Chicken Chili with Hominy

Good thing I printed this recipe out long ago, because now I cannot even find it online! What happened to "massrecipes.com"? But since it is one of our favorite soups, I have to document it here!

1 T canola oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium poblano chile, diced (I've used 1 can green chilies)
29 oz canned chicken broth
30 oz canned white navy beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz canned hominy, drained
Salt and ground pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)
Hot sauce (like Tapatio) for serving (optional)
Sour cream for topping (optional)

In a large, 5 qt pot, warm oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken until golden, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, garlic, and chilis; cook, stirring often, until onion softens, 3-4 minutes.

Cut browned chicken into 1/2 inch strips. Add chicken, broth, and beans to pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to an active simmer, and cook until chicken is very tender and chili has thickened, 25-30 minutes.

Reserve 1/2 C hominy to use as garnish (optional); stir remaining hominy into chili. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowl; garnish each serving with reserved hominy, sour cream, and cilantro, and drizzle with hot sauce as desired.

Per serving: 399 calories: 9.8 grams fat; 34.7 grams protein; 41.4 grams carbohydrates; 9.7 grams fiber

My Favorite Minestrone

Image from this website

1 lb sausage, browned and drained
1 quart water
1 can consomme
3-5 large carrots, cut large
3 stalks celery, cut large
1/2 tsp basil leaf
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 quarts tomatoes
3 onions, cut large
1 T parsley
1 can tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

Simmer the above 8-10 hours (in slow cooker). Add 1 can cut green beans and 1 can red kidney beans. Simmer 1 hour. Add 1 cup macaroni, cook until macaroni is done, about 10 minutes. Sugar and salt to taste. Sprinkle individual bowls with Parmesan cheese.

This is a very forgiving recipe. You can mix up the ingredients. I personally like to use acini do pepe for the pasta so that we don't get big bites of pasta. I like to add 2-3 C sliced cabbage at the end with the pasta. You can even make it up in less than an hour if that's the time you have, but the longer the ingredients simmer together, the better they'll taste! The consomme is delicious, but you can switch that out with beef broth if that's all you have. A perfect fall recipe. YUM!

Marvelous Minestrone

From Brenda Stott, one of our former neighbors

2 C onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 C cabbage, finely shredded
2 C carrots, finely diced
1 C green beans, cut
2 potatoes, cubed
2 C zucchini, chopped
4 oz can sliced mushrooms
2 C stewed tomatoes
3 T parsley
1 T basil
1/2 tsp rosemary
2 C tomato juice
4 C beef broth
1 C kidney beans, cooked
3/4 C macaroni
1/3 C raw barley

Saute onions until clear. Combine garlic, cabbage, carrots, green beans, potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, and tomatoes in a large pot. Add onion. Cook 10 minutes. Add parsley, basil, rosemary, tomato juice and beef broth. Cook 10 minutes. Puree 1/2 cup kidney beans in blender. Add to soup. Add remaining whole kidney beans. Boil. reduce heat. Simmer 25 minutes. Add macaroni and barley, cook for 15 minutes.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

1 chicken, 3 lbs, cut up (or several whicken breasts)
6 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
6 peppercorns
3 whole cloves
1 can chicken broth
1 can each cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups chopped carrots
1 onion chopped
2 cups chopped potatoes
1 bayleaf
1 cup frozen peas
1 tsp seasoned salt

Place chicken, water, bouillon, peppercorns and cloves in large kettle, cook until tender. Cool, skim off fat. Cut meat into chunks. Strain broth and add soups, broth, chicken and remaining ingredients. Cover & simmer on low heat until tender. About 30 minutes before serving add the dumplings*.

Dumplings:
2 C flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 egg, well beaten
2/3 C milk

Sift dry ingredients together. Add egg melted butter & enough milk to moisten stiff batter. Drop by teaspoons into boiling liquid. Cook covered without "peeking" for 18-20 minutes or until done.

Makes 10-12 servings.

*I have a note on my recipe to try Mom Howlett's Homemade Egg Noodles instead of the dumplings. I think the dumplings just seemed a bit too much.

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

A DELICIOUS recipe from the kitchen of LaNae Callahan* 

2 medium heads of cauliflower cut up small (or broccoli)

1/2 cup butter

1 to 1 1/3 cup chopped onion chopped fine

4 tablespoons flour

4 cups chicken broth

1 quart half & half

1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce (I usually put in a couple of tablespoons because I think

it really gives it great flavor)

1 teaspoon salt

1 lb. Velveeta cheese (grated or cut up)

Cook cauliflower or broccoli in boiling salted water. Do not overcook. Drain, reserve the liquid. Melt butter in sauce pan. Add onion and cook till soft. Blend in flour and cook for about 1 minute or so to get rid of the raw flour taste. Add chicken broth slowly and then bring to a boil stirring constantly. Add liquid from cauliflower (2 cups) If it doesn't measure out to be two cups then add extra water. Add half & half, worchestershire sauce and salt. Bring to a boil. Add cheese a little at a time so it melts smoothly. Blend in cauliflower or broccoli carefully so not to make it mushy.

