Bruschetta Soup

 

Bruschetta Soup

 :

Toss together and roast in oven at 450 for 20 minutes (stir after 10 minutes)

 

4 C thinly sliced onions (about 2 medium)

EVOO

1/4 t salt (optional)

1/4 t freshly ground pepper

Then add to pan:

4 C halved cherry tomatoes

1/2 C thinly sliced garlic

Continue roasting about another 20 minutes until tomatoes are beginning to brown in spots.

Slice some thick slices of artisan bread (I used Trader Joe's whole wheat Pain Pauline), toast on a baking sheet for the last 10 minutes the tomatoes/onions are roasting.

Transfer to large pot and add 4 C chicken broth (I used low salt no-chicken broth)...bring to simmer...

Chop some fresh basil (about 15 leaves)

To serve: place bread in bottom of large flat soup bowl; top with soup, a little basil and some parmesan cheese. 

Hulk Soup! (Creamy no-cream zucchini-basil soup)

 

A very QUICK soup!...Just chop the veggies, saute, simmer, blend....This is slightly adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe....this is a double recipe, because you'll want leftovers or some to share!It has a very creamy consistency...but contains none!

1 T olive oil (or use Pam if you prefer)

3-4 large cloves garlic, minced

2 medium onions, diced

4 medium zuccini, chopped (about 6-8 C)

1 t salt...I didn't add this

1/2 t pepper (freshly ground is nice)

4 C low-sodium chicken stock (I used "No-Chicken"Broth...low sodium)

1/2 bunch (about 4 T) fresh basil, chopped

4 C fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped

You could also add some chunks of cooked chicken (rotisserie?)

Saute onions, garlic, zucchini, seasoning with (salt) and pepper, 3-4 minutes, until onions have softened. Add 2 C broth, cover and cook about 10 minutes, until zucchini is falling apart. 

Add basil and blend with an immersion blender or in a blender or food processor...I liked the immersion blender as it doesn't liquify things quite so much. Return to pot and add spinach and 2 more cups broth. Cook about 5 minutes until heated through. Add chicken if desired. Serve with sour cream and sprinkle with nutmeg...

***You could also stir in a package of fat free cream cheese, softened a bit in the microwave if you don't mind the additional calories/dairy....but it's really delicious as is.

A Stormy Day...and Clam Chowder

I thought I had already posted this, but I guess not....I often make this in my pressure cooker...it only takes about 3 minutes to cook the potatoes....but a big soup pot works as well. Most of these ingredients are pretty "approximate"...



3-4 slices bacon
2 medium onions
3 stalks celery
3-4 potatoes (more if they are smallish)
2 cans minced clams(with liquid)
3 C milk***
4-5 T flour(I like Wondra)



Slice the bacon into 1/4 inch pieces and cook in your pot...you can drain off the grease if you want to lower the fat content of your chowder...but leave a little for sauteing the onions and celery.
After sauteing chopped onions and celery, add potatoes, diced (about 3/4 inch)
Add about 2 C water, cover and cook until potatoes are tender.
Add milk/flour mix; simmer until thickened and season with s & p or lemon pepper.

***Milk...originally when Grandma Janiece made this we just added 2 cans of evaporated milk; we didn't thicken it. But now I usually use some combination of (depending on how low fat I want it to be) milk and half & half...thickened with the Wondra flour. I have made it with all 1% milk too and it's still good.

Turkey Barley Soup (from Vicki R)

This soup is reason enough to "make" a turkey...
This picture was taken after the soup had been reheated a couple of times and got a little less "soupy"....but still yummy. Served with that good cb sauce from Costco.

Put your turkey bones (I hate to say carcass)in a big pot and add about 1 gallon cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer an hour or so. Drain, saving broth and cooked turkey meat.

Put broth back in the pot and add:

2-3 T chicken bouillon concentrate(Tone's or Better than Bouillon)

2 medium brown onions, chopped

1 C pearl barley (or a little more if you like it thicker)

1 pkg frozen sliced carrots*

1 t sage

s & p

Cook about 40 minutes until barley is tender; add the saved turkey plus more leftover turkey.

Season with more s&p as desired...Can be frozen.

***we originally made this with Parisienne Carrots which came frozen. But I haven't been able to find them for several years...if you see them, grab a bunch...they are really cute..little round ball carrots that are delicious.

Cream Cheese Chicken Vegetable Soup

This recipe is from My Kitchen Cafe...it was the basis for the Ratatouille Soup I made up.

Cream Cheese Chicken and Vegetable Soup

1-2 T butter (or Pam)

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced (or more)

2 stalks celery, diced

2 regular carrots sliced (I used half a large package of frozen, sliced carrots)

3 C chicken broth

3 potatoes, peeled and diced (if you use red skinned potatoes you could leave the peels on)

1 C milk

4 T flour (Wondra)

8 oz pkg. cream cheese (light or fat free is fine)

3 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and diced

-I actually cooked the chicken breasts in some water, then used the water for the broth, adding just a little chicken bouillon to strengthen it.

-Saute the garlic, onions and celery in the butter or Pam until tender.

-Add the carrots, potatoes and broth and cook until potatoes are tender.

-Mix the flour and milk and whisk into the soup. Cook until it begins to thicken. Soften the cream cheese in the microwave until it's really soft, then add in small pieces and blend in.

