Tomato Tortellini Soup December 10, 2011

I had cut this recipe out ages ago, I have no idea why it took me so long to make!!  This is definitely soup weather now, and I love it!!  So good – never thought to put tortellini in it !  Love!

From Taste of Home magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini
• 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) reduced-sodium condensed tomato soup, undiluted
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 2 cups half-and-half cream
• 1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• Additional shredded Parmesan cheese, optional
• Fresh Basil
• 2 tomatoes chopped

Directions

• Cook tortellini according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat through, stirring frequently. Drain tortellini; carefully add to soup. Stir in cheese. Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired.  Add fresh tomatoes and basil.  Serve

Creamy Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup December 27, 2010

This soup is sooo yummy on those cold winter nights – and it is from cooking light – so you don’t have to feel bad about it!!!

Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons  butter, divided
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
• 4 3/4  cups  cubed peeled sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 3 1/2  cups  water
• 3  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 3  cups  chopped carrot (about 1 pound)
• 1/4  cup  half-and-half
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3  cup  reduced-fat sour cream
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Move onion mixture to side of pan; add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to open space in pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook 1 minute or until butter begins to brown. Add sweet potatoes, 3 1/2 cups water, broth, and carrot; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

2. Blend until smooth with an immersion blender. Stir in half-and-half, salt, and pepper. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with about 2 teaspoons sour cream and 3/4 teaspoon parsley.

Thai Style Dumpling Soup March 31, 2010

I had mushrooms and snap peas  that I needed to use up , and just bought some dumplings from TJ’s that I was dying to try!  This was perfect for a rainy day – hopefully the last cold one we see for a while!!

2 32-oz containers of low-sodium chicken broth

1 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thin

1 16-oz package of frozen pot sticker dumplings

2 carrots, halved and sliced

4-8 oz mushrooms, sliced

2 cups sliced snap peas

1 TBS low-sodium soy sauce

1 tsp thai hot sauce

2 cups rotesserie chicken sliced ( optional)

4 scallions, sliced

Instructions:

In a large soup pot, bring broth and ginger to a boil. Add the dumplings and carrots, and simmer until just tender, 8-10 minutes.

Add the mushrooms , chicken, and snap peas, and simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in hot sauce and soy sauce. Taste before adding the salt, and season if necessary.  Sprinkle with scallions before serving.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup February 3, 2010

Yet another version of chicken and dumplings!  Can’t you tell I love this stuff? LOL – This was adapted from Cooking Light, however I doubled the dumpling recipe, so I guess it wasn’t “light” anymore? LOL  I also added some chicken base, because I just love the flavor it gives.  Perfect for the winter, which thanks to the groundhog, we will be experiencing 6 more weeks of!  Boo!!

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2 split chicken breasts
• 3/4  cup  (1/4-inch) diagonally cut celery
• 1/2  cup  (1/4-inch) diagonally cut carrot
• 1/2  cup  chopped onion
• 1/8  teaspoon  dried thyme
• 3  parsley sprigs
• 1  bay leaf
• 2 cups   chicken broth
• 1 cup hot water with 1 tablespoon chicken base dissolved
• 2.25  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)  * I doubled this
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh parsley  * I doubled this
• 1/4  teaspoon  baking powder  * I doubled this
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt  * I doubled this
• 1/4  cup  1% low-fat milk  * I doubled this

Preparation

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add celery and next 5 ingredients (through bay leaf) to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Return chicken to pan; cook 1 minute. Add broth to pan; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.  Take chicken out and shred chicken discarding the bones.  Return chicken to pan.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, chopped parsley, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk, stirring just until moist. Spoon by heaping teaspoonfuls into broth mixture; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until dumplings are done. Discard parsley sprigs and bay leaf.

Cheddar Broccoli Soup January 20, 2010

I LOVE cheddar broccoli soup, although it is hard to pick what soup is my favorite, this one is up there.   I got the recipe from Cooking Light, of all places, and it really was good!  I served it with a roasted red pepper panini – and it was the perfect dipper

Perfect for those cold winter nights!

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

1  cup  chopped onion

1 cup chopped carrot * I added

1 cup spinach * I added

2  garlic cloves, minced

3  cups  chicken broth

1  (16-ounce) package broccoli florets

2 1/2  cups  2% reduced-fat milk

1/3  cup  all-purpose flour

1/4  teaspoon  black pepper

8  ounces  Velveeta Light

Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion , carrots, spinach and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.

Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.

Place one-third of the soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return pureed soup mixture to pan

Creamy Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup November 2, 2009

This was in the November issue of Cooking Light, and I knew I just had to make it.  It tasted like Autumn in a bowl of soup!  I did make some adjustments, not adding the sour cream, and swapping the half and half because I didn’t have any!

Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons  butter, divided
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
• 4 3/4  cups  cubed peeled sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 3 1/2  cups  water
• 3  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 3  cups  chopped carrot (about 1 pound)
• 1/4  cup  half-and-half  – I used 2 tablespoons of cream cheese, whisked in at the end.
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Move onion mixture to side of pan; add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to open space in pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook 1 minute or until butter begins to brown. Add sweet potatoes, 3 1/2 cups water, broth, and carrot; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

2. Place immersion blender in pot and blend until smooth.  Stir in cream cheese, salt, and pepper, and  parsley.

Tuscan Style Potato Soup October 6, 2009

I got this recipe from Cooking Light – it is similar to the Olive Garden Zuppa Tuscana I made for New Years Dinner this year.  This is sooo creamy – yet all I added was a splash of 2% milk.  The trick is to put the cooked potatoes in the food processor and blend to make a creamy base! Brilliant

Ingredients

• 2  heads garlic
• 2 1/2  tablespoons  olive oil, divided
• 2  cups  finely chopped onion, divided
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 3 cups peeled and cubed red potatoes
• 4  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• splash of 2% milk
• 4  ounces  pecorino Romano cheese,
• 3 links hot sausage
• 1  cup  chopped baby spinach

Preparation

1.  Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 cups onion; sauté 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in pepper, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and potato; sauté 2 minutes. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are very tender, stirring occasionally. Place half mixture in food processor and pulse until smooth – add back into pot. Stir in milk. Finely grate 2 ounces cheese to yield 1/2 cup; stir into soup. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

2. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add remaining 1/2 cup onion; sauté for 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in sausage and crumble

3. Add chopped spinach in soup and stir until wilted.

 

Fun Weekend and Thai Chicken Noodle Soup! April 2, 2009

We had a great weekend , which included BYOB Bowling ( does NOT stand for your own Ball ) LOL – with my good friend Mary Beth, who was home for the weekend !  We took a “MCC Picture” – which I love ( best grade school ever! ) and now anytime we take an MCC pic – it will be on my blog   There is one imposter here, Mary Beth’s husband Jamie – I think he wanted to be a Warrior!HAHA

On Sunday, my allergies were still bad – so I decided to make another version of chicken soup.  It was really good and loaded with veggies!  Another Rachael Ray winner – Make your own takeout!

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1 medium size yellow onion, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 poblano or anaheim peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup shredded carrots, (available in pouches in the produce department)
• 6 cups, 1 1/2 quarts, chicken broth
• 1 1/2 pound chicken tenders (2 packages), cut into bite size chunks
  
• 2 small bundles from a 3.75 ounce package of bean thread noodles
  
• 3 tablespoons cilantro leaves, chopped
• 15 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 lime
• 1/2 package sugar snap peas chopped
• 1 red pepper chopped

Preparation

Heat a large heavy-bottomed soup pot with vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan, over high heat. Once you see the oil ripple, add the sliced onion, chopped garlic and sliced peppers. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup shredded carrot and 6 cups chicken stock or broth. Cover with a lid and bring up to a simmer. Once simmering, add the chicken simmer 5 minutes then add noodles and simmer 5 minutes more. Remove the soup from the heat and add the cilantro, basil and the juice of 1 lime.

Spaetzles! February 17, 2009

Mike got a 24 hour bug, and he instantly wanted soup!  Considering it was a 70 degree day in the winter, soup wasn’t something I was craving at all!  I decided to make chicken soup with spaetzles to jazz it up a bit.  I first made these on New Years Day, and everyone loved them.  They are so easy, and with the spaetzle maker I have, so quick!

3 eggs

3 cups flour

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix all until batter is elastic – like.  Use spaetzle maker and slide into boiling water  – when dumplings are floating, they are done!

Greek Orzo Lemon Soup January 21, 2009

Yet another cold day, yet another good reason to try out a new soup recipe! LOL  This was very good – I was a little scared about tempering the eggs, but I actually did it right!  I got this off of Apple A Day’s Blog!

Ingredients:

4 tsp. olive oil
8 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 c.)
2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 c.)
1 medium carrot, diced (about 1/2 c.)
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
6 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1 c. orzo, preferably whole wheat
2 large eggs
3 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 cup peas

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tsp. oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add it to the pot, and cook. Stir a few times until just cooked through, about five minutes. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside.

2. Add the remaining two teaspoons oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme and cook until vegetables are tender, about five minutes.

3. Add five cups of broth and bring to a boil.

4. Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about eight minutes. Turn the heat down to low to keep the soup hot but not boiling.

5. Warm the remaining one cup broth in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling.

6. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually whisk in the lemon juice. Temper the egg mixture with warm broth, whisking the whole time.

7. Add egg mixture  and peas to the soup pot, stirring well until soup is thickened. Do not let the soup come to a boil.

8. Add the cooked chicken to the soup.