My inspirations for weelicious recipes come from a lot of different places. For some, they’re simply based on a food I see at our farmers’ market, for others it can be a dish I love from a restaurant or a food memory I had as a kid that I now find myself craving (and possibly want to make a bit healthier). In the case of this Summer Fruit Gazpacho, my muses were the mint growing wild in our garden and all of the naturally sweet fruits sitting on our kitchen counter that I was afraid would spoil. Traditional gazpacho is a cold soup made with tomatoes and other vegetables. This version is completely different, but I wanted to call it a gazpacho because I love the idea of a cold soup during these hot summer months and truthfully….I just dig the word “gazpacho”!

The morning after I made it and let it chill overnight, the kids and I sat on the kitchen floor armed with three spoons and an enormous bowl of this refreshing, sweet soup. There’s only one word to explain what happened at our impromptu picnic we tried the first refreshing spoonful: de-voured. We finished the whole batch before the day was over.

Soup for breakfast you might ask? After taking your first taste of this one, it won’t seem at all strange to eat in the morning or any time of day you want to serve it. Especially when it’s a nutritious as this!

Summer Fruit Gazpacho (Serves 4)

6 Cups Cantaloupe, peeled & seeded, cut into chunks
1 Tbsp Fresh Mint, chiffonade
1 Cup Strawberries, stemmed & quartered
1 Peach, seeded & diced
1/2 Cup Blueberries
1/2 Cup Yogurt
1 Tbsp Honey

1. Place cantaloupe chunks into a food processor and puree.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the mint, strawberries, peach, and blueberries.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the yogurt and honey.
4. Evenly divide the cantaloupe puree into small bowls, top with mixed fruit and add a dollop of the honey yogurt sauce on top.
5. Serve.

* If you want to make this dish vegan, replace the yogurt and honey with soy yogurt and agave

For someone who loves to cook as much as I do, there are days, plenty of them in fact, where I just want a delicious dinner to appear before my eyes, requiring as little work as possible. This Chicken Tortilla Soup is that answer to my prayers. With just a little bit of effort on my part, I’m able to get this flavorful soup on the table for my family without spending hours in the kitchen preparing it.

And who doesn’t like tortilla chips? When I put Kenya and Chloe’s bowls in front of them with some tortilla chips on the side, their eyes light up. They love that I let them use their hands to break up the chips to sprinkle on top of the soup and then stir them in, making dinner not only an interactive experience, but a super fun one at that!

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Serves 4-6)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
1 Tsp Salt
1 Green Bell Pepper or Red Bell Pepper, diced
1 Garlic clove, minced
1 Tsp Cumin Powder
1 32 oz Box Chicken Broth
1 Bay Leaf
1 1/2 Cups Frozen Corn Kernels
1 15 oz Can Tomato, diced
1 Lb Chicken Breast, boneless and skinless
Juice of 1 Lime
Crushed Tortilla Chips

Accompaniments: Shredded Monterey Jack, Mexican Cheese Blend, Avocado, Sour Cream, Cilantro, Green Onion, diced

1. In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil and sauté the onions and salt for 3 minutes.
2. Add the bell peppers, garlic clove and cumin and sauté for an additional 2 minutes.
3. Add the broth and remaining ingredients (except for the lime juice & tortilla chips). Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
4. After 10-15 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken breasts) remove the chicken from the pot and shred, using a fork. Place the shredded chicken back into the pot with the lime juice and simmer for another 3-4 minutes or until chicken is heated though.
5. Remove bay leaf, pour soup into bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips for everyone to stir in on their own. Serve with desired toppings on the side.

I was supposed to get this recipe up for you on Saturday, so apologies to all who were waiting for it. This Four Bean Chili Baked Potato is the last installment in my latest 5-in-1 recipe plan. I’m all about recipes that take as little work as possible, especially when friends are coming over. Call me lazy, call me simple, call me whatever you want, but at the end of the day, when I finally get some time to play, I just want to have some fun and not worry about what’s happening in the kitchen. Now that I’ve got leftover chili from Super Bowl in the fridge, I know that all I have to do tonight is pop some potatoes in the oven to bake and then top them off with the chili and our favorite accompaniments. I’m a seriously happy mama!

