Recipe #333: Chicken Succotash

I have a new favorite cook book, The New Soup Bible by Anne Sheasby.  Here's a recipe from that book.  Fantastic, full of flavor.  I made minor changes like using frozen corn instead of cobs.

Ingredients:

3c chicken stock (I may have added more, but I don't remember)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4c butter
2 onions, chopped
4oz chopped bacon (I probably used more.... I mean, it's bacon, right?)
1/4c flour
4 cobs corn (or frozen equivalent)
1 1/4c milk
14oz can lima (butter) beans, drained
3 tbsp shopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Bring the chicken stock to boil in a large pan.  Add the chicken and bring back to a boil.  Reduce heat and cook 12-15 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool.  Reserve the stock.

Melt the butter in a pan.  Add the onions and cook 4-5 minutes until softened but not brown.

Add the bacon and cook for 5-6 minutes, until beginning to brown.  Sprinkle in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring continuously.

Gradually stir in the hot stock and bring to a boil, stirring until thickened.  Remove from heat.

Add the corn and half the milk.  Cook for 12-15 minutes until corn is tender.

Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and stir into the soup.  Stir in the beans and remaining milk.  Cook for another five minutes.  Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Recipe #330: Chicken Barley Soup

A great alternative to chicken noodle soup.  I added more broth and then more again to the leftovers since the barley absorbs a lot.  The leftovers are even better than when it's first made.  Once again, allrecipes.com, ladies and gentlemen!

Ingredients

• 8 cups water (I used half water, half chicken broth)
• 2 pounds chicken thighs, or more to taste (I used thighs and breasts)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery (try to include celery leaves)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup pearl barley
• 3 bay leaves 

• 1 cube chicken bouillon, or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

1. Combine water, chicken thighs, and bay leaves in a large stock pot; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, place a cover on the pot, and cook at a simmer until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Remove chicken to a cutting board to cool. Remove and discard bones, skin, and fat from chicken. Cut remaining meat into bite-sized pieces.
3. Cool broth until the fat congeals on the surface. Skim and discard fat.
4. Return soup to heat; add carrots, celery, onion, pearl barley, bay leaves, chicken bouillon, poultry seasoning, sage, salt, and black pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to low, place cover on the pot, and simmer until the barley is cooked and the vegetables are tender, 60 to 90 minutes. Stir lemon juice into the soup just before serving.

Recipe #329: Crock Pot Chicken Chili

Why did I wait so long to make white chili!?  This was delicious and definitely a healthy alternative.  This one is from allrecipes.com.  Pictured with cheese, crackers, and sour cream in it.

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) jar green salsa (salsa verde)
• 1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
• 2 (15 ounce) cans white beans, drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 (14 ounce) can corn, drained

1 onion, chopped

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Directions

1. Mix green salsa, diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, white beans, chicken broth, corn, onion, oregano, cumin, salt, and black pepper together in a slow cooker. Lay chicken breasts atop the mixture.
2. Cook on Low until the chicken shreds easily with 2 forks, 6 to 8 hours.
3. Remove chicken to a cutting board and shred completely; return to chili in slow cooker and stir.

Recipe #328: Quick Chicken Noodle Pho

Excellent and healthy recipe from Cape Fear Nutrition!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 32oz chicken stock (I believe I added a little more)
• 4 boneless, skinless  chicken thighs
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 8 ounces dried rice noodles
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups mung bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup  Thai basil
• 1 lime cut into wedges
• 2  red serrano chiles (I used jalapeno since I couldn't find serranos)
• Hot Sauce , Sriracha, or hoisin sauce (optional)

Instructions

 1.  Combine stock  and fresh ginger in a  stockpot over moderate heat.  Add chicken thighs, sugar and fish sauce. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat  and simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 30 minutes.

2. While stock is simmering, prepare noodles according to package direction. Drain and keep warm.

3. When chicken is cooked, remove from pot and cut into bite sized pieces. Strain stock.

4. Divide warm noodles between four bowls. Add chicken. Ladle the broth over noodles and chicken. Serve  with  scallions, bean sprouts, lime wedges, thai basil and  serrano chiles. Add hot sauce, sriracha or hoisin sauce as desired.

