Its funny how I stopped by Carole's blog today to find her Ten on Tuesday is about soups, when I had already planned on sharing my sunday night soup concoction. I love soup because you don't really have to follow any rules when throwing one together. This one was pretty much made up as I went along, and it turned out to be veddy veddy delish:2 Cups Enriched egg noodles
2-3 boneless chicken breasts
3 chorizo links
2 cups loose leaf kale
1 small butternut or acorn squash, cubed
3 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
chicken broth, water
olive oil, salt and pepper
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
While you bring a pot of the chicken broth and water to a boil, sautee squash in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon olive oil for about ten minutes. (Optional: I sprinkled with paprika and added a dash of minced garlic) Toss into soup pot with carrots, celery, Old Bay and a dash of sea salt. (Its good for you.)
Brown chorizo and chicken in the saucepan-this will render out some of the fat which you can either spoon away or use to flavor the soup. I really don't need any extra fat, so GONZO. When the meats are golden and well-browned, chop into large pieces and throw into your vat o goodness. Simmer ten mintes. Sip, taste, season to your liking.
Add noodles and bring back up to a boil. Cook five minutes, then toss in your kale. Add water at this point too if you have boiled off too much. Simmer five minutes, then serve. We like spicy food, so this was adulterated with some Pete's and some red pepper flakes. Perfect.
Might as well add my top soups to the list. In no particular order....
1. Pho Ga- maybe its the star anise, maybe its the basil, cilantro I don't know. But I get a craving for chicken pho almost every week.
2. Campbell's Tomato. Best. Hangover. Cure. Ever. (sorry mom and dad)
3. Muir Glen organic soups. I'm not plugging this brand on purpose, just did a focus group on them last year and loved all their soups.
4. Italian wedding soup. we all love it in this house.
5. Suki/Shabu. You have a pot of boiling broth. Raw meat and veggies. Swish it around, its fun to do and tastes wonderful. Add Sriracha and life is complete.
Any soup with Sriracha, for that matter.
6. Miso. Its pretty boring, but it usually means sushi is on the way. I get excited.
7. Split pea and ham.
8. Chicken tortilla. Can't resist this one.
9. Au Bon Pain makes a few of my faves-lentil soup, etc. Used to eat there every day.
10. I'm from Massachusetts, so it has to be New England Clam Chowda'. So unhealthy I actually only eat it once every few years, all that heavy cream....but when I do, I make sure to enjoy myself!
