Hearty Minestrone

Hearty Minestrone
makes 8 generous servings
1 can chick peas drained and rinsed
1 can red beans drained and rinsed
1 can italian style stewed tomatoes
3 carrots diced
2 ribs celery diced
1 small onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 zucchini diced
about 1 c cherry tomatoes
1/2 green pepper diced
1 t dried oregano
1 T kosher salt
1/2 t ground black pepper
8 c water OR chicken stock OR equivalent (aka Better than Bullion)
1 c V8 vegetable juice
2 T olive oil
4 oz cooked ditalini pasta

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium high heat.  Once hot add the onions, carrots & celery.  Sautee vegetables for 5 minutes until the onion is translucent.  Add garlic, stir well and sautee 1-2 minutes longer.  Once garlic is very fragrant  just before it starts to brown, add the tomatoes, juice & all.  Stir well to get the garlic up off the bottom of the pan.  Add everything else and bring up to a boil.  Once it boils reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 1 hour.  Taste for season before serving, adjust salt & pepper if needed.  When ready to serve place a small portion of cooked ditalini or other small shape pasta in the bowl and ladle the soup over top.  Garnish with grated parmesean cheese if desired.



Nutrition Facts calculated at Spark People recipe calculator 8 Servings Amount Per Serving Calories 188.3 Total Fat 4.5 g Saturated Fat 0.5 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g Monounsaturated Fat 2.6 g Cholesterol 0.0 mg Sodium 1,029.1 mg Potassium 491.5 mg Total Carbohydrate 31.9 g Dietary Fiber 5.8 g Sugars 4.3 g Protein 6.8 g

Pasta e Fagioli

 I'm going to date myself for a moment;  I remember when the first Olive Garden came to our town, close to 25 years ago!  I had never heard of it, but the food looked amazing on the commercials, so upscale and different than anything our town had to offer.  We went there shortly after opening and I had pasta e fagioli soup for the first time.  The menu described it as Italian chili, I figured how could it be bad and ordered a bowl.  It's been my all time favorite Olive Garden soup ever since.  Every time we go there I look forward to the soup.  The few times I've gotten salad instead of soup, I regret it every time.  Oh sure, the salad IS delicious, but the pasta e fagioli...I love it!  Tomato broth, loaded with beans and pasta tubes, lightly seasoned but so very flavorful.  It's really just so good!  And yet I never tried to make it at home.  Until now!

Knowing that I wanted Olive Garden pasta e fagioli I decided to just search for a recipe online rather than try to recreate it from memory.  Sadly it's been years since I've enjoyed the soup at the restaurant - so a recipe was in order.  Todd Wilbur of Top Secret Recipes usually does a pretty darn good job of imitating the original restaurant recipes.  A quick look through the ingredients list and I knew this was the recipe for me.   It had the veggies that are in the soup and most importantly of all (in this Witches' opinion) he used the correct pasta.  So many recipes out there call for shells or elbows, all fine substitutions but come on, if you're  recreating the recipe use the right pasta for crying out loud!  The recipe is very easy and pantry friendly, I had everything on hand except the V-8.  No problem, a quick trip to the store fixed that and we were on our way to pasta e fagioli heaven!

What can I say?  This soup is every bit as good as the Olive Garden's.  Better, actually, because I know what I put in it.  It's perfect on chilly fall days, paired with traditional breadsticks and salad it makes a great meal.  The entire family loved this soup.  So much that I made a second pot 3 days later for us to eat for lunches.   Pasta e fagioli is a budget friendly, kid friendly, yummy and easy to put together meal that the entire family will enjoy.  I hope you make a pot of it soon!

Pasta e Fagioli
makes 8 generous servings
source:  Olive Garden, Top Secret Recipes
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion diced fine (1 cup)
3 stalks celery chopped (1 cup)
3 carrots grated (1 cup)
3 cloves garlic minced fine
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
12 oz V-8 vegetable juice blend
1 T white wine vinegar
1 can cannolini beans (white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 t dried oregano
.5 t dried thyme
1 T  kosher salt OR 1.5 t table salt
2 cans water (I use the tomato sauce and diced tomato cans, that way I rinse out the tomato residue into my soup)
1/2 lb (1/2 box) ditalini pasta (short round tubes)

In a large dutch oven or soup pot brown the beef.  Drain off any excess fat.  Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic.  Sautee about 10 minutes or until the veggies are starting to soften.  Add everything EXCEPT the pasta to the pot.  Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 1 hour, stirring 2-3 times during the cooking process.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and reserve.

