Easy Tomato Bisque

Eli's new "funny face" (My camera is currently m.i.a. sorry there is not a picture of the soup. I thought this was pretty cute though. 😉

Tonight I was in the mood for something hot and full of tomatoes.  Probably  because it’s cold out and I have way too many cans of tomatoes in my pantry thanks to an excellent sale at Krogers a couple of weeks back.  Tomato Bisque is born!  I use to make homemade tomato soup and this is so much better. 

• In a large pot melt 2 T. butter.  Add in 1 chopped onion and saute until onion is clear.
• Add in 1/2 cup ham (you could also use a little bacon I only had ham on hand) and 1 t. minced garlic.
• Whisk in 1/3 c. whole wheat flour for a minute. 
• Add in 2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes UNDRAINED, 5 cups of chicken broth, 1 t. thyme, 1 t. parsley, 1 t. salt and a dash of pepper.  (You could also add in a bay leaf and any other seasonings that you enjoy.)  Bring to a boil and simmer on low 30 minutes. 
• Add in 1 c. milk or cream.  Puree with an immersion blender and serve.  Yummy!

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Creamy Veggie Chicken Soup

Eli often enjoys reading a book in the high chair while waiting for dinner. 🙂

Tonight I again tweaked a soup recipe and I think it is finally to my liking.   This is so yummy and tastes similar to a Cream of Broccoli soup you might get at a Panera type restaurant.  Have you noticed a trend yet?  Panera is my favorite restaurant.  🙂  I tried to take a picture for you all but failed miserably.  Trust me it looks and tastes great! 😉  Enjoy the picture of Eli instead. 

Ingredients:

• In a large saucepan melt 2 T. butter.  Add 1 small chopped onion and 1/2 cup green pepper.  Cook for a few minutes and then add in the following:
• 1 16 oz bag of California Medley style frozen vegetables: includes carrots, broccoli, cauliflower.  I buy mine from Aldi. I think it is around $1 and they taste great!  (Sometimes it is even cheaper to use the frozen medley than to buy the fresh vegetables and cut them up.  This also saves a little time if you are in a hurry.)
• 1 1/2 cups of peeled, chopped potatoes.
• 3 cups of chicken stock (preferably homemade). 
• 4 t. chicken bouillon or 4 chicken bouillon cubes.
• 1 c. cut up cooked chicken.  I have also made this soup without the chicken. (I needed to use some up some chicken that had been in the fridge a while so into the soup pot it went.)
• 1 t. salt
• 2 t. garlic powder
• liberal dash of fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 t. each of ground mustard, paprika, and coriander.  If you don’t have all these don’t worry about it just skip them or add your favorite seasonings in place. 
• Bring mixture to a boil and simmer covered about 20 minutes.  (I like to stick a fork in the veggies to make sure they are tender.) 
• Mix together: 1 can of coconut milk and 4 T. whole wheat flour.  Add into the soup mixture.  Simmer uncovered for about 20 more minutes or until the soup has thickened to your liking.  (You could use 1 3/4 c. milk instead of the coconut milk.) 
• Stir in 1 1/2 c. of cheese (I used a mixture of cheddar and mozzarella since that’s what I had on hand.) 

Enjoy!  I didn’t measure but I would guess this recipe makes approximately 2 quarts or maybe more.  If you would rather use fresh veggies use any combination of broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower in place of the medley.  (In case you are wondering you can’t taste the cauliflower.)  I would aim for about 4-5 cups of veggies.  I don’t think it would matter if the majority of the veggies were broccoli or cauliflower.  One might notice a lot of carrots though.  Well at least my hubby would.  We still haven’t made a Carrot soup-it sounds awful to us both! 🙂

Split Pea Soup

Quick and easy Split Pea Soup

If you haven’t ever had split pea soup you must try it.  Don’t let the name scare you off! 🙂  This is delicious, nutritious, and quite inexpensive to make.  It takes a matter of minutes to throw this in the crockpot which is perfect for a busy day.

In a large crockpot combine:

• 1 pound split peas
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 stalks celery (you can actually leave the leaves on)
• 4 carrots
• 1/2 t. minced garlic
• 1/4 t. thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 c. chicken stock
• 2 c. cooked chicken or ham. 

Cook on low about 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.  Before serving puree with immersion blender.  You could also simmer on the stove for 3 hours if you don’t have a crockpot.  I think split pea soup is usually served with ham meat in it, but I found that this was just as good with chicken. 

Elijah loves Split Pea Soup! It was much easier to just let him drink his from a straw. 🙂

Sneaky Potato Soup

The Sneakiest, Yummiest Potato Soup Ever 🙂

Are you looking for a way to sneak some more veggies into your diet?  Cauliflower in particular?  I just finished making this potato soup for lunch today and it is amazing!  You can’t taste the cauliflower at all.  It is so easy I can make it from memory.  (There are few recipes that I can do that for so this must be easy.)   🙂 

Combine in a large stockpot:

• 4 large or 8 small potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 head of cauliflower broken into florets
• 1 large onion diced.
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups milk
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. pepper
• 1 T. Spike seasoning (if you don’t have this I would just add a dash of your favorite seasonings)

Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.  Mash with a potato masher or puree with an immersion blender.  (I like to use a potato masher for this recipe.  I enjoy the texture more.)  Then add 4 oz. cream cheese and 2 T. butter.  Cook on low for 10 minutes and enjoy! 🙂  This recipe is also great using broccoli in place of the cauliflower if you don’t have cauliflower on hand.  My family loves this just don’t tell them there is cauliflower in it! 😉

Butternut Squash Soup Take 2

A couple of months ago I made butternut squash soup for the first time.  It was pretty good.  I decided to make it again but add some veggies that looked like they needed to be eaten soon.  🙂  The result-yummy, yummy.  With some additional pepper this one has a slight kick that is good.  Better yet this soup has just 80 calories per serving (1 cup).  So indulge yourself!  Perfect for a cold fall day.  This recipes makes about 8 cups.  I think we will be making it again tomorrow.

• 1 butternut squash
• 2 small apples cored and cut in four parts.
• 1 t. oil-any kind is fine I like coconut best.
• 2 celery stalks chopped
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 carrot chopped (peeled if not organic)
• 1 t. ground cumin
• 1 t. salt
• 1/4 t. ground pepper
• 1/4 t. ground cayenne pepper (omit if you don’t want the kick)
• 1/8 t. ground cloves
• 6 c. broth-chicken, vegetable, or use 6 cups water and 6 bouillon cubes.
• 1/2 c. plain yogurt-add on top before serving
• 2 T. chives to add before serving

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut squash in half and place side down in a 9X13 pan.  The inside of the squash should be against the bottom of the pan.  Add apples to pan and 3/4 c. water.  Bake for 1 hour.  When cool remove flesh from squash and apple.

Heat oil in a large saucepan and add onion, carrot, and celery.  Cook on medium heat until soft about 9-10 minutes.  Add squash, apple, spices, and broth.  Simmer until vegetables are tender about 22 minutes.  Puree soup with immersion blender or wait until it is cool and blend small batches in blender.  When serving add a small drop of yogurt and chives.  Yummy and so good for you!

Eli studying SAT vocabulary words with Katelyn. I thought we would skip Teach Your Baby to Read and move right on to SAT vocab. 🙂 We are looking forward to having Katelyn join us again this weekend for more studying.