OLD FASHIONED POTATO SOUP

 

Fall! I love it! When the temps start dipping down into the 50's and the leaves on the maple trees begin to turn bright orange. Mmm! My favorite time of year. What is it about Fall that makes us homemakers want to spend more time in the kitchen, baking goodies and simmering pots of delicious soup? It's crazy how that happens! I haven't had a good bowl of homemade potato soup in SO long. Tonight the hubs was traveling out of town to preach. I was going to accompany him, but since we just returned home from a lengthy trip (800 miles) he insisted that I stay put and relax a bit. I adore that man! With him gone and me dining solo for dinner, hot soup sounded perfect! And what goes better with soup than a sandwich? I chose grilled cheddar/provolone but good ol' PBJ pairs perfect with this soup too! This soup is no muss, no fuss, no fancy ingredients. Just homey, cozy, feel good, potato soup like Grandma used to make!

 

OLD FASHIONED POTATO SOUP

 

1/2 stick butter

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup flour

4 cups chicken broth

6 medium potatoes, diced

2 cups whole milk

1 (8 oz) bag shredded, cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Sour cream (optional)

 

In medium saucepan over med high heat, melt butter. Add diced onion and minced garlic. Stir until onion is soft and translucent. Add flour and stir for 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken broth, stirring constantly until it thickens a bit. Add potatoes and milk and cook for at least 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat and add shredded cheddar. Stir until cheese is melted and blended into the soup. Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with additional shredded cheddar and sour cream, if desired.

Serve with a toasted cheese or PBJ sandwich. ENJOY!

 

Shrimp Bisque

Prepared this DEElicious Shrimp Bisque for my Honey for Valentine surprise. It was supposed to be our appetizer, but as soon as he smelled it cooking, he wanted to eat a bowl while the steaks were marinating! So we had our appetizer standing around the kitchen cooking the rest of the dinner. It really was that good! He has sort of a picky palate - so when he went on and on and on about how wonderful this bisque was and then said it was the best soup I've ever made AND ate LEFTOVEERS of it the next day.... I knew it was a red letter day! I marked it on the calendar that hubby ate leftovers. That alone confirmed to me that he truly did love it! Will be putting this one in the "make often" file!

SHRIMP BISQUE

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, shells reserved

4 cups seafood stock

3 tablespoons good olive oil

2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (3 leeks)

1 tablespoon chopped garlic (3 cloves)

Pinch cayenne pepper

1/2 cup White cooking wine (sold in the vinegar and marinade aisle)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups half-and-half

1/3 cup tomato paste

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tsp Creole seasoning (I used  Tony Cachere's)

 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

*I added the Creole and Old bay on my own because we like a little spice and flavor. So this has a little bit of "zing" to it. If you are a weiner about spice, knock the amounts down to 1/2 tsp each.

Directions

Place the shrimp shells and seafood stock in a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and reserve the stock. Add enough water to make 3 3/4 cups.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the leeks and cook them for 10 minutes over medium-low heat, or until the leeks are tender but not browned. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add the cayenne pepper and shrimp and cook over medium to low heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the white cooking wine and cook for 3 minutes longer. Transfer the shrimp and leeks to a food processor fitted with a steel blade (I dare you not to sneek a taste of the sauteed shrimp!) and process until coarsely pureed. (The next time I make this, I will leave the shrimp pieces a little bigger).
In the same pot, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook over medium-low heat for 1 minute, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the half-and-half and cook, stirring with a whisk, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the pureed shrimp, the stock, tomato paste, salt, and pepper and heat gently until hot but not boiling. Season, to taste, and serve hot.

