Soup Day!

Good morning y’all!  How was your weekend?  Are you and the loved ones staying warm around your hearth?  Our hearth was very active this weekend and there was always a pot of something going from Friday night all the way till Sunday late afternoon.  We hosted the ladies from our women’s group and celebrated the wonderful fall season, an early Thanksgiving  and one of the ladies had a birthday on Friday.  I decided to make soups and have everyone bring breads to go with them.  I made my basic chili (a double batch), a chicken noddle with veggies and a broccoli cheese soup.  To be honest, I have never made a homemade chicken noodle soup…I have always made chicken and dumplings or a chicken pot pie.  There really isn’t a recipe to post for the chili, as I just use a brown bag (now it’s in a box, but was always sold in a bag before) seasoning mix (and yes, I use the whole cayenne pepper packet) and add it to 2 lbs. browned hamburger meat and add a can of light red kidney beans, 2 cans diced tomatoes, 1 can of tomato paste and a couple cans of water, till I get it the consistency I like, and slow cook it 4-5 hours in a crock pot.  I served it with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, oyster crackers, chopped green onions and one of our ladies brought a wonderful batch of cornbread.  It was yummy, as always. 

I really can’t post an exact recipe for the chicken noodle soup either.  I had been collecting and freezing the pan drippings and leftovers from my roasted whole chickens from the last 6 weeks or so.  The herbs varied with each roasted bird so this is why I can’t give an exact recipe and mine will probably never taste the same way again.  Like I said, it was my first time of making it and I was VERY impressed.  It was the best I’ve ever had and everyone seemed to enjoy it.  I took my broths and chopped chicken pieces and to it I added another chicken breast that I had boiled then chopped and also added one 32 oz container of fat free chicken stock that I bought.  I added some water at the end.  I chopped a few peeled carrots and some celery and a medium whole onion that I had sweated in a few tablespoons of butter before adding them.  I added just a touch of salt and pepper and simmered it for about 3 hours on low and about 45 minutes before we sat to eat I added a bunch of wide egg noodles, covered it and let it continue to simmer.  The noodles were almost like flat dumplings in this one and they had absorbed a good bit of the soup part, so next time I will add even more water before I put the noodles in (or like someone suggested, I could have cooked the noodles first then added them at the last minute, but I think I like them cooked in the brothy mixture as opposed to plain, salted water).  The rosemary focaccia bread on the table was excellent in my bowl along with a few oyster crackers and this soup.  I was impressed and was in heaven with every bite.

Now, my other new recipe was one I am putting the exact recipe for  below.  It was on the internet on several sites as a “knock-off” version of one of the major  Bread Company’s soups.  The only real change I made was in the cheese.  I had a big ziplock of cheese chunks left-over from a birthday party back in August that I had thrown into the freezer.  It was the correct amount, approximately  16oz, but was a mixture of swiss, mild cheddar and cheddar-jack cubes, that I had defrosted.  I am not a true fan of broccoli cheese soup but this one is good!!!  I can’t wait to make it again.  I may add a touch more hot sauce next time or maybe a teaspoon or two of ground cayenne.  Anyway, here is the recipe.  Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Serves 8
Ready In: 30-60 minutes

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups half-and-half
4 cups chicken stock or bouillon
1 pound fresh broccoli
2 cups carrots, julienned
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
16 ounces grated sharp cheddar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons hot sauce (any brand)

Directions:
Saute onion in butter. Set aside. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and slowly add the half-and-half (this is called making a roux). Add the chicken stock whisking all the time. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. The soup should be thickened by now. Pour in batches into blender and puree or use a handheld immersion blender, which is what we used, and it was a perfect texture. Return to pot over low heat and add the grated cheese; stir until well blended. Stir in the nutmeg, mustard, hot sauce and serve.

I can’t wait for dinner tonight for leftovers!  I also made my first scratch carrot cake and it was fabulous.  A good friend shared her amazing recipe and I am just waiting to get the go ahead from her to post her recipe…stay tuned, you have to try this one!

The only BAD part was that…sniff, sniff…I forgot to take pictures of any of it, as we were creating it or when we sat with the finished products at the table.   I can’t believe that I forgot to do this.  So sorry. I guess we were having such a great day no one thought about stopping to pose for the camera.  You’ll have to use your imagination for visuals of the soups and cake. 

Have a great week everyone.