Fancy Soup for a Sick Husband

We were so excited in November for our annual anniversary trip to Solvang (yes, I'm just blogging from November, don't judge).  We had a great hotel booked, we had booked a limo for wine-tasting (since we both taste, we always get a designated driver of some sort), and we were really looking forward to our chosen restaurants.  The day before we were scheduled to leave, my husband broke the news: he was really not feeling well.  We went back & forth, but decided to go on our trip, just cancelling the alcohol portions of the trip.  More to follow on Solvang.  The night before we left, I knew that my husband would want soup for dinner, but I really wanted to start celebrating and didn't want to heat up Campbells Soup.  I decided to go with this Tortellini Soup with Beans and Spinach, which I saw on both Annie's Eats and Elly Says Opa and adapted to my needs.  By adding hot Italian Turkey Sausage instead of the beans, this soup had a real kick that was perfect for my husband's cold, but was really hearty as well.  I think beans and sausage would be great, too (I forgot the beans).  I was sorry that I had to make it under these circumstances, but it was a tasty new recipe!

 

Tortellini Soup with Sausage and Spinach
1/2 lb hot Italian Turkey Sausage
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 quart low sodium chicken stock
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
Oregano, basil, Italian Seasoning, to taste
1 small package fresh tortellini
1 bag fresh baby spinach
Cook sausage in olive oil in large stock pot until no longer pink.  Push to the sides of the pan and add onion, cooking until just golden.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil.  Add spices and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add tortellini and cook about 7 minutes or until tender.  Turn off heat and stir in spinach until just wilted.  Serve immediately, topped with parmesan cheese if desired.

Guinness Beef Stew

Growing up, my memories of beef stew are pretty much - Stew Meat + Golden Mushroom Soup + Dry Onion Soup Mix + Carrots + Potatoes. Not very exciting, and I really disliked Golden Mushroom Soup back then. I think the beginnings of my dislike of mushrooms came from that dish - the mushrooms didn't taste like anything, but had a nasty texture! Thankfully, I still held out hope for beef stew and have tried making it at home a couple times as an adult. Unfortunately, my husband is very particular about how he expects beef stew to taste because he had a mom who made it from scratch with no soup mixes (and I didn't know this was why he was so particular until just recently. I really need his mom's recipe!). Thankfully, the food blogging world loves to make Irish inspired meals for St. Patrick's Day, so I was able to find this recipe for Guinness Beef Stew on Mary Ellen's blog (originally from RazzleDazzleRecipes). Mary Ellen is great with comfort foods and all the stews I've seen on her site look fantastic, so I knew this recipe had great potential. I used a combination of Mary Ellen's version and the RazzleDazzleVersion (plus a couple of tasty mistakes of my own, haha) and I was floored by how good this was. So rich and velvety - and I don't even like beer! I will definitely be making this stew again!

Guinness Beef Stew
2 lbs stewing beef (I used one pound, intending to half the recipe, but messed that up a bit)
1 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne (I probably used a 1/4 tsp to my 1 Tbs flour)
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste dissolved in 4 tablespoons water (I used this entire amount for my half recipe, so the result was a more tomatoey flavor and a thicker consistency)
1 ¼ cups Guinness Stout (I used about 3/4 cup for my "half recipe" because it was pretty thick from the overage of the tomato paste!)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups carrots, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
Sprig of fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme (I used about a 1/2 tsp of fresh rosemary)
1 ½ cups beef broth, canned or homemade (I used this full amount)
Chopped parsley for garnish (I omitted)

Toss beef with salt, pepper, flour, and cayenne. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add beef and brown on all sides, about 6-7 minutes. Add garlic and onions, saute 2 minutes. Add tomato paste mixture, cover and let simmer 5 minutes. Remove beef to a resting bowl. Pour half of the Guinness into the saute pan where the beef cooked. Scrape up any brown bits and bring to a steady simmer for 5 minutes. Return beef to the pan and add remainder of the Guinness. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, thyme or rosemary, sugar, and broth. Stir and adjust seasonings. Cover and cook over medium-low heat (just at a nice simmer) for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes or so. Adjust salt and pepper, and simmer partly uncovered for another hour (hmm, just now realized that I never did this! Oh well, always next time!). Adjust salt and pepper and serve.

Stuffed Pepper Stew

The first time I made this stew, it was well before I had started blogging, but I had been reading several to collect recipes, never imagining I would start my own. I highly recommend this recipe for those interested in stuffed pepper flavor, but without all the time involved in making the real thing. I don't often make soup recipes as a main entree for fear that my husband will wonder where the rest of his meal is, but this recipe is really hearty and definitely holds up to the husband standards. I got the recipe from What's Cooking in the Orange Kitchen but it is originally a Rachael Ray recipe, and I can't find it online anywhere anymore, so I can't link it! This makes really good leftovers, too. I halved the recipe and there were still two full helpings leftover.