Recipe #310: Bacon-y Potato Soup

Oh man this one is just perfection.  I made a couple changes, marked in red.  It makes a LOT of soup (serves 7-8) and is perfect for this cold weather we're having.  This is another winner from allrecipes.com.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound bacon, chopped 2 stalks celery, diced 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 8 potatoes, peeled and cubed 4 cups chicken stock, or enough to cover potatoes

3 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon dried tarragon 3 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro  (I used green onion instead) salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until done. Remove bacon from pan, and set aside. Drain off all but 1/4 cup of the bacon grease.
2.	Cook celery and onion in reserved bacon drippings until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes. Add cubed potatoes, and toss to coat. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Return bacon to the pan, and add enough chicken stock to just cover the potatoes. Cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender.  (about 25 minutes or so- test with a fork)
3.	In a separate pan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the heavy cream, tarragon, and cilantro. Bring the cream mixture to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir the cream mixture into the potato mixture. Puree about 1/2 the soup (I used a potato masher to lightly mash the entire thing, but leaving plenty of potato chunks), and return to the pan. Adjust seasonings to taste.  Top with shredded cheese.

Recipe #307: Summer Corn and Lobster French Onion Chowder with Gruyere Toastets

I wanted to make something fantastic to celebrate (or lament) the end of a nice long vacation, so I went to foodgawker.com to see what looked interesting.  I saw this recipe and was smitten.  Super easy to make but tastes fancy.  Heavy, flavorful, perfect for cold weather.  If you don't want to spend the money on lobster, crab meat or shrimp would be fine substitutes.

(copied from http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/)

• 3-4 (8 ounce) lobster tails (optional and interchangeable)
• 4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 sweet onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups white wine or beer (12 ounces)
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 4 ears fresh corn, kernels removed
• 1 cup heavy cream or half and half
• 1/2 a lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup fresh basil or parsley, chopped (I used basil)
• 1 french baguette, sliced
• 4 ounce gruyere cheese, shredded

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Once boiling drop in your lobster tails. Boil for 5-10 minutes or until your tails turn bright red. Drain the water and allow the tails to cool.

Heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove bacon from the pan and set aside on a paper towel to drain.

To the pot add the butter, onions, thyme and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Continue cooking and scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan frequently, until the onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Once the onions are caramelized, add the flour and garlic. Stir the flour with the onions to make a roux, cook about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the wine and chicken broth. Add the corn.

Bring the soup to a boil, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile cut down the back and front of the lobster and pull the meat away from the shell. Dice or shred the lobster meat.

After the soup has simmered about 10 minutes add the cream and simmer another 5 minutes. Squeeze half a lemon over the soup, season with salt and pepper. Stir in the lobster and fresh basil. Preheat the the broiler to high.

Ladle the soup into oven safe soup crocks. Top with a slice or two from the french baguette and a handful of shredded gruyere cheese. Place under the broiler until browned.  Garnish with bacon. Eat hot. Enjoy!!

Recipe #306: Beef, Stout, & Blue Cheese Pot Pies

This is immediately a favorite recipe, hands down.  I've had this one bookmarked from http://edible-ireland.com/ and finally got around to making it.  So wonderful.  Rich, hearty, filling, amazing flavors.... I can't say enough about this one.  The recipe would fill about three larger single rammekins, so I would double if feeding four.

Filling before adding the cheese.

I giggled when I got these out of the oven.

So good...

1kg (2lb) stewing beef (such as shin or cheek), cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons plain flour
rapeseed or olive oil
2 red onions, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
500ml (2 cups) stout
125g (3/4 cup) crumbled blue cheese
1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

Put the beef in a large bowl and sprinkle over 1 teaspoon of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add the flour and toss the beef in it until it all has a light dusting. Heat some rapeseed or olive oil in a large ovenproof casserole and brown the beef in batches over a medium-high heat, making sure not to crowd the pot or the meat won’t brown properly. Add more oil in between batches if needed. Remove the beef from the pot and set aside.

Add another splash of oil to the pot, then add the onions and carrots along with a pinch of salt so that the onions don’t brown. Cover the pot and cook for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft but not browned. Add the garlic, thyme and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper and cook for 1 or 2 minutes more.

Pour in the stout, scraping up any browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Return the beef to the pot and bring up to a lively simmer, then cover and put in the oven for 3–4 hours (or simmer on the stovetop on a low heat with the lid on), stirring a few times. You will know it’s done when the beef easily falls apart when you prod it with a fork and the stout has reduced right down – it’s a pot pie filling, not a stew, so you want it to be nice and thick. Stir in the cheese, then taste it and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Raise the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Place one large ovenproof pie dish or individual dishes or ramekins onto a baking tray just in case any filling bubbles up and over the sides, then spoon the stew into the dish(es). Roll out the pastry a little on a lightly floured countertop, then cut to fit the top of the dish. Rub the edges of the dish with a little water or some of the beaten egg to help the pastry stick in place, then place the pastry lid on top. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg (not too much or the pastry won’t rise properly), then cook in the oven for 20–30 minutes, until the pastry has risen and is golden. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before digging in.

