So as the cold months settle in I am woefully short of soup in the freezer for a quick meal/warm up.
The problem is none of my standards are really tempting me right now, so I am in critical need of ideas to increase my soup repertoire. but web searches are non-specific.
My standards.
Chili
Irish beef[lamb] stew
Beer cheese soups
tortilla soup.
Corn chowder.
French onion.
Hot and soup.
egg drop.
chicken noodle[dumpling]
Grabage pail soup(AKA everthing in the fridge that is too little to make a serving out of)
I need to be inspired with something new. It should be largely crock-pot able. I don’t mind browning, or sauting to prepare, but nothing that requires watching or attendance at specific intervals. Should be easily available, and fairly cheep stuff to get. preferably be hearty, filling as a meal type soups and stews. And most importantly it has to freeze well for a month or two, and reheat in microwave.
Our favorite soup lately has been the one with all the dried beans, peas, lentils, etc. It comes in a bag. We don’t use their seasoning. There’s a local market that has excellent smoked ham shanks, and no ham “flavor” is needed. We add barley and carrots, along with the garlic, canned tomatoes, etc. It’s yummy, but I don’t know how it freezes, because we eat it for two or three days and it’s gone.
Our other favorite is made with beef shank, or you could use stew meat. The other ingredients are garlic, shredded cabbage, beans (pinto or kidney), carrots, tomatoes, and pieces of spaghetti or other pasta.
The big hit at our house this season has been butternut squash soup. I don’t know how it freezes, we never have that much left (but it does okay in the fridge for a few days).
The best soup I have ever had was a creamy potato and dill soup. If someone has a recipe for that, pass it on, please.
One soup I often make is taco soup:
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 cup corn
1 large can tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce or paste
2 cups water
Simmer as long as you like (I simmered it all day in my crock pot, and it was very good). Serve with a dollop of sour cream, crumbled tortilla chips, and grated cheddar on top. I haven’t tried doubling it to make a freezer batch, but I don’t see a problem with that.
2/3 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp cumin
2-1/2 cups chicken broth (I use Maggi veggie cubes)
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
salt and pepper to taste
(optional: cilantro and/or sour cream for garnish)
Sauté onion and bell pepper (either use nonstick spray or a little oil) till tender. Add garlic and cumin and cook another minute. Stir in everything else and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer five minutes to blend flavors.
I make a tomato soup with orzo in it. Don’t have recipe handy, but it’s sauté some minced onion and celery in a little butter, add canned crushed tomatoes and chicken broth, simmer for a while, add some half-and-half (the fat-free works fine) and blend with a stick blender if you have one; put in some orzo and cook till done. Divine.
basic stew
Carrots
taters
onion
bell pepper your choice in color and optional
salt and other spices,
for broth that depends on your choice of meats,
I usually make 6 quarts in a crock pot so 3 pounds of meat Chicken/beef/pork/whatever including a mix.
put meat in crock pot, brown first is optional
chop veggies and put in crock
add spices
add broth to cover
and cook for 8-10 hours on low, I usually prep and refrigerate at least the night before so I try for 10 hours as the whole pot will start out cold.
Bake four large potatoes until done, about an hour at 400 degrees. Remove skins.
In a large pot, melt 2/3 cup of butter, then mix in 2/3 cup of flour, whisking until smooth. Stir for one minute.
Gradually add in six cups of milk (when I’m feeling decadent, I’ll do 3 cups of milk and 3 cups of half and half), stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly.
Dump in the baked potatoes, (I use a potato masher to get them into bite-size pieces), 12 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled, 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, one cup of sour cream, 3/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper. Garnish with chives.
I reserve a bit of the bacon and cheese to sprinkle on top of the soup before serving it to make it pretty.
The longest part of making this is baking the potatoes. After you start the roux, it goes pretty quick, so grate the cheese and cook the bacon while the potatoes are in the oven.
1 small to medium head of cabbage, chopped
1 quart of Chicken Broth
4 slices of bacon, chopped
2 onions, chopped
4 large cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
2 tablespoons of flour
1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
1 heaping Tablespoon of *Sweet Hungarian Paprika
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
4 Tony Packo’s Hungarian Sausages/Hot Dogs chopped in rounds
1 cup or 8 ozs. of chopped Smoked Ham
Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Sour Cream to Garnish
Fry the bacon until rendered, add the onions and garlic and sautee on low heat till transparent. Add the flour, paprika, and tomato paste to the bacon, onions, garlic, and oil. Singe and cook the tomato paste and flour for a couple of minutes to remove the rawness and develop carmelization. Add a bit of the chicken stock to work out the lumps and until you have a thick semi-liquid mixture. Transfer this to the bottom of your crockpot- This is your flavor base! Add all of the rest of the ingredients over your flavor base till the crockpot is full. Set crockpot for a few hours or overnight…it will only get better. Garnish a big bowl of this Hungarian Cabbage Soup with a dollop of sour cream.
*One can use a combination of smoked, sweet, and/or hot, hungarian paprika. Hungarian Paprika is the best, can’t guarantee the results with cheap spanish paprika
White bean and kale, with optional kielbasa? The beans are a little mushier after freezing, but it still tastes great. I’ve never tried to make it in a crock pot, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, although you should probably add the carrots and kale much later than the beans.
