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What are your favorite soups?


Carol in Cal.
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Fall seems like a great time for soup.

 

My absolute favorite is Wild Rice Soup from a Junior League cookbook from Minneapolis.  Unfortunately it starts with 'two chicken carcasses', so making it is quite a multistage process and I don't do it very often.  OMGosh, it is so good though.

 

Beer Cheese soup is also nutsy good, which is weird.  It sounds awful to me, and I don't even like beer, but it's awfully good.

 

The mushroom soup in Sunset's 'French Cooking' was my favorite until I tried the other two.

 

What about you?

 

Recipes would be nice, if it's easy to post them.

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OMGosh, how did I forget Lobster Bisque?

 

I guess because it's the one I never make at home, just have out.

Where? My kids have not tried Lobster Bisque yet.

 

My kids like clam chowder from TJ or Safeway, and the red pepper soup from TJ. These are like their emergency rations for a moody day. For home cooked soup they like chicken soup.

 

I like hot and sour soup (Chinese) especially on a cold day.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/hot-and-sour-soup

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OMGosh, how did I forget Lobster Bisque?  

 

I guess because it's the one I never make at home, just have out.

 

But clearly I must revise my list and put it at the top.

 

 

Great palates taste alike!   :hurray:  

 

By the way, thanks for recommending The Impoverished Student Book of Cookery, Drinkery, & Housekeepery!  I bought several copies for my Gainesville peeps who loved it and shared it generously. Now rumor has it that a large portion of the UF student body is currently trying their luck at brewing beer!  

 

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:  

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Great palates taste alike!   :hurray:  

 

By the way, thanks for recommending The Impoverished Student Book of Cookery, Drinkery, & Housekeepery!  I bought several copies for my Gainesville peeps who loved it and shared it generously. Now rumor has it that a large portion of the UF student body is currently trying their luck at brewing beer!  

 

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:  

I have been cooking more recipes from that book, and dang they are good.  Hearty though.

 

The Chicken Papikrash (sp?) is fantastic, and the leftover chicken with RICE is quite remarkable.  

 

Have you tried the white bread?  Best white bread EVER.

 

Their beer recipe would intrigue me if I liked beer, but I don't.  However, the tone of it kind of reminds me of a winery tour I attended once.  Apparently the winery was founded shortly before Prohibition, and how they got through that period was partly by selling casks of grape juice.  They would ship these all over the US with a set of mysterious instructions headed, "Don't Do This Or Else You Will Make Wine."  :)

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All - or most of my soups - are made with chicken stock so I improvise wildly and throw in whatever vegetables I have in the fridge, sometimes rice, sometimes some chopped chicken or links. Lots of seasoning, occasionally crack an egg in and swirl it.

Every soup tastes different - the downside is when we have one we really like, I cannot remember what exactly I did to duplicate it.  :lol:

 

Check out the book "Ladled" by Kim Harris. I think there may be some recipes on her website and possibly on an ebook.

Edited by Liz CA
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Fall seems like a great time for soup.

 

My absolute favorite is Wild Rice Soup from a Junior League cookbook from Minneapolis.  Unfortunately it starts with 'two chicken carcasses', so making it is quite a multistage process and I don't do it very often.  OMGosh, it is so good though.

 

Beer Cheese soup is also nutsy good, which is weird.  It sounds awful to me, and I don't even like beer, but it's awfully good.

 

The mushroom soup in Sunset's 'French Cooking' was my favorite until I tried the other two.

 

What about you?

 

Recipes would be nice, if it's easy to post them.

 

Oh, I would love to see your recipe for Wild Rice Soup if it's not too horrible to type up.

