Emily's Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 cup diced onion
2 celery stalks, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
3 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup salsa - you decide how hot
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/3 cup fresh cilatro, chopped
4 TBSP flour
4 TBSP sour cream
2 cups cooked diced chiken

In a stockpot or dutch oven, sautee onion, peppers and celery in a bit of EVOO for 5 minutes or until softened.
Add the garlic and sautee for 1 minute.
Add salsa, tomatoes and one can of broth and stir all together.
In a measuring cup, whisk the flour into the remaining can of broth until smooth and then add to the pot.
Then add the cilantro, chili powder, cayenne and cumin. S
tir in the sour cream until smooth and then add the diced chicken.
Simmer until all veggies are tender, or at least a hour to let the flavors mix.
Serve in a bowl and top with shredded cheese, diced avocado and crushed tortilla chips

Emily's notes: I like to make this a day ahead, the flavor is better. For my chicken I buy the bone-in breast with skin. I put EVOO all over and lots of salt and pepper and roast at 350 for 40 minutes. I pull off the skin and then dice the breast meat. I freeze in 2 cup portions, great for soups and casseroles.

French Onion Soup

From Grandma Reese's kitchen!

2md onions, sliced sliver thin
2T butter
2 cans condensed beef broth (I used 6 buillon cubes and 6c water)
1 can water (I used 1 additional cup of water)
1t Worcester sauce
Sliced french bread, 1 piece for each person
Sliced parmesean cheese per bread slice (motz or provolone would work too.)

Saute the onions in butter until tender (clear, not brown.)
Add broth, water, and Worcester sauce.
Cover and simmer 20m.
Season with salt and pepper.
Dish in to oven-safe bowls for each person.
Add slice of bread and top with cheese.
Broil 4" from heat until cheese begins to melt and turn brown, about 4m.

Ice Palace Wild Rice Soup

Serves 8+, freezes well

1lg can cream of mushroom soup
1lg can cream of chicken soup (diluted by 1/2 cans milk)
1 can chicken broth (for thinning out the soup later)
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
6c cooked wild rice (roughly 1 to 1-1/2c. before cooking)
1 sm package mushrooms, chopped and sauted
1 chopped green pepper
1 chopped red pepper
1 chopped large onion
1 sm can chopped black olives, optional
2oz white wine, optional

Cook wild rice and chicken.
Throw all ingredients (except chicken stock) in to a large pot and heat until boiling.
Thin with chicken stock to your preference.

*I've also made this with turkey with Thanksgiving leftovers - yum!

Diabetic friendly: make with 1/2c wild rice.
Gluten free: check soup for allergens. Skip wine, and use homemade chicken broth (boil chicken carcass in 1c water on low for 1-2h. Freezes well in ice cube trays, strain with fine strainer depending on the dishes you will use it in.)

Cheeseburger Soup

Serves 8.

Cooking spray
1md chopped garlic clove, minced
1md onion, chopped
1md celery rib, chopped
1lb lean ground beef
2tbs flour
3c chicken broth
1c LF evaporated milk
8oz Velveeta-type cheese
1/2tsp paprika
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp pepper
24 baked tortilla chips, crumbled

Saute garlic, onion, and celery in cooking spray 5-10m until tender.
Spray a 3-1/2qt crock pot with cooking spray.
Add vegetables.
Brown beef and add.
In a small cup, mix 1/2c. broth with flour.
When lump free, add to ground beef pot then add remaining broth.
Heat to simmer and add to crock pit.
Add remaining ingredients to crock pot except chips.
Heat on low in crock pot for 2 hours, serve with crumbled chips.

Beer Cheese Soup

Prep Time: 30 Min
Cook Time: 45 Min
Ready In: 1 hour 15 min

Original Recipe Yield 8 servings

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cups diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups beer
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
4 cups milk or half and half
6 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
popped popcorn, for garnish

Directions
1.In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together carrots, onion, celery, and garlic. Stir in hot pepper sauce, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Pour in chicken broth and beer; simmer until vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
2.Meanwhile, heat butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Stir in flour with a wire whisk; cook, stirring until the flour is light brown, about 3 or 4 minutes. Gradually stir in milk, whisking to prevent scorching, until thickened. Remove from heat, and gradually stir in cheese. Keep warm.
3.Stir beer mixture into cheese mixture. Stir in Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and dry mustard. Adjust for hot pepper sauce. Bring to a simmer, and cook 10 minutes. Serve topped with popcorn.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Adapted from Epicurious
Yield: 6 servings (about 1 2/3 cup each)

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, room temperature, divided
2 pounds fresh broccoli, stems and florets separated and chopped into bite-size pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
6 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy medium pot over medium-high heat. Add broccoli stems and onion; sauté until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and tarragon; sauté 1 minute. Add broth; bring to boil. Simmer uncovered until broccoli is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in milk.
Mix remaining 3 tablespoons butter with flour in small bowl to make paste. Whisk paste into soup. Add broccoli florets. Simmer until soup thickens and florets are tender, stirring frequently, about 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese.
Divide soup into 6 bowls and sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese evenly over the top of each bowl. Enjoy!!

*Great recipe Messy Chef, I can't wait to try it!

Plaza III Steak Soup

1 stick butter/margarine
1c flour
1/2 gallon water
2c. lean ground beef
1c. chopped onion
1c. chopped carrot
1c. chopped celery
2c. frozen mixed veggies (we did 1c each frozen corn and frozen green beans.)
1 lg can diced tomatoes
1T Accent seasoning (good, but not essential)
2T beef base
1T or less black pepper (2t. is more my taste, 1T is pretty peppery)
1T salt (I use way less.)

