Paste e Faggioli Soup (Slow Cooker)

 

Pasta e Fagioli Soup (Slow Cooker)

(10-12 servings)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive oil

1 lb. Lean Ground Beef

2 whole Carrots, diced

4 stalks Celery, diced

1 medium Onion, diced

28 oz. can Crushed Tomatoes

2 cans (14.5 oz.) Beef Broth

2 Whole Bay Leaves

1 tsp. Dried Oregano

1 tsp. Dried Basil

½ tsp. Dried Thyme

1 tsp. Salt

¼ tsp. Black Pepper

1 can (15 oz.) Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 oz.) Red Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup Ditalini Pasta, uncooked

Directions:

In a large skillet over medium heat, warm oil and add ground beef.  Cook until browned and no longer pink.  Place beef in a 4 to 6-quart slow cooker.  Add remaining ingredients except for the beans and pasta.  Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours (3 to 4 hours on high).  At 30 minutes before serving, add the beans and pasta to the slow cooker and mix to combine.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.  Discard bay leaves and serve.

Notes:              For a slightly different taste, try using Italian sausage (sweet or hot, your choice).  Remove from casting if not using balk and cook breaking it up as you go.  Then just follow the recipe.

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Beef Stroganoff Soup

 

Beef Stroganoff Soup

(6 servings)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. Olive Oil

1 tbsp. Unsalted Butter

1 lb. Beef Sirloin, cut into thin strips

½ tsp. Salt

¼ tsp. Black Pepper

8 oz. Cremini Mushrooms, sliced

1 large Onion, chopped

2 cloves Fresh Garlic, minced

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp. Smoked Paprika

8 cups Beef Broth

4 oz. Egg Noodles

½ cup Sour Cream

1 tbsp. Fresh Parsley, chopped

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add oil and butter.  Add the sirloin strips and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until meat is slightly browned (about 5 minutes).  Using a slotted spoon transfer the meat to a plate.  Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic, stir and sauté until vegetables soften (about 3 minutes).  Next add the Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika and beef broth.  Stir everything together, bring to a boil then add the beef back to the pot.  Stir in noodles and cook for about 8 minutes or until noodles are cooked to your liking.  In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream together with about ½ cup of the hot soup. Then pour back into th e pot and stir.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.  Garnish with parsley and serve.

Notes:              This soup can be made Gluten-Free by using a GF pasta in place of the egg noodles.

Notes:              You can freeze this soup too.  Just leave out the noodles until you thaw and heat soup back up.  Then just bring to a boil, add noodles and cook until they are done.

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Some Different Fall Soups

 

With fall and winter seasons ahead of us, soups make for a great meal with some good bread.  This week we have two soup recipes that will warm your hearts as well as your tummies.

 

The first on Wednesday is taking a traditional comfort dinner and making it a soup.  It’s “Beef Stroganoff Soup” and it freezes well too.  The recipe can be easily doubled to do that.

 

Then on Thursday, we have an Italian soup that tastes great but you don’t see it offered in too many places.  It’s “Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli Soup” and as the name implies, it’s done in a slow cooker.

 

If you want to freeze this soup, don’t add the beans and pasta until you are reheating it to serve.

 

Enjoy these and other soup recipes on the blog all fall and winter.  “Happy Cooking” until next time and please share the link.  Thanks.

Scallops with Chili-Lime Cream Sauce

 

Scallops with Chili-Lime Cream Sauce

(4 servings)

Ingredients:

Scallops:

16 large Sea Scallops (see note)

¼ cup Olive Oil

as needed Salt and Pepper

¼ tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

2 cloves Fresh Garlic, minced

2 cups Hot Cooked Rice

Chili-Lime Cream Sauce:

¼ cup Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice

¼ cup White Wine

1 tbsp. Fresh Ginger, minced

1 large Shallot, chopped

1/3 cup Heavy Cream

2 tbsp. Asian Sweet Chili Sauce

6 tbsp. Unsalted Butter

as needed Salt and Pepper

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine oil, salt and pepper to taste, red pepper flakes and garlic.  Add scallops, toss to combine and marinate for 30 minutes.  In a medium sauce pan over high heat, combine lime juice, wine, ginger and shallot.  Cook until reduced by half (about 3 minutes).  Add cream, lower heat to medium and cook until reduced by half (about 3 minutes).  Remove from heat, stir in chili sauce.  Whisk in butter, 1 tbsp. at a time.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.  Set aside.  On a pre-heated medium-high grill, cook scallops until opaque throughout (about 1-2 minutes per side).  Serve scallops over the rice and topped with the sauce.

Notes:              This will be about a pound of Scallops.  You want them to be about 1¼ inches wide, give or take a little.  After soaking them in the marinade you made for 30 minutes, place them on a paper towel lined pan.  Top with more paper towels to remove as much surface moisture as possible.  This gives you the best results for grilling them.

Note:               You could also grill asparagus for this meal.  Place asparagus over rice, top asparagus with the scallops and then top with the sauce.

