Chinese-Style Chicken Veggie Noodle Soup

Here is another one of my yummy fast at lightning soups.

This is a lighter soup and just perfect for a chilly spring day.  If you are battling a miserable spring cold, the spicy chicken broth will soothe and comfort.

Here is what you will need:

Plus, minced garlic.  

In a soup pot,  saute 1-2 minced garlic cloves and 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger in a bit of olive oil or oil of choice over med high heat until fragrant (30 sec to a minute).

Add two cans of chicken broth bring to simmer.

Add:

3 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of rice vinegar

hot chile sauce to taste

Use more or less soy sauce/rice vinegar to suit your taste.

Add bag of frozen sugar snap stir fry mix.

Add water if needed.

Cook till heated through.

Add salt if needed.

In a separate pot, cook noodles of choice; drain.

Add noodles to bowl and top with hot soup.

Top with cooked shrimp or diced cooked chicken if desired. .

Plain veggie with wheat noodles.  Linguini noodles may be substituted for Chinese wheat noodles

This soup is very adjustable. Many times I add two bags of veggies and increase the water rather than increase the broth so it isn't so chickeny.

Of course, I double the seasoning if I add lots of water.

Sometime, I have added diced chicken to the pot along with the veggies. Tasty, but it is more versatile as plain veggie-- each person can add or not add meat to their bowl as they choose.



with cooked shrimp and rice noodles



Enjoy!

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How to Make Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

Winter has been hanging on tooth and nail this week so thought I would share one of my favorite soup recipes.

 Zuppa Toscana from Olive Garden. 

Have you ever ordered it?  Creamy with potatoes, Italian sausage,  kale and a bit of spice but not heavy.  Perfect for a chilly early spring day.

Here is what you will need...

Steps:

Brown and crumble sausage; drain.

While sausage is browning:

Chop onion

Mince 1-2 cloves of garlic

peel and slice potatoes (1/4 in slice); If you have new potatoes leave the peel on

Wash kale; strip leaves from stem and chop

Saute onion  in a bit of olive oil or butter until tender; add garlic

add sausage

add two cans of chicken stock

add water to suit

add salt to taste

optional: add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes or to taste.  If you use a spicy sausage, omit the flakes.

add potatoes and bring to a boil then lower to simmer

 cook until tender-- 7-10 minutes. keep checking. you don't want the potatoes to fall apart. sliced potatoes cook fast.

add the kale

add 2 cups of cream more or less-- more is better!

Top with parmesan cheese and/or fresh crispy fried bacon pieces!

Yum! Now that is larapin!

If you are familiar with zuppa toscana at Olive Garden, you might wonder why mine has lots more kale than theirs.  Olive Garden is so stingy with the kale.  I love kale so load mine up.  That is what is great about making it at home-- you can make it to suit your taste. 

Mine is vastly superior to Olive Garden's and yours will be too!

Enjoy!

If you have any questions, just ask.

About the sausage

Back in the 30s, a community of Italian immigrants settled in SE Oklahoma to work the coal mines.

Families opened businesses, bakeries and restaurants.  Some brewed choc beer. 

The Lovera family opened Lovera's Market and became famous for making cheeses and sausages.   The family still operates out of  the original store. It is a blast from the past! 

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Rustic Italian Soup

Rustic Italian Soup is quick and easy to prepare and so delicious. This one helped ward off the cold of the blizzard last week.

Here is what you need:

 Brown and crumble Italian sausauge in a skillet; drain.

Prep:  chop onion and carrots, mince 1-2 cloves of garlic, quarter zucchini and slice

In a soup pot, combine 28oz can of diced tomatoes,  sausauge, 1/2 to 1 cup of wine, onions, garlic, carrots, two cans of cannellini beans drained, 1 to 2 teaspoons of basil, salt and pepper to taste, and enough water for soup.

Bring to boil then lower heat and simmer for 25 minutes; add zucchini and simmer 10 minutes or until tender.

If desired: add a bit of prepared rotini pasta to your bowl before topping with hot steamy soup.  Fresh spinach leaves are another tasty addition to add to individual bowls or to the whole pot.

Top with parmesan cheese.  Delicious alone or serve with toasty slices of Italian bread.

Yum! That's plumb larapin!

 The water froze last week and we had no running water for three days-- hence the styrofoam bowl! Nothing like camping out in your own house!

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Lesa's Rustic Taco Soup

What is the perfect soup for a cold winter night? Rustic taco soup, of course!  

Too tired to make soup? No worries-- this soup is so quick and easy that you will have energy to spare.

This is what you need plus one pound of ground beef and toppings of choice.

Brown beef in a skillet then drain.
Place drained beef in a soup pot and add:
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes
1 can of Rotel any flavor (I like lime/cilantro)
1 packet of regular taco seasoning mix
1 packet of ranch dressing mix
1 can of ranch style beans undrained
1 can of black beans drained
1 can of cannellini beans drained
1 can of kidney beans drained
1 or 2 cans of hominy drained (I like 2 to balance out all the beans) 
1 bottle of beer
enough water for soupiness

All drained beans/hominy are optional-- use and/or double your favorites. Green beans or sweet corn work as well. This was my first time using kidney beans-- tasty. I'm thinking of trying green limas next time-- to add color and I love limas.

Now that's one plumb larapin bowl of soup!

Delicious topped with cilantro and a squeeze of lime or shredded colby/jack or a dollop of sour cream or all of the above!

Serve with tortilla chips, tortillas or cornbread.

Enjoy!

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PF Changs

PF Chang's makes the best wonton soup! In addition to wontons, there's shrimp, chicken, water chestnuts, mushrooms and spinach floating in the broth.

The perfect apre-zoo warm up on a chilly day!

Kung Pao Shrimp! Delicious!

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