squash & apple soup / asian chicken curried salad / apple cake with brown sugar glaze … mmm!}

Today I have a new recipe to share, one of my very favorites, perfect for the drizzly weather we’ve been having here lately:

grandma tortilla soup.jpg

grandma’s tortilla soup
– 2 tsp olive oil
– 6 scallions, thinly sliced
– 3 cloves garlic, minced
– 1 cup diced tomatoes {canned or fresh}
– 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
– ½ cup chopped cilantro
– ½ tsp oregano
– ½ tsp salt
– 1 cup frozen corn kernels
– 2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tsp olive oil over low heat.

2. Add half the scallions and the garlic and cook about one minute, until scallions are tender.

3. Stir in tomatoes, broth, ¼ cup cilantro, oregano, salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook ten minutes.

4. Add corn and cook another few minutes.

5. To serve, stir in tortilla chips, remaining scallions, cilantro, lime juice.

Bonus: this soup makes the house smell aaaaaamazing!! Enjoy!

tortilla soup

if you like this recipe, you might also enjoy:
– savory pumpkin & kale stew
– crock-pot chicken & veggie stew
– shrimp & sausage stew
– creamy blended cauliflower & potato soup

curried butternut squash & apple soup

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apple week

Oh my goodness you guys. This soup. My grandma pulled out the recipe the other day and I was thinking, “Are we really going to try to make this??” I was intimidated by the blender part of the process. But it really wasn’t difficult at all. The toughest part of the whole recipe was cutting up the butternut squash! Next time we are definitely going for the easy pre-cut packaged option … definitely worth the extra couple bucks, in my opinion.

Anyway … I highly recommend this soup! Healthy, hearty, creamy, the slight spice of the curry mingling with the sweetness of the apples and squash … YUM. This soup = autumn in a bowl. Enjoy!

butternut squash soup

curried butternut squash and apple soup

– 3 lbs butternut squash, cubed
– 2 apples, peeled and chopped {we used gala apples}
– 2 cups onions, diced
– 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
– 4 or 5 tbsp curry powder {depending on your taste for curry}
– 1 cup apple juice
– salt & pepper to taste
– green apple for garnish, if desired

1. Peel and chop your squash and apples. As mentioned previously, I would highly recommend using pre-packaged chopped butternut squash for this recipe, but if not I’d recommend baking the squash in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until soft. That will make it much easier to peel and chop!

2. Saute the diced onions in a little bit of butter or olive oil. Add curry powder and cook until onions are translucent.

3. Add the squash, apples and chicken broth and bring to a boil.

soup pre blend

4. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer, half-covered, for approximately 25 minutes, until the squash and apples are soft.

5. Pour soup through a strainer, reserving the liquid. Blend the squash/apple/onion mixture in a blender or food processor until creamy.

6. Transfer blended soup back into the pot. Add the apple juice. Gradually stir in the reserved liquid until the soup reaches desired consistency.

soup creamy

7. Heat the soup on the stove until warmed through.

8. If desired, garnish with grated green apple. Serve warm.

I paired mine with a grilled cheese sandwich and it was the perfect dinner on a crisp autumn night!

grilled cheese

Question of the morning:

  • What are some of your favorite apple recipes? #appleweek

if you like this recipe, you might also enjoy:
– creamy blended potato & cauliflower soup
– savory pumpkin & kale stew
– shrimp & sausage stew

shrimp + sausage stew

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Before I leave for my new adventure up north, I asked my mom to teach me how to make one of my favorite dishes of hers: shrimp + sausage stew! This soup is healthy, hearty, veggie-filled, and light enough that it works as well for dinner in the summer as it does in the winter. And turns out it’s not as tough to make as I would have guessed! Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

my mom’s shrimp + sausage stew
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– 1 lb potatoes {my mom uses Yukon golds}
– 3 carrots
– 2 tsp minced garlic
– 1 medium onion
– 1 pkg {approx. 4-5 links} Italian-style chicken sausage
– 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
– 2 tbsp flour
– 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
– 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
– 1/2 cup chopped parsley