Four Bean Chili Baked Potato (Serves 4 )

4 Russet Potatoes, rinsed
2 Cups Four Bean Chili

Accompaniments: Sour Cream, Chives, Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Using a fork, poke a few holes on the sides of the potatoes (so they don’t explode in the oven!) and bake for 50 minutes.
3. Slice potatoes in half and top with chili.
4. Serve with desired accompaniments.

Super Bowl is here and so is the stress of feeding a huge crowd of people coming over to your house to watch the game. Who wants to be in the kitchen catering to everyone’s needs when there are so many awesome commercials to watch — oh yeah, of course there’s the football game, too!

This leads me to the reason you have to make this super easy chili this weekend. Besides the fact that the adults will adore it, your kids will have a ball adorning their chili bowls with tons of accompaniments. Kenya usually covers his with so much shredded cheese you can’t tell there’s chili under the surface, but he devours it all nevertheless. Make this recipe the night before the game or early in the morning, and all you have to do when everyone shows up is hang out and enjoy the fun!

Four Bean Chili (Serves 8-10)

2 Tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil, divided
1 Large Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Lb Lean Ground Beef
1-15 Oz Can White Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Pinto Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1-28 Oz Can Chopped Tomatoes with Juice
2-15 Oz Cans Tomato Juice
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Cumin
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tsp Salt

Accompaniments: Sour Cream, Yogurt, Grated Cheddar Cheese, Scallions, Hot Sauce (if you want to take it up a notch)

1. In a sauté pan over medium heat place 1 tbsp of oil and sauté onions for 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté another minute until the onions start to caramelize, then remove and place in a crock pot.
2. In the same sauté pan, add another tbsp of oil and sauté the ground beef for 5 minutes, breaking down the beef with a wooden spoon until it’s cooked through and most of its juice has evaporated.
3. Add the cooked beef and the remaining ingredients to the crock pot and stir to combine.
4. Cover and cook the chili on low for 8 hours.
5. Top with desired accompaniments and serve.

If you follow weelicious with any regularity, you know that I have a very intimate relationship with my crock pot — it’s like my best friend. Coming back after the holiday, with school starting back up, endlessly busy schedules to juggle and so on, my crock pot has been my salvation for getting hearty foods that everyone wants to eat made easily. A vendor at our local farmer’s market offers the most beautiful assortment of beans, and since black beans are one of our family favorites and cook beautifully in the crock pot, I buy them from him all of the time. Packed with protein and dietary fiber, black beans make for a filling, inexpensive and nutritious vegetarian meal that everyone can enjoy.

I really loved making this soup with my kids, because, like me, they love using the crock pot. But the real fun for them started when it was time to puree everything. Kenya, being an incredibly curious, almost 4 year-old boy who loves anything with a motor, was totally game to help me out with the hand-blender. As he gripped it and pressed the power button, he was enthralled as he made the beans transform into a creamy, rich soup. But if it was fun for me to witness the blast Kenya had, watching Chloe drink three helpings straight out of her bowl ensured that this soup will be in our regular mealtime rotation!

Crock Pot Black Bean Soup (Serves 6)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 Cups Dried Black Beans, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
1 32 oz Chicken Broth or Vegetable Stock, low sodium
1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tsp Kosher Salt
1 Cup Water

Accompaniments: Yogurt, Sour Cream, Crème Fraiche

1. Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and sauté onions for 4 minutes.
2. Add chopped garlic and sauté an additional minute.
3. Place the onion garlic mixture into the crock pot along with the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.
4. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
5. Using either a hand blender or traditional blender, puree the ingredients to your desired texture (I like to get it so a few pieces of beans are still visible so the soup is thick and still has a bit of texture).
6. Top with a dollop of yogurt, sour cream or crème fraiche.
7. Serve.

