This soup is one of my favorites for many reasons, mostly that it's good, quick, and easy. If you have little geeks, prep the veggies while they nap, then throw together dinner about 20 minutes before you're ready to eat. From the ingredients, you might expect this to be spicy, but the peanut calms it down and makes it easy for all the geeks to enjoy. Baby geeks can have sweet potato chunks. ;)
It should be noted that I rarely (if ever) measure the veggies. I just put them in the pot. I put how many of each veggie I use in parenthesis.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cubed peeled sweet potato (I like a little more, so I usually do 3 sweet potatoes)
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 small)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (1 pepper)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (1 large breast)
1 cup bottled salsa
1/2 tsp cumin
2 (16-oz) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (4 cups)
2 (15-oz) cans low-sodium chicken & rice soup (I use Healthy Choice)
1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
Place large dutch oven coated with cookign spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add vegetables and saute 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and next 5 ingredients (through the beans). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add peanut butter, stirring with a whisk, and cook 2 minutes.
Enjoy!
I know it sounds weird, but it's REALLY filling and good--perfect for a fall or winter night.
You can alter the vegetables as suits you (although you really should leave the sweet potato and red bell pepper). I've tossed in a can of corn, extra carrots (in addition to the carrots in the pre-made soup), extra celery--whatever you have that you need to use.
Vegetarian option: throw in some extra sweet potato, use veggie & rice soup and vegetable broth. You could also use tofu in place of the chicken if you like.
Yield: 11 1-cup servings
From Cooking Light
Showing posts with label soups. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soups. Show all posts
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Way Better Than Opening a Can Chicken Soup
It's good for what ails ya.
Everyone at Chez Silicon has been struck by THE COLD, a nasty, horrible thing that results in drippy noses and hacking coughs. Fortunately, my kitchen already had chicken soup fixins.
I'm a big fan of soup because it's easy to make, you can walk away from it, and you can get creative and be flexible. This "recipe," if you can call it that, can stand lots of tweaks depending on what you and your geek squad prefer.
Ingredients:
1.5 to 3 lbs chicken. You have some flexibility here. I prefer boneless skinless thighs, although leaving the bone in will result in more flavor. You can also use breasts (I suggest bone-in, but take the skin off), but the meat will be a bit more dry than thighs. If all you have is boneless and skinless whatever, then that's fine. Have a whole chicken? Well, just go ahead and use it. See what I mean about soup? Lots of wiggle room. This time I had breasts. I removed the skin, left the bone, and tossed them in.
Olive Oil--about 2 Tbsp
Chopped carrots--about 2 or 3
Chopped onion--1 medium or 1 1/2 small
Chopped celery--about 3 stalks.
Broth/Stock--chicken or vegetable, 2-3 cups
Water--about 2 cups (or 1 cup white wine, 1 cup water)
Rosemary (or whatever seasoning you like)--about 2 Tbsp fresh or 1 Tbsp dry
Salt/Pepper to taste
Chop all the veggies. You can include the leaves of the celery too, if you want. Or you don't have to. I like to do this part while the little geeks are napping.
Heat the oil in the bottom of a large pot. Toss in all your veggies and cook until the onions are soft. Pour in your broth. Season your chicken with salt & pepper and put it in the pot. Add water until the chicken is totally covered (if you want to be really fancy you can throw in a cup of dry white wine). Stir it all around and bring to a boil.
Turn down heat and simmer, covered, for about an hour.
When chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot and let it cool a bit. In the meantime, add your rosemary or whatever seasonings you like. Taste the broth in the pot and add salt/pepper according to your taste. If people are sick, you might want a little extra salt. It is really hard to mess this up. If it doesn't take enough like broth to you, throw in a cube of chicken bouillon. Toss in a cup or so of frozen peas if you feel like it. Get crazy--there are no chicken soup police.
If you want to put in noodles or rice, this is the time to do it. Toss it in, bring everything to a boil, and let it cook (with rice, you probably have to put the lid back on).
When the chicken cools a bit, start removing it from the bone (if there were bones) and shredding it. If you put in noodles or rice, wait for it to finish cooking. Add more liquid (broth or water) as needed. Then toss as much of the shredded chicken as you want back in the pot. Put the rest (if there is extra) in a ziplock in the freezer to use for enchiladas or chicken salad or something another day.
Let the whole concoction simmer a bit more so the chicken warms back up.
If you want to add dumplings, this is the time to toss them in (just use bisquick or refridgerated biscuit dough) and let them simmer, covered, for 10-12 minutes).
Then dish it up and let the healing begin.
Everyone at Chez Silicon has been struck by THE COLD, a nasty, horrible thing that results in drippy noses and hacking coughs. Fortunately, my kitchen already had chicken soup fixins.
I'm a big fan of soup because it's easy to make, you can walk away from it, and you can get creative and be flexible. This "recipe," if you can call it that, can stand lots of tweaks depending on what you and your geek squad prefer.
