Loaded baked potato soup

I have been trying to make at least one crock pot of soup a week this winter. This one was for my potato-philic daughter.

• 6 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoons pepper
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Combine all ingredients except milk, cheese and bacon. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4. Mash potatoes to desired texture, stir in milk and cheese. Serve with topped with bacon, sour cream or more cheese, if desired. Or all three.

Hash Brown Soup

My daughter is a potato snob. She loves potatoes, but typically insists they be prepared from scratch and turns up her nose at instant or frozen products (though she makes an exception for KFC mashed potatoes and gravy, for some reason.)

For that reason, she was skeptical about this soup, but wound up really liking it, especially when I explained that, given the reduced prep and cooking time, it was likely to appear far more often potato soup from scratch.

• 1 chopped onion


• 1 tablespoon olive oil


• 3 cans chicken broth


• 1 large bag Southern style hash browns, frozen


• 1 can cream of celery soup


• 1 can cream of chicken soup


• 1.5 cups skim milk


• 1 pound shredded cheddar

Saute onion in oil. Add to broth in saucepan, bring to boil. Add hash browns and boil again. Add soups and milk, boil again. Stir in cheese until melted.

Turkey Curry Soup

I dug the turkey carcass stock out of the freezer and prepared this tonight. Everyone enjoyed.

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, minced (about 2 cups)
• 2 ribs celery, sliced
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Indian spices to taste (I used 4 teaspoons garam masala and 2 teaspoons curry powder)
• 4 tablespoons flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 cups turkey broth
• 3 cups chopped turkey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 cups milk
• 4-6 cups rice, cooked

Melt butter in soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery, saute 10 minutes until tender. Add garlic and spices, cook 2 minutes. Add flour, cook 2 more minutes. Add salt, pepper, broth and turkey, heat until simmering; simmer 10-15 minutes. Add lemon juice and milk and cook 5 minutes longer. Serve over rice or mix rice into soup.

Gazpacho

I fell in love with this soup when I went to Spain a few years ago. There are a million versions of it, but here is my favorite. I love to hit a farmers market on a Saturday morning, then make a batch to have for lunch for the rest of the week.

• 3 lbs fresh summer tomatoes (9-10 medium)
• 1 large cucumber
• 1 bell or red pepper
• 1 medium sweet onion
• 5-6 garlic cloves (or less, to taste)
• 3 tablespoons red vinegar
• 3 tablespoons lime juice (about 2, fresh squeezed)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste (I use 2-3 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper)
• 6 tablespoons fresh spice (dill, basil, coriander... use your favorite)
• dry bread crumbs

Peel and seed cucumber. Seed pepper. Peel garlic cloves. Chop them and onion in food processor. Coarsely chop herb. Blanch tomatoes for 30 seconds in boiling water, remove skins. Some people seed tomatoes at this point, but I don't). Puree tomatoes in blender, add rest of vegetables, vinegar, lime juice, salt, pepper and herb. I like my gazpacho smooth, so I blend it all up throughly, but if you like it chunkier, process it less or don't blend all the chopped vegetables. Chill several hours or overnight. Serve in bowls with 2 tablespoons bread crumbs sprinkled on top.

Squash and pear soup

A recipe from an August 96 Mom friend. Delicious and great-smelling; I may serve it for Thanksgiving. I think it would be good with nutmeg instead of thyme

• 1 lg. butternut squash, peeled and cubed.
• 1 lg. onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 pears, peeled and cubed
• 32 oz. chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and squash, cook covered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pears and chicken stock, heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes. Add thyme. Puree in blender, two cups at a time, then return to stove. Serve hot.

Chilled cucumber soup

I don't really like cucumbers. But, all my friends with gardens have raised bumper crops this year and given me lots. Since I had a cucumber gazpacho in Spain a view years ago that was pretty good, I decided to try a chilled soup. It is good, and unlike most where you just grind up the cukes, cooking them cuts the cucumber-y taste. It's almost like a potato soup.

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• several sprigs flat leaf parsley
• several sprigs fresh dill
• 5 cups chicken broth, hot (I used turkey broth from a recent breast I roasted... it worked great!)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Melt butter in skillet, saute onions and cucumbers with pepper until tender and onions are translucent. Sprinkle with flour and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to soup pan and add broth, salt and spices. Heat until boiling, then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Cool in pan, then puree in blender with sour cream, lemon juice and milk. Chill several hours.

Sausage and white bean soup

A hearty bean soup for winter. I recently made this with the vegetable stock and the sausage cooked separately when taking a meal to a family of mixed vegetarian/omnivores.

• 1.5 pounds dried navy beans
  
• 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1.5 pounds smoked sausage
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
  
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
  
• 1.5 tablespoons minced garlic
  
• 12 cups vegetable or chicken stock
  
• 5 cups water
  
• 3 bay leaves
  
• 1 teaspoon thyme
  
• 1 tablespoon salt
  
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
  
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  

Soak beans overnight. Cook and slice sausage, set aside.  In bottom of soup pot, heat oil, then saute onion, celery and garlic.  Add beans, stock, water, salt and spices.  Bring to boil, cover partially, reduce heat and simmer 3 hours. Mash about half the beans with potato masher. Add sausage and heat through.  Top with shredded cheese, if desired and serve with bread.

Cuban Black Bean Soup

AKA Sopa de frijoles negros. A big hit at a recent church supper, served with rice underneath and Pork Adobo on top.

• 1 pound dried black beans
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 cups water
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 small can diced chiles or jalepenos
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 12 oz cooked ham (optional)

Soak beans overnight and rinse. Saute onions in butter in bottom of soup pot, then add beans, water, bouillon cube, bay leaves, oregano and salt. Bring to boil, cover and simmer until beans are tender, 60-90 minutes. Puree one cup of beans in blender, return to soup. Remove bay leaves, add ham and green pepper, then cook for 30 minutes more. Serve over rice.