Hearty Italian Soup

(apparently I can't rotate pictures anymore-sorry!)

But turn your head sideways and marvel at how yummy this soup looks!  In my opinion, just looking at anything with spinach in it makes you healthier and this soup is so full of flavor that you really can't go wrong.  I changed the original recipe because I can't get Italian sausage here.  I used chicken instead (frozen in a 2 cup portion from several whole chickens I cooked the other night- thank you very much freezer cooking for changing my cooking life!).   I also already had the white beans ready in the freezer along with the broth so I threw this together in minutes.  So yummy!

Hearty Italian Soup

2 cups cooked chicken

2 tsp olive oil

1 large onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

48 oz chicken broth

 2 cans white beans (I used 4 cups cooked from dry)

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 tsp Italian seasoning (I used a haphazard combo of oregano, thyme and basil)

5 oz baby spinach

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I used dry- maybe a TBSP)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Brown onions and garlic in oil until tender.  Stir in chicken broth, chicken, beans, tomatoes,and Italian seasoning.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes.   Stir in spinach and remaining ingredients.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 5-6 minutes or until spinach is wilted.  Enjoy!

Corn and Zucchini Queso Chowder

This is going to become a regular in our fall/winter soup rotation- extra bonus that it's vegetarian and therefore even less expensive!  Super yummy!

Corn and Zucchini Queso Chowder

1/4 cup butter

1 cup chopped red pepper

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups whole kernel corn

2 cups chopped zucchini

1/4 tsp ground cumin

28 oz chicken broth

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup half and half

1 cup shredded monterey jack

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium/high heat; add pepper, onion and garlic and sauté 4-5 minutes until tender.  Add corn, zucchini, and cumin and saute 4-5 more minutes.  Gradually stir in broth, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of pan.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, simmering 15 minutes.  Whisk together flour and next 2 ingredients.  Stir into veggie mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly 5 minutes or until thickened.  Reduce heat to low.  Add cheeses, and cook, stirring constantly, until cheeses melt and mixture is thoroughly heated.  Serve topped with bacon bits, sour cream, cheese and chives.  

Moroccan Lamb Stew

I found a new recipe and we all LOVE it, so I thought I would share.  I did it in my crockpot, but that's not what the recipe calls for, so if you don't have a cp, don't worry.  I browned my lamb chunks before putting them into the crockpot and cooked for 8 hours on low.  I also used golden raisins instead of the apricots, couldn't find sweet potatoes so just left them out, and couldn't find turmeric so I jut didn't worry about it.  Other than that, I think I followed the recipe :).  I served it over cous cous, which I made with the awesome broth from the soup (thanks KF for teaching me that trick).  The second time I made this, I put in more lentils because, hey, why not?  The link is Here.  ENJOY ladies!

Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup

I made this soup a couple of months ago and the jury is still out. I think mine came out a little too thick - I didn't have a flavor issue, although I probably didn't put enough salt, pepper and hot sauce. I had more of a texture issue with it. Especially for eating it room temperature. But I was in the mood for something a little different and this certainly fit the bill.

serves 6

2 red bell peppers (about 8oz.), seeded and cubed
generous 4 cups diced sweet potatoes
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 1/4 c dry white wine
1 1/4 quarts vegetable stock
hot pepper sauce, to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh chunky bread to serve

Dice a small quantity of the red pepper for the garnish; set aside. Put the rest into a saucepan with the sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, white wine and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are soft.

Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor and process utnil smooth. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a generous dash of hot pepper sauce. Cool slightly. Garnish with the reserved diced red pepper and serve warm or at room temperature.

Mulligatawny

The name of this soup makes me think of Seinfeld and the soup n@zi. I had no idea what was in it until I decided to make it one day. I imagine there are probably different variations of it out there. One thing is for sure, this version from my Harry's Roadhouse cookbook fed us for about a week and we had extra to take to friends as well. If you're ever hosting a big group I think this would be a fun thing to serve.

1 c uncooked rice
1 c diced onions
1 c diced celery (I used celery seeds b/c I didn't have fresh, but wished I would have just put more carrot of apple for more texture...)
1 c diced carrots
1/2 c butter, divided
3 1/2 T good-quality curry powder (I used red curry paste...)
1 1/2 t turmeric
1/4 t cayenne
2 1/2 quarts chicken stock (I used homemade)
1 quart coconut milk (I used 2 cans which may not have equaled a full quart...)
2 apples, peeled and diced
3 cups cooked and diced turkey or chicken (I used chicken)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c flour
1/4 c chopped cilantro

Cook the rice in 2 cups of water. Set aside.

Sautee vegetables in half of the butter. When onions become translucent, add curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne. Cook for about 5 minutes; add stock and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Add apples. When apples are soft add the cooked turkey or chicken. Adjust seasonings for salt and pepper.

Make a roux with 1/4 c butter and 1/4 c flour. Whisk into hot soup, being sure to whisk out lumps. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Place rice in the bottom of six 12-ounce bowls, top with soup, and garnish with chopped cilantro.

**it says this feeds 6 but it went a long way for us - I just made fresh rice each time. You can make it stretch for awhile over rice. I liked it better over brown rice than white, but I prefer brown rice in general so that could be why

Lemon Chicken Vegetable Soup with Pita Chips

This is healthy eating in a spoon!  Super yummy and fresh tasting!  Jason's mom gave me a terrific lemon-chicken soup recipe.  I combined it with a local recipe from a friend here and the result was fabulous.

