Cooking

Garlic Parmesan Chops Soup

Garlic Parmesan Chops Soup

Garlic Parmesan Chops Soup

As promised from yesterday’s post, this is the Garlic Parmesan Chops Soup that is so good! Bart was so impressed, and the pot was instantly all gone! So excited to add a new soup.

Ingredients

Pork Chops (I used boneless)

Seasoning

Bacon grease (or oil)

Butter

Seasoning

Parmesan Sauce

2 c. heavy cream

2 c. parmesan

Garlic

Spinach (chopped)

Fresh mushrooms (chopped)

Onion (chopped)

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Addition

Potatoes washed and cubed (with or without skin)

2 c. cheddar

2 cartons of chicken broth (you can make your own or use water and chicken bouillon cubes)

Cream of Mushroom Soup

How to Make

In an electric skillet, pour some bacon grease (or oil) and butter. I pounded my chops and seasoned them well with my seasoning mix. Fry them up. Once done, remove them from the pan. Again, these were leftovers from last night, so all I did was chop them up into bite-size pieces.

Place all of the parmesan sauce ingredients in the same skillet the chops were in. Stir until thickened. This was, again, leftovers from the night before.

Soup Process

Get your chicken broth boiling, and add some seasoning. Put in your washed, cubed potatoes and let them boil. Once they were done, I scooped them into a bowl, leaving the chicken broth water in the pot.

I added the cream of mushroom soup, parmesan sauce, and cheddar to that pot. I whisked that all into the water to get all the lumps out. Then, I placed the cubed leftover pork chops and let them simmer to warm and soften them up. Once that was done, I added my potatoes back in.

So.  Freaking.  Good.

 

Cooking

Chicken Alfredo Soup

Chicken Alfredo Soup

Chicken Alfredo Soup

Just go ahead and slap your mama. Dang, it. This Chicken Alfredo Soup is now tied for first place for Big Daddy. The other two are Easy White Chicken Chili with Cream Cheese and Pizza Soup Recipe. Frankly, I am impressed with myself.

Ingredients

3 cans of chicken, drained (feel free to use chicken breasts because you can use the broth)

Seasoning

Onion

Garlic

3/4 c. butter

3/4 c. flour

1 c. heavy cream

Sour Cream

Chicken bouillon

Water

Parmesan

Mozzarella

Pasta

Directions

Saute up the cut-up onion and garlic in butter. Once sauteed, add in your flour and cook that down a bit. Get your whisk out and add 2 c. water. Whisk that all in really well. Now, I wish I could tell you how much chicken bouillon I used, but I used that paste. I think I did about 2 Tbsps. Sprinkle with your seasoning.

Once that is incorporated, add more water and keep stirring. I did this in my Instant Pot on saute mode, by the way. You will notice your “roux” is getting thicker. I think I did about 5 c. water. You can adjust accordingly. Add your chicken and parmesan.

Moving On

Let’s talk pasta real quick. I used bowtie pasta. I brought my water to a boil in my pot (not the instant pot). Once it came to a boil, I seasoned it and added my pasta. Drain and then add to your roux.

Next time, I might use a couple of boxes of Ditalini pasta or maybe cut up fettucini. The bowties were fine and good, but I think I want a smaller type, like a small rigatoni. Ugh, I need to go and look at all the types or make my own. Do you know what would be good? Putting in cheese tortellini. Cause, yum!

Anyway

Once I got all that in the pot, I added the heavy and sour cream. If you cook this in an instant pot, you must keep stirring because it will start to burn on the bottom. Baby it! In the end, I added about 2 cups (I know, I know) of mozzarella. Keep tasting to adjust the seasoning. Remember, you can always add seasoning, but you can’t take it out if you put too much in there. Start small and add as you like!

Dang, this was good. Had my Oak been here, I would’ve slapped her face 🙂 Then, she would have slapped me back, LOL.

 

Cooking

Pizza Soup Recipe

Pizza Soup Recipe

Pizza Soup Recipe

Is it a secret that I love soup? I don’t believe it is. So, without further ado, here is my Pizza Soup Recipe. It’s a keeper! Bart says it is tied for first for his favorite soups. The other is White Chicken Chili. I did this all in the Instant Pot, but you can do it on the stovetop!

Ingredients

2# sausage

2# ground beef

Pepperoni

You Can add any meat you want here or combine your favorite meat toppings in this soup. Also, if you like a lot of veggies on your pizza, chop them up and add them here because you want to cook them down a bit. I want to use peppers, but my husband doesn’t care. Mushrooms would be good!

