Customized Tortilla Soup....

In California for Fall Break, our dear friends the LeSueur's invited us over for dinner. It was cold outside and the dinner could not have been more perfect. She made a delicious Tortilla Soup that warmed the soul and was spot on perfect! Now, I have had lots of tortilla soup before but this was different and soooo delicious! I loved the method of making the base and letting everyone create their own soup. It's really more of a Mexican stew when you are done.

This is great for families with allergies as you can customized the ingredients for each person.

First, you make the base:

1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. oil
1 28 oz can pureed tomatoes
4 C. chicken broth
2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp pepper
juice of one lemon
1 tsp. ground cumin

Combine the onion, garlic and cooking oil in a 6 qt. pot and cook over medium high heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and heat for another 15 min. Adjust seasonings as needed.

Soup ingredients:

Have these all in separate bowls for each person to pick from as desired:

chopped chicken
chopped cilantro
onions
shredded cheese
lime slices
avocados
sour cream 
black beans or pintos
chips
diced tomatoes
Salsa (I loved a little spoonful on top of the soup)
rice

Fill your bowl with whatever ingredients you desire. Then, put a ladle full of soup base over the top. I liked the soup wet but not swimming in the base. More of a stew.

Whatever soup base you have left over, freeze for another time! It was perfectly delicious and a hit with my kids!

Thanks, Ashlee! 

Making Stock, the good way.

     You know that old adage to feed a cold chicken noodle soup? Wonder why? Well, in the olden days, chicken noodle soup was made the proper way. The whole chicken was slow simmered with veggies until meat was falling off the bones and there was a rich, yellow stock. What is so great about that rich yellow stock is the nutrients it contains. The bone marrow of the chicken has great health benefits, particularly to the immune system. Thus, helping with healing of the body. However, today, our chicken noodle soup usually consists of powdered, MSG laden broth, antibiotic filled chicken and pesticide sprayed veggies. I can't imagine how that would help a cold.


     To get that days of yore feel good soup, you need to start with a good , organic chicken carcass. I had roasted a chicken previously that night and took a majority of the meat off. You can just use a whole, uncooked chicken also. However, don't waste a left over chicken carcass! It makes great stock!!! 

      I took the carcass and put it in a large pot with a few carrots, celery stocks, onions, about 15 peppercorns, some parsley and a bay leaf. I covered it with about 12 cups of water and brought it to a boil. I then lowered the temp to a simmer. You want to simmer it about 3-4 hours making sure all the meat is completely cooked when done if starting with a raw bird. I was running out of time so mine was closer to 2 1/2 but it tasted great. After it has simmered, salt to taste with some Celtic salt and strain through a fine strainer. I put mine into two half-gallon glass jars with 6 cups of the broth in each. I put them into my freezer but they can also be pressure canned. Another option is to freeze into cubes to throw in recipes like rice or steamed veggies. 

     With the left over carcass, I took every last piece of meat left on the bones and put them in the freezer as well to add to a soup later. With the cost of a good organic chicken, I am not wasting one morsel! The left over veggies from the broth were enjoyed by my chickens. 


     It is nice to have my soup base ready to go in the freezer. I really wish I had a garage lined with freezers. If I lost power, I would cry. However, I am still ready with my back up plan to quickly pressure can everything in my freezer if needed! There is a lot of hard work contained on those shelves!


****Thanks for the tips, readers! Vinegar will help the meat fall off the bones and help pull nutrients from the bones. Use Apple Cider vinegar. Also, the longer you simmer, the more nutrients and flavor you will have. You will still have great flavor in 3-4 hours but simmering 8 hours or more will given you better health benefits. 








     

Canyons and Parsnips.

I am still alive. It is just that time of year when my whole being wants to swell with all the family I can get and the blog world gets shut out. It is this time of year that I am glad that I don't get paid to blog and have to blog on demand. I do have things to say....I will fill you in on the conversations going on in my head but all in due time. I will be a little poky for the next month. You understand.

I just returned from the beautiful canyons of Utah. They are breathtaking and rejuvenating. It was wonderful to have life halted for a week and to just take in the beauty of the earth and the love of family. We packed 22 family members into one beautiful home for crazy fun. Conversations until 2 am, nightly; musical jam sessions by my amazingly talented family; all 22 of them attending and LOTS of food! I won't go into details about the Thanksgiving dinner but when you have a family of chef's; it comes out something of grandeur. I would rob someone for this stuffing. It is really that good. 

