Peas Porridge

I still can't believe my kids will eat this one. 

All of this cold weather has had my soup pot working over time, and this one didn't disappoint. Hearty and packed with veggies, my peas porridge is basically an easy chunky pea soup. It doesn't take a lot of ingredients, but delivers a whole lot of flavor! 

Add your own seasonings and variations but be careful ... with the salted butter, salted chicken broth and salty ham, the soup was plenty seasoned enough. 

Veggies and ham sautéing. 

Dried peas from Publix and some chicken broth I got on BOGO (yassss).

Ingredients:

1 lb. bag of dried green peas
1 32 oz. carton of chicken broth
1 cup of chopped cubed ham
4-6 tablespoons butter
1 onion (diced)
4 carrots (peeled and chopped)
3 stalks of celery (chopped)
1 clove of garlic (chopped)

Directions:

Prepare all veggies except garlic and add to a stock pot with butter. Sautee for 5-10 minutes. Add ham and garlic and sautee for 5 more minutes. Then add peas and chicken broth and bring to a boil. After a few minutes, reduce and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Add 1-2 cups of water towards the last 10-15 minutes of cooking if needed. Serve with crusty bread.

*Side note: this can easily be made into a vegan soup if you omit the ham, swap out the butter for olive oil or a vegan butter-like spread and trade the chicken broth for vegetable broth or stock. Just be sure to add a little more seasoning to make up for the missing salty ham.

Five Ingredient French Onion Soup

The first time I remember having real, not from a can French onion soup was at the French Connection Café in Ft. Myers circa 1998. My BFF Teri and I were feeling very continental and went downtown to try their oh so sophisticated menu. Like all good bistro French onion soups, it was cooked in a crock with melty cheese on top and toasted French bread floating within. I was hooked.

If you look up French onion soup recipes online, the ingredient list can be a little daunting. Sometimes you just want to be able to slap some soup together for dinner you know?

Get that bistro feel right in your own home in just a few minutes with this no-fail recipe! It made just enough for four big bowls for my family:

Ingredients:

1 32 oz. carton of College Inn (or similar) beef broth
2 large Vidalia onions (sliced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons butter
Garlic salt to taste

Directions:

1. Sautee your onions in the butter until they start to look translucent, then add a dash of garlic salt and the minced garlic.

2. Continue to sauté the onions on medium until they begin to caramelize.

3. Add the beef broth and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

That's it! Super easy and delicious. I served mine with some garlic toast and a slice of Havarti cheese, though you can use Swiss or even white cheddar or shredded mozzarella if you've got it. I won't tell. You can also very easily double the recipe for a bigger crowd or just so you have some good leftovers.

Hope you give it a try ... I promise you'll never buy French Onion soup from a can again!

Budget Bouillabaisse

Lately, I've kinda felt like a creeper with all of the bones I've been keeping in my freezer. I collected about a half dozen gallon freezer bags of different carcasses, and yesterday, it finally paid off.

Bouillabaisse has long been on my cooking bucket list, and I thought it was something I couldn't pull off. For years I've poured over cook books and watched cooking shows that made it seem like making this dish was a commitment. Our favorite restaurant in St. Augustine made a version that they claimed took like 12 hours just to simmer the broth. Yeesh.

Not to mention that a lot of the seafood that goes into bouillabaisse can be pricey. So it's not wonder that I've been hesitant to make it; UNTIL NOW.

Guys, I made a big ol' batch of the stuff for probably about $10. That's it. It was just enough to serve 3 adults and 2 hungry kids, and was pretty dang good. The hardest part really was, well, procuring the fish parts to make the broth in the first place. I saved up some fish heads and bones from my husbands last three fishing trips to make the broth, and I absolutely recommend it.

I created my budget version of this fancy French dish as a mish mosh of a few different recipe's I've read. Don't be intimidated and don't hesitate to tweak it for yourself. I can't wait to make this again and try a few different ingredient variations.

Ready to try? Here's what you need!

BROTH

Stock pot
Water
Fish heads and bones from 3-4 fish (fins, scales and guts removed)
Peppercorns
3-6 garlic cloves
A handful of peppercorns
2 stalks of celery
A dash of thyme

Add fish heads and carcasses to your stock pot and fill with water just to the point where everything is covered. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45-60 minutes. Strain and reserve for soup. If there's any good meat left off the bones or the fish heads, pick that off and reserve it to the side.

SOUP

Cast iron skillet (or whatever you've got! I recommend cast iron for this)
1 stick of salted butter
2 potatoes
2 medium onions
2 stalks of celery
2 carrots
2 medium tomatoes
12 oz. frozen seafood medley mix of shrimp, mussels, squid, octopus etc. (I got mine in the frozen seafood section at Publix)
1 tablespoon of garlic salt (or more to your taste)
1 teaspoon of white pepper (or more to your taste)


Dice all the veggies and saute in the butter until the onions caramelize (add tomatoes last). Season with garlic salt and white pepper, then add the frozen seafood mix and ladle in about 4 cups of broth, adding in any leftover fish from the carcasses. Simmer everything together for 15-20 minutes and serve with some french bread for dipping in the broth.

Easy! You can add some strands of saffron if you've got 'em, or switch up whatever kind of fish you want for the soup. Next time I make it I may add a splash of white wine to the veggies while they're cooking, and maybe make a cream sauce version in the future. Either way, I'm glad I finally gave this dish a try!