Rachel’s Recipe Box

Kitchen Sink Soup

Have you ever started to make a recipe, only to find out that you are inexplicably out of half of the ingredients? Of course, we make do, but sometimes the “making do” recipes are wretched, and sometimes they taste better than the original. Here’s our “everything but the kitchen sink” soup that can help you clear out your crisper and pantry, and please your family all at once! It will also please you, because it’s as quick as it is fabulous.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, top 8 allergen free, and South Beach phase 2 safe recipe. This can easily be a vegan and vegetarian recipe if you omit the meat. This is also a yummy recipe that will be ready in less than 45 minutes!

Ingredients:

• Splash olive or canola oil

• 1 onion, diced
• 3+ cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 lbs ground or chopped meat (if using meat)
• Seasonings to taste - Italian seasoning, cumin & chili powder, or cajun seasoning
• 2 pinches kosher salt, couple grinds fresh pepper
• splash wine (alcohol will carry flavors, but this can easily be omitted)
• • 3 yellow squash or zucchini, cut into half-moons AND/OR

  • 2 carrots, cut into half-moons AND/OR
  • 1 box frozen/bag fresh spinach AND/OR
  • 1 cup frozen peas AND/OR
  • 1-2 cups sliced okra (frozen or fresh) AND/OR
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms AND/OR
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes (or not)
• 1 can beans of choice (or not)
• 1/2 lb noodles or 1/2 cup rice or 1/2 cup lentils
• (approximately) 2 quarts stock or water (amount will vary depending on ingredients chosen)

Method
In a soup pot, warm the oil to medium heat. Add the onion and garlic to the pot. Stir, and when they start to soften, add the meat. (if using meat)

Add the spices to the onion, & garlic mixture. As the meat (if using) starts to brown, add any fresh vegetables you have chosen. Stir until meat has browned and vegetables have softened. Deglaze the pan with the splash of wine, if using.

Add canned tomatoes, beans, and stock/water. Add 1 quart stock/water, then add 1 cup at a time until it looks soupy. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil.

Add rice/noodles/lentils and any frozen veggies. Simmer 15-20 minutes (depending on directions on your dried good), test and alter seasonings, and serve. Yum!

This hearty soup was inspired by a few things - my husband bought about 3 times the amount of ground beef that I normally buy, I had some odd amounts of vegetables around, and I was very chilly and wanted a warm soup with a new flavor. This cooks reasonably quickly and is a full meal in a bowl - a lot of bang for your buck!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, top 8 allergen free, and South Beach phase 2 safe recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1.5-2 lbs ground meat
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots (or 8 baby carrots) cut into rounds
• 1/2 bell pepper, sliced
• 1 TBS olive or canola oil to coat bottom of pan
• 2+ tsp basil
• 2+ tsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp parsley
• pinch kosher or sea salt
• couple grinds fresh pepper
• 1 splash wine (optional)
• 1 summer or zucchini squash, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 handfuls baby spinach, or about 5oz frozen spinach
• 1 28oz can diced Tomatoes
• 1 14oz can chick peas (about 2 cups)
• 4-6 cups water or broth

Method:
Warm the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, carrot, and bell pepper. Sauté until it becomes tender.

Add ground meat to the vegetables and stir intermittently until the meat is browned. While the meat and vegetables are cooking, add salt, pepper, and other spices.

When the meat is browned, drain off some of the fat and add a splash of wine to deglaze the pan. Add all the ingredients except the water, and stir.

Add 4 cups water, then 1 cup at a time until it looks soupy - the exact amount of water will vary. Bring to a boil.

Simmer for about 15 minutes, check seasoning, then serve.

My whole family loved this, and one of my girls asked for extra broth!

Make this for thanksgiving. In our house, it is not thanksgiving without it.

As a warning, though, I broke my crock pot with this soup (OK, it slid off the hood of my car), and my mom needed stitches from this soup. So be careful!

Ingredients

• 2 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped in 2 inch chunks*
• 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 2 Cups apple cider
• 2 Cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
• 2 Cups Chopped onion
• Olive oil
• 4 slices fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove-sized piece of ginger, grated
• kosher salt & pepper to taste

Method
Heat oil. Saute, then sweat the onions and ginger over medium heat for 20 minutes or until the onions are quite soft. (The fresh ginger is the secret here - ground ginger doesn’t have the same punch.)

