On store shelves today you will find so many convenience foods. Jarred spaghetti sauce, canned refried beans, chicken stock in a box, and so on. Now I will admit, I do buy these convenience foods. They make cooking dinner, well, convenient. Convenience is nice but there is something special about making things from scratch. I have made my own spaghetti sauce before (if you follow the link you will see a goofy picture of me when I was about 13), I love making my own “unfried” beans, and in the past I have given half-hearted attempts at making chicken stock.

This time I wanted to do it right. I wanted to make a beautiful golden colored chicken stock. Doing it right to me meant that I would roast a whole chicken, clean the chicken off the bone, and toss the bones in a large pot with all the aromatics and let it do its magic. I am happy to say that I succeeded.

Somewhere a long time ago, possibly on an old episode of The Splendid Table Lynn said the secret to a golden colored chicken stock was tossing in the onions with their peels still on. I am not sure where I heard it for certain but I am glad I did because my stock turned out a beautiful golden color.

CHICKEN STOCK
makes about 2 quarts
1 roasted chicken carcass
1 onion, quartered –peels still attached
4 celery stalks
3 carrots, unpeeled *I used handful of baby carrots
2 garlic cloves sliced
1 bay leaf
a pinch or two of dried rosemary and thyme
3 quarts water

Toss all ingredients into a large pot and bring to boil. Once boiling place lid tightly on the pot and turn burner down so the pot is simmering for 1 1/2 hours. Check the liquid level a couple times during the duration to make sure there is plenty of water in the pot. If you think the liquid level is getting low you can add some more water. After 1 1/2 hours remove the lid, turn the heat back up and boil for 20-30 minutes. Some of the liquid will boil off, which allows the flavors in the stock to concentrate. Add salt & pepper if needed.

Using a fine mesh strainer pour the finished stock into jars. Refrigerate until cooled. A band of fat will form on the top of the stock. You can remove this before using if you’d like. Since this is fresh stock I would use with in a couple days. Or you can freeze it. I recommend pouring stock into ice cube trays, once frozen place stock cubes in a freezer bag. Pull out as many as you need to add flavor to your favorite dishes. Enjoy!

As far as the crock pot goes I really don’t have a very diverse crock pot cooking background. I have made pot roast, pulled pork, and hot turkey. My soup experience in the crock pot has been limited to chili, and that is it. As of late I have been using a crock pot that was older than me, I am pretty sure my parents received it as a wedding gift. Unfortunately the crock pot’s electrical components fizzled out this spring, unlike my parent’s love for each other; they will be celebrating their 27th anniversary this fall.

All cheesiness aside, the crock pot can be a very useful kitchen appliance. My husband bought me a new crock pot, however, I opted to get a simple one with the warm, low, and high options. Since I am a SAHM I felt the extra expense of a programmable one was a little silly for me. People have dedicated entire blogs to chronicle the adventures in slow cooking. Using the crock pot could be a way to make healthier meals for your family, meat and vegetables cook wonderfully without the need to add any oil. My husband and I are trying to cut back on refined flours, sugars, and highly processed foods. A meal cooked in the crock pot seemed like a perfect answer.

This soup came to be because it was what I had on hand. I had chicken stock, but you could easily make this vegan friendly by adding vegetable broth, and using more beans instead of chicken. Either way it sounds delicious to me. Serve with a salad and a crusty bread, and you will have yourself a delicious and nutritious meal.

