Tomato-Basil Soup

If you think you don't like tomato soup, try this recipe. It is easy to make with just a few simple ingredients; and very comforting on a cold winter day. I found this on Natasha's Kitchen. I've made it many times, and it is delicious. I've made some modifications to suit my tastes, so click on the link above to see the original recipe.

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Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter

Two (28-oz) cans crushed tomatoes, with their juice - preferably San Marzano (see note below recipe)

2 cups chicken stock or broth

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (you can also use about 1 tablespoon dried basil)

1 tablespoon granulated sugar, or more to taste

(Don't skip this, as it will help to combat the acidity of the tomatoes)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (You may use Half and Half, instead)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more to put on top when serving

Additional salt and pepper to season to taste at the end of cooking time

Directions

1. In a non-reactive pot or enameled Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. 

2. Add the tomatoes with their juice, chicken stock, chopped basil, sugar, and black pepper. 

Stir together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and partially cover with the lid and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Add 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Bring back up to a simmer, season to taste with salt and pepper, and turn off the burner. 

4. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil/

This is good with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Note: You can use whole tomatoes, but either cut them up small, or run them through a blender or food processor to make make a smooth sauce. 

Minestrone Soup

I haven't always liked Minestrone Soup, but I guess when I've tried it, it was a canned soup. Making it from scratch is a game changer. I found this recipe here on the Love and Lemons blog. Minestrone soup is typically a vegetarian soup, but I add a can of Swanson's low-sodium chicken broth because otherwise, there is not a whole lot of broth, once you add all the vegetables and broth. You can add more vegetable broth, beef or chicken broth, or leave it as is. Try to keep all your vegetables cut up about the same size.

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small

2 medium carrots, chopped small

2 celery ribs, chopped small

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Black pepper, to taste

3 garlic cloves, minced (I do not add garlic)

1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups white beans or red kidney beans, cooked, drained, and rinsed 

( I use a can of light red kidney beans, rinsed)

1 cup chopped green beans 

(You can use frozen green beans, or drained canned beans - I have used both, and either works)

4 cups vegetable broth (See my note above in the introduction about adding more broth)

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3/4 cup small pasta, such as elbow macaroni, shells, orecchiette, etc.

Pinch of red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley 

(I usually don't have fresh on hand, so I use about 1-2 tablespoons of dried parsley)

Freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving on top of soup

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently for about 8 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. 

2. Add the garlic, tomatoes, beans, green beans, Vegetable broth, bay leaves, oregano and thyme. Cover and simmer over low to medium-low heat for 20 minutes. 

3. Stir in pasta and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked through. This is the time to add additional broth, if that is what you want to do. You can sprinkle in more of the seasonings to adjust for the additional broth. Add the red pepper flakes.  Stir in the parsley flakes.

4. Serve soup with parmesan sprinkled on top and a crusty bread on the side.

Serves 4-6 ... more, if you add additional broth

Chicken and Rice Soup

This is a delicious soup  recipe that I found on iamhomesteader.com. It is comfort food at its best. I've made it several times, and is always a hit. I've made a few modifications to suit my tastes, but you can find the original recipe in the link above. The recipe calls for a rotisserie chicken, but you can make your own poached chicken. If I'm able to use that shortcut, I will.

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Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter

Yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)

2 large carrots, diced (about 1 cup)

2 ribs celery, diced (about 1 cup)

2 teaspoons garlic, minced 

( I do not like garlic, so I sprinkle in some garlic salt - I can tolerate the garlic salt better than the garlic powder)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes 

(Optional, but it adds great flavor - you can use less)

6 cups chicken broth

1 cup long-grain rice, uncooked 

(I find this to be too much rice, so I add 1/2 to 3/4 cup uncooked rice)

2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded or cubed

Fresh parsley for garnish 

(I use dried parsley and it's just fine, because I never have fresh on hand)

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, add the oil and butter and heat until butter is melted.

2. Saute the onion, carrots, and celery until softened,  stirring occasionally, about 8-10 minutes. Add your garlic and if using fresh, cook approximately one more minute.

3. Add the basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, stirring until combined.

4. Add the chicken broth, and bring to a boil.

5. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the rice. Simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until the rice is nearly done, but still has some firmness to it. 

6. Add the chicken and continue to cook until the rice is tender and cooked through. 

7. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.

Potato Hamburger Soup

I made this soup often when I was in my late teens and early 20s. I haven't made it in decades, but I do remember it being a very good soup. It's a good base recipe that you can add additional seasonings, or additional water/beef broth to create more broth, whatever suits your tastes, as it is a pretty thick soup.

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1 1/2 pounds hamburger

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup thinly sliced carrots

3 medium potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 can diced tomatoes

1 bay leaf

4 cups water*

salt and pepper, to taste

2 cubes beef bouillon, optional - for a more beefy flavor

*I have used 3 1/2 cups water plus 1 1/2 cups tomato juice to give the soup more flavor

Directions

Brown the hamburger and onions, drain. Place in a Dutch oven or stock pot and add all the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1-2 hours.

Chicken Tortellini Soup (aka) Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

I got this recipe from work. It is excellent, and very versatile. You can use most any type of pasta, whether it is tortellini or egg noodles, or another type of pasta. I use egg noodles, but cheese tortellini is also very good.

Based upon a recipe found here.

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6 cups water
1 (32-oz) carton low-sodium chicken broth
2 (10-3/4 oz.) cans cream of chicken soup (may add an additional can, of desired)
2 cups (about 4 breasts) boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked chicken, cut up - I use a rotisserie chicken
small amount of chopped onion, optional
2 large peeled carrots, diced
1/2 tsp basil leaves, or to taste
1/2 tsp oregano leaves, or to taste
12-oz package extra-wide (or dumpling) egg noodles, cooked in a seperate pot and drained

1. In a large soup pot, combine the water, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, onions, carrots, basil and oregano.

2. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

3. Add the chicken and cooked pasta and simmer, covered, for another 15 minutes, or until heated through. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Notes
1. I add a tub of Knorr Chicken Homestyle Stock.
2. If the soup is too thick, add additional water or chicken broth, or may add the additional can - or just a portion - of cream of chicken soup.
3. May add other seasonings such as thyme, poultry seasoning, and/or ground sage.

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

This is excellent soup, and perfect for a cool, fall day, or on those cold, winter nights. Serve with a good, crusty roll or french bread.

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3 (10 3/4-oz) cans condensed chicken broth, or 1 large carton
2 cups water
1/2 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed*
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
May also add chopped carrots and celery, if desired 
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp poultry seasoning              

1/8 tsp pepper
2 cups half-and-half                  
1 1/2 cups cubed, cooked chicken (may also use turkey or ham)
1 tbsp chopped pimiento   
 2-3 tbsp dry sherry, if desired

8 slices bacon, crispy cooked and crumbled


In a large saucepan, combine chicken broth and water. Add the rice and onions. If adding carrots and celery, do so at this point. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 35-40 minutes or until rice is tender.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, stir in the flour, salt, poultry seasoning, and pepper. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly. Gradually stir in the half-and half; cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Add the remaining ingredients. Heat gently, stirring frequently. Do not boil. Garnish with bacon and with anything else you desire.

 *NOTE: Uncooked regular long-grain rice may be substituted for all or part of the wild rice. Reduce simmering time to 20-30 minutes or until rice is tender.

Mom's Vegetable Beef Soup

Printable Recipe

3 pounds chuck roast, stew meat or thin-cut sirloin steak
salt and pepper
6 cups water
1 can stewed tomatoes
1/3 cup diced onion
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4 tsp salt
2-3 tsp beef bouillon granules
1/4 tsp chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 1/4 cups tomato juice (18 ounces)
1-pound can diced tomatoes
1 can corn, drained (or can use 1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen corn)
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup diced potatoes
1 small can lima beans, or 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Brown meat slightly in a small amount of oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place in a large stock pot. Add water, stewed tomatoes, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt, bouillon, chili powder, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and cover. Turn down heat to low, and simmer on low for 2 hours. Remove meat from broth and cut into small pieces. Strain fat from broth. Add remaining ingredients and cook for another hour on low.