ITALIAN CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP

Fall is here! My favorite time of year! Time for some yummy soup recipes. Soup just warms you up on a crisp Fall day. This recipe is ridiculously simple. But oh so tasty. If you are having a busy day and your schedule seems rushed, you should add this one to your menu. It goes together in a snap. Especially if you already have leftover, cooked chicken. I cooked my chicken on my Foreman grill, while I threw the rest of the ingredients together, and it all came together right on time. Don't be afraid of the 'spaghetti sauce' in the recipe. I was a bit nervous to add it too, but then I reminded myself that it's only tomato sauce with the seasonings "already in there!" (Little plug for Ragu there! haha)

ITALIAN CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP

1 (49 oz) can chicken broth (I have had trouble finding these big cans of chicken broth lately. Now they are selling it in the 32 oz size box. (This is why it's good to have homemade broth on hand). Anyway, I just mixed up 2 cups of hot water w/ 2 tsp of chicken soup base, and added it to the broth, and it was fine.
1 (26 oz) Spaghetti sauce (meatless)
1 1/2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
1 small zucchini, cubed
1 small summer squash, cubed
2 Tblsp. minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
3 cups cooked rice
1 tsp. sugar

In a soup kettle or dutch oven, combine the broth, spaghetti sauce, chicken, parsley, thyme, zucchini and squash. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until zucchini and squash ore tender. Stir in cooked rice and sugar. Simmer uncovered for 10 more minutes or until rice is heated through.

Yield: 10 servings

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK

Chicken stock is used in so many dishes and you can have it handy for all of your cooking needs. This is a delicious and simply elegant stock and you will be surprised how easy it is to make. No more buying store bought.

There are 2 ways to go about making your stock.

One is to cook down the carcass from last night's roast chicken dinner.

The other is to make your stock from start to finish, using a whole chicken, fresh veggies and herbs. The second way will yield a lot more stock, and you can freeze it for future uses. There is no comparison to homemade stock!

Things You'll Need

• 3 lb chicken
• 2 turnips cut in quarters
• 2 carrots cut in chunks
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 2 rosemary stems
• 2 onions quartered
• 2 stalks of celery in chunks
• 1 whole head of garlic cut in half
• cold water
• large pot

Take your chicken and put it in a large pot and fill with cold water.
Make sure that you use a large enough pot so that everything has more then enough room to fit. There are a lot of large items going into the pot including the chicken. Add all of your ingredients the turnips, carrots, the 3 springs of thyme, 2 rosemary stems. 2 onions and the celery, to the pot. Cook over medium heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the chicken and set aside. Drain the stock over a large bowl. Be careful not to burn yourself with the broth. Now you can:

• Shred the chicken and enjoy for supper with some rice, vegetables or potatoes.
• You can use ice cube trays to freeze the stock and then put in ziploc freezer storage bags
• Or other plastic storage food containers
• Use stock in your favorite soups, stews and rice dishes.

ROASTED CHICKEN SOUP w/ NOODLES

Have you ever made something for no good reason, and you weren't sure why you did it? I seldom boil the carcass down from our Sunday roast chicken, but this past Sunday, I did. When the family started smelling the aroma late Wednesday night, they all asked what I was making. I just kind of shrugged and said, "I don't know, I figured I'd boil this down for some good stock, and then make a pot of chicken & noodle soup out of it." They all just kind of said, "Oh" and left it at that. haha Anyway, I finished the soup up, let it cool down, put it in the fridge and went to bed. I suppose I intended to warm it up the next day for my hubby and I for dinner, with a nice hot loaf of crusty bread. But, I forgot about it, until a phone call from my hubby reminded me that our deacon's wife had had foot surgery today, I realized then, WHY I made the soup last night! It was for her and her hubby! I put that ALREADY MADE pot of yummy soup on to simmer and whipped up another caramel apple galette (I had made one Sunday for our family). Then hubby and I headed over to deliver the meal to a very happy and grateful couple! I love it when the Lord works in your heart to do something, and you don't understand why at the time, until later. I'm so glad I listened!
This soup has tremendous flavor - if you've never made homemade chicken & noodle soup, you really should give it a whirl! There's nothing like it!

