Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

As for most of my inventions, these ingredients are approximate. As your own chef, you'll have to gauge. Prep & Cook Time: Ready to serve in 30 minutes.

Ingredients

3C of chicken broth
1 can of coconut milk (I used the reduced fat from TJ. 1/4 of the fat - all flavor)
1 breast of chicken, sliced & cubed
2 Garlic Cloves, diced
4 Scallions
Red pepper flakes
Turmeric, dash
Paprika, dash
Sea Salt, 3-4 pinches
Shredded fresh ginger, optional if you have it and/or like it.
Mint leaves, for a little extra and for color (& if you like it.)
Hot sauce, Thai hot sauce preferred - to kick it up a notch

Directions:
1. In a dutch oven, Saute until translucent - garlic and the white end of the scallions (save green for end)
2. Add in broth, coconut milk, chicken & seasoning - bring to a boil then reduce to med-high heat until chicken is cooked (about 10-15 minutes).
3. Add in green part of scallions (cut in half) let it simmer (for about 10 minutes).
4. Add in hot sauce to your liking and serve.

Burning Man Chicken Noodle Soup

Not sure about you, but when I got sick, my mom always made me chicken noodle soup. Guess what? Mom was right! http://www.unmc.edu/chickensoup/

I call this the "Burning Man Chicken Noodle Soup" because if you've ever watched the "Sam, the Cooking Guy" show, you've probably noticed that he burns himself ALL the time. Oscar started watching him a year ago and totally got me hooked. I love our mutual cooking hobby.

Ingredients
A whole chicken (skin + bones too) chopped up ($8 @ Trader Joes)
4 celery stalks chopped, angle
1/2 bag of mini carrots, chopped in 1/2 angled (or 2-3 large carrots)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
chicken stock (extra broth @ the end, if needed)
Egg Noodles - mini/thin or large - up to you
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Place chicken in the pot, cover with water so that there is 1" above the chicken.
2. Boil on high for 30 minutes, drain fat from top with a spoon (throw out)
3. Continue boil for 30 minutes.
4. Drain broth & chicken - save broth, set chicken on a cutting board. Remove skin & bones and chop chicken into large bit sizes (if needed), place into pot with broth.
5. Add vegetables into chicken & broth, cook another 30 minutes
6. Add in noodles, cook until done.

Enjoy!

15 Bean & Ham Soup

Danielle made this last week and it was one of the best soups I've ever had! Such a great winter day recipe.

"15 bean" bag (Albertsons has a *great* one but didn't use the pork seasoning); You have to rinse these beans - you can soak them the night before.
8 cups water (or chicken broth if you don't have a ham bone for extra seasoning)
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2 medium celery stalks, finely chopped (1 cup)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 ham bone or 2 pounds shanks
3 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch slices (1 1/2 cups)

1. Heat beans and water to boiling in 4-quart Dutch oven. Boil uncovered 2 minutes; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour.
2. Stir in onion, celery and pepper. Add ham bone. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 1 hour 30 minutes or until beans are tender.
3. Remove ham bone; remove ham from bone. Trim excess fat from ham; cut ham into 1/2-inch pieces. {I didn't have a ham bone so I skipped this step}
4. Stir ham and carrots into soup. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes or until carrots are tender and soup is desired consistency.

{this recipe can also substitute beans for split peas}

Spanish Chorizo + Bean Soup by M. Lazaro

Perfect for a COLD day. Filling enough for a whole meal. Serve with fresh rustica bread or a baguette and olive oil (PS- they sell "spanish" olive oil @ TJs now, tastes SO much better than the Italian stuff!).

Time: 5 minutes prep, Cook 15-30 minutes (it's done in 15, but you can let it stew longer).

