Tortilla Soup Recipe

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Onion Mixture:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic (sliced)
2 jalapenos (sliced)
1 teaspoon cumin
Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 white corn tortillas (torn into pieces)

4 cups chicken stock

1.5 Lb cooked chicken meat shredded

Juice of ½ lime

Hot sauce to taste

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the onions and begin to sauté until translucent, about 5-7 minutes.  Add in the garlic and jalapenos and sauté for 2-3 more minutes.  Add in the cumin, season with salt and pepper and cook for a minute more.

Combine the prepared onion mixture, half of the fire roasted tomatoes, the torn tortillas and a 1 cup of the chicken stock to a blender starting on low and slowly increasing the speed until pureed.

In a Dutch oven over medium high heat the pureed mixture and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Then pour in the rest of the chicken stock and tomatoes and stir.

Add in the shredded chicken and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.  

Add in the juice of half a lime and some hot sauce to taste.

GARNISH- Fried tortilla strips, cilantro, avocado and queso fresco

For the fried tortilla strips:

5 white corn tortillas (cut into strips)

Heat about 2 inches of oil to 350°F in a shallow heavy bottomed pan.  Add in tortilla strips and fry for 1-2 minutes until golden brown.  Remove to a paper towel lined plate.

Potato and Ham Soup

   7 cups peeled and large diced potatoes

     2/3 cup diced celery

   2/3 cup finely chopped onion

  1.5 cups diced cooked ham

   6.5 cups water

  2 tablespoons chicken base 

 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste   

2 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste

10 tablespoons butter

10 tablespoons all-purpose flour

 4 cups milk

1.  Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a pot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

2.  In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook stirring constantly until thick. Slowly whisk in milk to avoid lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

3.  Stir the milk mixture into the pot containing the potatoes and ham. Cook until heated through. Serve immediately.

Moroccan Soup

If you're tired of the same old vegetable beef soup and want something different then give this flavorful Moroccan soup a try...you won't be disappointed.  

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 pound beef chuck roast meat, or lamb meat (shoulder or leg), trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

6 cups beef broth

2 small turnips, peeled and diced

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, leaves included, thinly sliced

Pinch of saffron threads, (Optional)

12 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, plus more leaves for garnish

8 sprigs fresh cilantro, plus more leaves for garnish

1 large zucchini, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 ounces angel hair pasta broken into small pieces (about 1/2 cup), or orzo

1-2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

PREPARATION

  Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and turmeric; stir to coat. Add meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add broth (or water), tomatoes and their juice, turnips, carrots, celery and saffron. Tie parsley and cilantro sprigs together with kitchen string and add to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the meat is tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

  Stir in zucchini and cook, covered, until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook until soft, 4 to 10 minutes, depending on the type of pasta. Discard the parsley and cilantro sprigs. Season with salt (start with 1 teaspoon) and pepper. Serve sprinkled with parsley and/or cilantro leaves, if desired.

Cajun Gumbo Base

Who said that good Gumbo has to be made with a homemade roux. Well I'm here to tell y'all that it isn't necessary and this alternative actually has zero fat and zero cholesterol with only 30 calories per serving.

So why put yourself through all the fuss and mess when you can have great tasting Gumbo with little work in minutes vs. hours.

1 Lbs Cooked Chicken
1 Packet Louisiana Fish Fry Cajun GUMBO Base
1 Lbs. Andouille Sausage
1 cup diced Onions
1 cup diced Green Bell Pepper
2 Celery stalks diced
2 Tbsp Butter
2  Quarts Chicken Broth
Cajun/Creole Seasoning

Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces and the sausage into 1/3 inch thick  rounds. Fry the sausage to get some nice color.

Place the diced onions, bell peppers and celery and butter into a pot and saute until the veggies are tender and then add 1 1/2 quart of chicken broth and the packet of the Gumbo base and stir to combine.

Add the sausage, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Adjust for flavor and thickness and then add the chicken and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

Add in more seasoning if needed based on personal preference.

If you really want the best, let the pot of Gumbo cool and then refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight but if you do this do not add the chicken until after reheating with 10 minutes to go otherwise the chicken will over cook.

