Calling all soup makers......

[LittleDudesMom]

So, family arrives Sunday morning and the temps around here are beginning to drop. We are Redskin fans (I grew up outside of Difficult Child and mom and dad had season tickets so I'm a fan from waaaay back) so we will be around the tube at 1. I was thinking about doing a mid day meal and then a light supper. I would love to do a hearty soup/chili and some crusty bread during the game.

The issue -- everything the rest of us would like - chili or something like that, mom doesn't like. She doesn't do tomato base, she doesn't do spice, and she's not a real fan of beans while traveling or in general. She's not a fan of beef stew since she eats very little beef.

So, I'm thinking maybe a chicken brunswick or corn/crab chowder? Anyone have in tried and true recipes? I've done some poking around online, but I don't usually like to try new recipes when I have company just in case - I usually will do a "trial" but I don't have time.

So, anyone got a favorite that is loved? Thanks!

Sharon

 

[DammitJanet]

Well you ruined one of mine when you said no tomato...lol.

How about oyster stew? Or a catfish stew? Both are really good. Oyster stew couldnt be easier. I do a mean catfish stew too. Another thing that is really good for cool days is Welsh Rarebit and you can get really good recipes on cooks.com. I absolutely love it served over crackers or toast tips. You can fancy it up with bacon or shrimp but I just love it plain on crackers. It is one of my all time favorites and very easy.

If you really want a very good soup that she might like that is a hamburger vegetable soup that is in a V8 based broth I will give it to you anyway. You just never know, she may like it or you can keep it for another time. It is one of our go to meals.

You fry up about 2 pounds of hamburger and drain. ( fry up about half a diced onion in this too)
get a package of mixed frozen veggies or you can use frozen soup veggies if you like okra...we dont.

when the hamburger is done and you have drained the grease, pour an entire bottle V8 into the pot. Also add either one can of beef broth or two of those little containers they now have of jell that is concentrated beef broth. I dont use those beef cubes because they now have so many other ways of getting the taste that just taste better. Look in the soup isle.

Add some lowry's seasoning salt to taste. Simmer until veggies are tender. I serve with just saltines which I crush. You can use oyster crackers if you want to be fancy. Everyone loves it. The second day I add some barley to it and it is even better...lol.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

I love Welsh Rarebit and haven't had it since I was a kid (served over saltines!!). But, it's too fatty for me to eat now! But I am going to keep that on my "splurge" list!

Can't do the V8 because mom can't handle all that tomato. She has a more refined palette which is why I was going for maybe a corn/crab thing.....

 

[HaoZi]

I do a screwy egg drop soup kind of thing at home. 4 cubes of chicken bullion brought to a boil in about 6 cups of water, add pasta, boil until 1 minute before pasta is done then add egg beaters to the boiling water and stir stir stir until the eggs and pasta are done. Even Kiddo loves it. Sometimes I add turmeric, Parmesan, and cayenne, too.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Sounds good for another time, but I need something hale and hearty!

 

[HaoZi]

Potato soup?

 

[AnnieO]

Boil a couple of chicken breasts in broth then shred. Add a handful of baby carrots, some cut up celery, and a couple of cut up potatoes.Simmer till potatoes are mushy, stir really well then add 1 cup cheddar cheese and a cut up head of broccoli...

 

[DaisyFace]

Oh yeah - definitely potato soup! Very hearty! Especially if you are adding cheese and bacon to it.

I don't have a favorite recipe - potato soup is very flexible. Start with a chicken stock base, add potatoes, onions and then pretty much anything you have on hand: ham, bacon, sausage, celery, carrots...whatever you like. Add milk to make it creamy. Puree half - leave the other have "chunky" for some great texture.

If you prefer to follow an acutal recipe - chweck out Allrecipes.com . They have lots of potato soup recipes to choose from.

 

[Tiapet]

Are you strictly locked in on wanting a brunswick soup or corn/crab chowder? I have a ton of good soups of all kinds as we are BIG soup eaters here. Anything from homemade cream of mushroom (fresh mushrooms), chicken rice (wild or white), clam chowder (or others), loaded baked potato, etc...

 

[DammitJanet]

We make a really good potato soup Cory was taught years back when he was in wilderness camp at age 11...lol. We also do broccoli cheese soup.

