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Jan 21 2011

Tortellini Soup

Posted by twopeasandtheirpod in Step-by-Step Recipes

January is not my favorite month. It is hard getting back to “normal” life after the holidays. It is also long, cold, and COLD! I dress in layers, live under my electric blanket, and eat comforting foods to try and stay warm.

My favorite comfort foods are soup and pasta dishes. When I saw The Well-Fed Newlyweds’recipe for Tortellini Soup, I knew I had to try it. My favorite comfort foods in one recipe. This tomato broth soup is loaded with plump cheese tortellini and fresh spinach. It is simple to make and will warm you up in a matter of minutes.

For the soup you will need olive oil, garlic, onion, oregano, chicken or vegetable broth, canned whole tomatoes, salt and pepper, cheese tortellini, fresh spinach, and Parmesan cheese.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is softened and the garlic is light golden brown, about five minutes.

Add the oregano.

Stir in the vegetable broth. (You can use chicken broth.)

Add the whole tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon.

Bring the soup to a boil and add the tortellini. Cook according to package directions.

One minute before the tortellini is done, stir in the fresh spinach.

When the tortellini are cooked, remove the soup from the heat. Season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.

Garnish the soup with Parmesan cheese and serve hot.

We really enjoyed this soup. I love that it is easy to make, but still impressive to serve. It is perfect for a weeknight meal with the family or when you are entertaining company. Each bite of soup is filled with flavor and will warm your heart and soul. Serve with a nice salad and crusty bread. Add Tortellini Soup to your menu right now, it is the perfect soup for a cold day.

Thanks to Katie for a fantastic recipe! And check out her blog The Well-Fed Newlyweds, too. Lots of great-looking recipes there!

Printable Recipe

Tortellini Soup

by The Well-Fed Newlyweds on January 4, 2011 in Soups

See post on The Well-Fed Newlyweds’s site!

4.93 Mitt(s) 45 Rating(s) 45 votes, average: 4.93 out of 5

Description

Plump tortellini and fresh spinach in a tomato-y broth. It’s quick and simple to make, and it packs a lot of flavor in every bite.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
½ whole Small Onion, Minced (about 1/4 Cup)
½ teaspoons Dried Oregano
1 quart Low-sodium Chicken Broth (or Vegetable Broth)
15 ounces, weight Canned Whole Tomatoes
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
9 ounces, weight Package Tortellini, Any Variety, Fresh Or Frozen
3 cups Fresh Spinach, Chopped And Loosely Packed
Parmesan Cheese, To Serve

Preparation Instructions

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion. Cook until the onion is softened and the garlic has turned light gold, about 5 minutes.

Add the oregano, broth, tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste. (You can break up the tomatoes with your fingers as you add them to the pot, or break them up with a spoon once you’ve added them to the soup.)

Bring the soup to a boil and add the tortellini. Cook according to the package directions.

One minute before the tortellini are done, add the spinach. Stir to combine.

When the tortellini are cooked, remove the pot from the heat immediately so they do not overcook. Season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.

Serve the soup immediately, topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

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Maria and her husband Josh (who she affectionately refers to as her “dough boy”) blog at Two Peas and Their Pod. They’ve been featured on Saveur, Eatocracy, Gourmet Live, Glamour, and the Los Angeles Times, to name just a few. We’re so glad to have them here!

Mar 23 2010

Murphy’s Hot Hamburger

Posted by Ree | The Pioneer Woman in Step-by-Step Recipes

I almost fell over when I came across this recipe on Tasty Kitchen. Submitted by AlishaGibb, the recipe’s from an old (and still open!) haunt in my hometown called Murphy’s.

I can’t even begin to adequately summarize what it is about Murphy’s that’s so wonderful. The burgers…the garlic salad dressing (I have that recipe, too)…the incredibly delicious French fries. A meal at Murphy’s is a treat, a splurge (calorically speaking), an unparalleled burger experience. Anyone who’s ever eaten there knows exactly what I mean. Kids come home from college? They go straight to Murphy’s. Adults come to town to visit their parents for Christmas? They pick up Murphy’s to go on the first night they’re there. Murphy’s is simply a part of the soul of anyone who grew up there.

