Warm winter comfort - Kale-Tofu Soup!

I'm not a big fan of "measuring" ingredients when I'm in a rush to prepare dinner so I typically just toss stuff together in approximate measurements until it tastes good --- and looks good. I'm definitely one to eat with my eyes first so I love for my food to LOOK good and taste good delicious, too! 

This is one of my favorite soups because it's so light but still filling and definitely warms you up on cool fall and winter evenings! 

*** Please do not be affraid of tofu! It's packed with protein and it's SUCH a versatile food! It gets a bad wrap but it really can be delicious and it takes on the flavor of whatever you're cooking it in, so seasoning is a MUST. In this case, it's boiling and simmering in the tasty broth, so it soaks up the flavors of the broth and spices wonderfully. Give it a try before you decide to just skip the tofu in the produce section from now on! ;) ***

KALE-TOFU SOUP

Ingredients:
* 1 pkg firm tofu
* 1 bunch kale, stripped from the stems and cut up into bite size pieces (I use curly kale but lacinto-aka "dinosaur" kale - or any other variety is great, too)
* 6ish cups of your favorite broth (I've literally used every broth there is and it's great every time but I think chicken is probably my favorite)
* 4ish cups of water
* (4) garlic cloves, minced
* (1) onion (I use yellow or purple, depends what's in my onion box!), diced small
* salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
* 1/4 tsp or so red pepper flakes (if desired - I LOVE the spice this gives the soup and the flavor it brings to the tofu)

Directions:
* add about 2 Tbsp broth to the pot and saute onion and kale until onion is soft and kale is bright green and starting to get tender, add garlic and saute another minute or so until garlic is fragrant 

 * add broth, water, tofu and desired spices and bring to a boil.

* Once boiling, lower heat, cover and let simmer 15-20 min. Stir well before serving. Yummm!

* If you want to add a little (or a lot) of spice, add 1/4 to 1 tsp of red pepper flakes when you add the liquids, tofu and other seasoning to it. We love the extra heat but obviously the kids may not approve. wink emoticon

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

It's supposed to be cold here this week and nothing says comfort food like a deep bowl of Loaded Baked Potato Soup! 

Ingredients:
- 5lbs Russet Potatoes, washed but NOT peeled. Diced into 1/2 inch(ish) cubes
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 10 cloves of garlic (you can use whole, crushed, or minced-I prefer minced)
- 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock...OR that handy homemade turkey stock !
- 16 oz cream cheese (I used lowfat)
- 1 TBSP seasoned salt or all-purpose seasoning

Optional Garnishes:
- Crumbled bacon (I like turkey bacon)
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Green onions

Directions:

- Add potatoes, onion, garlic, seasoning and your choice of stock to slow cooker.

- Cook on high for 6 hours, or low for 10 hours.
- Using an emulsion blender (love my Cuisinart one!), blend until mostly smooth
- Stir in the cream cheese and allow to melt. Stir until melted, then use emulsion blender to blend to desired consistency.
- Top with your choice of garnishes & serve!

This recipe makes a BIG batch! It freezes great! I like to store in quart-sized Ziplocs; makes perfect 2-person servings.

Christmas Leftovers-Homemade Turkey Broth

One of the best things about leftover turkey carcasses from Thanksgiving/Christmas?? Pure, amazing, homemade, turkey stock without all the crap on the back of the box that no one can pronounce! Great to use in soups, stews, and many other recipes.

Depending on the size of your turkey you might be able to fit the whole thing on your slow cooker. If not, break it apart into big enough pieces that they won't be super hard to fish out when your broth is done. Keep in mind that cooking in the slow cooker for so long will have any meat/cartilage literally falling off the bones when you pick them out at the end, so I try to keep the bones as big as possible so I don't lose any. 

Ingredients: 

4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

Directions: 

-Add all ingredients to your slow cooker and fill it with water. 

-Cook on high for 1 hour, then low for 12-15 hours. 

-Use a colander to strain the liquid to remove any bones, meat and veggies.

-Discard any bones and veggies; save meat for future soups/stews-watch out for tiny bones. 

-Cool in refrigerator; once cool skim the fat off the top. 

Note: While cooling in the fridge your stock may become very congealed and have a "jelly-like" appearance when you remove it - this is good! It's not at all appetizing, but it will be! This "jello" just means you have a well-concentrated stock that is packed with flavor! Once heated it will become watery again and it will be delicious to be used to make soups! (recipes for those to follow)

Store in air-tight containers in freezer. I use a few different containers (2-4 cups per container) so I can grab what I want to use instead of having to thaw the whole batch and waste what I don't use. To store, I put plastic wrap over the container, then put the lid on to seal it. 

Good luck!