Soup

Nourishing Green Soup

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It’s currently the middle of winter and I’m noticing the effects of less sun and movement in my physical and mental health. My body is craving comfort and nourishment. Soup is one of my favorite easy comfort dishes to make – and it can be an incredibly healthy super food as well! This soup is all of those things: Comforting, fast, simple, healing, nourishing, delicious – and packed with lots of greens, vegetables, and protein rich broth.

I wanted to make a small batch (which is something I find nearly impossible to do) – so this is my little recipe for Green Soup For Two. The ingredient amounts might sound a little funny, I’m just describing what I used as I started cooking tonight. It turned out pretty darn great if I do say so myself. This would be amazing served with some crusty bread slathered in butter (which I did not have).

All the Greens
Blennnddd!

This soup is gluten free and can be dairy free (if an alternative oil is used in place of the butter). It also falls into the “S” category for anyone following THM. It can ALSO easily be made vegetarian or vegan by using an alternative broth option! Super easy to tweak to whatever you require.

Nourishing Green Soup

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp. Butter (or alternative fat/oil)
  • Half a Leek, including the green part
  • 3 Cloves Garlic
  • 1 Zucchini
  • 1 stalk of Celery
  • Greens from 2 Kale leaves
  • Large handful of Parsley
  • 2-3 cups chicken bone broth (or chicken or veggie broth)
  • 1/2 Lemon
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Coarsely chop all of the ingredients (chop kale and parsley more finely). Melt butter in a medium stock pan. Sauté the leek until it is beginning to brown slightly, add the garlic and continue sautéing. Add the bone broth, celery, and zucchini and cook until tender. Add the kale and parsley and cook for a few minutes until tender but still bright green. Use an immersion blender to blend soup until mostly smooth. You may end up with little bits of greens that do not blend all the way. That is ok as long as the larger pieces are smooth. Squeeze half a lemon and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot and enjoy!

Please let me know if you try this recipe! What do you think?

Creamy Onion Coconut Curry Soup

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Soup close-upI was inspired today while reading the book Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Dr. Mary Enig & Sally Fallon. This fascinating book takes an in-depth look at good fat (animal fat, nuts, whole dairy, anything from the coconut, etc.) and the positive effect it can have on our weight and health.

 

diced onion

Halfway through page eight the idea for a delicious new soup struck me and I immediately jumped up and rushed off to make it.

Some trial and error later and I landed on the perfect combination of savory mouth-watering richness. If you love spice: add some cayenne pepper or extra chili flakes. Serve on it’s own or with some warm, crusty bread.

This soup is creamy and satisfying – the perfect dish for a rainy day. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

 

Coconut Onion Curry Soup

  • Servings: 2-4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 large onion
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp yellow curry powder
  • 16 oz chicken stock
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
  • 2-3 pinches red chili flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Melt the butter and coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
  • Finely dice the onion and add to the saucepan.
  • Cook on medium heat until the onion begins to caramelize (about 8 minutes).
  • Once the onions have caramelized slightly, add the curry powder and salt and stir to combine.
  • Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. (At this point the soup can be pureed if desired – either in a blender or with an immersion blender.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
  • Take soup off the heat and ladle into bowls.
  • Spoon some of the coconut milk into the center of each bowl and lightly swirl in with a spoon.
  • Sprinkle the red chili flakes on top of the soup and serve immediately!

Makes enough for 2 large bowls or 4 appetizers.

Curry Coconut Soup

Feed the Family #8 – Beef Pot Pie with Easy Cheddar Biscuits

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Meal number eight – Friday dinner

For dinner tonight I just thickened up last nights beef stew by throwing in a couple handfuls of flour as I reheated it. Then I made some easy cheddar biscuits that I baked in a dutch oven on top of my beef “stew” – to create an instant… Beef Pot-Pie!

 

Easy Cheddar Biscuits

  • Servings: 6-12
  • Difficulty: intermediate
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Ingredients

  • 2 c flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 T sugar
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 c butter
  • 1/2 c grated cheddar
  • 1/3 c milk

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Combine first four ingredients in a medium/large bowl.
  3. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter and cheddar.
  4. Pour in milk and stir together until just blended.
  5. Lightly flour cutting board or clean counter and gently roll out dough to desired thickness.
  6. Cut dough to desired size and place on a greased baking sheet.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top and done inside.

 

(I pretty much just tore pieces of dough off and flattened them into biscuit shapes that mostly fit together to cover the pot-pie. Then I baked the whole thing in the oven at 400 for about half an hour. So that’s an option too.)

Everyone loved this impromptu pot-pie!

This ends the Feed the Family Challenge. My dad is home now so he and Rosie will be taking care of feeding the kids tomorrow! Rosie has plans for breakfast that involve using up a bunch of frozen berries and some spinach…

Keep an eye out for my next “mini series” – Why Fat IS Good For You!

Meal #5

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Meal number five – Thursday dinner

This soup was made up almost entirely of freezer stuff!
I used up:

2 qt bags chopped asparagus
1 qt bag carrot “coins”
one large container of “mystery” soup (turned out to be mostly beef and mushrooms from a crock pot roast)
the rest of the rump roast from yesterdays dinner
the rest of the large can of cream of mushroom soup from yesterdays lunch
leftover broccoli and rice soup from earlier this week
some other random leftovers that just happened to contain broccoli, beef and rice

In an attempt to do more then just dump it all in a pot, I diced up the rump roast, tossed it with some flour and salt and pepper, and fried it in some hot olive oil. It gave the meat a nice crunch even after it was added to the soup! But after that – I literally dumped everything in a big pot, added a few cups of water and just let it bubble away. I have to say – I thought it turned out to be pretty good. And these leftovers are going to make a fantastic beef pot pie tomorrow!