It’s been cold, rainy and — thankfully — really quiet here after the holidays, which means there’s plenty of time for me to make warm soup to fill everyone’s belly. Even though I’ve been in less of a rush than usual, that doesn’t mean I’m not looking for ways to make life easier for myself in the kitchen. So, time once again to break out my crock pot! All I do is toss in some lentils, a few herbs and a mix of vegetables from the farmer’s market and serve it with a dollop of herbed goat cheese on top, which the kids love swirling in to their soup. This recipe makes enough so that I can freeze half for cold, lazy nights when I don’t have any time to cook — which I anticipate happening quite a bit once school starts up again!

Crock Pot Lentil Veggie Stew (Serves 8-10)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Large Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 Leeks, chopped (use only the white and light green part of the leek)
2 Large Carrots, chopped
3 Celery Stalks, chopped
2 Bay Leaves
1 Tbsp Fresh OR 1 Tsp Dried Thyme
2 Tsp Kosher Salt
8 Cups Vegetable Stock (you could also use chicken stock)
1 32 Oz Can Chopped Tomatoes with juice
16 Oz Dried Lentils
2 Cups Kale or Swiss Chard, chopped

Accompaniments: plain yogurt, herbed goat cheese, feta cheese, crème fraiche or Parmesan cheese

1. Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook the onions for 4 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.
3. Place the onion mixture with the remaining ingredients in a crock pot and stir.
4. Cover and cook the lentils on high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 8 hours or until lentils are tender.
5. Top with desired accompaniment and serve.

* You can also place all of the ingredients in a large pot over low to medium heat and cover for 90 minutes or until tender.

It’s cold and flu season and tons of people I know are sick right now. Besides a trip to the doctor and a lot of bed rest, there’s sadly very little that will actually make you feel better. Thank goodness Hanukkah is here to remind me of the perfect medicinal treat that you can make at home. Chicken soup is called Jewish Penicillin for good reason. A nice sized bowl has been known to relieve cold and flu symptoms. Now throw in some matzah balls and that will make you feel better and put a smile on your face.

I made a big batch of Matzah Ball Soup for the kids yesterday with some of the Chicken Stock I posted yesterday and they were totally into it. Traditionally, matzah balls can be gargantuan, so you can only imagine how big they look to a little kid. To avoid intimidating my little ones with basketball-sized matzah balls in their bowls, I rolled mine into little spheres, making them perfect for tiny mouths to eat. And these matzah balls are light and airy, so even when you’re feeing under the weather, this nutritious soup won’t weigh you down!

Matzah Ball Soup (Serves 6)

4 Large Eggs, whisked
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1/4 Cup Seltzer, Club Soda or Sparkling Water
1 Cup Matzah Meal
1/2 Tsp Salt
6 Cups Chicken Stock

Accompaniments: cooked chicken, carrots and/or celery

1. To make the matzah balls, place the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined.
2. Cover the matzah mixture and refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled.
3. With wet/damp hands, roll matzah balls using about 1 tsp of the mixture for each ball.
4. Place the matzah balls in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until the balls are soft and fluffy.
5. Warm the chicken stock in a separate pot and add the matzah balls and add accompaniments, if desired.
6. Serve.

After almost a full week of cooking turkey for family, friends and the kids, I was more than ready to move on to something new, but not before I made a delicious Turkey Noodle Soup with the last remaining bits of turkey in the fridge. The kids aren’t really used to soup, so I was happy to see how much they loved it, devouring the whole batch in just two days. Now, with Hanukkah just around the corner, I have Matzoh Ball Soup on the brain and it got me thinking that I don’t have a good Chicken Stock recipe on weelicious. The bonus of this recipe is that you get soup AND fresh cooked chicken out of it, which I put to good use all week in Mac, Chicken and Cheese Bites and Chicken, Bean & Cheese Quesadillas.

Whether you need chicken stock to make Chicken Pot Pie, Risotto Milanese, White Chicken Chili or another favorite recipe of yours that calls for it, this clean, fresh tasting stock is great to have on hand. And with some light seasoning, it’s even wonderful to eat on its own. Especially at this time of year when it seems like everyone around you is getting sick, a good chicken stock, with its medicinal properties, is something you want to make sure is always on standby in your fridge or freezer.

