Great Tasting Soup Recipes

Is there anything better than a pot of soup simmering away on your stove when the weather outside is cold and dreary? The aroma's that fill your kitchen are priceless. I love soup and I love making soup, especially on those rainy or snowy kind of days.

If you enjoy giving your family the healthy warm goodness of homemade soup, I hope you will find these recipes to your liking.

Soup is such a versatile food. It can be used for lunches or suppers and can even be put in a thermos and taken to work. It can be the main meal with some crackers or used as a side dish with a hefty sandwich or a lovely salad. I always make a big pot of soup so that I have plenty to freeze. It comes in handy if you forget to take meat out of the freezer or if unexpected company drops in around eating time.

Making soup is easy and fun to do. It is normally full of vegetables and healthy things to eat. A pot of soup can feed many people at one time or if you have a small family it can give you many meals.

Please give some of these recipes a try to see if you don't agree with me. Some of these recipes came from my grandmother and others I have collected from different magazines, cookbooks and even from some friends. And if you are so moved, let me know what you think of these soup recipes.

Only seven main ingredients

Bean soup is a robust meal and a great soup to make with that left over ham. This recipe can be easily doubled so that you can freeze several servings for later enjoyment. But, don't be surprised if more gets eaten and you have less to put in the freezer.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

2 pounds cooked, diced ham

1 large onion, diced

2 tablespoons minced garlic (fresh is best)

3 celery stalks, dicked

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 large potatoes, peeled and finely chopped

2 (48 oz) jars Randall great Northern Beans

Water to fill bean jars when empty

Black pepper to taste

shopped fresh parsley to taste

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

To prepare:

In a 8 quart pot sauté ham, onion and garlic in the butter/olive oil until onion is tender.

Add the chopped vegetalbes and beans. Fill empty Great Northern Bean jars with water and add to the pot.

Season with plenty of black pepper and chopped fresh parsley. Simmer until potatoes break down and thicken the soup (about 2 hours)

This recipe will serve about 10 people depending on the size of your bowl. Other suggestions would be to serve with rye bread or with rueben sandwiches.

Italian Favorite

I love the soups at the Olive Garden and when we go there for lunch my favorite is always Pasta Fagiole. I always aim to try something new but when it comes right to it I open my mouth and say "Pasta Fagiole, please". I've been looking for recipes that would be close to the one I love at the Olive Garden and this is as close as I could come. I don't even remember where I got this from but if you love Pasta Fagiole I think you will like this recipe.

Ingredients you will need:

1 pound ground sirloin

16 oz. of uncooked pasta. Any small type that you like. (stars, shells etc.)

1/2 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced celery

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 28oz can crushed italian tomato's & their liquid

2 cups chicken stock

12 oz. can garbonza beans

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

2 tablespoons dried basil or 1/2 cup of fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside.

In soup pot add ground sirloin and cook breaking meat into small pieces. Once meat is cooked through add carrots, onion, celery & garlic. Cook until vegetables are tender.

Add tomato's, garbonza beans and chicken stock. Stir pot and add pasta. Stir pot and add basil and salt & pepper to taste.

Let simmer for at least 1 hour before serving.

This recipe will serve 6 persons. My serving suggestions with Pasta Fagiole is a crusty bread and sliced sharp tasting cheese.

Rainy Day Soup

This is my go to soup on a rainy day. Of course I happen to be a potato lover so anything with potato's in it will please me. So, if you like potato's you will love this recipe. And, for something special, this recipe can be served in bread bowls for that WOW affect.

Ingredients you will need:

3 medium potatoes

2 cups water

1 small onion, diced

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablesppons all purpose flour

crushed red pepper flakes ( optional )

ground black pepper

3 cups milk

1/2 teasppon sugar

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup cubed cooked ham

Peel potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes.

Bring water to a boil in large saucepan and add potatoes and cook until tender. Drain, reserving liquid. Set potatoes aside. Measure 1 cup of cooking liquid, adding water if necessary to make the 1 cup and set aside.

Peel and finely chop onion. Melt butter in saucepan, cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and tender, but not brown.

Add flour to butter and onions and season with pepper flakes and black pepper. Cook 3 to 4 minutes.

Gradually add potatoes, reserved 1 cup of liquid, milk and sugar to onion mixture in saucepan. Stir well. Add cheese and ham. Simmer over low heat 30 minutes, stirring frequently.

Serving suggestions would be the bread bowl. Buy small round loaves of a hearty bread, such as Italian, and slice off a small piece from the top. Then remove the inside of the loaf, leaving a 1 1/2 inch shell. Fill with hot soup and enjoy. A small salad would work well with this too!

Hannah's favorite

My beautiful granddaughter, Hannah, says this soup is the best. But between you and me I know it's not the soup it's the noodles that she loves.. I make my own noodles to add to this soup and it makes this a pretty delicious soup.

This is one of those soups that you start in the morning and let simmer most of the day while you are adding different ingredients. You can alter the ingredients to suit your taste and the measurements don't have to be exact to turn out a great tasting soup. I'm also going to give you my secret ingredient that will make this soup "Perfect" every time.

