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Soupy Soup Round-up

Posted on November 11, 2011 by amydeline

Are you on facebook or twitter?

Well, what do you know…me too! In fact, I’m hardly ever not on facebook, especially now that the temperatures are dropping and we’re retreating into full hibernation mode!

Come keep me company! Click on over to follow The Gourmand Mom on Facebook or Twitter!

See you there!

And speaking of dropping temperatures, has it cooled down by you too? Got snow in the forecast? Ready to throw on your Snuggie or Slanket (I promise, I own neither.) and hibernate for the winter? Well, here are a handful of toasty soups (and chilis), guaranteed to warm you up! Enjoy!

Creamy Bacon Mushroom Soup

Pumpkin Caramel Bisque

Italian Wedding Soup

Vanilla Carrot Bisque

Chicken Soup from Scratch

Sausage, Bean, and Rapini Soup

Spicy Beef Chili

White Chicken Chili

BBQ Beef Chili

Split Pea Soup with Ham 

Cheesy Cheddar Soup 

Chicken with Matzoh Ball Soup

Sweet Potato Bisque (with seared scallops and bacon)

Baked Potato Soup

Chilled Avocado Soup (Ok, so this one isn’t going to warm you up. But it’s yuuuummmmy!)

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Creamy Bacon Mushroom Soup

Posted on November 10, 2011 by amydeline

Remember when I thought I didn’t care for soup? Then, remember when I woke up and discovered the glorious world of soup?

What a difference a year makes!

This new world is so much warmer than the old soupless world I was living in.

I like it here. I think I’ll stay.

Here’s a new favorite soup for you. It’s a creamy mushroom soup, kicked up with a punch of bacon flavor. (And bacon makes everything better, right??) Pureeing a bit of the broth and mushrooms helps spread delicious mushroom flavor throughout the soup. It’s seriously yummy. Even my mushroom adverse husband enjoyed this one!!

Creamy Mushroom and Bacon Soup

Ingredients

  • 8 slices bacon, chopped
  • 2 shallots, finely diced
  • 4-5 cups button mushrooms, quartered
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • Splash of Marsala wine (optional)
  • 1/2 cup half and half
  • 1/2  – 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • Pepper

Directions

In a large saucepan or dutch oven pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the diced shallots to the bacon grease and cook for about 3 minutes, until tender. Add the mushrooms, rosemary and garlic to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and golden. Return the cooked bacon to the pan.

Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and bacon and stir to coat. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Pour the chicken broth into the pan. If desired, add a splash of marsala wine. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring frequently. It should begin to thicken as it simmers. Simmer for a few minutes, then reduce heat and add the half and half.

Remove about a cup of the soup. (Make sure to get lots of mushrooms in there.) When cool enough to safely handle, blend the cup of soup until smooth. Return the blended mixture to the pan with the rest of the soup.

Season with the salt and pepper.

Serve topped with croutons and/or bacon crumbles.

Serves 4

**For a person who claimed to be indifferent about soups, I’ve got quite a few soup recipes hanging around this site! Keep an eye out this weekend for a round-up of some delicious, warm-you-up soup recipes!!

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Roasted Vegetable and Goat Cheese Quiche

Posted on November 8, 2011 by amydeline

I’ve discovered the long sought after secret to getting kids to eat their vegetables.

Are you ready for it?

Treat veggies like you treat treats.

If you’re tearing your hair out trying to barter with your children (two bites of green beans in exchange for a cookie) or trying to rationalize with them about how veggies are good for their growing bodies, then stop right now! You’re doing it all wrong.

Kids are clever, curious, and complicated creatures. But they are not rationale. I mean, my three-year-old believes he can become a firetruck when he grows up, if he just works hard enough. Kids are not concerned with silly things like vitamins and minerals…unless the vitamins are shaped like superheroes and taste like gummy bears.

I’m not suggesting that you should neglect teaching your kids about good nutrition. Kids should know the difference between healthy food and junk food. Just don’t treat eating healthy food like a chore. You need to speak in kid-language. And kids don’t eat things because they think it’s good for their bodies. They eat what they think is good.

The simple trick is to handle nutritious foods like the special treat they are. Show them how much you enjoy eating delicious, mouth-watering vegetables. Being good for their bodies is an added bonus they’ll appreciate when they’re older. For now, work the tasty angle. Drool over your veggies. They will follow your example. Empathize with how awful veggies are and they’ll follow that example instead.

I know it works.

