Chicken Satay Soup

I was looking for a way to use up leftover crudite from a party and thought I would try something new. I found recipes online for peanut butter soup and I thought why not take it to a next level and make a satay inspired soup. I tossed in leftover chicken from the night before and leftover white rice from chinese takeout. Why not use up leftovers, right? This experiment turned out great. I hope you give it a try.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked chicken, in bite size pieces
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons minched garlic
• 1 large potato, diced into bite size pieces
• 3-5 cups cut up veggies of your choice (in the soup I made I used red & green peppers, celery, baby carrots and zucchini)
• 4-6 cups chicken stock or water and bouillon, enough to cover veggies and extra to make it soup consistency
• 3 tablespoons butter or margerine
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed to release their flavor
• 1 lemon, skin grated and the juice
• 1/4 cup peanut butter

Directions:

1. In a soup pot, melt butter/margerine and saute onion, garlic until onion is translucent.
2. Add in remaining ingredients except for peanut butter and red pepper flakes. Let boil until potatoes and all the veggies are tender. (maybe 30 minutes)
3. Add in peanut butter and blend until melted in.
4. Rub red pepper flakes between your hands to release their flavor and stir in.

Soup is on!

Easy Crock Pot Veggie Soup

Was not feeling great this weekend, decided to make something seriously easy that might make me feel better. After sending my poor husband to get a few things at the grocery store, decided to make this. I have made this many times and I change out the ingredients to make it a little different each time, so feel free to omit veggies you do not like, or add whatever you may have on hand.


As you can tell, most ingredients are prepped, minimizing the work. There are suggestions on optional ingredients at the end.

*Note: This can be made in your crock pot or stove top. Equally as easy either way.

Ingredients:

Carrots, 1/2 small bag of petite prepped or 3 carrots sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1/2 bag fresh cole slaw (thinly sliced cabbage-from the prepped salad section of your store)
1 can diced tomatoes (about 14 oz)
1/2 cup rice (regular, not instant)
scallions, sliced
2 tbsp garlic
1 can tomato paste (6-8 oz)
2 large containers chicken stock or water (about 6 cups)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano, or italien seasoning
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp Bells no salt seasoning

Directions:
Clean and prep veggies, place in crockpot. Add rice on top.
In a separate bowl, mix broth, tomato paste and seasonings. Wisk to blend. Pour over veggies.
Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6-7 hours. I would maybe give it a stir half way through.

Options:

Any and all veggies can be changed out. In the past I have used a handful of frozen green beans, corn, peas, minced onion, spinach (already chopped in the frozen form), zucchini or summer squash. I would suggest choosing your favorites and to keep in mind not to overload it so it remains a soup rather than a stew.

Make it Mexican!
Add a handful of frozen corn and some red kidney beans (canned, rinsed). Replace the oregano and Bells with 1/2 packet of taco seasoning mix (or your own blend).

Make it Greek!
Use frozen chopped spinach instead of the cabbage, replace oregano and Bells with 1/2 tsp clove and 1 tsp cumin.

Make it Indian!
Instead of oregano and Bells, use curry or garam masala (maybe 2 tsp, depending the intensity you want). Top with a dollop of plain yogurt when serving.

Make it Asian!
Adding 1/4 cup rice vinegar,  2 or 3 tablespoons soy sauce, and a few dashes of hot sauce makes this taste like hot & sour soup. I would taste it to see if you have the right amount of hot sauce and vinegar, to get the intensity you prefer. Some people like it intense, some - not so much.