Oh, and don't forget the benefits of chicken noodles soup when you have a cold. I'm not sure how true it is that chicken noodle soup will make you feel better but it certainly can't hurt.

Ingredients:

1 Whole chicken cut up as if you were going to fry it

3 Whole chicken breasts

2 large onions, diced

6 stalks celery, chopped

3 cups chopped carrots

1 box Chicken Stock (any brand)

Secret Ingredient: Better Than Bouillon chicken base. Better Than Bouillon is the brand name and I find it at my grocey store where the powdered bouillon is stocked. It comes in an 8 oz. jar and you will probably use about 1 tablespoon. But, this is great for making gravy and it stores in the refrigerator after it is opened. By the way it also comes in beef.

For the noodles you will need:

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon pepper

approximately 2 to 3 cups flour

more flour for rolling out the dough

To begin your soup place all cut up chicken in large stock pot and fill with water just until the chicken is covered. Place on stove on medium heat until water comes to a boil then turn heat down to a simmer. Let simmer until meat is ready to fall off the bones, about 2 hours.

Then remove chicken from pot and place in large bowl until chicken cools enough to handle.

While chicken is cooling place your onion, celery and carrots in the pot and cook until all are tender, about another hour.

While the vegetables are cooking cut up your chicken into bite size pieces and once the vegetables are done add the chicken to the pot.

Add your box of chicken broth at this time, cover the pot and turn heat on it's lowest setting.

Make your noodles......

Place your eggs in a medium size bowl and using whisk, beat eggs until frothy. Gradually add baking powder and pepper. Whisk again. Slowly add your flour. Here it is hard for me to tell you the exact amount of flour because of the different sizes of eggs but the dough should be thick and you should be able to form into a ball for rolling, similar to pie dough. Start adding the flour slowly until you reach this consistency. Make sure your hands have been floured before picking up your dough and it is best not to have any rings on your fingers.

Lightly flour your work surface. Cut your dough into 4 pieces and work with one piece at a time. Rolling one piece out on your lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch, or less. Don't worry about the shape of your dough once it has been rolled out it just won't make any difference. As a side note: I have a friend who would have to get out the ruler so each noodle was exactly the same shape, this is not important! Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into thin slices. You can make them as even or uneven as you like. It really doesn't matter. Once the noodles have been cut, toss them back in the original bowl and sprinkle lightly with some more flour. Continue this process with the remaining 3 dough pieces.

Now that your noodles are all cut out we must add them to the soup pot. Turn the heat up on the soup until it reaches a slow boil and gradually add the noodles (just a few at a time). Once all noodles are added mix all the soup ingredients well and cover pot. Leave heat on low while the noodles cook. This will take about 30 to 45 minutes.

Now that your soup is done you will need to do a taste test. If you want a richer chicken flavor add about 1 tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon. Still not "chickeny" enough, add 1/2 teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon. Make sure to mix well after each addition. You'll know when it is perfect by the taste. Sshhhh, don't tell anybody our little secret.

This soup tastes great with baking powder biscuits and honey or a small green salad. I'm sure everyone is going to love this soup.

To make a big batch of soup you need a good soup pot. I like to make big batches so I can freeze some for use at a later date. Soup really freezes well. So, a good soup pot is not a luxury it is part of a well stocked kitchen.

With Grilled Cheese Sandwich!

I can't even imagine a better combination than tomato soup with a gooey grilled cheese sandwich. Kids from 2 to 92 love this lunch. It's nutritious, filling and it tastes great.

Until I found this recipe I never would have imagined making tomato soup. It is so easy to open a can but once you have tasted this tomato soup you will never open another can of tomato soup. This recipe is quick, it's easy and the ingredients are usually on hand.

I found this recipe in a Suzanne Somers' cookbook and it is for people who are watchinig their carbs. Of course if that is you, you must skip the grilled cheese sandwich! I have tweaked the recipe a little to suit my taste and I like to make a bigger batch than her recipe calls for.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter

1 cup of chopped onions (chop as fine as you can)

4 28 ounce cans of diced tomato's

3 cups chicken stock

3 cups of heavy cream

Pepper (optional)

Melt butter in large stock pot, then add onions and saute' until onions are cooked completely.

Add tomato's, chicken stock and heavy cream to the onion mixture.

Bring to full boil, reduce to a simmer and let simmer for about 30 minutes. While simmering add pepper to your liking.

Pour soup into blender or food processor and blend until smooth. I have a Braun mixer that can go right into the pot and I can blend the soup very easily without transferring to the blender. Both methods work well as long as you blend until the soup is creamy and smooth.

Now, about that grilled cheese sandwich. Use a good chunky bread with a sharp cheddar cheese and a milder cheese of your choice. You'll be amazed at how tastey the grilled cheese sandwich can be when you use different flavored cheeses.

Every person that loves to cook should have a good soup cookbook. They also make an excellent gift for the person who loves to cook.

This is a simple poll. Do you like to have homemade soup or open a can?

Let me know what your favorite soup is and why. And, if you have tried any of these recipes let me know what you think. Thanks!