Marna: Yellow Curry Chicken

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in bite-size pieces
2-3 c fresh veggies (mushrooms, asparagus, onions, zucchini)
2 potatoes
1-2 carrots
1/2 c frozen peas

1-2 T vegetable oil
1 T red curry paste
2 – 14 oz can coconut milk
3-4 T fish sauce
1-3 T sugar
1 T yellow curry powder
1/2 c water or chicken stock
1/2 bay leaf

Parboil potatoes and carrots. Cut boneless, skinless chicken breast into bite-size pieces. Wash and cut fresh vegetables into bite-size pieces.

In a heavy saucepan on medium heat, heat the veg. oil, red curry paste, and about one third of the coconut milk. Heat 5-10 minutes, stirring, until it forms a thin gravy.

Turn the heat to high, add the chicken, and cook until the chicken is half cooked, maybe five minutes.

Add the fish sauce, sugar, and rest of the coconut milk, and mix well.

Stir in the curry powder, potatoes, carrots, and water/stock. If desired, add 1/s bay leaf. Let simmer just a minute or two.

Add the fresh vegetables and the frozen peas, and let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until fresh veggies are just done.

Serve with jasmine rice.

Kate: Mexican Soup

1 c chopped onion
4 tsp olive oil
6 c cooked black beans (or 2 x 19-oz cans) 3½ c vegetable broth
2 x 14-oz cans creamed corn
4 tomatoes, diced
2 TB chili powder
½ c chopped red onion
½ c grated cheddar cheese

Sauté onion in oil till tender; add next 5 ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle red onion and cheese on top to serve. I swear this garnish improves the flavour by 3000%.
I often add celery to the sauté, and sometimes throw in leftover boiled potatoes. You can cut the chili powder down by half, too.

Kate’s blog can be found Here!

Kate: Cheese Soup

This broth is a bit labour intensive but makes lots and freezes to make easy quick soups in future.

2 tb butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
2 cups homemade vegetable broth (see below)
2 cups light cream or milk
dash of Tabasco sauce
tsp black pepper
2 c grated cheddar cheese
2 green onions, chopped

Melt butter in heavy pot and saute onion and carrot till tender but not browned. Add broth, bring to boil, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add cream, Tabasco and pepper, and bring to boil. Remove from heat and stir in cheese till melted. Top with green onions and serve.

Vegetable Broth

c vegetable oil
4 carrots, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
3 large onions, chopped
6 medium-sized potatoes, diced
3 turnips, diced
3 cups parings from scrubbed carrots, potatoes, turnips, parsnips if available
3 quarts water
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1 tb salt
tsp pepper
small bunch parsley

Heat oil in large heavy pot and saute vegetables for 20 minutes, stirring often.

Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil, covered partially, and simmer for 2 hours.

When cooled, put through fine sieve or run through blender. Cool, chill and freeze in pints or quarts. Makes about 5 quarts.

* from The Natural Foods Cookbook

Read Kate’s blog Here!

Kate: Fagioli Soup (Fawj-OH-lee)

Fagioli Soup
(Fawj-OH-lee)

1 c dried navy beans
8 c water
1 tb ketchup
1 tb salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp oregano
¼ tsp basil
1 bay leaf
1 c tiny pasta shells (or any noodles, really)

Combine first 9 ingredients in large pot; bring to boil. Cover and simmer slowly for about 2 hours, till beans are tender. Discard bay leaf.
Add raw pasta. Simmer till tender, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally; if too thick, add water.

Super easy, super delicious! ~Kate (of Golden Grain Farm)

Kate: Broccoli Chowder

Broccoli Chowder
¼ c butter
1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and diced
1 quart homemade vegetable broth (see below)
1 tsp dried thyme
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 bunch broccoli, broken into tiny florets

Melt butter in heavy pot and sauté onion and garlic till tender but not browned. Add potatoes and sauté for 4 minutes longer. Add broth, thyme, salt and pepper, and bring to boil, cover and simmer 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Add broccoli, cover, and cook for 7 minutes or until florets are barely tender.

Vegetable Broth
½ c vegetable oil
4 carrots, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
3 large onions, chopped
6 medium-sized potatoes, diced
3 turnips, diced
3 cups parings from scrubbed carrots, potatoes, turnips, parsnips if available
3 quarts water
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1 tb salt
½ tsp pepper
small bunch parsley

Heat oil in large heavy pot and sauté vegetables for 20 minutes, stirring often.
Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil, covered partially, and simmer for 2 hours.
When cooled, put through fine sieve or run through blender. Cool, chill and freeze in pints or quarts. Makes about 5 quarts.

* recipes from The Natural Foods Cookbook

You can read Kate’s blog here!

Beth: Black Bean Soup

1 large bag of black beans
1 onion chopped coarsly
1 clove of garlic chopped/minced
1 large can of tomatoes
2 cans of Mexican corn drained
1/4th tsp cumin
1/4th tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 pound ground beef browned and drained
1 tsp chili powder or more depending on your taste
sour cream
cilantro chopped
favorite salsa or picante sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

Wash and cover beans with water and cook until tender.

