Butternut Squash Soup

Somehow I've gone all my life without ever cooking with butternut squash. I always see recipes using butternut squash, but for some reason I've been a little intimidated to try it. When I finally decided to try this soup I started by Googling how to cut a butternut squash--and good thing I did, because I had no idea where to start and I learned some very handy tips! I'm glad I ventured into a new territory because this soup was so good and was the absolute perfect thing to have on a chilly winter night!

1 tablespoon butter
3 1/2 cups peeled, cubed butternut squash (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup half and half
1/8 teaspoon salt

To prepare soup, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add squash, carrot, and onion; saute for 12 minutes. Add chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in half and half and salt. Place squash mixer in a blender (or use a hand blender) and blend until smooth.

I also made some homemade crutons to add to the soup and served it with a simple salad and cheesy toasts---soooooo good!!

Source: Cooking Light

Cream of Mushroom Soup

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I am a mushroom lover, and lucky for me, so is Colin! I love pretty much anything and everything with mushrooms and this soup was no exception.

1 lb. mushrooms cleaned and sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped, divided
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup heavy cream
Small handful of parsley, chopped

Toss mushrooms in olive oil, add 1 tablespoon thyme and salt and pepper. Roast the mushrooms in a preheated 400 degree oven until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, remaining 1 tablespoon thyme and sage and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add roasted mushrooms and broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper. Remove from heat and puree with a hand blender. Mix in heavy cream. Garnish with parsley.

Source: closetcooking.blogspot.com

Pappa al Pomodoro

It's technically spring now, but with this crazy Texas weather (snow on March 20th???!!), there may still be some chilly nights that would be perfect for this soup, which is basically a jazzed up tomato soup. I served this with the perfect accompaniment--a jazzed up grilled cheese, of course! I used "fancy" bread, 2 kinds of cheese and tomatoes--it was delicious! As yummy as this was, I'm a bit of a food traditionalist (well, I'm actually a bit of a "life traditionalist" too!), so next time I make it I may omit the carrots and celery to make it more of a standard tomato soup.

1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onion
1 cup medium diced carrots
1 cup medium diced celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups diced ciabatta bread, crusts removed
2 (28 oz.) cans Italian plum tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Topping:
3 cups diced ciabatta bread
2 oz. thickly sliced pancetta, chopped (we ate this during our vegetarian month, so we skipped the pancetta and were totally fine without it)
24-30 whole fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil

Heat oil in a large stockpot, over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook for 10 minutes, until tender. Add the bread cubes and cook for 5 more minutes. Place tomatoes in food processor and pulse briefly, just until coarsely chopped. Add the tomatoes to the pot, along with the stock, wine, basil, salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat and allow to simmer, partially covered for 45 minutes.
For the topping: Preheat oven to 375. Place the bread, pancetta and basil on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss well. Cook, stirring occasionally for 20-25 minutes, until all ingredients are crisp.
Beat the soup with a wire whisk until the bread is broken up. Stir in the Parmesan. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve hot, sprinkled with toppings.

Source: annies-eats.com

Spicy Golden Corn Soup with Quesadillas

The recipe was super easy, so I kept it simple and just made some cheese and veggie quesadillas to go along with it. Yum!

1 can creamed corn
1 can vegetable broth
Salsa verde
White wine vinegar
Cilantro
Sour cream

Simmer a can of creamed corn with the broth and a scoop of salsa verde (I added a few scoops because I like more spiciness and wanted to thicken it up a little bit). Once warmed through, sprinkle in a few drops of white wine vinegar and top with chopped cilantro and sour cream.

Source: Rachael Ray website

Jalapeno-Potato Cheddar

This is a super-easy recipe from the Rachael Ray website--so easy that there aren't even measurements for the ingredients! Just do what works for your tastes and the consistency you want and it will turn out great!

Butter

Fresh jalapeno

Onion

Potato

Chicken broth

Sour cream

Cheddar cheese

Melt butter in a saucepan and cook thinly sliced jalapeno and finely chopped onion until softened. Add finely chopped, peeled potato and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Puree half of the cooked potatoes with sour cream. Stir the puree into the soup and sprinkle with cheddar cheese and thinly sliced jalapeno rounds before serving.

I served this with black bean tostadas (basically just the black bean tacos laid flat) and it was a delicious, easy, flavorful meal.