1 onion

Minced Garlic

Seasoning

Italian Seasoning

Rosemary

1 jar of pizza sauce

Water (I believe I filled up the pizza sauce jar 3x and put it in there. Eyeball it.)

2 cans of Tomato Soup

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

Mozzarella

Directions

On the saute mode (Instant Pot), combine the meats, onion, minced garlic, and seasoning. Cook until done, and drain if you need to. Once done, put it back in the pot and add your Italian Seasoning and Rosemary.

Next, add the sauce, water, and soups. Stir well and then place the lid on, seal, manual, for about 8-10 minutes. Everything is cooked, so you want to meld the flavors. Once done, use the quick release. Stir in your mozzarella. Again, put as much in there as you wish. I may have used 2 cups cause we like cheese!

Enjoy!

Oh, my original plan was to add a box of Ditalini noodles to it. I would have boiled them in saltwater on the stovetop. Then drained it and then added it to the instant pot. I have found that if I cook noodles that small in the IP, they get mushy.

 

Cooking

Spin-on Tortellini Soup

Spin-on Tortellini SoupSpin-on Tortellini Soup

I love Tortellini Soup. Love it. So, today, as I was getting the stuff out of my pantry, I thought I would create a Spin-on Tortellini Soup. The broth is excellent! I did this in my instant pot, but it can be done on the stove.

Caution of warning, do not put your milk-based items in the soup before you seal the soup. You put that in AFTER it is done cooking, releasing the pressure. I made that mistake once, and I will never make it again.

Ingredients

Kielbasa quartered

Onion, chopped

Fresh garlic, chopped

Spinach, chopped (or kale)

Seasoning

Italian Seasoning

1 can cream of mushroom

6 tsp chicken bouillon paste

1/2 c. sour cream

2 cans of tomato sauce

1 Tbsp sugar

Water

Directions

In Instant Pot, saute the garlic, onion, kielbasa, and seasoning mix. Add a bit of water if it starts sticking to the pan. Once that is done, add in cream of mushroom soup; I think I did about 6 tsp of chicken bouillon paste. I will say, at this point, I added the sour cream and mixed it well. It did not explode, so that is a good thing. Then, I added the tomato sauce and the sugar. Next, add chopped spinach and Italian seasoning. I added enough water to thin it out just a little bit. You can always add more water towards the end.

Place on the lid, and move the lever to the “seal” position. I hit the soup function and adjusted it to 10 minutes. Once that is done, I did a quick release. I stirred everything well and tasted the broth to ensure the seasonings were good. A good rule of thumb is to start small. You can always add more, but you can’t ever take the salt out of something.

Bechamel Sauce

3 T. butter

Flour, 3 T.

Melt together while whisking.

Add a cup of heavy cream, and continue to whisk while on medium heat. The flour will thicken up. Once it was thick, I added in about 2 c. of cheddar. Stir well until it is all combined.

From this point, I added some broth to the bechamel pan. I did this to thin it out and make it to that it would incorporate easier into the soup.

Once incorporated and stirred, I added it to the soup.

Cue the angels, singing.

Tortellini

I cook these in a separate pot. I feel the tortellini get too mushy if I do the tortellini in the instant pot. Doing this serves a dual purpose. I boil the water, season it, and scoop out my tortellini. I was keeping the starchy pasta in water. I add them to my Instant pot, and if I need additional water, I use the hot starchy water I cooked my tortellini in.

It’s good, people.

 

Cooking

Keto-Friendly Chicken and Garlic Soup

Keto-Friendly Chicken and Garlic SoupKeto-Friendly Chicken and Garlic Soup

I am trying so hard here to keep suppers keto-friendly. People, I love soup. Here are my YUMMY Keto-Friendly Chicken and Garlic Soup recipe.

I love soup. Yes, I do! How about you? Do you love soup as much as I do? I highly doubt it. We eat it all year round without batting an eye. It could be the dog days of summer, and we could be sweating our bits and pieces off. Yet, I will have a pot of chili going!

Ingredients

1 onion, diced

minced garlic

3 peppers, chopped (I used red, yellow, and orange)

fresh mushrooms

chicken stock or chicken bouillon

Water

heavy cream

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 c. sour cream

4 cans chicken

cheddar

butter

seasoning

Directions

I sauteed up my chopped onion, peppers, fresh mushrooms, seasoning, and minced garlic in butter. This would be an excellent place to add kale or chopped spinach, but I didn’t add it this time. Once that was done, I added the chicken and enough water to cover it. I also added chicken bouillon to the water as I had no stock.

