Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a GREAT soup that makes a large portion that can be warmed up for a few days.  It's even better on day #2!  You can make your own egg noodles or simply buy them at the store.

*Gluten Free Option:  Use rice noodles and use gluten free soy sauce.

 Do you have both of these?

If you DO - then you can make the egg noodles for the soup yourself!  I love making my noodles fresh. I think it makes a big difference.  If you're looking for a great pasta roller that easily attaches to your counter-top when you need it CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE ONE.

Follow the recipe for making your egg noodles by CLICKING HERE.

If you DO NOT, you could also purchase your favorite egg noodles from your local grocery store and use them in the following recipe: (original recipe was found in the White Grass Flavor Cookbook)

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion diced (about 2 cups)

1/2 medium cabbage, sliced very thin

2 stalks celery, diced  (or more because it's yummy)

3 carrots, diced (we used more than 3 because we love carrots)

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin (we used the whole thing)

1 tsp salt

2 lbs chicken thighs (boneless) rinsed

8 cups water (we did 10-12 cups for more broth)

1/2 lb fresh greens:  Kale, swiss chard, spinach or collards, cut into strips (we use spinach - so great!)

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, grated

1 tsp sesame oil

8 oz. egg noodles (we used about 1 lb)

hot chili sauce, optional (Sriracha is the best)

Chop all vegetables and keep separate.

Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add oil.

Cook onions 2 minutes then add cabbage.  Cook additional 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Then add celery, carrots, garlic and peppers, cook 5 minutes.

Add water, salt and chicken thighs.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer 30 minutes on low. 

Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and allow to cool.  Separate fatty parts of the chicken so you don't get any icky bites while eating your soup.  Break meat into bite size pieces and return to the soup.

Add greens to broth.  Then season soup with soy sauce, ginger and sesame oil.  

If you're using store-bought noodles, add them now and simmer until they are cooked, about ten minutes.

If you're using homemade noodles, boil them separately and strain.  Put noodles in your bowl and top with soup.

This is where you add the sriracha - to your bowl.  I also add a little salt to my bowl too.  

Mama Dolly's Chicken and Rice Soup

My wedding gift from one of my very best friends was a beautiful cookbook that she created by asking all of the women in my life to contribute recipes to it.  It is filled with so very much love, photos, and yummy recipes.  Jack and I decided that we are now on a mission to make every single recipe in that book.  This is one of those recipes. 

This one is great any time of year - but if you're feeling under the weather it will really make you feel better!

Chicken:  6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs with fat trimmed OR 4 or 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Tblsp EVOO
1 stalk celery chopped 1/2 inch or more if desired (I use about 3 stalks - I like my soup with a lot of veggies)
2 cups baby carrots or 2 cups chopped 1/2 inch or more if desired (I use about 3+ large carrots)
1 medium onion chopped
Tarragon (I put in a lot of this - I feel it really adds a lot of flavor and depth to the soup)  Suggestion: 2 tsp.
Juice of 2 fresh lemons
Sriracha (to taste)  OPTIONAL
minute rice uncooked OPTIONAL
homemade dumplings (for recipe click here)  OPTIONAL
Salt and Pepper

In dutch oven or medium to large soup pot with cover, combine EVOO, celery, carrots, and onion; saute until beginning to get soft.
Add chicken, tarragon, salt and pepper.  Cover with water. 
Cook on medium heat for 1 hour or 1 and 1/2 hours or until chicken is done and veggies are semi-soft. Remove from heat and add either homemade dumplings or 2 cups of minute rice (uncooked). If you add the rice here - cover until rice is done and add salt and pepper again to taste and move to the final step.  If you add the dumplings here - you're ready for the final step.

FINAL STEP:
Add juice from the two lemons.

I like to add Sriracha to my soup - but do what you like!

(Roasted Green Chile) Corn Chowder

This is a recipe that I have come up with from several influences.  Sally Nelson started it all with the recipe card that called for "um onion".  I just guessed and put an onion in the soup.  I finally asked her about it and it was to say 1 m onion (1 medium onion).  I also took some direction on this recipe from Tyler Florence.  You can find his original recipe HERE.  Living in Colorado has brought me a love of green chilies in the fall and to add some spice to everything!  We watch them roast the green chilies on Federal Blvd, we bring them home, freeze portions of them and throw them in a meal at least once a week until we run out.  I hope you enjoy your corn chowder whether you choose to use green chilies or not.

