Soup

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

February 20, 2012 By Camille 2 Comments

Cream of mushroom soup is one of those pantry staples that is no longer in my pantry. Every time I look at the ingredients and the amount of sodium in a can, I just can't bring myself to actually pay money for it. I do, however, have an easy homemade "cream of" soup recipe that is so much tastier, cheaper and healthier than the cans. I usually just make a batch when a recipe calls for the soup. It's an extra step, but for me, it's worthwhile. Then I saw a suggestion to make a large batch of soup and can or freeze it! DUH! Homemade cream of mushroom soup in your pantry or freezer ready to go! I did not actually seal these jars according to the manufacturers directions, so I can not with good conscience tell you that this method is 100% safe. For me, it's fine, but if you want a guarantee -- freeze the jars. Glass can go in the freezer so you can just pop these in to the freezer. You could also use any other freezer friendly container you like. Also note that the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Recipe, Soup Tagged With: Cream of Mushroom, Recipe, Soup

Manhattan Clam Chowder

January 24, 2012 By Camille 2 Comments

I wish you could smell my house while this cooked. Oh my goodness. Better yet, make this yourself and your children will run around telling you how good it smells (even if they refuse to eat it!). I've made a New England Clam Chowder (the white creamy kind), but this was my first foray into Manhattan Clam Chowder, which is the "red" one. This is actually my husband's preferred type of clam chowder and I was in the mood for chowder, but nothing too thick. This got better the next day so feel free to make it a day or two before you want to eat it! Manhattan Clam Chowder Print Recipe type: Soup Author: Adapted from Serious Eats Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 45 mins Serves: 6-8 Ingredients 1 Tablespoon bacon grease 2 Tablespoons olive oil 3 garlic cloves, finely diced 1 large onion, finely diced 2 medium carrots, diced 2 teaspoons dried oregano 2 bay leaves 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 5 cups … [Read more...]

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Broccoli Cheese Soup

November 23, 2011 By Camille 1 Comment

When my husband and I were first dating, we ate at Panera every single week after church. We loved to get the broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl. This is the closest I've come to replicating that soup -- it was delicious! The recipe calls for 4 heads of broccoli, but I had a bag of chopped broccoli from Costco. I just kept putting broccoli in until it looked like enough. I used an immersion blender to blend the soup just a little leaving most of the broccoli whole. But feel free to blend or not as much as you want. Broccoli Cheese Soup Print Recipe type: Soup Author: Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 40 mins Serves: 4-6 Ingredients 1 whole onion, diced 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter 1/3 cup flour 4 cups whole milk 2 cups half and half 4 heads broccoli cut into florets A pinch of nutmeg 3 cups grated cheese (I used white cheddar and a Mexican blend) Salt and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Main Dish, Recipe, Soup

Slow Cooker Lentil and Sausage Soup

November 2, 2011 By Camille 4 Comments

When I do my weekly menu planning, I usually run the completed menu by my husband just to get his input. One week recently I put lentil soup on the menu and we ended up in quite a heated discussion about lentil soup. He doesn't like it if the lentils aren't cooked enough (this happened ONCE!) and I like lentils because they are super inexpensive. The next day he came from work and told me that the DJ on the radio had been talking about cheap but healthy meal options. The most inexpensive but healthiest food option? LENTILS! I have a few different versions of lentil soup. But this lentil soup kicks it up a notch and was SO GOOD! I always keep a bag of lentils in my pantry for a quick, easy, filling and healthy soup. I served the soup with fresh homemade bread. You can use any sausage you like in this soup. I used a spicy Italian and it made the whole soup HOT! I think a nice smoky kielbasa would be good as well. Slow Cooker Lentil and Sausage … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Main Dish, Recipe, Soup, Uncategorized

Italian Wedding Soup

October 26, 2011 By Camille 2 Comments

Making homemade soup, believe it or not, is very simple. I used to think that soup required a lot of time to make, but the exact opposite is true. Most soups that I make require 30 minutes or less of prep and cooking! And they are so much healthier and taste better than the canned stuff. Italian Wedding Soup is one of our all time favorite soups. If you have broth and meatballs in the freezer, this literally takes about 15 minutes to come together. I serve it with fresh bread from the oven and it always fill us up. This recipe is very versatile. You can homemade broth and meatballs or use store bought ones. You can use fresh spinach or frozen spinach. And any type of pasta works, too. I just bought a bag of tiny star shaped pasta that I'm hoping the kids love! Italian Wedding Soup Print Recipe type: Soup, Main Dish Author: Camille Gabel Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 15 mins Serves: 4-6 Ingredients 7 cups chicken … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Main Dish, Recipe, Soup

