January's Soup Recipes
Brandied Pumpkin Soup
Brie Soup
Cream of Cauliflower Soup
Cream of Parsley Soup
Lemon chicken Orzo Soup
Mexican Chicken Soup
Rainy Season Chicken Soup
Sensational Chicken Noodle Soup
Spicy Black Bean Soup
Wild Alaskan Salmon Company
Vermont Cheddar Chowder


Brandied Pumpkin Soup

½ cup butter
2 to 3 onion, chopped
2 (15-ounce) cans plain pumpkin
8 cups chicken broth
1-teaspoon ground ginger
1-teaspoon nutmeg
1 ½ cups milk
1/3- cup brandy
Salt and pepper to taste
Croutons

Heat butter in soup pot and sauté onion until tender and transparent. Stir in pumpkin, broth, ginger and nutmeg. Blend well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. About ½ hour before serving, add brandy and milk, heat through. Do not let boil. Serve with croutons.

Serves 6-8.

From French Cooking: Lewis R. French


Brie Soup

2lbs mushrooms (sliced)
2 leeks (sliced)
1 qt (32oz) chicken stock
1 qt (32 oz) cream
½ cup sherry
5 tablespoons corn starch
1lb brie (w/rind off)
1 bunch scallions (green onions)
4-5 oz butter (1 stick)

Procedure:
Bown butter. Sauté mushrooms and leeks.  Add chick stock. Boil then let simmer.  Add Brie by pieces while stirring.  Mix starch with sherry, then add.  Add cream, add green onions.

Note: to thin add chick stock, to thicken add starch.


Cream of Cauliflower Soup

2 T. butter
1 onion diced
3 ¼ cups of water
3 ½ t. chicken soup base
1 head of Cauliflower, cooked
¼ cup white win or water
2 cups of half and half

Saute onion in butter until soft.  Add water, soup base, cauliflower and white wine.  Bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.  Add half and half.  Heat through. Serve.


Cream of Parsley Soup

3 T. butter
3 medium potatoes, sliced
1 ¼ cups parsley, chopped, fresh
1/3 cup shallot, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup light cream

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and cook the shallots until they are tender.  Add the potatoes and stock or broth.  Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer it, covered, until the potatoes are tender.  Let cool slightly and add the parsley.  Puree the mixture in a food mill, blender, or food processor.  Rinse the pan and return the soup to it.  Stir in the cream, adding more if soup is too thick, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve the soup hot or cold.  Garnish with sour cream and sprinkle in with chives or parsley.


Lemon chicken Orzo Soup

8 cups chicken broth
¾ cup uncooked orzo pasta (or use same amount uncooked rice)
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
2 large eggs
1 juice of a lemon
Grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top.

Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a pot.  Add int eh orzo or rice; simmer uncovered until the orzo or rice I cooked (about 10 minutes).  In a medium heat proof bowl whisk together eggs and lemon juice until frothy.  Remove a ladle of hot broth from the pot and slowly add the broth to the egg mixture whisking vigorously; pour the mixture back into the hot soup.  Remove immediately from the heat. DO NOT LET BOIL!!   Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.


Mexican Chicken Soup

4 uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 15oz cans black beans, undrained
3 cans Rotel tomatoes
1 cup salsa (mild, medium or hot)
1 4oz can chopped green chilies, undrained
2 8 oz cans low sodium tomato sauce
2 cups grated cheese

Combine all ingredients except cheese in large slow cooker.  Cover. Cook on low 8- 10 hours.  Just before serving shred chicken breasts and return to soup.  Top each serving with cheese.

Using a small pan, bring a cup of water to boiling and drop in mushrooms. Cook uncovered over med high heat for 10 minutes.  Then drain the mushrooms, pat them dry, and slice thinly. Set Aside.

In a large sauté pan, melt the margarine over low heat. Put in the leeks, carrots, onions, celery and chicken and stir gently.  Cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Take cover off, stir the vegetables and turn the chicken and check for doneness.  (the chicken should be ½ done) Cover and cook another 5 minutes or until chicken is just done.  Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside to cool.

Sprinkle the flour over melted margarine, vegetable and juices.  Stir to cook over low heat for 2 minutes.  Slowly add the white wine and 2 cups of broth.  Stir and cook until bubbly and thickened.  Ad the sour cream very slowly, and allow to cook gently while you slice the chicken in thin bite sized pieces.

In a large frying pan, bring the remaining 2 cups of broth to boiling and add noodles.  Cook 4 minutes or until almost done.  Do NOT drain.  Slowly add the noodle mixture to the hot vegetables and sour cream mixture.  Add the chicken and the mushroom and bring back to boiling.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.


Sensational Chicken Noodle Soup

4 cups chicken broth
Black pepper to taste
1 medium carrot, sliced (about ½ cup)
1 stalk celery, sliced (about ½ cup)
½ cup uncooked medium egg noodles
1 cup cubed chicken or turkey
1 can diced tomatoes (16 oz)

Mix broth, tomatoes, black pepper, carrots and celery in saucepan.  Heat to a boil.  Stir in noodles and chicken.  Cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until noodles are done. Add herbs to taste.


Spicy Black Bean Soup

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2/3 cup diced onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 Tablespoon cumin
½ - 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 14.5oz can of chicken broth
3 15.5 oz cans black beans undrained
3 cups thick and chunky salsa, mild or medium
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
½ cup plain yogurt or sour cream
Shredded cheese

Put the oil, onion, garlic, cumin and red pepper flakes in a large soup pot, and sauté over a medium heat until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Working in batches, puree the chick broth and 2 cans of undrained beans in a blender.  Add to the pot.  Stir in remaining can of beans along with salsa and lime juice.
Heat the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simple 30 minutes. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and sour cream and lots of cheese!


Wild Alaskan Salmon Company

6 slices of bacon; diced
½ cup onion; chopped
10 ¾ oz condensed chicken broth
5 ½ oz au gratin potato mix
2 cups of water
17 oz whole kernel corn
15 ½ oz red sockeye salmon, drained, boned, skinned and broken into chunks
1 ½ cups of milk
1/3 cup of evaporated milk
Black pepper to taste

Fry the bacon in a skillet until crisp.  Remove bacon and drain on paper towels.  Combine onion, chicken broth, au gratin potato mix (both potatoes and sauce mix), water, undrained corn, and pepper with the bacon in a 3 ½ quart slow cooker.  Cove rand cook, on the low setting, 6 hours.  Add the salmon, milk and evaporated milk.  Cover and cook, on the high setting, 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated.


Vermont Cheddar Chowder

4 T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
4 carrots, scrubbed and diced
1 Spanish onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 cups chicken stock
1lb red skin potatoes, scrubbed and cut into large dice
¼ cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 ½ cups whole milk
8 oz Vermont Cheddar cheese, shredded.
Black pepper to taste
2 T chopped fresh chives

Melt 1T of the butter in a large stockpot over medium high heat.  Add the carrots and onion and sauté briefly, just until the onion is transparent, 3 minutes.  Add the stock and potatoes, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer gently until the carrots are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 3 T butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Gradually whisk in the flour to make a paste.  Continue to whisk over medium high heat for one minute to brown and cook the flour.  Whisking continuously, add the milk in a steady, even stream and whisk the mixture into a smooth, creamy sauce. Remove the pan from the heat, add the cheese, and stir until it is completely melted.  Season to taste with pepper.

Stir the cheese sauce into the stockpot and warm the soup gently over low heat.  Stir in the chives, and season to taste with additional pepper as needed. Serve hot.