Baked Potato Soup

I hate being cold. But I do love Winter because of the following: Christmas, sweaters, and soup. There is just something ultra comforting about all three and it's a special treat when you can sit under the lights of the Christmas tree wrapped in a cozy sweater eating some warm and hearty soup. Ahhhh!



Baked Potato Soup
5 large baked  potatoes
1 small onion, diced
1 small bell pepper, diced
2 Tbsp butter 
3-4 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled
8 oz. sour cream
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
shredded cheddar cheese
minced fresh parsley


In a 5 qt. Dutch Oven melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chopped vegetables and saute until tender-crisp and lightly browned. Add broth and milk and stir. Cut potatoes into large chunks and add to pot along with crumbled bacon. Fork mash the potatoes, leaving some good chunks still in tact. The more you mash, the thicker your soup will be.  Add salt, basil and ground black pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh parsley and some shredded cheese.

Dairy-free Creamy Broccoli Soup

I am slightly lactose-intolerant and have a daughter who had milk allergies up until about 6 months ago so I try to limit our dairy as much as possible. The only problem is that I love cheese and cream and just about anything else dairy. It just makes things taste good! I love this soup because the cauliflower really gives it that creamy texture and it's simple and delicious to boot. It doesn't feel like I'm missing out on anything when I eat this and even my husband didn't notice there was no actual cream in this soup! He even went so far as to call it "tasty" which is high marks coming from him. Don't get me wrong, he is not particularly "picky"and will eat just about anything that I give him, but his preference is definitely rich and creamy.
I made a giant pot of this soup a few weeks ago when we received both broccoli and cauliflower in our Bountiful Basket. I packed the "leftovers" into freezer bags, labeled and froze it for later. It's a cold and windy Monday, so we will be having this for dinner tonight. I also started a batch of this easy bread to serve with it. Yum!

Dairy-free Creamy Broccoli Soup

1 head cauliflower
1 bunch broccoli (florets and stems)
5 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 small onion (about 1 cup, chopped)
1 large carrot
1 stalk celery
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1 1/2 tsp dried basil or 2 Tbsp fresh
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
water

Roughly chop broccoli and cauliflower and add to a 5qt stockpot. Add potatoes, onion, carrot and celery. Fill pot with water about 3/4 way to top of vegetables. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until broccoli is soft. Transfer all but about 2 cups vegetables to your Vita-mix or blender and blend until smooth. Add reserved broccoli mixture and pulse until desired consistency. (You can add all at once to blender if you don't want any chunks in your soup.) Add pepper and basil and pulse until combined. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Quavish- Portugese Kale Soup

I am so far behind on my recipe blogging! Life has a way of coming along all at once and knocking people right over. I promise I've still been cooking- but I've neglected to put myself out there and try anything new for a while. Mundane and routine sometimes is a great comfort for me...

This was something I cooked a few weeks ago when we got kale from our Bountiful Basket. While not the most photogenic soup, it is definitely one of the most flavorful! It combines the bold flavor of kale with creamy cooked potatoes and garlic infused Portuguese sausage called Linguiça. While substitutions may be made for this hard to get sausage (at least in my area) I wouldn't recommend it. And if you do substitute - do me a favor and just don't call it "Quavish", k?

Quavish Soup  

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

4 carrots, sliced

5 potatoes, cut into chunks

1 head cabbage, cut into large chunks

2 lbs Linguiça, sliced

1 bunch kale, chopped

2 large onions

6 cups beef stock 

1 heaping tsp. black pepper 

3 bay leaves 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

I've also added: 

1/2 cup diced turnips or

3-4 sliced parsnips

In a large stock pot (very large), heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onions, turnips and carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the Linguiça, bay leaves, parsley and thyme and mix well. Add the beef stock and cook at a low boil for about 30 minutes. Add the cabbage, kale and potatoes. (Add water if necessary to cover all the vegetables.) Bring the soup to a low boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.
Remove the bay leaves and serve hot. Serve with homemade bread or hard crusty rolls.

