Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

Winter has been making one last effort (or at least I hope it's the last effort) to maintain a hold on the weather around here. It's been cold and windy and not quite sunny. In other words, it's still perfect soup weather. I decided to adapt another Pinterest recipe that I found. It was a copycat version of Olive Garden's chicken and gnocchi soup, which I really enjoy. I upped the amount of gnocchi in the recipe to make it more of a meal, but if you're serving it as an actual soup course, feel free to cut it back down to just 16 ounces. Justin wasn't a huge fan of this soup--he said it tasted canned, which is really bizarre since everything is made from fresh ingredients. Only the gnocchi came in any sort of a package, and I seriously doubt that would give it a canned flavor. I think he's just weird. I loved this soup and since Justin apparently doesn't want to have it for dinner again, I will definitely make it again for lunch sometime.

Mushroom Soup

Mushrooms are another one of those things that I really love but that Justin could really live without. He'll eat them in various recipes if they're chopped up pretty small, but he definitely doesn't want to eat soup based entirely around them. I knew that this was something I wanted to make while he's out of town, and I was not disappointed.

I've only tried making mushroom soup once before, and I didn't love it. It wasn't creamy enough or mushroom-y enough for me. This one was much better. It would make a good first course, but I just ate it as dinner along with some crusty bread. I still think it would be even better with a few additions; my favorite mushroom soup ever was one we had at the coffee shop where I worked which was made with brie and madeira wine, so I think next time I'll try adding those and see how it comes out. However, if you just want a basic, tasty, creamy mushroom soup recipe, this is it.

Lasagna Soup

Sorry for the lack of posts again lately. I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month, and trying to write 50,000 words in 30 days is surprisingly time-consuming. With Thanksgiving coming up, too, I wouldn't expect too many posts in the next couple weeks if I were you. That being said, let's get on with it.

I'd like to introduce you to one of my new favorite soups. It's really easy to make, and it tastes delicious. I expected to enjoy this recipe, but I didn't expect to love it quite as much as I do. Justin decided as we were eating the leftovers that it kind of tastes like the adult version of spaghetti-o's, which is probably why I'm in love with it. Spaghetti-o's are one of my inner child's ultimate favorite foods--yes they're terrible for you, I know, but I really don't care. If you're not a fan of canned pasta, however, don't be scared into not trying this recipe. It's really nothing like spaghetti-o's; Justin just thought that the sauce in particular reminded him of it a bit, but in a good way, I swear. Give it a try, and see what you think!

Sausage and Tortellini Soup

It's getting colder outside, so you can expect to start seeing a lot more soup recipes on here. I love soup because it warms you up but also because it tends to be fairly low in calories, as long as you're not making anything that's heavy on the cream. This soup has a wonderful combination of Italian flavors, so it makes a nice alternative to a heavy, pasta dinner. Try it out next time you're craving spaghetti. For an even lighter version, use Italian-style chicken or turkey sausage instead of pork.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

One of my favorite smells in the whole world is the scent of a dark roux cooking. Nothing else can transport me back to my childhood so easily. A lot of my favorite recipes (Cajun and otherwise) start with a roux, but a roux this dark, aromatic, and flavorful can only mean one thing--gumbo.

If you haven't actually had gumbo before, it's kind of like a stew. Generally it's served over rice, though some people prefer potato salad. You make it with some sort of stock and add in various meats and vegetables. My favorite combo is chicken and sausage, but seafood gumbo is also delicious. The most important ingredients though are the ones you use to thicken the gumbo. You can use filé, okra, or a roux as your thickener, and each one provides a different overall flavor. My favorite is gumbo made with a roux, but to each his own. (I do like to sprinkle some filé, which consists of ground sassafras leaves, over my gumbo anyway though because I like the earthy flavor that it has.)

Red Pepper & Gouda Soup

I'm going to start by letting you know that this soup is dangerous. I know, you think I'm going to say, "It's dangerously good." While that is true, that's not what I was going to say. I actually injured myself making this soup. It starts out with eight red bell peppers, and by the time that I finished dicing up all of them, I had a blister on my hand. I told you, it's dangerous. Be warned.

That being said, it was totally worth it because this soup really is delicious. It doesn't have complicated, multi-layered flavors all working in harmony to produce an excellent overall flavor; the taste is simple and straight forward, and sometimes that's all you really need. You can taste the red peppers. You can taste the gouda. What else do you need?

Chicken & Dumplings

The weather has finally cooled off enough here in Virginia for me to start making soup. I love soup. I could almost eat soup every night and not get tired of it--there are just so many wonderful options!

I have this Paul Prudhomme cookbook (If you don't know Paul Prudhomme, you should check him out; he's one of the quintessential Cajun cooking authorities.) that has a recipe for Creole chicken and dumplings. Justin and I like the idea of it, so we thought we'd make our own version. I started with Prudhomme's recipe which has you begin by frying the chicken, which gives it great flavor and texture. I've never had fried chicken in a soup before, but I really enjoyed it. From there, I adapted my usual chicken and dumpling recipe, and altogether it morphed into what you see here. It was really delicious, and Justin and I are both looking forward to making this again soon.

Creamy Mexican Gumbo

I'm using the term "gumbo" lightly here. The only thing gumbo-y (that's a word, right?) about this is that it's a soup made with a basic roux served over some rice. Other than that, this really resembles gumbo not at all, but I didn't know what else to call it. Basically it's poblano cheese soup poured over ground sausage and rice, but that doesn't sound nearly as catchy.