RICH Potato Soup (Makes 5-quarts of soup)

The following recipe makes abut 5-quarts of soup!

For a couple of years, already, this soup was moved to the front of my "FAVORITE SOUPS" list... I like it because it is SO thick/creamy, and... filling.  Oh, yes, and it is "RICH!!!!" and I think that is why it is SO satisfying and has such a great flavor.  Have you ever had a bowl of soup that just "wouldn't hold"?  This isn't one of them.  With this soup, I find that one modest-sized bowl "fits the bill".

Would I make this very RICH soup often?  No, not "often", but I would when I want something "special" because that's the category I have this in.

When I make this soup, I make a LARGE batch-- in fact, by the time I am done, I have almost filled a 6-quart enameled cast iron kettle.   It's good for feeding a larger group, to serve as left-overs the next day, and even for a short term of freezing.  (I can even eat this for breakfast and like it!)

To make it as I did, you will need:

12 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed/diced.  (In the past, I have used peeled/cubed/diced baked potatoes for this soup, thus being able to skip boiling them in the chicken broth.)
2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth (OR water).
2 long stalks celery, diced.
1 medium-large onion, diced.
15 tablespoons butter.
15 tablespoons all-purpose flour.
2 cups heavy cream.
4 cups whole milk.
4 cups cooked ham, diced.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Garnishing of your choice when serving.


INGREDIENTS and DIRECTIONS:

1. 12 cups of peeled and diced/cubed potatoes (cut in whatever size you like). Slowly boil the potatoes until barely tender in 2 quarts of low-sodium chicken broth (or water).  Drain and set aside.  While the potatoes are boiling, I have the next step going-- this way, everything comes together at the end in a timely way.

2. Saute the following together in  a large pan until tender:
5 Tablespoons butter (Remaining butter will be added later)
The celery, diced
The onion, finely chopped

3.  Add the following to the sauteed celery / onion mix and blend well:
10 tablespoons MORE of  butter (Yes, that's 15 Tbsp. total!)

4.  In a quart-sized covered jar, vigorously shake together until smooth:
1 cup cold heavy cream (Remaining cream is added later.)
1 cup cold whole milk (Remaining milk is added later.)
15 level tablespoons of all-purpose flour

5.  When cream and milk and flour in the jar are shaken to "smoooooooth", pour this shaken flour mixture from the jar into a large enough bowl to add and whisk together:
1 remaining cup heavy cream
3 remaining cups of  whole milk.
Whisk until everything is well-blended and very smooth.  To make sure I don't have any  lumps of flour in this mixture when I'm done with this step, I pour this through a screen-type strainer before I add it to the kettle with the boiled potatoes. 

Add the above smooth/creamy mixture to the pan of sauteed onions/celery/butter mix.  Also add:  4 cups of cooked ham, diced or cubed. Stirring constantly, heat everything through and bring to a "slow boil" until "bubbly thick". 

 Continue heating for a minute or two to "cook" the flour.  

Now, add the cooked potatoes.  Stir gently.  It's done!

In serving bowls, garnish with grated cheese or green onions or whatever else you like.

If you can't follow my crazy directions,

 leave an inquiring comment below.

Our Favorite Chili (It's SO quick!)

I like the flavor of this chili!

Years ago, a recipe card for this chili was handed out when Qualheim's True Value in Shawano hosted a kind of promotional event put on by the Regal cookware company.  During the 'event', someone from the Regal company was in front of the store and serving free cupfuls of this chili recipe from a HUGE frying pan that was sitting over some kind of heat source-- honestly, the huge pan was something like 5-6' feet across.  (M-m-m-m-m-m, the chili-- tasted so good!!!) 

This is about the 'QUICKEST' chili ever!  To save 'preparation time' when cooking, I like to 'brown hamburger' ahead of time-- about 5# at a time,  bag it and freeze in 1# amounts.  Using the pre-browned and thawed hamburger, this recipe can be completed start-to-finish in the length of time it takes to cook the onion/green pepper mixture.  (20 minutes?)  Even if starting with raw ground beef, it's still quick!


I like to double this recipe so I'll have some left for the next day.

