Tag: Soups on

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

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

A New Year Tradition Revamped

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season. Can you believe 2023 has rolled in already? I am convinced that after July 4th the year basically just flies by. At that point the summer is sort of winding down. Yes, I know that sounds crazy considering that July is just starting and there’s still August to get through. But, after that it seems like the anticipation of summer fun fades away. And then September rolls in and it’s all about back-to-school and the Fall. And before you know it it’s Halloween and then Thanksgiving and lo and behold the Holidays are upon us again. Not trying to be negative or anything but it’s definitely true that as you get older time somehow goes by faster. It’s probably because we are more aware of days, dates and holidays and everything that must – and needs to – get done. All the traditions and things we just do because we have been doing them forever. The holidays are the perfect time to get caught up in that. As they say, it’s hard to break with tradition. Not that there is anything wrong with it, I’m guilty of it myself.

For as long as I can remember I’ve eaten ham on New Year’s Day. It was something that my parents always cooked on New Year’s Day. I am not a 100% sure why, I vaguely recall my mom saying it was for good luck. I did a Google search once and as it turns out there’s a belief that you should eat pork on New Year’s Day as pigs move their snouts forward when eating – or something to that effect. This forward motion brings you luck in the new year. Here’s the thing though, I am not a fan of ham! There may have been a few times when I did enjoy it and look forward to eating it but definitely not often. The tradition is so engrained in me though that even though my dad passed away 7 years ago, and my mom has been in a nursing home longer than that I still make ham for myself on New Year’s Day! Subconsciously it’s probably a way for me to feel comforted and connected to memories.

For a few years I would begrudgingly eat the ham for a few days. And let me tell you even the smallest ham is too big so there would always be a ridiculous amount of leftovers even after me eating it for those days. One year, I even chopped up some of the ham and froze it convinced that I would do something with it, I didn’t, and it ended up getting tossed. Two years ago, I decided to make soup with it. And it was the best decision ever. So now, I look forward to the ham only because of the soup I know I will be making with it. For tradition’s sake though I still eat a slice or two on New Year’s Day. Come January 2nd though it’s time for Ham & Potato Soup.

I like to think it’s somewhat healthy since it is homemade and loaded with vegetables.

Just ignore the stick of butter and whole milk that’s also needed to make it. Truth be told, those are the ingredients that help to make it creamy and delicious so they can’t be omitted.

Unfortunately, even after making my delicious soup I still have more than half of the ham left in my fridge. I was hoping to buy a small canned one this year but by the time I got to the supermarket they only had 2 large ones left and I wasn’t in the mood to start driving around looking for a small one. So, once again I will chop up some of it and freeze it and really make a conscious effort to use it for other things. Maybe I will make something controversial like a Ham & Pineapple Pizza. LOL!

Ham & Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1/2 cup celery, diced

3 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped*

2 1/2 cups cooked ham, diced

5 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup flour

4 cups (32 oz. carton) low-sodium chicken broth

3 cups whole milk

Salt and pepper, to taste

*Use 1 very large or 2 medium potatoes. Chop the potatoes into decent sized chunks as they will break down as the soup cooks.

Directions:

In a large pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and sauté until the carrots begin to soften and the onions are translucent. About 4-5 minutes.

Add the ham and potatoes, stir everything together and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the flour and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Stir in the stock, mixing everything together. Bring to a boil, cover the pot and boil for 10-12 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Stir occasionally.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add in the milk. Stir until the mixture begins to thicken and the soup is heated through.

Season with salt and pepper.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula. 

Slow Cooker Sunday: Corn Chowder

One of the best things to make in your slow cooker is soup. I normally make corn chowder during the summer months on the stove thanks to the abundance of fresh corn available, but, for this recipe, I used frozen corn and you guessed it, my slow cooker. And to be honest, using frozen corn requires a lot less effort. Shucking corn and getting the kernels off the cob is just not fun.

In a small bowl I combined 1/2 cup of the frozen corn along with a ¼ cup of diced red bell pepper and a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. After stirring it together I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and then refrigerated it until my soup was ready.

In my slow cooker I combined the necessary ingredients for the chowder and then set it to cook on low for 8 hours. In case you are wondering, no, I didn’t cook the soup with the thyme on top, after taking this picture I gave the soup a good stir so the thyme sprigs could work their magic while the soup was cooking.

After the 8 hours I transferred 2 cups of the soup to a blender and blended it until it was smooth and then returned it the slow cooker along with heavy cream and butter. I stirred the soup until the butter had melted and then it was ready to enjoy.

I served it topped with the pepper and corn. You may be tempted to pass on the corn and pepper topping but trust me don’t. The fresh lemon juice from the mixture adds a nice taste to the soup.

Slow Cooker Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 cups (32 ounces) frozen corn

1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced

2 14.5 oz. cans of chicken broth

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

 

Directions:

In a small bowl combined the diced pepper, 1/2 cup of the corn and the lemon juice. Stir together and the cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

In your slow cooker add the remaining corn, potatoes, chopped onion, garlic, thyme salt and pepper. Stir everything to combine and then cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove the thyme springs and transfer 2 cups of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Return the blended soup to the slow cooker along with the heavy cream and butter. Stir the soup until the butter has melted.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the reserved corn and pepper mixture.

Recipe slightly adapted from The Kitchn

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

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