Homemade Chicken Soup, even if you didn't roast a whole chicken yesterday

So sometimes you have to have chicken soup, and you don't have a carcass to render meat and broth for the endeavor. OR you are too sick to be doing major cooking.  This is the case for me today. Olivia came over and made chicken soup for us, because we have the flu and can't do it ourselves. This is what she did:

* 3 boneless-skinless chicken breasts, still frozen
* 3 boneless-skinless chicken thighs, still frozen
* water to cover
* chicken bouillon cubes to make 4 cups (I use those 2-cup cubes, so 2)
a bag of frozen mise-en-place vegetable mix, or 1.5 cups each of diced frozen onions, celery, and carrots. You can really use any kind of soup veg mix, but I think carrots/celery/onion are indispensable to good chicken soup.
* a bay leaf
* seasoned salt and black pepper to taste
* more water if needed, or premade chicken stock
* 1-2 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed with about 1/4 cup cold water

Put the chicken into a 4-quart saucepan with enough water to mostly cover it up, throw 2 bouillon cubes in there, put a lid on it and bring it to a boil. Cook it until the chicken is done, and can be easily shredded.  Remove the chicken from the broth, reserving it, and shred the chicken up or dice it into small bite-sized pieces. (If you like the shred, and have a stand-mixer, the easiest way to shred cooked chicken is to toss it in the mixing bowl and use the white paddle attachment [not the whisk] on low-medium speed. Done in a minute. Otherwise, two forks will do the job, longer but more cost-effective than buying a Kitchenaid.)

Return the shredded chicken to the broth, add in your vegetables and the bay leaf, and evaluate whether you have enough broth for this soup. We had to add more water and bouillon cubes. I didn't think about the quart of frozen homemade chicken broth I have in the freezer, or we would have used that. (I'll put it in tomorrow when I heat up leftovers.)  Bring it back to a boil.  By using frozen vegetables, you reduce the length of time you need for this part of the soup. Basically you have to cook it until the veggies are done, which is basically heating it through.

At this point, evaluate whether you want a clear(ish)-broth soup, or a thicker, creamier soup. The cornstarch doesn't make it creamy, but it does make the broth more like a gravy. The amount listed up there doesn't make a HUGE difference in the broth, only enough to give it a little more body. You can do flour/water slurry, whisked into the broth, if you want a thicker broth.

Notes: So the broth of this soup lacks the depth that comes from boiling a whole carcass, because the bones and fat really add a lot of flavor. That said, this soup is still SO MUCH BETTER than canned, you will not be sorry you took the time here. It is still an acceptable level of quality, without the bones and fat.

Cheddar Cheese Soup Supreme

I found this recipe in the newspaper. For those of you too young to remember those, they were actual paper sheets, printed with the latest news, folded together and wedged into a plastic bag and thrown somewhere near your driveway every morning. This was before news agencies stopped caring about whether something was true or not, versus it being a sensational tidbit that would increase their readership. [Steps down from rant-box.] Ahem. In any case, on Wednesdays they had a food section, and (aside from the comics) it was my favorite part of the paper.

In any case, this soup is a favorite at our house. It underwent a brief period of exile when we were counting calories and not carbs, which will tell you that this is NOT diet food. But it's low-carb (not NO-carb), so we're eating it again.  Once you start the cooking, you generally have to stay with it until it's finished. This is not a simmering soup. But it's worth the commitment.

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons butter (you can use margarine if you want)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion (generally I just use one small to medium, but you can use frozen chopped onion if you have it, or you can reconstitute dried onions to make 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper (I use one whole pepper, unless it's enormous, because what am I going to do with the other half?)
• 5 Tablespoons flour (all purpose or self-rising, it doesn't matter)
• 3 (10.5 oz) cans of condensed chicken broth (except I usually just use 2 cans of regular broth equalling about 30 oz. of liquid, or I make up broth out of bouillon, or I use homemade broth) (you can substitute vegetable broth here if you want to make this vegetarian)
• 3 cups grated sharp cheddar
• 2 cups milk (whole, 2%, 1%, skim, whatever you like, but the richer the milk, the richer the flavor of your finished product)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Dash of pepper
• 1/2 cup croutons (we like the big ones, but whatever you have on hand)
• chopped parsley for garnish

Procedure:

