Sausage and Kale Soup

Recipe adapted from: https://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/10/sausage-kale-soup/

It has been a long time since I made this soup. It was a hit with the whole family. Even Andrew enjoyed eating the white beans and carrots!

We are loving getting some of our meats from local grocery store. No nitrates or undesirable additives in the sausage!

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 ¼ lbs. sweet Italian turkey/chicken sausage (make sure to get nitrate free!)
1 medium yellow onion
½ lb. carrots
½ bunch celery
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 bunch kale
2 (15 oz.) cans white beans
6 c. chicken stock
½ tsp. oregano
½ tsp. cumin
pinch crushed red pepper (optional)
to taste salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Squeeze the sausage out of the casings and cook over medium heat, along with the olive oil, in a large pot. Break up the sausage into pieces and cook until no pink remains.
2. While the sausage is cooking, dice the onion, peel and slice the carrots, and slice the celery. When the sausage is fully cooked, add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Stir and cook until the onions are soft.
3. While the vegetables are softening, take the opportunity to slice the rest of the carrots and celery and package them to freeze (they’ll be ready for your next soup!). Pull the kale leaves from the stems and tear into small pieces. Place the torn kale leaves in a colander and rinse well. Once the onions in the pot have softened (the other veggies may not be soft, that’s okay), add the kale. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes or until the kale is wilted.
4. Drain the can of beans and add them to the pot. Also add the chicken stock, oregano, cumin, red pepper, and black pepper. Stir to combine and heat through (about 10-15 minutes). Taste the soup and adjust the salt and other seasonings if necessary. Serve hot!

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Golden Lentil Soup

Recipe Source: Julie, who got it from one of her aunts I believe.

I got this recipe from Julie a while ago and have been excited to try it! I was not disappointed. It is delicious! I doubled the amount of celery and carrots from the original recipe. The whole family loved it. It reminds us of the flavors in chicken noodle soup.

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp. oil
8 - 10 celery stalks, diced
6 - 8 carrots, diced or shredded
2 onions, diced
1 lb. dry red lentils (About 2 1/4 c.)
1/4 cup long grain brown rice (I used brown Basmati rice)
12 cups water
1 Tbsp. lemon pepper
1 Tbsp. seasoned salt
1/2 - 1 tsp. salt* (omit or start with less, add more if needed)
1 1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 cup lemon juice (I didn't use quite this much)

Instructions:

1. Dice the celery, carrots, and onions and then cook them in the oil.

2. Add the lentils, rice, and water. Cover and bring to a boil. (About 20 minutes)

3. Bring to medium heat for 25 minutes, covered.

4. Add seasonings and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

5. Add lemon juice and serve.

We enjoy it with hummus and vegetables on the side. Julie said she likes it with tortilla chips, but we haven't try it that way.

*Leftovers will taste saltier the next day, so don't overdo it on the salt!

Ham, Sweet Potato, and White Bean Soup with Bacon (Crockpot)

**Good, easy, healthy soup for a cold wintry day :)

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Yield: Serves 8

(Mel's note)  If you want to up the smoky flavor of this delicious soup, sub in smoked paprika for the regular. I've made this soup twice and the dry beans cooked perfectly tender without being presoaked, however, several people commented in this recipe that their beans weren't quite tender (especially those that live at high altitude) after slow cooking all day, so if that concerns you, soak the beans in cool water overnight before using in the recipe. A recipe like this yields the perfect style of ham for this recipe; however, if you don't have any leftover ham, your neighborhood deli is a great place to buy - have them slice the ham thick so the dices of ham are chunky rather than thin. PS: this cooked and cooled soup freezes magnificently.

Ingredients:

   (Sheri's notes in parenthesis with *)

• 1/2 cup diced yellow or white onion (*I used half a yellow onion, probably 1/2 cup it calls for (cooked this with ham), but I also added almost a TB minced dried onion too)
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced or pressed (*mine were large cloves)
• 2 cups cooked, diced ham (see Mel's note above)  (*I used a breakfast ham, sliced & cubed, and cooked in skillet beforehand with onions)
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced  (*I scrubbed mine clean, didn't peel.."that's where all the vitamins are" :) )
• 1 pound dry white beans, like Great Northern, rinsed (see Mel's note above)  (*I did soak mine overnight, but would probably work fine without soak (just didn't want to risk beans not being done))
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika (see Mel's note above)  (*I used regular paprika but now have smoked and want to try it with that too)




