Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Ingredients:

-1 TBS Butter

-1/2 Onion Diced

-4 TBS Butter

-1/4 cup Flour

-1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

-1 Cup Milk

-2 Cups Chicken Stock

-1/2 lbs ish of fresh Broccoli, chopped

-1 Cup Carrot, julienned or shredded (I like julienned cause then the carrots are in longer thin strips, but both will achieve the flavor you want)

-1/4 tsp nutmeg

-8 ounces of cheddar cheese (I did 4 oz sharp and 4 oz mild)

-Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In your soup pan (I used my dutch oven, but you could use any large sauce pan) saute your onion in 1 TBS butter until translucent. Set aside for later use.

Melt 4 TBS of butter in your pan over medium heat, then whisk in four stirring constantly until you have one smooth mixture (3-5 minutes). Add cream and milk, stirring constantly until well blended. Now add the chicken stock and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Next, add the broccoli, carrots and onions and allow it to cook on low for another 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure nothing burns of the bottom. Now add cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Once cheese is melted, stir in your nutmeg.

I swear this taste's just like Panera's broccoli cheddar soup, and it is made with stuff I ALWAYS have in my pantry. We ate it with warm bread for dinner on a snowy night and it was fabulous. Makes enough soup for 4 LARGE servings. Enjoy!

French Onion Soup w/ Homeade Croutons

Ingredients:

Soup

-32 Oz of Beef Broth (or 32 oz of water an 3 beef bullion cubes)

-2 Cups Water

-2 TBS Butter

-2 Onions, Chopped (I like to leave them in large pieces)

-1 Tsp Dried Thyme

-2 Cloves of Garlic, minced (or about 1 tsp garlic powder) ( I like more, but I LOVE garlic)

-1 Tsp Onion Powder (I like more, but I like it strong)

-1 Bay leaf

-Salt & Pepper to taste

Croutons

-Stale Bread (I use left over french bread, but you can use any stale bread)

-3-4 TBS Olive Oil

-1 tsp Salt

-1 tsp Pepper

-1/3 to 1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a sauce pan or dutch oven, combine all ingredients for the french onion soup. Bring to a rolling boil, then turn down the heat and allow it to simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 250 Degrees. Cut bread into about 1 in cubes. In a mixing bowl, pour olive oil, salt, pepper, and cheese over the bread and stir to ensure the bread is even coated. Spread croutons out on a banking sheet and allow them to cook for 30-40 minutes until crunchy, turning occasionally. Once crunchy, remove them from the oven and let them cool.

Serve the soup with your yummy croutons on top! I like to serve this soup with melted cheese on top, as seen in picture. I actually used a kitchen torch to melt it, but most people don't have that. You can use a toaster oven, your broiler, or just let the soup do it for you. Your favorite cheese will do, but I suggest Swiss, white cheddar, or provolone!

This is one SUPER easy soup that will make you look like a "souper" star! Hehehe...

Black Bean & Corn Soup

Ingredients:
1 onion
little bit of oil (2 TB?)
Garlic (2-4 spoonfulls?)
1 28 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
2 15 oz. cans black beans
Frozen corn (1-2 cups?)
Any other seasoning that you want (oregano, pepper, basil are favorites here)


Directions:
Chop the onion and heat it, the oil, and garlic on medium heat until soft/translucent
Add in the tomatoes and chicken broth
Drain and rinse the beans, add them
Add the corn (I just eyeball it when I stir in straight from the bag, which is why the measurement is a guess) and spices

Cook until it bubbles a bit, then serve. Husband swears it tastes best with some mozzarella cheese on top.



Original recipe here, but you can see I made alterations.

Ignore the potatoes; those were for another soup

White Chicken Chili

I cannot take credit for this recipe, my friend Jenn gave it to me, but we LOVE it!! Very easy and if you like cheese then this is your thing!

• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 pkg boneless/skinless chicken brest
• 1 chopped med onion or onion flakes
• 3-4 cloves minced garlic
• 2 cans chopped green chilis
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• 3 reg. cans Lucks Great Northern Beans (we have used other brands but find this one is the best for taste and consistency)
• 2 chicken boullion cubes
• 8 oz. of Monterray Jack Cheese (or more depending on what you like)
• salt and pepper to taste

Boil chicken then shred or cube. Add everything together either on stove or crockpot let cook til hot or for a while to let flavors soak through. Serve and Enjoy!

Cheeseburger Paradise Soup

*My mom gave me this recipe from Taste of Home magazine - I cut it in half because its just me and Andrew and the normal size makes 14 servings, you can always double it if you want. I added some variations as well. There was enough for us to both take it to work for lunch the next day and have two helpings at dinner.

Ingredients
3-4 medium potatoes peeled and cubed (if you use red ones you might need more)
1 small carrot chopped
1 small onion chopped (I used a vadalia so it was 1/2 of an onion bc it was huge!)
1/2 cup chopped green or red pepper
1-2 tablespoons, chopped and seeded jalapeno pepper (add less than that if you don't like heat or use some hot sauce, like the green tabasco or Franks)
2 cups of water
2 beef bullion cubes
1-2 garlic cloves minced
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 lb ground beef (you could use turkey)
1/4 lb sliced fresh mushrooms (I left this out bc I hate mushrooms)
1 tablespoon butter
2 1/2 cups of milk, divided
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 package (8oz) Velveeta cheese cubed
Crumbled cooked bacon to garnish or shredded cheese

Cooking Directions

In a soup kettle, combine the first 9 ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 mins or until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a large skilleet cook beef, mushrooms (if you added those) and butter over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add to soup. Stir in 2 cups of milk; heat through.

In a small bowl, combine flour and remaining milk (1/2 cup) until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cubed velveeta until melted. Yield about 7 servings.

Spicy Corn Chowder

Ingredients
-4 pieces thick-sliced bacon, chopped
-1 medium onion, finely chopped
-1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
-Salt and freshly ground black pepper
-1 small jalapeno, chopped seeds and ribs removed
-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
-4 cups chicken stock
-2 large red potatoes, well scrubbed and small diced
-1 cup heavy cream
-16 ounces frozen corn
-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-1 bay leaf

Directions

In a small saucepan over medium heat, saute the bacon until crisp and browned and the fat is rendered. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel and reserve. There should be about 4 tablespoons of bacon grease in pan.

Add the onions and red pepper to pan. Saute until tender and translucent, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the jalapeno and garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the flour until thoroughly combined. Cook the flour until it reaches a slight blonde color, about 1 minute. Stir in the chicken stock and the potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes; potatoes will become soft. Add the cream, corn, cayenne and bay leaf. Simmer for 15 more minutes. Pour into a serving bowl and garnish with the reserved bacon.

This is Gina Neely's recipe from food network, and it is AWESOME. I have made it 3 times since seeing the show in August. I always serve it with BLT's so you make use of the other slices of bacon!