Brocolli Cheese Soup

Once the cold weather sets in, my favorite thing to do is make soups!  Which bugs my hubby because he isn't a soup person (he is a meat and potatoes type person)  But oh well, every once in awhile I have to cook a meal that is for ME and not everyone else and they just have to deal with it.  You get what you get and you don't throw a fit! =)  I love broccoli and cheese soup but the canned stuff has way too much salt for me.  So when I found a recipe that didn't have any canned stuff I had to try.  I think this is a keeper!

3 tbsp. oil

1/3 of a yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced

salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsp. flour

2 1/2 c. chicken stock or broth

3/4 c. milk

1 1/2 c. broccoli florets

2 c. white cheddar cheese, shredded, plus extra for garnish (you can sub yellow cheddar if you want)

1 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

seasonings to taste (I used some roasted garlic and herb seasonings)

In a large saucepan, heat oil.  Add onions and saute.  Add garlic and salt and pepper.  Cook until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add flour to pan and stir until the moisture is soaked up, and cook for 1 minute.

Add stock a little at a time, mixing to incorporate all ingredients and work out any lumps.  Add milk.  Bring mixture to a simmer and add broccoli.  Simmer over medium heat until soup has thickened slightly, about 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and break up chunks by putting some in a blender or food processor.  Do as much or as little as you want, depending on how chunky you like it.  Return soup to heat and simmer for another 5 minutes.  The stir in cheese.  Stir until all the cheese is melted and thickened.  Ladle into bread bowls and garnish with extra cheese if desired.

Cheeseburger Soup

What do you do when it's cold and snowy?  You have yummy comfort food!  For me, I love love soups when it's cold outside, especially thick and cheesy ones.  I think it's my body's way of keeping warm....eat high calorie food to pack on the extra insulation.  Oh well....I guess I'll have to run an extra mile (or 2) on the treadmill tomorrow =)

1 lb ground beef, browned, drain the fat
6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 c. chopped onion
3/4 c. diced celery( optional, i used a dash of celery seed to give the flavor)
3/4 c. shredded carrots
1 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
4 tbsp. butter
3 c. chicken broth
4 c. diced potatoes
1/2 c. flour
16 oz. Velveeta, cubed
1 1/2 c. milk
3/4 tsp salt and pepper
1/2 c. sour cream


You can either do it in a slow cooker, or stove top.

If you want to do stove top:
Dice potatoes and boil until soft, but not as soft as when you do mashed potatoes.

 In a skillet, brown the hamburger and cook with the onion.  Drain the fat.

 In a large pot, combine broth, potatoes, carrots, milk, parsley, garlic, salt ant pepper, bacon, and hamburger.  Add in cubes of Velveeta.

 Cook on medium heat until cheese is all melted, stir occasionally.  Add sour cream and flour.  Let simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve in Bread Bowls!!!!




This soup also freezes great!  Just place it in freezer bags, and heat up in a pan when you're ready to eat it again.

Potato and Ham Soup

Once the cold weather sets in, I love to make soups.  It is the ultimate comfort food, especially served with fresh bread or a bread bowl.  There's nothing like a warm bowl of soup on a cold day. =)

6-8 small to medium potatoes, diced
1/2 c. chopped onion
1-2 carrots, chopped
1/2 c. celery, chopped
1 c. chicken broth
1 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp.salt
pinch pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
4 tbsp. flour
4 tbsp. butter
2 c. milk (you can use half and half or cream to make it creamier)
2 c. shredded cheese ( I used Monterrey Jack)
3/4 c. sour cream
1 c. diced ham

Cook the potatoes until just about soft enough to mash.  Strain.  Take half the potatoes and put in a stock pot.  The other half of the potatoes, mash or puree.

While the potatoes are cooking, saute onions, celery and carrots in 3 tbsp. of butter.  This takes about 15 minutes. Once the celery is no longer crunchy, add the other tbsp of butter and mix in flour to make a roux.  If it is runny, add more flour until it is thick.

To the potatoes in the stock pot, add chicken broth, milk, and seasonings.  Sir in pureed potatoes and veggie roux.  Mix thoroughly.  Mix in sour cream, ham, and shredded cheese.  Let it all cook and simmer until heated thoroughly and cheese is melted.  This should take about 30 minutes.

I like this soup because it is nice and creamy.  The pureed potato thickens it up, but doesn't take away any flavor like cornstarch and flour would.  I ran out of milk, but I really, really, really wanted some potato soup.  My son has to drink rice milk so I grabbed some of his milk and used it.  It tasted great! Plus, it made it a bit healthier......not that it really matters considering all the cheese and sour cream.











