Category Archives: Soups and Stews

Main Dish, Pork, Recipes, Soups and Stews, Vegetarian

Hearty Winter Loaded Cauliflower Soup

Loaded Cauliflower Soup without the optional ingredients. First night, it was more soupy than when I reheated it and added the optional ingredients.

This recipe cmae out of a brief discussion of what warming soup to make for the weekend.  Someone mentioned Loaded Potato Soup and I countered with a cauliflower soup.  But the loaded potato sounded so good that I went to look for the recipe.  What resulted is the Loaded Cauliflower Soup.  I admit it, cauliflower will never taste like potato, but it is still a scrumptious and filling cold winter’s night soup.  It’s definitely on my do again and again list.

I started with Guy Fieri’s Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup recipe  at Food Network and made adjustments to make it low carb’d.   The result is considerably different and you can make it with or without the additions of turnips and Daikon radish.

When I added Daikon and turnips at the reheat, the soup became more like a stew. You could add a little water or more unsweetened almond milk to thin it a little, but this was like eating a loaded baked potato.

Loaded Cauliflower Soup

Adapted from a recipe by Guy Fieri

4 cups of Cauliflower, chopped
1 medium turnip, peeled and diced (optional)
1 cup daikon radish, peeled and diced (optional)
6 slices thick-cut Applewood Smoked Bacon
1/4 cup Onions, chopped
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1 teaspoon Chicken Bullion or Better than Bullion or 1 cup Chicken Broth
1/4 Red or Green Bell Pepper, diced
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup Water
3 cups Unsweetened Almond Milk (not flavored)
2 cups sharp Cheddar, grated or shredded
Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
4 tablespoons Sour Cream
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Chives

Preheat the oven to 385 degrees F.

Place the bacon on a cookie rack and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until it is crisp. Let cool. Pour 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat into the bottom of a large soup pot. Add 1/4 cup onions and cook until onions are translucent.

Mix 1/4 cup of the water with the cornstarch, then add to the rest of the water, cream and almond milk.  Pour into the soup pot and stir. Add the cauliflower to the pot, turn to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes until the cauliflower is fork tender.

Crumble the bacon, set aside 2 tablespoons, and add the rest to the pot. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cheese then add the rest to the pot and stir.  Cook until the cheese is melted and the soup thickens.

Ladle the soup into bowls, put a dollop of sour cream on top, and sprinkle with remaining bacon bits, grated cheese and chives.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Nutrition Info per serving:  (4 servings) without optional ingredients
Calories: 436 Fat: 34 g Net Carbs: 7.6 g Protein: 23.3 g

Nutritional Info per serving: (6 servings) with optional ingredients
Calories: 341 Fat: 27.3 g Net Carbs: 8 g Protein: 14.2 g

Tip:  Leftovers can be easily reheated.  Store in the refrigerator up to three days.  Just don’t add the sour cream and bacon and cheese extras until after it’s reheated.

For Vegetarians, omit the bacon.  If you don’t use any  animal products, then omit the cheese, sour cream and cream and add more almond or coconut milk.  I’d also add some seasonings, such as rosemary, sage and thyme.

Beef, Main Dish, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Recipes, Soups and Stews

Pumpkin Adds A Twist to Chile

Again, this was the hint of a recipe I spotted over the weekend in a “what to do with your leftover pumpkin” article from Bon Appetit magazine. Being adventurous and having some pumpkin left over in the ‘fridge, I thought I would try it. The original recipe uses spicy sausage but I happened to have some left over stewing beef after making soup about a week ago that needed using, so this is a beef chile. I noticed when adding the pumpkin that, like adding tomato sauce to spaghetti sauce, the chile thickened up immediately. The recipe also didn’t give any amounts, so I added the amounts for mine. The result is a very tasty chile that I will definitely make again.

Spicy Pumpkin and Beef Chile

1 pound Beef, round steak, or stewing beef, cubed**
1 cup chopped Onions*
1/4 cup Carbquick flour (or other low carb flour)
1 tablespoon Red Chile Powder
1/4 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
1/2 cup sliced Bell Peppers *
1 cup Canned Pumpkin Puree
1 15 oz can Mexican style Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 teaspoon Cumin
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 teaspoon black Pepper
1/1 teaspoon Garlic
1 tablespoon Olive Oil

*For a quicker version, you can use the same amount of frozen onions and bell peppers.

** You can also use 1 pound of lean ground beef for a quicker version

Mix flour with seasoning salt in a pan and dredge the meat into it. Heat olive oil in a large pot and brown the meat. Add garlic and onions and sauté until just starting to get tender. Add chile powder, bell peppers, tomatoes, cumin, pepper flakes and black pepper and mix well, then stir in the pumpkin puree. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer. Cover and cook for about 1 hour until meat is completely done. Add any additional salt or pepper to your preference.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream, cheddar jack cheese and chopped chives or green onions on top, if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Info (without toppings):
Calories: 303.4 Net Carbs: 10 g Protein: 42.3

Posted on 11/28/2012

Beef, Main Dish, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Recipes, Soups and Stews

Tex-Mex Chile With Bite

As the weather is beginning to turn colder, my thoughts turn to chile, soups and stews. These are so comforting and warming on cold, rainy or snowy evenings in late Fall and Winter.

