Five Favorite Soup Recipes

Do you love soup? I love soup. It's warm, comforting yumminess. Some soups can be made on the fly, others need to simmer for hours. Many soups taste better after a day in the fridge so all the flavors blend and deepen. When I'm sick, I carve soup. Sad? Yep, soup again. Cold weather rolls in? Soup saves the day! Here are ten soup recipes my family loves. Why not stir up a pot for yourself?

1. Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup
We love Panera Bread! Since it's arrival in Lubbock, it has quickly become my newest obsession. Their Broccoli Cheddar Soup is a hit with the whole house. Little Miss lists broccoli cheese soup as her favorite, no matter where it comes from, so I'm always on the look out for a good recipe.

2. Tamale Soup
This is a recipe I created after the little eatery I first tasted it in closed down. It took some trial and error, but I finally managed to get pretty close to replicating the flavor I so loved. It is a go to when it's cold out. Though it can be made with canned tamales, I mush prefer using the fresh or frozen variety. You can use pork, beef, chicken, whatever your family prefers.

3. Slow Cooker King Ranch Chicken Soup
We love King Ranch Chicken Casserole in this house. It's a favorite, especially during the chilly months. When I first saw a friend talking about this recipe on Facebook, I knew I needed to try it. A favorite casserole turned yummy soup? Yes, please!

4. Stuffed Pepper Soup
Another family favorite main dish turned soup! I love these recipes! This one packs all the the flavor of stuffed bell peppers into a steaming bowl of goodness. Grab some crusty bread and go to town, my friends!

5. My Chicken and Rice Soup
This recipe was born when I needed to use up leftovers. It turned out amazing, is quick, and is about as frugal as it gets. This is my go to rather than chicken noodle when the sniffles take over my home.

Creamy Chicken Chowder Recipe

Do you love good, warm, comfort food on a cold winter's day? I sure do! In fact, adding soups, stews, chowders, and comforting casseroles to the menu is one of my favorite parts of winter. My absolute favorite recipes to warm us up are those that combine great flavor with affordability. This creamy chicken chowder recipe was thrown together by raiding my pantry and turned out to be a bowl of rich, delicious comfort food. Not only is it tasty, but it comes together rather quickly, making it a great choice for a weeknight dinner. I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine does!

Ingredients

1 lb boneless skinless chicken, cooked and shredded - Thighs, breasts, whatever you want to use works!

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 large white onion, diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic - I use the refrigerated stuff in the jar.

1/4 cup all purpose flour

6 small potatoes, peeled and diced

1 can no salt added whole kernel corn, drained

4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

6 cups chicken broth - I've used broth reserved after boiling chicken, store bought broth, and even water with chicken bouillon successfully. 

2 cups half and half - You can sub milk with no problem, your chowder just won't be as rich.

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a large pot, stir butter over medium heat until melted.Toss in onion and garlic, stirring and cooking until tender. Add in flour, stirring constantly until slightly browned, to make a roux. Pour in broth and continue stirring until well blended. 

Add carrots, potatoes, and seasoning, let the pot come to a boil. Lower heat to medium low, cooking about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender, giving the pot an occasional stir. 

Stir in corn, half and half, cooked chicken, and corn. Reduce heat to simmer and cook another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

This is one of those recipes that you can add to and/or take away from depending on your tastes and what ingredients you have on hand. 

Inspired by and adapted from CookingClassy.com

Cold Weather Means Comfort Food

The temps across the country have been crazy this week. Even here in Texas we reached single digits and negative windchill. When it's cold like this nothing sounds better than comfort food. Warm, yummy recipes that can be thrown in a slow cooker with minimal fuss are even better. The delicious sounding recipe below seems to fit the bill. Thanks to EdibleFeast.com for letting me share!  

