Chicken and Red Pepper Soup

Chicken and red pepper soup

This is the second dish I made from a 4 lb package of chicken thighs I had gotten for 88¢ per pound, the first was grilled thighs with potatoes and broccoli. I was planning on making three but just before adding the portion of roasted chicken I had set aside for the soup, I said to heck with it and threw all of it in. I'm glad I did because it made the soup extra chunky with lots of chicken.

This soup makes 4 big servings, add that with the two servings from the grilled thighs and that's 6 meals, making the chicken expense for all roughly 65¢ per serving. That is a great price point to start with and a good way to save a little extra money. Soup freezes well so if eating the left overs the next day doesn't appeal it can be made into a tasty ice cube and thawed for later.

This soup features the chicken but I also added two red peppers to the mirpiox. They were on sale at the grocery and I love their sweetness — hands down they are one of my favorite items to add to soup. If I would have had time I would have roasted the peppers before tossing them in but I needed my time for this soup dedicated to a long cook. Chicken thighs provided a buttery-rich flavor to the broth when given at least 45 minutes to simmer over low heat. As far as I'm concerned that long simmer makes this soup — or any chicken soup featuring the dark meat.

East well, cook often ...

Chicken and Red Pepper Soup

Chicken and red pepper soup

1 hour and 15 minutes
Serves 4
3 C chicken, thighs, roasted and shredded
2 red peppers, diced, seeded
3 stalks celery, diced
1 medium sized red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs Italian seasoning
3/4 C white wine
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
4 C chicken broth

In a little olive oil saute the onion, celery and red pepper over medium heat until soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic and Italian seasonings cook until garlic becomes fragrant, 1 or 2 minutes. Add white wine, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, increase heat, bring to a boil and let liquid reduce by 3/4ths, 5 to 7 minutes. Add broth and chicken, lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Remove from heat and serve.

Homemade Chicken Stock

Printable version

To take soup or other broth based dishes to a different level on the flavor scale, it should should feature a homemade broth or stock, like the recipe featured in this post. The end results can be restaurant quality recipes sure to warm the soul.

I recently found leg quarters on sale for 99 cents a pound. At first I thought of roasting them but by the time they hit the bottom of the shopping cart, I knew a batch of my own chicken stock was in order.

I spent my next day off cooking the quarters down into a yummy liquid then dividing and storing the results. I was left with a gallon of goodness that I portioned into four 1-quart containers. Three of which I froze for use later and the other I used to make a batch classic Mexican red chili sauce.

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Mounting the TV

This broth was a great project for a cool winter day and a nice break from the customizing and renovating I have been doing in my new place over the last few months. As much as I have talked about the home improvements in my last few posts, I thought I should share more of them here.

Immediately upon entering my apartment, a focal point jumps out in the living room - a black slate fire place.  Once I started putting the room together I was trying to find the best place for my flat screen TV. After hours of contemplation, one logical place seemed to jump out - right over the fireplace. Otherwise, I would have competing focal points.

I started by building a hollow shelf that would hold my TV components and hide all the wiring inside. Before mounting the shelf, I taped off the area above the slate and painted it flat black to carry the slate color up the wall. I placed the TV over the shelf, then hid all the wiring.

This was my first big project and the end result is an eye catching focal point for my living room.

More on the renovation later, until then, make some yummy broth!

Eat well, cook often ...


THE RECIPE
Makes 4 quarts; 4 to 5 hours
5 lbs Chicken leg, quarters
1 large Onion, quartered
3 stalks Celery, chopped
3 Carrots, chopped
1 turnip, quartered
6 cloves Garlic
4 sprigs Thyme
2 Bay leaves
2 Tbs Salt
1 Tbs Peppercorns

Make stock
In a 12 quart pot, place leg quarters, onion, celery, carrot, turnip, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, salt and peppercorns. Fill pot with water covering ingredients by an inch or two. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours. Stir occasionally.

Reduce
Strain liquid and discard solids. Return liquid to pot and simmer for another hour reducing liquid even further. Skim fat off top with a spoon.

Divide and use or store
Remove pot from heat and let liquid cool for a few minutes. Portion into quart containers, let cool a little more. Skim fat off top with a spoon. Use in a recipe or cover and freeze for up to six months.

