Tag Archives: soup

Totally Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

June 16, 2019 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

It’s been a really busy summer. My floral endeavors have pretty much taken over my creative life and I have very little room for blogging.

After four weddings this weekend and barely cooking for my family, I finally had time to prepare a home-cooked meal.

I started by making a really rich chicken stock. After simmering it for about six hours I strained it and then decided to make chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles.

It was a hit!

Here’s how I made it from start to finish.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Serves 6 or so

I’ve divided up this recipe into to parts: the stock and then the soup. You can of course start with store-bought chicken stock, but there is something so satisfying about creating your own opaque chicken stock. Plus it’s way more flavorful than anything found at the store.

Ingredients for the stock:

2-3 chicken carcasses
1-2 onions, roughly chopped
3 celery ribs, roughly chopped
3 carrots, roughly chopped
1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves

Directions for the stock:

Using pliers, crack the bones of your chicken carcasses. I actually do this after eating a chicken and freeze it until I have two or three. I also had some frozen skin-on chicken thighs that I added as well just to use them up.

Add the carcass – bones, skin and all – to a large stock pot. Add the onions, celery, carrots, parsley, peppercorns and bay leaves. Fill the pot with water. You don’t need to be exact here at all. Just fill the pot, whatever size it is.

Cover and set over high flame. Bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and simmer for several hours. I think I let mine simmer for six hours while I cleaned the house and made flowers for an elopement tomorrow.

Turn off the heat and let cool for 30 minutes or so.

Place a fine-mesh sieve over a large liquid measuring cup and start ladling the stock into the sieve. Use the back of the ladle to mash up the solids so as much liquid as possible comes out.

Toss the solids and pour the stock into jars. Repeat until you’ve strained all the stock. Store the stock in the fridge for a couple of weeks or freeze for several months.

Ingredients for the noodle soup:

2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 pound chicken – if you have leftover chicken that works, but raw chicken is good too
8 cups chicken stock
1 cup frozen green beans, thawed
Salt and pepper to taste

For the noodles: (this is enough for two batches. Save the remaining dough and make some fresh pasta the following day. Or halve the recipe)

300 g all-purpose flour (or 2 cups)
100 g semolina flour (or 2/3 cup)
4 eggs

Directions:

For the noodles, mix the flours together in the bowl of a standing mixer. Make a well in the center and add the eggs. Whisk up the eggs with a fork until they are combined. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium-low until a dough is formed. Turn onto a table sprinkled with flour and knead the dough for 5 minutes. The dough should be smooth and not sticky.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a heavy soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. I had three skin-on chicken thighs so I fried those up to render the fat instead of adding oil.

Add the onions and celery. Sprinkle on some salt. Sauté until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and add the chicken. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the carrots and continue to simmer while you make the noodles.

After the dough has rested for 30 minutes or so, cut it into two pieces. Place one piece in the fridge for fresh pasta tomorrow.

Cut the remaining dough into three equal pieces. Cover two with plastic wrap while you roll out the first ball.

Add the pasta rolling adaptor to your Kitchen Aid (or use the old-fashioned version). Flatten the piece of dough with your hands and flour on both sides. Run it through the largest setting. Fold the dough in half and run it through again. Repeat about six times and flour again on both sides if it’s feeling tacky. It should feel smooth.

Run the pasta sheet through the next setting just once. Repeat until setting 6 or until the desired thickness. I typically go to setting 8 on my Kitchen Aid but that’s for delicate pasta like vermicelli. For this dish I wanted something sturdier.

Hang the sheet of dough on a pasta rack (I find a laundry drying rack to be super useful for this). Repeat with other two balls of dough. Let the dough air dry for about 15 minutes. This makes it easier to cut.

In the meantime, remove the chicken from the pot and break it up with the whisk adaptor of your Kitchen Aid (or a fork would do). Place it back in the pot along with the green beans. Bring the soup back to a simmer.

Flour each sheet of dough and cut it into your desired noodle shape. You could run it through the fettuccini roller but I prefer hand-cut wide noodles.

Add your noodles to the pot and cover to bring it back to a boil. Simmer, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes or until noodles are cooked through. Typically I prefer al dente, but for soup I let them cook a little longer.

Serve in bowls with freshly grated pepper.

Cooking, recipes, soup, South Beach

Hungarian Sausage & Pepper Stew

October 7, 2018 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

I love when my friend Mat takes over my kitchen and invents dishes. It’s like I get a night off from thinking about dinner and I play sous chef: dicing veggies, finding him utensils or even just lazing on the couch while he does all the work.

Mat has been living the Keto lifestyle for five years so I know whatever he concocts will not only be delicious but also nutritious (or sometimes it’s just cheese; let’s face it, cheese is good.)

