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Soups/Stews/Gumbo//Chili

Easy & Comforting – Greek White Bean Soup

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Fasolatha, considered to be one of Greece’s national dishes, is a creamy white bean soup consisting of creamy white beans, peppery olive oil and fresh vegetables. 

I loved it when the Mediterranean Diet was named the #1 diet for 2019 because I’ve had the Mediterranean Cookbook for years and have made so many recipes from it. I love it more that this White Bean Soup is considered healthy and low in calories. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mediterranean-diet-meal-plan

I don’t like diets so the Mediterranean Cookbook has been and is my go to when I feel I haven’t been eating as well as I should. It is so healthy and has so many absolutely delicious recipes like this White Bean Soup, but I don’t feel I’m missing out on anything or starving because I’m trying to eat healthier!

White bean soup is creamy but has no cream, you puree a couple of cups of the beans and add it back in which makes it luscious, and we know how good beans are for you. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

White Bean Soup

Easy and Comforting – Greek White Bean Soup

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Servings: 6 Servings
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Pound dried Great Northern Beans
  • 2 Tbsps Extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
  • 1 Onion, chopped
  • 2 1/2 tsps minced fresh oregano or 3/4 tsp dried
  • 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth, plus as needed
  • 4 celery ribs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp ground dried Aleppo pepper You can substitute with 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes and 1/4 tsp paprika
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • salt and pepper

Method
 

  1. Soak the beans in 4 quarts water and 3 tablespoons salt for at least 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse. 
  2. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, salt and pepper and cook until softened and lightly browned.  Stir in oregano and cook until fragrant about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, celery and beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 60 minutes. 
  3. Process 2 cups soup in blender or processor until smooth and return to pot. Heat soup gently over low heat until hot and adjust consistently with broth as needed. Stir in lemon juice, red pepper flakes, parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in individual bowls drizzling with olive oil. 

Notes

If you can find Cannellini beans they are preferred. I could not at my local store, so I made the soup with Great Northern Beans. 

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

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I wanted to make a soup to go with chicken salad sandwiches but I didn’t want a heavy, cream soup. I love creamed soup but I wanted a broth based soup since the chicken salad had mayonnaise. I wasn’t sure I wanted a chicken soup with chicken salad, but this turned out to be the perfect soup.

The combination made such a great lunch, but it would also make a great dinner too!

Just look how delicious this looks! So appetizing!

Hope you love this soup as much as I do!!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course: dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Tbsp Butter
  • 1 Tbsp Olive oil
  • 2 Stalks Celery
  • 2 Carrots Sliced
  • 1 Onion, diced
  • 2 Cups Chicken, cubed or shredded Recipe at bottom
  • 6 Cups Chicken stock Recipe at bottom
  • 1/2 Cups Wild rice
  • Salt and pepper

Method
 

  1. Sauté the celery, onion, and carrots in the butter and olive oil until translucent. 
  2. Add the wild rice and sauté about a minute or two. 
  3. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer 35-45 minutes until the rice and vegetables are tender. 
  4. Add the chicken and just heat through. 
    Bon Appetite! 

Chicken Broth, Reserving Chicken for Recipes

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Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 3-5 lbs Whole Chicken
  • 1-2 Carrots and celery, large chunks
  • 1 Onion, halved or quartered The onion does not have to be peeled
  • 2 Garlic cloves, whole
  • 1-2 Bay leaf
  • Fresh thyme sprigs Optional
  • Black peppercorns
  • 1 Tsp Salt
  • Water to cover

Method
 

  1. Place the whole chicken in a large stock pot and add all the ingredients. Cover with water. 
  2. Bring to a boil and cook until the chicken begins to fall off the bone. 
  3. Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside to use in soup, chicken salad, chicken and dumplings, casseroles, etc. 
  4. Strain the stock in a colander and discard the vegetables. 
  5. At this point I like to chill the stock so the fat comes to the top and is easily discarded. 

Tomato Soup

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I love this tomato soup. I think tomato soup brings back childhood memories of Campbell Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese.

Tomato soup is warming on these cold winter days and equally satisfying in spring or summer!

I love tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich or a pimiento cheese sandwich like in this photo below!

Whether with a sandwich or just with crackers, I think you’ll love this recipe!

Tomato Soup

5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 4 Servings
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Stick Butter
  • 1 Large onion, diced
  • 1/4 Cup Flour
  • 1 28 oz Can diced tomatoes
  • 1 Cup Chicken broth
  • 2 Tbsp Sugar
  • 1 Tsp Kosher salt
  • 1/4 Tsp Celery salt
  • 1/2 Tsp Black pepper
  • 1/8 Tsp Cayenne, optional
  • 1/3 Cup Heavy cream
  • 1 Tsp Honey
  • Zest of a lemon
  • Juice of a lemon

Method
 

  1. Melt the butter in a large pot over low heat. Add the onions and cook gently until soft and translucent, about 20 minutes. Do not brown. 
  2. Add flour and stir until mixture is slightly thick and pale good, about 3 minutes. 
  3. Stir in the tomatoes and juices, chicken broth, sugar, salt, celery salt, and pepper. 
  4. Raise the heat to medium until the liquid bubbles, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan frequently. 
  5. Stir in the cream and honey, remove from the heat and purée using a hand blender or allow to cool and purée in batches in the blender. 
  6. Return to the pan and add the zest of one lemon and the juice. Do not bring to a boil, just heat through. Serve hot and add a little of the heavy cream if you like. 

Frank X. Tolbert’s Original Texas Chili

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Texas Chili!

I love original Texas Chili! It’s hard to find a good recipe though. I’ve been using this recipe for years and it always turns out perfect!

And, of course, we do not cook our chili with beans. If you want beans, cook them separately and have them if some want to add beans after the chili is finished.

Garnish with chopped onions, cilantro, cheddar cheese, sour cream if you want, some top with ketchup and this makes great homemade Frito pies!

I think you’ll love this recipe and it will become a favorite!

Frank X. Tolbert’s Original Texas Chili

Print Recipe
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2-4 ancho chiles, 4-8 small dried red chiles or 2-4 tablespoons chili powder
  • 4 tbsps vegetable oil
  • 3 lbs beef chuck, cut in bite size pieces or already prepared chili meat from the grocery
  • 1-2 cups beef stock or water
  • 1/3 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsps ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp ground oregano
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 cup Hungarian sweet paprika
  • 1-2 fresh cilantro sprigs

Method
 

  1. If using chiles, trim the stems and remove seeds. Place in a small saucepan and add water to barely cover. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Transfer the chiles and their soaking water to a blender or a food processor fitted with metal blade. Purée until smooth. Set aside.
  2. Brown half of the meat in a large skillet in the vegetable oil over high heat for 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the meat and juices to a heavy pot and add the puréed chiles or chili powder, if using. Place over low heat and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, brown the remaining beef in the same manner, then transfer it and the juices to the pot. Add enough stock or water to just cover the meat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic, onion, cumin, oregano, salt to taste, paprika and cilantro and continue to simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender, another 30 minutes. Add a little liquid if the mixture begins to stick or looks too dry.
  4. When the chili is ready, using a large kitchen spoon, skim any fat from the surface. Ladle into bowls and serve.
    Makes 4 to 6 servings.