Serve with corn muffins or other crusty bread.

                       

Vegetable Beef Soup

The change in temperatures, for me,  has been a such welcome relief! Could be even cooler, in my opinion ~  Now ... I should state that the soup in this photo, is not from the recipe I am posting here. The recipe I used to make this soup is one I had not made in a very, very long time. I recently came upon it in my move and I wanted to try it again. While it is very good, it is not as good as the one I am about to post. Since I don't have a picture of that soup and since it will look basically the same (only better), I will post the recipe for the soup I prefer .... Get it? :)

I am not completely pleased with this picture ... for some reason they all came out fuzzy. (I suppose it is because I took it, rather than my daughter. She was not home today so I had to do it on my own. So just remember that if you make this recipe, it will look even better than the soup in this photo.) Ok, so on with it.

Oh ... I actually posted this on my blog about a year ago, but I'll bring it to the top again. Soup is perfect for those cool  fall evenings, and even better on a cold winter's night. Serve it with hot, crusty bread slathered with butter and you have a fabulous meal! 

This soup is wonderful! When my son tried it for the first time, he declared it to be "extraordinary"! You can easily double the ingredients, and stretch the soup to go farther. It can be made vegetarian by using vegetable broth in place of the beef broth, and of course, omitting the meat. It can be made in the crock pot, or on top of the stove. I will include instructions at the end for making it in the crock pot. This soup really hits the spot on those cold winter nights. This is very good served with a nice, crusty bread.


Note: I recently made this and doubled the batch. Of course, I added a 2nd can of tomato sauce, but it made it too tomatoey, in my opinion, there wasn't enough of a beefy flavor to the soup. I didn't have any more Swanson Beef Broth, so I kept adding beef bouillon granules, until it tasted beefy enough to me. Bouillon has so much sodium in it, I wish I hadn't added that 2nd can of tomato sauce. So, if you're going to double the batch, wait until the very end to add that 2nd can, to see if you really want it or not, or maybe don't add the entire can.

Printable Recipe

For the Meat
1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, sprinkled generously with paprika (I use a chuck roast that I trim of fat, and cut into small chunks)
a little vegetable oil, for browning the meat
2-4 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1-2 tsp beef bouillon granules, optional

For the Soup
2 (14-oz) cans Swanson Beef Broth (I use the sodium-reduced broth)
1 1/2 additional cups water
3-4 potatoes, cut into chunks (you can leave the skins on if you'd like)
3/4 cup onion, chpd
3/4 cup peeled carrots, cut into small chunks
1 small green bell pepper, membrane and seeds removed, and cut into fourths (not totally necessary, and you will remove this at the end, but it lends a real nice flavor to the broth if you include it)
2 cans (14 1/2 - oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8-oz) tomato sauce
dried thyme leaves, to taste (these seasonings, I don't measure - I just sprinkle them in until it tastes right, but if I had to guess on the amounts, it is probably 1 tsp or so, for each)
dried oregano leaves, to taste
dried basil leaves, to taste
additional salt and pepper, if needed
At the end, I also add the following (I don't exactly measure the amounts, but just dump them in):
3/4 cup frozen green beans
3/4 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup frozen corn

For the Stove-Top
Trim the meat of fat, and cut into even sized chunks. Sprinkle generously with paprika. Brown in batches, in a hot skillet in a little oil. Don't brown all of the meat all at once, or it will just steam it, and you won't get a nicely browned crust. Once all the meat is browned, place in a large skillet with a cover and add about 2-4 cups of water, about 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper. You can add about 1 -2 tsp beef bouillon granules, if desired. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until tender.

