Lasagna Soup

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound lean ground beef (or half Italian sausage)..I used Hot Italian Sausage
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 TBS minced garlic cloves, ­
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes…more if you like some “kick”
• 1 (24 oz.) jar Prego Traditional Italian Sauce
• 8­-10 cups low­ sodium chicken broth. Once it is cooked you will add more to the soup for a good consistency or you can leave it thick
• 1 (14 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 4-oz can tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar (optional)
• 2-3 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 10 uncooked lasagna noodles, broken into approx. 2 inch pieces Cheese Garnish
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup cottage cheese…both mixed together
• freshly finely grated Parmesan cheese 
• fresh Basil for garnish

Saute Ground Beef, Sausage and onion in large soup pot until browned.  then add garlic and red pepper flakes for 30 seconds.  Then drain excess fat.

Add Prego Sauce, 6 cups of Chicken Broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, sugar, spices and lasagna noodles. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer until lasagna noodles are tender..about 20-30 mins.

Now, mix your “cheese mixture” ingredients together and then dish out your soup and top with as much or as little cheese mixture as you want!!

• 
• Now, go and enjoy…it is the BEST and even better, the next day!!

Thank you Jen@Carlsbad Cravings.com for this delicious recipe!!!

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Beef Barley Soup

A hearty “comfort food” soup

Nothing says “comfort food” like a hearty soup such as Beef Barley Soup. It is made with beef chuck roast but it is also a great way to use up left over Prime Rib from those “special occasion” dinners!! I hope you enjoy!!!

Beef Barley Soup
Serves 6-8 people

INGREDIENTS:
• 3 lbs beef chuck roast , trimmed and cut into ½ inch cubes put in bowl & seasoned with Salt & Pepper (or left over beef cut into bite size pieces)
• 2 TBS vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, minced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped fine
• 2 celery stalks with ribs, chopped fine
• ½ c dry red wine…the GOOD stuff!!
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp dry thyme
• 4 cups/32 oz beef broth
• 4 cups/32 oz chicken broth
• ¾ c pearl barley
• ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/3 cup dry dill (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Take the bite size pieces of beef and season generously with salt & pepper. Heat 2 tsp of vegetable oil in a 12 inch skillet over med-high heat until just smoking. Add “HALF” the meat to the skillet and cook..”without stirring”, until well browned on one side..about 4 minutes. Stir the meat and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until completely browned, 5-7 minutes. Then transfer to soup pot and repeat process. OR, take left over cooked beef that has been cut into bite sized pieces and sauté in oil then put in soup,pot.
2. Now as the meat is simmering in the soup pot, add the onions & celery & ¼ tsp of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened about 4-6 mins. Next stir in the wine, scraping the bottom of the soup pot, and add carrots & stir. Then add tomatoes and thyme, bring to a boil.
3. Once boiling, add the chicken & beef broth and the pearl barley. Cover, and put on low and cook for about 1 to 1 ½ hours…check it!! The MOST IMPORTANT thing is that the meat is tender….don’t ever rush it!!!! And don’t ever boil soup thinking that it will cook faster!!!

*******After 1 1/2 hours the meat was still NOT tender so I continued cooking on a low heat, like you would with a slow cooker, for another 3 hours and then it was PERFECT!! Infact, it was even better the second day!!! ****

Spicy Shrimp/Corn & Potato Soup

Enjoy the final days of fresh summer corn in this recipe

Spicy Shrimp/Corn & Potato Soup
• 5 slices bacon saving the grease OR use 1 TBS of oil
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 c chopped green onion
• ½ c chopped celery
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 lg potato peeled and diced
• 1- 7oz can of mild green chilies
• 2 cups milk (I used skim milk & ½ & ½ because that’s what I had)
• 3 TBS flour
• 3 cups of chicken broth
• 2 cups of fresh corn kernels (I used 4 ears of white corn)
• 1 lb of thawed peeled and deveined “small” shrimp
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of Mexican seasoning
• ½ tsp of cayenne pepper
• ¼ c of fresh cilantro
• Salt & pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. GO GET ALL YOUR INGREDIENTS…and now open, measure, chop, and get everything all done and ready to go…
2. Now, in a large dutch oven or soup pot, take the slices of bacon and cook them. Once cooked remove the bacon, and chop and put aside…but keep the bacon grease in the pot! Now add 2 TBS of butter to the bacon grease (yes, you can leave the whole bacon process out if you wish) and sauté the onions, celery, red pepper for 2-3 minutes until tender.
3. Now add the canned green chilies and cook another minute.
4. Take the milk and put in a bowl & add the 3 TBS of flour and whisk the flour together with the milk and pour on top of the veggies.
5. Then add the Chicken broth, corn, potatoes and seasoning and bring to a boil.
6. Continue cooking for another 20 mins on medium heat, stirring intermittently.
7. As potatoes get soft, add the shrimp and continue to cook another 10 minutes.
8. Add Cilantro and then serve
9. Add cheese Quesadillas to make it a great meal!!! Enjoy!!!
***** thanks to Cooking Light for the recipes***