6 servings (maybe less if you have 'chili likers')

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 chopped green OR red OR yellow  OR orange pepper (optional)
• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 pound lean ground beef

~~~~

• 1 package (1 and 5/8 oz. size) chili seasoning mix (recipe called for French's)
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoned salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 can (15 oz.) kidney beans, with liquid
• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained (my addition, optional)
• 1 can (16 oz.) diced tomatoes with liquid, OR stewed tomatoes, OR whole tomatoes
• 1 can (4 oz.) sliced mushroom pieces, drained (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Sauté onions and peppers of your choice in butter in a 10-inch fry pan over medium heat until onions are transparent.  While 'getting the onions ready', and if you are not using 'browned-ahead ground beef',  brown the raw ground beef in separate fry pan, and drain. 
 
(To speed everything along, you could start heating everything in the last group above over low heat while the onion/pepper and the hamburger is being readied.)

Combine EVERYthing.*  Mix well, breaking up tomatoes (if whole).  Bring to a very light boil, reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 5-10 minutes (to make sure the beans are totally heated ).
 
*Once I get everything combined, and if  I'm in no hurry to serve, I'll put it into the oven at 340-degrees for about 30 minutes.  This is also a good crock pot meal.  Also, see note at far bottom of this posting.

This can be served with a variety of toppings:  Grated cheese, chopped green onions, snipped chives, or ???

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SOUR CREAM......

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 P.S.  I've seen cooks take a recipe like this, add a large can of tomato juice, a small handful of spaghetti strips that have been snapped into 1-inch pieces, and a can of corn for a different kind of dish-- adjusting the cooking time and amount of chili powder, as desired.

Thick Potato 'n Ham Soup

Seriously,... I wonder how many times 

in a row I could eat this before I'd say, 

"No, I think I'll have something else!"

But, when you see the ingredients 

(especially the butter, whole milk and 

the heavy cream), you might say,

"Take it easy on the soup!"

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 med. potatoes, peeled and cubed to the size you like.
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 3 cups cooked ham, cubed or diced
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• 10 tablespoons butter
• 10 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups whole milk (or half 'n half)
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded or thinly sliced (to be used as a topping)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook potatoes in generously salted water until tender.  Drain well and set aside.
2. In a separate and rather large saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat, watching it carefully.  
3. Add celery, onion, salt and pepper to the melted butter. 
4. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes or until the celery and onions are tender and the flour has cooked slightly.
5. Slowly whisk in the milk (or optional half 'n half).  Continue whisking until mixture begins to thicken.
6. Add heavy cream and continue stirring until soup is very creamy.
7. Add diced/cubed ham and cubed potatoes and stir until blended.
8. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
9. Serve in cup or bowl and top with cheese.

This soup might be is "rich", 

but, ...I say it is SO worth it!

(I could see where a very small 

amount of thin slices of carrot 

would add a tiny dash of color.)

Corn and Squash Soup*

Our daughter Pam made this Corn and Squash Soup just yesterday for our 51st Wedding Anniversary dinner (for us farmer-like people, "dinner" is the meal we eat at noon).  

Why this kind of soup?  Because, on Saturday, she found that her huge 20-pounder Hubbard squash had SAVED very well in the basement.  (This is almost six months after being brought in from the garden.)  

What to do with the 16+ cups of cooked/strained squash she got from that one Hubbard?  Look for a recipe! (Look for a recipe, find one, and then TRIPLE it!!!)  Yep,... she found this one in a Taste of Home cookbook, and this good soup was the end result.  

In fact, this ended up being such a goooooood soup that a number of the twelve guests here took seconds of it-- even our little 9-month-old great-granddaughter Lucy smacked it down.  This is a recipe I just have to keep handy-- that's why I am putting it in this blog.  Thanks!, Pam.

Even though this recipe was TRIPLED for yesterday, here is the recipe for a single batch...

INGREDIENTS: 

• 12 bacon strips (1 lb. will do), cut into small pieces and cooked until brown/crisp.
• 1 medium onion, chopped.