The recipe, adapted from the Gourmet cookbook, claims to make 6 main course servings, but I think it’s more, even accounting for the fact that my husband eats twice as much in a serving as I do. This is hearty stuff, and one of those happy foods that’s made better by sitting in the fridge for a couple of days.
1 pound dried white beans, such as great northern, cannellini, or navy, picked over and rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5 cups chicken stock (truly, truly awesome with homemade, although I suppose you can make it with low-sodium bought)
8 cups water
1 3x2 inch piece Parmesan rind (as I keep kosher, I either make this with Parm and vegetable stock, or without Parm, with chicken stock and sausage. I find the latter better, so to me the Parm is quite optional, but you probably don’t have to choose.)
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (I find that 1/2 teaspoon chopped dried rosemary is OK too)
1 bay leaf
1/2 pound smoked sausage, such as kielbasa, sliced 1/4 inch thick, optional (the original recipe calls for 1 pound, which I find overkill)
8 carrots, halved lengthwise I cut into 1/2 inch thick half-moons
1 pound kale (lacinato/black/dinosaur kale is good if you can get it, but it’s great with regular too), stems and big center ribs removed, leaves coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
Soak beans in water to cover by two inches for at least eight hours, or place beans in a saucepan with water to cover by two inches, bring to a boil, boil for two minutes, remove from heat and let sit for one hour. Drain off soaking liquid.
Heat oil in big stockpot on medium low. Add the onions and cook until softened, 4-5 minutes; add the garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add beans, stock, 4 cups water, cheese rind if using, rosemary, bay leaf, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until beans are just tender, about 50 minutes.
Brown sausage, if using, in batches in a heavy skillet on medium heat, stirring often. Drain on paper towels.
Stir carrots into soup, and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in kale, sausage if using, 4 more cups water, and salt; bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender, 12-15 minutes. Season with additional salt if necessary and with pepper. Toss bay leaf before serving.
Pork loin roast (small) or beef pot roast
Golden onion soup mix
Carrots, onion, potatoes, turnips, or any other vegetables you’d like in a pot roast or stew
Caraway seeds
Cook as long as you want. Then add spicy mustard and yogurt. I usually don’t put the mustard or yogurt in the crockpot as they can form a really tough crust on the crock, so I add them to the stew in the bowl. I can’t give a good idea of quantities, either. Some. Or a smidgen. Or a dollop.
[url=]Clarita Garcia’s recipe for Potaje de Garbanzos (Spanish Bean Soup) – I’ve made it many times, it’s delicious!
1 lb. dried garbanzos (chickpeas)
1/2 lb. smoked bacon (slab)
1 (1/2-lb.) ham bone
1/2 lb. lean beef (flank steak)
2 chorizos (Spanish pork sausages)
1 small whole onion
1/2 green bell pepper
1 whole ripe tomato
1 bay leaf
Pinch toasted saffron
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
Salt
Wash garbanzos in cold water. Discard imperfect ones. Cover with salted water at least 3 inches above beans. Soak overnight.
Next morning, drain and rinse beans thoroughly. Set the beans aside.
In a 3- to 4-quart soup kettle place the bacon, ham bone, beef, chorizos, onion, green pepper, tomato, and bay leaf. Cover with water 2 inches above ingredients. Bring to a rapid boil and skim several times. Lower heat to moderate and cover the kettle. Take a pinch of saffron and fold it inside a 2-inch square of brown paper; place it on the cover to toast. Cook for about 1/2 hour. Add the garbanzos; bring to a boil again, cover, reduce heat to moderate and cook for another 1/2 hour. Crumble the saffron (rub and bend the square of paper between your fingers) and add to pot. Stir gently once. Cover and cook another 1/2 hour, or until beans are tender but not overcooked. By this time the meat should be tender; remove it to a heated platter and set it aside. Discard the ham bone and what is left of the onion, green pepper and tomato. Add the potatoes to the soup and correct salt to taste. Cover and cook at moderate heat until the potatoes are done (about 1/2 hour). Cut meat into bite-size pieces, slice chorizos into thin rings, cube the bacon, and return all to the kettle.
2 T. olive oil
2 c. chopped onion
1 t. curry powder
1/2 to 1 t. crushed red pepper
6 c. cubed peeled butternut squash
4 c. water
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. natural peanut butter
1 c. 2% milk
Directions
Heat olive oil in dutch oven or large cooking pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in curry power and red pepper, cook 2 minutes. Stir in squash, water, and salt, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until squash is tender.
Place peanut butter and half of soup in blender, cover and process until smooth. Repeat with remaining soup. Return processed soup to pot. Stir in milk; cook 5 minutes or until soup is thoroughly heated.
8 1-cup servings
Saute onions/shallots/scallions and ginger, add fish sauce and soy sauce and lime zest and lemongrass (if you don’t wanna spring for lemongrass, just add more zest). Add coconut milk and cicken broth. Then add mushrooms and any other veggies you like, then lime/lemon juice and chicken meat. When chicken is cooked, serve over rice.
