Creamy Tortellini Soup

This delicious soup came from the Damn Delicious blog. I made a few alterations to make it a little friendlier to my dietary needs. I'll go ahead and leave the original recipes for my milk and cheese lovers, and include my alterations in parentheses. 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound Italian sausage, casing removed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken stock (reduced sodium)
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated three cheese tortellini (I used a tomato and oregano tortellini from Aldi, it was good, but I think the cheese is probably better!)
• 1/2 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
• 1/3 cup heavy cream (I like to use oatmilk or oatmilk creamer when I can find it)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add Italian sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat.
2. Stir in garlic, onion and Italian seasoning. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
4. Gradually whisk in chicken stock and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
5. Stir in tortellini; cover and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
6. Stir in kale until wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and basil until heated through, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
7. Serve immediately.

Instant Pot Instructions: 

1. Set Instant Pot to saute setting.
2. Drizzle olive oil into the pot and add Italian sausage and cook until browned, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat (if using a milk substitute, you may want to leave a little grease in the bottom, since you're losing fat from the heavy cream).
3. Stir in garlic, onion and Italian seasoning. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent; season with salt and pepper, to taste. (I did not add any salt to this recipe. I think it would be fine to leave the salting to the individual taster. I also did not need to add pepper, as I used hot sausage)
4. Stir in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
5. Gradually whisk in chicken stock and tomato sauce. 
6. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, set time for 5 minutes. When finished cooking, do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then a controlled quick release.
7. When the pin drops open the lid. 
8. Stir in tortellini, kale, heavy cream (or milk substitute), and basil until heated through. (You could add the cream and tortellini first, and then the kale and basil after about 5-8 minutes, once your tortellini has had time to cook.)
9. Serve immediately (season with salt and pepper, to taste).

(Dairy-Free) Zuppa Toscana

I have a friend who makes a delicious version of Zuppa Toscana (to be honest, I've never had it at the Olive Garden!), so I finally decided to try it myself. I decided to try oatmilk creamer in place of the heavy cream. Also, there are versions with bacon as well, which I'm sure is delicious, but I left it out of my recipe (bacon is not a necessity for me most days).

I borrowed ideas and measurements from this tablespoon.com recipe and this one from thechunkychef.com. The Chunky Chef link will give you lots of tips and options, as well as instructions to use on the stovetop, crockpot, and instant pot. I made mine in the instant pot, but used more of the recipe from tablespoon.com. In either recipe, oatmilk creamer could be substituted for the heavy cream - or cream it up, if that's what you like!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground hot Italian sausage
• 1 medium (yellow) onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T flour
• 2 cartons (32 oz each) chicken broth (I used low sodium)
• 6 russet potatoes (cut in half lengthwise, then in 1/4" inch slices)
• 1 cup oatmilk creamer (can use heavy cream, if not dairy-free)
• 6 cups torn kale (about half of a bunch)
• salt and pepper to taste
• red pepper flakes

Instructions (Instant Pot)

1. Set Instant Pot to saute setting.
2. Drizzle olive oil and add Italian sausage. Cook, stirring frequently until sausage is lightly browned (around 5 min), making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks.
3. Drain excess grease (I didn't have a lot of extra grease, so I left it, adding a little fat to make up for my oatmilk creamer having less fat).
4. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions become soft (about 3-5 min).
5. Sprinkle flour over mixture, and stir in completely.
6. Add potatoes and chicken broth.
7. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, set time for 5 minutes. When finished cooking, do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then a controlled quick release.
8. When the pin drops, open the lid.
9. Add oatmilk and kale, and stir together.
10. Serve. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.

Easy Instant Pot Jambalaya

I originally used the recipe from Life with Dee  as my inspiration. However, I like to meal prep... and by meal prep I mean chop and mix and freeze as many things as possible ahead of time, so I can just throw things in make it happen quickly when I have to cook during the week. So, I have made some small changes to the preparation process, which made small changes to the putting it all together part at the end. (If you're wanting to make it all at the same time without the meal prep, you can click on the link above to see how she did it!) Here's how I did it:

INGREDIENTS

1 onion - diced
1 bell pepper - diced
3 stalks of celery - diced
3 garlic cloves - minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounce package of Andouille sausage (may substitute smoked sausage for less spicy version)
2 cups chopped tomatoes - undrained
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup long grain white rice
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce

PREP

Freezer bag #1: diced veggies: 

• onion
• pepper
• celery
• garlic

Freezer Bag #2: protein

• cut up sausage (I also added a small bag of frozen shrimp - I just love shrimp in jambalaya

Freezer Bag 3: sauce + seasoning

• chopped tomatoes
• chicken broth
• spices
• soy sauce
• worchestershire sauce

In the pantry:

• rice (I used Uncle Ben's whole grain brown rice)
• olive oil (with the option of butter)

INSTRUCTIONS

As you're getting ready to make your meal, keep this in mind: Thaw your frozen bags. I have put some frozen items in my instant pot... but it doesn't usually work quite as well - I have not quite figured out the timing on frozen items yet. I usually pull the items I'm planning to cook out of the freezer and into the refrigerator 1-2 days before actually cooking the food.