Recipe #303: Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup

Here was an easy Christmas Eve dinner.  The fresh avocado was so good with it.  I skipped the cilantro because I'm not a huge fan of it.

Ingredients

• 5 small corn tortillas, cut into strips
• 3 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 8 ounces Greek cream cheese, softened
• ¾ cup enchilada sauce
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¾ cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14 ounce) can low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweet corn kernels, drained and rinsed
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with chilies (such as Rotel brand)
• Sliced avocado and cilantro leaves for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a 3-quart or larger Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the tortilla strips and fry until crispy, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
2. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil to the pot and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the chicken pieces and diced onion; cook 7-10 minutes until chicken is browned and cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, puree the cream cheese, enchilada sauce, cumin, and cayenne pepper in a small food processor (or beat using a hand mixer).
4. Add the broth to the chicken pot, followed by the cream cheese mixture. Stir in the beans, corn, and diced tomatoes. Simmer over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes, until warmed through.
5. Serve topped with tortilla strips, cilantro, and avocado.

Recipe #297: Beef Mushroom Barley Soup

Well, the weather wants to be fall-ish, so I decided to make soup!  Here's a simple delicious recipe that's even better as leftovers.  Copied from Allrecipes.com.

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into small pieces 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 1/2 onion, chopped 3 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped 7 1/2 cups beef stock 8 ounces pearl barley 1 pound mushrooms, sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Cook beef stew meat in a large skillet over medium heat until completely browned, 5 to 7 minutes; transfer to a large soup pot.  (I browned the beef in bacon fat with some garlic salt)
2.	Heat vegetable oil in the same skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion, celery, and carrot in the hot oil until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the vegetable mixture to the beef in the pot.  (I left the fat from the previous step and didn't add any oil)
3.	Pour beef stock into the pot.
4.	Stir pearl barley into the stock.
5.	Place soup over medium-low heat, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beef is completely tender, about 2 hours.  (I did this for about 1.5 hours and tested occasionally for tenderness.)
6.	Stir mushrooms through the soup; cook 1 hour more.  (45 minutes was enough.)

Recipe #284: Mushroom-Barley Soup

Perfect for a cold day like today, and it was nice to come home to it all finished and ready to eat in the crock pot.  I wasn't able to find unsalted vegetable broth, but that's the only thing I'd change.  The cheese complements it perfectly.... I forgot the parsley, but I think that would be good too.

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz fresh portobello mushrooms, cut into thirds and sliced
8 oz fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup regular barley
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3 14 oz cans vegetable broth
Finely shredded Perorino Romano cheese and/or snipped fresh flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a 4-5 quart slow cooker.  Cook on low 8-10 hours.  Top with cheese and parsley.

Recipe #270: Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon Orzo Soup)

Happy 4th birthday to my blog!  Here's the first of three new recipes for the day to celebrate!

I found this one in a cookbook my grandma gave me- The Oprah Magazine Cookbook.  I was really surprised at how filling this soup was.  I loved the lemon flavor and the little extra the orzo adds to it.  It would make 2 large bowls or 4 small bowls of soup.  I served it with little olive bread loaves I found at Heinen's.

INGREDIENTS:

1 quart chicken broth (I used unsalted)
1/2 cup orzo
2 large eggs
Juice from one large lemon
1tsp lemon zest
Sea salt and white pepper
Chopped dill, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a large saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil.  Add orzo; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, or until orzo is al dente.

In a bowl, beat eggs until thick.  Whisk in lemon juice and zest.  Gradually add 1/2 cup hot broth from the sauce pan, whisking constantly.  Do this twice more.

Pour mixture back into the saucepan and reheat, stirring constantly, until egg cooks and soup thickens slightly.  Do not boil, or eggs will curdle.  Add salt and pepper to taste, then sprinkle with dill.  Serve hot or cold.

Recipe #267: Herby Kale Soup with Chickpeas and Sausage

Oh man.  This one is EXCELLENT, and that's saying something because I'm not the biggest fan of sausage.  I found this on http://justthetipfood.wordpress.com.  The only change I made was that I used one can of chickpeas and one can of great northern beans because I bought one can of chickpeas instead of two.  DELICIOUS!!  Super hearty and makes a lot.  I bet the leftovers will be great!