I just stood in the kitchen watching my boys fight over the snow peas in my lunch, with genuine concern over who got more. They snuck them out of my dish as if I were going to cry over my missing snow peas. You should have heard the mischievous giggles as their sneaky fingers worked they’re way into my dish, snatching the crisp, green veggies, while I stood there shooing them away from my delicious snow peas. They go wild for asparagus too. And they’re pretty sure that green strawberry-spinach smoothies are a special dessert.

My kids eat their veggies because they’ve never been given the impression that they should enjoy their vegetables any less than their desserts. They know that vegetables are good for them, because I’ve told them so. But they eat them because they’re delicious.

Shhhhh…don’t tell them that some kids don’t eat their veggies. I’ve got a good thing going here!

Roasting veggies brings out their natural, delicious sweetness. Make a huge batch of roasted veggies for sandwiches, omelets, and pasta. And throw some in this fantastic quiche the whole family will enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable and Goat Cheese Quiche

Ingredients

  • 1 deep-dish pie crust, frozen or homemade
  • 1 1/4 cup roasted vegetables*
  • 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • Salt and pepper

Directions

*To roast the vegetables: Chop any combination of vegetables into small pieces. Onions, peppers, mushrooms, eggplant, squash, asparagus, carrots, brussell sprouts, leeks, or zucchini would all be delicious. (I used asparagus, yellow squash, baby eggplant, red onion, and mushrooms.) Toss the veggies with a bit of olive oil, minced garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Arrange in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes in a 375 degrees oven, stirring every 10-15 minutes.

To prepare the quiche: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. (If using a frozen pie crust, allow it to thaw in the fridge for 20-30 minutes before using.) Line pie crust with a piece of foil.  Fill with dry beans.  Bake in oven for 15 minutes.  Remove foil and beans.  Return to oven for another 5 minutes. (You can save the dried beans to reuse as pie weights.)

Scatter the roasted vegetables in an even layer in the prepared pie crust. Sprinkle with the goat cheese. Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour over the veggies and goat cheese, being careful not to overfill the crust.

Place the pie shell on a baking sheet. Bake on the bottom rack for 35-45 minutes, until the filling has set in the middle. (You’ll know because it won’t wiggle anymore.)

Allow it to cool slightly before serving.  Serve with a side of spring greens or baby spinach with balsamic vinaigrette.

Quiche will keep well in the fridge for a couple days.  You can reheat it in a 200 degree oven until warm.

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Coconut Custard Pie

Posted on November 6, 2011 by amydeline
Halloween has come and gone. Just like that. The costumes have been washed and packed away (though I think I’d put my baby in his monkey costume everyday if it were socially acceptable to do so). The candy has been picked over for the good stuff. (You know who I’m talking about, Almond Joy.) And the daily morning frost makes it feel more like winter than autumn. We’re on the fast track to Thanksgiving.
And with Thanksgiving comes one of my favorite meals of the year. Comfort food just doesn’t get much more comforting than Thanksgiving dinner. Savory stuffings, tart cranberry sauce, vegetables doused in cream, doughy buttered rolls, and pie. Sweet, delicious pie.
This recipe comes by request of a reader in search of a recipe for a graham cracker coconut crust to use for a fresh pumpkin pie. I decided to use my crust to make a seriously satisfying coconut custard pie, but this crust would also work beautifully with a fresh pumpkin coconut pie filling or any other filling you can dream up.
This recipe is written for use with a deep pie dish. If you have a more shallow pie dish, you will probably have some extra crust and custard. Spoon the extra custard into cups and top with some of the extra crust mixture for a tasty little treat!
Coconut Custard Pie
For the Crust:
  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 3/4 cup shredded coconut
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) melted butter (I use salted butter.)

For the Custard:

  • 3 cups milk*
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 2 cups shredded coconut
*If you’re looking to reduce the calorie and fat content, skim milk will work just fine!

Directions

To make the crust: Combine graham cracker crumbs, coconut, brown sugar, and melted butter. Press the mixture onto the bottom and sides of a deep pie dish. Bake for 13-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

To make the custard: Bring the milk, sugar, vanilla, salt and cornstarch to a simmer over medium heat, whisking frequently so that the sugar and cornstarch dissolve. Once the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, reduce the heat. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks. Gradually whisk about 1/2 of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, starting with a slow drizzle. (Gradually incorporating the hot milk into the egg yolks tempers the eggs, allowing them to slowly rise in temperature without scrambling.) Gradually whisk the egg mixture into the remaining hot milk mixture in the pot. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, whisking constantly for about 3 minutes, until thickened and smooth. Stir in the shredded coconut.

