at home with ann

My big Le Creuset soup pot is in near constant use during the winter.  I love a bowl of soup with a baguette for dinner, and leftovers can be eaten for lunch the next day while trying to juggle a 4 month old baby who makes it his life mission during every meal time to hurl himself onto the table and try to grab all the food. For a kid who has never actually eaten anything solid, he puts a lot of effort in.  He swiped an orange slice off Colin's plate the other day and spent several minutes trying to get it into his mouth.  Another foodie in the making. This is a healthy and hearty meal that is family friendly.  Although, if you have a small child like mine who is wary of soup and usually bathes in it instead of eating it, it's easy to portion out the components onto a tasting plate.  You can easily make this vegetarian friendly by substituting white beans for the meatballs and vegetable broth. Italian Meatball Soup recipe from Skinny Taste Ingredients: M...

Perhaps you are ready for a little post-Christmas detox.  If you are like me, you ate about 200 cookies in the past 2 days.  This soup is low in fat and high in vitamins and fiber.  Just the thing to help you recover.   We had three pumpkins for Fall decorations this year, one for each of us.  Two sugar pumpkins and one mini gourd for our mini guy.  In years past, our pumpkins mysteriously ended up with bite marks in them from the various animals we have prowling around at night out here in the country.  I was pleasantly surprised that this year they made it through the season unscathed, and when December rolled around, I declared it time to bring in the pumpkins and roast them up. Since my lunches are usually spent inhaling my food while trying to keep up with my little - eating/hurling hummus around the room - machine, I like to keep it simple.  A big pot of soup I can eat all week is perfect. I made a roasted butternut soup with apples and ...

I may have mentioned before that raw chicken scares me.  I've made great strides against this somewhat irrational phobia in recent years, but I still avoid touching it if possible.  That is why this recipe is perfect for me, I don't have to touch anything raw and at the end of the day I get a tasty and healthy meal.  That's a success in my book.  I've made vegan Tortilla Soup before , which was great, but I was feeling something a little heartier. The only injury sustained while making this soup was burning my tongue while I was taste testing.   This has become something of a pattern lately.  I'm either eating at lightening speed because we are on the verge of a baby meltdown, or it takes me hours because I keep getting pulled away and grab a bite as I walk through the kitchen.  Even eaten a little too hot, this was delicious, definitely a keeper.  Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup 1 14 oz. can tomato sauce 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon ...

This is another pantry recipe.  At any given time, you probably have most, if not all, of these ingredients on hand.  As such, it's a great idea to have in the back of your mind for an easy lunch or supper.  While I was watching Rachael Ray the other day I took note of her garbage bowl.  If you haven't seen it, the garbage bowl is just the bin she uses to dispose of scraps, containers, etc. while she's cooking.  You can go online and purchase your very own garbage bowl for the reasonable price of $19.99.  Or, you can just use one of the many bowls you already have.  I take it one step further and use produce bags.  For any given recipe, I am usually emptying some produce bag, so I leave on the counter, put all my cooking scraps and trash in it, and toss it when I'm done.  This isn't any genius idea, but it does save me a lot of time because I'm not turning to throw things out all the time.  Back to the soup.  Potato Soup with ...

This recipe could also be known as: things in my fridge that really needed to be used up.  Such things included: homemade pumpkin puree that had been in the freezer since last winter, a really sad, wrinkly apple, and a few cups of recently defrosted chicken broth.  That's one of things I love about soup, though.  You can throw anything in the pot, and if you add the right spices and cook it long enough, it's delicious.  Pumpkin Apple Curry Soup 1- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (butternut would work here, as well) 1 apple, peeled and chopped 1/2 medium onion, chopped 1-2 stalks celery, chopped olive oil 1 Tablespoon curry 1 teaspoon cumin salt and pepper 2 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add in apple and spices (curry, cumin, salt and pepper).  Stir and cook for one minute. Pour in pumpkin puree and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, redu...

I had a bounty of carrots in the fridge.  Four bags of carrots.  Rabbits could not eat that many carrots raw. A whole bunch went into the chicken pot pie I made for dinner last night.  Chicken gravy is good.  It also had 5 tablespoons of butter in it, so this soup is nice to balance a bit. Another pound went into this Carrot Ginger Soup.  Very simple, quick to make, and healthy.  Also, if you use vegetable broth, it's vegan, and I'm fairly certain gluten-free.  All sorts of diets can be fed with this soup.  The ginger adds a little spiciness.  It was an excellent accompaniment to my lunch, along with some sort of dipper.  I went with a mini bagel.  I'll leave it up to you to decide. Carrot Ginger Soup Olive Oil 1 Shallot, minced (or one clove garlic) 1 small onion, chopped 1 Tablespoon grated ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 pound carrots, roughly chopped 2 cups vegetabl...

