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Best Ever Potato Soup
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It’s a cool, rainy Saturday and we weren’t going anywhere today. Mrs J called for soup and mentioned beans but they really need to soak overnight so I mentioned another of Mrs J’s faves: Cheesy potato soup. I got the chicken broth going with a chopped onion and some of those cured ham pieces. I like to get the ham chunks falling apart done before I add any veggies so I had a little time to surf recipes to look for seasoning tips. I found this recipe atop the results page and gave it a quick study. With some modifications I followed it. Three potatoes were chopped and added to the broth. I had some bacon frying for garnish so the fat part of a roux was ready. I removed the bacon to drain on a paper towel and added a little butter to it, then cooked the carrots and celery, adding the flour when they were tender and let the roux cook a few minutes, then added white wine to mobilize it, dumping the veggie mixture into the main pot with the potatoes. After all the veggies were tender they got a quick buzz with a stick blender.
We both gave it a taste at this point and found it to be very good. I questioned Mrs J as to the need for cheese and cream but she refused to consider it without. Fine by me! I added six ounces of smoked provolone and stirred it to melt, then hit it with a scant cup of heavy cream. Fabulous! Perfect! Some fresh chives from the garden and the bacon for garnish and a crostini with goat’s milk cheddar made this The Best Potato Soup Evah! LOL![DSC_5790 [1600x1200]](http://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/dsc_5790-1600x1200.jpg)
Good enough for a second bowl – no time for toasting the garlic bread!
Shrimp and noodle stir fry
![DSC_4829 [1600x1200]](http://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/dsc_4829-1600x1200.jpg)
Not that much to this. The shrimp were pre cooked and just needed warming. I cooked the onions and broccoli with garlic and ginger and added a sauce that was little more than oyster sauce and chicken stock with a little sesame oil and soy sauce, thickened with corn starch. I plated Mrs J’s dish and then added chili paste for a little heat and extra flavor to my portion. The box the noodles came in said they were Chinese noodles and the box was printed mostly in Chinese characters but as far as I can tell they are just your basic wheat noodles.![DSC_4828 [1600x1200]](http://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/dsc_4828-1600x1200.jpg)
More shrimp creole
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This was so tasty prepared from box mixes that I decided to try a scratch build. This recipe looked pretty good so I gave it a try, and was ready to make a batch of white rice when I noticed a bag of “Mexican” rice in the cupboard and made the dish with it – curious to see just what it was, bought it on a whim from the local grocery. It turned out to be good tasting and pretty. I had the black beans going already and was intending to freeze them in a couple of batches for later but they seemed like a good fit.![DSC_4664 [1600x1200]](http://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/dsc_4664-1600x1200.jpg?w=914)
This was my first go at dried black beans and they turned out very good. I brought them to a boil and then killed the flame, covered the beans, and let them sit for an hour, then drained them and cooked them in enough chicken broth to cover, along with some garlic powder and a sprinkling of mild chili powder, just enough to add the flavor notes. I have two bowls of the leftover beans in the freezer now, to be transferred to plastic freezer bags when they are solid. The method works for pinto beans, too, and are a good substitute for canned beans.
Mmm… turkey dumplings
![DSC_4518 [1600x1200]](http://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/dsc_4518-1600x1200.jpg?w=914)
We bought a turkey the other day because the sale price was so good and cooked the bird in the oven, stripped the meat, and made stock with the carcass. Mrs J has been wanting dumplings for a while now and today I put the dish together with simple rolled dumplings.
![DSC_4511 [1600x1200]](http://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/dsc_4511-1600x1200.jpg?w=914)
This is a really good turkey soup even before the dumplings are added. I diced celery, carrots, onion, and a couple of cloves of garlic and softened them on the stove top in olive oil with a pinch of dried thyme. These went into the pot with the stock and the already cooked turkey to simmer until the veggies were done. At this point the mixture can sit until you are ready to drop in the dumplings, they only take 5 minutes to cook up. The flour in the dumplings will thicken the broth, but if you want just the turkey vegetable soup sans dumplings you can add a tablespoon of flour to the veggies as you saute them. If you do, add a ladle of broth to the saute pan and stir well to combine with the flour before you dump the lot into the pot.
Enjoy!
