Quick and Easy Chinese Dumpling Soup Recipe

I recently went to a photography workshop, hosted by a dear friend who is an amazing photographer (it's practically a requirement for you to be a good photographer to be friends with me, just so you know). She served a really tasty lunch, including this soup. I harrassed her for over two weeks to get the recipe, and received it today - SCORE! Oh and don't assume that by saying I went to a photography workshop that now I take my own pictures of my food. Totally not true, Marisa got the recipe and I got the photo from soupchick.com : ) I can't wait to check out more recipes from there : ) I can't wait to make this again, tonight! She also served a really yummy salad with it too. I'll get that recipe too....if it's the last thing I do. Quick and Easy Dumpling Soup

4 cups chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium store bought (I like Swanson 99%) 1 slice fresh ginger root, 1/4-inch thick, peeled but left whole

2 scallions, sliced 1 Tbsp shao hsing wine (Chinese rice cooking wine) 2 Tbsp dark soy sauce Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste 24 frozen Chinese dumplings with filling of your choice (do not defrost) Hoisin sauce for garnish (optional)

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the chicken stock, ginger root, scallions, shao hsing wine and dark soy sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add frozen dumplings, and when the soup returns to the boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Divide evenly into serving bowls, and drizzle a bit of hoisin on the dumplings.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Corn Chowder

* Photo and Recipe credit to Natalie at Perrysplate.com

Do you ever find yourself wondering what the point of my recipe blog is since I basically just repost recipes from perrysplate.com? Don't worry, you're not the only one. The thing is though, last year you probably thought the same thing when I posted a string of recipes from melskitchencafe. So though I go through stints, I sometimes switch things up and start following another recipe blog. So that's why. That and also that the Good Book lets us know that in the mouths of two or three witnesses all things shall be established. So...I like to add my witness to good recipes. Is that blasphemous?

We loved this soup! Probably one of my favorite soups ever. Cleaning up after it was not my favorite thing, however. I curse the frugality in me that will simply not let me buy an immersion blender. I curse even more the frugality in me that returned the immersion blender that was given to me at Christmas and used the money to buy underwear for Gwen. Sheesh. If that's not love, I don't know what is.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Corn Chowder

4 whole sweet potatoes, roasted and cubed
2- ½ cups corn, fresh or frozen
8 slices bacon (if you can resist the urge to use the whole package of bacon you are a stronger person than I)
1 cup leeks, sliced and rinsed well (I used shallots, certainly you could use any type of oniony thing you have on hand)
1 whole sweet onion ( I actually bought the sweet onion, impressed? )
2 tablespoons fresh thyme or 2 tsp dried (I only had like half a teaspoon, sad thymes!)
2 tablespoons fresh marjoram or 2 tsp dried
2 boxes chicken stock (32oz each), divided
2 whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeded and finely chopped(I'm not messin' around here, FINELY chop them or you will be sad because your mouth might burn off)
1- ½ cup heavy cream (used half and half)

Wrap sweet potatoes in aluminum foil and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour at 375 degrees F, until fork tender. Once soft, peel and cube.

Fry bacon in a dutch oven or other large heavy bottomed pot. Once crispy, remove and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pot. Add leeks, onion, corn, thyme and marjoram to the pot, stirring constantly until tender. Add cubed sweet potatoes, 1-1 1/2 boxes of chicken stock, and chipotle peppers; simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend 1/2-1/3 of the soup. (Or transfer to a blender and do the same. You'll want to leave some of the corn and potato cubes whole.)

Simmer chowder for another 10 minutes, then add heavy cream and combine well. If your chowder seems too thick, add more chicken stock and/or water to thin until you reach the desired consistency. Top with crumbled bacon.
Tips: Serve with corn chips or a nice crusty french loaf.

* So here's the thing....I liked the amount of heat in this recipe. I really did. It was borderline too much heat for comfort in some bites (probably because I am too lazy to "finely chop" anything), so if you want your kids to eat it I might suggest only using one of those adobo peppers, and to rinse it quite thoroughly-- or pull out their soup before you add those peppers. Also, I didn't have leeks (the shame!) but I did have shallots and just cut one of those up. And I used a whole package of bacon (don't tell), but I drained some of the grease (bonus points for me!). I also substituted half and half for the cream with good results. And I was short on thyme, but it still turned out alright. (I also made lots of very witty thyme puns, but I'll spare you).

Enjoy! It really was good! I'll try to branch out and post a recipe from another source next. Maybe even one from an actual cookbook, that would be exhilarating!

