Just like a previous post on "Roasted Costco Chicken" Soup, when I made chicken broth from boiling the carcass and vegetable scraps, I have completed that process with the Thanksgiving Turkey. So for $10.00 we got 3 meals for 6 people and soup to come.
The carcass and scraps produced about 18 cups of broth, so I foresee many warm meals! After straining the broth twice, I placed the containers in the refrigerator for cooling. Then I scraped off any remaining fat that hardened at the top of the broth and placed the broth in the freezer for use later.I've decided to look to my New Orleans, Louisiana heritage for the first recipe I use the broth for. That will be none other than Southern Turkey Gumbo.It is so delicious, stay posted for instructions.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Preparing for Thanksgiving
I'm a baby when it comes to preparing big meals. Like Michael Chiarello on Easy Entertaining, I take the meal and divide the duties between days. Yesterday I shopped for any remaining ingredients that I hadn't purchased yet. I also put the turkey overnight in a brine in a heavily iced cooler. Today was the day to prep everything and make pumpkin pies. The prep included many vegetable and herb discards which I placed in a bag into the fridge for boiling with the turkey carcass. My stuffing is mixed,the turkey is baking, and the pies are in the fridge waiting for the big meal. When the turkey comes out of the oven I will let it cool and then refrigerate it. I like to roast it the day before so on Thanksgiving I can concentrate on the gravy and side dishes. I'm actually bummed because my largest refrigerator isn't keeping the right temperature. Usually it is a perfect 35 degrees Fahrenheit. Today it is 52! I have to use ice chests instead. The largest fridge is the garage; I set up a card table in the garage every year and place all my pies and extra food on it. Can't do it this year!
Don't forget to save all your vegetable garbage for the making of your turkey broth!
Don't forget to save all your vegetable garbage for the making of your turkey broth!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
“Costco Roasted Chicken” Soup
Ok, you had one of those amazing roasted chickens from Costco for dinner. It served 4 people, but there’s not enough left for another meal. What do you do? Create a soup of course! By looking at the vegetables, herbs and spices you have on hand you can determine the type of soup you can make. Get all the ingredients out and immediately begin getting all the remaining meat off the bone. After doing that you just have carcass and skin left. Grab a large pot and put the remaining carcass and skin into the pot. Fill it with water and place it on the stove on high.
The vegetables I decided to use were:
3 potatoes, ½ red pepper, 1 medium onion, 5 cloves of garlic, 4 stalks of celery, and 3 small carrots.
I wanted to eat soon, so I got out another soup pot and placed it on the burner. I put a little canola oil in the bottom and warmed it up.
After dicing all the fresh ingredients, I turned up the oil to medium. I sautéed the onion, then added the garlic and the rest as they were ready.
With a bowl on the side for vegetable garbage, I began cutting the vegetables. All discards went into the bowl.
While I was dicing, 2 quarts of previously frozen chicken broth was thawing in the microwave. One had lots of chicken meat in it from a previously devoured “Costco Roasted Chicken”.
After about 10 minutes of sautéing the vegetables I added the chicken that I had picked off the bone and the 2 quarts of broth. Immediately I realized it looked like a stew instead of a soup, so I added 3 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of organic “Better than Bouillon” chicken base. That too was a Costco purchase.
http://www.superiortouch.com/retail/products/better-than-bouillon
I also added 3 Tablespoons of minced fresh parsley, 6 twists of ground black pepper and a pinch of kosher salt. When I purchase or grow a fresh herb, often I prepare it for a recipe and freeze what I don’t use for the winter when it isn’t readily available in my garden. The parsley was in a bag in my freezer.
After simmering for 20 minutes we ate the soup! The leftovers I placed in quart containers and brought to a sick loved one.
What about the simmering carcass? No, I didn't forget it. I placed all vegetable discards in the pot as well as 4 cloves of garlic smashed with peel on. After 3 hours I let it cool, strained it, then put the broth in the fridge for my next soup concoction. While draining the carcass additional meat appeared which went right into the broth. The bowl of broth will sit tonight in the fridge where the fat rises. I will skim of the hardened fat in the morning and it will be ready to put in quart freezer containers.
“Costco Roasted Chicken” Soup
3 Cups cooked diced chicken
2 quarts chicken broth
6 Cups diced and sautéed vegetables of your choice
Minced parsley
Pepper and salt to taste
Cook until vegetables are the consistency that you like and enjoy!
Great with roasted garlic artisan bread!
Leftovers can be frozen for lunch at another date or eaten the next day.
The vegetables I decided to use were:
3 potatoes, ½ red pepper, 1 medium onion, 5 cloves of garlic, 4 stalks of celery, and 3 small carrots.
