Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Soup's On

" Still Life with Soup Tureen"
1839-1906



Mmmm. Soup. It's a good thing. It feeds both body and soul. It warms you when you are cold. It comforts you when you are blue. It soothes you when you are sick. It is easy to make and easy on the budget. It is actually better the second day than the first. It's a complete meal in a bowl. What could be better than that?

Several of you expressed interest in Melissa's Taco Soup recipe, so I asked her to share it with us (see below). And I am sharing a recipe that I first tried several years ago. It's called New Year's Day Soup, but it's great any day. It has become a winter favorite of mine.

Please share your favorite soup recipe, if you have one.


Taco Soup
Courtesy of Melissa Riegert

1 medium onion (diced)
1 large green or red pepper-or both (diced)
All chicken breast meat from rotisserie (shredded)
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans beans (pinto, kidney, black, whatever) (drained and rinsed)
Frozen corn (1/2 bag, whole bag, whatever)
Frozen veggies (I use whatever I have around, ie. Green beans, spinach, etc.)
2 packets lower sodium taco seasoning
1 ½ boxes lower sodium chicken broth

Directions: Sauté Onion and green pepper in large stock/soup pot until mostly soft. Add shredded meat, tomatoes, beans, corn, veggies, and taco seasoning. Mix a little. Add chicken broth to cover. May need less or may need more than above (Depends on amount of veggies added). Mix well and bring to a boil. Once boiling cover and let simmer maybe 10 minutes. Soup is done. I portion it out into plastic containers and freeze them. Before I freeze them, I also add 1 tsp olive oil to each container. Just grab one and go for lunch.

New Year's Day Soup
Southern Living, January 2000

Yield: 10 cups

Ingredients
1 cup diced lean ham
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (15-ounce) cans black-eyed peas, undrained
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans no-salt-added stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Garnish: chopped fresh spinach

Preparation
Saute first 5 ingredients over medium heat in a Dutch oven until vegetables are tender. Stir in black-eyed peas and next 4 ingredients; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20-30 minutes. Stir in 1 1/2 cups spinach, parsley, and pepper at the last minute. Garnish, if desired.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 144
Fat: 1.4g
Cholesterol: 7mg
Sodium: 538mg

11 comments:

Sheryl McCalla said...

Thanks for the recipies.
How about one for the Thanksgiving leftovers. Everyone said "save those turkey bones they'll make a wonderful soup" But no one said "and here's how you make it." So here I am with this turkey carcas and I have no idea what to do with it. I'll look up some recipes on the internet and share what I find.

The Orkins said...

Sheryl - a friend told me turkey soup was easy to make. He said put the carcas, vegetable broth, rice and a bunch of veggies in a pot - heat until ready to serve. Of course he gave me no timeframes or qtys, but apparently that is the recipe. I will see if I can find something a little more specific. Can't wait to make these soups! Black eyed peas are my favorite!

Rachel Nye said...

mmmmmmmm.......

I know what I will be making this weekend, they both sound delicious!!!

MelissaR said...

Yayyyy for soup!!! Pat~ Your recipe sounds wonderful!!!

Here is a recipe for a Butternut Squash soup. I haven't made it yet, but I found it on the Weight Watcher site. It is CORE, as is my taco soup. :o)

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
-1 butternut squash
-4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (separated)
-1 head of garlic
-2 leeks
-5 cups of chicken broth

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Take a head of garlic and cut along the top to expose the top portion of the cloves, but still keep them connected to the base of the garlic head. Peel some of the outer most layers of skin off the garlic, but leave the inner layers so the head remains coverd by skin. Wrap the head of garlic in tin foil and set aside.

Peel butternut squash. Cut the peeled squash into 1-inch cubes. In a roasting pan, combine the squash and 2 T of olive oil. Toss to coat. Pour in 1/4 cup water. Roast the squash and garlic package, stiring the squash occasionally, until squash is golden and soft, about 50-60 minutes. (Add a bit more water if the squash starts to scortch on the bottom). Remove squash from oven.

Finely chop the white portion and tender green portion of two leaks. While squash and garlic roast, heat 2 T olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add leeks and saute until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Be careful not to let them burn. Set them aside while squash finishes.

To get garlic out of skin once it’s been roasted, peel away the tin foil (but use it to hold the garlic in your hand as it will probably still be hot). Squeeze the base of the garlic head allowing the roasted garlic to be pushed out of the garlic skin.