 

I love chowders.  Some of my favorites:

 

Salmon Chowder

 

  • 1/2         pound  red potatoes
  • 1/2         pound  sliced bacon — cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips
  • 2               cups  chopped scallions (from 2 bunches)
  • 2             stalks  celery — chopped
  • 1                cup  fresh or frozen corn
  • 3             cloves  garlic, minced
  • 1           teaspoon  finely chopped fresh thyme
  • 1                     bay leaf
  • 1/8      teaspoon  dried hot red-pepper flakes
  • 3               cups  whole milk
  • 2/3           cup  heavy cream
  • 1              piece  salmon fillet (preferably wild) — (1 1/2-pound) skin discarded and fish cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/2      teaspoon  salt
  • 1/4      teaspoon  black pepper
  • 2          teaspoons  fresh lemon juice
  •  

Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes, then cook in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan of boiling salted water  until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.

 

Cook bacon in a 5-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

 

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot, then cook scallions, corn, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and red-pepper flakes in fat in pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until scallions are tender, about 5 minutes.

 

Add milk and cream and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat to moderately low, then add potatoes, salmon, bacon, salt, and pepper and cook, gently stirring occasionally, until salmon is just cooked through and begins to break up as you stir, 5 to 8 minutes.

 

Stir in lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste, discard bay leaf.

 

Serve with extra scallions chopped and a lemon wedge.

 

 

Manhatten Clam Chowder

  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 3 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 3 celery stalks, diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • several sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 24 ounces canned baby clams, drained
  • 8 ounces bottled clam juice
  • 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 red skinned potatoes- skins left on, diced
  • 1/4-1/2 cup freshly chopped parsely
  • Additional salt and pepper to taste

 

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Chop the bacon into pieces and add to the hot oil.  Cook until crispy and browned, and then use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon to a small bowl.  Set aside for later.

 

To the bacon fat, add the onions, bell peppers, carrots and celery.  Cook for a few minutes, and then add the bay leaf and the thyme, as well as a healthy sprinkle of both salt and pepper.  Cook for an additional five minutes, or until the vegetables are all softened and very fragrant.

 

Add the baby clams, clam juice, crushed tomatoes, water and potatoes.  Bring to a boil, and then turn down the heat to medium and add a lid to the pot.  Simmer gently for about 20 minutes or so.

 

Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as needed, and then add half of the parsley.  Cook for another 20 minutes or so.

 

Serve the chowder with the cooked bacon pieces and remaining parsley sprinkled on top.

 

Simple Clam Chowder

 

  • 2 bacon slices
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 1 1/4 cups chopped celery
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 garlic cloves — minced
  • 36 ounces canned baby clams
  • 5 cups diced peeled baking potato (about 1 pound)
  • 4 bottles clam juice — (8-ounce)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion, celery, salt, thyme, and garlic to drippings in pan; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

 

Drain clams, reserving liquid. Add clam liquid, potato, clam juice, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Discard bay leaf.

 

Add the whole milk to the pan; bring to a gentle simmer. Cook 10-12 minutes or until thickened slightly, stirring constantly. Add clams and cream; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with bacon.

 

Serves 12

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Too hot for soup here, too, but my favorite is chicken soup.

 

Put a whole chicken (raw or, preferably, what's left from a previous night's roasting) and an onion, peeled and halved, in a pot of cold water. Heat to a boil and simmer 2.5-3 hours. (While it's simmering, it's a good time to make some bread to go with it.) The chicken should be starting to fall apart.

 

Carefully remove the chicken to a plate to cool. Add to the broth

  • a few diced tomatoes (preferably Roma) or a can of diced tomatoes;
  • 4 or so carrots, chopped;
  • 4 or so stalks of celery, with leaves, chopped;
  • and 4 cloves of garlic, peeled but whole.

Let it cook another 1-1.5 hours, stirring occasionally. As the chicken cools enough, return dark meat to the soup. Toward the end of cooking time, add some oregano, Italian seasoning, pepper, a little salt, and anything else desired--zucchini slices, corn kernels, cooked kidney beans, etc. Separately, cook some ditalini, acini or other small pasta, or some rice. Ladle pasta into the dish first and then cover with soup, and serve bread on the side.

 

ETA: I also love butternut squash soup (preferably with turkey broth and a dollop of sour cream) and rather like the peanut butter soup recipe from C is for Cooking.

Edited by whitehawk
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I love soup season!

 

We're having beef barley soup tonight...I love that it's an easy way to use up pot roast leftovers!

