Succotash Soup

This is a tasty, healthy soup but it does require some planning ahead.  If you are using fresh veggies, then I would prep them earlier in the day or the day before.  I used freeze-dried foods and just had to re-hydrate them during some of the cooking time.  I found this in a really cool cookbook called Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely.  You should check it out.  Lot's of good stuff, besides recipes.  I like the way the book is organized by season, so that you are eating foods that are available and better for you during certain times of the year.

Ingredients:
1 10-oz. bag frozen lima beans
1 cup water
2 14.5-oz. cans of chicken broth*
1 T. vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1 cup chopped onion*
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper*
1/2 cup chopped celery*
3/4 cup chopped green onions*
2 1/2 t. dried whole thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash cayenne pepper
1 14.5-oz. can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped (or already diced)
1 11-oz. can whole kernel corn*

1. Place lima beans in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water to 2 inches above the beans.  Bring to a boil, and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour.

2.  Drain beans; add 1 cup water and broth.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 40 minutes or until beans are tender.

3.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion; saute 2 minutes.  Add bell pepper and celery; saute 2 minutes.  Add green onions; saute 1 minute.

4.  Add onion mixture, thyme, and remaining ingredients to bean mixture and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.


*This is where I substituted freeze-dried veggies or other items from my Home Store.

Serves 10.  Freezes well.  Leanne suggests serving with a big green salad and whole grain rolls. Sounds like a good plan to me!

Source:  Saving Dinner, Leanne Ely, p. 133.  

Lasagna Soup

Have I told you how much I absolutely love Thrive?  I mean, seriously.  It's amazing.  I have saved so much time in the kitchen just by using Thrive foods--they are ready to use right out of the packaging--no more chopping onions, no more greasy meat prep, etc.  And the taste is unmatched!  Not to mention the nutrition bonus of eating freeze dried foods of the highest quality.  You are really missing out if you haven't tried Thrive for yourself.

I love "throw and go" cooking with Thrive foods.  The other day I made some spaghetti sauce using that method; and for me, that means just tossing in what I like and adding enough water along the way to rehydrate the foods to perfection.  This is all without any measuring!!!  Love it.  And my spaghetti meat sauce, which I began making AFTER I started the pasta, was done before the pasta was!

But sometimes I do like to try recipes and measure.  Lasagna Soup intrigued me when I saw it and, lemme tell you, it did NOT disappoint my taste buds.  Several in the family went back up for seconds of this tasty dish.  This one is definitely going to be made many times in our house!  And, bonus, you can also vacuum seal this (layered in the order listed) in a quart mason jar and keep it on the shelf for emergency quick meals (although going directly into the pot was fast to begin with).  Just dump and go.  (Email me at gimmethrive@gmail.com for more info on jar meals!)

Ingredients:

¼ cup Thrive Tomato Powder
1 tsp Thrive Chef's Choice Seasoning
 ¼ cup Thrive Tomato Sauce 
3 TBSP Thrive Mixed Bell Peppers
 1 TBSP Thrive Chicken Bouillon
¼ cup Thrive Freeze Dried Onions
 1 tsp  Garlic powder
¾ cup Thrive Freeze Dried Sausage Crumbles 
¼ tsp Crushed Red Pepper
2 cups Thrive Farfalle (Bowtie) Noodles

1. Dump all the ingredients into a pot or Dutch oven.  Stir in 8 cups of water.
2.  Bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to medium.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the noodles are al dente.

Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and serve with salad and breadsticks!  Easy peasy!

For more information on how you can save time and money while eating nutritious, convenient food from Thrive, 

email me at gimmethrive@gmail.com.  

You can also visit my website to learn more.

Mom's Beef Stew

I love simple, tasty food.  Especially when it's comfort food.  And this Beef Stew hits all those attributes for me.  I just love it.

Ingredients:
2 pounds stew beef
2 Tbsp. bacon grease (or shortening)
1 large onion (sliced)
1 tsp. minced garlic (from the jar)
1 quart hot water
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 bay leaf

6 small potatoes, cut in chunks
6 small onions, cut in chunks
3 carrots cut into 1" pieces
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cold water

1.  In large pot, heat bacon grease over medium-high heat.  Brown stew beef.
2.  Add remaining ingredients up to and including the bay leaf.  Bring to a boil; then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
3.  Add veggies.  Cover and simmer 1 hour.
4.  Remove and discard bay leaf.  Combine flour and water in a small bowl to form a paste.  Stir this into the stew.  Cover and cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly.

