Ultimate Potato Soup

 

1 pound bacon, chopped (I didn't use a whole pound, only about 1/2 pound)

2 stalks celery, diced

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 cups chicken stock, or enough to cover potatoes

3 T. butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup heavy cream (I used half and half)

1 tsp. dried tarragon

3 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro (I did not use cilantro)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until done. Remove bacon from pan, and set aside. Drain off all but 1/4 cup of the bacon grease.
2. In the bacon grease remaining in the pan, saute the celery and onion until onion begins to turn clear. Add the garlic, and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cubed potatoes, and toss to coat. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Return the bacon to the pan (I didn't add the bacon to she soup, I added on top of the soup at serving time), and add enough chicken stock to just cover the potatoes. Cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender.
3. In a separate pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Cook stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the heavy cream, tarragon and cilantro. Bring the cream mixture to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir the cream mixture into the potato mixture. Puree about 1/2 the soup, and return to the pan. Adjust seasonings to taste.
4. I also sprinkled some cheddar cheese on top.

Use It Up Tip: Squash

I had some leftover butternut squash, so I decided to use it up by making squash soup. I didn't really follow a recipe, just took some ideas from recipes I had looked at. I love the V8 Campbell's Butternut Squash Soup--especially the little spicy kick it has--and was looking to make something similar. I used
2 cups cooked squash
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
Sprinkle of nutmeg
Bit of cayenne pepper (for that kick I was looking for)

I heated all the ingredients together, pureed in the blender, and topped with a bit of diced Granny Smith apple. Yum!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This recipe came from My Kitchen Cafe.

1 can chicken broth
1 small onion, diced (I used less, about 1/3 of a small onion)
I also added some carrots

1/3 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
Pepper to taste

2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese
steamed chopped broccoli --2-3 cups, depending on your tastes

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes. In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour and pepper. Cook together for a couple of minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium-high heat until soup starts to thicken. Next add chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add cheeses and steamed broccoli. Serve immediately.
I actually cooked the carrots and broccoli with the onions and broth. I added the cheeses to the milk mixture before adding the broth mixture with the veggies in it.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I adapted this recipe from allrecipes.com

1 onion, chopped (I used about 1/2 an onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced (I didn't have any fresh garlic on hand, so I used some garlic powder)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes)
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
1 cup white hominy (I didn't have any hominy, I just added an extra 1/2 cup or so of corn)
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (omitted)
2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces (I used leftover chicken from the previous day)
crushed tortilla chips
sliced avocado (omitted)
shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used cheddar)
chopped green onions (omitted)

1. In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Stir in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, and chopped green onion.

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

I based my soup off of this recipe from allrecipes.com.

2/3 cup uncooked wild rice
2 cups water
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups turkey broth
1/3 cup shredded carrot (I cut my carrots in pieces instead of shredding it; I also used more than 1/3 cup--about 3-4 carrots chopped)
2 cups chopped cooked turkey
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste (I used regular salt)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup chopped slivered almonds (I did not have any slivered almonds, so I omitted these)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (I also did not have lemon juice, so I skipped this, too)
3/4 cup half-and-half cream (I used evaporated milk instead)

Directions

1. Bring the wild rice and water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender but not mushy, 40 to 45 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid, fluff the rice with a fork, and cook uncovered 5 minutes more. Set the cooked rice aside.
2. Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Cook and stir the onion and celery until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, and cook until it turns a pale yellowish-brown color, 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in the turkey stock until no lumps of flour remain. Stir in the carrot. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook, whisking constantly, until the stock is thick and smooth and the carrot is tender, about 2 more minutes.
3. Stir in the wild rice, turkey, salt, pepper, and almonds. Return to a simmer, and cook 2 more minutes to heat the ingredients. Stir in the lemon juice and half-and-half; bring the soup almost to a boil, and serve hot.

Butternut Squash Soup

Another recipe from allrecipes.com.

6 tablespoons chopped onion
4 tablespoons margarine (I used butter)
6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (I used 3 cups pureed squash I had previously baked)
3 cups water
4 cubes chicken bouillon (I used 1 can chicken broth and 1 bouillon cube/1 cup water)
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram (I did not use)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese (I used 1 package, which I think was plenty)

1. In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.
2. Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

Sausage Potato Soup

I got this recipe from the What's for Dinner? blog

1/2 pound smoked turkey kielbasa, diced (I used regular smoked sausage)
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (I often use Yukon Golds and leave the skin on)
2 cups frozen corn
1-1/2 cups chicken broth (I used enough broth to cover the veggies while they cooked)
1 celery rib, sliced
1/4 cup sliced carrot (I used two carrots)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley (I did not used parsley)

Directions
In a large saucepan, brown sausage; drain. Set sausage aside. In the same pan, (I used a different pan because I started the veggies cooking while the sausage was browning.)
combine the potatoes, corn, broth, celery, carrot and seasonings. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Add the milk, cheese, parsley and sausage. Cook and stir over low heat until
cheese is melted and soup is heated through.

Yield: 6 servings.

Lentil Soup

I adapted this recipe from allrecipes.com. This recipe is supposed to be two servings, so I basically doubled everything.

* 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 fresh green onions, chopped (I used 1/2 yellow onion)
* 1 carrot, chopped (I used two)
* 1 parsnip, sliced (I did not use)
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* 1 potato, cubed (I used two)
* 1 leek, chopped (I did not use)
* 1 cup dry lentils, rinsed (I used 2 cups)
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes (I used 2 cans)
* 3 cups vegetable broth (I used 3 cans of chicken broth)
* 2 bay leaves (I did not use)
* 1 dash soy sauce (I did not use)
* 1 dash Worcestershire sauce (I did not use)
* 1/2 cup red wine (I used about a tomato can of water)

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the oil, onions, carrot, parsnip, celery, potato and leek. Stir well for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add the lentils, tomatoes with liquid, stock, bay leaves, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and wine.
2. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until lentils are tender. Remove the bay leaves and add fresh coriander or fresh parsley to taste.

Cheesy Ham and Potato Soup

This is a great way to use up leftover ham after the holidays.

3 1/2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
1/3 cup celery
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
1-2 cups ham, diced and cooked
3 1/4 cups water
2 T. chicken bouillon granules I use a can of chicken broth instead of chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
5 T. butter
5 T. flour
2 cups milk
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
I also add 2-3 carrots, sliced.
Combine potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water (I added the chicken broth here, and then enough water to cover the potatoes, etc.) in stockpot and bring to boil. Cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
In separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly until thick. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form and all milk is added. Continue to stir until thick (4-5 minutes). Add in cheese and stir until melted.
Stir the cheese mixture into the stockpot and cook until heated through.