Italian Tortellini Soup & No-Fuss Focaccia

This was a recipe that came from our recipe exchange about a year ago. I was excited to try it. I filed it away thinking I'd make it soon and somehow I lost it amongst all my recipes. Now that the cold weather is here, I started searching my recipes and found this lost treasure. I sprinkled Parmesean Cheese on top and viola!

Rather than use the old stand by of breadsticks, I thought I'd make some focaccia. I love this recipe. It is so easy!!! I love it dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar - mmm! It's really good if you use it to make Italian sandwhiches or paninis. Dinner was delicious tonight, even Josh ate all his dinner!

Italian Tortellini Soup

(Michelle Pohlhopek)

1 lb Italian Sausage browned

½ onion, chopped

1 cup V-8 Juice

2 14 oz can stewed tomatoes

1 cup chopped carrots

½ cup zucchini

½ tsp fresh garlic

5 cup beef broth

½ tsp basil

¼ tsp oregano

1-8oz bag tortellini

Brown sausage and onion. Add remaining ingredients, except tortellini. Simmer for 1 hour. Add tortellini last 20 minutes of simmer time.

***I also added zucchini with tortellini

No-Fuss Focaccia

1 1/2 cups warm water

3 tablespoons olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 tablespoon instant yeast

Italian Seasoning or dried herbs of you choice, for topping

§12 ounces warm water

§1 1/4 ounces olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)

§1 1/4 teaspoons salt

§14 3/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

§1 tablespoon instant yeast

§4 teaspoons Pizza Dough Flavor, optional

§1 ounce Vermont cheese powder, optional

§Pizza Seasoning, optional

Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom. Combine all of the ingredients, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.

Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it's become puffy. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.

Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger. Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, and/or the dried herbs of your choice, if desired.

Bake the bread till it's golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup...

So now that the cold weather is finally here, I'm getting ready to make soup. Thanks to our Recipe Exchange, I got this delicious soup recipe from Kynda Farrell. It makes a lot of soup for our family, so thanks to a tip from Kynda, before I add the noodles, I pour half of the soup into a freezer container. Then I freeze it. When I'm ready to use my frozen soup, I cook up some noodles and add. Sorry we ate it before I could take a picture. But you have to try it!

Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup

(Kynda Farrell)

2 tsp chicken bouillon

3 cups water

2 cups carrots

2 cups celery

¾ cup onion

3 cans Cream of Chicken soup

½ cup evaporated milk

salt & pepper

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

½ pkg noodles

Mix bouillon, water and vegetables in large pot. Cook until soft. In separate pot, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain. Stir in Cream of Chicken soup and milk. Add chicken and noodles to large pot.Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 10-15 minutes, or until heated through. *Can add additional milk until desired consistency is reached.

Brattens Clam Chowder

It's finally here - FALL! Fall is my favorite season, hands down. Cool crisp evenings, curling up with a blanket watching tv (I don't read), sweaters, and warm comfort food - ahh! it doesn't get any better. One of my comfort foods is creamy soups. Although I'm not a big fan of clams, I love clam chowder. Which is funny, growing up I hated, even loathed it. I'm sure our paletes change as we grow up. Any how, we serve our soup with cheesy garlic bread.

Brattens Clam Chowder

2 (6 oz) cans minced or chopped clams (I prefer minced - less clam to chew)
1 cup onion, diced fine
2 cups potatoes, diced fine
1 cup celery, diced
2 tsp sugar
1 TBSP wine vinegar
¾ cup butter
½ cup flour
1 quart half and half

Drain clams and pour juice over vegetable in saucepan. Add sugar and vinegar. Add water to barely cover. Simmer over medium heat.

In a 5 quart stock pot, melt butter. Whisk in flour. Slowly add half and half. Stir constantly, until white sauce thickens. Add undrained vegetables and clams. Stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

FYI - this recipe makes about 6 quarts. I usually cut it in half. This time around, I'm going to try freezing the second half. We'll see if that works.

Tortilla Soup

I found this recipe on the Betty Crocker website, and it is a very easy recipe and very good.

Enjoy this spicy version of tortilla soup featuring organic fire roasted tomatoes, chicken and chiles.

