Pasta de fagioli

Don't let the fancy name scare you. It really is a simple soup. It's a copy cat recipe from Olive Garden. The soup my husband calls "chili" when he orders it at Olive Garden. 

I decided to bring Olive Garden home tonight. Not that I watched an Olive Garden commercial and was craving their food or anything. Commercials didn't get me til' now. Oh, boy.

The classic question you are asked once your food is set in front of you.

"Would you like fresh grated Parmesan on that?"

"Okay, tell me when."

You never know if you are to say "stop" or "when".

The pile starts to mound... "when!", you exclaim.

Then you guiltlessly eat a mountain of melted cheese.

Recipe link here.

I used sausage instead of ground beef and added more tomato

juice and less pasta. Go easy on the salt since sausage is seasoned.

Revised recipe below. 

Pasta de fagioli

1 pound sausage
1 small onion, diced (1 cup)
1 large carrot, julienned (1 cup)
3 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans (with liquid)
1 15-ounce can great northern beans (with liquid)
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 Qt. tomato juice
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/3 pound (1/3 pkg.) ditali pasta

Brown the sausage in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat.
Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and saute for 10 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour.
About 50 minutes into the simmering, in another pan cook the pasta for 10 minutes or just until pasta is al dente, or slightly tough. Drain.  

Add the pasta to the large pot of soup. 

Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more and serve.

Recipe by Todd Wilbur

Enjoy,

Hope 

Mexican Gumbo Soup

Well folks I'm back...

happy new year to all.

What are your new year's resolutions?

Mine is to eat healthier,

the first meal I cooked after my

new year's resolution was so healthy

my husband asked for barbeque sauce.

I guess I will have to find a happy medium.

I received my Christmas gift from Josh on Monday.

Somehow it was lost in the mail, and did not

come until a week after Christmas.

It was the newest Kitchen Aid food processor.

A beauty indeed. I've used it every night this week.

Tonight for dinner I tried to re-create Qdoba's gumbo soup.

I used a recipe online as a bounce board.

It tasted similar minus the cilantro- which I can live without.

Serve over brown rice and top with guacamole.

Mexican Gumbo Soup

3 large chicken breasts, cubed

2 T. butter

2 garlic cloves, minced or crushed

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp. cumin

1- 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1- 4 oz. can chopped green chilies

1/2 lime, juiced

1- 15.5 oz. can black beans

1- 15.25 oz. can whole kernal corn

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1 sprig of fresh parsley, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in pot. Cube chicken with scissors and add to butter.

Top chicken with garlic, onion and cumin. Cover and cook until done.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Serve over brown rice and top with guacamole.

Delicious and healthy at the same time.

Now for some food processor fun. Go here to see how cool it is.

 To make guacamole use 2 ripe avocados, 1/4 onion, 

a few cherry tomatoes, l/2 juice of a lime, salt and pepper.

Turn on high and taa daaa... you have nice, smooth guacamole.

Or if you like hummus you can quick make a bowl of that.

Hummus

1- 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, drained

1/2 juice of a lime

1 garlic clove

2 T. olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

dash of paprika

Add to food processor and turn on high until smooth.

Enjoy on pita chips or crackers.

Many more food processor recipes to come!

Blessings,

Hope