After the meat is tender, I set it aside in the broth and add it all back to the soup at the very end. (I do this because otherwise, if you continue to cook the meat along with the vegetables, it will dry out and get tough, as the vegetables cook. So just put it all in a separate saucepan and cover the pan). In another large soup pot, combine the beef broth, the additional water, potatoes, onion, carrots, green bell pepper, tomatoes, tomato sauce, thyme leaves, oregano leaves and basil leaves. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 20 minutes. Add the frozen vegetables, and cook for another 20 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender. Remove the green pepper and add the meat with its broth. Cook a few more minutes, until the meat is heated through.

For the Crock Pot
Add all of the ingredients (except for the frozen vegetables), in a 6-quart crock pot, reducing the amount of water to just 1 1/2 cups. You do not need to brown the meat first, but you certainly can if you wish to. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-9 hours, or on HIGH for 4-5 hours. About 30 minutes before the end of cooking time, cook all of the frozen vegetables on top of the stove, according to package directions, until tender, then add them to the crock pot. The original recipe calls for adding the frozen vegetables at the very beginning, but every time I've made this in the crock pot, they never seem to get tender enough. You might even find that the same thing happens to the carrots, so you might want to precook those too and just add at the very end. You will find that you really do need a large crock pot, as this makes a lot of soup.

If you want to see the actual recipe I used to make the soup in this photo, yo can find it here: Oven-Made Vegetable Beef Soup

Steak Soup

Printable Recipe


This is a very good soup, that I doctored up quite a bit. I'll give the original recipe, and include the changes I made alongside in italics, as well as the notes I wrote when I made this for the first time, at the end.


2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 pounds lean boneless round steak, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used stew meat, but you could also use chuck)
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 medium onion, chpd
2 cloves garlic (I did not add)
5 cups water
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2  1/2 cups medium egg noodles, uncooked
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (I did not add)
2 cups (8 oz) shrd Cheddar cheese (I did not add)

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add meat and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Brown meat on all sides, stirring occasionally. (Do this in batches, if needed, so that you get a better sear on the meat.)

Add the onion and garlic; cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp pepper, and paprika. bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Stir in the egg noodles and mushrooms. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until meat is tender and noodles are cooked.

Ladle soup in to individual bowls and top with the shrd cheese.

Notes:
I cooked the noodles in the broth as is called for, and all of the broth was pretty much absorbed by the noodles. So I added 1 can Campbells Beef broth and about 1  1/2 cups water. It was much better, but still lacked something. I wanted to doctor it up a bit, but did not want to give it an Italian flavor by adding oregano, basil and thyme. So I added a pinch of allspice, and it was great!

I found the Worcestershire to be a bit overwhelming so maybe next time, add a bit of lemon juice to counter this, maybe 1 tsp. I also found it a bit too peppery, so cut down on the pepper added, to maybe 1/2 to 3/4 tsp.

This can also be made using chuck roast, instead.

This would be good thickened with a flour/water paste, and served over mashed potatoes.

Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup

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This is made in the crock pot.

3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces
2 medium stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)
1 large carrot, chpd (3/4 cup)
1 medium onion, chpd (1/2 cup)
1 (14 1/2-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14-oz) can chicken broth
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 1/2 cups frozen sweet peas
1 cup frozen home-style egg noodles (they come in a 12-oz bag)

Spray a skillet with cooking spray and cook chicken pieces for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until brown. Mix the chicken and all of the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the peas and noodles in a crock pot. Cover and cook on the LOW setting for 6 1/2 - 7 hours, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Stir in the peas and noodles. Cover and cook on the high setting for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Serves 6

Chicken Noodle Soup

I've been searching for a good Chicken Noodle Soup recipe, and found this one at A la Carte . She has a new site now, called Tide and Thyme (dot) Com. The picture in the post looks great. While you're there at her new site, take a look at her Minestrone Soup recipe. That looks great, too! So these are two recipes are going on my "Must-Try recipes from other people's blogs" list. I guess I'm really in the mood for soup!