Ingredients
1. 1 LARGE (1lb, 12oz) can of garbanzo beans, drained
2. Portuguese (only been able to find @ Ralph's) OR Spanish chorizo (NOT mexican-it's different) have to order it; [Also, you can substitute for TJ's Soyrizo however only use 1/2, must remove casing & it's too spicy for kids.]
3. 1 box of chicken broth (or make your own), basically 3to4 Cups
4. 1 small white onion, chopped
5. pinch Tumeric
6. pinch Oregano
7. pinch of Thyme
8. 2 dashes of Paprika (color)
9. 1 dash of Cumin
10. salt/pepper to taste
11. olive oil

Directions
1. On Med Heat, with a dutch oven or large soup pan, add 2T of olive oil (or eye it, enough to slightly coat bottom).
2. Add in chopped onion, stir until translucent
3. Add in chopped chorizo (check to see if you need to remove casing first), stir until cooked or heated through (if pre-cooked)
4. Add in drained garbanzo beans, stir
5. Add in chicken broth & spices, stir
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer until ready to serve.

chile-chicken posole soup by J. Massie

1lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, raw, diced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper
2 Tblsp. veg. oil
1 white onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped, seeds removed for less heat
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large can whole green chiles, drained
1 cup fresh cilantro
4 cups chicken broth
2 15 oz. cans hominy, drained

garnishes: sliced avocado and radishes, tortilla chips

1. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and 1/2 tsp. thyme, set aside.

2. Heat oil in large saucepan over med heat. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeno and cook 5 minutes until soft. Transfer to a blender, add chiles, celantro and 1/2 tsp thyme and puree until smooth. Return to saucepan and cook over med heat until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.

3. Add broth, hominy and chicken to the saucepan. Cover and simmer until the chicken is tender, about 10 minutes.

fabulous smoky chicken tortilla soup (and easy) by J. Massie

TACO SEASONING: (make a big batch of this and keep it for seasoning grilled chicken)

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

SOUP
4 strips thick smoked bacon
1 package chicken breasts
3 Tblsp. canola oil or veg. oil
28oz. fire roasted canned tomatoes
1 chipotle pepper, chopped, plus 2 Tblsp. adobo sauce
1 box of chicken broth (or 4 cups)
1 cup frozen corn
3 large cloves of garlic
1 medium onion

TOPPINGS
cilantro, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 cup smoked cheddar or smoked mozzarella cheese (or both!), shredded

DIRECTIONS
1. Put raw chicken breasts in a large ziploc. Pour in oil and taco seasoning. Coat chicken and grill.
2. Heat a soup pot and add bacon. Cook until crispy. Remove bacon and set aside.
3. Cook chopped onion and garlic in bacon grease for 5 minutes.
4. Add chopped chipotle pepper and tomatoes and heat thoroughly.
5. Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
6. Add chopped grilled chicken, chopped bacon and corn.
7. Simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Put crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl. Top with soup, cilantro, onion, and smoked cheese.

Beet Soup by Lize

Our friend Lize is a fabulous chef. She's from South Africa and combines ingredients you would never think of but taste SO good.

I wish I had a picture of the soup. It was a gorgeous crimson color & tasted incredible. The hint of anise was decadent.

This would be absolutely gorgeous @ Thanksgiving or Christmas (add a basil leaf for the red/green color).

Serves 10
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours

Ingredients
5lb bag of beets
Chicken stock (make your own is best, see below - if you don't you'll need to add onion)
Anise seed (couple)
Salt/Pepper (to taste)


Directions
1. Cut off root & Rinse & Peel beets; Cook in a large pot of water(enough water so that it is covering the beets and about an inch above). Boil for 2 hours (until soft to blend)

2. While beets are boiling. Create stock.
a. Fill large pot with water (1/2 way full)
b. Add one white onion chopped
c. Add a few chicken legs
d. Boil until chicken is completely cooked through and falling off the bone.
e. Remove fat, skin & bones of chicken. Leave liquid in the pot.

3. Once beets are thoroghly cooked & soft add them to the stock (you may need to add "beet water" to the stock, you can play w/ this for the consistency of soup you want. Add in a couple Anise seeds & salt and pepper for flavor. Mix. Let it cool a bit.

4. In small batches, add into a blender and blend. Add blended soup into a soup turrain or dutch oven (so you can heat later when guests arrive).

Pumpkin Leek Soup

Danielle makes this for us every Halloween and it is D(i)-Vine. She serves it with the Butternut Squash Dish & Pork Tenderloin - WOW! Best meal ever!

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 leeks (white and light green parts), sliced 1/4 inch thick and rinsed
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (you can sub pumpkin)
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth Kosher salt and pepper
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the leeks, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the butternut squash cubes and canned pumpkin puree, then the broth.
4. Simmer until the pumpkin is tender, about 25 minutes.
5. Stir in 1 3/4 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
6. Working in batches, ladle the soup into a blender and puree until smooth. Divide among individual bowls and top with the rosemary.

