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Turkey Soup w/ Egg Noodles

November 26, 2011 in Home Made Creations by Tommy & I, Recipes with 0 Comments

Ultimate comfort food

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil
2 leeks, cleaned and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 to 4 cups leftover cooked turkey, shredded or cubed
2 to 3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 cups turkey stock from carcass (mentioned in previous recipe)
6 ounces uncooked egg noodles
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
plenty of garlic salt & onion salt.. not regular salt
If your broth wasn’t entirely rich you can add chicken stock
Sometimes I add some red pepper for color
Directions
Heat oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leeks, carrots, garlic, and celery and saute 4 minutes, until soft. Add turkey, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and black pepper and stir to mix well. Add turkey stock and/or chicken broth and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and simmer10 minutes.
Return mixture to a boil and add egg noodles. Cook 10 minutes, until egg noodles are just tender. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves and stir in parsley.
At this time after the noodles are done add cleaned pieces of turkey.

Don’t throw out the bones!

November 26, 2011 in Home Made Creations by Tommy & I, Recipes with 0 Comments

There is no better broth for soups than what you can get from your turkey carcass. We had our Thanksgiving at a restaurant this year and I so missed making the great left over casseroles and then the broth which I refer to as liquid gold for turkey soup.

Even if you have to throw the carcass in a bad into the freezer.. (keeping all the gelatin and skin too.. everything is good to make the broth richer and more tasty.

Pick all the meat you can off of it. If you don’t want to deal with it now, chop it up freeze the carcass as well. If you have room in your freezer. Or make the broth and freeze that and make the soup later.

1 turkey carcass
water to cover
2 cloves garlic (optional)
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp parsley
2-4 peppercorns
1-3 tsp salt
a few shakes of pepper
2 stalks of celery
2 carrots
1 onion, halved

Put the turkey carcass in a big stock pot and cover with water. You can break up the carcass a bit to fit the pan. Add everything else. You don’t have to peel or neatly slice anything. Just break it up into chunks. And don’t worry if you don’t have something; broth is very flexible. Bring it to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer (with barely a bubble breaking the surface) for a few hours. Simmer longer if you have time, but it will be good after a few hours. Strain the soup using a colander or cheesecloth or whatever you have around. Pick out all the meat you can and reserve for soup later. Put the broth into a large jar and refrigerate it overnight.

In the morning or the next evening when you go to make the soup, the fat will have solidified at the top so you can just spoon it off. Generally, the broth will be quite thick and jellylike. This is good. When you heat it to make soup it will be perfect. Keep the broth for 5 days in the fridge or freeze it for soup later. I like to freeze it small portions.

Next post will be some soup recipes!

Bounty Soup

January 25, 2011 in Home Made Creations by Tommy & I, Recipes, SwitchingGranny's Stuff with 0 Comments

I picked up a book titled “The Soup Bible” at Sams last week. And many of the soups looked simple to prepare. And although it’s the middle of winter and I would assume this to be more of a summer soup, I found this one “calling my name”.

My pot of bounty soup

Ingredients:

1 to 2 yellow squash (about 1/2 pound)
2 tsp vegetable oil
3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 C frozen mixed vegetables
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp dried rosemary
1/8 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 can (about 14 ounces) chicken broth *I used home made*
1 can (about 14 ounces) stewed tomatoes.

Preparation:

Cut wide part of squash in half lengthwise; lay flat and cut crosswise into 1/4 inch-thick slices. Cut narrow part of squash into 1/4 inch-thick slices.
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir in squash, mixed vegetables, parsley, salt, rosemary, thyme, and pepper. Add broth and tomatoes, breaking large tomatoes apart. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender and chicken is headed through.