Makes 2 1/2 quarts of stew.

Notes:

• Though I always use the same type of ingredients, their form varies from time to time for me.  This time I didn't have any fresh onions so I used my freeze-dried Thrive onions.  
• To make this GLUTEN FREE, use an alternative flour like I did this time.  I used Krusteaz Gluten Free flour.

Source:  my mom

Chili Blanco

This is my favorite time of year for so many reasons.  One is that we get to have stews and soups and all kinds of yummy, warm comfort foods.  This chili recipe is actually quite healthy and was really easy to put together.  You just need to allow time for the beans to cook, as you will note in the instructions.  I will probably be posting other recipes from this cookbook (see source below), so stay tuned for more deliciousness.

Ingredients:
1 pound dry white beans, rinsed and picked over *
4 (14-oz. each) cans of chicken broth *
1 t. chicken stock base (I didn't have any so I just made my broth stronger)
2 onions, chopped *
1 T. oil
6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
1 (7-oz.) can diced green chilies *
4 t. ground cumin
2 t. dried oregano leaves
2 t. cayenne pepper
4 cups cooked, diced chicken
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro, if desired (I added this)
1 cup fat-free (yeah right!) sour cream *
3 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

1.  Place the beans, broth, chicken stock base, onions, oil, garlic, chilies, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook very slowly until the beans are done--test to see if they are done as they cook.  You don't want them to be mushy, just tender.  Beans that are not soaked first take 2-3 hours to cook.  Make sure to add more broth or water if the liquid gets low so they won't dry out.

2.  Remove beans from heat.  Stir in the cooked chicken and the cilantro.

3.  Top each serving with sour cream and shredded cheese.

* I have noted when I have used freeze-dried or other items from food storage products, just so you can get an idea of how to incorporate those items into your every day cooking.

SOURCE:   The Romney Family Table.

Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings. Super simple, super yummy, ultimate comfort food. My daughter LOVES chicken and dumplings. I often use leftover roast chicken or frozen chicken thighs. I boil the chicken and thighs in some water and then strain the liquid, remove the meat from the bones and use the liquid and the meat.

Chicken and Dumplings

6-8 Chicken thighs (can use frozen)
Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3-4 carrots, diced
2-3 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic
8 C. chicken stock
1/2-1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
cracked pepper
salt to taste

Dumplings
1 1/2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. shortening
3/4 C. milk


Place the chicken thighs in a large pot and cover with water. Simmer until chicken is done. Remove thighs to a cutting board. Drain liquid. Dry out the pot.

Pour a small amount of olive oil in the pot, heat over med. heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook and stir til veggies start to soften, about 5-8 mins. Add the garlic, stir til fragrant. Then pour in the chicken stock.

Pick the meat from the chicken thighs and add it back to the pot. Stir in the dried herbs and pepper. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed. Note: if your soup looks thick, add more liquid. The dumplings really thicken up the soup, so err on the side of more liquid than you think you need.)

Bring the soup to a boil. While it is coming to a boil, make the dumpling mixture by placing the flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the shortening and pulse til blended. With the machine running, add the milk til is just comes together.

With the soup boiling, drop in the dumpling mixture by spoonfuls. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Reduce heat slightly. Cover and cook an additional 10 minutes.

Serve.

Hamburger Lentil Soup

    This is a dish that is hearty, inexpensive, and delicious! It is one of my hubby's favorites. It is also a good crockpot dish. You should try it while the weather is still wintery!

Hamburger Lentil Soup                                      

1 lb. ground beef
1 46 oz. can tomato juice (or puree about 3 cups of diced tomatoes, I use one jar of home-canned)
4 c. hot water
1 1/2 cups dried lentils (rinsed and sorted)
1 c carrots, chopped
1 c celery, chopped
1/2 c. onion, minced or use dried minced onion
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. minced green bell pepper (I've never added this)
1 tsp salt (don't skimp, I think it needs the whole tsp)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 c brown sugar

Cook hamburger until browned.  Drain fat.  Add juice and water and bring to a boil.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil again.  Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or cook in a Crockpot all day on low or half a day on high.  Serves  8.

