Roasted Cauliflower Soup

My brother always called (and still does) cauliflower, "ca'awful' flower", but I've always liked it....most of the time. This recipe is out of Family Circle magazine. I thought it was good and after eating it I thought it would be more amazing if you add ground red pepper and some parmesan cheese. ☺

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

1 large head Cauliflower, cut into florets

1 large Onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

15 oz Chicken Broth

1 cup Water

1 Bay leaf

1 tsp Thyme

1 cup Milk

Salt

Pepper

Red Pepper, ground (optional)

Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Toss cauliflower, onions, garlic, and olive oil together, spread on cooking sheet and roast at 400 for 30 minutes. Stirring halfway through.

In a saucepan, combine cauliflower mixture, broth, 1 cup water, bay leaf, and thyme and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Throw away bay leaf and puree soup with a processor (I used the immersion blender), return to pan, stir in milk, salt and pepper and cook until warm through.

Toss the garlic, onions, cauliflower and olive oil together

spread on cooking sheet and roast at 400 for 30 minutes

add the roasted cauliflower mixture to water, broth, bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Throw out bay leaf and puree soup.

add milk, salt and pepper and heat through.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1-1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) chicken broth (or make your own)
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 corn tortillas (6 inches), cut into 1/2-inch strips (I don't like corn tortillas so I used my favorite) ☺

Broil chicken 3-4 in. from the heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. (Or cheat and use rotisserie chicken like I did)
In a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray (I used olive oil), cook onion and garlic until tender. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste, chilies and seasonings. Shred chicken with two forks; add to soup. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, place tortilla strips on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until crisp. Serve with soup. Yield: 8 servings (3 quarts).

Nutrition Facts: 1-1/2 cups equals 227 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 39 mg cholesterol, 818 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 23 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2-1/2 very lean meat, 2 starch.

Cooking garlic and onion till tender

After everything has been added

Baking the tortillas

I garnished with sour cream and cilantro.

*Recipe from Taste of Home

Split Pea Soup

Split peas don't have to be soaked for a long period of time, so you just rinse them off and cook. (and pick through and find the non split pea items) :o)

Split Pea Soup

1-1/2 c Split peas

3 cups Chicken Broth

1 Tomato (chopped)

1 Celery stalk (stalk, not a whole bunch) chopped

1 Onion, chopped

1-2 carrots, chopped

1 c or can V8 juice (optional, you can just add more water instead)

2 c Water

Pepper

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

1/2 package Turkey Bacon (6 oz) or Turkey Ham would probably be better, but the bacon was what I had. (chopped)

Salt to taste

Throw everything in the crockpot and cook

after it's done cooking

I take the wand mixer and puree about 3/4's of the soup

Tim's Black Bean Chili

This is my uncles recipe and I didn't follow it exactly and I cooked it in the crockpot.

Tim's Black Bean Chili

2-4 lb Roast trimmed of fat

1 lg onion (chopped)
2 red bell peppers (chopped)
3 jalapeno peppers (fine chopped)
3 cloves garlic (fine chopped)
10 mushrooms (sliced)
6 sm tomatoes (lg chunks)
1 cup frozen corn
1 tsp black pepper
0-2 tsp cayenne pepper
1-3 tsp ground cumin
1-3 tbs chili powder
4 cans black beans (rinsed)
1.5 cups chicken broth
1 10 oz pkg chopped spinach
 
Slow barbeque the roast over briquets and water soaked mesquite chips until fully cooked & smoked. Cut the roast into bite sized chunks. Set aside.

Lightly spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add onion, red peppers, jalapenos, garlic, mushroms, tomatoes, corn, pepper, cumin and chili powder.

Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.

Add beans, meat, chicken broth and boil for 10 minues.

Remove 1.5 cups of mixture from skillet and place in blender or food processor. Blend mixture until pureed. Return to saucepan and add spinach.

Cook 5-6 minutes until spinach is well heated.

Serves 6-8

Chicken and Rice Soup

Probably one of my favorite soups this winter!

Chicken and Rice Soup

2-3 Chicken Breasts (they can be frozen)

1-2 Carrots, chopped or shredded

1 Celery, chopped

1 small Onion, chopped

Garlic Powder

Pepper

6 c Water

6 tsp Chicken Bouillon

1 box Wild and long grain rice

(If you don't use boxed rice, you'll just want to add more of your own spices)

Throw everything but the rice in the crockpot

Shred the chicken with two forks when it's cooked enough. Add box of rice about an hour before eating.

16 Bean Soup

(Sorry about the lovely picture, I forgot about taking a picture until we were done eating)

I've had a couple of requests for this recipe. Problem is that I just throw things in and I'm never consistent, but here it is roughly

16 Bean Soup

1-2 cups 16 Bean Mix (dried)

1 can tomatoes (stewed, diced, whatever your preference)

1-2 carrots

2 cans V8 juice or tomato sauce

1 cup Beef bouillon (I put extra beef base in sometimes too)

Onions or Onion powder

Garlic Powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 package of Turkey Bacon (I've also used Turkey Ham, or Beef Summer sausage)

This recipe made about 3 qts, I think.