Chicken and Cannellini Bean Soup

I made this soup for a gathering of 15 to 20 people. I had some extra bacon and a bundle of kale to get rid of and I knew a yummy soup was the place to put them. I didn't intend on sharing this soup here but after I tasted it I knew I had too. The rich and delicate broth was just to good to keep to myself.

I did something different with this soup that I had never done before. I had a good amount of brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan that the steam from the onion and green pepper couldn't bring off the bottom, so I poured in a quarter cup of white wine. It helped me scrape up the bits for extra flavor, then I let the wine cook out before finishing the soup. Not only did I get the extra flavor from the brown bits but the white wine added a hint of sweetness to the overall flavor and really sent it to the next level. One of the guys at the gathering had three bowls and would have went for more had I not run out. His excuse for eating so much was that he couldn't get enough of the broth.

Mission accomplished!

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Chicken and Cannellini Bean Soup

Serves 15 to 20, 1 hour, 30 minutes
3 lbs Chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, cut into cubes
6 strips Bacon, diced
2 Sweet onions, diced
2 Green peppers, diced
1/4 C Garlic, minced
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 C White wine
3 can Cannellini beans, drained, rinsed
3 C Kale, shredded, torn
8 C chicken broth

Brown chicken, make base
In a large pot over medium heat brown chicken thighs until just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Add bacon and cook until almost crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Add onion, green pepper and Italian seasoning, cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes add garlic and cook 1 minutes more or until fragrant.

Deglaze, finish
Add white wine and scrap all brown bits from bottom of pan. Let simmer until wine cooks out 5 to 6 minutes. Return chicken to pot and add beans, broth and kale to pot. Bring to a simmer and let cook for at least 1 hour. Spoon into bowls and serve.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Printable version

I walked into Walmart recently and was assaulted by the aroma of juicy and succulent rotisserie chicken! I felt as though I had been sucker punched by the ghost of Colonel Sanders and an instant craving for chicken arouse from my belly. All the local super markets seem to strategically roast a flock of chickens just as the day shift is getting off work and are shopping for dinner with an empty stomach.

The rotisserie chicken is good to eat while it’s fresh but it’s also excellent after a night in the fridge, especial when the meat is removed and shredded.

For this recipe, I make a tortilla soup with leftover chicken, any roasted chicken will do, not just super market rotisserie chicken. Instead of adding soft corn tortillas to the soup as it cooks, in this version I crumble tortilla chips in as it is served, like I would saltines in chili, creating a little texture as it’s eaten. Also, it’s simmered for 40 minutes which renders the chicken even further and helps make the broth extra rich and flavorful.

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Chicken Tortilla Soup

In the introduction I muse about the wonderful aroma of rotisserie chicken at the local super market, and I have used it many times for soup. The soup documented here features roasted chicken but not from the local super market. It features leftover chicken from my previous post. Had I not had it leftover in the fridge, I would have went to Walmart and bought a rotisserie, but I had roasted 5 pounds of quarters the night before and only ate one of the quarters. This is where most of those leftovers ended up – And I have to say the flavorful chicken was the perfect exclamation point in this delicious soup.

I have found that when using dark poultry meat in a soup, it’s best to let it simmer on low for around forty minutes before serving. I think it renders fat from the meat and creates a rich and tasty broth that is straight up out of this world, I did that with this soup as well as with a batch of white chili from a while back. I must say, the extra simmer time turns a good soup into a great one.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Serves 4 to 6; 1 hour
1 C Red onion diced
1/2 C Jalapeño, seeded, diced
1 Tbs Garlic minced
2 Tbs Chili powder
1 Tbs Cumin
1 Tbs Mexican oregano
2 1/2 lbs Chicken, roasted, shredded
4 C Chicken broth
1 can Tomatoes diced (14.5 oz)
1/4 C Fresh cilantro, chopped
Crushed tortilla chips

Create base
In a soup pot over medium heat sauté onion and jalapeño in a little olive oil until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in garlic, chili powder, cumin and oregano, let cook 2 minutes more.

Make soup, serve
Add chicken, broth, tomatoes and cilantro, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 40 minutes. Spoon into a bowl and sprinkle with tortilla chips, then serve. As soup is eaten sprinkle more tortilla chips on as needed.

