Corn and Zucchini Chowder

Such yummy soup! It is still so hot here in Texas, but I am so ready for soup! Sorry family, we are eating soup even if it is nearly 100 degrees! I found this recipe here.

Corn and Zucchini Chowder
(about 6 servings)

1 T Butter
2 strips bacon, chopped
1 cup diced yellow onion
2 celery ribs, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1 medium carrot, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t dried thyme
2 medium russet potatoes (about 1 lb.) peele, and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
4 cups of water
1 bay leaf
4 ears of fresh corn, husk and silk removed and kernels cut from the cob (about 2 3/4 cup)
1 medium zucchini, diced into 1 inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup half and half
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
cayenne pepper, to serve

In a large heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until bacon renders its fat and begins to brown. About 3-4 minutes.
Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic and thyme. Cook until veggies begin to soften, stirring multiple times.  About 5 minutes.
Add potatoes, water and bay leaf. Raise the heat to medium high and bring to a simmer, then lower the heat back to medium and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the potatoes are halfway cooked.
Add zucchini and corn.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for an additional 8-12 minutes or until the veggies are completely tender.
Discard bay leaf and then transfer 2 cups of the soup to a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Stir the mixture back into the pot.  Add half and half and cook until heated through. Adjust seasonings and serve with fresh parsley and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I found this recipe on this blog and have patiently waited for 2 long HOT months to make it.  At the first sign of a cooling trend (a rainy day) I quickly pulled it out.  I think I have found my new favorite comfort food!  I made mine in the crockpot, so super easy and I just LOVE smelling something yummy cooking all day! So the next rainy day or just a comfort food kind of day give this a try! Here is what I did...

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

(6-8 servings)

3 cans chicken broth (about 5 cups)

1-2 cups water

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used frozen)

1 package Rice-A-Roni long grain and wild rice

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

2 cups half and half

salt and pepper to taste (I didn't use any salt)

Combine water, broth, chicken, veggies, and rice with seasoning packet in a crockpot.  Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours (until chicken is tender and easy to shred).  Take chicken out and shred and then add it back in.  In a sauce pan, over medium heat, melt butter and add flour (like making a roux).  Cook this, stirring constantly until bubbly.  Slowly whisk in the half and half.  Once this is smooth, add this mixture to the crockpot and cook for 15 more minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.

* I have made this a few times since and I didn't have any Half and Half so I just used fat-free milk.  it turned out great and I think I liked it even better!  It was still creamy and thick just not as rich and maybe even a little healthier :)!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

We have been making this soup for years, so I don't remember where the recipe came from.  I do remember it being a copy cat recipe from Chili's (the restaurant) Chicken Enchilada Soup.  No matter how I got a hold of it, it has been a house favorite for quite some time!  It is just a fantastic soup and different then other mexican or tortilla soups I have had.  This one is just so perfectly delicious!  

Chicken Enchilada Soup

(8-10 servings)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 T chicken base

1 1/2 cup diced onions

1 t cumin

1 t chili powder

1 t minced garlic

1/4 t cayenne pepper (this will NOT make it spicy)

1 cup masa harina, corn flour (you can find this at any grocery store)

2 quarts water

1 cup crushed tomatoes

1/4 pound American cheese, cut into small cubes (I totally don't like this but it is amazing and creamy in this soup!)

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

garnishes:

shredded cheddar cheese

tortilla chips 

avocado

homemade tortillas

In a large soup pot, heat oil.  Add onion, chicken base and spices.  Saute until the onions are soft, about 3-4 minutes.  In another container, combine 2 cups of the water with the masa harina, stirring until all lumps dissolve.  Add this to the sautéed onions, stirring constantly, and let it cook for 2-3 minutes once it starts to bubble, this will eliminate the raw flavor of the masa harina. Add the remaining water slowly, whisking as you go until the soup is smooth. Add the tomatoes, let the soup come to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Add cheese to the soup and stir to melt.  Add the chicken to the soup and stir to heat through.  Top with shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips and fresh avocado!

Veggie Chowder

I found this recipe on this blog.  I was excited to try it, seeing as how my 6 year old keeps telling me he is vegetarian and doesn't even like chicken!  So, I LOVE finding soups that are full of good veggies and that he will eat!  This one did not disappoint and we will for sure be making it often.

