SOUPS ON! Day 7

Chicken Enchilada Soup

This is my most recently-discovered soup recipe, but it has become one of my favorites!  I think I like it better than taco soup!  You can make it more spicy by substituting the spicy rotel for mild, or adding "hot" enchilada sauce instead of just regular.  This is a crock pot recipe, but it kind of has a bit of preparation before putting everything in the crock pot...  So I usually do not make this one on a weekday morning, but on a Saturday or Sunday when I have more time in the mornings.

3 T. butter
3 T. flour
1/2 c. chicken broth
2 c. milk, divided
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes
1 pkg (10 oz.) frozen corn
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped bell pepper
1 can Enchilada sauce
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (you can do fresh or frozen)
Toppings:  shredded cheese, cour cream, tortilla chips

Melt butter in saucepan over medium-low heat.  Stir in flour and stir until smooth and bubbly.

Remove from heat and add chicken broth and 1/2 c. milk a little at a time, stirring to keep it smooth.

Return mixture to the heat and bring sauce to a gentle boil.  Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens.

In a large bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce and chicken broth mixture.  Gradually whisk in the remaining 1 1/2 c. milk until smooth.  Set sauce aside.

In crockpot, combine beans, Rotel tomatoes, corn, onion, and bell pepper.  Place chicken on top.

Pour sauce over the ingredients in the crock pot.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours, of high for 3-4 hours.

When ready to serve, take out chicken breasts and shred.  Return to the pot.  Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir well.

Serve topped with cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.


If you have any great soup recipes, please send them my way!!!!

SOUPS ON! Day 6

Tomato Florentine Soup

When I was a kid, we ate at Shoney's all the time.  Guess that was a thing of my generation...there aren't that many Shoney's restaurants anymore, but when I was little, there was one in every town.  Anyway, my grandmother and I used to LOVE their Tomato Florentine Soup.  Once again, one day I had a craving for it and so I searched for a copy-cat recipe.  Couldn't really find one that I thought was similar, so I kind of put several things together from different recipes and came up with this soup.  If you like spinach, pasta, and tomatoes, you'll probably like it.

Ingredients:
2 T. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 c. finely chopped celery
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 c. water
3 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
2 cans diced tomatoes with basil and oregano, undrained
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 c. uncooked small seashell pasta
4 c. fresh baby spinach leaves, chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion and celery.  Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute more. 

Add water, broth, tomatoes, and tomato sauce.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Stir in the pasta (uncooked) and cook for 8 minutes.

Add spinach and cook for 2 minutes, or until spinach wilts and pasta is done.

Stir in salt and pepper. 

Top each bowl of soup with parmesan cheese.

SOUPS ON! Day 5

Swensen's Cheese Soup

Oh how I miss going to eat lunch at Swensen's!  I think it was Jenny who introduced me to this fabulous little place to eat in Jackson when I was in Jr. High.  I have so many memories of eating there with my mom and sisters and also with various friends from high school and college on weekends when I was home from MSU.  Every single time, I ordered the same thing:  a cup of their famous cheese soup, half of an egg salad sandwich, and a scoop of chocolate peanutbutter icecream.

 

One day a couple of years back, I was CRAVING some of that yummy cheese soup and so I tried to find one of those "copy-cat" recipes online.  This is what I found.  ***Note:  This isn't exactly the healthiest thing to eat I guess, but it is pretty close to Swensen's cheese soup as I remember it! 

Ingredients:
4 T. Butter
3 stalks celery, chopped fine
4 green onions, chopped fine
2 cans chicken broth
16 slices of Velveeta Cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 soup cans full of half-and-half

Saute the celery in butter.  Add green onions and saute some more until both veggies are really soft.  Add broth, cheese slices, and soup.  Stir often so cheese won't stick.  Last, add the half-and-half.

SOUPS ON! Day 4

Taco Soup

I found this recipe when I was in college and my roommates and I used to make it ALL THE TIME!  We'd invite lots of people over for dinner because it makes a TON!  Whenever I make it now, we have leftovers to take to lunch and also eat at dinner for a few days afterwards! 

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
1/2 c. salsa
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 (14 oz) cans whole kernel corn, undrained
1 (16 oz) can black beans, undrained
2 c. water
salt and pepper to taste
toppings:  tortilla chips or fritos, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream

In a large pot, brown the ground beef, onion, and bell pepper.  Drain.

Add tomatoes and stir.

Stir in remaining ingredients (except for toppings) and simmer on LOW for 1 hour.

Serve soup topped with choice of toppings.

SOUPS ON! Day 3

Crawfish Bisque

I got this recipe from my cousin who made it one weekend when we were all at the farm.  I've thought about trying it with fresh crabmeat, too!  This is really yummy!  And probably the easiest thing you will ever make!

Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter
1/3 c. chopped green onion
8 oz. cream cheese
1 pint half-and-half
2 pkg. frozen crawfish
2 cans cream of potato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cans whole kernel corn (drained)
1 1/2 T. Tony's Seasoning
Hot, cooked rice

Saute onions in butter until soft.  Combine remaining ingredients and heat, stirring occasionally.  Serve over rice.

SOUPS ON! Day 2

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I got this recipe from a Southern Living magazine a long time ago and have changed it up a bit over the years.  It makes a TON and is so delicious!  You cook it in the crock pot all day and it's so easy to make!

Ingredients:
6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes (about 3 1/2 to 4 lbs.)
1 large onion, chopped
3 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth
4 - 6 cloves garlic, chopped
Parsley flakes (to your liking)
1/4 c. butter
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 c. half-and-half
1/2 to 1 c. milk
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 T. fresh, chopped chives
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
Bacon, cooked and crumbled
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Green Onions, chopped

In a greased crock pot, combine potatoes, onion, chicken broth, garlic, parsley, butter, salt, and pepper.  Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.

Mash potato mixture until potatoes are coarsely shopped and soup is slightly thickened.  Stir in half and half.  Add milk slowly until soup reaches desired consistency.  (Sometimes it is too think for me with just the half-and-half, so I add milk and stir in to make it a bit thinner.)  Then add the cheese and chives.

Serve soup topped with choice of toppings:  grated cheddar, more chives, sour cream, bacon, and green onions.

SOUPS ON! Day One

In my family, we LOVE to eat some soup! Especially during this time of year when it's cold outside.  I think I could probably live off of soup and sandwiches if I had to.  I have lots of soup recipes and they all make a huge pot, so we have leftovers sometimes for two more days!  Not having to cook one night is AWESOME to this working mom!  Plus, soup is SO easy to make!

 

So anyway, I thought I would share some of our favorite soups with you!  I have a week's worth of recipes to share...  We'll start with our family favorite...

 

Creamy Tomato Soup

 

Ingredients:

4 c. whole milk

3 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, lightly drained

2 rounded tablespoons tomato paste

1 medium onion, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. sugar

4 T. all-purpose flour

2 T. butter, cut into pieces

1 stalk celery, coarsely shopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

toppings:  pesto and grated parmesan

 

Heat milk over medium-low heat in large pot.

 

Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, combine all other ingredients (except for toppings) and grind until very smooth.  (**Note:  My food processor won't hold it all, so I have to do it in two batches.  Depends on how large yours is!)  Pour tomato mixture into milk and raise heat to bring soup to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes uncovered.

 

Serve soup with a spoonful of pesto (stir into soup to blend in) and sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

 

We like ours with grilled cheese sandwiches or cheesesticks for dipping!  This is truly my favorite soup in the entire world!