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Soup, Stew and Chili

Gorgeous Soup Bowl and Sandwich Plate Combo (Great Gift Idea for Cooks)

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Mentally and emotionally I have turned the corner…. I’ve left summer behind and have launched myself right into Autumn’s crisp leaves and gentle breeze!

The house is already decked out with creepers, happy ghosts, pumpkins, and bears dressed up for Halloween. We’re all ready for fall.. now all it has to do is show up!

I’m also making the summer to fall transition in the kitchen as soup and chili begin to replace salads and grilled burgers. In fact, today marked the first day that a pot of chili returns to the home. I served it with pimento cheese sandwiches and it was fantastic.

As I thought about the number of times (during fall and winter) that we take our soup or chili and hot dogs/sandwiches into the den to watch football (Go UK Wildcats! and Go Broncos!) or October baseball (Go Cardinals!), it occurred to me that I needed to find handy coup and plate trays. Truth be told, I wasn’t even 100 percent sure such a thing existed, I just knew what would be extraordinarily cool.

I went directly to Amazon to see if the coolness existed and badabing!… of course Amazon had just what I was looking for.

They always do.

The Artena Bowl and Sandwich Plate Combo (Amazon link) is EXACTLY what I need. I love that it’s available in different colors (I honestly had no idea I’d find any this gorgeous).

  • Available in teal blue, lake blue, mint green, and soft pink.
  • Ideal size – perfect for fitting a sandwich or chili dog on in addition to the generous mug of soup or chili.
  • I also love the options these would provide for breakfast food – grits or oatmeal with French toast or biscuits yum!
  • When you click through and take a closer look at the colors, be sure to check out the video that’s available – you’ll get a better idea of just how gorgeous, well-made, and roomy these are.


Homemade Vegetable Broth for Thanksgiving Dressing

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Vegetables for Vegetable Broth

Vegetables Teaming Up for Homemade Vegetable Broth

One of my daughters, Brittany, has been a committed vegetarian since she was 12 years old. It began with eating the top part of tacos while leaving the meat at the bottom untouched and with eating everything on her plate except for the meat. I asked her, very matter of factly, about it one day – not wanting to make a mountain of what may have been a molehill.

Spoiler alert – it was not a molehill.

She adorably told me, “I don’t want to ever eat anything that once had a face.” I told her that it was her decision to make and that I was on her side. If she didn’t want to eat anything that once had a face, no one… and I mean no one… was ever going to make her.

I read up on protein, vegetarianism, health concerns AND benefits, etc. We became black bean burger experts and, truth be told, the whole family surely benefited from the increased veggies in the kitchen. I made certain then and I make certain now that anything I cook for her doesn’t contain any ingredients that once owned a face.

One of the biggest areas of concern (for me anyway as a cook) has been replacing chicken broth in the food I make for her. It adds SO MUCH FLAVOR! Store-bought vegetable broth simply cannot compare. That’s why I prefer to make my own vegetable stock to use for her dressing at Thanksgiving. She’s a huge, huge, huge fan of garlic and flavorful herbs, so I can add those in and give her the layers of flavor she loves.

And no faces.

The recipe below really isn’t a recipe as much as it is a technique because it’s so customizable. If you’re using a vegetable broth for soup or stew, you might want to leave out the sage and replace it with thyme or basil. However, for Thanksgiving stuffing, don’t dare leave out the sage.

While I’ve said (in the recipe below) to simmer for 30 minutes, I actually turn the heat down and simmer for longer. Why? I love for the kitchen to smell like Thanksgiving! Naturally, you can’t simmer too long, however, or your broth will cook away. The house will smell like Autumn Heaven, but you’ll be left with a tablespoon of broth.

Vegetables for Vegetable Broth

Perfect Loaded Potato Soup in the Crock-Pot

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Loaded Baked Potato Soup in the Crock-Pot

Gluten Free Loaded Baked Potato Soup in the Crock-Pot

I’m not just a fan of Autumn and Winter, I’m thoroughly in love with them.  They have so much going for them – crisp weather, Pennant baseball, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas,  It’s a Wonderful Life, Linus in the Pumpkin Patch, Christmas music, Rudolph and Clarice, college basketball….

As a foodie, one of my favorite things about this time of year is soup, glorious, soup. I love to make soup… I love to smell soup… I love to talk soup… I love to eat soup… I love to see soup.

You get the picture, so to speak.