The kids loved and both of them had 2 bowls of it!  My daughter asked if there were going to be leftovers so she could have some more another day.  I guess this was a hit with the kids =)

Print Recipe

Creamy Tomato Soup with Corn, Chicken and Bacon

I found this recipe on one of my favorite websites:  http://picky-palate.com/  You must look it over!  She does amazing this with cookies and whatnot.  I am blaming her for no looking so cute in my shorts from last summer =)  I found this recipe and thought it was a nice healthy recipe and a nice change to the same ol' tomato soup.  On Sunday afternoons, we love to have grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup so I wanted to change things up a bit.  This isn't her exact recipe since I had to change some stuff since my kids don't do spicy.

1/4 cup white onion

4 cloves garlic

Two 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes (I used one regular and one Italian)

2/4 can Corn
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup buttermilk ( or 1/2 c. milk + 2 tbs vinegar)

1 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast (I used a rotisserie chicken and shred it)

1 cup cooked crumbled bacon (optional or you can use turkey bacon to cut a lot of fat)

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

Bread bowls if desired

1. Place onion, garlic and tomatoes into a food processor or blender. Pulse until smooth. Transfer to a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add corn, stirring to combine then add salt, and pepper, stirring again to combine. Stir in buttermilk, Parmesan, chicken broth, chicken and bacon pieces until combined. Reduce heat to low until ready to serve. Serve inside hollowed out bread bowls if desired.

Chicken sweet potato soup

If you are anything like me, you probably overindulged during the holidays and now your clothes are paying for it.  I need to find me some nice filling food that is healthy so that is my goal for the next little while. 

CHICKEN SWEET POTATO SOUP

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 40 minutes
Makes 9 cups

• 2-1/2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery (2 ribs)
• 1 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup water
• 14 ounces canned chicken broth (i did 3 cubes of chicken bouillon with 14 oz. water)
• 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey (leftover or pre-cooked)
• 6 slices turkey bacon, cooked, crumbled (optional)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 cups skim milk

Combine sweet potatoes, celery, onion, garlic, water and broth in a pot. Add marjoram, thyme and cayenne pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a slow boil and cook about 15 minutes until sweet potatoes are fully cooked. Stir in chicken, bacon and peas. Combine cornstarch and milk in a small dish, then stir it slowly into the soup mixture. Cook until thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes.  

To add extra flavor to the chicken, cook the turkey bacon first and the cook the chicken in the same pan.  The bacon doesn't have grease but it adds a nice flavor.
The total points for this is around 35 points, and I think it makes at least 8 servings, probably more if you do smaller ones.  So that means it can be 4 points or less per serving.  This is chock full of veggies so it will fill you up.  And since veggies are low cal/no points, feel free too add more =)

Crockpot Taco Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, with liquid
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, with liquid
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

Directions

1. In a medium skillet, cook the ground beef until browned over medium heat. Drain, and set aside.
2. Place the ground beef, onion, chili beans, kidney beans, corn, tomato sauce, water, diced tomatoes, green chile peppers and taco seasoning mix in a slow cooker. Mix to blend, and cook on Low setting for 8 hours.

This is the original recipe.  I added some stuff to mine, of course.  I didn't have 2 cans of tomatoes, so i used one can of tomatoes and then i had a can of tomatoes with diced chilies mixed so I used that instead and omitted the green chillies, but if you like a kick, use both.  I only used half an onion, but my onion was pretty big.  I also added half a packet of ranch seasoning, but I think it would do with a little more.  I cooked mine for 4 hours on high because I didn't have enough time.  It is super good with some tortilla chips crumbled on top and some shredded cheese.  If you want to cut the calories a little, you can use turkey burger instead.

The calories per serving of the original is about 385, and it says the recipe has 8 servings, but I think it has more like 16 bowl size servings.  So if you go with the 16 servings, it is around 200 calories, add a little for cheese and chips if you add them.  I paired it with some homemade french bread and it was wonderful!!!!  I think this is going to be a new favorite.  Plus, it makes plenty so I can freeze some for later since soups freeze great.

Make your own condensed soups!

Do you ever run out of your canned soups?  Well, here's the solution:  make your own!  Here is a website that I found that has the recipe for them.  I am so excited to try these out!  It seems like the canned stuff is too salty so this will be great!  I haven't tried them yet, but I will in the next week or two.

http://www.utahshoppingsecrets.com/2010/06/recipe-homemade-condensed-soups.html