Failed Risotto and Successful Soup

So...that didn't work
  I was going to write a whole blog about my failed attempt at brown rice risotto (which, looking back, I knew better than to try) but I have had so many successes in the kitchen (yay! go me: ) that it seems silly to waste a whole blog post on something I won't be trying again.  Let us just say that arborrio rice is the only rice to use for a proper risotto. And even if you don't want a "proper" risotto, brown rice is really not an option.  It takes too long to cook and the bran and germ surrounding the endosperm prevent enough starch from escaping to create the creamy texture that is the whole point of a risotto.  Lesson learned.  Moving on to more delicious things.

So...this did work!
  Well, lately it's been pretty cold here in Kansas (although as a write this, its a nice 60 degrees outside). That means lots of soups. Specifically lots of soups involving lots of vegetables and chicken or beans (or both).  After the success of the Chicken and Navy Bean soup, I decided I wanted to make another chicken and veggie soup.  Wayne and I were both ready for more delicious, healthy, soupy goodness.  I went back to my soups and stews book and found a tomato basil vegetable soup recipe that looked great.  Adding chicken to it just seemed like a good idea.  I really didn't alter the original recipe that much other than to cook it in a slow cooker instead of on the stove and to add chicken, of course.  Also, because the cookbook is pretty old (Wayne's mom had it for a while before she gave it to us: ) it called for spices that aren't easily bought at the grocery store.  Mace and "savory" were seasonings I did not have. After a quick google search or two I picked ginger to replace the mace and poultry seasoning to replace the savory. Normally I wouldn't put a recipe that isn't really my own on my blog, but I plan to try this again with alterations that will be discussed after the recipe so I figured I should post the first attempt: )


Tomato Basil Chicken Soup

 Ingredients
3-4 celery stalks, diced
4 medium carrots, sliced
1 large yellow onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 Tbsp oil (I used 
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 large cans diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp oil (I used coconut oil)
Seasonings to taste (I used the following spices and ratios)
  -1 part poultry seasoning
  -1 part ginger
  -2 parts oregano
  -2 parts thyme
  -3 parts basil
  -no idea how much salt and pepper I used but it wasn't a lot of either

Directions
  Place celery, carrots, onion and garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker and toss with oil, salt and pepper.  Rub chicken with half of total spice blend and place on top of vegetables.  Pour tomatoes on top of chicken and top with other half of spice blend. Cook on high heat for one hour, stir (as much as possible, it's kind of hard) and cook for an additional 1-1.5 hours or until chicken is 165 degrees.  Remove chicken breasts and use a fork and steak knife (or two forks) to shred chicken. Return to slow cooker and serve: )

Notes on the Experiment
  The end result of this small experiment was pretty amazing, however I feel there was room for improvement.   The entire time the soup was cooking I kept thinking about chicken parmesan.  It smelled just like chicken parm baking in the oven! If I had any Parmesan cheese in the house at the time, I definitely would have added it.  I didn't though so I had to settle for dreaming up ways to turn this soup into Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Soup. Because yeah, that sounds ridiculously awesome.  So far I have two different ideas.  Adding Parmesan cheese and noodles to the soup was my first idea and that would be easy enough.  Probably delicious too.  But my way better idea was trying to figure out some kind of french onion soup inspired presentation.  That would take it up at least 2 notches on the epic soup scale, maybe 3.  Maybe add Parmesan cheese to the soup and ladle individual portions into a ramekin (or other oven-safe bowl) then top with garlic toast, a blend of Italian cheese and bake until the cheese reaches epic bubbly, melty awesomeness.  Hmmm....science demands I test this idea out: )