Easy Stuffed Cabbage Soup

Cooler weather is on the horizon and with my love for soup I thought I would try this out. It is hearty, delicious and is sort of a deconstructed stuffed cabbage. Ingredients:

Meatballs:
1 1/2 lbs ground meat (I used 1/2 each turkey and beef)
1 cup uncooked rice (regular, not instant)
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 medium onion, minced

Soup:

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tbsp olive oil
1 minced onion
1 carrot shredded 

6-8 oz tomato paste (1 can)
1/2 cup brown sugar (you can substitute 2 tbsp Splenda for this)
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 28-ounce can diced tomotoes

1 cabbage, sliced thin (or a bag of cole slaw, pre-shredded cabbage)
1 tsp dried oregano or basil (whatever your preference)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup raisins

Directions

For the meatballs:
In a large bowl, combine rice, pepper, cumin and onions. Blend to mix, then add meat, combine, then form into 1-inch balls and set aside while you make the soup.

For the soup:
In a large soup pot, Add oil and onions, saute until translucent. Add garlic, saute for 1 minute. Then add the carrots, tomato paste, brown sugar, crushed tomatoes and diced tomotoes with its liquid. Stir and add water (2 - 3 cups) for desired consistency. Season with pepper and simmer 10 minutes.

Add the cabbage to the soup and stir to blend in. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes more. Add more water if needed to thin the soup if it has gotten thick. Add the meatballs and simmer for 25-30 minutes minutes, until meat is cooked through and rice is tender. Add the lemon juice and raisins 10 minutes before serving.

Serving suggestion: add a dollop of sour cream on top.

Note: This could easily be done in a crock pot, Start by putting all the soup ingredients in and stirring to blend. Add meatballs, and just let it cook on low for 6 hours, or high for 4 hours, until the meatballs are cooked through.

Curry Soup

Soon I will be posting more summer recipes, but here I am with another soup. As you may have already figured out, I am a soup nut! Also, my latest endeavors include Indian spices, especially curry and garam masala. For the moment, just about every time we go to a restaurant I order something with curry if it is available.

This soup is delectable. It is not HOT, as in spicy hot. I will have a few suggestions below the ingredients if you would prefer it that way.

In this version I used ground beef. Traditional Indian cuisine is vegetarian, so that would not include meat,  This certainly can be made without meat or with chicken. (mmm, curry chicken comes to mind.)


This recipe makes a large pot, about 12 servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 containers chicken stock (about 6 cups)
• 1 cup white wine (can be replaced with 1 cup water)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 stick butter (Promise)
• 6 carrots sliced (1/4-1/2 inch slice)
• 1 package, frozen chopped broccoli or cauliflower
• 3 stalks celery chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 red or yellow pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (sometimes called coriander)
• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• 2 heaping teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons each onion powder and garlic powder
• optional: cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper or dashes of hot sauce to taste, for *heat*

Directions:

1. In a 2 qt or larger pan, boil carrots in one container of chicken stock and wine until tender.
2. In a soup pot, brown ground beef, with the black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder until no longer pink. Remove meat and set aside, reserving about a tablespoon of fat in the pan.
3. Saute onions, celery and pepper in the reserved fat of the soup pot until tender. Add the 1/2 stick butter when the fat is absorbed and continue cooking.
4. Add the cornstarch and let cook through, about 1 or 2 minutes.
5. At this time, add the curry, stir, then add the remaining stock.
6. Let this come to a boil, it will thicken a little.
7. Add the broccoli or cauliflower, let it come back to a boil.
8. Turn off heat.
9. Add the carrots (with the liquid they were boiled in) into the soup pot.
10. Blend in. Taste.
11. Add more curry if you want at this point. Also, any *heat* you have chosen to add.
12. Once you have the flavor correct add the cooked ground beef and chopped cilantro.

Serve with a few whole cilantro leaves on top, or a small dollop of sour cream.

Note: If you refrigerate leftovers this soup will thicken. Add a little water when reheating for a more soup-like consistency.

Salmon Veggie Chowder

I am such a fan of soups, I am always looking for new combinations to try. This inspiration came from my husband, who's got a shellfish allergy and cannot handle clams. 

It came out delicious - and includes a healthy dose of veggies and omega-3 fats from the salmon. I hope you enjoy it. 

