Italian Sausage, Orzo and Spinach Soup

I have this strange superpower. I'm really good at making things that I can't (or don't) eat. Cheesecake for example. That's my shit. I can "put my foot" (southern expression meaning something is remarkably cooked) in some cheesecake. Just ask my family and friends. I can also make a killer soup, although I'm not a big fan of it. It needs to be a really cold, rainy day in order for me to crave soup, which is rare here in Southern California. My husband, on the other hand, could eat soup every day. Any kind, any day, any time, doesn't matter...

 

 

Last weekend, we had our Annual Christmas Cookie Bake. Here's a photo of some of the delicious cookies we baked this year.

 

 

While I normally share a cookie recipe from the cookie bake, I decided to do something different this time...

 

We have this tradition every year where I make a new soup for us to eat for lunch. Over the years I have made some really great soup and I never make the same kind twice. My White Bean Chicken Chili/Soup has become "legendary". Everyone I have given the recipe to loves it and I still get requests for that recipe. As a matter of fact, Yvonne just called me this morning asking me to resend it to her because she has a cold and wanted to make it. It's definitely a "feel good" type of soup. I'll have to share that recipe one of these days.

 

For this year's cookie bake, I made Italian Sausage, Orzo and Spinach Soup.

 

In these photos, I didn't have the Italian Sausage, so I used smoked turkey sausage links

 

The girls really enjoyed it (Teresa even made it for her family a few days later!) so I promised I would share the recipe on the blog. I'm almost embarrassed at how easy it is to make, but hey, there are days when easy isn't a bad thing, right?

 

 

 

So here's my recipe for super easy, super simple, super delicious Italian Sausage, Orzo and Spinach Soup. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Italian Sausage, Orzo and Spinach Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
3-4 links Turkey Italian Sausage (casing removed)
** Feel free to sub any sausage you like
1 small onion, diced
4 carrots, diced large
2 -3 stalks of celery, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 14oz can fire roasted tomatoes
7 cups of chicken stock
1 1/4 cup dried Orzo pasta
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt & pepper to taste
1 bag of baby spinach
1/4 tsp fresh chopped rosemary


Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned and no longer pink, breaking up into chunks with a wooden spoon as you cook it. Remove sausage to a bowl and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent. Add the carrots and celery and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 20-30 seconds or until fragrant.

Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, pasta and seasonings. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan to ensure the pasta doesn't stick. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes (you may need to stir occasionally during this process) to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom.

After 10 minutes, taste and adjust seasonings then add the spinach, the chopped fresh rosemary and the cooked sausage. Cook stirring just until spinach is just wilted (approx. 1 minute).

Enjoy immediately while still hot.

Store leftovers refrigerated in an air-tight container.

Note: Over time, the orzo, as with any pasta, will absorb a lot of the liquid. When reheating, you may need to add additional chicken broth to reach desired "soup" consistency.

To make ahead: Cook pasta separately and add to the broth when reheating the soup just before serving.

My Grandmother Nina's Chicken Mole

  Faye and I have joined forces with two of our friends to do a “Freezer Meal Exchange” every 4 to 6 weeks. What this entails is everyone in the group cooks and freezes a meal for four for every member of the group. These freezer meals come in handy during the busy work when we you don't have time to cook.

I admit, I was a bit skeptical about the concept when it was presented, but honestly it is the best thing ever!  Not only do we get to eat amazing food from awesome cooks, but we also get to try recipes you never would have considered otherwise, and to top it off we get to spend quality time each month with our girlfriends for the exchange lunch.  It really is a win-win situation!

Another great thing that has come out of this cooking adventure, is the time I get to spend cooking with my mom.  I have wanted to do this for some time now, but really have not had the time. The Freezer Meal Exchange has given me the perfect vehicle to do this! Finally, I am able to actually cook with my mom and get her recipes to share on the blog instead of just sitting at the dinner table and enjoying her delicious food.  It’s been difficult through the years to get actual measurements from her since her recipes always involved "a pinch of this", "and handful of that", "should look like this", or "I don't know, it just make it". Honestly, that is years of experience talking.  Since starting this club, we have been able to cook 3 of her recipes together and hopefully more to come! 

