SOUPS.....SOUPS.......and MORE SOUPS.

[LibbyD]

I just tried Cockermom's Squash Soup and it is heavenly! And ohhhh....that half and half heated and flavored with a sprig of rosemary adds such a wonderful flavor to the soup! I even made the cranberry topping and it was a very nice addition.

Cockermom, did you intend to include water in that cranberry recipe? I used a C. of water with it. Yum!

I served it with a half of a zucchini walnut muffin on the side.

I wonder what it would taste like to combine hers and Kai's soups (add apple to Cockermom's recipe)? I'll try Kai's soup next week (already had my allotment of winter squash for this week).

[prazteam]

I made this yesterday and my family loved it!
I cooked 4 boneless skinless chicken breast in my pressure cooker in 4 cups of fat free chicken broth. (You could do this on the stove for maybe an hour).
I shredded the chicken with two forks and returned to broth
Added 3 cans diced tomatos with green chilies
3 cans diced chilies
1 can black beans
1 can salt free green beans (washed)
1 can navy beans in water (washed)
1 tsp each - pepper, basil, cumin, gr rosemary, gr thyme.
1/4 C cholula hot sauce (we like it spicy)

Cooked on stove all day. Even my boys (11 and 14) enjoyed it!

[Michelle5150]

This soup is excellent! It is only two servings, so if you intend to freeze some, double or triple the recipe.

Perfect for Phase 1!

Southwest White Chicken Chili

Two main-dish servings. “A special spice blend, chicken, Cannelleni beans, and Monterey Jack cheese make this Southwest Chili “white.” Prep time 10 minutes, cook time 25 minutes.

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon cilantro leaves
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium-sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes*
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can (or 2 cups) chicken broth
1 can (4.5 ounces) chopped green chilies
1 can (15 ounces) white kidney beans (Cannellini) drained and rinsed
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese and sliced green onions for garnish (optional)

Combine garlic powder, cumin, oregano, cilantro, and red pepper in a small dish and stir until well blended. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken cubes and stir-fry from 5 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Add onions and continue cooking for a few minutes, until onion is translucent. Stir in chicken broth, chilies, and spices. Simmer over low heat 15 minutes.

Stir in beans and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. If soup is too thick, add 1/2 cup to 1 cup water to desired consistency. Pour into serving bowls and top with cheese and sliced green onions.

[LibbyD]

Both of the above recipes sound delicious and really easy to make. Gonna try them both, I think. But one question that pertains to both of these recipes. When a recipe calls for chilies, what kind of pepper do they mean? I guess I don't know my peppers all that well.......is there one that's called a chili pepper? Does it have another name?

[Michelle5150]

LibbyD-

Green Chilies are green chilli peppers and can be found canned in the international food aisle of most grocery stores. They add a very nice flavor and a slight bit of heat.

Hope you enjoy the recipe!

[Happymomoftwo]

I just copied this one out of my local newspaper. I haven't tried it yet.

Roasted Squash Onion and Garlic Soup
6 servings

3lb butternut squash
3 onions
1 head (bulb) garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp dried rosemary leaves, crumbled
pinch each coarse salt and pepper
3 roasted red peppers
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Peel and cut squash into 2 inch chunks. Peel and quarter onions. Separate cloves of garlic but do not peel. In large bowl, toss together squash, onions, garlic, oil, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Spread on large shallow roasted pan; roast in 375 F oven for 40 - 50 minutes or until tender and carmelized, stirring occasionally. Let cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, puree red peppers in blender or food processor until smooth; set aside.

Squeeze softened garlic cloves out of skin. In batches, puree vegetables with some of the stock until smooth. Transfer to saucepan. Add remaining stock and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer just until hot enough to serve. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish each serving with red pepper drizzle.

Nutrition per serving
136 calories, 4gram fat, 4 grams protein, 22grams carbs, 5 gram fibre
_________________

[LibbyD]

This tastes very much like white clam chowder.

I cut back on the flour (I used oat flour) to about 1/3 of a C., and the same with the butter substitute. I also increased the amount of crab to about 1-1/2 C. Very good!

CRAB AND LEEK BISQUE (P2-3 ONLY)

1-1/2 pounds leeks (2 or 3 leeks)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 C butter substitute (melted)
1/2 C ww flour (or other SBD legal flour)
4 C chicken broth
1/2 C dry white wine
1/2 to 1 C fresh crab meat, drained and flaked ( use fresh, frozen or canned crab)
2 C ff half-and-half
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper

Remove roots, tough outer leaves and green tops from leeks. Split white portions of leeks in half; wash and cut halves into thin slices.

Cook leeks and garlic in butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring constantly, until leeks are tender. Add flour; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Gradually add chicken broth and wine; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly.

Stir in crabmeat and next 3 ingredients; cook, stirring constantly until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle soup into bowls, garnish, if desired. Yield: 2 quarts.

