cheesy sweet potato and corn chowder

Here's another quick & easy recipe for you; nothing glamorous or fancy here. Or we could call it cleaning out the cupboards? Ever make something, and on the first taste you think "holy crap this is so good" and then turn around dying to have someone around you to taste it and revel in your joy, but there is no one there? Yeah. That happened to me when I made this soup. Not a single human being near me to taste-test with me and say "OMG girl that soup!". Tempted to run out to the neighbors house (and yes they love when I come knocking) and have them taste-test, but there was snow on the ground and that meant I had to get out of slippers and pajamas, put real clothes on and go outside. Nah. Not happening.

So let me tell you this soup is amazing. I was blown away by how warm and comforting it tasted. The roasted sweet potatoes paired with corn and then mild cheddar cheese all in a nice hot creamy bath was a perfect pairing. This is now a staple in our house. And yes it freezes nicely. Very rich, so this is not diet food, but this is food that you make a ton of: freeze some for those nights when you feel like crap/had a bad day/want "feel good soup".

Hope you love as much as I do.

Cook notes:
Make sure to get your sweet potatoes nice and crisp; you need that texture in the soup. Those chicken bouillons really do make a difference, so try to use them. This soup freezes really well, just make sure to freeze it straight away after about 15 minutes of a cooldown. You might want to serve this in a sourdough, marble, rye bread bowl. That would be fabulous. Adding roasted or grilled chicken to this would be great too. Even chunks of lobster meat.

cheesy sweet potato & corn chowder
print recipe

3 – 4 large sweet potatoes, cut into 2 inch chunks and roasted
1 cup of chick stock
2 cans of creamed corn
8 ounces of cream cheese, room temp
½ cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup of half & half
1 – 2 TB chicken bouillon powder or you can use crushed bouillon cubes
1 & ½ cups of shredded Monterey jack cheese

This is a very thick, rich soup.
Peel and cut up sweet potatoes into 2 inch chunks. Throw them in a bowl and drizzle them with olive oil and salt & pepper. Transfer to a roasting pan and roast in 400 degree oven till nice and crisp. About 45 minutes?
In stockpot, mix the creamed corn with chicken stock, cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, half & half , and chicken bouillon till heated through. Keep warm over low heat till sweet potatoes are done. When potatoes are done throw them in the soup pot. Mix and taste test. See if it needs salt & pepper. When ready to serve turn up heat a bit and add in the shredded cheese. Serve nice and hot. This is great served in a bread bowl. Freezes great too.
Should serve 4.

buffalo chicken chili

So the last few weeks have been crazy busy for me not to say stressful. After having just left a horrible rental that had a horrible kitchen I was finally ready to start cooking in my new kitchen in my new home. Then BAM, the flu hits me like a Mac truck. Literally a week after getting settled into my new home I get the stomach flu, then I get the flu. And now, as I type this I am still sick, not as sick as before, but better. I've never been this sick before for this long. Whatever bug it was called it was morphing from stomach flu to flu flu to 'I-feel-better-now-oh-wait-no-you're-not-better-flu'. Strangest flu I've ever had. I thought it was the swine flu too, but it wasn't. It was so hard to just stay in bed and do nothing, I love to keep busy. And have you ever watched daytime TV? Awful. Thank goodness for Food Network. Did you know that Barefoot Contessa is on two times during the day? Yeah, so everyday, the highlight of my day was watching Ina at 1pm then again at 4pm. I just love when she says "isn't that fabulous?" I always say "oh heavens yes!".
It feels like it has been decades since I've baked or cooked anything. I've been eating a lot of toast, ginger ale, live active cultures, chopped ginger, saltines, and other granny-foods. I just want some damn chili already--I need hot chili to open up my sinuses!! Not really having the strength or patience for 'from scratch foods', I made a quick 'everything-in-the-cupboards-must-go chili'. Yeah, I know, it's really not from scratch. Shame! I know I know. It really was good though and I have valid excuses. So if ever there is a night or two when you are strapped for time, really don't want to cook because you are recovering from the flu and are craving buffalo chicken chili, well have I got just the perfect recipe for you!

