Turkey -er Chicken Corn Soup

I love love LOVED the soup! Or let me say, we love love loved the soup. Lets see what did I do differently? I could not find turkey thighs so I used chicken thighs-no problem that was still good although I am anxious to make this again with the turkey. I used frozen corn, black beans, and I added some avocado on top with the sour cream and cheese. It was so good, I froze the leftovers and I can't wait to get it them out again but I am making myself wait!

The peanut butter bread looked so beautiful when it came out of the oven, nice and golden. It was also very moist. If I make it again I would probably not use Adam's peanut butter I might use something like skippy. Thank You Nikki!

Yourvarlakia Avgolemono and Herb Drop Biscuits

Hey ladies, here is a soup and a bread. I have made them both several times.

I do not recommend them together, but they are both so yummy (and the biscuits are so easy) that I really wanted to share each of them. Good luck! Let me know what you think.

N.B. These are not MY recipes. I didn't invent them, can't take the credit. One is from a cookbook by Tess Mallos and the other from Martha Stewart.

Meatball Soup (Yourvarlakia Avgolemono), from Cyprus

1 lb finely ground lamb

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup medium-grain rice

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp finely chopped fresh mint, optional

salt

freshly ground black pepper

all-purpose flour for coating

5 cups lamb or chicken stock

1 Tbsp butter

2 eggs

juice of 1 lemon

chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

crusty bread for serving

In a bowl, mix lamb with onion, egg, rice, parsley, mint (if using), and salt and pepper to taste. Shape into meatballs the size of a small walnut and coat lightly with flour.

Bring stock to a boil in a soup pot, season with salt and pepper if necessary and drop in meatballs. Add butter. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

In a bowl, beat eggs until light and foamy. Gradually beat in lemon juice. Slowly add about 2 cups simmering stock, beating constantly.

Pour egg mixture into soup and stir constantly over low heat for 2 minutes to cook egg, then remove from heat and stir for 1 minute longer so the heat of the pot will not cause the egg to curdle.

Ladle soup into deep soup bowls and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with bread.

Herb Drop Biscuits

Makes 8; Prep time 5 minutes; Total time 25 minutes

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter

-->1. Preheat oven to 425°. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, fresh chives, baking powder, and salt. Using a fork or your fingers, work in butter (cut into small pieces) until small pea-size clumps form. Mix in milk until the mixture comes together as a sticky dough. -->2. Using a 1/3-cup measure, drop 8 mounds of dough onto a nonstick baking sheet; pat down slightly.
-->3. Bake until biscuits are golden brown, rotating baking sheet halfway through, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Peanut Butter Bread (Severns)

Well, I'll start with my first confession... I have not made the soup. With Thanksgiving coming up I know we will have lots and lots of leftover turkey so I am saving this recipe for then. And we all know that by the weekend after Thanksgiving everyone will be hoping for some lighter meals - this is when I'll make the yummy soup!
Andy & I made the peanut butter bread last night; I was finishing up dinner prep he came in and we sort of tag-teamed getting the batter into the oven so it would be ready when we were done with dinner. My final confession is that I didn't care too much for the bread... now that said I'll add that while I am a peanut butter fan, I don't care for peanut butter cookies or anything like that. The kids really liked the bread and Andy did also, he wished it had more peanut butter. I thought the bread might be better this morning after sitting over night but I didn't notice much difference. I confirmed my suspicion that the bread was a lot better with a couple chocolate chips thrown in with each bit and chased with coffee! I think next time we make it I'll add more peanut butter for my man!

Sunday Night Dinner

Last night I made the Turkey Corn Soup and Carrie's Parent Tot Bread. It was so nice to have dinner ready by 11am! I really like the whole crock pot idea - especially as a weeknight option. I used turkey breasts instead of thighs and browned them and the onions before putting them in the pot. I also added black beans and diced tomatoes. The soup turned out to be colorful and delicious. The tomatillo salsa definitely added a kick. It was a little on the spicy side for me, but with the sour cream to tone it down, it was perfect. And I loved the Parent Tot Bread! Pulling those golden brown rolls out of the oven was so exciting, and they tasted great. They definitely made my bread-making skills look a lot better than they are. I look forward to trying the Peanut Butter Bread soon. Thanks for the great recipes Nikki and Carrie!