Potato Soup

No way is this healthy, but it is SO yummy!


Cook and thicken:

1 1/2 sticks butter

6 TBSP flour

2 cups half and half



Then add the following and cook on med heat until cheese melts and soup is hot:

4 cups water

4 chicken bouillon cubes

8 oz Velveeta cheese

6 medium potatoes, cooked and cubed



Serve with toppings like sr. cream, green onion, bacon, shredded carrots, salt and pepper.

Winger Chili

We had our ward Halloween party last weekend. Boy Howdy, there was a LOT of chili. I looked for a crockpot with a familiar name on it. See, I don't love chili. But I did love THIS chili, made by my neighbor Steph. It warmed my soul. I have no picture, sorry dudes. Use the Turkey Sausage, that's what made this chili outstanding!

Winger Chili

3 cans tomatoes, pureed

3 cans tomato sauce

1lb ground beef, browned (or turkey sausage)

1 can black beans

1 can kidney beans

1/3-1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2-1 tsp basil

1/2-1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 medium onion, diced

3-4 Tbs chili powder

Cook in crockpot, or on stove until hot (about 30 minutes after boiling).

The turkey sausage recipe below is what we use entirely in place of ground beef. It's really yummy!

Homemade Turkey Sausage

3 lbs. lean ground turkey

2 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon crushed fennel

5 dashes crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon basil

1 or 2 sprigs parsley, finely chopped or 1 teaspoon dried

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon crushed rosemary

1 teaspoon sage

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Start browning sausage, add spices, and cook until turkey is done. We love to use this in place of pork sausage. Can use in stuffing, on pizza, in spaghetti, in eggs, etc.

Black Bean Soup with Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream

Thanks Janssen for recommending this great recipe from It's So Tasty Too. We left out the leeks because WHAT are they anyways? Other than that I followed the recipe and loved it, especially with the lime sour cream. Yum! We served with cornbread and an awesome salad that Katie brought and that I will try to obtain the recipe for ASAP!

The other good news about this soup is that I actually did the whole "soak beans overnight" business. I was so darn proud. And in the interest of my arteries I drained about half of the bacon drippings (because dang I had a LOT of bacon drippings), still tasted wonderful!

Ingredients:
1 (16 oz.) package dried black beans (about 2 1/2 cups) or 5 cans (15 oz.) black beans
1 lb. bacon, chopped
3/4 cup finely chopped celery
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped carrots
3/4 cup finely chopped leeks
6 cups canned chicken broth
1 large tomato, chopped
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 jalapeno chili, minced, seeds removed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (I used sherry)
2 teaspoons ground cumin

Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream:
3/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Place beans in a large bowl. Add enough water to cover by 3 inches. Let stand overnight. Drain and rinse well. Cook bacon in heavy large pot over medium heat until done, about 8 minutes. Do not drain drippings. Add beans, chicken broth, tomato, cilantro, parsley, garlic, jalapeno, sherry or vinegar and cumin. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer soup until beans are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours.

(If you use canned beans, which is perfectly fine!, then just simmer for an hour.)

If you have an immersion blender, process until slightly chunky puree forms. Return soup to pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (If you don't have an immersion blender, for Heaven's sake, go out and treat yourself to one - they are amazing! In the meantime, working in batches, transfer soup to a blender and process until slightly chunky and pureed.) Ladle soup into bowls. Place dollop of sour cream mixture atop soup.

Wild Rice Soup

Okay, so I am pretty sure Ralphie meant to put this on here (*cough*) but since she didn't the least I could do is steal the picture off of her blog and post it on here for her. Please don't sue me Ralph.

The thing is, this soup should be called something besides wild rice soup--- like Almond Surprise Soup or something, because SURPRISE there are almonds in there and that alone made this one of my favorite soups ever.

This soup had a delicious flavor and yummy texture and, once I blended it up so my kids didn't know there were carrots and mushrooms in it- they gobbled it up with minimal prodding!

So make it!

Wild Rice Soup from: bandralphie.blogspot.com

5Tbs butter

1 finely chopped onion

1 C frozen or canned corn

1/2 lb fresh musrooms, sliced

2 large carrot sticks, sliced (or uh...like 20 baby carrots, sliced)

3/4 C flour

6 1/2 C chicken broth

2 C Cooked wild rice

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (optional- I didn't put it in and I am glad, this is an awesome vegetarian meal - alright, mostly just cuz I'm lazy and out of chicken)

1/2 t salt

1/2 t curry powder (or more per Ralphie's suggestion)

1/2 t mustard powder (go me for actually having this on hand!)

