FatGirlEats

First of all, weigh-in: Down 2.5 pounds over the weekend, despite all the baked deliciousness. I guess I did better than I thought I did! ;)

It’s FALL! Even here, in the Deep South! This means that I’ve not only been baking up a storm, but I’ve been making soups and such that warm the body and the soul.

The first was actually a canned cheater inspired by my inaugural trip to Panera.

I purchased a loaf of asiago cheese bread while I was there, toasted up these chunks, and tossed them in a bowl of Healthy Choice tomato soup. Definitely not the same as Panera’s amazing creamy tomato, but still pretty good for a quick meal at home.

The next soup I made was something I’d never tried before, but since Jess sent me the ingredients in our food exchange, I thought I’d give it a shot. Matzo ball soup.

The recipe, as Jess emailed it to me:

1 roaster chicken
1 white onion (roughly chopped)
2 celery stalks (roughly chopped)
2 carrots (roughly chopped)
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp whole peppercorns
2 Tbsp dried parsley
generous amount of salt

In a large pot, put the chicken, celery, onion, and carrots in a pot. Fill with cold water. In a spice bag (or not, if you don’t have one) place the bay leaves, peppercorns in pot. Sprinkle parsley and salt in pot. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and let simmer for about 1.5 hours, until chicken is falling off the bone. Make sure you skim the broth frequently.

In the last 20 minutes of cooking, prepare matzo ball mix as directed.

Remove chicken, celery, carrots, onion, and spice bag from broth. Place matzo balls into broth that is simmering. Chop chicken, celery, carrots, and onion into bite size pieces. Simmer until matzo balls are done (they should be firm all the way, like a dumpling in a soup).

Add the chicken, celery, carrots, and onions to a bowl with the broth and matzo balls on top.

The change I made: I cooked the chicken in the crock pot all day first, so it was falling off the bone. Then I boiled the carcass and added the (skimmed) juices from the crock pot to make the broth.

This was seriously super good. I wasn’t warned, though, that matzo balls swell. A lot. Even after you eat them. Seth and I were full for a very long time. Sooooo good, though! Really good with this beer I brought home from St. Louis.

I have chicken left over, too. It’s in the freezer to be used with something else. I haven’t figured it out yet.

Sunday afternoon was filled with friends, football, beer, and chili. I don’t really have a “set” chili recipe. Mine is new every time.

First, I browned two pounds of lean ground turkey with some garlic and a big chopped onion. I drained that and tossed it in the crock pot with a packet of Williams Chili Seasoning, tomato sauce, a little water, and some white corn and black bean salsa. Put it on low and let it simmer while I went to church.

When I came home, I threw this together:

I’m gonna get all Southern here for just a sec. Y’all, I pride myself on making excellent cornbread. Everyone who tries it says, “Damn! That is good!” and I say, “I told you I make good cornbread”. I’m only going to tell you my cornbread secrets this once.

1. Use real cast iron. My personal favorite cast iron skillet is the one pictured here. It’s by Emeril, and it has two handles.
2. I swear by Aunt Jemima cornmeal. There are no substitutes, really.
3. I use Aunt Jemima’s Golden Corn Bread recipe. In fact, just like at my parents did at their house, I’ve cut out the recipe from the bag of cornmeal and taped it to the side of the container in which I keep the cornmeal.
4. Put a lot of oil in your cast iron skillet. Put it on a burner on the stove. Get it really hot. Coat the whole pan with it. Pour your mixed-up corn bread batter into it. Let it sit a sec. Turn off the heat. Let it sit there and get crispy for a sec. Then put the thing in the oven. You’ll thank me.

I serve my chili with rice and my cornbread with real butter.

And look! There’s that beer again! So good. So very good.

Fall just makes me want to make meals like this! What are your favorite soups and stews to eat during the cooler weather?

One more thing! If you want to win something cool, go tell Lindsay @ Banana and Chocolate about your favorite childhood breakfast!