Minestrone Soup

Since the weather started cooling off, I've been in the mood for SOUP. Every lunch and dinner, all I want is soup, soup and more soup.

Minestrone has always been a favorite of mine, but I've never made it! I finally decided it was high time that I did.

So on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I made a batch of this for work day lunches. It is SO delicious and I know that it freezes beautifully. Make a few batches for your fridge, and then put a few more in your freezer. To thaw from your freezer, just put on your countertop overnight. In the morning, just put it in your refrigerator to store until you are ready to heat it up. This soup is hearty, flavorful and just so comforting.

So get yourself a slice of fresh Italian bread and a bowl of this hot soup and watch the bright red-orange leaves float to the ground outside your window.

Ingredients
Adapted from Epicurious.com, originally from Gourmet Magazine, March 1993

1/2 pound (about 1 1/4 cups) dried white beans such as Great Northern, picked over and rinsed 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound pancetta (Italian cured pork belly, available at Italian markets and specialty foods shops) or sliced lean bacon, chopped (I used bacon)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 large carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 rib of celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 garlic cloves, chopped fine
2 zucchini, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch dice (I used one very large zucchini)
1/4 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 pound boiling potatoes
4 cups shredded green cabbage (preferably Savoy) (I omitted)
1/2 pound kale, rinsed, drained, stems discarded, and the leaves chopped (about 6 cups)
a 28-ounce can tomatoes, chopped coarse and drained well
4 1/2 cups chicken broth (preferably low-salt)
2-3 springs rosemary, chopped (I added this)
2-3 springs thyme, chopped (I added this)

Directions

In a large bowl let the white beans soak in enough water to cover them by 2 inches overnight or quick-soak them. Drain the white beans, in a saucepan combine them with enough water to cover them by 2 inches, and simmer them, uncovered, adding more water if necessary to keep them barely covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until they are tender. Add the salt and simmer the white beans for 5 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat and let the white beans stand, uncovered.

In a heavy kettle cook the pancetta in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until it is crisp and pale golden, add the onion, and cook the mixture, stirring, until the onion is softened. Add the carrots, the celery, and the garlic and cook the mixture, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add the zucchini, the green beans, and the potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add the cabbage, kale, rosemary and thyme and cook the mixture, stirring, until the cabbage is wilted. Add the tomatoes and the broth and simmer the soup, covered, for 1 hour.

Drain the white beans, reserving the liquid, in a blender or food processor purée half of them with 1 cup of the reserved liquid, and stir the purée and the remaining white beans into the soup. Simmer the soup, uncovered, for 15 minutes, thin it if desired with some of the remaining reserve liquid, and season it with salt and pepper. The soup may be made 3 days in advance and kept covered and chilled, or frozen. Reheat the soup, thinning it with water as desired.

Creamy White Bean Soup

I absolutely love making soup. Soup recipes tend to make a lot, so not only do I get to enjoy it for dinner, I also get to enjoy it for subsequent lunches at work. This is a healthy soup that is easy to make.

This soup is flavorful, healthy and hearty. The beans create a wonderful creaminess to the soup, especially when blended. The kale adds so much color and flavor, that I seriously load this soup with it! I really love this recipe and will definitely make it again and again.

Ingredients
Adapted from The Daily Green, originally published in Good Housekeeping

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium celery stalk, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cans (15 1/2 to 19 ounces each) white kidney beans (cannellini), rinsed and drained
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2-3 springs fresh thyme, leaves only
2 cups water
1 head fresh kale
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Optional - aprox. 1 cup cooked small pasta (I used little stars)

Directions
In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add beans, broth, pepper, thyme, and water; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, trim tough stems from kale and discard; thinly slice leaves.

With slotted spoon, remove 2 cups bean and vegetable mixture from soup; set aside. Blend the rest of the soup with an immersion blender and puree until smooth.

Stir in reserved beans, vegetables and pasta (if using). Heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in kale and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat. Serve with Parmesan, if you like.

Lentil Soup

I've recently become a big fan of lentil soup. It was never anything I ate as a child, but I tried it for something different and was really impressed with it. It's very hearty, filling and good for you. And it tastes just great. So after trying a pre-packaged lentil soup mix which I liked, I made it myself the next time and was thrilled with the results.

This soup was quick to come together and just tasted great. It makes a lot, so be prepared to either freeze some or bring it lunch for a few days after you make it! It's a nice, satisfying soup that will make you feel good about eating it without sacrificing flavor!

Ingredients
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living magazine

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 shallots, thinly sliced
4 cups water
2-3 cups chicken stock
1 cup green or brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
2 cups dry pasta (I used shells)
2 to 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

Directions
In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring salted water to a rolling boil. Add shells and cook about 7-8 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook carrot, celery, and shallot until tender, about 6 minutes. Add water, chicken stock and lentils and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir in cooked pasta and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with vinegar to taste. Drizzle with oil and serve.

