Minestrone Soup

When I went out and bought the ingredients for this week's recipe, I was prepared to make "Zesty Minestrone." In fact, all of these ingredients for "Zesty Minestrone" were simple and the recipe less difficult and work intensive than the other 5 minestrone recipes I have in my computer. However, upon arriving home after work and preparing to make "Zesty Minestrone" I discovered that I had not really read the directions very well. You see, "Zesty Minestrone" requires 4 hours of cook time in the crock pot. It was 5:30pm. Dinner needed to be on the table in an hour, not four.

Needless to say, this recipe is not "Zesty Minestrone." It is actually the Olive Garden Minestrone. Or close to it. Since I had the ingredients for the "Zesty" recipe, my choices were kind of limited.

So here instead is the Copy Cat version of Olive Garden's tasty Minestrone Soup.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup minced white onions (about 1 small onion)
1/2 cup chopped zucchini I didn't have any... so it wasn't in my version
1/2 cup frozen cut italian green beans Same here... I substituted sugar snap peas. Close enough, right?
1/4 cup minced celery (about 1/2 stalk)
4 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
4 cups vegetable broth (*note: Do not use chicken broth!*)
2 (15 ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained
2 (15 ounce) cans small white beans or great northern beans, drained Nope, didn't have these either
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup carrots, julienned or shredded
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups hot water
4 cups fresh baby spinach The frozen stuff works just as well
1/2 cup small shell pasta


Directions:

Heat three tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.

Saute onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent.

Add vegetable broth to pot, plus drained tomatoes, beans, carrot, hot water, and spices.
Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until desired consistency.
Makes about eight 1 1/2 cup servings.

Verdict:

Good, but not as much taste as I expected. Not as good as Olive Garden. Close though. And this soup does taste better the next day re-heated.

Tomato Basalmic Soup

I'm not a huge soup fan (I really only like the soups that I can dip bread into!) but I gave this a try to appease my husband who has to put up with chicken every other night. This recipe looks a little strange on paper- it's soup that is baked and then blended. But the result is nice.

Ingredients:

1 cup less-sodium beef broth, divided
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
5 garlic cloves
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, drained
Cooking spray
¾ cup half-and-half
Cracked black pepper (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Combine ½ cup of broth, sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Place onion, garlic, and tomatoes in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Pour broth mixture over tomato mixture.Bake at 500 degrees for 50 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned.Place tomato mixture in a blender. Add remaining ½ cup broth and half-and-half, and process until smooth. Strain mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Garnish with cracked black pepper, if desired.

Verdict: This was good! Different method of making it, but it was certainly easy. Especially when you can use canned tomatoes. I admit that I skipped the whole seive thing after the first bowl though. The above picture demonstrates the difference. On the left, soup unstrainted. On the right, after it goes through the seive. It tastes the same either way, it's just personal preference if you like you soup smooth or slightly chunky.

Chicken Tequilla Fettuccine

I realize that I am behind on posting recipes again. I don't think I'm necessarily behind in trying out the new recipes, just posting them. So as a bonus you'll get two new recipes this year.

I really don't know who I am referring to when I say YOU. Does anyone actually read this insignificant little blog???


But that's a different matter. On to the recipe!
Ingredients:

1 (16 0z) package fettuccine
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 TBS minced garlic
2 TBS minced jalapeno pepper
3 TBS butter
½ cup chicken stock
3 TBS tequila
2 TBS fresh lime juice
3 TBS soy sauce
1 ¼ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed
¼ red onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
Directions:

In a medium sauce pan, sauté the cilantro, garlic and jalapeno pepper in 2 TBS of butter over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Add the stock, tequila and lime juice. Bring mixture to a boil and cook until reduced to a paste-like consistency. Set aside.

This smells SO GOOD. I was sold on the recipe right here.
Pour soy sauce over chicken and set aside 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium sized skillet, sauté the onion and peppers with the remaining TBS of butter, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook the fettuccine.

When the peppers have wilted, add the chicken and soy sauce. Toss and add the reserved tequila/lime paste and cream. Bring to a boil. Gently simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thick. Toss with well-drained fettuccine and garnish with cilantro. Serve.

The Verdict:

This recipe was wonderful. It was spicy, creamy, and had veggies (healthy?) Improvements to the recipe? I can't think of any.