Today was rainy and chilly – a perfect evening for a warming stew. We raided my fridge and made the most of a Costco rotisserie chicken.

What Mat came up with was just what we needed on a night like this.

Sausage, Pepper and Paprika Stew

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
salt to taste
5-7 baby bell peppers, chopped
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf
4 cups chicken stock
A couple of dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 pound kielbasa, sliced
freshly ground pepper to taste
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1 cups sour cream
rice for serving (if Keto isn’t an issue)

Directions:

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high flame. Add the onions, celery and carrots. Sprinkle with salt. Cook until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers and cook another few minutes.

Add the paprika, tomato paste, bay leaf, chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce, and kielbasa. Cover, bring to a boil and turn down heat to remain at a simmer. Add pepper to taste.

Simmer for 30 minutes. Toss in the chicken and simmer another 10 minutes. Stir in the sour cream.

Serve over rice and top with a dollop of sour cream.

Cooking, Italian, recipes, soup

Hearty Italian bean and pasta soup: Pasta e Fagioli

September 22, 2018 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

It’s officially fall and after an unusually sunny early September, the weather finally settled into the typical cool, windy Alaska autumn.

It’s perfect soup weather. There’s something so satisfying about making soup from scratch. Usually I have all the ingredients I need and it’s a therapeutic process to chop, sauté and simmer until you have a meal that warms you through and through.

The recent issue of Cook’s Country magazine has a simple recipe for Pasta e Fagioli. I made it this week and added my own flair to the recipe.

Hearty Italian Pasta and Bean Soup

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2, 15-ounce cans of white beans such as cannellini, rinsed
1 cup water
olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped fine
2 celery ribs, chopped fine
2 carrots, washed and chopped fine
2.5-3 oz. pancetta, chopped fine
pinch of salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 garlic cloves, minced
dash of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried basil
4 cups chicken broth
4 ounces mini pasta shapes such as shells or ditalini
3 handfuls baby super greens, chopped
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Place one can of rinsed beans and the water in a blender and blend till smooth.

In a dutch oven or large saucepan, add a glug of olive oil and heat until oil is shimmering. Add the onion, celery, carrot, pancetta, salt and pepper and cook until veggies are soft, about 10 minutes.

Add tomato paste, garlic, and pepper flakes and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add the broth, basil, other can of beans, and pureed beans. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.

Add the pasta and cook another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When pasta has cooked for 5 minutes, stir in the greens and increase heat if needs be to remain at a boil. When pasta is al dente, remove pot from heat and stir in the cheese.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of cheese.

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Tortellini soup with sausage, beans and kale

September 2, 2017 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

The chill is in the air here in Anchorage. After picking lowbush cranberries I just couldn’t get warm enough. My boys went off to the state fair for the monster truck rally and came home with big appetites. I wanted to make something to warm us up and fill our bellies.

This Italian-style sausage and bean soup has all the ingredients I love – porcini, sausage, pasta and even some healthy stuff such as carrots and kale. This was a quick soup that came together in about an hour.

You can omit the cream of chicken soup – it thickens the soup nicely and boosts the flavor a little.

Italian sausage soup with beans, kale and tortellini

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 onion, chopped
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
4 cups chicken stock
3 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
4 packed cups chopped kale, stems removed
1 can cannellini beans, drained
6 oz. dried tortellini
4 oz. cream cheese

Directions:

Place dried mushrooms in a small bowl, cover with hot water and place a plate on top. Let sit for 20 minutes.

In a large dutch oven, brown the sausage over medium-high flame, breaking it up into chunks as it cooks.

Add olive oil, onion, celery and carrot and sauté until onions are soft, about 7 minutes.

Pour in the stock and cream of chicken soup and bring to a simmer. In the meantime, drain the mushrooms – reserving the liquid – and chop. Add the mushrooms and their water to the pot.

Add the basil, granulated garlic, oregano, thyme and parsley. Turn heat to low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

While soup is bubbling, bring a pot of water to boil. Cook tortellini according to package. When there are 5 minutes left on the pasta, add the kale to the soup pot. Drain the tortellini and add to the pot. Turn off heat and stir in the cream cheese. Once the cream cheese is melted you’re ready to go!

Serve with pecorino romano cheese and sourdough bread.

Cooking, Italian, recipes, soup

Weeknight alphabet vegetable soup

April 4, 2017 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

When was the last time you had alphabet soup? Now that I think of it, I can’t remember ever having it, yet I always see the cute bag of dried alphabet pasta at the grocery store and think about making it.

