My Boyfriend Dated A Chef

Thick, rich and creamy this chicken and gnocchi soup is one of my favorite comfort meals. It is so easy to prepare and on par with the Olive Garden recipe. Look for gnocchi (potato dumplings) in the fresh pasta section of your supermarket or in vacuum-packed packages in the dried pasta section.

Serves 8-10.

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 cup chicken breast
1 lb. potato gnocchi
1 cup onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 Tbs. butter
4 Tbs. flour
2 cups half and half
2 cups skim milk
1 cup carrots, finely shredded
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
1 14 ounce can low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION:
In a small nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high. Cook the chicken, until browned and cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate. Set aside.

Cook gnocchi according to package directions.

In a large nonstick saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic in butter over medium-high. When the onion becomes translucent, add the flour. Allow to cook for 1 minute.

Add half and half, skim milk, carrots, celery, and chicken. Once the soup starts to thicken, add the chicken broth. Once the soup thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach, 1 tablespoon olive oil, thyme and parsley. Allow to simmer for 4-5 minutes.

Serve immediately with grated Parmesan cheese.

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I love a good french onion soup, don’t you? Cheese, simmered onions, beef broth and baked croutons is just sheer heaven in a bowl. Be patient while slow cooking the onions and you won’t be disappointed!

Serves 6-8. Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking.

INGREDIENTS :
1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 medium-large yellow onions, thinly sliced (8 cups)
freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1 small baguette (1/2 lb.), cut into 1/2-inch slices
4 quarts (8 cups) beef broth
1 bay leaf
2 cups grated Gruyère

PREPARATION:
Melt unsalted butter in a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Stir in onions and season with a dash of ground pepper. Reduce heat to low. Press a piece of tinfoil over the onions to cover them completely. Cover the pot with a lid, and simmer until the onions are very soft but not falling apart, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove the lid and foil, raise the heat to medium high, and stir in the sugar. Cook, stirring often, until very deeply browned, 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the croûtes (baguette toasts), position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350°F. Butter a rimmed baking sheet and arrange the baguette slices on the sheet in a single layer. Bake until the bread is crisp and lightly browned, turning once, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside.

Add the beef broth and bay leaf to the caramelized onions and bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes to blend the flavors. Discard the bay leaf.

To serve, position a rack 6 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler to high. Put 6 to 8 broilerproof soup bowls or crocks on a baking sheet. Put 3 or 4 croûtes in each bowl and ladle the hot soup on top. Sprinkle  with the cheese and broil until the top is browned and bubbly, 2 - 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

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PRESENTATION SUGGESTIONS:
French onion soup definitely needs great presentation. I used the bowls in my cabinet but will be serving them in one of the following in the future:

white serving soup bowls from Sur La Table via The Green Head

Le Creuset® french onion soup bowls from Bed Bath & Beyond

OR classic crocks from Amazon.com

I became a Wildtree Rep. What does that mean exactly? It means that when I mention the all-natural Wildtree seasoning items on this site, you can actually order them. Unfortunately, you can’t just run out to your local grocer and pick up the rocking pizza dough and alfredo sauce I wrote about months ago or the fab tortilla soup that I will be featuring today. Total bummer, right? Now, if you want something Wildtree’esque, I can help. Because I’m a rep, does NOT mean that I’m going to be pimping Wildtree left and right and it does NOT mean that I will only be making Wildtree recipes. HELLS-NO! This is not a business opportunity for me or a way to make money on the side. Actually, it’s more work. I would just like to offer you the option to order the all-natural seasonings I talk about from time to time. I like some of their stuff and so I share. For information on ordering Wildtree items, click here.

So, without further ado, I looooove this Tortilla Soup recipe. So yummy. I normally make it up on a cool Friday evening or Saturday afternoon so I can enjoy the leftovers for weekend lunches.

Makes 6-1 cup servings. Recipe from Wildtree.

INGREDIENTS:
2.35 oz box of Wildtree Tortilla Soup Mix
3 1/2 cups water
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbs. olive oil
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 lb tomatoes (approx. 3 tomatoes - I used vine ripe)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
sour cream (optional)
shredded cheese (optional)
tortilla chips (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine one box of Tortilla Soup Mix with water. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer.

In a skillet, sear both sides of the chicken breast in olive oil. Do not cook through. Remove chicken and slice into 1-inch strips.

Add chicken strips to  soup along with corn, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Continue simmering for a total of 2 hours. This soup can be made ahead, and is excellent reheated.

To serve, top with sour cream, shredded cheese, and/or Tortilla Chips.

NOTES:
Wildtree Tortilla Soup - $8.00 per box (makes 6 - 1 cup servings) *2009 price
If you are interested in placing an order, click here.

I feel like I found the biggest hidden secret. This Won Ton Noodle Soup recipe is absolutely awesome. No other words to describe it. Initially, I thought it would be labor intensive since I would be physically making and wrapping won tons. Not so much. In under an hour, I was eating my second bowl!

Serves 4. Recipe from Steamy Kitchen.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 pound ground pork
2 stalks scallion, finely minced
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 pound won ton wrappers, at room temperature, covered with a damp towel
1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1/4 cup cool water (cornstarch slurry)
2 quarts chicken broth
8 ounces dried won ton noodles (or thin, egg noodles or chinese style noodles)
1/2 pound bok choy, leaves separated and washed well
1 teaspoon sesame oil
chili garlic sauce (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, combine the pork, scallion, soy sauce, rice vinegar, cornstarch, sugar and sesame oil. Mix well. Follow the youtube video towards the end of this post to visually see how to wrap the won ton. As an exception, use the cornstarch slurry (listed in the ingredients above) as the “glue” instead of just the water suggested in the video. Place on a clean, dry plate in one layer and cover loosely with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Repeat with remaining.

In a large stockpot, add all but 2 cups of the chicken broth and bring to a boil. The 2 cups of reserved broth should be room temperature or just slightly chilled. Turn the heat to medium-high and add the won tons. Bring pot back to a gentle boil. When it reaches a boil, add 1 cup of the reserved broth. Bring back to a boil and again, add the remaining 1 cup of reserved broth. When boiling again, it’s done. Adding broth a little at a time like this prevents your delicate won tons from breaking and bursting in rapid, hard boiling water.

Keep the heat on the pot on (you still need to cook the noodles and bok choy) while using a sieve to scoop up the won tons and distribute amongst the bowls. Cook the noodles in the pot according to the package instructions. Add the bok choy (to see how to cut bok choy, reference the youtube video and photo below) to the pot during last minute of cooking noodles and let simmer, until cooked through.

Ladle broth, noodles and bok choy to bowls. Drizzle just a few drops of sesame oil in each bowl.

Serve with chili garlic sauce if desired.

TIPS + TRICKS:
Folding Won Tons

Chopping Bok Choy

FINDING THE INGREDIENTS:
Sometimes finding all the ingredients in the grocery stores takes longer than cooking the food. Here are a few tips:

• Won Ton wraps can be found near the bag salad section in most grocery stores. Super Walmart has them too. I ended up finding the Nasoya brand wraps and chinese style noodles shown below.
• Ground pork is not found in all grocery stores. My Shaws had it, my Stop + Shop did not. It looks like ground hamburger and can be found in the meat/pork/chicken section.