I wanted to eat soon, so I got out another soup pot and placed it on the burner. I put a little canola oil in the bottom and warmed it up.
After dicing all the fresh ingredients, I turned up the oil to medium. I sautéed the onion, then added the garlic and the rest as they were ready.
With a bowl on the side for vegetable garbage, I began cutting the vegetables. All discards went into the bowl.
While I was dicing, 2 quarts of previously frozen chicken broth was thawing in the microwave. One had lots of chicken meat in it from a previously devoured “Costco Roasted Chicken”.
After about 10 minutes of sautéing the vegetables I added the chicken that I had picked off the bone and the 2 quarts of broth. Immediately I realized it looked like a stew instead of a soup, so I added 3 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of organic “Better than Bouillon” chicken base. That too was a Costco purchase.
http://www.superiortouch.com/retail/products/better-than-bouillon
I also added 3 Tablespoons of minced fresh parsley, 6 twists of ground black pepper and a pinch of kosher salt. When I purchase or grow a fresh herb, often I prepare it for a recipe and freeze what I don’t use for the winter when it isn’t readily available in my garden. The parsley was in a bag in my freezer.
After simmering for 20 minutes we ate the soup! The leftovers I placed in quart containers and brought to a sick loved one.
What about the simmering carcass? No, I didn't forget it. I placed all vegetable discards in the pot as well as 4 cloves of garlic smashed with peel on. After 3 hours I let it cool, strained it, then put the broth in the fridge for my next soup concoction. While draining the carcass additional meat appeared which went right into the broth. The bowl of broth will sit tonight in the fridge where the fat rises. I will skim of the hardened fat in the morning and it will be ready to put in quart freezer containers.
“Costco Roasted Chicken” Soup
3 Cups cooked diced chicken
2 quarts chicken broth
6 Cups diced and sautéed vegetables of your choice
Minced parsley
Pepper and salt to taste
Cook until vegetables are the consistency that you like and enjoy!
Great with roasted garlic artisan bread!
Leftovers can be frozen for lunch at another date or eaten the next day.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Fennel: You too can use it!
The colors, sounds and smells are energizing when strolling down the shops in the Pike Street Market in Seattle, Washington. The vegetables, which are meticulously arranged in the public market, are awaiting to be a part of your next soup. After purchasing some fruit for a snack and herbs for our big Turkey dinner next week, I commented on how beautiful the fennel was. It was only $1.99 for the bulb! After bagging up my purchase the employee handed me the bag and asked what I use fennel for. I promised her one of my favorite recipes and here it is! If you are a part of the Seattle Soup Swap, go on down to the market and purchase these fresh vegies!
Crock Pot Chicken and Vegetable Tortellini Stew (bag)
2 lbs raw chicken (brown or white), sliced in bite sizes
3 C drained, rinsed garbanzo beans
1 ½ C frozen carrots, sliced diagonally, or matchsticks
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ C fennel bulb, chopped
1 ½ C onion chopped
1½ C baby spinach leaves packed
3 T fresh basil leaves chopped
½ t ground pepper
1 48 oz. can chicken broth
1 C water (extra liquid for cooking tortellini in pot)
1 C dried tortellini
Place everything except the tortellini in the Crock Pot.
Put on low for 6-8 hours.
30 minutes before eating add the tortellini, or cook tortellini separately and add at end in soup bowls.If cooking the tortellini separately, omit the 1 C of water in the Crock Pot.
Garnish with fresh Parmesan cheese
Crock Pot Chicken and Vegetable Tortellini Stew (bag)
2 lbs raw chicken (brown or white), sliced in bite sizes
3 C drained, rinsed garbanzo beans
1 ½ C frozen carrots, sliced diagonally, or matchsticks
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ C fennel bulb, chopped
1 ½ C onion chopped
1½ C baby spinach leaves packed
3 T fresh basil leaves chopped
½ t ground pepper
1 48 oz. can chicken broth
1 C water (extra liquid for cooking tortellini in pot)
1 C dried tortellini
Place everything except the tortellini in the Crock Pot.
Put on low for 6-8 hours.
30 minutes before eating add the tortellini, or cook tortellini separately and add at end in soup bowls.If cooking the tortellini separately, omit the 1 C of water in the Crock Pot.
Garnish with fresh Parmesan cheese
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Turkey Time!
As Thanksgiving Day is approaching in the United States of America, I am already thinking about turkey bones. Why turkey bones? The bones are some of the great benefits of cooking the whole bird. The turkey bones are left when the meat is all picked off. When boiled, they create some of the best turkey broth ever. Why create great broth? Turkey soup of course!
