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Classic Minestrone Soup

I have made this many different ways and the other night experimented with this recipe by adding fire-roasted diced tomatoes and it was ever so delicious. Feel free to use regular diced tomatoes but the fire roasted ones gave it an extra layer of flavor that was truly delicious. I made this on the stove top and even though it’s ready in an hour I let it sit for a while on a very low flame ( more like 2 hours or more) the flavors meld best this way. This can be frozen but I freeze without the pasta , I like to add my pasta separately to the soup. It’s vegan if you don’t top with parmesan cheese and this recipe should yield at least 6 bowls of soup if not a little more. It’s a delicious vegetarian hearty warm soup that happens to be very healthy and delicious. One of my favorites.

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 medium yellow onion , chopped

2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

2 medium ribs celery, chopped

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 cups chopped seasonal vegetables, Potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, green beans or peas will all work here

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 large can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes with their liquid, or 2 small cans –I used fire roasted diced tomatoes and they were ever so delicious

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 teaspoon or more to taste of kosher salt

2 bay leaves

freshly ground black pepper

1 cup small pasta — like ditalini or elbows or small shells

1 can ( 15 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained, or any beans 1 1/2 cups

2 cups chopped kale or baby spinach —

Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, for garnishing

Warm 3 Tablespoons of the olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch Oven over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, tomato paste, minced garlic, and a little bit of kosher salt. Cook , stirring often until the vegetables soften and the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Don’t burn.

Add the seasonal vegetables you’re using and oregano and thyme, cook until fragrant while stirring frequently, about 4 minutes.

Pour in the diced tomatoes and their juices, broth and water. Add some salt now , bay leaves and a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like. And add black pepper.

Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, then partially cover the pot leaving a small gap for steam to escape. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer — I honestly let it simmer for up to 2 hours.

I cook my pasta in a separate small pan and set aside.

I add the beans and you can add the greens now if you like and continue simmering uncovered now, probably another 20 minutes or so till greens are tender. If you want a more classic soup omit the kale /spinach but I love it so I add it to mine —

Remove the bay leaves from the pot, taste for salt and pepper. Put some pasta into bottom of each bowl ( doesn’t matter if it’s cold because soup will heat it right up) Garnish bowls with cheese if you like or put on table for everyone to add their own.

Perfection in a bowl and may be frozen for up to 3 months — it’s better to freeze without the pasta and you’ll probably add some vegetable broth or water to it when it defrosts.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Ground Chicken– Easy Peasy

I know that most of the time I post a soup recipe with chicken it’s using a rotisserie chicken which is a convenient hack but this time out I used ground chicken. Saw this recipe on my favorite cooking site @nytimes.com/recipes and knew I had to make this . Of course I made a few changes to better suit our tastes but feel free to check out original recipe. Very very easy and very delicious. You can definitely add egg noodles or any small pasta or cavatelli. I used ditalini which I almost always use for a small pasta. You may need to adjust amount of stock so have extra on hand.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

5 Tablespoons olive oil–

1 pound ground chicken ( if you can get dark meat I would but unless you’re going to a butcher you probably won’t find it) white meat is fine

Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into small cubes or slice and cut in 1/2 moons —

2 celery stalks, halved lengthwise, then sliced 1/2″ thick

1 large shallot , finely chopped

1 can small white beans 🫘 drained

1 teaspoon dried thyme– if you want to use fresh thyme about 1 Tablespoon of thyme leaves

7-8 cups chicken stock, more as needed

1 cup dried small shaped pasta

Directions:

In a large stock pot , heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add the chicken, season with some salt and pepper and cook, using a wooden spoon to crumble chicken, app. 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and coriander and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is cooked through, app. 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove chicken to a small bowl and cover with aluminum foil to retain moisture, cover and set aside.

Add the carrot, celery, shallot, thyme and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pot, season with some salt and pepper and cook stirring until everything is slicked with olive oil, app. 3 minutes. Add the stock — I started with the full 8 cups and brought to a boil over high heat. Add the can of drained white beans while boiling . If you don’t like beans you can omit .

