Smoky Bean & Bacon Soup

There is nothing more comforting than eating a warm bowl of soup on a chilly winter or spring evening.  This delicious homemade version of the classic soup is one that will become a family favorite with its slightly smooth and creamy texture and smoky garlic flavors- it truly is comfort food at its finest! I like to serve this soup with a slice of freshly baked bread or rolls with butter on the side for an extra comforting dinner!

Smoky Bean and Bacon Soup

recipe adapted from ourbestbites.com

Ingredients:

12 slices bacon

1 c. onion, diced

11/2 T. garlic, minced

2 c. diced ham

2 (15 ounce) cans Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed

1 t. smoked paprika

1/2 t. kosher salt

1 (32 ounce) box chicken broth

2 medium red potatoes, diced into bite sized pieces

Directions:

Cut the bacon into bite sized pieces with kitchen shears. Place bacon into a large stock pot and cook until crisp. Remove bacon and let drain on paper towels. Reserve 2-3 t. bacon drippings in the pan discard the rest of the grease. (Don't pour grease down the drains in your sink!! Discard in an empty can into the garbage.)

Add the diced onion to the pan and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add the ham, beans, paprika and salt to the pan and stir to combine. Then add the broth and potatoes. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes  or until the potatoes are tender. Remove from heat and stir in bacon. Use an immersion blender, if you have one, and blend until completely smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender. Lade 3 cups of soup into the jar and pulse until smooth. Add back into the pot with remainder of soup and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper if desired. Lade into bowls and serve with freshly baked bread or rolls.

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Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

White Chicken Chili

Even though Spring time usually brings warm days, there are still a few days when the weather can be a little bit blustery and chilly. On those blustery, chilly spring days, my little family and I love to hunker down and hibernate in our warm home and eat warm soups, chili's and stews. Having something comforting to eat definitely lifts the spirits, warms the tummy and soul. I came across this tummy and soul warming recipe recently and it has truly become one of my favorite chili's to make this winter/spring. This white chicken chili is filling but isn't as heavy as most chili recipes end up being.

I love that This chili has just a touch of heat from several of the ingredients but can easily be tailored to fit your individual family's liking. To control and balance out the heat, my little family enjoys adding a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of Monterey Jack Cheese to the top of each bowl! May your souls and tummy's stay warm this spring with this delicious Chili recipe.

White Chicken Chili

recipe and photo courtesy of blogchef.com

Ingredients:

1 T. vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 (4 oz) cans mild chopped green chili peppers

2 t. ground cumin

1 t. dried oregano

1/4 t.-1 t. cayenne pepper (I only add 1/4 t. for my family and it provides plenty of heat for us!)

2 (14.5 oz.) cans of Chicken broth

3 c. cooked chicken breasts, chopped

3 (15 oz) cans White Beans

1 c. shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Cooking Instructions:

Step One: In a saucepan over medium low heat add the oil. Add the onions and stir fry until tender. Mix in garlic, green chilies, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Continue to stir-fry for about 3 minutes.

Step Two: Mix in Chicken broth, chicken and white beans. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step Three: Remove from heat and add Shredded Monterey Jack cheese until melted. Serve with warm and top with additional cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

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Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Creamy Chicken and Dumplings

So I have to tell you my fellow food loving friends, I think I should have grown up in the South! That is right, like somewhere from the great state of Georgia or even Alabama. Why you ask? Well, I will tell you... even if you don't really care to hear about it. :D Not only is it beautiful back east with its beautiful scenery, darling people with lovely accents and wonderful places of historic history sites to visit but their FOOD. is. AMAZING! I really think they know what food should taste like. I am sure you know I was headed IN that direction since this is a FOOD blog after all. I know, somehow all my loves and desires head back to food. If you know me well, you know that when it comes to food, my mantra is "Food is essential to Life, make it Good!" Well, all of you that desire to be from the south like I do, I have a a delectable recipe for you...Creamy Chicken and Dumplings! This food is definitely a comfort food and a bowl of this will warm you from the inside out. You could make this wonderful recipe tonight if you wanted, especially since it is raining, snowing and windy along the Wasatch front today here in Utah. Then you could at least pretend you were from back east while you at your creamy chicken and dumplings... I can't pretend that this recipe came from my kitchen but I did head over to one of my favorite blogs. The author of this blog is from the great State of Alabama and she is so cute! She also loves food and occasionally posts the most yummy southern recipes. Needless to say, this recipe comes from cute Amanda. I hope you enjoy making and eating this yummy recipe!

Creamy Chicken and Dumplings

Recipe and Photo adapted from kevinandamanda.com

Ingredients:

1 lb. Chicken breasts

10 bouillon cubes

2 quarts of water

2 c. Bisquick

2/3 c. Milk

2 Tbsp Butter

4 eggs

4 Stalks of Celery

salt and pepper

Directions:

Place chicken breasts and bouillon cubes in a large pot and cover with 2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is done.

Meanwhile, boil the eggs. Then mix together the Bisquick and milk until soft dough forms. When Chicken is done, remove from pot and set aside. Drop spoonfuls of dough into the chicken stock. Simmer over low heat, covered, for 10 minutes then uncover for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile dice 2-4 celery stalks until you have about 1/2-1 c. of diced celery. Cut or shred chicken into bite sized pieces. Saute celery in 2 Tbs. Butter for a couple of minutes. Add in chicken and season well with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Add chicken and celery to the soup. Remove yolk from eggs boiled eggs and chop whites and add to the soup. Stir all to combine. Serves 4.

