Tuscan Tortellini Soup

So I have been traveling a lot for work and we are very much in the holiday season, so life is busy!  With that, you eat more deserts, you go out to eat more due to the lack of time, and home cooked meals get forgotten.  This week, we decided we would try a couple new meals, so that we make sure we have time to sit down and eat dinner and enjoy some time together.  It may not be cold out, but I can use any excuse to make a good soup.  Since it is December now, why not make soup and pretend it is winter!  So, we tried a new soup, that is quite healthy and amazing!  It is hardy so you don't have to make anything with it, except maybe some rolls.  This is really one of my favorite new meals in a while and it is healthy, so enjoy!

Tuscan Tortellini Soup
 

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs. Italian chicken sausage
• ½ red onion, chopped
• ½ yellow onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 4-6 cups kale, roughly chopped
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 box package of cheese tortellini
• 1 cup + more for topping parmesan or asiago cheese, grated
• Salt & white pepper to taste

Directions

In a heavy-bottomed pot,  heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and Italian chicken sausage. Once completely cooked, drain and set aside. Then in the same pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add onions and garlic and cook until tender. Once onions and garlic are caramelized, add crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, browned ground sausage & kale. 

Bring to a boil- stirring frequently, add pepper and salt to taste.  Continue to boil 5-10 minutes to allow flavors to merge. Add cheese tortellini and cook until al dente (read package for time). Add milk  and parmesan cheese. Simmer for a few more minutes.

Remove from heat & serve. 

Healthy Italian Wedding Soup

We all know that with the weather getting colder, it is finally soup weather again.  Soup is one of my favorite things to make!  It is so comforting in the fall and winter, and normally quick to make!  I had wanted to make Italian Wedding Soup for quite some time, but as you all know, dinner time for us is healthy for the most part.  I traveled quite a lot the past couple months, so with a week from home, I definitely wanted to make some soup.

This soup turned out absolutely amazing.  It is so quick to make, and was so healthy.  The meatballs take the longest to make, but can be made before hand if you need to.  Because I do not like beans, that was skipped on our end, but most recopies call for beans!  It is such a hardy soup that you really don't need to make anything else with it.  It will fill you up more than you think!  It makes about 6 servings, depending on how much you eat, but it is easy to make it a larger or smaller batch.  So, here we go!

Italian Wedding Soup

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

Soup ingredients:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 large carrots, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
8 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
6oz baby spinach, chopped
1 1/2 cups pearl couscous (found near the rice in grocery stores) or small pasta


Meatball ingredients:
1lb ground turkey
2 tbsp milk
1 egg
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic pepper pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1. In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat olive oil. Add carrots and onions; saute for 5-8 minutes or until softened. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes more.
2. Add wine; cook down for 2 minutes. Add broth, heat to slow boil.
3. Add zucchini, seasonings, pasta/couscous, and meatballs. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until your pasta is tender.
4. Add chopped spinach, stir through until wilted, about 2-4 minutes.
5. Serve - some people prefer to add cheese on top, fresh Parmesan is the norm!

Meatballs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with a SilPat or regular foil and coat with non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients well. Using a rounded 1 tbsp measuring spoon or small melon baller, scoop out meat; shape into small balls. Makes roughly 100  meatballs, depending on how small you make them.
3. Place meatballs on baking sheet, making sure they don’t touch. Bake for 10 minutes.

Recipe adapted from here

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

It has been quite some time since I have been home for a full week, so needless to say, I am excited to try some new recipes this week because I have a FULL week at home!!!  It is getting to be spring time but I love making soup, so I took advantage of a colder day today and found a new soup recipe to make.  I got an immersion blender off of our wedding registry during a wedding shower but had not found the opportunity to use it.  I was incredibly excited to put it to use for a very healthy soup recipe!  We have been trying to eat healthy since we are just 40 days away from the wedding, so hopefully you see a trend of helthy(ish) eating!  A change that I will make in the future now that I know the taste is adding shrimp or a mussel type seafood.  I think it will compliment the flavor very well! Enjoy!!!

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper and Cauliflower Soup with Goat Cheese

Ingredients

• 4 red bell pepper, cut in half and seeds removed
• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes (do not overdo because a little goes a long way!)
• 32 oz. chicken broth
• 8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Place the red peppers on a baking sheet with the cut side facing down, broil until the skins are blackened, about 10 minutes, place in a sealable container (i.e. Tupperware) and let 'steam' for 20 minutes before pinching the skins off and dicing.  If all of the skin does not come off do not fret!  It will still make a very smooth soup.
2. Meanwhile, toss the cauliflower in the oil, place it in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated 400F oven until tender and caramelized, about 30 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook the onion until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
5. Add the roasted red peppers, cauliflower, broth, and goat cheese and simmer for 10 minutes before pureeing to the desired consistency with a hand blender.  I make it a very creamy consistency because I do not like chunky textures!
6. Season with salt and pepper (I did not add any because the flavor was already great) and serve garnished with goat cheese.

