Some Soup to Warm You Up

Here is a great little soup that takes no time to make and goes perfect on a cold and windy day. There are many versions of this soup. Add whatever veggies you like and serve with some buttery French bread...

Italian Wedding Soup

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 pound extra-lean ground beef
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons dried bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons minced onion
5 cups low fat, low sodium chicken broth
1 cup spinach - packed, rinsed and thinly sliced
1/2 cup seashell pasta
1/2 cup diced carrots

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium bowl, combine the beef, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, basil and onion. Shape mixture into 3/4-inch balls and set aside.
2. In a large stockpot heat chicken broth to boiling; stir in the spinach, pasta, carrot and meatballs. Return to boil; reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, at a slow boil for 10 minutes or until pasta is al dente, and meatballs are no longer pink inside. Serve hot with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

That's What I Call Southern

I love the south for the friendly people, beautiful land, and that good ole' Cajun food. I have quite a few friends that are the true Cajuns and the food they cook up is out of this world.

Two of my parents friends come up every May to my family's cattle sale with crawfish and we make the best jambalaya ever. This recipes for jambalaya is for chicken, but you can substitute whatever meat you want. My all-time favorite meat to use is fresh crawfish. You can find crawfish tails in just about every grocery store around in the frozen section.

Hold on though, cause this jambalaya will open every sense and tastebud in your mouth - it will have you warmed up in no time. I like hot food, but if you like it a little milder I would use 1/2 tsp less of the cayenne and chili powder.

Also, I use an extra kick to my own jambalaya- sassafras root (it will be in a seasoning called Gumbo File). It's a natural thickener and make the juices of the stew perfect. A trick I learned from my southern friends in Louisiana- The Whipple Family.

Chicken Jambalaya
This is a traditional Cajun dish in which rice is used to sop up the rich juices of the stew.

2 tsp canola oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 green bell peppers, seeded and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 lb boneless skinless chicken, cut into ½ inch cubes or shredded lightly
2 tsp each dried thyme leaves and oregano
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp of peppercorns
1 can (28oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can (15ozl) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
¾ cup brown rice
1 bay leaf
¼ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook celery, garlic and onion for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add chicken, thyme, oregano, chili powder and cayenne; cook stirring for 5 minutes.

Add chicken broth, green bell peppers, tomatoes, kidney beans, rice and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Stir in parsley before serving.

Makes 4 servings.

Turkey Option: You can use boneless skinless turkey for the chicken.

Seafood Addition: Add 8 oz of small raw shrimp, peeled and deveined during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Warm Chicken Soup to Get Over a Cold

It's the cold season...Sneezing, coughing, headaches, all the symptoms. I'm sure you have heard to eat chicken soup to get over the cold. My mother was a true believe that chicken soup had healing powers to get over a nasty cold. It was the breathing the aroma of the soup that made you feel warm and toasty inside she would say. She would always make the tastiest soup for my brothers and I when we were sick. Nothing is better than a cup of good homemade chicken soup to give you that kick to start feeling better.

Campbells is what consumers usually purchase as part of their cold remedy, but nothing gets you feeling better than a great big pot of the homemade stuff in my opinion. Don't believe me? Then try this recipe out when that next cold hits you. I bet I'll make you a believer.

This is a Paula Deen soup (hint: "The Lady's Chick Soup"). Hope that it gets you over that cold.

The Lady's Chick Soup

Stock: 1 (2 1/2 to 3-pound) fryer chicken, cut up
3 1/2 quarts water
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 bay leaves
3 chicken bouillon cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Soup:
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery, with leafy green tops
2 1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles
1 cup sliced mushrooms (I omit this)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/3 cup cooking sherry
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan, optional
3/4 cup heavy cream, optional
Seasoning salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Crusty French bread, for serving

For the stock:
add all ingredients to a soup pot. Cook until chicken is tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Remove and discard bay leaves and onion. You should have approximately 3 quarts of stock. When chicken is cool enough to touch, pick bones clean, discarding bones, skin, and cartilage. Set chicken aside.