Veggie Chowder
(6 servings)

2 T butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 T minced garlic
4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped (I used about 8 small red potatoes with the skin on)
1 1/2 T flour
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup milk
2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

Melt butter in a large soup pot.  Add the onions, carrots and celery and sauté over Medium heat until the veggies are tender.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.  Add the broth and potatoes, bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender.  Mix flour with water and add to the soup. Simmer until the soup is slightly thickened.  Add milk and broccoli and cook until the broccoli is just tender.  Stir in the cheese until melted and then serve immediately.

Tomato-Basil Parmesan Soup

I found this recipe on Pinterest.  It is a crockpot recipe but I just adapted it to stove top. I also changed it a bit to my liking.  I was so good!  A deep, rich, creamy tomato soup!  LOVE it!

Tomato-Basil Parmesan Soup
(4 servings)

1 (14 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1-2 T extra-virgin olive oil
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 t dried oregano, or 1/2 T fresh
1/2 T dried basil, or 2 T fresh, chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 cup half and half, warmed
salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy soup pot, saute celery, carrots and onion in olive oil until softened. Add tomatoes, oregano and basil and stir. Add 2 cups of the broth and the bay leaf.  Let this simmer until the veggies are cooked and soft.  Once they are soft, remove the bay leaf and puree with a submersion blender or in a food processor until smooth.  Return to the pot and in another pan prepare a roux.  Melt the butter in a small pan.  Add the flour and whisk for about 3-5 minutes.  Add the last cup of broth to the roux and then add it into the soup. Stir and add the grated Parmesan, warmed half and half, and salt and pepper to taste.  Let this simmer for a few minutes to combine the flavors.  Serve with a little more Parmesan sprinkled over the top!  Would be great served with grilled cheese or these croutons!

Lasagna Soup

I am a HUGE soup fan, so when I came across this recipe I was more than a little excited!  Talk about comfort food at its finest!  I think this is my new favorite soup! I love all of the different flavors, and the way they blend together.  There is so much going on in this soup, I had to have 2 bowls just to take it all in.  
(Ok, so that was just my justification!)  If you only try one new recipe this week, make this soup!! We served it with some fresh crusty bread, heaven, people, pure heaven!

Lasagna Soup
(serves 8)

for the soup:
1 pound Italian sausage
3 cups chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 t dried oregano
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
2 T tomato paste
1 (28 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
8 oz mafalda pasta (these look like little lasagna noodles, but more curly)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
salt and fresh ground paper, to taste (I didn't need any salt in mine)

for the cheesy yum:
8 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 t salt
pinch of fresh ground pepper

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown sausage in a large soup pot over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooks.  Drain off extra grease.  Add onions and cook until they are softened.  Add garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate.  Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves and chicken stock.  Stir to combine.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.  Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente.  Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time or the pasta will be mush.  Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum.  In a small bowl combine ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of cheesy yum in the bottom of each soup bowl, top with some grated mozzarella. Ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

We are having a blizzard warning here! So, what better to hunker down to than a big bowl of comfort food. This soup tops that list for me especially when you serve it with a big slice of crusty bread or in a bread bowl. When I saw this recipe over at My Kitchen Cafe, I just knew I would love it!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

(4 servings)

1 can chicken broth, about 1 3/4 cup

1 small onion, chopped

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup butter

pepper to taste

2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

2 1/2 -3 cups broccoli, chopped and lightly steamed

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan until onions are tender. (I think next time I will just saute them in the butter.) In a separate pot melt butter and add flour and pepper. Cook together for a couple of minutes, stirring so it doesn't burn and then whisk in the milk. Stir and heat together over medium-high heat until the soup starts to thicken. Next, add the chicken broth and continue to stir until blended. Add the cheese and broccoli and stir until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Quinoa and Vegetable Stew with Chicken

I found this recipe over at Picky Palate. I absolutely LOVE soup (have I mentioned this before?) and am always looking for new recipes to try. I love this soup. And next time I am going to make it without the chicken, it was not necessary to me. The Quinoa has a lot of protein in it so you don't even need the chicken if you don't want it.

Quinoa and Vegetable Stew with Chicken

(8-10 servings)

2 T olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 stalks of celery, chopped

4 large carrots, sliced

2 cups sweet peppers, chopped

1 large zucchini, quartered and sliced

64 oz chicken or vegetable broth

1-15 oz can petite diced tomatoes

5 Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cubed into one inch pieces

3 cups cooked Quinoa

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I used my fav Rotisserie chicken from Sam's)

2 T Dijon Mustard

1 T hot sauce

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper and garlic salt with parsley to taste

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute Onion, celery, carrots, peppers and zucchini until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes and potatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add quinoa, chicken, mustard, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste. Stir in fresh parsley and simmer until ready to serve.

