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Black Bean & Ham Soup

December 31, 2008 By Kate 12 Comments

This recipe is a favorite in our house. I only make it twice a year because I like the authentic flavor of using a ham bone. So, after each Christmas and Easter, we all get excited because we know what’s coming! Fortunately, this recipe makes a huge batch and provides enough soup to freeze at least 2 more meals worth.

Black Bean & Ham Soup

  • 3 T. Extra-Virgin olive oil
  • 6 stalks celery, plus leaves, chopped
  • 2 large onions, diced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 T. cumin
  • 2 t. rosemary
  • 1 t. cayenne pepper
  • 1 ham bone, with some meat still on the bone
  • Water, about 12 cups
  • 5 c. fully cooked black beans
  • 1 1/2 c. white or brown rice
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Optional garnish: sour cream and extra cumin

1. Heat oil in a large stock pot. Add celery, onions, green pepper and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes. Stir in cumin, rosemary and cayenne pepper.

2. With the leftover ham bone, remove any ham that still cuts off easily and would be good for making other dishes. Freeze that ham. Add the ham bone with remaining meat to the stock pot. Cover completely with water. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours.
3. Remove the ham bone and any large chunks of ham that may have come off the bone. Set aside to cool and let the soup continue to simmer.
4. When the ham is cool enough to touch, shred as much of the edible meat as possible and return to the pot. Add the beans and rice.
5. Bring soup back to a rolling boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer until rice is completely cooked. (About 20 minutes for white rice and 1 hour for brown rice.)

6. Just before serving, taste the soup and season as desired with salt and pepper. You can also add more cumin and/or cayenne pepper at this time if you’d like the soup to have more punch.

7. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a pinch of cumin.

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Sausage, Potato & Corn Chowder

December 23, 2008 By Kate 6 Comments

This hearty and filling soup is a great way to end a chilly day. It can easily be put together during stolen moments. Plus, the leftovers taste great!
Sausage, Potato & Corn Chowder

  • 1 T. butter, margarine or olive oil
  • 1/2 lb. smoked or Polish sausage, cut in half lengthwise and sliced (Turkey sausage works great also.)
  • 1/2 t. Red pepper flakes
  • 2 t. cumin
  • 2 t. salt
  • 1 t. crushed rosemary
  • 1 onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
  • 3 stalks celery, sliced
  • 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 2 c. frozen corn
  • 4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 6 c. chicken stock
  • 1/4 c. butter or margarine
  • 1/4 c. flour
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1 t. black pepper
  • 2 c. milk

1. Heat 1 T. butter, margarine or olive oil in a large stock pot. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the seasonings, onions, celery and carrots. Cook until onions and celery are translucent, about 6-8 minutes, stirring often. Add the frozen corn; cook another 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are fully cooked.
2. In a separate pan, melt 1/4 c. butter or margarine. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in milk. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes, until slightly thickened.
3. Slowly stir the roux into the soup in the stockpot. Return soup to a boil and simmer about 5 minutes, until soup is thickened.

*You can make the chowder ahead of time up through step 1. Then, just before eating, pull the stock pot out and begin reheating the soup while making the roux.

This tastes great served with a wedge of bread fresh from the oven. Use a mild-flavored bread so that you can dip it in the chowder without affecting the taste. The chowder would hold up well and be perfect in a bread bowl also.

Visit Blessed With Grace for more Tummy Tempting recipes and Tammy’s Recipes for more kitchen tips.

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Asian Chicken Pasta Salad w/ Peanut-Ginger Dressing

December 19, 2008 By Kate 2 Comments

This is one of our favorite summertime dinners. I enjoy it so much though that I’ve decided it is also a great lunch for the rest of the year. It makes a lot, so there’s enough for us all to eat it for a few days.

Chicken Pasta Salad

  • 1/2 lb. cooked and chilled pasta (best options are: spaghetti, angel hair, soba noodles, buckwheat noodles, or even ramen noodles)
  • 2 c. cooked and shredded chicken
  • 2 T. oil
  • 1/2 diced onion
  • 1/2 thinly sliced green or red pepper
  • 3 c. thinly sliced cabbage
  • 1 zucchini, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 carrot, grated or cut into matchsticks

Peanut-Ginger Dressing

  • 1/4 c. peanut butter, chunky or creamy
  • 1/2 c. hot chicken stock (If you use the ramen noodles, you can use 1/2 a seasoning packet and 1/2 c. hot water)
  • 1/4 c. tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 T. sesame oil (optional)
  • 1 T. honey
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 2 thinly sliced green onions
  • 1 1/2 T. freshly grated ginger or 1 t. dried ginger powder
  • 1/8-1/4 crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 c. chopped peanuts (optional)

Directions

For Chicken Pasta Salad

Heat 2 T. oil in a large, deep-sided skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add onion and pepper and cook for 1 minutes. Add pasta and cook until pasta starts to brown a bit, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add chicken, cabbage, zucchini, and carrot. Cook until cabbage just begins to wilt (you want everything to still have a little crunch to it. Transfer to a bowl and chill in refrigerator.

For Peanut-Ginger Dressing

Place peanut butter in a small mixing bowl. Stir in hot (It is important that you use hot stock or the peanut butter will not melt) chicken stock and tamari until well blended. Add in remaining ingredients, except optional chopped peanuts, and refrigerate until dressing the salad. (If the dressing sits in the refrigerator for longer that 20 minutes or so, you may need to microwave it to bring it back to the correct consistency. Do this very carefully, 20-30 seconds at a time so that the peanut butter does not burn.)

To Serve

You can put the salad in a serving bowl or on individual plates and pour some dressing on top, or you can mix the two together before serving. If you want to mix the two, do this before refrigerating to save the step of bringing the dressing back to proper consistency. Garnish with chopped peanuts, if desired.

**Leftovers also taste wonderful for the next 2 – 3 days.

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