Tuscan White Bean Soup

Ingredients:

2 Slices Bacon (1 diced 1 whole)

1 Shallot diced

¼ cup white Onion (use more shallot or whatever you like, this is just what I had on hand)

2 celery stocks diced

4 Cloves of Garlic diced

Salt/Pepper

4 Carrots diced

2 qts – reduced sodium Chicken Broth

Italian Seasoning

Red Chili Flakes

2 bay leaves

4 fresh basil leaves

2 cans – White

2 can Cannellini beans (white kidney beans)

1/3 container – Swanson's Cream Starter (optional)

Al Fresco - Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage (or any sausage you prefer but I highly recommend this kind)

3 cups roughly chopped spinach

Take one slice of bacon and diced up, sauté it in large stock pot with the following, adding and stirring each as you go, so they cook the right amount of time (I honestly just dice as I go), add diced shallot, white onion, celery, garlic, salt/pepper and 2 of the carrots, sauté until soft and browning slightly. Add in the 2 qts of Chicken Broth, Italian seasoning, 1 basil leaf diced, 2 bay leaves and Red Chili flakes, cook at a gentle boil for a few minutes, add one can Cannellini beans, cook for 5-10 minutes until everything is soft and tender.  

Remove bay leaves. Transfer soup to a large bowl. Add 1/3 of the soup at a time to the blender and blend until smooth. As batches are blended, return to big stock pot, continue cooking at a gentle boil. Add in the cream starter (not sure this was needed), stir until well combined. Add 2^nd can of Cannellini beans.

In a separate sauté pan, add the 2^nd slice of bacon whole, and the chicken sausage chopped up.  Brown the chicken sausage slightly, then add just the sausage to the soup. Finish cooking remaining slice of bacon, reserve for garnish. Add the remaining 2 carrots diced to the soup. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, once it’s all done, add in the fresh basil chopped, the spinach roughly chopped. Remove from heat. 

Garnish with the 2^nd slice of bacon (or just eat it), and a little parmesan.  Serve with bread if desired – we had it with Rosemary Seasalt bread from Safeway – SO GOOD!

ENJOY! 

Ps. This was really an experiment and a combination of lots of different recipes online and a little of my crazy creative vision, but really came together into a lovely hearty soup my whole family loved! Adding it to our staples! Really inexpensive and comes together in about 1-1.5 hours depending on your speed at prep-work. Let me know what you think! 

Simple Baked Chicken Recipe

I started making this a few months ago, and am constantly surprised how frequently people ask me for this super simple recipe. So here it is! All it takes two skinless chicken breasts, panko, eggs, olive oil and some seasonings. THATS IT! A simple delicious recipe that's always a hit with my family. Most importantly my 3 year old!

Step one: Preheat your oven to 350 with an empty glass/ceramic baking dish inside: 

 Take your two chicken breasts, trim off any fat & funky bits you don't want, then starting at the skinny end, slice it lengthwise so you get a nice even thin slice of chicken:

 Then slice them in smaller pieces so they are easy to work with, and portion out to your family. Two chicken breasts is perfect for my husband, daughter and myself. Actually surprises me how much we get out of these two small breasts!

 Pick whichever seasonings you like, I change it up now and again, but my families favorite is this blend of curry, garlic and lemon. Plus salt and pepper of course. But lots of combos work well, you can do italian seasoning, and even some shredded Italian cheese in the bread crumbs, or do it Mexican flavors, its pretty versatile! 

 Generously season your panko bread crumbs and eggs. I don't know if people usually season both, but I find it really helps! *Please note this is one egg, and about a cup of breadcrumbs. I could have used another 1/2 cup of bread crumbs to thoroughly coat the pieces but its what I had, and it worked out fine.  

On Medium heat, heat your large non-stick skillet, with a generous amount of olive oil. 

 It seems like a lot, but it really helps the panko brown up quickly before it goes into the oven, without over cooking your chicken on the inside. Since they are thin pieces, they cook pretty darn fast. 

Next do the typical egg, then breadcrumb dip onto the pieces. If you have fatter pieces (we are not all super great at knife work) then do those first so they can cook the longest. 

 Once you get them all in the pan let them cook til you can see golden brown edges and the chicken is turning white, almost to the halfway point.  

 These are not my best, but they worked well, flip them over, add a tiny bit more olive oil if necessary. You'll know pretty quickly if you need more olive oil, if your panko isn't browning and looks dry, add a tiny bit more. 

 Once they are nice and brown on each side, move them to the baking dish dish in the oven, and finish them in there. (I've also done this recipe in my cast iron) Takes about 5-10 minutes. I actually never time it, just finish the rest of my sidedishes, and when they are done, I take the chicken out.

 They have never been raw or overcooked, there's something magic about this recipe, its nearly fool-proof!

 Plate 3 pieces for the adults

  One for the tiny child, diced up for easy consumption.... 

Voila! Everyone is happy, and it was EASY PEASY! 

Try it tonight, its so simple you'll wish you'd found it before!

ENJOY!