Now back at home, reality is awaiting. The reality is that I have been eating way too much treats and need to get back into the healthy lifestyle. My body is begging me along with pleading with me to get back into the gym routine. Such an inner struggle after two back to back vacations. I have had way to much meat and am trying to create meals with little to no meat and no dairy and no sugar and all organic and all from scratch and of course all under an hour. Sometimes I get stumped and I am sitting on that stump right now. Time to get some inspiration. 

I started to look through some cookbooks tonight for some new ideas. I am really sick of my usuals. It was soup weather and I wanted a new soup to slip down my palate. The Backyard Farmer delivered some tasty treats to me yesterday so I had a variety to choose from. (P.S., he now has corn/soy free chicken feed and organic beef and chicken. Yipee!) I had a pound of parsnips and found a soup that intrigued me. Creamy Parsnip and Apple soup. Don't knock it until you have tried it. Super yum.

First, in case you didn't know about the parsnip in detail, let me explain: 

  Parsnips have been around for a very long time. When the potato became popular, they in turn became a little less popular as they do take on the flavor a bit of a potato. They are a very under appreciated vegetable but loaded with nutrition and very easy to use. They look like a white carrot and have a mild flavor. They are great to roast or steam or add to a soup. They contain lots of folate and B3 which is super important for pregnant women. They are also low in calories and packed with fiber to help get the wast out of the body. They are a superior food for liver and kidney health. They are also rich in vitamin C and potassium. 

When selecting a parsnip, you want one about the size of a large carrot and with smooth skin. Peel them like a carrot and cut them as desired. 

Here is the soup I made last night. The flavor was perfect and I loved it pureed but the kids would have liked a little more chunks. I made it totally dairy free  but it tasted like a cream filled soup. You definitely did not need dairy in this. I served it with a whole grain cinnamon roll made with coconut sugar. Delicious and perfect for a cold night! Enjoy!

Creamy Parsnip and Apple Soup

Adapted from Martha Stewart

3 T. butter, olive oil or coconut oil

1 1/2 lbs. leeks

1 lb parsnips, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

3 apples, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

3/4 lbs. red or white potatoes, peeled and cut 1 inch.

24 oz. chicken broth

3-4 cups water

1 C. almond milk or milk/cream

salt and pepper

Prepare leeks by cutting top greens off so that the whites and the light green are remaining. Take off outer layer and slice into small circles. Saute in butter or oil for 5 minutes. Add parsnips, potatoes and apples along with chicken broth and 3 cups water. Add more water if needed so that veggies are covered with enough water. Pressure cook at second ring for 6 minutes or bring to boil and simmer about 20-25 minutes until veggies are tender. 

Puree soup in blender until smooth or leave some chunks. Add more liquid if needed. Add almond milk/cream and salt and pepper to taste. 

*****I will placing oil/supplement orders on Tuesday. 

Fast Food.

When you take pictures in a dark kitchen, the photo looks less than appetizing. Sorry about that. I cook, not take pictures. Take my word for it, it was yummy.

Sunday I had a great dinner planned with Shish kabobs and roasted rosemary potatoes. However, when it came down to it, only a few of us were going to be there to eat it. Since I only cook meat once to twice a week, I decided that the absentee teenagers would prefer I do the "meat" meal the following night. The problem was that it was now 5 pm and I didn't know what to make. I needed to do something quick. 

I am trying to use up some healthy lentils so I tried out this lentil chili recipe with some corn fritters. It was a great, quick meal. It took less than 20 minutes to have it all done. Of course, I did use a pressure cooker so add on about 15 minutes if you don't own one yet. Lentils are so great for you and you can really put about anything you want in this chili. I stuck with the recipe this time, a rare thing for me. I think I would add some celery and carrots but it tasted great and completely meatless. The corn fritters were perfect with it. I loved to eat a little piece of them with every spoonful of chili. With fresh corn that will be here in the summer, these corn fritters will be a regular, I am sure. I used the Costco organic sweet white corn. Fresh corn will be even better.

Lentil Chili

8 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 teaspoons chili powder

2 1/4 cups lentils

2  15 oz cans diced tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

Saute veggies in some olive oil until a little tender, about 5 minutes. Add broth, lentils and chili powder. Pressure cook for about 7 minutes on the second ring. Then add the tomatoes, cilantro, salt and pepper and simmer until soft. If you are not using a pressure cooker, after sauteing the veggies, add broth, lentils, chili powder and tomatoes and simmer after bringing to boil for about 30 minutes or until soft. Add Cilantro when lentils are tender. 

Corn Fritters

(Martha Stewart recipe)

2 cups corn, fresh or frozen (thaw first)

1/3 cup milk

1 large egg

1 tsp sugar or sweetener of choice

1/2 tsp. baking powder

celtic salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup corn meal

1/4 cup sprouted spelt flour ( or flour of choice)

coconut oil to fry

Add all ingredients together and fry on a skillet in a couple tablespoons of coconut oil. Keep them warm in the oven until ready to eat. 

