Quick Bean and Pasta Soup

I'm trying to make soup for lunch when we're home during the day, because gawd knows we could do with upping our vegetable intake a bit, and toast for breakfast followed by toast for lunch isn't cutting it. But I'm a lazy tart at heart and toast is easy. So I've bestirred myself a couple of times this week and started cooking the soup around 11:30 when people are starting to get grumpy from lack of protein, and we've had some nice warming meals. It is definitely soup weather!

The bean and pasta soup I made yesterday was a definite hit. I wasn't happy with the balance of flavours in the previous soup, which I'd made using stock powder, so I made up a rich vege stock the night before. A carrot, handful of celery sticks and leaves, two onions, some bayleaves, peppercorns and a clove of garlic, cooked down to a gorgeous brown broth, probably about 4 or 6 cups full (who notices that sort of thing).

I didn't bother browning anything the next day because I had my beautiful stock, but you can if you want. I also used dried garlic, because I have heaps, and it kept the emphasis on speed of preparation, but if that strikes you dead in your foodie heart then by all means use the real stuff. Ditto the beans.


Ingredients
stock, glorious stock
1 can five bean mix
2 sticks celery, with leaves, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 potatoes, diced
~1 tsp dried garlic
1/3 cup risoni
1 tsp dried basil
1 slug mushroom soy sauce (optional, but it adds a bit of oomph to the broth)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything except the risoni, bring to the boil, and simmer until the potato is nearly tender. Check the seasonings, then add the pasta and simmer for about 8 minutes, or until tender. If you like a thicker soup, mash roughly so that some of the potato is broken up.

We served it with grated cheese on top, and the smalls insisted on toast, since apparently toast is an essential part of the Authentic Soup Experience, but it really doesn't need it. Very filling!

Creamy Chicken Pasta

Beth did not eat this. Foolish child.

Ingredients:
2 sm-medium chicken breasts
chicken stock cube
2-3 cups water
1 red capsicum
7-8 spring onions
7-8 button mushrooms
1-2 cloves garlic
7-8 sun-dried tomatoes (oil free)
1 medium carrot, sliced
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup parsley, shredded
1/2 cup snow peas, snapped into 2-3 pieces
100mL lite sour cream
1 tsp cornflour
black pepper

Method:
1. Gently poach the chicken in enough water to cover until cooked through (add stock cube to boiling water). Remove chicken from stock and cool. Reserve stock. When cool enough to handle, slice into bite sizes pieces.
2. Slice red capsicum into large flat pieces and place on a baking tray which has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Grill under a high heat until black and bubbling. Remove from heat, cover with a clean teatowel, and leave to cool for 5-10 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Remove skins and slice.
3. Saute spring onions and mushrooms for five minutes, then deglaze pan with a little chicken stock. Add carrots, broccoli florets, sun-dried tomatoes and roasted capsicum, pour in about a centimetre of stock, cover and simmer very gently for 6 minutes. Add chicken, snowpeas, parsley and seasonings and simmer for another minute or so. While chicken is heating through, whisk together sour cream, 2 tbsp stock and cornflour. Add to pan and heat until warmed through and slightly thickened.
4. Serve immediately over wholemeal pasta, with parmesan cheese.

Stealth Health Spaghetti Sauce

About the only way to get vegetables into Ms 9 is by stealth. A food processor is invaluable here. I can add just about any vegetable to a spaghetti sauce so long as it isn't green...

Ingredients:
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can butter beans, drained
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, grated
2 potatoes, cooked and diced
garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup corn kernels
4 chicken thigh fillets, diced

Saute onion and carrot until onion is cooked. Add garlic and saute for a further minute. Put crushed tomatoes, butter beans, potatoes, onion, carrot and garlic into the bowl of a food processor. Add water if it seems too thick, and process until very smooth.

Brown chicken in the same pan. Pour over sauce and add diced tomatoes and corn kernels. Reduce until the sauce is nice and thick and the chicken is cooked through.