Recipe and Image changed slightly from here

 

Lentil and Sausage Soup

It has been a fairly cold winter here in Atlanta, but I have been traveling a lot to warmer areas, so after not traveling for a couple weeks, I thought it would be great to try out a new soup recipe.  After making so many baked goods for coworkers and friends, we tried to make sure we were eating healthy.  Here is a soup recipe that was absolutely amazing and we will definitely be making it again.  It is simple to add any veggies you would like (i.e. peas, kale, etc) and switching up sausage flavors.  We went to the Dekalb Farmers Market this weekend and if you haven't been there, they have the largest meat area ever.  There they have all different sorts of sausage, so we actually bought Spinach, Feta, and Sun Dried Tomato Turkey sausage for the soup and it was absolutely amazing.  We cannot wait to try other variations of the soup, but here is the recipe I used this time.

Lentil and Sausage Soup

Serves 8 - 10

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound of carrots, sliced

1 large onion, diced

4 large cloves garlic, minced

14 oz (8 sausage) or any type of Turkey Sausage/kielbasi

2 1/2 cups brown lentils

32 ounce box of  chicken broth (I use low sodium)

32 ounce box of  vegetable broth (I use low sodium)

2 - 14 1/2 ounce cans of diced tomatoes

pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan (5 quart or larger) over medium heat.  Add the carrots, onion, and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 8 minutes.

Add the kielbasa, lentils, and broth; bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils* and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, salt and ground pepper.  Simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes longer.  I personally like to let the soup simmer for a longer period, so all the flavors have time to meld together nicely, but this is not necessary.

Recipe adapted from Here

Greek Lemon and Orzo Soup

It's finally getting cold out in Atlanta, and soup is one of my favorite things to make.  I love making soup because it is a lighter meal but always so soothing.  The recipe below is a Rachael Ray recipe that I modified to be a bit more filling.  I tend to make soup as a main dish so I always want some sort of protein to be involved.  Below is an absolutely amazing soup recipe that is light, healthy, and very easy to make! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!


 Greek Lemon and Orzo Soup

Ingredients

• 8 cups chicken broth (64 ounces)
• One 2-inch strip lemon peel and juice of 1 large lemon
• 1 bay leaf
• A pinch of mustard powder
• 1/2 lbs chicken, diced
• 1/2 cup orzo
• 2 large eggs plus 3 large yolks
• 2 drops hot sauce
• A couple generous handfuls of flat leaf parsley, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Pita chips (any flavor), for serving,  I use Stacy Simply Naked chips because the soup already has so much flavor

Preparation

In a soup pot, bring the broth, lemon peel, bay leaf, diced chicken, and saffron to a boil. Stir in the orzo and boil for 5 minutes. Cover, remove the pan from the heat and let the orzo steep for 5 minutes. Discard the lemon peel and bay leaf.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolks, lemon juice and hot sauce. Whisk in 1/2 cup soup to temper the eggs, then whisk the egg mixture into the soup. Cook on low heat, whisking, for 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley; season with salt and pepper. Serve with pita chips.

Fall - Soup Weather

So, it is finally feeling a bit like fall here in Atlanta, and although it still warms up during the day, I decided it was still cool enough to make soup!  I absolutely love soup but had a lot of work to do so I didn't have time for anything too complicated this week.  Avocados have been my latest obsession for quite some time, so I was incredibly amazing!  It is such a quick and easy meal and its super healthy so you couldn't ask for more!  So, here we go!

Chicken Avocado Soup

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts

3 teaspoons olive oil, divided

salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups green onions chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tomato, diced

3 - 14.5oz cans chicken broth

1/8 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

2 avocados, diced

1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

lime wedges

Instructions

1. Take half of the chicken broth and boil the chicken breasts, diced in the chicken broth.  Allow it too cook then shred or keep diced.
2. In a dutch oven or equivalent, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over medium heat until hot.
3. Add the 1 cup chopped green onions and minced garlic to pot; Sauté about 2 minutes.
4. Add diced tomato; Sauté 1 minute, until soft.
5. Add remaining chicken broth, chicken and broth mixture, cumin, and salt to pot.
6. Stir well and bring to a boil.
7. Cover pot and simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes.
Layering in separate bowls; Fill each bowl with shredded chicken, diced avocado, chopped green onions (from the remaining 1/2 cup), and cilantro. Next, ladle the chicken broth onto the layered chicken in each bowl. Serve each bowl with a lime wedge.

Recipe adapted from this link (Mama Miss)