Source: Julie Roberts

Sausage, Peppers, and Bean Stew

As a side note, I used cranberry beans that needed to be rotated through my food storage.  They added a pretty color and sweetness.  I also added cubed potatoes because they go so well with sausage.

Ingredients:

2 medium onions, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 T olive oil, plus more for browning sausage if needed

5 links hot Italian sausage

2 (15.5 oz.) cans Cannellini beans, rinsed in cold water until no more foam appears

2(14.5) cans petite diced tomatoes

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried Greek Oregano

1 tsp. ground fennel

ground pepper to taste

2-3 bay leaves

4 cups homemade chicken stock (or use 2 cans chicken broth and add a little water to make 4 cups)

freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving

Directions:

1.  Chop onions, red bell pepper, and green bell pepper into pieces about 1/2 inch square. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, then saute onions and peppers until they begin to soften, then add to slow cooker.

2.  Squeeze Italian sausage out of casings and add to frying pan, adding a bit more olive oil if needed. Brown sausage well, breaking apart with turner as it cooks, then add to slow cooker.

3.  Pour beans into a colander placed in the sink and rinse with cold water until no more foam appears, then add to slow cooker. Add tomatoes with juice, dried basil, dried oregano, ground fennel, black pepper and bay leaves to slow cooker. Pour chicken stock over other ingredients and stir to combine.

4.  Cook on high about 4 hours or on low for all day. Serve hot, with freshly grated parmesan cheese for sprinkling on the stew.

Source:  KalynsKitchen.com.

Hamburger Soup

It is soup weather here in North Carolina!  This is a an easy, budget friendly soup that doesn't call for bouillon (which I try to avoid).  Enjoy!

Sauté together:
2 cloves garlic
2 chopped onions
Add:
1 lb. Hamburger
Continue to cook until the Hamburger is well done then add:
1 qt. diced tomatoes
2 qt. water
5 chopped carrots
5 chopped celery sticks
6 peeled and chopped potatoes
1/4 t. thyme
1 t. parsley
2 bay leaves. 
Cook on low for 1 1/2 hours.  Remove from heat and add a little vinegar, a little honey, a little cayenne and salt to taste.

Source: Catherine Miller

Sausage Okra Gumbo

 

 

Today I am sharing a family favorite recipe that gets rave reviews no matter when I serve it.  Just had it the other night--8 of us for dinner and I doubled the recipe and had one serving left.  Yeah, that good.  I substituted the pork sausages with Hillshire Farms Turkey Kielbasa.  Actually, I never make this with pork sausage because Mom always made it with Hillshire Farms Kielbasa.  So enjoy the kielbasa!  Don't you love saying that word?  Kielbasa, kielbasa, kielbasa...

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. smoked country-style pork sausage (or you can use...wait for it...kielbasa!)
2-3 T. butter
3 T. flour
2 cups chicken broth
18-oz. frozen gumbo vegetables*
14-oz. can of tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 t. salt (you may want to adjust down, depending on how salty your meat choice is)
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. ground red pepper
2 t. gumbo file powder, opt** (I use 1 T. Old Bay Seafood Seasoning)
3 cups hot, cooked rice

1.  Cover sausages with water and cook for 10 minutes in a covered Dutch oven or large pot.  Drain; cut sausages into 1-inch pieces and set aside. (Probably not necessary to boil the kielbasa.  What do you think?)

 

2.  Melt the butter in the Dutch oven.  Add flour and cook, stirring, until mixture is deep brown. 

 

3.  Add broth, vegetables, tomatoes, garlic powder, salt, red pepper and sausages.  bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

 

4.  Remove from heat; add file.  Do not boil once file has been added. (I don't know why, do you?)

 

5.  Ladle gumbo into bowls and top with a scoop of rice.

 

 

 

* You can use a combination of okra, corn, onions, celery and sweet red pepper instead of the frozen vegetables.

 

** You can use 1/2 t. leaf thyme and 1 bay leaf.  Add with the broth and vegetables.  Remove bay leaf before serving.

Source:  Pat Brew, Brew Family Cook Book, 1st Edition.

