Category: SOUPS & STEWS & CHILIS

LOADED BAKED POTATO SOUP

LOADED BAKED POTATO SOUP
3 tablespoons butter
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
6 cups hot water
1 tablespoon Better than Bouillon Chicken Base
1/2 pound bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
6 large Yukon potatoes, peeled 3 potatoes diced and 3 potatoes finely grated
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 green onions, sliced thin

  • Whisk together the hot water and bouillon base.
  • Melt butter in a skillet and saute onion until tender.
  • Stir in flour until golden.
  • Gradually add 1 cup of the broth.
  • Bring to a boil.
  • Cook and stir until thickened.
  • Transfer to slow cooker.
  • Add the remaining broth and blend well.
  • Add in the bacon, potatoes, salt, pepper, basil and thyme.
  • Cook on low 6-8 hours or until potatoes are tender.
  • Stir in heavy and sour cream and heat through.
  • Garnish each bowl with green onions and cheese.
  • Serve with buttermilk biscuits and maple honey.

Asparagus & Pea Soup

Asparagus and Pea Soup
1 bunch asparagus (about one pound)
2 cups snap peas (fresh or frozen)

1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
4 gloves garlic, skin removed
Sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

  • Clean and snap the ends off the asparagus.  Rinse well.
  • Bring a large pot filled with water to a boil over high heat.
  • Blanch asparagus until tender, about 5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and with a slotted spoon remove the asparagus.  Do not discard the cooking water.
  • Bring the water back to a boil, toss in the snap peas and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. 
  • Remove from the heat and remove the peas and garlic with a slotted spoon.
  • Reserve the cooking liquid.
  • Place pea mixture in the blender with the asparagus and puree until smooth.
  • You might need to add some of the cooking liquid to reach the consistency that you like.
  • Season with salt and pepper and serve either hot or room temperatures.
  • Top with green onions and a dollop of sour cream.

CHICKEN & SAUSAGE GUMBO with BBQ SAUSAGE

CHICKEN & SAUSAGE GUMBO
1/2 of a rotisserie chicken pieces
1/2 pound sausage, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces and then quartered
2 celery stalks, diced
1 small Vidalia onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups fresh green beans, cleaned and chopped
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper

  • Melt butter and oil over medium high heat in a large saute’ pan.  Add flour and whisk continuously until golden brown.
  • Add onions, garlic and celery stirring continuously for 3-5 minutes until vegetables are tender.
  • Add thyme. salt and pepper.
  • Add green beans, stirring to coat.
  • Add broth, chicken and sausage pieces and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes until desired consistency.
  • Add parsley and stir well.
  • Serve over mashed potatoes.
  • I coated the remaining sausage pieces with barbecue sauce and broiled them for a few minutes as an appetizer/compliment.

CHICKEN & SAUSAGE GUMBO with BBQ SAUSAGE

CHICKEN & SAUSAGE GUMBO
1/2 of a rotisserie chicken pieces
1/2 pound sausage, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces and then quartered
2 celery stalks, diced
1 small Vidalia onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups fresh green beans, cleaned and chopped
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper

  • Melt butter and oil over medium high heat in a large saute’ pan.  Add flour and whisk continuously until golden brown.
  • Add onions, garlic and celery stirring continuously for 3-5 minutes until vegetables are tender.
  • Add thyme. salt and pepper.
  • Add green beans, stirring to coat.
  • Add broth, chicken and sausage pieces and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes until desired consistency.
  • Add parsley and stir well.
  • Serve over mashed potatoes.
  • I coated the remaining sausage pieces with barbecue sauce and broiled them for a few minutes as an appetizer/compliment.

CREAM SOUP SUBSTITUTES

CREAM SOUP SUBSTITUTES

Do you hate buying canned soups for use in recipes? Do you want something healthier and less costly?  These recipes make perfect substitutes for 1 can of soup.

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk or other liquid (as specified in variations)

  • Melt the butter in heavy saucepan. 
  • Blend in flour and salt. Cook until bubbly. 
  • Remove from heat and gradually stir or whisk in liquid. 
  • Return to heat and cook, constantly stirring until smooth and thickened.