Note: while having the flu I am walking, talking and breathing, but I still have the memory of a tsetse fly, so I think I got all the ingredients down, maybe not.

buffalo chicken chili w/ blue cheese drizzle
print recipe

Chili:
3-4 chicken breasts
Salt, pepper, and olive oil (rubbing on chicken to roast)
1 large red onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, crushed (I can't remember how much, enough to kill a cold)
½ finely chopped carrots
A couple tablespoons chili powder
1 TB ground cumin
2 jars of Newmans Own Garden Salsa (might need a bit more)
½ cup spicy bbq sauce
Couple big squirts of ketchup (fancy eh?)
1/4 cup or so of Coca Cola
Some chipotle peppers, diced
1-2 TB honey
1 cup black beans
1 cup red kidney beans
Some fresh lime juice
(add whatever you want, it's chili, it's easy & laidback)

Creamy blue cheese topping:
½ cup or so of creme fraiche (or sour cream)
¼ - ½ cup blue cheese dressing
Chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Bake in oven until done, about 25 – 30 minutes. Let cool, then chop into chunks, set aside.
In a large pot, pour in some olive oil, then heat up the red onions, carrots, whatever else veggie you want to use up. Sautee them a bit, then add in the garlic, the chili powder, cumin, chipotle peppers, Mix a bit, then add in the salsa, bbq sauce, ketchup, Coke, honey, all the beans, and the chopped cooked chicken. Heat mixture through and taste-test; see what else it needs. I added in some lime juice, salt & pepper, and some fresh lime juice.
If you want the blue cheese topping, just mix all the ingredients and let chill in fridge a bit before using. Serve with buttered toast or corn chips. Taste even better the next day.

thai noodle soup

Alright, it's time for winter to move along now. I'm tired of the snow, I'm tired of the cold. I need a second mortgage for my heating bill this year. Last year us New Englanders had a pretty rough winter and we all promised, rather comforted ourselves with the fact that we would be blessed with a warm, sunny spring and easy summer. Did that happen? No. We got a rainy cold spring and an even rainier (is this a word?) summer. So basically it feels as if we've been through one very lonnnnnnng double winter. I know the sales at our local tanning salons are up, way up. People are craving that heat and sun, myself included. My bones are just so cold this winter. Soups and tanning salons do help a lot to warm them up. So does a whirlpool tub, but I have to wait a while before I have the money to re-do my bathroom.
I stole this recipe from Kevin over at Closet Cooking. When I saw this I instantly knew it would warm up the bones. Plus this soup is filled with a a lot of healthy ingredients. Serve this baby hot and you will feel renewed! This is a terrific soup for cold ass freezing winter.
I made a few slight changes to the recipe.

thai chicken noodle soup
From closet cooking (makes 4-6 servings; served 3 in my house)

1/2 pound rice noodles
6 cups chicken stock (I used 5 cups)
1 pound chicken breast (cut into bit sized pieces)
1 carrot, sliced thinly on an angle (I used 2 carrots)
2 stalks lemongrass, peeled & chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced (couldn’t find these)
2 birds eye chilies, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 thumb sized piece galangal or ginger, grated
1/2 pound baby bok choy, separated
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, de-stemmed & sliced (I used 6 oz. as I LOVE these)
1/4 cup coconut milk (I used 1 cup)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (I used 3 TB)
1 lime, juice & zest
pepper to taste (I added salt too)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, sliced

Bring a pot of water to a boil and remove from heat.
Add the noodles, cover and let sit until cooked al dente, about 5-8 minutes.
Drain and rinse in cold water.
Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large pot.
Add the chicken, carrots, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, chillies, garlic, galangal and simmer until cooked, about 5-8 minutes.
Add the bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms and simmer until the bok choy just wilts, about 1-2 minutes.
Reduce the heat and mix in the coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice & zest, salt and pepper.
Taste and adjust the seasoning as required.
Remove from heat and mix in the noodles, cilantro and green onions