Put about 1/3 c cooked pasta in each bowl and ladle hot soup over top.  Serve with grated cheese if desired.

Nutrition Facts calculated at SparkPeople recipe calculator 8 Servings Amount Per Serving Calories 369.0 Total Fat 12.7 g Saturated Fat 4.8 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.7 g Monounsaturated Fat 5.2 g Cholesterol 42.5 mg Sodium 599.0 mg Potassium 872.9 mg Total Carbohydrate 45.2 g Dietary Fiber 7.3 g Sugars 6.5 g Protein 19.7 g

Chicken Pot Pie

 Is there anything that ranks higher on the comfort food meter than a pot pie?  I didn't think so.  Pot pie is really one of my favorite dishes of all time.  Sure it's basically a chicken soup or beef stew in a crust, but man, something happens to that soup or stew when you add pastry.  It changes from ho hum, albeit delicious, to holy hell that's GOOD stuff!  Just ask anyone, I can pretty much guarantee you that pot pie is a comfort king amongst your friends and families.  Now imagine what a rock star you'll appear to be to those pot pie lovers when you present this fresh baked, home cooked, pure deliciousness of a pie.  And best of all, it's really not that hard to do!

Being a Kitchen Witch, I make my own pie dough.  The food processor makes quick work of it and it's always tasty and delicious.  If you aren't a pastry maker feel free to use refrigerated pie crust, it comes in a red box and you unfold the sheets of pastry and put it into your own pie pan.  If you don't have a pie pan (and that's OK!) get a frozen pie shell for the bottom and use the boxed pastry for the top crust.  Pie plate problem solved!   Look for refrigerated pie crust by the eggs & cheese, that's where it is in my store.

The Witch uses chicken thighs in her pot pie, it makes a richer more flavorful gravy and I like the flavor of dark meat better.  If you like white meat you can use breast meat, however the flavor won't be as rich.  Breast meat is also a lot harder to shred, so you may have to cut it into cubes.  No matter, it'll still be delicious, regardless of the type of chicken you choose to use.  I added a few green beans to this pot pie, they were on sale this week and their bright green pop of color was nice in an otherwise golden pie.  Frozen or fresh peas could be used instead.  As always, add or subtract the veggies based on what your family likes, but a mix of carrots, celery, onion, potato and either bean or peas can't be beat!

Chicken Pot Pie
makes 8 servings, 1 slice each
For Chicken stew filling
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts (thighs will be a LOT more flavorful)
2 carrots, sliced into rounds
2 ribs celery, sliced
1/2 medium onion fine mince
2 cloves garlic, diced fine
1 russet potato, peeled and diced into 1/4 in chunks
about 10 green beans sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 t dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 T butter
kosher salt & pepper to taste (about 1.5t salt and 1/4 t pepper)
EITHER 1 t Better than Bullion chicken flavor OR 1 chicken bullion cube OR 1 can chicken broth
6 cups water * if using chicken broth then reduce to 4 cups water
2T corn starch
1 egg for eggwash

For Crust:
4T very cold butter cut into cubes
4T vegetable shortening
2.5 cups flour
1.5 t kosher salt
1/2 c (give or take 2T) ice water

Make crust first by combining flour, salt and fats into a food processor bowl.  Pulse 4 times to cut fat into flour.  Add 1/3 c water, pulse 2-3 times and test to see if it can form a ball by squeezing dough together.  If not add more water, 1T at a time, until dough will stay together when squeezed.

Divide dough into 2 sections, one slightly larger than the other.  Form dough into a disc about 3/4 inch thick and wrap both in plastic wrap.  Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour before rolling out.

Make chicken stew next.  Heat a medium size pan over medium high heat and melt butter.  Once it stops foaming add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic.  Sautee for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and other veggies are starting to soften slightly.  Add the chicken, herbs, salt & pepper and water.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes.

Remove the chicken and the bay leaf from the cooking liquid and allow to cool (discard bay leaf).  Add the potatoes to the cooking liquid and cook for 10 minutes.  Potatoes will not be fully cooked.  Thicken the sauce with the cornstarch dissolved into 2T water, making a slurry, add the slurry to the stew stirring well.  Increase heat to a rapid simmer and gravy will begin to thicken considerably.  You want this pretty thick, a lot thicker than normal gravy, so it doesn't just run out of your pot pie.   Once chicken is cool shred it and remove any fat and gristle.  Add chicken and cut green beans to the stew and stir to coat everything.  Turn heat off and set aside.