For the soup:
bring stock back to a boil, add carrots, and cook for 3 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook according to directions on package. When noodles are done, add chicken, mushrooms, parsley, sherry and rosemary. Add Parmesan and cream, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if needed, by adding seasoning salt and pepper. Enjoy along with a nice hot crusty loaf of French bread.

Magical Peanut Butter Cookies

Do you know someone that can't have much sugar in their diet, then these cookies are perfect. I watched Paula Deen make these on a show last week as part of a "Healthy Eating" episode. These peanut butter cookies take no time to whip up.

Magical Peanut Butter Cookies
From Paula Deen

1 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
1 1/3 cups baking sugar replacement (recommended: Splenda)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet.

In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, 1 cup sugar replacement, the egg, and vanilla, and stir well with a spoon. Roll the dough into balls the size of walnuts. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet. With a fork, dip in Splenda and press onto top of cookie to make the traditional x-shape on the cookies. Bake for 11 minutes.

Here Chick, Chick, Chick

How many of you have ever cut-up a whole chicken before? Whether its the traditional eight piece or the 12 piece fryer before? Not many I'm guessing.

Today with the convenience of precut chicken in supermarkets people just buy the already pieced chicken. What many individuals don't realize about doing this is that the precut pieces are usually not uniform size, contain shattered bone particles and are typically more expensive.

My mother taught me how to cut up a chicken (or any poultry) a long time ago. Being a farm kid we never buy precut meat, mainly because of the price and the quality of the meat.

If you have never cut up a whole bird I have found a great website that explains the proper steps in cutting up a chicken and it includes great photos of each step. Cooking for Engineers has a segment on the "Kitchen Notes" regarding the steps to cut up a bird, take a look at this page and see how easy it really is to cut up a chicken and give it a try. I promise it's not as difficult as you thought it was...Happy cutting.

Paula Deen Does it Again

Have you ever watched Food Network before? If so I'm sure you've seen Paula Deen. She's a southerner that cooks just like my mom does. Her show on FN, Paula's Home Cooking is all about my personal favorite food- southern.

Ms. Deen started her cooking empire by selling sandwiches during lunch out of her kitchen to now operating The Lady and Sons restaurant in Savannah. She has published many cookbooks and can be seen daily on her cooking show. Tune in cause this lady knows her stuff and is a joy to watch in the kitchen.

I saw her make this wonderful recipe on a show a couple of months ago. It's like the traditional Gooey Butter Cake, but with a twist of chocolate and lots of sugar. I made this for a New Year's Eve party I recently had....it was a hit with everyone!

Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus 8 more tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus additional butter, for greasing pan
1 (18.25-ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 egg, plus 2 eggs
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 1 stick melted butter, and stir until well blended. Pat mixture into prepared pan and set aside.

In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining 2 eggs, and the cocoa powder. Lower the speed of the mixer, and add the powdered sugar. Continue beating until ingredients are well mixed. Slowly add the remaining 1 stick of melted butter, and the vanilla, continuing to beat the mixture until smooth. Stir in nuts with a rubber spatula. Spread filling over cake mixture in pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the cake; the center should still be a little gooey when finished baking. Let cake partially cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.

Bread that Looks Like It's Homemade

Here is another great recipe that Clarice passed along to me. I love new bread recipes and this one is sure to be a new favorite around my house.

Savory Brunch Pull Apart

1/4 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese
3 tablespoons sesame seed
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried basil
One 30 oz package (24) frozen unbaked rolls
1/4 C. melted butter
2 tablespoons real bacon bits

Thoroughly grease a 10-inch fluted tube pan (Bunt Pan). In a small bowl combine cheese, sesame seed & basil. Add about 1/3 of the mixture to greased pan, lift and turn pan to coat the sides and bottom. Plane 10 frozen rolls in the pan, drizzle with half of the remaining mixture on top. Sprinkle with bacon bits. Add remaining rolls. Drizzle with remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining cheese mixture.

Cover, let rolls thaw and rise overnight (12 to 24 hours) in refrigerator. The next day let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Cover with foil and bake 10-15 minutes more or until golden brown. Remove bread from pan onto a wire rack. Serve warm. Makes 12 servings.