• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 stalks of celery with leaves
• 1 medium onion
• seasoned salt
• black pepper
• 1 quart whole canned tomatoes
• 2 beef bullion cubes
• 1 cup water  
• 1 Tbsp fresh or frozen basil
• 3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream or half and half

In a medium pot, add olive oil and heat on medium-high. Add celery and onion and cook until soft, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.

Add tomatoes, bullion and water, and simmer on medium for 10 minutes. Add basil and stir until combined.

Using an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth, or to your preferred consistency. Alternately, you could transfer the soup to a blender and blend in batches, making sure the blender is never more than 1/2 full of ingredients.

Add cream to soup and simmer over low heat 10 minutes. Do not allow to boil.

Makes 8 cups.

Source: Adventures in my Kitchen

I have 2 stuffed cabbage recipes that I normally make. This one loosely resembles the recipe made by my mother as far back as I can remember. I don't know her measurements (there probably aren't any), nor do I know her exact ingredients, but I do remember piling all the wrapped cabbage and stuffed peppers in a pot, adding potatoes and covering them all with tomatoes. I took that memory and created a recipe around it and this is what I came up with. Enjoy!

Here is what you'll need:

• 7 outer cabbage leaves
• 3 cubanelle peppers

• 1 lb. ground sirloin
• 1 tsp oregano 
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs (or minute rice)
• 1/4 large onion, finely diced

• 1/4 head of cabbage, chopped
• 1 cubanelle pepper, diced
• 8 small potatoes, halved or quartered
• 8 small tomatoes, quartered
• 8 oz. tomato sauce
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Fill a large pot with water and boil the 7 outer cabbage leaves until they are softened and partially cooked. Drain and set aside.

Hollow out 3 cubanelle peppers by cutting a circle around the stem and emptying out the seeds. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl add ground sirloin, oregano, salt, pepper, egg, Worcestershire, bread crumbs and onion. Combine until just mixed. Divide meat mixture into 10 portions.

Wrap 1 portion of meat mixture inside each of the cabbage leaves as if you were making a burrito. Stuff the remaining portions of meat into each of the cubanelle peppers.

Place wrapped cabbage and stuffed peppers in a large pot. Add chopped cabbage, diced pepper, potatoes, and tomatoes to the pot.

In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce, brown sugar and garlic. Mix well and pour over all ingredients in the pot. Cover.

Turn stove to medium/medium-high heat until the liquid begins to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 35-45 minutes, or until meat is cooked through and potatoes are tender. Serves 4-5.

Source: Adventures In My Kitchen Original

A few green tomatoes fell of the vine as I was harvesting in the garden a while ago. I've been saying for years that I want to try fried green tomatoes, so after canning all the ripe tomatoes I got to work on dinner. I thought they'd pair nicely with the grilled steak we were planning.

I couldn't resist taking a bite while the first batch was cooling and I was immediately hooked! It's hard for me to really pinpoint the flavor, however, I expected something sour and that was not the case at all! While these are a little time consuming, I already have them on the menu again later this week. This new discovery may work against my plan to can enough tomatoes to take through to next year's harvest. With any luck, my neighbor will share some of his crop so I can continue to feed my new addiction!

I want to point out that while I found this recipe in one of my newer cookbooks, I didn't measure anything so this recipe below is really loosely written.

Here is what you'll need:

• 2 large green tomatoes
• seasoned salt (I use Tastefully Simple's Seasoned Salt)
• 2 eggs
• ~ 1 cup bread crumbs
• vegetable oil

Slice tomatoes into about 1/4 inch rounds. Sprinkle both sides of sliced tomatoes with seasoned salt. 

In a shallow bowl, beat eggs. Place bread crumbs in another shallow bowl.

Coat bottom of frying pan with vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat.

Dip both sides of tomato slices in egg, allow excess egg to drip off. Dip both sides of egged tomato slices in breadcrumbs making sure they are well coated (no tomato showing through). Place coated tomato slice in preheated frying pan. Lower heat of pan to medium. Repeat with remaining tomato slices, working in batches and being careful not to overcrowd the pan.

Cook about minutes or until golden brown, turn over and cook another minutes or until second side is golden brown. Remove from pan and place on a plate lined with paper towel to remove excess oil.