Beef Stew

Printable version

I have made beef stew several times in the past and this recipe is the first time I have used a cornstarch slurry to thicken it rather than a flour based mixture. The biggest difference is the color. Same great flavor, but the cornstarch turns the liquid a nice rich brown color rather than the blondish brown achieved with flour. I discovered the magic of cornstarch with a turkey stew that I made over Thanksgiving weekend and couldn't wait to put the technique to use with a stew like this.

Making the liquid a beautiful color is important to me because it should look as good as it tastes. The key to any great stew is the gravy that binds it all together. The beefy flavor enhanced by vegetables and a long simmer is downright drinkable when made right. It’s so exciting to have this new trick up my sleeve for thickening soups – after 20 years of cooking, I’m still a student and will be forever.

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Beef Stew

Whenever I make stew I think about my Dad. When I was 11 or 12 he made breakfast for us one Saturday that consisted of a huge plate of fried potatoes smothered in a giant scoop of beef stew. It was a stick-to-your-ribs breakfast that I will never forget. I felt like a lumberjack as I gobbled it down, and thought it might be time for my first shave once I was finished. It was a man meal, fit to be served in a man cave before walking out the door to kill something.

I don’t know why I perceived it that way, but to this day I can’t see a couple of women getting together for breakfast and deciding to smother fried potatoes with a huge heap of beef stew. Not that it can’t or doesn’t happen, it just seems as though a breakfast of potatoes smothered in meat and gravy would have been the choice of a man going out to plow under a corn field or chop a cord of wood. I guess it’s just one of those things that struck me as a kid and I have yet to see something else that would prove the insight wrong.

Eat well, cook often ...

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Beef Stew

Serves 6; 2 1/2 hours
2 lbs Stew beef
4 C Beef broth
1 C Onion, diced
1/2 C Celery, diced
1/2 C Carrot, diced
1/2 C Green pepper, diced
1 Tbs Garlic, minced
2 Russet potatoes, cubed
2 C Water
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 Tbs Cornstarch
2 Tbs Water

Cook beef
In a soup pot over medium high heat, sear beef in batches on all sides until just cook through, salt and pepper to taste. Return beef to pan and add broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Sauté vegetables
In a fry pan over medium heat sauté onion, celery, carrot and green pepper until soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic, cook 1 minute more or until fragrant.

Make stew, thicken
Add sautéd vegetables, water, potatoes and Italian seasonings to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through. In a separate bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Once potatoes are tender stir slurry into pot and simmer 10 minutes more or until mixture thickens. Spoon into bowls and serve.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup

Printable version

In my family it was a tradition to eat cabbage on New Year’s Day. I remember it being overcooked and mushy. They would sauté two shredded heads of cabbage in oil in a skillet. I think the problem was that my elders cooked it to long because I dreaded having to eat the smelly stuff.

I always tried to avoid it until the last minute which is when the New Year’s Cabbage Police, consisting of my Mom and Aunt, would ask “Did you eat your cabbage? It will bring you prosperity all year long.” It was a tradition to eat on New Year’s Day and they enforced it.

Today, I’m a big fan of cooked cabbage and plan to have it on January 1st, just as I do every year. I like to cook it in soups, like this recipe, or use it in dishes that are more tasty than just plain fried. I hope it has helped me prosper. Regardless though, it’s a tradition I’m passing on to the next generation in our family, just as my Mom and Aunt made sure to pass on to us. Traditions like these connect the present to our past and future.

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Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup

Since I published the column above, it seems as though my Mom decided to change the rules on how cooked cabbage can be prepared for New Years Day. She said that it must be fried and all of it must be eaten. I have no idea where she came up with these rules, but I think they must have been passed on to her from a distant relative that liked to torture others with bad food. Writing about our family tradition in the local paper must have rekindled her fondness for fried cabbage because it has been a while since it's been served that way at a New Years gathering.

I volunteered to make the cabbage for our family's New Year celebration, but she and my cousin insisted that the cabbage be fried. I compromised and made a nice pot of cabbage soup and when I got to the gathering, I fried a head of shredded cabbage that my cousin had set up to appease the new found traditionalists.