Pour the custard into the prepared crust. Cool for a few hours, until set.

Garnish with whipped cream and toasted coconut or crushed graham crackers before serving.

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Autumn Harvest Chicken Salad

Posted on November 2, 2011 by amydeline

I believe that childhood should be magical.

I want my children to believe in Santa Claus and feel a swell of excitement when they walk into the living room on Christmas morning. That’s a feeling that gives me eager goosebumps to remember.

I want my children to eagerly await the tooth fairy and to believe that Mommy has to power to banish monsters from their room. I want my children to believe that wishes can come true.

Because I believe there is magic all around us.

I’m not talking about magic in the Harry Potter sense or even in the pulling a rabbit out of a hat sense. But magic in each of our abilities to make unbelievable things happen for each other. Magic in surprises and unexpected treats. Magic happens because we make it happen.

So, when I showed my son how to make a wish on a wishbone, and he wished for a motorcycle, I decided I would make his wish come true. And when he comes home to find the large metal motorcycle decoration hanging on the wall above his bed, I’m going to pretend to know nothing about it. Let him believe in granted wishes and a little magic.

Someday my children will reason these things out for themselves. They’ll realize that it was Daddy who meticulously scattered cookie crumbs on the kitchen table; not Santa’s sloppy eating. They’ll know it was Mommy who purchased and hung the motorcycle on the wall; not some mysterious wish genie. They’ll discover that the tooth fairy, Easter bunny, and Santa Claus don’t exist; at least not in the physical sense.

But in return, I hope they’ll learn that the spirit of giving, generosity, and hope they represent is very real indeed. We’ll teach them to share the spirit of those myths in their lives, the way we shared it with them. We’ll teach them to spread the magic.

This chicken salad is the product of the chicken leftover from making the Italian Wedding Soup broth. It’s a fantastic way to use leftover chicken, but would be totally worth cooking a chicken from scratch just to make! Sweet, savory, crunchy…magically delicious!

And when you get to that wishbone in the chicken, don’t forget to make a wish! Who knows…someone may be waiting to make your wish come true!

Autumn Harvest Chicken Salad

Ingredients

  • 4 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 1 apple, diced
  • 1/3 cup celery, diced
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup pecan, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients until well blended. Serve on thick, doughy slices of sourdough bread.

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Snickers Caramel Apple Dip

Posted on October 31, 2011 by amydeline

Last year, I wanted to be a bumble bee for halloween. I was a few months pregnant at the time and thought it would be cute to be a big, round bumble bee. But the only costume I could find was for a “sexy bumble bee”. When did bumble bees become sexy??

So, I let the boys pick my costume instead. They picked out a cowgirl costume. It didn’t say it on the package, but it was a “sexy cowgirl” costume. I had to wear it with a pair of jeans underneath.

Seriously, when did Halloween become a holiday for dressing in expensive, provocative clothing?? I object! Bring back the cheap, plastic ET, Darth Vater, and Strawberry Shortcake masks or the homemade scarecrow, bum, and clown costumes (the funny kind of clown…not the creepy kind).

The older two boys are dressing as ghostbusters for halloween. They know the theme song. I giggle every time they sing it and wait with eager anticipation for the part when they scream, I ain’t afraid of no ghost,which follows an extended period of them singing, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do.

My husband has been assigned the role of “ghost”. If I’d been thinking, I would have ordered myself a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man costume…the regular version, not the “sexy” one.

While my husband takes my two little ghostbusters around the neighborhood to collect their treats, my sister will hang at home with me and my littlest munchkin to pass out candy to the ghosts, ghouls, and miscellaneous sexy bugs who come to my door. We’ll be dining on Connecticut Supper and snacking on this sweet dip; a perfect way to use up some of those extra Snickers bars you may have on hand after tonight’s festivities!

Happy Halloween, my friends!

Have fun. Be safe. And by all means, eat more candy than you ought to. 

Snickers Caramel Apple Dip

Ingredients

  • 1 8-ounce bar cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons prepared caramel dip
  • 1/4 cup finely diced nuts (walnuts or peanuts)
  • 6-7 fun-sized Snickers bars, chopped
  • Sliced apples

Directions

Combine the cream cheese with 2 tablespoons of caramel and the chopped nuts, until well-blended. Spread the mixture into the bottom of a serving dish. Spread the remaining caramel on top of the cream cheese layer. Top with chopped Snickers. Serve at room temperature with freshly-sliced apples.