I cooked my noodles in a separate pot . When the soup cooked down for a while and vegetables were very soft ( probably a 1/2 hour or more) I added the ground chicken and any and all juices that were in the bowl and heated until warmed through, taste for salt and pepper.

I placed some pasta in the individual bowls and poured the hot soup over the pasta and if you’d like a squirt of fresh lemon is always delicious here.

Enjoy!

Lox on a Chip — Appetizer

I made these last night for New Years and they were really delicious -crispy crunchy base with just a touch of smoked salmon and a blend of cream cheese and sour cream. I topped it with capers and because I didn’t have fresh chives I passed on that part but if I could get them I would have. They’re delicious and salty and crunchy and kind of perfect. So very easy to make and perfect for just yourself or a small crowd — I made app. 25 chips and it was perfection on a chip. Next time you need a little appetizer this is wonderful. Simple and sophisticated.

recipe credit goes to onceuponachef.com

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sour cream

4 oz. cream cheese- softened ( just leave out at room temperature for a while till it’s soft enough to mix with sour cream)

pinch kosher salt

8 oz. smoked salmon ( available in packages in the supermarket)

a few tablespoons capers, drained

a few tablespoons minced fresh chives

25-30 large potato chips, preferable a ripple cut -as you can see chips are uneven in size and it doesn’t matter – I tried to just get whole chips.

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix the softened cream cheese with the sour cream and salt until evenly combined and set aside

Take out the largest chips from the bag and I just tried to get whole chips , place a folded small piece of salmon , put a small dollop of the cream cheese mixture ( you can eyeball it) Top each crisp with a few capers and a sprinkle of fresh minced chives.

Arrange the crisps on a platter and serve immediately — they will start to get soggy if they sit around too long. So right before you’re serving finish the recipe.

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Cabbage, Dates and Feta Salad– Sweet and Salty Salad

Salads are always one of my favorite recipes — this one is absolutely delicious and very easy and very simple to follow. Salads are my favorites because they are so loose, you can swap out ingredients for something you like more and add in some stuff you like. I have made this with a variety of bases , cabbage, or one of those cabbage mixes that they sell in the supermarkets. The last time I made this I used a cabbage mix with Kale and Carrots that they sell in Whole Foods which tasted wonderful. I wouldn’t use a lettuce mix because it won’t hold up to the dressing so stick with a cabbage type of base.

You can even dress ahead if you prefer your cabbage a little less crunchy. Kale also tastes best when it gets to sit in dressing for a bit.

Absolutely delicious fresh tasting salad — make it your way with any cabbage or cabbage mix

* should serve 4-6 nicely as a side salad

Ingredients:

1 head of purple or green cabbage or a package and 1/2 of cabbage mix — app. 1-1 1/4 pounds –as you can see in photos one time I used a package of a kale and cabbage mix and one time I just chopped up a head of red cabbage. Do whatever combo you like

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons of fresh lime juice — I prefer the taste of lime but if no lime use a lemon

Salt and Pepper– you can use black pepper or crushed red pepper flakes — to taste — I sprinkled a little crushed red pepper not too much just a pinch or so.

1/2 cup pitted dates, coarsely chopped or sliced

4 ounces of feta but if you really like feta you can use a little more — crumbled or chunked your call

2 teaspoons well-toasted sesame seeds– put into oven on a small baking sheet and cook for a few minutes to brown up slightly — be careful not to burn

Directions:

Toss cabbage with Olive Oil and one Tablespoon of fresh lime juice, sprinkle a little salt and pepper, coating everything evenly. Taste and add more lime juice, if needed more salt and pepper. Go easy on salt because feta is salty but you will need a little salt. You’ll want the base well seasoned because this is where salt and pepper are best absorbed. I let it sit for a bit so that the cabbage softens up. You can actually let the whole salad sit for at least an hour, if not longer in the fridge. The salad leftovers tasted pretty good the next day as well.

Fold in the dates and the feta and sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds.

That’s it folks — easy and delicious fresh tasting salty and sweet salad.

Crispy Parmesan Sweet Potatoes

Thanks to my friend Leslie for this delicious recipe. So great when friends share their delicious recipes with you and you love the recipe so much that you are making it on repeat and now I’m sharing with all of you.

