Soups!!

[lupo pazzesco]

In light of the bitching cold weather that seems to be afflicting many parts of the US and Canada, I thought it'd be neat to share some great soup recipe ideas. I, personally, LOVE to make soups on cold days because they're something warming and comforting about a big pot of soup on the stove and curling up with a bowl of it and some crusty bread for dinner. That said, these are two of my current favorite soups, the first of which I made tonight, and am enjoying a bowl of now.

Vegetarian Minestrone Soup
I tweaked this one from a recipe I found that was supposedly a copycat of Olive Garden's minestrone soup

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup minced onions
2 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
1/2 cup frozen cut italian green beans
1/2 cup diced celery
2 cloves minced garlic
4 cups vegetable broth
1 (15 ounce)can red kidney beans , drained
1 (15 ounce)can small white beans or great northern beans , drained
1 (14 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes with juice
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups hot water
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1/3 cup small pasta (such as shells, but I used elbows)

Directions
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Saute onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent.

Add vegetable broth to pot, plus drained tomatoes, beans, hot water, and spices. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until desired consistency.

Makes about eight 1 1/2 cup servings.



Rich Tomato Basil Bisque
I make this rarely because it's so very rich and unhealthy, but so good. Here in Texas, there's a chain of french style bistros called La Madeleine's and I loved their bisque so much, I recreated it to the best of my ability.

Ingredients:
1 lb roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
4 cups tomato juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup butter
1 clove garlic, minced
12-14 fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
In a large pot, saute garlic over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, then add tomatoes and tomato juice. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

Let mixture cool slightly, then puree using a blender or food processor. Return to the pot, and turn on to medium low heat. Add butter and heavy cream, gently heating through and stirring until butter is melted, but do not boil. Season with salt and pepper.






so...what other soup recipes does everyone else like and want to share?

[Amina516]

Ooh Ohh!!

Find me a Zuppa Toscana knock-off from the Olive Garden!! XD

But those 2 sounds delicious...Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[MaggieTheCat]

Being from Wisconsin, my family used to have soup a lot in the winter. My mom would make honkin' big batches of the stuff at a time and we'd live off it on cold cold nights.

Here's a couple of really super-simple ones.

Chicken Dumpling Soup
I've made this a couple of times but I never measure anything...sorry. I'll put all the ingredients down, but I just "eyeball" how much I need of everything. I made this recipe up when my husband had a bad cold about a month ago and it rocked.

Cooked chicken, either rotisserie, canned chicken breast, or cubed and sauteed chicken breast
Onion & garlic to taste
Butter
Chicken broth or water mixed with chicken soup base
Seasoning: Salt, pepper, bouquet garni (a blend of a bunch of dried herbs -- anything will do here, whatever you like), yellow curry powder if you like it
Frozen mixed veggies (I use corn, carrots, & peas)
Small batch of dumpling dough -- recipe below

Start by sauteeing the onion and garlic in butter until soft. Add the chicken and chicken broth or water + soup base. You can always add more liquid after you get everything else in the pot if it doesn't look like enough. Add seasonings and bring to a boil, then lower the temperature and let it simmer for an hour or so (if you're in a hurry, you don't have to let it simmer; I usually do this much before my husband gets home from work or early in the afternoon, then finish it off when we're ready to eat. The longer you simmer it, the more liquid will evaporate so you might have to add some water if you simmer it for more than half an hour or so.) Bring the soup back to a boil and add the frozen veggies. Drop the dumpling dough by tablespoonfuls into the boiling liquid until the surface of the pot is covered in dumplings. Lower the heat so that the pot is still boiling gently but doesn't boil over, and cook for 10 minutes, uncovered, then cover and cook 10 minutes longer. Serve.

Bisquick Dumplings
Pretty dang good for using a box mix.

1/3 cup milk
1 1/4 cup bisquick
Salt and pepper
Seasonings: More dried herbs if you like, more curry if you like, or my personal favorite: nutmeg

Mix until a soft dough forms. Drop by tablespoonfuls into boiling soup.


Seven Can Chicken Tortilla Soup
This is a really fast and easy soup that I tried on our D&D group and they DEVOURED it.

1 large can + 1 small can chicken breast, drained -- or, if you don't like using canned chicken, sub sauteed chicken breast or rotisserie chicken
2 cans "cream of" soups (cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, cream of celery -- whatever you want)
1 can chicken broth
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 can tomatoes with green chilies (or whatever other kind of canned tomatoes you like)
Seasoning to taste: Salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, bouquet garni, etc....

