West African Peanut Soup

Adapted from Mark Bittman

My version is basically the same ingredients as Mark Bittman’s but I added cilantro at the end, and chopped everything smaller so that the kids have an easier time eating it.  Mark Bittman says to core and halve tomatoes and to slice sweet potatoes into thick slices, but I shredded them with the food processor.
This recipe is surprisingly delicious and packed with vitamins and protein!  (I even like this but don’t usually like sweet potatoes)
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp neutral oil (grapeseed, “extra-light olive oil”, peanut oil)
1 medium red or white onion, chopped
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tbs minced garlic
1/2 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts chopped
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt/pepper
6 cups chicken stock
2 sweet potatoes peeled and cut into thick slices
8 plum tomatoes (coarsely chopped in food processor), or canned diced tomatoes, drained of liquid
1/2 lb collard greens or kale, chopped
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
Directions:
1.  Chop peanuts, or crush them with the side of a knife, orpulse them in a food processor to chop roughly.
2.  Put oil in a deep skillet or medium saucepan over medium heat; a minute later, add onion, ginger and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, 3-5 minutes.  Add chicken and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes, until just coloring.  Add 1/2 cup peanuts and the cayenne and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3.  Stir in the stock and the sweet potatoes, bring to a boil, and turn heat down to medium-low so the soup bubbles gently.  Stir in tomatoes and collards, then cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
4.  Stir in 1/4 cup peanut butter.  Taste, adjust seasoning (you may want to add more peanut butter at this point) and serve, garnished with remaining peanuts and cilantro if desired.

Sausage and Lentil soup

My husband LOVES Carraba's Sausage and Lentil soup, and I was trying to duplicate it.  I came across this Rachael Ray’s recipe for “Hungarian Stoup”, and it looked like it could be a winner- and it was!

Ingredients:

2 TBS olive oil
1 1/2 lbs hot Italian sausage (I ‘ve used turkey sausage the last couple times I’ve made it and it turns out great!
3 cloves garlic
1 onion
2 portabella mushrooms (I’ve made it with or without this)
1 cup carrots chopped or shredded
1 cup lentils
1 large potato chopped (I’ve made it without this, and my hubby liked it even better)
salt, pepper, bay leaf
2 tsp smoked paprika *
3 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1/2 tsp dry)
1 14 oz can fire roasted chopped tomatoes (hunts makes these)
6 cups chicken stock
4 cups kale, chopped
*make this yourself by combining 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 3/4 tsp paprika and pinch of cayenne pepper

1. Heat oil, brown and crumble sausage (removing casing first if using real sausage)
2. add garlic, onion, mushrooms and cook for a few minutes
3. add everything else, EXCEPT the kale, cover and boil for 15 minutes.
4. Add kale and let stand 5 more minutes.  Take rosemary stems out.

Creamless Creamy Potato Soup

The trick to making this soup creamy is to mash most of the potatoes before adding to the rest of the soup.  Sometimes I will mix a little cornstarch with water and add to the soup at the end if it doesn't seem thick enough.

Every time I make this soup, people ask for the recipe.

A guilt-free creamy potato soup is hard to find!

3 Tbs butter
1 medium carrot, diced or chopped
1/4 cup onion
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbs flour
1 qt 1% or 2% milk*
1/2 chicken boullion cube (depending on what kind you use)
6 medium potatoes, peeled diced and cooked in salted water
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste

1. Peel potatoes (although if I'm using red potatoes I like to leave some of the skin on for extra nutrients and texture) and cut into quarters.  Boil in salted water for about 10 minutes, or until fork-tender.

2.  Meanwhile, melt butter in a large dutch oven or soup pot.  Add carrot and onion and cook on low heat until tender (about 10 minutes) add garlic and cook for another minute.

3. Stir in flour

4.  Gradually stir in milk and boullion cube.  Cook over low heat while you get the potatoes drained and ready to go.

5.  Drain the potatoes and mash MOST of them, but leave 1 to dice, so you can have some chunkier potatoes in your soup too.

6.  Whisk the mashed potatoes into the soup, then add the diced.

7. stir in the cheese, parsley and seasonings.

8. At medium-low heat, gradually bring the soup CLOSE to a boil, but don't boil, or else the texture of the soup will change.  It is okay to eat it like this if you accidentally boil it, (as I have done many times), but the texture is much creamier and more delicious when you cook it on a lower heat.

