Sasa Recipe

• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 cup chopped zucchini
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 tbs. Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic
• 1 tbs. Gourmet Garden Parsley
• 1 tbs. Gourmet Garden Italian Herbs
• 1 tsp. Gourmet Garden Chili Peppers
• 1 tbs. tomato paste
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 lb. chicken breast, cut in bite-sized pieces
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup tri-color orzo

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Disclosure: Gourmet Garden provided me with a selection of their herbs to facilitate the feature. I received no further compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own. 

This week, #SundaySupper is focusing on budget-friendly recipes that taste great and are easy on your wallet. With the holiday season fast approaching, its good to have a collection of recipes that are inexpensive to make. It seems there are millions of extra expenses between Halloween and New Years Eve! Our hosts for this weeks event are T.R. of Gluten Free Crumbley and David from Cooking Chat. My recipe for Comforting White Bean-Pancetta Soup is a perfect Fall budget-stretching meal. It only costs about $12 for the ingredients to make a pot of soup that serves 4-6 hungry people! I always have a can or two of beans in my pantry, because theyre a versatile, inexpensive source of protein and fiber. 

This hearty Italian soup is perfect for chilly Fall evenings. It contains white beans, aromatic vegetables, tomatoes, a pinch of red pepper for a little bit of spice, and lots of flavorful Italian herbs. Just before serving, each bowl is topped with cooked diced pancetta and a sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese. All you need to complete the meal is a green salad and some garlic bread. This soup is made with simple ingredients and is ready in less than an hour, making it perfect for busy weeknights.


Ingredients:

• 1 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 ounces small-diced pancetta 
• 1/2 white onion, diced 
• 1 medium carrot, diced 
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 2  garlic cloves, finely minced or grated
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 tbs. finely chopped basil
• 1 tsp. finely chopped oregano
• 1 tbs. finely chopped Italian parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 14-oz. can petite diced tomatoes, well drained
• 4 cups good-quality chicken stock
• Parmesan rind (optional)
• 2 15-oz. cans white beans, rinsed and drained 
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Where has the year gone to? I just flipped the calendar, and its hard to believe that its already October! That means its finally almost time for "soup weather to arrive back in Texas. I love making a big pot of soup for dinner on chilly evenings, so Im always on the lookout for great soup recipes. Lucky for me, my assigned blog for this months Secret Recipe Club offered up plenty of great soup options. Mellissa from A Fit and Spicy Life lives in Minnesota -- where Winters are much colder than the ones we experience here in Texas. She has an amazing collection of healthy and flavorful soups, and I knew I had found a winner when I saw her Chicken Orzo Soup.

I loved her addition of lemon and orzo, making this soup reminiscent of tangy Greek agvolemono soup. I had to make a few adjustments to her recipe based on ingredients  that I had on hand in my kitchen. Due to some car issues, I wasnt able to get to the grocery store to buy orzo...so I had to improvise a bit to use what I already had on hand. That means I had to use egg noodles instead of orzo. I also subbed a combination of yellow onion and garlic for leeks, used chicken breast instead of thighs, and added a bit of corn that was in my freezer. Luckily, I already had dill and lemons in the kitchen -- which are the essential ingredients that give this soup its unique flavor. 

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite-size cubes
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 8 ounces no boil egg noodles
• 1 tbsp dill
• 2 bay leaves
• A few dashes hot sauce
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Juice of 1 lemon

I told you last week that I would leak a few more secrets about the soup swap that led to my (oh-so-delicious) bagel chips. So I present my article from todays Oregonian about a swap I attended in Portland, as well a general rundown of this sort of swapping. And as a bonus, you get a link to my very own matzoh ball recipe (as well as some other delicious homemade soups from friends and neighbors), and tips for hosting a swap of your own. What are you waiting for?

There are many reasons to embark on cooking projects. But last week, as unseasonable wintery winds were whipping through the cracks in our house, I had one main motivation: to cook meals that kept the stove and oven on as long as possible. Time for slow roasting, and batches of cookies. And soup.

Matzoh ball soup has a heavy rotation in our household, especially during the winter months. The traditional version is fairly simple: dumplings in a clear dill-scented broth, with just a few carrots and parsnips and a handful of noodles. Its delicious, and especially welcomed when youve got a sore throat or some sniffles. But sometimes you want something a bit more interesting. This matzoh ball soup is chock full of vegetables and spicy with chile flakes. Its like your favorite vegetable soup, with the added bonus of some delicious dumplings.

This batch makes a huge amount (I usually split it between two pots). Feel free to halve it, if youre not feeding an army, or make the full amount and freeze some.


Spicy Vegetable Matzoh Ball Soup

adapted from a recipe developed by Gillian Rosicky, via her sister

yields two large pots

There is an ongoing debate in the matzoh ball soup community about floaters vs. sinkers: whether your dumpling is tender or toothsome. These fall on the latter side of the spectrum. I think that a more substantial matzoh ball makes a nice complement to the vegetables in this soup, but if you favor a lighter dumpling, just reduce the amount of matzoh meal by a few tablespoons.

Soup:
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 shallots, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 carrots, sliced
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut in a 1/2" dice
1/4 tsp cloves
a few hefty pinches chile flakes (depending on how hot you like it)
1 28-oz can chopped tomatoes
12 cups vegetable or chicken broth (more, if needed)
3 small zucchini, sliced into thick half-moons
8 shiitke mushrooms
2-3 cups broccoli florets
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Matzoh Balls:
3 Tbsp butter or oil
5 scallions, chopped
2 Tbsp broth
4 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup matzoh meal

Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Saute the onions, shallots, garlic, carrots and sweet potato until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the cloves and chile flakes. Pour in the broth and tomatoes, and simmer for about 15 minutes.

When you add the broth to the soup, prepare the matzoh balls: warm the butter or oil in a skillet over a medium heat, and cook the scallions until softened (this will just take a minute or two). Let cool somewhat. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and broth with the spices, baking powder, and matzoh meal. Add the onions and their butter/oil, and chill in the refrigerator.

Return to the soup: after the onions and such have been simmering in the broth and tomatoes for 15 minutes, add the zucchini, broccoli and shiitake mushrooms. Add more broth if needed. Simmer another 15 minutes. Take the matzoh ball dough out of the refrigerator (it will have been chilling about half an hour), and shape into small 1" balls, using either a small scoop, two spoons, or your hands (use some oil to keep it from sticking if you go this route). Plop these in the simmering soup as you shape them. Simmer another 30 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. You want the matzoh balls to be light and puffy and cooked through, and the vegetables to be very tender. When the soup is done, season to taste, and top with the fresh basil.