an affair from the heart: Soup

Showing posts with label Soup. Show all posts

Monday, March 24, 2014

Oriental Pork Soup

I have been doing the Spring Purge around here, even though Mother Nature seems to have missed the memo that Spring officially started last week!

I have a cupboard that I keep all of my cookbooks in.

I have TONS of the little magazine ones from ages ago, that I always feel I can't part with, but now with the internet and Pinterest, I never seem to dig out and dust off.

So, I told myself I had to weed through them and pull the recipes that I wanted to make someday out, and file them, and throw the magazines away.

I found one with coupons in it that expired in December of 1992.

(gasp!)

So, my cupboard took a breather, as did the one next to it, that took over part of the now empty one, and I found this recipe in a very old version of a Betty Crocker's Busy Day Crock Pot Meals Cookbook. I made it almost exactly how it was written but changed the ground pork to sliced, and the ginger root to ginger paste, because that was what I keep on hand.

Oriental Pork Soup

adapted from Betty Crocker

2 pork chops, sliced thinly

1 cup julienne strips of carrots, I used shredded carrots in a bag

1 clove minced garlic, or 1 teaspoon garlic puree

1 teaspoon ginger paste

1/4 cup soy sauce, I used reduced sodium

32 ounces chicken broth

2 cups water

1/8 -1/4 teaspoon black pepper

4 medium green onions, sliced (about 1/2 cup)

1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 cup bean sprouts

Cook meat over medium heat in a small amount of oil for about 10 minutes, or until evenly browned.

Drain any excess fat.

Add all ingredients EXCEPT mushrooms and bean sprouts, to your crock pot.

Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.

Stir in mushrooms and bean sprouts, cover and cook on low for one hour more.

Makes six servings.

**I browned my meat the night before and put all of it in the crock pot the next morning! **

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Hamburger Soup with or without Noodles

My Grandma used to make hamburger soup, and I always loved it!

I guess I have always been a huge fan of soups in general, and always LOVED my veggies!

I used to take soup to school in a thermos when I was in grade school.

No PB&J for this girl... no way!

My all time favorite canned soup as a kid was Campbell's Noodles and Ground Beef

Ever hear of it?

Well, they went and discontinued it.

The only place I could even come close to finding something even like it is at our bowling ally... I know, quit laughing!

So my Grandma always made hamburger soup, and I thought maybe I could come close to my old favorite if I added noodles.

It wasn't exact, by no means, but it helps when I have a hankering for my discontinued friend.

I love typing up this particular recipe, because I can remember the exact moment she shared it with me.

I was sitting at her kitchen table, and she was reading it to me, and I was writing it on the notecard that sits in front of me right now.

I miss my Grandma. Every Day.

If you are lucky to still have yours, make sure and spend all the time you can with her!

Hamburger Soup

with or without noodles

(I always double this recipe when I make it)

1 pound ground beef

5 cups of water

1 - 16 ounce canned tomatoes

2 small onions, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

2 stalks of celery, sliced

1/2 Tablespoon parsley

1/4 cup barley (I use a little more, we love it!)

1/4 cup ketchup

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 Tablespoon instant beef bouillon

Salt and Pepper to taste

Egg Noodles (I used Kluski Noodles,) optional

*I usually amp up my veggies, because we like lots of them, don't be afraid to add more or something different, I have cut small potatoes into it before, or green beans, too *

In a large pot, salt and pepper ground beef to taste, and brown it with your onions.

Drain. Place back in pot.

*at this point you could add ingredients to your crock pot or continue on the stove*

Add the rest of your ingredients and bring to a boil.

Reduce and Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Add your prepared noodles before serving if desired.

If you make in your crock pot, just cook it on low all day.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Potato Cheddar Soup

I have made this recipe for YEARS!
I cut it out of some flyer that I received in the mail, and have long since forgotten where it came from.

I was never a fan of potato soup as a kid, but this one had me sold.
I think it's the tang of the cheese and sour cream that makes it different?
That and I LOVE celery!

Serve it with some crusty sourdough bread and life just.got.good.

Enjoy!

Potato Cheddar Soup

4 stalks of celery, chopped

1 cup Julianned carrots

2 small onion, diced

4 potatoes, cubed

4 Tablespoons butter

32 oz Chicken broth or a little more, make sure you cover the veggies

3 cans cream of potato soup

16 ounces sour cream

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded, divided

salt and pepper to taste

In your soup pot, melt butter. Add the celery and onion and saute for about 5-7 minutes.

Add potatoes and carrots, cover with chicken broth, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes, or until your veggies are your desired tenderness. ( I like mine a little firmer)

Add to this your cream of potato soup and sour cream, combine.

Add 1 cup of cheddar, stir.

Soup is done!

Top with more shredded cheddar, and serve with a warm piece of crusty sour dough bread!