These are cheesy and crispy on the outside and soft and mushy on the inside — just like a sweet potato should be.

The first time I made these I didn’t use parchment paper but I think I would use all the time in the future. I sprayed the baking sheet and it was fine and came out easily enough but I believe parchment paper is the way to go– I would however still lightly spray the bottom of your baking pan before placing the parchment paper which can help it stay in place . Parchment paper is designed to be non-stick so spraying it would be redundant. As you can see in photos some of the cheese fell off but it’s ok because they were delcious anyway.

This is easy to make and delicious to eat and highly recommend if you love Sweet Potatoes and you love Parmesan Cheese.

*little hack that I was unaware of that I’m passing on to all of you– when I went to my local cheese shop to buy grated parmesan cheese the owner happened to be there and he told me after I use grated cheese put it in the freezer , it will not freeze. When I need it again just take out of freezer and use and return un used cheese to freezer. It will not go bad!!!!!! as it often does once it is opened and expiration date is only for a few weeks. This is a great little hack one I will use from now on.

Ingredients:

4 small sweet potatoes -just buy potatoes that can be cut in 1/2 the long way sometimes it’s tough with “knobby” ones

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 cup -3/4 cup finely shredded parmesan

Kosher Salt and Coarse Black Pepper

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or just spray with baking spray

In a small bowl I mixed olive oil, garlic powder and Italian seasoning

Place your cut sweet potatoes in a large enough bowl to fit all of them — pour olive oil mixture over them mix well getting olive oil all over the sweet potatoes — sprinkle with some salt and pepper and let them sit for a minute while you prep pan

Sprinkle parm cheese evenly onto prepared baking sheet – place sweet potato halves cut side down on top of parmesan

bake for 30-40 minutes till sweet potatoes are tender and bottom layer of cheese is crusty and deeply browned.

Remove and let cool a little bit before serving!

I wish I had better pictures but you get the picture.

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Happy Holidays to all.

Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs with Mustard -Lemon and Garlic with Brussels

Very delicious weeknight meal for the family or for just you! It’s easy and all in one pan with Brussels and red onions. Easy to put together, just try and marinate chicken for how ever long you can — at least 30 minutes and up to 48 hours in the fridge. The marination process is key — I did it for about 6 hours in fridge and removed from fridge to bring to room temperature before cooking.

I don’t recommend using chicken breasts in this recipe as they tend to dry out. So use chicken thighs to get juicy and delicious tasting chicken.

Enjoy this meal bursting with flavor!

You’ll need a rimmed sheet pan, a large glass bowl, a small bowl, and I recommend using a kitchen thermometer which if you don’t have one you should own for cooking chicken.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of chicken thighs ( about 6 ) bone in , skin on

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil ( divided)

1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning ( available dry in most supermarkets)

2 tsp. Kosher Salt

app. 1/2 ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. fresh Lemon Juice

1 heaping Tbsp. Dijon Mustard

1 heaping Tbsp. stone ground Mustard

app. 10 oz. Brussels sprouts trimmed and cut in half if very large cut in 1/4s and if very small leave whole

1 Red Onion cut into 8 wedges

6 cloves garlic minced

Directions:

To marinate the chicken, pat dry the chicken and put in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl add 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, lemon juice , dijon mustard, stone ground mustard. I whisk it all together and pour over the chicken in bowl and with clean hands squish around the chicken and cover and place in the fridge. Take out of fridge and bring to room temperature before putting into the oven (probably a 1/2 hour)

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees

I spray baking sheet with cooking spray first, then place trimmed and halved Brussels sprouts on the sheet pan. I then put 6 garlic cloves in mini processor and add 2 Tablespoons of Olive oil to processor and when this is done pour over the Brussels and coat well and sprinkle the remaining 1 tsp. kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper to them.

Place marinated chicken thighs skin side up on the sheet pan moving Brussels and onions around so the chicken touches the sheet . (see photo)

Bake uncovered at 400 degrees F. for 30 minutes then crisp the skin up and brown it under the broiler. I did it for about 4 minutes till I obtained a nice crispy skin. Check chicken temperature before serving but it should be 165 and perfect!