1/2 t dried parsley

1/2 t black pepper

1 C slivered almonds

2 C half and half (or 1 C half and half and 1 C milk)

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, corn, and carrots and saute for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute 3-4 minutes more. Then add flour and stir well. Transfer mixture into a large pot (um, I just started it with a large pot...so whatever). Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly until all has been added. Bring just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer.

Next add the rice, chicken (if using), salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, black pepper and almonds. Allow to heat through then pour in half and half. Let simmer for 1 hr (or more....or less). Do not boil or the roux will break (that super stressed me out, because break really? yikes!).

Serve with warm crusty bread.

Then give Ralphie grief for not posting on the recipe blog, because everything she makes is super yum.

Thanks Ralph : )

Vegetable Barley Soup

Since we only have one month until our trip to Disney Blaine and I have made a resolve to eat super healthy this month and try to shed a couple of pounds so we can fit in the space mountain car thing together. We have a dream baby!

I also randomly bought some barley about a week ago.

So, I made this vegetable barley soup tonight and it was super easy and had incredible flavor. I wish it would have been brothier because dipping a warm roll into the soup was just a great combination of flavors. Mmmmm!

Beaker's Vegetable Barley Soup (from www.allrecipes.com)
2 Quarts Vegetable Broth
1 C uncooked barley (per reviews I only used 3/4 C)
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 (14.5 oz ) can diced tomatoes with juice (I only had stewed tomatoes so I used those)
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 onion, chopped
3 bay leaves
1 t garlic powder (I used refrigerated chopped garlic)
1 t white sugar (in the interest of being skinny in disneyland I left this out)
1t salt
1/2 t ground black pepper (important to use plain old pepper and not freshly ground peppercorns)
1 t parsley
1 t curry powder
1 t paprika
1 t Worcestershire sauce (I ran out so I used red whine vinegar with great results)

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium low heat for 90 minutes.

I forgot to cover it, whoops. Maybe I would have had more broth if I would have actually read the directions : ) Regardless add a few extra cups of broth, you'll be happier!

Remove bay leaves before serving

Lentejas

Since I am trying to base my recipes on what I receive in my bountiful basket I got myself into a real pickle this week. I didn't order one for last Saturday and here it is only Tuesday and my pantry is practically bare. Since I don't want to go to the store and have what happened to me two weeks ago happen again (I went to Costco on Wednesday and when my bountiful basket came on Saturday it was everything I had purchased already earlier in the week- not kidding- sweet potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, blackberries, tangelos, everything), I am trying to hold out and not go grocery shopping until Saturday after my BB arrives.

So, it's been kind of a stretch to make good meals. Janssen sent me a recipe for lentil soup and as I made it I realized it is something we actually have often at our house and Blaine usually makes it. It is something that he ate a lot of in Spain while he was on his mission- lentejas. Anyway, I will post the Janssen/Martha Stewart version here but just know, from Blaine's experimenting that you can add all sorts of things (pepperoni and red peppers are a favorite) to the mix and it makes it all the better.

3 srips bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (duh, use more than this)
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4inch moons
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T tomato paste
1 1/2 C lentils, picked over and rinsed
1/2 t dried thyme
2 cans chicken broth (3 1/2 C)
1T red-wine vinegar
coarse salt and ground pepper

In dutch oven, or other large pot with tight fitting lid, cook bacon until browned and crisp. Pour off all but 1T fat. Add onion and carrots, cook until softened (5 minutes). Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about thirty seconds. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute. Add lentils, thyme, broth and 2 C water (oooooooohhh I totally forgot to add this, whoops, no wonder it didn't make much. Idiot). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until lentils are tender 30-45 minutes.

Stir in vinegar, 1 1/2 t salt and 1/4 t pepper. Serve immediately. If you want to omit the bacon (weirdo) then you can and cook the onions and carrots in 1T olive oil.

This was really yummy and you should totally double it!

Baked Potato Soup II

I had a bunch of potatoes that I needed to use so I found this recipe and had all the stuff to make it and we really liked it! Got the recipe from www.allrecipes.com

3 bacon strips, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbs flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp basil
1/2 t pepper
3 C chicken broth
2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 C half and half
1/2 t hot pepper sauce
shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper, mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for two minutes. Add potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce. Heat through but do not boil. Garnish with bacon, cheese .