Open all the cans. I don't drain the tomatoes when I do this, to give it a little more of the tomato flavor, but you can drain or not drain whatever you like. It might be a little watery if you don't drain anything, though. Dump everything in a crock pot and stir to combine. Heat on low until ready to serve (I recommend at least an hour to let the flavors meld.) Serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream, olives, etc.

[Barracuda]

Here is a new soup recipe I just improvised together and decided was good enough to keep:

Cheesy Ham and Potato Chowder

Half a turkey ham, cubed
Approx. half a loaf of cheddar, shredded
Half a large onion, diced
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced (or 2 tsp pre chopped or minced garlic)
Ground rosemary to taste
Basil to taste
Celery salt to taste
4 large potatoes, cubed
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1/2 gallon or so of half and half

In soup pot, using about 1 tbsp of butter, saute garlic and onion until tender and starting to brown. In separate sauce pan, melt remaining butter and then mix flour in until smooth paste forms. Add ham, potatoes, and seasonings (I used about a heaping tsp of each seasoning.) Add Half and Half and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until potatoes are cooked and soup begins to thicken. Once potatoes are cooked, remove from heat. Stir in cheddar, dropping in slowly by handfuls so that clumps do not form. Soup should take on light golden color. Serve! This one is great with crackers.

A tip on the rosemary: If you cannot find pre ground, buy dried rosemary leaves and either use a mortar and pestle (if you have one,) or empty a pepper grinder, rinse it, and fill it with rosemary. Set it to fine grind.

[Cazzi]

Mmmm Soup!

I don't measure anything either as I tend to make my soups out of whatever is lurking in the fridge or freezer & make it up as I go along

A very scrummy recent one however consisted of about 8 fresh tomatoes, a tin of chopped tomatoes (to make up some volume), 1 deseeded red pepper, several generous splashes of gluten free soy sauce, 1 tsp of chopped chillies and a palm full of dried green lentils; all cooked until the lentils had cooked & thickened the soup, then I dolloped in a large spoonful of low fat plain fromage frais & zapped it with a hand blender.

Turned out to be one of the nicest I've made

Reminds me, I have a bag of tomatoes in the fridge......

[SG15Z]

Soups good and all but I'm enjoying my yummy Hot Cocoa

[lupo pazzesco]

Soups good and all but I'm enjoying my yummy Hot Cocoa

braggart!!


Although...I don't know if I told you, but I've been in for a battery of tests related to my caffeine/chocolate issue...I may be able to have it now, but it's a long story, to be sent via PM or email.


<toddles off to copy and paste the other soup recipes to try>

I like them all so far, but Cazzi...I LOVE tomato based ANYTHING, but I've never tried lentils. I'm going to have to see if I can find some.

Maggie, the 7 can soup may be next on my list, as I'm pretty sure I've got all the ingredients on hand.

[Evil Queen]

Recipes!

Cream Cheese Potato Soup

* 4 cups chicken broth
* 4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
* 1 lbs bacon, cooked and diced
* 1/4 cup minced onion
* 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
* 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into chunks (it melts best if you let it come to room temperature first, otherwise it'll take forever and be kinda chunky)

Directions
Combine broth, potatoes, onion, and spices.
Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender.
Smash a few of the potatoes to release their starch for thickening.
Reduce to low heat.
Add cream cheese and bacon.
Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.

Mom's extra meaty Chili

2 lbs ground beef (or turkey, I've used both and you can't tell the difference)
2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (small) can of tomato paste
1 tbsp basil (I eyeball it)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 small onion
1/2 cup red wine
1 can kidney beans (optional, I started adding this to stretch the recipe)

The following is not measured but eye balled to your tastes:
Chili Powder
Red Chili flakes (this was something I added to Mom's recipe later in life)
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Salt and Pepper
Marjoram (helps bring out smoky flavours. If you don't have any, cumin works nicely too)
1 bay leaf.


Brown meat with diced onions in olive oil. Train off excess oil (but not all of it, save a tablespoon or two). Dump in the rest of the ingredients and allow to simmer for anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour. (I normally do 20 minutes but the longer it simmers the more flavourful it will be)

[AdminAssistant]

I had lentil soup at a Mediterranean cafe last weekend. It was good!

Mom made this on New Year's Day, but it was damn good.

Black-Eyed Pea Soup

1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cup hog jowl (or ham or bacon)
1 cup diced onion
28 oz can diced tomatoes
3/4 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
2 beef boullion cubes
1 can rotel
5 16 oz cans black-eyed peas
2 cups shredded cheddar

Saute onion and hog jowl (or bacon or ham) until tender. Ad other ingredients, simmer for 1 hour.

[SG15Z]

braggart!!


