Squash Soup with Beans

I participated in this round of the WC Recipe Exchange. I have been a horrible procrastinator and finally got around to making my soup today.

Sadly Adam doesn't like squash so I most likely wouldn't make this again, but it was very good for me and I liked the texture the beans gave to it. Sadly my camera batteries died as I turned it on to take a picture of the soup, so no pictures this round :(

Thank you for whomever submitted it.

Butternut Squash Soup

• 2 squash, chopped into 1" chunks
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 4-6 c. chicken broth
• 2 cans Goya pink beans, rinsed and drained

Sauté onion and celery until starting to brown.

Add chopped squash and sauté until squash is browning. Add approximately 4-6 cups of chicken broth, just enough to cover.

Keep on lowest heat possible and simmer for approximately 1 hour; add beans and cook for about 5 more minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Meatballs?

Adam is not one to turn on food network, but last week while we were at my moms there was nothing on TV so I flipped it on to Tyler's foodnetwork show, and Adam thought this looked really good. He made it for dinner last night.

Overall it was great, I will put what we would do differently along with the recipe. Overall we would use more veggies, and more sauce, but smaller meatballs.

Chicken Noodle Soup (From: Tyler Florence)For the soup:

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 large carrots, chopped (next time we would use 4)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, sliced (next time we would use 4)
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs
• 3 quarts low-sodium chicken broth (we would use 2 large cans instead)
• 5 parsley stems, plus 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
• 4 black peppercorns
• Kosher salt
• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for garnish

For the meatballs:

• 1 medium onion, diced
• Olive oil
• 6 links organic chicken-apple sausage meat
• 1 egg 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 handful fresh parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 2 pounds frozen cheese tortellini, store bought
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the soup:

Set a large stock pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, half the garlic, carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf, and thyme and gently saute until fragrant, about 5 to 7 minutes. Pour in chicken broth, add parsley stems, black peppercorns and salt, to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer while you work on meatballs and tortellini.

For the meatballs:

Caramelize the diced onion in a saute pan with a little olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage, egg, onion, thyme, parsley, and cheese to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they all come together. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil until just smoking. Use a small ice cream scoop (we would make them about dime size, and not using full amount of meat) to drop meatballs onto skillet. Cook, turning, until golden brown.

Drop tortellini straight from freezer into soup. Cook until they float. Once meatballs are browned, add to pot of chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Give soup a final seasoning and serve in shallow bowls with a small shower of Parmesan, olive oil, and parsley.

Cheddar, Potato, Steak Soup

I LOVE soup, it got BITTERLY cold here this week, and I knew I would be working a later shift at work today so decided to make this soup I could do in the crock pot. I found it on Crystal's Blog.

This was VERY good! The potatoes and onions weren't all the way tender, it could of cooked a little longer, but overall it had great flavor and taste!

Cheddar Potato Steak (From: Gooseberry Patch)

• 1 30 oz bag of frozen hashbrowns
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• onion (I did 1 slice cut in small pieces)
• seasonings of your choice (I used onion powder, garlic powder, seasoning salt, salt and pepper)

Mix above ingredients together and place on low for 6-8 hours.

• 8 oz bag shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 3 Tbl flour

Mix flour into milk. Then add cheese and milk mixture to crockpot and stir. Place on high for 20 mins, until cheese is melted.

• 1 1/2 lbs bite size cooked steak

Mix in steak and cook on low until ready to eat.

Broccoli Potato Ham Mushroom Chowder

We stayed at my moms house last night and tonight I was teasing her about what she was making for dinner. My brother has a nasty cold so I thought soup might be a good option. I have like 3 or 4 soup recipes starred in my reader. So I mentioned them to my mom. We decided to give this one a try.

I am so glad we did, we added some extra things, but overall this had excellent flavor and tasted great!

I am typing the recipe out the way we made it, but the link will take you to the original recipe.

***Sorry for the yellowy pictures, I didn't bring my camera and was using my moms, something to get use to.

Broccoli Potato Ham and Mushroom Chowder (From: Southern Living)

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 (14.5-oz) cans low-sodium fat-free chicken broth, divided
• 3 cups cubed, peeled potato (1.25 lbs)
• 2 cups broccoli florets, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 slice ham cubed
• 10 mushrooms, copped in small pieces
• 1 1/4 cup reduced-fat 2% milk
• 1 (8-oz) bag of cheddar cheese

Whisk flour and 1/3 cup chicken broth until smooth.

Saute onion and 1-2 T. of butter in bottom of pan.

Combine remaining chicken broth and potatoes, and broccoli in a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 8 minutes. Add ham and mushrooms, simmer until potatoes are tender. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Cooking, stirring often, 5 minutes.

Stir in milk and 8 oz. shredded cheese. Cook mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until cheese melts.

Serve with additional shredded cheese.

Beef Stew

As soon as I saw this posted on The Nest WC Board, I knew I wanted to try it. I love beef stew, but have never made my own. This recipe looked very easy and very tasty. I found it on Chelleys blog, who found it on Katie's Blog.