[prazteam]

Libby, I've used these for years now, even grow them in our garden (along with about 15 other varieties of peppers). When you buy canned chilies, it really pays to get the brand name. The store brands have more stems, peel, and the peppers seperate from their peels and leave a hard to chew peel floating in your soup. For the additonal 10-15 cents, go for the ortega, or what ever brand name you can get. -Pb

[spiffikins]

If you start making black bean soup in the morning using most of the recipes floating around out there, you'll be lucky to slurp some soup by lunchtime. That's because most recipes require dry beans which have to re-hydrate for at least a couple hours, and many recipes say "overnight." But, you know, tomorrow's just too far away when you're craving soup right now. So, for this often requested clone recipe, I sped up the process by including canned black beans, rather than the dry ones. That way, once you get all the veggies chopped, you'll be souped up in less than an hour. Fridays' version of this soup has a slightly smoky flavor that's easily duplicated here with just a little bit of concentrated liquid smoke flavoring found in most markets. Just be sure to get the stuff that's hickory flavored.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup diced white onion
3/4 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 15-ounce cans black beans
4 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon concentrated liquid smoke (hickory)

Garnish
shredded cheddar/monterey jack cheese blend
chopped green onion

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium/low heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and garlic to the oil and simmer slowly (or "sweat" as it's called), for 15 minutes or until the onions are practically clear. Keep the heat low enough that the veggies don't brown.
2. While you cook the veggies, pour the canned beans into a strainer and rinse them under cold water.
3. Measure 3 cups of the drained and strained beans into a food processor with 1 cup of chicken stock. Puree on high speed until smooth.
4. When the veggies are ready, pour the pureed beans, the whole beans, the rest of the chicken stock, and every other ingredient in the list (down to liquid smoke), to the pot. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 50 to 60 minutes or until soup has thickened and all the ingredients are tender. Serve the soup topped with a couple tablespoons of the cheese blend and a teaspoon or so of chopped green onion. (http://www.topsecretrecipes.com)

Makes six 1-cup servings.

[prazteam]

I made this one Sat. and my family loved it!

Shredded Beef Chili

I took one Eye Round roast and cooked it in the pressure cooker for 1.5 hours 15# pressure. (This just means I cooked it to pieces! It feel apart on the fork as I was trying to take it out of the pan)
4 cups (or more if needed) NF Beef broth
5 cans assorted beans drained and rinced (I used 1 ea navy, great norther, black, and 2 green beans)
3 cans diced SOUTHWESTERN tomatos (they have cumin and cilantro added already)
chili powder to taste
You can stop here, but I also added chipotle pepper seasoning for a little more kick.
Also, the more it cooks, the more you may need to add broth or water. This is really a thick soup (more like a stew)

It reminded me of shredded beef tacos we got on vacation in Texas.

If you try this, I hope you enjoy it as much as my 3 boys (including dh) did!

[Mags7461]

Chicken, broccoli, barley soup (phase 2)


4 cans chicken broth
1 cup pearl barley (uncooked)
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 cups chopped broccoli
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic (I used a heaping tablespoon of the jarred kind)
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and chunked
salt and pepper
1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1 can fat free evaporated skim milk

saute chopped veggies in olive oil with a little of the chicken broth added for 5 minutes. add the rest of the broth and the barley. bring to a boil, reduce heat to nearly lowest setting, and simmer for 40 minutes. Add cream of chicken soup and evaporated milk and stir to combine. Add chicken chunks and heat thoroughly.

[dj_chick]

I don't think anyones posted a Pasta E Fagioli recipe yet, so here's one. Its *supposed* to taste just like the Olive Garden's version. I tweeked it a little when I made it at home. Its a great soup! So filling! And it makes a ton...I cut the recipe in half and I'll still be having soup for days.

Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli

Ingredients:
3 tsp. Oil
2 lb. Ground beef
12 oz. Onion; chopped
14 oz. Carrots; slivered
14 oz. Celery; diced
48 oz. Tomatoes; canned, diced
2 C. cooked Red Kidney beans
2 C cooked White kidney beans
88 oz. Beef stock
3 tsp. Oregano
2 1/2 tsp. Pepper
5 tsp. Parsley; (fresh chopped)
1 1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
48 oz. Spaghetti sauce
8 oz. dry pasta Shell macaroni; or other pasta



Preparation:
Sauté beef in oil in large 10-qt. pot until beef starts to brown. Add onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse beans and add to the pot. Also add beef stock, oregano, pepper, Tabasco, spaghetti sauce, and noodles. Add chopped parsley. Simmer until celery and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes. Makes 9 qts. of soup! **Just cut the recipe in 1/2 for smaller family needs!

[Mercedes]

dj_chick,
I made the pasta fagioli soup yesterday and it is out of this world. I made a few adjustments...I did cut the recipe in half (thank goodness), used 2 lbs of beef instead of 1 (which cutting it in half would have called for), didn't add the white beans.... It's the best soup I've had since I started SBD. TOO good!!! Mucho gracias!

[dj_chick]

De nada! I didn't add the Tobasco or Oregano when I made it. But...I did try to freeze and it and save some for later and I tried to have it for lunch today. Not so good...lol...its not made for freezing...

[NewLife]

I just posted about this soup and asked whether anyone knew if coconut milk was good or bad fat. Haven't heard back yet but this article (http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/dietary ... oconut.htm -- as well as some other stuff that I've read) convinces me that it has health benefits. Tom Ka Gai is one of my favorite soups -- I haven't tried this recipe but it looks pretty much like what I'd expect. Let me know what you all think!!

Oh, PS, I think this is Phase 1 friendly (though I just started), any thoughts on that?

2 teaspoons peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
1/4 cup chopped lemon grass
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into thin strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cups bok choy, shredded
4 cups water
1 (10 ounce) can coconut milk
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

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DIRECTIONS:
In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat peanut oil. Stir in garlic, ginger, lemon grass, red pepper, coriander and cumin and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes. Stir in chicken and onion and cook, stirring, until chicken is white and onion is translucent, 5 minutes. Stir in bok choy and cook until it begins to wilt, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in water, coconut milk, fish sauce and cilantro. Simmer until chicken is thoroughly cooked and flavors are well blended, 30 minutes.