White Bean Chicken Chili ~ page 38

Want a great all-weather soup? This one works just as well in the summer as in the winter. It it light and refreshing with chicken and white beans, yet hearty enough for a cold blustery day too. And, it is fast and easy to prepare with rotisserie chicken.

 

To give the broth a nice thickness, puree one can of your Great Northern beans to make a paste to stir into the soup.

Put all your veggies in the food processor to quickly chop them into small pieces. The veggies aren't the star of the show in this soup--the beans and chicken are. I love to pass lots of condiments to be added to white chicken chili: diced avocado, shredded Monterey jack cheese, cilantro, sour cream, lime wedges, and tortilla chips. Just let your family or guest put on their favorite toppings. I have never made this soup that there were not lots of compliments!

Chicken Tortilla Soup ~ page 44

This soup is really fast to make since it uses a rotisserie chicken. I made it one afternoon, then once it cooled, stuck the whole pan in the fridge till the next day, then just heated it right back up. Tasted even better once it sat overnight. All the toppings make it extra special, so don't leave those off! If you need a little heat, try getting a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and either just add some of the sauce to the soup or chop up one of the chipotle peppers and add it. Chipotle flavor goes really well this this soup. A friend brought me a pot of this soup when Lillian was born, I have been making it ever since. --Carissa

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana ~ page 51

With practically the whole country cold this week--I figured it should be the week of soups, so here is my favorite. This is the soup I always order at Olive Garden--remember, the place where I don't like the bread-sticks!--But I do love this soup, so I found a copy-cat recipe for it.

The recipe calls for spicy link sausage. This time I used a jalapeño sausage that I had on hand, but I usually use a spicy Italian sausage. If your sausage is not as spicy as you would like, then add a few shakes of red pepper to the soup.

 

After you brown the sausage and set it aside to drain--cook the bacon in the same pot, then set it aside to crumble for the topping. Drain off some of the bacon grease, then add the chopped onions to cook in the rest of the drippings. This give great smoky bacon flavor to the soup.

I couldn't find kale at the grocery store this week, so I used collard greens, which is a fine substitute. Oh, and when you are preparing the potatoes, leave the peels on. This is a rustic soup and the peels are welcome!

I had some homemade chicken broth in the fridge today--which is a great addition if you have some. Otherwise, broth from a box or bouillon is fine to use. The potatoes and greens cook up fast--this looks good just like it is...

but the addition of a small amount of cream takes this soup in the cozy comfort level.

You can also add freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top each serving--I remembered that after the meal--oh well, next time. Now, imagine this with Carissa's bread-sticks....yummm, very good. ~ stay warm, Janice

Black Bean Soup ~ page 41

This is a very complex tasting soup even though it is so simple. Be careful with the cayenne pepper, maybe go light if you have kids eating it. I had to water my kid's bowls down a little. The apple cider vinegar adds a great tang to the soup so don't skip it. I garnished mine with sour cream. Green onions would have been nice too. This freezes really well, so you can make it even if you aren't cooking for 6 people. --Carissa

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo ~ page 43

This gumbo tasted so cozy on a cold night this week. I bought a package of fresh chicken quarters...it had 4 quarters in there, I think it only cost $2.80, so cheaper than a whole chicken. I simmered the chicken in water with some onion, bay leave, and peppercorns. Then shredded the meat, that way I had some good broth for the gumbo.
Below is the roux...you are suppose to cook it till it is chocolate brown, I got a little lazy and stopped a little early mainly cuz I had a screaming baby that needed to be fed, so I chose the baby over the roux. The roux was a little dry, I'm not sure if I mis-measured or if it needed a touch more oil, but I added a little more and it was better. So feel free to add a little more oil if it needs it.
I doubled the recipe so here is my 4 cups of chicken...
Below is my big yummy pot of gumbo. We had my cousin Nathan and his girlfriend Marianna over for dinner. The recipe called for spicy sausage, but I used mild sausage because of the kids, but I kinda wish I had used something hotter, I thought it needed a little kick. Don't be afraid to salt this, the recipe just says to "salt to taste". For a doubled batch I used 1 teaspoon, and thought it needed more still. I stuck a container of the leftovers in the freezer for another cold day...YUM! --Carissa

Chicken and Dumpling Soup ~ page 35

The only credit I can take for any part of this meal is planning to make it and buying the ingredients for it. I wish I could even credit myself for chopping the vegetables or something, but unfortunately or should I say fortunately :-), my amazing husband made the entire meal. We were having weekend guests and they were to arrive just in time for lunch.

My plan was to have the soup simmering and ready to serve when they arrived, but being 9 months pregnant and getting over a cold left me with much less energy than I had expected...then our darling daughters decided to sleep in until 8:30 that morning which was wonderful, but left me with less time than I had expected as well.

Taylor eagerly offered to make the soup and also decided to make some rosemary bread to go with it.
This is the bread...isn't it beautiful? It was a recipe he had been wanting to try out for a while...it's supposed to be a copy cat of the Romano's Macaroni Grill recipe for the bread they serve. It tasted JUST like it! Wonderful! And here is the close up of the soup. It was amazing!

