Sunday, December 20, 2009

Soup-er

Hi blog readers!

I am on the search for a couple of great soup recipes. I'm hosting Blake's family for a soup supper on Christmas night {or on the weekend if the weather turns sour}. As I know that I'll be super busy in the days leading up to this event, I'm hoping for something that reheats awesomely. I want to make it on Wednesday morning before heading out for the day. Ideally, I'd like something simple, hearty, and probably not too spicy for the 1,3, and 8 year old kids. Any ideas/recipes?

Lola, this should be right up your alley!

7 comments:

Jennifer said...

I make this potato soup often with some modifications: http://ekstanley.blogspot.com/2006/11/potato-soup_04.html

I cut the butter by half. If you do that, you should adjust the flour accordingly. I also add carrots and ham. If you have a ham bone you can simmer in the broth, it will be even yummier. If you need more flavor, a chicken bullion cube does the trick.

Jennifer said...

Here's a tomato one that my coworker Amanda has made. She brought it in for our bookclub a couple weeks ago. It was a big hit.

http://cooking-gals.blogspot.com/2009/10/roasted-tomato-soup.html

Serve both the potato and tomato soups with a good bread.

chadwil10 said...

Here is the soup recipe I'm making for Christmas eve, or a few days after depending on weather and guests.

Wild Rice Soup

-pkg. of bacon
-1 med. onion
-box of Uncle Ben's long grain/wild rice
-can of cream of mush. soup
-can of cream of chix. soup
-1 large box of velveeta cheese
-5 cups of milk

Cut bacon into pieces, chop onion, and saute together.
Prepare box of rice as directed on box.
Cut cheese into chunks.

Use the double boiler/steam method to cook. Add all ingredients together and mix until cheese melts. Once it is combined and melted I put it in a crock pot liner and refigerate it until needed and then put the liner in my crock pot. YUMMY!

Unknown said...

I was going to give you the same one as Chad! My roommate made this in college and we ALL LOVED IT!! It is AMAZING! And when I was volunteering we used to make it all the time as it can feed a lot of people and easy to make a lot of it, we always made it without the bacon to accommodate for the vegetarians and it is still good! I would also suggest letting everyone one add their own cheese---this way you could have a multitude of cheeses to choose from, I particularly like the Pepper Jack Cheese!!

Unknown said...

Well, my mother-in-law's beef stew is always a popular choice :)

Hearty Beef Stew
--------------------------
(Serves 6-8)

3 lbs. stew beef
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
2 medium onions, chopped coarsely (about 2 c.)
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. flour (I use about 4-5 Tbsp., otherwise stew is kind of runny)
2 c. chicken broth
2 bay leaves (Jo has omitted this when she's made it)
1 tsp. thyme (Jo has omitted this when she's made it)
4 medium red potatoes, cubed
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 c. frozen peas (Jo has omitted this when she's made it)
1/4 c. minced fresh parsley, optional

Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
Season beef generously with salt and pepper. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in ovenproof Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add half of the meat; cook until well browned, stirring to brown each side of meat. Transfer meat to bowl. Heat another 1 Tbsp. oil in pot; brown remaining meat and transfer to bowl. (I save all of the juices from the meat.)

Reduce heat to medium; add remaining Tbsp. oil to pot. Cook onions with 1/4 tsp. salt, stirring frequently and vigorously, 4-5 min. Add garlic and cook and stir 1 min. more. Stir in flour; cook 1-2 min.

Add 1 c. red wine (or water, or some combination of the two), cooking and stirring until liquid is thick. Gradually add chicken broth, stirring and scraping pan to dissolve flour. Add bay leaves and thyme and bring to simmer.

Add meat (and juices) and return to simmer. Cover pot and put in oven. Cook for 1 hour (and 1/2 for extra tender meat).

Remove pot. Add potatoes and carrots. Return to oven and cook for another hour (and 1/2), until vegetables are tender. Add peas; cover and let stand for 5 min. Stir in parsley; discard bay leaves.

Stew can be covered and refrigerated up to 3 days.

Unknown said...

OK, since I just noticed that you need the soup TODAY, it might be a little late for the stew. Here's the Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice soup that we've made at our soup suppers:

2 14.5-oz cans chicken broth
1 c. sliced carrots
1/2 c. sliced celery
1/3 c. wild rice, rinsed and drained
1/3 c. sliced leek or green onion
1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
2 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 c. half-and-half, light cream, or milk
1-1/2 c. chopped cooked chicken (I usually use one whole uncooked chicken breast, cubed to bite-sized pieces, and just throw it in with the veggies in the first step)
2 Tbsp. dry sherry

In a large saucepan, combine broth, carrots, celery, uncooked rice, leek or green onions, thyme, and 1/4 tsp. pepper (plus raw chicken, if going that route). Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer for 50 min. or until rice is tender.

Meanwhile, melt butter. Stir in flour, then stir in half-and-half. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 min. more. Slowly had half-and-half mixture to rice mixture, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken (if using pre-cooked chicken) and sherry; heat through. Makes 4 main-dish servings.

NOTE: To double this recipe, I've found it is actually better to make 2 single batches. Doubling the recipe seems to result in more watery soup.

Unknown said...

DANG - I *just* saw this, or I would have shared my taco soup recipe with you! :( We're having it tonight, actually. Sorry for being a bad blog-stalker.