Jamaican Jerk Chicken Patties + Minestrone

Tonight we had a delightful combination of Jamaica and Italy. I know I know, what a combo right, but both items blended so well together! This morning I started off by making my dough for my Jamaican Chicken Patties and within minutes I whipped up a pot of comforting minestrone soup. This happens to be one of my favorite soups to prepare and eat, as it is super easy and super tasty.

For the chicken patties I pretty much followed Emerils recipe that I found on the Food Network, although I made several adjustments and additions to the filling, as seen below the pic!



My Alterations To Emerils Jamaican Meat Patties:

1. Instead of ground beef, I used Ground Chicken

2. I only used 3 cloves of garlic

3. Cumin seeds instead of cumin powder

4. I added in a bit of the following spices: cinnamon, coriander, paprika, salt, and Jamaican jerk spice blend.

5. Instead of beef broth, I used low sodium chicken broth

6. I did not use any Jamaican rum

7. Towards the end I added in 1 T. of flour and a little bit of brown sugar

My pot of minestrone took minutes to prepare, thanks to some left over cabbage! I did not worry about exact measurements as I was preparing for this, so I will only be able to share with you the seasonings that I used, but it's a super easy soup to make and you can taste and add to as you go to enhance it to your liking. See recipe below pic!



Minestrone Soup

Ingredients
1lb 12 oz Can of Whole Tomatoes
2 C. Cooked & Seasoned Cabbage (Again I used leftover cabbage which I seasoned with: salt, sugar, pepper, a dash of hot sauce, and sometimes smoked turkey wings. Cook until tender, but not mushy)
1 1/2 C. Chicken Broth (you can also use water and one chicken bouillon cube)
15 oz Can of Organic Cannellini or Northern Beans
Thyme
Black Pepper
Salt
Paprika
Worcestershire Sauce
Thinly Sliced Zucchini
Cooked Macaroni Noodles (boiled in salt water)

Directions: Pour your tomatoes into a large pot. Bring to a simmer. Add in your beans, zucchini, and cabbage. Now stir in your seasonings. Pour your broth into the pot and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat. Stir in your cooked noodles. Scoop soup into your bowls and garnish with shredded mozzarella on top!

Tomato Basil & Apple Soup {simple.savory.comfort}

Here is a lovely winter soup to tantalize all of your taste buds! My husband took me to a local cafe that served tomato basil apple soup and I thought it was fantastic, yet their version was a bit too sweet for my liking. So, what to do...make my own! It's super easy and only calls for a few simple ingredients.

I love honey crisp apples so I highly suggest you use them if you can find them at your local market. They are the BEST apples that I have ever had. Super crisp, and has a perfect balance of sweet and tart. If honey crisps are not available try to go for a Gala or a Fuji apple...something with a bite, but not too sweet or too tart. Granny Smith apples can be a bit to sour to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. We had this tonight along with smoked turkey deli style sandwiches!



Tomato Basil Apple Soup

Ingredients
2 Honey Crisp apples, peeled, and diced into chunks
1 Clove of Garlic or 1tsp. Garlic Paste
Salt
Olive Oil
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
10 Oz. Condensed Tomato Soup
12 oz. Whole Tomatoes
2 Tbsp. Dried or Fresh Basil
1 1/2 C. Fresh or Natural Apple Juice

Directions: Bake your apples in your oven for 15-20 minutes or until tender on 350 degrees. Set aside. Make a garlic paste by mincing your garlic, add a dash of salt and a drizzle of olive oil and continue mincing until a paste has formed. Pour your condensed soup into a large pot. Coarsely blend your whole tomatoes, garlic paste and 1 C. of your apples. Add blended mixture to your condensed soup and begin to simmer. Add in the rest of your apples, worcestershire sauce, basil, 1/4 tsp. salt, and apple juice. Continue simmering. Salt to taste. Serve with a homemade deli turkey or veggie sandwich.

Chicken Noodle Soup + Handmade Parsley Noodles

I have been wanting to fix chicken noodle soup from scratch for quite some time now, yet I have been continuously putting it off because I wanted to make my noodles from scratch as well, and being almost 4 months pregnant, I just could not seem to muster up the energy to do so. Nevertheless I finally kicked my preggo fatigue to the side and made a pot of savory chicken noodle soup! It's filled with hearty veggies and comforting herbs and goes great with a fresh pb&j sandwich. The perfect family fall meal!

