Homemade Chicken Broth and more soup recipes

In January Brook taught us how to make our own chicken broth.  Now, I don't know about you--but I am so over the canned broth! This way is healthier and cheaper, and even though it's a little more time consuming it's worth it because it tastes WAY better!  We made fresh chicken noodle soup and a tortellini soup that was simple and delicious!  And thanks to everyone who brought their favorite soups to share--I'll post the recipes below...

 Easy Tortellini Soup:

48 oz. prepared chicken broth (1 1/2 quarts or 12 cups)
1 package of fresh chesse tortelline (can also use frozen)

Bring broth to a rolling boil, add tortellini, cook at a medium simmer about 7-10 minutes, stirring gently, pushing down pasta if necessary.  Salt and pepper as desired.  Serve hot sprinkled with fresh parmesan cheese

Can add any seasoning you like; garlic salt, thyme, parsley, cayenne, etc.  Or add cubed chicken, peas, etc.

if you can't do homemade--this is by far the BEST chicken broth base you can find!!!

 

Chicken Noodle Soup:

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs.) breasts removed and split--the remainder cut into pieces

1 onion, chopped

2 quarts water

2 tsp. table salt

2 bay leaves

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick

1 medium celery stalk, small diced

1 medium onion, small diced

1/4 tsp. thyme

1/4 c. minced fresh parsley leaves

Homemade noodles (recipe below) or 3 ounces wide egg noodles

If using homemade noodles, make noodles first--roll and let dry while finishing soup.

1.  Heat oil in large heavy pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and saute until starting to color, about 2-3 minutes.  Add chicken breast halves and saute until brown on both sides, about 5 minutes.  Remove and set aside.  Add half of chicken pieces, saute until no longer pink--4-5 minutes.  Transfer pieces to bowl with breasts.  Saute remaining chicken pieces.  Return chicken pieces (excluding breasts) to pot.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until chicken releases its juices, about 10 minutes.  Increase heat to high and add water along with both breast halves, salt and bay leaves.  Return to simmer and then partially cover and barely simmer until chicken breasts are cooked skimming any scum that rises, about 20-25 minutes.

2.  Remove chicken breasts from pot and set aside on a cutting board.  When cool enough to handle, remove skin from breasts and then remove meat from bones and cut into small pieces.  Strain broth through fine-meshed sieve, discard bones.  Skim fat from broth reserving 2 Tbsp.

3.  Return soup pot to medium-high heat.  Add reserved chicken fat.  Add remaining onion, celery, carrot.  Saute until softened about 5 minutes.  Add thyme along with broth.  Stir until vegetables are tender and flavors meld, about 10 minutes.  Stir in reserved chicken pieces.  Add noodles and cook until just tender.  Adjust seasoning, stir in parsley and serve.

Rotisserie Chicken short-cut:

Remove chicken breasts from chicken and cut into bite sized pieces, reserving for soup.  Chicken can be room temperature or warm.  Cut remaining chicken up in to pieces using a meat cleaver, large chefs knife or kitchen shears.  Saute onion as directed in step 2 then add chicken pieces to pot, cooking to release juices from chicken, about 5 minutes.  Add water, breast bones, salt and bay leaves and continue with instructions in step 2.  Skim fat from rotisserie container and reserve for later.  Add any collected juices into pot before simmering.

Variations:

Add 1 medium diced zucchini into vegetables.  1 can of chopped tomatoes (or fresh) to broth and substitute pasta shells for egg noodles.  Can also add green beans, sliced mushrooms, peas, etc.

Homemade Noodles:

1 cup of sifted flour (or more)

1/2 tsp. salt

3 egg, beaten

1-2 Tbsp. milk

Measure flour onto a work surface or into a bowl.  Make a well in the center of the flour and add egg, milk and salt into center.  Mix to make a stiff paste.  Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until it forms a smooth ball.  

Roll out to a 1/8" thickness.  Allow to rest for 20 minutes.  Roll up loosely; slice 1/4" to 1/2" wide.  Unroll, spread out and let dry 1-2 hours.