Planning is crucial during preparation of the great turkey feast to ensure great broth to follow. When preparing your turkey and stuffing, many vegetables and herbs are used. All these have compostable waste. I will give you many examples:
carrot tops and bottoms or skins
onion skins and tough first layers
garlic skins and small cloves unworthy of using
celery tops and bottoms and leaves
herb stems and leftovers
sweet colored (green, red, yellow, orange) pepper tops
other vegetable discards depending on what you serve for Thanksgiving Dinner
Key to great turkey broth: save all these discards in the fridge.
A day or two after Thanksgiving Dinner when the meat has all been picked from the bone, it's time to make the broth. I like to do it on a day when I'll be home; usually before the weekend is over.(If you don't have time, throw it all in a freezer bag to do when you are home.) Get a large stock pot and place all the bones and whatever meat is still left on them, and all the vegetable discards into it. Cover it with water to a couple inches below the top of the pot. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil, then reduce to simmer with the lid askew so that the liquid will boil down. I usually leave it like that for a few hours, or until the broth is a nice caramel color. When I take it off the stove to cool,I usually transfer the liquid into another pot by straining it with a fine mesh colander. When the boiled bones and vegetable discards have dripped most of the liquid into the cold pan, I discard all the solid contents. To do this, I place it in a bag, tie a knot at the end, and place it in the freezer. The knot at the end indicates to me that it needs to go into the garbage on garbage day. At this time of year in Spokane, my garage is usually the temperature of the refrigerator. I have a thermometer in the garage. If it is 35-37 degrees F. I place the covered broth into the garage on the cold cement floor overnight. That lets it cool down and allows the fat to rise to the surface. The next day I skim the hardened fat from the top of the pot and discard it. The lean broth is left for soup! Any broth that I am not going to use right away I put into quart freezer containers, label it, then place in my freezer. If there was any meat left over I usually freeze it in the broth quarts and label it "turkey broth with 1/2 Cup meat".
If you use this knowledge you can make tasty broth of any kind. The possibilities are endless; you can made Vegan broth, fish broth, chicken broth, seafood broth, pork broth, boiled dinner broth and more. Don't ever throw away the water you boil anything in...just add more vegetable discards and you've got a flavorful broth for you next soup or rice dish.
I hope you are prepared for Thanksgiving Dinner and think about creating Turkey Soup with what you might otherwise throw away. I will put some recipes on for soup using this broth later. Any questions or comments? Give me some great recipes!
Planning is crucial during preparation of the great turkey feast to ensure great broth to follow. When preparing your turkey and stuffing, many vegetables and herbs are used. All these have compostable waste. I will give you many examples:
carrot tops and bottoms or skins
onion skins and tough first layers
garlic skins and small cloves unworthy of using
celery tops and bottoms and leaves
herb stems and leftovers
sweet colored (green, red, yellow, orange) pepper tops
other vegetable discards depending on what you serve for Thanksgiving Dinner
Key to great turkey broth: save all these discards in the fridge.
A day or two after Thanksgiving Dinner when the meat has all been picked from the bone, it's time to make the broth. I like to do it on a day when I'll be home; usually before the weekend is over.(If you don't have time, throw it all in a freezer bag to do when you are home.) Get a large stock pot and place all the bones and whatever meat is still left on them, and all the vegetable discards into it. Cover it with water to a couple inches below the top of the pot. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil, then reduce to simmer with the lid askew so that the liquid will boil down. I usually leave it like that for a few hours, or until the broth is a nice caramel color. When I take it off the stove to cool,I usually transfer the liquid into another pot by straining it with a fine mesh colander. When the boiled bones and vegetable discards have dripped most of the liquid into the cold pan, I discard all the solid contents. To do this, I place it in a bag, tie a knot at the end, and place it in the freezer. The knot at the end indicates to me that it needs to go into the garbage on garbage day. At this time of year in Spokane, my garage is usually the temperature of the refrigerator. I have a thermometer in the garage. If it is 35-37 degrees F. I place the covered broth into the garage on the cold cement floor overnight. That lets it cool down and allows the fat to rise to the surface. The next day I skim the hardened fat from the top of the pot and discard it. The lean broth is left for soup! Any broth that I am not going to use right away I put into quart freezer containers, label it, then place in my freezer. If there was any meat left over I usually freeze it in the broth quarts and label it "turkey broth with 1/2 Cup meat".
If you use this knowledge you can make tasty broth of any kind. The possibilities are endless; you can made Vegan broth, fish broth, chicken broth, seafood broth, pork broth, boiled dinner broth and more. Don't ever throw away the water you boil anything in...just add more vegetable discards and you've got a flavorful broth for you next soup or rice dish.