Lots to say about this recipe. First of all Adam actually made this dinner, and I thank him greatly. The veggies weren't all the way done, even after simmering for an hour and half. Next time I would do the meat step and when it is time to add the veggies I would cook it in a slow cooker for a day. I also would cut the potatoes smaller. We also like it a little "saucer" so I added some broth and corn starch mix into the juice when adding the veggies.

Adam HATES peas so I made some on the side for me and added them in my bowl only :-)

Hearty Beef Stew (Original From: America’s Test Kitchens)

• 3 lbs. beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 in. cubes
• Salt and ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium onions, chopped (we used 1/2 lg. onion)
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-in. cubes
• 4 large carrots (about 1 lb.), peeled and sliced 1/4 in. thick
• 1 c. frozen peas

Dry beef thoroughly and season generously with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat. Add half the meat so that pieces are not touching and cook not moving until brown (about 2-3 min). Use tongs and rotate pieces until all sides are browned (about 5 additional min.). Transfer beef to medium bowl and add another 1 tablespoon oil to pan, repeating previous steps with other half of beef.

Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to now empty pan and swirl to coat bottom. Add onions and 1/4 tsp salt and cook, scraping bottom of pan for brown bits until softened (about 5 mins). Add garlic and continue to cook for 30 sec. Stir in the flour and cook until lightly colored (1-2 min.). Add wine, scraping the bottom and stirring until thick and flour is dissolved.

Gradually add the beef broth, stirring constantly, scraping up the remaining browned bits on bottom of pan. Add bay leaves and thyme and return to simmer. Add beef, return to simmer, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for 1 hour.

Add potatoes and carrots, leave uncovered, increase heat to medium and cook for additional hour.

Add the peas, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 min.

Discard bay leaves, adjust seasoning and serve immediately.

Homegrown Gourmet

I have wanted to participate in Homegrown Gourmet since it started a few months ago, but I never could think of a recipe that screamed MINNESOTA. But since I heard of the details I was waiting for soup to be the theme. This month is soup. I knew the perfect recipe!

Northern wild rice is an annual plant native to the Great Lakes region of North America. Northern wild rice is the state grain of Minnesota.

Wild Rice Soup (From: My Mom)

• 6 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. minced onion
• 1/2 c. flour
• 2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans chicken broth
• 2 c. cooked wild rice
• 1/2 c. finely grated carrots
• 1/3 c. minced ham or 1/2 c. cooked chicken
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped silvered almonds
• 1 c. half and half
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Snipped parsley or chives for garnish

In a large saucepan, melt butter and saute onion until tender. Blend in flour and then gradually add broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and boil for 1 minute.

Stir in wild rice, carrots, ham (or chicken), almonds, and salt. Simmer about 5 minutes, blend in half and half and heat to serving temperature. If too thick, you may thin with chicken broth.

Garnish with snipped parsley or chives.

Chili

I love chili, but can't make myself eat it in the summer. I figured what a better way to bring in the first day of fall then some homemade chili.

This is always good, it's my moms recipe and has been a standby in our house for a while.

I did this in the crock-pot instead of stove top, I just cooked in slow cooker on low for 8 hours or so. It was VERY GOOD!

Chili (From: My Mom)

• 1 lb hamburger
• 1/4 onion
• 3 stalks celery (optional)
• 2 cans tomato sauce
• 1 lg. can chopped tomatos
• 1 can chili beans
• chili powder to flavor
• Sour cream
• Cheddar cheese

Fry hamburger and onion together in a pan.

Combine all ingredients in a pot, simmer on low for about an hour.

Top with a dollop or sour cream and some cheddar cheese. ENJOY!

Butternut Squash Soup

I have never tried Butternut Squash Soup, I bought a squash at the store, and have been looking for a recipe since I bought it. I found a few recipes but none really pulled me, so I took them and ran with them and made my own.

I like creamer and sweet soup, if you don't like creamer soups I would leave out the half and half, it tastes good without also.

This soup was very good, great flavor. But not something I would make for myself again as I didn't care for the texture of it. I was glad I could try it though.

Butternut Squash Soup (From: Myself)

• 1 butternut squash (peeled and cubed)
• 2 stalks celery
• 1/4 onion (diced)
• 2 Tb. Butter
• 32 oz. chicken broth
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1 T. cinnamon
• 1/4 c. half and half

Melt butter in a large pot. Add veggies and cook until browned.

Pour in chicken broth just enough to cover veggies. Turn to low, cover and simmer for about an hour or until veggies are tender.

Puree veggies in blender.

Put back in pot, add brown sugar, cinnamon, half and half, and any other spices you want. Heat on low until hot.

Enjoy.

Vegetable Soup

Many years ago my mom made this recipe, it's actually a weight watchers recipe. But is SOOO good. I have been in the mood to make it. Now that it's summer it is not that appealing. But my veggies were going to go bad, so I made it and will freeze it until it cooler.



