Homemade Soup – Bead Yarn & Spatula

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

One of my favorite soups is Broccoli Cheddar. I got hooked on it years ago when I tried it at Panera’s. I didn’t attempt to make it myself though until I came across a recipe from The Pioneer Woman. And while it is delicious it makes 12 servings. Now, I have no problem eating leftovers or cooking something to eat over the course of a few days, but 12 servings is a bit much. That’s A LOT of soup for one person! Recently, by chance, I came across a recipe for broccoli cheddar soup that was the perfect amount – 2 servings!

Now, the recipe seemed so simple that I had my doubts that it could be delicious, but it was. Truthfully, sometimes the simplicity of ingredients makes a recipe all that better. You can enjoy the flavor of what you are making without it being masked by other ingredients. If you are making broccoli cheddar soup what you really want to taste is the broccoli and cheddar, and that’s what you get with this soup and in less than 30 minutes. You can’t beat that.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Servings: 2
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Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped yellow onion

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cup 2% milk

3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup cooked or frozen broccoli florets

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a medium saucepan melt the butter on medium heat. Add in the onions and sauté until the onions are tender. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until well combined. Gradually add in the milk and then the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, cook and stir until the soup has thickened, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the broccoli and cook until heated through. If using frozen broccoli cook until the broccoli is tender and no longer frozen. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheese until melted.

Recipe from Taste of Home

Ham & Potato Soup

For as long as I can remember I’ve eaten ham on New Year’s Day. My parents did so before I came along and continued to do so with me. And in case you didn’t know, eating pork on the first day of the New Year is supposed to bring good luck as pigs take their snout and root forward and are full of fattiness which when combined can symbolize progress, wealth & prosperity. There were some years where I wasn’t keen on the ham and other years when I look forward to it. The type of ham wasn’t the fancy spiral ones that come in a shiny red wrapper along with a brown sugar glaze, but, a canned ham that I find confusing in the sense that you can slice and eat cold, but, if you are going to “cook” it, it needs to cook in the oven for over an hour and come to an internal temperature of 140 F. My parents would always line the top of the ham with cloves, stick pineapple rings along the sides and on top and then drizzle it with light brown sugar. It’s the exact same way that I make it now. Inevitably though I always have leftovers and way too much of them. This year I decided to turn some of those leftovers into a delicious Ham & Potato Soup.

The soup starts with a mirepoix cooked in butter. And then the potatoes and ham are added and next minced garlic. To help thicken the soup flour is then stirred in and cooked for a few minutes before adding chicken stock and finally milk.

This soup is delicious… One of the best homemade soups I have made.

Ham & Potato Soup

Servings: 6
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Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1/2 cup diced celery

3 cups peeled and diced potatoes*

2 cups cooked ham, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup flour

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 cups whole milk

Salt and fresh cracked pepper, if needed

*I like to leave my potatoes on the larger side when cutting so they don’t break up too much while cooking

Directions:

In a large pot heat the butter over medium heat until melted. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and sauté until beginning to soften (4 – 5 minutes)

Add the ham and potatoes, cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Mix in the flour and cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in the stock, mixing all the ingredients together. Increase the heat and cover the pot and bring the contents to a boil. Boil for 10-12 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the milk. Stir until the mixture begins to thicken.

Taste, if needed, season with salt and pepper.

Slow Cooker Sunday: Vegetarian Minestrone

While spring may be a few days away the weather is still cold enough for some hearty soup. And while this soup may not have any meat in it, it’s still filling thanks to the array of vegetables. I was a bit intimidated by the amount of ingredients – I tend to avoid recipes that have too many ingredients – but, they are all pretty simple and some I actually had on hand.

I added most of my ingredients to my slow cooker and then set it to cook on low for 8 hours. I began checking on it after 5.5 hours as I didn’t want my vegetables to over-cook and break down, especially the zucchini. Ultimately my soup was ready in 6 hours, my vegetables were tender and still intact.

I then cooked the elbow macaroni in pot of boiling salted water and added it to the soup along with chopped baby spinach. I cooked it on low for an additional 15 minutes and it was done.

The Minestrone was flavorful and as I said earlier hearty and, the leftovers tasted even better the next day and even better the day after that.

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Minestrone

Ingredients:

6 cups vegetable broth

1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 large onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, diced

2 large carrots, diced

1 cup frozen green beans

1 small zucchini, cut into quarter moons

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoons thyme

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup elbow macaroni

4 cups chopped fresh spinach

Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Combine all ingredients from the broth through the black pepper in a 6-quart slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until vegetable are tender.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the elbow macaroni for about 8 minutes, until cooked through but still firm, drain.

Add the macaroni and spinach to slow cooker and cook for another 15 minutes. Top with parmesan cheese.

Recipe from allrecipes

Slow Cooker Sunday: Italian Vegetable and Pasta Soup

This is probably the best I have ever made and tasted, well, there was this French Onion Soup I had years ago at a restaurant that I still compare all French Onion Soup’s I have had to this day. Maybe I should try making that soup one day. But anyhoo, I digress, as usual. Back to the soup at hand, an Italian Vegetable and Pasta Soup that best of all is made in a slow cooker. There’s nothing better than dumping everything into your slow cooker and then coming back a few hours later with a great meal waiting for you.

I began by adding all of my vegetables to my slow cooker: corn, chopped onion, chopped carrots, sliced zucchini and garlic. I wasn’t sure if garlic could be considered a vegetable, but, adter a little research it turns out it can be.

Next, I stirred in broth, tomato paste, salt and basil until the tomato paste had completely blended into the broth. I used tomato paste with basil, garlic and oregano. I advise using this blend of tomato paste since it adds more flavor to the soup.

I opted to cook it on the high setting for about 3 1/2 hours and then added in dried shell macaroni and a bag of frozen green beans and cooked it for an additional 45 minutes.

Once it was done I served myself a bowl and topped it with shredded parmesan cheese. YUM!

Italian Vegetable and Pasta Soup

Servings: 6
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Ingredients:

1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped carrots

1 small zucchini, sliced into half moons

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth

1 6-ounce can tomato paste blended with basil, garlic and oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 9-ounce package frozen green beans

1 cup dried small shell macaroni

Shredded parmesan cheese, for topping

Directions:

In a 3 1/2 to 5 quart slow clooker combine the frozen corn, onions, carrots, zucchini and garlic.

Stir in the broth, salt, basil and tomato paste until the tomato paste is completely blended into the broth.

Cover and cook on high for 3 1/2 to 4 hours (or on low for 7 to 8 hours). Add the macaroni and green beans and cook for an additional 45 minutes. Please note, if you cooked the soup on the low setting, set it to high once you add in the macaroni and green beans.

Serve in bowls topped with shredded parmesan cheese.

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens