Need Fall Vegetable soup advice STAT

msbanana

Hey all!
I made chicken broth last night and wanted to finish making a soup tonight... I need thoughts and advice on this one.

I have:
Acorn Squash
Zucchini
A Yam
Bell Peppers
Onion
Garlic
Frozen Veggies (Peas, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower)
and a whole crap ton of spices...

Any suggestions with these ingredients where I could go with this?

I have not added any thing yet...

muitobem

If it were me...I'd put in ALL my favorite veggies and spices...and eat away on it!!

DannyMussels

I wouldn't use the squash or the yam.

For the most part, you can add the garlic at the beginning, then gradually add the harder vegetables, then softer ones towards the end. That way they all cook at the same rate. Keep them in bite-sized pieces, and add the frozen stuff at the end.

It's pretty straight-forward.

If you're feelin saucy, you can sautee the onions, then add garlic in a pan, to get a bit more flavor, then put that into the chicken broth.

Sometimes I add a little lemon or vinegar to add another dimension of flavor, some sugar goes a long way too. I used to bust out soup at a bbq restaurant a few years back, and the secret ingredient was basically 1-2C of their signature sauce. Always turned out fantastic.

msbanana

I just found tomatoes and cabbage too...

DannyMussels

I just found tomatoes and cabbage too...

Slice the cabbage thinly, and let it stew away in the liquid so it gets really soft.

We recently used leftover cabbage rolls and the pan liquid and made soup out of that, turns out fantastic. Basically rice, tomatos, cabbage and ground beef.

If you ever have the time, you can grill most of those veg on a charbroiler/bbq first, and it turns out to be a visually appealing grilled fresh veg soup.

jb_2011

You can't go wrong with this recipe.

Butternut Soup (or Acorn or other winter squash)

1 onion chopped
1-2 carrots chopped
1-2 medium diced potatoes
2 cups diced butternut squash, raw or roasted, see note below
2 cloves garlic
2 T. olive oil
1 t. dried thyme
1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. dried rosemary
approx 6 cups chicken stock (I buy the less sodium kind)
Salt and fresh ground pepper

*I usually roast the butternut squash the night before, have some for dinner then make the soup the next day. Cut the squash in half or in chunks, take out the seeds. Put it in a roasting pan, drizzle with a little olive oil if you want. You can cover the pan with foil, or leave it uncovered. Roast at 400 for an hour.

Heat a large stock pot with the olive oil, add the chopped onions and carrots, cook for a few minutes over medium heat with the lid on the pot.
Add the herbs, chicken stock, squash and potatoes. Cook over medium heat until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt, (maybe 1-2 t.) and pepper to taste.
Sometimes I only use 4 cups of chicken stock if I want a really thick soup. You can always add a little more stock if it's too thick.
I let the soup simmer for an hour or so, then everything gets really soft and I can use the stick blender. The soup is also very good left chunky!

muitobem

Throw the cabbage in towards the last of the cooking....about 15 mins....

ExYoYoGirl

Roasted Pepper Vegetable Soup

INGREDIENTS:

2 bell peppers
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion
3 or 4 cloves garlic
2 large carrots
1 medium cabbage
2 medium zucchini
2 cups frozen corn
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon thyme
6 cups chicken broth or stock
Optional: crumbled feta cheese

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350*.

Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers. Cut the pep­pers into one inch-wide strips and place the peppers skin-side down on a baking sheet. Spread the pepper strips with olive oil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the peppers are lightly blackened on the edges.

While the peppers are roasting, remove the skin from the onion and chop into 1/4-inch pieces. Clean the carrots and chop into 1/4-inch rounds. Mince the garlic cloves. Tear the cabbage leaves into pieces about 3 inches square. Cut zucchini into 1/2-inch pieces.

All ingredients should then be added to a stockpot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours. Sprinkle each serving with some fresh crumbled feta cheese, if desired.