EdibleFeast.com’s Slow Cooker Pea Pot Pie Recipe

http://www.ediblefeast.com/recipe/pea-pot-pie-warm-meal-cold-day

More and more, busy people are turning to slow-cooker recipes, especially during the winter months, because nothing feels more comforting than coming home to a complete meal after a hectic day. This Pea Pot Pie uses hardy and readily available winter vegetables and herbs, like tarragon and thyme to offer up fresh, home-cooked taste.

Serve this crust-less pot pie on its own or with biscuits. If you really want a traditional feel, you can bake the finished product in a pie tin with a simple pot-pie-style pastry top. To incorporate more protein into the dish and 2 cups of diced cooked chicken or turkey to the pot before cooking.

Recipe Courtesy of Cara Daffron for EdibleFeast.com

Ingredients

¼ cup potato, diced

¼ cup onion, diced

¼ cup carrot, chopped

¼ cup frozen or fresh peas

1½ cup dried white navy or northern beans (not canned)

2 teaspoons fresh chopped celery leaf from the top of fresh celery stalks

1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup cornstarch (for gluten-free diets) or flour

4½ cups water (or chicken broth)

4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, sliced

Instructions

Stir everything except the cornstarch (or flour), water (or broth) and butter into a 1.5-quart (or larger) slow cooker. Place cornstarch (or flour) in a bowl and slowly whisk in the water (or broth), stirring to prevent lumps. Pour over the vegetable mix. Add the butter, then cover slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on high.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Chicken Dumplings (Photo credit: fritish)

It's been so cold here lately, we've been craving comfort food. Tonight, we had chicken and dumplings. It was good stuff made in the slow cooker! So simple and delicious!

Ingredients:

• four boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 small can refrigerator biscuits
• salt & pepper to taste

Spray the slow cooker with non stick cooking spray. Place chicken in the bottom. Add soup, vegetables, and one soup can of water. More water may be added, if you like a thinner broth. I judged this as I cooked. Add the seasonings and cook on low for approximately six hours, or high for 4. The last hour of cooking, tear the canned biscuits into fourths, stir in and resume cooking. Easy and tasty! You could use all sorts of vegetables and easily build upon this recipe. I was very happy with my results.

Biscuits Anyone?

Image via WikipediaI have a wonderful friend from Australia who I very much enjoy talking to. Dan cracks up whenever we talk and thinks I should transcribe some of our conversations. Like the other day when we were talking about biscuits.

I love biscuits and gravy, especially sausage gravy. I could eat it for any meal, it's like the ultimate comfort food. Not long ago I was cooking exactly that for dinner while on the phone with M. "You're making what?" she asked me. "Biscuits and gravy," I replied. This led to great discussion about biscuits. I had no idea biscuits were not a universal thing. She explained what a "biscuit" is over there. I'm from Texas y'all, we have cookies, we have crackers, and we have biscuits. She asked me what we called a biscuit. How do you describe a biscuit? Listening to me try must have been amusing because Dan was laughing and shaking his head. I should have Googled it. I even tweeted a pic of of a sausage biscuit trying to make her understand.

So, I promised to share my favorite biscuit recipe with her and decided to share it here. When she shares her favorite "biscuit" recipe with me, I'll be sure to pass that along to y'all.

Southern Living's Buttermilk Biscuit recipe is my favorite, although I use white flour rather than wheat. It makes prefect, fluffy biscuits every time.

Menu Plan Monday

It is another week of eating from the freezer and pantry here at our house. I've been surprised at how much we actually had stashed away. Here's my plan for this week:

Monday: Bean Chalupa - This is a family favorite! Your house will smell wonderful as this cooks.

Tuesday: Chicken Pot Pie - Comfort food at it's best.

Wednesday: Tamale Soup - My favorite soup ever!

Thursday: Chili Stuffed Baked Potatoes - Quick, no fuss meal.

Friday: Nessa's Chicken & Rice Soup - My neighbor calls this the best soup ever!

This week is also going to be a baking week, so I'll keep y'all posted as to what I end up making. Don't forget to click the banner above to check out more great Menu Plans over at Org Junkie. You can always find some great recipes as you check out all the awesome menus.

Have a great week!