1. Scrub the potatoes. Peel the carrots. Thinly slice the potatoes, carrots and onions. {According to my mom, this is the most intensive step of the entire recipe!}

2. In a large pot, heat the olive oil and saute the minced garlic, potatoes, onions and carrots. Season with cayenne, salt and pepper to your own taste. {Side note: your kitchen will smell AMAZING!}

3. Cook potato mixture for 15-18 minutes, until the potatoes are crisp-tender. You might have to keep stirring fairly frequently to ensure the mixture doesn’t stick to the pan. {If needed, you can always add a little water or chicken broth to unstick.}

shrimp stew 1

4. In a separate pan, cook the sausage over medium heat, turning occasionally so it doesn’t burn. Once the sausage is fully cooked, remove from pan and allow to cool on a paper towel before slicing.

sausage

5. Sprinkle flour over potato-and-veggie mixture. Add chicken broth and sausage. Bring to a boil.

stew cooking

6. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 5-8 more minutes.

7. If needed, clean and de-vein the shrimp!

shrimp

8. Add shrimp, cover and simmer 3-4 more minutes, until the shrimp are pink. {Mom’s tip: be careful not to overcook the shrimp!}

stew finished

9. Top with chopped parsley and serve. Ta da!

Optional: In my house, we love to serve this stew with freshly baked corn muffins! Yum!

corn muffins

Hope your weekend is filled with rest, relaxation, sunshine, and of course delicious eats! 🙂

What do you have on tap for this weekend?

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if you liked this recipe, you might also enjoy:
– potato, sausage & veggie bake
– california white chicken chili & corn muffins
– blended cauliflower and potato soup

creamy blended cauliflower & potato soup

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Look what I got!

stick blender

Yaaaaay, a stick blender! I’ve been wanting one of these ever since I started cooking more at home and using my regular stand blender to make dishes like homemade hummus. I love my stand blender, but cleaning it out can be a pain — the stick blender appealed to me when making smaller blended dishes like personalized morning smoothies, or …

… creamy blended soups like this one!

cauliflower potato soup

As soon as I came across this recipe on Two Peas & Their Pod, I knew I had to try it out with my new immersion blender! It turned out great, and was much easier than I expected. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you could use a regular stand blender to blend this soup in batches. I tweaked it slightly, omitting the cheese and adding potato and kale. Here’s my recipe:

creamy cauliflower & potato soup

– 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
– 1 russet potato, diced
– 3 tsp minced garlic
– 2 tablespoons olive oil
– 1 medium onion, diced
– 2 celery stalks, diced
– 1 cup chopped kale
– 4 cups vegetable broth
– 2 teaspoons thyme
– 1 tablespoon rosemary

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Toss cauliflower and potatoes with olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, until cauliflower is golden brown.

roasted cauliflower

3. While cauliflower and potato mixture is roasting, saute onion, garlic and celery in olive oil over medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Add vegetable broth, kale, thyme and rosemary and bring to a boil.

4. Add roasted cauliflower and potato. Simmer 20-25 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

soup

5. Using an immersion blender {or in batches in a blender/food processor}, blend the soup until it is smooth.

blending soup

6. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste, and serve warm. {Ours tasted perfect paired with these low-fat garlic cheese biscuits!}

cauliflower soup

This soup was delicious, perfect for a snowy winter night. And I love how healthy it is! Such a creamy soup, without any cream!

Anyone else loving immersion blenders and blended soups?

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if you liked this recipe, you might also enjoy:
– chicken & veggie stew in the crock-pot
– savory pumpkin & kale stew
– my favorite mashed potatoes
– easy sausage, veggie & potato bake

pumpkin week: savory {and easy!} pumpkin & kale stew

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Whew, what a night! After a whirlwind election day, I was in the mood for something simple for dinner.  When I saw this recipe for savory pumpkin and kale stew on one of my favorite cooking blogs The Pajama Chef, I thought it would be the perfect dish to try as part of my pumpkin week series!

I must admit, I had never had pumpkin soup before and was a little skeptical, but after reading Sarah The Pajama Chef’s rave reviews, my curiosity won out and I decided to try out the dish myself!