 

Chili, of course, but I guess that's kind of obvious. ;)

 

It's a little too early for my after-Thanksgiving soup, but that may be our family's favorite soup.

 

Minestrone is a good way to get my pickiest eater to eat vegetables!

 

Pasta e Fagioli is a childhood favorite of mine.

 

And my husband hates broccoli, but all of the children love cream of broccoli soup, so I make it when he's traveling.

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Tortilla soup--chicken stock, leftover chicken, can of corn, can of rinsed black beans, picante sauce to taste (can add bell peppers, onions, fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, Rotel tomatoes, and chilli powder if you have them on hand.)  Put tortilla chips in bowl, ladle soup, top with grated cheese and avocado slices if desired.

 

Our other favorite cooler weather dish, though not technically a soup, is chicken and sausage gumbo.  

 

 

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Zuppa Toscana

http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a45873/copycat-olive-garden-zuppa-toscana-recipe/

 

Chicken Tortilla/Enchilada Soup

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/26382/chicken-enchilada-soup-iii/

 

Homemade beef veg soup (red wine, Worcestershire sauce, leftover Greek pot roast w tomatoes and garlic , cauliflower, cabbage, green beans etc)

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My most recent soup discovery is a yummy black bean soup I can do in the crockpot. I wanted a black bean soup without bacon in it, so I googled vegan black bean soup and this came up. I also wanted dry beans instead of canned. This recipe was just what I wanted.

 

http://www.emilieeats.com/vegan-slow-cooker-black-bean-soup/

 

My changes for our food preferences here:

1/2 yellow onion instead of a whole one, but that's because yellow onions in the grocery store are so huge.

1 jalapeno instead of 2--my preference

1 teaspoon salt instead of 2--we're low sodium. I also add it at the end so the beans will soften well.

1/4 teaspoon cayenne instead of 1/2. I made it with 1/2 the first time and dh loved it but I wanted a little less kick.

I use an immersion blender to make it smooth. Or use a regular blender in batches.

 

Recipe:

VEGAN SLOW COOKER BLACK BEAN SOUP

 
Recipe type: Soup
 
Prep time:   10 mins
Cook time:   6 hours
Total time:   6 hours 10 mins
 
Serves: 6 servings
 
Requiring little prep, this Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup is perfect for an easy weeknight dinner! It's vegan, gluten-free, and full of plant-based protein.
INGREDIENTS
  • 1 pound dry black beans
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 jalapeños, seeds removed and finely chopped
  • 1 cup salsa or diced tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic, about 4 cloves
  • 1 heaping tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground pepper
  • ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (decrease or omit for a milder soup)
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • Avocado and cilantro for topping, if desired
 
INSTRUCTIONS
 
  1. In a large bowl, place beans. Fill with water about 1 inch over the beans. Let them soak overnight.
  2. Drain and rinse the beans.
  3. In the bowl of a slow cooker, place beans, broth, onion, pepper, jalapeños, salsa, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne, and paprika. Stir to combine.
  4. Cook on high for 6 hours, until beans are completely cooked.
  5. When the soup is done, you can either leave it as is, process or blend half the soup until smooth and return it to the pot, or process or blend all of the soup until smooth.
  6. Serve warm; top with avocado and cilantro.
 
NOTES
Storage:
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the soup and reheat when ready to eat.
 
Order Ingredients

 

Edited by Ali in OR
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Homemade chicken noodle soup.

 

Ingredients: 

Carcass

carrots

bell pepper

celery root

onions

garlic

parsley

seasoning

water

 

Throw in a pot. Simmer for a few hours. Drain broth. Separately, boil some noodles about 10 minutes before sitting down to eat. Add to clear broth, along with select chicken pieces and any veggies you want back in there. Season to taste, if necessary, then eat!

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I'm eating a bowl of chicken tortilla soup right now!  I love soup!