Note:               You could also cook the scallops on the stove.  In a 12-inch sauté pan or cast iron skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until oil ripples and just starts to smoke.  Sprinkle scallops with salt on both sides and place in the hot pan without crowding.  Gently press scallops with a spatula to make direct contact with the pan.  Sear scallops without moving them, continuing to cook until bottoms are a rich golden brown (about 3 minutes).  Add a tbsp. of butter to pan and turn scallops over and cook on second side.  Use a spoon to baste the scallops with the butter, tilting the pan to collect the butter as needed.  When scallops are opaque in color and firm to the touch (about 1-2 minutes), turn off heat and transfer to a plate

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Scallops with Lemon Caper Sauce

 

Scallops with Lemon Caper Sauce

(4 servings)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Kosher Salt plus more for seasoning

1 cup Hot Water

4 cups Ice Water

16 large Sea Scallops (see note)

3 tbsp. Olive Oil

1 tbsp. Unsalted Butter

1 tbsp. Fresh Garlic, minced

½ cup White Wine

1 cup Chicken Broth

1 tsp. Lemon Zest

2 tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice

2 tbsp. Capers, rinsed

1 tbsp. Dijon Mustard

as needed Black Pepper

1 tbsp. Fresh Dill, chopped

1 tbsp. Fresh Chives, chopped

1 large Lemon, cut into 8 wedges

2 cups Hot cooked Rice

Directions:

In a medium sized bowl, combine salt and hot water.  Stir to dissolve the salt.  Add the ice water to cool the brine.  Add scallops to the brine and let stand for 10 minutes.  Drain scallops and place on paper towels (see first note below).  Allow scallops to rest 10 minutes at room temperature before starting to cook.  In a 12-inch sauté pan or cast iron skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until oil ripples and just starts to smoke.  Sprinkle scallops with salt on both sides and place in the hot pan without crowding.  Gently press scallops with a spatula to make direct contact with the pan.  Sear scallops without moving them, continuing to cook until bottoms are a rich golden brown (about 3 minutes).  Add butter to pan and turn scallops over and cook on second side.  Use a spoon to baste the scallops with the butter, tilting the pan to collect the butter as needed.  When scallops are opaque in color and firm to the touch (about 1-2 minutes), turn off heat and transfer to a plate.  In the same pan over medium heat, add the garlic and cook 1 minute or until fragrant.  Increase heat to medium-high and add wine, stirring as needed until wine is reduced by half (about 3 minutes).  Turn heat up to high and add the chicken stock, lemon zest, lemon juice and capers to the pan.  Cook until sauce is reduced by half (about 8-10 minutes).  Turn off heat and whisk in the mustard.  Return heat to medium and add scallops back to pan, cook until warm (about 2 minutes).  Taste sauce and adjust seasoning, in needed, with salt and pepper.  Garnish scallops with chopped dill and chives.  Serve immediately over rice with the lemon wedges.

Notes:              This will be about a pound of Scallops.  You want them to be about 1¼ inches wide, give or take a little.  After soaking them in the brine you made, place them on a paper towel lined pan.  Top with more paper towels to remove as much surface moisture as possible.  This gives you the best results for browning them.

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Let's Try Scallops

For those of you that are not allergic to shell fish, I have a couple of recipes for scallops this week.

There are two types of scallops out there.  There are sea scallops and bay scallops.  We’re talking about sea scallops today.  They are the larger of the two and vary in size but run around an inch to an inch and a half in diameter.

Bay scallops are much smaller and are usually less than a half inch in diameter.

Both are delicious but are used in different recipes.

So for tomorrow’s recipe, we have “Scallops with Lemon Caper Sauce” for you to try.  Then on Thursday, it’s “Scallops with Chili-Lime Cream Sauce” for your liking.

Both recipes call for serving over rice, but you could use pasta as well.

If you have never tried scallops, you really are missing out on a wonderful opportunity.  Talk to your local grocery store to get more information about both types of scallops and what all you can do with them.

Until next time, “Happy Cooking” and please help share the link here with family and friends.  Thanks.

Carrots with Maple and Cider Vinegar (GF)

 

Carrots with Maple and Cider Vinegar (GF)

(4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 cup Water

3 tbsp. Butter

½ tsp. Dried Thyme

½ tsp. Salt

2 lb. Carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2 -inch thick on a diagonal

1 tbsp. Maple Syrup

1 tbsp. Cider Vinegar

to taste Salt and Black Pepper

Directions:

In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, bring the water, butter, thyme and salt to a boil.  Stir in carrots, the cover and cook until tender to a knife pierce (about 10 minutes).  Stir once about halfway through.  Uncover and cook on high, stirring occasionally, until carrots begin to sizzle (about 5 minutes).  Off heat, stir in maple syrup and vinegar.  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.

Notes:              You could use a large sauté pan that has a lid in place of Dutch oven.  You want the carrots to be able to spread out to cook evenly.  So be careful slicing the carrots, as you want them to be very uniform for this dish.

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