Put in the instant pot and set on the “soup” function for about 10 minutes.

Once that is done, I do a quick release. Added the cream cheese, cheddar, sour cream, and heavy cream. Remember, never count your milk-based products before starting the pressurizing part of the instant pot. I stirred it well and seasoned it according to my taste buds!

 

Cooking

Keto-Friendly Cheeseburger Soup

Keto-Friendly Cheeseburger Soup

Keto-Friendly Cheeseburger Soup

Again, Cheesburger Soup is a staple at my house and very well-loved. The regular version of this soup is loaded with all the good things that make it great. Here is my quest at Keto-Friendly cheeseburger Soup, which was a success!

Ingredients

1# ground beef

1# sausage

1/2 large onion, chopped

2 T butter

minced garlic

seasoning

red pepper flakes

Italian Seasoning mix

Chicken broth

4 heaping tablespoons sour cream

1 c. heavy cream

water

3 c. cheddar

1 head of cauliflower (except next time, I will probably use 2!  chop up it unless you like HUGE chunks.)

8 slices of bacon, chopped

Directions

Get your bacon going in the oven. Once done, chop it up. Remember to save the grease.

In an Instant pot, get butter, minced garlic, and onion, cooking till translucent. Add meat, sausage, and seasoning, and cook till done. Drain, if necessary. Once drained, add Italian seasoning and Red pepper flakes (not too much if you don’t like the heat).

Once done, add in some water and chicken broth. Taste to see if it needs any more seasoning. Chop cauliflower (realize that by using the Instant pot, some of the smaller cauliflower will dissolve, so chop a mix of larger pieces (think potato chunks) and smaller ones so that they will dissolve and create a thicker consistency).

Next Up

Once you get all that in the pot, add enough water and/or chicken broth to cover the meat and cauliflower. Set on the “soup” function, which for me was 10 minutes. Do a quick release.

Add in the heavy cream, sour cream, and cheese. Stir till combined and taste for seasoning purposes or to add more cheese. After all, that, add your chopped bacon.

The soup was delicious. You could not tell that I did not use potatoes or a “cream” type of soup in it.

 

 

Cooking

Keto-Friendly Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Keto-Friendly Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Keto-Friendly Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Okay, I love soup. I love it loaded with cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and all the ooey-gooey deliciousness that comes with the comfort of soup. Here is my version of a Keto-Friendly Broccoli and Cheese Soup.

Yet, there is Big Daddy.

He is determined to work on his health. I mean, not necessarily to lose weight, to eat better to see what could be causing his joints to hurt. So, I’m taking some family favorites and attempting to revamp some recipes.

Please bear in mind that I do not use measurements. I do a base, and I taste to see if it needs any more seasoning, cheese, thickening agent, etc. This dish is also low carb. Also, I did do this in the instant pot!

Ingredients

1 bag of frozen cut-up broccoli

1 bag of frozen broccoli florets

2 T. butter

1/2 large onion

Minced garlic

Seasoning

Chicken stock

Water

Cheddar (I think I used about 3 cups)

2 oz. cream cheese

4 heaping tablespoons of sour cream

1 c. heavy cream

8 slices of crispy bacon, chopped up

Directions

Get your bacon in the oven. Once done, chop it up! Be sure and save the bacon grease in a mason jar. You can always use a parmesan cheese lid to screw on it if you don’t have a mason jar lid.

Saute up the butter, garlic, and onion until the onion is translucent. Add the chopped-up broccoli and about 3 cups of water. I put it in the instant pot and set it to the “soup” mode. Once it was done, I did a quick release, took my potato masher, and mashed up the cooked broccoli. This helps thicken the soup.

Next Up

Once that was done, I added some chicken stock. I didn’t want it too soupy, so I eyeballed it. Then, I added the heavy cream, cream cheese, sour cream, and seasoning. I got that all mixed up and taste-tested it. Once I had an excellent seasoning/chicken broth/water ratio, I added in the cheddar cheese.

Lastly, I cut up the HUGE pieces of broccoli florets and threw them in the pot. I put the lid back on and set it on “manual” for about 3 minutes, but for the most part, the hot liquid cooked the broccoli. It would be wrong if it were undercooked or overcooked.

Last but not least, I added the bacon.