 

My favorites are:

Broccoli cheese soup

tomato bisque

Zuppa Toscana (Sometimes I sub cauliflower for the potatoes to make it lower carb)

chicken tortilla soup

chicken noodle soup 

split pea soup

chili

 

It has started to turn to fall here, and I made both tomato bisque and chicken noodle soup this week, and tonight chicken tortilla... Mmmm! 

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The mushroom barley soup from the Polish restaurant/banquet hall across from the Polish cemetery close to Chicago is my absolute favorite, but it's been a few years since I've had it. I've looked for copycat recipes, but haven't found one that seems close enough.

 

I also like Italian sausage and kale soup with white beans, Ree's cauliflower soup, Trader Joe's black bean soup with an added can of black beans and vegan chorizo, lentil and kale, broccoli cheese, split pea, minestrone, cream of chicken and wild rice, tomato basil, and French onion. I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting. I really want it to be soup weather soon. We've broken the high temperature record the last two days, and the heat wave is supposed to hang on until next week. :-(

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After Thanksgiving, I always make the turkey carcass soup from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.  It works fine with a Rotisserie chicken carcass too.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/poultry/turkey-frame-soup/

 

 

I love cream of celery soup.   Another thing I make after Thanksgiving with leftover celery. I kind of wing it by sauteeing some celery and onion in butter, adding in flour to make a roux, chicken stock, salt, pepper, celery salt, and then some cream of half and half.  Whatever is left over from the coffee bar. :)

 

I've been making this easy bean soup from Cooking Light for a million years it seems like.  I had the original issue but now I do it from memory.   It comes together super quickly.  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/north-woods-bean-soup

 

 

I wish I could make a good tomato bisque.  

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Before sharing recipes, let me offer a tip: If there are carrots in your soup, put the carrots in whole. Once they are cooked through and soft you can fish them out and dice them in no time at all. No carrots rolling around on the cutting board. So much easier! 

 

Here is one of our favorites (This serves 8 adults including seconds) 

 

Lasagna soup: tastes like lasagna but much less cheese and fewer noodles: (I have modified recipes from Paula Deen and Bobby Deen to make it healthier):

 

  • 2 pound ground turkey (or ground beef or sausage)
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • mince 6 cloves garlic
  • 2 (32-ounce) box  chicken broth
  • 4 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes 4 cans or 2 large cans
  • 2 (15-ounce) can  tomato sauce  or 30 oz.
  • 2 teaspoons basil
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 8  broken lasagna noodles
  • grated Parmesan cheese
  • shredded mozarella cheese
  • mushrooms, chopped 
  • frozen chopped spinach
  • (Or you can use sweet peppers if your family likes those)

Serve with Crostini : slice a baguette diagonally. Brush or spray slices with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350. 

 

Brown meat with onion and while it’s browning, cook everything but the noodles. Add meat drained of fat. When it’s boiling, add the broken-up noodles.) You have to stir every so often to keep the noodles from sticking. Put soup in crocks. Put shredded mozzarella on top of each and sprinkle with Parmesan. Run under the broiler. (It takes a really short period of time. Don’t burn it!)

 

 We love Jane Brody's Lentil-rice soup and her turkey carcass soup. Also homemade vege soup. 

 

 

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Would probably taste better homemade, but we sometimes get the Marie Calendar's? Chicken Pot Pie and Chicken n Dumplings soups. I like to add more veggies and some crackers.

 

Various forms of chicken noodle. Different kinds of noodles.

 

Taco soup or tortilla soup with restaurant style chips. It's been too spicy for me the last couple times, but I used to buy the bag soup of tortilla soup and then add a can of black beans. I don't remember the name but I've bought it at Walmart.

 

I'm sure all of these would be better homemade.

 

I also like some stews and gumbo if it's not spicy.

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Wow...thank you so much. I was completely unfamiliar with this and had to do some googling. It looks really interesting! Do you make it or go out for it?

I make it myself.  I did some googling and the recipes varied a bit so this is mine (I can't imagine how they taste without the wine, wth?)

 

Saute 1/2 cup of minced onions in 2Tbsp of butter until transparent.  Lightly brown 4Tbsp of flour in medium saucepan.  Mix onions with flour and add 4 cups of beef broth and 1/2 cup of red wine.  Cook GENTLY for 30 minutes (there should never be any bubbling), stirring frequently.  Serve immediately with a generous sprinkling of shredded Gruyere.

