It's Cold Outside (in many places) Let's Have Some Soup

"Why soup?"  WHY NOT!!

Soup simmering all day in a crock pot, or prepared as a quick and easy dinner, fills the home with warmth and beautiful fragrances. It tastes delicious and is full of vitamins and protein!

The beauty of soup is that it can compliment a dish or be the main dish.  It's so versatile!  A small cup is an appetizer. Or a bowl can be served with a sandwich, a small platter of cheeses or nuts or fruit slices, a salad, or warm rolls.

Here are some soup recipes we collected during our January Challenge:

1.  Vegetable Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 C carrots, sliced
1 C celery, including leaves

3 garlic cloves, minced
black pepper to taste
6 C chicken broth

2 C chopped tomatoes (scan use canned roasted kind)
1/2 C quinoa (kind of like barley in texture but smaller and pops out green tendrils when fully cooked...they look crazy but packed with protein and good with tons of stuff as sides)
2 C WHITE kidney beans
1 tsp curry powder
pinch nutmeg (don't skip this, it is important!)
3 C baby spinach

Heat oil in pan over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add onion and sauté until soft.

Add carrots, celery, and garlic. Sauté about 5 minutes.

Add broth, tomatoes, quinoa, beans, and spices. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat.

Simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender. (You know the quinoa is done when they are a clear color and have little green tendril or sprout looking things popping out of them!)

Add spinach and cover. Cook about 3 minutes, until leaves wilt and are soft.

Season with pepper, optional.

Number of Servings: 8................163.4 calories per 1 cup serving

 

2.  Turkey meatball, Kale & Tortellini Soup (Can be made without the meat, too)

 

 

24 small frozen turkey meatballs
1 box Chicken stock
1 box No fat chicken broth
1 onion, diced
1/2 bag baby carrots, diced
1 bag dried tortellini
1 bag frozen broccoli
1 bunch KALE
1 tablespoon Sage
Salt and Pepper to taste


Heat stock and broth together in a deep pot on medium high. Add salt, pepper, and sage. While it heats, dice your onions and carrots (you can add celery, I am just not a fan of celery). Add this to the liquid. Add in frozen meatballs. Let simmer at medium for 10 minutes. Add in KALE, broccoli, and tortellini. Boil for 14-16 minutes, until the pasta is al dente.

3. Jalapeno Sweet Potato Chicken Chili

 

Ingredients
•1½ lbs. chicken breasts
•5 cups chicken broth
•1 onion, minced
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•1 jalapeno, minced
•2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
•2 teaspoons chili powder
•½ teaspoon salt
•2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (about 4 cups)
•2 14 ounce cans fire roasted tomatoes with garlic, undrained
•1 14 ounce can black beans, drained
•3 tablespoons ground flaxmeal
•cilantro and Cotija cheese for topping

Instructions

1.Poach the chicken: Bring the chicken broth to a rolling boil and add the raw chicken breasts. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the chicken continue to cook in the broth for another 20 minutes. Remove the chicken, let cool, and shred with two forks. Reserve 2 cups of broth. Keep chicken in the fridge until ready to use (I did this a day in advance and just stored my chicken and broth together in the fridge).

2.Saute the veggies: Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño and saute until tender. Add the chili powder, salt, and sweet potatoes. Saute until the sweet potatoes are lightly browned.

3.Let it cook: Add the fire roasted tomatoes, black beans, shredded chicken and reserved broth. Stir and cover with a tight fitting lid. Keep over medium heat for 45 minutes without stirring (see notes).

4.Make it saucy: After 45 minutes, uncover and you’ll see a bunch of chicken and veggies with hardly any liquid. Perfect. Add 2 cups of water (or less, as needed) and stir to combine. Add the flax and stir again – this helps it thicken up and gives it a warm, nutty flavor.

5.Eat: Season with salt and pepper and serve topped with cilantro and Cotija cheese

 

 

4. Chicken, Kale and Quinoa Soup

 

4 center-cut bacon slices (I used turkey bacon)
1-1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cu chopped carrot
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 3/4 pieces ( left over chicken or a rotisserie work well)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 cups unsalted chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
6 cups cooked kale
2 teaspoons thyme leaves

Cook bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove from pan, reserved drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside

Increase heat to med-high. Add onion, carrot, and 1/4 salt to drippings, sauté 5 minutes, stir occasionally.

Add garlic, sauté 2 minutes. Remove mixture from pan.

Cover pan with cooking spray. Add chicken with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Saute 6 minutes or until browned and done. Stir in onion mixture, chicken stock, bay leaves, rest of salt and pepper, bring to a boil.

Rinse quinoa as usual and add to pan. cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add kale and thyme, simmer uncovered 5 minutes or until kale is tender. Discard bay leaves. Bacon garnish

Serves 6 about 1-2/3 cup soup. Cal: 262