Stuffed Pepper Stew
2 tbsp EVOO
1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp allspice (I used a tsp of chili powder instead for the 1/2 recipe)
4 cloves garlic
1 lg onion cut into bite size pieces
3 green peppers, seeded and cut (I used one green, one yellow for the 1/2 recipe)
1 bay leaf (I omitted)
1 quart chicken stock
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup orzo pasta (I used about 3/4 cup for my 1/2 recipe)
12-15 basil leaves,torn (I chiffonaded these instead)
Grated Parmesan to top
Heat medium soup pot over medium high heat with EVOO. When oil is hot add onions, beef, salt, pepper and allspice (or chili powder). Brown the meat for about 5 minutes then add garlic and peppers and cook 7-8 minutes or until veggies are tender. Stir in stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook to al dente. Turn off heat and fold in basil. Serve in shallow bowls with grated cheese on top.

Hot soup on a rainy day: Burrito Soup

Most people have heard, the weather here in California has been nasty. A tornado touched down about a block from our apartment. We live in Santa Barbara, people. Seriously, a tornado? And this was the first of several that happened last week. Bad weather calls for soup, but I have a hard time making soup for dinner unless it is really hearty. Thankfully, this soup from Elly Says Opa fit the bill perfectly. It really is everything that you would find in a burrito, but in soup form. I loved that I could mix up the different types of chili powders I had, as the complexity of the spices worked out great. Both the husband and I took soup leftovers into work this week, and the guys at the bike shop were incredibly jealous. One guy swore he was going to stop by and pick up a crockpot for his fiance on the way home! The husband really liked this soup, but kept insisting that it was really chili in disguise, which I guess is a good sign that it was hearty enough to count as a meal for him! For my Midwestern family members reading this - make this, but I would use half as much chili powder for your spiciness tastes!

Crockpot Burrito Soup (from Elly Says Opa)

2 tsp. canola oil

1 large onion, diced (mine was more of a medium onion)

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

5 cups beef broth

2 Tbsp chili powder (I used 1 Tbs regular, 1/2 Tbs Chipotle and 1/2 Tbs Ancho Chili powders)

1 Tbsp. cumin

2 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

2/3 cup corn

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup uncooked rice (or, cook rice separately)

Heat a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat and add oil. Cook the onions for a couple minutes before adding the beef. Brown the beef with the onion and drain if necessary. Put back on the heat and stir in the garlic, just until fragrant. Pour the beef mixture into the crockpot and then add the tomato sauce, beef broth, spices, corn and black beans. Cook on low for 8 hours. Increase temp to high and add the rice, just until cooked. Alternatively you can put the cooked rice in bowls and ladle the soup over it. Garnish with your favorite toppings (I used shredded cheddar, light sour cream and sliced avocado, yum!). This made about 8 servings.
Nutritional Information Per Serving (with 93% lean beef): Calories: 302 / Fat: 7.5g / Carbs: 33.5g / Fiber: 6.3g / Protein: 26g

Roasted Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Immediately following my Vegas girls weekend (no blog post on that, what happens in Vegas....), I returned to an empty house. The husband had to go on yet another business trip, this time up to Morgan Hill for a Specialized Bicycles training course on how to fit riders to their bicycles. As usual when my husband is out of town, I took this opportunity to make meals that I knew he wouldn't like. This is one of them, since he hates cauliflower. I loved this soup and it really gave me confidence that I can make delicious soups at home and don't need to just wait until we go out so I can order soups. Of course, when I described my dinner to the husband during our nightly phone call, husband was acting like he was going to be sick! I'm looking forward to making this again when he leaves for his next trip!

Roasted Cauliflower Cheese Soup (by me!)

2 cups cauliflower florets

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs Butter

1 Tbs Flour

1 cup chicken stock (separated)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup cheddar cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Toss cauliflower with garlic and oil in a large ziploc bag. Roast in a shallow pan for about 25-30 minutes (until tender). Meanwhile, melt butter in large saucepan. Add flour and cook for about a minute. Add 3/4 cup of the chicken stock and stir to create a thick sauce. Puree cauliflower with about 1/4 cup chicken stock in blender or food processor (I used the Magic Bullet). Add to saucepan. Stir well to combine. Add cream and stir. Add cheese and stir well until melted. Season with salt & pepper and serve very warm. Makes 4 small servings, 2 large servings.