VARIATIONS

  • Cream of chicken: Use 1/2 c. milk and 1/2 c. chicken broth as the liquid. Add 1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning or sage.
  • Cream of celery: Saute´ 1/2 c. chopped celery and 1 T. finely chopped onion in the margarine before adding flour. Use milk for liquid.
  • Cream of mushroom: Saute´1/4 c. finely chopped mushrooms and 1 T. finely chopped onion in margarine before adding flour. Use milk for liquid.
  • Tomato: Use tomato juice as liquid. Add a dash each of garlic salt, onion salt, basil, and oregano.
  • Cheddar cheese: Use milk for liquid. Stir into the finished sauce 1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese and 1/4 tsp. dry mustard.
  • Cream of shrimp: Drain the liquid from a small can of tiny shrimp into a measuring cup. Fill cup with milk to measure 1 cup of liquid. Add a dash of pepper, onion salt, curry powder, and paprika to the finished sauce, and stir in the shrimp.

Veggie Tales by Kris: Soup’s On!

Well, it’s still winter. Might as well make soup!

Butternut Squash Soup… & a Simple Salad

I’ve been getting a lot of use out of my Immersion Blender. I just love it. So simple now to make wonderful thick soups without the use of fattening cream or burning myself to death by pouring hot mushy veggies into a blender 1 cup at a time! This recipe is great because I love how savory it turned out. I am not a fan of the Butternut Squash Soups of the world that taste like pumpkin pie. You won’t find cinnamon or nutmeg in this version!

Savory Butternut Squash Soup

What you’ll need:
2 tbs olive oil
1 large yellow onion (diced)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
1 inch fresh ginger (peeled and minced)
1 butternut squash (skin peeled, seeded and cubed)
2 medium-large yellow potatoes (peeled and cubed)
1 teaspoon dried sage (add more to taste)
2 tsp fresh chopped thyme (add more to taste or as garnish)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
About 6-8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
(the goal is to have enough to cover the vegetables in your pot so it depends on pot size. You can just add water if you run out of stock but do mind your seasonings if that is the case!)

What you’ll do:
Heat oil in a large soup pot. Add in onions and cook until softened- about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger. Cook another 5 minutes (don’t let them burn!). Add squash, potatoes and herbs and a little salt and pepper to start. Cover the vegetables with the stock/water. Just until it covers the top veggies. Bring soup to a boil and let simmer for 30 minutes covered, or until the veggies are soft. Turn off heat. In meantime make the salad below. When soup has just cooled a bit (but still hot) blend the soup until it is a nice smooth consistency.
The Salad
So simple. Just finely shop cucumber, red onion, and cherry tomatoes. Add to some chopped romaine. To get your protein add your favorite beans. I love butter beans! I used a lovely red wine vinaigrette to dress this one.

Chicken Noodle Soup


2-4 packages of Ramen Soup mix
Boneless chicken
Bag of frozen vegetables
Water or Chicken Broth

I use this recipe to clean out the fridge…
Using leftover chicken, vegetables, rice, whatever looks good to add…


Simmer on stove…


Happy Eating…

Creamy Cheddar Potato Soup

 Join me at My Sweet and Savory and at Bizzy B. Bakes.  I would love to have you Cook with Chaya.

I am one of those gals who is cuddling by the non-existent fire place because outside, there are great mounds of snow, some weeks old and ice on the sidewalks.  One can slide from place to place.  Getting out of my car, the other night, I was greeted with a mountain blocking my way.  I wonder how many people threw their snow in that spot.

The truth is, there is no place left to throw snow for many of us.  We have piled up around the driveway, along the sidewalk, against the house.  You name it….there is snow.

These are days to stay home and make a warming pot of soup and what better than a creamy cheddar potato soup?

Cheddar Potato Soup adapted from Taste of Home Annual 2003
Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup chopped onion
  • 1/3 cup chopped celery
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 4 cups diced peeled potatoes
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • Dash paprika

Method:

  • In a large saucepan, saute onion, red pepper and celery in butter until tender. 
  • Add potatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
  • Puree in small batches in a blender until smooth; return to the pan. Stir in the cheese, milk, pepper and paprika. Cook and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted.  I should have used my immersion blender but I forgot.  It would have been much easier than shlepping out the blender and then wash out the jar.


Cheeseburger Soup

CHEESEBURGER SOUP adapted from Recipes from Dawn’s Daily Life
1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cup of chopped onion
3/4 cup of shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon dried basil
4 tablespoons butter, divided
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups diced, peeled potatoes (1-3/4lbs)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups (8oz) processed cheese (Velveeta)
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions:  In a 3-quart saucepan, brown beef; drain and set aside. In the same saucepan, saute onions, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 tablespoon butter until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, potatoes and beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Meanwhile in a small skillet, melt remaining butter. Add flour, cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper; cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat; blend in sour cream.

