Potato Cumin Soup

My friend Marrya gave me this recipe and it is SO good.  It doesn't sound like it would be that great, but it is in my top 3 favorite soups of all time. 






Ingredients:
1/4 c. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 c. flour
6 c. chicken broth (I substitute water and bouillon and it's fine!)
6 medium potatoes, cut into bite sized cubes
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 c. medium cheddar cheese, grated
2 c. whole milk (I cheat and use half and half and it's even better)

Directions:
Saute onion and garlic in butter.  Add flour and stir to dissolve.  Add broth, potatoes, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes.  Turn down heat.  Add cheese and milk, stirring until soup is thickened.

Chicken Noodle Soup

I finally got the recipe how I liked it! After taking many recipes, and combining and changing and adding whatever to it, I am happy with how it is now!

Ingredients:

one whole chicken

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. boullion

1/2 tsp. celery salt

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/4 tsp. pepper, or to taste

1 tsp. salt, or to taste

Directions:

Cover chicken with water and above ingredients. You can certainly add carrots, onions, and celery to this, but I like to do that in a different step.

Once chicken is done, take out of water to cool. I strain the broth at this point to get any bits of skin or even bones out of it. You don't have to, but I just like to!

Put broth back on stove to keep boiling.

In another pot, mix the following

Ingredients:

4 carrots, sliced

1 medium onion, diced

2 celery ribs

1/4 c. butter

Directions:

Simmer those together until everything is tender and turning a golden brown on outside. Stir in 1/4 c. flour and let that turn thick and golden brown with the veggies for a couple minutes. Turn of heat.

At this point, I make some homemade noodles. My kids love them. I think they are fun to make! I use THIS recipe. Just make sure you roll out thin enough and also slice them thinly (I use a pizza cutter). They poof up while cooking, so that's why you want them pretty thin.

Debone chicken and throw the pieces back into the boiling broth. Add the veggies with everything in the pan, scraping it to get all the bits of veggies and butter. Place the noodles, one at a time, into the boiling broth. They don't take long to cook. *I heard that you can put vinegar in the water to keep them from sticking, or some people say they put the noodles in a bag with flour and toss them so they are coated with flour. That might save time, but I've never tried either of those. Turn off heat because it now is SUPER hot and will stay hot for a long, long time!

You can be done and it's great at this point, or you can mix in some milk or half and half. My mom always made her chicken noodle soup with milk, so I sometimes add 2 cups milk or if I have it, the half and half.

Mimi's Cafe Corn Chowder

I love this soup! I order this almost every time I go to Mimi's Cafe (or I should say everytime I went, seeing as there isn't one in Michigan). This recipe used to be listed on their website, but it's no longer there, so I'm glad I copied it before they took it down.




Ingredients:
4 Tbsp butter or margarine
6 Tbsp onion, chopped
3/4 cup celery, diced
2 1/2 cups hot water
2 cups raw potato, peeled and cut in 1/2" cubes
1 quart Half & Half
3 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 Tbsps sugar
2 tsps salt
1 pinch white pepper
3 Tbsps flour

Directions:
Melt butter in large saucepan on medium heat, then simmer onion and celery for 5 minutes until soft, but not brown. Add water, potatoes, corn and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are barely tender. Whisk the flour into 1 cup of the Half & Half, and stir into the soup. Add the remaining 3 cups of Half & Half. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the soup has thickened to a creamy consistency. If needed, add additional salt and pepper to taste. To thin soup add milk; to make it thicker, simmer another 5-10 minutes. Yields 2 1/2 quarts.

No-Chop Chili

This is one of my favorite go-to recipes. Most of the ingredients are all pantry (or food storage) staples, so it's an easy weeknight dinner. My kids love it!

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. ground beef, browned
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 cup bottled salsa (we like Herdez)
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1 can chili beans, undrained (we like the Western Family brand)
1 can petite diced tomatoes, undrained (again, WF brand)

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for 4-8 hours. You can also do this on the stove, cooking for 30 minutes. Top with shredded cheese and crackers. Yum!

Zuppa Toscana

Last night Dillon and I got to go on a date with my Olive Garden gift card. (Thanks mom for the present and for watching the boys!) I love their Zuppa Toscana soup so much. I have the recipe and after eating it there last night, I have to say that the recipe I have tastes really exactly like theirs. It's so good, and easy to make as well.