My 5-year-old son has been showing an interest in cooking lately so we went to the library last week to check out kids cookbooks. One of the recipes was a tomato-based alphabet soup. He really wanted me to make it.

Fast forward to 4:30 p.m. today when I was driving home with zero plans for dinner. Thankfully I had already done the shopping for this meal. It came together in a jiffy!

This soup is packed with flavor and nutrition. The reason for the flavor? Pancetta and parmesan rind. Both add wonderful depth to the soup.

I also made chicken meatballs and dropped those in while cooking. I didn’t include the recipe for those, but you could use Italian sausage or any meatball recipe you prefer.

The verdict? My son and husband gobbled up this soup! Plus, we all had fun trying to spell words in our bowls. So much fun.

Alphabet soup with vegetables

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

3-4 oz. pancetta, diced small
1 medium onion, diced
3 carrots, diced small
3 celery stalks, chopped
4-5 leaves of swiss chard, chopped
1, 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 cups beef stock
2 cups chicken stock
1.5 cups frozen green beans
1 chunk of parmesan cheese rind
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
1 can of canellini beans, liquid reserved
2 tablespoons flour
6 oz. dried alphabet pasta, or small pasta of your choice
1 pound of meatballs or Italian sausage

Directions:

Add a little olive oil to a large dutch oven and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the pancetta and sauté until cooked but not browned. Add the onion, carrots, chard and celery and cook till onions are translucent, about 7 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, beef stock, chicken stock, bay leaf, garlic powder, oregano, basil pepper flakes, parmesan rind and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper. Cover, bring to a simmer and turn heat to medium-low. Add raw sausage or meatballs and simmer, partially uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Add the frozen green beans and return to a simmer for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, drain the beans and reserve 1/4 cup of the liquid. Whisk the flour into the bean liquid and add this to the soup to thicken it slightly.

Add the beans and pasta to the soup and simmer for 7 minutes or until pasta is done.

Serve with generous amounts of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

asian, Cooking, recipes, seafood, soup

Thai hot pot soup with shrimp & pork dumplings

June 5, 2016 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

It was blustery out yesterday and after picking rose petals in the afternoon to make rose syrup, we went up to my folks’ place for dinner. My dad had prepared what he calls “hot pot soup” the day before and had it sitting in the fridge overnight. The broth was so rich, it looked like murky Jell-o. That’s how you know it’s good.

My dad was lamenting that he’d put the pork in too early and although the broth was extremely flavorful, the meat itself was rather tasteless. I suggested I make some Chinese-style wontons filled with shrimp and pork. The two dishes combined splendidly and we were left patting our bellies and snacking on mushrooms from the near-empty pot.

Fusion Thai Hot Pot/Chinese Pork Dim Sum Soup

Serves 4

Continue reading Thai hot pot soup with shrimp & pork dumplings →

Cooking, recipes, soup

Easy sweet potato carrot soup

February 21, 2016 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Today is a soup day. It’s rainy, grey and I just want to stay inside. Plus, after recently having major surgery, I’m on a limited diet of soft foods. When I noticed I had a couple of sweet potatoes in my pantry I decided to use them to make a blended, flavorful soup.

I’m not much of a soup chef. I have my minestrone, but that takes a lot of chopping. When a friend brought me some butternut squash soup last week she said all she did was roast everything and put it in a blender with some stock. Easy peasy.

This soup is sweet, savory and slightly creamy. Perfect for a day like today.

Easy sweet potato carrot soup

Serves 5

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes
3 carrots
3 cloves garlic
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
8 fresh sage leaves
3 cups chicken stock
4 oz. Neufchâtel cheese (or cream cheese)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Peel the carrots. Place the carrots and the whole sweet potatoes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for one hour. Remove the carrots and place the whole, peeled garlic cloves in the pan. Roast another 15 minutes or until garlic is golden brown.

Meanwhile, heat the oil and butter in a pan and sauté the onions until translucent, about 7 minutes. Roughly tear up the sage and place in the pan. Sauté for another 2 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

After the sweet potatoes have cooled slightly it should be easy to remove the skins. Chop them into rough pieces and place in a blender with the carrots, garlic, onions and sage. Add 2 cups of stock and blend for a few minutes, scraping down the sides if necessary.

Put contents in a soup pot and add remaining cup of stock. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

A few minutes before serving stir in the cream cheese until melted and well combined. Serve with a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan.

Cooking, recipes, soup

Quick Vegetable Soup

March 10, 2014 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

I’m home sick today. During my two-hour pity party in bed this morning, I lamented over the fact that no one can bring me soup and my cabinets were bereft of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle.