The most famous item on the Murphy’s menu has to be their Hot Hamburger. I…I…I can’t even describe it. And I won’t even try. Instead, I’ll just show you.

Before I begin, just remember one thing: “Gravy Over All“.

We’ll revisit that in a minute.

Thank you, Alisha, for sharing this!

Here’s what you need. I didn’t have any beef broth, so I did beef bouillon cubes in hot water.

First thing we’re gonna do is make some fries, baby.

I have this lovely little french fry cutter. It’s a miracle, and it gets fries into my mouth much faster than if I have to slice them by hand.

These are about the thickness of fries at Murphy’s, if I remember correctly.

Drizzle some canola oil all over the fries and toss them around with your hands.

Then sprinkle on some salt or seasoned salt. I used Slap Ya Mama Cajun seasoning.

Slap Ya Mama on fries is so, so good.

Now pop the pan into a 425 degree oven and bake for 45 minutes, shaking them around a few times here and there so they don’t totally stick to the pan.

When the fries have about 15 minutes left, mix the hamburger meat with minced garlic, onion powder, and seasoned salt (or just plain salt would be fine.) Note: I went a little heavy on the garlic for this one pound of meat. If you’re unsure, cut the seasonings by half.

Use your hands to knead the meat mixture together until it’s thoroughly combined.

Divide the meat into fourths, then make the hamburgers. But Murphy’s doesn’t have lovely, uniform patties.

They just slap a wad of meat on the grill and flatten it into a rustic shape. At least I think that’s how they do it.

Either way, these are not perfectly formed patties. Imperfection is the way to go.

Cook the burgers on both sides until done…

Then remove them to a paper towel-lined plate. Cover them with another plate to keep warm!

There should be plenty of grease in the pan, but if not, feel free to splash in a little oil. Turn the heat to medium-low.

Sprinkle on 4 to 5 tablespoons flour, whisking as you sprinkle it in to make sure the flour evenly distributes in the grease.

Whisk it all together until combined. Ideally, you would cook this roux for a good 3 to 5 minutes in order to get the color as dark as possible without burning. (Murphy’s gravy is very dark brown.) But I was in a bit of a hurry.

Then pour in the beef broth slowly, whisking as you pour.

Now you just need to cook the gravy until it bubbles and thickens, about ten minutes or so.

Whisk as you go, scraping the sides of the pan to make sure you loosen all the bits.

Sometime during the cooking process, throw in a bunch (ya THINK?) of black pepper. Black pepper is a must.

Cook and whisk until it’s nice and thick.

By now the fries are ready. And they’re divine!

And now…I need to talk to you brace yourself. Place some fries on a plate.

Then place one of the burger patties on top.

And then…and then…GRAVY OVER ALL.

Yes, I just poured brown gravy over everything on the plate. Who wants to know?

And that’s the beauty of a hot hamburger. And if you don’t want to go through all the steps, you can take a shortcut and buy a packet of brown gravy mix—or even better, buy the stuff in the jar! I won’t tell anyone.

I’m pretty sure Murphy’s serves bread underneath the burger patty, then the fries over to the side, then drowns it all with the delicious brown gravy. That way, the bread underneath is not only soft from the grease of the burger…it’s deliciously soaked with gravy. Perfect!

You have to experience it once in your life.

Another option would be to serve the burger in its normal state—with a bun and everything—then serve the fries with a bowl of gravy. When ballet season was over every year and I felt like I could eat something besides carrot sticks, I’d go straight to Murphy’s and order fries with a side of gravy. It was my own brand of teenage rebellion.

Whatever you do, the fries must go with the gravy.

It’s a universal mandate.

Enjoy, and thanks again to Alisha for sharing this hometown treat!