In a blender in batches combine the roasted squash, garlic and leeks with 1 cup of chicken stock/broth. Puree until very smooth. Transfer puree to a saucepan. Repeat untill you have used 5 cups of broth. Simmer puree over medium heat. Season to taste with salt.


Nutritional information (serves six)
170 calories
0 grams fiber
9 grams fat
21 grams carbs

Points value: 4

FOr me, I will substitute 2 roasted carrots instead of the leeks. I don't really like the flavor of leeks.

Byron said...

I do love soup! Thanks for the ideas!

I have not tried this one, but here is Emeril's Turkey Soup Recipe that a lady in my office indicated she used. She is a Weight Watcher and said she omitted the pasta and/or rice required by the recipe and added additional vegetables, or substituted a brown rice in smaller quantities when she has made it previously. The Crusty Bread is optional she said!

Turkey and Vegetable
SoupPrep Time: 20 min Inactive Prep Time: hr min Cook Time: 1 hr 15 min Level:
Intermediate

Serves:
6 to 8 servings

1 leftover whole roasted turkey
2 medium onions, cored, peeled and chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
3 medium stalks celery, cleaned and chopped
2 bay leaves
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Water, to cover
Any leftover turkey meat, diced
2 cups cooked diced potatoes, rice or pasta
2 cups cooked sweet peas
2 cups cooked carrots, diced
2 cups any other cooked vegetables
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup chopped green onions, green part only
1/4 cup chiffonade fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 cup cooked macaroni
Loaf crusty bread



Place whole turkey in a large stockpot. Add 1/2 of the onions, carrots, and celery. Add bay leaves, salt and pepper. Cover the turkey with 3 quarts of water. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 1 hour.

Remove stock from heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve, saving the liquid (about 2 quarts) and turkey meat, discarding the vegetables.

Saute remaining onions, carrots, and celery until wilted, about 4 minutes. Add to strained stock. Add the remaining vegetables, and garlic to the stock. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the meat from the turkey carcass and dice. Add the meat, herbs, and cooked macaroni to stock. Heat through.

Ladle the soup into each serving bowl and serve with the crusty bread.

The Orkins said...

And if you don't have time to slice/dice all those veggies, just go to the frozen veggie section at Publix - they have them all done for you to just dump in. No saute-ing necessary.

Sheryl McCalla said...

Thanks to all. And thanks Gnomes. That's exactly what I was thinking - "uggh I don't have the time or inclination to do all that slicing and dicing on most days."

Rachel Nye said...

Okay it is officially the most fattening time of the year!!!! At work you can not even see the break room table it is so full of sweets and goodies, that are gifts from other doctors and sales reps!!! I have done good so far just one nibble of a cookie, and a little popcorn. The only way I think I will make it through is if a remember this saying, " A moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips!!" HEHE

And does anyone have a recipe for Italian Wedding Soup that is healthy?

MelissaR said...

How about this one Rae...

Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup
8 servings
Prep: 15 minutes
Slow Cook: 6 hours on LOW

Ingredients
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons plain bread crumbs
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 large carrots, chopped
1 small head escarole (8 ounces), washed, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch strips
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-3/4 cups acini di pepe pasta (such as Ronzoni)

Directions
1. In a large bowl, stir together egg, beef, onion, bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon Parmesan, 1 tablespoon parsley and 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Form into 1-inch meatballs (about 45) and place on baking sheet; refrigerate while preparing soup.

2. Combine broth, carrots, escarole and oregano in slow cooker. Gently add meatballs. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours. Stir in pasta for last 20 minutes of cook time. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Sprinkle each serving with remaining parsley and Parmesan cheese and serve.

Nutrition facts per serving:
Servings Per Recipe 8 servings
Calories 175
Total Fat (g) 3
Saturated Fat (g) 1
Cholesterol (mg) 41
Sodium (mg) 681
Carbohydrate (g) 25
Fiber (g) 3
Protein (g) 12
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Rachel Nye said...

mmm thanks Melissa!

Took the night off from CFEd because I am so sore... Ended up going to Bikram yoga which i haven't done in awile, boy do I feel better, it was like a massage for $15, highly recommended it!!! Here is there website:

http://bikramyogadecatur.com/

Pat said...

Hey Everyone, I have been so busy with work...burning the candle at both ends. So that's the reason that I haven't been posting as often. Just very busy.