Is there some sort of irony to eating cabbage prepared in the most undesirable way that makes you prosper? I say no, the tradition is to eat cabbage, making it as tasty as possible should be the objective, gulping it down to avoid gagging on it seems preposterous.

Now I must convince my family to think differently about this, or I’m going to be faced with eating a bowl of smelly cabbage each New Year’s Day for the rest of my life. Either that, or come up with a way to fry cabbage and make it delicious, which might be the ticket. Better get to work because I've got less than a year to do it.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup

Serves 4 to 6; 45 minutes
1 C Onion diced
1/2 C Celery diced
1/2 C Carrot diced
1/2 tsp Allspice
2 tsp Garlic minced
1/2 lb Corned beef, sliced thin, diced
3 C Cabbage, shredded
4 C Beef broth

Make base
In a soup pot over medium heat sauté onion, carrot, celery and allspice in a little olive oil until vegetables are soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic, cook 1 minute more or until fragrant.

Simmer, serve
Stir in cabbage, corn beef and broth. Bring to a simmer and let cook 30 minutes or until cabbage is cooked through and wilted. Remove from heat and serve.

Kale and Cannellini Bean Soup

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NOTE: This originally appeared in print the day after Thanksgiving.

As we gorge ourselves full of turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, I thought it was my duty as someone who shares my kitchen creations with the public to produce a healthy and tasty bite to counter-balance the gut-busting, diet-crashing cuisine that seems to accompany most holiday celebrations.

One of the healthiest foods available in grocery stores today is kale. The non-heading, leafy member of the cabbage family is rich in vitamins A and C, frolic acid, calcium and iron. Kale can be grown in warm climates but it thrives in cooler ones which may explain its popularity among Northern Europeans.

For this recipe, I use it in a soup and it is cooked like spinach, but the kale takes longer to wilt and it doesn’t cook down as much. It’s mild flavor is a nice addition to the cannellini beans that become rich and buttery after a long simmer. This soup will be a flavorful and healthy addition to that turkey sandwich smothered in gravy the day after Thanksgiving.

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Kale and Cannellini Bean Soup

This is the first time I had ever cooked with kale. I picked up a batch on sale and I thought it would be nice to try in a soup. I removed the stems and had a large amount of the leaves stuffed in a bowl. I thought that it would wilt down into just a fraction of its size like fresh spinach does.

Boy, was I wrong!

Once it was time for the kale I tossed in a couple hand fulls and waited for it to wilt down. And I kept waiting ... and waiting. I was seriously debating on weather to pull some of it out, but eventually it did cook down, and luckily I had thrown in just the right amount. I didn’t need to add anymore. I ended up using only a third of what I originally thought I was going to use.

It was a good experience and I want to use kale again, it has a mild flavor so I think I want to try and sauté it and make it the center piece of a side dish. Then well see how its taste really holds up.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Kale and Cannellini Bean Soup

Serves 4; 35 minutes
1 C Onion, diced
1/2 C Celery, diced
1/2 C Carrot, diced
2 tsp Garlic, minced
3 Can Cannellini beans (15 oz each)
2 1/2 to 3 C Kale, Torn into pieces and stems removed
4 C Chicken broth
1 tsp Italian seasonings

Make base
In a soup pot over medium heat sauté onion, carrot and celery in a little olive oil until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic, cook 1 minute more or until fragrant.

Finish
Stir in beans, kale, broth and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until kale has wilted, 20 to 25 minutes. Spoon into bowls and serve

Spicy Chipotle Tomato Soup

Printable version

Tomato soup was always my favorite canned variety growing up. I loved to let it cool a little, then crumble a few saltine crackers into the bowl, stir it up, then gulp it down like a pledge at a fraternity party. Today, I can’t really say tomato is my favorite soup, because soup in general is one of my favorite things to make regardless of variety. I rarely eat the canned stuff anymore, because homemade soups are so much tastier. I use canned soup mainly as an ingredient in other recipes.

When I make tomato soup I like to start with bacon, the two seem to work well together and it’s a great flavor to build upon in general. I also like it spicy and blended into a smooth texture, which makes it the perfect compliment to a creamy grilled cheese.

