Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup

1 1/2 lbs cooked chicken (shredded)

1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes

1 10oz can enchilada sauce

1 med. onion chopped

1 4oz. can chopped green chilies

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups water

1 can (14 oz) chicken broth

1 t. cumin

1 t. chili powder

1 t salt

1 bay leaf

1 can of corn

1 T dried chopped cilantro

Grated Jack Cheese

Tortilla Chips

In crockpot, combine shredded chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chilies, garlic, water, broth, cumin, chili powder, salt, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Serve with diced tomatoes, diced avocados. sour cream, shredded Jack Cheese, and tortilla chips.

Ham Chowder

2 c. diced potatoes

1 c. diced celery

1 c. chopped onion

1 lb ham, diced

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. butter

3/4 c. flour

4 c. milk

pepper or seasoning to taste

Put all veggies in a saucepan, cover with water (can add 2 chicken bullion cubes), simmer until veggies are tender.  In a separate pan, melt butter, add flour, salt and milk and whisk.  When thickened, add drained and cooked veggies (can add some of veggie broth to thin soup).  Add ham and heat.  Do not boil.  Season as desired.

Refried Bean Soup

This soup looks ugly, but tastes great.
1/2 cup minced onion
1/3 cup water
2 16 oz cans of refried beans
1 3/4 cups broth
2 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Several twists of freshly ground pepper
Dash or two of Tabasco Sauce
Chopped fresh cilantro

Place the onion and water in a saucepan. Cook, stirring, until the onion is soft, about 4 minutes. Add the beans and broth. Stir well until souplike. Add the corn, salsa, cumin, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 or 6 minutes, until heated through. Add the Tabasco Sauce at taste. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with grated cheese and tortilla chips.

Speedy International Stew

2 14.5 oz cans petite diced tomatoes
2 15 oz can S&W Caribbean or Cuban Back Beans
1 16 oz. can corn, drained.

Combine in saucepan and heat over medium heat about five minutes until warm. Serve with grated cheese and/or sour cream and tortilla chips.

Tracy Ward's Zucchini Soup

2 cups chopped celery
6-7 cups 1/2" pieces zucchini
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
28 oz. can tomatoes
1 large can V8
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Italian seasonings
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil (more is even better)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 chopped green peppers

Saute olive oil celery 10 minutes. Add everything except the green peppers Simmer 20 minutes. Add green pepper. Simmer 10 minutes more. Add lots of Parmesan cheese.

Taco Soup

1 lb. lean ground beef - we like chicken instead
3/4 cup onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 quart canned tomatoes
1 cup water
16 oz. can kidney beans with juice - we do black beans too
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup shredded carrots
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
salt, pepper, garlic salt to taste
shredded cheese
corn or tortilla chips
sour cream
diced avocado

Brown meat and onion, drain.  Add water, undrained tomatoes, beans, tomoato sauce, and seasoning.  Simmer, covered for 15 min.  Serve in bowls with grated cheese, chips, diced avocado and sour cream

Tortilla Soup

TORTILLA SOUP

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 jalapeno, fresh, minced (I just used canned)

1 red onion, medium sized, diced

2 (at least) cloves garlic, minced (I added this to recipe – you gotta have garlic!)

3 cups Roma tomatoes, diced (or use canned diced tomatoes)

3 cups corn kernels, preferably fresh (I generally use the frozen from Costco)

1 tbsp cumin seed

2 quarts chicken stock

2 tbsp fresh cilantro

3 cups grilled chicken breast, diced (I use Costco’s frozen grilled chicken strips or

shredded chicken from a whole Costco chicken, including the juice)

Sea salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste

Garnish: Avocado, lime, fried tortilla strips/chips, cheese

In a large sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the jalapeno, onion,

tomato and corn. Cook about 15 minutes, stirring until all the vegetables are

soft. (if you are using canned tomatoes add then after you have cooked the onion

and garlic.) Add garlic and cumin and cook another 5 minutes. Add the chicken

stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the grilled chicken breast

and fresh cilantro, heat through and serve.

Garnish each bowl with avocado, lime and friend tortilla strips/chips. I like to also

garnish with shredded Monterey jack cheese or better yet, put some shredded

cheese in bottom of each bowl and pour soup over the cheese. Nice and melty!.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 Tbs. Butter
1/2 onion Chopped
Melt butter and cook onion in butter for about 8-10 minutes on low heat then add to rest of ingredients listed below.

4 C. Swanson Chicken Broth
2 Lbs. Diced butternut squash (I just bought the pre-packaged stuff at Costco).
2 peeled and cored apples
1 C. carrots (I thought it was too many though, I would only do 1/2 cup)
1 tsp. salt
dash pepper
1 Tbs Brown sugar
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon (I didn't add this at first, but it made it SO yummy!)
Cook all together until for about 45-60 minutes. Then I used my cusinart hand stick blender to blend it all in together.

Before serving add about 1 c. milk to make creamy.

Butternut Squash Soup and Flawless Foccacia Bread

Butternut Squash and Mushroom Soup

1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 white onion, halved
olive oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
salt
pepper
2 cans low sodium chicken broth
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese (or heavy cream)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place both squashes on a cookie sheet as well as the onion halves. Drizzle them all with olive oil, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the brown sugar on the onion. Put the cookie sheet in the oven and roast for 90 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Scoop the soft squash from the rind into a crock pot or dutch oven. Add the onions, chicken broth, and mushrooms, then simmer on low for at least an hour (all day tastes even better), stirring occasionally.

