It's Soup Season!

[smirkymonkey]

Making a big pot of chicken soup today, one of my all time favorite comfort foods. What are your favorite soups for the season and do you have any good recipes?

[Floyd R. Turbo]

1. Lentil, Split Pea and Ham, Borscht, Chicken Noodle Matzo Ball, Beef Stew, Chicken Tortilla, Clam

Chowder, Broccoli Cheese, oh and Chili!

I’ll stop now!

[smirkymonkey]

5. Yum!

I could eat soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. I am obsessed with it!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. One of my favorites is something I call chicken of muchness.

Chicken of Muchness

2 chicken leg quarters
3 or 4 carrots
2 cans of diced or crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 small green pepper
3 or 4 cups of chicken broth
3 bay leaves
3 cinnamon sticks
½ to ¾ tsp each of celery salt, marjoram, thyme, basil, and tarragon
olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour

Bring the chicken to a boil with just enough water to cover. Turn heat down to simmer and skim off scum and fat that comes to the surface. This will take ten to fifteen minutes.

Once skimming is done, put the bay leaves, peeled carrots, and cinnamon sticks in pot with chicken, cover and let simmer for an hour.

Remove carrots and chicken. Let them cool while you sauté the sliced onion and green pepper in a little olive oil. You want them to get a little brown. Put in soup pot. Add the tomatoes.

Make a roux with the butter and flour in that same pan, then add a cup or two of broth. Stir and let it thicken over the heat until it seems thick enough. Pour into pot.

Cut up the carrots, strip the chicken from the bones and return to soup pot. Now add the other seasonings. You will probably need to add more chicken broth to have the right amount of liquid.

Cover and simmer for an hour or so.

Make rice, which takes about 20 minutes, when you’re ready to eat. Put rice in a bowl, then add the chicken of muchness. Ground pepper and some salt and enjoy!

This also freezes incredibly well.

[smirkymonkey]

6. Sounds delicious!

I was also going to make another soup with spinach/kale, cannelini beans, and chopped tomato w/ onions, garlic, celery and parsley, oregano, romano and parmesan cheese. I just kind of saute the aromatic veggies and then throw everything into a pot and it usually turns out pretty well. It's a good, healthy vegetarian meal and the romano/parmesan cheeses give it a lot of extra flavor without adding too much extra fat or calories.

[smirkymonkey]

8. That looks very good and hearty!

I love bean soups. However, I think I would use frozen corn instead of canned (it's fresher tasting) and a grated Italian cheese such as parmesan or romano or even a shredded jalepeno monteray jack cheese instead of velveta, but that is just my preferred taste.

That is the great thing about soups, you can be creative and mix things up according to your personal taste. It's kind of hard to screw it up as long as you have the basics down.

[yellowdogintexas]

37. I would drain the beans no matter what she says.

It's a habit from 12 years cooking the Weight Watchers Way. Now I do not even like undrained canned beans

[NRaleighLiberal]

4. My soup rotation...

Posole, beef stew, chile, tomato bisque, chicken and rice (or noodle), pumpkin, butternut squash, carrot, potato leek and cauliflower. Love them all, but the butternut squash soup I made a few days ago was one of my best ever. Throw some home made bread (with EVOO for dipping) into the meal....and perfect! Oh - then there is the wine.....

[smirkymonkey]

9. I love cauliflower soup!

I am dying for a good recipe! You can never find a good cauliflower soup anywhere. I just bought a hand blender to make pureed vegetable soups and that will be one of my first projects once I find a good recipe!

Soup, good bread w/ butter and a good glass of wine is perfection!

[NRaleighLiberal]

11. I will provide my basic recipe for soups - just the key ingredients and a few spices need to vary

Butternut soup

1 medium to large butternut squash - cut in half, ends cut off, seeds removed - bake cut side down for 1 hour at 350. Let cool then scoop the flesh from the skin and reserve in a bowl

Take the seeds, remove from the pulp - spray with cooking oil, add a pinch of cinnamon, salt, garam masala and sugar - bake at 350 on parchment for 20 minutes or until browned.

In a large covered pan (we use a large Le Creuset pan), melt 2 tbsp butter.
Add: 1 chopped sweet onion, 3 peeled, chopped garlic cloves, 3 stalks chopped celery, 1 chopped, seeded red sweet pepper, a 1 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, chopped - saute over medium in the butter for 10 minutes.

