Warming Up with Soup, Bread and Salad ...

Taste Tempters is bringing in the new year with a Soup, Bread and Salad theme. It's been below zero temperatures the last few days so what better way to bring in the new year with some warm soups, homemade bread and salad.

Our Menu for tonight:

• Pear Salad with Raspberry Cream Dressing
• Cheddar French Bread
• Olive-Rosemary Dinner Rolls
• Baked Potato Soup
• Wonton Soup
• Chipotle Chicken and Tomato Soup
• Sweet Potato Soup

Recipes will be posted later this week!

Baked Potato Soup

Prepared by Patty

Ingredients:
* 2 potatoes
* 3 tablespoons margarine
* 2 cups chopped white onion
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 4 cups chicken stock
* 2 cups water
* 1/4 cup cornstarch
* 1 1/2 cups instant mashed potato flakes
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1 cup half-and-half
* 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 8 ounces bacon - cooked and crumbled
* 2 green onions, chopped

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake potatoes for 1 hour, or until done. Set aside to cool.
2. Melt butter in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions until tender and golden brown. Stir in flour, and cook 5 minutes to make a roux. Pour in chicken stock and water. Add cornstarch and mashed potato flakes. Season with salt, pepper, basil and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Remove the skin from the cooled potatoes, and discard. Dice the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes, and stir into soup, along with the half-and-half. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until thick. Spoon into bowls, and garnish with shredded cheese, bacon and chopped green onion.

Enjoy!

Chipotle Chicken & Tomato Soup

Prepared by Kathy

This Chipotle Chicken & Tomato Soup recipe is from RecipeGirl.com. Be sure to check out RecipeGirl.com for a wide variety of wonderful recipes.

Ingredients:

• ½ tsp ground cumin
• One 15.5-ounce can navy beans, rinsed and drained
• One 14.5-ounce can no-salt-added stewed tomatoes (NOTE: I used petite diced tomatoes with green chilies instead of this)
• One 14-ounce can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (NOTE: I used vegetable broth instead of this)
• 1 whole chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce, finely chopped (NOTE: I used 1/2 Chipotle sauce instead of this)
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about ½ pound)
• 1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup reduced-fat sour cream
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation:

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Partially mash tomatoes and beans with a potato masher. Stir in chicken; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in oil. Place 1¼ cups soup in each of four bowls. Top each serving with 2 Tablespoons sour cream and 1 Tablespoon cilantro.

Servings: 4

Enjoy!

Wonton Soup

Prepared By Kelly

Here is a very good "how to" video on Videojug for preparing Wontons. . Her recipe is very different from mine, but she fills & shapes her wontons very much like mine..I use my cookie scoop for the filling.

Recipe for my Wonton filling:

1 lb. ground pork
1 tsp. of ground fresh ginger
2 Tsp. of minced water chestnuts
1/2 cup of chopped finely spinach (blanch)
1 Tbsp. of soy sauce
1 small egg
Salt & Pepper

(she used water & cornstarch to seal her wontons, I used one egg beat well & a pastry brush.)

Make extras!! Wontons can be filled & frozen up to 3 months. Also, you can fill wontons with anything you like. Take frozen wontons out of bag and gently toss into simmering broth. Simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. Test one before serving.

For the broth I use my own chicken stock with about 1 tsp. of soy sauce. Topped with chives or scallions. See Chicken Stock recipe below:

Recipe for chicken stock:

(neatness doesn't count for this recipe)

1 whole chicken (smaller size - not a roaster) remove as much skin as possible & clean thoroughly
1 onion
2 med. carrots peeled & quartered
2 tomatoes quartered
2 celery stocks chopped in large sections
a clomp of fresh parsley (to clean run under cold tap water)
1 green pepper cut in large sections
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. of peppercorns

Fill a large pot almost to the top with cold water. Do NOT add salt to the water at this time. Bring to boil while adding all the above vegetables & herbs into the pot. Once at a boil, continue to simmer for about 15 minutes. At this time carefully add the skinned chicken to the pot w/ the vegetables. When the chicken is comfortably in the pot with the vegetables bring the water up to a slow simmer. Foam will start to collect at the top of the water, take your skimmer or a paper towel and skim off the fat (foam). Only have to do this one time during the cooking process. Set burner between low & medium (more on the lower side) and stew for at least 2 hours. Warning the house will smell unbelievably great. If you like you can simmer for as many hours as you like. The longer the better, I have found.

Turn burner off. In your sink have a separate large pot with a strainer inside the pot. The large pot is there to collect all the stock. You want to pick out all the carrots and as much meat from the chicken as possible. The carrots you can mash up with a fork and add to your soups. The chicken meat you can use for chicken salad, hot chicken sandwiches, hot chicken wing dip, add it to your chicken soup...etc. Put chicken stock back on the stove & use a finer strainer to strain the stock (hopefully picking up tomato seeds & unwanted fat). Everything else goes into the garbage.

Chicken Soup:

Bring chicken stock up to a boil & add chicken flavored bunion cubes for taste. I add one at a time until I get the flavor I like for the soup. Also, you can add chopped parsley, salt and pepper to the soup. Choose your pasta for the soup at this time along with the mashed carrots and add it to the boiling stock. I prefer orzo pasta for my chicken soup. You can also choose to add some the chicken you picked from the stock. It's up to you...make it your own. There is nothing like it when you are not feeling well. I also top it with a little Parmesan cheese just before serving.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Soup

Prepare By Cathy

This Sweet Potato Soup recipe is perfect on a cold winter day and can found over at Allrecipes.com .. an all time Taste Tempters favorite recipe website.

Ingredients:

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 2 white potatoes
• 1 turnip
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Peel and cut vegetables into small, uniform pieces. Place in a pot, and cover with the chicken stock; use only the amount of stock needed to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until vegetables are tender.
2. Place vegetables and liquid into a food processor. Puree.
3. Return pureed vegetables to the saucepan. Slowly stir in the cream, brown sugar, nutmeg, and butter. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 Servings

Enjoy!

Royal Bavarian Beef Soup Recipe

Prepared by Kelly

Ingredients:

• 1 beef roast (2 lbs)
• Chopped carrots and onions or leach
• Sliced celery
• Any other vegetable leftovers from the refrigerator
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• some pepper
• any other spice that is available (e.g. thyme)
• some fresh parsley (chopped)
• some fresh chives (chopped)

Directions:

Put the meat in a pot with water (1 gal.) and add the fresh vegetables and spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 2 hours (in a pressure cooker: about 1 hour) or until meat is tender. Add salt, pepper and (at the very end) parsley/chives

Griesnockerlsuppe (Semolina Dumplings Soup)

Ingredients:

• 7 oz. semolina (Semolina is a kind of yellow flour that you can get in most natural food stores and some grocery stores in the pasta section; in Germany it is called "Gries")
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons of soft butter
• A little bit of lukewarm milk
• A pinch of salt, nutmeg, pepper, and other spices such as thyme

Directions:

• Stir the eggs with butter, milk, salt and spices and add the semolina little by little until it is a homogeneous mixture
• Cut little dumplings from this mixture with a spoon and put them into boiling broth (I recommend the Royal Bavarian Beef Soup)
• After about 10-20 minutes the dumplings come up to the surface and are ready to eat.

Best Ever Vegetarian Chili

Prepared by Kathy

Water-packed tofu changes texture when it is frozen, resulting in “meaty” crumbles that are less processed and healthier than soy ground beef substitutes. Simmered in a spicy sauce, the tofu adds body and soaks up the vibrant flavors of this classic dish.

Ingredients:

• One 14-ounce tub firm water-packed tofu
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 New Mexico chile peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 15 oz cans chopped tomatoes with juice
• 1 15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 T chili powder
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1 t. Mexican oregano
• ½ t. cinnamon
• One canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely minced (or to taste)
• 1 T sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 t. salt, or to taste

Directions:

Freeze the tofu overnight (or longer) in its container. Thaw, squeeze out excess moisture, and crumble. Set aside.

In a large soup pot or skillet, sauté the onion, garlic, carrot, and chiles in a little water until onion is translucent (about 5 minutes), adding more water as necessary to prevent sticking.

Add the tomatoes, beans, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, chipotle chile, sugar, and bay leaf. Stir in crumbled, previously frozen tofu. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until flavors blend. If additional liquid is needed, add a little water, vegetable stock, or red wine. Add salt to taste and serve, garnished with chopped raw onions and Golden Cheaze Sauce, if desired.

Albondigas Soup Recipe

Prepared by Kelly

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup of tomato sauce
• 3 quarts of chicken stock or beef stock OR water OR a mixture of both (we usually use half stock half water as the meatballs will create their own stock)
• 2 large carrots, sliced
• 1/2 lb of string beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/3 cup of raw white rice
• 1 raw egg
• 1/2 cup of chopped fresh mint leaves and/or parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 cup of frozen or fresh peas
• Dried oregano, crumbled
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

• Heat oil in large (5 qt) heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion and minced garlic and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and broth mixture. Bring to boil and simmer. Add carrots and string beans.
• Prepare meatballs. Mix rice into meat, adding mint land parsley leaves, salt and pepper. Add raw egg. Form beef into 1-inch meatballs.
• Return soup to gentle simmer. Add meatballs to soup, one at a time. Cover and let simmer for 1/2 hour. Add peas towards the end of the 1/2 hour. Add a few pinches of oregano and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish soup with chopped fresh cilantro.

Serves 6-8.

Irish Stew

Prepared by Theresa




1 cup Burgundy or other dry red wine
1 clove garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried whole thyme
3 pounds lean beef for stewing, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 (10 1/2 ounce) cans condensed broth, undiluted
6 carrots, scraped and cut into 2-inch slices
12 small boiling onions
6 medium potatoes, peeled

Preparation:
Combine first 6 ingredients; pour over beef in a shallow dish. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours. Drain meat, reserving marinade. Remove and discard bay leaves.Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat; brown beef in oil. Add broth and reserved marinade; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours.Add carrots, onions and potatoes. Cover and cook 30 minutes. Makes 2 1/2 quarts.

Category: Irish Night, Carol's Place March 2008