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.

Navy Bean Soup

1 lb dried navy beans
2 cups cooked ham, cubed
2 Tbsp butter, marg, or veg oil (or combination)
1 small-medium onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf (opt)
4 – 5 carrots, peeled and sliced
OR 3 carrots and 1 – 2 potatoes (OR substitute vegetables of your choice)

Sort beans and rinse clean. Cover with 2 inches of water, put lid on and let soak overnight. In the morning or no later than early afternoon (don’t let beans soak too long or they might start to ferment), drain the beans. Refill with fresh water and set on to cook. Cover and simmer beans for about 2 hours. Saute onions and garlic in butter until lightly browned. Add to pot, as well as carrots or other vegetables. Simmer another hour or so until very tender. Mash a bit with a potato masher to make a creamier consistency.

While cooking, check the beans every so often and stir to make sure they aren’t sticking to the bottom. Add water if necessary. If there’s too much water toward the end of the cook time, just take the lid off until it’s cooked down to a nice thick consistency. Serve with fresh hot buns or biscuits.

Chicken Noodle Soup

chicken carcass with some meat left on it (raw gives best flavor)*
water to cover
salt and pepper to taste
1 celery stalk
3 carrots
egg noodles

Put the chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Put the lid on and simmer (a couple hours if you have time) until chicken is falling apart, and broth is looking and smelling good (will be a fairly clear, yellowish color if there’s skin/fat on the chicken). Remove chicken with slotted spoon, being careful to get all the bones out and set aside on a plate to cool.

Meanwhile, wash and cut up celery stalk, including leaves. Peel and slice carrots into the broth, as well, continuing to simmer.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, take all the meat off the bones, cut up and return to soup. Be very careful not to miss any bones (some of them are really tiny!) and accidentally put them back in the soup! Discard carcass bones, fat and cartilage.

While soup continues to simmer, make a batch of egg noodles.

Chicken noodle soup is extra good served with soda crackers and cold milk.

* Note: You can make chicken soup from a leftover roast chicken, but add a little gravy, or bouillon for more flavor. You can also use bone-in chicken pieces with the skin on. If you make it from boneless, skinless chicken, such as chicken breast, brown it in the pan first, and/or add canned chicken broth, or bouillon to the soup to give enough flavor.

3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 Tbsp. milk

Stir all together in a bowl. Mix and knead until all the flour has gathered together into a ball (add a tiny bit more milk, if you need to).

Turn out onto counter and roll out thinly to approximately 15″ x 15″, lightly sprinkling with flour to keep from sticking, if necessary.

Lightly dust surface with flour and fold in half. Lightly dust again, and fold again. Do this one more time. Then place on cutting board and slice with a sharp knife. (Noodles can be as thin or thick as you like)

Shake and toss noodles gently with fingers to loosen, unfold and separate them.

Add to simmering water or soup and cook about 5 minutes. They will rise to the surface when they are done. They are great in homemade chicken noodle soup. Or, you can butter or season plain noodles to taste and serve them covered in sauce.

Uncooked noodles can be frozen or dried.

Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1/2 onion, chopped
garlic, cloves or powder, to taste
salt and pepper to taste
2 – 15oz cans beans (eg. pinto, kidney…)
2 – 8oz can tomato sauce
1 – 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 – 15oz can corn (optional)
1 1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin, or to taste (1-2 tsp if you like it mild, or omit)
1 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder, or to taste (1-2 tsp if you like it milder)

Toppings:
grated cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream

Brown ground beef with chopped onions.  When browned and tender, add beans (undrained), tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, corn (undrained) and spices to taste.  Heat, and serve with grated cheese, broken tortilla chips, and sour cream (opt) on top.

Chili: Omit diced tomatoes, use only 1 can tomato sauce, and partially drain beans, or simmer to reduce liquid. Adjust spices to taste (I usually leave out the cumin, and reduce chili). Corn can be omitted.

Chili Ingredients

Finished Chili

Note: For really quick and easy, use dehydrated onions and garlic powder. This is a meal your kids can make, if they’re old enough to brown ground meat and use a can opener!