Quinoa Chicken Chili

Dump the following ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours. Length of time will be determined by your chicken; cooked or uncooked.

3 Cups Chicken Broth
3 Cups Chicken, cooked or uncooked
1 Cup quinoa, rinsed
1 quart of stewed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can corn, drained
2 cans black beans, drained
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder

Serve with Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese and Sour Cream

Cheeseburger Soup

"A good hearty soup", a friend of mine said, and that it is.

1 pound hamburger scrambled slightly crispy [set aside and in the same pot saute the following with 1T butter and some oil if needed:
1 white or yellow onion chopped
6 carrots shredded
3 stalks celery chopped
1.5t each parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary
Add the following to the above mixture:
4C beef broth
hamburger
4 medium to large potatoes diced
1t salt (I like to salt as I go, so everything has maximum flavor.)
1t pepper
In another small pot melt 3T butter and whisk in 1/4C flour, cook for 1 minute whisking, adding broth if needed. Add to soup when potatoes are tender. Bring soup to a boil stirring constantly while it thickens.
Add the following to the soup:
1C milk, cream or half and half, depending on how rich you like it.
2 cheddar cheese shredded
Salt to taste if needed.

Italian Potato Soup

I grew up on mashed potato soup...it's really good, but I'm kind of sick of it and love the pesto in this one and chunks of potatoes.

6 Slices Bacon cut into 1/4 inch strips
1 Pound Sweet Italian Sausage
4 Large Potatoes peeled and diced into 1/4 inch chunks
4 Onions chopped
5 Cups Chicken Broth (I use home-made)
2 Cups Milk, half and half or cream, to your tasting.
4 T butter
4 T Basil or Parsley Pesto
Parmesan Cheese

Fry Bacon and remove from fat and set aside. Add Sausage and Onions and fry, adding the Potatoes and Butter when it's almost done.

Add the Chicken Broth, bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are tender.

Add the milk and Pesto and heat through.

Top with Parmesan Cheese and Fried Bacon. (I don't like soggy fried bacon so I add it to each bowl instead of the entire pot.)


Basil or Parsley Pesto
2 Cups fresh Basil or parsley leaves, packed then blanched so they don't turn brown.
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 Cup olive oil
3 Tbls pine nuts (can substitute walnuts)
3 Garlic cloves, finely minced. (I do this in the food processor before I mix up the pesto) you can get the minced in a jar, way easier!

Place parsley leaves in small batches in food processor and whip until well chopped. Add about 1/3 the nuts and garlic and blend again. Add 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese; blend while slowly adding about 1/3 of the olive oil, stopping to crape down the sides.
Process until it forms a thick smooth paste. Repeat until all ingredients are used up.

I freeze in small Dixie cups.

Chicken Soup

I love chicken soup, I remember when I was pregnant with David I ate it for breakfast (it was the only thing that sounded good for a while)!

You need a good sized chicken, at least 5 pounds (if yours is smaller cut everything down), cooked, eat part of it for supper the night before. A slow roasted chicken is really good and packed with flavor, especially if you sear it before you cook it. You can cheat and get one from your local grocery store, too.

Once you've eaten it for supper (or not), you need to de-bone it. Take all the meat off the bones and refrigerate for the soup later.

In a dutch oven cover what is left of the bones, etc. with water, filling it almost to the brim. I take some skin out, but leave some. Fat gives good flavor you know.

Let this simmer until you go to bed and do it again in the morning; about 4-6 hours total. The bones give you the greatest flavor!

Strain the broth and then you will add the following to it:

Dice up the following into small pieces and add it to the broth:
5-6 carrots
1 white or yellow onion
2 C broccoli 
4-5 ribs of celery and leaves (awesome flavor booster)
3-4 cloves garlic
I grew up with chicken soup with just these ingredients, but I think it's better with the following as well:
1/2 red pepper
1/2 green pepper
4-8 mushrooms, depending on how large

For all versions add:
3 T thyme
4 T parsley
1 T salt and to taste

Let this simmer COVERED for about 2-3 hours and then add:

1/2 -3/4 C Jasmine rice, depending on how thick you like your soup. You may substitute your favorite rice.

Cook covered for about 1/2 hour and then add the chicken you saved from the night before. Heat through and serve.  We like ours with a light garlic bread. 

Salmon Chowder

I got salmon out of the freezer this morning and wasn't very excited about it. I needed to come up with something else for it. The weather is cooling down way to fast for August and soup sounded great! I browsed around chowder recipes on the internet and put this together, it is very flavorful and oh so delicious! Katya (5) said she wanted to eat the entire pot: "Thank you Mom, it's so good, I want to eat the whole pot!"

Ingredients: 

2 red or white potatoes
8 slices bacon, cut into 1/4 inch strips
1/2 white or yellow onion, diced small
1 small jar of mexi-corn
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 T thyme
1 bay leaf
1/8 t dried red pepper flakes
2 T parsley

1 can clam juice
3 C whole milk (you could reduce the milk and add more clam juice)
4 good sized servings of salmon fillets, skin removed and cut into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces

1 t salt, and to taste
1 1/2  t liquid smoke
1/4 t black pepper

Directions: 

Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes, cook in salt water until tender, but not falling apart, they can finish cooking in soup later.
Fry bacon in a medium pot, stirring until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel leaving grease in the pan.
Add onion, corn, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, red pepper flakes to fat in the pot and cook until onions are tender, 5-8 minutes.
Add clam juice and milk and bring to a boil.
Reduce to low heat and add potatoes, salmon, bacon, salt, pepper and liquid smoke. Stirring occasionally until salmon is cooked through and begins to break up.
Season with salt to taste and discard bay leaf before serving.

Katya (5) David (3)

Playing in the mud while I was cooking supper.