Soups

Canned Soup Made Healthy

Sauté chopped onion in oil. Add broth, chopped carrots, and spinach. Simmer for 30 minutes, then puree in blender or food processor. Stir into a can of vegetable or chicken noodle soup (amount you add is according to taste).  Heat & serve.

Carrot and Pasta Soup
8 cups chicken broth
2 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
3/4 cup small pasta (Look for little tiny pasta shapes)
1/2 tsp parsley
1 tsp Dill
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Salt & Pepper to taste
Put the sliced carrots in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and cover, simmering for 8 minutes. Add the pasta and cook uncovered until done (however long your pasta needs to cook). Stir in the herbs and the Parmesan. Serve with extra grated Parmesan at the table, if desired.
 

Chicken & Rice Soup
4 chicken breasts
Oil for cooking
1 cup uncooked rice
3 medium carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
Broccoli flowerets
Dill, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper to taste
Water
In a skillet, fry chicken in oil, using some seasoning. Cut chicken into small chunks. In large pot, combine chicken chunks, rice, chopped carrots, celery, broccoli flowerets and seasonings to taste and enough water to cover ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.
 

Cream of Potato Soup
6 c Potatoes, hash brown (frozen)
1/2 c Carrots; sliced
1 jar Real Bacon Bits*
1 c Celery; chopped
1 Onion; chopped
Cheese, cheddar; finely shredded
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
2 c Milk
2 c Light cream or half-and-half
Parsley sprigs
Combine all ingredients in crock-pot without any pre-cooking and cook on low all day. *If you want the 'crunch' of bacon - either top individual servings w/bacon bits or fry real bacon & add at last minute.

Creamy Broccoli Soup
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (14 oz. or 14.5 oz.) chicken broth
1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli
½ cup water
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
¼ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. thyme
Pinch nutmeg
1 ½ cups milk
Croutons (optional)
1. In large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, broccoli, water, potato, pepper, salt, thyme, and nutmeg. Heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer until potato is cooked, about 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.
2. Puree soup in blender until smooth. Pour back into saucepan. Stir in milk, and warm soup over low heat. Serve with croutons, if desired. Makes 5 cups.

Italian Bean Soup
1 cup dry great northern beans
1 cup dry red beans
1 28-ounce can tomatoes, diced
1 medium onion chopped
2 tablespoons instant beef bouillon granules or cubes
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, crushed (releases flavor better)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 9-oz package frozen Italian-style green beans or cut green beans (you can use canned but they do not retain their texture as well)
Soak beans overnight in cold water in a covered pan, then drain and rinse. In a 3 1/2 or 4 quart crock pot/slow cooker combine beans, 4 cups water, undrained tomatoes, onion, bouillon, garlic, Italian seasoning and pepper. Cook uncovered on low-heat setting for 11 to 13 hours or on high heat setting for 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours or until beans are almost tender. Meanwhile, thaw green beans; stir into soup. Cook about 30 minutes on high-heat setting or till beans are tender. (If you use canned, just toss them in for the last 15 minutes or so to heat through.)

Meatball Soup
1/2 cup regular long-grain rice
2 cans (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
3 medium carrots, sliced
3 medium celery stalks, sliced
5 ounces washed spinach (half 10-ounce bag)
8 frozen lean meatballs, thawed and sliced
shredded or grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
In 1-quart saucepan, heat 1 cup water to boiling over high heat. Add rice, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes until water is absorbed and rice is tender. Meanwhile, in 4-quart saucepan, heat chicken broth and 2 cups water to boiling over high heat. Add carrots and celery, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Stir in spinach, rice, and sliced meatballs, heat through. Serve soup with Parmesan cheese if you like.
 

Quick Pea Soup
1, 16 oz can of peas
1, 16 oz can of chicken stock/broth
1 teaspoon of dry dill
salt & pepper
pinch of sage
pinch of cumin
Empty can of chicken broth into pot start to heat and add teaspoon of dry dill. Empty peas in with liquid contents of peas into a blender and puree, once pureed add to simmering broth. Add a pinch of cumin and sage. Salt and pepper to taste. Makes two servings.

Simple Chicken Soup
1 whole chicken or chicken soup bones (fresh or frozen)
4 celery stalks (cut off the bottom quarter, rinse and toss in the rest, leaves and all)
1/2 lb. sliced carrots
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 to 3 potatoes, peeled and sliced
6 peppercorns
Salt
Parsley, fresh or dried
If the chicken or bones are fresh, place them in a soup pot with 3 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and skim the foam off the top. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover and let simmer for 3 hours. If working with frozen chicken or bones, add all the ingredients at once. In both cases, as soon as it's cool enough - remove all bones. When the broth is completely cool, skim off the fat and store until ready to eat. Freezes well. If serving hot, add rice or pasta. Makes 2 1/2 quarts.
 

Spicy Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup
You can peel the pumpkin but you don't need to because the skin goes very soft.
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium sugar pumpkin
4 orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 quarts chicken broth
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).  In a mortar or spice grinder, grind coriander, cumin, oregano, fennel, red pepper, salt and peppercorns into a coarse powder. Blend in garlic and 1 tablespoon olive oil to form a paste. Wash pumpkin, and cut into 2-inch wide wedges, scraping away seeds. Peel potatoes and cut each potato lengthwise into 6 wedges. Smear the pumpkin and the potatoes with the spice paste and place in a baking dish. Roast in preheated oven 30 to 40 minutes, until tender and just beginning to blacken at the thinnest points. Meanwhile, in a large pot over medium heat, cook the onion in the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil until translucent.  Chop pumpkin and potatoes into smaller chunks and puree in a blender or food processor with some of the chicken broth until smooth. Be sure to scrape the roasted spice paste off the baking dish and include it in the puree. It may be necessary to deglaze the dish with a little chicken broth. Pour the pureed vegetables into the pot with the onions, and stir in as much additional chicken stock as needed.
 

Turkey Tortilla Soup
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 to 2 lbs. ground turkey
10 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup store-bought salsa
1 tomato, chopped
1 tomatillo, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 jalapeño, chopped
Chopped cilantro
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can kernel corn
In a skillet, brown chopped onion in vegetable oil. Add ground turkey and brown thoroughly. Add chicken broth, salsa, tomato, tomatillo, green onion, jalapeño, cilantro, garbanzo beans & corn. Simmer for approximately 5 to 10 minutes, until soup is well heated. Serve with tortilla chips on side.
 

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