Officially soup time

I stepped outside this morning to water my crops and felt the unfamiliar chill of cold cement. When did this happen? It was truly overnight. Even though I have been making soup all summer, it is now officially soup weather. I love soup. I use it as a way to clean out the fridge. Anything goes in soup. There are really little rules to go by. Just chop it all up, throw it in some broth, add some spices and maybe some cream and dinner is done.

I love the Zuppa Toscana soup at Olive Garden and this recipe pretty much nails it. Other than the fact that you must use sausage; it is healthy and warms the soul. Pick your sausage well. I haven't been able to find organic sausage but at least Sprouts makes theirs fresh from natural ingredients. I haven't made my own yet and probably won't since I rarely use it. This soup is worth eating sausage. My kids thought so too.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

1 lb ground Italian sausage

1 1/2 tsp crushed red peppers

1 large diced onion

4 T. crumbled bacon

2 tsp garlic puree

32 oz. chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

1 lb sliced red potatoes, peels on, sliced about 1/4 inch thick and cut in half if too big

1/4 bunch of kale

Cook sausage and red pepper in pot. Drain fat and remove the sausage. Set aside. In same pan, saute onions, bacon and garlic over low-medium heat until onions are soft. Add chicken broth and heat until it starts to boil. Add potatoes and cook until soft. Add more water if needed. Add in cream, sausage and Kale and heat through. Add salt and pepper as needed. 

****I did this in my pressure cooker after I sauteed the onions. I added the broth and potatoes and pressure cooked for 1 minute. I then added the sausage, bacon, cream and Kale and heated through. Saved about 20 minutes.

Cauliflower

I have to admit that I haven't been a huge fan of cauliflower in my life but things are changing. I guess I never really gave the veggie a chance or knew really what to do with it until recently. Like with many veggies, they are usually served one way - steamed, lifeless and tasteless. What a waste of a perfectly good veggie. It really deserves better than that, after all, look what it is offering:


It is rich in folate to help with cell growth.
It helps promote a healthy heart and lowers the chance of a stroke.
Strengthens the immune system with high Vitamin C and Selenium.
High fiber contents to help with bowel health.
Contains indole-3-carbino which helps prevent female type cancers.
It is a natural blood and liver detoxifier.
Contains Sulforaphane which removes cancer causing chemicals to stop cancer.
Contains glucosinolotes to neutralize potentially toxic substances.


Those are just to name a few. Do you see why you need to add this to your veggie line-up? Who doesn't want to have a healthy heart and remove toxins?

Another great benefit is that you can use it like a potato without the starch/carb issue. You can steam it and mash it like mashed potatoes with some garlic and butter. You can chop it up and use it in a soup in place of potatoes. I did just that this week in a curried creamy veggie soup which was simply wonderful. I used cauliflower and brocoflower (the broccoli and cauliflower mix) as my base. Recipe is below. Another great way to use cauliflower is to roast it in the oven with some olive oil and seasoning of choice. Just roast it at 400 degrees until al dente. I like to use all kinds of seasonings and roast it with a good, sweet onion.

Cauliflower is in season right now so it is a great time to get adventurous with it. Don't get stuck in a veggie rut. Try out new things. Try out new seasonings. Don't get caught in the steamed veggie trap. There is really so much more than a steamed, buttered veggie. No wonder most people don't like veggies. We need taste and texture. Go crazy! My veggies were Greek last night.....tomorrow we may go Italian! Oh, what a little spice can do!

Curried Veggie Soup

1/2 c. butter or olive oil
1 C. chopped onion
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 C. chopped cauliflower , about 1/2 inch chunks
1 1/2 C. brocoflower or potatoes (no broccoli)
1 C. green beans cut into 1 inch pieces (opt.)
1 T. curry powder
1/8 tsp. smoked paprika (opt.)
1/4 C. dried parsley or 1/8 C. fresh chopped
1/2 C. dry rice
1 C. heavy cream
6 C. chicken broth

Melt butter or oil in large pan. Add onions and veggies and saute until veggies are fork tender. Add in Curry powder and saute 1 minute longer. Be careful not to burn the curry. Add broth, rice and parsley. Add more broth if needed. Simmer 25-30 min. or until veggies are tender and rice is done.

Stir in cream and season with salt and pepper. Thicken with ultra gel or cornstarch in water. Use any other spices you desire to flavor it to your liking.

