Three Little Pigs Soup

As the name suggests, this soup has three types of pork in it. Of course, you can eliminate one or two of them but I think you'd loose some of the depth this soup has. Its everything a soup should be: hearty, earthy, thick, and bursting with layers of flavor.

I had my sister and her main squeeze over for dinner and they agreed by helping themselves to seconds. This was a great way to use up the leftover christmas ham (check the blog because that recipe was FANTASTIC and blows the national ham chain out of the water) and get in some fiber and warm up on a cold Ohio December day.

I served this with a very delicious homemade cornbread (recipe on the blog also). This particular cornbread is a bit sweet (but not overly sweet) to balance the smokiness of the soup.

You're welcome in advance!

Three Little Piggies Soup

6 slices of bacon, coursely chopped

3 links of mild italian sausage, cut into bite size pieces (casing removed)

Ham, chopped into small pieces (I used leftover, equivalent of about 4-6 spiral slices)

1 small white onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 28oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 cans chicken broth (the normal size cans) I always use low sodium/low fat

1 chipotle pepper (with adobe sauce), chopped small

2 teaspoons cumin

3/4 teaspoons dried oregano

few dashes of smoked paprika

dash of dried minced onion

salt and pepper to taste

1) In a frying pan, cook the chopped bacon until it is crispy. Remove from the pan and put on a paper towel lined plate to remove excess grease. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the grease, discard the rest. 

2) In the reserved grease, add onion, garlic and italian sausage and cook until the sausage is done and the onions are not burnt.

3) Combine all the other ingredients into a stock pot and bring to a boil. Add in sausage/onion mixture and bacon.

4) Allow to boil for a short period of time, then reduce heat to medium low and allow soup to cook for 3-4 hours. Stir occasionally and adjust flavors as you see fit. I liked the smokiness that the adobe paste brought to the soup so I added a bit more while it was cooking. If you like less heat, remove the seeds from the pepper before adding it to the pot.

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Zucchini and Rice Skillet

Way back when I first stumbled upon the Pinterest world, I pinned a recipe that sparked some interest to me. Funny how when I look through all of my pins, how many of the food items I have yet to try.

This past week, I decided that I was going to add this into the mix. I changed up the originally recipe a bit because I was afraid that the original was going to lack a little flavor and would leave the stomach still wanting more. 

Our little family really enjoyed this dish. I especially liked that it was a one pot meal which meant less dishes for me!! It's really a win-win. I hope you enjoy it. I'd love to hear your feedback.

Zucchini, Beans and Beef Skillet

photo courtesy of this blog

1/2 pound beef

1 1/2 c. sliced zucchini, washed and cut in quarters
1/2 c. green bell pepper

1/2 c. red bell pepper

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 - 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes, diced (I used the kind seasoned with garlic) UNDRAINED

3/4 c. water

1 c . instant brown rice, uncooked

1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1) In a skillet on medium-high heat, dropped your ground beef into medium sized chunks and cook until cooked through.

2) Drain most of the grease (reserving 1-2 T of drippings in the pan) and add in onions, bell peppers, zucchini and garlic. Cook until veggies are a bit soft (just about 5 minutes).

3) Add beans, undrained tomatoes and water and turn heat on high and bring to a boil.

4) Add in uncooked rice. Stir well.

5) Cover and remove from heat and let stand for about 9 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
6) Garnish with cheddar cheese and serve. 

this recipe was adapted from this blog

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