Thursday, January 30, 2014

Meatball Tortellini Soup

When the temperature drops, there’s nothing like curling up on the couch with a bowl of hot, comforting soup.  This one fits the bill.  As an extra bonus, this soup is pretty healthy and great as a leftover meal the next day.  Add extra heat with the red pepper flakes.  If you are not a fan of ‘heat’ in your foods, than leave that ingredient out altogether. 


Meatball:
½ Pd. Hamburger
¼ C. Parmesan, grated
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. Parsley, minced
1 Egg, beaten

Soup:
¼ C. Parsley, minced
1 tsp. Celery Seed
2 Carrots, diced
1 Onion, diced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
4 C. Spinach, chopped
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
6 C. Beef Broth
16 oz. Cheese Tortellini
1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Vegetable Oil

Combine all ingredients for meatballs. Season with salt and black pepper. Form into balls. Heat oil in stock pot. Fry meatballs in batches until cooked through. Set aside. Add more oil if necessary to the pot. Add carrots, onions, garlic. Saute until softened. Add spinach. Cook about 5 minutes until wilted. Add broth. Bring to a boil. Add meatballs, parsley and tortellini. Simmer until tortellini float to the top and meatballs are heated through. Season with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Chipotle Turkey Chili

Is this a soup or a chili?  I don’t really know, but I do know that it tastes really good.  Especially on a cold day.  I like to have corn bread with this, but cheese quesadillas are also nice.  Don’t confuse the chipotle Mexican cooking sauce with the can of chipotles in sauce.  The latter is much stronger in taste.  The chipotle sauce I like is made by Herdez.

 
 
1 Pd. Ground Turkey
1 Onion, minced
4 oz. Green Chilis
1 C. Chipotle Mexican Cooking Sauce
15 oz. Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ C. Frozen Corn
15 oz. Diced Tomatoes
4 C. Chicken Broth
8 oz. Sour Cream
Vegetable Oil
 
Saute onion in vegetable oil over medium-low heat until softened and translucent. Add ground turkey and chilis. Cook until completely done breaking up into small pieces. Add remaining ingredients except the sour cream. Simmer on low for about an hour to let the flavors develop. Stir in sour cream. Heat through. Serve with lime and/or cilantro if desired.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Sticky Cranberry Sweet Rolls

A great recipe to use up the leftover cranberry sauce from the holidays.  Make sure the sauce is of good quality, since it is the foremost taste of these rolls.  The glaze makes these rolls super sticky.



2 ½ C. Flour
1 ½ tsp. Yeast
½ tsp. Salt
1/3 C. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 Egg
½ C. Milk
1 C. Cranberry Sauce
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 Orange

In bowl combine flour, yeast, salt and sugar. In separate bowl, combine butter and egg. Beat until light in color. Add milk. Make a well in the flour mixture. Add the liquid. Stir until dough comes together, adding more milk if needed. Turn dough out on lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until elastic and smooth. Place in bowl and lightly coat all sides with oil. Cover and let rise until doubled. In bowl combine cranberry sauce and cinnamon. Set aside. On floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle about half an inch thick. Spread the sauce mixture evenly across the dough. Zest the orange over the sauce. Roll the dough into a log. Cut the log into 1 ½ inch slices. Spray a 9 x 13 glass pan with non-stick spray. Arrange rolls in pan, spacing evenly. Cover with a towel and let rise for about an hour. Pre heat oven to 375. Bake for about 20 minutes until lightly browned. Brush with glaze.

Glaze
½ C. fresh squeezed Orange Juice
½ C. Sugar
¼ tsp. Vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over low medium heat. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Bring to boil, then simmer until glaze is slightly thickened, about 7 – 10 minutes. Let cool.