Doctored Soups: Corn and Roasted Pepper Soup; Tortellini and Spinach Soup

I love a good soup, made from scratch. With a homemade long brewed stock. But during the winter, especially when our lives are very busy and/or we're fighting illness, I want to eat soup more often than I have bones to make homemade stock.

So instead, frequently I doctor prepared soups:

Trader Joes Corn & Pepper soup:

+ frozen corn

+ some type of already cooked protein (in this case, Langostino Tails, which I've been dying to try. Ok, but I wouldn't buy them again) Canned chicken, frozen shrimp, leftover poultry or sausage would all work.

Heat and serve!

Another soup - tortellini & spinach soup.

Chicken broth:

Add some flavors:

frozen tortellini:

+ some frozen spinach

pork, pineapple, peppers

Stir together in a crockpot:

2.5 pounds pork chops, seasoned with salt and pepper, seared for color, then cut into bite sized pieces

1 pound frozen pineapple, thawed (canned, in juice, would be fine too)

1 pound frozen pepper strips, thawed

2 large sweet onions, sliced into half moons

crushed garlic - 3-4 cloves, juice of two limes

1 can or two cups chicken broth or reconstitute bullion.

Starring diva ginger, with her back-up sisters, the pepperettes:

Cook for 6 - 8 hours in the crockpot on low. (about the time you start cooking rice, add some fresh ginger or some extra powdered ginger to the mixture to give it an extra kick)

Cook some sticky rice:

Serve by the ladleful, over rice:

Chicken w/ creamed spinach, artichoke and peppers

Last night's dinner (this is a rather inprecise recipe, but I don't think the exact quanitities will matter much):

~ 1.5 pounds boneless chicken breasts
~ 12 oz fresh spinach
~ one slightly mushy green pepper, bad bits removed (if you only have a fresh one, I suppose it will do)
~ 1.5 cups chopped artichoke (frozen, fresh or from a jar)
~ one large onion, chopped
~ garlic - fresh minced, from a jar, or frozen minced cubes from Trader Joes
~ 8oz. block cream cheese
~ a few tablespoons of pesto, homemade or from a jar
~ olive oil
~ salt & pepper
~ romano, parmesan or a similar flavorful hard cheese

Sautee spinach in a bit of olive oil until fully wilted - turn a few times while cooking:


















Set aside the surprisingly small quantity of spinach which results. In the same pan, sautee the onion, and when that is almost cooked (translucent) add the chopped pepper and garlic. Once the vegetables are soft, turn the heat down to medium, and add the cream cheese. WATCH THIS CAREFULLY, stirring frequently until completely melted. Add a few tablespoons of pesto, and some romano cheese. Stir the wilted spinach back in, as well as the artichoke hearts. Turn to low, stirring occasionally.

















Meanwhile, cut the boneless chicken breast into quarter size pieces. Cook in a separate pan in a bit of olive oil. Add salt and pepper.

Once the chicken is cooked, pour the contents of the pan into the vegetable mixture, including the (cooked) juice from the chicken.

Serve with french bread to be able to eat all the yummy sauce!

The Southern Resident specifically told me to tell all of you that this was VERY good - that's a first!