 

[trinityroyal]

LDM, here is a soup recipe that I use all the time. husband likes soups that are very hearty and thick, almost like stew. This is one of his favourites.
You can make it in a crock pot or a Dutch oven, and the ingredients are flexible, to accommodate whatever you have on hand.

Ingredients: NOTE: All quantities are random, and depend on the size of the pot I'm using, and what looks good to the eye
- pork tenderloin or pork sirloin (if you have pork chops or a pork roast, that'll do as well)
- assorted vegetables -- carrots, corn, peas, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers
- several large onions -- I prefer sweet onions or vidalias, but any kind will do. Last time I made the recipe I used red onions and they were fine.
- a splash of EVOO
- dried onion flakes
- chicken stock
- beef stock

I usually cook the pork on the barbecue first, until it's not quite done. I season it quite heavily, but you can season to taste.
If you're using a crock pot, just chop everything into large chunks and layer it with the onions on the bottom, then the vegetables, then the meat.
Use equal quantities of chicken and beef stock, and toss in a handful of dried onions once you've added the liquid

If you're using a Dutch oven, warm the EVOO in the pot and then cook the onions until softened. Add the vegetables and cook until slightly tender. Add the meat, dried onions and stock, bring the whole works to a full boil and then let it simmer on low heat until you're ready to serve it.

 

[Jody]

I love soups and different chillis. One that we really like. Chicken breasts cooked in the crockpot, add milk, 3 pieces of crumbled bacon, potatoes, and a three cheese shredded bag of cheese. If I don't get the consistency correct, I add more milk to make it thinner or I add mashed potato buds to thicken it up. We do add corn to this, and cut up onion, and season it will garlic (of course) and dried basil, salt and pepper. Yum
Last night I made chicken with diced tomatoes and chilli peppers, corn, and a bag of 15 bean soup. Spicy but very good. Made Beer Bread to dip. Delicious and dinner tonight also.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

*Now I can't decide!!!!!

 

[DammitJanet]

I also make a killer deer stew but you arent going to be doing that one...lol. I make that at least twice a month and we have leftovers for days. I make it in a 7 quart dutch oven simply using venison stew meat, bags of frozen stew veggies, mushroom soup, and lipton onion soup mix. Bake in the oven for about 5 hours on low heat. My mouth is watering now! You can of course use beef cubes or a chuck roast but there is simply nothing as good as venison.

 

[Hound dog]

I have an easy broccoli and cheese soup. It's very hardy and a major hit with my family.

Cut up about 5-6 large potatoes
Dice a medication sweet onion

Cook these two in a large soup pot until the potatoes are done.
Add 1 bag of frozen broccoli (or you can use fresh).
Continue cooking until broccoli can be speared easily with a fork.
Add milk until the water looks very milky.
Slice velveeta type cheese (or chunk it) and add while stirring to melt the cheese. continue to add until thickened to the desired consistancy and it tastes "cheesy".

It's a very filling, nutritious and easy soup to make. You can increase number of servings (if you have a large enough pot) just by adding more potatoes/water (to cook potatoes)/ broccoli because the rest will even out and come out right as you're stirring it in.

Now I'm grabbing my recipe box and jotting down some of these recipes. lol

 

[Wiped Out]

I make a chicken soup that my family loves (even though I can't make it anymore unless I find gluten free cream soups). I've never actually measured any of this but made my own recipe up.

Boil 1 pound of boneless chicken thighs. Pull out chicken thighs and cut into small pieces. Return to water; add 6 bouillon cubes, 2 cans cream of chicken soup and 2 cans cream of mushroom soup.

Add potatoes chopped up (no need to peel), mushrooms, carrots, celery (if you want).

I also add a lot of spices: garlic, basil, oregano, nutmeg, thyme, rosemary (pretty much anything-lol).

After boiling I simmer for about 1 hour. You could add dumplings or noodles too.

 

[JKF]

Ohhhh soup! I LOVE to make soup! One of my favorites is creamy garlic soup. It's so good! It calls for a lot of garlic but don't let that scare you. It cooks down and tastes amazing!

