There is nothing better than having some soup on a rainy cold day. Or even if you are having a bad day. Soup is great when you are sick and it can be comfort. Hope you enjoy these the next time you have a bad rainy day!
French Onion Soup
INGREDIENTS
4 cups thinly sliced large yellow onions (I like Spanish)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cans (10 1/2 ounces each) beef consomme (with gelatin added)
2 cups water
2 tablespoons dry sherry (can substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract + 2 tablespoons orange or pineapple juice)
Pinch of dry thyme (optional)
8 slices French bread (if using very small baguette, you may need extra)
8 ounces low-fat or fat-free Swiss or Provolone cheese.
PREPARATION
- Place onions and sugar in large saucepan along with 1/4 cup of the broth. Saute for 5-10 minutes, or until onions begin to soften, stirring every minute or so. Add remaining stock and other ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and cover.
- Simmer for 15-20 more minutes, or until onions are very soft.
- While the soup simmers, arrange the baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in a 400-degree oven until the bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1/8th of the soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with low fat or fat-free cheese.
- Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving. If you don’t have oven-proof bowls, place soup in regular bowls as explained above, and either serve as is or heat in microwave until cheese melts.
A creamy soup featuring butternut squash, cream cheese and spices. Serves 6.
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons onion (diced)
4 tablespoons butter
6 cups butternut squash (peeled and cubed)
3 cups water
4 bouillon cubes (chicken)
1/2 teaspoon marjoram (dried)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
16 ounces packaged cream cheese
Instructions:
- Saute the onions in the butter until tender. Mix in the squash, water, bouillon, and spices. Boil and cook for twenty minutes.
- Puree the squash together with the cream cheese in a blender until smooth. Pour into a saucepan, and heat; don’t boil.
Creamy potato soup with lots of herbs. Serves 5.
Ingredients:
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups water
1 large onion, diced
1/4 cup butter, cut
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme, dried and crushed
1/4 teaspoon rosemary, dried and crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
Instructions:
- Bring the two cups of water to a boil, cook cubed potatoes until soft.
- In another saucepan, grill diced onion in butter. Then add the flour, salt, herbs and spices. Slowly stir in the milk. Bring to a boil; cook while stirring for 3 minutes. Add in the cooked potatoes with this mixture; heat all together.
Creamy shrimp chowder soup with cheese and potatoes. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup celery (chopped)
1/3 cup onion (diced)
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups potatoes (cubed)
1/2 pound prepared cooked shrimp (thaw and drain)
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions:
- Saute celery and onions in butter in a large pot.
- Mix in cheese and milk, stirring over low heat until the cheese melts.
- Mix in the potatoes, shrimp, wine and salt. Heat, stirring occasionally. Serve and enjoy!
This split pea and ham recipe is a new version of an old favorite. This warm soup is perfect for the winter when you need comfort food. Serves 4.
Ingredients
8 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of milk
1 lb of dried split peas, rinsed
1-2 lb of smoked ham, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 medium onion, thinly chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
2-3 celery stalks, thinly chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 garlic clove, thinly chopped
1 bay leaf
Cooking Instructions
- Heat oil in a large soup pot and saute onions, carrot, and celery over a medium heat. Add salt and pepper and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add garlic, bay leaf, and the dried split peas, cook and stirring for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken broth and smoked ham which has been cut into small pieces into the rest of the ingredients.
- Bring to a boil, cover the soup pout, and allow it to simmer for about 1 hour, until peas are tender.
- Remove from the heat, allow for the soup to cool, and get red of the bay leaf.
- When you have sufficiently allowed the coup to cool down, add milk, and using a hand held blender process until you get a smooth consistency.
The secret to making a good tomato recipe is using quality ingredients. Use the best ripe red tomatoes you can find. For a richer version of this recipe, you can add a little cream or sour cream. Serves 4.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 lb of ripe tomatoes, quartered
13 oz of canned tomatoes
4 cups of chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of fresh basil, chopped
olive oil
Cooking Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the onion, carrot, celery and garlic for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook for a further 3-4 minutes until the tomato has broken down.
- Add the canned tomatoes, chicken stock and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and allow the soup to cool down a little. Puree the soup in batches in a blender.
- Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Be generous with the pepper, tomato soup tastes great with a lot of pepper.
- Serve immediately while hot and garnish with chopped basil and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Wonton soup is a traditional chinese recipe which is very popular. The word “won ton” actually means swallowing a cloud, and the wonton dumplings which are used for this soup are thought to resemble clouds.
Ingredients
2 dried chinese mushrooms
5 oz of pork mince
1 tablespoon of fresh coriander, chopped
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 teaspoons of fresh ginger, grated
18 wonton wrappers
SOUP
6 1/4 cups of chicken stock
2 dried chinese mushrooms
1 garlic clove, halved
fresh ginger, sliced
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
6 1/2 oz of thin egg noodles
3 1/2 oz of mushrooms
2 spring onions, sliced
Cooking Instructions
- Combine the chopped mushrooms, pork, coriander, soy sauce and ginger in a bowl, and mix together well.
- Brush the edge of each wonton paper with water and place the spoonful of the pork mixture into the center of each wonton. Stick the edges together.
- Combine stock, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer the broth for 15 minutes. Strain the soup and remove the ginger and garlic. Slice the mushrooms and return to the soup.
- Cook the egg noodles in boiling water for a 2 minutes until tender. Drain well.
- Add the wontons to the soup and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the noodles, mushrooms and spring onions and continue to cook until the vegetables are tender.
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