Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Fresh Tomato Soup

by Leslie

This summer was so enjoyable for me.  We bought a house, planted a garden, and had lots of wonderful visitors.

The garden was one of my favorite parts of summer.  We didn't plant much and we planted it late, but we tried to get as much out of it as we could.

We planted several varieties of tomato.  They didn't really start producing until it was about to freeze out, so we picked a lot of them green and put them in a brown paper bag in our basement on the off-chance that they would ripen.

Guess what?


They did!

You can tell that there are a few different shapes and sizes in there.  Our favorite variety that we grew was called Cherokee Purple.  They were gorgeous and meaty.  I canned a few of them but had some left, so I decided to make some fresh tomato soup with them.


Start by heating oil in a large pot and adding one chopped onion and a chopped carrot.  Add about 8-10 chopped tomatoes.  I put a little Italian Seasoning in at this point.  


Gorgeous!  After the tomatoes all included, add about 3-4 cups of chicken stock to the pot.  Bring this mixture to a boil, then let it simmer for about 45 minutes or until the tomatoes break up and are soft.

Remove the soup from the heat, and with a hand blender, blend until the ingredients are pretty smooth.

Let the mixture cool slightly, then run it through a fine mesh sieve or food mill, pushing the liquid into a bowl below.  

You will be left with this:


Discard pulp and add the smooth soup back to the pot to warm.

Serve however you like!  It is delectable on its own, but I'm sure some cream would be good, too!


Fresh Tomato Soup
Serves 4 with leftovers

1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, sliced
8-10 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 T. italian seasoning (I used Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle)
3-4 cups chicken broth or stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Sugar to taste


Start by heating oil in a large pot and adding one chopped onion and a chopped carrot.  Add about 8-10 chopped tomatoes. Add Italian Seasoning.

After the tomatoes all included, add about 3-4 cups of chicken stock to the pot.  Bring this mixture to a boil, then let it simmer for about 45 minutes or until the tomatoes break up and are soft.

Remove the soup from the heat, and with a hand blender, blend until the ingredients are pretty smooth.

Let the mixture cool slightly, then run it through a fine mesh sieve or food mill, pushing the liquid into a bowl below.  

Discard pulp and seeds and return the smooth liquid to the pot.  Add salt, pepper, and about a tablespoon of sugar and let the soup get hot.  

Serve with or without cream and enjoy!




Saturday, October 13, 2012

Chicken Enchiladas

By: Laura

I love a good and easy meal as much as anyone else, believe me with a two year old around, fast and easy is essential.  Recently though, I decided to take some time and make a really amazing dish: chicken enchiladas, complete with homemade enchilada sauce.  I found this dish on Pinterest, and took a Sunday afternoon (during nap time) to go after it.  Check out the results:

Begin by cooking jalapeños, onions, and salt in a large pan for about 8 to 10 minutes .  Be sure to stir them often.    

Next, add some garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar and cook for 30 seconds.  Oh, yes, the flavors are melding together, yum!  

Then, add tomato sauce, water and fresh, chopped tomatoes into the mix and simmer for 5 minutes or until thick. Now, you can use cooked chicken, or you can cook the chicken in the sauce.  I went for the faster option, of course.  

Once the sauce has thickened, strain as much liquid as possible from the mixture into a bowl and set aside all but 1/4 of a cup to use for later.

Add one cup of cheese, cilantro and 1/4 of the enchilada sauce to the onion/chicken mixture, and now you've got the innards of your enchiladas.  (little play on words, folks)

Place about 1/3 of a cup of the mixture into the tortillas (I used flour tortillas because they are easier to work with than corn tortillas.)

Fold the tortilla tightly and lay seam side down into a greased 9x13 pan.  Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray and bake at 425 degrees for seven minutes.  (this will add some crispiness!)

  After that seven minute time, top the enchiladas with the remaining cheese and sauce that was previously set aside.  Cover them with foil and bake at 400 degrees (notice the temperature decrease) for 20 minutes.  Take off the foil and put back into the oven for 5 more minutes, until cheese is bubbly. 

Top enchiladas with cilantro and enjoy!  (sorry, not my greatest picture here, this is what happens when I try to act like a photographer!)

And there you have it: beautiful, delicious enchiladas from scratch.  It was a lot of work to get it all in order, but the flavors were worth it.  My husband was mad about them and so was I.  Give it a try over the weekend and you won't be disappointed! 