Sunday Sinners Oxtail Soup

OXTAIL SOUP

* 3 lbs oxtail with fat trimmed off
* ½ c flour (to dredge the oxtails before cooking)
* 2-3 TBS oil (I used bacon grease)
* 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
* 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
* 3 celery stalks with leaves, diced
* 8 cups (64 oz) beef stock or broth
* 1 – 4oz can tomato paste
* 2 tsp kosher salt
* ¼ tsp black pepper
* 1 /2-1 TBS thyme (fresh works great) but dry is fine
* ¼ c chopped fresh parsley
* 1 TBS minced garlic
* 1/3c dry sherry or port wine (optional, but good!!)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Put 2-3TBS of cooking oil into deep soup pot and turn on heat
2. Dredge Oxtails in flour, then brown in oil on ALL sides, then drain on paper towels
3. Turn the heat to “medium” and add onions and stir fry until golden..about 10 mins
4. SLOWLY add the beef broth and stir in the tomato paste, salt & pepper & thyme & parsley  and stir.
5. Now add the oxtails back into the soup pot, cover and simmer for about 3-3 ½ hours until meat is fork tender.
6. Once cooked, take oxtails out and cool and then take all the meat off the bones and cut into bite-sized pieces, leaving the fat and bones to discard.
7. Now add the carrots & celery AND the meat back to the pot and cook until the carrots are tender.  Mix in the sherry or port wine and serve.
*****BEST THING TO DO….refrigerate over nite and then skim the fat that has solidified, and reheat.  This is a PERFECT soup that gets better the next day!!!!*****

Sunday Sinners Broccoli, Cauliflower & Potato Soup

First of my "Sunday Sinners Soups"

Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup

• 5 slices thick bacon
  3 cups broccoli, chopped
  3 cups cauliflower, chopped
  6 cups chicken broth
  1/2 medium onion or 2 leeks cleaned and thinly sliced
• 2 celery stalks minced
  1 sm. potato, diced (added this after video)
  4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
  1 c Half & Half or milk..whatever you prefer
• 1 TBS nutmeg
• 2 TBS minced garlic

Cook the bacon in soup pot until crisp and remove with slotted spoon and put aside.  Saute onions in bacon grease until golden. Add broth, garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, and potato to a boil in a 4 quart saucepan. Reduce heat, cook covered, 15 minutes.  Add half & half.  Add shredded cheese and heat until melted. Take 1/3 of soup mixture & pour into blender and puree. Return pureed soup to pan with reserved vegetables and heat through, but do not boil or cheese will curdle. Take reserved bacon and chop and add to soup.  Season to taste.  Serve with a salad and a hearty bread and ENJOY!!!

Yummy French Onion Soup

Well worth the “time”

Onion Soup Les Halles
From: Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook
TIME/SERVINGS
Total: a good 2-2 ½ hours….well worth it!!!!
Active: 1 ½ hours of prepping, cutting, slicing, measuring etc
Makes: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

6 ounces butter
4 large onions or 8 small onions, thinly sliced and trust the amount, they shrink!!
1 ounces port wine…good stuff…don’t skimp
1 ounces balsamic vinegar
8 cups or 2 quarts dark chicken stock, or low-sodium chicken or beef broth or both mixed!!
¼ tsp thyme
Salt & Pepper

8 sliced baguette slices, toasted in the oven with a little olive oil
“12 ounces grated Gruyère cheese real, imported Gruyère!”

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  In a large pot, (like a dutch oven for best results) heat the butter over medium heat until it is melted and begins to brown. Add the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and browned or “caramelized “..about 20 minutes). Onion soup, unsurprisingly, is all about the onions. Make sure the onions are a nice, dark, even brown color….truly caramelized which gives it great taste.

2.  Increase the heat to medium high and stir in the port wine and the vinegar, scraping all that brown goodness from the bottom of the pot into the liquid. Add the chicken stock. Note that the better and more intense your stock, the better the soup’s going to be. This soup, in particular, is a very good argument for making your own. Add the thyme and bring to a boil.

3.  Reduce to a simmer, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, skimming foam off the top with a ladle.

For the baguette  and cheese:

1.  When the soup is finished cooking, ladle it into the individual crocks. Float two baguette slices side by side on top of each. Spread a generous, even heaping amount of cheese over the top of the soup. You want some extra to hang over the edges as the crispy, near-burnt stuff that sticks to the outer sides of the crocks is often the best part, once it comes out from under the heat.