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Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Italian Tortellini Beef Soup

It has been rather chilly here in Northern Utah this week! As the Halloween Holiday winds down for tonight, I thought I would share a low fat soup recipe that I made for my little family this evening. I have really over indulged over the past month by eating way too much Halloween candy and desserts, so I thought it would be nice to feed my family of four a nice pot of Italian Soup. It is one of those soups that you don't have to feel gulity about eating. It is jammed packed with vegetables, bite sized Tortellini pasta and ground beef. I don't do a lot of cooking with ground beef any more because I prefer ground turkey for more healthy reasons. Most of the time I can't even tell the difference by substituting ground turkey in the place of ground beef. I did use ground beef tonight and it was a nice change. In this recipe I think you could use either ground turkey or beef. I found this recipe on another food lover's blog but I have tailored it for my family. This makes a huge pot of soup, so it is one that can be served at a dinner party or you can freeze individual portions for another lunch or dinner. I love meals that freeze!

I served this soup with a slice of Honey Wheat Bread. Hope this soup warms your soul and hopefully gets us all back on track after indulging in all those yummy Halloween Treats!

Happy Halloween!

Italian Tortellini Beef Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb. of Ground Beef or Ground Turkey

1 1/2 t. minced garlic

1 onion, chopped (I used 1/2 c. dehydrated onions from my food storage)

salt and pepper

2 -14.5 cans of Italian Stewed Tomatoes

1- 14.5 can of diced tomatoes with chilies

1- 8 ounce can of tomato sauce

1- 6 oz. can of tomato paste

8 c. water

8 t. beef boulion

1 green pepper, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 1/2 c. carrots, you can use frozen or fresh

1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen green beans, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 can Kidney Beans, drained

1 c. zucchini, chopped into bite sized pieces

salt and pepper

1 pkg. of Italian Dressing Mix

1 can tomato soup

1-20 oz. package of frozen tortellini

Directions:

Brown ground beef, garlic, and onion in a skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.Place canned tomatoes into a blender and blend until smooth around 30-40 seconds. Next, place meat mixture, blended tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients into a pot. Hold off on adding the tomato soup or frozen tortellini (you will add these last two ingredients at the end of cooking process. Bring meat and tomato mixture to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, add tomato soup and tortellini to your pot of soup. Cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the tortellini is cooked. Enjoy!

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Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Grandma Johnson's Chicken Noodle Soup

This is my favorite chicken noodle soup recipe!! My mom actually got this recipe from the cutest older lady that lived just down the street from us while I was growing up. Grandma Johnson as I will call her, is such a sweet and classy older lady and I always looked up to her when I was growing up. That is why I am calling this Grandma Johnson's Chicken Noodle Soup since it is her recipe and I must give credit where credit is due! I made this Chicken Noodle Soup this past Saturday and took it to a church function, in which I received many compliments! I love making this soup when the weather turns crisp and chilly. I like serving this soup on top of mashed potatoes or even paired up with a nice slice of homemade wheat or white bread topped with butter and homemade jam! This is always a kid friendly dish. My kids love that I use those big fat homemade noodles that you buy in the store. Look for them in bags down the pasta aisle! Hope this becomes a favorite at your home!

Grandma Johnson's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Recipe is Adapted from Beth Johnson's Kitchen

1- Rotisserie Chicken, shredded and cut up
6 c. cold water
3 chicken bouillon cubes
6 pepper corns or 1/2 tsp ground black pepper if you don't have access to peppercorns
3 whole cloves ( not garlic cloves)
1- 10 3/4 oz. can chicken broth
1-10 3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1-10 3/4 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. chopped celery
1 1/2 c. chopped carrots
1 c. chopped potatoes
1 small bay leaf
1 tsp. seasoning salt
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 c. egg noodles or homemade noodles

Directions:
Place chicken in big soup pot and the rest of the ingredients on top. Simmer for 2-3 hours until veggies are tender. Add 1-2 cups of egg noodles during the last 15-25 minutes of cooking.

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Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Turkey Chili

This truly is one of the best Chili recipes that I have ever tried. I love the spices that you add to the mixture of Turkey, two different kinds of beans, fresh veggies and diced tomatoes and chopped green chilies. The other aspect I like about this chili recipe is that it has a little bit of a kick to it but cools off nicely in your mouth with a dollop of sour cream. This recipe is also great made in your slow cooker! My kids adore this recipe as well and I don't have to nag or pull teeth to make them finish their dinner when I serve this. Tortilla or Corn chips pair up nicely with this chili. I like to serve my chili by topping it with Sour Cream, chopped green onions and shredded cheddar cheese!

Turkey Chili

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 teas. ground coriander
1 teas. dried oregano
1 teas. chili pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 (14.5) can beef broth
1 (7 oz.) jar of salsa
1 (14.5) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15.5 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (7 ounce) can chopped green Chile peppers
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, diced
3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 c. sour cream
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Cooking Instructions:
Step 1: In a large stock pot heat oil over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey to the stock pot and break it up with a spatula or spoon. Season with taco seasoning, coriander, oregano, chili flakes, and tomato paste. Mix until the meat is coated with the seasonings. Continue cooking until the turkey is browned.
Step 2: Pour in beef broth, bring to a boil, and reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the broth has slightly reduced. Add salsa, tomatoes, and green chilies. Add beans. Continue cooking at medium heat for 10 minutes.
Step 3: While chili is cooking, heat 1 T. of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Stir fry onion and green pepper until onion is translucent. Add onion and bell pepper to chili and mix well. IN the same pan used to fry the onion and pepper add the last bit of oil and add the sliced zucchini. Stir fry for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini to the chili.
Step 4: Continue cooking for 15 minutes or more. Add water if chili becomes to thick. To serve- top with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and green onions. Serve with tortilla or corn chips if desired.

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Ashlee, The Culinary Queen