I have made this in the crock pot. Cook veggies in broth on low all day, add cream ingredients when you get home, stir and serve!

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Sauerkraut, Bratwurst and Potato Soup

A couple of years ago I had a Soup Supper Round-Up

on my blog.

A blog I follow from time to time called Simply Gourmet

shared this soup, and I have to say I was intrigued!

It is a weird sounding combination, I will admit, but I knew it was one I would try someday!

My cousin, Shawn, makes his own sauerkraut, and it is amazing!!

He saw the share of this soup, and he made it right away!

And he's made it time and time again!

Every time I run into him, he asks me if I have tried it, I keep telling him, I am going to, I SWEAR!

I decided that it was TIME I did!

Every Halloween we have a soup supper at our house before we go out Trick-or-Treating.

I make three soups, two that are family favorites, and I make one new one.

This year, I made my Homemade Chicken Noodle and Beef Enchilada, and this one!

My father in law teases me about my Polish/German heritage (all in good fun) and thought this soup didn't sound like anything he would like.

He had two bowls.

It was the first crock pot empty on Halloween.

It's the perfect blend of creamy with just a bit of tang... fabulous!

My Father in Law said I needed to re-name the soup, I wasn't sure what that would be, so I left well enough alone.

Sauerkraut, Bratwurst and Potato Soup

original recipe: Simply Gourmet

6 cups chicken broth

3 cups kraut juice + water (to make 3 cups)

3 potatoes peeled and cubed

1 small onion, diced

4-5 stalks celery, diced

2 cups sliced carrots

1 stick butter

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cups milk

2 cups cream

2 cups sauerkraut, drained

5 bratwursts, casing removed

Drain sauerkraut, reserving juice. Add water to kraut juice to make 3 cups. In a large soup pot, bring chicken broth and kraut/water to a boil. Add carrots and potatoes, cover and cook until veggies are desired tenderness.

In a skillet, chop and brown bratwurst until it gets nice and brown.

Remove from pan, set aside.

Do not clean pan. Add onion and celery to pan, and saute for about 5 minutes.

Add sauerkraut, continue browning until sauerkraut is cooked well.

Return bratwurst to kraut mixture.

Add to broth.

In a small saucepan, melt butter, add flour to melted butter and whisk, making a roux.

Slowly add milk and cream to flour mixture.

Cook on low whisking as it thickens.

Pour into broth and let soup simmer on low until heated through.

We served with a crusty loaf of french bread, Ah-MAZING!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Stuffed Peppers

are one of my most favorite dinners. We eat them quite a bit actually.

They are not only yummy and filling, they are really quite good for you when you make them using brown rice and lean ground beef.

Here is my recipe for STUFFED PEPPERS.

The night I had ingredients out for stuffed peppers a couple of weeks ago, I decided I really wanted soup.

(it was 100+ degrees outside,

yea... I'm nuts like that)

I have seen tons of recipes for stuffed pepper soup around, and I didn't know which to choose, so like normal, I just started throwing stuff in the pot until it tasted good!! :)

I made a big batch of this, and have some in the freezer.

Yay for me!!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

3 cups brown rice, prepared

2 pounds lean ground beef, browned and drained

1 onion chopped

2 green bell peppers, cut into smaller pieces

6 sweet vine peppers, tri colored, sliced

6 cloves of garlic

4 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce

4 cups low sodium beef broth

1 teaspoon marjoram

salt and pepper

Brown ground beef with a little salt and pepper in your skillet. Drain.

Add to it the peppers, onion and garlic, and saute for about 5-10 minutes.

In your soup kettle or crock pot, add tomatoes, sauce, marjoram and broth.

Add beef/pepper mixture.

Prepare your rice, and set aside.

Simmer on the stove for about 45 minutes to marry the flavors.

Or cook on low in crock pot all day.

Before serving add rice.

Can be topped with cheese if you like.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Taco Soup

Today is a snow day.

I always get hungry for soup on snow days!!

I rummaged around in the pantry to decide what to make.

Taco Soup it is!!

Didn't really have a recipe so I just started dumping in cans of stuff until it tasted good!

Everybody loved it!!

Taco Soup

1 onion minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 lbs lean ground beef, browned and drained

2 packets of taco seasoning or YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN! (click HERE)

(if you make your own use 2.5 ounces for soup)

1 - 14 oz can Mexican Stewed tomatoes + one can water

1 can or Rotel Tomatoes

2 - 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes

2 - 15 oz cans dark red kidney beans + 2 cans water

2 - 15.25 oz cans corn, drained

Toppings:

Cheese

Avocado

tortilla chips

sour cream

Brown beef with onion and garlic in your soup pot until cooked, drain any excess fat.

Puree the Mexican stewed tomatoes and Rotel tomatoes together in a blender.

Pour them and all of the other ingredients into the pot and combine.