ROASTED CHICKEN & SOUP w/ NOODLES

Good stock is like the foundation of a house - it lays the groundwork for a delicious soup, stew or pan sauce. Trouble is, many packaged versions are drowning in sodium (often 1,000 mg per cup!) The answer to this dilemna - make your own!

Start by making your stock - you can either do it this way, or you can make a whole roast chicken for dinner one night, and boil the carcass and leftover skin the next day to produce your stock. When you are done eating, just wrap up the bones, and the carcass to cook down the next day. Save any leftover chicken to put into the soup. This is a creative way to use leftovers.

1 Tblsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups water
3 - 4 cups chicken stock
1 cup sliced carrots
3 cups shredded, cooked chicken
salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 bag of egg noodles

Heat oil in a large dutch oven over med-high heat. Add chopped onion, celery and garlic. Saute 5 minutes, or until onions are tender. Stir in flour, basil, thyme, salt and pepper, and cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Add water and broth and stir with whisk to combine. Add bay leaf and carrots. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add noodles, cook 10 minutes or until noodles are done. Stir in cooked chicken. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, or until thoroughly heated.

Mmm! I think this Caramel Apple Galette turned out better than the one I made Sunday! It smelled so good as we drove it over in the car! It felt awfully nice and warm sitting on my lap too! It's soooo cold here in snowy Northern MI right now!

WHITE BEAN CHILI

What is it about colder weather that makes you want to make more "comfort" food? It must be because you aren't afraid to heat up the kitchen. It was only 36 degrees here today in MI. And it's only Nov. 8. So a nice hot pot of white chili just sounded good tonight. This one packs a ton of flavor! You won't be disappointed.

WHITE BEAN CHILI

1 large onion -- chopped
1 whole red or green pepper -- chopped
3 cloves garlic -- minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large chicken breasts cut in bite-sized pieces,
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles, do not drain
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
6 good shakes Frank's hot pepper sauce (or more, if you like it really hot)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 (49 oz) can chicken broth
2 (19 oz) can Cannellini beans, drained (1 can will be mashed)
4 tablespoons cilantro -- chopped, fresh OR parsley
grated jack cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Directions:In large pot, saute onion, garlic and red or green pepper in olive oil until translucent.

Add poultry, chopped chiles and seasonings (except for fresh cilantro/parsley); saute for several minutes until chicken is done. Add chicken broth, hot pepper sauce and 1 can of the Cannellini beans (drained). Drain 2nd can of Cannellini beans and process in food processor until smooth. Add processed beans to pot and stir until combined. Simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

Add parsley/cilantro, simmer 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with grated cheese and sour cream as garnish.

BROCCOLI SOUP

OK it's time to get serious about some Autumn recipes! Here is a real favorite in our house, once the chilly Autumn weather sets in. This recipe was passed down to me, by another pastor's wife, years ago. There's nothing any more comforting than a hot bowl of homemade soup and a warm from the oven, breadstick or butter dip. Mmm! We are in the midst of our missions conference and I made this for dinner tonight, to serve to our speaker. He prefers to eat dinner after the evening service, so I opted to serve something a bit lighter - soup.
Every time I take this to a soup and sandwich fellowship, I bring back an empty pot. If I don't bring it, people ask me where my broccoli soup is! LOL

BROCCOLI SOUP

1 stick butter
1 med. onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 quart chicken broth
1 quart 1/2 & 1/2
1 bag frozen broccoli florets
1/4 of a loaf of Velveeta, cubed
Thickening agent: cornstarch & water.

In a large stock pot or dutch oven, melt the stick of butter over medium heat. Add the diced onion and the minced garlic. Cook just enough to sweat the onions and garlic. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth, 1/2 and 1/2 and bag of frozen broccoli florets. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. When it boils, turn down to simmer until broccoli is tender (20 - 30 minutes). In separate mixing cup combine ½ cup cornstarch w/ ½ cup cold water until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Slowly stir into simmering soup until it is thickened and smooth like chowder.
Add the cubed Velveeta chunks and stir until cheese is melted. Remember, this is not a brothy soup, it has the texture of a good thick chowder. Keep warm until ready to serve.