I’ve used this Tex-Mex Chile recipe for at least three decades. When I first started making it, I used diced jalpeno chilies in the recipe. Now days, my stomach prefers not quite as much spice, so I’ve started using a medium hot green chile. You can also make it with mild green chilies. This is a meat only chili, so it is a satisfying meal and you can serve a nice salad and pinto beans on the side if you like. I tend to avoid beans due to the high number of carbohydrates in them, so a salad or my Tex-Mex Spanish Cauli-rice work as good side dishes.

2 lbs. Beef Stew Meat
1/2 cup Low Carb Flour
1 large Onion raw
1/2 cup Chopped Green Chiles
1 tablespoon red Chili Powder
1 tablespoon minced Garlic
2 cups Stewed Tomatoes (1 lb can)
2 teaspoons Seasoning Salt
1 cup Beef Stock
Additional Salt and Pepper to taste
Shredded cheddar cheese for topping

Cut stew meat into bite sized pieces. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a cast iron or heavy stewing pot. Dredge meat in flour, then put into stewing pot and lightly brown. Excess flour will fall off the meat into the pot and that is ok. Remove the meat to a plate, then add more oil if needed. Add the garlic and the onions and cook until the onions are just tender. Add beef stock, seasonings and stewed tomatoes and chopped chiles. Mix well and add the beef back to the pot. Stir it up, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Let stew for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally until the meat is tender and the broth is thickened.

Serve in a bowl, top with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream, if desired, and warm tortillas. (There are several brands of low carb flour tortillas available at the market.)

Makes about 6 servings. Nutrition per serving:
Calories: 243 Net carbs 7.6 g, Protein: 36.3 g
Posted on 11/16/2012

Recipes, Soups and Stews

Creamy Cock-A-Leekie Soup Warms the Spirit

… and makes you smile a bit at the name. This is a variation on a Scottish soup that features chicken and, that Welsh favorite, leeks in a wonderful chicken broth with other vegetables. While this usually uses potatoes in it, my low carb version harkens back to pre-Columbus times in Europe when turnips were more popular.

With Thanksgiving approaching this coming week, it also occurred to me that it would be fabulous with left over turkey in it.

Creamy Cock-a-Leekie Soup

2 cups cooked Chicken or Turkey, cubed
2 large Leeks, cleaned and sliced (about three cups of sliced leeks)
1 medium Onion, sliced and chopped
3 stalks Celery, sliced thinly
2 medium Turnips, cleaned and cut into cubes
16 oz. frozen Cauliflower florets or 2 cups chopped fresh Cauliflower
1 cup loosely packed, torn Baby Spinach leaves
2 cups Chicken Broth
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tablespoons Butter
1 teaspoon Garlic and Herb seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon dried Parsley flakes or a handful of fresh Parsley
Salt to taste

Clean and prepare the leaks, making sure to wash any dirt off. You put the slices in a colander and rinse them off to make sure no dirt is in the inside rings. In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, melt the butter and sauté the leeks until they are limp and slightly tender. Add the onions and continue to cook until the onions are limp. Add chicken broth and garlic and herb seasoning and pepper. Stir well. Add the turnips, celery and cauliflower and stir the vegetables in.

Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Add a cup of water, cover and simmer for about 35 to 40 minutes. Add the  chicken or turkey, spinach leaves, parsley and cream and stir well. Check broth and add salt and water as needed.  Cook until the chicken is hot, usually about 10 minutes.  Serve with low carb bread or biscuits.

Makes about six 1 cup servings.
Nutrition Info: Calories 150 Net Carbs 9.6 g Protein 11.2 g

Posted on 11/19/2012

Recipes, Soups and Stews

Curry Spices Up Turkey Soup

The Thanksgiving turkey carcass always finds its way to the soup pot in my house. In most cases, there’s enough meat left on the bone to provide a hearty, filling soup for the cold nights that come at the end of November and beginning of December. This year I wanted to try something a little different from my usual cream turkey soup, so I added some different vegetables, chili powder and curry powder to the pot. The result is a yummy soup with a bit of bite. I use a scoop of leftover dressing warmed in the microwave (or oven) on top of the soup to add a bit more flavor and help soak up the delicious broth.

For the dressing, I used this great stuffing bread recipe.

Turkey Curry Soup

1 to 2 cups Turkey, chopped
10 cups Homemade Turkey Broth
1 Leeks, sliced
1/2 cup Onions, chopped
1 cup Butternut Squash, cubed
1 cup Brussels sprouts, quartered
1 cup Cauliflower, riced
1 cup Cabbage, chopped
2 stalks Celery, chopped
1 cup fresh Spinach, torn
1 tablespoon Curry powder
1/2 teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Garlic, minced

Use turkey carcass, with any meat on it, to make the broth. Place in a 10 quart pot, add water to cover, add bay leaf and a clove of garlic and boil for about 1 hour until the meat slides off the bones easily. Measure the meat and add extra turkey to make desired amount for the soup. Remove bay leaf. Discard bones.

Add vegetables and seasonings to soup, along with the turkey and cook until tender, about 1 hour. Check seasonings and adjust to your preference.

Serve with low carb bread or a tablespoon of left over low carb dressing.

Nutrition Info (based on 6 servings made with one cup of turkey):
Calories: 98.7 Net Carbs: 8 g Protein: 10.5 g

(Based on 8 servings made with one cup of turkey)
Calories: 74.1 Net Carbs: 6 g Protein: 7.9 g

(One additional cup of turkey adds about 25 calories per serving)

Posted on 11/30/2012