Category: Soups

Black Bean Soup

Black Bean Soup Recipe

This is such an easy Black Bean Soup recipe that you can whip it up in 10 minutes and have a great, filling meal on Meatless Mondays.

All you need is:

2 cans organic black beans
1/4 medium onion, diced
2 organic mini sweet peppers – one diced, one sliced for garnish
1 tablespoon olive oil
dash or two of cumin powder, chili powder, Adobo seasoning
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon lime juice
sliced green onion tops, cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, sour cream, sliced jalapenos (for garnish)

Saute onion and diced sweet peppers in olive oil until onions are clear. Add the canned black beans, spices, garlic and lime juice. Simmer on low heat 15 minutes. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with shredded cheese, green onions, jalapenos or sour cream.

Serve with homemade baked corn tortilla chips.

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Sharon Springfield

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Black Bean Soup Recipe

Tags bean, meatless, soup, vegetarian

Soups

Corn Chowder

1 pound hash brown potatoes, southern style (one-half bag Ore Ida frozen – or cube up fresh potatoes)
48 oz. chicken broth
2 – 15 oz can creamed corn
1 – 15 oz can whole kernel corn
3 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1 – 10 3/4 oz can cream of chicken soup (or homemade cream of chicken soup mix, prepared)
1 chicken bouillon cube
salt & pepper to taste

Place all ingredients (except bacon) in a large pot, bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes. Using immersion blender, puree the soup for about a minute. Sprinkle bacon on top of each bowl of corn chowder.

Serves 10

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Sharon Springfield

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Corn Chowder

Tags chowder, corn, soup

Soups

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This creamy, cheesy broccoli soup tastes just like Panera’s Broccoli Cheese soup. It’s so easy to make and is filling enough to be a meal in itself. Serve with a baguette or your favorite rolls.

1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 medium chopped onion
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half cream
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb fresh broccoli***
1 cup carrot, julienned
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

***Cut off the florets from head of broccoli. Peel tough skin off the stem, discard. Dice tender part of stem.

Sauté onion in butter. Set aside. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and add the half & half. Add the chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Can be puréed in a blender. Return to heat and add cheese.

*To make this Vegetarian, substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth.

4 Servings

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Sharon Springfield

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Broccoli Cheese Soup

Tags broccoli, Cheese, soup

Main Dish Soups

Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Dumplings is my most requested meal from my kids. It takes some work to make this recipe, but it is absolutely worth it. There are shortcuts you can take to speed it up a bit but the results won’t be the same. You get out of something what you put into it. So take your time some Sunday afternoon to make this old classic recipe: Chicken and Dumplings.

To make this recipe, you will need a big pot, large enough to fit a whole chicken. You will also need a rolling pin to roll out the dumplings. To mix and knead the dumpling dough, I use my Kitchen-Aid stand mixer and a dough hook. If you don’t have a stand mixer with a dough hook, you are going to have a bit more manual labor involved. Get a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer, you will thank me a million times over, trust me. They are an awesome tool and I LOVE mine!

Ingredients for Chicken & Dumplings:

A Chicken – Giblets removed and thrown away
water
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 tsp. sage
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper
32 oz. carton of chicken broth
all purpose flour

Place the chicken* into a large stock pot. (Mine is just like this one.) Add enough water to cover the chicken. Add the bay leaf, 1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning, 1 teaspoon sage, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked and is falling apart. Remove the chicken to a bowl and allow to cool enough that you can handle it.

*If you don’t want to use a whole chicken, you could substitute boneless chicken breasts or thighs. Your broth won’t be as flavorful so you would want to add some chicken bouillon or stock base and use less salt.

While the chicken cools, make the dumplings.

Put 2 cups of flour in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add 1 cup chicken broth to the bowl. With the dough hook attachment, stir until the flour and broth form a ball. Add additional flour if your dough is too sticky. You want it to form a ball and it will pull itself off the sides of the bowl. Pick up the dumpling dough ball and sprinkle a light dusting of flour over the entire surface.

Clean a 2 foot area of your kitchen counter where you will roll out your dumplings. (I’m a germophobe so I usually use Clorox wipes and wipe the counters with a clean wet wash cloth and dry thoroughly.)

Dust the counter with some flour and also dust your rolling pin and use your hand to spread the flour over the entire rolling pin surface. Roll out the dumpling dough into a rectangular shape to a thickness of approximately 1/4″.

Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 1 1/2″ strips and cut again crosswise to make squares. Dust lightly with more flour. (This helps to thicken the broth.)