1. Do your chopping first, if you're using fresh vegetables. If you have to make up the broth from bouillon, you should do that before you light the fire, because this soup really isn't something you can walk away from while it cooks. I like to measure stuff out before starting, too, so I have the flour, broth, milk, and cheese all ready to go.
2. Melt the butter in a 3-quart saucepan and cook the onion and green pepper for 6-10 minutes, stirring frequently so they don't scorch. You want then to be pretty soft.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the flour. Mix it well and return it to the heat, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes. It will be pasty. (Don't skip cooking the flour; you can taste it if it's not cooked enough.)
4. Add the broth to the vegetable mixture and bring it to a boil, stirring to thoroughly blend, break up clumps. 
5. Reduce the heat to medium or medium-high. Add the cheese, a handful at a time, stirring each addition to melt it. Keep stirring so it doesn't scorch. Gradually add the milk while stirring. Season with salt and pepper. Bring just up to boiling, but do not boil. The milk might curdle.
6. Serve with croutons and sprinkle with parsley (it can be fresh or dried).

I like this with bread, more than croutons.

Stout Chili

The original name of this recipe is "Stout Beer Chili," which is a little redundant.

The first time I made this, I doubled it, though I shorted the chili powder because I didn't have an entire cup of chili powder. 8 Tablespoons (1/2 cup, though I don't know why they didn't use that measure) is a lot of spice, and double that... well. It was quite hot enough with the approximately 3/4 cup I had, so much so that Gary got heartburn pretty badly that evening. The next day, it was more bearable, but I don't know if that's because we just put more sour cream in it, or if it toned itself down.  You may want to go light if you don't like a lot of heat, and then taste to adjust.

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 lb ground beef

2 t salt

2 t pepper

1 large onion, diced

30 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

28 oz can of crushed tomatoes

2 T cumin

1 T paprika

1 T red pepper flakes

8 T chili powder

1/4 cup water

14.9 oz can of stout

In a dutch oven, brown the beef with salt and pepper in olive oil. Remove the beef with a slotted spoon (I skipped this and browned the beef a little before dumping in the onions to cook with it; saved me a dish to wash), and cook the diced onion in the grease until softened. Return the beef to the pot (if in fact you removed it) and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Serve with grated cheddar and sour cream.

Notes: 

I like using a dutch oven for this. I have a lovely cast-iron dutch oven (thank you again, Grant!) that held the doubled amounts quite well, and I didn't have to stir it during the simmer because I wasn't afraid it would scorch. If your dutch oven isn't thick-bottomed, or if you have to use a regular pot, give it a stir and check the heat periodically (every 10-15 minutes) to avoid burning your soup. 

I am guessing, because the original recipe (which was a Buzz-feed video) didn't mention servings, that this recipe serves 6-8. Since I doubled it, and after dishing out about 10 bowls, I still have at least 4 bowls-full left.

And like many soups and stews, it's better the next day!

Moroccan Tagine

I found this recipe at allrecipes.com  before they went all "mobile-app" and were still actually useful.  I had a butternut squash for some reason, which at that point was not something I would have bought on purpose (I think someone gave it to me). So I was on allrecipes.com looking for things with butternut squash in them, and most of them sounded as revolting as I thought squash was at the time, but then I happened on this one, and I liked everything else in it, preparation didn't seem too onerous (silly me!), so I tried it. Everyone else liked it pretty well, and it helped that you serve it over couscous (which, as our friends Aaron and Marcus tell us, is a food so nice they named it twice), and it's pretty much yum.  This recipe serves 6, and I have not tried freezing it, but it would probably do okay.  And the ingredients are verbatim off the allrecipes site, but this is a recipe you can play with proportions a little--maybe your squash isn't small, or you want to feed 8 people and 3 chicken breasts feels a bit skimpy. Be advised it's pretty mild, so you'll probably want to increase the seasonings if you increase one of the main ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil (or more) for frying
• 2 boneless-skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces (this is the onerous part that I hinted at above: peeling the squash and cutting it up)
• 1 (15-ish ounce) can of garbanzo beans (a.k.a. chick peas), drained and rinsed
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped (I chop up a handful of baby carrots)
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes (do not drain them, throw the juice in with the fruit at the right time)
• 1 (14 ounce) can of vegetable broth (or chicken, if you want)
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt
• dash or two of cayenne pepper 

Method:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, and cook the chicken and onions until browned, about 15 minutes, adding the garlic a minute or two before the end so you don't scorch it.  (You can cheat a little on the time, cooking it just until the chicken isn't pink anymore, and the onions are translucent. It doesn't hurt the flavor, and if you're rushed for time this is the corner to cut.)