Served over rice and it was delicious.

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Joy’s Cranberry Sauce

cookingwithcandi 069cookingwithcandioct17 181. This looks so good, and it is pretty easy. So if you’re still in the market for a Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce give this one a try. I try to keep a few bags of cranberries in my freezer all year round , they are the perfect side to a roast chicken anytime of the year. I always make simple fresh plain Cranberry Sauce and Karyns’s Cranberry Crisp on the holidays. This is a lovely alternative to the simple Fresh Cranberry Sauce recipe or A little twist on Cranberry Sauce on my blog.

Thanks to Joy who is a friend and has been a faithful fan and supporter since the beginning of this blog.  I think we can trust her in the food dept. she knows her stuff!

Recipe as follows: (of course you can double)

Ingredients:

1 12 oz. bag of cranberries

3 granny smith apples , peeled and cut into 1/2 ” cubes

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup apple juice

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Directions:

Bring to boil over medium simmer ( about 6 minutes) all of the above ingredients. If it seems too thick add a little water . Refrigerate and serve!

Apple Pear Crisp

It’s Fall and this is the most perfect dessert while apples and pears are abundant . Baked with brown sugar and oat topping served warm with vanilla ice cream and it’s perfection on a plate. This is what I did and it really is pretty easy and not very technical for those of you who want to bake a great dessert but don’t want to fuss with cakes and frosting etc. and special equipment. Most perfect!!! Can be made ahead of time and even frozen . Perfect Thanksgiving dessert and if you like just use all apples and omit the pears doubling up on the apples. But Pears are so wonderful — just saying.

Can easily be cut in 1/2 for a much smaller gathering. You can even put into small ramekins and bake like that for individual servings.

Delicious Easy Dessert.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you from my kitchen to yours.

Ingredients:

Fruit Mixture:

3 ripe firm pears peeled, cored and thinly sliced

3 apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced

3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

3/4 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping:

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

2/3 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

*Vanilla ice cream for serving — obviously optional but in our house it’s a must

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I spray a 9 – 10 inch deep dish pyrex type of dish or any baking dish you like — set aside

In a large bowl combine pears, apples, orange juice, sugar , flour , cinnamon and vanilla — All the fruit mixture ingredients

Dump all the ingredients into your prepared baking dish.

Make the topping in a separate bowl . Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add in the melted butter and stir until combined, using your clean fingers crumble the mixture over the fruit. You’ll want to press some of it together to form clumps.

Bake for 45-60 minutes until topping is golden brown, and fruit is tender and it is bubbling all around the edges.

Serve warm with ice cream.

*I put into oven when we sat down to dinner and let it cook so it was ready for dessert. Let it sit for awhile to set.

You can also make ahead and then just re-heat for 45 minutes to an hour . I cover with aluminum when re-heating.

Enjoy!!

Thanksgiving 2024

It’s that time of year again — Thanksgiving — and I will start posting some of my tried and true recipes for all of you who follow me and for anyone new who is looking for some Thanksgiving inspiration. These recipes can be found on my site @cookingwithcandi. If you put the name of the recipe into the search box the recipe should come up. Alternatively if you google the name of the recipe along with cooking with Candi it should come up. Any problems, questions, ideas , new recipes etc. get in touch with me on Instagram @cookingwithcandi just drop me a line and I promise I will try and get back to you ASAP . I am open to any and all suggestions, questions, etc. You can also email me @cmk55@sopris.net. Or DM me at my Instagram account Cookingwithcandi — and I will get back to you asap.

Happy cooking from my kitchen to yours.

Happy Thanksgiving one and all of you!

