A Girl's Gotta Eat!

This is a preemptive post in light of the impending weather coming to Middle Tennessee in the coming days as well as an effort on my part to plan out meals with a little more, well...planning. I have found several recipes I really want to try over the past several days, but the idea of the healthy, hearty Smoked Sausage Cassoulet warming in the Crock Pot all day won first place as the one to try first. I think it will last a couple days in the fridge, as my guess is that I won't feel like getting out in 7-degree temps to go grocery shopping! The link above will take you to the recipe as well but here's a sneak peek of what I hope mine will look like and the ingredients needed in case you want to follow along at home on this one. I'll post again with the how-to and my photo after I get it together. 2 slices bacon 2 cups chopped onion s 1 teaspoon dried...

Some of my readers may know that I was recently laid off (along with my entire department) due to "budgetary constraints." While I could be really mad about this (and some days, it's tempting), I'm choosing to use this time to my benefit. Getting things done around the house, helping out those who need me during the day, and getting dinner started before Mike gets home. A week or two ago, I found a recipe that had my hubby's name written all over it: Austin-Style Chicken Chili. It came in a pull-out from our recent issue of Food Network Magazine that was "man-themed" in honor of fathers' day. We love trying new chili recipes, and this one caught my eye for several reasons. 1) It was a red chicken chili. Most chicken chili I see is white. 2) You braise said chicken in beer, which is one of our favorite "secret" chili ingredients. 3) It contained chipotle chiles and a habanaro. This last reason caused me slight concern, as Mike certainl...

  Have you ever come across a recipe in a book or magazine, or perhaps an idea on Pinterest, that once you see it, you think, "Duh! This is brilliant and easy. Why didn't I ever think of it?"   Several months ago, Mike and I had such an experience when we saw a recipe in our Food Network Magazine for, wait for it....Tomato Orzo Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons .   Seriously? How many of us grew up eating Campbell's tomato soup alongside a grilled cheese sandwich, dipping the sandwich into the bowl or mug of hot orangish liquid?   ( Side note: growing up, my mom called the soup "orange soup" for YEARS, as none of my siblings nor myself liked tomatoes. I guess none of us ever looked at the label or noticed that it had a distinctly non-tomato flavor. A fond memory nonetheless.)   Anyway...we knew we had to try this. I'm happy to say it was fantastic! While it may be tempting to push the "easy button" and open up that fail-sa...

No clever story to this one. We just saw the recipe on the cover of our Food Network Magazine and really wanted to try it. It was easy, tasty, and something we'll definitely be making again. Don't skip the croutons on top; they add a ton of flavor! Broccoli-Cheddar Soup 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 2 ribs celery, finely chopped 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 2 cups half-and-half 1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and chopped 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped 1 bay leaf Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 2 cups chopped broccoli florets 1/3 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 1/3 cups) Croutons for topping Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes or until softened, stirring frequently. Add the chicken broth, half-and-half, both potatoes, bay leaf, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-l...

I read a recipe a while back for Summer Squash Pasta Soup (it's another from Seasoned to Taste by the JL Chattanooga.) I thought it sounded delicious, but I don't like making soup during the hot months, and good summer squash is sometimes hard to come by in the colder months. I have a solution. In our past couple CSA boxes from Delvin Farms , we've been getting more pattypan squash than we could stuff and eat. Technically the recipe calls for yellow crookneck squash, but I decided this would be an acceptable substitute and put some tasty looking squash to good use. Also, Mom and Dad haven't been able to eat all their pattypan, so I decided to make a double batch and invite them over for supper. Mike decreed the result as his new favorite soup, and the rest of us thought pretty highly of it as well. I didn't have fresh thyme on hand, but thought dried worked fine. If you don't have or prefer not to cook with wine, I'm sure you could use additional brot...

Well...it almost is, anyway. With a long-missed crispness back in the air today and a baseball game on TV tonight, I was in the mood to break out the soup pot again. Mike thought it sounded good, too, and we both agreed that we should try something we've never made. So, I pulled out some past issues of Food Network Magazine and EveryDay with Rachael Ray and got busy browsing. Rachael Ray won this time with her Curried Chicken and Cider Soup . It seemed easy, healthful, and the perfect start to the season. Anyway...this was, indeed, quite tasty. I doubled the recipe, since I couldn't think for the life of me what we'd do with half a chicken and half a head of cauliflower. The original said this freezes well, so I decided to make extra and we could always freeze some for later. Mike loved coming home from class to the smell of this on the stove, and ate until he was stuffed. All-in-all, I'd say it was a success. I think I might also add a pinch of cloves next time. ...

