Turkey Soup – in the crockpot

Thanksgiving has not even been cooked and eaten, but I am already recieving plenty of emails regarding the leftover bird….

Well, I LOVE leftover turkey, so I have a few recipes I will be sharing here over the next few days. I hope you find one that will tickle your taste buds. 🙂

Turkey Soup- in the crockpot

This soup is great for working families… it cooks while you are away and makes the house smell delicious. Who doesn’t like to come home to a pot full of homemade soup ?! It also freezes well.

4 cups turkey or chicken broth OR 6 cups if omitting tomatoes

2 to 4 slices cooked bacon** Optional

diced 2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained (14.5 ounces each) ** Optional

1/2 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup sliced or diced celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup rice – I tend to prefer brown rice in this, but white works great too

1/2 tsp. sea salt or less if using purchased broth

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels** Optional

1 to 2 cups diced cooked turkey

In a crock pot or slow cooker (I have a 6qt), combine turkey broth with Optionals plus carrots, celery, onion, rice, and salt. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours; or start on high for an hour and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Add optional corn kernels and turkey; cover and cook an additional 45 minutes to 1 hour.

YUM YUM!

Vegetable Gumbo with or without Chicken ;)

Mmmmm, Mmmmm, Mmmmmm Good!

The latest recipe I made from Mary Frances’ Gluten Free Cooking School was a hit with the entire family! This Yummy soup is full of tasty veggies and was absolutely dee-lish…best part, not too spicy.

I found this little tidbit HERE and quickly fell in love with it’s simplicity and adaptability ~ one of us doesn’t like diced tomatoes so I simply substituted the diced tomatoes with Tomato puree and it was a SMASH! I must also admit that I only made a 1/2 of Mary Frances’ recipe, next time (and there will be a next time) I will make a full batch and freeze as she recommends — yes, we like it THAT well!

Here is what I made from Mary Frances’ recipe:

1 med onion diced

2 cloves garlic chopped

Sauteed in 2 T. olive oil

32 oz Swanson Organic Vegetable Broth

8 oz frozen Okra

16 oz frozen mix veggies – I used a handful frozen green beans and 2 handfuls frozen peas/carrots mix.

leftover chicken from 2 nights before diced = about 2 split chicken breast

1/2 ~ 28oz can of Full Circle Organic Tomato Puree

1/4 teas thyme

couple pinches dried sage

salt and pepper added at the table

Mmmm Mmmmm goodness!!

You can find this recipe and more at Healthyfishies.com

Chicken or Not Soup and Biscuits – gluten free, dairy free, soy free, vegan, vegetarian, nut free, egg free, corn free

To continue on our week of indulging and experimenting with Mary Frances’ “Gluten Free Cooking School” Recipes. For today’s update, I indulged my bread craving monster upon some real beauties! I absolutely loved buttermilk baking powder drop biscuits in my previous life. Oh for the love of tender flaky goodness smothered in butter *swoon*.

But wait, what do my eyes see before me ? Could it be? Oh my heart be still…My long lost love staring back at me! Beckoning me to come closer, to take that step, to “taste and see” that they indeed were good. My thoughts quickly raced to remember the feel of these tender morsels, the texture, they way they would soak up the butter or sauces. The way the top baked to a pefect crust while the inside was tender and moist. Mmmm, I remembered fondly the days of biscuits and gravy! Oh MYlanta! I just have to have them! My heart began to pitter pat as I scanned the words before me. “yes! yes! yes!” I exclaimed, “I can make these!” And so began my love affair with Mary Frances Biscuits. Mary Frances has two recipes Love, for these beautiful biscuits One contains soy flour and the other does not and these are the Light and Fluffy Variety. 😀 TASTE AND SEE BELOVED, THESE ARE GOOD!

Chicken or not Soup

I laugh at this recipe because it is so flexible I wonder how anyone can even call it a recipe.

6 cups broth (vegetable for the vegetarians, chicken for the rest of you, beef might do fine as well)

2 cloves garlic diced – or garlic powder for those who are out of fresh

1 medium onion diced – or again powder works

salt and pepper to taste–  I use sea salt and fresh ground, but whatever works for you is awesome.

Add in any of the optionals listed below.

Toss in a 1/2 cup of brown rice and simmer for about an hour or until the rice is to the doneness you prefer … stir every so often, add water if necessary.

Serve hot with Mary Frances Biscuits!