Quick and Easy Beef Stew Soup

There's nothing more comforting on cold days that a warm bowl of delicious soup! This is a recipe I make all of the time because it is so fast and easy, especially of you are using canned food or dehydrated or freeze dried food. And you know me, I don't measure anything when I am cooking, and I make abnormally large pots of soup, so this will be a different kind of recipe format...you can make as little or as much as you'd like. I think you will love this soup!!

Here are the ingredients that I throw in a big pot: (Use whatever amount you like. See my notes.)

Water

Beef bouillon cubes or granules

Salt, Pepper

Tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes (or any kind of tomato product you like to use. I like a quart of home canned plain tomato juice from the garden)

Onions (freshly diced, or dried)

Potatoes, diced

Carrots, cut (fresh or canned)

Barley (optional)

Beef (fresh, canned, or freeze dried)

Directions:

1. I fill the pot with almost as much water as I would like to have soup. Did that make sense? I also add the tomato juice, sauce or crushed tomatoes....whatever tomato product you like. You can also use tomato powder. Turn it on and start it boiling while you get everything else ready to add in.

2. Add some bouillon cubes or granules to taste. And some salt and pepper.

3. Throw in the onion. I always use dried onions. Use as many or as little as you'd like. 

4. Put in your carrots. I grew carrots and canned them, but I also have used store bought canned carrots, or fresh sliced. 

5. Cut up as many potatoes as you would like. I usually think of at least one good sized potato per person and I double it. (I feed teenage boys!)

6. Add the beef. Most of the time I use a few cans of the yummy canned beef from Aldi's. It comes with a gravy, and I add all of it to the soup. You can cut up raw beef and throw it right into the soup. Or you can use freeze dried beef and throw it right into the soup. It turns out great either way.

7. I really love barley. so most of the time I add a little barley to this soup.For my very huge pot of soup, I only add about 1 1/2 cups, so you may want to add about 1/2 cup at the most. Barley absorbs a lot of water, so make sure you have enough water in the soup as the barley cooks. Add more water if needed.

8. Make sure the soup has enough salt while it is cooking. If it doesn't, add more salt or bouillon.

9. Let the soup simmer on medium high until potatoes are done. Serve with crusty bread. YUM!

Chef Todd's White Chili

My post is a tad late today, but it will be worth the wait.  I promise!  I saw this recipe being demonstrated on the website for Thrive.  Check it out if you are interested in a good food storage product.  Anyway, this recipe looked really yummy and it uses quite a few items from my food storage pantry.  I hope you enjoy the end results as much as I just did.  That's right.  I dared to post a recipe that I only just made this morning!  Livin' on the edge!

Ingredients (I am noting the brand name if I actually used THRIVE products):
1 cup small white Navy beans, uncooked
4 T. butter
5 T. white flour
1 T. butter
1 T. garlic
1 cup THRIVE Green Chili Peppers
1/2 cup THRIVE Red Bell Peppers
1/2 cup THRIVE Sweet Corn
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup THRIVE Celery
1 cup THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices
3 cups water
1 T. THRIVE Chicken Bouillon
2 cups THRIVE Instant Milk, reconstituted
2 cups heavy cream
1 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1 t. season salt
1 T. Cholula Hot Sauce
1 T. fresh lime juice
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped

Here is what the freeze-dried foods look like before...

1.  Place the beans in a small saucepan with 4 cups of water and 1 tablespoon salt and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until just tender.  In a a small glass bowl, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in the microwave.  Add the flour and mix well.  Reserve this roux mixture for later.

2.  In a 3-quart sauce or stock pot, melt the 1 tablespoon butter and add the garlic.  Sweat for a few minutes on low heat.  Add all the vegetables and the chicken to the pot; stir a few times and add the water and bouillon.  Bring to a simmer and add the milk and the cream.  Add all seasonings except cilantro and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the roux to thicken the soup and cook at low simmer for another 5 minutes.  Drain the beans and add them to the soup.  Add the cilantro and stir well before serving. (You don't see the cilantro in the picture because girlfriend thought she had some in the freezer and did not.  I will get some on the way home from work and have with my chili later.)

