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Buttermilk Pepper Soup

YES! I said buttermilk! This is a beautiful and light soup great in any season. To make vegetarian, use veg stock instead of chicken stock. I was inspired by these lovely “Aloha” striped bell peppers I found at the Farmers Mkt.

Buttermilk Pepper Soup
~2 cups large diced Red, Orange and Yellow Bell Peppers (about 3-4 peppers)
2/3-3/4 cup diced white onion (one med)
3 cloves garlic, minced (~2 tsp)
3 Tbl butter
2 Tbl A/P flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp chili paste (Amore brand is the one I use)
1 cup chicken (or Veg) stock
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Melt butter in a large soup pot on med; add onions and garlic and cook until onions are transparent. Add peppers and salt. Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes. Add flour and stir thoroughly; cook another 3 mins. Add white pepper and chili paste, stir again. Add chicken stock, turn up head to med high and cook peppers for about 5-7 minutes, until they are softened.

Whiz the peppers with an immersion blender or in a countertop blender until smooth. Add cream and buttermilk and check seasoning – mine took another 1/2 tsp salt.

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Cajun Shrimp Chowder

Cajun Shrimp Chowdah!


Angela’s Cajun Shrimp Chowder

3 slices bacon, cut into 1/2″ lardons
1/2# large shrimp or 1# small shrimp, cleaned (cut large shrimp into 1″ pieces), retain shells for stock
3-4 cloves garlic, whole
1 med onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2# baby yukon golds, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 sm pkg mushrooms, diced *ALL veg should be approximately the same size dice of about 1/2″
1 small banana or jalapeño pepper, seeded and very small dice (optional, but adds a nice level of spice)
2 green onions, 1/2″ slices
1 can sweet corn
2 Tbl butter
2 Tbl flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 tsp dry thyme
1/2 tsp smoked or plain paprika
2 tsp Badia cajun seasoning (more or less to taste; also, Badia is not very salty, so if you use a salty one, be careful with added salt!)
2 tsp Old Bay dry seasoning
1/2 tsp white pepper
Shrimp stock (below)
2 tsp L&P
3/4 cup heavy cream
S/P

Put shrimp shells in a 4 qt saucepan and fill with water, whole garlic and 1 tsp salt. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer uncovered until about 20% reduced. Strain out shrimp shells and set aside.

In a medium stock pot, cook bacon until all the fat is rendered out and it’s very crispy. Remove bacon and set aside for garnish. Add butter to the bacon fat over medium heat. Add onions, and garlic and sauté until onions are getting translucent. Add flour and cook for a minute or two. Add thyme, paprika, cajun, Old Bay and white pepper, stir. Add dry sherry to deglaze and add potatoes, carrot and banana pepper. Cook a couple of minutes then add shrimp stock, L&P and mushrooms. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Hold at medium simmer, partially covered until potatoes and carrots are cooked and soup is very thick, about 10-15 mins. When veg is cooked, add in corn, green onions and shrimp and simmer 4-5 mins. Lastly, add heavy cream and kill heat when it comes back to a simmer. Check seasoning. You might need more cajun seasoning, I used 2.5 tsp. Serve with crispy bacon garnish.

**Potatoes and cream will suck up all the salt, so you will likely need more when you reheat this soup.**

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Summer Squash Casserole

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Angela's Squash Casserole

You can use zucchini or yellow squash or both in this easy recipe. It is my go to when squash are abundant. I have finally unlocked the secret to creamy casserole! Updated 10.13.23
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword cheesy squash, squash, squash casserole, zucchini
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Author misangela

Equipment

  • 9x9 baking dish
  • Large skillet with lid

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb yellow squash or zucchini or a mix of both, sliced 1/4" on the bias or rounds about 3 large or 5 small squash
  • 1 small onion, frenched (halved then sliced) 2/3 to 1 cup when sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 Tbl butter
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup half n half or whole milk, whatever you have
  • 1/4 cup sour cream NOT fat free
  • 1.5 Tbl garlic paste or paste your own garlic SMOOTH
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbl flour
  • 1 Tbl cornstarch
  • 1 tsp each S/P
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese, plus extra for top Mexican blend or whatever you like.
  • 1/4 cup parm shred
  • 3/4 cup panko half cup if using crackers as well
  • 2 Tbl olive oil
  • 1/2 cup buttery crackers, finely crushed optional, whole cup if ONLY crackers