Add the following spices - 2 tbsp black mustard seed, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, several grinds black pepper, 1 tbsp garam masala - stir well, saute for a few more minutes.

Add 2 potatoes, chopped, the squash, and 3 cups of low sodium chicken stock - bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Have 1 cup of 2%, skin or whole milk (as you wish - almond milk will work too) coming to room temp.

Move the pan off of the heat and start to puree the soup in the pan using an immersion blender. When the big chunks are reduced, add the milk, an additional tsp of garam masala, and finish pureeing until smooth.

Serve sprinkled with the roasted seeds.


I use the same basic recipe for Cauliflower soup, subbing in the cauli for the squash - and pretty much using the same spices, except for the cinnamon. I use this for pumpkin and carrot soup too, but use some orange juice in addition to the stock (say, 1 cup) for the carrot soup.

[smirkymonkey]

13. Sounds amazing!

I am looking forward to trying your ideas! I would have never thought to use garam masala, but it sounds delicious! Thank you!

[NRaleighLiberal]

24. let me know what you think if you try it.

[smirkymonkey]

26. I will! I am kind of set for soup for the upcoming week, but will try it

for next week and let you know how it is!

[Harker]

25. Baking or roasting squash is key

to extracting a refined taste, and of course it cuts way down on overdoing the simmering of everything else.

Those little brown edges do wonders for the flavor.

[NRaleighLiberal]

28. yessiree...caramalization!

[Lochloosa]

7. Grits!

[smirkymonkey]

10. Is that a soup?

I thought it was more of a dish like polenta or something like that.

[smirkymonkey]

12. Oh, and another helpful hint when making soup w/ noodles/pasta

I picked this up from my grandmother and mother. They cooked the pasta separately, al dente. Then put it into the soup bowls and ladled the soup over the noodles. This way, the broth didn't get all starchy and the noodles didn't get too soft and mealy.

[Trailrider1951]

14. How about a vegetarian entry: Creamy Leek Soup

It's one of my favorites for this time of year!

Creamy Leek Soup

2 Leeks, green leaves and root ends removed, washed well, and sliced lengthwise, then sliced crosswise into 1 cm (1/2 in) pieces
1 small onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 cup baby carrots, sliced thickly
5 small or 3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
3 veg bouillon cubes
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 to 2 liters (quarts) water
Freshly ground black pepper
½ liter (1 pint) heavy cream (or Half and Half)

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat and add onion, celery, carrots, and leeks. Saute for a few minutes until onions and leeks are wilted. Add pepper, bouillon cubes, and enough water to cover the veggies to a depth of 4-5 cm (about 2 in). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until carrots and celery are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust salt/water content. Mixture should taste slightly salty. Add potatoes and simmer until potatoes are soft. Remove from heat and add cream, mixing well. Serve immediately with crusty French bread. Reheats well in the microwave, but don’t let it boil!

[smirkymonkey]

19. That sounds delicious!

I am always looking for more vegetarian soups and dishes. I am going to be putting that one on the docket!

I just made another one to balance out the chicken soup that's all veggies. Kale, white beans, tomatoes, onions, garlic, parsley, potato, celery, oregano and pecorino romano cheese. You can make it vegan by omitting the cheese. I use a little extra virgin olive oil to sautee the veggies before I add water/broth, which gives it a nice flavor.

[yellowdogintexas]

38. there is always Refrigerator/Freezer soup

made with whatever canned/leftover/frozen veg you have around

[MissMillie]

15. homemade split pea w/ ham

Pho Gai

homemade chicken noodle

15-bean soup

Hot & Sour soup and Wonton soup (whenever I catch a cold, I go for the Chinese soup)

homemade beef soup w/ tortellini and peas

[smirkymonkey]

20. They all sound great!

I love the spicy coconut milk, Thai chicken soup from the restaurant up the street from me when I am sick as well. Asian soups are the best.

[Harker]

16. I have an empty bowl in front of me.

It was filled (twice) with a soup based on ratatouille.

I roasted a couple of sliced zucchini, about half a red pepper, a head of garlic, and a diced eggplant (last one from the garden) all drizzled with olive oil at 425 til lightly browned. About 30 mins.

Chopped a sweet onion, a few stalks of celery, and sauteed them in a sizeable saucepan. Threw in two 14 oz. cans of tomatoes (one stewed, one fire roasted diced), some herbes de Provence, a little shallot pepper, a touch of sweet paprika and cumin, and a bit of fines herbes...

Squeezed garlic out of husky coverings... threw into onion tomato mixture with roasted vegetables, about a quart of water, a half teaspoon of vegetable broth concentrate, and some hickory smoked salt.

Whizzed it a touch to thicken things up, and simmered for 20 mins.

[smirkymonkey]

21. Yum!

I make a good zucchini stew, but that sounds delicious. I love eggplant and it's nice to see a soup recipe with eggplant in it, because they are few and far between. Thank you!

[Harker]

23. My pleasure!

The mood (and a few extra zucchini) hit me last night... I found myself torn between making ratatouille and a pot of soup, so the middle way came easily.

[Harker]

17. When I remember how to make it...

I'll share my recipe for yellow split pea with chanterelles and lavender.

[Kaleva]

18. Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients

1 pound ground Italian sausage (spicy)
4-6 russet potatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
32 ounces chicken broth
1/2 bunch kale destemmed and cut/torn into bite-sized pieces
1 cup heavy whipping cream or 1 cup half and half
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
1/4 cup bacon, cooked and chopped

How to Make It

Step 1
Brown ground sausage in a sauté pan.

Step 2
Place ground sausage with juices, chicken broth, garlic, potatoes and onion in slow cooker. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables and meat.

Step 3
Cook on high 3-4 hours (low 5-6 hours) until potatoes are soft.

Step 4
30 minutes before serving:

Step 5
Mix flour into cream removing lumps.

Step 6
Add cream and kale to the crock pot, stir.

Step 7
Cook on high 30 minutes or until broth thickens slightly.

Step 8
Add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

Step 9
Top with bacon immediately before serving.

[smirkymonkey]

22. That sounds heavenly!

I am going to have to try that one very soon. I might leave the bacon off just to limit the meat/fat content, but otherwise it sounds great.

I just made a vegetarian kale, white bean, tomato, potato, onion soup and it's quite tasty and healthy. I put a little pecorino romano in it (low fat, low cal cheese per ounce) to give it a richer flavor. I'm trying to be a little more health conscious these days.

[smirkymonkey]

27. One other helpful hint for those of you who bring lunch to work

I have found these great microwavable food/soup containers by a New Zealand company called "Sistema" that have clip on tops and a pop up vent for bringing soups/stews to work for lunch. They are the best product I have found so far for transporting liquid (and non-liquid) lunch items that require later heating in the microwave, and I have been looking for a while.

You can buy them in a number of places. See their website for info. FYI, I don't work for this company, I just really like their products. They have a sustainable focus and are BPA free.

https://sistemaplastics.com/

[NightWatcher]

29. Made White Bean and Kale Soup w Sausage and a pot of chili this past week.

[MFM008]

30. I love soup

Especially vegetable and barley types or squash.

[sarge43]

31. Chicken Barley n/t

[BuffaloJackalope]

32. So, what sort of shot do you use to bring down a full-grown bull soup?

[llmart]

33. One of my all time favorites and very healthy...

is the original Molly Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook's Gypsy soup.

[yellowdogintexas]

34. Pantry Soup ( because you can keep everything around very easily

in fact when I finish this post I am going to make some It is our favorite when we just didn't plan a meal

1 can each:
Kirkland Chicken breast
Ro-tel tomatoes and chiles
black beans (rinsed and drained)
chicken broth

1 cup frozen corn

seasonings of your choice to taste: cumin, chile powder, cayenne are mine

combine all the canned items ( I like to smush up the chicken into shreds ) in a saucepan. Add spices
Simmer for 15 minutes. Add the corn and simmer until the corn is just done.

Eat!

ZERO Weight Watcher Points

[Kali]

35. made posole on Friday

still working on it. put a little too much HOT chile in it

[yellowdogintexas]

36. A new one I just made last week found it on Pinterest

https://www.inspiredtaste.net/40400/lentil-soup/

Lentil Soup with Lemon and Turmeric.

It was very tasty and made a TON. My husband said it would benefit from some chicken so I popped a can of Kirkland Chicken Breast in and it was wonderful

Edited to add: I think this ended up with zero WW points. I ran the recipe using 6 servings but it was more like 8 so points even lower than the 2 per bowl.

[MerryBlooms]

39. GMTA, also made chicken soup today...

Biscuits to go with. Baked chicken and pears a couple nights ago, then a batch of bread pudding last night. We've had unseasonably warm temps this fall, but my sisters and I have been craving traditional fall food.

Your soup looks delish!