Thank you again for another wonderful recipe!!

And I must add an apology for my absence from the blog. Although I have still been making several recipes a week (sometimes per day) from the cookbook, and taking pictures of most of them with the intent to post...I lost my enthusiasm for food at the beginning of this pregnancy. It was hard enough for me to stomach the food enough to make it, much less to write about it and look at pictures, so I just took a break...then I just got out of the habit of posting. But I will add some of my pictures from the recipes eventually. :-)

Shrimp Bisque ~ page 55

This is what you could call a pantry meal...meaning you can always have these ingredients on hand. I keep frozen shrimp in my freezer, below are the two jars of sauce I used. The recipe calls for 1/2 jar of Alfredo, I ended up using all of it. My 5 year old took one bite, then put both thumbs up. The 3 year old wouldn't even try it, so poor thing went to bed without dinner!
I served this with deluxe grilled cheese sandwiches.... pepper jack cheese on sourdough bread with tomato slices stuffed inside...YUM!

Good Ole Taco Soup ~ page 48

My granddaughter, Lillian, ate 3 bowls of this soup for supper--it was a big hit with her, though not so much with her little sister...oh well, who can figure kids out! I am going to blog about this soup that I did not make, but that I enjoyed very much when Carissa made it for me after my 9th day of recovering from pneumonia. I am so happy to be back in the world of the eating again! (Don't get pneumonia--it will spoil your appetite for good food, or actually, any food.)

Carissa mixed this soup up, browning the meat and onions first, then put it in the slow cooker for about 5 hours to simmer. The recipe calls for a combination of 3 beans--kidney, Navy, and pinto--but feel free to use any combination you like. This one had black beans instead of the kidney beans. The hominy is my favorite part of this soup--where else can you enjoy hominy? I think this soup is the only recipe I have that calls for hominy. The nice thing about hominy, as opposed to corn, is that it can hold up to long cooking times and still taste great.

We like taco soup served with grated cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, and diced avocado. If you want, a dollop of sour cream would be nice too.

This soup just makes you feel happy--whether you have been sick or not.  ~Janice

Quick and Hearty Black Bean Soup ~ page 53

This was definitely quick to throw together. I didn't have much in the fridge or pantry to work with when planning dinner the other night. But I usually keep canned beans and tomatoes around for emergency dinners like this. The recipe says to add 1.5- 3 cups of chicken broth. Well, the one can of black beans is fine if you only add 1.5 cups of broth. But if you add 3 cups like I did, then you need to plan on adding in one more can of beans to add more substance. It sure had a great flavor that was even a little hot for my kiddoes since I used a can of Rotel instead of diced tomatoes...it had quite a little kick. Adam got all creative with his bowl and added a dollup of sour cream and said it was fabulous. Below you will see a pic to prove his happy face while eating it! --Carissa

Janice's Beef-Barley Soup Soup in the Slow Cooker ~ page 36

I know this seems like a winter meal...but on a rainy summer day, soup is good too. And using the slow cooker means you don't heat up your house. I have been known to put my slow cooker on the patio in really hot weather, when the air conditioner seems to be struggling with any heat output going on in the house!

There are two important things in this recipe to remember: Be sure to hunt down a beef bone. Not all grocery stores carry beef bones--but they make all the difference in a flavorful broth. Another tip to pass on, is I have found that it is not really necessary to brown all the stew meat pieces. I just brown one pan-full, then put the browned pieces and the rest of the unbrowned pieces in the slow cooker, then deglaze my pan with wine as the recipe says. The brown bits left from browning are what your are after, and one pan full of browned meat will do the trick and save you some time.

One more tip--sometimes I can't find long-cooking pearl barley, so it is fine to use quick barley. However, add quick barely for the last one hour in the slow cooker--not the whole 7 to 9 hours of cooking time as you would for pearl barley.

I like the simplicity of ingredients in this soup--meat, barley, carrots, onion, and tomatoes, all in a very rich and flavorful broth. This soup gives you a warm, satisfied feeling. ~ Janice

Leftovers from Black Bean Salsa (pg 15) and BBQ Meatballs (pg 151)

This dinner was the result of various "gatherings" over the weekend and what was left once the guests left.
I had three meatballs and a couple of cups of the salsa left and that spelled "soup" to me. I sliced the meatballs and added a can of crushed tomatoes with chipolte and mixed that with the left over salsa. Add some cornbread muffins and dinner is complete! ~ Lorrie

Easy Cheesy Broccoli Soup

This simple soup feels rich and comforting on a rainy day. If you want to use only broccoli, that is fine, or pump it up with even more vegetables than the carrots, celery, and onions that are listed. A small diced potato can be a hearty addition, or frozen or fresh corn will work well also.

I simmered my fresh broccoli along with the carrots and celery. When vegetables are just tender, stir into the creamy sauce.

Add the American cheese and stir until smooth.

Try serving this soup with the Italian Chicken Sandwiches on page 69 (you can omit the cheese slices on the sandwiches since the soup is so cheesy)--these two recipes pair up nicely--Oh, and if you want a great bread for you sandwiches, try the Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Bread on page 288. Now you have a total What We Cook meal!

