Yellow Split Pea Soup

This is a combination of two different recipes.  I couldn't leave well-enough alone.  If desired, you could season this many different ways, using a variety of herbs.  Don't be afraid to experiment!  Also, you could puree the soup a little with an immersion blender, or mash it a bit with a potato masher, if you'd like a thicker soup.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

2 cups split yellow peas
1 small onion, minced
2 carrots, peeled and minced
1 stalk celery, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large potato, peeled and minced
8 cups vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker.  Cook on HIGH for 8-10 hours.

Stovetop method:
Soak peas in water overnight.  In the morning, drain the peas and set aside.
In a large stockpot, cook the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in 2 tbsp butter until tender.  Add potato, peas, and stock to stockpot.  Bring to a boil.  Cover; continue to boil for 20 minutes.  Turn heat to low, and let simmer, covered, until peas are tender.

"Leftovers" Soup

I tend to make some other concoction out of our leftovers.  (See German Vegetable Soup, Chicken and Rice Casserole, Country Dinner, and Harvest Chicken Soup)  One of the top ways to save money on your grocery budget is to use what you have, not throwing food away.  This week I did it again, and made a soup out of our leftover roasted chicken, the "other" half of an onion,  a section of  random cream cheese, and what was remaining from a can of corn.

1 large roasted chicken breast, shredded
Chicken broth
1/2 can of corn
1/2 small onion, diced
3 small potatoes
3 oz. cream cheese, cut into small chunks
Salt
Pepper
Hot sauce to taste

Peel and dice potatoes.  Place in a pan with the onions, and cover with chicken broth.  Boil until tender.  With a hand masher, mash some of the potatoes in the broth.  Over medium head, add in chicken, corn, and salt and pepper to taste.  Heat through.  Stir in cream cheese, and simmer until dissolved.  Top with shredded cheddar cheese before serving.  Serve with hot sauce nearby.

Easy Mixed Bean Soup

I'm all about easy meals, and it doesn't get much easier than this!

Easy Mixed Bean Soup

1 lb. dried mixed beans
1/3 c frozen diced onions
1/3 c diced carrot
1/4 c diced celery
2 chicken & tomato bouillon cubes*
1 heaping tablespoon Salt Mix
10 c water

Soak beans overnight.  Drain.  In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients.  Cook on low 8-10 hours.

It's that easy!

*You could easily make this a vegetarian soup by omitting the bouillon cubes, then replacing some of the water with vegetable stock.

We're headed back out of town again today.  Have a safe weekend!

Creamy Potato Soup

4 c chicken broth
4 c peeled and diced gold potatoes
1/4 c finely diced onions
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
8 oz cream cheese with chives

In a stockpot, combine broth, potatoes, onion, seasoning salt, and pepper. Boil until potatoes are tender. Smash potatoes as desired. (I usually smash 1/3 - 1/2 of them.) Turn heat to low, and spoon in cream cheese by the tablespoonful. Stir until cheese melts.

I serve this with crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar over top.

Chicken Cheddar Broccoli Soup

I grabbed a package of Bear Creek Cheddar Broccoli Soup one day, just because it sounded good at the moment. Here it is beefed up:

1 package Bear Creek Cheddar Broccoli Soup mix
8 c water
1/2 lb. chicken breast, cooked and diced
1 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 white onion, minced
1 c shredded cheddar

Prepare soup according to package directions. Meanwhile, saute garlic and onion in butter. When both are finished, combine all ingredients, and simmer until cooked through. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Veggie Soup

I had some veggies that had to be used up, so I basically just tossed them together. It was better than I thought it would be.

1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 head green cabbage, chopped
2 gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
32 oz. vegetable broth
2 c water
6 oz. tomato paste
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp sugar (to offset the tomato taste)
Salt & pepper to taste

Toss everything into the slow cooker, and cook on low 6-8 hours, until all of the vegetables are tender.

Pantry Hamburger Veggie Soup

I just tossed all of this in a pot... It's very flexible, just use whatever you have on hand.

1 lb. LEAN ground beef
2 tbsp. The Lady & Sons Salt Mix (Paula Deen Collection), plus more to taste
1 large onion
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can green beans, undrained
1 can corn, undrained
1 can sliced carrots, undrained
1 can diced potatoes, undrained

Brown beef in a stockpot over med-high heat. Meanwhile, peel and dice onion. When finished, sprinkle Salt Mix over beef, stir, and add in onion. When beef is cooked through stir in tomatoes, green beans, and corn. Bring to a boil. Stir in carrots and potatoes then reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 3 hours. Adjust seasoning as needed before serving.

Loaded Potato Soup

5 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4 strips bacon, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 white onion, diced
1/2 c butter, room temperature
Salt
Pepper
Half and Half
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Scallions
Sour Cream

Cook potatoes in salted water until fork-tender. Meanwhile, saute bacon pieces until crispy. Remove from pan. In bacon grease, saute garlic and onion until onion is translucent, but not browned. Drain, and set aside. Drain potatoes, then return to pan. Mash with a hand-masher, adding in butter, then salt, pepper, and cheese as desired. Stir in onion and garlic, then half and half until soup is desired consistency. Keep over low heat until heated through. Granish with bacon, sliced scallions and sour cream.

Rachael Ray's Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta

I changed it just a tad. My daughter had the sauce as soup, because she's been asking for pumpkin soup for a while now. I had it over pasta.

1 lb pasta
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 shallots, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 c chicken broth
15 oz pumpkin puree
1/2 c cream
hot sauce (I didn't use this)
freshly ground nutmeg
2 pinches cinnamon
*Salt & pepper
8 sage leaves, thinly sliced
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Boil pasta. Saute shallots and garlic in oil over medium heat. Stir in broth, then pumpkin until smooth, then cream, then spices. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 5-6 minutes to let sauce thicken a little. Stir in sage. Toss sauce with pasta. Top with a generous amount of cheese.

*I very, very rarely salt my food, but I felt like this needed a generous dose of salt to bring the flavors out.

My daughter LOVED her soup, so I kept the sauce separate, so she can have more soup tomorrow.

Harvest Chicken Soup

Remember my Harvest Chicken? I made the leftovers into a soup. I diced the chicken, then poured the rest of the casserole into a large saucepan (including the broth). I then added a handful of diced onion, 1 small diced zucchini, 1 tsp chicken bouillon granules, 1 can of chicken broth, and one broth can full of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer at least 30 minutes. Enjoy!

German Vegetable Soup

It's only in the 50's here today, so what's better than soup simmering on the stove all day?

German Vegetable Soup
adapted from Kate Gosselin (of Jon & Kate +8)

1 leftover ham bone, with a little meat
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, sliced
3 celery stalks, sliced
3 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 can green beans
1 can corn
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
salt & pepper
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 c spatzle

In a large stock pot, cover ham bone with water. Boil for 1.5 hours. Remove bone from pot. Remove meat from bone, mince, and return to pot. Discard bone.

Add onion, carrot, celery, potato, green beans, corn, crushed tomatoes, bay leaves and Italian seasoning. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer 1-2 hours.

Stir in spatzle. Simmer 30-60 minutes, stirring frequently.

Winter Vegetable Soup

This is a Trisha Yearwood recipe. (I love everything that we've had out of her cookbook!)

28 oz chicken broth
14 oz diced tomatoes
8 oz baby Lima beans (I used a 14 oz. bag)
3 red potatoes, peeled and diced (I used 4 potatoes)
12 oz creamed corn

Stir broth, tomatoes, beans and potatoes together in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in creamed corn.

I made this for lunch today, and served it with cornbread. Very simple, quick, and easy!