Recipes:

Corn Bread Pudding

Easy Peasy Corn Bread –this is an easy peasy corn bread to make for holiday table or any table

Butternut Squash Soup

Pumpkin Lentil Soup

Sweet and Spicy Mixed Nuts– I have 2 different recipes for the nuts and they are both awesome

Shaved Brussels Salad

Brussels and Kale with Mustard Vinaigrette

Brussels Sprouts and Apple Salad

Pumpkin Walnut Bread and Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

Cremini Mushroom Pumpkin Lasagna

Pumpkin Penne Bake — my version of Mac and Cheese for the Holidays

The Ultimate Comfort food –Mac and Cheese (without the pumpkin) just the old fashioned kind

Stuffing that will be on our Table or Cranberry Walnut Stuffing

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Candied Yam Souffle

Easy Peasy Marshmallow Sweet Potatoes

Aunt Pammy’s Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

Karyn’s Famous Thanksgiving Cranberry Crisp

Joy’s Cranberry Sauce

Michele’s White Chocolate Jumbo Macaroon Cookies

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Apple Pear Crisp

Apple Crisp

Magnolia Banana Pudding

Corn Bread Pudding
Karyn’s Cranberry Crisp

Butternut Squash Soup

Greek Style Chicken and Lemon Rice in One Pan

The chicken may be the main here but gotta say it’s all about this spectacular lemon rice. Rice, chicken, spinach ( and yes Joel didn’t even detect here and ate it up) I went a little lighter on the spinach for fear of spoiling it for him but go with full 2 cups of spinach if you’re family loves it. I chopped it up so it was hard to really see that it even was spinach but you can just chop it up roughly. This would be delicious served with a Greek Salad and the one I would go with is my Maroulosalata salad. Perfect!! and very delicious and I marinaded chicken from about 10 till 5 but if you can do overnight even better and if you can’t do at least an hour. One pan means less clean up which is also an extra added bonus. Enjoy this wonderful meal.

i*should serve 4-6 but for 6 I would add 2 more thighs

*for the chicken marinade

6 chicken thighs ( I only used 4 for the 2 of us) I go to butcher when I can so thighs are meatier if they’re very small make 8

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients:

For Chicken and Rice

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 yellow onion, peeled and diced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

2 cups baby spinach, lightly packed and roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups long grain white rice ( I love Carolina brand)

3 cups chicken stock/broth

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

*crumbled feta for end if you’d like or some lemon slices or lemon zest and a little squirt of fresh lemon juice at the end — all of this is optional and up to you. I used crumbled feta at the end ( not too much just a sprinkle) and I used a little fresh lemon juice — you can also add chopped parsley and some lemon slices for a lovely presentation

Place Chicken in a large bowl or in a large resealable plastic bag ( I used plastic bag method)

Add all the marinade ingredients to the chicken ( pat chicken dry first) and toss chicken to coat well. Seal bag or cover bowl and marinate chicken in the fridge for at least an hour and up to 1 day ahead (obvi the longer the better)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees , remove chicken from fridge while preheating the oven.

In a large ovenproof pot ( I used my Le Creuset dutch oven) or large skillet that is oven proof heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. When oil is very hot without burning please add chicken thighs skin side down (and reserve the leftover marinade in bowl or bag — you will be adding the liquid to the skillet later) Brown chicken about 5 minutes each side — you’ll be cooking more later this is just to get them golden and crispy. Remove chicken from pot and set aside on a plate.

Add the onions and garlic to skillet and stir cooking for a few minutes or until the onions are very soft and translucent. Adjust the heat a little if needed– don’t burn the onions.

Add the chopped spinach, oregano, salt, pepper, and reserved marinade to the pot. Cook stirring for another minute or so until spinach is wilted

Add the rice to the skillet, and stir well to coat the rice with the pan juices

Pour the chicken stock into the pot and stir well, bring to a simmer or low boil

Arrange chicken thighs on top of the rice, the cover the pot ( if no cover use aluminum foil)and place pot in the pre-heated oven. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid or foil covering, return the skillet to the oven, and bake until chicken and rice is cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Feel free to broil for the last couple of minutes if you’re feeling like chicken isn’t crispy enough

Remove from the oven and let chicken and rice rest for 5-10 minutes. Fluff rice so that the spinach and onions that may have settled get evenly distributed. Sprinkle with feta now or extra lemon juice or parsley and lemon slices then serve straight from the pan or dish out onto plates.

Enjoy! this one is a winner