1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth (*I used 2 cans then 4 cups water with 4 bouillon cubes to equal 8)
• 4-6 slices bacon or turkey bacon, diced  (Good with or without bacon)

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients except the bacon in a 5-quart slow cooker and cook on low for 8-9 hours (see the note about presoaking the dry beans).
Carefully puree 1/2 to 3/4 of the soup in a blender (hot soups like to expand in the blender so only fill the blender halfway and process in batches, if needed). I don't love the idea of pureeing ham, call me crazy, so I tried my best to scoop out ladles of soup to blend that were free of ham. Alternately, you could use an immersion blender and get in there with it and go to town (leaving the soup with as much texture as you desire).
Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
Cook the bacon in a hot skillet until crisp; drain on paper towels. Serve the soup with crumbled bacon on top.
1. Sheri's note: puree soup, stir, and turn crockpot off.  It's good to let it sit, cool, and thicken for an hour if you have the time to do it.

Chicken Dumpling (or Noodle) Soup

Source: a combination of several recipes, trial and error :)

Ingredients:

• 1 Broiler Chicken (remove giblets, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook for 20 minutes PER pound @ 350 degrees; when cooked, remove meat and retain stock)

• 2-3 TB oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1/2-2 stalks celery, diced
• (fresh cut green beans, opt.)
• 6-8 cups chicken broth (stock from cooking chicken plus needed amount of broth to make 6-8 cups; chicken broth in can or box works, or water with bouillon cubes or granules)
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 1 TB fresh chopped parsley (or 1 tsp dry parsley)
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
In cooking oil, sweat onion, carrots, and celery.  Add chicken, stock/broth, celery salt, parsley, bay leaves, and green beans (opt).  Simmer about 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender.  Taste.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add dumplings or noodles :)

Dumplings:

1 cup milk
1 cube butter
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg (opt)
3/4-1 1/2 cups flour
3-4 eggs

Bring milk and butter to boil.  Add salt and nutmeg (if using; Bill definitely prefers his dumplings without the nutmeg, but I thought it was good).  Remove from heat.  Add flour immediately, slowly while stirring rapidly until it leaves the sides of pan, forming a dough.  Beat 1 egg at a time, forming a sticky dough.  Add spoon-sized balls of dumpling dough to top of soup, and simmer until dumplings rise.  **Don't think of dumplings as a biscuit.  They are not meant to be a "soggy" biscuit.  They are more like a biscuit-shaped, buttery noodle.  I've grown to really like them.  This was one of Bill's favorite soups growing up.

Noodles:

1 cup flour
2 eggs
2 TB water

Mix well and roll thin.  Cut into thin noodles.  Add to simmering soup.  Cook until noodles are done.


**This soup could easily be adapted to be gluten-free by using gluten-free flour or flour-free by leaving the dumplings and noodles out.  Could add potatoes, beans (I would use white or black), and/or brown rice to give it more substance if desired, especially when leaving dumplings and noodles out.

***This is one of our favorite soups.  Bill loves dumplings, so that's usually how I make it.

White Chili with Jalapeños

Source: Bernie in Pinedale

6 cans white beans or Northern beans*

4 c. diced chicken breasts

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, diced

1 Tbsp. chopped garlic

4-7 oz. cans chopped green chiles

1 -16 oz. carton sour cream

salt and pepper

2 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

6 c. chicken broth

Garnish:

shredded Monterey Jack or pepper jack cheese

bottled sliced jalapeños (use tamed jalapeños if you don't like a lot of spice)

sour cream

tortilla chips

Instructions:

Brown chicken in olive oil. Add onion, garlic, and green chiles. Cook until soft. Add spices and continue to sauté. Add sour cream and stir well. Add beans* and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.

Serve with cheese, jalapeños, sour cream, and tortilla chips. The jalapeños add a lot of flavor. If you don't like spice get the tamed jalapeños. 

*Bernie said not to drain the beans, but Erin and I with like rinsing them so that they aren't too salty so we rinsed them. You can add extra chicken broth if you want. We doubled the amount of beans it calls for. I think we ended up doubling the spices too.