Tomato Tortellini Soup

From my mom's Taste of Home magazine:

1 pkg (9oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini

2 cans (10.75 oz) reduced sodium tomato soup, undiluted

2 cups vegetable broth

2 cups milk

2 cups half and half cream

½ cup chopped oil-packed sundried tomatoes

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried basil

½ tsp salt

½ cup shredded parmesan

Additional parmesan for topping

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a dutch oven, combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat through, stirring frequently. Drain tortellini; carefully add to soup. Stir in cheese and sprinkle each serving w/ addition cheese if desired.

This seriously took less than 10 minutes to prepare (especially since I used fresh tortellini that takes like 2 minutes to cook) and mostly just used stuff I normally have on hand. I served it with garlic toast and we all really enjoyed it. It was perfect for the rainy weather we've been having!

Delicious ham and potato soup

4 stars. this got a thumbs up from everyone in the family. we ate it with buttered bread and it was sooo good, and so easy!


Delicious Ham and Potato Soup


Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Ready In: 45 Minutes
Servings: 8
"This is a delicious recipe for ham and potato soup that a friend gave to me. It is very easy and the great thing about it is that you can add additional ingredients, more ham, potatoes, etc and it still turns out great."
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
Directions:
1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Bake Potato Soup

Ingredients:
4 large baking potatoes (about 3 pounds)
2/3 c. butter
2/3 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 c. milk
1 c. sour cream (8 oz.)
1/4 c. green onions, finely chopped
10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 c. cheddar cheese

Directions:
Bake potatoes @350 for 1 hour, until tender, or use leftover from the nite before; allow to cool completely. Peel and cube potatoes.

In a large saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour, salt and pepper, until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook & stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; whisk in sour cream. Add potatoes and green onions. Garnish with bacon and cheese. Serve.

Enchilada Soup

My upstairs neighbor made this for us the other night, delicious!

Chicken Bouillion Cubes
4 Chicken Breasts
2 Cans Corn (drained)
2 Cans Black Beans (drained)
2 Cans mild gree enchilada sauce
1 can diced green chiles

Boil chicken with water and boullion cubes. When done take chicken out and dice, keep the water. Put the chicken back in the water and add rest of ingredients bring to a boil...

Um she doesn't put on there how much water or how many chicken cubes....I am guessing maybe 5 cups of water and 5 bouillion cubes..?

Broccoli Cheese Soup- yum

Blaine, who is not a fan of soup, just called over from the kitchen "oh man, this is so good, I am licking the bowl like it's cake batter". That's right! Delicious Broccoli cheese soup with no velveeta!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Another great one from mykitchencafe.blogspot.com

1 can chicken broth (or I just used chicken base and 2 C water)

1 small onion, diced

1/3 C flour

1/4 C butter

pepper to taste

2C milk (I used 1%)

1 1/2 C shredded chedder cheese (the sharper the better, I had some extra sharp...hot dang it was good)

1/2 C shredded swiss cheese

steamed chopped broccoli (I totall forgot to chop it, whoops)

Simmer chicken broth and onion for 15 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes. In a separate medium sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour and pepper. Cook together for a couple of minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium-high heat until soup starts to thicken. Next add chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add cheeses and steamed broccoli. Serve.

I had no gumption to make bread bowls tonight but it would have been awesome with them. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Soup

I have a little secret shopping job that I do once a month at a local soup and sandwich shop. Sorry to be so vague, but I've been sworn to secrecy ;). Anyway, the last time I was there I got cauliflower soup, it was delicious! And then a couple days ago cauliflower was on sale for cheap at Macey's. So I found a knock off recipe and made it tonight, it was really yummy! And woohoo...I even took my very own picture of the soup. Knock yourselves out!

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

2 Tbs margarine or butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 C all-purpose flour

1/2 t salt

2 C milk

1 can (14oz) chicken broth

1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 C shredded cheddar cheese (the sharper the better)

1 C pepper jack cheese

In 4 quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 C water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. In blender ( with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 C cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

White Chicken Chili

1 lb. chicken, cubed
1 med onion chopped
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 T. vegetable oil
3 cans great northern beans
1 can chicken broth -regular small size can
1-2 small cans diced green chilis
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. black pepper
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. whipping cream


Place vegetable oil in cooking pot. Add chicken and chopped onion and cook until chicken is no longer pink. Drain and rinse beans and add to pot. Add all other ingredients to pan except for sour cream and whipping cream. Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add sour cream and whipping cream and serve.(Can use canned chicken for the chicken and omit the first step.)