mushroom bisque w/ crispy shallots

Baby it's cold outside! Too early in the season to say that? But hear me out. I'm freeeezing! I'm not one of those fall-winter type of gals. I'm a summer-babe, I love my sun and love my heat. Well, I don't really like humidity, but I love the dry heat. I don't think I've ever met someone who loves the humidity, have you?
Our summer on Cape Cod was a very very short one. We did not get a spring, instead we got rain--pure rain for a month. Seriously it was a record rainfall and record sun-less days on the history books jotted down somewhere with those weather-fanatics. Our summer was only about a month long, then bam, right into fall. So, I did not get enough sun to warm my bones up enough for winter. You know I'm so looking at the caribbean right now...
Last week I jokingly told my friends that summer was officially over-- I had eaten my first bowl of Ramen.
Another first for this already chilly season is my famous mushroom bisque. It has all the good stuff in it, like booze, mushrooms, cream, and those irrestible little gems I love: crispy shallots. This will warm your bones and your blood, well depending on how much sherry you put in it.
If you have a home in the caribbean and aren't using it I'm here to help. Yes I am. I'm available to go check on it and make sure it's safe & sound. Or if you are there I can easily cook for you. LOL

mushroom bisque
print recipe

2 tb of evoo
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 cup portobello mushrooms, chopped large chunks
½ cup shiitake mushrooms, chopped large chunks
¾ cup cremini mushroom, chopped large chunks
¾ stick of butter, unsalted, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 can (14 oz) beef broth
¼ cup of AP flour
½ +/- cup of good quality dry sherry
1 quart of half & half
1 cup heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste

In a small bowl take the ¼ cup of flour and mix about 3-4 tb of the beef broth; whisk to make a nice slurry; set aside.
In a large stockpot, heat up the evoo, and saute the onions till translucent. Add in a few pinches of salt. Add in all the mushrooms, add in the chopped butter, and a few dashes of ground black pepper—scattering it about.
Let the mushrooms cook down a bit, about 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring mushrooms. Add in the dry sherry, let that cook down a bit, by bringing it to a boil. Add in the remaining beef broth, add in the half & half, the heavy cream, and then the slurry you previously made (of the flour & beef broth).
Turn up heat a bit and keep stirring. Ideally you want to bring this all to just a boil. Give it a taste and see if it needs any pepper. I doubt it will need salt.
Top with the crispy shallots.
Should make about 4 hearty bowlfulls. It freezes nicely too.

crispy shallots
semi-adapted from Barefoot Contessa

1 cup light olive oil
3 tb unsalted butter
5 to 6 shallots, sliced into medium-thin rings

Heat the oil and unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it reaches about 250 degrees F. Reduce the heat a bit then add the shallots. I did this in two batches. You really do not want to crowd the pan at all. The shallots will brown perfectly if they have plenty of room in the hot oil to swim and get happy. Cook until nice and brown. Make sure to stir the shallots once in a while to get all sides brown. Once down remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon, and drain, then place on paper towels. They should stay at room temp., don't put them in the fridge as they will go soft and lose all that nice crispiness.
Should make less than ½ cup.

cheesy chicken & veggie soup

Do you have a bunch of leftover chicken or turkey or even veggies you need to use up? Want to get your kids or hubby to eat more veggies? Want something nice and hot to warm your bones? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then do I have the answer for you....
Ha ha, don't I sound like a TV commercial, selling the latest and greatest chopping gadget for only $9.99?
But seriously, this cheesy soup is super easy to make, very versatile when adding any type of leftovers, and I swear your kids might just love it. If my over-the-moon fussy hubby eats it--veggies and all, then so will your fussy kids. The best part I love is you can add whatever veggies you have from the ice age in your freezer and chopped leftover chicken or turkey (never tried roast beef, but hey, I bet it might work too).
I was just frozen today, pretty much all day. No amount of hot tea was going to warm my cold bones up. I wanted a hearty, warms you to your bones, soup. This is it for me. Yeah, plus I had a bunch of leftover roasted chicken that I needed to use up too. Leftover potatoes would be wonderful in this too. See, just about anything can go in this cheesy soup.
This time around I added in leftover broccoli, corn and leftover roasted chicken. Wouldn't it be great to add this soup to a hollowed out bread to use as a bread bowl?

