Corn & Coconut Curry Chowder with Pale Ale

 Hooray - a new post!  This evening I made a yummy soup for dinner...very flavorful!

Ingredients:
6 large ears sweet corn, or 2 bags frozen corn (rinsed in cold water to thaw)
4 tbs olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/3 cup pale ale (we used Sierra Nevada)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cups vegetable broth (chicken will work as well)
2 cans (13.5 ounces each) coconut milk (we used light)
4 tsp red curry paste, or more to taste (we used about 1/2 tsp more)
large pinch cayenne, or more to taste
10 large leaves basil, thinly sliced
2 large red peppers, roasted and chopped (we used jarred)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 if using fresh corn, 450 if using frozen.
2. Place on a baking sheet, roast for 20 minutes. If using fresh corn, remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle. Cut the kernels off the corn, set aside.
3. In a sauce pan over medium high heat, sauté the onions in olive oil until soft, about 5-10 minutes. 
4. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the beer, salt, pepper, vegetable broth, coconut milk, curry paste, corn kernels, and cayenne. 
5. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
6. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth.  Stir in the basil and the red pepper.

Recipe adapted from The Beeroness

Simple Miso Soup

At the end of our recent family vacation to the Jersey Shore, Matt and Melissa mentioned that they wanted to make some miso soup.  Dave and I thought it was a great idea, so we looked up a recipe and made a big batch.

It makes quite a few servings of soup (probably 8-10), so you can always halve the recipe if needed.

Ingredients:
12-ounce block firm silken tofu
1 cup han tsuyu (we got this one from Hmart)
7 cups water
2 tablespoons dark or red miso
6 tablespoons light or white miso
4 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Wrap the block of tofu in 2 layers of paper towels and lay on a plate. Invert a second plate on top of the tofu and weigh down.  Leave for 20 minutes then cut the tofu into 1/4 to 1/2-inch cubes. 
2. Heat the water and han tsuyu in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When it reaches 100 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, ladle 1 cup into a small bowl. 
3. Add the miso, and whisk until smooth.
4. Bring the remaining liquid to a bare simmer, approximately 10 minutes. 
5. Add the miso mixture and whisk to combine. Return to a slight simmer, being careful not to boil the mixture. 
6. Add the tofu and scallions and cook for another minute or until heated through. 
7. Remove from the heat, ladle into soup bowls and serve immediately. 

The soup was just as delicious leftover, but we wish that we had added the scallions fresh each time.  We'll try that next time!

Recipe adapted from Food Network

Mulligatawny Soup

*Insert Seinfeld Reference Here*

Dave and I made this wonderful and easy to prepare soup last night. Although not traditional Indian food, it had great Indian flavor, and was warm and comforting!

Ingredients:
1 whole boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
(we had shredded slow-cooked chicken on hand that we used instead)
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 tbsp butter
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic, minced finely
1/4c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp curry powder (we used 3 tbsp...we like spicy!)
32 ounces chicken broth
2 cups half-and-half (milk works too)
1 whole granny smith apple, peeled and diced
1 tbsp white or brown sugar, more or less to taste (we used brown)
2 tsp salt, more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
cayenne pepper (optional, for spice) (we didn't have any, so this was omitted)

Directions:
1.  Season diced chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tbsp butter over medium-high heat .  Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden. Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.  (We did not do this step since we already had cooked shredded chicken.  The shredded was amazing in this soup, so I highly recommend it!)
2.  In the same pot, add the remaining 2 tbsp butter and reduce heat to medium.  Add diced onion and garlic and stir to cook.  Cook until onions start to brown.
3.  Sprinkle flour over onions, and stir to combine.
4.  Stir in curry powder, and cook mixture over medium heat for one minute, stirring constantly.
5.  Pour in chicken broth.  Stir to combine then cook for 5 minutes.
6.  Add half and half, salt, pepper, and sugar.
7.  Cook for another 5 minutes
                     

(Here's what the soup looked like as we swirled in the half-and-half)

8.  Add chicken and diced apple and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
9.  Turn off heat and allow to stand 5 or 10 minutes before serving.

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We served ours with some store-bought wheat naan:

Just amazing!

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

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Updated!  Dave and I made some variations this last time, and it was also amazing!  When we sauteed the onions/garlic, we also put in some thinly sliced carrot.  Instead of adding flour, we added 2 tbsp corn starch mixed with a bit of water (that change was with Melissa in mind!).  Then in lieu of half-and-half, we put in one can of light coconut milk.  Lastly, as an alternative to chicken, we put in 1 package of firm tofu, drained and cut into small cubes.

Taco Soup

I know, I know...we already have a taco soup recipe. The one that was originally posted on the blog was good, but I think this new one might be better. Tough to tell though, without a side-by-side taste test.

The recipe below is nice and easy, and Dave and I make it all the time. We always halve it, and still have lots of leftovers for a few bonus meals. Hope you give it a try!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb ground beef

1 medium sweet onion, diced

5 stalks celery, chopped

1 15oz can of tomato sauce

1 28oz can diced tomatoes, with juice

2 15oz cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 15oz cans corn, with juice

2 packs taco seasoning (2 oz) - Most recently, I used one pack of taco and one pack of chili seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili powder

cheese, sour cream, and chips for serving

Directions:

1. Brown the beef, adding the diced onion near the end. Drain the grease.

2. In a large pot, combine cooked beef/onion with remaining ingredients. Let the mixture come to a boil and simmer on low for 1 hr, or longer. I know it's done when the celery is cooked to the texture I like, and flavors have come together.

3. I often add water if it cooks down too much, but it is tasty when really thick as well. Also, sometimes I feel like it needs a bit more chili powder- just add the seasoning to taste.

4. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

I think I'll use our new Le Crueset that Mom and Dad S. gave us for Christmas next time we make it!

(mmm....cheesy)

Recipe from Elle's Studio

Chicken Taco Soup

Woah! I totally forgot about this recipe until now (if you were curious, I'm going through all of my bookmarked recipes. When I'm done with those, I'll move onto typing favorite recipes from cookbooks/magazines/etc.) We only made this once, February 2009- I only remember since I was on an antibiotic at the time, and could not have alcohol- we were worried about the beer cooking off all the way. It ended up being fine. I forgot what kind of beer we used, though.

This is a nice and super easy slow cooker meal.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
  
• 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
• sour cream (optional)
• crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Directions

1. Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
2. Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

Recipe and photo from AllRecipes