Our ingredients for chicken noodle soup, we use the rotisserie chicken variation

Homemade noodles

sauteing the onion

Sauteing the chicken pieces for the broth--these will be used for flavor and juices but then discarded.

skim off the foamy stuff that rises to the surface when making the broth.  And yes, that's the technical term for it...

Straining the chicken broth...through a sieve and cheese cloth

Our finished product.  Looks amazing, doesn't it??  Tasted even better!

Karren Ashley's Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

6 Tbsp. chopped onion

4 Tbsp. butter

6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

1 stalk celery

2 medium carrots

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 tsp. marjoram

1/4 tsp.  black pepper

1/8 tsp.  cayenne pepper

1- 8 oz. cream cheese

In a large pan, saute onions  and celery in butter.  Add squash, carrots, chicken broth, marjoram, pepper (black and cayenne).  Boil for 20 minutes or until squash is tender.

Puree squash and cream cheese in blender in batches til smooth.  Return to sauce pan and heat.  Do not boil.

Clara Starkey's Zuppa Toscana

Zuppa Toscana:

2 Tbsp.  Extra virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 (32 oz.) containers of orrganic chicken broth (or homemade!!)

4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes

4 c kale, chopped, stems discarded

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes

3/4 lb. mild (or spicy) ground Italian sausage (harmons makes a great one!)

1/2 c heavy cream

In a large pot, saute onion in olive oil over mediu heat until onion becomes translucent--about 10 minutes.  Add broth, potatoes, kale, sea salt, pepper and pepper flakes then bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile cook the sausage until browned in a pan over medium heat, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon.  Once cooked thoroughly, add the sausage and cream to the soup.  Heat to desired temperature and serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on top.  Enjoy!

The Gathering Of Friends

For the month of March, we had the opportunity to visit the house of Michelle Huxtable, author of The Gathering Of Friends Cookbook series. She has a beautiful home and is a wonderful cook and entertainer. She showed us how to create a fabulous table setting and made the most wonderful appetizers for us to sample.

Here is the recipe for the fried tomato sandwiches (I have made these twice since....soooo good!):

• 1/4 c. butter
• 3-4 ripe tomatoes
• 5 oz. cream cheese
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup sugar
• salt and pepper
• 1 baguette cut into 1/4 inch slices (20 slices)

Melt butter in frying pan. Place sliced tomatoes in pan and sprinkle with ½ of the sugar, salt and pepper. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, flip and sprinkle with remaining sugar, salt and pepper. Sauté for an additional 4-5 minutes. If tomatoes seem runny, continue to sauté on low heat until sauce thickens.

Place baguette slices on a cookie sheet and broil until golden. Spread with softened cream cheese and return to oven until cream cheese bubbles.

Spread fried tomatoes over open faced toasted baguette.

And I don't have the recipe for the almond tart--does anyone else?
Almond Cake
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (or 2) teaspoon melted almond extract
slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients together and hand mix with a fork as little as possible Cover with slivered almonds. Bake 25-30 minutes . Makes 1 pie tin or round cake pan.

And here is the recipe for Cheryl's cold Pear Soup which was so yummy! Perfect for a brunch:

3 1/2 cups canned pears
2 1/2 cups pear juice
1 T. grated, fresh ginger
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sour cream
sugar to taste

Put all in blender and blend well. Chill. Serve with toasted nuts sprinkled on top and a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg.

It was such a fun night--I think we all spent the first little while just soaking up all of her interior decorating skills! And I have to say that I was amazed (and a little jealous...) to hear that Michelle had place settings for 150. Not that I could even fathom cooking for that many people...I just really love dishes... And a room dedicated to your dishes? Again, a little jealous... :) At the end of the evening we all had our cookbook signed by her. Thank you Michelle for hosting us!

p.s. If you go to her website, she has a whole area dedicated to sharing some of the recipes from her book. And they all look really good...Enjoy!