Ingredients:
1.5 to 3 lbs chicken. You have some flexibility here. I prefer boneless skinless thighs, although leaving the bone in will result in more flavor. You can also use breasts (I suggest bone-in, but take the skin off), but the meat will be a bit more dry than thighs. If all you have is boneless and skinless whatever, then that's fine. Have a whole chicken? Well, just go ahead and use it. See what I mean about soup? Lots of wiggle room. This time I had breasts. I removed the skin, left the bone, and tossed them in.
Olive Oil--about 2 Tbsp
Chopped carrots--about 2 or 3
Chopped onion--1 medium or 1 1/2 small
Chopped celery--about 3 stalks.
Broth/Stock--chicken or vegetable, 2-3 cups
Water--about 2 cups (or 1 cup white wine, 1 cup water)
Rosemary (or whatever seasoning you like)--about 2 Tbsp fresh or 1 Tbsp dry
Salt/Pepper to taste
Chop all the veggies. You can include the leaves of the celery too, if you want. Or you don't have to. I like to do this part while the little geeks are napping.
Heat the oil in the bottom of a large pot. Toss in all your veggies and cook until the onions are soft. Pour in your broth. Season your chicken with salt & pepper and put it in the pot. Add water until the chicken is totally covered (if you want to be really fancy you can throw in a cup of dry white wine). Stir it all around and bring to a boil.
Turn down heat and simmer, covered, for about an hour.
When chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot and let it cool a bit. In the meantime, add your rosemary or whatever seasonings you like. Taste the broth in the pot and add salt/pepper according to your taste. If people are sick, you might want a little extra salt. It is really hard to mess this up. If it doesn't take enough like broth to you, throw in a cube of chicken bouillon. Toss in a cup or so of frozen peas if you feel like it. Get crazy--there are no chicken soup police.
If you want to put in noodles or rice, this is the time to do it. Toss it in, bring everything to a boil, and let it cook (with rice, you probably have to put the lid back on).
When the chicken cools a bit, start removing it from the bone (if there were bones) and shredding it. If you put in noodles or rice, wait for it to finish cooking. Add more liquid (broth or water) as needed. Then toss as much of the shredded chicken as you want back in the pot. Put the rest (if there is extra) in a ziplock in the freezer to use for enchiladas or chicken salad or something another day.
Let the whole concoction simmer a bit more so the chicken warms back up.
If you want to add dumplings, this is the time to toss them in (just use bisquick or refridgerated biscuit dough) and let them simmer, covered, for 10-12 minutes).
Then dish it up and let the healing begin.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Mexican Chicken and Dumplings
This is the perfect soup to chase away a winter cold. May be too spicy for kids, though. Oh, well, more for me!
Ingredients:
1 Tsp olive oil
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 cups fat-free chicken broth (low sodium is fine)
1 19 oz can red enchilada sauce
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes with jalepenos or Mexican seasoning
1 10 oz can Mexican stewed tomatoes
3 lbs chicken thighs (skinless--bones are optional)
(if you can't find the exact sizes, just get close--this soup allows lots of wiggle room)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp chopped pickled jalepenos (nacho jalepenos)
3 Tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1. Pour oil into a 5-6 qut pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add vegetables and stir until limp, 5-7 minutes.
2. Add broth, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, and chicken to pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked (about 40 minutes). Remove chicken, shred, and put back in the pot.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and jalepenos. In a small bowl, whisk butter into milk. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well blended. Drop batter in Tbsp portions into simmering chicken mixture. Cover and simmer gently until dumplings are cooked through, 10-12 minutes.
4. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!
Silicon says: If this is too spicy for you (and/or your little ones), replace the mexican tomatoes and diced tomatoes with mild salsa or plain diced tomatoes and be sure to use a mild enchilada sauce. Want to turn up the heat? Use a hot enchilada sauce or add a diced hot pepper of your choice to the vegetables in the beginning.
Adapted from a recipe in Sunset Magazine, Nov. 2003
Ingredients:
1 Tsp olive oil
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 cups fat-free chicken broth (low sodium is fine)
1 19 oz can red enchilada sauce
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes with jalepenos or Mexican seasoning
1 10 oz can Mexican stewed tomatoes
3 lbs chicken thighs (skinless--bones are optional)
(if you can't find the exact sizes, just get close--this soup allows lots of wiggle room)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp chopped pickled jalepenos (nacho jalepenos)
3 Tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1. Pour oil into a 5-6 qut pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add vegetables and stir until limp, 5-7 minutes.
2. Add broth, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, and chicken to pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked (about 40 minutes). Remove chicken, shred, and put back in the pot.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and jalepenos. In a small bowl, whisk butter into milk. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well blended. Drop batter in Tbsp portions into simmering chicken mixture. Cover and simmer gently until dumplings are cooked through, 10-12 minutes.
4. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!
Silicon says: If this is too spicy for you (and/or your little ones), replace the mexican tomatoes and diced tomatoes with mild salsa or plain diced tomatoes and be sure to use a mild enchilada sauce. Want to turn up the heat? Use a hot enchilada sauce or add a diced hot pepper of your choice to the vegetables in the beginning.
Adapted from a recipe in Sunset Magazine, Nov. 2003
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