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Chocolate Covered Pretzel Pudding Pie

Posted on October 28, 2011 by amydeline

By measure of my sweat clothing collection, one may assume I was some sort of elite athlete. For why would anyone require so many pairs of sweat pants and sweat shorts in so many different colors?

Alas, I will never be considered an elite athlete. Unless finishing an entire Chipotle burrito is considered sport. I am, in fact, purely obsessed with soft, stretchy comfort. Having spent the past five years in a near constant state of pregnancy or postpartum recovery has certainly increased my longing for clothing with elastic waistbands. Jeans are like a prison on my skin. Give me soft fleece. Give me stretchy cotton. Give me pants I can wear during the day and keep on as I slip into bed at night.

It’s true. My daywear collection is nearly indistinguishable from my pajama collection.

I find myself assuming that everyone must share the same disdain for buttoned pants as I do. I admit to dressing the baby in soft, one-piece pajamas almost everyday; the ones with cute little animal faces on the soft attached feet. And I fill the older boys’ drawers with stretchy fleece pants we refer to as the “cozy pants”. I’m envious of the cozy pants.

But, my four year old loves his jeans. Loves them. I can’t wash his jeans fast enough for him to wear again. (The painter’s jeans are his favorite.) The kid’s got more fashion sense than all the rest of us combined. It’s the little special touches he adds which really make his outfits so unique. Like when he comes running into our room in the morning wearing jeans, a long sleeve tee, and a tweed suit vest. Or the way he’ll clip a red necktie onto his rock and roll tee-shirt. Or casually pop a newsboy cap onto his head, turning a typical kid outfit into something which is dripping in effortless fashion.

He’s so much cooler than we are.

But, get your cozy-pants out for this one, because you’re going to want that elastic waistband. It’s a chocolate pudding pie with a irresistible twist. We’ll start with a pretzel crust, lined in rich chocolate ganache. Then we’ll fill the chocolate-covered pretzel crust with smooth chocolate pudding and fresh whipped cream.

Go ahead, treat yourself.

Chocolate-Covered Pretzel Pudding Pie

Ingredients

For the Pretzel Crust

  • 2 cups pretzel crumbs
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 12 tablespoons butter, melted

For the Ganache

  • 4 ounces semisweet baking chocolate (4 squares), chopped
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

For the Pudding

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cup milk
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 3 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Whipped Cream

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup sugar

Directions

For the Pretzel Crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the pretzel crumbs and sugar.  Pour melted butter over the crumbs and mix to combine.  Press the mixture into the bottom and along the sides of a pie plate. It will be quite crumbly, but should stay in place. Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

For the Ganache:

While the pretzel crust is cooling, heat cream in the microwave until it just begins to boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate completely melts and the mixture is smooth.  Pour over the pretzel crust. Gently swirl the pie plate so that the ganache coats the bottom and sides of the pretzel crust. The ganache will act like a glue to help the crust stick together. Refrigerate to set.

For the Pudding:

In a saucepan, mix together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt. Whisk in 1 cup of milk, stirring until combined. Whisk in the remaining 1/4 cup of milk and the 3/4 cup of cream. Continue whisking over medium heat until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 5 minutes. Whisking constantly, continue cooking for another minute or two. Be careful to whisk into the corners and along the sides of the pan. Remove from heat. Whisk in the chopped chocolate and vanilla, stirring until fully melted. Allow the pudding to cool at room temperature, stirring frequently to prevent a skin from forming. Once pudding is no longer hot, pour it on top of the cooled ganache (which should be firm by this time) and spread into an even layer. Refrigerate for a few hours until pudding is completely cool and set.

For the Whipped Cream: 

Beat together the cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the pudding layer.

Garnish with a few crushed pretzels.

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Spooky Eyeball Cake Pops

Posted on October 25, 2011 by amydeline

My dog is regressing in his old age. Only his behavior is becoming so much worse than when he was a puppy. And it’s a lot less cute.

Amongst an assortment of other undesirable hobbies, which he has taken up in his senior retirement days, my dog has become a garbage-picker. He first taught himself how to nudge open the lid of the can in order to drag out each item, tear it into shreds and scatter it throughout the house. And let me tell you, the last thing you want to find when you walk into the house with 15 bags of perishable groceries and three cranky children, is a house covered in shredded bits of garbage.

So, we bought a garbage can with a lever-controlled lid, which he taught himself how knock over in order to complete his garbage scavenging mission.