Dessert is in the oven – although it looks like we might be having some more soup. I’m attempting to make a kind of rhubarb strawberry crumble to use up some more freezer stuff. Only problem in we’re missing some of the key ingredients for a crumble… and there is way to much liquid since everything was frozen. If I leave it in there long enough it might turn into something that doesn’t have to be eaten with a spoon! I’ll keep you posted…

Feed the Family #2 – Hearty Chili

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Meal Number Two – Wednesday Dinner

I found a rump roast, dried and canned beans and a couple of forms of canned tomatoes. What does this make??? Chili!

Hearty Chili

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: intermediate
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Ingredients

  • 2-3 c dried pinto beans – soaked overnight if possible
  • 1/8-1/4 c dried minced garlic
  • 6-8 c water (more if needed)

Cook beans until tender.

  • 1/2 of a large beef rump roast
  • few T oil – for browning meat
  • 1 can black beans – drained and rinsed
  • 1 can garbanzo beans – drained and rinsed
  • 2 cans red kidney beans – drained and rinsed
  • 1 can peeled tomatoes, crushed before adding
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 1/2 can spaghetti sauce
  • 1-2 T crushed dried red chili peppers
  • salt – to taste
  • cheddar cheese – grated (to sprinkle on top)

Directions

  1. After cooking the pinto beans, dice meat and brown in a little bit of oil.
  2. Combined all ingredients, including any liquids from the tomatoes or the cooked meat, in a large soup pot and heat until it is hot and bubbling.
  3. Serve Chili topped with grated cheddar cheese. Enjoy!

All of the kids loved it! (Even the little one with a loose tooth who started dinner by complaining about not being able to chew even a banana…)

*Please note that this chili was a way to use up some random leftovers and canned goods. Canned goods can be adjusted to utilize what you have on hand.*

Fish Sauce

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From Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon – on fish sauce in soup

“Another excellent addition to soup is fish sauce. You can make this yourself (see below), or buy a Thai or Vietnamese variety (called nam pla or nuoc mam). These clear brown fermented sauces, made from small whole fish including the head and organs, are rich in iodine and other substances that benefit the thyroid gland. On heating the fishy taste disappears but the nutrients remain. You may add fish sauce to any heated soup instead of salt.”

Fermented Fish Sauce – makes about 2 cups

1½ lbs small fish, including heads, cut up (sardines work well)

3 Tbsp sea salt

2 c. filtered water

2 cloves garlic, mashed

2 bay leaves, crumbled

1 tsp peppercorns

several pieces lemon rind

1 Tbsp tamarind paste (optional)

2 Tbsp whey

Toss fish pieces in salt and place in a wide-mouth, quart-sized mason jar. Press down with a wooden pounder or meat hammer. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over fish. Add additional water to cover fish thoroughly. The top of the liquid should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for about three days. Transfer to refrigerator for several weeks. Drain liquid through a strainer and store fish sauce in the refrigerator.

Coconut Chicken Soup

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Doesn’t this just sound so good?! I found this recipe in a book that makes me feel like I really CAN eat the way God intended me to… Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

Now, I have yet to make this soup – but I’m going to the first chance I get! (If you try it before I do – let me know what you think…)

Coconut Chicken Soup

1 qt chicken stock
1½ c. whole coconut milk
¼ tsp. dried chile flakes
1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
juice of one lemon
sea salt or fish sauce (more later on fish sauce)
several green onions, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro

Bring the stock to a boil, skim any foam that rises to the top and add coconut milk, lemon juice, chile flakes and ginger. Simmer for about 15 minutes, Season to taste with salt or fish sauce. Ladle into soup bowls or mugs and garnish with onions and cilantro.

Serves 4

Super Easy Hot-and-Sour Soup

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In the mood for a delicious way to warm up this winter? Try this spicy warming Hot-and-Sour Soup that can easily be made with just a few special ingredients!

The original recipe for this soup calls for prawns – I made it with chicken… I’m sure either would taste wonderful.

I believe this recipe is a fuel pull if you are following the Trim Healthy Mama plan and use lean chicken or shrimp and a reduced fat stock.

Original recipe from “Thai – the essence of Asian cooking” from Hermes House

Easy Hot-and-Sour Soup

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 lb raw chicken (or jumbo prawns)
  • 4 c chicken or fish stock
  • 3 stalks lemon grass
  • 10 kaffir lime leaves – torn in half
  • 8 oz can straw mushrooms – drained
  • 3 T fish sauce
  • 4 T lime juice
  • 2 T green onions – thinly sliced
  • 1 T fresh cilantro leaves
  • 4 fresh red chilies – seeded and thinly sliced
  • salt – to taste
  • ground black pepper – to taste

Instructions

  1. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces (or if using prawns – peel and save the shells, then devein and set the prawns aside).
  2. In a large soup pot bring the stock to a boil (if using prawns, rinse the shells and add to the stock).
  3. Slightly crush the lemon grass stalks and add them to the stock along with half of the lime leaves.
  4. Simmer gently for 5-6 minutes, until the stock is fragrant.
  5. Strain the stock, return it to the clean pot and reheat.
  6. Add the drained mushrooms and the chicken (or prawns), then cook until the chicken is cooked through (or the prawns turn pink).
  7. Add the fish sauce, lime juice, green onion, cilantro, chilies, and remaining lime leaves into the soup. Stir to combine.
  8. Add salt and pepper to taste. The soup should be sour, savory, spicy and hot.

This is a great soup to make ahead of time and keep hot in a crock pot or on the back of the stove until time to serve.

Enjoy!