*if you use 1% milk, you will probably want to add a cornstarch/water mixture to thicken it up a bit.  However, after refrigerating it, this soup will be much thicker the next day even without cornstarch

**for extra yummy soup, top with cheddar cheese and chives or scallions

Mulligatawny soup

Mulligatawny soup (America’s Test Kitchen)

When my husband saw this recipe in the 10 year addition of America's Test Kitchen cookbook, he wanted me to make it ASAP primarily because of the soup Nazi episode on Seinfeld, which helped make Mulligatawny soup famous!  It really is delicious and the kids love it too!

 

Spices
1 1/2 t. garam masala (McCormick is a good brand)
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1 1/2 t. ground coriander
1 t. ground turmeric

Soup
3 T. unsalted butter
2 medium onions, minced
1/2 c. sweetend shredded or flaked coconut
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
4 t. grated or minced fresh ginger (doing this on a box grater works well)
1 t. tomato paste
1/4 c. flour
7 c. low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth, if you prefer)
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1/2 c. brown or green lentils (not red!)
2 T. cilantro, minced
Plain yogurt, for serving

1. Combine spices in a small bowl and set aside. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the spices and saute until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the onions and coconut and cook until softened, 5-7 minutes. Sitr in garlic, ginger, and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Stir in the flour until combined, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth.

2. Stir in the carrots and celery, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 20-25 minutes.

3. Puree the soup in a blender in batches until smooth and return to a clean pot. Add the lentils and return to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes.

4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with cilantro and a dollop of yogurt. Soup can be stored for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of my favorite soups, and very simple.

1 cup chopped onion
3/4 c finely chopped carrot
1 clove garlic
6 ounces tortilla chips
3 cans chicken broth
2 cups water
1 cup salsa
1 can tomato paste
1 cup black beans (opt)
1 cup frozen corn (opt.)
1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar

Bring a little broth to a boil to cook onions and carrots.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Boil and reduce to simmer for 5 minutes.

Creamless creamy tomato soup

My husband loves cream of tomato soup, and I'm always telling him that it's not as good for him as he thinks it is.   I know of a restaurant that makes it with a 1:1 ratio of tomato to heavy cream!  In 1 cup of soup, you are probably getting enough fat for the entire day!

following is a simple recipe that I came across a while back from the More with Less cookbook.  It uses NO cream and is delicious. 

Creamy Tomato Soup

2 T butter
2 T chopped onion
3 – 4 T all-purpose flour
pinch of garlic, oregano, basil, thyme

1/2 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
2 t sugar
2 cups plain tomato juice
2 cups milk
Melt the butter over low heat in a 2-quart sauce pan. Add the onions and cook until soft, but not browned. Whisk in the flour and seasonings. While quickly whisking, slowly pour in the tomato juice. Cook and stir until boiling. Pour in the milk and heat through.
Yield: 4 cups

 (I usually triple this recipe so I can use the entire can of tomato juice, and my family LOVES this soup!)

Thai chicken soup

We've realized that the flavor of this soup is heavily dependent upon the type of red curry paste you use as well as the quality of the coconut milk.  The fattier the better!  There was an Asian market near us where I would get the best imported coconut milk (Arroy-D) but now they have been shut down, so I'm having a really hard time finding a good one. 

I finally found one that has come close to the Arroy-D brand and its called Asian Gourmet and has a nice rich coconut flavor.  

Thai-style curried chicken and rice soup

8 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thin strips

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 ½ TBS canola oil (I use extra light olive oil)

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup coarsely chopped mixed red, green and yellow bell peppers ( all I had were green, and I finely chop them)

¾ to 1 ½ tsp red curry paste (I used ¾ tsp, and then my husband just adds a little more to his after it is cooked because he likes things extra spicy)

2 ½ cups chicken broth

¼ cup long-grain white rice

½ cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 TBS chopped chives (for garnish—I didn’t have these)

       

   1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat until hot.  Add chicken; cook 3 minutes or until edges just begin to brown, stirring frequently.  Place on plate.

   2.   Add onion and bell peppers to saucepan.  Reduce heat to medium; cook 3 minutes or until just tender, stirring frequently.  Stir in curry paste; cook 30 seconds.  Add broth and rice; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to med-low; cover and cook 16-20 minutes (until rice is tender).

  
 3.   Stir in coconut milk and chicken with any accumulated juices.  Simmer 2 minutes or until heated through.  Sprinkle with chives.

*you definitely need to at LEAST double this, but probably triple this recipe!  

To get kids to eat this, it may be helpful to make a separate pot of rice, and serve their soup over the rice.  This helps to balance out the spiciness of the soup.