Rachael Ray's Fire-Roasted Manhattan Clam Chowder

Last Wednesday we needed a quick dinner because my mom, sister and I had a concert to go to. My mom was nice enough to make us clam chowder so we could eat before we left.  We just had this with some crusty bread and it was a delicious and filling meal.  My mom has been making this recipe for a while and always talks about how good it is; I would have to agree I really enjoyed it.

This recipe was published in the November 2007 issue of the Rachel Ray Magazine.

Ingredients

• 6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise 1/4 inch thick
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 ribs celery with leafy greens, stalks and leaves finely chopped separately
• 1 large baking potato, peeled and chopped
• One 28-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• One 14.5-ounce can chicken broth
• Two 10-ounce cans baby clams or chopped clams packed in water, liquid reserved
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders, about 6 minutes; discard the fat. Add the olive oil and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onion and celery stalks and cook, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the potato, the tomatoes and their juice and the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potato is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Stir in the clams with their liquid and cook to warm through. Stir in the chopped celery leaves and season with salt and pepper.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Minestrone Soup

What better to do on a snowy winter day than make some Minestrone soup?  This recipe is super easy and is definitely worth the wait.

32oz vegetable broth

11/4 cups each of celery, carrot, red onion (diced)

15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

15 oz can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3 1/4 cups water mixed with 2 extra large vegetable bouillon cubes

1 tablespoon fresh sage (I used some that I froze from our CSA)

Pinch of kosher salt

A couple turns of ground pepper

28 oz can of diced tomato

2 bay leaves

Combine all of the ingredients above in a crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours if you want the veggies to be on the softer side. Cook on high for four hours if you want your veggies to have a bit of a crunch to them. 

30-40 minutes before you are ready to eat add the following:

2 cups fresh spinach

1 1/4 cups diced zucchini and summer squash (I used some that I froze earlier from our CSA)

1 1/2 cups of tri-color pasta shells 

Garnish with some grated parmesan. 

While this was an original recipe, I'm happy to report that I found my Soup & Stew Cookbook. Hopefully I will be able to share a few more soup recipes before National Soup Month comes to an end. For more soup recipes see my post National Soup Month.

This meal was rated 4 asparagus spears

National Soup Month

January is National Soup Month, to celebrate I thought I would provide a consolidated list of some of the soup recipes I have previously posted.

Chicken Sausage and Vegetable Soup








                                                
                                                                    Homemade Chicken Soup

Roasted Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Pancetta and Vegetable Soup

Parsnip and Potato Soup

Carribbean Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

Butternut Squash Soup with Crisp Pancetta








Last week I made a delicious Southwestern Chicken Sausage Corn Chowder (it was rated 3.5 asparagus spears) however I cannot find the piece of paper where I wrote down the recipe. This does not make me happy since it was an experimental recipe, so I really have no idea of what the measurements were for each ingredient.  Hopefully I will find it so that I can share it with you.

I have the ingredients to make Minestrone so I plan on making it sometime this weekend.  Keep an eye out for my recipe in the next few days.

Roasted Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

After some unseasonably warm weather in Chicago the past few weeks we finally got a taste of winter today.  We are under a "Winter Storm Warning" until tomorrow morning with an expected snowfall of 4-8 inches.  I must say I am kind of excited about the snow since S got a sled, snowsuit and boots for Christmas.  I can't wait to see her reaction when we go out to play in it.  The only issue is currently both her and I have horrible colds; I am hoping they are gone by Saturday so we can have some winter family fun. 

Tonight I decided in honor of January being National Soup month and the fact that soup was the only thing that sounded good, I would pull together a quick Roasted Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.  Earlier this week I roasted a chicken with the intent of having leftovers for soup, see my previous post Roast Chicken with Carrots, Parsnips and Potatoes. As a result this soup can be made in an hour (maybe an hour and fifteen).

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup diced celery
1 1/4 cup diced carrot
1 1/4 cup diced Spanish onion
40 oz Swanson's Natural Goodness Chicken Broth (1/3 less sodium)
3 cups of water mixed with 2 Extra Large Chicken Bouillon cubes
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
8 oz package Lundberg Organic Wild Rice
3 cups of Roast Chicken (primarily white meat)

In a Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil then add the celery, onion and carrots. Season vegetables with salt and pepper.  Saute for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables soften.  Add the chicken broth, water with bouillon, bay leaf, thyme and rice. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and add the chicken.  Place top on Dutch oven and cook for one hour stirring occasionally.  The soup ready once the rice is fully cooked.

This meal was rated 4.5 asparagus spears