Once the chicken is a safe temperature to handle, remove the chicken meat from the bones. Remove any icky parts like veins, gristle, etc. Cut the chicken meat into bite sized chunks.

Strain the broth through a strainer and clean the stock pot out to get rid of the bathtub-like ring from boiling the chicken. Return the broth and the chicken to the pot. Add the carton of chicken broth and remaining seasonings and taste the broth, adding more salt & pepper if needed. Bring to a boil.

Add the dumplings a few at a time to the boiling broth, stirring so that they don’t get clumped together. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked all the way through. To test this, cut a dumpling in half and see if it looks rubbery inside. If it’s white all the way through, it’s done.

If you want your soup to be thicker, you can whisk together 1/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup of half & half or milk, making sure you get all the lumps out. Add this to the chicken & dumplings and stir until the soup is thickened. Another option is to add a couple cans of cream of chicken soup or my homemade cream of chicken soup mix.

Ladle into soup bowls and prepare to be complimented. 🙂

I know you will enjoy this Chicken & Dumplings recipe. Trust me that it is worth every bit of work that goes into making it.

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If you like my recipes, be a sweetie pie and share on Facebook,
Like my page “I Love To Cook” and Pin these yummy recipes on Pinterest. 🙂

Sharon Springfield

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Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Tags Chicken, dumplings, soup

Homemade Mixes Soups

Homemade Cream Of Chicken Soup Mix

Post author By Sharon
Post date January 4, 2014
2 Comments on Homemade Cream Of Chicken Soup Mix

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup Mix

Forget the canned soups, now you can make your own homemade cream of chicken soup mix. Just keep the powdered soup mix in an airtight container and whenever your recipe calls for Cream of chicken soup, just scoop out some of your homemade soup mix and quickly mix up just the right amount for your recipe. It’s less expensive than buying the canned soups and tastes great!

Cream of Chicken Soup Mix Recipe:

1 cup non-fat dried milk powder
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup bouillon granules (if using cubes, crush into powder)
4 Tablespoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients in an airtight container, such as a Mason jar. Keep in your pantry until ready to use.

To use, mix 1/3 cup of the soup mix with 1 1/4 cup water. Cook until thickened.

For extra creamy, use half & half instead of the water and stir in 1 tablespoon butter after you’ve thickened it.

*You can do this in the microwave. Whisk water and mix into a glass mixing bowl or large Pyrex measuring cup. Microwave on high for 2 minutes, whisking every 30 – 45 seconds or until it’s thickened.

Try different flavors by switching the chicken bouillon for beef or other flavors.

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup Mix

Sharon Springfield

Tags Chicken, mix, soup

Beef Pasta Stew

Spaghetti Beef Stew

2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
2 medium onions, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 large red sweet pepper, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 14 ounce jar spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 pounds zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
Salt
Pepper
Hot cooked spaghetti

Trim fat from roast. Cut roast into 1-inch cubes. In a 3-1/2- to 4-quart electric crockery cooker layer beef, onions, and red sweet pepper. Add spaghetti
sauce. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 9 to 10 hours or cook on high-heat
setting for 5 hours.
If cooking on low, turn cooker to high. Add zucchini; cook 1 hour more or until
meat is tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over hot cooked spaghetti.

Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 6

Amount Per Serving
Calories 350
Protein(gm)32
Carbohydrate(gm)20
Fat, total(gm)15
Cholesterol(mg)101
Saturated fat(gm)6
Dietary Fiber, total(gm)3
Sodium(mg)505
Vegetables()3
Other Carb()1
Lean Meat()4
Fat()1

Tags beef, spaghetti, stew

Soups

Cowboy Stew Recipe

Cowboy Stew

Here’s what we had for dinner tonight – Cowboy Stew. Its essentially Chili but it has steak instead of hamburger plus a secret ingredient that makes it thick and hearty.

You cook this in the crockpot, which means, throw it in the crockpot and go enjoy your life for the day. When you get home, you will be greeted with the spicy, meaty scent of this robust Cowboy Stew.

This can also be made as a “dump recipe” which you prepare ahead of time then dump it into the crockpot when you are ready to cook. See the special instructions for this below the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb London broil, steak or stew meat, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 (14.5 oz) can Fire Roasted Southwestern Style Tomatoes (not drained)
1 (10-oz) can Rotel Tomatoes (not drained)
1 can fat-free refried beans (minus the lard)
1 medium onion, diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
2 (16-oz) cans pinto beans, drained
large Ziploc bag

To make immediately:

Coat the inside of crock with nonstick spray.
Pour taco seasoning into Ziploc bag. Add meat and shake to coat. Pour into Crockpot. Stir in rest of ingredients except for the pinto beans. Layer the pinto beans over the top and do not stir in. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 – 10 hours.

