Pumpkin and Chicken Tagine

I certainly have been enjoying pumpkin season and while they are here I squeezed in another recipe, this pumpkin and chicken tagine (a Moroccan style stew). One of the signatures of a tagine dish is all of the multitude of flavours that meld together perfectly and these flavours come from the use of many spices and other ingredients; but don't let the long list of ingredients daunt you, it's actually a really easy dish to make and well worth it! I was going for a Fall theme with stew so I added some apples to the pumpkin and they complement the pumpkin nicely without overpowering it. There are usually plenty of spices in a tagine and they vary from dish to dish and for this one I went with more of a pumpkin pie spice blend with cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Tagines also commonly include dried fruit such as raisins, apricots, etc and for this fall themed tagine I went with dried cranberries. The final touch of fall comes from the pomegranate garnish which accompanies the almonds, cilantro and yogurt. This pumpkin and chicken tagine truly does taste like a wonderful melody of fall in your mouth and it is perfect comfort food for these cooling days!

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Tortellini Chili

When I made the spinach and artichoke dip tortellini soup the other day I realized that it had been a while since I had last used tortellini and that reminded me that I had several recipes bookmarked to try including this chili tortellini from Picky Palate. Adding cheese stuffed pasta to an already tasty dish like chili is a fabulous idea and I could not resist making it! In addition to being super tasty, this chili tortellini is easy to make, it only takes about 30 minutes and it's made in one pot! You pretty much just need to cook the onions, brown the meat, throw everything in the pot and simmer until the tortellini is ready! This chili is perfect for a quick work night meal and a great way to enjoy some tortellini!

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Quinoa White Chicken Chili

It is definitely the season for soups and stews and you really can't go wrong with a tasty, warming bowl of chili! In it's more typical form chili con carne is made with beef and plenty of red chili peppers but it is always fun to make a white chili where the meat is chicken and no red chili peppers are used. This is my go to quick, easy and tasty white chicken chili recipe and it has a base of chicken and white beans with jalapeno chili peppers for the heat along with a few seasoning like garlic, cumin and oregano. I like to kick the flavour up a bit by replacing some of the broth with a salsa verde and the addition of quinoa makes this soup a bit heartier. As a finishing touch I like to hit the soup with fresh lime juice along with some cilantro. One of the best things about this tasty white chicken chili is that it only takes about 30 minutes to make and if you know that you aren't even going to have that much time for dinner then you can throw everything into the slow cooker in the morning and come home to a fully cooked meal!

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Tinga de Puerco (Pork Tinga)

Today is national taco day and of course that means that I have some tacos to share with you but before we get to the tacos lets talk about the meat, pork tinga. Tinga is a Mexican style 'stew' where the meat is simmered in a chipotle and tomato sauce and it is commonly made with chicken or shredded beef but I am really into this version with moist and tender shredded pork and Mexican style chorizo sausage. Although the list of ingredients is rather long, this recipe is actually quite easy to make. You start out by simmering the pork butt until fork tender and then you make the actual stew along with the chorizo, chipotles and tomatoes and the stew itself only takes about a half an hour to make. This recipe is also slow cooker friendly and you can throw the pork butt/shoulder into the crockpot in the morning and then you just need to shred it and make the stew in the evening for dinner. Despite the simplicity of this dish it is quite tasty and to goes well served over rice and beans and of course in tacos, quesadillas, burritos, etc.

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Pumpkin and White Bean Turkey Chili with Kale and Pepita Salsa

Up first for my new pumpkin recipes this season is a light, tasty and healthy pumpkin turkey chili with white beans. This pumpkin chili is nice and simple and it includes the pumpkin in the form of pumpkin puree along with a hint of pumpkin pie spices which work really well with the smoky chipotle chili heat. All said and done this chili really only requires about a half an hour of active time followed by some simmering making for a relatively low effort meal.

I always like to try to include green vegetables in my meals and I did so here by topping the pumpkin turkey chili with a fresh kale and pepita salsa. The kale and pepita salsa could not be easier to make, you simply puree some raw kale along with cilantro, jalapenos, pepitas and lime juice in a food processor and it is ready to go. I have to admit that I was eating this kale and pepita salsa by the spoonful before it even made it to the dinner table; I will definitely be making it a lot more over the next few weeks!

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Shrimp Etouffee

It is hard to talk about cajun and creole cuisine without mentioning etouffee and with good reason given how easy it is to make and how tasty it is! Etouffee is a thick stew that is made with a roux that is cooked until deep brown to ensure that it is full of flavour. The meat in etouffee is typically shellfish with crawfish and shrimp being two good choices and it is generally served over rice. The key to a good etouffee is definitely the roux and you want to cook the butter and flour for a good long time until it turns a deep golden brown before adding the veggies. Once the roux is done the rest of the recipe is nice and easy and absolutely worth the effort to make!

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Buffalo Chicken Chili

I am always on the lookout for new ways to enjoy the totally addictive buffalo chicken flavours and so when I came across the idea for a buffalo chicken chili on Blog is the New Black I pinned it immediately! I could not resist the idea of a using the buffalo chicken flavours in a bowl of chili and it was sounding like pure comfort food in a bowl! This buffalo chicken chili starts out with a base of onions and plenty of carrots and celery which is appropriate given that buffalo wing are often served with carrot and celery sticks. From there the chili is seasoned with garlic, cumin, paprika and of course plenty of your favourite hot sauce. I chose to go with beer for the liquid and then I bulked the chili up with some tomatoes and white beans. I have to say that this chili is good and you will definitely find yourself going back for seconds which is ok as it is fairly healthy! I server the chili topped with crumbled blue cheese with a side of corn chips, carrots and celery sticks along with a blue cheese sauce for dipping.

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Mussel and White Bean Stew

This dish falls squarely within that category of recipes that are so simple, every ingredient really matters. It's a quick dish too. You do have to pick the mussels from the shells after they're cooked and opened, but even that step only takes a few minutes. This came from last October's issue of Food and Wine, and the total time for making this is noted as 30 minutes. I think it might have been less than that. So, about those ingredients. The mussels, of course, need to be as fresh as can be. They get steamed in some white wine, and then that broth is strained and added back to the stew, which means you'll want to use a wine you really like. Then, a good amount of olive oil is used for cooking some garlic and chopped chiles to begin the stew. I was lucky to have just received some olive oil samples from Nudo which is the company known for its Adopt-An-Olive-Tree program in Italy. I received two gift sets. One included three different olive oils, and the other included basil oil and a container with seeds for growing your own basil. I used the plain extra virgin olive oil for sauteeing the garlic and chiles, and I drizzled a little of the extra virgin olive oil with chilies over the stew for serving.

The cooking time is so short, you definitely want to have everything prepped and ready before you start. I let the mussels sit in a big bowl of water with a little flour while I minced the garlic and chopped the chiles. The mussels were rinsed and drained and checked to be sure none were open. Then, they went into a big skillet with white wine and cooked until opened which was about three minutes. The mussels were removed to a plate, and the wine was strained into a bowl and reserved. The mussels were picked from the shells, and the shells were discarded. Next, extra virgin olive oil was warmed in the skillet, and the garlic and finely chopped chiles were sauteed. Rinsed and drained white beans were added followed by the reserved wine. That was brought to a boil and seasoned. Last, the mussels were added with some chopped homegrown parsley.

This is perfect on a cool, fall day, but for a stew, this one isn't too heavy. A thick slice of bread or two is a good accompaniment, and the drizzle of extra virgin olive oil with chilies was a fitting garnish. For such a simple stew, the flavors were anything but after starting with great ingredients.

Beef and Black Bean Chili

With the colder weather here I am finding myself going for more hearty soups and stews more often and one of my go to dishes are chilies. Chilies come in all different shapes and forms and I never tire of playing around with different ingredients but I always come back to the basics with a recipe like this one. When I have the time I like the grab some cubed stewing beef and do a slow braised chili con carne but if I do not have the time then ground beef makes a for a nice quick substitute the gives up little in flavour. This beef and black bean chili is easy to pull off on a week night and if you make a double batch you will have leftovers for more meals and the leftovers taste even the next day!

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Fish and Zucchini Puttanesca Stew

It has been a while since I last had fish and since I was still in the soup and stew mode I thought that I would combine the two ideas and do a fish soup or stew. Luckily I had been mulling over the idea of using the flavours of a putanesca sauce in soup form and I figured that using fish in such a soup would be perfect! A putanesca sauce is an Italian sauce that normally contains things like onions, garlic, chili pepper flakes, anchovies, olives and capers making it tangy, spicy and salty and plain old just filled to the brim with flavour. I was really taken with the idea of using these flavours in a stew and I just knew that pairing it with a firm white fish wold work really well. I did however want to get some more vegetables into the stew to make it lean more towards the healthy side of things and I liked the sound of adding some zucchini which is still available. For the fish, I went with a nice piece of halibut which tends to hold together fairly well, though you could use any white fish in this recipe. I served the puttanesca stew along with some crusty bread to make sure that none of the tasty broth got away!

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Porchetta Chowder

No matter how much you enjoy them, there are only so many porchetta sandwiches that you can have in a row before you start wanting something a little different. I still had a large chunk of my porchetta and I was thinking that a creamy porchetta chowder would do the trick. I started out by building up the flavour base with some double smoked bacon and then I moved on to the standard aromatic vegetables including onions, celery and carrots, though for this chowder I left out the carrots as I felt that the orange colour would be a bit bright in the chowder. I wanted the chowder to be creamy without having to rely completely on cream so I went with some simple tricks to add creaminess including pureeing half of the cannellini beans that I was adding and grating a baking potato. (Pureed beans are a great way to add creaminess to any soup and baking potatoes tend to fall apart when boiled for long periods of time so if you help them along by grating them first they will disintegrate quickly and make any soup creamier.) I still wanted to have big chunks of potato in my chowder so I also diced a stewing potato and threw it in along with the porchetta and some herbs and spices.

The porchetta chowder turned out amazingly well! It was certainly decadently creamy and with the large pieces of succulent porchetta every bite was pure indulgence. The chowder was nice tasty and I really enjoyed the combination of textures. I served the porchetta chowder with some braised rapini and cheesy garlic bread.

Porchetta Chowder

A creamy chowder filled with porchetta, double smoked bacon, potatoes and cannellini beans.

Servings: makes 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound double smoked bacon, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups ham broth or chicken broth or chicken stock
• 1 large yukon gold or other boiling potato, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 large russet or other baking potato, peeled and grated
• 1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 pound porchetta, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 teaspoons thyme, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 handful parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Cook the bacon in a large sauce pan until the fat renders and the bacon starts to get crisp, about 7-10 minutes.
2. Add the onion and celery and saute until tender, about 7-10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minutes.
4. Puree half of the beans in a food processor with some of the chicken stock.
5. Add the white wine, cream, milk, chicken stock, bacon, beans, potatoes, thyme and bay leaves and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce the heat and simmer until the grated potato has dissolved and the diced potato is tender, about 30-40 minutes.
7. Season with salt and pepper, mix in the cream and parsley and remove from heat.
8. Serve garnished with grainy mustard.

Similar Recipes:
Creamy Cabbage and Double Smoked Bacon Soup
Corn Chowder
Ham and Bean Soup
Spinach, White Bean and Turkey Sausage Soup

Serve with:
Cheesy Garlic Bread
Braised Rapini

Looking for more soup recipes?

Shrimp Gumbo

I have been wanting to try making a gumbo for a while now and with Mardi Gras here I figured it was the perfect time to make one. Gumbo is a stew that is made with a strong stock that is thickened, the "holy trinity" of vegetables; onion, celery and green pepper and some kind of meat. I was dead set on going for shrimp for the meat and since I had never tried okra before I had to go with that as well. The thickener in gumbo is usually one or more, of okra, filé powder or a roux which is made by cooking flour in a fat. Since I was not too sure on exactly how thick the okra would make things by itself, I went with the roux as well. The fat in the roux is usually oil or butter but you can also go with lard or bacon grease to add even more flavour. The trick with the roux is to get it nice and dark brown without burning it since all of that browning is just adding more flavour.

Since gumbo is described as starting with a strong stock, I had to go with making one myself and given that I was using shrimp in the gumbo I went with a homemade shrimp stock. I made the shrimp stock the day before to save time on the day that I made the gumbo.

Although this recipe is rather long and it takes a while to make, especially if you also make your own stock, it is not all that difficult and the final results are definitely worth the effort! One important point about this recipe is that the shrimp are not added until the very end to ensure that they are not overcooked and that they remain nice and plump and juicy and good. I served the shrimp and okra gumbo topped with rice and garnished with green onions. I am definitely looking forward to experimenting with more gumbo recipes in the future!

Shrimp Gumbo

(makes 4 servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup flour
1 cup onion (diced)
1 cup celery (diced)
1 cup green pepper (diced)
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 pound okra (trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch slices)
4 cups shrimp stock
1 (14 ounce) can whole tomatoes (chopped)
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound shrimp (shelled and deveined, save those shells for shrimp stock)
1 bunch green onions (sliced)
1 handful parsley (chopped)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat, sprinkle in the flour while mixing and simmer until it turns a dark brown, about 10-20 minutes.
2. Add the onions, celery and green pepper and cook until tender, about 7-10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the okra and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Add the shrimp stock, tomatoes, paprika, cayenne, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer covered for 1-3 hours.
7. Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 3-5 minutes.
8. Serve with rice and garnish with green onions and parsley.

Slow Cooker: Implement step 1, optionally implement steps 2-4, place everything except the shrimp, green onions and parsley in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-10 hours or high for 2-4 hours before adding the shrimp and cooking for another 10 minutes.

Similar Recipes:
Shrimp Creole
Shrimp Etouffee
Jambalaya
Shrimp and Andouille Grits
Creole Split Pea Soup
Cajun Red Beans and Rice
Shrimp Bisque
Blackened Shrimp on Kale and Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Andouille Cream

Cajun Red Beans and Rice

Beans and rice is a classic combination with different versions showing up in various cuisines from around the world. One of my favourite versions at the moment is this Cajun style red beans and rice dish which is pure comfort food and it has been a perfect fit over the last few weeks with the continuing cold weather. Though you could easily keep this dish vegetarian, I could not resist adding some andouille sausage to make it even heartier and add some more flavour. Speaking of flavour, another great way to build some up is to add a ham hock to the pot while everything simmers. A ham hock is generally smoked and cured and it will add a ton of flavour to any dish that it is cooked in. The ham hock does contain meat and after all of the simmering is done you can pull it from the bone and add it to the dish that you cooked it in if you wish.

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Turkey and Zucchini Green Chili

With the weather starting to get cooler I have been thinking about soups and stews a lot more. Even with the cooler weather, the markets still have a lot of late summers produce and I figured that it was the perfect time to enjoy some of those vegetables in a warm and hearty stew. I remembered seeing some tomatillos the week before and I was immediately thinking about a salsa verde and a green chili. A green chili, or a chili verde, is a chili that uses tomatillos and green chilis such as poblano and jalapeno chilies instead of tomatoes and red chilies. I tend to associate turkey with fall and it had been a very long time since I had used any so it was the natural meat for the chili. With the base of the chili done, I packed in more vegetables in the form of some zucchini and corn and I bulked everything up with some white beans. Despite the fact that the salsa verde was already bringing a lot of flavour to the table, I could not resist adding even more with a heaping tablespoon of cumin along with some oregano. This ended up being one really tasty chili that was also nice and tasty and it really hit the spot on a cool day!

Turkey and Zucchini Green Chili

(makes 4+ servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (diced)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 tablespoon cumin (toasted and ground)
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups salsa verde
1 (19 ounce) can white beans (rinsed and drained)
1 teaspoon oregano
2 jalapeno peppers (or to taste, diced)
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound zucchini (cut into bite sized pieces)
1 cup corn
1 handful cilantro (chopped)

Directions:
1. Cook the turkey in a large pan over medium heat, breaking it apart as you go and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat, add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cumin and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the stock, salsa verde, beans, oregano, peppers, salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add the zucchini and corn and simmer until the zucchini is tender, about 10 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and mix in the cilantro.

Slow Cooker: Implement step 1, optionally implement steps 2 & 3, place everything except the zucchini, corn and cilantro in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-10 hours or high for 2-4 hours before adding the zucchini and corn and cooking for 10 more minutes on high, mixing in the cilantro and turning off the heat.

Similar Recipes:
Pork Chili Verde
Chicken White Chili
Turkey White Chili
Salsa Verde Lasagna
Mushroom and Zucchini Enchiladas

Ham and Mushroom Sauerkraut Soup

Sauerkraut comes in such large jars and I sometimes worry about picking one up because I just know that I will have that half used jar sitting in the fridge taking up space for months afterwards. Last week I could not resist trying the sauerkraut cabbage roll soup and that meant picking up one of those jars of sauerkraut. While I was enjoying a bowl of the soup it reminded me that it had been a while since I last made my favorite pirogies which are stuffed with sauerkraut, ham, mushrooms and onions. One thought led to the other and next I was wondering about a soup made with the sauerkraut, ham, mushrooms and onion flavour combination and I knew exactly how I was going to finish off that jar of sauerkraut! With the ham and sauerkraut the soup had the flavour department covered but I was thinking that I needed to bulk the soup up a bit and that sounded like the perfect opportunity to throw in a grain and barley seemed like the right choice. The pirogi filling inspired soup turned out really well and it certainly hit the spot on a cold winter day! It is always nice to find new ways to enjoy your favourite flavour combinations.

Ham and Mushroom Sauerkraut Soup

(makes 4+ servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1 large onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 (8 ounce) package cremini mushrooms (diced)
2 cups ham (chopped in a food processor)
2 cups sauerkraut (with liquid)
4 cups ham broth or chicken broth or chicken stock
1/3 cup barley
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the mushrooms and saute until all of the moisture has evaporated.
5. Add the ham, sauerkraut, broth, barley, bay leaves, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce the heat and simmer until the barley is tender, about 30-45 minutes.

Similar Recipes:
Sauerkraut, Ham and Mushroom Pirogies
Sauerkraut Cabbage Roll Soup
Beef Stroganoff
Hungarian Mushroom Soup

More soup recipes!

Sauerkraut Cabbage Roll Soup

It is probably time for a little break from kimchi. :) Speaking of fermented cabbage, my second favorite form of fermented cabbage is sauerkraut though I never seem to know what to do with it. Sauerkraut is of course great in reuben sandwiches and it goes really well in my favorite pirogies but it always comes in such huge jars and I often seem to be stumped with how to finish the rest of the jar. Needless to say, I am always looking for new ways to enjoy sauerkraut and I recently came across a tasty looking ground beef and sauerkraut soup on It's All Gouda. After seeing that it included sauerkraut the next thing that I noticed was that it included all of the main ingredients of stuffed cabbage rolls where the sauerkraut took the place of the cabbage and then there was the ground beef, the rice and tomatoes. I really liked the sound of a tangy cabbage roll soup with sauerkraut and it quickly made it to my meal plan.

I pretty much left the recipe as it was but I did seriously consider adding even more flavour with some salty bacon but in the interest of keeping the meal more on the healthy side I opted to skip it. The main change that I made was switching the seasoning over to a paprika based seasoning which seemed to go better with my vision of a stuffed cabbage roll soup. My final change, once again thinking about eating healthier, was to use brown rice rather than white rice. This soup is pretty easy to make with only about 15-20 minutes of work followed by some simmering time to cook the rice and let he flavours mingle. The sauerkraut cabbage roll soup had an amazing aroma while cooking and it finished with a gorgeously vibrant shade red. Adding the juice along with the sauerkraut gave the soup a great tang that in my opinion really made this soup shine. It was just like eating stuffed cabbage rolls in soup form! The next time I make cabbage rolls I think that I am going to have to try adding sauerkraut to the filling.

Sauerkraut Cabbage Roll Soup

(makes 4-6 servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1/2 cup long grained rice (I used brown)
3-4 cups beef broth
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 cups sauerkraut (with liquid)
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon hot paprika
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
1/4 cup parsley (chopped, optional)
sour cream (optional)

Directions:
1. Brown the ground beef and set aside draining the grease from the pan.
2. Heat the oil in the pan.
3. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
5. Add the rice and toast for a few minutes.
6. Add the broth and deglaze the pan.
7. Add the beef, tomatoes, sauerkraut, paprika, bay leaves, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
8. Reduce the heat and simmer until the rice is cooked, about 20 minutes (50 minutes for brown rice).
9. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley.
10. Serve garnished with sour cream.

Note: I prefer my soups to be more like stews so I only used 3 cups of liquid but if you prefer something soupier go ahead and use 4 cups of liquid instead.

Similar Recipes:
Kimchi Jjigae (Pork and Kimchi Stew)
Sauerkraut, Ham and Mushroom Pirogies
Reuben Sandwich
Beef Stroganoff
Hungarian Mushroom Soup
Ham and Mushroom Sauerkraut Soup
Lasagna Soup
Reuben Soup

Looking for more soup recipes?

Italian Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper Lentil Stew

Last week while I was enjoying my lentil stew with Italian sausage and kale I noted how green it was. One thought led to another and the next thing that I was thinking about was red lentils and how a red lentil stew would be nice. Since I still had the remaining half a pound of the Italian sausage that needed to be finished the choice was easy to make. I started with the green lentil stew recipe and replaced the green de puy lentils with red lentils. From there I removed the green kale and replaced it with some tomatoes. I still have a freezer full of roasted red peppers from the fall and I could not resist adding a few of them for even more red. With that I had my red lentil stew recipe. Since I was planning on making some cheesy garlic bread to go with the stew, I threw the rind from that into the stew to add even more flavour. This stew was really easy to make with the hardest part being chopping all of the vegetables but it was well worth the effort! The roasted red peppers went really well with the Italian sausage and red lentils and they really added a ton of flavour to the stew. Although the same amount of red lentils as de puy lentils did not make as predominant a showing in this stew, the red lentil version was definitely tastier!

Italian Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper Lentil Stew

(makes 4-6 servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 pound Italian sausage (casing removed and crumbled)
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (diced)
1 carrot (diced)
2 stalks celery (diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
chili pepper flakes to taste
1 cup red wine
1 cup red lentils
2 cups chicken stock
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 roasted red peppers (sliced into bite sized pieces)
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 parmigiano reggiano rind (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup parsley (chopped)

Directions:
1. Cook the sausage in a large pot and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in the same pot.
3. All the onions, carrot and celery and and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and chili pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
5. Add the red wine and deglaze the pan.
6. Add the sausage, lentils, chicken stock, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano, balsamic vinegar and parmigiano reggiano rind and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the lentils are cooked al dente, about 20-30 minutes.
8. Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and mix in the parsley.

Similar Recipes:
Lentil Stew with Italian Sausage and Kale
Ham and Lentil Soup
Roasted Cauliflower and Red Pepper Soup
Black Bean and Roasted Pepper Soup
Cajun Red Beans and Rice
Roasted Red Pepper and Italian Sausage Frittata topped with Marinara and Mozzarella

Lentil Stew with Italian Sausage and Kale

After having the artichoke bread on the weekend, I was looking for something a little lighter and a little healthier for lunches during the week. Soups very often fit that bill and I had been thinking of making a lentil soup with winter greens for a while. I have not been doing much with the winter greens lately and I was thinking that some kale would go nicely in a soup or stew. I wanted a little bit of meat in the stew as well and Italian sausage always bring a ton of flavour to soups so they were in. I of course started the soup with the a healthy dose of the basics, diced onions, celery and carrots for even more vegetable goodness. After that it was just a matter of adding the liquid, white wine and chicken stock, and some aromas and flavours in the form of bay leaves, oregano and a splash of balsamic vinegar. (I wanted this to be more of a stew than a soup so I cut back on the amount of liquid that I would have used, but if you want it to be more soup like feel free to add another cup of the chicken stock.) I also happened to have a parmigiano reggiano rind in my freezer so I tossed that into the soup while it was simmering to add even more flavour. This soup is pretty simple to make and it can be done in about an hour.

The lentil stew with Italian sausage and kale turned out really well! It was nice and warm and just full of flavour and healthy vegetables and it really hit the spot on the cold winter days. I had half of a loaf of bread left from the artichoke bread and that was the perfect excuse to slather it up with garlicky butter and toast it with some cheese on top. The cheesy garlic bread was perfect for soaking up that lat bit of tasty stew from the bottom of the bowl.

Lentil Stew with Italian Sausage and Kale

(makes 4+ servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 pound Italian sausage (casing removed and crumbled)
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (diced)
1 carrot (diced)
2 stalks celery (diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
chili pepper flakes to taste
1 cup white wine (or chicken stock)
1 cup de puy lentils
2 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 parmigiano reggiano rind (optional)
1 bunch kale (cut into bit sized pieces) (or spinach or swiss chard, etc.)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup parsley (chopped)

Directions:
1. Cook the sausage in a large pot and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in the same pot.
3. All the onions, carrot and celery and and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and chili pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
5. Add the wine and deglaze the pan.
6. Add the sausage, lentils, chicken stock, bay leaf, oregano, balsamic vinegar and parmigiano reggiano rind and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the lentils are cooked al dente, about 20-30 minutes.
8. Add the kale and simmer until wilted.
9. Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and mix in the parsley.

Similar Recipes:
Italian Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper Lentil Stew
Spinach, White Bean and Turkey Sausage Soup
Ham and Lentil Soup
Italian Lentil and Chestnut Stew
Roasted Red Pepper and Italian Sausage Frittata topped with Marinara and Mozzarella

White Chicken Chili

With the cool weather I have been eating a lot more soups and stews lately. One of my favorite types of stews is chili which warms you up both with its temperature and with its spicy heat. One of the things that I like most about chili is that there are so many different ways of making it. This white chili that has been making its way around the food blogging sphere recently caught my attention and I just had to try making it. As the name suggests, this chili uses a white meat, chicken, along with white beans and even a bit of milk to make the gravy white. In keeping with the theme, I avoided using any red chilies or paprika. With the chopped green chilies being pretty mild, most of the heat in this chili comes from the jalapeno peppers. I used two jalapeno peppers without removing the seeds but given the variance in the heat in a jalapeno pepper, I recommend adding them a bit at a time to bring the chili to the desired level of spiciness. You could easily make this chili with dried beans but in an effort to save a time I went with canned. If you also have some cooked chicken on hand this recipe becomes really quick and it is super simple. I served the white chicken chili with some grated white cheddar cheese, cilantro, sour cream and sliced avocado.

White Chicken Chili

(makes 4 servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (diced)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 tablespoon cumin (toasted and ground)
2 (4.5 ounce) cans chopped green chilies
2 jalapeno peppers (sliced)
3 cups chicken (cooked and shredded)
2 (19 ounce) cans northern beans (drained and rinsed)
2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoon masa (or cornmeal)
1/2 cup milk

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-8 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cumin and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
3. Add the green chilies, jalapenos, chicken, beans, chicken stock, oregano, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Mix the masa into the milk and then mix it into the chili and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Slow Cooker: Optionally implement steps 1 & 2, place everything except the masa and milk in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-10 hours or high for 2-4 hours before adding the masa and milk and cooking for another 10 minutes.

Similar Recipes:
White Turkey Chili
Turkey and Zucchini Green Chili
Slow Braised Chili Con Carne
Black Bean and Quinoa Chili
Beef and Black Bean Chili
Buffalo Chicken Chili

Mediterranean Fish Stew

This Mediterranean fish stew recipe that I found on Antics of a Cycling Cook has been on my to try list for a while. With the new year here I have been trying to eat a bit healthier and this dish fit perfectly into that paradigm. This stew is essentially just a simple tomato based stew with fish in it. In fact the tomato base of this stew is very similar to the tomato sauce in the shrimp linguine in a tomato sauce that I recently made. You can pretty much throw whatever vegetables that you wan into the tomato base and you could easily replace the white fish with any other type of seafood. I went with adding some fennel and red peppers to the tomato base and I had my heart set on some nice meaty halibut for the fish, though you could use pretty any white fish. The fish stew came together nice an quickly and easily and it turned out great! The tomato sauce was nice light and full of flavour and you really can't go wrong with halibut! All of the fresh herbs really did it for me in this sauce. I served the fish stew garnished with some feta and a side of crusty bread so soak up all of the tasty sauce.

Mediterranean Fish Stew

(makes 4 servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion (diced)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
chili flakes to taste (optional)
1 bulb fennel (sliced)
1 red pepper (cut into bite sized pieces)
1 cup white wine
1 (28 ounce) can diced plum tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound white fish (such as haddock, halibut, etc., or any seafood)
1/2 cup fresh herbs such as parsley and basil (chopped)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in the pan.
2. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 6-10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and chili pepper flakes and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the fennel and red peppers and saute for a few minutes.
5. Add the white wine and simmer for a few minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
7. Add the fish simmer until cooked, about 5 minutes.
8. Remove and mix in the fresh herbs.

Similar Recipes:
Shrimp Linguine in a Tomato and White Wine Sauce
Garides Tourkolimano (Greek Shrimp)
Garides Saganaki (Shrimp Saganaki)
Tilapia alla Puttanesca
Gigantes Plaki (Greek Baked Beans)
Fish and Zucchini Puttanesca Stew