Cheesy Chicken & Veggie Soup

2 TB butter
2 TB of extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
2 cups cooked chicken breasts, grilled is even better
1 cup frozen peas, corn & carrots veggie mix, or whatever you crave
8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese
1 can (14.75oz) creamed corn
1 cup milk
2+ tsp. of chicken bouillon cube, chopped fine (add as much or as little)
Couple dashes of black pepper
1 cup of mozzarella cheese
Chopped fresh parsley as garnish, optional

Melt butter and olive oil in a saucepan and add onions. Slightly brown the onions.
Remove onions to plate. Then stir fry the chicken breast slices till fully cooked. (or you can grill the chicken, cut it up into cubes).
Add veggie mix, then add the cooked onions back in. Stir together, then add in the cream cheese, stir until the cheese is melted. Add in the creamed corn and milk; sprinkle in the chopped chicken bouillon. Stir well to mix and bring to just boiling, turn off heat, and stir in the mozzarella and some black pepper. Taste test to see if you need more chicken bouillon or salt. Serve with crusty, warm bread.

Serves 4 (depending on portion size)

Note: I like my soup very thick. If you don’t want it thick then add a couple dashes of water or more milk to thin it out. The next time I make this I will be adding chunks of cooked, cubed potato.

My Chicken Noodle "Stoup"

No typo in the title. I call my version of chicken soup "stoup". It's half soup half stew. See we like our chicken soup very thick around here. Full of veggies, chicken, and lots of noodles. Yes ma'am! I mean if you're going to have some soup then have some soup people! I'm sorry I don't really care for chicken soups that are all broth. What's the point there? Unless you had mouth surgery and can't chew then ok, but if you're going to have a bowl of soup then make it count, right? Hello?

It's 31 degrees outside right now. I could feel this colder weather coming on last night (no, I didn't watch the weather channel!), I could sense the colder weather coming and knew as I was falling asleep that I had to make my chicken noodle soup to warm my body and frozen fingers. You know how you can smell the rain coming or can smell the colder, drier air coming? Yeah, that's what I felt. Can I just say I hate winter? I used to love it, but now I hate it. Weren't we just in summer? What happened, where did it go? See us Cali girls do not like cold weather, we like warm, endless sun-filled days where the sky is always blue and brillant. :::sigh:::

This is another one of my recipes that is super easy to make, really fast homemade goodness. I had to sit down, think about what I put in this "stoup"and write it all out. Another one of those recipes that I make on the fly. So, I hope I got all the ingredients and instructions down for you, correctly.

Lots of fresh chopped veggies!

Dawn’s Chicken Noodle Soup

About 6 cups Organic Chicken Broth (2 boxes)
3 – 4 chicken breasts
1 ½ cups chopped carrots (thickly chopped, ½ inch)
1 ½ cups chopped celery (thickly chopped, ½ inch)
2 yellow or white onions, quartered
2 - 3 cups egg noodles, cooked, al dente
salt & pepper to taste
1 veggie or chicken organic boullion cube, chopped/crumbled
2 tb olive oil, plus more for rubbing chicken
a few pinches of fresh dill (add as much or as little as you like)

Take the chicken breasts, rinse under cool water place on paper towels to dry. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breast on cooking sheet. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil, salt & pepper the breasts. Take quartered onions and place on cooking sheet as well. Cook in oven about 30 minutes +/- depending on oven. Chicken should be cooked through.

Meanwhile, take 2 tb of olive oil and heat in large stock pot oven medium heat. Place carrots and celery in heated stockpot and sauté a bit, add in chopped up bouillon cube and a few pinches of dried dill or fresh dill, mix well; sauté for about 10 minutes
Add in chicken stock. Bring all to a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes.

When chicken is done cooking remove from oven and let cool a bit. Once cooled chop into cubes and add to chicken broth. Add in the chunks of onions as well; you can leave as is or you can chop the onion into small pieces.

Let all gently simmer another 5 – 10 minutes. You might want to taste the soup and see if it needs anymore salt or pepper. Once done, add in as much or as little egg noodles as desired.
Serve with warm crusty rolls.

Should serve about 4 -5, I think.

First we add a lot of noodles to the bowl.

Next add a lot of the chicken & veggies.

I like to just insert my roll right into the soup. No one's watching, go ahead.