Cheesy Broccoli Soup

There are some who like cream of broccoli soup with cheese in it, and there are some who like cheesy soup with broccoli in it ;) We are the latter! I have never been successful at making broccoli soup, but this recipe was easy peasy and delicious! Let us know if you try it!

I halved this recipe and it was enough to feed three adults and leave a bowl of leftovers :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cubes butter
• 1 C flour
• 8 C water and 8 tsp. chicken bouillon OR 8 C chicken broth
• 1/2-1 lb Velveeta cheese
• 1 large bunch broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 pt. whipping cream
• Diced onion
• 1 C diced celery (optional) 

Directions:

1. Melt butter, add onion and celery (if used), and cook 5-10 minutes until onion and celery are soft.
2. Add flour and mix well.
3. Slowly add chicken broth and heat through. 
4. Add broccoli and simmer 30 minutes. 
5. Add cheese, stir until melted, add cream, and heat through. 

Chicken Fajita Soup

On Sunday Six Sisters Stuff had this recipe on their blog and it just so happened that I hadn't been shopping for Sunday dinner, nor had I planned what I would be making when I saw this. I had everything I needed and it was a huge hit with my family!! Tis the season for warm, yummy soup!!

You will need:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup salsa
2 cups corn (frozen or canned)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. dried cilantro (optional)
Toppings (if desired)

**Spray crock pot with Pam and put the chicken on the bottom.
**In a separate bowl, mix together cream of chicken soup, salsa, corn, black beans, water, cumin, and cilantro. Pour over chicken in crock pot. 

**Cook on low for 4-6 hours (or high for 2-3 hours). 

**You can remove chicken and shred using 2 forks. (I just shredded it while still in the crock pot with the soup mixture because I'm lazy like that.)

**If you took the chicken out to shred it, put it back in. 

**Serve with shredded cheese, avocados, tomatoes, sour cream, tortilla chips, etc!

creamy tomato basil soup

we are just slightly in love with the harry's organic creamy tomato basil soup you buy at costco. yesterday, because of all the rain, i was craving some. but we didn't have any, and i didn't want to go to costco. so my next step was google. obviously. i found a recipe on the taste of homes website, and oh my. it was amazing! my husband reheated some late last night and decided that it is just as good as the kind we buy at costco. success! this coupled with a grilled cheese was perfect.

i modified the recipe so that i could use what i had on hand, and it worked great!

 

image

2 garlic cloves, minced OR 1 teaspoon crushed garlic (i buy it in a jar)
1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cans petite diced tomatoes
1.5 teaspoon chicken boulion granules*
2-1/3 cups water*
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup milk*
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons sugar

in a large saucepan, saute garlic in oil until hot. add the tomatoes, chicken boullion, water and pepper. bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

stir in the milk, basil, and sugar. cook for 1 minute or until heated through.
 
*you could reduce the water by 1 cup, eliminate the boullion, and use canned chicken broth. 
*the recipe called for heavy whipping cream, but i used milk. it was a little runny, so i think using cream would thicken it up

baked potato soup-healthified

oh my, people. do i have a bowl of fall for you to try! every spoon full i ate of this deliciousness made me fall more and more in love with it and with the weather for being chilly enough for me to eat it. sooo good. also, it's from this blog which is all about low-cal and healthy foods, so that is an added bonus. honestly, though, if i didn't know it was low-cal, i would have been putting on my fat pants because it tastes like added pounds to the thighs. but it's not** score!

image

you need:

2 potatoes

1 small head cauliflower

1 can (or 1.5 cups) fat free chicken broth

1.5 cups milk

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup sour cream

cheese, bacon, and green onions for topping

cook the potatoes in the microwave for 5 minutes on high. turn them over, and cook for another 5 minutes or until tender (or you can bake them. or put them in the crock-pot all day. you choose)

while potatoes are cooking, cut cauliflower into florets and steam until soft.

when potatoes are tender, peel them and cut them in half.

in a blender or food processer (she says use an immersion blender. whatever that is), combine potatoes, cauliflower, milk, and chicken broth. mix until smooth.

return potato mixture to a sauce-pan, add sour cream and s&p, and heat until boiling. once it boils, turn it to low and simmer for 5ish minutes.

top with your heart's desired amount of cheese, bacon, onion. 