ALL the items listed below are completely optional

1c. diced chicken or turkey or whatever you have

2 nice carrots – cut into slices or diced

2 stalks celery

bay leaf

parsley

rosemary

red pepper – or red pepper flakes

green pepper

snap peas

peas

green beans

corn

any frozen bags of veggies

okra- smoosh after a bit

any kind of tomatoes

any ready to go beans- presoaked or canned, frozen

lentils

split peas

Thank you once again Mary Frances!!
You can find more at <a href=http://www.healthyfishies.com

Gentle Lentil Soup – Gluten free, dairy free, nut free, egg free, vegan, corn free LOL

It is soup time!!!

This soup is SO flexible– I call it Gentle Lentil as it is easy on the system and stress free! LOL

Not only stress free, but gluten free, egg free, dairy free, nut free, corn free, soy free and it is also easy to make Vegan! woot woot! Best Part- it is a wonderful source of protein!

The other night we made a local happy grass raised ham for dinner and being the type who loves leftovers and soup – this little quick and easy soup is one of my Healthyfishies Favorites!!

Gentle Lentil Soup

16 oz. Green Lentils – or red – 2 cups, rinsed, cleaned and drained

1 garlic clove, peeled and finely minced or pressed
1 med. onion finely chopped
2 stalks celery or like my sister says 2 sticks of celery, diced or sliced small

3 carrots sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
8 to 10 cups water or broth – since we had a nice local grass fed happy ham a few nights before we used the stock from it plus 1 T. chicken base (gluten free), but you can use chicken broth, veggie broth or whatever you have on hand.

salt and pepper to taste

Add None, Any or All of the options (listed below) if you wish. Be creative!

Toss items into a nice stock pot, bring to a boil and simmer lovingly for an hour to an hour and a half. Stir ever so often, taste and enjoy!!

Spice and Herb Options

2 bay leafs (remove before serving)
1 T finely chopped parsley
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. oregano

Vegetable Options

potatoes
zucchini
corn
peas
mushrooms
bell peppers
green beans
tomatoes

Egg Drop Soup gluten free, dairy free

Egg Drop Soup

A few nights ago around dinner time, the inner struggle began. Yes, you know the one…”what can I make that is warm, good, simple, easy yet delicious and FAST?” My tummy wanted a good but not heavy dinner and yet it wanted to be filled.

“Maybe a soup,” says the ex-chef.

“Sure, but I have nothing out or prepared for a soup darlin’ ” says I.

“oh.” Says the ex-chef as he walks away. Gosh, how I love him. 😉

After debating for a while and wasting even more time thinking and drawing a complete blank. A taste came to mind. Mmmmm egg drop soup.

Mind you this is something I have never attempted on my own before, so I was excited. But, if it flopped…what would be the backup plan for dinner? I had no time to waste and promptly popped 6 cups of water onto the stove to boil.

This is so yummy, simple and yet elegant all at the same time. I hope that you will give it a try. There are a lot of optionals in the soup so you can experiment to find what makes you happy 🙂

Egg Drop Soup

6 cups of water flavored with gluten free bullion or 6 cups chicken stock (broth)

1/2 teas. finely minced garlic (optional)

2 Green Onions – round sliced with stems or minced if you desire (optional)

1 Tablespoon Braggs Liquid Amino’s (naturally gluten free) or soy sauce

1/2 teas. grated ginger (optional)

1 teas. sesame oil (optional)

1-2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

1 egg slightly beaten, but not foamy or bubbly

pinch of brown sugar

Bring chicken broth, garlic, ginger and onion to a boil. I let mine boil a good 5 minutes. Then turn down to simmer and add liquid aminos/soy sauce, sesame oil until fairly well incorporated.  Add the pinch and only a pinch of brown sugar. Taste. Season if need be. I dont add pepper, but leave it to the diner.

Thicken the soup by taking your cornstarch and adding water to make a thick slurry. Pour gently into soup while whisking to avoid lumps. Thinner than a gravy and just slightly to cover the spoon when dipped in. Let simmer while you prepare your egg.

Slightly beat egg until mixed well, but not bubbly or foamy. When finished, turn off the heat and slowly stir the pot in a clockwise direction …very slowly. Then pour your egg mix through the tines of a fork into the soup so that it feathers or shreds and does not clump.

After egg has been added. Let sit a few moments and serve.

Bon Apetit!

