Soup

Penne Vodka Roasted Tomato Soup

September 22, 2016 by The Partial Ingredients

Penne Vodka Roasted Tomato Soup

One of my favorite pasta recipes is penne with vodka sauce and one of my favorite comfort foods is homemade tomato soup. Recently I figured, why not combine these two awesome recipes? Since it’s the first day of Fall I figured it would be appropriate to share a cozy soup recipe. While I recommend using fresh tomatoes in this recipe you can use canned tomato sauce if you’re in a pinch. The roasted tomatoes broiled in the oven in olive oil do offer a little extra something to the flavor. The soup really does taste like a perfect combination of penne vodka and tomato soup! It offered great flavor but wasn’t overly rich or heavy. When I first started brain storming this recipe I was wondering how to incorporate the pasta into the soup. Penne Rigate is way too cumbersome to have in soup but after some searching I found the solution–mini penne! It’s about an inch long even after fully cooked which makes it a perfect size for soup. I don’t add the penne all at once but rather cook to order for each bowl, that way the noodles don’t sit over night in the fridge and soak up all that good broth! I recommended garnishing this one with grated mozzarella, parmesan and fresh basil.

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French Dip Beef Soup

June 11, 2016 by The Partial Ingredients

French Dip Beef Soup French dip sandwiches are simply delicious. I wanted to recreate that deliciousness in soup form by “deconstructing” the traditional recipe. I think it worked out rather well! It’s a little bit French Onion soup and a little bit french dip. If you think about it the sandwich actually lends itself well as a soup because the “au jus” is pretty much a broth. All the ingredients were there to be reformed! I chose ground beef as a substitute for the sliced beef but if you’d like to use top round or rump roast (same as the sandwich) I’m sure that would be delish as well. I figured the ground beef would lend itself better in soup form but your mileage may vary. The key to this soup is actually the sourdough croutons. You gotta have those to complete the french dip experience! A good white cheese is also imperative, either shredded provolone or an aged white cheddar are both great options.
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Bacon & Lentil Soup with Vegetables

May 29, 2016 by The Partial Ingredients

Bacon & Lentil Soup with Vegetables

We have recently been finding some new hikes around town and finding some really nice trails. Over the last few months my fiance and I have racked up a huge wildflower photo collection along with some beautiful snaps of the scenery.

Lupine

California Poppies

Wild Pansies

Wild Roses

When we get home on the weekends from hiking we’re usually not in the mood to work on complicated dinners

Spotted this cool guy on the trail!

That goes for the busy work day nights as well–ain’t nobody got time for that! Enter: Bacon Lentil Soup to the rescue. The healthy lentils cancels out the bacon right?? Pretty sure that’s how nutrition works. Anyways, I am a big fan of this soup as it’s simple to throw together and full of good stuff. The bell peppers and mushrooms go great in this recipe which is flavored with white wine, fresh sage, garlic and spices. A pinch of cinnamon lends itself great to the flavors of the recipe. I like the bacon with this recipe because–well do I even need to explain why? You can definitely remove the bacon to make this vegan or vegetarian.

Bacon & Lentil Soup with Vegetables

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Slow Cooker Beef Fajita Soup with Roasted Peppers

April 14, 2016 by The Partial Ingredients

Slow Cooker Beef Fajita Soup with Roasted Peppers

Spring has been lovely this year with the recent rains and the wildflower blooms. The last few days it’s been particularly windy so I got in the mood to fire up the slow cooker for some soup. This one takes all the great elements of beef fajitas and combines them into a soup. You really can’t go wrong with that! Smoky Adobo chiles combine with roasted peppers and chili spices alongside a medley of beef, rice and beans. To prevent the rice from soaking up all of the stock I just prepare the rice separately for each bowl and mix it into the soup at the end. I love roasted peppers and I thought they brought the perfect fajita flavor to the soup. After cooking for 8+ hours, all the ingredients became fall apart tender and delicious! You can garnish this soup with nearly anything that works on fajitas–chopped green onion, cheese, sour cream, sliced avocado, jalapeno slices, cilantro…you name it!
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Slow Cooker Hearty Elk & Vegetable Stew