**obviously if you want it low-cal you need to use fat free or light sour cream, skim or 1% milk, and fat free chicken broth. and probably don't put cheese to your heart's content (i'll take 1 cup per bowl, thank you).

happy fall eating!

Feature Friday Winner--Cilantro Week

 

We were excited to get some new yummy cilantro recipes from some of our great followers! Thank you to everyone who submitted one!

This week's Feature Friday winner is...

Laura Nicholson! 

Unfortunately, Laura didn't leave us a link to her blog, so we can't feature her! Laura, if you want to email us a link, we'd would love to be able to feature you and your blog!

Here is the winning recipe! I am especially excited about this one because my father-in-law lived in Thailand growing up and then later served his mission there, so since marrying my husband, I have started eating and grown to love Thai food! 

Here is Laura's yummy Thai recipe!

Bret's Tom Kha Gai   

(this is a yummy Thai soup)

(4-6 servings)

2 qt chicken bouillon

3-4 carrots, sliced

1-2 red Thai chili peppers, split in half*

3 limes

1 tbsp olive oil

2 medium sweet onions, sliced and quartered

1-2 tbsp olive oil

3 large chicken breasts, cut in thin strips

3 tbsp minced garlic

3 tbsp minced ginger root**

1 tsp black pepper

2 cans (~14 oz each) 100% coconut milk

salt to taste

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1/4 cup chives or chopped green onions (optional)

dry crushed red pepper to taste

In a large stockpot, lightly boil Thai pepper(s) and carrots in chicken bouillon until the carrots begin to soften, reduce heat and simmer.  Remove pulp and juice from limes and add to bouillon.  In a large fry pan, sauté onions, until tender and brown, then add to bouillon.  In the same fry pan, brown chicken in olive oil, together with garlic, ginger, and black pepper, being careful not to overcook the chicken, then add to soup and remove from heat.

Add coconut milk and salt (if desired) and stir until fully mixed.  Do not boil after adding coconut milk.  Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves, chives/green onions, and crushed red pepper just before serving.

* If Thai peppers are not available, dry crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper can be used as a substitute (season to taste)

** When mincing ginger root, be sure to cut into slices first to prevent long root fibers

Thanks again to everyone who submitted a recipe. Be sure to watch for next week's Feature Friday ingredient!

Red Potato Soup

We have another Potato Soup recipe for you! This one just as good, but different from the last. It was found here, so I give the credit to them! Both Howe sisters that have made and tried this have loved it! We hope you will too!

(Image found here)

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. butter
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
3 garlic clove buds (minced)
4 C. red potatoes (diced)
2 tsp. salt
3 C. chicken broth
2 C. milk
4 oz. cream cheese (softened)

Optional:
grated cheese
green onions (chopped)
bacon (cooked and crumbled)

**In a large pot, saute the butter and onion until tender. Add garlic, salt and red potatoes. Continue to cook about 10 minutes.
**Add chicken broth and 1 1/2 c. of milk. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes.
**While potatoes are cooking, put the remaining 1/2 c. milk and cream cheese in a medium bowl. Blend with mixer until smooth. Then add the to the soup.
**Once the potatoes are tender, smash a few of them with a potato masher to help thicken the soup.
**Serve with cheese, onion, and bacon.

Easy Crock Pot Potato Soup

I hear this is a pretty good version of Outback's Baked Potato Soup, but I've never had it at Outback so I'll just take their word for it. Again, I found this recipe on another blog and just had to share it with you! We made this at my mom's on Saturday night and we were all big fans! So, here ya go!

1 30oz. bag of frozen, shredded hash browns

3 14oz. cans of chicken broth

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup onion, chopped

(We used green onion and WAY less--about 3--we're not onion lovers!)

