Pasta e Fagioli Soup

My diet is amongst the many things that having little AGN in our lives has changed. Her little tummy does not like dairy or soy - which means that I have had to cut both of those out of my diet. Dairy was easy, but soy has been surprisingly difficult. Luckily, there are plenty of other mama's out there dealing with this and one of them started a blog called MSPI Mama. Last night I made this soup and Brett loves it! It makes a TON of soup which is great as we have been able to freeze three meals worth in addition to having it for lunch and dinner.

INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 16 oz. pkg. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
½ large (or 1 medium) onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
64 oz. beef broth
28 oz. can tomato sauce
2 tsp. dried parsley (or 1 tbsp. fresh parsley)
1/2 tsp. dried basil (or 1 tsp. fresh basil)
4 oz. small dry pasta

DIRECTIONS
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large stockpot over medium high heat, and brown the sausage, crumbling it as it cooks. Once brown, remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon.

In the same pot, add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery and salt, and saute over medium heat until vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add sausage back to the pot and the can of diced tomatoes (do not drain), stir briefly, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in the beans, and add the beef broth and tomato sauce. Add in all of the seasonings, stir well, turn the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once it boils, turn down to low heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Add the dry pasta and continue to simmer on low for another 30 minutes.

If you do choose to freeze it, thaw it completely before cooking otherwise the pasta will get mushy.

Tobagoan Corn Soup - Added Chef's Note

While Brett and I were in Tobago our housekeeper made dinner for us and it was amazing. One of the best parts was the corn soup. Corn soup is a traditional Trinidad & Tobago food but when searching for a recipe online I didn't find any with the ingredients she had used. So, I took a few recipes online and mixed them up with the ingredients I knew she had used. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. For those able to imbibe, I encourage you to enjoy it with a very chilly beer. I didn't take a picture of the food, but here's a beach picture in case that helps to enjoy the food more!

Chef's Note: This ended up being considerably more spicy the day after, so maybe a few less "flavor" peppers would do the trick. It's a good thing I didn't add the serrano that many recipes called for! Oh, and that means this should be enjoyed with not one, but two icy cold beers.

Ingredients

- 1 1/2 tbsp butter

- 3 onions, chopped

- 4 bell peppers, chopped

- 1 poblano pepper, chopped

- 1 mild chili, chopped

- 5 cloves of garlic, minced

- 4 cans no-salt added cream style corn

- 2 cans sweet corn

- 2 cans light coconut milk

- 16 oz vegetable broth

- 1 can water (I rinsed the bottom of the cream corn cans out)

- 1 tbsp turmeric

- 1/2 tsp chipotle seasoning

- 3 sprigs thyme - no need to remove the leaves they will cook off

- 4 bay leaves

- salt

- pepper

- seasoning (I used some purchased in Tobago, but a jerk seasoning would work)

Directions

1) Melt the butter in the bottom of a large stock pot (thanks, Molly!)

2) Add the onions and saute until almost translucent

3) Add the garlic and peppers and saute until soft

4) Add the remainder of the ingredients to the pot, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer

5) Simmer for at least a half hour

6) Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs

7) Scoop out about 3 cups of the soup mixture and place aside

8) Using an immersion blender, blend the remaining soup until smooth. Just a side note, I do not recommend blending hot foods in a normal blender... it explodes. :)

9) Return the soup that was set aside to the pot and stir thoroughly

10) Ladle into bowls and serve with corn muffins (slathered in butter)

Makes about 16 1-cup servings. This freezes well, too.

Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie

This is one of my family's favorite recipes from when I grew up - I loved it when my mom would make this! It has become a favorite in my household. It's fairly labor-intensive, so I would recommend doubling the recipe to have leftovers for later. It freezes really well!





Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie
From: Southern Living (and adapted by my mom)
Yield: 6 servings
Prep: about 1 to 1 1/2 hours
Cool: about 1 hour combined

Poached Chicken
1 broiler-fryer chicken (3 lbs), quartered
4 cups chicken broth
2 medium-sized carrots, halved crosswise
2 medium-sized onions, peeled
1 bay leaf
6 oz. small fresh mushrooms, halved (2 cups)
2 medium-sized ribs celery, halved crosswise
Sauce
3 Tbsp. Butter or margarine
1/4 cup plus 2 tsp. All-purpose flour
1/2 cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
1 tsp. Poultry seasoning
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper
1 cup frozen peas
Pie Crust

1. To poach chicken, put chicken, broth, carrots, onions, and bay leaf in a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When broth comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium. Continue to simmer 20 minutes. Skim off foam from top with slotted spoon. Add mushrooms and celery to pot. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until chicken and vegetables are tender

2. Using a slotted spoon, lift vegetables to a cutting board. Cool slightly, then chop onion coarse. Slice carrots & celery.

3. Let chicken stand in broth until cool enough to handle. Remove skin; pull meat from bones in large pieces. (You should have about 3 cups.)

4. Strain broth; skim fat from top and reserve. (Reserve or freeze the rest to use another time)

5. To make filling, have a deep 1 1/2 quart casserole ready for crust-topped pie. Melt butter in same Dutch oven over low heat. Stir in flour until smooth. Let mixtur bubble about 3 minutes, stirring often to prevent browning. Gradually stir in the 2 cups reserved chicken broth and the cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until simmering and thickened. Add seasoning, green peas, the vegetables and chicken; stir to mix. Pour into casserole.

6. Roll or pat dough 1 inch wider than top of casserole. Moisten rim of casserole with water. Place crust over filling; press against rim to seal. Gently press overhang against sides of casserole. The pot pie can be frozen at this point!

7. Thaw (if frozen). Heat oven to 450. Bake 16 to 18 minutes until crust is puffed and well browned. Enjoy!

Note about feeding a crowd: I ended up doubling the chicken (2 whole chickens from Bettie at Hickory Acres) and quadrupling most everything else except the onions which I only tripled because I got tired of peeling them! If you make the recipe as it is, it makes a pretty hearty meal for four people who want seconds. I'm slowly figuring out proportions for 10!

Stuffed Shells with Red Sauce

Ingredients:
2 boxes of pasta shells (24oz)
48 oz. of cottage cheese
32 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese
1½ c. parmesan cheese
6 eggs
1½ tsp dried oregano
4 tsp fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 - 28 oz. jars spaghetti sauce
Parmesan Cheese

To Freeze:
1 - Cook shells 1/2 of recommended time
2 - Drain
3 - Cool in a single layer on pan
4 - Combine cheeses, eggs, and spices
5 - Fill each shell with 2 T. cheese mixture (snip the corner off of a Ziploc bag)
6 - Freeze filled shells on a pan just until solid.
7 - Divide into five freezer bags.

To Serve (one bag):
1 - Thaw shells.
2 - Spread 1/2 c. of the jarred sauce in bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 pan.
3 - Arrange shells and top with remaining sauce.
4 - Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
5 - Pour yourself a glass of wine and thank the food exchange for saving you precious time today
6 - Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
7 - Enjoy, and then go do something fun with all of your extra time...