(*My cousin Warren Whitford's MIL - served at one of their baby's blessing celebrations)

Light Potato Cheese Soup

               

So I took THIS potato soup recipe and THAT potato soup recipe, put them together and came up with my own:

Ingredients:

• 6 large potatoes diced
• Vegetable and/or chicken broth to cover the potatoes
• 2 cups chopped carrots (I had leftovers already cooked)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup light cheddar cheese, cube
• 1 slice reduced fat swiss cheese
• 1 lb sliced mushrooms, sauted in 1 tbsp butter

Boil the diced potatoes and carrots in the vegetable and chicken broths until the vegetables are soft. Mash with a potato masher. Stir in the cheese until it melts, fold in mushrooms. Serve either warm or cold.  Mine needed more moisture (maybe more milk?) to make it more soupy, but oh, yummmm!

(To make it even lighter, I could have used part cauliflower and part potatoes, but I couldn't find any cauliflower in the fridge tonight.) One of the recipes describes making it in a slow cooker, but I have to plan ahead for that.

The Best Tomato Basil Soup

Original recipe found here.

Tomato Basil Soup

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 - 14 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes

1 - 14 oz. can of whole tomatoes

2 cups of stock (chicken or vegetable)

1 tsp of sea salt

1 tsp of sugar

1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup of heavy cream (I used evaporated milk)

3 tablespoons of fresh basil, julienned

parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil on medium heat for 1 minute - being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the crushed tomatoes.  Add the whole tomatoes one at a time, squeezing them into the pan to break them up.  Add the juice from the whole tomatoes, as well.  Add chicken stock, salt, pepper and sugar.  Cook the soup on medium at a simmer for 10 minutes.  

To finish, reduce the heat to low and stir in heavy cream and basil.  Serve topped with parmesan cheese or a grilled cheese sandwich.  Get the recipe for The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich here.

Taco Soup

To one pound browned hamburger & oninos, mix one pkg of taco seasoning mix*.  Add 1 can (16 oz) diced tomatoes, 1 can (16 oz) kidney beans undrained, 1 can (17 oz) corn undrained, 1 can tomato sauce.  (I have to double or triple that for my family.)

Cook on medium heat about 15 minutes to blend flavors.  Serve in bowls, top with cheese.  Eat with tortilla chips.

(Makes great dutch oven camping recipe - use chips instead of spoons!)

*I never buy taco seasoning mix.  I make my own by adding chili powder, cumin, garlic powder or fresh minced garlic, and salt & pepper. 

Pizza Soup

3/4 cup acini di pepe macaroni, uncooked

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

½ cup chopped green pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp olive oil

2 cups beef broth

2 cups tomato sauce

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp ground fennel (I often leave this out too, not my favorite spice)

2 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded (optional)

Dried basil for garnish (optional)

In large pot, saute onion, mushrooms, green pepper and garlic in olive oil until onion is transparent. Add beef broth, tomato sauce, basil, and fennel and bring to a boil. Add macaroni and simmer for about 10 minutes or until macaroni is tender. Ladle into bowls, top each serving with 1/4 of the cheese and a pinch of basil. Our family loves pizza bread sticks with this. Note: This soup freezes well.

Mama's Potato Soup

5-6 white potatoes, diced
1 small white onion
3 stalks celery, diced
2-3 quarts milk
Salt, pepper and butter

Dice potatoes, onion and celery.  Cover with water and bring to a boil and cook till tender, yet firm.  Drain.  Bring milk to a boil (or may heat in microwave to speed cooking time) and add vegetables.  After boiling, add by teaspoon, dropping dumplings in.  Cook 10-15 minutes, then salt and pepper to taste.  Add 1/2 cube of butter.

Dumplings:
4 eggs
About 2 cups flour
1-2 tsp salt

The dumplings make the difference.  Beat eggs; sift flour and salt into beaten eggs (continue to add till dull appearance).  You may cut or add to this recipe.  It's great!

(Recipe by Judy Halversen, as found in the Salt Lake Wasatch Stake Relief Society Cookbook, p. 16, which we got from a cousin as a wedding gift in 1989).

Mom Howlett's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a major favorite at our house.  I even use the leftover meaty turkey carcass that I saved in the freezer.

Boil one whole chicken (or cut up pieces, whatever*) in plenty of water, with a couple of bay leaves and 1-2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.  Boil until meat is thoroughly cooked.

Remove the meat, and debone, and dice, return meat to soup.  Add additional water as needed.

(If you want vegetables, add them now, and boil for 15 minutes - we just eat the veges raw on the side.)

Add homemade noodles one at a time to boiling soup.


Homemade Egg Noodles
(Don't cheat on these - they are the most important part of this recipe!)

4-5 whole eggs
2 tsp salt
Flour, 1/2 C at a time

Stir the flour into the eggs and salt, adding as needed so that you can handle it.  Spray counter with cooking spray, then roll out the dough.  Cut into strips (as thin as you can get them) with pizza cutter, and drop one at a time into boiling soup.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until noodles test done.

*Note: Using skinless, boneless breasts will not taste as good since there is less fat on them to make the flavorful broth. Better to discard the skin and other undesirable parts when dicing the meat.  Or use dark meat tenders - they're flavorful!