Chicken and Vegetable Dumpling Soup

*Serves 6

Chicken and Broth:
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
2-3 chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)

Vegetables:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 large carrots (6-7 baby carrots), chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup frozen peas

Dumplings:
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or sage
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

In a large pot, boil the chicken broth, water and chicken breasts until the chicken is cooked through and tender (about 15 minutes). Remove the chicken from the pot, reserving the broth in the pot, and shred the chicken with two forks. Set the chicken aside and keep the broth warm on the stove.

While the chicken is boiling, in a large skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the celery, carrots and onions. Saute for about 6-7 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the vegetables to the hot broth in the pot after the chicken has been removed. Add salt, thyme and pepper to the vegetable/broth mixture and stir to combine. Heat the soup to a simmer.

In a small bowl, blend ½ cup cold water and 1/4 cup flour with a wire whisk until smooth. Whisking vigorously, slowly add the flour mixture into the hot vegetables and broth and whisk until well combined. Add ½ cup frozen peas and cook, stirring gently for one minute.

For the dumplings, in a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, milk and oil. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined (don't overmix, it is ok if there are a few dry spots of flour here and there).

Heat the soup to boiling and drop teaspoonful amounts (the dumplings should be fairly small, they'll expand while cooking) of dumpling dough into the boiling soup, covering the entire surface of the soup (don't make more than one layer of dumplings). Reduce the heat to simmering, cover and let the dumplings cook for 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid of the pot while the dumplings cook.

When the dumplings have cooked fully, remove the lid and gently stir the dumplings to break them apart. Serve.

White Bean Chicken (or Turkey) Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
2 (14.5 ounce) cans Great Northern Beans, undrained
2 cups cooked, diced chicken (or turkey)
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup salsa (I use Pace Chunky Medium)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the remainder of the ingredients, except the mozzarella cheese. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the soup comes to a simmer. Add the mozzarella cheese one handful at a time, stirring to let each addition melt before adding the next. Stir to combine and make sure all the cheese has melted and serve.

Vegetable Beef Noodle Soup

1 lb bottom round beef, cut into bite sized chunks
1 sweet yellow onion chopped into large pieces
6 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes
1-2 tsp dried thyme
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1 bay leaf
6 cups of beef stock
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 cup fresh green beans, cut into thirds
1/4 lb egg noodles or your noodle of choice

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (you can also use stove top or crock-pot). Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add stew meat and onion then cook for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds before adding tomatoes, seasonings and beef broth. Cover and cook in the oven for at least 3-4 hours, checking occasionally to make sure there is enough liquid. Remove pot from oven place on stove top over medium low heat.

Add carrot, green beans and celery to the stew and add more beef broth if low. Taste and re-season if needed. Cover and cook for 45 minutes. Add the broken spaghetti noodles and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. Serve and enjoy

Broccoli Chicken Rice and Cheese soup

2 cups MINUTE® White or Brown Rice, uncooked
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
3 cups low-fat milk
1 lb. low-fat processed cheese, cubed
1 lb shredded chicken cooked
Shredded cheese (optional)

Prepare rice according to package directions.
Combine broccoli, soup and milk in medium saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat.

Add cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in rice. Top with additional cheese, if desired

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Broccoli Cheese Soup
adapted very slightly from Liz K.

1 can chicken broth
1 small onion, diced

1/3 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
Pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)

2 c. milk (I used 1% with great results)
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (the sharper the better for flavor - I used sharp cheddar and hopefully next time will have extra sharp cheddar on hand)
1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese
steamed chopped broccoli (the amount of broccoli really boils down to preference - I wanted a lot of broccoli in my soup, so I chopped and steamed approximately 2 1/2 to 3 cups of broccoli florets)

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes. In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour and pepper. Cook together for a couple of minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium-high heat until soup starts to thicken. Next add chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add cheeses and steamed broccoli. Serve immediately.

Makes approximately 4 servings if you are serving more adults or serving the soup in regular bowls, I would consider doubling according to the number of people)

Crockpot Chicken Soup

chicken tenders or boneless chicken breasts (the amount just depends on how chickeny you like it and how many people are in your family)

onion, chopped

potatoes, chopped

carrots, chopped

1 can corn or cream style corn

2 boxes chicken stock

thyme

ground red pepper, just a shake to give a little flavor

salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook on high all day.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

32 oz chicken broth
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis
6 oz tomato paste
2 cups frozen corn
2 cups cooked chicken
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. chili powder
10 corn tortillas
cheddar cheese
Mix all the ingredients in a large pot or slow cooker. Bring it to a boil, then turn it down to simmer while you fix the tortilla strips. Or cook on high in the slow cooker for 4-5 hours.