I apologize for the inconsistency in my blogging lately.  I've been feeling a bit off, and as a result, my cooking isn't very adventurous or interesting.  We still need recipes for off days, though, and this soup has been my go-to all week. Minestrone Soup 1 onion, chopped 2 small zucchini, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced olive oil 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 teaspoons dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried parsley 2 cups chickpeas (any bean will do) 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes with liquid 28 oz. water or vegetable broth Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Chop and drop the vegetables into the pot- onion through garlic.  Cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add in the spices and cook one minute more. Add in the chickpeas, diced tomatoes and water or broth. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 20 minutes. A quick, easy, healthy meal in no time.  If you need extra comfort, pair it with gril...

Tomato soup and grilled cheese is one of my favorite meals of all time.  This soup is especially good because it uses pureed beans to thicken, which adds protein and creaminess without adding fat.  It is also made from ingredients you might already have in your pantry, so it's easy to pull together for a quick lunch or supper. The first time I attempted tomato soup at home, it did not go well.  After simmering the ingredients together, I used a blender to puree it in batches.  I didn't let it cool before blending, however, and the steam made the lid lose it's seal.  A couple blending batches in, I filled it a little too full, and that combined with the compromised lid seal led to disaster.  Tomato soup on the ceiling, the cabinets, the floor, and me.  I went out that night and bought an immersion blender.  Best $30 I've ever spent on an appliance. Tomato and White Bean Soup recipe from Giada DeLaurentis Ingredients: 2 Tablespoons butter or...

The Irish aren't exactly known for their fine cuisine.  Corned beef and steamed cabbage have never done much to impress me.  That being said, I still wanted to make something festively appropriate for the holiday this week.  Barring any green-tinged beverages, I wanted to find a way to make that cabbage into something good. Stuffed Cabbage Stew adapted from Rachael Ray 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided 1 cup raw brown rice 3 cups chicken stock 1 pound ground turkey 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander 2 teaspoons smoked paprika Salt Pepper 1 bay leaf 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 carrot, thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler into strips then finely chopped 1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes 14 oz crushed tomatoes In a sauce pot, boil 2 cups of water.  Add rice, reduce heat to a low simmer, and cook for 30 minutes. Heat a soup pot over medi...

I am so happy to share this recipe with you, as it is my favorite soup of all time.  Mulligatawny always reminds me of the Seinfeld soup nazi, but it was only a few years ago I actually figured out what it is and tried it.  It only takes about 30 minutes to make, but I recommend making it a day in advance, because, like most soups, it's better after the flavors have had a chance to blend. Spicy Mulligatawny adapted from Cooking Light Ingredients 1  tablespoon  vegetable oil, divided  1 can chickpeas 1  cup  chopped peeled Gala or Braeburn apple  3/4  cup  chopped onion  3/4  cup  chopped carrot  1/2  cup  chopped celery  3/4  cup  chopped green bell pepper  2  tablespoons  all-purpose flour  1  tablespoon  curry powder  1  teaspoon  ground ginger  1/2  teaspoon  crushed red pepper  1/4  teaspoon  salt...

I like to make a batch of soup on Sunday afternoon to eat for lunches throughout the week.  This one is full of hearty vegetables, and roasting really brings out the flavors.  It is a good source of fiber, and the beans provide protein.   Roasted Vegetable and Kale Soup slightly adapted from SimplyRecipes Ingredients: 4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks 1 onion, peeled and cut into large slices 1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch chunks 4-6 cloves of garlic, peeled Olive oil 14 oz. can diced tomatoes 4 cups vegetable broth 4 cups chopped kale 1 tsp dried thyme 1 bay leaf 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 1 15 oz. can white beans (I used navy) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put cut carrots, onion, squash and garlic on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.   Roast until vegetables are browned and tender, about 45 minutes.  This is what they will l...

I am declaring this recipe a work in progress, and might repost when I've made it again.  This came together as a result of things left in the fridge for more than a week.  Not glamorous, but practical. Broccoli Potato Soup 2 teaspoons olive oil 1 onion, diced 3 cups broccoli 1 pound potatoes 2 Tablespoons flour salt pepper 1/2 teaspoon paprika 2 cups vegetable broth 1 cup skim milk 1/4-1/2 cup shredded cheese Start by heating the olive oil in your soup pot on medium heat and sauteing the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Next chop your potatoes to about 1/2-1 inch pieces.  I used red potatoes because that's what I had around, and opted to leave the skins on.  Any kind of potato would work, though. On to the broccoli.  Anytime I use broccoli florets, I trim the bottoms off the stems and toss them in a bag  in the freezer.  They are a perfect addition to soups.  I would have also added some fresh florets, but I accident...