Garden Fresh Creamy Tomato Soup

Homemade Tomato Soup made with garden fresh or canned tomatoes, in under 30 minutes. Creamy, easy to make and delicious! 

 Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil or butter (butter elevates!)
• 1 large red or yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup carrots, thinly- sliced 
• 1/2 cup celery, diced 
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped  
• 1 red bell pepper (optional)
• 2 lbs fresh tomatoes (alternatively, one, 28-ounce can of San Marzano Tomatoes)
• 1 cup water plus 1 Knorr Chicken bouillon cube or One cup Organic Chicken Stock. If you use broth or stock you may need to add more salt.
• 2 tablespoons sugar, honey,  or maple syrup  
• 1 teaspoon Pink Himalayan Sea salt or table salt (Sea Salt is smoother)
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper (multi-color pepper corns lift the flavor)
• 10–15 fresh basil leaves
• pinch cayenne 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Optional Add-ins and Garnish

• Add in chunks of tomato to add texture and heartiness. 
• Garnish with chiffonade cut Basil ribbons.
• Garnish with Cherry or Grape tomato halves. 
• Garnish with croutons.
• Garnish with Sour Cream 

Instructions

1. Heat butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saute onions and celery until softened, about 3-4 minutes. 
2. Lower heat to medium, add carrots and saute 3-4 minutes more until onions are golden and fragrant.
3. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. 
4. Add the tomatoes, water & chicken bouillon, choice of sweetener, salt and pepper.Stir, increase heat and bring to a simmer, cover, then lower heat to low, so it’s gently simmering.  Simmer 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and carrots are tender. Remove from heat.
5. Add the basil leaves
6. Use an immersion blender, to blend the soup.  Or use a blender, then return to the pot.
7. Stir in the cream.
8. Add a little pinch of cayenne.
9. Taste and adjust salt and sweetener, 
10. Serve in bowls with basil ribbons, croutons, sour cream, or fresh little tomatoes (halved).

STORE: 

• Soup will store up to 4 days in the fridge.

• If you want to freeze, do not add the cream until reheating, to avoid graininess. Soup will freeze for winter in wide-mouth canning jars with 1-inch headroom (for expansion).

 

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

 

This is a yummy, comfort food supper. 

INGREDIENTS

·        ¼ cup unsalted butter

·        1 yellow onion, diced

·        3 carrots, peeled and sliced, I use a Crinkle slicer

·        2-3 ribs celery, diced

·        3 cloves garlic, minced

·        2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

·        ¼ cup all-purpose flour

·        ¼ teaspoon Knorr Chicken bouillon in ¼ cup water or Kirkland Organic Chicken Broth

·        8 cups chicken stock / Kirkland Organic Chicken Broth, or 8 cups water with 3 Tablespoons Knorr Chicken bouillon

·        1 bay leaf

·        Pink Himalayan salt and freshly ground Multi-color pepper, to taste

·        4 cups leftover shredded rotisserie chicken

·        Half a 1lb package of Fettuccine noodles broken in 4ths or 2 cups wide egg noodles 

·        ½ cup heavy cream

·        ½ cup frozen green peas

Optional: 

 

- Add a handful thin spaghetti to the fettuccine. 

- Garnish with fresh parsley. 

 

I prep all of the ingredients before I begin to cook. 

INSTRUCTIONS

·       Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

·        Stir in garlic and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.

·        Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.

·        Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

·        Stir in chicken stock and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until flavors have blended, about 10 minutes.

·        Stir in chicken and pasta and cook until tender, about 10-12 minutes.

·        Stir in heavy cream, peas and parsley until heated through, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

·        Serve immediately.  Enjoy!

Refrigerates Well. 

Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients

1 cups Jasmin Rice

2 cups water

1 teaspoon Himalayan Sea Salt

1 tablespoon butter 

2 cups of chicken

3 fried eggs, sliced in strips

2 tablespoons of real bacon

3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce 

3 green onion, chopped

3 carrots, diced

2 celery, diced

Directions
Bring water to a boil with salt and butter. Add rice, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Fry eggs and set aside. In a large skillet, stirring quickly, saute veggies with 1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce. Toss in chicken and bacon. Add the rice and the rest of the teriyaki. Stir in egg. Serve hot.

 

 

 

 

Grand Cinnamon Pull Aparts

 Ingredients

1 can Grands

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons melted butter 

1 tablespoon butter to brush on bottom of pan

 Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter the bottom of a 9 x 11 pan. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a Ziplock bag. Cut Grands into four pieces each. Drop in bag of cinnamon and sugar. Shake. place piece in pan. Drizzle with three tablespoons melted butter. Bake for 20 minutes. Drizzle with glaze.

 

Glaze 

Ingredients

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons softened butter

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

 Instructions

Mix softened butter and powder sugar. Slowly incorporate milk. Stir in vanilla. Stir til smooth. Drizzle over warm rolls and serve.