Before serving, use a blender to completely emulsify the soup. Stir in the mascarpone cheese as well as salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with fresh foccacia bread and parmesan cheese.

Flawless Foccacia Bread(found on Marta Writes)

2 cups warm water
1 package active dry yeast (not instant)
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups flour
2 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoons Italian seasonings

Toppings
1/2 cup butter, melted
garlic salt
Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions
In small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Blend together remaining 1 1/2 cup warm water, dissolved yeast, sugar, flour and salt in mixer bowl. Combine well. Mix in Italian seasonings. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise to double or more (about an hour).

Grease a 9×13 pan. Scoop dough into prepared pan, dough will be very sticky. You’ll be tempted, but don’t add any extra flour. Butter your clean hands and coax the dough into all the edges of the pan. Let dough rise again for 20 minutes, meanwhile preheat oven to 400. Before baking, poke indents in the focaccia with your fingers. Drizzle melted butter over the top of the bread. Sprinkle some garlic salt over the top and add a couple handfuls of Parmesan cheese. Bake 20 minutes. Cool and cut into squares or breadsticks.

Curry Butternut Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 Butternut Squash (approx 8 cups cubed)
• 1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cups Half and Half or whole milk
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dash nutmeg
• Sour cream, garnish

Method:

Wash outside of squash; slice in half then into 1-inch wide strips, remove seeds and slice off rind; cut strips into 1-inch cubes. Place cubes in 3-qt saucepan, add chicken broth; bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until tender (about 10-15 minutes).*

While squash is cooking sauté chopped onion and garlic in butter until tender and beginning to brown or caramelize. Add approximately 1/2 cup Half and Half and puree with handheld blender.

Using a potato masher, electric beater, or hand held blender mash squash; add onion and garlic, stir in Half and Half, season to taste with curry, salt and pepper, and nutmeg. Warm through. If desired, thin with additional milk to desired consistency. To serve, garnish with a dollop of fat-free sour cream on top.
Notes:
Butternut squash is less fibrous than other varieties of winter squash; it's buttery sweet flavor is similar to sweet potatoes. This recipe is rich in vitamin A, fiber and a good source of calcium. Nutrition analysis was calculated using 8 cups raw cubed squash and using Half and Half. Recipe serves 8

For a little sweeter flavor, stir in 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar.

*Alternate cooking method - squash may be sliced in half (don't peel), placed cut side down in microwave safe dish with 1/4 cup water, micro waved on high for 6-10 minutes or until tender. Cool squash enough to handle then scoop out seeds (discard) and scoop out meaty flesh. Mash squash with chicken broth and continue with recipe as directed above.

Quick Chick and Noodle Soup

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled, chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
salt and pepper
6 cups good quality chicken stock
1 lb chicken breast tenders, diced
1/2 lb wide egg noodles
A handful fresh parsley, chopped
 A handful fresh dill, chopped

Place a large pot over moderate heat and add extra-virgin olive oil.  Work close to the stove and add vegetables to the pot as you chop, in the order they are listed.
Add bay leaves and season vegetables with salt and pepper, to taste.  Add stock to the pot and raise flame to bring liquid to a boil.  Add diced chicken tenderloins, return soup to a boil, and reduce heat back to moderate.  Cook chicken 2 minutes and add noodles.  Cook soup an additional 6 minutes or until noodles are tender and remove soup from the heat.
Stir in parsley and dill, remove bay leaves and serve.  This is a thick soup.  Add up to 2 cups of water if you like chicken soup with lots of broth.

(Note: If you are serving immediately, and don't plan to have left-overs, then the wide egg noodles work well.  Otherwise, they become quite "thirsty" and will soak up all of your broth.  A good hearty noodle is preferred; Amish noodles are the best, but hard to find in the West.)

Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained (when I'm in a hurry, I substitute 1 can of chicken, or 1 can of beef, or whatever meat left-overs are in the fridge.)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 package mild taco seasoning mix
1 16oz. can cut corn
1 16oz. can kidney beans, drained/rinsed (I often substitute 1 can of black beans.)
1 28oz. can stewed tomatoes (or 2 cans of diced tomatoes)
1 8oz. can tomato sauce

Sautee onion and add to beef.  Stir in taco seasoning, corn, beans, tomatoes, and tomato sauce.  Simmer for 20-30 min.  (Variation: dump all ingredients--meat already cooked--into crockpot and heat on low for 3+ hours, or high for 1-2 hours).
Top with: grated cheese and sour cream. 
Serve with tortilla chips

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

2 medium baking potatoes, unpeeled
1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
1 cup milk
3 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled and divided
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. sliced green onions, divided (I used a small, chopped regular
onion.)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt

Pierce potatoes; microwave on HIGH 5 min., turning over after 2 1/2 min.
Cut potatoes into chunks. Combine potates, broth and milk (and regular
onion) in large microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 6 min., stirring
after 3 min. Slightly crush potatoes with a potato masher or blend with a hand mixer.

Reserve 2 Tbsp. each of the bacon and cheese and 1 Tbsp. of the green onions for topping; set aside. Add remaining bacon, cheese, and green onions to soup.

Serve topped with reserved bacon, cheese, onions and sour cream.

Makes (4) 1 cup servings.

I have made all sorts of substitutions and variations. I haven't been disappointed yet! Hint: If you want to add broccoli, cook it separately, and add it after you've crushed/blended everything else.