• 1 celery rib, chopped or finely sliced.  (We used frozen celery from our freezer.)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour.
• 1 of 14.5 oz. can of chicken broth.
• 6 cups cooked and smashed Butternut or Hubbard squash. (To get this, the whole squash was cut in half and "cleaned out"; then, each half was placed upside down on a baking sheet and baked for about 45 minutes at 350-degrees, or until fork tender.) 
• 2 of 8 and 3/4 oz. each cans cream-style corn. (We used a 1 lb. bag of sweet corn kernels we'd frozen from last year's garden, but drained some of the "thawing" juice from the container before using.)
• 2 cups half-and-half cream. (We added 8 oz. heavy cream to enough 2% milk to get this amount.)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley (We used frozen.)
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Sour cream, optional, for garnishing.

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saucepan, cook (fry?) bacon over medium heat until crisp.  
2. Remove browned bacon pieces from pan to a paper towel to absorb grease.  
3. From the bacon grease still in the pan, reserve 2 tablespoons of it.  
4. In the reserved drippings, saute onion and celery until tender.  
5. Stir in flour until blended.  
6. Gradually stir in broth; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.  
7. Reduce heat to medium.  Stir in the squash, corn, cream, parsley, salt, pepper and bacon pieces.  
8. Cook and stir until heated through.  
9. Garnish with sour cream if desired.

YIELD:  8 servings, or about 2.5 quarts.  While this recipe was TRIPPLED for yesterday, I have to say any left-over soup was SO good on this second day!  

And,... silly me!!!!, to think I was a bit SKEPTICAL about her making and me LIKING this kind of soup!!!  In fact, when Pam called other family members to come over and join us for yesterday, she told them what she was making and added, ".. so, that's what's on the menu.  If anyone thinks they won't like it, they can bring something they know they will  like!"   As it turned out,.... no worries with a winner like this!!!!

* This recipe was adapted from the original 
that was posted in Taste of Home by Janice Zook, 
White River Junction, Vermont.

Cauliflower - Sausage Soup

M-m-m-m-m-m, GOOD!!!

What's better than 'enjoying a meal' WAY AHEAD OF TIME as it

cooks away in a slow cooker--  well, sure, the actual meal, of course!

Oh, this soup made our house smell SOOOOOO good today.

Seeing frozen hash browns (potatoes),

 in the freezer, I decided to make 

potato soup today.  EXCEPT that... 

those were, instead, bags of frozen 

Cauliflower Florets!!

Okay,... still made soup, just a DIFFERENT kind!

Since I planned to be busy cleaning and then putting Christmas decorations back into storage today, I wanted something to be ready for supper tonight-- something that would pretty much 'make itself'!  This soup fit the bill in the 'BESTEST' possible way!

Ingredients:

• 32 oz. (two of 1 lb. bags) frozen cauliflower florets
• 3 of 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth
• 1 of 10.5 oz. (close enough) cream of chicken soup, undiluted.
• 1/2 large onion, chopped (OR 1 whole medium, chopped)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 lb. lean Polish sausage, or lean Kielbasa, or Cheddar Wurst, cut into 1/2" thick slices.  (In place of the sausage, browned hamburger might also work?)

• 8 oz. cream cheese (I guess you could use whatever kind of cheese you prefer-- that is, anything that melts/blends well.)

Directions:

Combine the chicken broth with the cream of chicken soup, blend well.  Add the chopped onions and ground black pepper.

Pour the broth/soup/onion/pepper mixture over the frozen cauliflower florets IN A CROCK POT (slow cooker).

Cover and let cook for about 4 hours (I had my crock pot turned to 'high').  Add the sliced sausage and continue for another hour.

At this point, cut the cream cheese into small cubes and add it (OR any grated cheese of your choice) to the soup.  Turning the cooker to LOW, you can let this 'simmer' for another hour (1 hour).  The cheese will soften/melt.  Very gently, stir to blend in the melted cheese just before serving.   

Hubby liked this 

a whole LOT, and 

so did 'little one' 

who lives with us!

"Accident" Soup (Beef and Vegetable Combo.)

Above:  Before I added liquids, 
everything looked like this!

Why in the world would I have named this 'Accident' Soup!?   Well, ... because I started out to make this one day only because I had over a pound of thinly sliced carrots, some chunked celery, onions and lean ground beef  sitting in the refrigerator and I needed wanted to use all of that for/in SOMEthing! 

I browned the hamburger with the onions and celery, added carrots, cubed potatoes and a few other things-- I really THOUGHT it would end up being more of a stew, but,  NOPE!!!--  it was a SOUP.   And, I say it was quite 'accidentally' GOOD!!!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 and 1/2 lbs. lean hamburger