Vegetable Beef Soup

Printable Recipe


This soup is wonderful! When my son tried it for the first time, he declared it to be "extraordinary"! You can easily double the ingredients, and stretch the soup to go farther. It can be made vegetarian by using vegetable broth in place of the beef broth, and of course, omitting the meat. It can be made in the crock pot, or on top of the stove. I will include instructions at the end for making it in the crock pot. This soup really hits the spot on those cold winter nights. This is very good served with a nice, crusty bread.


Note: I recently made this and doubled the batch. Of course, I added a 2nd can of tomato sauce, but it made it too tomatoey, in my opinion, there wasn't enough of a beefy flavor to the soup. I didn't have any more Swanson Beef Broth, so I kept adding beef bouillon granules, until it tasted beefy enough to me. Bouillon has so much sodium in it, I wish I hadn't added that 2nd can of tomato sauce. So, if you're going to double the batch, wait until the very end to add that 2nd can, to see if you really want it or not, or maybe don't add the entire can.


For the Meat
1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, sprinkled generously with paprika (I use a chuck roast that I trim of fat, and cut into small chunks)
a little vegetable oil, for browning the meat
2-4 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1-2 tsp beef bouillon granules, optional

For the Soup
2 (14-oz) cans Swanson Beef Broth (I use the sodium-reduced broth)
1 1/2 additional cups water
3-4 potatoes, cut into chunks (you can leave the skins on if you'd like)
3/4 cup onion, chpd
3/4 cup peeled carrots, cut into small chunks
1 small green bell pepper, membrane and seeds removed, and cut into fourths (not totally necessary, and you will remove this at the end, but it lends a real nice flavor to the broth if you include it)
2 cans (14 1/2 - oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8-oz) tomato sauce
dried thyme leaves, to taste (these seasonings, I don't measure - I just sprinkle them in until it tastes right, but if I had to guess on the amounts, it is probably 1 tsp or so, for each)
dried oregano leaves, to taste
dried basil leaves, to taste
additional salt and pepper, if needed
At the end, I also add the following (I don't exactly measure the amounts, but just dump them in):
3/4 cup frozen green beans
3/4 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup frozen corn

For the Stove-Top
Trim the meat of fat, and cut into even sized chunks. Sprinkle generously with paprika. Brown in batches, in a hot skillet in a little oil. Don't brown all of the meat all at once, or it will just steam it, and you won't get a nicely browned crust. Once all the meat is browned, place in a large skillet with a cover and add about 2-4 cups of water, about 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper. You can add about 1 -2 tsp beef bouillon granules, if desired. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until tender.

After the meat is tender, I set it aside in the broth and add it all back to the soup at the very end. (I do this because otherwise, if you continue to cook the meat along with the vegetables, it will dry out and get tough, as the vegetables cook. So just put it all in a separate saucepan and cover the pan). In another large soup pot, combine the beef broth, the additional water, potatoes, onion, carrots, green bell pepper, tomatoes, tomato sauce, thyme leaves, oregano leaves and basil leaves. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 20 minutes. Add the frozen vegetables, and cook for another 20 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender. Remove the green pepper and add the meat with its broth. Cook a few more minutes, until the meat is heated through.

For the Crock Pot
Add all of the ingredients (except for the frozen vegetables), in a 6-quart crock pot, reducing the amount of water to just 1 1/2 cups. You do not need to brown the meat first, but you certainly can if you wish to. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-9 hours, or on HIGH for 4-5 hours. About 30 minutes before the end of cooking time, cook all of the frozen vegetables on top of the stove, according to package directions, until tender, then add them to the crock pot. The original recipe calls for adding the frozen vegetables at the very beginning, but every time I've made this in the crock pot, they never seem to cook all the way through, and get tender enough. You might even find that the same thing happens to the carrots, so you might want to precook those too, and just add at the very end. You will find that you really do need a large crock pot, as this makes a lot of soup.