Baked Potato Soup

My attempt at this didn't really turn out all that "soupy", but it was delicious nonetheless.

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
3 cups milk
Salt and pepper
1/2 head cauliflower, cored and chopped
1 bunch scallions, white and green portions thinly sliced separately
4 slices bacon (I omitted the bacon)
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 cup sour cream (I used light)

In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes, 2 cups milk and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium-low, add the cauliflower and scallion whites, cover and simmer until tender, 10-15 minutes. Add the remaining one cup milk, then puree the soup. Season with salt and pepper. Microwave the bacon at high power until crisp, 3-4 minutes; crumble (I skipped this step, obviously). Divide the soup among 4 bowls and top with the shredded cheese, sour cream, crumble bacon and scallion greens.

Source: Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine

Tuscany Bread with Cream of Tomato Soup

I made this for lunch on our "snow" day when Colin and I were stuck inside all day. I'm so glad I happened to have all the ingredients on hand because this was soooo good and the perfect warm and cozy (but easy!) meal!

Tuscany Bread

1 small loaf French baguette
Pesto
Couple of handfuls of fresh spinach
4-8 mozzarella slices, just enough to cover the bread
1 small tomato, diced
A few lemon wedges

Heat oven to 375. Brown baguette until the outside is crusty (about 5-8 minutes). Halve bread lengthwise and spread pesto on the cut sides. Add spinach leaves, a few tomatoes and then the cheese. Sprinkle a few more tomatoes on top of the cheese. Place under a broiler until cheese is melted and starting to brown. Remove from oven and cut into pieces. Serve with lemon wedges.

"Cheater's" Cream of Tomato Soup

Fresh herbs of choice (I used basil)
Butter
1 jar spaghetti sauce
2 cups water
1/2 cup heavy cream
Pinch of nutmeg

Saute fresh herbs in butter. Add all other ingredients. Simmer for 5 minutes and that's it--couldn't be easier!

Source: Food Network Magazine

"Healthier" Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I think "healthier" is probably a relative term here, but this was definitely really good and I'll be making it again.

2 1/2 lb. baking potatoes (about 4 large)

2/3 cup flour

6 cups reduced fat milk

1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup reduced-fat sour cream

3/4 cup green onions, chopped and divided

6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 400. Pierce potatoes with a fork and bake for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes and coarsely mash. Place flour in large dutch oven. Gradually add milk, whisking until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat until thoroughly heated. Don't allow soup to come to a boil. Ladle into serving bowls and top with cheese, onions and bacon.

Source Cooking Light

Black Bean Soup

Obviously black bean soup doesn't photograph well but this was so good! Lots of flavor and it was really pretty easy too.

1 medium red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons oil
3 cans (16 oz.) black beans, undrained
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth (could easily use veggie broth to make this a truly vegetarian recipe)
1 jar (16 oz) chunky salsa
1/2 cup sour cream

Cook and stir onion, garlic and cumin in oil over medium heat in a large saucepan for 3 minutes. Place one can of undrained beans and half of the broth in a blender or food processor and cover. Blend until pureed. Add to ingredients in saucepan. Add remaining beans, broth and salsa to saucepan; mix well. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Served topped with a dollop of sour cream.

Source kraftfoods.com

Turkey and White Bean Chili

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb. ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

4 teaspoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 can (28 oz.) whole tomatoes in juice, chopped

1 can (15 oz.) white kidney beans (cannelli), rinsed and drained

1/2 cup light sour cream

Source delish.com

In a 12 inch skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat until hot. Add turkey and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cook 6-8 minutes, or until turkey loses its pink color. Add onion and cook 4 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin, cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes with their juice, beans and 1/2 cup water. Heat to boiling on high. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle into bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream.

"Chicken" Noodle Soup with Garlic-Cheese Biscuits

There's not any actual chicken in this soup, which is a little bit strange, but it still has plenty of good flavor and is cheaper and easier without the chicken anyway.