Ingredients

• 1 pound salmon (frozen & thawed is OK here)
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 small slices canadian bacon, diced (this is very lean, but bacon or ham diced small will work here) 
• 3 celery stalks, diced small
• 1 shredded carrot
• 1 shredded summer squash
• 1 shredded zucchini
• 1/2 stick butter (Promise sticks)
• 1/2 cup parmesan
• 1 tablespoon oil (unflavored, like canola)
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups potato, diced to bite size
• 3 heaping tbsp corn starch
• 16 oz milk or cream (I used fat free coffee creamer, lactose & gluten free) 
• Splash of white wine
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 2 heaping tablespoons Bell salt-free seasoning (this has many herbs, but you can make your own combination of what you like) 

 

Directions

• In one pan cook diced potatoes in chicken stock. Add 1/2 the pepper and 1/2 the seasoning mix. Cook til tender, do not drain.
• In same pan as potatoes, poach salmon until no longer pink. Remove salmon and set aside. (leave potatoes and broth in pan). Once cooled a little, flake the salmon with a fork.
• In a separate soup pot, add butter (Promise) and oil. Add onions, celery, canadian bacon and shredded veggies, Saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Add remaining seasoning and stir in. Add cornstarch and continue to saute til well blended and cornstarch disappears and is cooked through.  
• Add a splash of wine, the broth, and potatoes. Scrape the bottom of your pan to get the flavor off the bottom. Bring to a boil. Keep stirring and the mixture will thicken. Turn off heat. Add flaked salmon, milk, parmesan and stir until blended in. 
• Ready to serve!
• Makes a large pot. About 8-10 servings.

Cheeseburger Chowder

Was looking for something new this weekend and this sounded really yummy. Almost like a chowder, but tastes like a cheeseburger. The family really loved it, so it will be making repeat appearances on my dinner table.

The only measurable salt content is in the cheese or the broth and it could be made gluten free, just pay attention to labels on your ingredients to adjust this to your needs.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 shredded carrot
• 3 tablespoons butter (Promise sticks)
• 3 cups chicken stock (or 1 large container)
• 4 potatoes, diced to bite size
• 3 heaping tbsp corn starch
• 2 cups shredded cheddar
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or basil
• 1/4 cup sour cream

 

Directions

• In one pan cook diced potatoes in chicken stock. Cook til tender, do not drain.
• In a soup pot, brown beef; drain and set aside. In the same pot, saute the onion and carrot in butter until tender, about 10 minutes. Add seasoning and cornstarch, continue to saute til well blended and cooked through.
• Add the broth, potatoes and beef; bring to a boil. Keep stirring and the mixture will thicken. Add milk, reduce heat a little and bring to a boil again.
• Add 1/2 the cheese and stir until melted/blended in. Add the remaining cheese, continuing to stir until blended in. Turn off heat.
• Add in sour cream and blend.
• Ready to serve!
• Makes 6-8 servings

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

This dish is yummy and simple to make. It is gluten free, lactose free and low sodium.

Ingredients:

• tsp Garlic Powder
• tsp Onion Powder
• tsp Ground Pepper
• 1 stick Promise Margarine (or butter)
• 1 cup Chicken Stock (I use no salt added Kitchen Basics)
• 1 cup plain coffee creamer (lactose and fat free)**
• 2 large cans crushed tomatoes (watch the sodium content here.... somewhere near 100mg per serving is good)
• 1 tbsp Splenda (or sugar)
• bunch fresh basil, roll up leaves into one and sliced thinly

**if lactose is not an issue for you, you can replace the coffee creamer with heavy cream, light cream or milk

Directions:
In a soup pot, warm the dry seasonings (bloom them) til you start to smell them.
Add Promise stick and melt.
Once melted, stir in chicken stock, crushed tomatoes and Splenda.
Bring to low boil, turn down heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add in creamer, stir gently and return to simmer.
Remove from heat and stir in all basil, reserving a little for garnish.
Serve, topping with reserved basil.