 

You can experiment with different wines to see how they affect the soup.  Also, as you stir and are basically tied to the stove, smell the pot.  You'll be able to smell the changes as the wine cooks and it's the most exquisite aroma.  It's probably my favorite part about the soup.

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Do you eat this as a meal or as a starter?

 

I make it myself. I did some googling and the recipes varied a bit so this is mine (I can't imagine how they taste without the wine, wth?)

 

Saute 1/2 cup of minced onions in 2Tbsp of butter until transparent. Lightly brown 4Tbsp of flour in medium saucepan. Mix onions with flour and add 4 cups of beef broth and 1/2 cup of red wine. Cook GENTLY for 30 minutes (there should never be any bubbling), stirring frequently. Serve immediately with a generous sprinkling of shredded Gruyere.

 

You can experiment with different wines to see how they affect the soup. Also, as you stir and are basically tied to the stove, smell the pot. You'll be able to smell the changes as the wine cooks and it's the most exquisite aroma. It's probably my favorite part about the soup.

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Do you eat this as a meal or as a starter?

 

 Generally I eat it as a meal if I'm splitting the pot with myself and one other person (2 full bowls).  I may add some bread with it.  Otherwise, for smaller bowls, it's a nice starter for a meat-based meal.

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One of my favorites is lentil, but I don't have a recipe.  I use dried lentils, a pound-size can of whole tomatoes, and whatever else I have.  Usually carrots, onions, potatoes, and spinach.  Garlic is good, and red wine.  Sometimes I use chicken broth, sometimes just water.  Sometimes I add sausage.

 

 

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After Thanksgiving, I always make the turkey carcass soup from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.  It works fine with a Rotisserie chicken carcass too.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/poultry/turkey-frame-soup/

 

 

I love cream of celery soup.   Another thing I make after Thanksgiving with leftover celery. I kind of wing it by sauteeing some celery and onion in butter, adding in flour to make a roux, chicken stock, salt, pepper, celery salt, and then some cream of half and half.  Whatever is left over from the coffee bar. :)

 

I've been making this easy bean soup from Cooking Light for a million years it seems like.  I had the original issue but now I do it from memory.   It comes together super quickly.  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/north-woods-bean-soup

 

 

I wish I could make a good tomato bisque.  

 

I make soup all the time and I have never made a tomato/tomato-basil/tomato bisque soup I've been happy with. Why is it so hard to make a good one? :(

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Oh, I would love to see your recipe for Wild Rice Soup if it's not too horrible to type up.

 

 

It's pretty long, but maybe I can do it this weekend.

 

In the meantime, here is the book (which is chock full of excellent recipes that WORK.)

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/celebrated-seasons-cookbook_junior-league-of-minneapolis/408964/?mkwid=sTuRssN5M%7cdc&pcrid=70112914152&pkw=&pmt=&plc=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4JGl-7C51gIVh15-Ch17LQBkEAYYASABEgKI8_D_BwE#isbn=096182350X&idiq=6381918

 

I got it at a used bookstore.  I imagine that it's OOP.  It has become a favorite for sure!

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Where does one find a copy of The Impoverished Student Book of Cookery, Drinkery, & Housekeepery?

Weirdly enough, one finds it on the Reed College bookstore website.

Jenn in Fl was kind enough to let me know this.

 

My mother had given this to me when I was either in college or a recent graduate, and used copies cost a fortune on Ebay, but thanks to Jenny I have a new fresh copy, and so do several nieces and nephews, for just $10 each IIRC.

Edited by Carol in Cal.
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I make soup all the time and I have never made a tomato/tomato-basil/tomato bisque soup I've been happy with. Why is it so hard to make a good one? :(

I like this one a lot and it can be frozen since no dairy. Stir in some cream to taste after you warm it up. https://www.google.com/amp/amp.myrecipes.com/recipe/melanies-garden-tomato-soup

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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