• 1 large onion, chopped or sliced
• 1-2 cups celery chopped into 1/2" pieces (leaves are good in it, too). 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 1 and 1/2 lb. carrots, sliced (mine were about 1/8" thick)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 of 15 oz. can beef broth
• 1 of 15 oz. can vegetable broth
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 6-8 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4" cubes (or smaller 1/2" cubes)

• 1/2 lb. soft kind of Velveeta type cheese (I think grated mild or medium cheddar would also work).  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brown the hamburger with the onion and celery until meat is lightly browned and the vegetables are slightly tender.   Drain excess fat off. 
2. In large heavy-duty kind of stock pot or heavy dutch oven, combine meat/onions/celery and potatoes and sliced carrots.  Add the water and the two cans of vegetable broth and garlic powder.  Stir to mix.  Let this cook over medium heat while peeling and cubing the potatoes.
3. Add cubed potatoes.  Stir well.  
4. Cover and simmer until carrot slices and potatoes cubes are fork tender.   (BUT!!, my 'lazy way' of doing this is to put this into the oven at 350-degrees for almost an hour.  At this point in the preparation, I think this could also be put into a slow cooking crock pot on low for about six hours and it would turn out good, too.)
5. Just before putting into individual bowls, spread little chunks of cheese on the top and gently stir until it melts into the broth.

Extra note:  I knew my husband had to be leaving the house in a bit over an hour.  I put this together.  He was not quite finished with eating it when the missionaries came to get him.  He put it 'on hold' and then, when he got back home an hour later, he told the missionaries, "I'll go and finish my soup.  You want some, too?"  Even if it was nearing the middle of the afternoon, they said, "Sure!"   They loved it so much that they each took second helpings-- one of them wanted to know what the broth was made up of.  "Vegetable and beef broth, water, and some cheese  melted on the end."   Anyhow, this................ 'accidentally good' soup was a huge hit with them.   Just yesterday, the missionaries again mentioned having had this soup here a couple of weeks ago, and asked if the recipe was on my recipe blog.  Well,............. it IS,............ NOW!!!!     

Fresh Tomato Soup

This soup was so-o-o-o good with crunchy  

golden/grilled (pan fried?) cheese sandwiches!

INGREDIENTS* (About 4 servings)

• 4 cups chopped/diced fresh tomatoes (or the equivalent in canned tomatoes?)
• 1 large onion, sliced OR diced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons white sugar, or to taste

* Some cooks like to add a little bit of minced garlic to this soup-- some use the canned minced garlic bought in jars; others saute minced fresh garlic in a dab of olive oil, being careful to not burn it.

DIRECTIONS:

• In a stockpot, over medium heat, combine the chopped tomatoes, chopped or diced onion and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil and gently boil for at least 20 minutes to blend all of the flavors.
• Remove from heat and run the the boiled mixture through a food mill into a large bowl, or pan.  Discard any solids that are left over in the food mill.  (If you do not have a food mill, you could use a stick blender OR regular blender and then strain the mixture afterwards.)
• In an empty kettle, melt the butter over medium heat.  Stir in the flour to make a roux, constantly stirring and cooking until the roux is a very light brown.
• Gradually whisk about a cupful of the hot tomato mixture into the hot and thickened butter/flour roux-- whisk so that no lumps form.
• Add this blended roux into the rest of the hot tomato/onion mixture.  Whisk quickly and thoroughly.
• Season with sugar and salt according to taste.  Serve.

Phil's "Skinny" Chili

"Over the years, the cooks (from our most local medical center) have tried recipes submitted from other employees.  This one proved to be a favorite."

When I saw this recipe in the recipe book, 

Recipes & Remembrances, 

put together and sold to celebrate the medical center's 75th Anniversary (1931-2006), I was reminded of a very similar chili recipe I often made in the early 1970's.  This particular recipe was submitted by Phillip T. who had been the Radiology Manager at the hospital for a lot of years.  I remember Phillip from when he attended the same grade school and high school that I did.

*My very first real employer (for $$) was for a "hospital building fund".  I worked at that job from June of 1962 until the Spring of 1963 as their one/only secretary-- this was based out of a basement room of the local county courthouse.  When the 'mission' for that was completed, I was 'moved' to work in the main office of the hospital at its present location.... having gotten married in 1963, I continued working there until the Fall of 1963, when I quit to stay home and help with farm chores while awaiting the birth of my (our) first child in 1964.