Minestrone Soup ~ page 50

I made this soup for Carissa last week while she was on bedrest and Houston was flooding with rain! This is a great summer soup.

Minestrone soup feels very fresh with the zucchini, carrots, and potatoes.

I used two kinds of canned beans--pintos and black beans. I drained them and gave them a quick rinse to reduce the sodium.

The real trick of this soup is to cook the pasta separate, and keep it that way. When serving, put a spoon of the pasta in your bowl, then a ladle of the soup on top. If you have leftovers, store the pasta separate. This will make a big difference in keeping your soup fresh tasting.

Roasted Tomato Soup ~ page 54

I used to think that hot soup in the summer time was just not done. But after going to the country of Colombia with my daughter-in-law, Julia, twice now, I have decided soup in hot weather can still be nice. Julia's grandparents have a bowl of various hot soups before lunch every single day--and it is always very hot there!

My garden is overloaded with ripe tomatoes right now, so I was happy to use up 5 pounds of tomatoes in this recipe!

I love that you don't have to peel the tomatoes for this. Toss quartered tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, and onion. I added a yellow bell pepper that I just happened to have on hand. Then put it in the oven to roast. I used two dishes, just so I would not have to struggle with one being very full of hot juice.

These roasted to perfection in 30 minutes. I stirred them once.

You can use either a food processor or a blender to puree the roasted vegetables. If you have plenty of juices, and you probably will, then don't bother adding the chicken broth to be pureed. I did this in 3 batches.

Here is what you will come out with. If you like, you can strain out some of the seeds. This tomato puree is just a bit chewy with the seeds. I like that, but it is easy to strain out half or all the seeds if they bother you. Now stir in the pepper flakes and the sugar. At this point, you can refrigerate the mixture for a couple days till you are ready for soup, or you can freeze it right at this stage.

When you are ready for soup, heat the tomato puree along with the chicken broth. After a short simmer, stir in the cream and garnish with fresh basil leaves. The freshness of this soup will make you smile.

Italian Wedding Soup ~ page 49

Italian wedding soup actually got its name from the "marriage" of meat and greens, not as a romantic soup for a wedding. That is disappointing, isn't it! But it still tastes delicious. This soup is not as hard as it looks at first glance, but it does take a little hands-on time because of the tiny meatballs. I like to do the meatball step a day ahead if possible, then it all comes together fast.

There are some choices of what to put in this soup, depending on your preferences. I sometimes use these cannellini beans, sometimes I use canned Great Northern beans, and sometimes I leave the beans out all together. The same is true for the pasta. If you can find orzo pasta--looks like rice, but it is pasta--then use that, or just use any very, very small pasta, or you can skip the pasta. I tried out this chicken stock, but decided I didn't like the flavor of this brand very well. So make your own decision about your favorite stock or broth or bouillon that you like. My favorite is to just boil a chicken with some vegetables, and have homemade stock. That is always the first choice (if I have time) for great tasting soup.

Italian sausage comes in links and must be removed from its "casing" before mixing up with the ground beef and seasonings. You can also substitute ground turkey for the beef. The Italian sausage is important for its flavor though, so be sure to use it.

Now we are ready to make meatballs.

First I just glop a bit of the meat mixture off the tip of a spoon onto a plate.

Then I pick each blob up and roll it in my palms. These are about 1/2-inch diameter.

The recipe says to bake the meatballs for 20 minutes, but I just watch until they brown, which in my oven is more like 10 to 15 minutes. They will cook more in the soup. After removing from the oven, drain them on paper towels.

At this point you can refrigerate or freeze the little guys to use later, or proceed with the soup recipe.

Here are more options for you: the recipe calls for spinach, but after I bought my spinach, I remembered that I actually prefer kale in this recipe. Kale stays firmer than spinach does. So feel free to try both and find your favorite. Kale does take about 10 minutes to cook, however, and spinach cooks in less than 1 minute, so you have to add the kale much earlier than you do the spinach. Now here is your next choice: the Parmesan cheese is mixed with an egg to thicken the soup right at the end. This also is optional. You can skip this step if you prefer brothier soup. I like it both ways.

This is what kale looks like...You will need to slice it, then chop it up some. (As you see below, I made this recipe twice.)

Here is Italian wedding soup with no beans, no Parmesan, no egg, no spinach...just homemade chicken broth, the little meatballs, kale, and a few pieces of chicken I threw in as extras..and I used tiny little bow tie pastas.

And here is the recipe cooked just as it is stated in the cookbook. This version is much thicker. One more note, a correction, really, is that the amount of broth should be changed to 6 to 8 cups, rather than the 4 cups that is listed. That is just a guide. Use the amount of broth that makes the soup the way you like it. One last thing that I do if I have a lemon on hand, is serve lemon wedges to squeeze over each portion for a bright flavor boost.

This is one of my recipes that is still in process of being nailed down exactly, as you can tell! But I hope you will use these notes as a guideline to make a great Italian Wedding Soup that your family will enjoy. And don't worry, I have tried this all sorts of ways and we have liked it every time! You really can't mess this one up. It is a great marriage of flavors.