Source:  Chef Todd, ThriveLife.com.

Taco Soup

    I know many of you may already have a recipe for this. There are many variations, but this one is our favorite. It is super easy, quick, delicious, healthy, and economical. What more could you ask for in a recipe? My kids love it and it is even better as a leftover. I love soup season!

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained.
1 quart jar canned tomatoes or 48 oz. stewed tomatoes, blended
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can great northern beans
1 can ranch style beans
1 can kidney beans
1-2 cups corn (canned or frozen)
1 packet taco seasoning

Sour cream, cheese, avocado, and chips for garnish.

Directions:

Brown beef in a large stock pot. Drain. To beef, add all other ingredients. Simmer 20 minutes or until ready to serve. Garnish as desired. (I told you it was easy!)

Source: Aubrey Adams

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

        One of my dear friends brought this over when I was laid up and I can't tell you how wonderful it tasted! It has been one of our favorite recipes ever since. It is hearty, creamy, comfort food at its finest! I love it served in a homemade bread bowl.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:

1 package Wild Rice Rice-A-Roni
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup butter
2 chicken breasts, cubed
1/4 cup flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup cream (I usually use milk; the cream makes it pretty heavy)

Mix Rice-A-Roni (rice and seasoning packet) with the water and bake in a pyrex baking dish covered with foil for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

After you pull the rice out, in a soup pan or dutch oven, saute carrots, celery, and onion in butter. In a separate pan, begin sauteing chicken cubes in a little bit of olive oil. When veggies are tender, add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Then add chicken broth, milk, and rice. Add chicken when it is cooked through. Simmer until it is a little bit thickened. It will thicken additionally as it cools.

Source: Julie Roberts

Summer Garden Vegetable Soup

    As summer winds itself to a bounteous close, I wanted to share this recipe while the veggies in it are still in season. It is a GREAT way to use up some of that zucchini and those tomatoes I never have quite enough uses for. My kids (who hate zucchini and said tomatoes) even like it. Win-win!

Summer Garden Vegetable Soup
     Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

• 3 medium zucchini, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 4 medium tomatoes, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped)
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
• 1 ½ cups frozen or fresh corn kernels
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or more :) to taste

Directions

1. In a large pot or dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add the zucchini, basil, parsley and onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes (I always do it longer, until it is pretty tender). Add the flour, salt and pepper and stir and cook for one minute to remove the raw flour taste. Gradually add the chicken broth, whisking or stirring constantly. Add the lemon juice; mix well. Bring the soup to a simmer, stirring to prevent sticking, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the zucchini is tender but still has some bite to it (it will continue cooking for a few more minutes). Add the tomatoes, evaporated milk, and corn.
2. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the soup and simmer until the corn and zucchini are tender. Stir in the cheese just before serving.

Fresh Tomato Soup

There's nothing like a fresh garden tomato.  And I love them plain, on BLT's, in salads.  But at some point in the gardening season I'm overrun with them.  And then I turn to tomato soup to help me use up and enjoy all those tasty tomatoes!  This is a new recipe for me and I really enjoyed the addition of carrots.  I have to say that I really used this recipe more as a guide and adjusted the amounts based on what I liked, what I had, and what I needed to use up!

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, unpeeled and chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
12 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves
3 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream

1.  In a large pot, heat olive oil on medium low heat.  Add onions and carrots and saute for 10 minutes.  Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
2.  Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT cream and stir well.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Remove from heat.
3.  Using an immersion blender, carefully puree the soup.  If you don't have an immersion blender, use a regular blender to puree the soup (do this with half the soup, then the other half to avoid overfilling the blender).
4.  Add heavy cream to the soup and stir in well.  Serve with crackers, croutons, chopped basil, etc.

Source:  I Can Cook That

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden style)

Olive Garden Copycat Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

     Thank you so much for inviting me to post on this wonderful blog! I love to cook and try new things, so I am looking forward to being here very much. 

    For my first post, I will share a wonderful soup we tried a few weeks ago. If you have ever tried Olive Garden's Chicken and Gnocchi soup, you will be as excited to try this as I was. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy this was to put together. We all loved it (kids included)! It is hearty, silky, and satisfying. And let's be honest, Gnocchi is just fun to say.