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Sedona White Corn Tortilla Soup by CPK edited by B. Walker

Delicious.. its a little tedious.. but whole thing takes about 30-40 min to make! (unless you buy "just chicken" from TJs (cuts out the cooking chicken part...and tortilla strips vs. making them - then it's about 20 min). Sean loved it with shredded chicken added, cheese, chips and avocado..I boiled chicken on the side, then shredded it and put it in after.. Also I used green chiles instead of Jalapenos- more mild.

Ingredients
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 seven-inch Corn Tortillas; cut into 1" squares
1 1/2 Tbsp. minced fresh Garlic
2 Tbsp. minced White Onion
1 1/2 ts minced Jalapeno Pepper
1 lb. White Corn kernels
1 1/2 lbs. chopped; ripe red Tomatoes
1/3 c Tomato Paste
2 1/2 ts ground Cumin
1 Tbsp Kosher salt
1/8 ts ground White Pepper
1/2 ts Chili Powder
1 1/2 c Water
1 qt vegetable stock
24 blue corn tortilla chips (optional garnish)
2 c shredded cheddar cheese (optional garnish)
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro (optional garnish)

Directions

1. Over medium-high heat, fry tortilla squares in olive oil until they begin to crisp and turn a golden yellow. [If you buy store bought tortilla strips, start here] Add garlic, onion and jalapeno; cook 1 to 2 minutes, until onion becomes translucent. Add half the corn along with all other ingredients (except garnishes), reserving other half of corn to be added at the end. Bring the soup to a low, even boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
2. Remove soup from heat. Use a hand-held propeller blade processor to process in batches to the consistency of a course puree. You can also process in batches in a blender.
3. Return the soup to the burner and add the reserved corn. Bring the soup to a boil once again being extremely careful to avoid scorching or burning the soup.
4. Serve, garnished with blue corn tortilla chips, cilantro and sharp cheddar cheese.

Chunky Potato Soup by J. Markarian

Ingredients

1 stick butter

1 cup finely chopped onion

4 large potatoes or 8 small ones (peeled, diced & boiled)

1 Tbs garlic salt

1/2 Tbs pepper

6 cups hot water

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup half & half

1 cup cold water

1/2 cup flour

Optional (Fresh Parsley or parsley flakes) for topping

Directions

1. Melt butter in a pot large enough for the soup.
2. Saute onions until soft.
3. Add cooked potatoes, garlic salt, and pepper.
4. Dissolve chicken bouillon cubes in hot water then add to potato mixture along with milk and half & half.
5. Stir well and bring to a boil.
6. Whisk flour into cold water, then stir into potato mixture.
7. Stir constantly over med heat until soup thickens.
8. Optional: Top with fresh parsley or flakes.

Harvest Creamy Corn Choup by R. Ray

Tested & "mother approved" by E. Seaton

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
4 slices bacon, chopped [delete for vegetarian - sub w/ another hearty veggie like zucchini]
1 onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 pound small potatoes, cut into small chunks
4 to 5 large ears corn, kernels scraped from the cobs, or one 10-ounce box frozen corn (TJs has the *best* frozen sweet white corn)
1 medium or 2 small zucchini, finely chopped
5 to 6 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons flour
One 32-ounce container (4 cups) chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper
Hot pepper sauce
Oyster crackers or popcorn, to pass around the table

1. In a medium soup pot, heat the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp at the edges. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the potatoes, corn, zucchini, thyme, bay leaf and paprika and cook for 4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the pot, stir and cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the broth and simmer until thickened a bit. Stir in the milk, cream and parsley and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 8 minutes.
2. Season the corn choup to taste with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce and serve with crackers or popcorn to float on top.

Broccoli and Cheddar Soup w/ White Popcorn

Serves 6-8; Prep is only 10 minutes, but cook time is 50 minutes - so leave room for an hour.
1T butter
1T olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
1 Leek, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 heads of broccoli, cleaned and chopped
6C chicken stock (trader joes sells this in the soup section, great to have on hand)
1C cream
2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Freshly popped popcorn (garnish, fun for kids) or w/ Trader Joes "Parmesan Crisps" (i'm addicted!)

