Really Awesome Soup Recipe I Invented - Santa Fe Chicken and Barley Soup

Well I don't know if I invented it or not.  I bet if you googled the ingredients a recipe already exists but since I created it with random ingredients in my kitchen I am going to claim ownership of it...at least on this blog anyway!

Rudy LOVED this soup.  We are big soup people and I am always on the hunt for good recipes.  I immediately wrote this down so I could make it again.  I have made it twice now and it has been great both times.

I am going to call it Santa Fe Chicken and Barley Soup.  Because I bet people in Santa Fe eat soups like this all the time.  :)

Santa Fe Chicken and Barley Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 can tomatoes and chilies
• 1 can navy beans
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 6 cups chicken broth (vegetable if you are vegan or vegetarian) or 6 cups water and 3 chicken bouillon cubes.
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
• 1 heaping tablespoon of cumin
• 1/3 cup quick cooking barley
• 1 cup cooked chicken (leave out if your are vegan or vegetarian)

Mix all ingredients together in a large pot and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add barley and chicken and simmer for 20 minutes until barley is cooked and vegetables are tender.  Serve with corn muffins and enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup - Zero Points!

For you weight watchers folks, this recipe will be appreciated.  I made it last night to take to a neighbor who recently had their first child.  I am going to pair it with a nice salad and bread.  I thought it would be a nice light dinner amid the traditional casseroles and pasta dishes.

Ingredients:

4 cups veg broth

12oz butternut squash peeled and cut into one inch pieces

2 small apples peeled and cut in to one inch pieces

1/2 large Vidslua peeled and cut into one inch pieces

1/4 tsp salt

1/8tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

 

Directions:

Bring all to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes until the squash is nice and soft.  Finally purée  all ingredients using an immersion blender until smooth and creamy.  Then add in spices and enjoy!

Fall Party Recipe: Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili and Spicy Cheddar Corn Muffins

I made this chili on Monday night for a girl's Bible study and it was a big hit.  Most of them went back for seconds which is always a sign of a winner!  Light and healthy, this chili recipe is gluten allergy, vegetarian and vegan friendly if you have guests that have certain dietary needs.  The corn muffins not so much - but they sure were good!

You can find the chili recipe here from My Recipes. 

For the muffins, I found a corn muffin mix that only required milk or water and simply added a cup of cheddar cheese and about a 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.  Then I baked them according to the directions on the pacakge.  So good and so easy!

Create Your Own Creamy Vegetable Soup with Asparagus

I created this awesome Asparagus soup recipe from http://www.finecooking.com/.  They have a great create your own program for soups, tarts, casseroles and much more.  Click here to create your own soup!

Here is the recipe I created - enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

1/4 cup thinly sliced celery (halve lengthwise then slice crosswise)

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 cup medium-diced onions

Kosher salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

2-1/4 lb. asparagus, bottom of stems trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

5 cups vegetable broth, preferably homemade OR 2-1/2 cups lower-salt chicken broth diluted with 2-1/2 cups water

3 Tbs. fresh orange juice

1/4 cup buttermilk

1-1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup chopped basil

Directions:

In a 4- to 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the butter over medium-low heat. When hot, add the celery, garlic, and onions and a pinch of kosher salt. Stir well, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the aromatics are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tsp. kosher salt and the cumin.

Add the asparagus, broth, and orange juice, stir well, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender and the soup is full-flavored, 7 to 20 minutes.

Take the pan off the heat and let the soup cool for 5 minutes. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender (fill the jar no more than half full and vent the lid, topping it with a folded kitchen towel to prevent hot splashes).  I used an immersion blender and it was so easy!  Wipe the pan clean and put the soup back into the pan.

Add the buttermilk and 1/2 tsp. of the vinegar. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Taste the soup and adjust the seasonings with more salt, pepper, or vinegar as needed.

Ladle into 8 soup bowls and garnish each serving with 1 to 2 tsp. chopped basil.

Bok Choy You Say?

I don't know about you but I did not grow up eating bok choy or any greens to speak of.  We did eat spinach in quiche and salads but that was the extent of it.  So when Rudy's friend brought us some kale I was excited to cook it for the first time. 

And since it is Sunday - i.e. make soup day - I decided to add kale to our soup this week.

First I cut off the end of ends and washed the leaves and stalks.

Then I chopped the stalk and leaves coarsely into large pieces.

To the soup I added three carrots, black eyed peas, a bit of onion and rice.  It turned out fabulous!

The bok choy has almost a buttery taste and was so fragrant.  I had a bowl right away.  See below for the recipe!

Bok Choy You Say? Soup

• 2 buillion cubes
• 5 cups of water
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 large head of Bok Choy, coarsely chopped
• 3 carrots peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 small onion,, finely chopped
• 1 can black eyed peas, drained
• pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup rice

Directions:

Bring water, buillion cubes and garlic salt to boil.  Add the remainder of the ingredients except rice and cook at a rapid boil for 15 minutes.  Add rice and and continue to boil for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and cover until rice is cooked about 20 minutes or so.

Enjoy!

Soup!

I have a weekly tradition of making homemade vegetable soup and love getting creative with what we have in the kitchen.  Having soup on hand is great as the weather has turned colder.  My soups are low fat, chocked full of veggies and so much cheaper than buying cans of soup from the store.

Here are some general things I follow when making my soups...

1. I start with a big stock pot and only fill it halfway of water - more than that makes for soup that is too watery.  I kind of eye ball the soup as I am adding ingredients.  If I think it could be a little bit thicker I add something else. 
2. Bringing the soup to a simmer for about 20 minutes makes it more flavorful and reduces the broth so the soup is the right consistency.
3. Buillion cubes are great for flavor and for creating the base of the soup.  I put two in my water and bring it to a boil.  Then I add whatever vegetables I have on hand.
4. I always put some kind of bean in my soups for protein.  My favorites are black eyed peas, black beans, lima beans and navy beans.
5. The smaller I cut up my veggies, the more flavorful the soup tends to be.
6. Frozen or fresh - I use it all when it comes to veggies.
7. Broccoli, peas and spinach go a long way in flavor...don't add a ton of these.
8. Stewed or diced canned tomatoes really round out the flavor and I always add them if I have them.

Here is a recipe that my husband, Rudy, LOVED.  I wrote down the recipe so I could make it again.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon garlic salt
• 2 chicken buillion cubes
• 5 cups water or fill your pot halfway with water
• 1/2 small bag of frozen broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 small bag of shoepeg corn
• 2 carrots finely chopped
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 3 large red potatoes chopped
• 3 celery stalks (including leaves) finely chopped
• 1/2 cup white or brown rice

Directions:

• Bring all ingredients to a boil in a large stock pot.  Reduce and simmer 20-30 minutes until all veggies are tender and rice is cooked.