My version of Chicken & Noodles

This has become my new comfort food, and it's easy to prepare and tasty. It does take in to account cheating a little, going to the store and buying a whole rotisserie chicken, having homemade stock/broth on hand, and having the wife make mashed taters.

Yield: 8 Servings

      1 ea Whole rotisserie chicken, shredded (save the bones for broth!)
      8 c  Chicken broth, give or take if you like it soupy or not
      4 ea Ribs of celery, chopped
      4 ea Carrots, chopped
      1 ea Can of cream of chicken soup
      1 TB Garlic, chopped
      1 TB Mexican Oregano
      2 ts Seasoning salt (I use Johnny's)
      1 ts Ground pepper
     16 oz Frozen noodles

In a crock pot, cook carrots, celery and garlic in the broth for about 2 hours. Shred the chicken & add it and the canned soup and spices and stir occasionally. About two hours before serving, add the frozen noodles, stirring occasionally. Serve in bowls over mashed taters, I like having Johnny's Seasoning salt on hand.

Last time I added a few things, about a TB worth of thinly sliced mild red pepper and the same of sun dried tomatoes, for a little flavor and color.

I guess I do like soup

Tracy wanted "some soup" the other day, so I went digging around in the freezer and shelves, and I guess I *DO* like soup!! All homemade, found were:

• Onion Soup
• Pazole
• Clam Chowder
• Squash Soup (Ick)
• Chili
• Basque Beans (It's soup like)
• Veggie beef soup
• Gramma's soup
  
• SW chicken chili
• Tomato
• And Tortilla soup form the neighbor!
  

Basque Beans

Thanks to Louis's Basque restaurant in downtown Reno NV for this inspiration. We went there for lunch on our anniversary and their beans were just tasty. This recipe is close, though a little more meaty and thicker I think.

• 1½ lb. dried beans (I used Great Northern White), rinsed and drained and soaked overnight.
  
• 5-6 cups beef stock (I use homemade, it makes a difference)
• Some ham, maybe a cup or so, cut in small pieces
• 1 leftover ham bone with plenty of meat attached
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 4 cloves chopped garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ lb (or two links) of chopped cooked chorizo, I've found Johnsonville is excellent for this, not too fatty. Just put mine on a pan and baked in the oven.
  
• 1 TB Dried Italian herb mix
• 1/2 Cup Dried Mashed Potato flakes
  
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Put the beans and cover with water into a heavy pot, cover and bring to a boil, simmer for 30 minutes, and let sit for 30 minutes. Drain.
2. Add all of the other ingredients except the chorizo to a crock pot. (Note: My small crock didn't hold, I had to use the larger one)
   
3. Bring the whole thing to high until bubbling, and then put to medium for 4-6 hours, occasionally sprinkling in dried potatoes to help thicken.
   
4. Add the chorizo and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pretty dang yummy Baked Potato Soup w/Cheese

There was a little snow storm here and the wifey tried to get to work but 40 minutes later, was back home, having only gone a few miles. It was very cold too, so I whipped this up, and it's a keeper. Thanks always to the Internet for the inspiration and basic recipe!

Yields: 4 Servings
Total time: Less than an hour from prep to serve

Ingredients:

• 1/3 Cup Butter
• 1/3 Cup Flour
• 2 Cups Milk
• 1/2 Cup Half & Half
• 1 Cup Homemade broth (beef, chicken, whatever)
• (if you're lacking the broth & half/half above, just make sure you have enough liquid)
• 2 Large baked potatoes, unpeeled and cubed
• 1 TB chopped garlic
• 1 Tsp Seasoned Salt or S&P
• 3 slices of cooked bacon, chopped
• 3 slices (equal amount) of diced ham
• 1 Cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 Cup Sour cream
• Chives & Tarragon optional as garnish

1. In a large stockpan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour slowly until smooth and bubbly.
2. Gradually stir in the liquids, whisking until thickened (a few minutes)
3. Stir in the taters, garlic, salt, and half the meats. Bring to a boil
   
4. Reduce heat and simmer 10-20 minutes until you think to yourself, "Damn, that looks good!"
5. Stir in the sour cream and cheese until melted.
6. Serve in big bowls, top with ham, bacon, chives and tarragon if desired.

Barf: Campbell's Chunky Grilled Italian Sausage and Peppers Soup

Whatzit: See Title

From where: Clearance rack at Scolari's

Prepared: Microwave

Rating: (that's 1 star for me swallowing it)



Talk about being disappointed. The best part of this meal was the milk. I had my hopes up cause I really like soup, and think the Chunky line from Campbell's is usually pretty good if you stay away from the dried out chicken. This one just got it all wrong. The sausage was like little pressed hamburgers. It was sweet, despite the fact the can is a whopping 1600 mg of sodium (that's 2/3rds your daily). AND I SALTED IT! They've got the taters down, and the thickness of the soup, but this one's flavor is just off. It's certainly got a pepper flavor to it, but not really sausage, and not really much of else. I think it's discontinued based on the buck I paid for it, and that's a smart move.

Pozole Rojo de Puerco (Pork and Red Chile Hominy Soup)

My buddy Ray sent me this recipe and it is DAMN tasty. Even though it was 90 degrees out, I managed to eat two bowls. I did some of my own spin of course, comments in parentheses.

4 lb pork shoulder cut in to 1 inch chunks. (Remove chunks of fat)
60 ounces chicken broth or 4- 14 1/2 ounce cans.
2 TB veg oil
1 big onion chopped
6 to 10 cloves garlic chopped
3 medium carrots thinly sliced (next time I'll dice them)
2 to 3 TB ground ancho chiles or pasilla
2 TB chile powder, (I used taco seasoning)
1 TB ground cumin
1 TS dried thyme
1 TB Mexican Oregano
1 TS salt
4 15 oz cans white hominy or 2 big 28 oz cans rinsed ( I don't rinse)
1 big 28 oz can diced tomatoes (I used home made stewed tomatoes)
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
2 T masa harina flour. (I used regular flour)
Shredded cabbage as a garnish. (I did not do this)
Lime Wedges

Sour Cream

Put the pork pieces in a pot with one can chicken broth and a cup of water (I used two cans homemade beef broth). Bring to a boil and cover on low heat for 40 minutes. Reserve the meat in the broth off heat in another bowl.

In a big pot, heat the oil and fry the onions two minutes. Add the garlic and cook till onions and garlic gets limp. Add the carrots, ground chile, chili powder,oregano, cumin, thyme, and salt to the pot and cook 30 seconds.

Add remaining chick broth (I used two cans), hominy, tomatoes, cilantro, flour, and reserved pork and broth. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes. (I actually cooked it for about 2 hours)

Serve with chopped cilantro, lime wedges (a MUST!), chopped onions, oregano and sour cream as a side. Tasty-Tasty. Makes a lot, you'll have leftovers. Enough for 10 people .

Snow's Clam Chowder in a can

Whatzit: Snow's Clam Chowder (condensed)

From where: Cape May NJ (bought in Kansas)

Date: 08/14/07

Prepared: Microwave, 3/4 of a can of skim milk added, sprinkle of dried thyme

Rating:


Had this for lunch today, despite it being almost 90 out and no A/C yet today. Mixed review on this stuff. First sniff leads you to believe it's not just going to be potato soup, like so many canned clam chowders. I don't like mine watery, so I used 3/4s of a can of milk instead of the full thing. Didn't matter, it was watery anyway. Tasted more fishy than like clams, and overall a bit on the salty side. Potatoes cut small (which I like), not a lot of large clam bites. Overall I give it a 2 out of 5. I'd eat it again if I was hungry for something different and got it on sale.