Chili with Cornbread Dumplings

I've been making this recipe for years now. It's healthy, flavorful, filling and is so easy to put together. The chili itself is on the mild side, so if you like really spicy chili I'd suggest putting more red pepper or chili powder in. But for me, this is perfectly spiced.

The addition of the cornbread dumplings really makes this dish for me. It's unexpected but goes just perfectly with the chili itself. Another great thing about this chili is it makes GREAT leftovers. After I make this chili I put the rest in individual containers and bring them to work over the next week or so.

This can be made vegetarian or non-vegetarian. I've done it both ways and it always comes out great. I'll include the directions for both versions.

This is always a great recipe and something I hope you'll like as much as I do!

Ingredients
Source: "More Healthy Homestyle Cooking" by Evelyn Tribole, page 160-161

Chili
1 lb. ground turkey breast (optional)
2 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 can chopped tomatoes (28 oz)
1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)
3 cans reduced sodium kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I have also used a mix of beans...black beans and great northern beans also work just fine)
1 can diced green chili peppers (4 oz)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Dumplings
1 1/2 cups reduced fat biscuit mix
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/3 cup fat free milk
1/4 cup corn kernels
Paprika

Directions

Coat a large pot (I use a dutch oven) with non-stick spray and warm over medium-high heat. Add the turkey to the pot and cook, stirring to break up the meat, for 5 minutes or until brown and crumbly (skip this step for a vegetarian version).

If not using meat, add 1-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil to large pot and warm over medium heat.

For vegetarian or non-vegetarian version, continue with the following steps.

Add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Add the chili powder, cumin and red pepper. Stir in the tomatoes (with juice), beans, tomato sauce, and chili peppers (with juice). Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer.

To make the dumplings, stir together the biscuit mix, cornmeal, cheese, cumin and chili powder in a medium bowl. In another small bowl, mix milk and corn. Add to cornmeal mixture and mix until just moistened.

Drop the dumpling mixture by heaping tablespoons onto the chili, covering the surface but with a little chili showing between dumplings. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in a dumpling comes out clean. Spoon into bowls and serve.

Cauliflower Leek Soup

I have to admit, the main reason I decided to try this soup was because I wanted to use my immersion blender. I've had it for over a year now and have never really had the opportunity to use it! So I decided to look for a recipe where I could use my sort of new immersion blender.

When I found this soup, I thought it would be perfect for my immersion blender test run. It looked super healthy and the ingredients were all things that I like. And what really got me was that it looked like a creamy soup (my favorite) without cream! So I was sold on it!

This soup was just great! I turned it into a "one pot" meal which worked perfectly and made for very little clean up. It was easy to make and tasted just great. My husband even liked it...and he was a bit skeptical at first. It tasted just like a cream based soup but happily there was no cream! This is a healthy, satisfying and just plain delicious soup.

Ingredients
Source: My Man's Belly

1 Medium Head Cauliflower (roughly chopped)
2 Leeks, White and Light Green Part Only (cut in half lengthwise) (I used one leek)
6 Cloves Garlic
1/2 onion, diced (I added this)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 14 Ounce Cans Chicken Stock (I used about 1 carton of chicken stock)
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a stove/oven safe dutch oven (I used enameled cast iron), put in cauliflower, leeks, garlic and onions. Drizzle olive oil over everything and add salt and pepper to taste. Toss together so the veggies are coated in the olive oil.

Roast uncovered in oven for 40-45 minutes, stirring vegetables after about 20 minutes. After about 45 minutes or so, vegetables should be brown on edges and slightly softened.

Transfer dutch oven to the stovetop and add 2 cans of chicken stock. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Lower heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

Using an immersion blender (stick blender), thoroughly puree all contents of the saucepan. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender. Just be careful putting hot liquids in a blender as they can cause the lid to come flying off sending your yummy soup all over your kitchen. (You can vent the lid a little to help reduce the chance of this happening.)

Add more salt and pepper if needed and serve.

White Chicken Chili

After I told my good friend Julie that I had never had White Chicken Chili, she urged me to try this recipe and I was very anxious to do so! The weather is getting very cold (it actually SNOWED a bit north of where I live earlier this week!) and I am officially in the mood for soups and stews.

This recipe went above and beyond my expectations. It was perfectly seasoned and had a great, hearty flavor that is perfect for fall. It's also a 1-pot meal which is easy and great for clean up! This recipe is for the archives, you will absolutely love it.

