1 Tbsp olive oil
4 cups chicken, cut in bite-size pieces
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups carrots, sliced
2 cups potatoes, cubed
3 1/2 cups cabbage, coarsely chopped
1/2 apple, peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
1 tsp salt or to taste
opt. red pepper flakes, to taste
1 – 2 cans chicken broth
additional water (or broth) to cover

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Brown chicken with garlic and onions. Add vegetables and apple. Stir and cook a few minutes, then add chicken broth and enough water to just barely cover vegetables. Cover and simmer until tender. Serve with fresh crusty bread.

Variations:
- Omit the chicken, substitute a couple cans of chickpeas, and use vegetable broth instead of chicken if you wish to make it vegetarian.
- Add winter squash, yam or sweet potato.

1 lb great northern beans
3 cups ham, cubed
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 – 2 cups sliced carrots (about 3 or 4)
salt (1/2 – 3/4 tsp and then check – be careful it doesn’t get too salty with the ham)
pepper to taste
rosemary (a good sprinkling or pinch)
bay leaf
garlic powder, a hearty sprinkling (or 2 – 3 cloves, minced)

11AM (or so)
Sort and rinse beans. Cover well with water and bring to a boil. Cover and boil 5 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to sit at least 2 hours.
1PM (or so)
Drain and rinse. Cover with fresh water, put back on medium-low to medium heat, cover and simmer about 2 hours until tender.
3PM (or so)
In separate saucepan, saute onions and carrots (and garlic, if using) in olive oil until beginning to get tender. Add to beans, along with ham and seasonings. Simmer another hour or two until very tender and creamy and everyone is hungry for supper.
5PM (or so)
Supper is ready. Serve with crusty bread, biscuits or crackers and a fresh green salad on the side.

Note: Can add potatoes and/or leeks instead of carrots.

2 – 2 1/2 cups shredded chicken breast (boil 3 breasts, save extra – about half – for another meal)
2 – 2 1/2 cups boiled rice
broth from boiling chicken breasts
1 tsp salt or so to taste
1/2 tsp pepper or so to taste
thyme to taste (a good sprinkling or big pinch)
rosemary to taste (a good sprinkling or pinch)
1 bay leaf
crushed red pepper (a light sprinkling)
pinch pure chile powder or cayenne
1/2 onion, chopped
5 carrots, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
2 – 3 tsp butter
1 can chicken broth

Boil chicken breasts until done in water salted and peppered, with thyme and rosemary added, too. Remove chicken from water and set aside to cool enough to handle for shredding. In a separate pot, heat a teaspoon or so of butter and the olive oil and saute onion and carrots. Add to broth and bring to boil. Shred chicken. Add chicken and rice to soup, adding additional seasonings to taste, a can of chicken broth if you have it, and another teaspoon or so of butter. Boil until very tender. Taste soup and add more seasonings if necessary.

Sausage, Potato and Spinach Soup

1 lb Italian sausage
4 – 6 cups diced potatoes
water to cover
3 – 4 cups spinach (eg. chopped frozen)
1 cup milk (eg. 2%), approx.

Brown sausage over medium-high heat. Add water and deglaze (scrape up browned meat bits stuck to the bottom). Add potatoes, adding more water if necessary to cover. Put lid on, reduce heat to medium and boil until potatoes are tender. Add spinach and cook another 5 minutes or so until soft and wilted. Stir in milk. Serve with biscuits, buns or bread.

Tuscan Style Garbanzo Bean Soup with Cabbage

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 – 3/4 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried basil (approx, or a bit more)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 sprinklings red pepper flakes
sprinkling bay leaf pieces (or 1 to 2 bay leaves)
salt and pepper to taste (2 good sprinklings)
2 cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
2 – 3 cups water
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups cabbage, roughly chopped
1 cup pasta, eg. small shells, cooked separately and drained

Heat olive oil in large pot. Saute onion and garlic and carrots until onions are beginning to carmelize. Add can of tomatoes, herbs and seasonings (oregano, basil, pepper flakes, salt, pepper and bay leaf) and stir. Add garbanzo beans, reserving about 1 cup to add to soup later, and approximately 2 cups or cans water. Cook until carrots are nearly soft. Add potato and cabbage and additional salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste, as well as additional water as necessary, then simmer until tender. When tender (and this step is optional), puree all, or part (I did about half) of soup in blender. Add back to remaining soup, along with reserved garbanzo beans and cooked pasta. Heat a few minutes and serve. Good with crusty bread.

Chicken, Yam and Green Bean Soup

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced thinly and cut into bite-size portions
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 french bread slices, dried and crushed into crumbs (you can dredge with flour instead, but I liked the bread crumbs)

1-2 Tbsp. butter
1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 large yam, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 can french cut green beans, including juice
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. cayenne or hot chili powder, to taste
water to cover

Slice chicken breasts thinly, cutting crossways, or across the short way, rather than lengthwise. Put salt, pepper and bread crumbs in an empty bread bag and toss chicken pieces to coat.