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

1 pkg. cream cheese

(The real stuff--Fat Free doesn't melt!)

**In a crock pot, combine everything EXCEPT for the cream cheese. Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat. About 1 hour before serving, add cream cheese and keep heated until thoroughly melted. Serve with cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, green onions, or whatever else you think would be good!

Easy Peasy Chili

This is a super quick and easy chili that I love to make (and it also happens to be very yummy). I am sure there are even better recipes out there, but every one I have ever looked at is super complex and would take way too much time!

You will need:

1 lb. hamburger
1 sm. onion, chopped
2 cans chili beans in sauce
2 cans diced, stewed, or whole tomatoes
1 scant T. chili powder

In an large pot brown hamburger and onion until done. Add beans, tomatoes, and chili powder. Simmer 15-20 minutes. Serve with diced onion, cheese, and sour cream. I always make corn bread with this too, but that's just me. Enjoy!

Taco Soup

I know there are a million versions of Taco Soup out there, but here's ours.

1 lb. ground beef (browned)
2 cans petite diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato sauce
2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
2 cans corn (with the juice)
1 pkg. Taco Seasoning mix

**Pour together in a pot and heat to boiling. Cover and simmer 5-10 minutes so beans will become soft.
**Serve with sour cream (we like homemade Ranch Dressing--big surprise!), cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips (we prefer it with Fritos!).

Again, I half this for my little family and it's perfect for dinner plus a enough left over for me to take to lunch the next day!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I know there are a million tortilla soup recipes out there, but here is my favorite. I got this recipe from my friend, Trudy, and I've never made another tortilla soup since. It is honestly one of the easiest recipes I make, and it is delish!

Ingredients

1 can cream of potato soup
1 can chicken broth
1 jar salsa con queso
1/2 cup sour cream
2 shredded chicken breasts (I just cook it in the crock-pot all day and then shred it)
1/2 packet taco seasoning
1/2 can diced chilies
1 can corn (drained)
1/4 cup cilantro

Put everything into a pot, stir together, bring to a boil, and serve! Eat it with crushed-up tortilla chips (we sprinkle them on top)!

Beef Stew

I have always turned up my nose at stew, but after the pickiest sister Candice stamped it with her approval, I thought I'd better try it! This recipe comes from our sister-in-law, Tif, and is quick and easy and, best of all, a crock-pot recipe. My fave!

(Not my picture. Image from here. I'll be honest...mine didn't look very appetizing (the color of the broth turned me off), so I opted for this image instead).

Ingredients

1 lb. stew meat

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can of corn--with the juice

3-4 potatoes, peeled, washed, and chunked

1 C. diced carrots

1 can (use one of the cream cans) filled with water.

Dehydrated or minced onion to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Throw everything in the crock-pot and cook on low all day. About 5 minutes before we ate, I threw in a cup or so of frozen peas (I didn't want them to get soggy from cooking all day). The stew was really hearty and filling and a perfect meal for a chilly day!

Cheesy Pig

image from here

Cold days like today make me want soup. This is one of our very favorite soup recipes. I think it has a more technical name like "Cheesy Ham Chowder" or something, but my brother-in-law, Mark, renamed it Cheesy Pig, and the name stuck.

It looks like a lot of steps, but it's actually really simple.

Ingredients

10 slices bacon

1 C. diced carrots

1 onion (I just use some dehydrated onions)

3 Tbsp. flour

3 C. milk

1.5 C. water

2.5 C. diced potatoes

1 can corn-drained

3 C. cheese

2 C. diced ham

How to make this deliciousness we call soup:

-Cut the bacon into little pieces and fry it.

-Remove bacon from pan and cook onions and carrots in the grease.

-When carrots are cooked, add the flour and stir it in until it's smooth.

-Put carrots, onions, and flour in a pot.

-Add milk and water---stir.

-Add potatoes and simmer until they are soft.

-Add corn, bacon, ham, and cheese.

-Heat until cheese is melted.

Yum! It's even better in bread bowls!

--Mindy