1. In a large sauce pot melt butter w/ olive oil. Add chopped onion, leek, carrot and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes
2. Add chopped broccoli and chicken stock. Cook additional 45 minutes over medium heat.
3. Reduce heat. Add cream and shredded cheese.
4. Blend soup in small batches in blender until smooth.
5. Serve hot in bowls and garnish w/ popcorn on top.

Corn Chowder by E. Seaton

Crockpot Recipe; Make in the morning, ready for dinner. You can freeze this too and reheat. Make sure that hashbrowns are not the stringy kind, but small squares. Salt/Pepper is to taste, not measured.

1.5 cups milk

1 cup cream of mushroom soup

1 package frozen white corn

1 cup cream style white corn (1/2 can)

1 cup frozen hashbrown potatoes - cubed kind

1 cup diced ham

1 small onion chopped

2 Tbs butter

1 pinch pepper

2 tbs salt

Throw everything into the crockpot (except salt/pepper), stir, put the lid on and wait 4-5 hours until done.

Servings: 8
Preparation time: 2 minutes
Cooking time: 5 hours
Ready in: 5 hours

Thai-Mex Chili Soup

I tried a new recipe tonight and it was great (if you like things a little spicy), but it was easy to make and delicioso – avoiding many food culprits (no sugar, dairy or meat) Try it and see if you like it. It tastes more Mex than Thai, but I named it this b/c of the Coconut Milk. Did you know that “cilantro” is actually Chinese parsley? not from Central/So. America, but it’s included in a lot of Mex food, go figure. I didn’t have 2 cans of black beans so I added 1 can of kidney beans—still tasted great! It would be great to serve as a first dish with tamales or Trader Joes cornbread pizza (that’s what we had tonight) as your main entrée.

Soup is a great first dish. If you add cooked white (or jasmine) rice it could be an entree.

2 tsp olive oil
1 small onions
1.5 tsp toasted ground cumin seeds
.25 cup cilantro leaves, extra for garnish
3 cups water
2 15 oz black beans
1 can coconut milk
2 tsp sea salt
2 juice, from fresh limes

Directions
1 Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion (chopped), cumin (use powder if you don't have crushed seeds), chili and cilantro (use plain parsley if you don't like cilantro). Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
2 Add 1/2 cup water. Lower heat and cook until onions are soft; about 12 minutes.
3 Add beans including liquid, remaining water (2.5 C) and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
4 Remove pot from heat. With a slotted spoon, remove about 1 C beans. Puree in a blender on high speech and return to pot (if your blender isn't handy, do the same but smash with a fork).
5 Add salt and lime juice. Stir. Ladle into heated bowls. Garnish with cilantro (or plain parsley).

Servings: 6
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ready in: 25 minutes

Tomato Basil Soup by Nordstrom

1 cup canned peeled plum tomatoes
3 3/4 ounces carrots, chopped
3 3/4 ounces onions, chopped
1 teaspoon dry basil
1 1/4 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 ounces chicken base
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Makes 10 servings
1 hour 30 minutes
30 mins prep Add the basil, salt, pepper, and tomatoes and bring to a simmer.

In a large stock pot, sautee the olive oil, carrots, and onions at medium heat for 15 minutes.
Add the basil, salt, pepper, and tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
In a large bowl, whisk the chicken base into the water until dissolved.
Add the water mixture to the stock pot, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 45 minutes.
Puree the soup using a hand blender while adding the heavy cream until it reaches a thin consistency.

White Bean Chili by E. Seaton

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 cans chicken broth

1 4 oz can diced green ortega chiles

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 small onion

1 tb olive oil

pinch oregano

2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tb sugar

2 tsp hot sauce

2 cans small white beans (s & w)

2 tb pale dry sherry

1-2 cups grated jack cheese

poach chicken with chunks of 1/2 onion, garlic in chicken broth. simmer 15-20 min. remove chicken, strain broth & put broth back in pot. cut chicken in small pieces & return to broth.

saute onion & garlic in olive oil until soft. add onions after broth is strained
add everything but cheese

simmer 15 min.

add jack cheese, stir, serve!

garnish with sour cream, jack cheese, salsa & diced avocado.

enjoy!!!