For this tomato soup, I use chipotle pepper for a smoky and spicy boost to the bacon. It also features poblano pepper, cumin and Mexican oregano to give the final product a South of the border zing.

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Spicy Chipotle Tomato Soup

As soon as I took the first taste of this I knew I had to throw together a grilled cheese to serve along side it. I originally planned to make the soup alone but the spiciness screamed for balance and when it comes to tomato soup there is no better compliment than a gooey grilled cheese!

This soup featured poblano peppers in the mirepoix to add a little zestiness. In my experience poblano is generally a mild pepper, but about 1 out of 10 seems to have the kick of a much hotter pepper. Well, as luck would have it, one of the poblanos in this batch was hellfire hot, therefore making this soup on the higher end of the spice scale.

The chipotle added a decent amount of heat by itself, the addition of a tongue blistering freak from the poblano family made me reluctant to share this without the grilled cheese – by itself it was hot enough to make my nose run.

A Southwest grilled cheese that I busted out to go along side this soup made for the perfect balance. Look for it in my next post.

Eat well, cook often ....

THE RECIPE

Spicy Chipotle Tomato Soup

Serves 6; 45 minutes
5 strips Bacon diced
1 C Red onion diced
1/2 C Poblano pepper, diced, seeded
1 Tbs Garlic minced
2 Tbs Flour
4 C Chicken broth
2 cans Diced tomatoes (28 oz each)
2 Tbs Chipolte in adobo, minced, seeded
1 Tbs Cumin
1 tsp Mexican oregano
Cilantro and reserved bacon for garnish

Render bacon, reserve
In a soup pot over medium heat cook bacon until crisp and fat has rendered, 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and reserve for garnish.

Create soup base
In the bacon drippings sauté onion and poblano pepper until soft, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes. Add a few grinds of fresh cracked black pepper. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute more or until fragrant. Sift in flour and stir until well incorporated, let cook 2 minutes.

Make soup
Add chicken broth, tomatoes, chipotle pepper, cumin and oregano. Bring to a simmer and cook 20 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly. With a hand blender or in a counter top blender puree mixture until smooth, adjust seasoning if needed. Spoon into bowls and garnish with cilantro and reserved bacon.

Pork and Beans

Printable version

This recipe started with an impulse-buy. I was looking in the meat case at the local super market when I noticed smoked pork shank on sale. Which is basically the back thigh of a pig just underneath its butt, or the more delectably named ham. I had never worked with shank but I thought I could make a great soup with it, because I knew a long simmer would extract some of the yummy goodness locked up in the cut.

I proceeded to the produce section and picked up what I didn’t already have in my pantry for a mirepoix, headed through the checkout and was on my way home. As I pulled out of the parking lot I had an epiphany and thought I should make pork and beans with it. So I made another stop a mile down the road at another grocery store to pick up some dried cannellini beans.

That's how many of these recipes develop though.

I have an idea of what to make and as I think more and more about it, the whole dish changes by the time I get home. Luckily, with this one there was another grocery store between the new idea and getting home.

Pork and Beans

The final dish was really tasty, the smoked shank provided a meaty hickory flavor to the broth and the beans were cooked just perfect. I fed this to my Mom and Dad for dinner and they both enjoyed it. What they didn’t enjoy was being in the same room together a couple hours after eating all the beans. Lets just say lots of air freshener was needed at their house that night.

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I have really enjoyed the comfort food now that fall weather has set in here in Northern Indiana. Pork and beans, tomato soup with grilled cheese, and two types of chili are just a few of the things I’ve made in just the last couple of weeks. (some will appear here eventually)

It's hard to believe Halloween is here and next week I will start the annual march toward Thanksgiving. I have to make all my Turkey day dishes ahead so that they are ready to be published before the holiday. This is the fourth time around for me and the food column, so this year I’m planning to go bigger than ever for the annual event. By the time the actual holiday gets here I’m sure I’ll be tired of all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Pork and Beans

Serves 4 to 6; 4 hours
1 lb Cannellini beans
1 C Red onion diced
1/2 C Carrot diced
1/2 C Celery diced
1 Tbs Garlic minced
8 C Chicken broth
2 lbs Smoked pork shank

Quick soak beans
In a pot over high heat cover beans with 1-inch of water and bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat and let beans soak for at least 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans in a colander then set aside.