Source: Adapted from Old-Fashioned Tomato Recipes

Not quite ready, still simmering and reducing

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• pinch of crushed red pepper
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 portobello mushroom, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste
• 1 lb ground sirloin beef  
• 1/2 cup (maybe a bit more) dry white or red wine (I used white)
• 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes 
• 1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

Source: Slightly adapted from I Was Born to Cook

When I first scanned the ingredient list of this recipe I immediately knew we would like it. After tweaking the recipe a few times, we LOVE it! One-Pot Rosemary Chicken and White Beans is not only packed with protein, but I've bumped up the produce, for a well balanced dish that comes together in no time. This has quickly become a weeknight go-to meal in our house, and after trying it I can imagine this will easily become a go-to in your house as well.

This latest version happened accidentally when JR picked up escarole at the store. I'd never cooked with escarole before, however, I'm happy this was an accidental purchase because I have a new love to work with in the kitchen. This is such a simple delicious meal, I hope you'll try it in your kitchen this week. Don't forget to serve it with some crusty bread for dipping!
 
I'm sending this post out to Jey at The Jey of Cooking in honor of her mom who received a heart transplant almost 1 year ago. Jey, I'm so glad to hear your mom receive a second chance at life! If you'd like to help Jey spread the word about her cause, check out her post here.

Here is what you'll need:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 spring fresh rosemary, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 chicken, cut into 5 pieces (drumstick, thigh, wing and split the breast into 2 pieces)
• 1 fennel bulb, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 28 oz canned plum tomatoes, low-salt or no-salt added preferred
• 15 oz canned cannellini beans, rinsed
• 1/2 head escarole, rough chopped

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken with rosemary, salt and pepper. Sear chicken in dutch oven for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned. Remove the skin and move all the chicken pieces to one side of the pot (stack it up if needed).

Add fennel and onion to the pot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften and brown about 5-8 minutes. Add garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

Rearrange chicken to evenly distribute among vegetables in the pot. Add wine to the pot, allow to simmer and scrape bottom of pot with wooden spoon to remove browned bits. Add tomatoes and their juice, and crush with wooden spoons. Add beans, stir and cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10-15 minutes.

Remove cover, add escarole and stir. Cover and allow to cook for 10 minutes. Serves 4.

Source: Adapted from Cooking Light

Inadvertently, this week ended up being a soup/stew week. I'm really excited to end this week with this stew which part of a recipe swap I participated in. I was lucky enough to get this unique Mahogany Beef Stew submitted by Mary Ellen of Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations. After reading the ingredient list I was intrigued by one ingredient, hoisin sauce.  This is a staple in our house, generally used for a grilled steak marinade, but I never thought about using it in beef stew.

As I started cooking I realized the directions said simmer on low 2-3 hours (when will I learn to read all the way through before starting!).  After saying something explicit under my breath, I went back to the original recipe on Epicurious. The instructions didn't appear to take as long to cook, so I opted to follow their method. I didn't end up needing cornstarch for thickening, but you may depending on how thick you want the gravy.

Mary Ellen mentioned serving with mashed potatoes, so I went ahead and served it that way, a first for me. I'm so glad I followed her lead, because the stew gravy was amazing over the potatoes. Even JR said to make sure Mary Ellen knows how much we liked it, so a big shout out goes to Mary Ellen for submitting this recipe!

For more soup and stews from the recipe swap, be sure to check out A Taste of Home Cooking for an upcoming Recipe Swap Round-up of Soups.

Here is what you'll need:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 onion, sliced
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 lb stew meat
• 2 tsp flour
• 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup red wine, divided (I used Malbec)
• 17 oz chopped tomatoes
• 3 oz hoisin sauce
• 3 carrots, cut into rounds
• 1/2 cup beef stock

In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add 1 Tbsp olive oil, onions, mushrooms and bay leaf. Season with pepper, and saute 8-10 minutes. Stirring occasionally.

Season stew meat with flour, salt, pepper, and red pepper. Heat a medium skillet over high heat, add 1 Tbsp olive oil and meat. Sear meat on all sides until browned.

Add meat to Dutch oven. Pour 1/4 cup red wine to skillet, simmer and stir to remove brown bits from pan. Pour wine into Dutch oven.

Add 1/4 cup wine, tomatoes and hoisin sauce to Dutch oven. Stir well, cover and turn heat to low. Simmer on low heat 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

Add carrots, remaining wine and stock to Dutch oven. Turn to medium and bring to boil. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes until carrots are tender. Simmer uncovered another 15 minutes to thicken. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4.

Source: Epicurious as seen on Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

I've been a terrible blogger the last few months, and it's time I make up for it.  The next few posts are "make-up" posts so to speak.  They've been sitting in my drafts, staring at me to finish them up.

