Curried Leek Soup

 This was so yummy.  This recipe by Arnold Foss of Mercer Maine was submitted to Taste of Home.  When I made this, I used regular evaporated milk because that is what I buy. I've also tried it with vegetable broth and it was still great.

Curried Leek Soup

3 medium leeks (white portion only), thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 can (12 oz) fat-free evaporated milk

In a 3 qt saucepan, saute leeks and garlic in butter over medium heat until tender. Add the broth, water, carrots, celery, bouillon, curry powder and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Cool slightly.

Place 1 cup soup in a blender or food processor; cover and rocess until smooth. Return to pan. Add milk; heat through but do not boil. Yield: 4 servings.

Split Pea Soup

This is my aunt's recipe.  This is a soup. If you like pea soup thick like a stew, put in only 4 cups water.

Split Pea Soup

Vilma Bezek, MN

1 1/2 c ham, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tsp salt; if desire
1 onion; diced
6 cups water; heated
4 medium potatoes; cut in 1/2 in. cubes
2 cups split peas; uncooked
1-2 carrots, shredded
1 stalk celery; diced

Put water and split peas into crock pot. Set to high. Add ham, celery and onion. Add salt if ham had been reduced sodium. Cook for 2 hours on high. Add potatoes and carrots. Cook for another 2 hours. Serve.

To prep ham: Boil ham on bone for 45 minutes. Use water for soup water. Remove ham from bone and cut into cubes and add to soup. Toss bone. Finish according to above directions. Alternative: Just put ham on bone into crockpot. Meat can be cut up and bone removed either before adding potatoes or afterwards.

NOTES : Start this at 1:30, be finished before 6 p.m.  Freezes very well. I honestly never liked split pea soup (loved the smell) until I added potatoes to it. 

Peanut Tomato Soup

This is totally yummy and can be done and in your bowl in minutes.  I love traditional Virginia Peanut Soup but at about 1,000 calories a bowl, you can only have a small serving.  You could make one of the newish recipes, but they just aren't equal to the task.  My late Dad and I agreed that this was actually superior and cheaper (admittedly, we had a certain fondness for Campbell's Tomato Soup).  For a slightly richer soup, use a little cream or half and half for part of the milk.  Recipe comes from The Peanut Butter Cookbook by William I Kaufmann (c. 1977).

Peanut Tomato Soup

1 can (10.5 oz) Campbell's Cream of Tomato Soup
1/4 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
1 1/2 cans of milk

In a saucepan, stir the soup into the peanut butter, a little at a time until well blended.  Add milk gradually while stirring (to avoid lumps).  Heat, stirring occasionally.  Serve.  Makes about 3 cups.

Corn Leek Chowder

I don't do many soup recipes.  I have my standby recipes since I've so often been disappointed in trying new ones in this category.  This was extremely yummy.  My sister grew a bumper crop of leeks for Mom and this is one of the recipes she is using it in.  Mom substituted vegetable broth for the chicken broth. I think this recipe appeared in Taste of Home. The soup was developed by Stacey Savoyski, Southbury, CT. Prep is 10 min. Takes about 35 min. to cook so this is quick to make.

Corn Leek Chowder

2 cups chopped leeks (white portion only)

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 cups cubed peeled potatoes

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dill weed

3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon cold water

1/2 cup half and half cream

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan, saute the leeks, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the broth, potatoes and dill; cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender.

Stir in corn and pepper; cook 2 minutes longer. combine the cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Stir in cream. Cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until heated through. Garnish each serving with 1 tablespoon of cheese. Yield: 4 cups.

1 cup about 234 cal

Corn Chowder

Suddenly, blogger has changed their format for entering things, so if things are weird, it's because I haven't figured it out yet.

Today is Corn Chowder.  This chowder recipe can be done without ham and even without chicken broth (if for a vegetarian).  I'd like to try it again with sliced, fried bacon. The recipe is from the book The Weeknight Survival Cookbook by Dena Irwin. This book has menus for 12 weeks and focuses on making stuff one day and then using part of that to make the meal the next day. 