I hope you are prepared for Thanksgiving Dinner and think about creating Turkey Soup with what you might otherwise throw away. I will put some recipes on for soup using this broth later. Any questions or comments? Give me some great recipes!
Monday, November 14, 2011
When in the mood for the Orient
I can't claim this dish to be of a certain origin, but it is a combination of different recipes to create a soup with ingredients I already had on hand. The meatballs were premade and in the freezer from a Cookday that I do every 6-8 weeks. All I really had to do was get those and some broth out of the freezer (homemade) and away there it was! I also made some fresh spring rolls. Let me know if you want the recipe, they turned out fantastic!
Glass Noodle Meatball Soup
10-12 meatballs, 1 inch when baked
8 C broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 T Fish Sauce
1 t soy sauce
Dash ginger
6 oz vermicelli noodles, broken up into 2 inch pieces
4 green onions, diced small
2 C shredded bok choy cabbage
Meatballs:
1 lb ground beef
1/3 cup minced onion
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 t minced parsley
1/2 t salt
<1/8 t black pepper
1 egg
Make meatballs with a mix of any ground meat.
You can drop this into the boiling broth and cook thoroughly or bake separately and drop into the broth later. I prefer the later as the broth is clearer when meat is cooked separately.
When broth and liquids have boiled and meat is cooked, add noodles and vegetables.
Soup will be done in 6 minutes when noodles are clear and soft.
Glass Noodle Meatball Soup
10-12 meatballs, 1 inch when baked
8 C broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 T Fish Sauce
1 t soy sauce
Dash ginger
6 oz vermicelli noodles, broken up into 2 inch pieces
4 green onions, diced small
2 C shredded bok choy cabbage
Meatballs:
1 lb ground beef
1/3 cup minced onion
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 t minced parsley
1/2 t salt
<1/8 t black pepper
1 egg
Make meatballs with a mix of any ground meat.
You can drop this into the boiling broth and cook thoroughly or bake separately and drop into the broth later. I prefer the later as the broth is clearer when meat is cooked separately.
When broth and liquids have boiled and meat is cooked, add noodles and vegetables.
Soup will be done in 6 minutes when noodles are clear and soft.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wow it's Time!
....for the winter staples. I went to the store and found that the summer produce is gone and the winter produce has taken over. The squash soup is great, but variety is the spice of life! Try this for a side dish or inexpensive lunch or dinner.This recipe freezes well for later menus. I usually purchase the Garam Masala at World Market, but if you are adventurous, try the recipe below the soup recipe to prepare this Indian staple. Let me know how it goes.
Cream of Broccoli Soup
1 ounce butter
1 onions, finely sliced
1 carrots, finely sliced
1 stalk celery, finely sliced
1 -2 head broccoli
4 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup milk or 1 can evaporated milk
1 t garam masala
salt and pepper as desired
Directions:
Melt butter in saucepan, add onion, carrot and celery.
Saute gently until soft, about 4 minutes.
Trim the woody ends of the stalk and peel.
Roughly cut up heads and remaining stalk.
Add broccoli to pan with chicken stock, milk.
Season with spices.
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 25 minutes.
When broccoli is tender, transfer vegies to a blender or use immersion blender.
Blend on high until all ingredients are smooth.
Return mixture to saucepan.
Heat until lightly boiling and thickened.
Garam Masala
4 tbsps coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 ½ tsps black cumin seeds (shahjeera)
1 ½ tsps dry ginger
¾ tsp black cardamom (3-4 large pods approx)
¾ tsp cloves
¾ tsp cinnamon (2 X 1” pieces)
¾ tsp crushed bay leaves
Preparation:
Heat a heavy skillet on a medium flame and gently roast all ingredients (leave cardamom in its pods till later) except the dry ginger, till they turn a few shades darker. Stir occasionally. Do not be tempted to speed up the process by turning up the heat as the spices will burn on the outside and remain raw on the inside.
When the spices are roasted turn off the heat and allow them to cool.
Once cooled, remove the cardamom seeds from their skins and mix them back with all the other roasted spices.
Grind them all together, to a fine powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder.
Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place.
Cream of Broccoli Soup
1 ounce butter
1 onions, finely sliced
1 carrots, finely sliced
1 stalk celery, finely sliced
1 -2 head broccoli
4 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup milk or 1 can evaporated milk
1 t garam masala
salt and pepper as desired
Directions:
Melt butter in saucepan, add onion, carrot and celery.
Saute gently until soft, about 4 minutes.
Trim the woody ends of the stalk and peel.
