Winter Soup

I'm a lazy cook so I really enjoy stuff that takes 3 ingredients or less.

Lazy People's Pumpkin Soup
Steam a pumpkin until it turns soft, and then mash it like mashed potatoes. Add some water if you think the consistency is too thick, and put in a dollop of sour cream, or milk or cream, depending on what you have in your fridge. Season with salt and pepper.

I have no idea if this is healthy in any way, but its good and easy.

I love soup period but especially during the winter I make borscht (vegetarian) version which fills you up without blowing up your calories for the day.

I would strongly suggest the New Covent Garden Soup book. Its full of hundreds of soups that are easy to make. Give me a reminder when you come up and I can show you it, as I bought it a while ago. The soups are tasty obviously and it was pretty cheap.

White Bean Chicken Chili

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Ready In: 35 Minutes

Servings: 9

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa verde
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (7 ounce) can diced green chiles
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup frozen corn
1 pound diced, cooked chicken meat
1 (15 ounce) can white beans
1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Heat oil, and cook onion and garlic until soft.
2. Stir in broth, salsa verde, tomatoes, chilies, and spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add corn, chicken, and beans; simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

You can also do this in a slow cooker. Saute the garlic and onion, and then throw everything in the slow cooker and cook until hot and flavors are well-blended.

248 calories
35 g carbs
6 g fat
23 g protein
9 g fiber

I made this one for the first time last night for dinner tonight (Recipe says it takes 10 hrs. I don't know that you necessarily need to let it go that long but it definitely tasted better the longer it simmered). Had a little nibble before putting it away and it's yummy!! Just FYI: the broth is a bit more like a vegetable soup base than a traditional bean soup.

The Best Bean and Ham Soup

PREP: 25 mins
COOK: 10 hrs
READY IN: 10 hrs 25 mins


Ingredients

Original recipe makes 12 servings

1 (20 ounce) package 15 bean mixture, soaked overnight (I used a 16 oz bag which I boiled and soaked for an hour instead)
1 ham bone (didn't have a ham bone so I used a couple of pork shanks)
2 1/2 cups cubed ham
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
5 large carrots, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 (12 fluid ounce) can low-sodium vegetable juice (omitted this to cut down on sodium)
3 cups vegetable broth (used 3 cups water and 2 Swanson's Vegetable Flavor Boost packets)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (only added 1 TBS)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (used 1 TBS Coleman's Dry Mustard instead)
1 tablespoon chili powder (too spicy for the kiddo so I only used a dash)
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsley
3 tablespoons lemon juice
7 cups low fat, low sodium chicken broth (used a 49 oz can = about 6 cups)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (omitted)


Place the soaked beans into a large pot and fill with enough water to cover by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low for 30 minutes. Drain. Add the ham bone, ham, onion, celery, carrots, tomatoes, vegetable juice, and vegetable broth. Season with Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, chili powder, bay leaves, pepper, parsley and lemon juice. Pour in enough of the chicken broth to cover the ingredients.
Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 hours. Add more chicken broth as needed throughout the day. Remove the ham bone and season with salt if needed. Continue to simmer for a couple more hours. Remove bay leaves before serving.


Nutritional Information for original recipe:

Serving Size: 1/12 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 12

Per Serving:

** Calories: 260
** Calories from Fat: 32% Daily Value *** Total Fat 3.6g 6 %** Saturated Fat 0.9g 4 %** Cholesterol 14mg 5 %** Sodium 1105mg 44 %** Potassium 1143 mg32 %** Total Carbohydrates 37.9g 12 %** Dietary Fiber 14.8g 59 %** Protein 17.3g 35 %** Sugars 6.5g** Vitamin A 121 %** Vitamin C 46 %** Calcium 7 %** Iron 19 %** Thiamin 19 %** Niacin 23 %** Vitamin B6 11 %** Magnesium 5 %** Folate 8 %

You can find the original recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-bean-and-ham-soup/detail.aspx

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all these sound yummy!!