Stuffed Soup

I hosted our family Christmas party last weekend. Traditionally, my grandmother always brought stuffed peppers and cabbage to Christmas Eve. Due to growing families, we no longer get together on Christmas Eve, so I decided to make stuffed peppers and cabbage for our Christmas party. As usual there was way too much food, and I ended up with a bunch of leftovers.

Fast forward to this morning. It's cold and snowy, and I wanted to make some kind of soup that would be hearty and warm. I wasn't feeling the usual chicken noodle, and I'd already made a few batches of beef barley this winter. I wanted to make something different, but needed to use ingredients on hand. That's when I spied the leftover stuffed peppers and cabbage. I was a little nervous, but it turned out fabulously! Here's the recipe:

Stuffed Soup

3-4 leftover stuffed peppers/cabbage, cut/mashed up, plus juice they were cooked in
4 cups stock or broth (I used turkey stock, chicken broth would be just fine as well)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
enough dry parsley to cover the top of the soup

Combine ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for about a hour or longer.

If you want a thicker soup, try adding about half a jar of tomato paste and bring to a boil.


I'm sorry I once again forgot to take a picture. I was so hungry and it looked so good, I just jumped right in.

Chicken Bruschetta Bake

I was online this summer searching for a grilled chicken bruschetta recipe that would compare to a super yummy one I got from Simply Homemade after I had my daughter (Simply Homemade is one of those food prep places where they supply the ingredients, you assemble, and then take home a freeze to make at a later time. Some girls at my work went together to buy me a package with free assembly after I had my daughter, and it was the most fabulous gift I was given!). While searching, I stumbled upon this recipe at AllRecipes.com. It wasn't what I was looking for at the time, but it was perfect for a winter meal.

Yesterday, I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner when I found that recipe again. It looked delicious and warm and perfect. Unfortunately, I didn't have any stuffing mix on hand (I never do, I don't like stuffing), so with the help of a commenter and my own cooking skills, I came up with the following version.

Chicken Bruschetta Bake

3 chicken breasts, cut into cubes

1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs (if you only have plain, use this and add 1 tbsp Italian seasoning)

1 (15 oz) can Italian diced tomatoes, drained

1 tsp minced garlic (more if you love garlic)

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 11x8 in glass pan (or similar sized casserole dish) with cooking spray. Place the bread crumbs in a gallon sized storage bag. Put diced chicken into bag and shake. Pour breaded chicken and any remaining crumbs into pan, bake for 20 mins.

While this is cooking, combine drained diced tomatoes, minced garlic, and seasoning in a bowl. When the 20 mins are up, pour tomato mixture over chicken and cover with cheese. Bake another 10 mins.

I served mine over some pasta with a little marinara. It was so good. If I had any fresh basil, that would probably make it even better! I can't wait to try this again and wanted to make sure this version was written down somewhere so I could find it later. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.