(except the toppings!!)

Let simmer on low for one hour and serve with your choice of toppings.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Beef Enchilada Soup

I wanted to add a new addition to this year's Halloween Soup Supper.

My kids always request Homemade Chicken Noodle and Broccoli Cheese,

but I wanted something new....

So this year, it's Beef Enchilada Soup!

Everyone LOVED it!!

Beef Enchilada Soup

2 lbs ground beef, browned and drained

1 onion, chopped

1 - 15oz can of Mexican stewed tomatoes

1 - 15oz can pinto beans, liquid an all

2 - 11oz cans of Mexi-Corn

2 - 10oz cans enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded Mexican Blend cheese

extra cheese for topping

6 corn tortillas, cut into strips

Spray crock pot with Pam. Brown ground beef with chopped onion, drain and put into your crock pot.

Dump the rest of the ingredients (except for the cheese and tortillas) into your crock pot.

Add two cans of water, using the enchilada sauce cans.

Give it a stir.

Cook on low all day.

About an hour before eating add your 2 cups of cheese and tortillas.

Top with extra cheese if desired!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This was hands down my most favorite meal as a kid.

homemade chicken noodle soup

Now it's my kids' most requested meal at our house.

Even in the heat of summer, they request it.

But today with the fresh blanket of snow, it seemed even more fitting.

I remember my Mom making this when I was little and every time I ate it I got the hiccups.
I realize now it was probably because I was eating it WAY too fast!!

When my friend, Lisa and I used to play in my play kitchen we would put warm water in my "soup kettle" and "cook" homemade chicken noodle soup on my stove.
It was the one meal we always made.

I have known how to make this as long as I can remember. It's really not hard....

But I guess if you didn't grow up eating it, you wouldn't know how?

I have passed this "recipe" on to many friends and family over the years.

My kids all know how to make it.

I cannot say I really have a "recipe" though. But I am going to do my best to walk you through it.

on a snowy day...or any 'ol day

the audience I get whenever I de-bone a chicken ... mooching!

ah-maz-ing!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

1 whole chicken

1 onion, chopped

Celery, diced

Carrots, sliced

1- 32 oz chicken broth

2 Tablespoons chicken bouillon

salt and pepper

water

wide egg noodles, cooked and rinsed

Place chicken, whole, into your soup pot. Add veggies. I cut my onion up fairly large, and do the same for my celery and carrots. We love our veggies over here!

I put A LOT of celery in my soup, because I love it! If I had to guess, I would say use about 5-6 stalks. When I am in a rush I buy the carrot chips and just give them a quick chop. I use the whole bag. We have a big family though, and usually we eat it, I put some in the fridge and then have some for the freezer to pull out in a pinch.

Salt and pepper generously.

Add chicken broth, bouillon, and fill pot to the top with water. Cover and cook until chicken is done.

Depending on the size of your chicken, I find it's done in about an hour or a little more.

Remove chicken and de-bone, remove skin and dice up meat.

Return to pan.

I bounce back and forth between the dry wide egg noodles and the Reames frozen ones.
My kids are sort of "split" on which they prefer.

Can't make everyone happy at once, all of the time, right?

Cook the egg noodles until they are done, and drain and rinse them.

Add them to the soup and Volia! You are done!

Feel free to add more bouillon if you feel the need. I swear, the broth is better some times than others.
I always blame the chicken! ;)

The noodles will soak up the broth as it sits. I always add some more chicken broth to the left overs.
We love the broth.

If you are watching your fat intake, I would recommend making this a day ahead and putting it into the fridge. The grease from the chicken will go to the top and harden, and

can be removed.

My kids LOVE this stuff. My oldest daughter will eat it for breakfast when she knows it's here!

I can tell you that "uncool" fact about my teenager, because as she says... "my friends don't read that stuff anyway!" Someday they might...beware, Kenzie!!

Friday, February 3, 2012

It's a Soup Supper Recipe Round-Up!!

Saturday, February 4th is National Homemade Soup Day!

Here you go.... ALL in ONE place a smorgasbord of soups!!

I held a virtual soup supper on my facebook page on Thursday.

We had a ball exchanging recipes for soup, my most FAVORITE meal!!

Yes, I was THAT kid.

The one with the thermos at school.

When most kids were cracking open their Scooby Doo lunch box to unwrap a PB &J,

I had a thermos of soup in my Snoopy Lunch box and thermos!!

I want to personally thank all of my fellow blogger/foodie friends for joining in the soup fun!!

We had 40 people contribute recipes!!

We had drum roll please..... 51 soup recipes!!

I am sharing with you their recipes and links to their blogs, so that you can have one source to find AMAZING recipes for soups, and find some new foodies to follow!!

Please go visit them and show them some love!!

Thanks everyone for making my first "virtual" party a HUGE success!!

Devilish Dish