Although...I don't know if I told you, but I've been in for a battery of tests related to my caffeine/chocolate issue...I may be able to have it now, but it's a long story, to be sent via PM or email.

Or really? That would be awesome! Go ahead and send the story!

[Cazzi]

I like them all so far, but Cazzi...I LOVE tomato based ANYTHING, but I've never tried lentils. I'm going to have to see if I can find some. .

I agree, tomatoes are so versatile & easy to use in anything. Its really odd though that I really can't stand fresh tomatoes!

Should be able to pick up lentils in supermarkets & health food shops. Round here red ones are usually dried in packets ( and don't take long to cook), whereas I've found green ones both fried and in cans. I'm in a small town though so there's probably a lot more variety out there

[fireheart]

Just had to rummage around my room for the recipe for miso udon noodle soup. You can do this up for lunch as well by doing step 1 up to the day before, carrying the vegetables into work and then mixing it up in the lunchroom. Alternately, you can double this one up for dinner.

Anyway....Miso Udon Noodle Soup

95g Udon Noodles
1/2 baby pak choy, trimmed, shredded
1/4 small carrot, peeled, cut into matchsticks
50g enoki mushrooms, ends trimmed.
1/2 shallot, trimmed, thinly sliced.
3 tsp miso paste.

1) Place the vegetables and the noodles in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water. Set aside for 1-2 minutes or until the vegetables soften. Refresh under cold running water. Drain.
2) Place miso paste and 1 1/3 cups of boiling water in a bowl. Use a fork to mix the miso paste in until it dissolves. Stir in the noodle mixture. Set aside for 3-4 minutes or until heated through.

[MaggieTheCat]

I forgot about this one until I made it today for lunch...this is an African Sweet Potato and Peanutbutter soup. Sounds weird, right? But it's delicious. I have heavily modified original recipe so here's my version of it.

1/4 onion, minced
1 carrot, peeled, washed, and minced
2 tablespoons butter, or as needed to sautee the veggies and spices
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root (or powdered ginger if you don't have any fresh)
3-4 teaspoons garam masala*
1 teaspoon vindaloo seasoning*
1 29oz can sweet potatoes, water included
4-5 cups water or chicken broth
1-2 teaspoons chicken soup base (if you don't have chicken broth)
1 small (or large, your choice) can tomato sauce
1-2 tablespoons brown or white sugar
2 heaping spoonfuls smooth peanut butter
1-2 tablespoons cream or half and half
salt & pepper to taste

*Note: garam masala and vindaloo are both Indian spice blends. I get mine from Penzey's Spices, but you can make your own, or use whatever blend of spices you like/have on hand.

Melt butter in a large soup pot or dutch oven. Sautee onion and carrot (you could also add diced celery to make a true Mirepoix) until tender, about 5-10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and spices and sautee until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, including the water from the can, and mash the potatoes slightly with the back of your spoon. Add about 4 cups of water and the chicken soup base, or chicken broth, the tomato sauce, and the sugar (the sugar does make the final product slightly sweet, so you may want to taste it before adding to see if it's sweet enough for you already.) Let this simmer on the stove for anywhere from 30 minutes to whenever you're about ready to eat. You may have to add extra water as some of it steams off. You can decide how thick or thin you want it.

When ready to serve, stir in the peanut butter and cream and mix until melted and blended. If you want a smooth soup, take a stick blender to it. I don't have one, so I just roughly mash the sweet potatoes with a spoon or potato masher.

I imagine this dish would be easy to make vegetarian or even vegan by using vegetable-based oil instead of butter, vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and perhaps soy milk instead of cream (or just leave it out all together.)

[ThePhoneGoddess]

I love to make coconut carrot soup. It's quite delicious.

Chop up an onion, 3-4 large carrots, a stalk of celery, then mince a clove of garlic and about a tabklespoon of fresh ginger.

Saute the onion, carrot and celery in a little oil until the onion gets soft. Add the ginger and garlic and cook another minute or so. Add a few cups of broth---chicken is what the original recipe called for, I often use vegetable and it comes out fine--- and a can of coconut milk. Bring it to a boil then reduce it to a simmer and cook for a good half hour or so.

Puree it all in a blender and season with salt/pepper. This actually tastes better if made a day before, then allowed to sit in the fridge and develop the flavors.

[Flying Grype]

I started making my own veggie broth this year from frozen veggie trimmings. Onion ends, carrot peels, celery hearts, pepper cores, kale trunks, etc. can all go into the bag in the freezer. Put a steel steamer basket in a pot of water, put a handful of frozen trimmings in, and boil it for a good fifteen minutes. Lift the basket out and then put any other soup stuff in that you want.