Also, I occasionally have a hard time remembering which parts I've taken care of, and what I need to do on the day of cooking... so I've started writing some directions on one of the bags, so when it comes to putting everything together, I don't even have to look back at the recipe... Just a quick hint to try if you have a similar struggle to me in the wonderful world of meal prepping.

1. Turn on Instant Pot to sauté setting, add butter and oil. (I used 2 T of oil, no butter)
2. When hot, add sliced sausage (I waited a few minutes, then added the shrimp as well).
3. Cook 2-3 minutes or until slightly browned.
4. Add the bag of veggies (cook about 3-5 min).
5. Add the bag of sauce and the rice. 
6. Stir well.
7. Put the lid on (make sure it's set to sealing). Set to Manual for 8 minutes.
8. Release the steam, stir, and let sit for 5 minutes. 

My results and thoughts... My first time around was mostly successful. I ended up with Jambalaya that tasted GREAT (I could've enjoyed a little more spice...), but was a bit... soupy. So I have decided to put 1.5 - 2 cups of rice in next time (I'll probably start with 1.5 just to make sure I don't totally overdo it!). For today, I made a little extra quick brown rice to add in to soak up some of the liquid. I will update this recipe once I've tried it again with the extra rice!

Verde Chicken

This recipe is a part of a meal prepping post (original recipe from this website). If you're interested in meal prepping, you can find the grocery list and the full set of recipes using the link above.

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (I used chicken breast)
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Juice from 1 large lime (or 1-2 Tbsp)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (or 1 Tbsp jarred minced garlic)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (measured prior to chopping), chopped finely
• 12 oz. green tomatillo salsa

Instructions:

• Place chicken thighs/breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker.
• Add all other ingredients on top.
• Cook on high for 4 hours (or medium for 6, low for 8).
• Break apart chicken and serve however you'd like (in tortillas, over rice, with tortilla chips).

Zesty Orange Chicken

This recipe is a part of a meal prepping post (original recipe from this website). If you're interested in meal prepping, you can find the grocery list and the full set of recipes using the link above. This recipe is pretty delicious. So much so... that I forgot to take any pictures. So you're just going to have to trust me.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed into 1" pieces
• 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (or 1 heaping tsp jarred garlic)

Day of Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp corn starch
• 1/4 cup water 
• Sesame seeds
• White rice

Crock Pot Instructions:

• Chop chicken into 1" cubed pieces.
• Place all ingredients in the slow cooker except the water and cornstarch.
• Cook on high for 4 hours.
• In a small sauce pan, mix water and cornstarch together until well blended.
• Add 1/2 cup of the liquid from the slow cooker and heat on medium, whisking often.
• Once it bubbles and thickens, add it back to the slow cooker and mix.
• Let it cook for another 15 minutes and serve over rice and top with sesame seeds.

Instant Pot Instructions:

• Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot except the water and cornstarch.
• Pressure cook for 20 minutes.
• Let the Instant Pot naturally depressurize for at least 5 minutes.
• In a small sauce pan, mix water and cornstarch together until well blended.
• Add the mixture to the slow cooker and mix.
• Set the Instant Pot to saute and cook for a couple minutes until it thickens.
• Serve over rice and top with sesame seeds.

Grandma's Chili

{Grandma's Recipe}
Serves 4-5

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2- 14 1/2 oz cans diced tomatoes (maybe blend)
1- 15 oz can chili beans
1-2 dashes tabasco sauce (opt.)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1- 15 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
*Adjust spices to taste

Instructions
In dutch oven, brown ground beef; drain. Add red pepper & onion; saute in with drained beef until vegetables start to soften. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili beans, and spices. Stir well. Simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes. Serve with grated cheddar cheese & sour cream.

Saute the vegetables with the ground beef

Summer over low heat for 20-30 minutes

ta da!

***

I followed the recipe almost exactly; I did use turkey instead of beef and left out the salt. This chili is chunky and pretty tasty. I do not own a dutch oven, so I took care of the meat and vegetables in a saute pan, then transferred everything to a crock pot before adding in the other ingredients. You could also put it it in a large pot and keep it on the stove.

There is a lot left over, so I plan to refrigerate some for lunches and dinners, and freeze the rest. I was recently enlightened to the idea of freezing soup in ziplock bags, so I am planning to try that method out. I'll let you know how that works out.

If you're interested in something a little simpler (and smaller in portions), I will post the "Rush Hour Chili" recipe that I tried a while back. It is quicker and less chili, but not as tasty. If you choose the "Rush Hour Chili" instead, I would highly recommend adding some of the spices from this recipe.

INSTANT POT:
Use the same ingredients, but follow these steps:

• Brown the meat on the "saute" setting.
• Drain the liquid.
• Add the pepper and onion, and saute for a few more minutes. 
• Add the remainder of the ingredients and use the "slow cooker" or "bean/chili" for the remainder of the cooking time:
• Slow Cooker: 2-3 hours
• Bean/Chili: 25 minutes, with a 5-10 minute natural release