Smoky Corn Chowder

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

YIELD: SERVES 4-6

You can sub regular paprika for the smoked but you'll lose, well, the smoky flavor (and it's delicious, I'm telling you).

INGREDIENTS

• 4-5 slices bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cup diced onion or leeks
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (regular also good)
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen corn
• Potatoes (optional, but good)
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 green onions, white parts cut off and discarded and green parts thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. In a 4 or 5-quart saucepan, cook the chopped bacon over medium heat until golden and crisp. Scoop onto a paper-lined plate and discard all of the bacon grease except a very thin coating (about 1-2 teaspoons).
2. Add the onion and cook for 5-7 minutes until translucent. Stir in the garlic, paprika and red pepper and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes.
3. Stir in the corn, broth and milk. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Transfer half of the soup to a blender (very carefully - don't overfill the blender since hot liquids will expand while blending!) and puree until mostly smooth.
5. Return the blended soup to the pot and add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Taste and add more if needed.
6. Serve warm topped with green onions and bacon.

**This has been "on deck" for me to try.  When Mom came to take care of us when Jules was born, she made it.  We loved it!  It has great flavor with a little kick.  Mom added cubed potatoes and used regular paprika since that's what we had on hand.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Slightly modified from: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/12/crock-pot-chicken-enchilada-soup.html

Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
 Skinnytaste.com 
Nutrition facts (before modifications):
Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups + cheese • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 7 pts
Calories: 260.9 • Fat: 6.6 g • Protein: 25.4 g • Carb: 29.9 g • Fiber: 6.7 g • Sugar: 4.1 g
Sodium: 572 mg (without salt) 

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 c. onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2-1 c. diced sweet peppers (optional, not part of the original recipe)
• 3 c. low sodium fat-free chicken broth
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1-2 tsp. chipotle chili in adobo sauce (or more to taste)
• 1/4 c. chopped cilantro (plus more for garnish)
•  15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes (I doubled the recipe and used one can with chipotle and one with green chiles)
• 2 c. frozen corn or drained canned corn
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 8 oz skinless chicken breasts (16 oz total) 

Toppings:

• 1/4 c. chopped scallions, for topping 
• 1/4 c. chopped cilantro
• 2 diced avocados
• 3/4 c. shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
• sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (optional)
• 6 corn tortillas, cut into strips (Optional, not part of the original recipe. I used this rather than the recommended tortilla chips to make it healthier and we all enjoyed it.)

Directions:

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion, garlic, and peppers and sauté until soft, 3-4 minutes. Slowly add the chicken broth, tomato sauce and chipotle adobo sauce and bring to a boil. Add cilantro and remove from heat. Pour into crock pot.

To the crockpot, add drained beans, diced tomatoes, corn, cumin, oregano and stir. Add the chicken breasts; cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.

Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Add chicken back into the soup, adjust salt and cumin to taste. (I added the tortilla strips at this point. You could also add them to each bowl while it is still hot.) Serve in bowls and top with fat free sour cream, cheese, scallions and cilantro. You can also top with avocado or crushed tortilla chips. Enjoy! 

I doubled the recipe when I made it and we all enjoyed the flavor. I used the full amount of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and seasoned diced tomatoes. I also added an extra can of black beans (3 for a doubled recipe). It made enough for 2 dinners.

White Chicken Chili

Recipe by Our Best Bites

(I call this a chili, but it’s really a soup consistency.
If you want it thicker, just reduce the amount of broth.)

1 T Extra virgin Olive Oil
1 lb boneless chicken, cubed (about 3-4 boneless, skinless breasts)
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans Great Northern Beans
1 3.5 oz can green chilies
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t dried oregano leaves
1/2 t coriander
1/2 t salt
fresh cracked pepper
1 lime
1/2 C chopped cilantro

1 32oz box chicken broth

Condiments: (in addition to measurements above)
Sour cream
Chopped cilantro
Pepperjack or Jack cheese, shredded
Avocado

Green onions, if desired (Sheri's addition)

Lime wedges to squeeze into soup, if desired (Sheri's addition)

Tortilla Chips or make your own tortilla strips

In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add chopped onion and cook for about 2 minutes- just until it starts to become translucent. While onions are cooking, drain beans and rinse with cold water and set aside. Sprinkle chopped chicken with a little salt and pepper and add to pot. Add garlic as well. Cook until there’s no more visible pink on the chicken, probably 3-4 minutes.