Love,
Pioneer Woman

Here’s the printable recipe: Murphy’s Hot Hamburgers, by AlishaGibb

May 2 2011

Lamb Tostadas

Posted by Natalie | Perry's Plate in Step-by-Step Recipes

Ah, lamb. I must admit, I haven’t eaten a lot of lamb in my life. My grandpa was a sheep farmer before he passed away, and my parents ate quite a bit of mutton meals in their home during the early years of marriage. My mom always thought mutton (and lamb) smelled funny, so we never ate it while I was growing up. Never. Ever.

Occasionally I’d take a few bites of my husband’s lamb curry when we’d eat out, but that is the whole of my experience with lamb. And with all of the lamb recipes buzzing around this past month, I got curious. These Lamb Tostadas from TK member rbrasher (Rebecca) were a successful attempt at recreating a dish she ate at a restaurant. I thought that would be a good way to ease myself into a new meat.

And it would be awfully hard to mess up a tostada.

So after making the very first lamb purchase of my life, I gathered the rest of the ingredients: black beans, tostada shells, sour cream, yogurt, chipotle peppers, tomatoes, a jalapeno, Mexican cotija cheese, salad greens, and the seasonings: salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cinnamon, and cocoa.

(See notes below for the adjustments I made in this recipe.)

First get the beans started. Dump the drained beans into a medium saucepan.

Add some smoked paprika. Smoked paprika is pretty easy to find these days, in the spice section of your grocery store. If you don’t have (or can’t find) smoked paprika, cumin would be a better substitute than regular paprika.

And some water. Simmer the beans on the stove over medium-low heat while you prepare the rest.

Next, combine the yogurt, sour cream, and pureed (or minced) chipotle peppers in a small bowl and let it hang out.

By the way, I’d recommend removing the seeds before you puree the peppers. They’re pretty spicy without the seeds. And if you’re wondering what to do with the leftovers, you can always spoon it into an ice cube tray. Once they’re frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer bag and store them in the freezer. You can find canned chipotles in adobo sauce in the Latin/ethnic aisles of most grocery stores.

Now for the lamb. Get a large skillet heated to medium-high heat and add the lamb and the cocoa, cinnamon, and smoked paprika. Stir it around a bit.

Now add some water.

Stir it around. Although the lamb already looks browned, it’s really the cocoa playing tricks on you. Let it simmer uncovered over medium heat for 15 minutes or so until the lamb is fully cooked, the water has cooked off, and the flavors have mingled.

Once the lamb has finished cooking, the beans should be nice and flavorful as well. Taste both and add salt and/or pepper as needed.

Chop the tomatoes and jalapenos and get ready to assemble!

Layer the tostada shell, salad greens, lamb, beans, tomatoes, chipotle cream, cotija, and jalapenos.

I really don’t need to tell you what to do next, do I? Just make sure you have napkins handy. Tostadas don’t make for very graceful eating.

These were great. I loved the combination of the flavors—the pungent meat, smoky beans, salty cheese, and spicy chipotle cream. The meat, alone, had a very strong flavor. I don’t know if it was my preconceived notions of lamb’s funky smell or the unusual spice combination, but I’m going to be honest with you. I didn’t enjoy eating the lamb alone. Assembled in the tostada? Yes. Please. If you’re a fan of lamb, you probably won’t have my weird issues.

I also want to call attention to this ah-mazing chipotle cream. It’s really the bomb. Rebecca recommends storing it in a squirt bottle (mine’s in storage. I almost cried.) and using it on salads, tacos, quesadillas, or any of your Mexican favorites.

My girls and I happily ate these for lunch three days in a row. Thanks so much Rebecca for a unique twist on a Mexican favorite! Visit her blog, Revising Rebecca, where she writes about finding balance in life (something we all need!).

Recipe adjustments: I omitted the rice (out of personal preference), and substituted sour cream for the mayo in the chipotle cream. If you omit the rice as well, I would cut the amount of cocoa and smoked paprika (in the lamb) in half to tone down the flavor of the meat. I also used queso cotija instead of queso blanco because that’s what I had on hand. Feta or goat cheese would also work well.

Printable Recipe