Dinner Tonight: Leftovers become an awesome Asian soup

An amazing soup comes from adding some simple ingredients to leftoversThe other night I made a Five Spice Pork and had some leftovers in the bottom of the crock pot.  I saved them and put them in the fridge thinking that it would be good for lunch the next day, but then I had a better idea.  Since there were such classic asian flavors in the pork, I could make an easy Asian broth to turn them into a soup.  Here's what I did.

Ingredients:

8 cloves of garlic

Large piece of fresh ginger

32oz Vegatable Broth

Leftovers from the Honey Apple Five Spice Pork

Bok-choy or raw spinach

Directions:

1. Seperate pork from the the other pan drippings and solids in the leftovers and set aside
2. Add remaining leftovers to pot
3. Peel garlic and slice thinly, add to pot
4. Peel ginger and cut into 1/2 inch pieces, add to pot
5. Add vegatable broth
6. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 20-30 minutes
7. In a frying pan, saute greens in water until wilted
8. Place some greens in each bowl
9. Brown reserved pork until crispy in same frying pan.  Divide and add to each bowl
10. Cover greens and meat with broth and serve!

Bacon Night! - Apple Bacon Tomato Soup

It is really easy to find new recipes using bacon, but finding new recipes that intrigue me with new flavor profiles takes some doing.  I love doing soup this time of year, mostly because it makes for great leftovers that usually hold up well in the freezer for quick meals when we need them.  I found this recipe at All Recipes in an email they sent out a few weeks ago, and decided to give it a try.  Super simple to make and great flavors have added this to the FatBoy rotation.

Apple Bacon Tomato Soup

YIELD

 8 servings

ACTIVE TIME

 15 mins

TOTAL TIME

 45 mins

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INGREDIENTS

• • 5 slices bacon
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 white onion, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 1 (15.5 ounce) can pinto beans
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 medium apple, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  •  salt and pepper to taste

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INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, coarsely chop, and set aside.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and saute white onion and garlic 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Stir in beef stock, pinto beans, tomatoes, celery, and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer.
  3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir the apple in the red wine until soft.
  4. Mix bacon, apple, and remaining red wine into the soup mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally until well blended.

FatBoy Creations: Fatboy 3-Meat Stew

I decided that the weather and turned cold enough to start working on a signature soup this week, and ended up creating an awesome stew.  I wanted something rich and meaty yet fairly healthy, and this is what I came up with.

A big pot of goodness right hereFeaturing ground buffalo, ground beef, and kielbasa sausage this was an instant hit at my house.  To save time I went the easy way and used mostly canned vegetables, but you can use fresh if you want to take the extra time.  The stew came out as smooth and flavorful as I ever could have hoped, and this afternoon it passed the important "day after" test.

Here's the recipe, I hope you enjoy!

Fatboy 3-Meat Stew

Ingredients:

1lb Ground Buffalo

1lb Ground Beef

2lbs Kielbasa Sausage - sliced into coins

2 cans (10oz) Diced tomatoes with green chiles

2 cans (15oz) pinto beans - drained and rinsed

2 cans (15oz) stewed tomatoes

1 bag (16oz) Frozen Corn

1 bag (16oz) Frozen mixed vegetables

1 large white onion - finely diced

4 large baker potatoes - peeled and cubed

Seasoning Salt

Pepper (to taste)

1 tsp Cumin

2 tsp Chili Powder

Directions:

1. Place ground meat, onions, and sausage in 3" deep skillet.  Season with seasoning salt.  Cook until ground meat is no longer pink.  Drain fat and place mixture in stock pot.

2. Add remaining ingredients to your stock pot and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and cover.  Cook for at least 1 hour, tasting for proper seasoning and stirring every 15 minutes. Wait until potatoes are starting to break down before serving.

Happiness can come in a bowl

Bacon Night! - Gluten Free Bacon Chicken and Dumplings

One picture sometimes really is worth 1,000 words. Creamy chicken soup with bacon, potatoes, and gluten free dumplings will warm anyone on a cold winter evening.  I love this recipe, and will definately make it again.  To deepen the flavors I used chicken thighs instead of the breast meat the original recipe called for.  The only other change I made was using gluten-free biscuit mix from BetterBatter, which worked exactly like it was supposed to, always a bonus for gluten free cooking.

The recipe is here, and you can find BetterBatter gluten free products here. 

Dinner Time - Gluten Free French Onion Soup...with a twist!

I love french onion soup, and this seemed like just the day to enjoy it.  I modified a recipe from AllRecipes.com to fit my tastes and our dietary needs, and it came out fantastic!

Adding the apples and bourbon gave it a very complex flavor profile, and using cheddar cheese to the top really helps set the combination of flavors off.

Recipe is here.