Optional variation:

Substitute orange juice for the milk

Mix the Grands with brown sugar, cinnamon and apple pie slices. Drizzle with butter and bake.

 

Chicken Tortellini Salad

 Ingredients

1 package Buitoni Herb Chicken Tortellini Refrigerated Pasta

1 cup Cherry or Grape tomatoes

1 Bottle Sun-dried Tomato pesto 

Hand full of Baby Spinach

1 dicedred onion

6 Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Instructions 

Boil tortellini and then cool quickly in a bowl of ice water for about 5 minutes. Chiffonade the spinach into thin ribbon strips. Cut tomatoes in half. Dice onion. cut cheese stick into fourths. Toss together, mix in the sun-dried tomato pesto.  Chill and serve.

Santa Fe Hay Stacks

These are similar to the idea of Hawaiian Haystacks. Each of the items are placed in separate serving bowls. Individual constructs their Santa Fe haystacks in a bowl with the ratios they prefer.

Chicken Breasts marinated in Italian dressing, pan seared, and shredded or cubed.

Brown Rice

White Rice

Black Beans

Corn

Salsa or Pico De Gallo

Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Shredded Cheddar

 

 

Easy Chocolate-Mint (or Chocolate-Orange) Sandwhich Mints

These make lovely professional looking candies. Great for gifts! These are a simpler, quicker version of Sandwich Mints or Chocolate orange Sandwiches..

Ingredients

21 oz Milk Chocolate (we use Merkins Cocoa-lite Molding Chocolate or Guitard A'Peels Chocolate), Divide for two layers.

10 1/2 oz Merkins Light green, Merkins Orange,  or White chocolate/ Vanilla Coating. You will need to color the white coating.

Peppermint oil (Not extract) 7 drops in each layer.

** Optional for Orange Chocolates: Orange oil 10 drops in each layer.

Instructions

Prepare a jellyroll pan-- 17.5 x 12.5 with sides.  Cut wax paper about 2 inches longer than pan. Use your fingernail to crease all four edges so the wax paper will sit smooth and flat. put a thumb print size of chocolate at each corner between the wax paper and the jellyroll/sided cookie sheet pan. This will hold the wax paper firm.

You can pre-mark the edge of the pan with a sharpy every inch as a guide to cutting. Some like their squares about 1.5 inches. Others mark their pan every 1 1/2 inches along their long side and 1 3/8 inches along the short side of the pan, so the mints will fit in candy presentation boxes. Really, you can cut them any way you like, even rectangular. Just keep the size consistent!

Melting the Chocolate

As chocolate is melted it will hold its shape so it will need to be stirred. Be cautious and work with only the amount stated. Chocolate can burn, so melt it slowly and stir the chocolate. You will be working one layer at a time.

Microwave Method: Work half the chocolate/coating (10.5 ounces) at a time, place in a microwave bowl and heat for 30 seconds at a time and then stir.  Place back in the microwave and repeat until the chocolate is the desired consistency.

Stove Top Method: Work half the chocolate/coating (10.5 ounces) at a time, place in a bowl that is slightly smaller than your pan. Place water in the pan and heat and stir until the chocolate is the desired consistency.

Oven Method: set to lowest setting, put 10 1/2 oz chocolate in 3 separate bowls and heat for about 20 minutes. Stir. Turn off oven and leave the bowls you are not working with in the oven..

Layering the Chocolate

Work quickly~ the less you work you chocolate the better.It will look smoother. Once you pour the chocolate in your pan it begins to cool and set up, so do this quickly!!! Add the suggested amount of oil per layer and stir in. Pour chocolate zigzagging back and forth across the wax paper to get chocolate to the edges rather than clumping in the middle. Spread gently but quickly to the edges. Gently tap the whole pan up and down, as well as gently shake the pan until the surface is smooth. This brings bubbles to the top and evens the top into a smooth layer. Cool until the chocolate loses its shine, which means the chocolate is set up. If you wait too long in between layers they wont bond together. If this happens soften with blowing hot air from a blow dryer then let sit on counter just until the shine is gone and then move forward.

Do the same with each layer.

Cutting the Squares

As soon as the top layer loses its shine it is ready to cut. Use a sharp paring knife. Gently lift up ends of wax paper to loosen. Do not leave too long or it will harden too hard and cutting will just cause it to crack! Wearing disposable gloves at this point is a good idea, because it is easy to mar the surface with finger prints! Use a T square or make one from a yard stick to guide you in cutting your squares. Even if you pre-marked your pan edge, this step helps keep your lines smooth and straight. Take time to do this carefully so they look professional. lastly, take knife around edge to make sure chocolate does not stick to the edge. Reserve the jagged edges and freeze to add to homemade ice cream, to decorate desserts, or snacking.

Kitchen Aide, Chicago Cutlery, and other high end cutlery make good paring knives. Rada makes a strong sharp paring knife with a thin blade; they are inexpensive and work well.

Enjoy!