Lemon Chicken Vegetable Soup

1 whole chicken

2 large onions, chopped

5 celery ribs, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp olive oil

1-2 cups chopped veggies (carrots, zuchini, cauliflower)

2 TBSP lemon zest

1-2 TBSP fresh lemon juice

2 tsp salt

2 TBSP dried parsley leaves

other seasonings to taste (I used thyme and basil- small amounts)

Cook chicken in enough water to cover until tender.  I added onion, carrots and other seasonings to make a richer broth and cooked it in the crock pot over night.  Remove chicken, reserving broth and let cool 15 minutes.  Shred chicken.  Strain broth, discarding solids, and add enough water to equal 10 cups.  Saute onion, celery and garlic in hot oil until tender.  Add broth and other veggies.  Cover and cook over medium heat until veggies are tender.  Add chicken, lemon zest and juice and other seasonings.  Heat through.  

Pita Chips

pita bread cut into triangles

olive oil

garlic salt

sea salt

Spread pita bread on cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt and sea salt to taste.  Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned and crisp.  Serve with soups, hummus, guacamole or other dips or spreads.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I have cooked this up for dinner countless times this winter. It is so easy and I love to make it when there is fresh broccoli available at our local supermarkets. It's perfect alongside some hot rolls.

1 bunch broccoli (you can use frozen but fresh is MUCH better)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 T butter
6 T flour
chicken bouillon
2 c. milk
~6 oz cheddar, grated (the recipe calls for Velveeta but we can't get it here and even if we could I'd still use the real deal...)

Chop broccoli and cook in 1 cup of water with a sprinkling of chicken bouillon in a covered pan (don't overcook broccoli - keep it bright green). In saucepan, saute onion in butter. Then add flour. Stir and cook until the flour is browned. Add the milk all at once and stir until it is thickened. Add the cheese (I never measure and just grate the cheese directly into the pot until I'm happy with the cheesiness...) and stir until the cheese is melted. Then add to the broccoli.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Crock- pot Tortilla Soup

This one is so good that I almost put in on here twice!  Click here for the original recipe, but this time I have a picture.  (although not a very good picture- I haven't figured out yet how to take good pictures of food...). Anyway, this is a favorite in our house and SOOO easy.  And for an alternate way to make it...  I realized yesterday morning that my crock pot was broken, so instead I boiled the chicken and then added everything else to the pot and let it simmer for about an hour- still fabulous!

Tomato-Basil Soup

This is a yummy alternative to a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup. Thank you Betty Crocker! I didn't have enough tomatoes this time around...plus, I put extra carrots in this batch - I didn't dice them fine enough but I just threw it in the blender at the end and it was fine.

2 T olive or vegetable oil
2 medium carrots, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 small onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
6 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (6 cups)*
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1/4 c. thinly sliced fresh basil leaves or
2 t. dried basil leaves
1/2 t. sugar
1/3 t. salt
dash of pepper

In a 3 quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook carrots, onion and garlic in oil about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Stir in tomatoes. Cook uncovered about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until heated through. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook uncovered about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot.

Fully ripe, juicy tomatoes provide the best flavor for this soup. If your tomatoes aren't completely rip, you may need to increase the salt and sugar just a bit. *3 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained, can be subsituted for the fresh tomatoes. Omit salt; increase sugar to 1 teaspoon.

Italian Chicken Lentil Soup

serves 6

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 med onion, chopped (1/2 cups)
1 med zucchini, chopped (2 cups)
4 med carrots, sliced (2 cups)
1 cup dried lentils, sorted and rinsed
4 1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 c sliced mushrooms
1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 c chopped fresh or 1 T dried basil leaves
Shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired

Remove fat from chicken. In 3 1/2 to 6 quart slow cooker, mix remaining ingredients except mushrooms, tomatoes, basil and cheese. Add chicken.

Cover and cook on Low heat setting for 5-6 hours.

Remove chicken from cooker; place on cutting board. Use 2 forks to pull chicken into shreds. Return chicken to cooker. Stir in mushrooms and tomatoes. Cover and cook on Low heat setting about 15 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with basil. Serve with cheese.

This was DELICIOUS! It's been a long time (okay, I've only done it once...) since I've done chicken in the crock pot b/c it was such a disaster the first time I did it. But this soup was amazing. I didn't use shrooms b/c Alex is not a fan. We had a ton of leftovers since it's just the 2 of us.

Crock pot tortilla soup

Here's another quick, easy and healthy one girls...


Combine the following in crock pot and cook on low 10-12 hours or on high for 6 hours:

2 chicken breasts, boned and cubed (raw)
1 can corn
1 onion, diced
1/2 tsp garlic powder (or diced fresh garlic)
4 cups chicken broth
 8 oz tomato paste
can rotel tomatoes (when I can't find that I either used diced fresh tomatoes with some shakes of green tabasco or a can of regular tomatoes and a can of green chilies- if I can find that)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper
1 bay leaf
(it's not called for in the original recipe but I usually add either a can of black beans if I have it or a can of refried beans)

Serve with shredded cheese, labneh and crumbled tortilla chips