This is a combination of a couple of different chicken soup recipes I have tried over the years. It is fairly simple to make and it is always better homemade than store bought. I have also tried to make matzo balls many times and mine have always come out so dense so I got a great tip from my Mom to substitute club soda for the water in the simple recipe that is on the back of the matzo meal box. It worked like a charm...my matzo balls were very light and fluffy!

Ingredients:

SOUP

1 (31/2 lb) chicken cut into 8 pieces

12 cups of water or enough to cover the chicken by at least an inch

1 large carrot, peeled, cut into bite size pieces

1 large parsnip, peeled, cut into bite size pieces

1 large onion cut into bite size pieces

4 medium stalks of celery, cut into bite size pieces

1 bouquet garni of 15 parsley sprigs, 15 dill sprigs, 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns (wrapped in cheesecloth and tied with cotton string)

3 T chicken consomme mex

1 chicken stock cube

Preparation:

Rinse chicken and place in a large soup pot.

Add water and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim any foam,residue, or fat that rises to the surface using a large spoon or skimmer and discard.

Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and add carrot,parsnip, onion,celery,bouquet garni, consomme mix and stock cube.

Simmer, covered, for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Remove the bouquet garni.

Remove chicken from bone and either add back to the soup or use for something else.

Adjust seasoning.

Either serve with the vegetables or strain them out for clear broth.

Garnish with fresh parsley and/or fresh dill.

Matzo Balls

Ingredients:

2 T vegetable oil

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup matzo meal

1 tsp salt

2 T club soda

Preparation:

Blend oil, eggs, matzo meal, and salt together. Add club soda and mix until uniform. Cover and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to a brisk boil (you can add some leftover club soda to the water as well). Reduce flame and drop balls approximately 1 inch in diameter formed from refrigerated mixture. Cover pot and cook 30 to 40 minutes.

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This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten's Butternut Squash and Apple Soup.  We've made quite a few changes and additions so if you are interested in the original recipe please go here.  Nanci and I made this soup of our last catering event and we served it in small 3 oz espesso coffee cups with a piece of Rosemary Biscotti with Dried Cranberries.  The soup is amazing on it's own and I love serving it in a cup for my guests to make drinking soup so much easier and portable.  Our sister, Susan usually makes this soup for Thanksgiving (minus the cream because she's kosher) and it's always a huge hit!  Last year we served it with Karen's mini cranberry muffins but this year we are serving the biscotti.

**NOTE -  We do not suggest that you serve the biscotti in the soup as pictured above.  The hot soup softens the biscotti very quickly and the cookie ends up breaking off in the bottom of the soup cup which makes it very difficult to drink if you don't have a spoon! 

It does make for a pretty picture though.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 tablespoon mild curry powder

1 teaspoon cumin

2 large butternut squash

2 tablespoons honey

2 large sweet apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 1/2 - 3 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Split butternut squash in half, scoop out seeds.  Drizzle olive oil over the inside of the butternut squash, sprinkle with salt and pepper and then drizzle with honey.  Place face down (skin side up) on a lined  baking sheet and roast in oven for about 35-40 minutes.  In a large stock pot add olive oil and butter, heat until melted and add in onions, curry powder and cumin.  Cook over low heat stirring often about 15-20 minutes until onions become soft.  Remove butternut squash from oven and carefully scoop out flesh and add to the stock pot with the onions.  Next add apples and 2 cups of chicken stock, stir and bring to a boil. Cover and let cook over medium/low heat for about 30-40 minutes.  Uncover and puree using an immersion blender.  Add an additional 1/2 cup - 1 cup of chicken stock and stir to combine.  Lastly add heavy cream, stir to combine.  Serve hot.

Linked to Seasonal Inspiration by Crumbs and Chaos
Linked to Totally Tasty Tuesdays
Linked To Holiday Sweet Swap

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Autum is finally here and the weather is getting cooler.  It's time to break out all those comforting soup, stew and chili recipes!  That is the theme this week for Sharing Sundays! SOUPS, STEWS and CHILI!  Please link up your favorite recipes to share with everyone.  I know I'm always looking for something new to make.

Our Rules:
1.  Please become a follower of our blog.
2.  Please share a link back to your actual recipe post, not to your main blog page.
3.  Please link back to our blog so others can join in the fun.
4.  Leave us a comment about what recipe you are linking up.
5. Have fun!

The pumpkin recipes from last week were fantastic......Here are a few highlights!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls by The Kitchen Cookie


Pumpkin Coffee Cake by Crumbs and Chaos


Fall Harvest Pasta by Carol - Pampered Chef


Pumpkin Fluff by Everyday Mom's Meals


Can't Leave Em Alone Bars: Pumpkin Addition
by The 4 Little Fergusons


Now Let's See those SOUPS, STEWS and CHILI recipes!!


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Love, love, love split pea soup.   I made this without the hamock that was in the original recipe and if you want to make it vegetarian then use vegetable stock instead of the chicken stock.  I also used yellow split peas instead of green because I loved the color.  This recipe makes a large amount of soup.  I already have a container packed up for lunch at work. YUM!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 onion, sliced

3 stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

Salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

8 cups chicken stock (or combination water and stock)

2 cups dried yellow split peas

Preparation:

Melt butter over medium-low heat in a large stockpot or Dutch Oven. Cook onion, celery and carrots with salt and pepper until onion is soft, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the tumeric, stock and peas, and simmer, covered, about 1 hour.  Puree soup in a blender, food processor or directly in pot with an immersion blender  until smooth. Return to clean pot, and adjust the seasonings.  Cook over simmer for an additional 30 minutes - 1 hr until the are soft and the soup is thickened.  Serve immediately.

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Perfect snowy day for hot tomato soup and sandwiches.  I had some brown heirloom tomatoes that I used along with canned crushed tomatoes and some crusty sourdough bread to make this soup.

Roasted heirloom tomatoes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons  olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

5 medium heirloom tomatoes quartered

1-28 oz can of crushed tomatoes with juice

1 1/2  cups  low-sodium chicken broth
1/2  cup  milk, warmed
Salt and pepper
2 cups of crusty bread, cubed

Preparation:

Place quartered tomatoes on a sheet pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in a 350 degree oven for  30-40 minutes.  When done, take out of oven remove skin from tomatoes and set aside.
Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until slightly, about 1 minute. Stir in flour to blend, about 1 minute.  Add canned crushed canned tomatoes with juice, oven roasted tomatoes and broth to saucepan, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir or whisk constantly until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Working in batches, carefully transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth (or use an immersion blender and blend directly in pot until smooth)   Return soup to saucepan, stir in milk and cook over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until heated through. Do not boil. Season with salt and pepper. Add bread cubes to bowl and pour soup over bread and serve hot.

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