**This recipe makes enough soup for a large family gathering- you can always reduce it by half or just do what I do and freeze what you can't eat all at once and save it for later. Add cooled soup to a large zip-top freezer bag. To reheat simply run hot water over the bag to loosen it then slip contents into a large slow-cooker and cook on LOW until heated through.

***You can also combine ALL of the above ingredients into a large electric roaster pan. Simmer 2-3 hours stirring occasionally.

Tortilla Soup

My mother-in-law recently gave me a treasure that has been sitting un-used in her basement for the past several years. A Vita-mix! I have been using this gem every single day (sometimes multiple times!) for everything from making smoothies, to making lunch, to even grinding meat! Here's a yummy garden soup that I put together last week when I needed something quick and easy for lunch. Mmmm!

Tortilla Soup

1 large carrot
4 large tomatoes
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 small onion
2 large green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic
2 cups water
1 Tbsp chicken soup base
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 ear corn, removed from cob
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast- cooked and cut into quarters
tortilla chips

Place tomatoes, onion, green chiles, carrot, cilantro, and garlic into Vita-mix. Pour in water, chicken soup base, and seasonings. Start Vita-mix on speed #2, gradually turn dial to #10 then switch to high. Process 4-5 minutes until soup is hot. Add chicken, corn and a handful of tortilla chips. Cover, and process on speed #2 for about 30 seconds. Pour into bowls and serve with cheese and chips if you desire.

*To make this recipe without a Vita-mix: Coarsely shred carrots and finely chop remaining vegetables and chicken. Add all to a 3 qt. saucepan and cook until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until soup is desired consistency.

Minestrone Soup & Pesto Dip

Here's another one for the Crock-Pot on hot days. In my bountiful basket Saturday, I bought the Italian pack add-on which had a bag full of herbs. I used some to season my soup and the rest I used for a yummy pesto sauce to spread on my bread to go with dinner. Some of the herbs are growing in my garden also, so I had lots of oregano and rosemary to make a strong pesto instead of an all-basil version.

Minestrone Soup

1 large onion
1 lb cooked ground beef (optional- we didn't use it)
2 (15oz) cans diced tomatoes
3 cups water or vegetable broth (I used the vegetable broth I saved from blanching my veggies on Saturday)
2 c. beef broth (again, leftovers from the last roast I made- it's been int he freezer)
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 1 Tbsp. dried)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 large cloves garlic
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
1/2 lb fresh green beans, cut (or 1 15 oz can)
1 (15oz) can kidney beans
1 cup. uncooked pasta
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 cup fresh spinach, optional

Chop and slice onions and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Add to slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients except pasta, zucchini, and spinach. Mix thoroughly. Cook on LOW 6 hours. Add pasta, zucchini and spinach if desired. Cover and cook 1 hour longer until pasta is tender. Serve with hard rolls and fresh pesto.

Strong Italian Pesto
1/4 cup roasted whole almonds*
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 oz. (about 2 cups packed) fresh Italian herbs
    (I used a combination of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjarom)
1 medium fresh tomato, quartered
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (or more if desired)

Process the almonds and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the herbs, cheese, tomato and salt and process until thoroughly combined and the consistency you like. With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil through the chute. Add more salt to taste if necessary and more olive oil if desired. This will keep several days in the refrigerator or you can freeze it. Pour it into an ice cube tray to freeze, then transfer pesto cubes to a heavy-duty freezer bag.

*If using raw almonds, spread them on a baking sheet and place in a 350 F degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Use your toaster oven if possible.

White Sauce Mix, Cream of Anything Soup, Vanilla Pudding

White Sauce Mix

4 cups Nonfat dry milk powder

1 cup flour

1/2 cup butter or margarine

Put into large bowl and mix until it looks like coarse cornmeal. I wouldn't recommend using a mixer on this one as the powdered milk tends to puff all over the place. Just mix with your fingers. Refrigerate in a tightly covered container.