Roughly cut up heads and remaining stalk.
Add broccoli to pan with chicken stock, milk.
Season with spices.
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 25 minutes.
When broccoli is tender, transfer vegies to a blender or use immersion blender.
Blend on high until all ingredients are smooth.
Return mixture to saucepan.
Heat until lightly boiling and thickened.
Garam Masala
4 tbsps coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 ½ tsps black cumin seeds (shahjeera)
1 ½ tsps dry ginger
¾ tsp black cardamom (3-4 large pods approx)
¾ tsp cloves
¾ tsp cinnamon (2 X 1” pieces)
¾ tsp crushed bay leaves
Preparation:
Heat a heavy skillet on a medium flame and gently roast all ingredients (leave cardamom in its pods till later) except the dry ginger, till they turn a few shades darker. Stir occasionally. Do not be tempted to speed up the process by turning up the heat as the spices will burn on the outside and remain raw on the inside.
When the spices are roasted turn off the heat and allow them to cool.
Once cooled, remove the cardamom seeds from their skins and mix them back with all the other roasted spices.
Grind them all together, to a fine powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder.
Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Cooking Cooking Cooking!
Yesterday I spent cooking all day with a wonderful group of people. We made 9 different recipes for us to take home. One of the soups we made is a regional soup that I adapted.It is creamy and flavorful though it has few ingredients. I think it must be the St. Maries Rice that gives it a zip. St. Maries is small town east of Coeur D'Alene, Idaho which is known for wild rice, among other things. If you can't get that, try an interesting rice blend from you local gourmet grocer and I'm confident it will be just as tasty. After we made it we brought it home to freeze. The directions are for freezing, then eating later. You can adapt this recipe for eating right away if you want.I also reduced the milkfat from cream and half and half to 2%. You can change the milkfat to your family's preference. I tried Nonfat Milk once and 1% and it didn't do the recipe justice. I personally use the 2% for freezing and nonfat evaporated milk for the additional milk when I warm it up.
Chicken and St. Maries’ Wild Rice Soup (bag or container)
3 C cooked chicken, cut up in bite sizes
1/4 C butter
¼ C bacon bits*
1 1/2 cup carrots, diced
1 1/2 cup celery, diced
1 1/2 cup onion, diced
8 ounces wild rice mix, uncooked
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups 2% milk
1 49.5 oz can chicken broth (to go home)
Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium heat.
Add bacon and vegetables.
Cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add rice and 2 cups of the broth.
Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Stir flour into remaining 1-cup broth.
Add to soup after it is off the heat.
Cool.
Place 2 cups milk and cooled soup into containers/bags with individual’s chicken for freezing.
Serves 8.
Make sure each person gets a 49.5 oz can of chicken broth for use when reheating. Please label broth with their name and recipe name.
AT HOME:
Warm soup on stove or in crockpot. Add 1 49.5 oz can chicken broth and 2 cups milk of any type. You can use anything from skim to cream. Warm until heated through.
*Note: 20 oz bag of bacon bits equals 6 Cups
Chicken and St. Maries’ Wild Rice Soup (bag or container)
3 C cooked chicken, cut up in bite sizes
1/4 C butter
¼ C bacon bits*
1 1/2 cup carrots, diced
1 1/2 cup celery, diced
1 1/2 cup onion, diced
8 ounces wild rice mix, uncooked
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups 2% milk
1 49.5 oz can chicken broth (to go home)
Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium heat.
Add bacon and vegetables.
Cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add rice and 2 cups of the broth.
Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Stir flour into remaining 1-cup broth.
Add to soup after it is off the heat.
Cool.
Place 2 cups milk and cooled soup into containers/bags with individual’s chicken for freezing.
Serves 8.
Make sure each person gets a 49.5 oz can of chicken broth for use when reheating. Please label broth with their name and recipe name.
AT HOME:
Warm soup on stove or in crockpot. Add 1 49.5 oz can chicken broth and 2 cups milk of any type. You can use anything from skim to cream. Warm until heated through.
*Note: 20 oz bag of bacon bits equals 6 Cups
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
It's Going to Freeze!
The soup was a hit! Donna came over for lunch today. When she got here I was just blending it with an immersion blender. I know that the directions say otherwise, but use what you have in your kitchen. After it boiled then simmered, it was time for lunch. I didn't add any milk to the Cilantro topping and it was fine. The soup had just the right amount of heat! Donna raved about it and will definitely try it at home for her family. There was enough left for lunch another day and another Quart is happily in the freezer for the next time a friend stops by.The temperatures are dropping and we may get precipitation tonight in the form of the white stuff! There's nothing like soup to warm up the body on a cold day.
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