2 tablespoons olive oil

76 oz. chicken broth

Roughly chopped veggies: 1/2 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 2 carrots, 1 celery stalk

Finely chopped veggies: 1/4 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk

2 sage leaves, finely chopped

Pinch of dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 bay leaf

8 oz. egg noodles

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add roughly chopped onions and garlic, saute 3-4 minutes. Add roughly chopped carrots and celery; add sage. Stir for 2 minutes and then add broth, dried thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then keep at a simmer until veggies are soft. Turn heat to low, remove bay leaf and puree veggies using a handheld immersion blender (I think I may skip this process next time and just chop all veggies to a medium size). Add finely chopped veggies to the broth and simmer until soft (this step would be skipped if all veggies were chopped to the same size and added all at once). Cook egg noodles separately and add to each serving of soup (cook them separately so they don't soak up too much of the broth).

Garlic-Cheese Biscuits (otherwise known as the "Red Lobster biscuits")

2 cups Bisquick

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

2/3 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon parsley

Makes about 12 biscuits

Preheat oven to 450. Mix all ingredients until moist. Drop onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden.

Taco Soup with Jalapeno Cornbread

Ok, I think I have a slight soup obsession! I always find recipes for soups that sound so good and they're usually so easy and filling that it's hard to resist! I know pretty much everyone has a version of a taco soup recipe, so here's mine.....

1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 can (15 oz.) black beans
1 can (15 oz.) whole kernel corn
1 can (14 oz.) stewed tomatoes
1 can (6 oz.) tomato sauce
2-3 cups water
1 can (10 oz.) Rotel tomatoes
1 package taco seasoning
1 package ranch dressing

Brown meat in Dutch oven. Add all other ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes. Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocados and crushed corn chips.

Before I made this cornbread Colin made sure to tell me that he didn't like it when cornbread was "too dry". So, lucky me, I came across a recipe for "extra moist" jalapeno cornbread and figured Colin would love it. Well, turns out he also doesn't like it when cornbread is "too mushy", go figure! Either way I thought this was super tasty and will definitely make it again!

Extra Moist Jalapeno Cornbread
3 (7 oz.) packages of cornbread mix (if using Jiffy, omit the sugar from the recipe)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 cups shredded Colby or Monterey Jack cheese (I only used 1 cup)
2 large eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups whole or buttermilk (I used 1% milk)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons sugar
1 (15 oz.) can cream-style corn
6 oz. chopped jalapenos

*This made a huge amount, so I'll probably half it next time

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 9x13 pan or cast iron skillet. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes (I ended up baking it for closer to an hour).

French Onion Soup

Serves 2

2 tablespoons butter
2 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
4 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons Sherry
1 teaspoons Worcestershire
Salt and pepper to taste
4 slices crusty bread
4 slices Swiss cheese

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add onions. Cook, covered over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes. Stir in broth, sherry and Worcestershire. Bring to boiling. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Preheat broiler. Broil bread topped with cheese on baking sheet; place in bowl of soup when ready.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens

Broccoli Potato Soup

Serves 4

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
Salt and pepper
2 small yukon gold potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
1 bunch broccoli (about 1 1/4 lbs), chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the potatoes and 3 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the broccoli, cover and cook just until tender, about 7 minutes. Using a blender, puree half the soup; combine with the other half. Stir in 2 cups shredded cheese, the stir in the cream. Season with salt and pepper.

Source: Everyday with Rachael Ray

Smoky Corn Chowder with Easy Beer Bread

Smoky Corn Chowder

Source Real Simple

Serves 4

8 oz. sliced bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 large sweet onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 (10 oz.) packages frozen corn
3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup half and half

Salt and pepper

4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Spoon off and discard all but 2 tablespoons of drippings and return the pot to medium heat. Cook the onion, stirring occassionally, until soft, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika and red pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the corn, broth and half and half and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to the pot, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and stir to combine. Divide the soup among 4 bowls and top with scallions and bacon.

Easy Beer Bread

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

4 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

12 oz. beer

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine flours, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and garlic powder. Whisk to combine. Slowly add beer to dry ingredients and stir lightly until just combined and all ingredients are completely moistened. Place in loaf pan and pour melted butter over the top. Place in the oven and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Tortellini and Spinach Soup

This is one of my favorite things to make--so easy and so good!!

Serves 4

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6-8 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
6 oz. cheese tortellini
14 oz. canned diced tomatoes, with their liquid
10 oz. spinach, washed and stemmed
8-10 leaves basil, coarsely chopped
Grated Parmesan

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute about 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and cook halfway, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and their liquid, reduce heat to simmer. Cook just until pasta is tender. Stir in spinach and basil, cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan.

Source thenest.com