Soup and Sandwich Week
I love a soup and sandwich pairing. This week we will do just that with two soups and two and sandwiches to enjoy. This is a great menu for cooler temperatures. It is also an easy weeknight meal or lunch. Even better, freeze your leftover soup to serve on a rainy day.
CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
You know this soup is good for your soul. It is also perfect for a cool night or to send to a sick friend. I like to cook the noodles separately and add them so I can better control the amount of noodle. If this soup absorbs the stock into the noodles overnight, just add extra chicken stock the next day when reheating.
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
2.5 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons salt, divided
1.5 cups carrots, chopped
1.5 cups celery, chopped
1.5 cups onion, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
8 ounces egg noodles, cooked and drained
1 quart Kitchen Basics Chicken Stock, plus extra if needed
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
In a medium stock pot, boil chicken thighs in 6 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt for 15 minutes or until cooked through.
Remove chicken thighs from the stock and let cool. Set stock aside as it will be used in the soup.
Once cooled, remove skin, debone, and shred the meat for the soup using two forks in a pulling method.
In a large stock pot, carrots, celery, onion in olive oil with 1 teaspoon of salt for 10 minutes or until tender. Then add the garlic and sauté for just one minutes.
Add chicken and cooked noodles to the pot. Pour in the left over stock (approximately 4 cups) from boiling the chicken and 1 quart of Kitchen Basic Chicken Stock to the large stock pot. You will need 8 cups of liquid to add to the soup at this step. So, if you are short of the stock after boiling the thighs, you can add extra water or chicken stock to make 8 cups.
Stir in the poultry seasoning with 1 teaspoon of salt to the ingredients in the large stock pot. Bring all the ingredients to a slow-boil over medium heat for 30 minutes.
Serve immediately.
CHEESY TOMATO MELT
If you lived in Athens, GA circa 1998, then you may have eaten at Zim’s Bakery. This sandwich is a reminder of my college days and going to Zim’s as a wide eyed college student. They made a sandwich, the Sorority Melt, as it was called, and that is the inspiration for this open-faced, cheesy, tomato, bagel goodness. And you can use any type of bagel that you like. However, the Everything Bagel goes so well with these flavors.
Serves 1 to 2
Ingredients
1 Bagel, cut in half
1 tablespoon butter, divided
2 tablespoons cream cheese, divided
1 large tomato, sliced and divided
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/8 teaspoon pepper, divided
2 ounces cheddar cheese, grated and divided
Directions
Preheat the oven to Broil or 500 degrees F.
Spread the butter on top of the inside of the bagel halves and lightly toast.
Remove from the bagel from the oven and spread 1 tablespoon of cream cheese on each half.
Then, top with 2 tomato slices, or enough to cover the top of the bagel. Sprinkle each half with the salt and pepper and top with the grated cheese.
Melt the cheese topped bagel in the oven until the cheese melts and just begins to bubble.
Serve immediately.
VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP
This is a quintessential cooler weather soup. Plus, I made this recipe so that you cook the soup in one pot. As a mother, I always welcome a good meal that doesn’t include a bunch of dishes. Enjoy this with a sandwich or your favorite bread.
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
3 pounds lean ground beef
1 ½ cups carrots
1 ½ cups celery
1 ½ cups onion
2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
1 15.25 ounce can white corn
1 15.25 ounce can lima beans
1 14.5 ounce can green beans
1 6 ounce jar mushrooms
1 15 ounce can diced potatoes
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 quarts Kitchen Basics Beef Stock
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Directions
In a large stock pot, cook the beef, carrots, celery, and onions with 1 teaspoon of salt until the vegetables are tender and the beef is cooked through.
Once cooked, stir in the fresh garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Drain the corn, lima beans, green beans, mushrooms, and potatoes and add to the pot. Then add the tomatoes and the beef stock. Stir to combine.
Bring the soup to a slow simmer for 30 minutes.
After simmering, season with 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, and the garlic powder.
Serve immediately.
GRILLED PIMENTO CHEESE
When I was about 32 years old, I was at the grocery store on a cold and rainy night trying to figure out what to cook for dinner. I ran into a friend who mentioned her mother-in-law was cooking vegetable beef soup with grilled pimento cheese for dinner and they were about to head over. I thought, my word, could anything be better than that pairing tonight? I immediately went home and began working on my pimento cheese recipe while making a pot of soup. It remains one of my favorite rainy day meals to this day.
And remember, store bought Pimento Cheese is fine. I like the Palmetto brand!
Tara’s Pimento Cheese
Yields approximately 3 cups
Ingredients
16 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
7 tablespoons Duke’s mayonnaises
2 tablespoons pimentos, diced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until well combined. Serve immediately or keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Grilled Pimento Cheese Sandwiches
You can press the sandwich with a spatula to give it a panini style finish as shown in the above photo.
Serves 1-2
Ingredients
4 pieces of sandwich bread
1/2 cup of pimento cheese, divided
4 teaspoons Duke’s mayonnaise, divided
Directions
Spread 2 of pieces of bread with 1/4 cup of pimento cheese on each. Top with another slice of bread. (Now you have a pimento cheese sandwich, but keep going to grill it.)
Spread 1 teaspoon of mayo on the top of the sandwich.
In a non-stick skillet or griddle, place the whole sandwich mayo side down over medium to medium-low heat. Let it cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown.
While cooking, spread 1 teaspoon of mayo on the side that is facing up.
After the 2 minutes are finished, flip the sandwich over and let the other side cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve immediately.