Ingredients

For Your Soup
3 Chicken Breasts, fat trimmed & washed
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 ½ C. Chicken Broth, low sodium
5 C. Water
2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
1 C. Carrots, diced
1 ½ C. Celery, sliced thin
2 Bay Leaves
2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. Rosemary
1 tsp. Ground Thyme
1 tsp. Sage
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbsp. Sour Cream
1 Tbsp. Flour
Salt
Black Pepper
Paprika

Directions: Season your chicken breast with salt, paprika, and black pepper on both sides. Pour your olive oil into a large pot, once hot place your chicken in your pot to brown on both sides and to cook through until tender. Remove your cooked chicken from the pot and set to the side. Do NOT drain your juices. Now throw in your celery, carrots, garlic, and bay leaves and let them sweat on medium heat until they have become tender and celery is somewhat translucent.

De-glaze your veggies in your pot by pouring in your chicken broth, water, and bouillon cubes. Stir. Shred your chicken roughly with your hands and pour it into your pot. Now add your rosemary, thyme, sage, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil then return to a low simmer. In a small bowl put in your sour cream and blend with your flour. Add 1 C. of your soup and stir until well blended. Stir mixture back into your soup. Salt and pepper to taste.


For Your Noodles
2 C. Unbleached Flour
4 Large Eggs
¼ tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Olive Oil
¼ C. Curly Parsley, finely chopped

Directions: Place your flour into a large bowl. Make well in the center of your bowl. Add your eggs, salt, parsley, and oil into your well. Beat your eggs then gradually work in your flour. You may find that you do not need to use all of the flour. Work the flour into a dough that is non-sticky and firm. Remove your dough from your bowl and lay on top of a lightly floured counter top. Before kneading, I like to lightly oil my hands with olive oil to keep the dough from sticking too much to my hands. Knead with the heels of your hands for a few minutes to form some elasticity into your dough. Form into a ball and let rest under a bowl for at least 20 minutes.

***Note: I no longer have a pasta machine, so I hand rolled the noodles seen here. It adds a more rustic thick/dumpling texture when done by hand.

Lightly flour your dough and run it through your pasta machine to your desired thickness. Make sure to keep your dough lightly floured before each pass through your machine. Once you have your pasta to your desired thickness(you may prefer a thinner noodle, ta achieve this run your dough through your machine until you can see light pass through your pasta sheets.), lay your pasta onto a lightly floured counter top and cut into small sized rectangles or squares.

Bring a large pot of salted boiling water to a boil. Gently drop your pasta into your water and let boil until done. Immediately transfer your noodles to your chicken soup.

Seafood Bisque

I first saw the lovely Ina Garten make this on Barefoot Contessa. I tried it her way at first, and although tasty, I wanted a bit more bite, so here is what I came up with for now.

Seafood & Tomato Bisque

1 lb. Shrimp, thawed and deveined
8 oz. Crab Meat (you can use fresh crab or the kind that's sold packaged in your seafood section, NOT the imitation kind. here I used the prepackaged back fin crabmeat)
4 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Yellow Onion or 1 Leek, cleaned and chopped
1/2 C. Bellpepper
4 Cloves of Garlic
2 C. Celery, chopped
Oregeno
1 Tbsp. Fresh Basil
Paprika
Thyme
Garlic Powder
Salt
White Pepper
Black Pepper
Parsley
1/2 C. + 1/3 C. Chardonnay
1/8 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1/2 C. Water
1 pnt. Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
2 Tbsp. Butter

Directions: Season shrimp with all of your spices except your basil and parsley. Sautee your onions, celery, garlic, and bellpepper in your olive oil until tender, this is where you will need to add your water as it will loose moisture. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp has turned pink..do not overcook your shrimp. Turn heat to low.

Puree parsley, basil, 1/2 C. Chardonnay, and 1 C. of your shrimp mixture.

In your pot add puree, crab meat, remaining chardonnay, and butter for about 2 minutes. Add in your whipping cream, tomato paste, and cayenne pepper. Season with 1/4 tsp, thyme and white pepper.

Salmon: Season with garlic powder, parsley, black pepper, paprika, thyme, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 350 degrees until done.

Ladle your soup into your bowl and place a piece of salmon(skin off) on top.Sprinkle with dries basil.