Roasted Tomato Soup

Add a grilled cheese sandwich to this menu and you could reach euphoria.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice onions. Smash garlic cloves. Halve tomatoes. Salt and pepper them.

2. Roast for 20 minutes.

3. When veggies are soft, transfer them to a stock pot.

4. Over medium heat on the stove top, add enough broth (You can use vegetable or chicken. Whatever you've got.) to cover the veggies.

5. Simmer for another 15 minutes.

6. Add parsley or basil.

7. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup. If it's too thick, add more broth.

8. For a creamy touch, add some goat cheese. Blend again.

Enjoy!

Soup goes a long way to warming up cold winter days. What's your favorite soup?

Suzie

Creamy Artichoke, Potato and Spinach Soup

When we were in college, my brother would invite me over to his apartment to eat. Eager to escape dorm food, I'd go to his place for what he called a "Garbage Plate." It usually consisted of whatever was in the refrigerator. Perhaps some tator tots with a side of mac and cheese along with hot dogs and, of course, a beer.

After days of recipe testing for a huge cooking party I'm doing this weekend, my refrigerator is stocked with great ingredients. So I came up with my own sort of "Garbage Soup." Except unlike its Garbage-y name, it's delicious. Here's what I did:

1. Chop one bunch green onions.

2. Heat a heavy bottomed stock pot. When hot, add two tablespoons (about two laps around the base of the pot) of olive oil.

3. When the olive oil is hot, add the chopped green onions.

4. Peel and thinly slice one potato and add it to the pot.

5. Chop two cloves garlic and toss them in.

6. Add one 12 oz bag thawed frozen artichoke hearts. (I used a couple artichoke hearts for another recipe so 10 oz is fine. Remember, it's "Garbage Soup" - use what you've got.)

7. I had a handful of fresh spinach so I threw it in. You can too!

8. When the potatoes soften, cover the vegetables with vegetable or chicken broth. Bring the ingredients to a boil then cover and let them simmer for about 20 minutes.

9. I happened to have about an ounce of goat cheese. So when the vegetables were cooked, I plopped it in.

10. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.

11. Enjoy!

What crazy "Garbage Plates" have you discovered out of leftovers?

Suzie

Beef and Lentil Soup

I'm kookoo for soup! Lately, I've been making big batches and then freezing them in one serving containers. That way, I can take them to work with me and eat the soup for lunch. It saves me money and also gves me peace of mind because I know exactly what's in the food I'm eating.

This week I indulged in lots of delicious Beef and Lentil soup. It's easy to cook and super filling. Make it like this:

1. Buy a package of stew meat. Then cut the meat into smaller pieces. You could make this a seriously chunky soup if you'd like but I prefer smaller bites of meat on this one.

2. Salt and pepper the beef.

3. Heat a big pot on the stove over medium high heat. Add about two tablespoons of olive oil. (That's about twice around the pot.)

4. When the oil is hot, brown the meat.

5. After it's brown on all sides, put the meat on a plate and set it aside.

6. Add a little more oil to the pot. Add diced carrots, celery and onion.


7. After about 6 or 7 minutes, when the veggies are semi-soft, add a couple cloves of chopped garlic. Make sure the garlic doesn't brown. Brown garlic tastes BAD.

8. Put the meat back in the pot. Add a can of diced tomatoes. (You can use a 15oz or 28oz. Depends on your love for tomatoes.)

9. Add a box of beef broth and some fresh thyme. Stir.

10. Let the soup simmer over medium heat, covered, for an hour.

11. Add lentils. About a cup will do.

12. Cover the pot and let the soup cook another hour or until lentils are soft.


And that's it! It's as delicious as it looks and the meat will fall apart in your mouth. Enjoy!

What other soups would you like to learn how to make?

Suzie

Suzie's Spicy Chicken Soup

Eddie, the cook at a restaurant I used to work at, made the most delicious spicy chicken soup. I'm talkin' make your nose run from the jalapenos spicy. So warm it could chase the chill out of any winter day.

I've been craving it lately, so I created my own less spicy version. After all, I wanted normal people to be able to enjoy it too. So here's my version of Spicy Chicken Soup:

1. Chop onions, celery and carrots into chunks that are about equal in size. You can go big or small - whatever you like.

2. Heat a large pot over medium high heat on the stove top.

3. Cover the hot pot's bottom with olive oil. (About two tablespoons or two spins around the pot.)

4. When it's hot, drop the veggies in. Let them soften about 7 minutes. If they start to brown, turn the heat down.


5. Meanwhile, peel and chop three garlic cloves and a jalapeno. Chop more if you're feeling extra spicy.

6. Add them to the pot. Let them soften just about two minutes. Not too long. You don't want your garlic to brown. Stir.

7. Add salt and pepper.

8. Next, add a skinned (Eat the delicious skin first!) cooked chicken to the pot. You can buy one already cooked at the supermarket or roast one yourself.

9. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken. Stir.


10. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about an hour.

11. With tongs, scrape the chicken from the bones. Then discard the bones.

12. Taste the broth. If it's not chicken-y enough for you, add a bullion cube.

13. Keep simmering until the chicken becomes shredded and chunky.

14. Chop lots of fresh parsley. Add it to the soup.


If you want to kick up the spice, add more jalapeno and of course, salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy this spicy twist on a classic! So...what soup do you crave?

Suzie

Granny's (Super Cheap and Yummy) Chili

All right. You should know by the "Granny" that this one will be good. I catered a party last night and all the guests were gushing about how good the chili was. I giggled to myself knowing that it was ridiculously cheap and easy to make. Let's do the math:


3 lbs ground beef = $11.77
2 28 oz cans red kidney beans = $3.78
2 28 oz cans organic diced tomatoes = $5.78
Total to feed 20 people chili = $21.33

I already had the garlic, onion, olive oil and spices. If you don't have them, it could cost you a few dollars more, but seriously, 20-something bucks is nothing to kickstart a fiesta.

So here's what you do:

1. Cover the bottom of a heavy bottomed pot with olive oil. Heat it at medium.

2. Dice an onion. Toss it in.

3. After onion softens a bit, add three chopped garlic cloves. Let them soften, but be careful that they don't brown.

4. Meanwhile, in another pan, brown your ground beef on high.

5. When it's browned, toss it in with the veggies.

6. Add your diced tomatoes.

7. Slip a couple bay leaves in the mix. Then add cayenne pepper, paprika, chili powder and cumin to taste. If you like extra spice, spike it with some tobasco.

8. Cover it and simmer on low for about an hour.

9. Drain the beans and add them to the chili.

10. Simmer for another 20 minutes or so.

11. Serve and enjoy your guests "Mmming" like crazy.

What do you serve at parties that gives you huge "Mmms" for minimal cost?

Suzie

Granny's Stew

When it comes to my cooking, my friend Rob says, "If it's got 'Granny' in the name I'm eating it!"

My Granny was an amazing cook. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with her, watching, washing and cutting. She'd tell me stories as she casually tossed foods together and created amazing dishes.

She never measured and I don't either. So be prepared for that when you see a header with "Granny" in it. But try her recipes. They're easy and they're sooo good.

It's been raining here. So I've been braising meat. When it rains I make pot roasts, soups, stews. Anything I can cook low and slow until the meat falls apart. Braising warms the house and transforms an ugly storm outside into a cozy day inside. And yesterday, I made Granny's Stew.

1. Buy a tough cut of beef. Chuck roast or a seven blade roast. Or purchase stew meat. Sometimes markets will cube it up and sell it in packs. These cuts are inexpensive and the longer you let them cook, the more they fall apart.

2. Cube up your meat. If it's already cubed, liberally apply kosher salt and pepper.

3. Pour olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot. Heat it medium high on the stove.

4. Drop in the meat.

5. Brown it on all sides.

6. Meanwhile dice an onion. They can be big chunks, like the size of the meat.

7. Take the meat out and set it aside.

8. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Drop the onions in the pot. Scrape the meaty bits off the bottom.

9. When onions start to get soft, add two chopped garlic cloves, salt, pepper and oregano.

10. Make sure garlic does not brown. Just let it soften.

11. Put the meat back in the pot.

12. Add enough diced canned tomatoes to cover the meat.

13. Drop in a bay leaf and some red pepper flakes.

14. Cover and cook on low heat for two hours. Stir once in a while.

15. After two hours, dice up potatoes and carrots. Drop them in the pot. Cover the pot. Let it cook on low for another 45 minutes or until potatoes and carrots slide off a fork when pricked.

16. Turn off heat. Add a can of peas with liquid. Stir and let stew sit for 10 minutes.

17. Serve with crusty bread.

Mmm. Just like Granny's. Next time it rains, give it a try.

NOTE: One pot meals are an excellent way to make a lot of food without spending much money. For example, I made enough stew to feed four people. Roughly, I used $6 worth of stew meat, 3 carrots - maybe $1, one potato - add another buck, one can organic peas - $1.19 and one can organic diced tomatoes - $1.49. So, for $10.68 you could not only warm up your house with the delicious aroma of stew, but feed your family dinner too.

What do you like to cook when it rains?

Suzie