Cream of Anything Soup

4 cups water

2 cups White Sauce Mix

1 tsp salt

Combine and stir over medium heat until slightly thick. Add one or more of the following:

3 sliced, cooked carrots

1 package frozen spinache (chopped and cooked)

1 package frozen broccoli (chopped and cooked) and 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

3 potatoes, cooked and chopped, and 1 Tbsp chopped onion

1 can cream style corn and 1 Tbsp chopped onion

OR add your favorite cooked vegetable

For cream of chicken soup:

Substitute water for chicken broth and add 1 cup diced chicken

For cream of mushroom soup:

Substitute 1 cup water for liquid from 2 small cans mushrooms. Chop mushrooms and add.

Makes 6 servings.

Vanilla Pudding

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups White Sauce Mix

2 cups water

1 tsp vanilla

Stir sugar, Mix, and water over medium heat until mixture starts to boil. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Cover, cool, and serve. Makes 4 servings.

White Sauce

For thin sauce use 1/3 cup Mix and 1 cup water. Yield: 1 cup.

For medium sauce use 1/2 cup Mix and 1 cup water. Yield: 1 cup.

For thick sauce use 2/3 cup Mix and 1 cup water. Yield: 1 cup.

Stir over medium heat until smooth and thickened.

Use White Sauce for the following recipes:

Cream of Anything Gravy

Prepare medium white sauce as directed. Add any of the following: 1 cup cooked ham (diced, 1 cup cooked chicken or turkey (diced), 1 can drained tuna or salmon, 1/2 lb browned hamburger or sausage, 1 cup shredded beef, 4 sliced hard-cooked eggs. Heat thoroughly. Serve over toast, biscuits, English muffins, rice or noodles. Store leftovers in refrigerator. Makes 6 servings.

(Add some seasonings such as Taco seasoning to your ground beef or Italian seasoning to the tuna and serve over egg noodles for your own version of "Hamburger/Tuna Helper".)

Creamed Vegetables

Prepare thin White Sauce. Add 2 cups cooked vegetables and heat through. Makes 4 servings.

Scalloped Vegetables

Heat oven to 325F. Prepare thin White Sauce. Add 2 cups cooked vegetables. Stir well. Place in ungreased 1-qt casserole dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cereal or bread crumbs. Bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through. Makes 4 servings.

Cheese Sauce

Prepare thick White Sauce. Add 1 cup shredded American or Cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Pour over 7 oz cooked macaroni noodles for easy Mac N' Cheese.

Au Gratin Vegetables

Heat oven to 325. Prepare Cheese Sauce. Add 2 cups cooked vegetables. Stir well. Place in ungreased 1-qt casserole dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cereal or bread crumbs. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Makes 4 servings. (Double sauce and add 4 cups cooked and diced potatoes. Sprinkle 1/4 cup chopped green onions and glop 1/2 cup sour cream over the top before adding cereal for easy "funeral potatoes")

Vegetable Beef Soup

Yesterday was so Blah! Seriously… who likes to wake up to snow on the ground at the end of MAY! So.. I changed my mind about tacos yesterday and made vegetable beef soup instead. It was super duper easy with all the leftovers from yesterday:

Vegetable Beef Soup

2 cups leftover gravy (or 2 cups beef broth)
*2 cups chopped carrots, cooked
*2 cups chopped celery, cooked
1 can Corn, un-drained
1 can green beans, un-drained
16 oz plain tomato sauce
2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
About 1 lb leftover roast, chopped
½ onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp basil
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg

If using uncooked carrots and celery add these to the pot first along with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Saute for 5-10 minutes and then add remaining ingredients except seasonings. Heat to boiling and then simmer 20-30 minutes. Add seasonings, stir and serve.
*I used the extra carrots and celery that I steamed on Saturday along with leftover gravy and roast from Sunday dinner. I also had enough rolls leftover from Sunday as well to serve with the soup. You can use 1 lb cooked ground beef if you don’t have leftover roast.

