Chicken Soup Minestra

minestra with lentils and spinich

This is a meal with a mix of a little of this and that!

I always have chicken soup in the freezer (broth, veggies and chicken). I wanted to spice it up:

I added one cup of dry lentils (simmer on medium for thirty minutes)

Then added a bag of fresh spinach (simmer for three minutes)

I added leftover smoked gouda and fresh mozzarella from a dinner party (I had cubed before packing in freezer).

salt, fresh ground pepper and red chili flakes to taste!

Today, it’s lunch with my interns! Serve with your favorite crusty bread!

a presto,

maria

Fresh, Frozen, and Fetching Chicken Soup!

Last month, I made a big pot of chicken soup. The classic, fresh chicken, fresh chunks of carrots, celery, onions, garlic (from the farmer’s market). I packed away in my freezer 8 containers for quick lunches or dinners.

I was creative last night by grilling a few vegetables: red onion and zuccini. Well, I was away the last few weeks and the zuccini was screaming “eat me” …..

I added the grilled vegetables to my soup and added a pinch of parmigiano cheese.

It was a great way to use fresh and frozen to another variation of soup! Be creative and add your favorites!

a presto,

maria

Lentil-Chicken Soup

I love adding leftovers especially soup to other dishes. I’m visiting my folks and the leftover chicken soup from Monday was used for another variation: lentil-chicken soup.

Today was the perfect day for soup – after shovelling snow, something warm like soup was perfect!

My mother prepared lentils – dry lentils (boiled in salted water for 30 minutes). She drained the lentils and added to the leftover chicken soup from Monday. The chicken soup had small cuts of carrots, onion and celery.

Option: adding your favorite rice or pasta is also a nice change.
Optional: adding fresh parmigiano cheese is also great!

Don’t be afraid to add leftovers to something new!

a presto,

maria

Pantry and Freezer: Your Best Friends

Thank+God+for+leftovers1

Pantry + Freezer = your best friend when you don’t have time!

I’ve had one of those week! Didn’t have time to cook or time to go out! Getting ready with the book launch and lots to do!

Here’s to leftovers and being mindful to freeze them to help you out in the kitchen. ps – I don’t eat cereal for dinner!

I always keep a few containers of chicken soup. Here’s how I made it a little different:

Serves 4

While the soup was coming back to life, I added a can of lentils , a pinch of red chili flakes and read to serve! Serve with a nice glass a red wine, a little crusty italian bread and a piece of pecorino cheese….. and my headache just did an “exit stage left”.

Quick and easy…….I just got my second wind…..back to work!

Chicken Soup with Butternut Squash

chicken soup with butternut squash

One of the great things about creating or re-creating dishes is adding a little of this and that. I’ll be honest with you, there were times that the combination just didn’t work! But always remember that mistakes are bound to happen. psst…..they just don’t tell you!

This is one combination that I repeat over and over again. I use things that I enjoy and change it a bit.

In this photo, I had a container of chicken soup in the freezer. I cooked some butternut squash (20 minutes). I then drained the squash, added it back to the pot and mashed it. I added the chicken soup and cooked at medium for approx. five minutes. Add some freshly grated Parmigiano cheese and garnish with wild greens.

I wanted to give you an idea by adding one fresh ingredient, added great flavour to your soup!

ciao,

maria!