Manhattan Clam Chowder

Reference

One of these days I'll remember to
get a picture before I finish my meal
 and put the leftovers in a Tupperware

I found this recipe at allrecipies.com. I actually did my best to follow the recipe to the letter, which is unusual for me.

Reagents

5 (6.5 ounce) cans minced clams (reference called for 4, but I decided to get 1 extra - see notes below)
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (I noticed when I got home that my can came with oregano)
2 (29 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 lb baby carrots, chopped
3 stalk celery, diced (recipe called for 1, added more)
8 potatoes, cubed (I actually made a mistake, and added probably closer to 10 or 11)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2  tablespoon dried oregano (recipe called for 1, but since crushed tomatoes already had oregano, added less)
1 tablespoon dried basil
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (recipe called for 2)
3 drops hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste


Procedure
1) Combine tomatoes and clams, with juices. Bring to boil, add spices, hot sauce, and Worchestershire. Simmer ~20 min
2)Add veggies, simmer for 2 hours.

Results and Discussion
Overall: pretty good. Definitely a soup I'm going to make again.

Not enough clams - next time I'm going to double the number of canned clams. This might also solve the fact that it was very tomato-y.

I definitely added too many potatoes; I think that 8 is probably perfect. Also, I needed to chop the potatoes smaller.

I'm not a big fan of bell peppers, so I think I would scale those back and add more celery.

Vegetable Soup

Reference
I got this recipe from Food Network, and then modified it a little bit.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 chopped leeks, white part only
2 tablespoons minced garlic
~2 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
2 cups fresh green beans, broken or cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 quarts chicken
1 can tomato paste
2 cans sweet corn, drained

Procedure

Heat the olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the leeks, garlic, and a pinch of salt and sweat until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, and green beans and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the tomato paste, corn kernels, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.


Results and Discussion
I think that replacing the tomatoes with the tomato paste was a mistake. I'm not a fan of tomatoes, and so I decided to get rid of them, but wanted to keep something similar. Next time, I'll try to find something else, or at least use less than 1 can.

While waiting for it to simmer, I smelled the soup, and it seemed kind of boring. I looked through my spice cabinet, and I found Chinese Five-Spice. I added about 1/2 teaspoon, and that saved the soup. It was delicious! Definitely going to include the Five-Spice in my next iteration.