2. Mix everything else in with the chicken mixture, including the seasonings.  Bring it to a boil, and then reduce it to a high simmer and cook 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Serve with couscous.


NOTES:  You can easily make this vegan by leaving out the chicken and making sure you use vegetable broth. Adding tofu is unnecessary (and yucky) (sorry, I'm not a fan).

The hardest part of this recipe is peeling the squash. There is no easy way to do it. Be careful, whether you pare the rind off with a knife or use a potato peeler. The skin is very hard, and the vegetable is very firm. Allow yourself enough time to do this.  I have read that microwaving the squash briefly or blanching it makes it easier to peel, but I haven't tried this yet. Maybe next time.

The prep can be done ahead, but be aware that this squash kind of sweats its juice when cut. No big deal, don't freak out. It isn't gone bad or anything like that.

White Chicken Chili

I found this on howto-simplify.com. It's really pretty easy, and you can make it hot or mild, however you like it.

• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded *(see notes)
• 2 cans Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed *(see notes)
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 box (32 oz) chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• the juice of one lime

1. In a large pot, saute the onion and cook it until it starts to become translucent.
2. Add the chicken shreds, beans, corn, green chiles (with the juice from the can), cumin, and oregano to the large pot. Stir to combine everything, and then add the broth.
3. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20-30 minutes to allow the broth to reduce. Add salt and pepper to taste, and the juice of one lime. (If you like cilantro, you can add 1/2 cup chopped fresh at this time, or you can serve it as a topping on the side.
4. You can simmer the chili until you're ready to serve.
5. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado, tortilla chips or corn muffins.

Notes:
*I might have mentioned before that if you use frozen boneless-skinless chicken breasts for your shredded chicken, an easy way to prepare it is to boil them, right out of the freezer, in water to just cover, and a few cubes of chicken bouillon. Boil them until cooked. Remove them from the water and let them rest a couple minutes, and then toss them in the bowl of your stand-mixer, and use the paddle attachment to reduce them to shreds. It only takes less than a minute.
*You can use black beans or pinto beans, as well. It reduces the whiteness of the chili, but it doesn't change the taste.

Slow-cooker Beef Burgundy

At our house, Monday dinners are one of the few times we can all be there. Unfortunately, it’s also the day when I’m out of the house all afternoon. I finally figured out I can USE the crock pot to solve the problem of a hot dinner for 8+ on Monday without dinner being put off until 9 p.m. It only requires a little planning.

This recipe was originally from a blogger who had IBS issues, and she used things like white rice flour and special beef broth. These aren’t an issue in our house, though we try to avoid starch and sugars for the diabetic one’s sake. I am writing it out here as I made it.

2 lbs. stew beef, cubed
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup dry red wine, divided (I used Marsala because I was out of red wine)
1 cup baby carrots
4 green onions, sliced (or a small onion, diced)
8 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced (or dry, to taste)
1/2 cup beef broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and then add the beef, shaking to coat.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet to shimmering. Add the beef pieces and brown on all sides.
3. Remove beef to slow cooker. Deglaze the skillet with 1/2 of the wine, scraping up any brown bits. Pour this into the slow cooker. Add the remaining wine, baby carrots, onions, mushrooms, parsley, broth, bay leaves, and thyme in the slow cooker and stir to combine.
Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or on high for 2-3 hours. Remove bay leaves and serve over pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes.

Slow-cooker Moroccan Beef Stew

I am always looking for recipes that are low in carbs, and this is a pretty good one. I made it this evening for the first time. You can leave the vegetable pieces a little large for this stew, as they cook very thoroughly, and too-small pieces will turn to mush.

