Soup Recipes

So, just to make everyone out there jealous. Check out the temp. Yeah. that's some cold shit. And the outdoor temp indicator is away from the wind. It's stupid cold. As in, your fingers may fall off if you walk outside. Just wanted to let you have that little reminder of what hell is like out here in the Midwest. Luckily, this photo was taken a few days ago. It's now a balmy, warm 34 degrees. WooHoo! Heat wave!



Onward ho! I channeled the spirit of Julia Child (without the spy stuff) and wanted to give out a recipe that I was trying. I made ham the other day and was already sick of it, so found a recipe for Ham and Potato soup on the internet. Yes, so I was at work. What of it? Everyone else was gone for the day so screw it. I thought I would keep track as I cooked so you all could experience the joy that is me and my kitchen. I also had a really good feeling that this soup would be amazing and delicious. I was right.


So, I doubled up the recipe and these are the amounts if you want to make a metric-shit ton of soup. 7 cups of cubed, peeled potatos (I used Russets); 1 finely chopped onion; 2 cups diced celery and 2 cups cooked ham. See how pretty this is? I should totally have my own show. Let someone know at Food Network please.

2 teaspoons salt, 2 tbls chicken bouillion granules and 2 tbls white ground pepper (it was a touch spicy, so if you're sensitive, might want to back that off).

Throw the ham, potatoes, celery and onion in a pot with 6 1/2 cups water. Let boil. Turn down to med-high heat until potatoes are tender.

On the side, 2 cups milk, 10 tbls butter (yeah, holy shit right?), 10 tbls all-purpose flour.

Over low heat, melt the butter. After it's fully melted, add the flour about a quarter at a time, whisking with a fork to avoid lumpiness. Then add in the milk a little at a time until blended and smooth. Let heat, stirring constantly until the mixture starts to thicken (about 5-6 min). I didn't do a picture of any of those steps because I only have two hands and they were busy stirring and adding. So shut up.


Here's the thickened mixture.

Slowly add to soup, stirring. Turn down to medium heat, serve after warmed through.

It was freakin' amazing. Definately in my top 5 of soups. I will make this again! Also, if my stomach could hold anymore liquid, I would have continued eating. The condensed version is below (and the normal amounts, since this made a metric shit-ton of soup-as I said earlier).

For the cool kids, here's a couple of recipes from my personal library. They are awesome and amazing and delicous. These are from a book called Main Course Soups and there's a little of my own adaptions after making these so many times (in italics).

Chicken Enchilada Soup
Ingredients:
2 tbls corn oil
6 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
1 red onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 (28 oz) can chopped tomatoes with their juice
2 tbls chili powder
1/4 tea ground cumin
6 cups chicken stock
1 (8oz) can red enchilada sauce
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Pico de Gallo
2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
3 green onions, finely chopped
2 tbls peanut oil
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3 tbls finely chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbls lime juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a 4-1/2 quart Dutch oven, heat the corn oil over medium-high heat until sizzling. Add the tortillas, reduce the heat to medium and cook until they are golden brown. Add the onion, garlic and jalapenos. Cook until the onion is soft, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper. Cook for 10 min.
Stir in the chicken stock and enchilada sauce. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 min. Stir in the chicken, cilantro, and avocado. Cook for 2 min., or until just heated.
To serve, ladle into individual bowls and top with pico de gallo and shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Serve with tortilla chips on the side. (Note: I usually use less cayenne pepper and cilantro and don't mix the tortilla strips in until I serve the soup. Usually use mozzarella cheese instead of Monterey Jack. I usually just microwave a package of boneless chicken breasts for the chicken, then throw it into the refrigerator while cooking the rest of the soup. It’s easy to shred and toss in. Also, I tend to use less cilantro, but that's a taste preference.)

Pico de Gallo
In a medium bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Let sit at room temp for 1 hour before using to allow the flavors to mellow (Note: Not entirely necessary to let sit for so long. It also states that you must not process these in a food processor because it makes the pico too watery, I only cut the tomatoes by hand and it’s been fine. If you want to, you can make it a day ahead if you really want the flavors of the pico to blend nicely). Refrigerate unused portion for up to 5 days.


Roasted Garlic Soup with Green Grapes
(Don’t let the number of garlic cloves in this delicious soup alarm you. When garlic is roasted, it develops a mellow, almost nut-like taste. The sweet green grapes offer an interesting taste and textural contrast. This marriage of soup and bread is sometimes called a panade, although traditionally, a panade utilizes bread crumbs. Author’s note).

Ingredients
5 heads garlic, separated into cloves and peeled (about 60 cloves)
2 onions, halved, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tbls butter melted
1/2 tea salt
1/2 tea black pepper
1 tbls flour
8 cups chicken stock
8 slices French bread, torn into pieces
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese (Note: I usually substitute mozzarella cheese here)
1 cup seedless green grapes, cut in half

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large, oven-proof baking dish, toss the garlic and onions with the olive oil and melted butter. Sprinkle this mixture with salt, pepper and flour.
Cover the baking dish with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place in the oven and roast for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or until garlic is soft.
In a 4-1/2 quart Dutch oven, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Transfer the roasted garlic, onions and oil and butter to a food processor and puree until smooth (Note: I never puree the garlic mixture, just toss it into the chicken stock, after smushing it with a fork). Add this mixture to the stock and blend thoroughly. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper as needed.
Divide the French bread among 8 serving bowls. Ladle the soup over the bread and let sit for 1 min to allow the bread to absorb some of the flavors of the soup. Sprinkle each bowl with grated Gruyere (or mozzarella, haha) cheese and green grapes. Serve at once. (Note: I usually omit the bread and just set it there for people to choose whether they want it in there or not.)

Ham and Potato Soup
3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tbls chicken bouillon granules
1/2 tea salt or to taste
1 tea ground white or black pepper or to taste
5 tbls butter
5 tbls all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over med heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over med-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 min. Slowly stir in milk. Continue stirring over med-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 min.
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Love,
Belinda