Nutty Sweet Potato Soup

A friend made this for our book group and I loved it. It wasn't Nate's favorite, so try it out and tell me what you think. We dipped fresh bread in it and I thought it was delicious. It comes from the food network but don't ask me which chef it is.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, diced (~2 c.)
• 1 med. red bell pepper, diced (~1 c.)
• 2 med. carrots, diced (~1 c.)
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. fresh ginger
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed (~2 c.)
• 6 c. chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomato with its juices
• 2/3 c. creamy peanut butter
• 2 tsp. honey
• 1/2 c. chopped scallion greens (~3 scallions)

Heat 1 T. oil in large soup pot over med-hi heat. Add onions, bell peppers and carrots and cook, stirring until softened, ~5 min. Add cayenne, black pepper, garlic and ginger and cook 1 more min. Stir in sweet potato, broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med. low and simmer until potatoes are tender, ~20 min.

Puree soup in blender* or food processor and return to pot. Add PB and honey and stir. When PB is melted, serve warm. Garnish with scallions.

*when blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from heat and let cool at least 5 minutes. Transfer to blender and fill no more than half way. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid to prevent the vacuum effect that creates heat explosion. Place a towel over machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

Steadfast Winter Soup

Based on a book I read a while ago, I've tried to make bigger lunches and smaller dinners. Especially during the winter, soup with a little bit of bread or fruit on the side is our favorite thing, and I've been trying to make a DIFFERENT soup EVERY night (or close to it) so now I'm posting what has been a clear favorite thus far. It is chock full of veggies (it's vegan) so it takes some chopping time! But it's SO worth it, and super healthy. :) This soup is SO flavorful, and every time we've made it I've felt compelled to quote Kung Fu Panda: "I wish my mouth was bigger!" It's not very colorful, but once you get past that, even my toddlers gobble this soup!

Oh, it came out of the book "Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for ALL seasons" by Nava Atlas. I've been SUPER impressed with almost all the soups we've tried out of this book so far. Vegan or not, this book would totally be worth your money if you're into (healthy) soup.

'Steadfast Winter Soup'

chop time: 25 minutes

cook time: 40 minutes (For me, the whole thing takes a little longer than an hour, because I'm slow)

makes 4 servings (it easily feeds our family of 4 twice, but then we do have toddlers)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

1/4 small cabbage, cored and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

2 Medium carrots, thinly sliced

2 medium parsnips, thinly sliced (these look like white carrots...I had to ask for help to find them. In my grocery store, they come in bags of 4, so I double the recipe which also helps use up the cabbage)

One 15-oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

One 14.5-oz. can WHOLE tomatoes with liquid, chopped (chop them IN the can to avoid mess)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small potato, such as Yukon Gold or Red, diced

2 C. Water

1 tsp dried Thyme

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

pinch of sugar or natural sweetener

ground black pepper

chopped fresh parsley (I use dried)

Saute the onion in the oil (in your soup pot) for 3-5 minutes, or until softened. Add cabbage, carrots, and parsnips. Cover and continue cooking until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. (make sure to smell it as you stir...it's a heavenly peek into what you'll be tasting later)

Stir in the beans, garlic, potato, tomatoes, water, thyme, and salt. Bring pot to boil. Cover, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the balsamic vinegar and sugar. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

(Tonight, we served it with Garlic bread and oranges...yummy!)

tortilla soup

one more soup. we love this one because it is so, so easy. and even though it says to just heat it for a couple of hours this one works really well to just heat on low for several hours in a crock pot.

• 2 to 4 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 cans (14-oz each) chicken broth
• 2 cans (14-oz each) crushed tomatoes
• 1 c. salsa
• 2 T. dried cilantro
• 1 T. ground cumin

Cook everything in crock pot 2-3 hours or until warm.

mnnnvvvvvvvvccxzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

that's how ashlyn spells "white bean and chicken soup." this is another doozy.

2 T. olive oil

1 med. onion, chopped

1 clove garlic

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 9-oz. pkg. frozen corn (i always used canned)

2 15-oz. cans great northern beans, undrained

1 7-oz can diced green chiles

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. coriander

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 c. chicken broth

3 T. lime juice

saute onion and garlic in olive oil. add cooked chicken, corn, beans, green chiles, spices, broth and lime juice. stir until well blended. bring to a boil, turn to low and simmer 20-30 min. serve with all the fixin's.

Taco Soup

sorry there's no picture. but here's the soup we had at our black friday party. this is one of the easiest soups ever!

taco soup:

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 c. celery, chopped

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

3 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. chunky salsa

6 c. chicken breasts

1 T. cilantro

1 tsp. cumin

1 can black beans

1/2 pkg. frozen corn

boil chicken and shred with fork. saute green pepper, onion and celery. add rest of ingredients and heat all together. serve with chips, cheese, sour cream etc.

Corn Chowder

This is a yummy corn chowder recipe from Jeremy's aunt. It's easily modified for a vegan version, and is very yummy. Freezes well. 

Corn Chowder

Aunt Candy's recipe book, modified Bratten's Clam chowder

1 c. chopped onion

1 c. celery, diced

2 c. potatoes diced (red potatoes don't need to be peeled)

put in a large pan, add just enough water to cover

simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender

¾ c. butter (vegan: use soy butter)

¾ c. flour

in a separate pan, melt butter, add flour and blend.

Cook 1-2 minutes.

2 c. evaporated milk (vegan: add powdered soy milk to regular soy milk, for a 2:1 milk:water ratio)

add milk and cook until smooth and thick. Whisk out lumps.

½ tsp. Sugar

1 can corn, drained

½ tsp salt and pepper

add undrained vegetables, corn, and combine everything. Season to taste

Chicken Stew/ Pot Pie

This Chicken Stew recipe is SUPER yummy, and I got it from my friend Erin (who got it from her sister's recipe blog). It is great by itself, but also tastes yummy in a pot pie, or as a burrito with some brown rice and cheese in a tortilla.

Chicken Stew

You will need:

2 chicken breasts

1 medium sized white or yellow onion. finely diced

2 red potatoes

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

1/2 cup frozen peas

3 cups chicken broth

2 cans cream of chicken soup

salt to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp)

pepper to taste

oregano, basil, and italian seasoning to taste

Dice up your chicken in fine tiny peices. Heat up your pot over medium high, put in a couple Tbsp of oil, then drop and brown the chicken. 

While the chicken is cooking, dice up your veggies in tiny little pieces.

Then dice up your onion. When the chicken is done, pull it out of the pot. Put the onion in. When the onion is clear, add the broth and veggies (not the peas yet!). Boil until carrots are soft, or for about 10-15 minutes. Then throw the chicken back in, and add the peas.

Add the cream of chicken soup and your seasonings.

This is a hearty stew that you can eat alone, or fill a bread bowl with it. Even better, use it as a filling for a chicken pot pie!

creamy tomato soup

this is a recipe from nate's cousin who we stay(ed) with in chicago. her cooking is actually the reason i want to move there.



1/2 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans chicken broth (about 4 cups)
15-oz. can tomato sauce
1 c. heavy cream (light tastes good too)
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley (i used dried)
fresh parmesan cheese (or kraft is fine)

saute onions and garlic. add broth, tomatoes and sauce. boil and add cream, then simmer for 15 minutes. top with cheese and parsley.