• 3 lbs. stew beef, cubed small-ish
• 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 5-6 carrots, peeled and chopped (or use peeled baby carrots, about 1.5 cup)
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic (or more), chopped or minced
• 1.5 teaspoon yellow curry powder
• 1.5 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 8-oz. can of tomato sauce
• 32 oz. beef broth (I used 4 cups of water and 4 bouillon cubes)
• 1 14.5oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 single-serve boxes of raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
• 2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro (we passed the tin of dried cilantro at the table, because not everyone likes it, and I didn’t have fresh)
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds (or sliced), toasted if desired

Heat oil in a large saute pan until it’s shimmering. Sear the meat as much as you can, at least two sides. Remove the meat and set it aside. (I found this rendered a lot of liquid, so don’t be shocked.) Add the carrots, onions, and garlic to this. (I tend to add the garlic only a minute or less before the pan-cooking is done, so it doesn’t scorch.) Saute for about 5 minutes. Add the spices and the tomato sauce, stirring to combine.  These steps can all be done the night before, if you are pressed for time in the morning.

Add the beef, vegetables, and broth to the slow cooker. If you are doing all this the same day, you can use part of the broth to deglaze your saute pan, so you can get all the spices and yummy flavors! Cook on low for 6 house, then stir in the chickpeas and the chopped fruit. Cook for one more hour.

Serve with couscous, and pass the cilantro and almonds!

Home-made Chicken Soup

That chicken you roasted? Here’s what you do with the stuff that didn’t land on the table. You’re going to make the stock and meat for the soup, and then make the soup. It will be FABULOUS.

• Leftover chicken, the back and wings and other parts you cooked but didn’t eat- skin, bones, and meat.
• Enough water to cover the chicken as completely as possible (but don’t overdo–Just covered. It’s okay if a few points stick out.)
• 3-4 carrots, scrubbed and cut into 2-3 inch lengths.
• 2-3 ribs of celery (if you have ribs with leaves on them, this is the place to use the leaves!), scrubbed and cut like the carrots
• 1-2 medium to large onions, peeled and quartered.
• a little salt and pepper

Place everything in a large pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat so that it’s simmering. Let it simmer until the chicken carcass comes apart. (It doesn’t have to be every bone disjointed from the others, but the major things, like where the wing is attached, or the thigh, those ought to come apart.)  If you’re worried about whether the broth has any flavor, taste it. If it’s too bland, toss in a bouillon cube or two. Just remember that any salt you add now doesn't need to be added later.

Let it cool until you can handle the chicken. (I usually render the carcass after supper the night I roast the chicken, and tackle the boning in the morning. And leaving it at room temperature is fine, because everything in there has been thoroughly cooked.) Using a colander and a big bowl or a stock pot, I pour everything in, letting the stock drain. Don’t pour it down the sink! This is the soup part of your chicken soup, and it is SO much better-tasting that anything that comes out of a can or box or a jar. Now separate the meat from everything else. Since I am making soup, I throw the meat into the pot with the broth. EVERYTHING ELSE gets thrown away: skin, bone, tendon, and all vegetables. This is the time-consuming part, and the main reason hardly anyone makes chicken soup from scratch. But I promise you, this soup is a game-changer, and it is worth digging through the bones and skin and mushy carrots. Being right-handed, I put a garbage bowl on my right and the pot for the meat on my left, and the colander in the middle. And sometimes I wear disposable vinyl gloves, because otherwise I’m fighting the urge to wash my hands the whole time I’m doing it.

Once the meat is separated from the garbage, I heat up the broth again. And I evaluate how much soup I want, versus how much broth and meat I got from this operation. If I need more broth and meat, this is the place to add it. Usually I end up adding at least 2 cups of broth and 2 or 3 frozen boneless-skinless breasts. It’s okay to throw it in there frozen and uncooked. It will cook.  Then I start chopping vegetables.

• 6-8 carrots, peeled and sliced (or you can use 1/2 lb. baby carrots)
• 3 ribs celery, or more, washed and sliced thin (no leaves)
• 2-3 onions, peeled and diced in your favorite size
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced (optional)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• herbs of your choice (sage, thyme, rosemary, basil are all favorites)

Once you have chopped your carrots, onions, and celery, put everything in with the chicken. Check the meat, if you put in extra, and if it’s cooked through you can shred it up. Put your herbs in now, too. Cook it at a high simmer-low boil until vegetables are tender. (If you have leftover vegetables that would enhance the soup, put those in when your other veggies are not quite done. I might add leftover cauliflower, leftover rice, or mushrooms, but not broccoli or Brussels sprouts, for example.)  Remove the bay leaves.