I didn't realize how similar this recipe was to Stuffed Pepper Soup until I was in the middle of cooking.  It's rare that I put such similar recipes on the same week's meal plan.  Now that I think about it, we ate a lot of beef that week which is also rare.  There seemed to be a lot of rarity going on, because JR also suggest we have Sloppy Joes (they were already on the meal plan!) on Garlic Toast. 


Hmm, Garlic Toast.  What a fantastic idea!  JR just brought Sloppy Joes to a whole new level, perfect for enjoying while watching the MLB playoffs (see, I told you the drafts have been sitting a while!).  These would also be perfect for the Super Bowl.

I should note that JR also asked for chunky Sloppy Joes, so my peppers and onions weren't chopped as small as I normally would.  It totally up to you how large or small you chop them.

I hope you'll try these and let me know what you think of serving them on Garlic Toast!

Here is what you'll need:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
• 1 lbs ground beef sirloin
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp steak seasoning blend, I used McCormick's Montreal Seasoning
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste

• sandwich rolls
• butter
• mayonnaise
• Garlic powder or seasoning (I used Outrageously Garlic)

For the Filling: In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add meat and break it up with a wooden spoon.

Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning in a small bowl.  Add mixture to meat and stir to combine.  Continue cooking the meat until it is no longer pink and beginning to brown.

Add onion and peppers to the skillet and cook for 1 minute.  Reduce heat to medium, add vinegar and Worcestershire and combine well.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add tomato sauce and paste and combine well.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes.

For the Garlic Toast: While the filling is simmering for the last 5 minutes, spread a thin layer of butter on the rolls, then spread a thin layer of mayonnaise over the butter.  Sprinkle with garlic powder (I used about 1/2 tsp per roll, but this should be adjusted to your taste).  Toast in the toaster oven until browned to your liking.

Serves 6.

Source: Rachael Ray

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 cups water
• 16 ounces tomato sauce
• 28 oz canned plum tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Season ground beef with salt and pepper, add to pot and cook until brown.  Drain excess fat.

Add remaining ingredients to pot, stir and break up tomatoes using a wooden spoon.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.  Cover and simmer 30 minutes or until peppers are tender.  Serves 4.

Source: Taste of Home

Generally, I make stew in the crockpot.  However, recently I've heard a lot of debate about the crockpot leaving food tasteless.  So I decided to test it out for myself by making this in a Dutch oven.  I'm here to report that this stew was WAY better made on the stovetop, and my husband agreed (he said this was a 10!).  Not only was the flavor sharp, the vegetables were tender, but still intact with nice texture.  

This stew was a great end to a busy, cool weekend.  We paired it with croissants, and an MLB playoff game.  We are both excited that there was plenty leftover for lunch during the week. 

Here is what you'll need:

• 6 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/4 b beef stew meat cut into 1 in. chunks
• 1/4 cup flour
• salt and pepper
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1/2 leek, diced
• 1 small stack celery, sliced
• 2 small carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 small parsnip, peeled and sliced
• 1 small purple top turnip, peeled and diced
• 4 red potatoes, diced 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cup beef broth
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 28 oz. canned plum tomatoes, including juice
• 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 bay leaf

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  In a small bowl combine flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Add 1/2 stew meat to the bowl, coating the meat with flour.  Add to Dutch oven, cook until browned on all sides, stirring with a wooden spoon as needed.  Remove meat to a plate and set aside.  Add 2 Tbsp olive oil to Dutch oven, repeat coating and cooking remaining meat.  Remove meat and set aside.

Add remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil to Dutch oven.  Add onion, leek and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and slightly browned.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add carrots, parsnip, turnip, potatoes and garlic, stir and cook until garlic is fragrant.

Add beef broth, bouillon, tomatoes and spices. Stir, break up tomatoes with the spoon and scrape bottom of Dutch oven to release the brown bits.  Add beef, stir, and cover.  Reduce temp to low and cook 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender and sauce has thickened.  Serves 6.

Source: Adventures in My Kitchen

This month's What's Baking is hosted by Jade of The Mess Pot with the theme being Celebrate Summer.  Although I love Fall, Summer comes close to being my favorite season mostly due the beach.  I love the beach and am very fortunate to live close enough to make weekly or semi-weekly trips on the weekends.