Bowl of Bounty Soup

Vegan Bean Stew

January 19, 2011 in Friends, Home Made Creations by Tommy & I, Recipes with 4 Comments

This recipe was given to me by my dear friend Gail Hyatt whom I met on twitter And then we got to meet in real life
Really an easy recipe (you get to use canned beans) and a truly versatile recipe because you can change out so many of the ingredients and still end up with a great dish. It’s healthy because it is so filled with beans, and fiber and vegetables, Plus when you eat it over brown rice, you’ve got yourself a complete protein. Even though I am not vegan, I do love eating healthy and prefer vegetable/bean dishes over meat dishes.
I’m sharing this recipe in Gail’s words just because this is the way I’ve enjoyed making it. Vegetarian Bean Stew Recipe
There is not hard and fast recipe for this. It’s the kind of stew that you can put whatever you have in your frig and pantry in.
This is what was in it tonight.
In a large skillet, add:
1 tbls butter
2 tbls olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 red pepper coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
Saute together til tender.
While sauteing, add 1 bunch of fresh spinach chopped to the skillet.
Saute all together.
Add:
1 can Butter Beans (partially drained)
1 can Mixed Beans – pinto & white (partially drained)
1 can Dark Red Kidney Beans (partially drained)
Heat through while adding spices to taste:
Spike Gourmet Natural Seasoning (mine’s salt free)
Ground Cumin
Mexican Seasoning (Spice Hunter brand)
Lemon Pepper (Lawry’s brand)
Salt
I just sprinkle these seasonings all over the top of the mixture til it looks right (haha). I use mostly the Mexican Seasoning, then Spike, then Lemon Pepper, Cumin and finally the salt. (i.e. less of the Cumin and the salt)
The mixture was getting a bit thick so I looked in my pantry for some Vegetable broth. I didn’t have any but I did have some French Onion Soup. So I poured some of that into the mix until it “looked right” for the rice.
Serve over cooked Brown Rice.

Tonight’s Dinner-January 18 2011

January 18, 2011 in Home Made Creations by Tommy & I, Recipes with 5 Comments

Yes, I’m into posting recipes on my blog lately. Only to catch up on some of our favorites. Here is another favorite: Chicken Fried Pork Chops from the crock-pot

What you'll need

6 pork chops (boneless or with bones)
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
oil for frying chops
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup water
Mix the flour, salt, ground mustard and garlic powder together. Dredge the chops in the flour mixture and fry in a skillet. You don’t need to cook them all the way, just get them browned. Put the chops in the slow cooker.
Mix the soup and water together. Pour into the hot skillet, stirring to pick up all the little crispy pieces left by the chops. Pour the gravy over the top of the chops in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. So Tender, So good

Finished Pork Chops

Chicken Pot Pie

January 17, 2011 in Home Made Creations by Tommy & I, Recipes with 2 Comments

The recipe we love for Chicken Pot Pie

Comfort food

2 C diced peeled potatoes
1-3/4 C sliced carrots
2/3 C chopped onion
1 C butter or margarine
1 C all-purpose flower
1-3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried thyme
¾ tsp pepper\
3 C chicken broth
1-1/2 C milk
4 C cubed cooked chicken
1 C frozen peas
1C frozen corn
Pastry for two double crust pies ( 9 inches)

Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan, cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, sauté onion in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, salt, thyme and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the chicken, peas, corn, potatoes and carrots; remove from the heat.

Line two 9-inch pie plates with bottom pastry; trim even with edge of plate. Fill pastry shells with chicken mixture. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pies. Cut slits or decorative cutouts in pastry. Place over filling; trim, seal and flute edges.

Bake one potpie at 425 for 35-40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting. Cover and freeze remaining potpie for up to 3 months. To use frozen potpie: shield frozen pie crust edges with foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake 70-80 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown.

New Orleans Red Beans and Rice

January 16, 2011 in Home Made Creations by Tommy & I, Recipes, SwitchingGranny's Stuff with 4 Comments

Red Beans & Rice Recipe:

1 lb dried red kidney beans, rinsed and soaked
1 bay leaf
1 diced onion
1 green bell pepper, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. Cayenne pepper
1 T. Creole seasoning
2 links smoked sausage
4 C cooked rice
Salt
Pepper
Water to cover beans
Place beans in a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer, adding water as necessary.
In 1 tsp olive oil sauté onion, bell pepper, until transparent. Then add garlic until fragrant. Add sautéed vegetables, bay leaf and seasonings to simmering beans. Cook until beans are tender. Red Beans and Rice photo © 2010 Neil Conway | more info (via: Wylio)
Steam sausage in a covered frying pan with ½ C water for 5 minutes. Prepare rice as directed on package. Serve beans over rice.