Creamy Chicken Soup

"Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power, has that ability to comfort."

Norman Kolpas

What is it about good homemade food that is so comforting? When words fail, bringing someone something that you made and put thought into can mean more than anything you could ever say... My grandma recently got diagnosed with terminal cancer. Needless to say this has been a very trying time for my family, especially my dad (she is his mom). It has been an amazing blessing to us to see how many lovely caring friends and neighbors we have. People have been so generous, bringing by baked goods, fresh picked fruits, even full dinners for us. More than the food, it is the thought that goes behind the food that serves to restore and comfort in the midst of chaos. One of the most comforting foods for me is a warm soup with a good loaf of bread. Something about it just warms my soul! I found this recipe on food.com, it is wonderfully creamy and delicious! It would make a great dish to bring to someone you know that is having a tough time as it can be refrigerated or frozen or reheated. I hope you enjoy the recipe and have a beautiful day!

P.S. Sorry about the pictures, I kind of threw it together in a hurry and didn't take time to take lots of pics

Mama Leone's Chicken Soup

Adapted from food.com recipe

Ingredients

3 cups cooked white meat chicken (like from a rotisserie chicken or leftovers), diced

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

4 tsp butter

1 medium onion, diced

3 stalks celery

3 summer squash, diced

2 tblsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp dried tarragon

2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

3-4 sprigs fresh oregano

1/2 cup all-purpose flour plus 2 tblsp

8 cups fat free chicken broth

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice

3/4 cup fat free or regular evaporated milk

2 cups sliced fresh spinach

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the butter and melt. Saute the onions, squash, and celery until the onions are translucent, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, tarragon, oregano, and paprika and 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring, for 3 or 4 minutes. Add the flour and stir until well-combined. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes and milk. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the chicken and basil and simmer 10 minutes more. Just before serving, stir in the spinach.

Mozzarella Stuffed Tomato Basil Turkey Burger Sliders

Happy Monday! This beautiful weather has been doing wonderful things for my little basil plant! It has been growing like crazy. So that means it's time to start cooking! I don't want any of those tasty leaves to go to waste.

One of my favorite combos is basil, tomato, and mozzarella. So, when I looked in my freezer and saw the turkey burger, inspiration struck me. Why not make mozzarella stuffed turkey burgers and top them off with fresh basil and vine ripened tomatoes? So fresh and easy! They turned out delicious! I used mozzarella cheese balls that I got at Whole Foods but I bet the same great flavor could be achieved using shredded mozzarella. The combination of flavors in these little burgers perfectly typifies summer and it is an easy healthy meal to throw together when you don't feel like slaving over a hot stove. I served mine up with some garlic fries but they would also go great with a salad or grilled veggies (for less carbs). Hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy these little sliders!

Mozzarella Stuffed Tomato Basil Sliders

Ingredients

1 lb Ground Turkey

1 package mozzarella cheese balls or 1 package shredded mozzarella cheese

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1 cup bread crumbs

8 small hamburger buns

16 small basil leaves

8 slices fresh tomato

Divide turkey into 8 pieces. Mix each piece with 1 to 2 tblsp breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper and divide each piece into two equally sized patties (you should now have 16 small patties).

Put 8 of the patties onto a foil lined baking sheet, top each with mozzarella cheese.

Top with other patty, pressing gently around the edges to seal the cheese in. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Place tray in oven about 6 inches from the broiler. Broil for about 7 minutes or until cooked through. When cooked, remove patties from oven, place on bun, top with 2 small basil leaves and a slice of tomato and serve!

Martha's Rosemary Almonds

Today I love... long flowy summer dresses like this one, frozen cookie dough, my bread machine and puppies!

Does it get any cuter???

Now, for something I love everyday..... snacks.... little delicious morsels I can nibble throughout the day. Extra bonus if the snacks are nutritious and not chock full of sugar. These rosemary almonds are full of good for you things and are wonderfully addictive! I clipped the recipe from Martha Stewart Living a few months back and have made them quite a few times since then. The first time I made them I used dried rosemary as I didn't have fresh on hand. However, when I discovered that the italian restaurant down the street has a HUGE rosemary plant out front, I decided to try them with fresh rosemary :) (It's a really big plant, I'm sure they don't mind my borrowing a branch every now and again). Fresh rosemary, if you have it, makes for a more flavorful snack but the dried is pretty darn good too. Enjoy, and happy snacking!

Rosemary Candied Almonds

Recipe from Martha Stewart Living, May 2010

Ingredients

2 tbsp sugar

Coarse salt

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp honey

2 cups raw almonds

2 tbsp fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together 4 teaspoons sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Set aside. Heat butter and honey over medium-high heat in a large skillet until bubbling. Remove from heat.

Add almonds and rosemary, toss to coat

Transfer alomd-rosemary mixture to a parchment or foil lined baking sheet (don't scrape excess syrup from skillet, it will make them too gooey). Sprinkle almonds with sugar/salt mixture. Roast almonds until fragrant, 8-9 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 2 tsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp salt, toss to coat. Let cool completely.

If your not going to eat them soon, they can be stored in a tightly sealed tupperware in the freezer for up to one month. That is a month's worth of yummy munching!

Frugal Finds: Freezing Basil

I was at Grocery Outlet the other day when I saw this fresh basil on sale for .50 cents! I usually steer clear of produce at Grocery Outlet and just get pantry staples as the produce is usually.... lets just say, a bit past it's prime. But, upon closer inspection, this basil looked pretty fresh, despite the fact that it had officially "expired" the day before. So, I snapped it up with the high hopes of getting home and making a pasta of fresh tomatos, mozzarella, and basil. Alas, it was not meant to be. I didnt get home until 830 and I ended up falling asleep reading my new Cooking Light... So the next morning when I awoke, I remembered my expired basil! Oh no, what to do? I was going out for dinner and didn't want to use it for anything else. So I decided it would be best to store it, but how? I found an easy tutorial on ehow.com about freezing fresh basil and I decided to give it a shot. Here's what I did:

Wash basil by submersing in a bowl of cold water and swirling.

Dry it off very well using two paper towels. Pull the leaves off the stems. Discard Stems.

Finely chop basil (use a food processor if you have one, I don't so I just chopped it up with my chef's knife.) Toss basil with a bit of olive oil to give it a light coating and keep it from going brown. Put into a small tupperware and freeze.

Easy as that! Now whenever you are ready to use it, pull it out, thaw, and enjoy!

Happy Sunday, hope you had a STUPENDOUS weekend!