My Kitchen Love

making everyday family meals extraordinary

Carrot Topped – Roasted Carrot Soup with Za’tar

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Roasted Carrot Soup with Za’tar is the direct result of me being that person in the grocery store buying giant bags of whatever produce is on sale. Produce that looks like it’s in prime condition of course. Loaded with carrots and feeling like getting cozy with a bowl, I’m pretty sure my decision tree was on track the day I made this. Carrots are always used as a flavour booster in braised or stewed dishes so why not have a flavour packed bowl of soup? Topped with a small dollop of yogurt and sprinkled with za’tar, I’m going to stay cozy with a bowlful of this Roasted Carrot Soup with Za’tar for many days to come.

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Fall Lentil Salad with a Lemon-Shallot Dressing

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This Fall Lentil Salad with a Lemon-Shallot Dressing came up as the result of a much too indulgent weekend. You know the one? Too much food that was ordered or packaged and not fresh. Perhaps a bit too much wine one night. All in all the weekend was packed with many calories and my pants either needed to be let out or I need some salad in my life stat. I actually become quite unhappy with consuming too many meals that are not home cooked. I realize that makes me super weird since most people are looking for reasons to eat out, but it really gets to me and I immediately notice a difference in the health of my family and to be perfectly frank, the behaviour of my kids.

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In Crust We Trust – Pork, Apple and Ale Pie

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Suddenly, it smells like Fall when I open the front door each morning. The scent of crisp air, with a hint of warmth for what the day might bring. These are the days where I can quickly fall down memory lane and recall wearing a jacket to school each morning, only to shed it for lunch and the walk home (yes, I’m that old where I walked to and from school each day). Fall and apples go hand in hand (when it’s not raining pumpkin spice everything) and there’s nothing that can beat a farm fresh apple in September. Since we went apple u-picking (see more details here) I wanted a savoury way to use up more of the Honeycrisp Apples we picked. I came up with this recipe for a Pork, Apple and Ale Pie. The pie innards are full of savoury Autumn flavours – filling ground pork, slightly sweet apples, bitter ale … it’s like you take Fall and throw it into a Shake-n-Bake bag, toss it around, and then put it inside some pie crust. And the crust! Herbs and mustard are added to the crust to play off the flavours on the inside and it’s SO flaky. The crust literally crumbles as your fork hits it. The aromas that came from the oven during cooking were filled with sage, beer, and leek, almost forcing me to crack another beer, open the window to let the cool evening air in, and sit back.

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Bowl Full – Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup

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Soups. Not the traditional type of comfort food we may think of, but I know that soup is my go-to comfort dish. Warmth, easy scents that can send me down memory lane and general ease of preparation make soup like a warm hug. Although we’re not quite out of summer, the thought of leaning over steaming hot liquid, wrapping my cold hands around the piping hot bowl, and inhaling the fragrant scents that seem to be welcomed breath have me craving soup regularly. Whether it’s a gourmet bowl of bisque or the ubiquitous red and white can of soup, they both have a way of grounding me unlike any other dish. This is another Canadian Food Creatives Collaboration with 9 Autumn Soups to send a bowlful of warmth your way. I made Roasted Chicken Minestrone as my contribution – a one pot meal that is ready to compensate for those colder, shorter days ahead. Big thanks to Diana of 365 Days of Easy Recipes for hosting!! Be sure to head to the end of this post to see all the soup recipes

Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup | My Kitchen Love. Fall comfort food and a one pot meal!

The anticipation of eating is a wonderful experience. These days I’m making our dinners multiple hours in advance of suppertime and I often find myself literally wanting to dive in head first into these dishes. The house smells amazing. The kids want to know exactly what it is that I’m taking photos of (usually when I take photos it means the food is extra good, or as one of my twins says “this supper is extra yummy to me mommy”). And I can’t wait to see if all the recipe testing, planning, and effort has paid off. Making this Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup, filled with fresh vibrant herbs was a pleasure … although the wait felt significant.

Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup | My Kitchen Love. Fall comfort food and a one pot meal!

Up until recently, soups haven’t had much time at our supper table. Having very small children has limited the amount of soup I make due to the temperature (way too hot for them) and the difficulty of eating it (balancing thin liquids on a smaller spoon). I tried serving it at a cooler temperature in a cup for them to drink, but they still weren’t into it. This dish was much more successful. In large part because it was whole pieces of chicken and pasta – more stew-like, making it way easier for them to eat. I’m hoping that soup becomes a much more frequent dish for us as it’s easy to prepare in advance and make large batches of … making my life way easier. Don’t forget to scope out all the Autumn Soup recipes at the end of this post!

Do your kids like soup? Tell me your secrets! I need a gateway for the colder seasons ahead.

Yields 4-6

Bowl Full - Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup

Fall forward into colder and shorter days with a comforting bowl of Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup - one pot meal!