March 5, 2016 by The Partial Ingredients

Hearty Elk & Vegetable Stew

For those who have game meat available to them, this is the recipe for you! I am lucky to have a local butcher that supplies all sorts of meats, including elk and bison. This one is lovely for ground elk but if that is not available to you, ground beef works just fine. This is a very nice recipe for St. Patrick’s day since meat and potatoes is the perfect entree for the holiday. Flavored with fresh oregano and sage, paprika and garlic, this is a fragrant blend for your holiday stew. I thickened up the soup a bit with a little flour but that is an optional step. I also added balsamic vinegar and worcestershire for a little acid to flavor the stock. Throw everything in the slow cooker to cook all day and you will have a lovely stew for the evening! Garnish each bowl with a little aged Irish white cheddar and fresh parsley to perfect the recipe.
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Tuscan Bean Soup with Ground Turkey & Sourdough Croutons

February 6, 2016 by The Partial Ingredients

Tuscan Bean Soup with Ground Turkey & Sourdough Croutons

Winter is dragging on and hearty, flavorful soups are always on the menu during this time of the year. This soup is amazingly flavorful and super healthy for you. I chose ground turkey for the meat but Italian sausage would also work fine. The soup has lots of veggies to choose from: yellow squash, zucchini, spinach, carrots and more. I especially love the toasted sourdough croutons combined with melted Asiago cheese on top. To thicken up the soup I added a few cups of the base to a food processor. This recipe also works nicely in a crock pot but over the stove works perfectly fine as well. The fresh thyme and rosemary to flavor the stock complete the soup in a lovely way. This recipe is absolutely perfect for the cold winter weather!
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Lemon Chicken & Rice Soup

January 11, 2016 by The Partial Ingredients

Happy new year! I can’t believe it’s already 11 days into 2016. Since it’s January and cold season is in full force I thought I would post a recipe that helps beat the bugs that ail you. This soup is a simple, back to basics recipe. I like the addition of flour and eggs to give the broth a richer consistency. The soup is flavored with fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme, along with fresh lemon juice. A hot bowl of this soup makes for a comforting and nourishing dinner if you’re at home sick. I like to make a big pot of this soup on Sundays so I can have it during the week.
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Moroccan Lamb & Couscous Stew

September 22, 2015 by The Partial Ingredients

Well it’s almost October and it’s time to gear up for colder weather and warmer food! This stew is perfect for the time of year since it’s hearty, spicy, and a perfect belly warmer. The stew is seasoned with coriander, turmeric, cumin, fresh thyme, fenugreek and cinnamon which makes a lovely blend of spices. I used Israeli couscous for this dish and it has a pretty great texture. It almost reminds me of a smaller, savory version of those tapioca balls in bubble tea. The lamb I chose was ground lamb which breaks apart in tender pieces. If desired the lamb can be rolled into meatballs as well. Preserved lemons also add a bit of savory sweetness that enhances the flavor of the lamb and curry. The nice thing about this dish is that it is filling but doesn’t sit too heavy either. This stew goes great with a generous spoon of plain yogurt, chopped cilantro and lemon for garnish.
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Slow Cooker Cabbage Roll Soup

August 31, 2015 by The Partial Ingredients

September is almost upon us and the shortening of the Summer’s daylight hours is just starting to get more noticeable. So in honor of the impending Fall weather I thought I would make a hearty slow cooker soup to celebrate. This soup’s humble ingredients go perfectly together and create a delicious and satisfying dish. This soup is pretty much a deconstructed cabbage roll recipe and the broth is flavored with herbs, Worcestershire and paprika. The cabbage and beef becomes fall apart tender after slow cooking it for hours. Garnish with grated cheese and parsley.
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Slow Cooker Beef & Vegetable Soup

June 13, 2015 by The Partial Ingredients

I used to eat alphabet soup with beef and veggies all the time as a kid. This recipe brings me back to those days. Even though this soup knocks anything canned out of the park, the flavors remind me just a bit of the soup I used to have back in the day. This recipe is easy to throw together, and then the slow cooker does the rest of the work for you. Something about the slow cooker really brings together the flavors of the beef, the vegetables and the herbs. I used high quality ground beef for the meat and fresh oregano and thyme for seasoning. While this soup is great for winter time, it also works perfectly year round as an easy weeknight meal.
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