This past week was a particularly hard one in the Nash house. We very suddenly and unexpectedly lost our beloved cat, King Lear. With the stress of visiting vets and grieving our loss, cooking for ourselves was pretty far down on our to-do list. Cooking, however, can be therapeutic as well as necessary, so yesterday we decided to try a new recipe for Smoky Enchilada Soup. The weather was gloomy (like our mood), and it sounded like the perfect comfort food—warm, easy, and soothing. We made everything as directed and were quite pleased. You can adjust the amount of adobo if you need it more or less spicy, but it was about perfect for me as-is. Don’t skip the queso fresco on top…it really adds a nice little touch. I found the recipe in Texas Tables , a multiple award-winner from the Junior League of North Harris and South Montgomery Counties . Smoky Enchilada Soup ¼ cup vegetable oil 1½ cups finely chopped onions 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped 2 tablespoons chicken base 1 t...

A few days ago, I posted a recipe for a super-simple, super-scrumptious Butternut Squash Soup. Unaware of how many squash to buy for that particular dish, I bought 2 and ended up needing only 1. And so, here is Butternut Squash Soup, take 2. I know, I could make myriad other recipes with my squash, but it’s cold and rainy, and who doesn’t love soup on a cold and rainy day? This time I went for a more “gourmet” soup, Creamy Butternut Squash and Ginger-Apple Soup from ** Starfish Café: Changing Lives One Recipe at a Time . The basics are the same: Sauté some onion in butter. Add squash and broth, and purée everything when tender. The “gourmet” part of this comes in the addition of apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, saffron, and yogurt. Yummy indeed. Now, before you rush out to buy the ingredients and notice that saffron is crazy expensive, let me tell you something—saffron is crazy expensive. Don’t feel like you have to add it. Many recipes I read encourage using turmeric in place of saffron (...

This one is short and sweet. I picked up some butternut squash while at the night market this past Friday (if you haven't been, you should definitely check it out). I read recipes using fresh butternut squash all the time, but had never attempted anything using it myself. Mike and I love the Campbell's V-8 Butternut Squash soup (the soups that come in the green boxes), so I decided to try my hand at making my own. We started simple... Every month in our Food Network Magazine, there is a booklet with 50 themed recipes, such as "50 Things to Do with a Jar of Pasta Sauce," "50 Egg Dishes," "50 Game Day Dips," and the one I used tonight, "50 Easy Soups." I love many things about the magazine itself, but this particular feature is probably my favorite. The soup was indeed easy, and quite delicious. The hardest part is cutting up the squash. We Googled butternut squash cutting tips and came across a very helpful fellow blogger with tips and...

Enjoy with a glass of the wine you used .  I know, I've been on quite an Ina kick recently, but I promise this will be the last from her for at least a couple posts. Variety is the spice of life, right? The thing is, Becky bought me Back to Basics for Christmas, and I've been dying to try so many of the recipes. You're sure to see Bay Scallop Gratins and Mustard-Roasted Fish soon, but this for my debut recipe from this book, it was Roasted Potato Leek Soup all the way. I was finally starting to feel almost normal after coming down with a sinus infection a few days before Christmas, and it's hard to beat a nice, hot bowl of soup when you're feeling crummy, especially soup as comforting as potato. Normally when a recipe calls for crème fraîche, I grab sour cream and don't even bother looking in the store, but I decided that in order to do the recipe justice, I needed to follow directions as much as possible. I found crème fraîche at Publix in the section wit...

Okay, so technically this isn't a new recipe, because Mike and I make it all the time. It's still new to you (hopefully), and Emily's been wanting to try it, so we invited the fam over for Halloween dinner and trick-or-treatings. I made this Cream of Poblano Soup and a favorite stand-by: Potato Soup. The Cream of Poblano recipe can be found in Dallas Dish (check it out at Cookbook Marketplace ). Before puréeing .. Here's one recipe we make just as-is, no need for any tweaks or changes. I take that back...we don't stir the cilantro into the entire pot of soup, opting instead to sprinkle into our individual bowls. Some people are predisposed to dislike cilantro, so serving it this way would be a safer bet for a crowd, anyway. Make sure you pick out really good, blemish-free chiles. Bruises and dark spots can make the entire pot not-so-great. The spice really varies per batch...we've had some that weren't spicy at all, one that was too spicy for me that ...

On tonight's menu...Monday Night Football and Moroccan Carrot Soup!  That peeler is one of the cheapest and best kitchen gadgets I own! Nothing says Fall has arrived like football and soup, and since the temps around here finally dropped below the 80s, it was time to break out the soup pot. I first tried this carrot soup at my aunt's house several months ago, and I couldn't wait to make it again so Mike could try it, too. It's really easy to make, and I believe relatively healthful. I'm not sure where the original recipe came from, so consider this one, "From the Kitchen of Aunt Sheryl." I used Greek yogurt, and doubled the recipe so we could have leftovers for lunches. The recipe as listed says it will serve 4. Drizzling in the honey... Moroccan Carrot Soup 2 Tbl butter 1 cup chopped white onion 1 lb large carrots, peeled and chopped into ½-inch pieces 2½ cups low-salt chicken broth 1 Tbl honey 1 tsp fresh lemon juice ⅛ tsp ground allspice...