Kitchen

[mizree]

Vegetable Soup (Adam Ragusea)

i refrigerate drippings from rotisserie chicken that is seasoned with lemon pepper seasoning.  when ready to make soup, remove and discard fat from drippings*

water 4+ cups, as needed, bring to boil and add

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 stalk celery, sliced

boiled 10 minutes, then add

1/2 cup petite diced tomatoes

1/2 cup chicken stock*

simmer 5 minutes

turn off heat and add

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup frozen peas

1-1/2 cups baby spinach

Serve with fresh herb, splash of vinegar, drizzle of olive oil.

[Vivian]

I enjoy making homemade soup when the weather gets cold. I ordered some beans and lentils from nuts.com. The quality of their products is excellent. I'll look for some interesting recipe ideas. I use the ideas and add my own touches.

When it comes to soups I love to eat, I have two distinct memories. One is a gaspacho I had at a small Paris restaurant several years ago. It was the best I ever ate. Then, in Québec City, I had the best minestrone ever. I have never tried to recapture the deliciousness. I just don't think I could do it. Perhaps a  little French heritage is required to become a master cuisinière.

[QVCkitty1]

I love potato soup too, and once when I decided to make it I discovered I was out of milk.  Anyway I forged ahead, I diced a bunch of potatoes and onions and cooked them in chicken broth , s&p, and a bay leaf.  When the potatoes were soft I used my immersion blender and some extra chicken broth. To make up for the lack of milk, I added a bit of butter and just a little plain Greek yogurt. The yogurt added just a bit of tang, and now that is how I make my potato soup all of the time.  

[amyb]

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@QVCkitty1 wrote:

This AM. I'm making minestrone. I'm not using a recipe, I just checked a bunch of different recipes online and I'm winging it. It's a lot of prep work, but so far it smells great. I just added some parm , but I'm going to add the pasta separately as I serve it, so it  doesn't get mushy.  It's funny, minestrone is my favorite, but I've never made it. What is your favorite soup ? 

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Sounds great...you almost can't go wrong with minestrone...and I never use a recipe either. I call it "kitchen sink" soup, and I use up whatever produce I need to. Probably just more of a "veggie soup" than traditional minestrone, but last time I threw all kinds of produce in it...zucchini, green beans, cannallini beans, spinach, can of fire roasted tomatoes, peas, garlic, celery, onions, carrots...it came about the best I ever made it..by "winging it!" I bet yours will too. I usually keep the pasta out of it too, to ladle in separately later, so it doesn't eat up all the soup! Or sometimes, if I want to add more protien less carbs, I'll skip the pasta and maybe just sprinkle in about a 1/4 cup of quinuoa.

I cannot pick a favorite soup...it's something I love to experiment with all types and a staple food for me...so many types you can make.

Some of my favs, besides the veggie type above, lentil soup, escarole and beans, pasta fajiole. Those are ones I make over and over. 

I just now finished a cabbage soup I got off the internet to use up some cabbage I bought at the farmer's market last weekend...just tasted it...yummy!

https://dinnerthendessert.com/cabbage-soup/ 

[CrazyKittyLvr2]

At a restaurant  -  French Onion

Me making it -  Vegetable beef

[amyb]

I've never tried making a potato soup but it sounds yummy!  I should put it on the list to try this winter.

I have some squash (the big orange kind) to use up next...never made a squash soup, so if anyone has any great recipes I'd love to know..

[Mellyg]

So many delicious sounding soups! I made a creamy mushroom last night, it was simple and something I threw together, but turned out great.

     Sauté 4 smashed garlic cloves and 1 shallot in olive oil in stock pot.   Add about 5 cups of sliced mixed mushrooms (I used shiitake, portabella, oyster, enoki) to the pot. I left undisturbed for about 5 minutes to carmelize. Then I added *about* 3 T of butter, 2 T thyme, 1 T sage, bay leaf. Stirred for a few minutes and added 1T basalmic. Then I added about 3-4 c broth. Then blended it (with an exception of a handful of the mushrooms to use as a topping). It made it nice and creamy without milk. Then I added the blended contents back to pot, added 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan and about a cup of unsweetened coconut milk (I didn't have any milk in the house). Added a little salt and pepper. Simmered it for about 10 minutes. For something thrown together, it turned out great! 

[amyb]

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@Mellyg wrote:

So many delicious sounding soups! I made a creamy mushroom last night, it was simple and something I threw together, but turned out great.

     Sauté 4 smashed garlic cloves and 1 shallot in olive oil in stock pot.   Add about 5 cups of sliced mixed mushrooms (I used shiitake, portabella, oyster, enoki) to the pot. I left undisturbed for about 5 minutes to carmelize. Then I added *about* 3 T of butter, 2 T thyme, 1 T sage, bay leaf. Stirred for a few minutes and added 1T basalmic. Then I added about 3-4 c broth. Then blended it (with an exception of a handful of the mushrooms to use as a topping). It made it nice and creamy without milk. Then I added the blended contents back to pot, added 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan and about a cup of unsweetened coconut milk (I didn't have any milk in the house). Added a little salt and pepper. Simmered it for about 10 minutes. For something thrown together, it turned out great! 

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This sounds delicious, and another soup I've never tried, though one of my favorites in restaurants, because I LOVE mushrooms. When you say broth, do you only use "mushroom broth?" (Also something I usually don't have in my pantry, but I can get some!)

[deepwaterdotter]

@amyb  I make this recipe in my crockpot.  It's from an old issue of Cook's Country magazine:

1 onion, chopped

1 peeled Golden Delicious apple, chopped

4 tbsp butter

3 1/2 lbs peeled butternut squash, chopped into 1" pieces

6 cups chicken broth

Microwave onion, apple, butter, and 1/2 tsp salt in covered bowl for 5 minutes.  Pour into crockpot.  Stir in squash and broth.  Cover and cook on low until squash is tender,  6-8 hours.

Puree with immersion blender until smooth.

[spent2much]

I'm 72 and I had never made potato soup... until last week.  We loved it.

Potato Soup-cream style

from Marsha on facebook

2.75 Oz. Pouch Pioneer Old Fashion Biscuit Gravy Mix (I used “Country Gravy” mix.  It was the only one that was white.)

3 or 4 chicken bouillon cubes

1 whole onion, small, chopped

2 tsp. butter (to cook onion)

4 medium potatoes, diced and cooked

1/2 cup instant potato flakes

1 Tbl bacon flavor chips - or real bacon – I used 8 (3”) slices

1 cup sharp cheddar

1. Cook potatoes and save water.  Set aside.
2. Add enough water to the potato water to make 4 cups.  Put bouillon cubes in and microwave until boiling.
3. Cook onion in butter for 3 minutes.  Cook bacon and chop.  Set bacon aside.
4. Add gravy mix to water and whisk.  Add potato flakes and whisk.  Add to onion in pot.
5. Stir in cooked potatoes.
6. Add 1 cup cheddar cheese and stir.  Add bacon, stir.

Enjoy!!!!!