6 corn tortillas (6 inch)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped (1/3 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium Anaheim, poblano, or jalapeno chile, seeded, chopped
1 carton (32oz)Progresson reduced-sodium chicken broth (4cups)
1 can (14.5oz) Muir Glen organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 teaspoon coarse (kosher or sea) salt
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 ripe medium avocado
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (2oz) chopped fresh cilantro, if desired
1 lime, cut into wedges

1. Cut tortillas in half; cut halves in 1/4-inch strips. In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook strips in oil, 1/3 at a time, until light brown and crisp. Remove from pan; drain in paper towels.

2. Heat oil remaining in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and chile; cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in broth, tomatoes and salt. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add chicken; heat until hot.

3. To serve, peel and pit avocado. Cut into 1-inch slices. Divide half of tortilla strips among 4 individual serving bowls. Ladle in soup. Top with avocado and cheese; garnish with remaining tortilla strips and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup

4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)
6 cups 2% reduced-fat or fat free milk
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup chopped green onions
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
More cheese for garnish
Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Pierce the potatoes with a fork, bake for an hour or until tender. Cool and peel the potatoes. Coarsely mash. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add potatoes, 1 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.
Stir in sour cream. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Sprinkle additional cheese, onions, and bacon over individual servings. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.
Yields 8 Servings (Serving Size: about 1 ½ cups soup)

I had to add extra milk because it was too thick.

Pumpkin Soup

My favorite Aunt Rosie sent me this recipe for pumpkin soup. I LOVE Pumpkin soup! The recipe comes from the Gallery Golf Club in Tuscon, Arizona. I haven't tried it yet, but am looking forward to it. If you try it before I do, let me know how it is!


Pumpkin Soup
(Chef Brian Steiner's)

1 1/2 c canned pumpkin
1 1/2 c peeled, seeded, roasted butternut squash
1 qt heavy whipping cream
1 qt half and half
1/2 tbsp minced shallot
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 c brown sugar
Salt and White Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in soup pot. Bring to boil and simmer 30 minutes. Puree with hand blender (or transfer to regular blender). Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

Soup for a cold snowy day...

As I sit here blogging, the snow continues to come down - Yuck! I hate the snow! But, it does give me an excuse for making soup. Ryan's not a big fan of soup, so I'll take any chance that I can get. Since it's also cleaning day, I needed a quick and easy soup. Taco Soup was the winner. Instead of cooking it on the stove, I stuck it in my crock pot on low for four hours. Now the house has a yummy smell for the afternoon. I'm serving it with Fritos, grated cheese, sour cream and green onions.

Taco Soup
(Lacie Brunson)

1 lb. ground beef
½ med. onion, diced
1 (16 oz.) can stewed tomatoes
1 (16 oz.) can kidney beans
1 (16 oz.) can corn
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 packet taco seasoning

Brown beef and onion. Drain fat. Add remaining ingredients with liquid. Top with lots of cheese and sour cream. Serve with chips.

Chicken & Corn Chowder

I woke up on Saturday with a cold. Nothing makes a cold go away like a bowl of Chicken soup. Since I'm not a fan of Chicken soup, I thought I'd try a recipe from an old Williams Sonoma catalog - Chicken and Corn Chowder. I thought it turned out pretty good. The consistancy is thinner than I like in a chowder, so I added a little cornstarch in the end. If you don't cook with wine, substitute more chicken broth. Next time, I would probably decrease the amount of thyme (a little too much for my taste).

Chicken & Corn Chowder
(Williams Sonoma)

4 bacon slices, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
3/4 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
6 green onions, white and pale green parts, thinly sliced
3 Tbs. minced fresh thyme
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cook the bacon: In a saucepan over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 3 Tbs. of the fat from the pan.

Cook the vegetables and chicken: Add the bell pepper, corn and potatoes to the same pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the peppers are just softened and the corn and potatoes are lightly tinged with gold, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the broth and wine and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until the potatoes are almost tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, covered, until opaque throughout, 5 to 7 minutes.

Finish the chowder: Stir in the green onions, thyme and half-and-half. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the chowder into bowls, sprinkle with the bacon and serve immediately. Serves 4.

***I had this again the nest day for lunch. I decided to sprinkle some grated cheese on top. YUMMY! I definitely recommend this!