Jordan's Chicken Soup

Hey everyone, Jordan here!

Rue was sick so I made her some chicken noodle soup! Nothing super fancy, though you could do it up pretty good with a little extra planning. You can really add the veggies you like, but I'd recommend that you at least use what we have on the list (the peas aren't so important). They are cornerstone aromatics. The amount we made would serve about 4.

Put your chicken in a pot and cover with stock and water. Boil for 30-40 minutes (adjust time for amount you have).

Here are your chopped veggies, pasta, and peas.

Here's your stock after your remove the chicken and skim off any fatty bits.

Meanwhile, you have sauteed your veggies, and they are ready to add to the pot!

Cool chicken until you can handle it, then shred into small pieces. You can add it to the pot, or leave it to add to individual bowls.

And here's the soup after you've added the veggies, added the pasta and cooked it, and thrown in the peas for just a minute or two.

Jordan's Chicken Soup
-1 Quart Chicken stock (or bullion) plus enough water to cover the chicken/Cornish hen
-Chicken (I picked up a Cornish game hen because I wanted the bones in and this was cheapest)
-Season to taste. I just used salt and pepper, but stuff like rosemary and thyme would be good.
-1.5 cups chopped Carrots (we used baby carrots for ease)
-2 Celery Stalks
-1 Small Onion
-1/2 to 2/3 cup Peas (we used frozen ones)
-2-3 cloves Garlic
-1 Tablespoon Butter
-1/4-1/3 lb. pasta of your choice (I used rigatoni)
Skin then place the chicken in a medium sized pot and cover with stock and water. Boil for 30-40 minutes (give or take, depending on poultry size).
Chop up the celery and onion. Add them along with the carrots to a saute pan with the butter. Saute until onions are translucent. Mince the garlic and add to the pan. Saute for a few minutes.
Take the chicken out of the stock/water and put in a colander to drain. Skim the chunks/fatty bits out of the stock (I used a small hand strainer).
Add the vegetables to the stock and simmer.
Let the chicken cool until handle-able. Remove the bones and connective tissues. At this point you can either add the chicken meat to the soup or you can set it aside for people to add individually to their bowls (Rue does not eat much meat).
Making sure your soup is at a boil, add your pasta, then cook according to the package.
Add in the peas at the very end.
Serve quickly and hot, as you do not want the pasta to overcook.

Your finished soup! Easy, simple, and delicious.

Eat well! (which includes this soup :) )
Jordan

Potato, Corn, Bacon Chowder

Hi there readers,

This soup almost quite literally saved my life. Yesterday was a super long day, and I got home late to an empty house and had no idea what I was going to get in me for dinner, until I remembered I had made this the day before. Life saver!! And even more delicious than the first time around, too!

Peel, chop, and boil your potatoes to start.

While that's going on, fry up your bacon and chop up.

Saute your onions in olive oil or some of that bacon grease!

This is the same pot the onions started in, just with milk and potatoes added, and mashed slightly.

All finished, with corn and bacon added; though soups are difficult to capture in pictures this stuff smells amazing!

Potato, Corn, and Bacon Chowder
-1/2 package bacon, fried and chopped up
-1 onion, diced
-3 tablespoons olive oil (or bacon grease)
-3 tablespoons flour
-4 cups milk, warmed
-1 lb potatoes, peeled, chopped, and boiled until fork-tender
-1/2 lb. frozen corn
-salt and pepper to taste
Sauté onion in the fat of your choosing, then sprinkle the flour over and stir well. Stir milk in and let boil for 2-3 minutes to form the base of your soup. Add in potatoes and mash slightly. Add in corn and bacon and stir well. Let simmer together a few minutes before serving, sprinkle with a little bacon, or cheese if you're feeling that!

All done and ready to eat- easy and delicious. Yum!

Savor it!
love, rue

Chili (homemade, easy, full of flavor!)

OK, confession time again. Remember when I made Red Beans and Rice for the first time not too long ago? I have actually never made legit Chili before either. Yes, I've made it with what ingredients I could cobble together in the co-op and other times, but this is the first time I've made my Chili- a cross between some creative spices and suggestions and my mom's recipe that she's made for us all my life. And I have to say, it's some of the best chili I've ever had. Let's get started, this stuff is fantastic!!

Start by browning up your ground beef and spooning off what you can of the fat.

Saute your chopped onions and celery, add the garlic about 2/3 of the way through.

You're done sauteing when the onions and celery have begun to soften. Then you're ready to add the rest!

Add in the ground beef, then two cans of tomatoes...

And two cans of beans, with the water.

Add all of your spices, molasses, and beer, and here's what you have- more soupy than chili texture, right?

Well, just let that baby simmer! here it is about halfway through the time I let it cook- it is good to eat at this point, but not quite at chili status.

After a few more hours simmering on the stovetop, you've got a thickened, spiced, delicious chili that you can enjoy however you do chili- as you can see below, I favor it in a tortilla with cheese and sour cream!

Chili
-approx. 1 lb. ground beef
-a few tablespoons olive oil
-2 onions, chopped
-4 stalks celery, chopped
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-2 16 oz. cans diced tomatoes and juice
-2 16 oz. cans beans for chili with water
-2 tablespoons chili powder
-1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
-1 teaspoon oregano
-1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
-1 1/2+ teaspoons salt
-1/2 teaspoon pepper
-1 tablespoon cocoa
-1 bay leaf (remove just before serving)
-1/4 cup molasses
-1 beer (12 oz.)
Brown the ground beef.
In your big soup pot, add some olive oil and the onions and celery. Saute then add the garlic towards the end.
Pour in your cans of tomatoes and beans, the beer, molasses, and all the spices. Feel free to play with the spices, adding or subtracting as you prefer- but taste as you go along! This is the best way to know what you're making your dish taste like!
Let simmer for several hours until thickened and combined. Try to mash a few of the beans along the way too (next time I might try mashing one of the cans of beans before I add it).
Serve in tortillas with cheese and sour cream.

My Chili- you've gotta try the tortilla, it's perfect- just remember to fold up the bottom and keep a napkin handy!

Savor it!
love, rue

Cream of Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

Hi again, and this time I'm here with a soup! I've been on a huge soup-kick this summer and have been eating it all the time. I find it's just right for filling me up and making me feel nourished without weighing me down. And this soup is a creamy soup, but has a pretty low amount of fat, which is also great. Bonus points for being very, very easy!

Let's get started:

Here are all your ingredients for the soup, roux, etc. except for the crema/sour cream and almonds- very important additions!

You start the soup by sauteing the onion, celery, and garlic in butter.

Here's the soup after the broth has been added and the florets cooked until tender. Then blend away until smooth!

And here's the roux I made and added to thicken the soup- stir it in after you have pureed your soup.

Cream of Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup
-2 tablespoons butter
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 onion, chopped
-1 stalk celery, chopped
-3 cups broth of your choice (or water and bouillon, of course)
-8 cups broccoli and cauliflower florets
Sautee onion, celery, and garlic in butter on medium. Then add broth and florets and cook on medium until florets are tender. Use an immersion blender or regular blender to puree soup.
-3 tablespoons butter
-3 tablespoons flour
-2 cups milk
Melt the butter, then add the flour and whisk together. Let thicken slightly, but do not let burn. Add the milk and let thicken. Add to the pureed soup and stir well.
-3 tablespoons crema/sour cream
-salt and pepper to taste
-chopped toasted almonds for topping (optional)
Add your crema/sour cream and season to taste. Top with chopped almonds (optional).

The finished soup- and let me tell you it was delicious!!!

Savor it!
love, rue