Soups

I might be crazy, but I am getting ready for it to cool down so I can start a new "menu". Not sure how you roll, but here in Utah we have summer dinners and fall/winter dinners. What I am most excited for is soup. It's super easy, fairly inexpensive and it's great leftover....3 of my criteria for dinners. I rarely post recipes on my blog, but thought I would throw these out today. All of these recipes I have tried and love.

Enjoy!!!

Potato Cheese Soup-got this from my sister in law

6-8 medium sized potatoes, cubed
5 cups water
6 chicken bullion cubes
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
3/4 cup butter
4 cups half & half
3/4 cup flour

Boil the potatoes until tender
While they are boiling, in a sauce pan, melt butter, then add half & half, flour (slowly) and cheese.
Stir until melted

When potatoes are done, drain all but 3 cups of water (I just boil fresh water in a separate pan), then add bullion cubes (I crush these so they dissolve faster).
Combine the melted butter/cheese mixture and ENJOY!!

**It's really good if you cook up some bacon & sprinkle over the top.


Creamy Corn and Potato Chowder-this is from my mom's friend...I finally got the recipe and can't wait to make it. Sorry I haven't made it yet, but have eaten it many times.

2 TBSP butter
1 large onion finely chopped
1 rib celery finely chopped
5 1/2 cups chicken stock (I use bouillon cubes)
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels (or 1 can)
1 large all purpose potato, peeled and diced (I use more)
1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
1 cup heavy cream (I use a can of evaporated milk)
3 TBSP flour
black pepper to taste

Saute onion and celery in butter until tender. Add chicken stock, corn, potato and salt and bring to a low boil. Lower heat and cover pot. Let simmer for seven minutes or until potatoes are just tender.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cream and flour. Then stir into soup. Add black pepper. Bring back to a low boil. Reduce heat and simmer for eight minutes.


6 can Tortilla soup-from Davis' mission companion's wife....probably my favorite

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 (10.75 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 ounce) can chunk chicken
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained (Rotel are
the best)

DIRECTIONS
Open the cans of corn, chicken broth, cream of chicken, chunk chicken, black
beans, and diced tomatoes with green chilies. Pour everything into a large
saucepan or stock pot. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is heated
through. Serve over semi-crushed tortilla chips and sprinkle with cheese and
sour cream if desired.

A few tips: I doubled the recipe and used one can of mild tomatoes and one
hot (I like it a little hotter). After draining the beans I rinsed them well
under water to reduce gassiness and save us all later.

Tomato Carrot Soup-from my friend Dana...I have made this and it never tastes as good as hers, not sure why.

2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1-2 cups water
2 cups grated carrots
¾ to 1 chopped onion
1 finely sliced garlic clove
½ lb. ground beef or sausage (optional)

1 tbsp each: Italian seasoning (or Basil)
Parsley
honey
oil
1 ½ tsp salt
¼ - ½ tsp cayenne pepper

If desired, sauté chopped onions in oil. Add the rest of ingredients and simmer 10-15
minutes.

Chicken Noodle Soup-from a girl in my ward....funny story. She was making this for enrichment and asked her hubby to start the chicken for her in the broth, since it was frozen. When she got home she noticed to her dismay that he had used beef broth, not chicken. She hurried and drained it and started over with the chicken broth, seriously worried about it. It was AWESOME and I think it was gone the fastest of all the soups and had the most requests for recipes. She said it was even better cooked first in the beef broth.....hmmm. Well, I make it the way it says and it's delish!!!

2 chicken breasts
2 1/2 C chicken broth
1 1/2 C water
1 whole onion, chopped
1-2 C carrots, chopped
1-2 C celery, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbs. parsley
Home style noodles

So you just dump it all in the crock pot together and cook on low 8
hours unless your chicken is frozen, like mine was, then cook it on
high for the first few hours then switch to low. In that case, I only
do the chicken, the broth, and the water for the first few hours then
I add the remaining ingredients and cook on low for the remainder of
the cooking time. During the last 30-60 minutes add the home style
noodles (I use a lot) and turn it on high.

Seriously try them out, they are wonderful.