Time to start writing some of this down!

In honor of my wonderful and complimentary boyfriend, I am going to try to start writing down some of the successful recipes that put together (if I remember them). The difficulty with this is that I never measure out amounts - key for replication. Don't judge me too much, I am not a chef by any means, just a girl who likes to play with her food. My recipes will definitely be my own version of semi-homemade. Nothing wrong with that right?

Those of you who have seen me cook, or have ever hung out with me and my mom in the kitchen, know that not only do I not measure as mentioned, but I don't use recipes either. I simply experiment with whatever things are in the house that might be about to go bad and ingredients hidden in the back of cabinets. The key for preparing great meals with miscellaneous ingredients is a well-stocked cabinet/fridge. I always have garlic, some sort of stock or plain canned soup, salad dressings and vinegars and usually a bottle of wine, white or red. The wine, of course, has to be something good enough to enjoy in the glass as well as in the food.

Anyway, without further explanation, here I go...

Tonight's meal: Veggie soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

It started like this... Brandon bought mini pasta shells at the grocery store and asked me what I would make them, I had no idea. I took the quickfire challenge (as they would say on Top Chef) but took the opportunity to ponder that question over a couple of days. Still nothing. The only think I knew is that the shells would be boring with just some ordinary sauce. It had to be thick, probably creamy. I don't like the idea of cooking with a lot of cream, so I was still at a loss.

Today I was take a look in the fridge and noticed that I had a chicken stock that needed to be used or it was going to go bad, that is when it hit me. Soup! Little shells are delicious in a minestrone soup and although I have never made it before, I had a vague idea of what might go into it. Here's how it ended up:

1/2 lb small pasta shells, boiled until al dente
1/2 medium sized white onion, cut into small chunks
Handful of baby carrots, cut into 1/4" pieces
1/4 head of cabbage (I used 10 brussel sprouts cut in half because I didn't have cabbage on hand)
1 tsp. of minced garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. butter
1 medium sized white potato, cut into 1/2" cubes (skin on)
1 large tomato concasse (boiled for 30 seconds to remove the skin) and cut into 1/4" pieces
32 oz. low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
sprinkle of cayenne pepper
1 small can Campbell's condensed tomato soup (+1 can filled with water)
1/2 small can of Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom soup (do not add water)

Sautee garlic, onion and carrots in olive oil until onion is translucent making sure not to burn the garlic, stirring often. Add spices, potatoes, tomato and butter, continue to sautee making sure to not let the potatoes stick to the bottom too much, about 10-15 minutes. While this is cooking, drop tomato (x-cut on the bottom) into boiling water for 30 seconds, then skin the tomato. Drain the water, start new batch of water to boil for the pasta.

Cut up the tomato and cabbage add to the pot, letting them incorporate with the other veggies in the pot, about 5 minutes. Add all the chicken stock and bring up to a low boil. Once boiling, add tomato soup and can filled up with water and the cream of mushroom. Stir the pot and make sure all the liquids are incorporated together. cover the pot and bring back up to a boil over a low flame.

Once pasta is done, drain and add very small amount of butter to keep pasta from sticking together and set aside. Add pasta to the soup once ready to serve. Pasta will cook a little bit more in the soup, which is why you don't want to add it in too early.

After 30 minutes at a simmer, taste the soup and adjust any seasonings if necessary.

When ready to serve, put soup (now incorporated with the pasta shells) into a bowl and top with a couple of croutons or pita chip crumbs (the really small pieces you can't use for dipping). I used the Italian style pita chips which added a really nice depth of flavor to the soup. Serve with a cross-cut grilled cheese sandwich on the side for dipping. Tonight I used cheddar cheese and provolone, but almost any cheese would do. I would not suggest using American/processed cheese, opting for something with a sharper flavor to complement the richness of the soup.