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375ºF
  • Put a large, deep skillet on med heat with 4 Tbl butter. When butter is melted, add squash, onions, garlic and first S/P. Cover pan, add 1/4 cup water and sweat veg until soft. Turn veg bottom to top for even cooking. If they start to brown, turn down heat. About 8-10 minutes. If it gets dry, you can add 2 Tbl water.
  • While veg is cooking, combine heavy cream, and next 7 ingredients. Whisk until it is completely combined.
  • Spray 9x9 baking dish with food release (PAM).
  • Pull veg off heat when soft. Layer about half the squash mixture into dish, making a single layer of squash. Make sure onions and garlic are distributed evenly.
  • Ladle in cream/egg mixture into baking dish, to just cover squash. Add a layer of cheese. Repeat for second layer. Make a third layer if you have enough.
  • Mix panko, parm, olive oil and crackers (if using) and top the casserole.
  • Cook at 375º for about 30 mins covered with foil. Uncover for last 10-15 minutes. The topping should be golden brown and internal temp is at least 150º.
  • Let sit for 10 minutes to set, then enjoy!

Notes

After many many times making this, I've finally gotten the sauce to the right consistency. It's not too eggy, nor is it too tight. I hope you enjoy it! 
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Harissa Coconut Slow Cooker Pork Ribs

Harissa Coconut Pork Ribs

Harissa Coconut Slow Cooker Pork Ribs
2.5# boneless pork shoulder ribs (sometimes labeled country style)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1.5 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 medium onion, large dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 Tbl harissa paste (You can find this at large Kroger stores. If you use powder, use 1 Tbl with 1tsp oil.)
2 small jalapenos or serranos, finely diced
1 small can coconut milk (unsweetened, or half a regular sized can)
1 Tbl soy sauce
S/P
1 tsp coriander
Juice of one lime
fresh cilantro for serving

Clean ribs of all surface fat. Combine next 5 ingredients in a large bowl and coat ribs thoroughly. Heat up a large pan with a couple Tbl of oil and sear the pork ribs. Don’t burn the sugar, but get them nicely browned; season lightly with salt and black pepper. Put ribs back in the spice rub bowl and set aside. Put 3/4 of the onion, garlic, harissa and chiles in the drippings from the ribs and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Add in coconut milk and soy sauce and bring up to boil, kill heat.

In a crock pot, spray the crock with food release such as Pam and put reserved onions in the bottom. Layer in ribs with any leftover rub and drippings. Then sprinkle second tsp of coriander and 1/4 tsp salt over ribs. Pour the veg and coconut milk mixture over ribs. Cook on low for 4-5 hrs or high for about 3-3.5 hours. Feel free to add a little water or stock if you feel they are too dry.

After the ribs are cooked and soft, remove from the crock pot and set aside. Put a screen sieve over a small pan and strain the liquids into the pot (OR if you like a chunkier sauce as I do, just leave all the veg in there and give it a quick whizz with the immersion blender to make the sauce). Let the sauce sit for 15 minutes or so, to let the fat rise to the top. Ladle off as much fat as you can, then put the sauce over medium heat and simmer until it thickens. If it doesn’t get as thick as you’d like, add a tsp of cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbl water and boil for 2 minutes to tighten it up. After the sauce is done and off heat, add the lime juice. (Adding lime juice before a boil will make it bitter.)

Serve over polenta or grits with the sauce spooned over and fresh cilantro leaves on top. Or serve with broccoli or other veg for low carb.

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Angela’s Salsa Verde

I was looking for a recipe somewhere in between a salsa cruda and a cooked salsa verde that you usually see. Roasting the tomatillos and jalapeños hits that balance perfectly. Enjoy!

Angelas Salsa Verde


Angela’s Salsa Verde
about 1.25# tomatillos**, dehusked and rinsed, halved
2 jalapenos, halved and deseeded
1 small white onion, large dice
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 tsp cumin
zest of one lime
1 tsp of lime juice (about half a lime)
salt to taste

Roast the tomatillos and jalapeños under the broiler until skin is bubbly and there are some blackened spots. You are not going for totally blackened like you would for a roasted red pepper, just some charred spots. Toss all ingredients into a blender with just a couple of Tbl of water to get it going. Whizz until fairly smooth. Check for salt. Chill and serve.

**My tomatillos were so sweet and delicious they did not need sugar, but if yours are still too tart, feel free to add just a little sugar or agave to get the taste you want.

NB: Tomatillos have a LOT of pectin! When I pulled this out of the fridge, it looked like jello! If it doesn’t loosen up enough for you after you stir it, you can add a tish of water to thin it down. Just a heads up!