Serve over rice in bowls with a ratio of gumbo to rice 2:1

Red or White Beans and Rice Recipe

1 lb. dried premium Great Northern or Red Kidney beans 

3 Tbsp butter

2 cups diced yellow onions

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced green bell peppers

3 bay leaves

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2+ Tbsp of diced garlic
1 Lbs. meaty smoked ham hock
1 Lbs. smoked sausage 
1/3 Lbs. pickled pork (optional)

Cajun/Creole seasoning

Steamed rice 

There are three fantastic variations to this recipe. Go to the Notes below for a surprise.

The Night Before -

Place the beans in a large bowl and cover with
salted water by 4" and a healthy dose of salt

Let soak for 8 hours or overnight, sometimes I do it for 48 hours. Drain, rinse 2 times if necessary and set aside.

Boil the ham hock in a saucepan for 50 minutes then add bite sized pieces of the pickled pork (if using) and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Total boiling time should be 60 minutes even if the pickle pork is not used.  Reserve the broth. 

Cut the sausage into 1/3 inch rounds and fry until brown in a large pot (I use a porcelain coated cast iron pot) then remove the sausage set aside.  

Add butter to the pot over medium-high heat. Add finely diced onions, celery and bell peppers to the pot and cook until tender, about 10 minutes adding water if necessary.

Add the bay leaves, parsley, thyme, and garlic, cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the beans, stir. Add water to cover the beans by about 1 inch.  

Bring to a boil, stir again and reduce the heat to a slow simmer uncovered for about an hour stirring every 20 minutes. Make sure you scrape the cooked beans from the bottom of the pot with a wide wooden or plastic spatula. Add water as necessary. 

After 1 hour, remove the bay leaves and add the ham hock and pickled pork along with its juices. 

After simmering for another hour place the hock on a cutting board and separate the rine and bone from the meat. Put the meat back into the pot. 

Simmer until the beans cook down and become  become creamy, adjust the seasonings (if necessary) with Cajun/Creole seasoning.  

But remember, particularly with respect to salty seasonings, you can put it in but you can't take it out so be judicious and sprinkle in a little stir and taste until you are happy. 

Serve over steamed white rice and enjoy with catfish or not - better with! 

Note 1: I was messing around the other day and decided that I'd try something different so instead of using rice for my white beans. I boiled up some Fettuccine pasta, after draining I cut the strands into about 1 inch long pieces and mixed it in with the beans. It was an amazing departure from the standard rice.

Note 2: Serve red or white beans with catfish or any other white fish. 

I saved the best for last so here it is.

Note 3: A Cajun told me to pitch in a few pieces of fried chicken legs and/or wings in the pot of red beans during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Try not to knock off the breading as you stir the beans. When done, remove the chicken to a plate, put down a bed of rice in a bowl, and ladle the red beans on top. There is no doubt that this is the only way that I'll make them from now on. Yes, they were that good!  




  

Avgolemeno Soup Recipe

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If you like the flavor of lemon, Arborio rice and chicken then this soup is worth trying.  Thick like a porridge or thin like soup it's a winner and sure to satisfy.  

For mine, I used a very straight forward and easy recipe provided by Chef John at Foodwishes.com.  All 'ya gotta do is follow the link below for the instructional video. 

Makes 6 Servings Avgolemeno Soup: 

1 whole chicken, about 3 pounds

3 quarts cold water

2 tsp salt at least, plus more to taste

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp dried oregano leaves

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups finely diced onion

2/3 to 3/4 cup Arborio rice, depending on how thick you like it

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

pinch of cayenne

Food Wishes

  

Barr's New England Clam Chowder Recipe

4 strips of bacon small dice

1 medium onion small dice

3 carrots medium dice

3 stalks celery medium dice

2 cups low-sodium chicken stock

2 lbs Russet or Golden Yukon potatoes peeled and cut into one inch pieces.

3 sprigs of fresh Thyme

2/3 stick of unsalted butter

1 – 51 ounce can Chopped Clams (Snows Restaurant Style) 

2 cups (16 ounces) heavy cream

2 cups whole milk

Boil potatoes until 1/2 done in a 4.5 quart or greater capacity pot

In the now empty pot:

Brown bacon well – drain fat

Add carrots and simmer until medium tender

Add celery and simmer until medium tender

Add onions and simmer until tender

Add chicken stock butter and simmer until reduced by 1/4

Add heavy cream, milk (or a quart of half & half), and the can of clams with their juice

Add the cooked potatoes

Add Thyme sprigs

Simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender
Remove the thyme sprigs

Adjust with salt and pepper