INGREDIENTS*:

• 2 lbs. lean ground beef
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 bunch celery, chopped
• 1 of 15 oz. can chili beans, undrained
• 2 of 15 oz. bean sprouts, drained and rinsed
• 2 of 15 oz. diced tomatoes
• 1 of 46-ounce tall can tomato juice OR V-8 juice
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Lawry's seasoned salt
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano, rubbed between fingers to release flavor
• 1 tablespoon dried sweet basil leaves, also rubbed between fingers
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/4 OR 1/3 cup chili powder, OR 1 packet of chili seasoning mix

DIRECTIONS:

Combine beef, onion, green pepper and celery and fry until beef browns.  Drain excess fat and return mixture to 6-quart kettle.  (After I drain excess fat off, I sometimes take a cup of very hot water and pour that over the drained meat, also.)

Add chili beans, bean sprouts, diced tomatoes, tomato juice and ketchup.  Mix well.  Add the salt/pepper, oregano, sweet basil, garlic powder and chili powder.  Mix very well! Cook over low heat for 1 hour.  (Rather than cook it on top the stove and risk scorching what's in the bottom, I prefer to cover and set it in the oven for an hour at 350-degrees.  

I liked this chili recipe in the 1970's, and liked it just as much tonight.  Our little "borrowed' 7-year-old girl asked for seconds because she liked it so much, also.

* The variations I made with this recipe today 

weren't enough to change the end result.   

Enjoy!!!

Potato Soup ( so flavorful with 'veggie water')

By only simmering the veggies until tender,

I had good 'veggie water' left to use with the milk.

So simple and quick to make--

and, tasty!

Serves: 6 (or just four, if serving hungry SOUP fans!)

INGREDIENTS:

Because I was planning to use the 'veggie water' IN the soup, I made sure vegetables were washed very well before preparing them.

• 8 large potatoes, peeled and cubed.
• 3 long carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4" pieces.
• 2-3 large stalks of celery, sliced into 1/4" pieces.
• 1 large onion, diced.
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups water, for cooking

----

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 cups 'veggie water' which will be drained/saved from cooking the above vegetables.
• 2 cups milk
• Salt and pepper, to taste.

---

• 1/2 lb. bacon slices, fried to crisp and crumbled.
• Parsley (or dried parsley) to be used as garnishment.

DIRECTIONS:  

1. Peel and/or prepare potatoes, carrots, celery and onion.   Put all together into large pot and cover with the 4 cups of water.  Bring to boiling and then immediately lower heat to a simmer, cover, and let them cook only until they are 'tender'.
2. Drain water from veggies and save 3 cups of it.  Set aside.
3. In saucepan, melt butter.  Stir (or whisk) in the flour until mixture is very smooth.
4. Slowly add 3 cups of 'veggie water' and two cups of milk.  Whisk until very smooth.  Once it is smooth, I switch to a flat-edged spatula and stir constantly to keep any of this from burning on the bottom.  Heat to boiling and cook for a minimum of two minutes to prevent this sauce from having a 'raw flour' taste.
5. Pour this over the cooked (set aside) veggie mix, and stir gently.  Adjust seasonings to how you prefer.
6. When serving, add crumbled bacon pieces to each bowl of soup.   Also, parsley flakes for those who like that.

Broccoli 'STEM' Soup

Broccoli stems and stalks make for good soup!

I don't know if it's because of the 'broccoli water', the stems, or what--  

this soup is SO tasty.  

I could enjoy this three times a day until it's gone!

After using only the broccoli florets for a quiche recipe, I had a lot of stems/stalks left behind.  Since I'd bought the broccoli at 'price per pound', it would be dumb of me to toss the stems.  They were already washed/rinsed-- so, without peeling them, I sliced all into 1/4" thick rounds (yes, even the BIG stalks, the 'tree trunk' of it)--  then, in about 5 cups of water, I steamed all of that until just tender, and ended up with about 4 cups (one quart jar) of 'steamed bits', and about 4 cups 'broccoli water'.  Set aside while preparing the rest of the soup.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups steamed broccoli stems/stalks, cut into about 1/4" slices/pieces.

          --------------------------------------

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 cups of 'broccoli water' left from steaming the broccoli stems.
• 1 cup cream
• 2 cups milk
• 2 teaspoon chicken soup base
• 1/2 pound cheddar cheese, grated.
• 1/2 pound Velveeta cheese, cut into small chunks.  (I used this only because I 'had it on hand'.  You could just include this much more of the cheddar cheese.)
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional, but I skipped it)

DIRECTIONS:

• Steam broccoli stems/stalks until tender, using about 4 cups water.  Drain (save water). Set broccoli and water aside.

• Put butter in heavy stock pot over medium heat and saute onion in butter until transparent. (I use an enameled cast iron dutch oven for this.) 
• Add 1/2 cup flour, stir to blend into smooth paste. 
• Ever so slowly, add the 'broccoli water', stirring/whisking constantly so as to end up with 'no lumps'.
• Add cream, and milk. Blend well with a whisk, but switch to a utensil that can be used to keep the bottom scraped off and stirred well (we don't want any scorching to be happening!).
• Add chicken soup base, stirring to dissolve and to make sure there are no clumps/lumps not blended in.
• Add cheddar cheese and Velveeta cheese, stir until melted in.   
• Add steamed broccoli 'stems/stalks'.  At this point, although I don't think it was necessary, I used my 'stick blender' in the soup and that 'chopped' the broccoli into smaller bits.  
• Season with salt/pepper as desired.
• Add Worcestershire sauce if you wish (I did not, and didn't miss it).
• Personal preference:  In the picture I'm posting, you can see that I used some large-grated Pepper Jack cheese as garnishment; I also stirred some very small gratings of this into the soup (for my own bowl).  
• Serve.

Hash Browns/Broccoli Cheese'y Chicken Soup

After not having built a fire to warm the house in over a week, today's fire warmed things up to 'cozy' in no time!  And,...

Because I had some beautiful clumps of broccoli here, 

I made a second soup with it today (this, for the freezer)...

There's a package of hash brown potatoes in here?   

THAT'S different!  

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 cups water
• 2 lb. package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
• 1  large head of broccoli, OR a 16 oz. package frozen California blend vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
• 4 teaspoons chicken soup starter (or bouillon granules)
• 1 cup cooked/cubed chicken pieces (optional)
• 1 pound process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
• 2 cans (10.75 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted.
• 1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large kettle, bring water to a boil.  Add frozen hash browns, trimmed/cut broccoli pieces (OR vegetable blend) and soup starter (or bouillon).   Continue heating until this reaches a full boil.
2. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  
3. Stir in the cooked/cubed chicken (optional).
4. Stir in cheese, soup and milk; cook and stir until cheese is melted.
5. Serve immediately, or cool and freeze for up to 3 months in an airtight container.

Number of servings:  6

Cheese'y Macaroni Broccoli Chicken Soup (Stew?)

If you like broccoli, here's something you may like...  

if broccoli isn't your 'thing', use a different vegetable.  

I  already have a Broccoli Soup listed among my soup recipes.  This one is quite different-- different (and simple) in how it's made, different in what's added.  Different, period!  It's way 'more thickerer' than a usual soup... more like a 'stew/casserole' for the second time around.

As you can see, it's not a 'thin/runny' kind of soup.  

And,... this sure was a quickie to put together!

 As I stated above, I can see this tasting good with whatever kinds of vegetables you like... carrots, green beans, or corn?

Ingredients:


32 oz. (1 quart) chicken broth
6 oz. elbow macaroni (or small macaroni shells), uncooked
16 oz. broccoli pieces (or California blend of broccoli,  cauliflower and carrots)
1 and 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup cooked and cubed chicken (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 and 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese


Directions:


Bring broth to boil over high heat.  Add macaroni and broccoli (or vegetable blend) and return to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes, or until veggies and shells are tender. 


Whisk together the flour and milk in a separate container, making sure mixture is well-combined and smooth.  Stir this into hot pasta/vegetable mixture.  Add salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.
Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Add the cooked chicken pieces.  Gradually stir in cheese until melted.  It's good with crusty bread.

Hearty Sausage Soup

There are many different recipes floating around for this kind of soup.  I adapted this one from the back of Nabisco's Premium Saltine Crackers box.

Mainly, I only changed the kind of sausage and beans--and I used whole grain rotini pasta.

Besides the main ingredients, I like all of the 'background' flavors in here-- because everything blends together so well, nothing in particular stands out to say, "HERE I AM!!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb. Italian sausage, sliced (I used a 1 lb. tube of Jimmy Dean sage flavored pork sausage)
