PIONEER WOMAN'S BEAN WITH BACON SOUP

I love, love, love, loveeeeeeeee soup.  You know those snobby soup people who only make it from scratch, and gag at the thought of (shudder) canned soup?  Those people are the worst!  Just kidding.  Because those people include ME!  I only became a soup snob in the past five years or so, and there is one canned darling that still has my heart: Campbell's Condensed Bean with Bacon.  It is just something else; it is SPECIAL.  But I do feel snobby soup person guilt when I purchase it.  So when I saw that the Pioneer Woman herself had figured out how to make it, and make it deeeeeelicious, I figured I could kick the canned version to the curb for good.  And I did.  And I have.  Come over and check out my pantry, there are no canned soups!

I followed her recipe except for two tiny things: I did not save any bacon for garnish, I threw it all in the soup.  And I added a dash of Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning for a kick.  This soup was good the first day, but great the next day!

SAUTEED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

This is an easy side you can add to almost any meal.  Hmm... or you could even just eat an entire bowl as a snack or small meal.  It pairs especially well with steak!

Have you ever roasted whole, or even halved, brussels sprouts?  You know the tiny little leaves that fall off and then just get absolutely crispy and delicious?  This is like eating all of those at once.  YUM.

You can use your mandolin to shred/shave some brussels sprouts, OR you can take the easier route and get them pre-shredded from the produce section.  The kind they shred IN the store, not the mass produced, bagged kind.  Those are not the best.

First, heat your nonstick skillet over medium-high and add in some olive oil.  Once it shimmers, throw in your sprouts.

Toss them around to coat them in the olive oil, then DO NOT TOUCH!  You want them to get nice and crispy and beautifully browned.  Maybe 5 minutes.

Then, give them about 10 turns of the pepper grinder, and two nice pinches of coarse kosher salt.  Toss.  Keep cooking and gently tossing until they're to your desired doneness.  I like them a little bit crisp, so I don't cook them too long for fear of mush.  Maybe 5 more minutes.  Follow your heart.  And your eyes!

Sometimes I add a squeeze of lemon or a few splashes of balsamic vinegar.  My favorite way to enjoy them is with BACON, but of course we can't eat bacon every day.

HUMMUS CRUSTED CHICKEN

Do you ever bookmark recipes, only to forget about them and then of course, never make them?  Yeah. Me neither.  So when my friend, Nicole, sent me this recipe for Hummus Crusted Chicken I had two thoughts.  1, this chicken looks AMAZING.  And 2, this chicken looks FAMILIAR.  So I searched my saved recipes, and sure enough, there it was!  That's when you know you have to make something.  Nicole has never led me astray when it comes to food, and she absolutely raved about this chicken.  Oh, and did I mention it cooks in one pan and requires minimal prep?

I didn't follow the recipe EXACTLY (shocking, I know) so here are my changes: I used my mandoline to slice the veggies in record time, forgot to use an onion, fileted the chicken breasts so they'd cook faster, and used sumac AND smoked paprika for flavor.  Pat the chicken as dry as you can get it so the hummus sticks on there really well. 

Delicious and healthy dinner in half an hour, what more could you ask for?

P.S.  Apologies for the not great pictures.  Lack of daylight and desire to dig in are to blame.

SKILLET PASTA WITH SAUSAGE AND SPINACH

This simple pasta dish has such fresh flavor.  It came together in about half an hour and only used one skillet.  Perfect for a weeknight dinner, then packing the leftovers for lunch the next day.  This was one of the first ever meals I cooked for my man.  That was way back in the days when I thought putting bagel bites in the toaster oven rather than the microwave made me a true cooking connoisseur.  Seriously.  If this meal was easy enough for that girl, it's easy enough for anybody.

Saute mushrooms until beautiful!

Cook your pasta in delicious, meaty broth

Gorgeous.  Time to add some cheese!

Eat up, buttercup!

Ingredients

1 lb sliced mushrooms (I used baby bella)
3 cloves minced garlic
1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
2 1/2 cups rotini (or any short pasta)
2 cups beef broth
2 cups water
6 oz baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup grated parmesan
crushed red pepper, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Add mushrooms to large skillet and cook over medium high heat.  Cook mushrooms until tender and cooked down a bit, 5-10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, then add 1 clove of garlic.  Stir until fragrant, about a minute.  Remove to plate.  Add sausage to skillet, crumble and brown until fully cooked.  Drain off fat.  Add remaining 2 cloves of garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.  Pour in pasta, broth and water.  Bring to a boil then simmer for about 15 minutes, until pasta is done and most liquid has evaporated.  Turn off heat.  Add spinach by handfuls, stirring until wilted.  Stir in mushrooms and parmesan.  Taste, then add necessary salt and pepper.

*Notes: feel free to use spicy sausage, chicken sausage, whatever floats your boat.  Sub sundried tomatoes or another veggie for the mushrooms if you'd like.  This meal can easily be suited to your tastes!

SPICY SMOKED SAUSAGE PASTA

Have I ever told you how much I love pasta?  How whenever I want a snack, and people suggest crackers, raw veggies, granola bars, fruit, chips, pretzels and other worthless calories, I'd like to have just a few bites of pasta to tide me over until my next meal?  How my pantry has an entire shelf dedicated to various shapes?  How finding a new or rare shape gives me a euphoric high?  How I had a love affair with the (sadly) short lived mac and cheese from Wendy's?

Now that my secret is out, let's talk about this pasta I made today.  It's a spin on a top recipe from Tim's favorite website, Kevin & Amanda.  I've made it a few times and have tweaked it a bit.  Whenever I cook with cream, sauces end up too watery.  According to myself and several comments on the recipe, this may happen.  I have two strategies I use to avoid a runny pasta sauce in this particular dish.  So you can use the original recipe, or stay here and follow along.

Reasons why this recipe rules: I get to use my cast iron skillet.  It's cheesy, meaty and pasta...y.  It only dirties one pan.  It takes about half an hour to make.  It tastes fab leftover.

Once out of oven, LEAVE POTHOLDER ON HANDLE so you don't grab it barehanded!

Ingredients

1 lb smoked sausage
1.5 cups diced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cups chicken broth
1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies, mild
1/2 cup heavy cream
12 ounces pasta, any medium or large short shape will work
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1-2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

Heat oven proof skillet over medium high heat, then add sliced sausage.  Cook for about 5-10 minutes, until crispy and browned on both sides.  Add chopped onions, cook and stir for about 5 minutes until onions are tender and slightly browned.  Add garlic and stir for about a minute.  Pour in Rotel, broth, cream, pasta, salt and pepper.  Stir until mixed well.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for about 8 minutes.  Remove cover and simmer for another 8 minutes, or until pasta is al dente.  Remove from heat and stir in about 3/4 cup of cheese.  Sprinkle the remainder of cheese on top, making sure it's enough cheese to create a nice brown crust.  Turn your oven's broiler to high, then put skillet in oven.  WATCH CAREFULLY and let the cheese brown, about 5 minutes.  Remove skillet from oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving. 

Special notes:  Original recipe calls for 8 ounces of pasta, but that isn't enough to keep it from getting too liquidy.  You can add more pasta, like I did, or if you want to stick to 8 ounces, cut the chicken broth in half.  If you notice the sauce is a bit on the watery side, take off the lid earlier and let that liquid boil away and reduce.  I've used large shells, penne and campenelle pasta for this and they all work well.  I use Barilla pasta, which I've found takes the longest to cook.  Store brand pasta usually cooks faster, so you may want to reduce the liquid if you're using a quicker cooking pasta.

LASAGNA SOUP

Another amazingly easy one pot dish!  Lasagna is a classic, but full of heavy ricotta and very labor intensive.  This soup is a lot healthier and is ready in about 45 minutes.  It's filling, comforting and uses affordable ingredients.  I adapted this recipe from here.  My version has more broth and pasta, and includes the addictive Texas Toast brand croutons.  They give the soup more flavor and a satisfying crunch.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves minced garlic
1 lb ground turkey
48 ounces chicken broth
15 ounces tomato sauce
15 ounces petite diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 heaping cups rotini pasta
grated parmesan, shredded mozzarella and croutons for topping

Heat olive oil in large dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat, then add onions.  Saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add ground turkey, cook and crumble.  When meat is fully cooked, pour in broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt and cayenne pepper.  Stir and bring to a boil.  Simmer for about 20 minutes, then add pasta.   Bring back to a boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until pasta is done.  Top each bowl with parmesan, mozzarella and croutons.

WHITE BEAN CHICKEN CHILI

It's now December, which means it is officially chili weather.  Yes, it was 60 degrees outside today, and the high tomorrow is 67.  Whatevs, I made chili, and it was GOOD.

My sister stopped by for dinner, and after finishing her meal commented, "Wow.  That had a lot of great flavor.  I was expecting it to taste really boring!"  I guess her prior experiences with white chicken chili were not so great.  Sister, you are WELCOME!

Now, white bean chicken chili can be broth based, or it can be a thicker, stew like chili.  I went for the latter with this recipe.  If you'd like it to be more brothy, read the detailed instructions.  Here we go!

First, cook chicken and break into smaller pieces.  Add diced onions and seasonings.

Next, pour in stock, chiles and drained beans, then cover.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 25 minutes.  If you'd like a less liquidy chili, simmer uncovered.

After 25 minutes of simmering, your chili may look like this:

That was a bit too brothy for my taste, so I added refried beans.  It sounds weird but it really binds it up, and both people I served this meal to tonight didn't believe there were refried beans in it!  I've added anywhere from 1/4 a can to the entire thing, depending on how much I wanted the chili to thicken up.  I used the entire can this time.

 

Perfect.  Thank you, refried beans!

These rolls were SO GOOD with some melted butter brushed on top before baking.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 onion, diced
3 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (less or more, depending on your spice preference)
2 cans chopped green chiles, 4 ounces, undrained
26 ounces chicken stock
4 cans white cannellini beans, 15.5 ounces each, drained and rinsed
1 can refried beans

Heat olive oil in large stockpot over medium heat.  Add chicken and diced onion.  Break chicken into smaller pieces as it cooks, until it is no longer pink.  Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne.  Stir and cook for about 2 minutes.  Pour in chiles, chicken stock and white beans.  Cover and simmer for about 25 minutes.  For a less brothy chili, simmer uncovered.  To thicken chili, add refried beans by the spoonful, stirring constantly as it simmers.  Top with shredded cheese, sour cream and/or hot sauce.

MEATY MEXICAN RAVIOLI

This is a recipe you can throw together when you have no idea what to make, and/or are short on time.  It uses ingredients that are low cost, shelf stable and usually already in your kitchen.  The olives are optional, since there's usually a clear divide between lovers and haters.  The flavor of olives can really overpower this if you're not a fan.

First, boil a bag of frozen beef ravioli.  If you want this meal to be vegetarian, choose a cheese or veggie filled pasta.

Brown a pound of ground turkey (or beef or chicken or Boca crumbles, whatever you like) then pour in enchilada sauce, salsa (I used the store brand with black beans and corn), sliced olives and drained black beans.  You could even use a plain, non chunky salsa to make this kid friendly.  Simmer while the ravioli cooks.

When ravioli is done, scoop using a small strainer (I'm lazy and didn't want to drain the entire thing over the sink with a larger colander) into the meat mixture.

Add cheese and stir.  Now, I know I'm always demanding you to use freshly grated cheddar cheese.  I am so tired of shredding and really not in the mood to do dishes.  I purchased shredded cheddar.  Please don't tell anyone.  It's lactose free!!!

This is a delicious, hearty and comforting meal.  Feel free to mix it up by going meatless, using different cheeses, or kick it up a notch and use spicy enchilada sauce and/or salsa.

Ingredients

1 bag frozen beef ravioli, 25 oz
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 can red enchilada sauce, 16 oz
1 jar salsa, 16 oz
1 can black beans, 15.5 oz, drained
1 small can sliced olives, drained (if you choose to omit the olives, you may want to add salt for additional flavor)
2 cups shredded cheddar

Boil ravioli according to package directions.  Meanwhile, brown ground beef in large nonstick skillet.  Drain off any fat if necessary, then add enchilada sauce, salsa, black beans and olives.  Simmer over low heat until ravioli is done.  Add drained ravioli to meat mixture, along with shredded cheese.  Gently stir until combined.  Serve with extra cheese, if desired.

SKILLET CHILI AND RICE

Another day, another one skillet dinner.  My favorite!  I found this recipe here.  This meal does not photograph well, but you've seen chili before, right?  And rice?  Okay there you go.

I wasn't able to find the special Rotel the recipe calls for, so I just used a can of the mild flavor, two tablespoons of chili powder and a few shakes of this stuff:

Thanks, Allison, for bringing this amazing seasoning into my life!  It's a cajun seasoning that can be used on fries, pasta dishes, seafood or basically anything you'd like to kick up a notch in the flavor department.  You can buy it on Amazon and I've even seen it at World Market.

This recipe calls for shredded cheddar, and I beg you to shred your own rather than purchasing the bagged kind.  It tastes creamier and melts better!  And look, how gorgeous is that?

I let this simmer 5 minutes longer than called for because my rice wasn't fully cooked after 20 minutes.  We topped our bowls with a tad more seasoning, sour cream, and Fritos scoops.  And salt.  I can't help it, I'm an addict.  Don't tell my mom.

Oh, and did I mention we ate this for dessert?

It requires a can of creamed corn and melted butter.  What's not to love?  Now, if you'll excuse me, my sweatpants and the couch are calling.

SMOKY SAUSAGE TORTELLINI

This meal had such an amazing smoky flavor.  Did I mention how easy it was to make?  It took 20 minutes and only used ONE PAN.  Yup, I only had to wash one skillet, and since it was nonstick it was even easier to clean.  I got the recipe from one of my favorite blogs and only made two changes.  The recipe calls for heavy cream, but I subbed fat free half and half.  I honestly didn't notice a difference in taste or creaminess.  Oh and I used chicken prosciutto parmesan tortellini instead of plain cheese.

Make this and I promise you will be happy.

Note: the recipe claims to make 4 servings, but we ended up splitting it between the two of us.  It's okay though because I used fat free half and half.  Diet food.  Right???