For the tortilla strips, cut a stack of 10 tortillas in half. Then slice them into 1/4″ slices. Fry in hot oil in a skillet and drain on paper towels. Serve the soup with the tortilla strips and shredded cheese.

Virus killing soup

It really should have a different name, because Virus Killing isn’t real appetizing. However, that is the point of the soup so we’ll go with it.


You’ll need:
one whole chicken
15-30 cloves garlic, minced or crushed (I used about 1 1/2 bulbs)
1 Tbs. salt
3-4 fresh thyme sprigs
fresh rosemary sprigs
cayenne pepper, about 1 tsp.
ground black pepper

Throw all of that in a big pot. See all that garlic? That’s going to kill those viruses. Don’t worry about the amount of garlic being too strong. It really isn’t when the soup is done and it smells fantastic while it cooks. Don’t worry about the cayenne pepper either. It provides warmth that will clear your sinuses, but it’s not spicy at all.


Pour a couple boxes or cans of chicken broth over the top, then top it off with water so that the chicken is completely covered. You can also use only water if you like. Cook it on the stove top until the chicken starts to fall apart. Then remove the chicken and strain the broth a bit, getting out the long stems from the spices and all the chicken bones. Set the chicken aside to cool a bit.

Now you’ll want to add some veggies. I used some carrots, onion, a stalk of celery and a fennel bulb. You can also add leeks and red pepper, but I didn’t have any of those. Chop the veggies and saute them in oil until tender. If you have it add 1/2 cup of good white wine and some salt and pepper. Add the veggies into the pot of broth and simmer for a while. I added about 6 cups of water to the broth at this point. It had really cooked down and was very rich.
Take the chicken off the bones and chop it up. Add it back into the soup. Add in a can or two of diced tomatoes. You can also add frozen green beans, peas, zucchini, flat leaf parsley.

smokey ham and corn chowder

4 ear(s) of corn, kernels cut off and cobs reserved
1 tablespoon(s) vegetable oil
1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 pound(s) ham, rind removed and reserved, ham cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 cup(s) heavy cream
1 pound(s) baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice

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Directions

1.Using the back of a knife and working over a medium bowl, scrape the corn cobs to release any pulp and juices; reserve the cobs.
2.In a medium soup pot, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 6 minutes. Add 3 cups of water, the ham rind and the corncobs, pulp and juices and bring to a simmer. Cook over moderately low heat for 5 minutes; discard the cobs and ham rind. Add the cream and potatoes, bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are almost tender, about 5 minutes. Add the corn kernels and ham and simmer until the corn and potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper, ladle into bowls and serve.

Chicken Corn Chowder

*Plan Ahead: This recipe calls for cooked chicken.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped, seeds and membrane removed (this is important for flavor - but doesn't add heat because the seeds and membranes are removed and it is cooked with the other veggies)
1/4 cup thinly sliced or cooked chopped ham
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14-oz.) cans chicken broth
3 tablespoons flour
3 ears of fresh corn kernels or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
4 oz. softened cream cheese
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Place olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute celery, bell pepper, onion and jalapeno until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ham; cook for another 3 minutes. Whisk the broth with the flour in a liquid measuring cup or bowl and then stir into the soup. Stir in the corn and chicken. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat. Whisk together the cream cheese and milk in a large bowl until smooth (I had a difficult time getting my cream cheese to completely whisk into the milk so my soup had some minor small lumps but next time, I'll soften the cream cheese until almost melted in the microwave). Whisk the cream cheese/milk mixture into the soup along with the salt, pepper and cheddar cheese. Simmer on low until ready to serve.

Zuppa Tascana Soup

Zuppa Tascana Soup
1 lb Italian Sausage
2 large russet potatoes, sliced in half and than sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2- 32 ounce cartons chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 bunches kale, chopped
freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, if desired

Brown sausage in large soup pot. Remove sausage and set aside. To the pot add chicken broth, potatoes, onion, and garlic and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add cream and sausage to the pot and warm through. Add kale right before serving. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.