For me, fall is soup season, so below are two of my favorite fall recipe creations so far.
RECIPE 1
Easy weeknight Chili:
Ingredients List:
Pantry:
2 glugs of Cooking oil
3 regular sized cans of cooked beans or legumes such as Red Kidney, Chickpeas, and Black Beans. (Or cook 36 oz total of a variety of beans)
2 cups of vegetable broth
Produce:
1 small sweet Vidalia Onion, diced
2 large Bell peppers, any variety, diced (or 6-8 small sweet peppers)
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1/2-1tsp)
1 cup of corn off the cob (fresh or frozen, ok if raw, never canned).
Seasonings: (to taste!)
Flavor: Salt and pepper, cumin, 2 Bay Leaves, Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute
Color and spice: Paprika and Small pinch of Cayenne
Optional additions:
Dairy: Sour cream and Shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese for topping
Starch: 2 cups of cooked rice or fries (for chili fries!)
Extra Fire: 1 teaspoon-2 tablespoons of canned or jarred hatch green chilies.
“Meat“: 1/3 lb of cooked, drained, and seasoned ground beef, OR soy-based “crumbles”. (I love mixing in half and half of Trader Joe’s Vegan Chorizo and “Beefless ground beef”.)
Cooking Instructions:
- If using ground beef, in the pot you intend to make your chili, cook beef with salt and pepper until most of the fat has released. (No oil needed!)
- Remove the meat just before it’s done cooking, leaving the grease in the pot/pan.
- Use the fat released from browning to start cooking your onions and peppers per below instructions. (do not add additional oil unless things are starting to stick).
- Vegetarians start here: Add two glugs of Cooking oil to a large rimmed Sautee pan or a large soup pot. Heat on Medium until shimmering.
- Add 1 small sweet Vidalia Onion, diced and 2 large Bell peppers, any variety, diced and cook on medium/medium high until half-cooked (if starting to burn, reduce heat and add more oil to deglaze. If water collects in bottom of pan, turn up heat)
- Add 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1/2-1tsp), cook for 30 seconds and add 3 cans of cooked beans or legumes.
- After 5 minutes, stirring each minute, Add 1 cup of corn, 2 cups of vegetable broth, and all your Seasonings
- Add these Optional items:
- Add Hatch Green chilis or chipotle peppers for spice!
- Add your pre-cooked ground beef, OR soy-based “crumbles”.
- Turn heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20-45 minutes.
- Taste and add more seasoning as needed
- Turn off the heat and let cool before Optionally serving with:
- Dairy: Sour cream and Shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese for topping
- Starch: 2 cups of cooked rice or fries (for chili fries!)
- Finishings: Fresh or dried parsley or cilantro and a slice of lime
PS. This chili tastes better day 2. Please don’t try to eat the Bay Leaves, but do leave the bay leaves in when refrigerating leftovers. 🙂
RECIPE 2:
Super Simple Sweet Potato Bisque
Ingredients:
Pantry/Produce:
2 glugs of Cooking oil
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large sweet Vidalia onion, diced.
3-4 cups of Vegetable broth
2-3 cups of Steamed or sautĂ©ed veggies of your choice. (I just use frozen peas and corn when I’m lazy)
Seasonings:
Minced or powdered garlic
Salt and pepper
Powdered or fresh ginger (will add some heat!)
Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute
Optional:
1/2-1 cup Heavy Cream
Water or more broth as desired for thinning.
1 cup of orzo pasta
Cooking Instructions:
- Add two glugs of Cooking oil to a large rimmed Sautee pan or a large soup pot. Heat on Medium until shimmering.
- Sautee 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced and 1 large sweet Vidalia onion, diced. Add seasonings. Cook on Medium heat until onions are becoming translucent.
- Carefully top with 3-4 cups of Vegetable broth (enough to just cover onion and sweet potatoes). If spattering, reduce heat and wait.
- Once covered in broth, cover the pot and reduce heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are super soft when poked.
- Blend contents of the pot using an Immersion blender, or in a heat-safe blending device, until silky smooth.
- Add more vegetable broth, water, or heavy cream to bring soup to desired thickness.
- Taste and add more seasonings as needed.
- Add sautéed vegetables or frozen veggies and simmer.
- Optional: Add 1 cup of orzo pasta and simmer until tender.
*Disclaimer*: All my recipes are intentionally vague. I don’t believe in following recipes to the t, since in reality, we are all working with what’s in our kitchen or panty and to our own tastes. Every supplier or brand of ingredient has their own variations on volume, levels of salt, sugar, fat, and spice.
The best thing I can suggest is following your gut, and TASTE before you add more seasoning. 🙂 Enjoy!
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