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Chicken Corn Chowder

Chowder was recently defined on NPR as a soup that is thickened with potatoes. Who doesn't love that?! I made this recipe recently with some corn bread and a summer cocktail for my bad movie night group. I can still taste the smoky bacon and red pepper in the creamy broth. I also added a handful or two of frozen chopped spinach, because Popmuse  watches too much Dr. Oz. It came out pretty great.

Chicken Corn Chowder

1 lb boneless chicken, cut into 1" pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 slices bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
5 large ears corn or equal amount of frozen corn
1 3 medium zucchini, chopped
1 pound small potatoes, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons flour
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a couple of generous handfuls,
A few dashes hot sauce, to taste

In a medium soup pot bring stock to a boil and add chicken pieces. Cook until poached about 5 minutes and turn burner off. Heat a large skillet or medium pot over medium-high heat with extra-virgin olive oil. Add bacon to hot oil and cook until crisp at edges. Add onions and corn, zucchini and potatoes and bell pepper as you get them chopped. Also add to the soup pot the bay leaf, thyme sprigs, paprika, and salt and pepper, to taste. Cook for about 7 to 8 minutes to begin to soften the vegetables. Sprinkle flour into the veggies, stir and cook 1 minute. Stir veggie mixture into chicken and the stock pot and bring it come up to a bubble and thicken up a bit. Then stir in half and half, parsley and hot sauce, to taste, and simmer 5 minutes.

Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons

I made this recipe from Bon Appétit last weekend and was pretty satisfied. After making it I decided that I'm really more of a pumpkin soup fan than a "Winter Squash" soup fan. I found the peeling and cutting of the squash to be satisfying in a organic French grandma sort of way, but wholly unnecessary for tasty soup. For an easy pumpkin soup recipe, go here.

Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons

Soup
1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 14 1/2-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh sage

1/4 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons sugar

For soup:
Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, all squash and herbs; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.

Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return soup to same pot. Stir in cream and sugar; bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.)

Croutons
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
24 1/4-inch-thick baguette bread slices
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

For croutons:
Preheat broiler. Butter 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange bread, buttered side up, on baking sheet. Broil until golden, about 1 minute. Turn over. Sprinkle cheese, then thyme and sage over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each with croutons and serve.

Turkey Veggie Chili

Bloghungry can't seem to stick to healthy cooking without structure. So I am offically on Weight Watchers recipes at least until I drop 20 lbs. Here is the first of many explorations into the Weight Watchers recipe archives. This chili is light and satisfying with great texture. Overall it's a pretty solid recipe for turkey chili.

Turkey Veggie Chili

10 oz. ground turkey
1 medium onion diced
2 -- 28 oz. cans of diced tomatoes
2 medium zucchini
2 medium yellow squash
1 -- 15 oz. can of black beans (drained)
4 stalks diced celery
2 green peppers or 1 sm can of white corn
1 package of dry chili seasoning mix

Sauté turkey with onion & celery with chili seasoning. Then add all other ingredients. Simmer in a large pot for 20-30 minutes. 14 servings / 1 point

Chicken Stew

This chicken stew recipe from Giada De Laurentiis is kicking ass and taking names. I doubled the recipe for my bad movie night group last week and we still sucked down every drop and licked the pot clean. Don't let the chicken on the bone scare you. It's pretty easy to cut and shred off the bone once cooked and the flavor is more than worth the effort.

Giada's Chicken Stew

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
1 carrot, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small onion, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 (14-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 chicken breast with ribs (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained (rinsed if not organic)

Serving suggestion: crusty bread

Heat the oil in a heavy 5 1/2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.

Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breasts to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.

Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite- size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the stew into serving bowls and serve with the bread.

Pumpkin Soup

Fall is here and one of my favorite fall foods is pumpkin soup. This is a quick and tasty pumpkin soup recipe that can't go wrong. It's a thin and creamy soup, so I recommend pairing it with a toasted crusty piece of bread or maybe even some grilled cheese sandwiches.

Pumpkin Soup

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 bay leaves
2 ribs celery with greens, finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or 2 teaspoons ground thyme
2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste
6 cups chicken stock
1 (28-ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 cups half and half
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Heat a medium soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Add the oil and melt the butter. Add bay, celery, and onion. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook 6 or 7 minutes, until tender. Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce, to taste, then cook flour a minute. Whisk in chicken stock and bring liquid to a bubble. Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate it into the broth. Simmer soup 10 minutes to thicken a bit then add in half and half and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

Tomato Soup

I was flipping through food blogs last weekend and came across a recipe for homemade tomato soup from Rachael Ray. This is the quickest soup recipe I have ever made and is surprisingly rich and delicious. Special thanks go out to Biscuits and Blues for posting the recipe.