Make base, simmer
In a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat sauté onion, celery and carrot in a little olive oil until soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic and cook one minute more. Add broth, pork shank and beans to pot. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours, or until beans and pork are tender.

Finish
Remove pork from pot and shred, discard bones, Return shredded pork to pot and simmer for 30 minutes more. Remove from heat, spoon into bowls and serve.

White Chicken Chili

Printable version

Now that October has arrived we enter the cooler phase of outdoor events here in Northern Indiana. Large fires and food to warm the belly are almost mandatory. One of the best ways to keep the cold away on a frosty night is a yummy batch of chili. Usually I make it meaty, thick and spicy. I don’t use beans unless I’m creating a large batch and need to make it go farther. Soupy chili with lots of beans has just never been my cup of tea.

Recently, I set out to create a white chicken version to expand my horizons. Ironically, after a couple of experiments, the culinary Gods spoke and I found that making a thin chili loaded with beans was the best way to make this type of dish.

This recipe features the Italian cannellini bean, which after a long simmer provides a rich, buttery flavor that compliments the chicken. Also, there is no chili powder just jalapeño. Cumin is the star spice and provides a slightly smoky and very distinct flavor. All together, this soupy chili with lots of beans makes for an all star snack on a cool fall evening and completely obliterates, in a yummy way, the thick and meaty version I usually put out on the table.

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White Chicken Chili

I really liked this recipe. I like all the stuff that I publish here, obviously, but this dish was one of the best recipes I've published in the last couple of months. I was really impressed with the cannellini bean. It seemed to have soaked in the surrounding flavors as it simmered and produced a rich and meaty tastes that sent this dish out of the park.

I have made white chicken chili before, but never with this type of bean and never without the absence of chili powder. It made a difference and I can’t wait to make it again. Another secret to this is the Mexican oregano which shares the same pungent flavor of Mediterranean oregano with the inclusion of a slightly citrus and fennel flavor. I have used it in the last four or five batches of chili, white and red, and it's a small detail that goes a long way flavor wise. It’s best to sprinkle it in after grinding it with your palms – You’ll never make chili without it again.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

White Chicken Chili

Serves 4 to 6; 1 hour
2 lbs Chicken thighs, boneless, diced
1 C Onion diced
1/2 C Jalapeño, seeded, diced
1 Tbs Garlic, minced
4 C Chicken broth
2 Cans Cannellini beans (15.5 oz each)
2 Tbs Cumin
1 tsp Mexican oregano
Optional garnishes: Corn chips, cilantro or sour cream

Brown Chicken
In a soup pot over medium heat cook chicken in a little olive oil until browned and just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Stirring occasionally, salt and pepper to taste. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.

Make chili
Add onion and jalapeno to pot and sauté until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic, cook 1 minute more. Return chicken then add beans, cumin, oregano and broth to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes. Spoon into bowls, then serve. Garnish with corn chips, sour cream or cilantro. (Optional)

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Printable version

Growing up, my Mom and Grand Mothers referred to green peppers as mangos, I always thought this was odd but I just learned to accept it as a family quirk. Turns out there is some history to it.

An article by Linguist David Bergdahl helped shed a little light on the mystery of the green pepper-mango-misnomer. He says that the name originate with the tropical fruit mango, which was first introduced to colonial America in pickled form. It was the only way it could be preserved long enough to last during the long journey from India. In the 1700s, the word mango became a synonym for pickling in general. One of the most popular “mangos” was a pickled, cabbage-stuffed green pepper. Overtime, the name mango stuck for green peppers, even in raw form, and the term is still used today as a reference to green peppers in the Midwest.

Ah ... the mango mystery is solved.

For this recipe, I take all the elements of a modern stuffed pepper and make it into a soup. I use Italian sausage instead of ground beef to add an additional layer of flavor to the vegetables and chicken broth. It’s the perfect soup to make with all the extra mangos, or green peppers, that are hanging around the garden this time of year.