We then decided to abandon the garbage can completely, in lieu of a plastic bag hanging on the doorknob, which we could easily throw into the garage before leaving the house. (He never fails to notice if we forget to throw the bag in the garage.)

In the absence of garbage to go through, he jumps up and pulls items out of the sink to lick clean; glasses, storage containers, cookware. You name it. I had to see it to believe it. This massive dog, with bad hips, jumping upright to pick through the sink. The force of motivation is strong within this one.

So, we learned to become diligent about making sure the sink is empty before leaving the house. But, as you may have guessed, he finds other mischief to get into, namely wrapped packages of food on the countertops. Say, an entire package of hamburger buns or a string-tied box of bakery cookies. Or perhaps a clean wooden spoon from my cookware canister. Are you beginning to understand how time-consuming it’s become to leave the house for even the simplest errand?? And this is on top of preparing three young children!

And now, his acts of mischief have become so brazen, or perhaps his brain is just slowly melting into a state of pure self-satisfaction. For lately, he runs straight to the garbage or jumps up to sink the very moment a door in the house closes. It doesn’t even matter if the house is still full of other people. A door closes and he heads straight to the kitchen to engage in his mischief. Seriously, buddy? I’m standing right here! At least show me the respect of waiting until I leave.

My fuzzy, senile friend is lucky he’s so good with the kids.

Speaking of the kids, I made them these cake pops. Cause the boys are totally into anything gross and spooky these days. Aren’t they cute? Cute and a bit time consuming to make. But, totally worth it for the perfectly creepy final product. They’re made with bright red velvet cake and have a fruit gusher candy nestled into the center to make them extra gross. I couldn’t wait to pack these disturbingly delicious treats into my sons’ lunch boxes for a surprise treat which would evoke shrieks from their tables of little friends at school.

Except, my dog; my darling, elderly dog; ate the cake pops, which I’d falsely believed were safe in the very center of the dining room table, surrounded by a barricade of heavy chairs. He ate every hand-crafted cake pop. Leaving a trail of chewed lollipop sticks scattered throughout the house as evidence of his misdeed.

Want to know the kicker?

He ate the cake pops while I was dragging the three kids out in the rain to pick up the dog food we needed for his dinner.

I wonder if he shrieked as he bit into the gushy center…

Learn from my mistake, dear friends. Make these cake pops, but be sure to store them in a place where your fuzzy friends are unable to help themselves.

Spooky Eyeball Cake Pops

Ingredients

  • 1 13×9 inch red velvet cake
  • 1 16-ounce container of cream cheese frosting (you won’t use it all)
  • Approximately 48 Gushers candies (available near the fruit roll-ups and fruit snacks)
  • About 4 dozen lollipop sticks
  • Approximately 4 cups white candy melts
  • Approximately 1/2 cup red candy melts
  • Approximately 48 gummi Lifesavers candies
  • Approximately 48 mini M&M candies

Directions

Prepare the cake pops according to the step by step directions found HERE. Insert a Gusher candy into the center of each ball as you roll.

Dip each frozen cake pop into melted white candy melts. Adhere a gummi Lifesaver to the pop while the white candy is still soft. Stand the pops upright in a piece of styrofoam until the candy has hardened. Place a small amount of the melted white candy into a small baggie. Cut off the tip of one of the corners of the baggie. Use the baggie to squeeze a bit of candy “glue” into the center of each gummi lifesaver. Place a mini M&M into the candy glue. Allow to dry. Melt the red candy melts according to package directions. Use a toothpick or fine-tip paint brush to give the eyeballs a bloodshot appearance. Store at room temperature for a few days.

Gusher center and candy decorations inspired by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.

A few more cake pop hints and tips:

  • You can prepare the cake pops up to adhering the balls to the lollipop sticks and freeze them until you’re ready to dip and decorate. You can then dip and decorate a small batch at a time and leave the other pops in the freezer for later (or for when you dog eats all of the other cake pops).
  • If your candy melts are too thick for dipping, try stirring in a small amount of solid vegetable shortening.
  • Make sure not to introduce any liquid while melting the candies, which can ruin the candy’s meltability. Keep bowls and spoons dry throughout the melting process.
  • Dip the cake pops right up the the stick. The hardened candy will help the cake balls to remain adhered to the sticks.
  • Cake pops can be stored at room temperature for a few days.

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Italian Wedding Soup

Posted on October 21, 2011 by amydeline

I’m about to eat my words.