  As for this week’s recipe, it's my Grandmother Nina's Mole recipe. What is Mole? It’s a sauce that is added to chicken. It varies in flavor and technique depending on the part of Mexico you were raised.  Traditional Mole takes lots time, lots of ingredients (including chocolate) and lots of love to make. My Grandmother’s recipe is a simplified version, probably due to raising a big family in the mountains of Mexico.  After my Mom married my Father, her Mother-in -Law (my Grandmother) taught my Mom how to make her version of this spicy goodness called Mole since my Dad loved it. so much  I have grown up on this Mole since I was a child and it is delicious!  Rich and flavorful, not spicy, just a mild chile flavor that you will definitely enjoy. It it definitely worth the time to make!

 This Chicken Mole dish was a hit with the Freezer Meal Club so make a big pot of it and freeze the rest for meals throughout the month (if it makes it to the freezer!)

  I really hope you give my Grandmother Nina's Mole  recipe a try and that it becomes a well loved traditional meal for your family, just as it is for ours.

Happy Cooking everyone!       

    

Grandmother and Grandfather in the 1940's

Mom 2012

Grandma Nina's Chicken Mole
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

For Chicken soup:

1 cut up fryer, or 8 thighs or 4 chicken breast cut in two

½ of a medium onion

2 peeled garlic cloves

½ teaspoon pepper

8-10 cups of water

3-4 tablespoons chicken flavor bouillon

For Mole Sauce:

¾ cup Flour

¼ cup California chile powder

¼ cup Paprika chile

8 ½  cups of the chicken broth (from soup you made)

Directions :

Add chicken, onion, garlic, pepper, and water to a large soup pot. 

Bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add chicken bouillon and reduce heat to medium-high

     Cook for about 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

For the Mole Sauce:

1
     Using a large soup pot set heat to medium.  Add flour and toast.  (to toast flour, just continue to stir. It will become a nice light caramel color).  Once done, set aside and cool for 10 minutes

     Mix together, California powder, paprika with ½ cup of the chicken broth. Set aside.

     Once the toasted flour has cooled, put back on stove at  high heat. Whisk in 2 cups of the chicken broth, continue to add the remaining 6 cups of chicken broth.  Bring to boil.

     Once it is boiling, add the chile mixture you had made.  Whisking it in, reduce the heat to medium.

     Add the cooked chicken pieces and cook for another 8-10 minutes.

           Serve with Mexican rice  and warm corn torillas.

MEXICAN RICE

FREEZER MEALS READY TO BE FROZEN

Meat Lovers Smoky Bacon Meatballs

If these meatballs are wrong, then I don't wanna be right. They say "Everything is better with bacon" and bacon is definitely the star ingredient in this recipe; no cheese, no bread crumbs, nothing green and leafy getting in between you and pure meat lover's heaven. I was actually inspired to make these after receiving a comment from someone who has made the Smoked Gouda Meatballs posted here twice and said they have become one of her favorites. Tina, this one's for you!

Meat Lovers Smoky Bacon Meatballs
Makes approx 30 meatballs

Ingredients
1 lb hardwood smoked bacon, cut into 1" pieces
3/4 lb 80/20 ground beef
1/4 lb hot italian pork sausage
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons smoked spanish paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander or ground fennel
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

Place the cut bacon in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it is evenly ground. Place the ground bacon in a large bowl.




Oooh, ground bacon, my new BFF


Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl. Be sure to crush the dried oregano in the palm of your hand or in between your fingers to release it's flavor. Using your hands, gently combine the ingredients. For best results, do not overhandle the mixture. If you don't have Smoked Spanish Parika, any other smoked paprika will do but I recommend the Spanish version (see notes below).

Gently roll into 1 1/2" balls making sure you handle the meat lightly and do not press or pack the meat too tightly.

Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Meatballs chillin'

After 2 hours, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, brown the meatballs on all sides. Place the browned meatballs on a foil lined, rimmed backing sheet.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake approx 15 minutes until the temperature registers 160 degrees. You may still see some pink in the interior of the meatballs due to the bacon but as long as you cook them to the proper temperature, they are done.