Homemade Chicken Stock (Makes 12 Cups)

1 – 4.5 lb Whole Chicken, washed
20 Cups Water
3 Celery Stalks, chopped
3 Carrots, chopped
1 Large Onion, chopped
2 Bay Leaves
8 Fresh Thyme Sprigs
8 Parsley Stems
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Place all the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
2. Simmer for a minimum of one hour or up to two hours (the flavor gets better the longer you simmer it).
3. While simmering the stock, periodically use a spoon to skim off all the impurities that rise to the top.
4. After the stock has cooked, take the whole chicken out of the pot (if simmering the stock for 2 hours, remove the chicken after the first hour, take the meat off of the bones and set aside. Return bones to the pot and continue cooking for another hour). Strain the stock into a container and allow it to come to room temperature.* You can shred the chicken to use for other recipes or just eat on its own.
5. Store in the fridge over night.
6. The next day, remove solidified fat from the top.
7. Store stock in fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months. **

*You can use the stock at this point or you can continue with the steps for storing.

** To Freeze: Place stock in a freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag, label and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to use, simply defrost.

This is one of my tried and true recipes that I’ve been making for years but for some reason never thought to put on weelicious. Long before I was married or had kids, when my best friend and I were living together, this soup was in my weekly recipe rotation. Like many kids who shun their veggies, my friend was hard to cook for, but she absolutely loved this naturally sweet soup.

Preparation takes minimal effort and once Kenya saw me take out the hand blender, I don’t think he cared how it tasted as long as he got to help me make it. Once the ingredients were cooked and nice and tender, I let Kenya use the hand blender to mix it up, making the soup super creamy (without using any dairy, mind you). Boys sure do love their toys! I think he pureed it for what felt like 20 minutes until he finally deemed it
“just right mommy”.

Nutritious, delicious and heart warming, hopefully this Carrot Ginger Soup will be in your weekly rotation all winter long!

Carrot Ginger Soup (serves 4)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Small Yellow Onion, diced
1 16 Oz Bag Baby Carrots
2 Tbsp Fresh Ginger, peeled and chopped
1 Tsp Kosher Salt
1 32 Oz Box Low Sodium Vegetable Stock (you could also use low sodium chicken stock)
Accompaniments: plain yogurt, sour cream or crème fraiche

1. Heat the oil in a stock pot over medium heat and sauté the onion for 4-5 minutes or until translucent.
2. Add the stock, ginger, carrots and salt, bring the liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until carrots are fork tender.
3. Puree the soup using a hand blender or in a blender until creamy and smooth.
4. Serve topped with a dollop or yogurt, sour cream or crème fraiche.

I assume that almost everybody has at least a few favorite recipes they grew up eating. For me, it was my mother’s white chicken chili. No matter what time of year it was, a bowl of this stew-like soup always made me feel comforted and happy.

Now that I’m cooking for my own family, I like to think back to the foods that I loved as a kid and try and recreate them in my kitchen. This is my version of white chicken chili that’s super easy to make abd very healthy. It also freezes beautifully for those nights that you’re just too tired to cook. I’m sure that just a few mom’s I know can relate to that

White Chicken Chili (Makes 6-8 Servings)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 Small Onion, diced
2 lbs Chicken Breasts, bone-in, skinless (about 2 large breasts)
1 Qt (32 Oz) Chicken Stock (I use low sodium chicken stock)
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
1 Can White Beans, drained and rinsed
1 Cup Frozen Shoe Peg White Corn
1 Jar Diced Green Chilies (They are mild.)
The Juice of 1 Lime (about 2 to 3 Tbsp Lime Juice)
Accompaniments: Sour Cream, Tortilla Chips, Cheddar Cheese, Monterey Jack Cheese

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook onions for 4 to 5 minutes or until translucent.
2. Add garlic and cook an additional minute.
3. Add the whole chicken breasts, stock and salt to the saucepan, cover, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
4. Cook for 18-20 minutes, remove chicken to a plate and allow to cool.
5. While the chicken is cooling, add the remaining ingredients to the pot.
6. Remove the chicken from the bone, chop into bite-size pieces, and add to the pot.
7. Serve.

*Allow to cool, place in appropriate tupperware or ziploc bag, label and freeze up to 4 months. Defrost in a pot over low-medium heat.