Soak the beans overnight, rinse and drain.

Add the Beans, Turkey Bacon, tomatoes, spices, etc...

Shred carrots and add

Top off with V8 juice and cook in crock-pot until done. :o) (If that isn't enough liquid, you can add more bouillon)

When the beans are soft, I puree about half of the soup in the chopper, and add it back in, (or if you have a wand chopper thing, I use that too)

Pasta E Fagoli

***Edit***
I decided that since this was the first recipe I ever posted here that it deserved a reposting with pictures. In these pictures I cooked this in the crockpot and used partially frozen ground beef, so just know that you have that option too (of not browning the meat). I also used my own spaghetti sauce made out of tomato paste, v8 juice, and spices, and it still tasted good!  ;o)
Here is the recipe for Pasta e Fagoli. It's supposed to be a copycat of the soup at Olive Garden, but I've never had it so I can't tell you how it compares. I just think this stuff is pretty good! It makes quite a bit so either have it for guests or freeze. :-)

Pasta e Fagoli (makes about 6 quarts)

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1/2 of a small 1 lb. bag of baby carrots, chopped
5 stalks of celery, diced
2 (14.5 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 (32 oz.) carton + 1 (14.5 oz.) can of beef broth (If you like a more brothy soup add more, I made up about 50 oz of broth.)
1 1/2 tsp oregano
11/4 tsp pepper
2 1/2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped (I used dry)
3/4 tsp tabasco sauce
1 jar (1 lb. 10 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup dry small pasta (such as ditalini or elbow macaroni)
salt to taste


Brown ground beef. Drain if necessary. Add onion, carrot, celery and diced tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes. Add beans, beef broth, oregano, pepper, parsley, tabasco sauce and spaghetti sauce.Simmer soup on low for about 30-45 minutes until carrots are almost tender.Add pasta to pot and simmer on low for about 15-30 minutes until pasta is just shy of al dente. As the soup cools, the pasta will absorb the broth. You can cook the pasta separate and add it to the soup after the soup has cooled.
(I browned the meat, pureed the onion and celery and added everything but the noodles and put it in a crockpot. Added the noodles to the crockpot about an hour before eating.)

All ingredients in the crockpot except noodles, cook for atleast 4-5 hours

Add the noodles about 1/2 hr to an hour before eating.

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

1 Butternut Squash

1 Onion, med sized, chopped or pureed

1 Carrot, normal size, chopped pureed

Chicken broth or boullion

Garlic, minced or powder

Pepper

Cayenne Pepper

Olive Oil

Parsley (optional)

I only cut the squash into halves, but I would recommend cutting into 4ths for faster cooking time. I just stuck in the microwave on a plate until it was soft enough to scoop out with a spoon, but you can roast in the oven too.

I started out by cooking the Olive Oil, Carrots, and Onion

Added 5-6 tsp of Chicken Base and water. (Water will depend on how soupy you want your soup, I like mine on the thick side) Then add Garlic, Pepper, and a little Cayenne.

Add the Squash, let simmer and then beat with a whisk, or with a hand blender

Sprinkle in some dried parsley, stir in for a few minutes serve with breadsticks.

Beef Barley Soup

Beef Barley Soup (Adapted from Taste of Home magazine)

2 lbs Beef Stew Meat (cut into 1 inch pieces)
1 T Vegetable Oil (I used Olive)
5 c Water
4 Celery ribs (chopped)
1 large Onion (chopped)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced Tomatoes, undrained
2 T Tomato Paste
4 t Beef Bouillon
1 t each Oregano, Thyme, Basil and Parsley flakes
Salt
Pepper
1 c Quick Cooking Barley

I made this in the crockpot

So I just added all the ingredients, except for the Barley

I pureed the Onion and Celery, added the Tomatoes

Carrots

The meat

I had it on high for 4-5 hours and added the Barley during the last hour of cooking

Valerie's Chili

Very simple recipe, but it's really good.

Valerie's Chili

Two packages of McCormick's Original Chili mix
2 lbs Ground beef
2 cans Red beans (drained)
1 can Dk Red Kiney beans (drained)
1 can Black beans (drained)
2 8oz cans Tomato sauce
1 14.5oz can Petite Diced Tomatoes
Chilli powder
Garlic Salt
1 squirt of Ketchup
(I added an Onion)

Brown and drain your meat. Add some Garlic Salt, Chili Powder, and one packet of Chili seasoning, and I added my chopped Onion.
Tomato Sauce and Diced Tomatoes in the crockpot

Add the beans
Add the other packet of Chili seasoning, and the squirt of ketchup
Add the browned meat
Cook all day in the crockpot.
Done!

See. Easy.