Comfort Foods and Indulgences

thickandheartysoup004.jpgSunday evening always marks the end of a weekend. And whatever the weekend was filled with, Sunday evening is the time to finally relax.

My weekend was a busy one. I was away from home from early Friday morning until late this afternoon. After several hours in the car, I was ready for some home-cooked food that would bring warmth and contentment.

It took only about 45 minutes to put together a pot of Thick and Hearty Soup. It could probably be called a thick Italian-style stew, as it is rich with tomato, pasta and Italian seasonings. Earlier in the week I was in Minneapolis and stopped at Trader Joe’s where I picked up some fully cooked chicken and turkey spicy andouille sausage. I sliced it up and sautéed it with some chopped vegetables before pouring some chicken broth, crushed tomatoes and tomato puree into the soup pot. Little shells of pasta simmered in the pot for the last 20 minutes, thickening the soup as it cooked. I used a blend of Italian seasoning to flavor the soup. You can use your own favorites – oregano, basil, rosemary, sage or thyme are all nice choices.

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pecansandieWhen I growing up my Dad often had a bag of Keebler’s Pecan Sandies stashed away in an upper cupboard, reserved for when he was craving a crunchy cookie with a hot cup of coffee.

Unfortunately for him, the kids usually managed to find the bag and polish off what was left with some tall glasses of cold milk.

Keebler is still making their famous cookie, but this homemade version is a much better choice. Melt in your mouth nutty shortbread cookies that are incredibly flavorful, making it impossible to eat just one.

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mangoqueso2.jpgMy first Brie Quesadilla was devoured somewhere in Arizona, and it is truly an indulgence that is impossible to resist.  Since I love cheese, I use Brie with the rind intact, but if you like a smoother taste, I recommend Alouette Crème de Brie spreadable cheese- either the original or fine herbs style.

If you are making a grilled Brie sandwich, sour dough bread is perfect, if you making quesadillas use corn tortillas.

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lobsterfradaviolaLobster's back. First there was creamy lobster risotto for Father's Day. Now it's Lobster Fra Diavolo, a treasured Italian-American dish characterized by a spicy sauce for pasta or seafood.

Fra Diavolo, was the king of pasta in the 1990's. (I know this because it was Jeff's favorite entree to order at a "nice" restaurant when we were dating.)

The last time Jeff ate lobster fra diavolo, Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" was a number one hit. Though Jeff will always love lobster fra diavolo, he doesn't feel similarly toward Whitney, so I decided not to invite her to our lobster dinner.

I played Sinatra, our oldest and most favorite crooner, instead because Italian food always tastes better with ol' blue eyes.

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Creamy-Chicken-Noodle-SoupA bit of a cold spell finally hit the Pacific Northwest this past week. The rain was so nice, except it rained while we were harvesting our vineyard, not cool mother nature, not cool. We have had such an unusually hot summer so the rain was a nice change for the most part.

During the rainstorm, all I could think about was making soup. As soon as I had a free moment, I did just that.

Have you ever had creamy chicken noodle as opposed to the clear, broth kind? It's so good. The consistency is not thick like potato soup, but the creamy part adds mouthfeel. With homemade bread, it's amazing. In fact the whole family asked for seconds.

I think if you are not going to make your own stock/broth, creamy is the way to go when it comes to chicken soup. This recipe is really something you can throw together on a weeknight. In fact, the chicken can go into the broth totally frozen. And is fully cooked within 15 minutes. That is the beauty of using tenderloins. Who can beat that for a mid-week dinner? 

You might be looking at this pot of soup and wondering where are the carrots? While I love carrots, the creamy version of chicken noodle tastes so much better with parsnips. They are just as sweet, if not sweeter and my family loves them.

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