To make later (dump recipe):

Throw all ingredients (except for pinto beans) into Ziploc bag. Refrigerate until ready to cook. When ready to cook, dump the contents of the bag into the crock and stir. Layer the drained pinto beans over the top, Cover and cook on low for 8 – 10 hours.

I like serving the Cowboy Stew with a dense spoon cornbread. Corn muffins would be good too. Give this recipe a try and let me know in the comments how you liked it! Yee-haw for COWBOY STEW!

Cowboy Stew Recipe

Sharon Springfield

Tags main dish, soup

Main Dish Slow Cooker Soups

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 medium-size onions, diced

2 pounds lean ground turkey

2 cans (28 ounces each) diced tomatoes

2 cans (15-1/2 ounces each) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (28 ounces) baked beans

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

4 cups frozen corn, thawed

1/4 cup chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Tortilla chips, optional

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onions for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned. Crumble in turkey; cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until turkey cooks through.

2. Place turkey mixture in a 6-quart slow cooker. Stir in diced tomatoes, kidney beans, baked beans, tomato sauce, corn, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook 4 hours on high or 7 hours on low. Serve with tortilla chips, if desired.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 394
Protein(gm)26
Carbohydrate(gm)53
Fat, total(gm)10
Cholesterol(mg)61
Saturated fat(gm)2
Dietary Fiber, total(gm)12
Sodium(mg)825

Italian Soups

Minestrone Genovese

1oz. dried porcini mushrooms

1/4 lb. Swiss chard, stems removed

1/4 lb. spinach, stems removed

Salt

2 small zucchini, diced

2 medium white potatoes, peeled and diced

2 Japanese eggplants, peeled and diced

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups pasta

2 cups cooked white beans

2 tbsp. pesto (see recipe below)

Freshly ground black pepper

Soak porcini in 2 cups warm water until soft, about 20 minutes. Remove porcini, rinse, chop and set aside. Pour porcini water through a coffee filter and reserve. Chop chard and spinach leaves. Bring porcini water and 6 cups salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add porcini, chard, spinach, zucchini, potatoes, eggplant and oil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour. Add pasta to soup. Cook pasta for about 10 minutes, add beans and cook 5 minutes longer. Stir in pesto and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot or, in the Genovese tradition, at room temperature. Sprinkle with parmigiano-reggiano, if you like.

Pesto

2 tightly packed cups stemless fresh basil leaves

2 tbsp. pine nuts

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped Coarse salt

1/2 cup mild extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano

Crush basil, pine nuts, garlic and a large pinch of salt into a fine paste with mortar and pestle. Drizzle in oil, stirring constantly, then stir in parmigiano-reggiano. Put plastic wrap directly on surface of pesto, then set aside. If using a food processor, put pine nuts, garlic and salt into the bowl of the food processor fitted with a metal blade and blend to a paste. Add basil, drizzle in oil and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in parmigiano-reggiano.

Beef Slow Cooker Soups

Slow Cooker Tuscan Beef Stew

Post author By Sharon
Post date September 12, 2011
No Comments on Slow Cooker Tuscan Beef Stew

1 tablespoon McCormick® Mixed Pickling Spice

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 pounds beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes, divided

1 medium onion, cut into wedges

4 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices

1 teaspoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection® Crushed Rosemary

1 teaspoon McCormick® Garlic Powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup dry red wine or reduced sodium beef broth

1 tablespoon flour

8 slices day-old Italian bread, toasted

Place the pickling spice in the center of a piece of cheesecloth or a coffee filter. Tie tightly with a long piece of string. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown one half of the beef on all sides. Remove from pan. Repeat with remaining oil and beef. Add browned beef, carrots, onion, crushed rosemary, garlic powder, and salt to a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker. Stir in tomatoes and wine. Add pickling spice bundle. Cook on High 4 hours or on Low 8 hours. Remove pickling spice bundle.

Thicken stew by mixing flour with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in several tablespoons hot liquid from stew; then stir flour mixture into stew. Cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until stew thickens slightly.

Place 1 bread slice in each serving bowl. Spoon stew over bread to serve.