Very yummy chowder. While high in overall carbohydrates (78 g), by using a baked potato, the actual blood sugar effect is much lower, which is an issue if you are diabetic.

Corn Chowder

2 baked potatoes, diced
16 ounce package frozen kernel corn
16 oz. can cream-style corn
1 (15 oz) can reduced-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
4 ounces lean ham steak, diced
1/2 cup frozen diced onion
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed thyme
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup evaporated skim milk

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes until heated through.

Makes 4 servings

Broccoli Cheese Soup

For brainless, yet yummy soup, here's my easy version. Can you make it from scratch? Probably. The whole point of this soup is easy. Perfect for a cold or wet day. My former boss gave me this recipe in the early 80s. If you want a from-scratch recipe, Emeril's is the best there is.
Emeril's Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom
1 can Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup
1 10 oz. bag frozen broccoli
water and/or milk
1/8 tsp. pepper

In a saucepan, cook the broccoli and pepper according to package directions. Once cooked, leaving the broccoli and water in the pan, add the soups and 1 can of either water or milk. Mix well and heat. Add more water if too thick. You want a total of about 1.5 cans of water/milk. Serve with crusty bread.

Alternative for fresher flavor: add 1 cup of shredded cheddar plus 1/3 cup half and half or cream. I don't usually do this because of the calories.

My Rambling Chicken Soup Recipe

Everybody has their way of making chicken soup, usually learned from their Mom. I'm no different. Mom added things like Rotel tomatoes and green olives to leftover Thanksgiving Turkey soup, which really sets her soup apart from others. I continue to do that and found it works equally well with chicken. My soup varies from hers as I use barley and rice instead of pasta or potatoes. If there is leftover corn, peas or rice during the week, stick it into the freezer until you make soup. The leafy portion of the celery is particularly good for soup. I frankly don't like white meat in soup, so this is where I use wings, legs, and pretty much everything else. Freeze the liver, gizzard and heart for a stuffing; it makes the soup look more like goop. I eliminate the degreasing step by removing the skin prior to cooking. Don't be too particular. A little chicken oil adds to the flavor of the soup, but you don't want it looking like an oil spill. Also, I took a tip from Alton Brown (Good Eats) and now chop up and add those little dried up stubs of leftover cheese in the meat drawer (cut off any moldy bits). Mine is a quick to make soup. If you want the very rich chicken soup associated with Jewish mothers, you have to simmer the chicken, carrots, celery, onion and parsley 3-4 hours on low, but it uses the same basic ingredients without the bullion or soup base.

My amounts are approximate, so just adjust for your pot size. I use either a 3 qt. saucepan or a dutch oven. The whole green olives have more flavor than the presliced salad olives. Use only 1/4 can of Rotel tomatoes unless you really like hot. Alternately, use canned, frozen or fresh tomatoes, diced or chopped. If using potatoes, dice one or two and add. For pasta, use just a small handful or you will get stew. I prefer Orzo (100% semolina) by RiceSelect (in the natural foods aisle). It's an interesting melon shape. I do use rice, but usually only leftovers (even Rice a Roni works well). Just a small handful please! The chicken base has less salt, but feel free to use bouillon. You can get the really nice barley in the soup aisle, or get the not so pretty, but cheap barley in the natural foods section. I learned on an Italian cooking show to add another teaspoon of Italian spice 15 minutes before the end of your cooking time. Gives more of a fresh flavor. Finally, there is no reason why you can't use chopped beef in this recipe if what you have is leftover roast. Use Swanson's Beef broth as your base, but everything else is the same. It doesn't work so well with pork (cooked chopped italian sausage links work fine though, but use chicken base).