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Stuffed Pepper Soup

Like I said in the beginning, most people in my family called green peppers "mangos." This was never an issue until I moved to New York City. If you ask for mangos at Food World in Astoria, Queens you will be shown the mango fruit. If you then spot the green peppers, point and say “oh no, those mangoes” the little Caribbean produce man will then laugh hysterically and walk away. This will leave you feeling like an uncultured Midwestern dumb ass. I lived in the Big Apple for 12 and half years and every once in a while I would have a moments like this. It was a small price to pay for living in such an incredible city.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Serves 4; 45 minutes
1 lb Italian sausage
2 C Green pepper, large dice
2 C Green pepper, large dice
1/2 C Red onion, diced
1/2 C Celery diced
1 Tbs Garlic minced
1 C Tomato diced
1 1/2 C Rice, fully cooked
1 tsp Italian seasoning
4 C Chicken broth

Brown sausage
In a soup pot over medium high heat, brown sausage until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Stirring occasionally and breaking up chunks. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

Make soup
In sausage drippings saute green pepper, onion and celery until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic cook 1 minute more. Stir in rice, tomatoes, reserved sausage, Italian seasoning and chicken broth, bring to a simmer and cook 20 to 25 minutes. Spoon into bowls and serve.

Smoky Creamy Corn Chowder

Printable version

A couple weeks ago I attended a dinner party at a friends house. The meal was made from meat, vegetables and fruit that the hosts had raised and grown right there on their own land. It was served family style around a huge table that comfortably fit the 15 who attended. The food was absolutely delicious.

Of all the tasty items that were prepared, one stood out – the sweet corn. The flavor was succulent and seemed to burst forth with each bite. I couldn’t control myself and ended up eating three huge servings.

After the dinner I complimented my friend on the great meal and excellent corn. His Dad had been growing that particular variety, Illini Xtra Sweet, since he was a kid. They usually stagger two or three plantings a couple weeks apart so they have corn to pick fresh for dinner for a long stretch during the summer. He gave me a few ears as a parting gift and I used it in this smoky corn chowder. It’s a tasty soup, but this variety of corn is off the hook all on its own.

BEHIND THIS BITE

Smoky Creamy Corn Chowder

The entire meal at my friends house was a step back into the past. The last time I had eaten a family-style meal of made-from-scratch, farm-raised ingredients was at my great grand parents more than 30 years ago. My great grandmother was a home maker and great grandfather a farmer. They raised and grew all of their own food and were able to provide for seven healthy children. That sort of life-style seemed to have disappeared with the rise of Walmarts and superstores of the modern day.

It was refreshing to have dinner at my friends house with a large group of comrades in this old-fashion style. The hosts really appreciated the farmed-raised and fresh grown aspects of a good meal, it was evident by the preparation. There were no fancy spice rubs or compound butters, just fresh food prepared perfectly. A humble meal free from pretense and full of great flavor. This is how the Great Spirit intended for us to eat.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Smoky Creamy Corn Chowder

Make 4 quarts; 45 minutes
8 strips Bacon diced
1/2 large Onion, diced
1 Red pepper, diced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 C Flour
6 C Chicken broth
3 C Potatoes, diced
1 Tbs Fresh thyme
3 C Corn, fresh cooked or canned
2 C Heavy cream

Render bacon
In a soup pot over medium heat sauté bacon until cooked through and crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate with a slotted spoon.

Sauté vegetables, add flour
Add onion and red pepper to pot and cook in bacon drippings until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook one minute more. Sift in flour and stir until mixed thoroughly. Allow mixture to cook for 2 minutes once combined.

Add broth, cook potatoes
Add chicken broth, potatoes and thyme. Return bacon to pot. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Boil hard for 8 to 10 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.

Add corn, finish
Reduce heat and add corn and heavy cream, bring to a simmer and cook until corn is heated through, 6 to 8 minutes. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Spoon into a bowl and serve.

Smoky Pablano Black Bean Soup

Printable version

I was walking through Meijer the other night and a little package caught my eye. When I stopped to inspect, I found it was jowl bacon. It was cheaper than normal bacon and I had a soup on my mind – long story short – I bought it and everything else I needed to make a smoky black bean and pablano soup.

I had never worked with jowl bacon before.

Right off the bat I noticed that there was a lot more fat in it than regular bacon – And a little goes a long way. I diced up the pound package and realized I had enough to make about 6 gallons of soup. I divided it, reserved what I needed and froze the other portions. The first step to making the soup was rendering my new found ingredient.