Dinner: Veggie Stir-fry with Rice and Egg Drop Soup

Today was a little chilly, at least it felt like it after a couple of hours of pulling weeds in the rain… So I thought chicken noodle soup sounded good for dinner. I opened the refrigerator, though, and changed my mind after seeing all the produce I bought yesterday! So instead I decided on Veggie Stir-fry, Rice, and Egg drop soup.

Veggie Stir-fry


5-6 medium carrots
½ bunch celery
½ onion
½ lb broccoli
½ bell pepper
½ lb cauliflower
8 oz mushrooms
1 small zucchini
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp ginger
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Mrs. Dash type seasoning (I used Bragg Organic Seasoning Blend)
1 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp Paprika
¼ cup Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
1 Tbsp corn starch or 2 Tbsp flour
¼ cup water
1 Tbsp oil

Heat oil in Wok. Chop veggies and add to Wok in this order: carrots, celery, onion, broccoli, pepper, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms. Carrots take the longest to cook so chop those first and allow them to cook as you chop and add each additional vegetable. When veggies are almost tender, mince garlic and add to the mix. Stir and add additional seasonings. Mix corn starch (or flour) with water until smooth and then add to veggies. Stir until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice.
 
 

My kids love to snack on carrots and peanut butter so I peeled and cut into carrot sticks a few extra carrots for that. I did the same with the cauliflower so they’ll have a couple options for snacks.


I also decided to peel, chop and steam some extra carrots and celery for some quick chicken noodle soup on Monday (if I feel like soup that is…). I let the extra carrots and celery steam while I got my stir-fry dinner going. Also, I doubled the amount of all the veggies in the stir-fry so I could have enough for another meal down the road.
 

While my veggies were cooking, I started some rice on the stove. For those who are unsure how to cook rice, it’s very simple. Rice : water = 2 :1 So, for every 1 cup of rice, you’ll add 2 cups water to your pot. Wipe some butter around the rim of the pot and lid to help keep rice from boiling over. Turn the stove to medium hot and bring rice to boiling. Then simply turn stove all the way to low and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes. You’ll know when it’s time to remove from heat when water no longer bubbles up through the rice.

When the extra carrots and celery were done steaming, I saved the water I used for my egg-drop soup base- throwing in a few pieces of carrots and celery before I bag it all up.

When the veggies were about 90% finished cooking, I took half of them and put them in a freezer bag to save for later. I purposely didn’t add seasoning for two reasons: 1. I may decide to use them for a different recipe later on. I’m constantly changing my mind about what to cook. And 2. Seasonings lose potency in the freezer anyway, so I’d rather just season them when I finish cooking them for another meal. Now to add the seasonings to dinner. I always say in just about any recipe you can substitute fat for flavor! Mmmm!

Egg Drop Soup

4 cups chicken broth (For mine I used 2 cups vegetable broth from steaming carrots and 2 cups chicken broth. I used 1 tsp chicken bouillon per 1 cup water for my broth)

½ cup cooked diced vegetables or peas
1 egg, beaten
1/8 tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp paprika
½ tsp dried parsley
4 oz egg noodles. (I used 2 lasagna noodles leftover from the other night. I just broke them up into small pieces first)

Heat broth to boiling, add noodles and vegetables. Let soup return to boiling and cook 7 minutes. Slowly pour beaten egg into broth, stirring as you pour. Allow to cook one minute more. Remove from heat and add seasonings. Serve hot, sprinkled with cayenne pepper if desired.

I thought dinner turned out terrific, but in true man fashion, my son and husband both asked where the meat was.. by 7:00 they were eating burgers at Arctic Circle... oh well! I try!