1/4 Cup Butter or Margarine
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 medium red onion roughly chopped
1 teaspoon thyme
1/4 cup all purpose flour
6 cups water
3 bouillon cubes
(or you could use 6 cups of chicken stock)
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
3 or 4 medium size potatoes diced to bite size pieces
4 carrots sliced
4 celery stalks sliced up (including the leaves)
2 cans whole kernel corn
1 can creamed corn

The following is optional:
6 green chilies roughly chopped
1 Serrano pepper

Optional toppings:
shredded cheese
cilantro

Heat the butter and olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, and thyme and cook until the onions are soft (about 7-8 min).  Sprinkle the flour over top and mix well. Pour in the water and add bouillon cubes (or add your chicken stock).  Bring to a boil.  Add milk, potatoes, carrots, celery, green chilies, and serrano pepper.  Bring to a boil and boil hard for about 7 minutes until the potatoes break down.  (This helps to thicken the soup and give it good texture.)
Add all three cans of corn.  Season with salt and pepper and allow to simmer 10-12 minutes.  I drizzle a little olive oil at this point as well.  Ladle into your bowl and top with shredded cheese and cilantro if you're into it.

Elway's Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Red Peppers were on sale at the store, so I grabbed four of them and headed home to find a good red pepper soup recipe.  This is the one I found.  We tried it just last night and I learned that it had to have been born in yum-town.  Thank you Elway's for sharing your recipe - you can find the original link HERE!

-You'll need a good stock pot and immersion blender or a stand up blender works as well - you just have to blend it in rounds. (if you don't have an immersion blender - I recommend getting one - they're great for making soups!)

Elway’s Roasted Red Pepper Soup

4 red bell peppers

5 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil, divided

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 onions

3 large carrots, chopped

3 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes

6 cups water

3 tablespoons sherry vinegar, or as desired *(I didn't have that so I used Sherry cooking wine [2 Tablespoons] and White Wine Vinegar [1 Tablespoon].

1. Heat the broiler. Core the bell peppers and place them, skin-side up, on a baking sheet. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons oil and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Broil the peppers until they are well-charred but not burnt, 3 to 5 minutes depending on the heat of the broiler.

2. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat until hot. Meanwhile, peel the onions and halve them lengthwise. Coat the onions with 1 tablespoon canola oil and season with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Grill the onions on all sides until well-charred. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then trim off the root end and coarsely chop the onions.

3. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the onions and stir around the pot for a minute to soften, then add the carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent. Stir in 2 teaspoons of salt and one-half teaspoon of pepper, along with the garlic. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the carrots are softened slightly and the garlic is aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Stir in the tomatoes and peppers. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes to develop the flavors. Add the water and bring the soup to a simmer. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, loosely cover the pot and cook for 45 minutes.

5. Blend the soup using an immersion blender, or in batches using a stand blender, and strain. Add the sherry vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper. This makes a generous 2 quarts soup.

Black Bean Kale Soup

This recipe is delicious, quick, and healthy - even gluten free (if you leave out the tortilla chips, cheese, and ham).  It only takes 30 minutes!
*This can be adjusted to be a vegetarian dish by omitting the ham.

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Medium onion - diced
4 Cloves of garlic - minced
1/2 lb of ham - cubed (we just used 4 or 5 slices of deli ham sliced up)
3 - 14 ounce cans of black beans, drained
1 Large bunch of Kale, rinsed, stemmed, and ripped into bite size chunks
3 *quarts of liquid (*4 Cups are in a Quart) - you can use water for all of it or do some of it with broth.  I used 4 bouillon cubes with 3 quarts of water.
3 Tablespoons of Cajun Seasoning or you can use 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning mix plus 1/2 Tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper
1/2 pound pasta - we used angel hair that we had left over from a previous meal.
Once our soup was prepared, we topped it with broken up tortilla chips and some shredded cheddar cheese.  It was amazing!

1. Bring cooking oil up to medium heat in a large soup pot.  Saute the onion and garlic until tender.  When the onion and garlic start to get tender, add the ham (if you're using it).  Let it cook for just a few minutes.
2. Add the kale that has been rinsed, peeled from the hard stems, and ripped into chunks.  Stir with tongs, it will cook down pretty quickly.  Once the kale has cooked down a bit, add the beans, seasonings, and broth/water.
3. Turn heat up to high, and bring the soup to a low boil.  If possible, let simmer for about 10 minutes.  If you don't have time, it's ok.
4.  Add the pasta to the boiling water, and cook for the amount of time on the packaging.  Serve in bowls with broken up tortilla chips and shredded cheddar cheese for best results... or don't.  :)

*This recipe is from www.ourgaggleofgirls.com