Pasta and Bean Soup

When I was first contemplating on what to title this blog, I didn't realize the economy was going to tank as it did. Luckily, I haven't noticed a mass opening of soup kitchens in the recent months as they did during the great depression...thank goodness. I really entitled this KB's Soup Kitchen because, guess what, I love soup. I love everything about it. I love creating it. I love the aromas wafting through the house on a chilly dismal day. I love making a meal in one pot. I love parking my body on the couch in front of the TV with a big hot mug of fresh made soup. And, let's face it, it's a great way to stretch a buck.

Wednesday was a dark and drizzly day...perfect for soup. So I pulled out one of my Farm Journal cookbooks and started looking for soup recipes. This particular one reminded me of a country version of Pasta Y Fagioli. I made a few tweaks and these are the results. Let's just say it was all gone by the end of the day.

Ingredients

6 slices of bacon

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 cloves garlic minced, grated, or pressed

1 cup baby carrots sliced or chopped

1/2 cup white wine

2 1 lb. cans white beans undrained

1 1 lb. can diced tomatoes undrained

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/8 to 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

more chicken broth as needed

1 cup small pasta

Cut the bacon into very small pieces. Fry it up in a large pot (I like to use my Dutch oven for this). Remove to paper towel.

Add the onion, celery, and garlic to the bacon renderings. Saute over medium low heat for about 10 minutes, until very tender. Add the carrots to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Deglaze the pot with the wine. You can also use chicken broth if you prefer. Add the 1 cup of chicken broth, beans, tomatoes, herbs and spices. Heat to boiling, cover, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove about 2 cups of the soup and puree. Add back to the soup.

Add as much chicken broth as is necessary to cook the pasta. Add the pasta and simmer until the pasta is tender. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Notes: My hubby said this was the best soup I had ever made. My daughter who was here that day hit the pot 3 times. Next time I will double this. And you can certainly use dry beans for this...1 cup for this recipe. If I do say so myself, this was pretty darn good. Enjoy!

Three Bean and Brat Soup

This is just a filling, stick to your ribs, want it in the middle of winter, type of soup. Oh, did you know it was winter? Speaking of which it's SNOWING again! I know winter just got started, but that last go 'round was enough for 10 winters in this area. Sheeesh!

OK, back to soup. This not low carb, but it is full of fiber and protein and flavor. Really great in the dark dead of cold winter. I ate it without any bread or crackers, but my husband indulged in both. He's allowed. Either way, it is delectable.

Three Bean and Brat Soup

1 lb. dry navy beans
1 cup dry baby lima beans
1 cup dry red kidney beans
2 TBS. olive oil
2 TBS. butter
1 medium onion chopped
1 medium red and 1 medium green bell peppers chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 quart chicken broth
3 TBS. brown sugar (I use the Splenda blend)
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 29 oz. can or 2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
1 package brats (I use Johnsonville uncooked)
salt and pepper taste

In a large, at least 6 quart, pot prepare the beans either by an overnight soak or a quick soak. I prefer the quick soak, then rinsing the beans really well. It seems to reduce the gassiness. After the beans are soaked and rinsed, add enough liquid to cover the beans well. I use about half chicken broth and half water. Heat to boiling and reduce to simmer. While the beans are simmering, cook the brats and then cool while sauteing the onions, peppers and garlic in the the oil and butter. You can also substitute precooked brats, smoked sausage, kielbasa, or any turkey type sausage. The cooking police will not be there to check. After the sausage is cooled chop it into bite size pieces. Add the sausage, onions, peppers, garlic, brown sugar, and cloves to the beans. Heat to boiling, cover and simmer for an hour. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper, cover again and simmer for another 30 minutes or until the beans are tender. And there, you have a seriously yummy soup. I put all self control aside and had two bowls. Oh, and if you are like my hubby and I, this is way to much soup to eat at one time. So we freeze part of it for later. Great time saver for crazy days! Enjoy!

Black Bean Chicken Soup with Rice

November

In November's gusty gale
I will flop my flippy tail
And spout hot soup-I'll be a whale!
Spouting once, spouting twice
Spouting chicken soup with rice

Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak

I loved reading this poem to my kids when they were little. A fabulous way to teach children the months of the year. And since today was such a blustery day, I thought of chicken soup with rice, but, of course, with a twist. Maurice, I hope I did you proud.

Black Bean Chicken Soup with Rice

oil olive or canola

1 lb. large dice raw chicken (I used 1 package of boneless skinless chicken breasts from Costco.)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup chopped green or red pepper
3 cloves minced, grated or pressed garlic
4 cups chicken broth
2 cans black beans
1 cup whole kernel corn canned or frozen
1 cup brown rice
1 16 0z. jar salsa or 2 cups homemade salsa
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
2 TBS. white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup sour cream

Heat about 3 TBS. oil in a large soup pot. Brown the chunks of chicken. Remove from pot. Add the onion, garlic and peppers and cook until very tender. If needed add some more oil. Using about a quarter cup of the broth, deglaze the pot. Then dump back in the chicken, beans, corn, salsa, rice, the rest of the broth, the cumin, oregano, vinegar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, turn the heat to low and cook for about an hour. Add in the sour cream before serving. Top with some grated cheese and serve with either cornbread or fresh fried tortilla chips. This really is yummy on a cold blustery day.

I told you once, I told you twice
All seasons of the year are nice
For eating chicken soup with rice.

Enjoy!

Kris's Hot Damn No Ham Chili Chili

For about 10 years my second son was a vegetarian. During that period we both had to get a bit creative with cooking. I have to say that usually he was better than I was, although I didn't do badly. This was a chili recipe he came up with one day. I would like to say that he spent years developing it, but I think it actually occurred over the period of, say, one day. But it is the only one that I ever use. And it is awesome! I know I sound 14, but it is the only word I can think of to describe it. I have done some tweaking, but I will tell you what I did different after I give you his version.

The Ingredients

3 TBS. olive oil
1 large red onion chopped
2-4 jalapenos chopped, seeded for milder heat
8 tomatoes chopped
4 mushrooms chopped
8-10 cloves garlic minced
2 green bell peppers chopped
2 red bell peppers chopped
2 16 oz. cans black beans
2 16 oz. cans kidney beans
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 TBS. chili powder
2 TBS. cumin
1TBS. cinnamon
1/2 bar of chocolate...like a Hershey's bar
Any other spices like oregano, basil, red pepper flakes...anything you prefer

Heat oil in the bottom of a large pot. Saute all the veggies until tender. Add some salt to get the flavor going. Add in the beans with juice, the tomato sauce, the tomato paste and simmer for 15 or 20 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer at least 3 hours. Good chili has to age! (Just like the rest of us.) Check often for heat. You can always add more peppers and chili powder if you like to 4 alarm. You can add water if it gets to thick.

OK, here's what I did that was just a bit different. I added a pound of ground beef and half of the red and green peppers. And I had leftover roasted jalapeno and poblano peppers from the salsa verde from an earlier post, so I used those. I only used 3 tablespoons of chili powder...1 was chipotle chili powder and the other 2 were regular. And I only had 4 tomatoes so I also added a 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes. Other than those changes I did everything else the same. The chocolate and the cinnamon are key. Don't even think about leaving them out. As my son said...trust me on this one.

This really is a great versatile chili recipe. It really isn't important what type of beans you use. And you can control the heat to whatever your taste buds can handle. Add a batch of homemade cornbread and you really can't go wrong. We also like to add sour cream, grated cheese, and tortilla chips our individual servings. With fall approaching we will be definitely chowing down on this often. Enjoy!