Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup

My family enjoyed this Rachael Ray Recipe.

Ingredients

2 heads garlic, ends trimmed to expose cloves
Roma or plum tomatoes, quartered
Extra virgin Olive oil for drizzling plus 2 tbsps
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons thyme
2 tbsp butter
2 medium onions
1 large bay leaf
1 quart chicken stock
1 28 oz can diced or stewed tomatoes
1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Drizzle garlic with olice oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Wrap tightly in foil.  Roast 45 min to 1 hour.  Cool to handle then squish the cloves away from skins and mash into a paste.

On a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and thyme.  Roast 25-30 minutes.

Heat a soup pot over medium high and add 2 tbsp olive oil.  Melt butter in oil and add onions, bay leaf, salt and Pepper.  Cook onions until soft.  15-20 mins.  Add stock and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer 20 minutes.  Add in roasted tomatoes and pasted garlic.  Puree soup with a stick blender.  Stir in cream to taste.  Keep warm til ready to serve.

Serve with Garlic Bread.

Vegetable Cheese Soup

I found this recipe here. 

• 2 (10 3/4 oz) can of chicken broth
• 2 tsp or 2 cubes chicken bouillon
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 cups diced potatoes
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups milk (I used skim)
• 1/2 cup flour
• dash of cayenne pepper
• 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. In a large pot, combine the chicken broth, bouillon, and onion. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Add the celery, carrots, and butter. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes and simmer until tender – about 20 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the milk and flour together until smooth.
5. Gradually add the milk mixture to the vegetable mixture stirring constantly.
6. Add shredded cheese and cayenne. Blend until cheese in melted. Serves 6.

Sausage Tortellini Soup

I found this recipe here.

3 links Italian sausage  (I just used crumbled sausage)
4 cloves pressed garlic
1 onion, diced
½ c. water
2 15-oz. cans chicken broth
½ c. apple cider (I used apple juice because that is what I had)
1 16-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 c. sliced carrots
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 medium zucchini, grated
2 tablespoons dried parsley
8-10 oz. package cheese tortellini (check the freezer section of your grocery store; if you can find it there, it will almost always be way cheaper than fresh tortellini. Also, Barilla makes a great dry cheese tortellini)
2 Tbsp. dried parsley


Cook the sausage in large pot.
Chop onion and add to pot. Continue cooking until onions are translucent and your sausage is cooked.
Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, juice, water, chicken broth, carrots, oregano, and basil. Cover and simmer for 1/2 hour. Add parsley and zucchini and simmer for another 15 minutes or so. Add the tortellini and cook until tender, and then serve with bread and freshly-grated Parmesan.

Stone Soup

Today for Joy School the kids and I read the story "Stone Soup."  Then we made some.  I put a stone in a pan of water and had the kids add the ingredients.  It was so fun.  I did cook the veges a little bit a head of time so it wouldn't take as long to cook.  

1 lb ground beef (browned)

1 1/2 cup diced carrots

1 1/2 cup diced potatoes

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup uncooked rice

salt and pepper to taste

6 cups water

1 tsp tyme

6 beef bouillon cubes

Simmer on the stove for about 25 minutes.  Enjoy!

Broccoli Soup

I found this recipe here.

4 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoon flour
3 cups of half and half (can be substituted with heavy cream or milk)
1 pound frozen broccoli, fresh or frozen
2 cans chicken broth
Grated sharp cheese for garnish, use more to make it cheesy

1. Pulse thawed broccoli and 1 can of chicken broth with your food processor or blender until desired consistency. I like broccoli pieces, but when I am hiding it from the kids I process it until it is nice and smooth. If you use your blender, but you will have to do it in smaller batches.
2. In your soup pot, combine the broccoli mixture and the second can of chicken broth over high heat and bring to a boil.
3. In a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once completely melted, add the flour and cook while stirring for about 3 minutes to create a roux. Once your broccoli/broth mixture has begun to boil, add the roux to the pot and stir until completely incorporated.
4. Pour half and half into the boiling mixture and stir until thickened (usually right before it starts to boil).
5. Serve and garnish with grated sharp cheddar cheese.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

I found this recipe here.

2 tbsp. olive oil
4 large chicken Breasts
1 large onion
2-3 stalks celery chopped
2-3 carrots chopped
1 clove garlic mined
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. sage ( I didn't have sage and didn't put it in. It was fine without it.)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 c. beef broth
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 small pkg. tortellini
grated parmesan

Saute chicken pieces in olive oil and brown. Add celery, onions, and carrots. Cook till soft. Return chicken to pan; add garlic, spices, tomatoes, broths, and tomato sauce. Simmer 1 hour. Meanwhile, cook tortellini in boiling water. Rinse and drain. Add tortellini to soup. Cook 3-5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with Parmesan cheese. Makes 6-8 large servings.

Baked Potato Soup

I found this recipe here.

¼ c. butter
¼ c. chopped onion
¼ c. flour
14 oz can chicken broth
1 can evaporated milk
2 large or 3 med. Baked potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
Bacon (optional)
Grated cheese (optional)
Green onion (optional)

Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add onion and sauté until tender. Stir in flour, and then add broth and milk. Scoop pulp from one potato and mash; add to soup. Bring to boil and then add the rest of the potatoes (scoop the pulp and cut into cubes). Top with crumbled bacon, cheese, and green onion.

Corn Chowder

I found this on a cute blog.

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter(1/2 a stick)
6 tablespoons chopped onion
3/4 cup diced celery
2 1/2 cups hot water
2 cups cubed potatoes (1/2 inch pieces)
3 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 dash white pepper, or black
3 tablespoons flour
1 quart half and half cream

Directions
Melt butter in large saucepan. Once melted add celery and onion and saute for 5 minutes (not til brown, just til soft).
Add water, potatoes, corn, sugar, salt and pepper, making sure water covers everything, adding more if not covered completely. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, usually about 30 minutes.
Whisk flour into 1 cup of the half and half and then stir into soup.
Add remaining half and half and simmer until soup is thickened to a creamy consistency (usually about 15 minutes).
Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if wanted. If the chowder is too thick, add some milk, if it is too thin, simmer for 5-10 minutes more.