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden Style)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon EVOO
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 quart half and half
• 1/2 cup celery, finely diced
• 1 cup onion, finely diced
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 or 2-14 ounce cans of chicken broth (adjust to desired level of thickness)
• 1 cup carrots, finely grated
• 1 cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced
• 1 package gnocchi, cooked  (usually in the pasta or prepared food sections of the store)
• 1 cup of fresh spinach coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional, but you should use it!)

Instructions

Saute the onion, celery, and garlic in the butter and olive oil over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. Cook gnocchi according to directions. Stir in flour to make a roux and cook out the raw flavor of the flour for about one minute. Add half and half. Add in the carrots and chicken. Once the mixture becomes thick, add the chicken broth. Stir until the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach, and seasoning. Simmer until soup is heated through. May season with additional salt to taste.

Notes: I used home canned chicken for speed and it was delicious. You could also use a Rotisserie chicken, which would give it an added flavor boost.

For those of you who don't know, Gnocchi is Italian for potato dumplings. 

Source: Copykat.com

Food Storage Chili

I always have the supplies for this on hand!  It is a great throw together meal, people like it, and it feeds a lot of people!

Add the following to a large pot (you can add straight from the can or drain some of the cans whichever you prefer, I usually add straight from the can).

2 cans chili
2 cans sweet corn
2 cans pinto beans
2 cans black beans
2 cans red kidney beans
2 cans green chilies
2 quarts diced tomatoes
1 Tbl. dried onions
Taco seasoning to taste or cumin and chili powder to taste.

Cook on medium heat until heated through (stir often) then simmer for 30 min.  Top with grated cheese, sour cream etc.  It tastes great with corn bread or biscuits.  Enjoy!

Recipe Source: My amazing mother, Sheryl Lewis.

3 Ingredient White Bean Chicken Chili

I love a quick, yummy meal, and this is definitely one of them!

One day I watched my friend dump some things in a pot, stir a bit, and then call her kids down for dinner. I was truly impressed because it took 5 minutes from start to finish, and it looked so delicious and healthy too!

3 Ingredient White Bean Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
A few cans of white beans, drained
1 can of chicken 
A cup or two of your favorite salsa

I am not going to give an exact recipe, well, because there isn't one and I have made it differently every time depending on how many I needed to feed and what I had on hand. But basically you just dump those ingredients into a pot, in whatever quantities you want, add a little water if needed, and maybe some black pepper. If you want to get fancy, you can add a can of corn! Let it simmer for a few minutes. Serve with your favorite shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips!

A delicious and quick meal! I hope you enjoy! 

PS - You could also make this in a crock pot.

Source: My amazing friend Kim Jones

Olive Garden’s Pasta E Fagioli Soup

Olive Garden’s Pasta E Fagioli Soup

http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com

• 2 lbs. ground beef*
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, shredded
• 1 c. celery, chopped
• 2 (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (16 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained* 
• 1 (16 oz.) can white kidney beans, drained 
• 4 cups beef stock
• 3 tsp. oregano
• 2 tsp. pepper
• 5 tsp. parsley
• 1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
• 1 (20 oz.) jar Prego traditional spaghetti sauce
• 8 oz. pasta 
• 
  
•  Brown meat. Drain fat. Combine all ingredients (other then pasta) in a large crock-pot.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.  Add cooked pasta just before serving. 
• *I usually make this without meat and it still tastes great!
• *I have never had white kidney beans on hand when I have made this so I use another can of red kidney beans.

Source: www.favfamilyrecipes.com

Our Favorites from 2012

Last year around this time we posted the most popular recipes of 2011.  This year we thought we'd do something different.....this time we are sharing OUR favorites!  Each of the Mavens has chosen their favorite personal recipe of 2012.  We hope you'll give them a try if you haven't already!

from Emily.....Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

from Anna.....Mexican Street Corn

from Melissa.....Amazing Crockpot Grits

from Audrey.....Mom's Rolls

from Niki.....Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

from Julie......Cottage Ranch Dip

from Amy.....Cobbler Custard Cups

from Kara.....Spinach Dip

Care to share what some of your favorite Maven recipes have been?  We'd love to hear from you!

image source: Microsoft Office Clipart (manipulated through Picmonkey)