0 point soup (From online)

• 2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
• 1 medium onion(s), diced
• 2 medium carrot(s), diced
• 1 medium sweet red pepper(s), diced
• 1 medium stalk celery, diced
• 2 small zucchini, diced
• 2 cup green cabbage, shredded
• 2 cup Swiss chard, chopped
• 2 cup cauliflower, small florets
• 2 cup broccoli, small florets
• 2 tsp thyme, fresh, chopped
• 6 cup vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp parsley, or chives, fresh, chopped
• 1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, optional

Put garlic, vegetables, thyme and broth into a large soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in parsley or chives; season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Soup and Pie

Sunday my Mom told us she was making Ham Wild Rice soup, we were quick to jump on that, as it is a wonderful recipe. So we went down last night for soup, I was asked to bring a dessert and decided on Coconut Cream Pie. It was a great dinner!

Wild Rice Soup (My Mom's Recipe)

• 6 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. minced onion
• 1/2 c. flour
• 2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans chicken broth
• 2 c. cooked wild rice
• 1/2 c. finely grated carrots
• 1/3 c. minced ham or 1/2 c. cooked chicken
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped silvered almonds
• 1 c. half and half
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Snipped parsley or chives for garnish

1) In a large saucepan, melt butter and saute onion until tender. Blend in flour and then gradually add broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and boil for 1 minute.

2) Stir in wild rice, carrots, ham (or chicken), almonds, and salt. Simmer about 5 minutes, blend in half and half and heat to serving temperature. If too thick, you may thin with chicken broth.

3) Garnish with snipped parsley or chives.

***Tips, we made this recipe about 1 1/2 times, we had one bowl left over with 4 people eating it, we also didn't garnish with parsley we garnished with a few almonds.


Coconut Cream Pie (Kraft Foods)

• 2 cups cold milk
• 2 pkgs. vanilla instant pudding
• 1 c. coconut
• 2 c. cool-whip
• 1 pie crust (Recipe called for graham cracker, I used regular)

Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes and 3/4 c. of coconut. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes. Gently stir in 1 c. of whipped topping. Pour into crust.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until set.

Spread pie with remaining 1 c. whipped topping. Toast remaining 1/4 c. coconut, if desired. Sprinkle over pie. store leftover pie in refrigerator.

*To Toast Coconut: Preheat oven to 350. Spread coconut in shallow baking pan. Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tonight's dinner was Chicken Tortilla soup, I tried this around noon and it was WAY too spicy for us (we are babies) so I added a can of tomato sauce. That did tame it down, it was still not exactly wonderful! I would not make this recipe again. It was bad it just wasn't something Adam and I enjoy.

I went back and forth tonight weather I should post this or not, but everyone makes cooking mistakes and some people might really like this recipe. So I opted to post it anyway.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup (From Nesties)

• 1 lb. shredded, cooked chicken
• 1 (15 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
• 1 (10oz can enchilada sauce
• 1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (4oz) can chopped green chile peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups. water
• 1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (10 oz) package frozen corn
• 1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 7 corn tortillas
• vegetable oil

Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chilies, black beans, and garlic in slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken brother, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro.

Cover, and cook on low setting for 6 to hours, or on high setting for 3 to 4 hours.


Preheat oven to 400 degress.


Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.


Bake in preheated oven until crisp about 10-15 min.


Served sprinkled with tortillas strips, and cheese. I served with corn cake!

A Warm Minnesota Supper

Tonight for dinner, Adam had requested Wild Rice soup, and I figured I would make a special warm dessert to go with it since he worked out in the cold and the wind today.

The soup was Ham Wild Rice Soup. It is so rich and creamy and tasty. The recipe is from my mom she found it and gave me and is a wonderful recipe. I always use Ham but you can use chicken instead, and you can add celery too if you like that. I prefer to serve it with some fresh bread and butter.

Wild Rice Soup

6 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. minced onion
1/2 c. flour
2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans chicken broth
2 c. cooked wild rice
1/2 c. finely grated carrots
1/3 c. minced ham or 1/2 c. cooked chicken
1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped silvered almonds
1 c. half and half
1/2 tsp. salt
Snipped parsely or chives for garnish

1) In a large saucepan, melt butter and saute onion until tender. Blend in flour and then gradually add broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and boil for 1 minute.

2) Stir in wild rice, carrots, ham (or chicken), almonds, and salt. Simmer about 5 minutes, blend in half and half and heat to serving temperature. If too thick, you may thin with chicken broth.

3) Garnish with snipped parslely or chives.

For dessert I found a recipe for bread pudding, I have never had homemade bread pudding but tried it tonight it was wonderful. I also made Vanilla sauce to top it with, the sauce didn't thicken all the way, but I don't think I boiled it long enough.

Bread Puddding (from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS
6 slices day-old bread
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

Vanilla sauce (from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups water
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in the water, stirring until blended. Bring mixture to a boil and continue to cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Serve warm.