Quick Creamy Tomato Soup

2 (15-ounce) containers, chicken or vegetable stock/broth (preferred brand: Kitchen Basics)
1 (28-ounce) can concentrated crushed tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
Coarse salt and black pepper
20 leaves fresh basil, cut into chiffonade, for garnish

Combine broth and tomatoes in a medium saucepan over moderate heat. When soup bubbles, stir in heavy cream and reduce heat to low. Season with a little salt and pepper and simmer gently 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve bowls of soup with basil chiffonade.

Creamy Lemon Asparagus Soup

Without a computer, I had to rely on my cookbooks for most of my recipes. It was a time of personal growth and exploration. This recipe is from Anne Byrn's follow up book The Dinner Doctor. The book is full of Sandra Lee style shortcut meals that are actually edible. This recipe is quick, easy, and pretty decent. Serve in small bowls as a side dish with sandwiches or premeal appetizer.

Creamy Lemon Asparagus Soup

10.75oz can cream of aparagus soup
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

Place asparagus soup, cream, broth, lemon juice, and 1/2 lemon zest in a 2 quart pot over medium high heat stiring to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 3-4 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with remaining lemon zest.

Santa Fe Soup

This is one of those easy one pot meal recipes that every middle aged housewife seems to know. It's quick and feeds a large family. So get out the chips and salsa, blend up some margaritas, and serve this up at your next neighborhood block party or soccer mom dinner event.

Santa Fe Soup

2 lbs ground turkey
1 onion chopped
1 oz ranch dressing mix
2 packets taco seasoning
16 oz can kidney beans
16 oz can black beans
16 oz can pinto beans
16 oz can tomatoes with chilies
16 oz can diced tomatoes
32 oz can white corn
shredded sharp cheddar (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Brown turkey with onion, dressing mix, and taco seasoning. Add remaining ingredients (undrained) and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Garnish bowls with cheddar, sour cream or onion (optional)

Vegetable Soup

It's been a busy weekend for Bloghungry and PopMuse. We've gotten through our list of errunds and continued our never-ending search for the perfect couch. Some weekend highlights include happyhour at Icandy, a trip to the new West Elm store in Santa Monica, and finally watching Project Jay. I haven't done much cooking this weekend, but I did make a pot of vegetable soup tonight for dinner. This is a quick recipe for a pot of light veggie soup that will help you clean out your vegetable drawer. Serve with a crusty piece of bread and enjoy.

Vegetable Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped or shredded
1 Idaho potato, diced
1 cup chopped zucchini
1 cup chopped canned tomatoes
6 cups (48oz) vegetable stock
1/2 cup tiny pasta (alphabet, etc.)
1 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper

Heat oil in large heavy pot. Add onion and celery and cook until tender. Stir in carrots and potatoes and toss to coat. Stir in zucchini. Add chopped tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat so that soup simmers until the potatoes and carrots are tender about 15 - 20 minutes. Stir in pasta and peas and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Winter Minestrone

It's getting a little chilly out and I'm in need of some more vegetables in my diet, so I decided to try a winter minestrone recipe from Everyday Italian. It's warm and hearty and not as complicated as it looks. If you're looking for other ways to keep warm this winter check out grabyourbasket.blogspot.com. It's new, it's crass, and it was inspired by my lewd salute to diet foods last month.

Winter Minestrone

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound Swiss chard, stems trimmed, leaves coarsely chopped
1 russet potato, cubed
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained, rinsed
2 (14-ounce) cans low-sodium beef broth
1 ounce piece Parmesan cheese rind
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, pancetta, and garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and potato; saute for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and rosemary sprig. Simmer until the chard is wilted and the tomatoes break down, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, blend 3/4 cup of the beans with 1/4 cup of the broth in a processor until almost smooth. Add the pureed bean mixture, remaining broth, and Parmesan cheese rind to the vegetable mixture. Simmer until the potato pieces are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Stir in the whole beans and parsley. Simmer until the beans are heated through and the soup is thick, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Discard Parmesan rind and rosemary sprig (the leaves will have fallen off of the stem.)

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.