“I guess I just don’t really think too much about soup. I never crave it. I rarely get the itch to make it. ” – Me, October 26, 2010

Well, I’ve changed my mind. A girl’s allowed to change her mind, right?? I think about soup all of the time lately. I crave soup frequently. I always have the itch to make it. In fact, I can barely think of anything more comforting on a chilly autumn day than a bowl of soup; a creamy pumpkin bisque, savory chicken noodle, or spicy sausage and bean. I love them all.

While I’m busy eating my words, I might as well admit that my lifelong, passionate distaste for Rod Stewart has been gradually waning. Rod Stewart, the thought of whom used to give me unpleasant shivers. I now find myself singing along to his songs on the radio. I may have even raised the volume once or twice. What’s happening to me?

I’m swimming in soup this week as I prepare for our littlest guy’s upcoming baptism. I’ll be serving a menu of soups, salad, and assorted breads. There will be a Roasted Pumpkin Caramel Bisque, a Sausage, Bean, and Rapini soup, a Spicy Beef Chili, and this Italian Wedding Soup.

Italian wedding soup is typically composed of a chicken broth with meatballs, leafy greens, and pasta. It’s a simple, but perfectly married combination of flavors. I start my soup with a homemade chicken broth. You can skip this step and use prepared chicken broth to save a whole bunch of time. But, if you make the broth from scratch you’ll have the added benefit of enough cooked chicken to make meals for the rest of the week! Totally worth the small investment in time!

Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients

For the broth:

  • 2 whole chickens
  • 2 cups carrots, coarse chopped
  • 1 head celery, coarse chopped
  • 2 onions, quartered
  • 6-8 cloves garlic

For the meatballs:

  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
  • 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons parsley
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • Pepper

For the soup:

  • 3-4 teaspoons salt
  • Pepper
  • Splash of hot sauce
  • 12 ounces baby spinach, coarse-chopped
  • 1 pound small pasta (ditalini or orzo)

Directions

To prepare the broth, place two whole chickens into a very large pot (12-16 quart stockpot). Add carrots, celery, onions, and garlic. Add enough water to cover an inch or two above the chicken and veggies. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 3.5-4 hours. When cool enough to safely handle, use a slotted spoon to remove most of the chicken and veggies. Pour the remaining mixture through a fine-sieve strainer. Save the chicken for other uses (salads, quesadillas, chicken salad, pasta dishes). Discard the vegetables. Transfer the broth back to the pot and bring to a boil. Boil, uncovered for 20-30 minutes to reduce the liquid and concentrate the flavor. Allow to cool. Use a spoon to skim some of the fat from the surface of the soup. (If desired, you can cool the broth completely in the refrigerator to easily remove the excess fat, which will rise and harden on the surface of the broth. This is not a necessary step, but is the most effective way to remove the fat.) Reserve 16 cups of the broth for the soup. Freeze any remaining broth for other uses.

To prepare the meatballs, combine all meatball ingredients until well-blended. Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls. Bake on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

To prepare the soup, bring 16 cups of the full-flavored broth to a simmer. Add salt and pepper, as desired. About 3-4 teaspoons of salt should do the trick. (Store-bought broth, which has already been salted, will require less salt. Taste as you go to prevent over-salting the broth.) Add a splash or two of hot sauce, as desired. Add the meatballs and spinach. Simmer until the spinach wilts. In a separate pot, cook the pasta for 2-3 minutes less than directed. (It will finish cooking in the soup.) Strain, then add the slightly under-cooked pasta to the hot soup.

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How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds

Posted on October 19, 2011 by amydeline

Got pumpkins?

Perhaps a few small ones destined for fresh pumpkin pie? Or maybe a great big one, awaiting its jack-o-lantern fate?

Whatever the case, save those seeds! Pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, make a delicious and incredibly nutritious snack. Follow this simple step-by-step guide on how to roast your fresh pumpkin seeds.

Step 1: Use a spoon to scoop seeds from the pumpkin.

Step 2: Rinse the seeds under cool running water, while removing any stringy, orange pulp.

Step 3: Dry the seeds on a paper towel.

Step 4: Spread the seeds onto a baking sheet. Drizzle the seeds with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Move the seeds around to evenly distribute the oil and seasonings.

Step 5: Bake for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Enjoy!

You can have fun with the seasonings for your seeds. I prefer basic salt and pepper pepitas, but you may enjoy cinnamon sugar, parmesan cheese, garlic salt, or even chile flavored seeds!

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Beauty Awaits

The Gourmand Mom

Good food, seasoned with a dash of life