Kitchen

[Zhills]

Spanish Bean (garbonzo) Soup with Cuban bread!

[RetRN]

Chili.

[ciao_bella]

Family favorites here in my house are:  

Italian Wedding Soup

Manhattan Clam Chowder 

New England Clam Chowder

Escarole Soup with Italian Sausage and Beans 

Pasta *Fazool  with Sausage and Spinach (* lol was censored here for the original spelling so had to type it phonetically) 

French Onion Soup 

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup 

[KailaS]

Vegetable beef soup and chili

[Susan Louise]

Most of you know that we changed our lifestyle in 2018, so we don't have soups anymore.

But the ones we enjoyed the most are:

1 - I made a great 'copy-cat' Olive Garden Tuscana soup and we loved it!

2 - New England clam chowder

3 - I used to use Wylers Mrs Grass hearty chicken noodle soup mix. I added the chicken, extra carrots and celery...sometimes a bit of chopped onion too. It was easy to make as a last minute meal.

[Q-Checker]

@PA Mom-mom Here are the two sauerkraut soup recipes. Hope they work for you and that you enjoy them.

From Seasonalontariofood.blogspot.com 2001/01

4 cups water

2 cups sauerkraut (Refrigerated vacuum pack is sold in meat/deli dept. -  I drain it but do not rinse it)

2 cups crushed tomatoes, canned (I like Furano brand for this recipe)

2-3 bay leaves

1/2 tsp caraway seed

2 leaves savoy cabbage (I tear them into 2"pieces)

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 small carrot, chopped

1 small leek, chopped (white part only)

10-12 button mushrooms (I the tops only and chop them)

4-6 shi*ake mushrooms (I usually use the dried ones as fresh ones are hard to find and I do not saute  them - about 1/3 - 1/2 of the dried mushrooms that come in the flat plastic containers in the spice dept. When I do use fresh shi-take mushrooms, I remove the stems and chop them.)

2-3 TBSP olive oil

Put the water, sauerkraut, crushed tomatoes, and seasonings in a large soup pot. (Rinsing and draining the sauerkraut is optional.)

Wash and chop the savoy cabbage leaves and carrot and add to the soup pot. If using dried shi*ake mushrooms, add them also.)

Saute the mushrooms in the olive oil until lightly browned and then add the celery and leek and saute a few minutes longer. Add these vegetables to the soup.

Cover soup, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer one hour.

From More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie  O'Dea

8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 TBSP olive oil

4 cups chicken broth (I use low-salt or no-salt vegetable broth)

1 (14.5 oz) can sauerkraut

1 (14.5 oz) can crushed Italian style tomatoes

1/2 tsp caraway seeds

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

Use a 4 qt. slow cooker. Brown the mushrooms and onions in the olive oil. Add to slow cooker when lightly browned. Add the broth and the cans of sauerkraut and tomatoes. Stir in the the caraway seeds, celery, and carrot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

I always double this recipe and cook on low for about 6 hours -- or until veg's are soft -- in a large (8 qt?) slow cooker.

[PA Mom-mom]

@Q-Checker  WOW! Thanks for the detailed recipes! These look great and not at all what I'd expected - especially the tomatoes and specialty mushrooms. I think I might just use baby bellas, but I might go to the trouble of using the 'takes. I need to find a way to incorporate some protein. Maybe ground beef or sausage? What do you think?

[Q-Checker]

@PA Mom-mom I think that baby bellas would work great. I don"t think I would like ground beef or sausage meat in this recipe, but my cousin  thinks that our grandfather used some kind of soup bone with meat on it. I still like it best as a veg soup and wonder if you could add protein to the meal in another way -- maybe a grilled cheese sandwich? I think that the caraway seed is the critical ingredient, but once in a pinch I substituted celery seed and it was OK.

[PA Mom-mom]

@Q-Checker  Great information! Thanks so much!

[AuntG]

Chili, by far. After that, I love most soups and chowders. Nothing with dumplings though.