Another favorite thing about Autumn and Winter is using my crock-pot (Amazon link). While I use my crock-pot year round, I really go for broke in the cold months. Not only am I convinced that slowly cooked food is the tastiest food, I’m kinda obsessed with the way the house smells while something delicious is happening in the crock-pot.

Suffice to say when these two great loves (slow-cooking and soup) combine, I’m a giddy fool.

Toppings for Loaded Potato Soup

Toppings for Loaded Baked Potato Soup

One of my favorite soups to make is loaded baked potato soup.  I seldom make it the same way twice. I have always used real, peeled potatoes in the past, but when I made it a few weeks ago, I wanted to try out frozen hash browns.  I love a shortcut when cooking as much as the next foodie, so I was anxious to skip the whole peeling and dicing scenario. Fortunately the soup turned out absolutely amazing.

Using hash browns seemed to make each spoonful filled with the perfect amount of soup ingredients. You didn’t just get a big old hunk of potato each time – not that there’s anything wrong with big old hunks of potatoes, mind you.

Betty Crocker GF Biscuit Mix Biscuits with Cheddar and Garlic Powder

Gluten Free Bisquick Biscuits with Dried Parsley, Cheddar, and Garlic Powder

Notes:

  • When it came time to serve the soup, I created a “soup bar” with chopped green onions, freshly cooked, chopped bacon, cheddar cheese, and sour cream.
  • I served my soup with Betty Crocker’s Gluten Free Bisquick Biscuits (Amazon link). After arranging them on the cookie sheet, I topped them with a little cheddar and garlic powder. They turned out even more delicious than usual and were perfect with the soup.
  • If eating gluten free isn’t a concern, feel free to use any brand of Cream of Mushroom soup or the rational Bisquick mix.


Tatste of Home Best Loved Recipes

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Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes Cookbook

I always (always, always, always) try to do my best when it comes to cookbook reviews.  Cookbooks are one of my greatest passions. I’ve collected them since I was around 18 or 19 and have never sold or given one away. Perish the thought! I have family heirloom cookbooks, store bought cookbooks, Church “Fund Raiser” Cookbooks (seriously great recipes can be found in these!), and.. of course… cookbooks that have generously been sent for me to review on my food blog.

Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes: 1485 Favorites from the World’s #1 Food & Entertaining Magazine is one of the recent cookbooks I’ve received and I’ve been chomping at the bit to tell you all about it. I’ve waited for a few weeks, however, because it only recently (very recently) became available on Amazon.

While, as I said, I try to do my best on all cookbook reviews, I get a little bit of stage fright when the cookbook is this extraordinary. My number one mission is always to get a cookbook that I love dearly into as many hands as I possibly can. With Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes: 1485 Favorites from the World’s #1 Food & Entertaining Magazine (Amazon link), I feel extra pressure because this truly is a cookbook you MUST have. It’s one of the best collection of recipes I’ve ever seen.

What’s more, this is beautiful and huge cookbook would make the best gift imaginable for any foodie or cook in your life. Trust me, they’d thank you each time they used it. This is well over 1,000 recipes (1,485 to be exact) that will be used, loved, and reused indefinitely.  What’s more, it looks great sitting on your kitchen hutch. It’s quite the looker!

Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes

 