3 tablespoons butter
2 cups chopped onions
3/4 cup peeled garlic cloves (about 30)
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 14 1/2-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup dry Sherry
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 small bay leaf
2 cups day old French bread, torn into pieces

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cover; cook until onions are tender but not brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add flour; stir 2 minutes. Add broth, half and half, Sherry, thyme and bay leaf; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered until garlic is very tender, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Working in batches, puree soup with bread in blender until smooth. Return to pot and heat until warm. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with asiago cheese.

 

[susiestar]

Why not do a soup or stew that you all like, something super easy like taco soup, and then a small batch of something or some takeout soup from Panera for your mom?

Or baked potato soup? I usually just peel and chop potatoes, rinse and cover with cold water. bring to a boil then simmer until tender. Drain most of the water. Mash about 1/2 the potatoes, or put the potato masher into the pan of potatoes and stop before they are all mashed. Make a basic white sauce by melting a stick of margarine or butter, stir in about half a cup of flour, maybe bit more(I do this for our family, you may need to double or triple this depending on the size of crowd), along with salt, pepper and seasoned salt. When this is hot and bubbly, stir in a mixture of milk, chicken broth, and if desired, cream. Add until you have about the consistency of gravy. Stir this into the potatoes and heat it all together. Add bacon bits, sauteed onion, cheese (I use a mix of velveeta type cheese and cheddar), chives if you like them, and anything esle you want. For a super creamy taste, add some cream cheese with the velveeta.

You can add corn to this easily and it is wonderful. I use the frozen supersweet corn and throw it into the potatoes maybe five min before I drain and mash them. The mashing doesn't hurt them at all. You can use creamed corn if you want, but if you also add the supersweet frozen corn it is wonderful.

Some time ago, someone here gave me a cheeseburger soup recipe taht was awesome. I can't find it, but I bet you could find it online.

For another easy meal, you could do a pasta salad with chicken in it. Just cook some bowties or rotini in a huge pot of boiling water. About 5-7 min before the pasta is al dente, toss in whatever frozen veggies you like. I use broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, snap peas and red peppers. I often use fresh snap peas and red peppers and a can of sliced water chestnuts and the fresh veggies don't get cooked or they are only cooked for 2-3 min. Drain it all well, rinse iwth cold water and then toss with a bit of oil. You can go ahead and add ranch or italian or other salad dressing and serve warm, or you can chill the pasta and veggies and then when cold add the dressing. You will use a lot less dressing for the cold salad because the pasta won't absorb it so the flavor is stronger. But it is very good warm also. I usually put out bowls of cheddar and grated parmeson to put on top of each serving and sometimes either black or green sliced olives.

If you are serving a lot of this, and having salads or veggies and dip a lot, consider buying a gallon of ranch dressing. It is a lot, but often a gallon is cheaper to buy at either Sam's or the institutional part of regular grocery stores. I think we pay about $8 or maybe $10 for a gallon of Kraft brand ranch, and it is about double that if you buy the smaller bottles. even if you only use 1/2 or 2/3, it is still usually cheaper. I pour some off into a smaller bottle and then use the big container to refill or to cook with.

You can find recipes for Cracker Barrel's hash brown casserole online and it is easily done in the crockpot. I just mix all the ingredients in the crockpot and let it cook with occasional stirring and it works fine.

 

[susiestar]

Oh, there is also broccoli rice and cheese soup/casserole. Just make a big batch of rice, cook some frozen broccoli (I usually use both the chopped and the florets) and then make a white sauce. Add velveeta and cheddar to the white sauce and mix with the broccoli and rice. If you want soup, you make a thinner white sauce and for casserole you make a thicker white sauce. Chicken is good added to this also. For those who like it spicy, either mix salsa with part of the soup/casserole or serve it on the side to be added to indiv portions.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

JKF, that one is very similar to an onion soup recipe I have...

Well, I've made my decision! It will be an old fashioned beef stew made with fresh herbs and red wine - mom is not crazy about pot roast and such because the meat is usually tough -- so I will actually be using tenderloin (I know, I know....). I'm going to serve it with hot and fresh while grain crusty rolls. If mom doesn't want the beef, she can just eat the veggies!

Thanks all - I've added a few of these to the soup section of my kitchen notebook.

Sharon