Brown ground beef, onion, and garlic together, drain and add to beans.
Add cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes if desired, corn, and tomatoes.
Salt and Pepper to taste and bring to a boil.
Add a little water if too thick.
Stir well and turn heat down to simmer.
simmer 45 minutes and add a little more water if soup is too thick. You can gauge your own thickness.

Dish into serving bowls, top with salsa or picante sauce, a dollop of sour cream and chopped cilantro.

I serve this with hot flour tortillas or Jalepeno and cheese bread. ~Beth

Paula: Chicken Gnocchi Soup

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, baked and diced
12 C. chicken broth
8-10 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 stick butter
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 C. onion, diced
4 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery
2 bags frozen gnocchi
2 C. frozen peas
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. ground sage
1 tsp. celery seed
1 Tbs. dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
parm. cheese for garnish

• Bake chicken in oven with salt, pepper & 1 Tbs. olive oil. Allow to cool & dice into pieces.
• In a large pat, saute vegetables in remainder olive oil and butter until tender.
• Add garlic and broth.
• Bring to a boil and add chicken and seasonings.
• Simmer 15 minutes.
• Add Gnocchi’s and simmer for an additional 5-7 minutes.
• Serve topped with Parmesan Cheese.

Paula: Black Angus Potato Soup

•4 large baking potatoes, cooked in microwave and then cooled
•1/2 pound bacon, cooked crisp and drained
•6 green onions, chopped into 1/4″ pieces
•6 cups milk
•2/3 cup butter
•1/2 tsp salt
•1/2 tsp white pepper
•2/3 cup flour
•1 1/4 cup colby jack cheese, shredded
•8 oz sour cream

Melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat, add flour stirring until smooth. Stir one minute more.

Gradually add milk and cook over medium heat, stirring until thick and bubbly. Add the inside of the cooked potatoes, scooping out in chunks with a teaspoon.

Add salt and pepper and one half of the green onions and one half of the bacon and one cup of the cheese. Cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in sour cream. Add extra milk for desired consistency.

Serve, topped with remaining bacon, cheese and green onions

I don’t like the bacon cooked in it, it gets too soft.
You don’t need white pepper, I use black. ~Paula

Marna: Corn Tortilla and Chicken Soup

2011, The Year of Soup. Recipe submitted by Marna.

My friend and I made this together in 1993 — and it’s been a hit ever since! ~Marna

Corn Oil (for frying)
¼ cup tequila ( I prefer Cuervo Gold, as it’s smoother, and doesn’t have a huge back bite).
12 or more corn tortilla’s, cut into ¼ ” strips.
2 large onions, chopped
4 large garlic cloves thinly sliced (you can use Elephant Head Garlic, if you wish a milder flavor)
2- 7 oz. cans of green chili (Medium Hot, if you choose to got hotter you will lose flavor).
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
8 cups low-salt chicken broth
8-10 chicken thighs
2 Tablespoons of lime juice
1 cup Posle’ or hominy (optional)
1 cup grated Monterey Jack Cheese.

Fry tortilla strips in small batches until golden brown, transfer these strips to a paper towel to drain, set aside. Heat 3 Tablespoons of corn oil in a heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onions and cook until soft/translucent stirring occasionally, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, green chili, and cumin and cook about 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add Tequila and cook until almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and 1/3 of tortilla strips, broken into small pieces. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper to taste and add to your pot.

Simmer soup until chicken is extremely tender about 45 minutes to an hour. Add Posole”, (this may need to be cooked prior to soften, to do so, add 1 cup of Posole” to 4 cups of water and simmer over low-med heat for about 2 hours, cool to room temperature).

*Note – Instead of boiling the chicken, I usually bake mine first for two hours at about 300 – 350 degrees before preparing the recipe, just out of my own preference for not caring for the taste of boiled meat. You can also grill your chicken breasts as well, and then shred the meat.

Transfer chicken to plate and allow to cool slightly. Remove skin and bones, then shred the meat coarsely. Return chicken to soup. Season with Salt and Pepper and lime juice. Continue cooking for 15-30 minutes. Ladle into bowls. Garnish soup with remaining tortilla strips and cheese. You can also add fresh chopped tomatoes, cilantro and Jalapeno’s to garnish if desired.

Personal Note: I enjoy this particular dish with ice cold Margarita’s and fresh Mango’s. This gives the main dish a nice sense of balance, hot and spicy mixed with cold and sweet.

Serves 4.

Pioneer Woman’s Fancy Macaroni

I made PW’s fancy macaroni over Christmas break and let me tell you, I will use this as my Macaroni & Cheese dish from here on out.

Note: I cut the amount of butter she used, when frying up the onions, in half and didn’t notice any less flavor.