It is a scientific fact that chicken soup is good for colds; but I’m not well enough to drive to the store and buy some, so I rolled my sick self out of bed, I took what I had on hand and made some delicious vegetable bean soup with a chicken broth base. Way better than store bought. And guess what? I’m feeling slightly better. Up from 61% to 68%. Not bad!

Cast of Characters:

1 Tbs. olive oil

3 Tbs. finely chopped onion

1 carrot, chopped

1/2 celery stalk, chopped

3 crimini mushrooms (or one giant baby portobello mushroom) sliced

1 sprig fresh thyme

4 cups chicken stock

1 can white beans, drained

salt and pepper to taste

Serves 2

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, mushroom, salt and pepper and sauté until most of the liquid evaporates, about five minutes. Add the thyme and stock and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, until carrots are tender. Add the beans and bring back to a simmer. Simmer another five minutes or so until beans are heated through.

The fresh veggies add more depth to the chicken stock so it doesn’t taste bland. The mushrooms create a wonderful richness and depth to the broth.

Enjoy!

recipes, soup

Leftover Hambone Soup

January 1, 2013 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

“If you saw two guys named Hambone and Flippy, which one would you think liked dolphins most? I’d say Flippy, wouldn’t you? You’d be wrong though. It’s Hambone.”

-Jack Handey

That said, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with my leftover Christmas ham. The bone seemed too good to just throw away. I did a few recipe searches and I found this one, and it sounded really good.

I didn’t follow it exactly, so I thought I should write out my version here. I cooked this soup all day. It is a perfect Sunday soup if you plan on spending the whole day at home. It was totally worth the wait. This was the best soup I have made in a long time.

Ingredients:

1 meaty hambone

1/2 lb. dried navy beans

chicken stock

beef stock

1 onion, finely chopped, reserve 2 Tbs.

2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

freshly ground pepper

1 bay leaf

2 Tbs. butter

2 Tbs. Wondra flour, or regular flour

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 Tbs. parsley

sour cream

Directions:

Pour the dried beans into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, turn off the heat, cover and let sit on the stove for an hour. Drain and rinse the beans and place them in a large saucepan. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, bay leaf, pepper and hambone. Fill the pot with equal parts beef and chicken stock until the liquid is two inches above the beans. The hambone will probably stick out a bit. Partially cover and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low and let simmer for two hours or so, adding water or chicken stock every once in a while so it still looks soupy.

Remove the hambone and take off most of the meat. My hambone was actually two pieces of bone. I discarded the really solid bone and placed the hollow bone back into the soup. Let the meat cool and break it up into bite-sized pieces. Place the meat back into the pot. Taste your soup. If it’s too salty add more water. Let it simmer partially covered for another two hours, stirring occasionally and adding liquid whenever it’s looking too thick.

About 10 minutes before serving, heat the butter in a small saute pan. Add the reserved chopped onion and cook till onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, parsley and paprika and stir into a paste. Cook for two minutes. Add several ladles of hot soup to the pan and whisk till thick and smooth. Add this roux to the soup. Cook soup another 7 minutes. If it’s too thick, add a little water.

Serve in large soup bowls with a dollop of sour cream and a piece of rustic bread.

Cooking, recipes, soup

Almost Homemade Matzoh Ball Soup

November 3, 2012 alaskaknitnat 3 Comments

After a long week of single mom-dom, my husband returned from his work trip with some sort of bad flu. So now I essentially have two babies to care for. In addition to his wearing a mask around the baby and sanitizing his hands non-stop, I’m making him drink all types of fluids.

Here’s where matzoh ball soup comes into play. Traditionally a soup eaten at Passover in the spring, this chicken broth-based dumpling soup brings me back to my childhood. I never had chicken and dumplings, but I don’t think I could love them more than matzoh balls. Light, moist and flavorful — homemade matzoh balls can’t be beat. But store bought is actually pretty damn good, but I like to dress it up a bit more so that it looks and tastes like mom’s. This soup can be enjoyed year round, since most grocery stores have a kosher section where this soup mix can be found.

Ingredients:

1 box of matzoh ball soup and mix (not just the matzoh meal)

2 eggs

1/4 cup cooking oil

2 Tbs olive oil

1 celery rib, chopped, keeping the leaves

half an onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded

salt and pepper

Directions:

Whisk together the cooking oil and two eggs. Add the matzoh packet and mix well. Place in the fridge while you prepare everything else.

In a large soup pot, heat up the olive oil and add the chicken, onion, celery, carrot and salt and pepper. Cook till onions are soft, about five minutes. Add 2.5 quarts water and bring to a boil. Add the soup mix and turn down the heat.

Wet your hands and form the matzoh into walnut-sized balls and drop into the soup. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve to sick husband.