This soup turned out absolutely delicious. It’s hearty thanks to the chicken and veggies, creamy thanks to the pumpkin and dash of cream, and very flavorful. It just tastes like autumn — warm and comforting. And it’s super healthy with the kale, carrots, and Vitamin-A-filled pumpkin!

{Here is my recipe, modified a little from the one I found on The Pajama Chef}

ingredients:

– 1 tablespoon olive oil
– 1 small onion, diced
– 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
– 2 cloves garlic, minced
– freshly ground black pepper
– 4 cups chicken broth
– 1 & 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
– 2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
– 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
– 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
– 3-4 leaves kale, chopped {about 2-3 loosely packed cups}
– 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
– 2 tablespoons half and half

1. In a stock pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and garlic, and season with black pepper. Saute for about 5-6 minutes or until soft and translucent.

2. Next, add chicken broth, pumpkin, black beans, chicken, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir until combined, then cover and bring to a boil. {Sarah’s original recipe includes adding a can of stewed tomatoes as well, which I’m sure would be delicious. I took the tomatoes out of my recipe because Mike is allergic.}

3. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Add kale and sage, and cook for another minute or two.

5. Stir in half and half and serve immediately.

This meal was a winner for me and I will definitely be making it again! And I’m already looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow. 😉

What are some of your favorite stew and soup recipes? Have you ever made pumpkin or butternut squash soup?

Till tomorrow,
-Dallas

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– Time: about 30 mins
– Cost: less than $10

crock-pot chicken & veggie stew

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Confession: I used to be afraid of crock pots.

It sounds silly, I know. I guess crock pots just sounded too good to be true! Throw a bunch of food in a crock pot, turn it on, go to work all day, then come home and dinner is ready? Are you sure there isn’t a catch?

I was worried about leaving something on all day in the kitchen without anyone being home. Isn’t that dangerous?

“No,” my mother told me. No, said the blogs and resources I scoured online.

“Why don’t you try it?” Mike encouraged me. He could tell I was wanting to make the leap into crock-pot cooking ever since I glimpsed the beautiful 4-quart brand-new crock pot his mom had bought him that he’d never taken out of the box.

A new era has dawned in our tiny apartment kitchen. Today I took that baby out of the box, rinsed the pot and lid with soap and water, and plugged it in. For my first crock-pot attempt, I tried something simple: chicken & veggie stew.

This recipe could not be easier or quicker. It took me ten minutes to prepare as I rushed to get ready and out the door for school this morning. Here is the recipe I used; you could easily substitute other veggies based on your preferences or what happens to be in your pantry.

crock-pot chicken & veggie stew

– 3 or 4 chicken breasts
– 1 medium-sized sweet potato
– 2 carrots
– 2 celery stalks
– 1 can corn, drained
– 1 can peas, drained
– 1 can green beans, drained
– 1 can chicken broth
– 1 tbsp garlic or onion powder
– 1 tsp chili powder
– 1 tbsp parsley

1. Dice the potato. Peel and slice the carrots and slice the celery.

2. Dump veggies into the crock pot.

3. Add chicken breasts on top.

4. Pour chicken broth over everything.

5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

6. 30 minutes before serving, sprinkle chicken with garlic/onion powder, chili powder, and parsley.

All day long, I thought about dinner simmering at home in the crock pot. Whenever I worried about something catching fire and the apartment burning down, Mike reassured me it would all be okay. {If you haven’t guessed by now, I can be a bit of a worry-wort sometimes!}

When we returned home this evening and opened the front door, a delicious aroma greeted us. The stew turned out fantastic! Yummy, warm, healthy, hearty … and ready to eat as soon as we stepped inside. What a treat to have a homemade dinner waiting for us on the kitchen counter!

It’s official: I am a crock-pot convert. I can’t wait to try all sorts of new slow-cooker recipes and share them with you on this blog. Please chime in below if you have any recipes or links to share!

Here are some helpful slow-cooker tips that recently were shared on one of my favorite blogs, I’m an Organizing Junkie:

Do you use a slow cooker to prepare meals? What are some of your favorite crock-pot recipes? How do you save time when making dinner on a busy weeknight?

Have a wonderful day!
-Dallas