And render it did!

I cooked the jowl bacon until some brown crispy goodness started to appear, then poured off all but a tablespoon of the fat. I had to get rid of some of it because the third of a pound I kept had created what seemed like a cup of drippings. I was really surprised my the amount of fat that came from such a small amount.

I used the drippings to sauté the veggies, then returned the bacon and added the rest of the elements to the pot and let it simmer away.

In the end, it turned out to be a flavorful bite the featured the pablano pepper. As the soup simmered more of the jowl bacon broke down and the fat melted away into the rest of the soup, giving it a nice but somewhat greasy flavor. A couple days later I went to eat leftovers and was surprised to see that once cooled, the soup became solid. There was enough fat from the jowl bacon to solidify the whole thing once chilled down! 

BEHIND THIS BITE
In hind site, I would just rather use regular bacon because it is the superior product for making this type of soup. I want to work with jowl bacon again though, but I want a recipe that needs that much fat or added flavor – for soups, I’ll stick with regular bacon. The jowl bacon was just too greasy for my taste, but it might be just what some people are looking for.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Serves 4; 35 minutes
1/3 lb Jowl bacon, diced
1/2 C Onion, diced
1/2 C Celery, diced
1 1/2 C Pablano pepper, diced
1 Tbs Garlic, minced
4 C Chicken broth
1 can Black beans, drained (15 oz)
1 Tbs Thyme, fresh

Render bacon, sauté vegetables
In a large pot over medium heat sauté jowl bacon until slightly crisp and much of the fat is rendered. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of drippings. Add onion, celery and pablano peppers. Season to taste and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic cook 2 minutes more.

Make soup, finish
Return bacon to pot and add broth, black beans and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until beans are soft, 20 to 25 minutes. Spoon into bowls and serve.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Printable version

This is the second cream of mushroom soup I've created for the blog and the main difference with this one is that it’s vegetarian. I also made this batch a lot larger than the first. I needed this to be a starter course for at least 12 people.

I start off sauteing 2 pounds of sliced mushrooms with onions and garlic for a little depth. Then I make a roux. Instead of adding the flour and butter to the pot with all the other ingredients like I usually do, I did it in a separate pan. I thought there was too much stuff in the pot for it to brown properly. It actually made the process easier and I will probably do it that way again in the future. Once the roux was ready I added it to the cooked mushrooms along with vegetable stock and milk. For a little extra flavor, fresh thyme was thrown into the pool as well. I brought the mixture to a slow simmer and let it go for around 15 minutes so it could thicken. That's all it took, really simple if I do say so myself.

I have to admit, this soup was magically delicious. Once you have made cream of mushroom soup from scratch it’s hard to eat the canned version ever again.

BEHIND THIS BITE
My Mom did the majority of the cooking for a mission at our church last week. It was lead by the Franciscan Brothers here in Fort Wayne.

As part of the deal, they asked for dinner each day of the mission, and because it was Lent they needed it to be vegetarian. Mom employed me to make a soup for them on the first day of the mission and this is the recipe I made. They finished almost all of it with just a couple of bowls to spare – which were sent to a couple from the church in need of help preparing dinner.

It was nice to see my food put to use for the good of others. I think it’s the least I can do in the good causes department. I know I need all the brownie points I can get with the man upstairs. I hope I can accumulate enough before my time is up to make up for the points I lost during my twenties!

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Serves 12; 40 minutes
2 lb Mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 C Onion diced
1 Tbs Garlic minced
1/2 C Butter
1/2 C Flour
3 C Vegetable broth
3 C Milk
1 Tbs Fresh thyme, minced

Sauté mushrooms; make roux
In a large pot over medium heat sauté mushroom and onion in a little olive oil until soft and mushroom have released water, 5 to 7 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes more. While mushrooms cook, in a separate pan or skillet melt butter and whisk in flour until well incorporated creating roux, let cook 3 to 4 minutes stirring often.

Add liquids, roux; thicken
Add milk, broth, thyme and roux to pot, stir until roux has completely dissolved in liquid, bring to a simmer, reduce heat and let cook until soup has thickened 13 to 15 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then serve.