Sausage and Kale Soup

I found this recipe at Martha Stewart.com. It was quick and hearty, the perfect thing for a cold snowy day. It has a great almost creamy broth without the cream/milk. Serve it with some crusty bread and there is nothing better for a week night meal.

Sausage and Kale Soup

(4 servings)

1 T olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 t crushed red-pepper flakes

5 medium potatoes (1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2 inch chunks

3 cans low-sodium chicken broth

1 bunch kale, stemmed and shredded

12 ounces chicken sausage, cut into 1/2-inch half moons (We browned these in a pan before adding to the soup)

In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion and cook until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add garlic and red pepper flakes; cook until fragrant. Add the potatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, 10-15 minutes.

In a blender, puree half the soup. Return to the pot and add kale and sausage. Simmer until the kale is wilted about 10-15 minutes.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

I was in desperate need of comfort food this week. The snow has set in, my kids are sick and my husband is working too much. So what do I do? I cook, it makes me feel better. I found this recipe at My Kitchen Cafe. I have decided I would be lost without it. The blog not the recipe. Well, maybe the recipe too.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

(6 servings)

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups water

2-3 chicken breasts (I used a rotisserie chicken)

1 1/2 T olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 1/2 t salt

1 t dried thyme (I used 1 sprig of fresh)

1/4 t pepper

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 1/4 cups flour, divided

2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/4 t dried thyme (I used fresh, about 1/2 t)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1 T vegetable oil

In a large pot, boil the chicken in the broth and water until the chicken is cooked through (about 15 minutes). Remove the chicken and shred. Keep the reserved broth warm on the stove. (I used a rotisserie chicken and skipped this step. I sauteed the veggies in a soup pot and added the water and broth.)

While the chicken cooks, saute the veggies in the olive oil for 6-7 minutes, or until tender. Add the veggies to the broth along with the thyme (I put in the whole sprig), salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.

In a small bowl whisk together 1/2 cup cold water and 1/4 cup flour until smooth. While whisking, slowly add this to the vegetables and broth until combine. Add the peas and the shredded chicken and stir.

For the dumplings, stir together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a small bowl mix together the sour cream, milk and oil. Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined, DO NOT over mix.

Heat the soup to boiling and drop teaspoonful amounts of dumpling dough into the boiling soup. The dumplings should be small, they expand as they cook. Cover the entire surface of the soup in a single layer of dumplings. Reduce the soup to a simmer. Cover the soup and let the dumplings cook for 15 minutes. DO NOT lift the lid while they cook.

Once the dumplings have cooked, remove the lid and stir gently to break the dumplings apart. Serve.

Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup

I absolutely L.O.V.E. this soup! I stumbled across this recipe at Simply Recipes. Ok, I am a huge soup fan, but I tend to like soups that have some sort of meat in them. However, my 5 year old told me the other day that he HATES meat and would only eat dinner if it did not have beef or chicken in it. So I decided to find a vegetable soup that I could make that used some of our winter vegetables from our garden. Well, if I had recipes that were this tasty that didn't have meat, I could totally be vegetarian! So make your self some crusty bread and get to work on this surprisingly delicious soup! (Don't let the kale scare you, it is so wonderful and very mild in this soup!)

Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup

(6 servings)

3 medium carrots, peeled and quartered lengthwise

2 large tomatoes, quartered

1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges

1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut lengthwise in 1/2 inch thick wedges

6 whole cloves garlic

1 T olive oil

6 cups or more of vegetable broth

4 cups finely chopped kale

3 large sprigs of fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1-15 oz can of great northern beans (I used white kidney beans, it is what I had on hand)

Preheat oven to 400 (reduce by 25 degrees if using a convection oven). Brush a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Arrange carrots, squash, tomatoes, onion and garlic on the sheet. Drizzle with more olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast the vegetables until they are browned and tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.

Cut squash and carrots into 1/2 inch pieces; set aside. Peel garlic and place in a food processor with tomatoes and onion. Puree until almost smooth. Pour 1/2 cup vegetable broth onto the baking sheet and scrap up any browned bits. Transfer both the broth and the puree to a large pot. Add 5 1/2 cups broth, kale, thyme, and bay leaf to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer uncovered until the kale is tender, about 30 minutes.

Add the carrots, squash and beans to the soup. Simmer another few minutes to blend flavors, adding more broth to thin soup, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Serve hot with crusty bread.

This soup can be made a day ahead.