Soup Season

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I love this quick one:

1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 can each - pinto beans, black beans, kidney beans, cannelini (or other white) beans, garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 c frozen or 1 can white corn
1 can diced or petite diced tomatoes
1 qt vegetable stock
Seasoning to taste - I use pepper, basil, sometimes add some chili powder and / or cumin

Heat oil in dutch oven. Saute the onion, bell pepper, carrot and celery until tender. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer.

You can use low sodium of the canned goods if you need to keep your sodium lower, or you can add a quart of water and do this in the crock pot on low for 8 hours with dried beans instead of canned. Just follow the package instructions for preparing the beans for cooking. If doing it in the crock pot you can throw in a bay leaf for some additional flavor.

My favorite thing to make is roasted butternut squash and shallot soup. It is insanely easy.

Cube one squash, peel and half 4 shallots, and cut up a hunk of ginger. Toss with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Roast at 375 for about an hour or until soft. Put half of that mixture in a blender with two cups of vegetable broth or stock. Blend. Do again with the other half. Pour it in a large pot and heat for 5 minutes.

I will often make a double batch and freeze it.

This sounds delish!!

Chicken Chili

1 -15oz can black beans
1 - can of corn
1 block of reduced fat or fat free cream cheese
2 - 10oz cans of Rotel - Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
3 lbs chicken breast
1 packet of ranch dip mix

Put in crock pot on high for 4 hours. Shred chicken. Enjoy!

I can't wait to try others! Thanks for posting.

Celery Root Soup
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2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, cleaned and chopped
sea salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
one large celery root (about 3-pounds, 1.5kg), peeled and cubed
3 cups (750ml) chicken stock
3 cups (750ml) water
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly-ground white pepper
scant 1/8 teaspoon chile powder (I used Rancho Gordo)
1. In a large pot, melt the butter with the olive oil.

2. Add the leeks and cook for about five minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic cloves and season with salt, and continue to cook until the leeks and garlic are soft and translucent. If the pot begins to brown too much on the bottom as they cook, add another pat of butter or pour of olive oil.

3. Add the celery root and stock. (Or use all water.) Bring to a boil, then reduce to a strong simmer. Cook, with the lid to the pot ajar on top, until the celery root pieces are soft and easily pierced with a paring knife, about forty five minutes.

4. Add white pepper and chile powder, the purée using a hand mixer, or let the soup cool to room temperature and whiz in a blender until smooth. Taste, and season with additional salt and pepper if desired. If the soup is too thick, it can be thinned with water or stock.

To serve, rewarm the soup in a saucepan and ladle into bowls.

Variations: Celery root has a distinctive flavor, but don’t hesitate to experiment with adding other ingredients. Cubes of pear or apple could be cooked with the cubes of celery root and puréed, a dusting of nutmeg, or some tangy crème fraîche instead of the olive oil are all worthy additions.

I’m a big fan of chucks of crisp bacon floating around in there, or you can even add a swirl of another root vegetable soup, such as beet or carrot. And if you’re feeling opulent, this soup lends itself very well to shaved truffles scattered over the top.

Green Goddess Soup
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■1 onion, peeled and finely diced
■600mls home-made vegetable stock (I used Marigold Swiss Low-Salt Vegetable Bouillon)
■4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
■450g to 500g assorted green lettuce & salad leaves (such as Batavia lettuce, Iceberg Lettuce, Watercress, Rocket, Spinach and Nettles)
■small bunch of mint (chopped, about 2 to 2 tablespoons, some left for a garnish)
■2 teaspoons cornflour (mixed with a little milk)
■200ml skimmed milk (0% fat)
■salt and pepper (to taste)
Note
This amazingly tasty soup is low in calories and packed full of your five-a-day requirements; use any green leaves in this soup, which is a perfect way of using a glut of summer lettuces. The herbs can be adjusted to suit your personal tastes, chives and parsley are also wonderful when added to this soup. Only 50 calories per portion - this soup can be frozen and can also be eaten chilled on a hot day.

Directions
Step 1 Pour the stock into a large saucepan that has a lid and add the chopped onion and spring onions. Simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft.
Step 2 Add the lettuce and green leaves, replace the lid and simmer for a further 15 to 20 minutes, or until the leaves have cooked down and are soft. Add the chopped mint and cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes.
Step 3 Transfer the soup to a blender or using a hand-held immersion blender, liquidise the soup until it is smooth. Pour the soup back into the saucepan.
Step 4 Add the cornflour and milk paste to the rest of the milk and then add it to the soup. Bring the soup to the boil and then turn down the heat, making sure you stir it continually until the soup has thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step 5 Serve in warmed soup bowls and scatter some chopped mint over the top of the soup as a garnish.
Step 6 Quick home-made vegetable stock: Simmer a celery stalk, a leek, a couple of carrots, an onion, a bay leaf, some garlic cloves in a litre of water with salt and pepper until they are soft and cooked. Strain the vegetables and liquid into a jug and keep in the fridge until needed. Will keep for up to a week. Use any seasonal vegetables you have to hand.

Good ole cabbage soup - but not so cabbagey. I just call it Trader Joe's veggie coup and my kids love it.

4 cups beef broth
2 cups shredded cabbage (prepack at Trader Joe's)
1 container Veggie Mirepoix from Trader Joe's (it's about a half cup each of chopped celery, carrots, onion and cabbage)
1 tsp crushed garlic (TJ's)
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 small can V-8 low sodium
Salt & Pepper to taste

Saute the Mirepoix veggies in a bit of olive oil. While they are sautéing, in a soup pot add beef broth, V-8, garlic, cabbage and worcestershire sauce and heat on med-high. Add mirepoix to the soup pot and bring to a slight boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Done. For the kids I garnish with a bit of parmesan. For myself I either use a few squirts of Cholula or more Worcestershire. For 6 servings it's about 60c per serving but that's a pretty good sized bowl, you can probably get 8-10 mug sized cups out of batch for a lower calorie count.

I love making soup, it's so easy and can be different every time, depending on what I have in the fridge and freezer to use. Last night I made a huge pot of ground beef, quinoa, broccolinni, spinach, and asparagus soup. Have enough for lunches for the rest of the week now, too. I was lazy and just used a package of Lipton's onion soup mix for the base.

What is sauerkraut?

What is sauerkraut?

WHHHAAAAATTT??