**smoked paprika, dash of cayenne, mesquite seasoning are some of my favorite soup seasonings.

Super Lentils

If you haven't become a friend with the lentil, I will give you a little info on why you really should be. You see, the lentil is exactly the kind of friend you want in your kitchen. Nearly perfect in every way. A powerhouse.

The lentil has been around forever. It has been found in ancient Egyptian tombs so who knows really when they all began. They are in the legume family but small and disk shaped. You can store these little gems forever. You don't really need to seal them. They may loose a little color overtime but not really loose the taste. I just bought a big 25 pound bag from Azure that will last me a long time without having to can it at all. Easy Peasy.

The biggest draw in my book about the lentil is the amount of Folic acid they contain. One cup cooked lentils gives you about 90% of the daily RDA of folic acid. It has more folic acid than any other natural food. If you are pregnant, folic acid is extremely important in the growth of the baby so cook up a bowl today! Besides the folic acid, lentils are rich in iron and eaten with other foods high in vitamin C help the absorption rate of the iron increase. Lentils contain every amino acid except one; methionine. If you eat it with another nut, seed, eggs or meat, you will have a complete protein. Great for vegetarians.

Soluble fiber is also an important attribute of lentils. Soluble fiber helps clean out the digestive tract, decrease cholesterol and serum glucose. Most people don't get nearly enough of this in their diet.

Lentils are about the best thing to sprout also. When you sprout, the nutrients become "alive" and intensify. They are great on salads, in breads or in soups.

There are several varieties of lentils but for sprouting, you want to stick with green lentils. The other varieties are usually hulled.




I have added this soup recipe to 90 day supply because it is so tasty and uses ingredients I can keep on hand. You can also make this vegetarian but I like to use about 1 T of bacon for flavor. While I eat almost all vegetarian except once a week, at most; I don't really count 1 T. of bacon in a whole pot of soup. It adds to the flavor tremendously. My whole family loves this soup and in a pressure cooker it takes less than 10 minutes to have on the table. It is great with a big hunk of homemade brown bread or corn bread.

Lentil Bacon Soup

6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled ( I use 1 T. or more of bacon pieces)
2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, cut into half moon shapes
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. tomato paste
1 1/2 C. lentils, picked over and rinsed
1/2 t. dried thyme
32 oz chicken broth
1 T. red wine vinegar (opt)
salt and pepper to taste
dash of red peppers if desired

In a large pot, add olive oil and heat on medium high heat. Add carrots and onion and cook until softened. Stir in garlic and bacon and cook about 30 seconds. stir in tomato paste and cook another minute. Don't let it burn or scorch.

Add the lentils, thyme, broth and 1 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil; reduce to simmer. Cover and cook until the lentils and veggies are tender, about 30-45 min. Add more water if needed during cooking.

Stir in vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

***If going gluten free, make sure the vinegar and broth are gluten free.

For the pressure cooker:

Saute onion for about a minute. Add in carrots, tomato paste, lentils, thyme , broth and water. Bring to second ring and pressure for about 3 minutes. Reduce pressure and add bacon pieces.Simmer until lentils are tender. Add in salt, pepper , vinegar and red pepper flakes if desired. If you find your beans are still pretty crunchy, you can return to pressure but you don't want the carrots to get mushy. Leave carrots in bigger chunks. Simmer lentils until the right texture. They don't take long.

Eat Naked Segment......Chicken Broth

I haven't had an "Eat Naked" segment for a while but this is one that should be called to attention. I was making soup tonight, after all, it is a chilly 80 degrees here now so it is time! Can't wait. I made some delicious White Bean Chili soup, vegetarian style with Northern beans, potatoes and Quinoa and thought about what effort we go into making a good, healthy soup for our families. We chop up fresh veggies, cut up potatoes, add beans, delicious ,healthy spices and then the blunder occurs: the broth. How many of us are putting poisons unknowingly into our soup in which the very intent was to provide nutrition and satisfaction? Do you know what is in your broth?

Maybe you are already a step ahead of the norm but just in case you haven't checked into the ingredients on the broth canisters, let's take a look see:

Exhibit 1: Knorr Chicken Bouillon

Ingredients: Salt, sugar, corn starch, monosodium glutamate (MSG), Beef fat, hydrolyzed corn protein, dried chicken meat, maltodextrin, autolyzed yeast extract, chicken fat, silicon dioxide, dehydrated parsely, disodium inosinate, citric acid, onion powder, natural flavor, colors yellow 5 , annato, yellow 6.

Exhibit 2: Pacific Naturals Free Range Chicken Broth

Ingredients: Organic Chicken Broth, Organic Chicken Flavor, Natural Chicken Flavor, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Onion Powder, Turmeric, Organic Flavor.