INGREDIENTS: 

• 3 links raw sausage, removed from casings
• 1 head of kale, stripped from the stems and roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
• 1 1/2 – 2 quarts of low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp of fennel seed, pulsed to fine powder in spice/coffee grinder (I used my mortar and pestle) 
• 2 15-oz cans of reduced-sodium chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 parmesan rind
• kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
• parmigiano reggiano for garnish
• olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot. Brown the sausage on all sides, about 5 minutes (sausage will finish cooking through later in the broth). Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Add onions, carrots, rosemary, thyme, fennel & red pepper flakes. Season with S&P and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
3. Return sausage to the pan, and add the chickpeas, chicken broth, and parmesan rind
4. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove lid, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. Remove parmesan rind.  Add kale and cook for another 5 minutes until wilted.
6. Taste for seasoning. Sprinkle with parmigiano and serve.

Recipe #258: Boeuf A La Catalane (Child)

I have a new label/tag in my blogs now- Julia Child.  I'm now the happy owner of her two-book set Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and this is the inaugural recipe I chose.

I love the layout of the cookbooks.  Instead of the typical ingredients list, and then directions, it lists the ingredients needed for each step alongside that step.  Unfortunately, that's hard to duplicate nicely here, but I enjoyed following the cookbook as I made this.  Also, while I was trying to decide which recipe to choose, I noticed many of them called for a fireproof casserole/french oven.  I suddenly knew what I wanted for Christmas (as these are definitely not cheap!) and went to Bed Bath and Beyond to get my new pot.  It weighs a ton, especially with the food in it, but I was so happy using it!

Unfortunately, I was so excited about serving this up after the long cook time, I forgot to put the cheese in at the end.  It was delicious!  The meat was really tender and the flavors were perfect.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4       pound  chunk of bacon
2         tablespoons  olive oil
3         pounds  lean stewing beef, cut into squares 2 1/2″ across and 1″ thick
1 1/2    cups  onions, sliced
1         cup  raw white rice, unwashed
1         cup  dry white wine or dry vermouth  (I used Chardonnay)
2         cups  beef stock or canned beef bouillon
salt to taste
1/4       teaspoon  pepper
2         cloves  garlic, mashed
1/2        teaspoon  thyme
Pinch   saffron
1          bay leaf, crumbled
1          pound  tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced, and chopped
1          cup  Swiss cheese or Parmesan cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325°

Remove rind and cut bacon into lardons (1 1/2-inch strips, 3/8 of an inch thick.) Simmer in 1 quart of water for 10 minutes. Drain, dry, and brown lightly in oil in the skillet. Remove with a slotted spoon to the casserole.

Dry the meat on paper towels. Heat fat in skillet until almost smoking then brown the meat a few pieces at a time.  Place it when browned in the casserole.

Lower heat to moderate, and brown the onions.  Remove them with a slotted spoon and add to the casserole.

Still in the same fat, stir the rice over moderate heat for 2-3 minutes until it turns a milky color.  Scrape into a bowl and set aside until later.

Pour any remaining fat out of the skillet, add the wine and stir for a moment over heat to dissolve coagulated cooking juices.  Pour into the casserole.

Add stock or bouillon almost to the height of the meat.  Salt lightly.  Stir in the pepper, garlic, and herbs.  Bring to a simmer on top of the stove, cover tightly, and set in lower position of preheated oven to simmer slowly for 1 hour.

Remove casserole from oven.  Stir in the tomatoes, bring to simmer on top of the stove, cover, and return to the oven for an additional hour or so of very slow simmering.  When the meat is almost fork-tender, remove the casserole from the oven.  Raise oven heat to 375 degrees.

Tile casserole and skim off fat.  You should have 2-2.5 cups of liquid; add more stock or bouillon, or water, if necessary.  Stir in the rice.  Bring to simmer on top of stove, cover, and set again in lower third of oven.  Regulate heat to keep liquid at full simmer for 20 minutes so the rice will cook.  Do not stir the rice.  At the end of this time it should be tender and have absorbed almost all of the liquid.  Remove from the oven and correct seasoning.

Just before serving, delicately fold the cheese with a fork into the hot beef and rice.

Recipe #257: Minestrone Soup

It's soup season!  Here's a classic.  I'm really disappointed in the pictures I took, especially since I got distracted right after I put the cheese on top and it ended up just looking like a white glob for the pictures, but trust me, it was hearty and delicious.  Taken completely unchanged (except for using a can of corn instead of fresh, which wasn't available) from myrecipes.com/Cooking Light....

