Blame the Millennials or Kate Makes Tomato Soup

A couple weeks ago, several of my friends posted this link on Facebook. The TL:DR of it is, millennials are killing canned tuna. Sales are down about 40%. I'm pretty surprised at this. As one of my friends pointed out, this is cheap, filling protein, and it's reasonably good for you. You'd think a generation that doesn't have a lot of money for groceries would jump all over it.

Anyway, it got me in mind of tuna melts, and since it's cold and often dreary outside I decided I also should make tomato soup to up the comfort food quotient. I did my usual thing of reading a lot of different recipes and came up with the following:

• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes (these happen to be roasted, but it's not necessary)
• 3 strips of bacon
• 1 T unsalted butter (it's probably okay with salted, this is what I had in the fridge)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 generous teaspoon of dried thyme (in other words, don't level it) or 1 Tablespoon fresh
• 1 generous teaspoon of parsley (or 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh)
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon of salt. Keep some handy to add to your taste
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Keep some of this handy to taste as well
• 1 Tablespoon cream for serving (optional)

In a large pot (a 2-quart saucepan is probably doable, but it will be pretty tight. I used my largest pot), cook the bacon on low-to-medium-low heat until crispy. Remove the bacon and do with as you will. Eat it. Save it for tomorrow's eggs. Put it on a salad. I put mine in the tuna salad. 

Melt the butter in the pan on medium-low heat and stir in your onions. Cook until they are translucent, then stir in your herbs. When the herbs are evenly distributed, add your tomatoes, including the juice in the cans. Stir well. Slowly add the broth, and then bring to a low boil.

I originally simmered, partially covered, for about twenty minutes and then used my stick blender on the low setting to give it a slightly rough texture. Feel free to go all the way to velvety. I happen to like my tomato soup with small chunks in it.

Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle cream on top if desired. 

Twenty minutes of simmering wasn't enough, I determined later. It was merely okay. For my next serving the following day, I simmered for an hour with the lid off. The difference was amazing. 

I ran out of tuna (this melt had Gruyere on it and was eaten on top of a crumpet) before I ran out of soup, so to add some protein to the third meal, I chopped up some Jarlsberg to add while I ate. Provolone also works here.

For my next time, I think I'll add a bit of garlic and maybe some lemon zest, possibly some additional herbs. More research is needed.

How do you like your tomato soup?

In Which Kate Makes Things Take a Lot Longer

Hi friends, it's been way too long and I have a couple recipes to share this weekend, one from my friend Ny.

A friend posted today's recipe on Facebook. I don't use my Pinterest Page much, so I never would have come across this otherwise. 

I'm lucky. I no longer have to work two jobs to make ends meet. This means I have more time and resources, so I was able to adjust this recipe somewhat. Here's where I started:

• 3 chicken breasts
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 4-ounce can of green chiles (the author recommends El Paso. This is not a paid endorsement)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
• 1 Cup Monterey Jack Cheese

My ingredients list ended up a bit different, but the directions are the same. I doubled the recipe because this looked good enough to want to have again).

• 6 chicken breasts
• 6 cloves of chopped garlic (feel free to roast if you have time. I roasted because it gave the cream cheese time to soften up)
• 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
• 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese (I'm not getting paid to endorse this either, but you can probably guess the brand)
• 2 poblanos, diced
• 1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried cilantro (I never seem to run out of this, I think it reproduces in the herb & spice cabinet)
• Monterey Jack cheese

Since poblanos are pretty mild, I figured the chile powder and the jalapeno would kick it up a notch (thank you Emeril). The directions are easy. Note again that the cream cheese should be taken out of the fridge to soften a little while before you start or stirring will be a pain in the ass.

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. If you don't have an oven thermometer, please buy one. When we got a new one, I discovered our oven was 30 degrees colder than the temperature I set it to. No wonder the scones took so long.
2. In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper until well-combined. I skipped the salt & pepper. Cream cheese is pretty salty, and there was plenty of pepper in the chile powder. Stir in the chiles until evenly mixed.
3. Lay the chicken breasts flat in a baking dish--I put a little olive oil on the bottom. Cover with the chile mixture. I used two rubber scrapers for this.  Next, cover with Monterey Jack cheese. I confess I didn't measure the Jack, I just grated it over the baking dish until everything was covered.
4. Bake (uncovered) on middle rack for 35-45 minutes (meat thermometers are your friend)
5. Serve hot. The recipe recommends Spanish rice, potatoes, or greens. I went with black beans. 

I jazz up canned black beans as follows:

• 1 14-ounce can of black beans
• 1 14-ounce can low-sodium black beans
• 2 green onions chopped (dark and light green parts only)
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Juice of half a lime

Put all ingredients in a saucepan, stir well, simmer about 15 minutes or until hot.

I am firmly in the camp that black beans need a little acid to bring out their best flavor and I think that's why Nexx is so fond of them. More lime juice was definitely needed here. Nexx wanted more green onions. He says that about a lot of dishes that use them.

The chicken took about 45 minutes to reach 165 F. The Jack cheese was a beautiful golden brown:

The tortillas were very useful in scooping up cheese sauce that had escaped from under the crunch. I was very pleased with the recipe, though it is quite rich. I think more garlic next time and maybe a little more chile powder. I'd like a little more warmth to it.

Questions? Comments? Variations? Let me know!