Modifications:
-I used 93/7 lean ground beef
-I used whole wheat flour
-I used light sour cream

Brown the ground beef.  Once browned, pull it out of the pan and set it aside.
Peel and dice the potatoes, dice the celery, shred the carrots, and dice an onion.
Throw the veggies in the same pan that the beef cooked in along with 1 Tbsp of butter.  Cook until tender (about 8-10 minutes).
Add the chicken broth and potatoes.  Put the ground beef back into the pot.  Cook on high until boiling, cover, and reduce.  Cook until potatoes are soft.

While the potatoes are cooking, melt the rest of the butter in a separte pan.  Add the flour.

Add the flour into the soup pot and stir well.
Add the milk.
Add the Velveeta and stir until melted.
Once the cheese melts, pull the soup off of the stove and add the sour cream.  Stir until the sour cream is mixed well.
Here’s what you’ll end up with:
I’m not sure it tastes like a cheeseburger but it does taste fantastic! 

Fire Roasted Acorn Squash Soup

It’s Fire Day Friday and the day after Thanksgiving, so naturally you’d expect me to write about the turkey I smoked yesterday, right?


Brined in bourbon and maple syrup and then smoked with hickory/cherry wood, it was a spectacular bird. However, I want to tell you about the soup we made instead. I’m used to making a great turkey but this was my first time ever cooking acorn squash.


Fire Roasted Acorn Squash Soup
adapted from: Acorn Squash Soup

I set up Alexis’ Big Green Egg for indirect heat and got it settled in at 350f. While it was preheating, I halved the acorn squash and removed the seeds. (Note: Keep the seeds, toss with some oil, salt and cinnamon then roast for a tasty treat or garnish.)


I roasted the halves cut side down for 35 minutes while I was also roasting some sweet potatoes.

Then when the turkey was getting close to being done later that day, I made the soup. I could have done this stove top, but it was a gorgeous day with a record high temp of 74f so I could not resist being out on the deck. (NOTE: I don’t know what the heck happens at the 2:21 minute mark, skip to 3:15)

Saute the onions and celery over medium high heat for 5-8 minutes, until softened.

Stir in the flour. Add the dill, curry powder, cinnamon, cayenne, and mediterranian seasoned sea salt.

Whisk in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.

Whisk in the evaporated milk and bring back to a simmer.

Stir the the acorn squash and heat through.

Let cool slightly and then process in small batches in a blender. I tried just using an immersion blender but found that I had to use a real blender to get the texture I wanted.

Season one last time with salt/pepper to taste.

Garnish with roasted seeds and parsley.

The soup was rich and had a velvety texture. The down side to it was that it was filling and put a dent in how much I could eat when the main course and sides hit the table.

Healthy Meals ~ Winter Soup ~ VEGETABLE BEEF

We’ve had several cold-snaps here in Texas already. It’s what I call “soup weather.” Makes you feel all warm inside. And I have a great, low fat recipe for vegetable beef soup that is super-simple! It uses ready-to-drink tomato juice as a base.

Ingredients
14.5 ounce can stewed tomatoes
14..5 ounce can green beans
8.5 oz can green peas
11 ounce can corn
14.5 ounce can carrots
1 pound lean ground beef (93/7)
46 ounce can of tomato juice
Italian seasoning (to taste. I just pour it in. I never measure. I’d guess 2 teaspoons minimum)

Preparation
Brown ground beef in a skillet. Drain the grease. Pour all ingredients into a stock pot and heat to boiling. Serve and enjoy! It’s a hearty, filling, tasty, low fat soup.
This will serve at least 8 people and has approximately 240 calories per serving and approximately 8 grams of fat per serving (less if you buy lower fat ground beef). I hope you like it!

FRENCH ONION SOUP

FRENCH ONION SOUP
1/3 cup butter
1 tablespoon sugar
4 medium onions, thinly sliced**
1 tablespoon flour
4 cups hot water
1 cup mild red wine
2 tablespoons Superior Touch Better than Bouillon Beef Base
1 tablespoon kitchen bouquet
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
4 thin slices french or sourdough bread, toasted
4 slices aged white cheddar cheese*

  • Melt butter in bottom of stock pot.
  • Stir in the sugar.
  • Separate onions into rings and add to butter. Cook until tender and golden.
  • Add flour and blend well with butter mixture and onions.
  • Add water, beef granules, kitchen bouquet, salt and pepper and stir well.
  • Simmer 15-20 minutes.
  • Toast bread and then butter it.
  • Ladle soup into 4 oven proof bowls that have been put on a cookie sheet for easier handling.
  • Place 1 slice of toast over top of soup.
  • Lay 1 slice of cheese on top of toast.
  • Bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes or until cheese is melted.

*mozzarella cheese works well too
**I like a mix of Vidalia, Bermuda, white and yellow onions