Soup Night- October 2010

Last night we got together to make two fabulous soups. Perfect for Fall. Thanks so much to Lori Oehler for hosting.  

Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients 

12 1/2 cups (or more) canned low-salt 

chicken broth 

1 1/4 cups wild rice (about 7 1/2 ounces) 

6 1/4 cups frozen corn kernels (about 2 1/2 

pounds) thawed 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

10 ounces fully cooked smoked sausage 

(such as kielbasa), cut into 1/2-inch cubes 

3 carrots, peeled, diced 

2 medium onions, chopped 

1 1/2 cups half and half 

Preparation 

Bring 5 cups broth to simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add wild rice and 

simmer until all liquid evaporates and rice is almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 40 

minutes. 

Meanwhile, blend 3 3/4 cups corn and 1 1/2 cups chicken broth in processor until thick, almost 

smooth puree forms. Heat vegetable oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 

sausage and sauté until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add carrots and onions and stir 3 

minutes. Add remaining 6 cups chicken broth and bring soup to simmer. Reduce heat to low 

and simmer soup 15 minutes. 

Add cooked wild rice, corn puree and remaining 2 1/2 cups corn kernels to soup. Cook until 

wild rice is very tender and flavors blend, about 15 minutes longer. Mix in half and half. Thin 

soup with more chicken broth, if desired. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. (Soup can 

be prepared 2 days ahead. Refrigerate until cold; cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm soup 

over medium-low heat before continuing.) 

Butternut Squash Soup with Cider Cream and Gruyère Croutons

ingredien5 tablespoons butter

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 2 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 6 cups)
• 2 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only)
• 1/2 cup chopped peeled carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried sage leaves
• 5 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider
• 2/3 cup sour cream

• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• Chopped fresh chives
• 
  

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add squash, leeks, carrot and celery; sauté until slightly softened, about 15 minutes. Mix in apples, thyme and sage. Add stock and 1 cup cider and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until apples are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly.

Working in batches, purée soup in blender. Return soup to pan. Boil remaining 1/2 cup cider in heavy small saucepan until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Cool. Place sour cream in small bowl. Whisk in reduced cider. (Soup and cider cream can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)

Bring soup to simmer. Mix in whipping cream. Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with cider cream. Top with chives.

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, the

Quick Cooking Chicken Stock

• 4 lbs. of chicken back, wings, and/or lets that have been hacked with a cleaver into 2-inch pieces. (you can ask your butcher to prepare the chicken pieces this way).
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 quarts of boiling water
• 2 tsps. salt
• 2 bay leaves

Heat 1 Tbs. of olive oil in a large stock pot. Add one chopped onion. Saute until softened and slightly colored (2-3minutes). Transfer to a large bowl.

Add half of the chicken pieces to the pot. Saute until no longer pink (about 4-5 minutes). Transfer cooked chicken to bowl with onions. Saute the rest of the chicken the same way. Return onion and chicken pieces to the pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken releases its juices (about 20 minutes).

While the chicken pieces are cooking, fill a large tea kettle with 2 quarts of water, bring to boil.

After the chicken pieces have been cooking for 20 minutes, raise the heat level to high, add the 2 quarts of boiling water, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 bay leaves. Return to a low simmer, then cover and barely simmer for about 20 minutes.

Strain broth and discard solids. Broth can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for several month.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

1/2 C. butter
1 C. flour
4 C. chicken broth
3 1/2 C. half and half
1 1/2 C. marinara sauce
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes or 8-10 small vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil, or 1/2 tsp. dried
coarse salt and ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook and stir for 5 minutes to slightly brown the mixture. Whisk in the broth. Increase the heat and cook and stir until thickened. Decrease the heat to low, stir in half and half, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the marinara sauce, tomatoes and basil and cook until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve as is chunky-style or puree in a food processor or blender if you prefer a smooth soup.

Makes about 12 cups.

recipe from "The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner"