Seafood Soup

This seafood blend is a wonderful product.  Shrimp, calamari, and little baby scallops.  Throw in some fish, or some extra shrimp, and you have a ton of protein for an easy, quick meal.  I've made this seafood soup twice in two weeks now, and served it once to company.  It is a yummy and filling soup for any seafood lover.

Seafood Soup
1 32. oz container fish stock
1 can light coconut milk (or regular)
2 cans water
1 onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
3 large carrots, diced
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup fish sauce, like red boat
salt and pepper to taste
1 bag trader joe's seafood blend
1 bag shrimp, chopped fish, langostinos, etc
1 bag frozen cauliflower florets

Saute your veggies in some EVOO until translucent, 5-7 minutes, in a large stock pot.  Pour in your seafood stock, coconut milk, and water, and add your garlic and salt and pepper.  Bring to a simmer.  Add your fish sauce, and taste.  Add more, or more seasoning, to taste.  When you've gotten it right, add in your frozen seafood and cauli.  Bring back up to a simmer and you're done!  This tastes great right away, and really good after a day in the fridge.   Enjoy!

Paleo Thai Coconut Chicken Soup, for Lazy Folk

Want some delicious thai flavored chicken soup?  Are you a big ol' lazy person like me and don't want a lot of fuss but reaaaaally want some hot yummy soup on a cold wintery day?  This soup is PERFECTION I tell you.  It is the ultimate lazy person soup recipe.

Paleo Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
1 can coconut milk (all I had was lite, it worked fine.  Use what you got!)
2-3 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 tbsp red curry paste
1 inch of ginger, grated (If you start out with frozen ginger, it grates very easily)
2 tbsp gluten free soy sauce or coconut aminos for truly paleo
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
juice of one lime
zest of one lime
4 green onions, sliced
5-6 carrots, noodle-ized with a julienne peeler
1 bag frozen bell peppers
frozen chicken tenders

This soup could not be easier.  Open your can of coconut milk, pour into large stockpot, add chicken broth, red curry paste, green onions, and bring to a boil.  Add in your ginger, soy/coconut aminos, fish sauce, lime zest and juice, and then throw in your frozen bell peppers, chicken tenders, and carrot noodles.  Bring to a boil once again and then reduce to a simmer for at least 40 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.  You may want to make it saltier or spicier or more gingery at this point.  This is not a thick creamy soup at all, more like your favorite chicken noodle soup from childhood, just paleo-ized and with a delicious Thai kick.  This made about 4 servings.

In other news, I've decided to do some DIY holiday gifts for my coworkers.  I debated about doing spiced nuts, or homemade chia fruit jam.  After making homemade spiced walnuts, I decided they were too delicious to share.  So chia fruit jam it is!  The spiced nuts are CRAZY amazing.  I chose walnuts only as they have a favorable Omega 3:6 ratio.  The recipe I used is available here: http://paleocomfortfoods.com/recipes/paleo-comfort-foods-nuts/ and the only difference in my recipe was that I used EVOO and added lots and lots of kosher salt.  Well, that and I also used twice as much spices as the recipe indicated.  I don't know if it's just me or what, but whenever I follow I recipe I end up using at least twice as much spices as directed.  Are my tastebuds totally whack or do people just enjoy blandish food?

This week is sloooooooowly crawling along.  OMGGGGG I wish it would be over!  I feel bad saying that because it's Chanukah but holy crap it is moving at a snails pace.  Ever have one of those weeks?  Sure you do.

And now for a gratuitous nail polish update:  OPI Wooden Shoe Like to Know.  Loooving it!  It's brown with a hint of golden sparkle to it and it's just gorgeous!  Ok the pic does not do it justice at all- but google it and you'll see, it's beyond.  Up next, Essie Butler Please, one of the new winter collection colors.  Dying over this one!

Stay tuned for my chia fruit jam recipe!  I bought a case of Ball jars in the 4 ounce size and I'll be wrapping them in cello bags with some holiday ribbon.  I hope my coworkers enjoy my paleo hippy dippy jam as much as I think they will.

XoXoGFG

MKG's Giada-Inspired Meatball Stoup

S and I are lucky girls.  On Tuesday night M treated us to a culinary delight, his famous Meatball Stoup.  Well, it's famous now anyways.  Many nights I fall asleep with Giada or Ina playing in a continuous loop, and one day last week M came in as Giada was making this.  Being the thoughtful guy that he is, of course he decided to GFG the recipe.  Here's what he did:

MKG's Giada-Inspired Meatball Stoup
2 lbs ground meat, half sausage half ground beef
1 egg
handful dried parsley
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper

1/2 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
carton of mushrooms, chopped
couple cups of green beans, trimmed and chopped
15 oz drained diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
S&P
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Form your meatballs and brown in a large dutch oven.  Remove from DO.  In same pot, throw in all your veg and cook for 10 minutes-ish.  Then add broth and tomatoes and season to taste.  Bring to a simmer then put your meatballs back in and cook for 20-30 minutes. 

The stoup was awesome and we eventually even got the baby hippo to eat some veggies!  Lately all the girl wants is cheese, meat, or fruit.  Or cauliflower, or maybe some broccoli, or anything with hummus.  Anyways.  It was great.  Good job M!!!!

Spicy Mexican Chicken Stew

I'm calling this Mexican Chicken Stew because really, I couldn't figure out a better descriptor.  I'm kind of lazy, and don't feel like getting cutesy with the name.  But it was good.  And easy.  And about as healthy as you can get.  There are plenty of leftovers, this probably makes enough to serve 6-8.  I made it in the crockpot but you cold make it on the stovetop too, no problem.  It would be great served with sliced avocado, sour cream, or shredded cheese.  We had none of the above and it was still great.  I had planned on making this because, hey, it's January, and it's cold and wintery outside!  Except it's not!  It's 60 degrees!  So we had some hot filling stew on a 60 degree day... oops!  Oh well.  Beats shoveling snow and digging icicles out of your dog's paws right?

Spicy Mexican Chicken Stew
2 chicken breasts, skinless/boneless, bone in skin on, whatever you got
1 14.5 ounce can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
8 ounces of green tomatillo sauce
2 1/2 cups chicken stock, reduced sodium, or homemade
2 cups of chopped carrots
3 or 4 celery stalks, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup salsa
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp minced garlic
squeeze of lime, or lime juice, if you have it

Throw all your chopped veg into the crockpot, then pour in your tomatillo sauce, salsa, fire roasted tomatoes, chicken stock, beans, seasonings, garlic, lime juice, and stir well.  Then put your chicken in, and try to submerse it under the liquid but not so it's touching the bottom.  Cook on low for 7 hours or so.  When it's finished, shred the chicken with a fork and give it a big stir, and serve with whatever accoutrements you want!  I actually served this with some flax quesadillas based on this recipe which I actually hated but I'll admit, having something resembling a tortilla was kind of cool.  But still, I hated it.  Then again, the taste of flax is very overpowering to me and I think it tastes like snot, or what I think snot would taste like.  Ugh yuck, I hate flax.  But if you like it, or don't mind it (then I apologize for saying it tastes like snot) then try out the recipe!  Lots of fiber and all those ALA's!

So now the house smells like spicy stew and I have lots of leftovers for S to eat over the next couple days which makes me inexplicably happy.  Yayy!  Hope everyone has a great weekend!  XoXoGFG

(Cheese)Burger Soup

Pinterest is truly the best invention of 2011.  Well, who knows when it actually rolled out but I discovered it in 2011 and am eternally grateful.  I just love the darn thing so much.  Scrolling through my favorite categories and boards is always an inspiration.  I see recipes I want to try, tricks for the home, products I'm interested in, articles, books, you name it.  So this soup recipe was inspired by Pinterest as well.  As usual, I see a recipe, like the premise, but end up changing most of the ingredients.  Same goes for my (Cheese)Burger Soup.  Weird name, great taste!

(Cheese)Burger Soup (serves at least 8)
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 32 oz carton reduced sodium beef broth
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 package ground meat, lean turkey or beef (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 cup of grated sharp cheddar
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 or 4 large carrots, chopped
1 tbsp celery salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
seasoned salt, salt, and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, brown your onions in a bit of EVOO.  Add ground meat and brown the meat.  Pour off your fat once the meat is browned.  Add celery and carrots and sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 7 minutes or so.  Then add broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and season generously.  Since your broth is reduced sodium you'll definitely need to season the soup up.  I didn't want to overspice it but some cayenne or a dash of red pepper flakes would be awesome.  The longer you cook this the better but 45 minutes is really the minimum.  Before serving, reheat and then add your rinsed and drained beans.  This will of course be better on day two!  Sprinkle the top with cheddar to make it a cheeseburger soup!  Yum!!  S had a bowl, and then M and I each had quite a bit, and there was still more to fill two containers.  Enjoy!

Herbed Bacon and White Bean Soup

Are you a Top Chef fan?  Have you noticed how when a chef has either kinda crappy ingredients, not a lot of time, or is just a little stumped on what to make, they'll make soup?  Soup is great for those situations.  Maybe you don't have anything fresh, maybe you don't have much time or you don't want to dirty a bunch of pots and pans.  Make the soup, let it sit for a few hours on or off the heat, and you're dunzo.  This soup is a great example of that.  On another note, if you do like Top Chef, how do you feel about Padma?  I hate her.  I don't often say I hate someone, and it's really not a habit of mine to throw that word around, but I hate her.  She's awful, and makes my stomach turn.  She practically ruins the show for me, and often does.  Two weeks ago, the rodeo episode, when she rode in on a horse, I think I gagged audibly.  She is just the worst.  Sorry, moving on.

Herbed Bacon and White Bean Soup
4 or 5 strips of bacon (I used turkey but use whatever you prefer)
1 can rinsed and drained white beans/cannellini beans
1 carton of low sodium chicken broth
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 bay leaf
3/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried sage
salt and pepper

Heat up your pot with just a touch of oil, and once it's hot, add chopped bacon.  Cook until starting to crisp up, stirring frequently.  Add your onion, pinch of salt, and cook for another few minutes or until onion is starting to brown.  Then add garlic, celery, carrot, bay leaf, sage, rosemary, and another pinch of salt, and some pepper.  Cook for about 7 minutes or so, until veggies are softening.  Then throw in your beans, and cover with chicken broth.  Cook for 45 minutes.  The longer you let it sit, the better it will be.  If desired, use immersion blender to make a creamy soup!  Yum!

Curried Pumpkin Soup

As I've said many times, GFG does NOT waste food!  That extends to the squash assortment I purchased for a fall centerpiece!  I had some sugar pumpkins lying around, and knowing they'd go bad soon, I figured- pumpkin soup! why not?!  Even better, more crunchy salty pumpkin seeds! 

First, you'll need to roast your pumpkins.  The pumpkins should be the smaller pumpkin pie pumpkins, or sugar pumpkins, not the big carving ones.  Cut a circle around the stem and then pull the stem out, then halve down the middle, and proceed to scoop out the stringy guts and seeds.  The seed are awesome, don't throw them out!  Once you've cleaned them out, place skin side down on a foil lined baking sheet, and preheat the oven to 350.  Rub the insides with EVOO and sprinkle with sea salt.  Roast for about 70-80 minutes or until a fork will pierce it easily.  The soup is easy peasy from here.

Curried Pumpkin Soup
Flesh from two roasted pumpkins, or two cans of pumpkin puree
4 cups chicken stock
1 can light coconut milk
4 strips of turkey bacon (optional)
one small onion, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp garam masala

In a large pot, saute onions until yellow.  Add in bacon (if using), garlic, and stir for another minute or so.  Add seasonings, and stir for 2 or 3 more minutes.  Now, add pumpkin, coconut milk, and chicken stock, and stir.  Check your salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.  I love salt and salty foods so I added quite a bit, and also quite a lot of pepper, because I like things spicy.  My roast pumpkin was a bit on the bland side, so needed a lot of seasoning.  At this point, bring to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes.  Then, use your immersion blender to puree until it's nice and creamy, or pour into a blender if you don't have an immersion blender.  Et voila!  S ate a huge bowl of it, mixed with yogurt for some protein.  Personally, I think some Curried Pumpkin and Bacon Soup would have been even better!  So if you have some, dice it up and throw it in with the onion for even more depth of flavor.  Yum!

Are you getting pumpkin'd out yet?  I'm on the verge.  But really, who can resist all that orange squashy goodness!?  XoXoGFG

15 Min Tomato Basil Soup

Wasting food is NOT allowed in the GFG household- so when I had half a can of diced tomatoes left over from my Spinach Chana Masala, I knew I had to do something with them.  I hadn't used any basil and my little plant had tons of new leaves, so what better than some super simple Tomato Basil Soup?

Tomato Basil Soup
1 tbsp EVOO
14 ounces of diced tomatoes
half onion, chopped
3/4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
S&P to taste
big handful of fresh basil

Saute onion for a few minutes until starting to brown, then add in garlic and cook for another minute.  Season with salt and pepper to your liking.  Add in red pepper flakes and saute for another minute or so, then pour in chicken broth and milk.  If you'd rather use cream, go ahead and use it, or leave it out all together.  Stir to incorporate, then adding in tomatoes.  Cook down for five minutes, seasoning if necessary.  Blend using a handheld mixer or pour into blender, throwing in as much basil as you like.  Blend to your preferred consistency and serve!  Yum! 

S is going to be in a fashion show tonight!  The show is benefiting an awesome local cause, Back in the Swing, which helps women get "back in the swing" of life after breast cancer.  It's a phenomenal cause that helps women with medical care, diet and exercise, counseling, you name it.  I'll put up vids when we get them, but I can't wait!  October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so do your self-exams and encourage your moms, sisters, cousins, friends, and anyone else you know to do the same!  Early detection is the best weapon in the fight against breast cancer.  XoXoGFG