Quick Chicken Noodle Soup
Sometimes you need a quick chicken soup recipe because nobody in the house feels well. Here's my cut-corner go-to!
- 5-6 chicken tenderloins
- 1 32 oz. box chicken stock
- 1/2 12 oz bag egg noodles
- 4 peeled and diced carrots
- 4 ribs chopped celery
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 bunch, roughly chopped parsley
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
- 3 cloves, garlic
Potato-Leek Soup
It's no wonder January is National Soup Month. With the cold temperatures and snowy days, I want to make a fresh kettle of soup every couple of days. And, in fact, that's exactly what I've been doing.
I made one of my go-to favorite soups, potato-leek, as the snow fell on Friday. I always stick to this basic recipe. Sometimes I add some pancetta or country ham; sometimes I forget to buy or make stock and use water. This time, I got the bright idea to add a little cayenne pepper for depth. We loved the way the heat of the cayenne played off the smokiness of the bacon!
Potato-leek soup
- 6-7 slices bacon
- 3 leeks, chopped (white and light green portion)
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 7-8 Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into quarters
- 64 oz box chicken broth
- 1/3 cup half-and-half
- Kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper (optional)
- Parmesan cheese and scallions for garnish
Cut bacon into lardons. Place in dutch oven over medium heat; cook until bacon is lightly browned and fat has rendered. Add leeks and garlic, cook until translucent (3-4 minutes). Add potatoes; let cook for 10-15 minutes. Add chicken broth (It's better to use homemade stock, but packaged broth will do in a pinch...) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let cook for about 25-30 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Using an immersion blender (or a food processor), blend most of the soup, leaving a few chunks of potato. Add half-and-half and let cook another 10 minutes or so before serving. If leaving on the stove for a while, you may need to gradually add water to keep from thickening too much.
Bacon Sandwiches with Bourbon-Caramelized Onions and Feta
Oh, y'all.
Tonight, my brother and I found ourselves cooking a quick and simple supper that was so very good. We took my trusty cold-weather potato soup and livened it up with some amazing bacon sandwiches. The bourbon onions on the sandwiches (Little Brother's creative concoction!) were downright amazing, and added a little taste of Kentucky!
Bacon sandwiches with caramelized onions and feta cheese
- 6 slices bacon
- 2 medium white onions
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Bourbon
- Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
- Feta cheese crumbles
Caramelize the onions: Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over low heat in a saucepan. Add sliced onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover. Simmer until translucent and tender, 10-15 minutes. Remove cover, increase heat to medium. Add remaining tablespoon butter, brown sugar and a dash of pepper. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Add splash of bourbon, simmer another 5 minutes.
For each sandwich, use three slices of bacon. Cut each slice in half. Lay three of these pieces vertically side-to-side. Lay remaining pieces horizontally on top of the vertical slices and weave in an over-under design, creating a bread-shaped square of bacon. Place in a shallow baking dish lined with aluminum foil. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until brown and crispy.
On toasted sandwich bread, add a layer of feta cheese crumbles, a bacon square and caramelized onions.
Potato-leek soup
- 6-7 slices bacon
- 2 leeks, chopped (white and light green portion)
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 7-8 Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into quarters
- 64 oz box chicken broth
- 1/3 cup half-and-half
- Kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper
Cut bacon into lardons. Place in dutch oven over medium heat; cook until bacon is lightly browned and fat has rendered. Add leeks and garlic, cook until translucent (3-4 minutes). Add potatoes; let cook for 10-15 minutes. Add chicken broth (It's better to use homemade stock, but packaged broth will do in a pinch...) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let cook for about 25-30 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Using an immersion blender (or a food processor), blend most of the soup, leaving a few chunks of potato. Add half-and-half and let cook another 10 minutes or so before serving. If leaving on the stove for a while, you may need to gradually add water to keep from thickening too much.