Then add green chills- along with all of the juices in the can. Add beans, cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, and a few turns of fresh cracked pepper. Stir to combine and then add chicken broth.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the juice from one lime and the 1/2 C chopped cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream. Serve with condiments. If you don’t have all those condiments- at least have sour cream! But honestly, it’s best with everything :)

Makes about 8 cups of soup.

 *Oh, and this freezes well. Sometimes I make a batch and when it cools I put single servings into zip-locks and pop them in the freezer. Makes a great quick lunch.

Yam Chicken Stoup

Modified from Rachael Ray's "Smoky Sweet-Potato Chicken Stoup"
http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=935


Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

2-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) (or canola oil)
4 medium carrots
4 ribs celery
2 large onions, peeled and halved
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and black pepper
1-2 teaspoons dry thyme (eyeball it)
2 bay leaves
10 cups chicken stock (I use less--just enough to cover the veggies)
2 large sweet potatoes, yams or equivalent amount of potatoes
1 1/2 -2 pounds chicken tenders, cut into bite-size pieces (or use shredded bottled chicken)
8 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, a generous handful, roughly chopped, optional
1 cup sour cream, for garnish, optional

PREPARATION

Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat with two to four tablespoons of EVOO.

While soup pot heats, chop carrots in half lengthwise then slice into thin half moons. Add the carrots to the pot while it heats, stirring to coat the carrots in the EVOO. Chop and drop in celery and onion, chopping as small as you can, but don't make yourself crazy. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Season the veggies with salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook the veggies together for one minute. Add the stock to the pot, cover the pot, and raise heat to high. Bring the stoup to a boil, remove the cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into quarters lengthwise, then thinly slice into bite-size pieces. Add the cut chicken and sweet potatoes and simmer five minutes until sweet potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn the heat off and add the scallions and cilantro. Serve each portion of stoup with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

*Note: Good made with Cafe Rio Chicken (not the sweet version), cooked in the crockpot (I know many of you have the recipe).  Could also throw chicken in the crockpot with onions, garlic, and carrots, then cook and shred.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour

3 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk

8 oz. velveeta cheese (cut into small cubes)
1 can Rotel (use regular for kick, Rotel is diced tomatoes with green chiles)
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (slow cooked in crockpot, see note above)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder

Tortilla chips
Fresh lime
Black beans
Avocado

Directions:

1.  Melt butter with flour over medium heat until it thickens and makes a roux.
2.  Stir in chicken broth and milk.  Turn heat to low.
3.  Add cheese, rotel tomatoes, chicken, cumin, and chili powder and stir well.  Leave on low until it thickens.
4.  Garnish: Good with tortilla chips or strips, fresh lime (definitely recommend), black beans, and avocado.

*This is a tasty, creamy tomato soup with a little zip.  I highly recommend you try it.  It has great flavor.


Cafe Rio Chicken

5 lbs chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
1 small bottle Zesty Italian dressing
1 TB chili powder
1 TB cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced

Mix in large crockpot.  Cook on high for 5-7 hours.  Remove chicken and shred with fork.  Reserve a small amount of juice and pour over shredded chicken to keep moist.  Keep warm.

Summer Garden Vegetable Soup

Yield: Serves 8

3 medium zucchini, chopped into bite-size pieces

4 tomatoes, chopped into bite-size pieces

2 TB minced fresh parsley

1 tsp dried basil (or 1 TB fresh basil, chopped)

2 TB butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 tsp lemon juice

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh corn kernels (small white corn good)

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the zucchini, basil, parsley, and onion, and saute', stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes.  Add the flour, salt, and pepper, and stir and cook for 1 minute.  Gradually add the chicken broth, whisking or stirring constantly.  Add the lemon juice; mix well.  Bring the soup to a simmer, stirring to prevent sticking, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the zucchini is tender but still has some bite to it (it will continue cooking for a few more minutes).  Add the tomatoes, evaporated milk, and corn.  Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low.  Cover the soup and simmer until the corn and zucchini are tender.  Stir in the cheese just before serving.  Serve with parmesan and cheddar cheeses sprinkled on top.  This is very good :)  Could add sausage or hamburger to it if desired.  Great zucchini recipe.  Serves about 6.

*I also sent this recipe out a few years ago.  It is a great recipe to use produce.