Zuppa di Fagiolo

I needed a quick dinner which is odd since I was in the middle of a cooking storm (I pre-prepare dinners by putting ingredients together in one bag to add to a slow cooker or half cooked to finish cooking at a later date – all frozen & labeled and ready to go in my big freezer but that should be another post in & of itself since i get asked about it a lot). 

What to make, what to make……

I whipped together this soup which is loosely based on pasta e fagioli. Since it seems Italian-like, I simply named it Bean soup in Italian. It doesn’t have pasta in it so it’s not a minestra but no need to correct my name. This is just what i am going to call it.

ZUPPA DI FAGIOLO

3 small sweet onions, finely diced
1 cup carrots, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 cans cannelini or great northern beans
2 cans of italian diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 quart stock (I used fit & active chicken stock)
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon rosemary, rubbed

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large pot.
2. Add onions, carrots, celery, garlic and salt & pepper.
3. Cook until veggies are semi-soft.
4. Add entire contents of all cans as well as the stock & remaining spices.
5. Stir & bring to a boil for 5-8 minutes.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and let cook until flavors fully mingle, about 15 minutes.
7. Serve topped with lightly toasted garlic bread, croutons, and/or grated cheese like pecorino romano. 

This soup was super simple and is VERY low-fat and low-carb. By making sure the stock is a veggie stock, the dish becomes vegan. Very adaptable, very tasty, very cheap, and ready in less than 30 minutes form start of preparation to finish and eating.

 

Zuppa di Fagiolo – sprinkled with Pecorino Romano & Croutons.

Versatile Chili

I have a major issue. I am highly allergic to bell peppers. They instantly make me throw up. I mean, it could be worse, I don’t go into anaphalaytic shock or anything.. I just get sick.

What stinks about such an allergy is that I need to watch ingredients. I read labels. When we go out to eat, I need to ask the server if the food I want has bell peppers in it (if it’s something that might have some like spinach dip, or crab bisque). Generally, I can not eat chili out unless it’s the all meat kind that is more of a sauce that us North Carolinians smother our pink hot dogs in (which also has chopped onions and mustard on it).

That’s how we get here. I need to make my own chili. Now that I got 3 smallish kids, I also gotta watch the spice content. So, here is my family-friendly, no pepper, loaded with beans, healthy chili. Wow, that makes it sound liek it would taste terrible but i assure you, It’s AMAZING!

VERSATILE CHILI

2 lbs ground turkey
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
3-14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
1T cumin
1/2t sugar
1t paprika (smoked)
1t oregano
2 t garlic powder
6-oz can tomato paste

(1) Brown the ground turkey & drain.
(2) Add turkey and all all ingredients into a slow cooker.
(3) Stir.
(4) Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
(5) Serve as-is or over a bed of white rice. Can be topped with shredded cheddar cheese and/or sour cream.