Chicken and Navy Bean Experimental Soup

New Name...New blog. Hopefully: )
 Most of the time, when I bring a dish to a gathering or have people to my home for dinner, I find myself saying "This is experimental cheesecake" (don't worry, that will be another blog) or "We're having experiments for dinner".  What can I say? I like to play with food.  Cooking is a art project and a science experiment rolled into one.  A delicious creative endeavor: )  Soup happens to be one of my favorite experiments.  Such a versatile medium!  Seriously, what can't you do with soup? Also, it's really hard to mess up. Anyway, here is the story of the Chicken and Navy Bean Soup experiment. Recipe in blue at the bottom.
   Winter is obviously the perfect time for soup experimentation.  Knowing this, Wayne and I have been looking through a Better Homes and Gardens "Soups and Stews" cookbook that his mom gave to us.  I came across a Ham and Bean Vegetable Soup that looked delicious! Only one problem.  We both gained a little weight over the holidays and are really trying to eat better. We are trying to eat less meat overall and make the meat we do eat organic.  Two pounds of smoked ham hocks wasn't going to work with that.  Wayne suggested chicken and bean vegetable soup. Now that was something I could work with! Wayne played with Riley on the floor while I sat there writing the grocery list and figuring out how to alter the soup.
  The original recipe called for the beans to be soaked, the ham hocks to be added and cooked for a total of one and a half hours at a strong simmer, adding the veggies in the last 30 minutes of cooking.  I felt like chicken, being a much more tender meat, would basically get boiled and fall apart. And while there's nothing wrong with boiled chicken (especially in chicken and noodles...oooh that should be another winter experiment: ), I wanted bigger chunks of still very tender chicken in my soup.  Well that sounds like the perfect job for my slow cooker!  The original recipe called for a standard mirepoix (2 parts onion to one part celery and one part carrot) which is my favorite aromatic group for poultry.  I decided to use those as a bed for the chicken in the slow cooker. I rubbed some poultry seasoning on the chicken and covered it all in chicken broth. Two and a half hours later I had deliciously tender chicken and amazing broth and veggies to add flavor to the beans. Success!
  The original recipe also called for potatoes to be added with all the other veggies.  Potatoes weren't going to add flavor to the chicken so they could wait and be added to the beans with the other veggies. I did that and honestly, I wish I hadn't. The potatoes had very little flavor and were probably cooked too long. They didn't add anything to the dish so I left them out of the recipe below. I do think sweet potato might have worked better and would be an interesting addition. I may try that next time.
  Overall I would definitely rate this experiment a success.  I ended up with a much more healthy version of a recipe I really wanted to try. I also have more ideas for future soup endeavors! I love it when cooking one dish makes gives me great ideas for more: )

 

Chicken and Navy Bean Soup

Servings: 8 to 10

Ingredients

• 4-5 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 4-5 stalks celery, diced
• 2 large, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tsp poultry seasoning
• 12 cups water
• 4 tsp chicken granules (instant bouillon)
• 16 oz dry navy beans
• salt and pepper to taste ( I actually didn't use any added salt because of the salt in the instant bouillon)

Directions

Place carrots, onion and celery in the bottom of a 3-4 quart crock pot. Place chicken breast on top, rub poultry seasoning on top. Boil 4 cups of water, remove from heat and stir in chicken granules. Pour on top of chicken and veggies and place lid on pot. Turn crock pot on high and cook for 2 and a half hours or until thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the breast. When chicken has 1 hour left to cook, rinse navy beans and place in a large stock pot. Cover with 8 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for two minutes, then cover and remove from heat. Let stand for one hour. When chicken is done, remove breasts from crock pot and place on a cutting board. Transfer broth and veggies to the pot with the beans, reserving about 1 cup of broth.  Add any desired seasonings at this point. Bring beans and veggies to a simmer, reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook for 1-1.5 hours or until beans are tender and soup has reduced to desired consistency. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Meanwhile, shred chicken and place back in crock pot, on low, to keep warm. When beans and veggie are done, stir in chicken and serve.

Note: Wayne tends to like really thick soups that are pretty much stews. If you like a thinner soup, you might want to add some water to the beans along with the vegetables.