Peaseats: Gumbo

I love a bowl of Gumbo with potato salad and pickled okra, or just by itself. I know people also love it with rice, both potato salad and rice, or with neither.  However you like to dress up your bowl this recipe has not failed me. 

If you like Gumbo I hope you'll give this recipe a try. 

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

This soup is a big hit with my kids! I'm so glad because it's easy to make. The fresh rosemary is so fragrant. I use store bought gnocchi for a quick meal. I've added a note at the bottom to make this without the cream. Both versions are wonderful. You can even make the soup with leftover baked chicken which is easy peasy. We love kale but if you prefer spinach that can be used also. It's a great weeknight dinner and I make extra for lunches the next day. Just heat it up and put them in a container for school.

Salmon Chowder

Salmon Chowder
It's finally getting cooler around here. It was 38 degrees this morning. I will say that it's colder here at 38 degrees than it was at 38 degrees in Maryland because of the humidity. It just chills you through. I'm loving it so I can't complain. Bundling up, wearing layers, and boots. It's wonderful. I decided to make some Salmon Chowder. It's so easy and quick to make. The ingredients can be kept on hand, if the salmon is frozen. Even the vegetables can be flash frozen after being diced. Set the carrots, celery, and onion on a baking sheet and freeze them. Once frozen transfer them into a container or freezer bag. They do not need to be thawed before cooking. Just keep in mind they they will have ice on them. Be very careful putting them into hot oil.

Geang Phet Thalei (Red Curry Seafood Soup)

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I wasn't sure what to call this so I names it Geang Phet Thalei, which is spicy seafood soup in Lao, or literally geang "soup", phet "spicy", thalei "sea". Sounds legit right? Let's roll with it. This is one of the quickest, yummiest Whole30 lunches I threw together so far. The beauty is that it has 3/4 can of coconut milk so I didn't even have to add a plated fat. If I had more/different vegetables I would have thrown them in. I don't really consider mushrooms a vegetable but, let's just go with that also. They are really good though. A creamy pumpkin would be so yummy in this though. I ate this whole recipe like a soup. By myself. I suppose it's two servings if you serve it with rice, cauliflower rice. with a sweet potato. But nope. I. Ate. It. All.

Lao Bitter Melon Soup

Bitter Melon Soup

 Bitter melon, or bitter gourd. As a child I didn't like eating it at all. So bitter. But there's something about this flavor. It's not just bitter, it's ... complex. A word I'm using because it's just hard to describe. Like I said, as a child I didn't appreciate this at all. My mom would always say "it's medicinal!" She was really ahead of her time, now you can find this stuff in capsules! We were drinking Aloe Vera tea, artichoke tea, choking down two tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar before it was hipster. Sigh. Maybe that's why I'm built like an ox. *snort*

Quick School Lunch Chicken Noodle Soup

Some days I wake up with no plan for lunches. Of course the kids could just buy lunches but they don't like it and by the time they get through the lunch line there's about 15 minutes max to eat lunch.  I have no issues packing them lunches, I truly enjoy doing it. I know many people groan about it and just don't like to do it. I am not one of those people the majority of the time. 

Any aromatics can be used. I used these for an udon noodle soup.

There are some days I will groan but not often. I also like to know that they are eating foods they like. There are some days that they do want to buy lunch if it's something they are in the mood for, and that's fine also. My two younger kids will do that, my oldest won't. She didn't buy a single school lunch last year.

Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

This soup is so good. The sweetness of the squash compliments the spice from the curry. The coconut milk makes it a little rich and creamy. My oldest had three servings and asked for this soup for lunch the next day. My dad also had three servings. It's the perfect fall soup, utilizing squash that is in season and hearty kale. I didn't serve this with bread or anything but a baguette would be yummy. This soup can be prepared on the stove top or in a pressure cooker, I use an Instant Pot. Both methods are easy.

Frito Pie (Slow Cooker and Pressure Cooker)

Frito Pie topped with cheese and plain yogurt.

I know, I know. Lots of Instant Pot recipes. It just happens to be soup and stew season, and the Instant Pot makes for great soups and stews. So here's an oldie but goodie that's been adapted for Instant Pot cooking, so I'm posting it as a Manic Monday post. If you prefer a slow cooker you can use that also! You can serve this without the Frito chips and put it over baked potatoes, in a steamed winter squash, or with crackers.

Bo Kho

Have you had Bo Kho? I grew up having it with French bread to dip in the spicy fragrant broth. Not hot spicy, but aromatic herbs spicy. You can make this as spicy hot as you like by adding more spicy chilies to it. This is a Vietnamese dish. I was very fortunate growing up that my parents had such a wonderful variety of friends. Their children in turn because good friends of mine. We would gather weekly for meals at someones house. Late late nights, as they shared stores. Some of the country they left behind to come America for. Other times to sing Karaoke until early morning. And they were always "Auntie" or "Uncle" if not

Instant Pot Chicken and (Rolled) Dumplings

 Rolled Cracker Barrel style Chicken and Dumplings. We had it at night for dinner, and the girls asked me to make more for their school lunches. So the lighting in these pictures of the process is a bit off. Because it was 0 dark hundred. Not really, but six in the morning seems early to me. Making this in the Instant Pot really helps the morning go smoothly, I'm not constantly stirring or checking a pot for one. Second the cook time is reduced quite a bit! For my stove top Chicken and Dumplings please follow this link.

Irish Beef Stew and Irish Soda Bread

Irish Beef Stew and Irish Soda bread.

Is it stew weather yet? I dropped my laptop this past summer and I have a whole folder of things and recipes to blog. Lost somewhere. They can be recovered and I suspect will be when there's time. Eek. I'm debating scheduling this for the fall. It's June 16th right now, so.. maybe September/October? Or, whenever I actually finish the post? Gives me time to test the recipe several ways and update right?

