Irish Stew

Irish Stew

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Mediterranean Chicken Stew

Mediterranean Chicken Stew


1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
2 tbs. of bacon diced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 teaspoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 plum tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped pitted Kalamata olives (*I put a lot more)
1 teaspoon white-wine vinegar (I left this out)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Creamy Polenta, for serving (recipe below)


Season chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and bacon, cook, turning occasionally, until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Reduce heat to medium-low; add remaining teaspoon oil to skillet. Add garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chickpeas and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes; cook over medium heat until starting to break down, 3 to 4 minutes. Add olives, vinegar, and chicken along with any accumulated juices to pan; toss until warmed through, about 1 minute. Stir in parsley. Serve over polenta.


Creamy Polenta
4 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon butter

In a large saucepan, bring water, salt, and pepper to a boil over high heat.
Whisking constantly, very gradually add cornmeal. Simmer over medium heat, whisking frequently, until thickened, 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove from heat; stir in Parmesan cheese and butter until smooth.

Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon Sugar Croutons

Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon and Sugar Croutons

1 cup chopped onion
2 tbs. butter melted
2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree (Not pumpkin pie filling!)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Saute the onion in the butter until tender then add 1 can of chicken broth. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce - simmering for 15 min. Transfer broth to a blender and process until smooth. Pour back in the pot and add the other can of broth, pumpkin, and spices. simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cream and warm through. (Do not boil after adding the cream)

Croutons
3 tbs. butter softened
1 tbs. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
4 slices whole wheat bread

Lay slices of bread on a cookie sheet. Butter front and back of each slice and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place under the broiler until toasted. Flip and toast the other side. Cut into small squares.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

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West African Peanut Soup

West African Peanut Soup

*I got this recipe from my old BYU roommate Joni. It is a really good and it's very quick and easy to make.

2 medium onions, chopped

1 3/4 lbs. Roma tomatoes, chopped (I used 2 cans of diced tomatoes)

6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

5 C. water

1 8-oz. can tomato sauce

1 3/4 t. salt

1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1 T. chili powder

2 t. ground cumin

3 T. fresh mint leaves, minced (optional) (I left these out)

2 C. Swiss chard or spinach, finely chopped (I used the spinach)

3/4 C. chunky, unsalted, natural peanut butter

1/4 C. fresh mint leaves, finely minced (I left these out)

1/4 C. crushed roasted peanuts

Combine onions, tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil in a large stockpot and sauté over high heat until softened and onions are transparent, about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to simmer. Add water, tomato sauce, salt, pepper flakes, chili powder, cumin, and mint leaves, and simmer about 10 to 12 minutes. Add Swiss chard or spinach and peanut butter and cook about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly to distribute the peanut butter. Mixture will thicken slightly. To serve, spoon soup into bowls and garnish with a pinch or two of mint leaves and crushed peanuts.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe from the Ambassador of Mongolia (formerly stationed in West Africa)

Cuban Black Bean Soup

Cuban Black Bean Soup

from Lillian Hoyt


Black Beans
Two 14 1/2-ounce cans chicken broth
1/2 cup Sofrito (can buy it in a jar)
1/2 cup canned Spanish-style tomato sauce
3 tablespoons alcaparrado or chopped pimiento-stuffed olives (I use more)
1 tablespoon fine sea or kosher salt
Healthy dose freshly ground black pepper
1/4 Scotch bonnet or jalapeño pepper

Any or all of the following "sundae toppings"
Cooked white rice
Chopped red or white onionChopped
cilantroOne-quarter of a Scotch bonnet or jalapeno pepper, optional
Sour cream
Olive oil

Stir the chicken broth, sofrito, tomato sauce, alcaparrado or olives, salt, pepper, and chili pepper into the black beans. Bring everything to a boil over medium-high heat. skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Continue boiling until the soup is nice and thick, with just enough liquid to cover the beans. Pull the pot off the heat and let it sit 5 to 10 minutes so the beans soak up a little more of the liquid. Serve hot, ladled into warm bowls. Pass the toppings you have prepared.

Cauliflower Soup with Curry Shrimp, Cilantro, and Lime

Cauliflower Soup with Curry Shrimp, Cilantro, and Lime

1/2 cup butter

2 medium onions, roughly chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 tsp kosher salt, divided

2 tsp finely grated ginger

2 heads cauliflower, cut into florets

4 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground turmeric

7 cups water

Ground pepper

40 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp curry powder

Kosher salt

Lime wedges

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

For the soup:

Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, 2 tsp salt and ginger and cook until the onions are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the cauliflower, coriander, turmeric and the remaining 2 tsp salt. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the water. Set the heat to high, cover and bring to a boil. Boil uncovered for 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.Puree the soup in SMALL batches in a blender, keeping the lid cracked to allow steam to escape. Blend until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper accordingly. Keep soup at a simmer while making the shrimp.

For the shrimp:

In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with the olive oil and curry powder. Season with salt. In a medium skillet over medium high heat, cook shrimp until pink and translucent, about 3-5 minutes.When serve, place 5 or so shrimp in the bottom of a soup bowl, then ladle soup over the top. Squeeze lime juice over the soup and sprinkle on cilantro.

Crockpot Vegetable Beef Soup

Crockpot Vegetable Beef Soup
Mom's recipe


1 can (46 oz.) V-8 Juice
1 bag frozen stew vegetables or 1 small bag frozen peas, 1 small bag frozen corn, and 1 small bag beans or whatever you want
2-3 potatoes peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pkg. stew meat – cut each piece a little smaller
Salt and pepper


Place all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low all day – 8 hours or on high 4 hours. You can put this on in the morning and it will be ready for dinner.

Serve with rolls

Tortellini Soup With Escarole

Tortellini Soup With Escarole from Jenny


3 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 small head escarole, cleaned trimmed and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
1 pound cheese tortellini
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1. In a large stockpot, combine chicken stock, 2 cups water and bay leaf. Bring to boil. Add escarole and cook stirring constantly, until wilted, about 15 seconds.

2. Add tortellini, and cook until they float to the top, 4-5 minutes. Discard bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Taco Soup

Taco Soup

2 lb. ground beef
2 medium onions
2 (16 oz.) cans stewed tomatoes
2 cans red kidney beans
1 (8 oz.) can tomato paste
2 cups tomato juice
1 tbs. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 to 2 tbs. white vinegar
1 tbs. chili powder or more to taste
*I also add frozen corn

Brown meat and onion. Combine the rest of the ingredients. Add meat mixture and simmer for 30 min. Serve with tortilla chips and top with cheese and sour cream. Also good served with cornbread.

*This recipe is really easy to cut in half if you don’t want to make a huge pot of it.

Creamy Parsnip Soup

Creamy Parsnip Soup:

2 tbs. butter, 2 cups sliced leeks, 1 lb. parsnips peeled and cut into 1" chunks, 2 apples, peeled and cut into 1" chunks, 1 medium baking potato peeled and cut into 1" chunks, 1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth, 1/2 cup heavy cream, salt and pepper. Heat butter in a large stock pot. Add leeks -cook for 5 min. Add parsnips, apples, potato, broth, and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer -partially covered - for 20-25 min or until vegetables are tender. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Return to pot and add cream, salt and pepper and serve.