How To Make Chicken Broth

October 25, 2011 By Camille Leave a Comment

I started coming down with a cold a few days ago, which means lots of "Jewish Pencillin", or SOUP, for me! Homemade stock is so much better for you than canned broth. You can cook a lot of healthy goodness in to your stock! It is also a GREAT way to make use of leftover bits and pieces that would otherwise be thrown away. The ingredients for broth are easy: meat/bones; veggies; water; spices! Any combination of these will work and you can even leave out the meat/bones for a vegetable broth. Meat: I have made four kinds of stock: chicken, turkey, ham and beef. I most often make chicken because I cook a lot of whole chickens, but I think that ham stock has the best flavor hands down. For chicken and turkey you can use anything: a whole carcass; bones (even after they've been eaten -- the germs will be killed in the cooking); or entire pieces (legs, wings, thighs, breasts, etc). For ham stock, use the ham bone after you have carved your ham. Beef bones can be hard to come by, but … [Read more...]

Filed Under: DIY, Recipe, Soup

Italian Sausage Minestrone Soup

October 19, 2011 By Camille 2 Comments

I love making homemade soup for dinner. It makes a filling, inexpensive dinner especially when paired with homemade bread and a tossed salad. This my second recipe for minestrone soup. The first one used meatballs, but this one uses Italian sausage. I have to say, I love them both! I don't usually use canned tomatoes and when I make this again, I won't bother with them so feel free to use any diced tomato you have on hand. This recipe makes a ton of soup. We had enough for dinner and several lunches. If you want to freeze it, freeze after Step 4. To re-heat, bring to a boil and continue on to Step 5. Minestrone Soup Print Author: Taste of Home, October 2011 issue Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour 15 mins Total time: 1 hour 25 mins Serves: 12 Ingredients 1 pound bulk Italian sausage 2 large carrots, chopped 2 celery ribs, chopped 1 medium onion, chopped 6 garlic cloves, minced 3 Tablespoons olive oil 7 cups chicken broth 2-4 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Main Dish, Recipe, Soup

Slow Cooker Hot and Sour Soup

September 28, 2011 By Camille 1 Comment

I'm not really a fan of hot and sour soup, but my husband loves it with a passion! He gave his unequivocal stamp of approval on this recipe. I thought it was OK, but again, I'd rather be eating something else. You can add whatever you want to this soup as far as veggies go. I used what I had on hand, but you could add in water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, even chicken or pork. And feel free to halve the recipe for a small batch (or make the big one and freeze it!). Slow Cooker Hot and Sour Soup Print Recipe type: Main Dish, Soup Author: Stephanie O'Dea, A Year of Slowcooking Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 9 hours Total time: 9 hours 5 mins Serves: 8 Ingredients 2 cups cubed firm tofu 4 cups chicken broth 2 cups water 2 cups sliced mushrooms 1/2 cup sliced carrots A handful of bean sprouts 6 Tablespoons soy sauce 3 teaspoons sesame oil 6 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar (the sour) 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Recipe, Soup

Meatball Minestrone Soup

August 3, 2011 By Camille 1 Comment

We had this soup for dinner the other night. It was 104 degrees outside. But I really missed eating soup! So we did. In fact, we cooked the meatballs in the grill. I didn't like the meatball recipe I used. I usually use this recipe and I love it! So use that one for this soup. I also used tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes because what I thought was diced tomatoes was in fact strained tomatoes. Oops. I avoid tomatoes in cans because the cans have BPA in them. Tomatoes are also acidic so they really leach the BPA off the can lining. Instead, I buy Bionaturae in jars or Pomi in boxes (and I can get the Pomi at Walmart!). I have to admit that aside from avoiding BPA both of these brands taste a lot better than canned tomatoes. The "strained" tomatoes worked just fine, though. This soup is hearty and filling and delicious. It's even better the next day for lunch. Minestrone Soup Print Recipe type: Soup Author: Family Fun Magazine, Sept 2010 Prep … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Recipe, Soup