- Add cooked chicken and heat through. Season with salt and pepper.

The other day I made a some of these yummy roasted vegetables and had some left over...so I made it into WONDERFUL veggie soup...reminiscent of a creamy pumpkin soup but with a great flavor...due to the mixture of garlic, onions, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, pears, tomatoes...

Creamy "Ratatouille" Soup

3-4 Cups leftover roasted veggies
3 C chicken broth
1 C milk
4 T flour (Wondra is good)
8 oz. pkg cream cheese (fat free or low fat works fine)

Blend the veggies with some of the chicken broth until smooth.
Mix the flour and milk and stir into the veggie mix in soup pot. Simmer until it thickens somewhat.
Soften the cream cheese in the microwave; add by small spoonfuls blending throughly. Simmer 20 minutes. Serve with nutmeg...maybe a bit of sour cream. It was delicious!

Fiesta Chicken Soup...for a group!

Last month I made this soup to serve at the dinner following the Women's Broadcast...this is not a very appealing picture...this is the recipe x 4 made in my big roaster...I did this 5 times (to serve 225)....

Here's the single recipe...it's easy, once you cook the chicken, onions and peppers, and you can freeze it!

Fiesta Chicken Soup

3 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up

1 green pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

1 1/2 t cumin

1 1/2 t garlic powder

1 t chili powder

1 pkg frozen white corn

1 can kidney beans, drained

2 cans chicken broth (or water +bouillon paste)

1 can Rotell tomatoes (or any mexican style canned tomatoes...about 12 oz.)

1 small can tomato sauce

1/2 lb. Velveeta cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

juice of 1 lime (optional)

3 corn tortillas, sliced

Boil the chicken breasts, cut up.

(You could actually use the water you cooked them in for the chicken broth, maybe with the addition of a little bouillon paste...Tone's??? or Better that Bouillon)

Dice green pepper and onion; saute in a little butter or oil.

Then just dump everything else into a pot; cook until cheese melts and tortillas soften and start to dissolve.

Nice to serve with this....sour cream, taco sauce, diced avocado, tortilla chips...

Taco Soup

This good on a cold day...I often double it and give some away.

Taco Soup

1/2 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
1 28 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can kidney or canneloni beans
2-3 T taco seasoning mix
2 C water
6 corn tortillas

Brown meat; add everything else (tear up the tortillas or cut into triangles); let simmer 20-30 minutes; serve with sour cream and taco sauce.

Butternut Squash Soup

This soup is sort of like eating pumpkin pie...it's yummy (if you like squash...if you don't you probably won't be too excited)

Butternut Squash Soup

2 lb. cubed butternut squash (I bought some at Costco)
2 T butter
2 leeks (or you could just use more onions)
2 brown onions
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 apple, peeled and cubed (I used a Honey Crisp)
32 oz chicken broth (I used Kitchen Basics from Safeway)
1 C apple juice (I used Barsotti's fresh pressed)
3 cinnamon sticks

I used my big red cast iron pot, but any soup pot will work. Saute the onions and garlic a bit in the butter about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover and simmer about 40 minutes until everything's tender. Remove the cinnamon sticks and puree in blender (I used the Vitamix). Salt and pepper to taste...serve with sour cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.
This was very reminiscent of pumpkin pie...next time I think I'll use curry.

Onion Soup

French Onion Soup

6 medium brown onions
2 T butter
2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 C red wine (optional...I usually don't have any)
6-8 C beef broth (I use that beef paste you mix with water)
1/2 t thyme (again,optional)
Swiss cheese, grated
French Bread

Peel and slice the onions; cook with the butter, sugar and salt until slightly browned...either about 1/2 hour on the stove, or this time I left them in my crock pot for a couple of hours since I was going to be gone...add the wine, broth and thyme and simmer for another 1/2 hour (or keep cooking in the crock pot)
To serve, toast the french bread slices...you can leave them whole, but I usually cut them into chunks (like big croutons) to float on top of the bowls of soup. Cover with the grated cheese and broil until melted (or heat each bowl in the microwave about 40 seconds)


This picture is kind of skimpy on the cheese because I forget to take a picture until we had eaten almost all of it!

Minnestrone Soup

So Jess's post about soup (see Der Blog to the right) made me hungry for some...since I didn't know what to do for dinner tonight...I figured I'd throw this together...other than chopping some onion, carrots and celery, it's pretty much just open the cans...I had to hunt today to find the Italian green beans...you could use regular green beans...but the Italian are more authentic (not that this is very authentic...but it's pretty good, low in fat, high in fiber and and cinch to make)

Minnestrone Soup

Chop: 1 medium onion, 1 stalk celery, 2 carrots and add to:

1 (28oz) can crushed or diced tomatoes
1 can canneloni beans (white beans of some sort)
1 C Italian green beans (1/2 pkg.)
1/2 pkg frozen chopped spinach (just saw the package in half and save the rest in the freezer)
12 oz bottle (or half of 24 oz bottle...duh) spaghetti sauce
1/2 C small shell macaroni
1/2 t dry basil
1/2 t dry oregano
1/4 t cayenne pepper (if you want)
1/3 C prepared pesto sauce
water to cover (maybe 2 C)

Simmer a couple of hours and serve with a generous helping of Parmesan cheese...Good left over...