Melt the stick of butter in a pan and whip in 1c flour to make a smooth paste.
Stir in 1/2 gal water a little bit at a time - heat for a few minutes to create a thicker soup. Saute seperately 2c. lean ground beef (I used 1lb) and add to soup.
Add remaining ingredients.
Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook until vegetables are done.

Freezes extremely well! Next time I might add some potato, unless I was planning to freeze some.

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup

Similar to the soup served at Space Aliens!


2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans fiesta nacho cheese soup or cheddar cheese soup
1 (10-oz) can red enchilada sauce
1 soup can milk
3 or 4 cups cubed, cooked chicken (can use canned chunk chicken also)

Mix all together in crockpot and heat on low until everything is mixed and melted together well.

To serve, top with coarsely crushed tortilla chips/Doritos/Taco flavored Doritos and shredded monterey jack cheese, (or other cheese of choice).

Or put crushed tortilla chips in bottom of soup bowl and ladle soup over, then top with shredded cheese of choice.

Meghann's notes: don't use "knock off" enchilada sauce, the color is different and makes the soup look like mud - appetizing, eh? - but tastes fine. We like Old El Paso. Want more spice? Get spicy enchilada sauce! You could add veggies to this to make it a one-dish dinner.

Lighter: sub 98% FF cream of chicken soup for the regular, use skim milk.

Crock Pot Cheeseburger Soup

Cooking spray

1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium celery rib, chopped
1 lb uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups canned chicken broth, divided
1 cup low-fat evaporated milk
8 ounces kraft Velveeta reduced fat cheese product, cubed
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
24 baked corn tortilla chips, crumbled

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds.
Add garlic, onion & celery to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender, about 5 to 10 min.
Coat a 3-quart or larger slow cooker with cooking spray; spoon in vegetables.
Place same skillet over medium-high heat & brown beef, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 5 to 6 minutes; pour off any liquid and add meat to slow cooker.
In a small cup, combine flour and 1/2 cup of broth; stir until lump-free.
Pour flour mixture into same skillet; add remaining 2 1/2 cups of broth.
Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits in bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon, and then pour into slow cooker; stir in evaporated milk, cheese, paprika, salt and pepper.
Cover slow cooker and cook on low setting for 2 hours.
Serve soup topped with crumbled chips.

Yields about 3/4 cup of soup and 3 tablespoons of chips per serving.

Variation: you could add some mixed veggies to make it a one-dish meal.

Note: If the soup cooks too long, the cheese could separate. If that happens, combine 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup of soup in a cup; stir to a paste. Stir flour mixture back into soup in slow cooker; cover and cook on low setting for 10 to 15 minutes (does not affect POINTS values).

Serving Size 1 (3/4 Cup) with 5 chips, serves 8. NI Calories 207/Fat 9.7g/Fiber 0.4g

Fresh Corn Chowder

1/2 lb. bacon, chopped
1 c. chopped mild yellow onion
4 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 c. flour
2 qt. chicken stock
4 sm. potatoes
2 tsp. freshly cracked white pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp. chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 sm. ears sweet corn, cut off the cob (3 c. kernels)
2 c. light cream (I used half and half)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat the bacon and sauté until crisp.
Remove the bacon and reserve to use as a garnish for the soup.
Add the onions and celery to the bacon fat and sauté until soft, being careful not to brown.
Sprinkle the vegetables with the flour and continue to cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes. Be carefull not to brown.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

1 lb. baking potatoes, cubed *I use about 6-8 small to medium potatoes
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth OR 2c water and 2 chicken bouillon cubes, microwaved for 1 minute.
1 cup milk *I use skim
3 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, cooked, crumbled and divided *The Sam's Club real bacon pieces work well too!
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
1 green onion sliced, divided *I omit.
1/4 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

MICROWAVE
Microwave potatoes in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 5 min., stirring after 2-1/2 min.
Stir in broth and milk. Microwave 10 min., stirring after 5 min.
Carefully crush potatoes with potato masher.
RESERVE 2 Tbsp. each bacon and cheese and 1 Tbsp. onions for topping.
Stir remaining bacon, cheese and onions into soup.
SERVE topped with reserved bacon, cheese, onions and sour cream.

STOVE TOP
Boil potatoes, drain.
Mash about half the potatoes - add liquids, and replace remaining potatoes.
Mix in bacon, cheese, and onions; reserve some for toppings.
Serve with reserved toppings and sour cream.

Variation: peel potatoes before cooking (especially if serving to young children.)

Reheats well! I would not recommend freezing.

Gluten free: watch ingredients of sour cream.
Diabetic friendly: serve a side salad with this instead of bread, and this becomes a pretty good meal! Only carbs would be the potatoes, approximately 30g per cup.

"Weight Watchers Famous" Taco Soup

1 pound extra lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped
48 ounces canned pinto beans, drained
3 16-ounce cans corn, undrained
16 ounces canned tomatoes, undrained
16 ounces tomato sauce
1 ½ cups water
4 ½ ounces green chili pepper
1 envelope Hidden Valley Dip Mix **
1 Package of Taco Seasoning **

Brown beef and onion; drain.
Mix in other ingredients in a large pan.
Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.

NOTES : Per 1c serving, 14 servings per batch: 215.5 cal, 6.7g fat, 6.1g fiber, 748mg, sodium, 3.65 WW points
Suggestions: use black beans or a mixture of black and pinto beans (black beans are higher in fiber and lower in carbs).

Lighter: sub meatless crumbles, ground turkey or chicken in place of ground beef. Cut sodium with ranch and taco seasoning recipes.

Cheaper: use dried, reconstituted beans instead of canned. **Use ranch and taco seasoning recipes instead of buying, or buy in bulk.