Stephanie's Chicken Soup

Pot, 1/2 full of water
Chicken parts, remove skin (can also use leftover turkey)
salt
pepper
Italian seasoning (1-2 tablespoons)
Fresh parsley, chopped, if you have it
jar of green olives, liquid reserved
1/4 can Rotel tomatoes (optional, but does give good zing)
chopped tomatoes (canned, frozen or fresh) (optional)
frozen corn or peas, or leftovers
carrots - 1-2 peeled and chopped
celery - 1-2 stalks chopped
onion - 1/2 onion chopped
pearled barley (handful or two, depending on size of pot)
1 tablespoon Chicken base (Penzey's Spices), or a can or two of Swanson's Chicken Broth
several handfuls of well-washed fresh spinach, added in final minutes (optional).

Fill half of pot with water and add chicken parts. Cook on med-low and cover for about an hour. Remove chicken. Let it cool a little while and then remove chicken from bones. Chop and place back into pot. Pour liquid from olives into pot and slice olives in half. Add everything to pot, top with either chicken broth or more water, and place on med-low heat. Cover. Cook for about 40 minutes or until pearl barley is done and vegetables are tender. If you want, add 1 tsp. of Italian seasoning 15 minutes before cooking is complete.

Link to Penzey's chicken soup base http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyssoupbase.html


This is another method of making soup that I just loved. It's different every time, but you don't waste any food in your fridge. Just set aside leftovers and make this once a week. Can also add cheddar cheese.

GARBAGE SOUP

Phyllis Diller, the Comedian

Home Alone Recipe #2 includes water, vegetables and herbs, and leftovers--including meat, spaghetti with sauce, spicy stir fry, mashed potatoes with gravy, and salad, all topped with Lawry's seasoned salt, herbs, and Parmesan cheese. No measurements, just whatever you've got.

Scientifically Proven Cold Soothing Chicken Soup

On Good Morning America (6/6/07), this author claimed to have concocted the best chicken soup recipe for a cold. I disagree with boiling; I think a simmer is a better choice and results in less vitamin loss. Also, to make this recipe, you need an 8 quart stock pot; if you only have a dutch oven, use a knife or kitchen shears and cut the chicken in half and halve the remaining ingredients.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Recipes/story?id=3247169

French Onion Soup

I love French Onion Soup. However, over the years, I've never been able to make a really good French Onion Soup because I can't seem to do a good homemade beef broth (I got chicken down pat). I came across this book several years ago at Half Price Bookstore by Bob Bowersox, resident chef at QVC (Shopping Channel). Bob has a lot of experience as a chef having owned several restaurants, which he gave up to take up his post at QVC. The book, In The Kitchen With Bob: My Family's Best, is a compendium of his family's favorite recipes. His Dad's version of French Onion Soup is absolutely wonderful and just uses Swanson's Beef Broth. The secret is the caramelizing of the slow cooked onions. You can use chicken broth in this recipe, but then it's not French Onion, right?

Bowersox Onion Soup

8 medium to large purple onions (I used Vadalia)
4 tablespoons butter
2 10-3/4 ounce cans concentrated beef broth
1-1/2 cans of water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 loaf French bread, cut into 2" thick rounds
Mozzarella or Provolone (Dad's choice) cheese, thinly-sliced grated Parmesan cheese

1- Cut the onions into 3/8" slices, then cut the slices in half
2- In a 4-quart stockpot or Dutch oven, saute the onions in the butter. Do this very slowly, over a medium heat until deep, dark brown, with a thickened, almost caramelized texture without being burned. This can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 40 minutes.
3- Add the broth, water, salt and Worcestershire sauce and simmer until hot. Preheat the broiler.
4- Place 1 piece of the French bread in individual ramekins or high-sided, broiler-safe bowls. Ladle the soup over the bread until it is covered and the soup is near the top of the ramekin or bowls. Cover the ramekins or bowls with the cheese, and place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown on top. Serve with the grated cheese to sprinkle over the top. Makes 4-6 servings.

Here is a link to many of his other recipes. He has some of the best sauces I have ever tasted!
http://www.qvc.com/cd/cd_recipes_bowersox_111203.html?tmp=ddsn&cont=recipes