I had so many ideas incorporating a beach-y feel, but as it turned out I decided to highlight the abundance of tomatoes coming out of my garden.  Tomatoes are the garden I look forward to all Summer.  I've heard so many stories around the nation of lost gardens due to extreme heat or bugs, we were lucky to escape both of these hardships this year.

Every Summer I search for new ways to use tomatoes, usually opting for recipes that highlight their bright flavor.  This Tomato Ricotta Tart from Martha Stewart was no exception.  Not only does it highlight the tomatoes, pairing it with a side salad makes for a great light dinner on an especially hot Summer day.


My springform pan is 10 inches, so the measurements here represent what I used for that size pan.  Here is what you'll need:

I'm always looking for new ways to utilize these star vegetables of summer.  This salad is inspired by this corn soup recipe I started making 2 summers ago (I hope to make and blog this soon).  Since I had both a leftover ear of corn and fresh tomatoes on hand, and I knew they went well together I decided to make a light salad to accompany our Shrimp Burgers.

The corn and scallions tied in nicely with the burgers.  I just used a bit of vinegar to give it some flavor, but still keep the flavor mild which I appreciated for balancing out the tartness of the burger's tartar sauce.

Here is what you'll need:

• corn kernels, cut from 2 fresh cobs of corn
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 2 Tbsp chopped scallions
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a small bowl and combine well.  Let sit for a 20 minutes before serving.   Serves 2 as a side.

• 2-3 cups of cubed ciabatta
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 lb. small tomatoes, quartered
• 1/4 English cucumber, cut into 1 in. chunks
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1 in. chunks
• 2 Tbsp chopped basil
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

In a large bowl, place ciabatta, 2 Tbsp olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper to taste.  Toss until all the bread is coated well.

Heat a nonstick pan to medium-high heat.  Add bread to pan and toast, turning over until all sides are browned.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Add remaining ingredients to large mixing bowl.  Toss until combined well.

Add toasted bread to mixing bowl just before serving.  Toss gently until well combined.  Serves 3.

I had no intention of blogging this dish until I was in the middle of cooking it and the house smelled amazing!  I'm a big fan of Meseidy from The Noshery blog.  When she posted this recipe it went on my long list of meals to make.  I am so glad that this made its way to the top rather quickly since JR and I love garbanzos.  This was a winner and will definitely become part of our meal rotation.

Recently JR asked me to cut back on the spiciness in our dinners, so I substituted a smoked sausage for the chorizo.  I also cut back the amount of garbanzos used and served this over rice.  The only thing this meal was missing was a side of avocado!

This would also make a great vegetarian meal by omitting the sausage, increasing the garbanzos and using vegetable broth.

The changes I made are included here:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 12 oz. smoked turkey sausage, sliced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
• 1 Tbsp capers
• 2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1 15oz can garbanzo beans
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 roma tomatoes peeled, seeded and diced (or 1/2 cup of canned diced tomatoes)

Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add sausage and brown on both sides.  Remove sausage from pan and set aside.

Add pepper, onion and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown.  Add cilantro, stir and allow to cook 1 minute.

Add capers, vinegar, beans, tomato sauce, chicken stock and tomatoes.  Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

Add sausage to pan, stir and allow to simmer an additional 10-15 minutes.  Serve over rice if desired.  Serves 4.

Source: Adapted from The Noshery

During my middle years of college I lived with my grandparents.  From time to time I liked to cook a weekend meal to give my Gram a break in the kitchen and to show them my appreciation for all they were doing for me.  Back then I was following Weight Watchers and subscribed to their Smart Choice Recipe Collection which delivered a packet of recipes on a monthly basis.  When this recipe came I knew I needed to try it, since my Gramp loves all things labeled Italian food.

 

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 8 pieces of bone-in chicken (I think thighs are best, but I've also used legs and breasts) 
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• salt and pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 28 oz. plum tomatoes, with juice
• 4 oz. tomato paste
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

In a dutch oven on high heat, add 1 tsp olive oil and chicken parts.  Cook chicken until well browned on all sides.  Remove from pot and set aside.

Turn heat to medium-high and 1 tsp olive oil to dutch oven.  Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned.  Add peppers and onions, salt and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to soften.  Add garlic, and continue cooking, stirring until fragrant.

Add tomatoes, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes to pot.  Stir well.  Using thongs, squeeze tomatoes to jump start their breakdown process.

Remove skin from chicken pieces (and immediately throw that crispy stuff away before you're tempted to eat it!).  Nestle chicken into sauce and vegetables.

Cover, turn heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes.  Serves 6-8.