Recipe found here

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Fresh Tomato Soup

by Leslie

This summer was so enjoyable for me.  We bought a house, planted a garden, and had lots of wonderful visitors.

The garden was one of my favorite parts of summer.  We didn't plant much and we planted it late, but we tried to get as much out of it as we could.

We planted several varieties of tomato.  They didn't really start producing until it was about to freeze out, so we picked a lot of them green and put them in a brown paper bag in our basement on the off-chance that they would ripen.

Guess what?


They did!

You can tell that there are a few different shapes and sizes in there.  Our favorite variety that we grew was called Cherokee Purple.  They were gorgeous and meaty.  I canned a few of them but had some left, so I decided to make some fresh tomato soup with them.


Start by heating oil in a large pot and adding one chopped onion and a chopped carrot.  Add about 8-10 chopped tomatoes.  I put a little Italian Seasoning in at this point.  


Gorgeous!  After the tomatoes all included, add about 3-4 cups of chicken stock to the pot.  Bring this mixture to a boil, then let it simmer for about 45 minutes or until the tomatoes break up and are soft.

Remove the soup from the heat, and with a hand blender, blend until the ingredients are pretty smooth.

Let the mixture cool slightly, then run it through a fine mesh sieve or food mill, pushing the liquid into a bowl below.  

You will be left with this:


Discard pulp and add the smooth soup back to the pot to warm.

Serve however you like!  It is delectable on its own, but I'm sure some cream would be good, too!


Fresh Tomato Soup
Serves 4 with leftovers

1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, sliced
8-10 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 T. italian seasoning (I used Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle)
3-4 cups chicken broth or stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Sugar to taste


Start by heating oil in a large pot and adding one chopped onion and a chopped carrot.  Add about 8-10 chopped tomatoes. Add Italian Seasoning.

After the tomatoes all included, add about 3-4 cups of chicken stock to the pot.  Bring this mixture to a boil, then let it simmer for about 45 minutes or until the tomatoes break up and are soft.

Remove the soup from the heat, and with a hand blender, blend until the ingredients are pretty smooth.

Let the mixture cool slightly, then run it through a fine mesh sieve or food mill, pushing the liquid into a bowl below.  

Discard pulp and seeds and return the smooth liquid to the pot.  Add salt, pepper, and about a tablespoon of sugar and let the soup get hot.  

Serve with or without cream and enjoy!




Saturday, October 13, 2012

Chicken Enchiladas

By: Laura

I love a good and easy meal as much as anyone else, believe me with a two year old around, fast and easy is essential.  Recently though, I decided to take some time and make a really amazing dish: chicken enchiladas, complete with homemade enchilada sauce.  I found this dish on Pinterest, and took a Sunday afternoon (during nap time) to go after it.  Check out the results:

Begin by cooking jalapeños, onions, and salt in a large pan for about 8 to 10 minutes .  Be sure to stir them often.    

Next, add some garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar and cook for 30 seconds.  Oh, yes, the flavors are melding together, yum!  

Then, add tomato sauce, water and fresh, chopped tomatoes into the mix and simmer for 5 minutes or until thick. Now, you can use cooked chicken, or you can cook the chicken in the sauce.  I went for the faster option, of course.  

Once the sauce has thickened, strain as much liquid as possible from the mixture into a bowl and set aside all but 1/4 of a cup to use for later.

Add one cup of cheese, cilantro and 1/4 of the enchilada sauce to the onion/chicken mixture, and now you've got the innards of your enchiladas.  (little play on words, folks)

Place about 1/3 of a cup of the mixture into the tortillas (I used flour tortillas because they are easier to work with than corn tortillas.)

Fold the tortilla tightly and lay seam side down into a greased 9x13 pan.  Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray and bake at 425 degrees for seven minutes.  (this will add some crispiness!)

  After that seven minute time, top the enchiladas with the remaining cheese and sauce that was previously set aside.  Cover them with foil and bake at 400 degrees (notice the temperature decrease) for 20 minutes.  Take off the foil and put back into the oven for 5 more minutes, until cheese is bubbly. 

Top enchiladas with cilantro and enjoy!  (sorry, not my greatest picture here, this is what happens when I try to act like a photographer!)

And there you have it: beautiful, delicious enchiladas from scratch.  It was a lot of work to get it all in order, but the flavors were worth it.  My husband was mad about them and so was I.  Give it a try over the weekend and you won't be disappointed! 

Recipe found here