Pea and Carrot Soup With Pesto Rice

This is my riff on a recent Rachel Ray recipe.  I swapped quinoa for the orzo to make it gluten free, and I subbed basil and walnuts for the mint and pine nuts in the pest.  Hope you like it as much as we did!


Pea and Carrot Soup With Pesto Rice

1 cup brown rice
1/2 quinoa
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
2 Tbsp olive oil
6 carrots, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 cups peas
dash salt and pepper
3/4 cup fresh parsley (or 4 tbsp dry parsley)
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup walnuts
1/3 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese
2-3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil

In medium pot, combine rice and quinoa.  Pour in 2 cups chicken broth and 1 cup water.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until cooked - about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in stock pot.  Sautee carrots and onions until tender.  Add peas, salt, pepper and remaining 4 cups broth and 1 cup water.  Bring to a boil and then simmer.

Meanwhile, in food processor, combine parsley, basil, walnuts, cheese and garlic.  Process, drizzling in oil, until a smooth paste is formed.

To serve, stir pesto into hot rice.  Spoon rice into 4 bowls, then top with soup.  Or, if you prefer a more uniformed soup, stir pesto rice into the soup (note, soup will look cloudy, but tastes great!)

Chicken Noodle Stew

Chicken Noodle Stew

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 large carrots, diced
3 stalks celery (with tops), diced
4 cups chicken broth*
2 cups water
pinch salt
dash pepper
dash thyme
2 oz fettuccine noodles, broken into 3rds

In a stock pot, sautee onion and garlic in olive oil until soft but not brown.  Add carrots and celery and sautee 2 minutes more. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions until just al dente.  Drain and rinse.  Before serving, stir pasta into soup.  Serve with garlic bread or biscuits of desired.

* To make home-made chicken broth, boil 8 cups of water with 1 chicken carcass (cleaned of meat) for 3 hours.  Remove carcass and allow to cool.  Skim fat from top and strain.

NOTE: This soup is great for 'cleaning out the fridge' - in addition to the carrots and celery, I also added fresh green beans, zucchini and broccoli to make the soup extra healthy and extra hearty.  Yum!