You can find this recipe and more at Healthyfishies

Mmmm, Stew!

This stew is so flexible it can be made with or without beef and best of all it is GLUTEN FREE! Here is the recipe for a simple stew and biscuits — can also be dairy free 🙂

Beef Stew

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Simple Stew and Biscuits by fishie

This has got to be one of my absolute Favorite Fall recipes. I don’t even know if I can really call it a recipe per se’ as I typically make it different every time – LOL

Anyway, give it a whirl beloved, and let me know what you think.

1 lb. Stew Meat (beef, venison, whatever you like… some people think it is the grade of beef that makes the difference, I think it is the amount of veggies – LOL) If you wish to use Ribeye or Sirloin.. these are choice. 🙂
Now best beloved, if you wish to use venison meat, I will include a few tips for you with a * got it?

ok…

Now, first thing you absolutely MUST have is a cast iron Dutch Oven. This is fishie’s bestest pot in da house just because I LOVE a one pot meal and cast iron is da bomb!! This pot is so versatile. It can be used anywhere… not only on the stove top, but can be used in the oven or directly in the hot coals of a campfire.

so…

Let’s begin shall we? Place your dutch oven on your heating source and add the oil.
First we need a nice 1/8 cup olive oil and 1/8 cup of grapeseed oil. The reason I mix the two is because I like to tone down the olive oil flavor and grapeseed oil adds a tremendous amount of antioxidants and vitamin E. Of course you are welcome to use whatever favorite you wish.
Then toss in your beef chunks, I prefer the REAL beef of a grassfed animal or a good organic beef… now if you are using Venison* make sure you add 3-5 strips of raw bacon (cut into chunks) it is easy to cut your bacon if it is frozen, just cut crosswise. Approximately, 1 cup.
You will want to add a splash of sea salt and a nice healthy pinch of pepper. Make sure you sear the meat on at least 2 edges…be careful beloved that you don’t burn yourself, this is very hot, but essential in bringing out the flavors of the meat.

As soon as it is seared gently turn down the heat if you are using the stovetop to low. Now for the aromatics (all organic or garden fresh mind you darling) Add 1 roughly diced red onion or any other onion you desire, 4 nicely chopped stalks celery and 4 thinly sliced garlic cloves. MMmmm, this is the part I absolutely LOVE…. Saute’ gently — once the onions begin to lose the redness, or your onion turns opaque, you may add a lovely cup of red wine – preferably a burgundy and continue to let it simmer with an added cup of water. I typically will simmer until it has reduced the liquid to almost nothing just because I love the smell and adore the nice “sauce” it makes.
At this point I add my veggies (organic or garden fresh preferred) ….
You can choose anything you wish from these veggies…. roughly diced parsnips, chunked carrots, I like to use red or gold potatoes with the skins on cut into chunks of about 2″ or so… you can also add snap peas, diced tomatoes, diced squash, sweet potatoes, and/ or rutabagas.  Now beloved if you are using Venison* please add a few diced tomatoes to the mix to calm the beast a bit – LOL.
Add water to the pot to just about the bottom of the top veggies. Hope that made perfect sense. I would bring this back to a simmer if using stove top before I cover it and pop it into a 325 degree oven. Bake it off for about 1 1/2 – 2hours checking ever so often to assess the amount of liquid — i prefer to bake mine until it is slightly thick, that way I dont have to thicken it 🙂
If you prefer yours a little thinner stew add water as necessary to make it the way you like it.

Be Free to experiment, you cant go wrong! As long as the potatoes are done, you have a nice stew! 🙂 Season with sea salt and pepper to taste – IF needed.

Biscuits:
2 cups flour
1 T. baking powder
1/4 teas. baking soda
1 stick of butter
dash of sea salt

cut butter into flour mix. Add 1 cup of buttermilk or 1 cup milk plus 1 T apple cider vinegar.
Mix well and drop onto cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 15- 20 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned.

Sometimes I will add a handful of shredded cheddar cheese to the wet mix and 1 T. garlic salt.

Now beloved if you a gluten free doll, feel free to substitute a nice yummy cornbread, it is lovely with the stew as well. 🙂 Or come to Healthyfishies and grab my pancake/biscuit recipe *winks*

If you happen to be a dairy free darling, the above Biscuit recipe works with Soy milk, but eliminate the baking soda and substitute a stick of Promise (transfat free) for the butter or 1/3 cup olive oil.

Bon Apetit!