Remove from the oven and serve as desired.

I made mine into meatball subs by placing sub rolls brushed with olive oil under the broiler then topping the rolls with provolone cheese, a few of the meatballs and some of our favorite marinara sauce.

You can also make them into sliders by placing one meatball on a toasted slider roll then topping with cheese and warm marinara sauce or serve as an appetizer with a side of warm marinara sauce for dipping.

Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat to the appropriate temperature before serving the leftovers.

Note: This is my favorite Smoked Spanish Paprika. It's from the La Vera region of Spain and has a great smoky flavor. I highly recommend it. You can usually find it for a good price at Home Goods in the gourmet food section.

Chicken Stuffed Chile Rellenos with Roasted Tomato Sauce

If you’re looking for an alternative to the traditional Chile Relleno, this is a great recipe to try. For those of you that didn’t grow up in a traditional Mexican family, a Chile Relleno is a stuffed chile. In the traditional recipe, the chiles are filled with cheese, coated in a flour mixture then dipped into an egg wash and fried. Even though those are tasty, you have to give this recipe a try. My Aunt Conchi, who has been a great source for recipes, gave this one to me over the weekend. The concept sounded interesting and I wanted to play with the idea and see what I could do. I gave the sauce a twist by roasting the tomatoes and adding the root vegetables (shallots and garlic). Also, the original recipe only used evaporated milk, but I added the whipping cream and broth. I also added chicken to make it a heartier dish. The end result was fantastic! The sauce is absolutely delicious. The roasted vegetables gives the sauce a bit of sweetness which is wonderful. For you vegetarians out there, you can easily change this recipe to vegetarian by omitting the chicken and adding a vegetable base for the sauce. I bet it would be just as good. Happy cooking everyone!

Ingrediates:
1-2 cups of shredded chicken
6 Anaheim Chiles
6-8 strips of Mexican Queso Fresco ( or a fresh Mozzerella would work also)
1/4 cup of crumbled Queso Fresco (or Mozzerella cheese)


Roasted Tomato Sauce
4 Roma tomatoes
2-3 shallots  (peeled)
1 garlic clove (peeled)
1 tablespoon Vegtable oil
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 chicken flavored boullion cubes
1 tablespoon cornstarch


Preheat oven to 450 degrees


1. Coat Chiles, Tomatoes and shallots with the one tablespoon of oil and place on a 11x14 tray.

2. Place in oven and set timer for 10 minutes.  After first 10 minutes, take tray from oven and flip all the vegtables. Put tray back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

                                                                    (after 10 minutes)

                                                             (after 20 minutes)

3.Take 3 wet paper towels, and wrap the chiles as soon as the come out of the oven in the towels. This will make it easier to remove the skin. Set aside for 15 minutes before you start peeling.  Also, set aside the tomatoes, scallots and garlic in a bowl to cool.

4. Once the chiles are cool , it is time to start peeling.  Pull at the skin to creat a hole.  The skins should easily come off.   Place de-skinned chile on a plate and  remove the skins from the remaining chiles.

  5. Once all the chiles are peeled, take one of the chiles and cut off the top.  Then make a slit from the top to the bottom on one side (do not cut all the way through). Taking a butter knife, remove all the seeds.  Repeat the process on all the chiles and set aside.

6. Take the cooled tomatoes and start peeling off the skin. This is a bit more difficult than the chiles, just take your time till all the tomatoes are peeled (ok if a little skin is left on).

7. Once all the tomatoes are peeled, take the tomatoes, shallots and garlic and put in the blender.  Add the evaporated milk, whipping cream , boullion  and chicken broth. Blend for 1-2 minutes until the sauce looks creamy . Pour sauce in a small saute pan.  Add corn starch and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

                                                    

8. Prepare a 2 quart casserole dish by spraying oil on it.  Take one of the prepared chiles and place on a plate.  Put one strip of cheese and cover with shredded chicken. Add two tablespoons of the sauce.  Pull the ends together to cover and place open side down in casserole dish.

9. Pour the remaining sauce over chiles and sprinkle with about 1/4 cup of crumbled Queso Fresco.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Serve with Rice. Enjoy!