I serve this over pasta, but you could also serve on it's own, over any type of grain.

A few weeks back, JR and I ate lunch at a Moroccan restaurant.  JR had a lamb and potato tagine which he loved and asked me to make at home.  Just before our lunch, we had picked up some veal stew meat at the farmer's market, so I figured I would experiment with that.  The only issue was that this cuisine is new to me.  I was going to need help from my friend Google, but wouldn't you know Caitlin's Cooking and More posted this recipe just a few days later.  While the flavorings in her version are different than what JR had, it was a starting point.

• 2  tsp smoked paprika
• 1  tsp  ground cinnamon
• 3/4  tsp kosher  salt
• 1/2  tsp  ground ginger
• 1/2  tsp crushed red pepper flakes (next time I will only use 1/4 tsp)
• 1/4  tsp  freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb beef top round, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 4  shallots, quartered
• 4  garlic cloves, chopped
• 28 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 potatoes, cubed

Add tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to medium-low, add potatoes, and bring to a simmer.  Cover and continue to simmer for about 30 min, until potatoes are cooked through.  Serves 4.

I found it!  I misplaced this recipe and was so bummed out.  But wouldn't you know that I find things when I clean my office. 

I originally found this recipe in Woman's Day back in April 2001.  Oh the days gone by!  I was living with my sister in my condo and barely making it week to week and month to month.  Hence the reason this came out of the Budget Cook section of that month's magazine.  Even today, though my circumstances are much better, I still try to keep the majority of our weeknight meals with a budget in mind.  Plus, this is really easy to put together and is finished within 30 minutes so it really is a perfect weeknight meal all around.

The ingredients may seem like a strange combination, at least it did to me at first, but it works.  Trust me.  It even works if you add WAY too much cinnamon, but I wouldn't know anything about that... And if you're looking for a way to add more vegetables to your diet, or if you think you don't like eggplant, this recipe is perfect!  The eggplant picks up the flavor of the sauce while keeping a nice texture.  This could also easily made vegetarian by omitting the meat and doubling the eggplant.

I served this over whole wheat thin spaghetti, but I would suggest something bulkier like a rigatoni.

Here is the recipe including my adaptations:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 12 oz. lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper
• 1 medium eggplant, cut into 3/4 chunks
• 16 oz. tomato sauce 
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1 Tbsp freshly grated lemon peel
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add beef, onion and garlic, and cook, breaking up clumps of meat with a wooden spoon, for 2 to 3 minutes until the meat is no longer pink.

Stir in remaining ingredients and 2/3 cup water.  Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes or until eggplant is very tender.  Serves 4.

I wanted to a soup that was Weight Watcher friendly to go with my lunches this week.  I decided on Tomato Florentine Soup from my trusty Rosemary Brown's Big Kitchen Instruction Book.  I mentioned how much I like this cookbook before, and I have to say that I've made several soups from here and loved them all!

Then I got thinking and realized I didn't want any jealousy in our house, so I asked Branny if I could submit another soup recipe to her Souper Bowl.  After all, I have 2 "little girls" and I think Coon's feelings might have been hurt if I didn't give her a dedication.


Coon was rescued by JR during a snow storm 4 years ago.  She was 3 months old at the time, and so tiny!  How could someone let her fend for herself, nevermind through a storm!  She's grown into quite the hellion, but we love her nonetheless.

The changes I made to the recipe are included here:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 21 oz. beef broth (you could use vegetable broth to make this vegetarian)
• 3 cups water
• 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach
• 28 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained
• 15 oz. tomato sauce
• 6 oz. tomato paste
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• dash Tabasco sauce

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and saute onion over medium heat until soft. Add beef broth and water, and bring to a boil  Add spinach and return to a boil, stirring often.  Reduce heat to a simmer.

Add remaining ingredients.  Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.  Serves 6.

Notes: The recipe says to add 3 cups of small pasta 10 minutes before the soup is done, but I decided to leave the pasta out this time and have this soup with a grilled cheese sandwich instead.

I also like to add a bit of light sour cream to give it a creamy soup feel.

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 small)
• 2 cups large-diced small white potatoes
• 2 cups chopped fennel (1 large bulb)
• 2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, with juices
• 2 cups seafood stock or clam juice
• 1 Tbsp chopped garlic (3 cloves)
• 1 tsp saffron threads
• 1 lb mixed seafood (shrimp, calamari, scallops)
• 1 1/2 lbs mussels, cleaned