Pepperoni Pizza Soup

I made Oh Bite It's "Grilled Cheese Pull Apart Rolls" tonight for dinner and wanted a soup to go with it, since it is rainy and cold out. This was the perfect match for it.

One of the things I find I miss most is pizza, and I don't always want to go all out and make a fancy pizza on a puff pastry crust, so I created pizza soup to mimic the flavor of pizza without the crust. I use shortcuts, like canned tomato soup, so that I can whip up a pot of soup in no time at all.

This particular recipe is for a Pepperoni Pizza Soup, but you are welcome to omit that and make it a vegetarian soup, adding mushrooms and roasted red peppers, or onions, or whatever topping you like. Be creative!

Ingredients:
2 11 oz. cans of condensed tomato soup + 3 cans of water
2 tablespoons of butter
2 green onions, sliced
About 2 oz of pepperoni, sliced
2 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp Italian seasoning (oregano and thyme)
1 cup or more of Italian blend cheese
½ cup shredded parmesan blend
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional - ½ can of heavy cream

In a soup pot, melt butter over medium heat.
Sweat the onions in the melted butter and add sliced pepperoni.
Allow the pepperoni to crisp up, which will allow the fats to render.
Add the garlic and Italian seasoning. Stir until fragrant, a few moments, then add the condensed soup.
Stir well, add water and stir.
Allow to come to a boil, stirring periodically.
Once hot, add cheeses, allowing them to melt.
Add salt and pepper to taste, adjust seasoning as needed.
Finish with heavy cream, if desired, and serve hot with a little extra cheese on top.

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This is another of my favorites dishes growing up.  It originally had white wine added, however, since wine is made with yeast, this recipe forgoes the wine for sparkling cider. It is still just as tasty! I made this one with a cranberry apple cider and it had a great wine-like flavor.
Wonderful served with pasta of any sort and a fresh salad.

S.O.S.

S.O.S is not the prettiest dish (which is how it got its name) but it  can be made fast, is fairly easy, and quite delicious. Usually you can use a can of cream of mushroom soup, which really cuts down the prep time, but in case you cannot find any, the recipe below is easy enough.

This can also be made with ground turkey or chicken.

Always great served on a baked potato or egg noodles!

Pepperoni Bread

Pillsbury makes a pizza dough that is leavened with baking soda and Glucono delta-lactone that I have found to be tolerable and quite useful.  Tonight, I made pepperoni bread out of it, that I served with a side of tomato sauce for dipping.  It's easy and delicious.

Asian Plum Marinade

This is good for beef, pork, chicken, seafood, or tofu. Makes enough for 2 lbs of meat.  Here it is shown with  ribeye steak that was sliced after grilling.

Soy sauce can be a problem for some people.  Check the ingredients to make sure there is no miso or fermented ingredients listed. You can also substitute the soy sauce with 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce and 1/2 tablespoon of water.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

This takes all the goodness of Chicken Cordon Bleu and turns it into an easy pasta dish.  It goes great paired with a fresh salad tossed in a lemony dressing.
Tyson's Frozen Crispy Chicken Strips can be substituted for fresh chicken preparation.  Be sure to check the package as only the crispy strips variety are yeast free as the rest have yeast for some unknown reason. Cook per package directions.

Barbecue Steak Tacos

This recipe can be done with chicken or steak. Using the breast of a rotisserie chicken (sliced) makes it much quicker.  The barbecue sauce is not a traditional tomato based sauce, but is a sweet and hot glaze made in the pan.

*If you want to use rotisserie chicken instead of steak, simply warm up the chicken over medium high heat and start at the third step (where you add the spices to the pan).