Verdict

This broth was spot on, and I was shocked at the ability of the mushed of the first bag of broccoli and the cream cheese to thicken it up so nicely. I could get naked and swim in that broth 🙂 That was too much, wasn’t it :/

 

 

Cooking

Lasagna Soup

Lasagna Soup

 

Lasagna Soup

2 pounds of ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 c. kale, chopped

2 green peppers, chopped

In an instant pot, brown these all together with seasoning and drain.

Mix beef mixture, basil, oregano, and Italian Seasoning in the same pot. Then add in 2 cans of diced tomatoes (I pureed these up because Big Daddy does “not like chunks”), the equivalent of one can of cream of mushroom (can either use canned or make your own GF version). Next, add 4 chicken bouillon cubes, 32 oz—of water, and lasagna noodles (I used about 6) that are broken up.
Turn on the manual for 15 minutes.
Quick-release.
Check noodles and put them back on manual, if needed.
Add 1 c. milk, 2 c. cheddar cheese, and 1/2 c. sour cream.
Stir well and serve with parmesan.

Cooking

Gluten-Free Chicken and Noodle Soup

Gluten-Free Chicken and Noodle Soup

Gluten-Free Chicken and Noodle Soup

Screaming Moment

Have you ever had one of those days where you want to run down the road naked, screaming at the top of your lungs? Enter Gluten-Free Chicken and Noodle Soup cause it is my jam. Well, any soup, for that matter. It, quite literally, soothes my soul.

Yep, I had one.

As an illustration, my day started with a butt through a wall.

As well as some nosy Nellies.

Add a splash of liars.

Tears.

Confessions.

Manual labor.

Saturday in a Nutshell: Fall Recipe

We did, for fun and all, add in some ticks, fits, crap in pants, paint, a mini-remodel (because of the butt issue), and a battle between a tree and a child.

Cause what a Saturday would be without all that fun?

Oh, I forgot that we start school (on the 24th), and I lost ALL my notes, schedules, and curriculum.

So, there’s that.

At 7:30 pm, my sweet (not so much sweet on this day, but a bit salty) H said he was hungry. I forgot to cook :/

I was so busy micromanaging misbehaving kids, working on the bathroom, doing some spot cleaning, and doing schoolwork prep. It just slipped my mind.

So, here is what I threw together because I had nothing else in the house to fix, and we did not want to eat out.

Gluten-Free Chicken and Noodle Soup

One bag of Tyson pre-cooked diced chicken (again, all I had, and it was frozen)

Minced onions

Seasoning

Cream cheese

2 c. Monterey jack cheese

Splash of milk

Rice spaghetti noodles

Broccoli (gotta get those veggies in)

Chicken stock (GF)

I put stock, chicken, seasoning, and minced onions in the instant pot (sniffing up 8 pm) and set it on soup for 12 minutes.

To save time, I started the water for the noodles and cut up the large pieces of broccoli. I also had A shred my cheese because pre-shredded cheese is processed, which is no Bueno.

When the instant pot was done, I quickly released the pressure. I added a splash of milk, the cheese, and then cut-up broccoli. I did turn it back on manual for 2 minutes to soften up the broccoli.

By the time that was done, my noodles were done. I drained them and put them in the soup.

Voila.

It is finished.

Thank. Goodness.

 

Cooking

Chicken and Rice Soup (Instant Pot)

Chicken and Rice Soup (Instant Pot)

Chicken and Rice Soup (Instant Pot) is one of my newest creations. Simple and easy clean-up! This is an all-in-one soup that I cook all year round.

Chicken and Rice Soup (Instant Pot)

1 carton of gluten-free chicken broth

Minced onions

2 cans of chicken, drained

Seasoning

Oregano

Italian Seasoning

4 c. cooked rice

1/2 c. sour cream

Cream of chicken soup

1 c. milk

2 c. cheddar cheese soup

Instructions

Place all ingredients except the sour cream, milk, and cheddar cheese in an instant pot. Please note that any recipe (for an Instant Pot) that calls for milk products should be added AFTER the soup is done cooking. If you add it before, it can lead to explosions (experience) and curdling (experience).

Once the pressure is released, the soup is super hot, so there is no problem with melting the cheese. Add all dairy ingredients, including cream, 1/2 and 1/2, sour cream, cream cheese, cheese, etc.

Turn on soup mode and let run until done. My rice was not entirely done enough, so I stirred it up well and put it on manual for another 10 minutes.

Once done, add the milk, sour cream, and cheddar. Stir until it is all melded well.