For the beans I couldn't find canned, so I bought dried (which are cheaper anyway) and then cooked them on my own, according to package directions. It takes about half a small bag of beans, and they take about 2 hours to cook on the stove.


*Top with cheese, tortilla chips or avacodo. I served along side cornbread.

Coconut Lime Chicken Soup

Start to Finish: 25 minutes
Ingredients
1 2- to 2-1/2-lb. deli-roasted chicken
1 15-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
2 cups water
1/4 cup lime juice (2 medium limes)
3 medium carrots, thinly-sliced diagonally (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. Thai seasoning blend
1/4 tsp. salt
Thai seasoning blend (optional)
Fresh cilantro (optional)
Lime wedges (optional)

(We served over rice)

Directions

1. Remove and discard skin and bones from chicken. Shred chicken. In large saucepan combine shredded chicken with coconut milk, water, lime juice, sliced carrots, soy sauce, the 2 teaspoons Thai seasoning and salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, covered, 8-10 minutes or until carrots are crisp-tender.

2. To serve, sprinkle bowls of soup with additional Thai seasoning (this is spicy - so do this at your own discretion) and cilantro. Pass lime wedges.

(Traditionally, you wouldn't do this, but we like to add rice to our coconut soup -- it makes it easier for the kids to eat and it helps fill you up too.)

This recipe is from Better Homes & Gardens. Fast, easy, tasty. We're trying to expand our kids palate, so this was good to try to introduce our kids to other foods. It's a keeper for us.

Cheeseburger Soup

* 1 lb. ground beef
* 3/4 cup chopped onion
* 3/4 cup shredded carrots
* 3/4 cup diced celery
* 3 T. butter or oil
* 3 cup chicken broth
* 4 cup diced potatoes
* 1/4 cup flour
* 8 oz. Velveeta cheese
* 1 1/2 cup milk
* 1 t. basil
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* salt and pepper

In a stock pot, brown beef, drain, rinse with hot water, and set aside. Saute onion, carrots, celery and basil in same pan about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and add broth, potatoes and beef. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream. Serve.

This is a recipe from menus4moms.com but I really liked it, it was so easy, and the kids all liked it too. Definitely a keeper.

Superfoods Vegetable Soup

I didn't expect my kids to eat this, but they did, and it is LOADED with good stuff! I'm tagging it as vegetarian, but I added some cut up chicken I had in my freezer, just to make the kids happy. I didn't list that on the recipe though.

Superfoods Vegetable Stew - Serves 8

3 Tbsp + 2 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken because that's all I had)
2 sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large red onion, cut into thin wedges
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander (didn't have any so I just put some extra cumin in there)
3/4 tsp Mrs Dash seasoning (didn't have so I used Lawry's seasoned salt... prob not the same but oh well)
1/4 tsp pepper
2 (15 1/2-oz) cans chickpeas, drained
2 (15 1/2-oz) cans diced tomatoes
12-oz package fresh baby spinach
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp water
4 cups cooked rice or couscous (optional)


Spray Dutch oven with cooking spray; add 3 Tbsp vegetable broth to pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add sweet potatoes and onion to pan; sprinkle with garlic powder and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add bell peppers, cumin, coriander, Mrs Dash seasoning and pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until peppers are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in chickpeas, tomatoes, spinach and remaining vegetable broth. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, 12 to 15 minutes, until heated through. Combine cornstarch and water in a small cup; mix well. Gradually add cornstarch mixture to stew; bring to a boil over high heat. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until stew thickens, about 1 minute. Serve over cooked rice or couscous if desired. Do not freeze. Stew can be refrigerated and reheated up to 4 days.

Nutrition per serving:
Calories 194
Fat 2.5 g
Carbs 37g
Protein 9g
Fiber 9g
Sodium 880 mg
cholesterol 0 mg

pumpkin black bean soup

This soup was wonderful! Perfect flavor, though not pretty to look at : )

• 3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cups chopped onion
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 pound cubed cooked ham
• 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1. Pour 2 cans of the black beans into a food processor or blender, along with the can of tomatoes. Puree until smooth. Set aside.
2. Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the onion is softened. Stir in the bean puree, remaining can of beans, beef broth, pumpkin puree, and sherry vinegar. Mix until well blended, then simmer for about 25 minutes, or until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Stir in the ham, and heat through before serving.

I substituted apple cider vinegar for the sherry vinegar.