2 teaspoons olive oil 

• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups chopped yellow squash
• 3 cups chopped zucchini
• 1 cup chopped carrot 
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
• 4 cups chopped tomato, divided 
• 3 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided 
• 1/2 cup uncooked ditalini pasta (very short tube-shaped macaroni)
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach 
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 cup (4 ounces) grated Asiago cheese
• Coarsely ground black pepper (optional) 

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until softened. Add oregano and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in squash, zucchini, carrot, and corn; sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat.
2. Place 3 cups tomato and 1 can broth in a blender; process until smooth. Add tomato mixture to pan; return pan to heat. Stir in remaining 1 cup tomato and remaining 2 cans broth; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Add pasta and beans to pan; cook 10 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Ladle soup into individual bowls; top with cheese. Garnish with coarsely ground black pepper, if desired.

Recipe #256: Italian Wedding Soup

I spent a long time looking for just the right recipe for this, but I couldn't find just one that I was happy with between the ingredients, ratings, comments, and so on.... so I came closest to one I liked on food.com and then edited it a bunch!  This turned out better than any of the ones I've tried in a restaurant, I think.  It was fun to make and there were plenty of leftovers that I'm going to enjoy and share with friends.

Ingredients:

Meatballs

1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley or flat leaf parsley
1 egg
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
8 ounces lean ground beef
8 ounces ground pork

Soup

10 cups chicken broth
1 lb escarole or endive, coarsely chopped
2 eggs
2/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper
1/2 c orzo, cooked

Directions:

In a large bowl stir together first 6 ingredients. Stir in cheese and bread crumbs. Mix in meats with your hands. Roll into 1 inch meatballs (about 75).  Place on a greased or lined baking sheet.  Bake in the oven for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.  This will help prevent the soup from being greasy.   (Technique note:  I was lucky enough to come across a little trick to making these little meatballs much easier to form.  Working in batches, roll the meat out into a tube shape about 1" thick, then cut apart into 1" pieces.  It's then easy to quickly form them into a ball shape while placing them on the sheet.)

Bring broth to a boil in a large pot over medium high heat.  Add meatballs and escarole and simmer about 10 minutes.  Add the cooked orzo.  Whisk eggs and cheese in a bowl; then add to soup slowly stirring with a fork to form thin strands of egg about 1 minute.  (Mine ended up more like "crumbs")  Season with salt and pepper.

Recipe #251: Lobster Bisque

The other day, I saw some frozen lobster tails for a good price at the store, so I grabbed them without knowing what recipe I might use them for.  With the weather getting colder, though, I was inspired to make a lobster bisque.  This is a very easy recipe that could be the base for some changes, or fine on its own.  Except for the onion, I halved the recipe and used two lobster tails, and it worked out to be two big bowls of soup.  Here's another one from allrecipes.com....

INGREDIENTS:

6 tablespoons butter 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon celery salt 4 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups chicken stock 3 tablespoons minced onion 3 cups cooked lobster meat, shredded 1 tablespoon paprika 1/2 cup light cream

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and celery salt until well blended. Gradually stir in the milk so that no lumps form, and then stir in the chicken stock. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the soup begins to thicken. Add the onion and lobster; season with paprika. Cook and stir for 10 more minutes. Stir in the cream, heat through and serve.

Recipe #245: Thai Shrimp Wonton Soup

I had lots of leftover wonton wraps from my mini taco recipe, so today I searched for a way to use them.  This was the winning recipe, and as a result, I also found a new website to try recipes from:  asiansupper.com!  Expect plenty of postings from there in the future.

This was simple and tastes like what you'd get from a restaurant, I think.  BE SURE to use unsalted broth and low sodium soy sauce, because it still comes out salty.  It would be too much if there was more.  I bought some frozen egg rolls to make on the side.  Some day I'll try making those fresh too.

INGREDIENTS:

• ½ pound of shrimp, minced into small pieces
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 1 scallion stalked, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce  (LOW SODIUM!!)
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 3 tbs cilantro
• 1 egg yolk
• 12 wonton skins
• 4 cups chicken broth  (UNSALTED!!)
• 1 scallion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp sweet rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp fish sauce

DIRECTIONS:

• In a large bowl, combine shrimp, garlic, scallions, soy sauce, fish sauce, cilantro. Blend well, and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Place about one teaspoon of the filling at the center of each wonton skin. Moisten all 4 edges of wonton wrapper with egg yolk, then pull the top corner down to the bottom, folding the wrapper over the filling to make a triangle. Press edges firmly to make a seal. Bring left and right corners together above the filling. Overlap the tips of these corners, moisten with egg yolk and press together. Continue until all wrappers are used.
• Bring the chicken broth, fish sauce and sweet rice wine vinegar to a rolling boil. Gently drop the wontons into the broth. The wontons are cooked once they float to the top and you boil the dumplings for an additional 3 minutes. Garnish with chopped scallions, and serve.  (I added the scallions to the soup while cooking)