Do you see what I mean? Fresh veggies, healthy spices and a container or msg OR fresh veggies, healthy spices and organic chicken broth. You decide. We went with the real deal. It was delicious. You can get a pack of the "real deal" at Costco. It has a good shelf life. It isn't too costly but the cost of not using it is high. Either make it yourself or try this variety out. Out with the MSG brand. BLuckkk!

Want to try my soup? Here ya go.

Creamy White Chili

1 medium onion, chopped

3-4 red potatoes, peels on, cut into small cubes

3/4 C. chopped celery

2 cloves garlic

2 T. olive oil

2 15 oz cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained

appx. 28 oz chicken broth or as much as needed

2 4 oz cans diced green chiles

1 t. salt or more as desired

1/4 to 1/2 cup White Quinoa

1/4 t. cumin

1/2 t. pepper

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

1 C. sour cream

1/2 C. whipping cream

In a large sauce pan, saute chicken, potatoes, celery, onion and garlic for a couple minutes. Add broth, beans, chiles, quinoa and seasonings. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and whipping cream. Add more salt as needed and thicken with ultra gel.

***I did mine in my pressure cooker to reduce time. After I sauteed the veggies, I added the broth and quinoa and pressure cooked on second ring for about 1 minute. Used quick release and added the beans, chiles and seasonings. I simmered until potatoes were just right and then added the cream and sour cream.

ps, I have no idea why my font is messed up. Sorry.

Ready....Get Set.....

OK. Are we all pumped, motivated and ready to start our food supply? This is the year of no procrastination, no excuses, no claims of ignorance. Just DO IT. Do it now. Start this week. HOW? WHAT? WHERE? Well, join me for 90 days to 90 meals. Then, we will start all over and do another 90 days to 90 meals. Food storage seems overwhelming, expensive and confusing. Most of us just simply take a back seat because of this. If you break it down, it can be easy and in almost any circumstances, doable. It's the "DO " that is the hard part. We can do it! Here's the plan....

We all should have some basic grains around. Our wheat, rice, powdered milk, beans , etc. If you are LDS, you probably have cans and buckets under beds and in cupboards. If you don't, you should. If you are not LDS, you can still purchase these items at great prices. Hook up with an LDS friend for details or visit our website at LDS.org and check under the preparedness link. There is so much great info and they will even help you figure out how much to store. I won't go into that because you can figure that all out on your own. What I want to do is move onto meals. I don't want to live off my wheat and beans. I think I would pretty much be sick of that after two weeks. I want to eat well, balanced and meals with variety. I want to stock things I will eat on a regular basis, things I can rotate so I don't have to waste. I want to have food that is not packaged with preservatives. It can be cheap and easy. I have learned much from Wendi Dewitt (link at right, Everything under the sun) and now am putting it to work.

Here is the plan. Each month, I will post 3 meals and all ingredients needed. You then times that by 10 and you will have 30 meals for the month. If you don't like my meals, create your own. Post them here if you would like so we can all share. We all like different things. They will be simple, easy and cheap. You should also do the same thing with breakfast but I think we can all figure that out ourselves. I still want blueberry pancakes so I will be canning some blueberries. Whatever you want.I also plan on canning meat for my meals and some may not have access to a pressure canner. You can purchase it in cans or go meatless if you want. I highly recommend buying a canner if at all possible. All American pressure canners are a great brand. If you want info, email me. But, here is the first meal I plan on stocking up on this week. And, as always, let me know if you find great deals out there on any great item. It is important to be buying your basic toiletries in bulk also. That is part of our home fortification plan as well. Who wants to go without toothpaste or shampoo. Yuck.

Tortilla Soup

(from SIL Megan)


1/2 pound chicken. (pressure canned or purchased)
1/4 cup dried , minced onion (fresh, 1 onion, chopped)
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained (14.5 ounce)
1 can tomato sauce (8 ounce)
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 carton (32 ounce) chicken broth or powdered
2 T olive oil
1 T chili powder
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin

If cooking this with fresh chicken, cook chicken in pan or boil. set aside.If using dried onions, rehydrate onions in water first, drain and then saute just slightly in olive oil release flavor. Watch to make sure they don't brown.If using fresh onions, saute as usual.Add all other ingredients. Shred or chop chicken. If you are going meatless, add extra beans.Simmer at least 20 minutes. You can add chips, cheese , cilantro, etc. if available.

Times this all by 10. It is a really cheap and nutritious dinner. I like the canned beans at fresh and Easy because they only have salt and water in them. They are under $.60 a can. I store lots of dried beans but also have canned beans on hand for power issues. I love the organic canned tomatoes from Costco. There you go. Recipe number 1!