 Book Description

Real recipes from real home cooks—they’re what make Taste of Home one of America’s most popular—and most trusted—names in home cooking. Over the years, we’ve featured tens of thousands of recipes in our magazines and websites. But what makes this book so special is that it features not just great recipes. Not just award-winning recipes. These are our best-loved recipes: The ones that conjure up heavenly aromas, that bring you back to Sunday dinner tables, summer picnics and holiday parties, that call vividly to mind the special cooks who made them. The ones that make you close your eyes, smile and say, “Mmmmm!”
They’re all here—cook-off winners and bake-sale favorites, must-have comfort foods and secret family recipes, regional specialties packed with flavor and style. This collection contains 1,485 of the most requested, most beloved dishes, all submitted by Taste of Home readers. Recipes for all occasions are included from Blueberry Cheesecake Flapjacks to Caramel Apple Bread Pudding, mouthwatering main dishes from Creamy Seafood-Stuffed Shells to Chicken with Rosemary Butter Sauce, and delicious dessert recipes from Magnolia Dream Cheesecake to Chocolate Ganache Tarts.
Here’s what else is included:
  • Top 100 favorites recipes
  • Prep/Cook Times
  • Recipe comments from our web community
  • Everyday ingredients
  • Easy-to-follow directions
  • How-to photos
  • Cooking tips
  • 26 chapters
  • 20 photo sections with 400 full-color photos
The most cherished magazine features are included: Mom Made it Best, Our Favorite Contributor’s Meals, Mealtime Express, Cooking for One or Two, Grand-Prize Winners and Potluck Picks. Besides special features, the remaining chapters cover everything from appetizers and beverages to entrees and sides and breads and desserts.
Below are just some of the amazing recipes included in this outstanding cookbook:
  • Tiger Butter Candy (page 214)
  • Sour Cream Chocolate Cake (page 171)
  • New England Baked Beans (page 243)
  • Herbed Turkey and Dressing (page 397)
  • Traditional Lasagna (page 394)
  • Nutty Oven-Fried Chicken (page 385)
  • Onion Beef Au Jus (page 399)
  • Deluxe German Potato Salad (page 411)
  • Salsa Verde (page 457)
  • Country Fried Steaks (page 53)
  • Traditional Meat Loaf (page 73)
  • Asparagus Beef Stir-Fry (page 44)
  • Mexicorn Grits (page 573)
  • Italian Spiral Meat Loaf (page 632)
  • Best Baby-Back Ribs (page 618)
  • Breaded Pork Chops (page 634)
  • Speedy Jambalaya (page 629)
  • Pumpkin Pies for a Gang (page 689)
  • Chicken Enchilada Bake (page 723)
  • Smoked Turkey and Apple Salad (page 742)
  • Pepperoni Pan Pizza (page 797)
  • Oven Parmesan Crisps (page 839)
  • Old-Fashioned Cream of Tomato Soup (page 872)
  • Cajun Corn Soup (page 861)
  • Chewy Peanut Butter Bars (Page 316)
  • Swedish Raspberry Almond Bars (page 323)
  • Saying “And Many More” just doesn’t cut it this time! How about “Over 1,000 more recipes!”

Below is the first recipe I made from Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes: 1485 Favorites from the World’s #1 Food & Entertaining Magazine. It’s called Holiday Tortellini Soup and it’s out of this world. This will be a beautiful soup to make around Christmas – but I’m sure I won’t wait that long to make it again.

Make this one as soon as possible – you’ll blow everyone away!

Holiday Tortellini Soup

Holiday Tortellini Soup

Recipe Type: Soup
Author: Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Hearty and full of flavor, this Italian-style soup freezes well if you want to make it ahead or have leftovers to save for another day. – Michelle Goggins (Recipe Author)
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 ounces pancetta or bacon, finely-diced
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 can (49-1/2 ounces) chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini (use gluten-free if necessary)
  • 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree
  • 8 ounces fresh spinach, rinsed and chopped
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
  2. Add pancetta. Cook until crisp.
  3. Add onion; cook 3-4 minutes or until tender.
  4. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.
  5. Add the broth and Italian seasoning; bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, cook tortellini according to the package directions; drain.
  7. Add the cooked tortellini to soup mixture.
  8. Stir in crushed tomatoes and simmer 5 minutes.
  9. Add the spinach and cook just until wilted.
  10. Season with salt and pepper.
  11. Garnish with the cheese.

I don’t care if you’ve been cooking for 50 years, 5 years, or 5 days – you have to grab a copy of Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes: 1485 Favorites from the World’s #1 Food & Entertaining Magazine. While you’re at it, you’d really be smart to buy one for the foodie, seasoned cook, or new cook on your Christmas list.

I am SHOCKED that Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes: 1485 Favorites from the World’s #1 Food & Entertaining Magazine doesn’t cost more than it does. When I gave my arms a workout by carrying this beautiful book into the house, I thought, “I’ll bet this one will be an expensive cookbook.” Then, when I looked through at all of the AMAZING recipes and pictures and realized that I could conceivably see myself making each one, I thought, “Oh, yeah, this one will cost over $50, easily.”

And what’s more, it would have been worth every penny!

Amazingly, this collection of the best recipes in the world (what more would you expect from Taste of Home?) is just a little over $20. 889 pages of recipes, tips, tricks, and pictures should cost a heck of a lot more than this.

I sincerely hope you’ll take advantage of the price and grab this one today. You’ll thank me later, I promise!

See Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes: 1485 Favorites from the World’s #1 Food & Entertaining Magazine!