While the onion is cooking, peel and chop the squash - [*an Oxo peeler works best for the peeling, and take care with the chopping, since folks have been known to hurt themselves with this very resistant squash. You might consider buying pre-peeled squash.]

Add squash, chopped apple and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 25-30 minutes or until squash is tender. Allow to cool slightly.

Remove the solids from the broth with a slotted spoon and puree in a food processor or in a blender in batches, adding broth as needed. It’s easier if you can use an infusion blenders right in the pot - less mess potential! The soup should be a velvety orange puree.

Add cider to soup, stirring well. Correct seasoning by adding ground ginger, grated fresh ginger, and/or salt and pepper to taste. Serve in small soup bowls as a hearty first course, or with a salad as a light lunch or supper.

Caldeirada is a meal in itself. The ingredients depend on the catch of the day. Putting the fish on top, preserves their integrity. And this was looooved by everyone in our house!

Ingredients

• 1 pound swordfish or tuna (a firm fish)

• 1 pound whitefish such as flounder or cod
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large green pepper
• 2 onions, coarsely chopped
• 3 medium red potatoes, cut in smallish chunks
• 1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
• a few shakes crushed red pepper
• 1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes, or the half of a 28oz can you have left over.
• 1 bay leaf torn in half
• 3 tablespoons coarsely torn cilantro leaves (if you’re one of the freaks who doesn’t like cilantro, parsley would work fine)
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 1-2 lbs clams or mussels (mussels were on sale, so we used them)
• 3/4 cup white wine (we use Casa del Garcia Vinho Verde, a Portugese wine)

Cut the pepper into thin strips. In a large oven-to-table pot, heat the remaining oil and stir in the pepper strips, garlic, and onions. Add the potatoes and sprinkle with a little salt. Add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaf, crushed red pepper, 2 tablespoons of cilantro, peas, and 1 cup of water. Cover and bring to the simmering point. Cook for 20 minutes.

While it cooks, rinse the mussels/clams and cut the fish into 2-inch pieces.

Place the clams/mussels around the perimeter of the dish and put the pieces of swprdfish in the center. Place the whitefish on top, pour the wine over the fish, and sprinkle with a little pepper and the remaining cilantro. Finally, place the pepper circles in the middle, cover again, and cook for 10 more minutes, or until the clams have opened and the fish is cooked through. Take to the table and serve, making sure each person gets a variety of fish.

Serves 6, or 4 with yummy leftovers.

This is adapted from a recipe I clipped this past spring. It is gluten, dairy, soy, and egg free. It could easily be vegan/vegetarian and corn-free by checking ingredients.

Everyone in our house loves asparagus, but they love it as soup even more - they frequently have seconds (or thirds!) of this soup. It would double well if you were planning to serve a larger group.

Ingredients

• 4 TBS olive oil

• 1 large onion, chopped (ideally videlia or other sweet onion)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium parsnip, peeled and chopped
• 6 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth) - you can also substitute half broth, half water if desired.
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 lbs asparagus

Method
Warm the oil in a soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, and parsnip. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Break the woody ends off the asparagus, and then chop roughly and set aside.

Add the broth and the thyme to the vegetables. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring to a boil.

Add the asparagus, turn the heat down to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, turn the heat off. If you have an immersion blender (aka stick blender), use it to puree the soup, and then serve it. If you don’t have an immersion blender - let the soup cool, then puree in batches in a regular blender. Then go out and buy an immersion blender for next time.

This is a very pretty soup in white bowls, and a great way to get kids to eat lots of veggies! We serve it with a casserole, and dinner is happily complete.

I’m a sucker for lentil soup. I also love quinoa in soup (it reminds me of barley from our pre-gf days), and the combination packs a wonderful protein and fiber punch. This recipe is adapted from a recipe used by Dreama of ReciPlease, but I couldn’t find her original up there.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free recipe! It is also a wheat free, dairy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, corn free, vegetarian & a vegan recipe. If you omit the carrot, this recipe is perfect for South Beach Diet, phase 2.

Ingredients

• about 2 TBS olive oil

• 1 medium/large onion, diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 1 carrot, finely chopped (omit if following South Beach)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 TBS rosemary, crushed a bit in your hand
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup wine (optional - but it is preferable if you aren’t using broth, as it will add more flavor)
• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
• 1 pound lentils, rinsed
• 12 cups broth or water
• Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method Place a large soup pot with olive oil over medium heat.