Good news, my smart husband recovered my files, fixed the laptop, and all should be well in that area. So let's talk stew.

Italian Chicken Soup (Pressure Cooker/Slow Cooker)

We have a busy schedule this school year. The time between the kids getting home from school before we run off to soccer, scouts, or Awana's seems realllly short this year. That means I either need to start dinner way before the kids get home, use my crock pot, serve sandwiches, cereal, or rotisserie chickens from Costco, or cook the night before. None of those all the time is appealing to me. In walks my pressure cooker... the Instant Pot. It's such a great tool to have in the kitchen! We came home one day after a soccer tournament and I threw this together so quickly. I am loving using my Instant Pot for dishes like this. Soups, stews, roasts, anything that needs a wet environment to cook. The chicken is moist and flavorful, not dry. Sometimes chicken cook too long in a slow cooker and get either mushy or dry.

I use boneless skinless chicken thighs for this soup but I buy bone in with the skin on. I skin and bone them myself. I use the bones for stock and save the skin and fat to make schmaltz for Matzo balls. It's a great way to store bones for stocks. To render schmaltz for cooking I just toss it in a pan and render with some onion. I may do a blog post on that sometime. 

I use Castelvetrono olives in this soup because they are one of our favorite olives. Probably our most favorite. They are buttery and they impart a yummy salty flavor to this broth. As you can see from the picture below, we love these olives. Sadly that ten pound bucket is gone now.

I keep kale in my freezer. I freeze it from fresh and just grab handfuls at a time for smoothies, soups, and to cook with. It is great because I can always have it on hand to add greens to any dish. Chopped carrots and onions can also be frozen if they are going to be used for cooking.

I hope you'll try this soup, it's filling and quick!

Matzo Ball Soup

Matzo Ball soup, or as my friend calls it "Jewish Penicillin"

Matzo Ball soup. Comfort in a bowl. I don't know what it is but, this soup has been on my top three as far as comfort foods. Always. It's so good. Especially if I'm sick. Chicken noodle soup? Sure, if it's handy. Matzo Ball soup. All day. Every day, please.

Forget any other recipe for Matzo Balls you've seen on this blog. Because this one is perfect. It produces light, fluffy matzo balls that still have substance to them. So they are still "sinkers" and not falling apart. The texture throughout is tender. Perfection. I honestly don't know if the texture could be anymore perfect. The flavor, well, you're using Schmaltz. Fat is good flavor.

French Onion Soup

Chilly temperatures means soup season around here! French Onion Soup is an old favorite of ours. It's easy to make. Perfect with a sandwich or salad. Gooey melted cheese, rich broth, sweet caramelized onions. How can that be wrong?

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup with Kale and Goat Cheese Salad

Crock pot Butternut Squash soup with Maple roasted chickpeas with a Kale, beet, and goat cheese salad.

Soups on! Yes, I know again. This one's for me. My family will eat it, but they don't love it. *Lucky me it freezes well in portions. Just enough for me, and my eldest child. Can't win them all folks. I am blessed that my family will eat what I put on the table, but I really want them to love it all. HAHA. Tall order right? That's okay, lets make some soup. In the slow cooker even, imagine that.I topped this soup with Roasted Chickpeas that I tossed with a little maple syrup before roasting.

*Update, my kid's love Delicata squash, so try a different variety of squash to suit your taste. Yay!!!

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Hello everyone! I know I'm posting fifty billion pumpkin recipes (or it seems like it to me), but I love pumpkin so here I am embracing the season. Creamy, flavorful, warm, quick to make for a weeknight meal. Serve it with salad, turkey sandwiches, or a brie and cranberry grilled cheese.

Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Cà Ri Gà)

When I was a little girl my mom would make this. She called it "ragu". The chicken is fragrant and flavorful, the vegetables are nice and tender. The broth is not spicy, but very flavorful. I loved dipping my baguette into the flavorful broth, I still do! 

I remember my mom would go buy baguettes at the store and on our way home I would be in the back seat with my brother. My mom happens to like the crusty outside of baguettes and I liked the soft insides. I would sit in the back on the car ride home and hollow out the baguette, just eating the insides while it was still warm. Bringing it up to my nose and inhaling the yeasty aroma. *sigh* I love you bread and all your yeasty, gluten filled yumminess. Now that I'm older and wiser I like both the soft center and the crusty outsides!

I hope you'll try this curry. It's a very simple and comforting sort of meal.

Manic Monday Meals

It's a Manic Monday post!! I thought I'd share some recent dinners we've had (and by recent I mean "I'm so behind but it's been about this past year"). I tried to link each picture to a recipe, hope I didn't miss any!

Give Peas A Chance - Matzo Ball Soup

Happy Manic Monday!!! One of my favorite soups is Matzo Ball soup. My sweet friend, who's birthday is coming up shortly taught this way not Jewish girl how to make this. Every time I make this it reminds me of my bestie. I love how food is not just nourishment, it's also memories, relationships built, relationships nurtured. I understand the eat to live, live to eat thing. I do. But I also understand that food is so much more than that, and can be so much more than that in a healthy way.

French Onion Soup

Whew!!! It's (finally) just another Manic Monday here on Give Peas a Chance. It's been a while, a month. So what's Manic Monday? It's when I share, re-share, and or revamp some of our family favorites here on GPAC. This week it's French Onion Soup. I still make this pretty much the same, I just don't really use measurements or measuring cups and spoons when cooking. This soup can easily be made gluten-free by leaving out the flour, switching to gluten free soy sauce (or using Braggs or Coconut Amnios), and just reading what's in your other ingredients. You could try to make this dairy free. I've not tried non dairy cheeses though.
Here is the original recipe's link.