Winter Squash Soup

Sorry to post another squash recipe but this is what we ate for dinner tonight. It's delicious.

Winter Squash Soup- Ina Garten (Straight from the cookbook-Barefoot in Paris)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 small or one large)

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut in chunks

3 cups Homemade chicken stock or canned broth

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup half and half

Creme fraiche, grated Gruyere, or croutons for serving (optional)

Heat the butter and oil in a heavy-bottomed stockpot, add the onions, and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until translucent. Add the pumpkin puree, butternut squash, chicken stock, salt and pepper. cover and simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, until the butternut squash is very tenter. Process the mixture through the medium blade of a food mill. Return to the pot, ad the half-and-half, and heat slowly. If the soup needs more flavor, add another teaspoon of salt. Serve hot with garnishes, if desired.

Here's the way I do it:

- I never have unsalted butter- so I just taste as I go to make sure that it doesn't get too salty.

- I always used the Swanson's low sodium chicken broth- She has a recipe for homemade chicken stock in the book. If you want it- let me know and I'll post it.

- I didn't have half-and-half on hand tonight when I made this so I subbed whole milk. I couldn't tell the difference and I felt better about eating a second, okay, third bowl.

- Creme Fraiche is just a fancy way of saying sour cream in my book and the soup is so good with the optional garnishes.

- Instead of croutons I just serve it with a good piece of warm bread.

- I don't have a food mill. You could easily put it in your blender, in small batches and blend until smooth. I have a hand blender that I just stick in the pot and go to town until it's smooth.

That's it! It's a super easy one pot meal.

Chicken Chili

Yes, another soup recipe from me - this time, with pictures! We love this chicken chili and it is the perfect meal for fall. I do, however, have to make beanless chili in our house (I substitute an extra bell pepper for the beans). Also, I make this in the crock pot, but I think it was actually written for the stove top - I do the first part on the stove, and instead of adding the remaining ingredients to the pot, I add them all into my crock pot.

Anyone else love these little crock pot liners? Saves so much clean-up time, and they're not too expensive at Walmart. Love them!

Yum! I apologize for the lack of presentation, however. Yes, those are styrofoam bowls, but we're leaving town for the weekend and didn't want to add more dishes!

3 chopped chicken breasts

1 chopped green pepper

1 chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

Brown ingredients in olive oil on the stove top.

Add:

2 cans diced tomatoes (I like using fire roasted)

2 cans (drained) pinto beans (like I said, I have to go beanless, but you could also use other varieties of beans)

3/4 c. Pace picante sauce

1 can tomato sauce

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

Simmer all day. I usually taste test after it's been simmering a while and see if I need to adjust the spices - I'm usually a little generous with them. I like to add a generous dollop of sour cream near the end to make it nice and smooth and creamy. Garnish with shredded cheese. My house has smelled wonderful today!

White Chicken Chili

SO I would have to say hands down that this is my MOST favorite soup recipe EVER! I am pretty much obsessed with Mexican Food and so anything that has lime, cilantro and avacados in the ingredients I am a huge sucker for. I tried this recipe a few years ago after finding www.ourbestbites.com and I crave it all the time! It is really quite a simple recipe and it tastes like you have worked a lot harder than you really did! If you like mexican food you MUST try this! I made it tonight, even though it was 100+ degrees outside, and I am sitting here writing this post salivating :) Okay maybe not, but it is that good!



White Chicken Chili
(Recipe by Our Best Bites)

I call this a chili, but it's really a soup consistency.
If you want it thicker, just reduce the amount of broth.


1 T Extra virgin Olive Oil
1 lb boneless chicken, cubed (about 3-4 boneless, skinless breasts)
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans Great Northern Beans
1 3.5 oz can green chilies
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t dried oregano leaves
1/2 t coriander (I have never added this)
1/2 t salt
fresh cracked pepper
1 lime
1/2 C chopped cilantro
1 32oz box chicken broth

Condiments: (in addition to measurements above)
Sour cream
Chopped cilantro
Pepperjack or Jack cheese, shredded
Avocado
Tortilla Chips or make your own tortilla strips

In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add chopped onion and cook for about 2 minutes- just until it starts to become translucent. While onions are cooking, drain beans and rinse with cold water and set aside. Sprinkle chopped chicken with a little salt and pepper and add to pot. Add garlic as well. Cook until there's no more visible pink on the chicken, probably 3-4 minutes.

Then add green chills- along with all of the juices in the can. Add beans, cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, and a few turns of fresh cracked pepper. Stir to combine and then add chicken broth.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the juice from one lime and the 1/2 C chopped cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream. Serve with condiments. If you don't have all those condiments- at least have sour cream! But honestly, it's best with everything :)

Makes about 8 cups of soup.

*Oh, and this freezes well. Sometimes I make a batch and when it cools I put single servings into zip-locks and pop them in the freezer. Makes a great quick lunch.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

2 cans cream of potato soup
1 pt. half and half
3/4 lb broccoli
2 TBSP margarine
3 green onions, diced
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 C grated cheddar cheese

Cut broccoli into small pieces. Place in glass bowl with 2 TBSP water. Cover and microwave on HIGH for 5 minutes. Drain. (I just use frozen cut up broccoli and it eliminates this whole step and works wonderfully).

In saucepan, melt margarine over low heat. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes. Add soup, half and half, and broccoli. Heat 4 to 5 minutes. Add bacon and cheese. Heat until cheese is melted.

If soup is too thick, add more milk. If soup becomes too thin, add mixture of melted margarine and flour to thicken.

Serves 4-6 With my family (the 3 of us) we always have plenty of leftovers. Serving in bread bowls makes it even more delicious. Easton loves it!

French Onion Soup

I promise I don't only make soup! But this one is too good not to share.

5 med. onions

2 tbsp. olive oil

3 tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 tbsp. flour

salt

pepper

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 c. dry cooking sherry

6 c. beef stock

1 baguette

swiss or gruyere cheese

Thinly slice onions and saute in olive oil & butter until clear. Add salt, pepper, & sugar - carmelize onions (takes quite a while with how many onions there are). Add thyme & flour and cook for a few minutes. Add a bay leaf & cooking sherry to deglaze the pan. Cook for 7-9 minutes (to make sure you've cooked out the alcohol). Add beef stock and bring to a boil. Simmer until ready to eat.

Cut 12 slices of baguette, 1/2" thick, and butter on one side. Toast in oven under broiler. Cut into chunks (usually quarters). Ladle soup into oven-proof bowls, add toasted bread & swiss cheese and broil until melted and brown.

Shoot...I had a picture of the yumminess, but can't find it anywhere on my computer. As a disclaimer, I sort of made up this recipe. I looked up a bunch of french onion soup recipes (because I love it) and none of them were quite what I was looking for, so I combined different elements of each recipe. This makes enough for us plus a good portion of leftovers.

Bacon, Cheese, & Potato Chowder

3 c. milk (I use part half 'n' half & part milk because we have skim and I wanted it creamy)

2 c. frozen southern-style hashbrowns

1 can cream of potato soup

1 c. cheddar cheese

1/2 pkg. bacon, crisply cooked, drained, & crumbled

1/4 c. thinly sliced green onions

Mix milk & soup in large saucepan. Stir in hashbrowns. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium/low. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Salt & pepper to taste. Ladle into soup bowls. Top evenly with cheese, bacon, & onions.

This is a super easy meal that tastes really yummy! It's one of our new favorites. I actually 1 1/2 the recipe so Braden has plenty of leftovers.