Heat butter and oil in a wok or large pot, and saute onions and garlic. Toss in coated chicken pieces with garlic and onions, and brown. Toss and stir periodically, and continue to cook until chicken is done – no pink remains. Add yam pieces, and enough water to cover (you don’t want too much, as this should be a thick soup – almost a stew). Put lid on and simmer until yam is tender, about 30 minutes (cut yam pieces smaller if you want it to cook faster). Add green beans and cayenne. Simmer another 5 or 10 minutes or so.

Serve with fresh whole wheat bread or biscuits.

Pluma Moos

1 cup prunes
2 cups raisins
1/4 cup dried apricots
4 Tbsp. flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cream

Pre-soak prunes, raisins and apricots overnight.

Drain well, put in pot and add 2 – 2 1/2 quarts (8 – 10 cups) water, until fruit is well covered. Bring to a boil, and boil about 20 minutes, or until tender.

Mix flour, sugar, milk and cream together until smooth. Add to fruit soup. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

Serve hot or cold. Add additional milk or cream when served if too thick.

Fish Chowder

1/4 cup butter (can reduce by half)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery (can omit)
1/2 cup sliced or diced carrots (can increase)
2 cups diced potatoes (can increase up to 3 cups)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper, or to taste
other seasoning, if desired (eg. steak spice)
1 lb. fish fillets, cubed (frozen or fresh. If using frozen, allow to thaw a bit before cooking, and allow a little more time to cook).
2 cups evaporated milk or cream (can substitute milk; you may thicken with a bit of flour if you like, though it’s fine without. Just make sure to shake flour with cold milk first, before adding to soup)

Melt butter in pan. Saute onion and celery til transparent. Add carrots, potatoes and seasoning. Cover vegetables with hot water and bring to a boil (Use hot or boiling water to speed up process). Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Add fish and simmer for 5 minutes until fish is cooked (will no longer be transparent and will flake easily). Add milk, cream or evaporated milk and heat through (don’t boil). Serve. Good with fresh biscuits or bread.

Creamy Turkey Potato Soup

20 oz lean ground turkey
2 tsp. butter (can reduce)
1/2 medium-large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
4 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 – 2 cups water (approx) or broth
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp pepper, or to taste
1 Tbsp flour (omit if using gravy)
1 cup milk (or more)
1 – 8oz can french cut green beans, undrained (or corn)

Brown turkey in large pot with onion and celery. Add butter. Toss in potatoes and barely cover with water. Add seasoning to your taste. Put lid on and simmer until potatoes are soft. Mash mixture with potato masher (or not). Taste, and adjust seasoning if desired. If using flour, shake together with milk in gravy shaker before adding. Stir into soup, add undrained can of green beans, and bring to a simmer. Serve hot with buttered whole wheat bread, rolls, or fresh biscuits.

I’m not quite sure this turned out quite like I imagined it would, though it tasted good – pretty much like mashed potatoes, meat and gravy meal with vegetables all stirred together – just a little bit runnier. Maybe next time I won’t mash the potatoes and see how that changes things.

I’m thinking this recipe could be easily adapted to use up leftovers from a chicken or turkey dinner. Substitute cut-up leftover chicken or turkey, leftover boiled or mashed potatoes, add a little gravy, and maybe that last little bit of stuffing, too. Adjust seasoning and liquid as necessary.

Hamburger Soup

3/4 – 1 lb lean ground beef
1 small-medium onion, chopped (or half of a large onion)
3 medium-large carrots, peeled (or scrubbed) and sliced
2 large or 3 medium potatoes, peeled (or scrubbed), and cubed
1 can green beans (french cut is nice), undrained
OR a cup or so of green peas
beef broth or bouillon cubes (opt)
1 Tbsp butter (approx)
salt and pepper to taste
water

In a big pot, brown beef and onion over medium heat. Give the meat a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Add water (and bouillon, if you have) and/or beef broth. “Deglaze” – or scrape and stir any brown on the bottom of the pot into the soup. Add carrots and potatoes, peas or beans, salt and pepper to taste, and water to cover well (by no more than about an inch). Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender. Add a good size dab of butter or two and stir in. Keep hot on the stove over low heat while you set the table. Serve hot with crackers, buttered bread or fresh biscuits. And cold milk.

Big pot of hamburger soup simmering away on the stove.

This soup is good with leftover diced ham thrown in, if you happen to have any hanging around. Feel free to substitute or use other vegetables (such as leftovers) you think will taste good in combination. This is a good fridge-clean-out kind of soup (aka Refrigerator Soup). A bit of leftover rice, or chopped tomatoes also fit in well.