You can serve it now, and it will be delicious. You can also put a lid on it and let it cool down, and then reheat it later, and it will taste even better. I grew up eating crackers with soup, but we almost always go with bread now at suppertime. (Crackers are for lunch, apparently.)

Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 10 days, or you can freeze it and keep it for up to 3 months.

Grandma Barn's Beef Stew

I’m going to be frank, here: this is not the way I make beef stew. The reason I don’t is because my family doesn’t appreciate this. But I want to record this recipe because it is the comfort food of my childhood.

• beef, cooked. This can be leftover pot roast, you can get a couple pounds of stew beef and cook overnight in the crockpot on low, or you can get a couple cans of beef in the canned mean aisle at the grocery. The more beef you have, the more people you can feed, but the point here is to make a little meat feed more people than it would on its own. I try to have 1.5 cups of cooked beef. (NOT HAMBURGER. Just stop that nonsense right now.)
• water, 2-3 cups
• Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix. (You can try the store brand if you want, but it won’t taste right.) One packet for 2 cups of water, if you need 3 cups of water, add a beef bouillon cube.
• 3-4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1-2 onions, diced (doesn't have to be small)
• a can of diced tomatoes, juice and all (Not Ro-Tel!)
• other vegetables if you want them (corn, green beans, Veg-All, diced carrots, mushrooms, etc.) When I was still trying to make my family like this, I had the most success with corn, green beans was less-well-received, but carrots were okay.  Mushrooms were right out.
• 1.5 tablespoons pearl barley

You’ll notice that some of the ratios aren’t precise. Soup is, for the most part, very forgiving.

In a 4 quart pot, mix the cooked beef, water, onion soup mix, potatoes, and onions. Bring it to a boil over high heat and then reduce the flame to simmer. Cook uncovered until the potatoes are tender and the onions translucent. Add in the tomatoes and any other vegetables you want, and the barley. Keep cooking until the barley plumps up. Serve with hearty bread or crackers.

Note: if you have gravy from your pot roast or drippings from cooking the stew beef, this makes the stew that much more fantastic. Also, while my mother called this stew, it isn’t really unless you thicken the broth.

To thicken the broth: whisk 1/2 cup all-purpose flour into 1 cup COLD water, and while the soup is boiling, whisk this mixture slowly into the broth. That is, whisk fast and pour slowly. Pouring slowly does two things: it prevents lumps of dough from forming like little miniature and tasteless dumplings, and you can see when to stop adding the thickener. You don’t want this to congeal too much, only enough so that if you had to eat this off a plate instead of out of a bowl, you could.

Quick Mexicana Chili with Quinoa

Not sure exactly why this is called "quick." Including chopping the vegetables, it's probably going to take you over half an hour to put together and cook it. However, It helps to have all your vegetables washed and diced, all your cans opened, and the spices measured out in advance. (I dump all the spices together in a small mixing bowl, since they go in at the same time.). And I usually line everything up on the counter in the order it goes into the pot.

From The Blood Sugar Solution by Dr. Mark Hyman. (This is some of that “diet” food that we’ve been eating lately.)

• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 Tablespoons garlic, diced
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 Tablespoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon red wine or water
• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans
• 4 cups vegetable stock or water
• 1 (8 ounce) can of tomato sauce
• 1 (15 ounce) can of diced tomatoes (optional)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• fresh lime juice
• chopped fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)
• toasted tortilla strips
• cheddar cheese

It helps to have all your vegetables washed and diced, all your cans opened, and to measure out the spices in advance. (I dump all the spices together in a small mixing bowl.)

In a 4 quart pot (and it will fill it, so if you’re doubling this, use a larger stock pot), heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until they begin to sweat. Add the spices and continue to saute for 2 more minutes. If it’s too dry, add another splash of olive oil, but you don’t need too much. Add the tomato paste, saute another minutes. Deglaze the pan with the 2 T red wine or water, then add the quinoa. Saute until the quinoa is browned. (This is really kind of hard to see, since the paprika and chili powder make everything a dark red. After a couple of minutes, I assume browning has happened, and I go on.)

Add the green pepper and zucchini, and saute a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add the beans with their liquid, the 4 c water or stock, tomato sauce, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Garnish with lime juice and cilantro, serve with cheese, sour cream, and tortilla strips. We usually have corn bread, too.