CHICKEN AND WHITE BEAN SOUP
4 c low sodium chicken stock (or enough to cover meat)
4 c fresh baby spinach, chopped
1 c celery, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 15 oz cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (fat trimmed)

Put raw chicken in the bottom of the crock pot. Add the rest of the ingredients. Make sure the broth covers all the ingredients. Turn crock pot on high and cook for 4 hours. Take chicken breasts out, shred with two forks, and return to pot. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

What others from the blogosphere are doing with Chicken and White Beans:
Joe at My Cooking Quest is making White Bean and Chicken Chili
Kazari at Krissy’s Cooking Blog is making Warm Chicken and White Bean Salad
Kevin at Closet Cooking is making White Bean and Kale Soup with Turkey Sausage

Yesterday I was cleaning up and organizing my food photos, and noticed that I have many photos that go to recipes that I have not yet published. This is one of them and it was made this past fall. If my memory serves me correctly, it was delicious, and I actually liked it better reheated the next day. The original recipe came from Nicole at Pinch My Salt –I love her website! It was actually the first food blog I read. The night I made this soup, I also made a potato soup with bacon for my husband, instead of wasting that tasty bacon grease I used it to sautee my onions. Serve your soup with a slice of a good crusty bread. How comforting!

*The bacon is completely optional –but it did taste wonderful with the spinach!

CREAMED SPINACH SOUP
Inspired by Pinch My Salt

2 T bacon grease or oil
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large potatoes, peel & cubed
3 full cups of fresh baby spinach, chopped
4 c chicken stock
pinch of dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 c cream
garnish with crumbled bacon

Over medium heat, sautee onion and pepper in bacon grease until onion is soft. Add garlic and sautee for 1 minute. Add stock and potatoes and boil for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Stir in spinach, thyme, salt & pepper. Cook until spinach is wilted. Puree in blender until smooth. Return to pot and stir in cream. Serve in bowls, garnish with a splash of cream and some crumbled bacon. ENJOY!

I love the fall and winter, cooler temperatures mean I can heat up my house by cooking up a storm in the kitchen. A mug of soup and fresh baked bread are two of my favorite cold weather foods. No meat, no problem. I added boiled potatoes to this soup to make it a little more filling since there wasn’t any meat in the soup. ENJOY!

WHERE’S THE CHICKEN? NOODLE SOUP

2 T Olive Oil
3 Stalks Celery chopped (greens included)
3 Carrots, pealed and sliced
1 small onion, chopped
3-4 large potatoes, pealed and cubed
8 c chicken or veggie stock
1 1/2 -2 c Egg Noodles
Pinch of Thyme
Salt to taste

Place potatoes in large pot, cover with cold water, and salt water accordingly. Boil potatoes until fork tender. Meanwhile, heat oil in Dutch oven, sautee celery, carrots and onion until tender. Add stock and bring to boil. Add egg noodles and boil until tender. Drain potatoes and add to Dutch oven . Salt to taste, add in thyme. Simmer.

Some great looking soup recipes from blogs I read:

Beef Barley Soup from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

Turkey Soup from Mennonite Girls Can Cook

Vegetarian Lentil Soup from Kalyn’s Kitchen

Tortellini Soup
8 c chicken (veggie) broth/stock
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 package dried tortellini
2 handfuls of torn baby spinach
sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese

Bring stock/broth to boil, add tomatoes and tortellini, cook until tortellini are tender. About 12 minutes. Turn heat off, add spinach and stir. Once soup is dished into bowls add a sprinkle of Parmesan. ENJOY!

I found a recipe for sourdough bread starter at the Food Network’s website, I chose Emeril’s recipe to follow. For my broccoli cheese soup, I adapted a recipe from my great grandma Nona. My grandma worked with my great grandma to type all of her recipes into a cookbook, which we received for a Christmas present in 1997. I have referenced it countless times when I need some inspiration for dinner. I am looking forward to getting a cookbook of my great grandma Dorothy’s recipes… hint, hint.