Directions

Source: My friend Julie who got the recipe from her "Church Suppers" Cookbook

1 lb. BS chicken, cubed (about 2 large breasts)

1 onion, chopped

1-1/2 t. garlic powder (I used 3 cloves of freshly minced garlic instead)

1 T. oil

2 15 ½ oz. cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

14 ½ oz. can chicken broth

2 4 oz. cans green chilies (I used 1 can which I thought was the perfect amount of heat for me)

1 t. salt

1 t. ground cumin

1 t. dried oregano

½ t. pepper

¼ t. cayenne pepper

8 oz. container sour cream

½ cup whipping cream

aprox. 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar (I added this)

Directions

In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and whipping cream. Top with a sprinkle of cheddar. Serve immediately.

Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

I've been wanting to make this soup for a while now because it's one of my husband's favorites, and I love it too! It was snowy here over the weekend so I put off grocery shopping, but I had all of the ingredients for this on hand so it worked out well! I served the soup with some croutons and freshly baked sourdough bread. The only complaint I had with this recipe is that I felt it wasn't quite cheesy enough even though I think I used more cheese than the recipe called for, and I used extra sharp cheddar! Besides that, the soup was great and the consistency was perfect. I felt a little weird that it didn't call for a roux but it worked out great. This was a perfect meal for a snowy winter's night.

Ingredients
Adapted from www.allrecipes.com

1/4 cup butter
1 onion, cut into medium dice
1/2 small shallot, minced (I added the shallot to the original recipe)
2 teaspoons garlic powder (I used 3 freshly minced garlic cloves and omitted garlic powder)
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli
1 quart chicken broth
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk (I used skim)
salt to taste
8 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (I used extra sharp)


Directions

1. Melt butter over medium heat in a stockpot. Cook onion and shallot in butter until softened. Add garlic and pepper; cook for 1 minute then stir in broccoli, and stir in chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile whisk flour into milk until dissolved. Stir into soup stirring frequently until thickened. Reduce heat, and stir in cheese until melted and heated through.
3. Season with salt to taste.

Baked Potato Soup

I've been wanting to try this soup because my husband always orders it when we go out. And since we had a small blizzard yesterday, I thought it would be the perfect time to try it! I loved this recipe. I mean, what's better than cooking onions in bacon grease? While it's not exactly low-cal, this is a really fantastic soup and just pure comfort food.

INGREDIENTS
Adapted from www.Allrecipes.com

• 4 bacon strips, diced
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used about 4 smaller potatoes)
  
• 1 cup half-and-half cream
• 1 green onion, chopped
  
• Shredded Cheddar cheese
• Minced fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cream and green onions; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley.

Chef Jack's Corn Chowder

My husband requested this last night. I've been making this recipe for years now and we both love it...Paula never disappoints! I usually serve this with a salad and crusty sourdough bread slices toasted in the oven with extra virgin olive oil, freshly minced garlic, and a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper.

Ingredients
adapted from Paula Deen

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter (I use 1 stick)
  
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 small carrot, finely diced
• 1 small celery stalk, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups white corn kernels, fresh or frozen
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups half-and-half
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Melt 1 stick of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and saute for 2 minutes. Add the flour and stir to make a roux. Cook until the roux is lightly browned; set aside to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, combine the corn and chicken stock in another saucepan, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Pour the boiling stock with the corn (a little at a time) into the saucepan with the roux, whisking briskly so it doesn't lump. Return the skillet to the heat and bring to a boil. The mixture should become very thick.

In a small saucepan, gently heat the half-and-half; stir it into the thick corn mixture. Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper, to taste. Just before serving, cut the remaining stick of butter into large chunks. Add it to enrich the soup, stirring until the butter melts. I always omit this last stick of butter. I've made it with and without, and there really isn't that much different. This soup is rich enough as it is!

Savoury Pumpkin Soup

Sunday Afternoon rolled around and my husband requested an all time favorite...soup and grilled cheese. Just when I was decided that I didn't feel like using canned soup, I remembered that I had some canned pumpkin in the fridge left over from my marbled pumpkin cheesecake. Thus, Savoury Pumpkin Soup was born. I didn't follow a recipe or anything, and I didn't take any measurements. So these are very rough measurements for the soup. The great thing about this soup is that A) It's delicious and B) it's a 1-pot soup. SO easy and quick. I will most certainly be making this again; it was SO yummy and perfect for a fall afternoon!

Ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 -1 cup fat-free half and half
1-2 tbsp butter
3-5 fresh chopped sage leaves
cinnamon
nutmeg
Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Combine pumpkin and half and half in a small-medium saucepan until smooth. Add more half and half for a thinner soup, and less for a thicker soup. Then add chooped sage, a little shake of cinnamon & nutmeg, and aprox. 1 tbsp butter until all ingredients are combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low-medium heat for about 5-8 minutes. Pour into serving bowl. Add a little more butter to enrich the soup and then top with a few slices of Parmesan.

Tips: If you're feeling more motivated than I was today, I think that melting the butter in a seperate saucepan and adding the sage and some freshly minced garlic to that would be excellent. Let the sage and garlic become fragrant and then add that to your pumpkin/cream mixture.