ETOUFFEE

"First you make a roux...."

Let me first tell you, those AREN'T green peas on top of my etouffee! Gross! They are green onions! I know this dish isn't much to look at, but my oh my, is it EVER good! This is one of my Honey's all time favorites. Which, if you knew him, he's not much into "one pot wonders." LOL But this one has tons of flavor and heat, it's not a burn the first layer of skin off your tongue type of heat, but a nice flavor filled heat. I tend to be kind of a weiner when it comes to food that is too hot. I think this one has just the right combination. My Honey still insists that I bring the hot sauce to the table though, he always adds more heat to it. He's a better man than me! LOL
I like to add shrimp to this, but shrimp just wasn't in the budget this week! I don't usually buy it, unless it's buy one get one free. Tonight I made it with just the chicken (leftovers from Sunday dinner - WOOHOO!) and smoked sausage, and it was still delicious.

ETOUFFEE (E' - too - fay)

6 Tblsp butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 Tblsp minced garlic
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tblsp Creole seasoning (recipe follows) (do not substitute any another seasoning)
1 quart chicken stock
1 pkg smoked sausage, sliced into chunks
2 cups cooked, cut up chicken
1 bag frozen shrimp (put in as many as you like)
1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves
Steamed white rice for serving
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion tops, for garnish

First you make a roux. In a large dutch oven, melt the butter over med heat. Add the flour and stir continuously to make a roux. Stir the roux over med heat until it becomes the color of peanut butter, 5 - 7 minutes. Add the onions, celery, green bell pepper and garlic to the roux and cook stirring often, for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes (and juice) to the pot and season with the bay leaves, salt, cayenne and the 2 Tblsp of Creole seasoning. Cook the tomatoes for 2 - 3 minutes and then stir in the chicken stock.Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce it to a simmer. Add in the cooked chicken and the sausage. Cook the etouffee stirring occasionally for 45 minutes. Add the shrimp to the pot stirring to distribute evenly. Cook the shrimp for 5 - 7 minutes or until they are cooked through. Add the chopped parsley to the pot and stir to combine.

Serve immediately over steamed white rice and garnish with sliced green onion tops.

CREOLE SEASONING

2 1/1 Tblsp paprika
2 Tblsp salt
2 Tblsp garlic powder
1 Tblsp black pepper
1 Tblsp onion powder
1 Tlbsp cayenne pepper
1 Tlbsp dried oregano
1 Tlbsp dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight container.
I store mine in a ziploc baggie, and write the date that I mixed it up, on the outside of the bag. It lasts for quite a while.

LOADED BAKED POTATO SOUP

I grew up eating potato soup made with a base of water and milk. That was the way my Mom cooked it, and I liked it because it's all I knew. She used other things like butter and onions too, but the base was always sort of bland and you needed to add salt to jazz it up. But soup made with a base of any kind of broth, chicken, beef or vegetable, has a much richer flavor. And it's so easy today to have a nice broth to use, since most grocery stores carry them in the soup aisle. It was chilly, rainy and just plain gray outside yesterday, so this is what I made for dinner. I had my 2 grandbabies overnight, and when you can get a 2 yr old to eat soup and say "YUMMY" to boot... well, I figure that's a home run in my book!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Prep. Time : 0:35
Serves : 2-4

1 quart chicken broth
6 med. potatoes - peeled, cubed
2 green onions - trimmed, sliced
2 tsp. distilled white vinegar
1 tsp. salt
½ stick Butter
1 cup 1/2 & 1/2 mixed with 2 Tbls. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
2-6 strips cooked bacon - crumbled
Chives for garnish
Sour cream for garnish

-Bring first 6 ingredients to boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
-Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Whisk milk/flour mixture into saucepan; stir in cheese and bacon.
-Simmer, uncovered, 5-8 minutes, or until thick, stirring constantly.
- Transfer to bowl and garnish with chives and sour cream