Italian Sausage Soup

October 11, 2019 rebeccahoopLeave a comment

Fall has finally arrived in Columbus! The cool, crisp temps make me crave soup. I made this hearty soup for a bunch of friends, who devoured it. Serve with garlic bread to dip in the broth.

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1 lb raw Italian sausage. If you use links, remove the casing.

1 yellow onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can crushed tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

2 T tomato paste

2 T Italian Seasoning

1 T granulated garlic

1 T granulated onion

Salt to taste

1 cup parmesan cheese *

1 cup green lentils, cooked

2 cups sweet potatoes, diced and roasted

2 cups spinach, chopped

In a 6 qt cast iron dutch oven or stockpot, brown the sausage. Use a wooden spoon to break the sausage into small pieces.

Add the onion and garlic, stir to combine.

Add the canned tomatoes, broth, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, granulated garlic, and onion. Stir to combine. Allow simmering for 30 minutes or so until flavors start to come together.

Add the parmesan cheese* to help thicken the soup and add flavor.

Add the lentils, sweet potatoes, and spinach. Stir until heated through.

Serve with more parmesan on top if desired.

* I used the rind of parmesan wedges. It is a great way to utilize waste. Shredded parmesan is perfectly good to use as well in the soup.

chicken · Dinner · Meal prep · Uncategorized · Vegetables

Creamy Poblano Pasta

September 16, 2019 rebeccahoop1 Comment

I scored some delicious treats from the farmers market that inspired this dish. A vegetable stand was smoking poblanos on-site and it smelled amazing! The tomatoes were perfectly ripe and beautiful. Corn is finished for the season so I picked up some frozen at the natural grocery store. This recipe is easily adjustable; omit the chicken for vegetarian, use sweet potatoes for gluten free, or serve the sauce over rice. This recipe makes a lot so portion it for meal prep.

2 chicken breast, diced

1 half white onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup corn kernels

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 tomato diced

5 poblano peppers, smoked and peeled

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup of water

2 t granulated garlic

2 t granulated onion

Salt to taste

1 lb pasta, cooked

Purée poblanos, heavy cream and water in a blender. It may be thick, that’s ok.

Heat a 4 qt pot and add about 2 T olive oil. Add chicken and sauté until white on the outside. Sprinkle chicken with some salt while sauteeing.

Add onion, garlic and corn. Sauté until golden.

Add the sauce and seasonings, stir to combine. Allow the sauce to simmer while stirring often.

Once the sauce is heated and the chicken is cooked, add the tomatoes and pasta.

Serve and enjoy.

Smoking Peppers

Place peppers on an open flame. It could be a grill or gas burner.

Once the skin starts to turn black, turn the pepper with a pair of tongs. Repeat until the majority of the skin is blackened.

Place blackened peppers into a bowl with an air-tight lid. Allow to steam for about an hour.

Remove lid and peel the skin from the peppers. I like to wear a pair of disposable gloves for this. Simply put the pepper in your hands and wipe off the blackened skin.

Then chop the pepper as directed by your recipe.

Refrigerate what you did not use, or freeze for another time.

Dinner · quick dinner · Vegetables

Grilled Chicken and Vegetables

July 31, 2019August 1, 2019 rebeccahoopLeave a comment

This is an easy dinner to make on a hot summer night when you don’t want to use the stove or oven in your house.

Grilled Chicken

8 oz chicken breast

2 T olive oil

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes

1 sprig of fresh rosemary, or any herb you have on hand

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup of water

Mix all ingredients except chicken in a blender. Pour over chicken in a bowl and mix to combine. Allow marinating for at least 30 minutes. You can also prep this in the morning to extra flavor and tenderness.

Grill until center has reached 165 degrees F

Vegetable Mix

1 small zucchini, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 ear of corn, kernels removed from the cob

1 sweet potato, diced and roasted

2 T olive oil

Pinch of salt

2 T shredded Parmesan cheese

Place a grill skillet on the grill to preheat

Mix veggies, oil, and salt in a bowl. Put onto grill skillet to cook until caramelized, stirring occasionally.

Return veggies to bowl and mix with cheese before serving.

Dinner · Gluten Free · Vegetables

Spring Vegetable Medley

April 6, 2017 rebeccahoop1 Comment

This is a delicious mix of veggies. The trick is to make sure your pan is smoking hot before you add anything.

I actually served it with broiled salmon, gnocchi, and a pan cream sauce.

1 half red onion, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced *not technically in season, but works great

1 cup green peas, fresh is possible. If frozen defrost in a bowl of cold water then dry

1 bunch of asparagus, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T olive oil

kosher salt as desired

Heat a stainless steel or cast iron skillet to almost smoking hot

Add olive oil, swirl around pan to heat

Add onion, and stir for a about a minute to caramelize

Add asparagus and zucchini, continue to cook until golden

Add peas and garlic, stir and cook until golden

season to taste

The pan will have lots of goodness not the bottom. If you want a yummy sauce to accompany, remove cooked veggies to a bowl. Deglaze pan with 1 lemon juice and 1/2 cup water. Stir to remove the Sucs from the pan. Reduce heat to low and add 1 cup of heavy cream and fresh herbs (I used parsley). stir until it simmers. Serve

This is the finished plate