BASIC SOURDOUGH STARTER
from Emeril

3 c warm water (110 degrees F)
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit until the yeast becomes foamy, about 5 minutes. (If the yeast does not foam, discard the mixture and begin again with a new yeast.)
Add the flour and stir vigorously to work air into the mixture. Cover with a towel let rest in a warm, draft-free place (an oven with its pilot light or light bulb turned on works well) for 8 to12 hours. (The mixture should become very bubbly.) Use immediately or cover loosely with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
Preserving the Starter: Each time you remove a portion of the starter for a recipe, reserve at least 1/4 cup and replace the amount you have taken out with equal amounts of flour and water.
For example, if you remove 1 cup of starter, you must replace it with 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of warm water. Whisk these ingredients into the starter until blended but not completely smooth, cover loosely, and return to the refrigerator.
Also, the starter must be maintained by feeding it every few days. Refresh by removing 1 cup of the starter (give to a friend or discard it) and adding 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of warm water. Whisk until blended but not smooth. Cover loosely and return to the refrigerator.
If you plan to be away longer than a week, freeze the starter in a sterilized, airtight freezer container. Thaw the starter 2 days before you plan to bake with it. Refresh as indicated above with 1 cup each of flour and warm water. Cover and leave at room temperature 12 hours or overnight before using.
CAUTION: Never keep your starter tightly closed! The gasses expelled by the yeast will build up pressure and may cause the container (such as a glass jar) to burst!

I left my mixture sit for 8 1/2 hours before I began to work with it.

BASIC SOURDOUGH BREAD
from Emeril

2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups sourdough starter, recipe follows
3/4 teaspoon salt

In an electric mixer with the dough hook, combine the flour, starter and salt, and knead until it no longer sticks to the sides or bottom of the mixing bowl.
Place a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle lightly with flour and knead gently, removing any large air bubbles. Knead into a small circle, then shape into a tight ball (for bread bowls, separate dough in half and shape into two tight balls), pinching the seams together underneath. Place on a well-floured board or baking peel, seam-side down. Cover with a kitchen towels and let rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat a baking stone, if available, on the bottom rack of an oven at 400 degrees F. With a sharp, serrated knife, cut a large “X” or cross-hatch pattern into the top of the dough.

Spray lightly with a mister and transfer to the baking stone (or place on a heavy baking sheet lightly dusted with cornmeal) and bake until golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom, about 60 minutes. (Sourdough should have a darker crust than other breads, so leave in the oven 5 minutes after you think it is done.)
Remove the loaf from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.

I brushed my bread bowls with melted butter when they came out of the oven.

BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP
adapted from great grandma Nona’s recipe

1 bunch broccoli -cut up
1 1/2 c boiling water (I used 1 c chicken stock and the hot water I used to rinse out the soup cans. I filled them 1/4 of the way full and swished them around to get the excess soup out)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 c light cream (I had none on hand so I used whole milk)
salt & pepper to taste
8 oz cubed Velveeta
1/2c shredded carrots
1/2 c minced white onion
1 T olive oil

Sautee carrots and onion in olive oil.

Add broccoli, chicken stock, soup(and water), milk, and Velveeta. Simmer on med-lo until broccoli is tender.

Once broccoli is tender, scoop out about 1/2 of the mixture and pulse in a blender a few times. Be careful because the mixture is very hot!

Add back to the pot and stir well. Scoop out the insides of the bread bowl and reserve for dipping. Add the soup to the bread bowl and ENJOY!

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

3 carrots, pealed and chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 T Olive Oil
salt/pepper to taste
1 hardy pinch of dried thyme
2 – 32 oz boxes Swanson’s chicken broth
3 c cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
1 – 32 oz package Reames frozen noodles

Sautee vegetables in the olive oil until softened. Add salt/pepper and thyme. Add chicken and broth. Bring to boil, add noodles and boil for 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

I really enjoy my potato soup made with sauteed onions and crumbled bacon. When I made this soup the bacon was frozen. But feel free to add 4-6 slices cooked and crumbled to your soup.

CHUNKY POTATO SOUP

6 Russet potatoes, pealed and cubed
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 T olive oil
salt/pepper
pinch of dried thyme
1 c chicken stock
1 c cheddar cheese
2 c whole milk

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain. Sautee onions in olive oil over medium-high heat. Add salt/pepper and thyme. Add your liquids and the drained potatoes. Simmer until warmed through. Scoop out 1/2 of the soup with chunky potatoes and puree in the blender until smooth. Add to pot and stir in cheese. Simmer until cheese is melted.