Roll dough out using the slightly larger disc for the bottom crust.  Place bottom crust into a pie pan and dock (poke with a fork) the bottom and sides slightly to release air while baking.  Fill the crust with the stew.  Roll out remaining disc of dough to make top crust.  Crimp the edges together well.  Brush top with eggwash and cut a few slits in the top dough to release steam.  Place pot pie on a baking sheet (to catch any drips) and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 45-60 minutes, or until pie is golden browned and gravy is bubbling through the vent slits.  Allow pie to cool for 15 minutes before slicing and enjoying!

Nutrition Facts calculated at SparkPeople recipe calculator Amount Per Serving Calories 349.9 Total Fat 16.0 g Saturated Fat 6.8 g Polyunsaturated Fat 3.9 g Monounsaturated Fat 4.1 g Cholesterol 67.5 mg Sodium 787.7 mg Potassium 449.9 mg Total Carbohydrate 37.2 g Dietary Fiber 2.9 g Sugars 1.3 g Protein 13.6 g

Carrot Spice cake and cream cheese icing

I made this cake a few weeks ago but have hesitated on blogging about it for 2 reasons:

#1 The icing didn't turn out right, I didn't have enough powdered sugar to really make it a true icing, it was more of a glaze

#2 The photos aren't too good either, partly because I was very VERY tired of cooking and photography this day (I cooked and photographed 5 new dishes!) and, well, see #1

After a week or so, I decided to just post the cake, ugly pictures and all, as the cake itself was very very good. Its incredibly moist, the last slices were just as moist and delicious as the 1st ones were. The ample amount of spices and bright color make this a delightful treat on cold end of winter days.

I created this recipe because my daughter requested carrot cake. Well, she actually asked me to make her chocolate chip cookies, but we were out of chocolate chips. So she then asked "What about carrot cake Mom?" I was a little shocked and surprised, she's never asked for carrot cake before, heck she's not had carrot cake since she was 1 and even then she didn't eat it!! What kind of a mom would deny my little Witch a carrot cake??? After all, its got veggies in it, its practically health food!

I did some research on carrot cake, most call for an unholy amount of oil. I halved the oil, added a can of crushed pineapples and added reconstituted raisins, all of which helped keep the cake super moist and keep it on this side of healthy. A bit of whole wheat flour added a bit more fiber, and its texture was completely unnoticeable in the cake.



The recipe makes 3 eight (8) cakes, so you have a nice, tall layer cake. I don't think I'd try it in a bundt pan, its too dense and I'm pretty sure the outside would burn before the inside was finished cooking.

Carrot Spice Cake
makes 12 servings
3 cups shredded carrots (about 5 large)
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple in its own juice, drained well
1 c. raisins, plumped
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c oil
juice and zest of 1 orange
1 cup flaked coconut
1 T vanilla
2 t cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
pinch cloves
pinch fresh ground nutmeg
1 t salt
2 t baking soda
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Cream Cheese icing
8 oz cream cheese (1 block) or Neufchatel cheese (low fat cream cheese)
4 cups confectioners sugar
2 T butter
1 t vanilla
1 t lemon juice

Cake batter assembly: This can be done with a mixer or by hand
In a large work bowl combine the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and lemon & orange juices, mix well until throughly combined and smooth. Add orange zest, carrots, pineapple, coconut and raisins. Mix until combined, this will be lumpy.

Mix dry ingredients together, including spices. Add dry ingredients to the wet in 3 installments, stirring in each round until flour is no longer visible but you don't want to over mix this, so don't go overboard. If using a stand mixer I'd go about 4-5 seconds on a 3-4 speed, scrape down sides, add the next round of dry good, mix 5 seconds, scrape, add last round of dry and mix 5-7 seconds longer.

Prep 3 8 inch round cake pans by spraying with non stick spray and lining bottoms with parchment rounds. If you don't have parchment you can use aluminium foil, I did and it worked fine! If you need details on how to make a parchment round for you cake pans send me a comment & I'll let you know how its done :)



Distribute batter evenly among the 3 pans. Bake at 350* for 35 to 40 minute, or until cake tests clean in center. Run a knife along the edge of cake and allow to cool about 30 minutes before inverting out of pan. Once cakes are fully cooled you can frost the cake.

Isn't it UGLY?? Good thing it tasted good :)


Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople Recipe Calculator
12 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 505.9
Total Fat 16.9 g
Saturated Fat 5.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 7.1 g
Cholesterol 49.8 mg
Sodium 528.5 mg
Potassium 304.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 83.6 g
Dietary Fiber 3.5 g
Sugars 42.8 g
Protein 7.3 g