2.  Place each crock under a preheated, rip-roaring broiler until the cheese melts, bubbles, browns, and even scorches slightly in isolated spots. The finished cheese should be a panorama of molten brown hues ranging from golden brown to dark brown to a few black spots where the cheese blistered and burned. Serve immediately— and carefully. You don’t know pain until you’ve spilled one of these
things on yourself!!!!

Chicken Tortilla Soup (EASY!!)

Chefboyrd2’s Tortilla Soup

 2 tbls corn oil

3 corn tortillas ( 6 inch) cut into 1’’ pieces

1 small onion finely chopped

1 tbs minced garlic from the jar

1 tbls jalapeno chili from a 4oz can (or 1 fresh one, seeded and minced!)

1- 4 oz cans of diced green chilies

8 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

1- 4 oz c tomato paste

2 tsp ground cumin seed

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

5 cups chicken stock

1 can Red Chili Sauce

1 cooked chicken from the grocery store minus the skin and   shredded

1 ripe avocado pitted, peeled and diced

Lots of Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Lots of cilantro (can never have enough)

Tortilla strips

Large dutch oven pot.  Corn oil heated then throw in the corn tortillas and cook until golden brown.  Next, throw in the minced onions and cook until you think it’s time to add the garlic and the jalapeno.  Next you add the green chilies, the tomatoes and the paste and cook for about 5-6 minutes, stirring.  Next, the cumin and the cayenne pepper and stir some more.  Now, the chicken stock, slowly, and then the red chili sauce and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Add the shredded chicken and avocado and cilantro. Now, let it sit on your stove until you are ready to serve it.  When it’s time to serve, put in bowls and then put the shredded Monterey cheese and then the tortilla chips…mm…mmm…good!  Even better the next day!

Ham Potato & Leek Soup

Ham, Potato & Leek Soup

Ingredients

• 2 TBS butter
• 4 cups thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only OR 1 med onion chopped
• 3 cans (14 oz) chicken broth
• 3 large russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces OR 10-12 fingerling potatoes NOT peeled, chopped
  
• 1/2 C celery, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 2 cups ham, diced AND ADD the bone to the soup
• 1/4 cup cream or half and half (optional) to taste.
• Salt to taste
• 3 TBS dill weed
• 1 TBS parsley or chive

*If cooking gluten-free use homemade chicken stock or gluten-free packaged broth.

** words in orange were used in another version**  also, G O O D!!!!

Method

1 Gather ALL your ingredients & measure, chop whatever..and get everything ready so that all you have to do is add ingredients to the soup pot!!

2 Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks, (or onions)cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth, potatoes and pepper & Ham Bone if you have it.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.

3 Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20-25 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Take bone out and cut off as much useful ham as you can.  Using a blender or food processor, working in batches, pulse 1/4 potato substance (pulse 2-3 times) and then put in separate bowl. Then re add to the other half still in the soup pot.

4 Stir in diced ham and cream and reheat.  Season with the dill weed, S&P, parsley and chive.  Top with chopped leeks.

Serves 6.

****And total time is about an hour taking into consideration chopping, peeling and measuring!!

Now, how easy is that???????

Spicy Sausage Lentil Soup

Here is a great and EASY soup that you can make in my new and “favorite” cooking device…the crock pot or now called “slow cooker”!!  Seriously, my friends, go rummaging through your garage or attic…or go make your rounds at some garage sales and get one!!!  It makes life just sooooo easy, especially when you have golf to play or shopping to do!!!!  We need not waste time in the kitchen!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb smoked sausage, sliced (I used Louisiana Hot Sausage because we are tough there in AZ
• 3/4 lb dried lentils, rinsed and drained (that’s about 1 3/4 cups)
• 1 c diced ham (leftover or bought in the store…whatever!)
• 1 med onion, chopped
• 1 small red pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 med carrot, diced or i used 8-10 baby carrots diced
• 2 TBS minced garlic from the jar…unless, of course, you like to mince them fresh!  if so, you have wwaayyyyy too much time on your hands!!!
• 1/2 tsp thyme..fresh or dry…who cares…it’s just going into a pot!
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin (and if you have no idea what it is, go to the grocery store and get some…i use it ALOT in my recipes…it’s a mexican spice!)
• 2 14 oz cans of beef broth
• 2 14 oz cans of chicken broth
• 2 cups of coarsely chopped “fresh” spinach

The “EASY part:

1. Combine ALL ingredients, except spinach, in a 5-quart slow cooker
2. Cover and cook on “LOW” for 5 hours or until lentils are tender (that means soft!!)
3. Add spinach, cover and let stand for about 5 mins until spinach wilts!! Then grab the soup bowls and dish it out!!!

*** I made some Marie Calendar “all you do is add water” corn bread!!! I mean, could this be any easier?????????

P.S. every thing in italics are things you need from the grocery store…how easy???????