Ingredients:
1 lb. spicy Italian sausage *(I do just use normal and add a bit of cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes--just add a little at a time at the end till it's as spicy as you like, so just a couple shakes, then taste)
1/2 lb. smoked bacon, chopped
4 c. water
1 cans chicken broth
2 large russet potatoes, sliced thin and cut in half, with skins
2 garlic cloves, crushed (I add more usually)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 c. chopped kale (the green leafy stuff in the soup)
1 c. heavy whipping cream (half and half is fine, or even milk would probably work great)
salt and pepper to taste (don't forget this part! It's also important to watch it with the bacon being salty as well, so add a little at a time)
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Brown sausage. Drain and set aside. Cook bacon--drain an dset aside. Place water, broth, potatoes, garlic, and onion in pot; simmer over medium heat until potatoes and onions are tender. Add sausage and bacon to pot; simmer for 10 minutes. Add kale and cream to pot; season with salt and pepper; heat through. Top with Parmesan cheese. Serve with rolls or breadsticks!

Cream of Broccoli Soup

I love this soup! And it only takes about 20 minutes to make, especially if the broccoli is already cut up into bite sized pieces.

Ingredients:
About 6 cups of water
1 head of broccoli
3-4 chicken bouillon cubes
About 2 cups milk

1/2 cup butter (no substitutes)
1/2 cup flour

1 cup cheddar cheese OR
1 can cheese whiz

Directions:
Put the water, broccoli cut into small pieces, and bouillon cubes into a large pot. Boil until broccoli is cooked (about 10 minutes). Pour in the milk, turn heat down to medium and heat until the milk is warm.

In the meantime, melt the butter in a saucepan on medium-medium/high. Add the flour and stir it together. Let simmer while stirring frequently for 3-4 minutes. Stir butter/flour mixture into the broccoli water. Stir until somewhat thick. Add the cheese or cheese whiz. Season to taste.

Enjoy!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup is quick and I believe pretty healthy. I know it's not soup season, but I guess I was craving it the other day!





Ingredients:
1/2 c. chopped onion
3 chicken breasts halves
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. chili powder
2 cans chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can green chilies, with juice
1 can black beans, rinsed (you don't have to, you can throw the whole can in, but it kind of discolors the soup)

Toppings:
cheese
cilantro
sour cream
tortilla chips (or corn tortillas cut into strips and baked 7-8 minutes at 400 degrees--a little better than the chips as they don't get as soggy)
lime juice

Directions:
For the chicken, I like to cook it in the crockpot with some chicken broth, cumin, and garlic so it's nice and tender. Or you can just cook it however you want to! Chop chicken, cook onions in some oil or in the crockpot, mix everything together and heat through. Top with cheese, cilantro, sour cream, lime juice, and mix with tortilla chips or tortilla strips. Easy!

Ham and Bean Soup

Can you tell we've had to try and use ham leftovers this week!? This was actually really yummy and a great way to use up that ham! Aren't you impressed--I actually took these two pictures myself (with recipe below). I was surprised that it has kind of a tomato broth base to it, cause I've never had ham and bean soup like that, but it turned out yummy and quite healthy as well. Makes a ton of soup, but the good part is, you can FREEZE it!



Ingredients:
1 (20 ounce) package 15 bean mixture, soaked overnight--(I just used white beans and navy beans)
1 ham bone
2 1/2 cups cubed ham
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
5 large carrots, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 (12 fluid ounce) can low-sodium vegetable juice (like V8)
3 cups vegetable broth (I just used water)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsley
3 tablespoons lemon juice
5 cups low fat, low sodium chicken broth (might need more, depending on if you like it thinner)

Directions:
Remove and discard seasoning packet, if any, from beans. Place beans in large stockpot. Cover with water to 2 inches over beans and soak overnight. Drain the soaking water from the beans. Cover beans with fresh water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes. Drain. Add the ham bone, ham, onion, celery, carrots, tomatoes, vegetable juice, and vegetable broth. Season with Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, chili powder, bay leaves, pepper, parsley and lemon juice. Pour in enough of the chicken broth to cover the ingredients. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 hours. Add more chicken broth as needed throughout the day. Remove the ham bone and season with salt if needed. Remove bay leaves before serving.