Tag Archives: soup

Chicken Vegetable Soup & Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

Perfect for a cool (or cold) evening’s dinner. Fresh vegetables, dark meat chicken, stock, and Cheesy Garlic Biscuits (instead of crackers) make this a satisfying meal for any member of your family!

Chicken Vegetable Soup

2 quarts chicken stock
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 large carrots, cut into coins
3 ribs of celery, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 medium onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium potatoes, peeled, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

In a 350F oven, roast off chicken thighs. Remove and allow to cool, then cut into bite size pieces.

In a soup pot, heat olive oil until just smoking. Add onions and garlic, and toss to coat. Cook 2 minutes, then add celery and carrot. Stirring occasionally, cook for 4 additional minutes. Add potatoes, Italian seasoning, and stock. Bring to the simmer and add chicken. Allow to cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serves: 8.                        

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup Mozzarella/Cheddar/Monterey Jack cheese blend, shredded
1 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 450F.

In a mixing bowl, place flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine. Add milk, mayonnaise, sugar, and beat on high speed until batter is smooth. It should not be pourable thin , it should be spoonable. Using a rubber spatula, fold in 3/4 cup cheese shreds.

Lightly grease 12 muffin tins (you may also use the liners if desired, or a silicon muffin pan). Spoon enough batter to fill each tin no more than 1/2 way (they WILL expand as they bake).

In a small bowl, combine melted butter and garlic powder. Using a brush, lightly paint the top of each biscuit with mixture. Then, using the reserved cheese, sprinkle the top of each biscuit.

Place on rack in the middle of the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly on a wire rack before removing from pan. Serve warm with soups, roasts, stews, or broiled meats.

Makes 12 biscuits.

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Cranberry Wild Rice Soup (Lighter Version)

This recipe has been ‘lightened up’ slightly and is a wonderful soup that, while meat-free, is able to satisfy the carnivores in your life!

Cranberry Wild Rice Soup (Lighter Version)

3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, sliced no larger than 1/4″ pieces
1/2 cup onion, minced
3 tbsp all purpose flour
3 cups organic vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup skim milk or fat free half and half
2 tbsp dry sherry
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt butter in stock pot over medium heat; sauté the carrot, celery and onion, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender (about 8 minutes). Add the flour and stir until smooth. Gradually stir in the vegetable stock, whisking as you go to avoid lumps from forming. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir until soup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and cranberries. Reduce the heat to barely a simmer, cover, and stir occasionally, until the cranberries are plump and soft (about 15 minutes). Add remaining ingredients. Stir occasionally until heated through. Season to taste and ladle into bowls. Top with a teaspoon of grated Parmesan cheese as a garnish. If desired, serve with toasted baguette rounds.

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Potage Aux Carottes with Balsamic Reduction

Continuing with the “French Connection,” Potage Aux Carottes is merely “Carrot Soup.” Thickened with rice instead of cream or flour, this is great served hot on a cold winter day, or served chilled on a hot summer day. An excellent way to get your veggies, and the balsamic reduction adds a sweet, yet savory tang that has to be tasted to be believed!

Soup:

1 tbsp olive oil
6 scallions, white part with a most of the green, cleaned and thinly sliced
4 cups peeled carrots, thinly sliced
2 tsp dried thyme leaves, crumbled
1 tsp cracked black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup brown rice
Sea salt

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add scallions and carrots and cook, stirring until carrots are softened, about 7 minutes. Add thyme, peppercorns and bay leaves and cook, stirring, for an additional minute. Transfer to pot. Add hot stock and stir well. Bring to simmer.

Stir in rice. Cover and cook for 35-40 minutes or until rice is to your liking and carrots are tender. Discard bay leaves.

In food processor or blender, puree soup in batches.* Season to taste with sea salt. Ladle into serving bowls drizzled with Balsamic Reduction swirls.

Balsamic Reduction:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dark molasses

To make balsamic reduction, combine the vinegar and molasses in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, and stir occasionally, until the amount is reduced by about half and the mixture is of a maple syrup consistency. This should take about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate to further thicken as it cools. When ready to serve your soup, drizzle each serving with a swirl of the balsamic reduction

* N.B. –  if you’ve never processed soup in a blender before, please for safety’s sake, cover the lid and spout with a kitchen towel before pulsing the blender on. Hot soup can be painful, and it will find a way out of the container!

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Chicken Tortellini Crock Pot Soup

So easy to make, so filling to serve as lunch or dinner!

1 bag of frozen chopped spinach
2 cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
1 bag of frozen cheese tortellini

Place all ingredients except tortellini in slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or 4 hours on high. Add tortellini and cook for 30-45 minutes longer.

Dish up and enjoy!

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Broccoli Cheddar Soup

brocched

2 sticks unsalted butter
2 medium onions, finely diced
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 pounds broccoli florets
2 quarts reduced fat, low sodium/organic chicken broth (can be made with vegetable stock as well)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
8 ounces shredded reduced fat mild cheddar cheese
8 ounces shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

Place large soup pot over medium heat. Add butter and stir until melted. Add onions and cook about five minutes until tender but not browned. Add garlic powder and fresh ground pepper and cook one more minute. Add stock and broccoli and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix flour and milk well; whisk in to soup. Return to simmer and cook and additional five minutes (this helps cook out the flour taste). Slowly add cheese, whisking to combine and heat through.

Serve with croutons. Serves 12.

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Coconut Curry Shrimp & Scallop Soup

Coconut Curry Shrimp & Scallop Soup (with Baby Bok Chop and Butternut Squash). (Recipe modified from Nigella Bites “Pumpkin & Seafood Curry)

Made out of necessity because I had no pumpkin, lime leaves, lemon grass, nor salmon, and while I made my own Curry sauce, I’m simplifying for you, the average home cook.

1 can of coconut milk
2 tbsp mild curry paste (or make your own curry with turmeric, cumin, coriander, and cayenne)
1 medium sized butternut squash, cut into 1.5″ cubes
2 cups chicken stock
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 lb of 25-30 shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb of bay scallops
2 heads baby bok choy

In a large soup pot, stir together curry paste and coconut milk until combined. Bring to a simmer, add butternut squash, chicken stock, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until squash is tender, but still has a bite to it. Then, add shrimp and scallops. Stir occasionally for 3-4 minutes until shrimp is pink and cooked through. Cut bok choy into 1″ pieces and then stir in, cooking for 1 more minute until wilted.

Sprinkle with chopped cilantro, and ladle into bowls. Serves 4.

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