Clam Chowder

My mom makes fantastic clam chowder, all of us (well, except for my little sister that is allergic to shellfish) love it every time she makes it. I finally learned how to make it on my own. I made a couple of adjustments based on a recipe I found on allrecipes (in italics, feel free to make them without if you want, they just add a little more depth of flavor) but otherwise it it really close to my mom's famous recipe. Enjoy!

Clam Chowder

6 slices bacon
3 cans minced clams (6.5 ounces each)
1 1/4 cups onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, diced
3-4 cups potatoes, diced
6 Tb. butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart half-and-half
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tb. red wine vinegar

1. Cook bacon in large stockpot until crispy. Remove bacon, but do not drain. In same pan, add onion, celery, carrots and potatoes. Drain juice from clams over veggies and add water until veggies are just barely covered. Cook over medium heat until veggies are all tender. Do not drain water.
2. Meanwhile in large saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Slowly add half-and-half and stir continually until thick and smooth (mixture will be very thick). Add to veggie/clam juice/water mixture. Heat through, but do not boil. Crumble cooled bacon and add to soup along with clams (if the clams cook too much, they will get tough, so add them right before serving). Add seasoned salt, salt, black pepper and vinegar if desired. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Taco Soup

This is a perfect, filling, and delicious dinner on a cold snowy night, and we've had a lot of those lately! One of my favorite parts of this is that you can put it in the crockpot before work and come home to a nice warm dinner with no preparation after!

Taco Soup

Soup
1 lb. hamburger
1/2 large onion or one small onion, chopped
1 1/2 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 can corn, undrained
1 can black beans, undrained
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes with chipotle chiles, undrained
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

Garnish
sour cream
cheese
tortilla chips
avocado (optional)

1. Brown hamburger and onion in medium saucepan. Drain.
2. Combine all soup ingredients in medium to large crockpot. Mix well. Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours or on high for 4 - 5 hours.
3. Serve with sour cream, cheese, tortilla chips, and avocado. Enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

This is perfect for a cold, cold winter night like we've been having plenty of. Corey likes the soup extra creamy, so I make this for him. Sometimes I just like regular chicken noodle soup, so I leave the cream of chicken soup and sour cream out. Either way, it's divine!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

2 quarts water
8 chicken bouillon cubes
6 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
1 - 2 cups carrots, sliced
1 - 2 cups celery, sliced
3 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream

1. Bring water and bouillon to boil in large pot. Add noodles, carrots, and celery. Cook until tender (about 10 minutes). Do not drain. Add chicken. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
2. If you want creamy chicken noodle soup, add cream of chicken soup and mix well. Remove from heat and add sour cream.

Thai Chicken Soup

I love Asian food, especially southeast Asian (things like Thai and Vietnamese). There just seems to be a near perfect balance of sweet, sour, spicy and savory in most of the dishes. All with a wide variety of flavors and textures. It's just amazing stuff. This recipe is one of my favorites, it's a coconut based Thai soup that I've adapted from an America's Test Kitchen recipe.

Thai Chicken Soup:
serves 4

Ingredients-
1 tsp. vegetable oil
3 stalks lemon grass, tough outer leaves removed, bottom 5 inches halved lengthwise and sliced thin crosswise (other than at the Asian market, the only places I've found fresh lemon grass around here is at the Sunflower Market and some Whole Foods stores)
3 large shallots, chopped
8 sprigs fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
3 TB fish sauce (look in the Asian section of the supermarket)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 (14oz) cans coconut milk, well-shaken (you can substitute light coconut milk if you want it lower fat)
1 TB sugar
1/2 lb white mushrooms, cleaned, stems trimmed, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts , halved lengthwise and sliced on bias into 1/8-inch-thick pieces
3 TB fresh lime juice from 2 to 3 limes
2 tsp. red curry paste (Thai)
Garnish
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 serrano chiles, sliced thin
2 scallions , sliced thin
1 lime, cut into wedges
Thai basil (optional)

Directions-
1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat, adding lemon grass, shallots, cilantro, and 1 TB fish sauce when it's just starting to shimmer. Cook, stirring frequently until just barely softened (2 to 5 minutes). Don't let the vegetables brown!
2. Stir in chicken broth and 1 can coconut milk; bring to simmer over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until flavors have blended (10 minutes).
3. Pour broth through fine-mesh strainer and discard solids in strainer. Rinse saucepan and return broth mixture to pan (I think this step is fairly optional, it will look prettier if you do it, but sometimes I don't)
4. Return pan to medium-high heat. Stir remaining can coconut milk and sugar into broth mixture and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium, add mushrooms, and cook until just tender (2 to 3 minutes).
5. Add chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until no longer pink (1 to 3 minutes). Remove soup from heat.
6. Combine lime juice, curry paste, and remaining 2 tablespoons fish sauce in small bowl; stir into soup.
7. Ladle soup into bowls, serve with garnishes of cilantro, chiles, scallions, lime and Thai basil (I serve them on the side and let people garnish for themselves, it's easier, more fun and more authentic).

If you want it to be more substantial then serve it over cooked noodles (I just use Ramen without any flavouring) or jasmine rice (about 3 cups worth).

Chicken Enchilada Soup

This is one of my all-time favorite soups. I adapted it slightly from a recipe my sister-in-law Rana gave me. It makes a lot, so I'll warn you that you might want to half the recipe if you don't want to be eating it for the next two weeks.

Also...I notice that this blog is turning into the Aubrie hour...so for the rest of you out there, start posting your recipes!

Chicken Enchilada Soup
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
3 chicken boullion cubes
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 can corn (undrained)
1 28 oz. can green enchilada sauce (or 2 small cans)
4 cups water
3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

1. Saute onions in butter in an 8 quart pot. When onion is tender, add spices, boullion, and cilantro and mix well.
2. Add beans, tomatoes, corn, enchilada sauce, and water and heat to boiling.
3. Add chicken and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, avocado slices, and Fritos.

chicken tomatillo stew

I made this for my family one night. Matt and Krista and I liked it. Howard does not like tamale's or limes so it wasn't for him.

Fry a large onion & garlic clove with some olive oil. Add salt, pepper, cumin and ground coriander.

Char broil about 7 tomatillos, onion, jalapeno pepper with some olive oil. When they are nice and brown chop them up discard the seeds from the pepper (unless you like it really hot). Add to other vegetables in a large pot.

Add 2 quarts chicken stock, one shredded chicken just before serving add 1 large can of hominy( I'm going to use fresh corn next time) and a bag of crushed tortilla chips.

Cook until thick, garnish with a large handful of cilantro, lime and cheese.

I got this recipe from Rachel Ray with a few modifications