5 minPrep Time

35 minCook Time

40 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 8 medium sized chicken thighs (skin on, bone in)
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 3 stalks (ribs) celery, chopped
  • 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
  • 6 sprigs fresh oregano
  • 12 fresh basil leaves
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 400 gram (28 oz) diced tomatoes OR 4 tomatoes on the vine, sliced crosswise and grated (discard skin)
  • 5 cups (1 ltr) chicken stock
  • 1 x 330 ml (14 oz) can navy beans (or other small beans)
  • 1 cup (145 grams) small tubed pasta
  • Finely grated parmesan to serve (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
  2. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large dutch oven or large casserole dish (any dish that is large and ovenproof).
  3. Sprinkle both sides of chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Place chicken skin side down and cook until well browned, approximately 5-7 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside . (This may need to be done in batches).
  4. Add onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes, or until starting to soften. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring the entire time, until paste is coating vegetables. Add bay leaves, oregano, basil, diced tomatoes, chicken stock,beans and pasta. Bring to a boil and return chicken to pot, skin-side up and place in oven. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
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https://www.mykitchenlove.com/roasted-chicken-minestrone-soup/

Autumn Soup Collaboration | My Kitchen Love. Fall comfort foods.

More comforting soups from my fellow Canadian Food Bloggers:

Enjoy!

Recipe inspired by a Donna Hay‘s Roasted Spatchcock Minestrone

Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup | My Kitchen Love. Fall comfort food and a one pot meal!

Turkey Chipotle Chili

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Turkey and Chipotle Chili | My Kitchen Love

*This post is sponsored by Ricardo Cuisine 

Fall is upon us and with it comes soul warming dishes, like chili. Chili is a wonderfully adaptable one pot meal. That means fast, simple, and usually very good. Here, we have loads of seasonal butternut squash and turkey to give a new spin on the traditional chili. It’s layered with mole-like flavours of cocoa and beer. It had me going back again and again for more.

This recipe comes from Ricardo Cuisine and you can find a wide selection of chili options here on Ricardo’s website.

Turkey and Chipotle Chili | My Kitchen Love

This recipe is one pot and quick. Have all your ingredients prepped and ready (“mise en place” as they say). I’d recommend cutting the squash and the turkey into similar sized bite size pieces, about 1/2″ cubes. I had the butcher debone and remove the skin from the turkey leg meat so we could use the darker meat and to save myself some time in the kitchen. I find the leg meat holds the moisture a bit better than turkey breasts. The other ingredients are primarily pantry items that can be quickly laid out for use.

Turkey and Chipotle Chili | My Kitchen Love

If you aren’t a fan of adding alcohol or beer to your dishes feel free to use chicken or vegetable stock in lieu of the beer. I liked the addition of beer to this dish. It does add a little something extra that you don’t see in a traditional chili recipe. Beer is also an excellent vehicle for deglazing the pan. It lifts the yummy bits stuck to the bottom of the pan quite easily.

Turkey and Chipotle Turkey | My Kitchen Love

Yields 6

Turkey Chipotle Chili

Warming Turkey and Chipotle Chili with mole-like to coat seasonal butternut squash.

15 minPrep Time

40 minCook Time

55 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 1.5 lbs (675 g) skinless boneless turkey (breast or leg meat), cut into cubes (ask the butcher to cut for you)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 green onions or 1/2 yellow onion thinly sliced
  • 1 chipotle pepper from a can in adobo sauce, seeded and finely chopped (remove the rest from the can and freeze in a freezer plastic bag)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp chill powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 x 341 ml beer (any sort will do)
  • 1 x 14 oz (400 ml) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 x 14 oz (400 ml) can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups peeled and diced butternut squash (about 1/2 of a smaller one)
  • 2 tbsp molasses
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • salt and pepper
  • optional garnishes:
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • sour cream
  • sliced green onions
  • shredded cheese (cheddar, monterey jack, mozzarella, etc.)

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Cook meat in 2 separate batches, until meat is well browned on the exterior. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  2. Add green onions, chipotle pepper, garlic, and spices and cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Add the turkey back into the pan and stir to coat with spices. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
  3. Add beer and stir, scrapping bottom of the pan to deglaze. Allow liquid to evaporate by 1/2, about 3-5 minutes.
  4. Add the remaining ingredients, including seasoning the dish with salt and pepper. Stir to mix ingredients together.
  5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
  6. Serve family style along with desired optional garnishes.
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https://www.mykitchenlove.com/turkey-chipotle-chili/

Recipe adapted from Ricardo.

* If you make this recipe be sure to tag #MyKitchenLove

Enjoy!

* This post is sponsored Ricardo Cuisine.  My Kitchen Love has been compensated monetarily.  All opinions expressed are mine own and Ricardo Cuisine did not alter or influence this post.