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 cans (14 oz.) reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 broth can water
• 1 can (15 oz.) white cannellini beans, rinsed (I used black beans, rinsed)
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) stewed tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup rotini pasta, uncooked (I used whole grain rotini)
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt  (or wait until finished and season to taste)
• 1 and 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Saltine crackers

DIRECTIONS:

• Fry sausage and onions in oil in large saucepan until done (10 minutes?), sirring frequently.  When almost done, add the minced garlic.  Drain fat off.
• Add chicken broth, water, beans and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil.
• Stir in rotini pasta and salt; cook 8 minutes or until just tender.  Remove from heat.
• Stir in spinach leaves; cover.  Let stand 5-10 minutes.
• Offer shredded cheese at serving time.  Serve with saltine crackers.

Cabbage Soup

What!?  Onions, apples, potatoes, garlic and cabbage together in one soup?  Oh,........yeah!

Granddaughter Megan is quite the little bread baker-- just yesterday, she brought us the 'braided bread' in the photo.   M-m-m-m-m-m-m.......

You are so right if you think I'm on a 'cabbage kick'!  You know how they say 'two heads are better than one'?   Well,....mine, plus a cabbage-- this works for me, and the end result is...

TA-A-A-A-STY!!

I like this cabbage soup!  PJ told me I should include a story about this recipe-- a few years back, Grandson Ben was watching as I peeled and sliced the apples and asked what I was making.  When I told him it was 'Cabbage Soup', he quickly added in a sweet but matter of fact way, "You don't have to make any of that for me."  It was funny how the 'apple' had gotten his attention, and how quickly the 'cabbage' word erased it!

As with almost all recipes, a little tweaking doesn't hurt-- but, here is the recipe for how I make it:

With the exception of the ground beef and the Italian seasoning, the following recipe is already doubled because we like it as a re-run (left-over).  You could easily use the same amount of lean ground beef and halve the rest of the ingredients for a smaller batch.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound lean hamburger, browned, drained well.
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil (I used light tasting Olive Oil)
• 2 cups very thinly sliced onions
• 4 apples-- peeled, cored, and finely diced.
• 6 cups shredded cabbage
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (or powder, to equal that)
• 2 large raw potatoes, shredded
• 6 cups vegetable broth (I used a large 46-oz. can of V-8 juice, but you could use your own homemade recipe of tomato 'cocktail'.)
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (rub together between fingers, to release more flavor)
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 cup half-and-half or cream 
• salt and pepper to taste

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DIRECTIONS:

• Brown hamburger, drain.  Set aside.
• In a large heavy pot, cook onion and apple in oil over medium-high heat until just lightly browned. 

• Stir in cabbage and garlic, then reduce heat.  Stir in browned hamburger,  grated potato, broth (or juice), Italian seasoning,  sugar, salt and pepper; cover and simmer 30 minutes* (see my * note below). 
• Once everything is added, it looks like this.... now, it's ready to 'do its thing'.

Stir in cream.  Heat through and serve. (Adding the cream gives its V-8 soup base a lighter color at the end.)

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*Like I often do with other recipes like this, rather than watch it on top of the stove, I prefer to put my covered enameled cast iron Dutch oven of soup into the oven at 300-degrees for a '...see ya in an hour' kind of ease.  Slow-cooking crock pots work for this, also, and will give you an even longer time to be 'away' while 'the goodness is happening'!

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I found this recipe quite a few years ago in a magazine and saw that a similar one was on allrecipes.com.  One submitter wrote:  "I love cabbage and always try to come up with new ideas for cooking with it; it's a very economical staple in the fall and winter months, thus this recipe.  Add any vegetables or meats that you like--this is a recipe of great versatility! ...Enjoy!" 

The 'readers comments' section wasn't so favorable for this recipe.  It seemed there were a lot of complainers/whiners who left comments-- the recipe wasn't this,... it wasn't that,... nobody liked it, etc.  

Well,............I (we) DO like this recipe and I would give it 5 stars-- maybe it is the 'added hamburger' that contributes to our liking it so well. (?)    I can also see adding a very lean version of sausage (Kielbasa type?) to this recipe in place of the hamburger.  I, too,  think this is a recipe you can work up to suit yourself and your family.